Hon Dr Pita Sharples
Minister of Māori Affairs
24 July 2014
Third Reading: Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective Redress Bill
Parliament House, Wellington
Tāmaki herenga waka
Tāmaki whai rawa
Tāmaki pai
Tāmaki-makau-rau
Ko ngā kurī purepure o Tāmaki e kore e ngaro i te pō....
It is with immense pleasure that I welcome for the last time into this House, the kāhui rangatira of Tāmaki-makau-rau.
Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki
Ngāti Maru
Ngāti Paoa
Ngāti Tamaoho
Ngāti Tamatera
Ngāti Te Ata
Ngāti Whanaunga
Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara
Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei
Te Ākitai Wai-o-hua
Te Kawerau-a-maki
Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua
Te Patukirikiri
Tēnā tātou.
Each of you, are representatives of a metropolis of 1.5 million people, where just over a third of this nation’s people
reside.
Within your boundaries live almost a quarter of all Māori people; the highest number of Pacific peoples in world; and
the highest number of migrant people to our country.
Within a 20 km radius of the central city alone – there are 48 tūpuna maunga.
They remain the most distinctive landscape features of Tāmaki Makaurau.
They are the markers for the most visible evidence of original Māori settlement reaching back to the 17th century.
Like all our landforms, 14 of these maunga and four motu in the surrounding waters are a source of great symbolic and
spiritual importance.
And that is why we are here today, joined by our rangatira who have forged this momentous and innovative settlement.
It is a victory for pragmatic thinking and creative solutions.
It is a victory for partnerships and building a positive future.
It is a victory for recognising the rights and responsibilities of mana whenua to fulfil their role as kaitiaki of these
sacred sites.
Above all, it is a victory for Tāmaki Makaurau and all the people who call it home.
Mount Eden, Mount Roskill, Mount Wellington, Mount Richmond, Mount Pigeon, Mount St John!
One could be forgiven for thinking they had landed in the UK or the USA, and not here in Aotearoa New Zealand!
Now our greatest city and its citizens can claim the more eloquent and meaningful names befitting its great landmarks.
Maungakiekie; Maungaika; Maungawhau; Puketāpapa/Pukewīwī; Te Kōpuke; Maungarei; Takarunga; Ōtahuhu; Te Pane o Mataoho;
Te Ara Pueru; Ōhuiarangi; Ōhinerau; Te Tātua a Riukiuta; Rarotonga; and Matukutūruru,.
Rangitoto; Motutapu; Motuihe; and Tiritiri Mātangi.
The story behind each name is a legacy for teaching our children about the ancestral places around them.
The maunga and motu are no longer just inanimate hills, bumps and islands.
They take on human forms and experiences; they tell of taniwha; patupaiarehe; great leaders and lovers; and battles won
and lost.
They speak to accounts of great atua; powerful tohunga; and moana and ngāhere teaming with plant, sea and bird life.
Every conceivable subject and experience is captured in the original names of the sites covered by this settlement.
Thanks to Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau, we have retrieved and reclaimed the whakapapa that so rightly belongs to
this rohe.
We thank you for being the catalyst and driver of this claim; and for the foresight and diligence applied to negotiating
the settlement.
We acknowledge your goodwill and generosity – both enduring hallmarks of your contribution to the settlement process.
Firstly, your goodwill and generosity to receive the redress collectively.
Secondly, the goodwill and generosity extended to other parties to this settlement – the .Crown; Auckland City Council;
and the Department of Conservation.
Ngati Whātua rōpu. . Marutūāhu rōpu. Waiohua rōpu.
It is to you that we look for continued guidance and leadership regarding the management, care and administration of
these maunga and motu.
In your very capable hands, we restore and return responsibility for the future development of this city and its sacred
sites.
You are the game changers.
You lead the way.
You show the valuable contribution mana whenua can make to the future governance and development of our towns and
cities.
Mr Speaker, this week a number of iwi, and hapū are settling their grievances with the Crown.
It is right that we remember all the rangatira no longer with us, who led many these claims.
We should remember those who did not get to see the void filled by the final reading of this Bill.
There are too many to name; but they live on in their descendants here today.
They live on in the fine, proud and enduring legacy bestowed by this legislation.
Accordingly Mr Speaker, I commend the Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective Redress Bill to the House.
ENDS