Hon Christopher Finlayson

CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (National) : Mr Deputy Speaker, may I begin my third reading speech on the Te Roroa Claims Settlement Bill by wishing you all the best. I was very interested in all of your speech last night, but particularly in the part about your youth spent growing up in this area, the rohe of Te Rōroa. I thank you for your friendship and guidance over the years, and I wish you all the best.

National will support the third reading of this bill, which has had a somewhat difficult legislative history. It was introduced on 14 February 2007, and had its first reading on 1 March 2007. The Māori Affairs Committee hearing was held in Dargaville shortly before Easter last year. The bill was reported back in May 2007, had its second reading on 20 June 2007, and thereafter it languished for quite some time, before the Committee stage was completed a few days ago. Now we are at the third reading.

The select committee hearings in Dargaville will stay with me for some time. Many of the members who sat on the select committee were a little uneasy after the hearing, and thought that something was not quite right. We expressed our concerns, but we are now satisfied that our concerns have been addressed as a result of movement over the last little period. That movement, which was referred to by the Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, involves components that do not form part of the Treaty settlement and do not necessitate an amendment to the bill. We are now aware of those components and happy with them. The acceptance by Te Rōroa has meant the Committee stage and third reading of the bill can now proceed. We were not consulted on these matters. We have had to make our own inquiries, and that is all part of the game, I suppose. It would have been helpful to be consulted, especially as we take the view that Treaty settlements should not be a matter of partisan discord. But having made those inquiries and heard what the Associate Minister told us in the Committee stage, we believe it is right and proper to support the third reading of this bill.

We know that some residual differences may remain. To ignore them would be naive, but it is my earnest hope that those differences will now disappear, and that before long the good people of Te Rōroa will move forward as one. I strongly believe it is in the interests of Te Rōroa that this bill now proceeds to a third reading.

These settlement bills and tribunal reports always make very interesting reading, and the preamble to this bill tells a very, very sad story. The Minister referred to the fact that the claim to the Waitangi Tribunal was Wai 38. I recall, because it is etched in my brain, that Wai 27 was the Ngāi Tahu claim, and that was settled a decade ago. This one, as the Minister said, was reported on in May 1992, and it has been around for a long time. It was a very early claim. The tribunal’s report was quite devastating. As the Minister said, there has now been a great deal of negotiation on the claim, involving the previous National Government and, particularly, Sir Douglas Graham, and the three Ministers in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations in this Government. The National Party endorses what the Minister said, and says the time has come for this iwi to have the fruits of its settlement and move on. We believe this is a good settlement, and it is in the interests of the iwi that the third reading if this bill takes place.

I offer my congratulations to all those in Te Rōroa who have fought the good fight over so many years. The Minister has referred to some of them, and I join with him in congratulating them, and also their advisers, on the good work that has been done to bring this bill to the third reading stage. As I said, National supports the third reading of this bill, and the National Party looks forward to a good, ongoing relationship with Te Rōroa in the years to come.