Hon Tariana Turia

Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector - on behalf of the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations
Tuesday 19 October 2010; 7.30pm

Speech

Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare Claims Settlement Bill

E ngā pae māunga o Tawhiuau rāua ko Tūwatawata, tēnei te maunga o Tongariro e tūohu nei.

E ngā awa ō Rangitaiki rāua ko Whirinaki, tēnei te awa o Whanganui e rere hūmarie nei. Ko au ko te awa, ko te awa ko au.

Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Whare, kei te mihi, kei te mihi, kei te mihi.

Mr Speaker, I move that the Ngāti Manawa and Ngāti Whare Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time.

Mr Speaker, at the appropriate time, I intend to move that • the Bill be considered by the Mäori Affairs Committee, • that the Committee report finally to the House on or before 31 March 2011 and • that the Committee have the authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting, except during oral questions, and during the evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House, and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House, and outside the Wellington area • despite Standing Orders 187, 189(a), and 190(1)(b) and (c).

Mr Speaker, I am proud to acknowledge the inherent connection we have as uri of Ngati Apa, to the people of Ngati Manawa, through our ancestor Apa-hapai-taketake.

In fact, if we were going to Murupara today, we would be welcomed into the meeting house which takes its name, Apa-Hapai-Take-Take, from our eponymous tupuna.

It is with much sorrow that I remember my last visit to that meeting house, was to honour the memory of a man who truly invested his last breath in the legislation which we debate tonight. In thinking about Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare one can not go past the memory of Bill Bird and his absolute dedication to the settlement of these claims.

One can never dispute the absolute commitment of this rangatira to the people of Ngati Manawa and we must view this legislation as part of the enduring legacy he gifted to the whanau, hapu and iwi.

The legislation brings together the claims of Ngāti Manawa alongside of Ngati Whare – the two iwi sharing close bonds of whakapapa and the experience of a historical context laid out in the legislation under their name.

The claims of Ngati Manawa relate primarily to • the consequences of their loyalty to the Crown during the New Zealand wars, • the Crown actions and omissions in respect of the operation and impact of the Native Land laws, • the Crown’s land-purchasing techniques particularly in respect of land Ngāti Manawa wished to retain and • twentieth century development of land, rivers and forests.

The legislation travels then from inland Bay of Plenty, from the lands of Murupara and the Kaingaroa Plains; to the tribal base of Ngati Whare, located around Minginui, the Whirinaki Forest Park and the Whirinaki Crown Forestry Licenced land.

The claims of Ngati Whare relate primarily to • the Crown’s actions during the 1860s wars, • the impact of the Native Land Court and subsequent land alienation, • the Urewera District Native Reserves Act 1896, • Crown corporatisation, • cessation of indigenous forest logging and • the return of Minginui Village without providing Ngäti Whare sufficient resources to bring village infrastructure up to government standards.

There is, of course, a devastating history under each of these events which is known only to the people of Ngati Whare and Ngati Manawa.

But this legislation starts the process of healing the grief of these shared histories.

It responds to the impact of the several wars that were fought between the Crown and other Māori in the Eastern Bay of Plenty between 1865 and 1872 that this Bill acknowledges had a prejudicial effect on Ngāti Manawa.

And through the passage of this Bill, we recognise the history in which the Crown has denied to Ngāti Manawa their capacity to uphold te mana o te awa and mana whakahaere over the Rangitaiki and Wheao Rivers and that it has failed to respect, provide for and protect the special relationship of Ngāti Manawa with the Rangitaiki River and its tributaries.

The Bill is a crucial step in acknowledging the deep regret of the Crown for the loss of lives, destruction, and harm inflicted on Ngāti Whare during and after its 1896 attack on Te Harema pa and significantly – for the Crown to unreservedly apologise to Ngāti Whare for its actions.

The Bill also provides an important acknowledgement that the Crown regrets that Ngāti Whare have borne the stigma of being labelled rebels.

How then, to advance to a position, in which the historical account, Crown acknowledgements and apology accorded to both Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare shape out a new future for their peoples?

The Bill gives effect to a cultural redress package designed around Ngāti Manawa’s aspirations.

Its aim is to reinvigorate the relationship between Ngāti Manawa and sites of significance in their rohe and includes:

• the transfer and gifting back of Ngāti Manawa’s sacred maunga, Tawhiuau, and a classification, to be known as Ahikaaroa, that will recognise their sacred association with Tāwhiuau;

• the vesting in fee simple of 17 sites of significance;

• identification markers for 27 pou rāhui sites setting out the traditional boundaries of Ngāti Manawa; and

• a Special Projects Fund of $2.6 million, to assist Ngāti Manawa in undertaking various projects for cultural revitalisation.

For Ngati Whare, this Bill sets out a:

• cultural redress package designed to acknowledge the Whirinaki Te Pua a Tane Conservation Park as a special place to both Ngäti Whare, as kaitiaki, and Aotearoa as a whole;

• the designation of a new name for the park - , “Whirinaki Te Pua a Tane” to express “Whirinaki: the bounty of Tane”;

• the provision of a co-governance role for the Whirinaki Te Pua a Tane Conservation Park between Ngāti Whare and the East Coast Bay of Plenty Conservation Board;

• the establishment of a joint Crown/Ngāti Whare Trust for the purposes of regenerating the native forests destroyed over the last century by logging;

• the gifting of 609.4 ha of land within the Whirinaki Crown Forest land to kickstart the regeneration project; and

• funding totalling $1 million for the purposes of managing the regeneration project.

But what is really significant about this Bill, is that there is also the opportunity for shared redress for both Ngāti Whare and Ngāti Manawa, including:

• joint vesting of three sites of cultural and spiritual significance to Ngāti Manawa and Ngāti Whare; and

• the creation of the Rangitaiki River Forum made up of equal iwi and elected council representatives to protect and enhance the health and wellbeing of the Rangitaiki River catchment.

The Rangitaiki River and its tributaries (the Whirinaki, Horomanga and Wheao) are synonymous with Ngāti Manawa and Ngāti Whare. This shared redress sets the benchmark for future relationships between iwi, the Crown and local authorities and is a welcome initiative.

Mr Speaker Treaty settlements are always fraught with conflict; and distinguished by the memory of all of those who have fallen in the name of pursuing their claims, on behalf of the future generations. This Bill is no different.

But in giving effect to the deeds of settlement where the Crown and Ngāti Whare and Ngati Manawa agree to final settlement of their historical claims, including a Crown apology, this Bill also provides a pathway forward; a pathway in pursuit of the aspirations of their mokopuna.

I commend this Bill to the House.

ENDS

© Scoop Media