Speech at Waitangi Day Otakou

Rahui Katene,

Ngai Tahu Treaty Festival

The kaupapa for this hui is absolutely perfect – kua takoto te manuka : take up the challenge.

And it brings into meaning the powerful symbolism inherent in our respect for the wero – the process by which a powerful challenge is laid down – usually in the form of a rakau – inviting manuhiri to respond – to indicate whether they come in peace or in war.

It is a theme so appropriate for this moment.

Every three years the challenge is laid down – and we have the opportunity to respond.

When I think of the challenge, I am of course talking about the Ngai Tahu Treaty Festival which occurs at Otakou marae every three years.

This festival, shared between the three marae that were signatories to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, is a fantastic opportunity for all of us to consider the place of the Treaty in our lives.

And I want to mihi to Tahu Potiki for the particular efforts you have made to ensure Te Tiriti speaks to the South as much as the North.

Your commitment towards sharing the legacy of your tupuna, the rangatira Karetai – one of the signatories of the Treaty – is invaluable.

And I have to say I was interested in your article in the Press earlier in the week, which retold the history around an incident at Otakou in the early 1830s. Under false pretences a local family, the Wellers, invited Karetai on board one of their vessels, and promptly set sail for Sydney, where he and his wife were detained illegally for over a year.

The supposed reason for the detainment was that the life of Karetai would be a sufficient ransom to ensure that peace would prevail if any Maori ever wanted to see them alive again.

It is a vivid tale of a relationship of tension, of conflict and of profound uncertainty.

Into these times then, the fact that our tupuna would willingly enter into a relationship with the Crown, to invest in the promise of participation, protection and partnership; is simply incredible.

They entered into a relationship, in which there was such uncertainty; the bringing together into a coalition of sorts; of what would have to be recognised as most unlikely partners.

Our tupuna did that – because they believed in the promise of our future. They had the spirit of optimism; they had the strength of mind to act in the collective good.

They took a risk; they backed themselves, they believed that they were acting in the very best interests of their mokopuna to come.

There are, of course, so many parallels that could be shared between their story and ours.

Every iwi that enters into a Treaty settlement with the Crown, takes the risk that they may encounter backlash and opposition along the way; but they also know that inaction is not an option

There is too much at stake to sit and wait, noho puku, for another day, another time, another Government.

Those of our people who negotiated Te Kereme, the Ngai Tahu Claim, were always mindful that through repeated breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi, Ngai Tahu had become an impoverished people and a virtually landless tribe.

And so Ngai Tahu took the case to courts – in 1868 – to seek a brighter future for their own.

It took 130 years, and a raft of Commissions of Inquiries, Tribunal reports, and negotiations before finally in 1998 the Ngai Tahu Claim Settlement Act came into being.

It reminds me of that saying by Confucius, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

One of my predecessors in the seat of Te Tai Tonga, Hori Kerei Taiaroa, spoke of the fragile nature of relationships negotiated in the name of the Treaty, in a speech he made in the House in 1878.

He said,

“These are the things which divide the Maoris from the Europeans. They feel that the promises made by the Europeans have not been fulfilled, while all that the Maori have promised has been fulfilled”.

And so today, at this Waitangi Day 2011, I remember all of those before us who have taken the first step, who have had the courage to persevere against all odds, to take a leap of faith in their aspirations for those who will descend after them.

We, in the Maori Party, have tried to learn from the legacy of those before us, as we consider the long term gain for our people, in the various developments we have been able to negotiate.

We think about the wellbeing of our families, through the investment in Whanau Ora or the support in place to become smokefree.

We have invested energy in encouraging Maori health innovation or in setting the context for breeding success in Maori business.

And we have done all that we can, to move the korero forwards, in repealing the foreshore and seabed bill and restoring access to the Courts.

Of course, it is always easier to focus on the wrong, than it is to find the right path forward – but we were up for the challenge.

We know too, it may well be a journey of a thousand miles, but we are not afraid to take the first step.

And just as every iwi who signs up to a settlement pathway knows their mokopuna will one day seek a more enduring solution, so too, we believe that any progress is only incremental – and there will always be another day.

We are determined to have the conversation, to work together, to invest in nationhood – that is what we believe the Treaty anticipated.

That is why we entered into a coalition – to work constructively for the best interests of our people, in this land we call home.

It is that conversation that I am so looking forward to having, in the months to come, as we begin the work associated with the Constitutional Review.

How do we build consensus; and make each and every day better for our children and our children’s children?

We will do all we can to take up the opportunity we have to make a difference – to pick up the challenge - kua takoto te manuka.

And we must do it together – you and I – mana whenua and local government – iwi and the Crown – Maori and Pakeha.

The question is – who of us here – is prepared to pick up the rakau?

Tena tatou katoa

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