Mooney JosephJOSEPH MOONEY (National—Southland): Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise as the National Party's spokesperson for Treaty negotiations to speak in support of this bill at first reading.Ngāti Kahungunu ki Waipareira [Wairarapa] Tāmaki nui-a-Rua he rā tino nui tēnei mō koutou nā koutou te kaha me te manawanui. Nō reira e rua rangatira mā tēnei tāku mihi atu ki a koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.[Ngāti Kahungunu ki Waipareira [Wairarapa] Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua this is a very important day for you and your strength and steadfastness. Therefore to the many chiefs this is my acknowledgment to you greetings greetings greetings one and all.]National supports this bill to select committee. To the elders leaders and members of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua who are witnessing this moment here within Parliament we're very pleased to be able to have you here this afternoon. As the Minister before spoke it's been rare in recent times for that to be able to happen. To those who are watching from home wherever in the world they may be I extend a very warm welcome and it was a pleasure to be at the first reading ceremony this afternoon for the mihi whakatau and to see those in the gallery there this afternoon.Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua have waited a long time to reach this point especially considering the delay in signing the deed of settlement once it was initialled in 2018. I will also just take a moment to acknowledge the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little the officials and the negotiators who have helped us reach this point.This bill gives effect to the deed of settlement signed on 29 October 2021 in which the Crown and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua agree to final settlement of the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims. Ngāti Kahungunu has a population of approximately 12000 people and consists of two of the six taiwhenua regions that make up the iwi. The Ngāti Kahungunu area of interest spans from in this case Cape Turnagain down to Cape Palliser and it comes to the wider Wairarapa and Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua regions.Following nine weeks of hearings between 20 March 2004 and March 2005 the Waitangi Tribunal released the Wairarapa ki Tararua report in June 2010 at Te Oriori Marae Masterton. Their report covered 28 claims filed by members of Ngāti Kahungunu and the Rangitāne hapū and other claimant groups. The inquiry district covered the south-eastern corner of the North Island inland to the Ruahine and Tararua ranges and northward to Southern Hawke's Bay. The claims investigated by the Waitangi Tribunal concerning Wairarapa ki Tararua covered the Crown's purchase of land—including land around Wairarapa Moana—and the compulsory acquisition of Māori land for public works. The grievances of Ngāti Kahungunu included the Crown's forced secession at Mangaroa and acquisition of vast lands throughout their rohe that left Ngāti Kahungunu virtually landless the loss and degradation of Wairarapa Moana the Crown's failure to protect Ngāti Kahungunu from the erosion of their tribal structures and the social deprivation and loss of te reo Māori that followed.Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua did not sign the Treaty of Waitangi. Nevertheless the Crown's undertaking to Māori in the Treaty applies to Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua. From the 1840s Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua welcomed settlers to Wairarapa and Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua and enjoyed wealth and benefits from rent and trade. In 1845 during the Crown's first encounter with Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua the Crown prejudged their guilt in a dispute with settlers and forced them to cede tens of thousands of acres at Mangaroa with threats of violence. During the late 1840s and early 1850s the Crown threatened to end Pākehā settlement in Wairarapa and Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua unless iwi sold their land on to the Crown and gave up the pastoral leases which were providing Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua with income and trade benefits while retaining ownership of the land.In June 1853 the chiefs and people of Ngāti Kahungunu signed the Castle Point deed their first land sale to the Crown. In August Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua met Governor George Grey for komiti nui a large meeting to hear of his plans for future land sales. They were led to believe that substantial educational health and economic benefits from settlement were the real payment for land sales. The Crown agreed to use some of the profits made from on-selling certain lands to provide a koha fund to be managed in committee with Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua to supplement some of these benefits. Immediately following the komiti nui the Crown purchased approximately 1.5 million acres—well over half of the traditional rohe of iwi. The Crown did not fulfil its obligations regarding the koha fund and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua received few of the benefits they had been led to expect.From 1866 the Native Land Court operated in Wairarapa and Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua determining the ownership of Māori land and converting customary title into title derived from the Crown a process that imposed a heavy cost on iwi. Until 1873 legislation limited the ownership of land blocks to 10 or fewer individuals. The individualised formal title granted by the Crown eroded tribal control and rendered the land vulnerable to fragmentation and sale. As a result large areas of this land under the Native Land Court title were purchased by the Crown and settlers. Iwi responded to extensive Crown purchasing and other grievances with staunch but peaceful resistance and tried to work with the Crown to address issues through kīngitanga kotahitanga the repudiation movement and direct engagement. Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua responded to extensive Crown purchasing and other grievances with staunch but peaceful resistance and tried to work with the Crown—as discussed. In this bill the Crown apologies to Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua for not honouring its obligations to respect the tino rangatiratanga of Ngāti Kahungunu through repeated breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles and for the damage caused to Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua. These include the forced cessation of tens of thousands of acres of land in 1845 Crown threats to end Pākehā settlement in Wairarapa and Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua the failure to protect Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua from becoming virtually landless not upholding the spirit of the agreement in 1896 and a failure to actively protect te reo Māori.The settlement package includes an agreed historical account Crown acknowledgments and apology cultural redress. The bill provides for the vesting of 27 Crown-owned sites in Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua. The fee simple estate of the Castlepoint Scenic Reserve will vest in the settlement trust on the first 16 March that falls after the settlement date. On the seventh day after vesting Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua will return the fee simple estate to the Crown as a gift to all New Zealanders. Four sites will be jointly vested in Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua and Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā Trust as shared redress. Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua will also receive financial redress of $115 million plus interest. There is an issue. It will need to be addressed at the Māori Affairs Committee and I would look forward to hearing submissions on that as one of the permanent members of that. The main value of Treaty settlements to our national life is they reorient the Crown-Māori relationship from a backward-looking historical focus to a future-facing focus. It was important that the way in which the Crown facilitates a settlement does not inflict new breaches and that the resultant settlement is durable. A key risk in this bill is that the Wairarapa Moana ki Pouākani Incorporation litigation in the courts and the Waitangi Tribunal would be brought to an end by this bill. There has been a clear recommendation from the Waitangi Tribunal that the settlement should not proceed at the present time and this does raise concerns as to Wairarapa Moana ki Pouākani's rights to due process before the courts and the durability of the settlement contained in this legislation. The Waitangi Tribunal indicated in early 2020 it was inclined to recommend the return of the land. However the Crown and Mercury challenged this in the courts. The Crown and Mercury had a measure of success in the High Court. Wairarapa Moana ki Pouākani Incorporation appealed the High Court decision and on an application by the incorporation the Supreme Court agreed to leapfrog the Court of Appeal and hear the appeal directly. That appeal was heard at the start of this year and is awaiting the delivery of a decision. In the lead-up to the appeal the Crown signed a deed of settlement with Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua Settlement Trust. This deed of settlement purports to settle the incorporation's Wai 85 claim. In the week before the Supreme Court heard the incorporation's appeal the Crown then introduced the legislation giving effect to this settlement. If passed the legislation would bring an end to the incorporation's application for the return of the land of Pouākani. The Supreme Court hearing went ahead despite the introduction of the settlement legislation.There have been a number or risks or issues that the Waitangi Tribunal observed also—that Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua Settlement Trust did not have a mandate to settle the incorporation's Wai 85 claim and a number of other issues that I look forward to hearing more about in the Māori Affairs Committee. This bill is completing a settlement process however for Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua which was begun under former Treaty negotiations Minister Christopher Finlayson and will help build a better future for iwi and future generations. Settlements recognise and right the wrongs of the past and strengthen the relationship between Crown and iwi. Settlements help iwi unlock economic potential and boost regional and provincial areas.