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Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): I move, That the Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill be now read a third time.

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi o Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika, he rā nui, he rā tino whakahirahira tēnei. Kei te mihi atu ki a koutou i runga i te aroha me te harikoa, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[To the authorities, languages, and people of Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika, this is a great and magnificent day. I greet you with affection and happiness; greetings, greetings, and greetings to you all.]

I acknowledge those iwi who form Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika: Te Ātiawa, Taranaki, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Tama, and other iwi from the Taranaki region. I welcome those who have travelled from Taranaki and throughout the Wellington region and are here in the gallery today to listen to this third reading.

This bill is the final settlement of all the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims of those represented by the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust. They are claims that relate to the Port Nicholson Block, which lies within the Wellington and Hutt Valley areas. The bill gives effect to certain provisions of the deed of settlement that settles the historical claims of Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika in the Port Nicholson Block.
 
 
Part 1 Purpose of Act, interpretation, settlement of historical claims, and miscellaneous matters

Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): I take a preliminary call to address the report of the Māori Affairs Committee on the Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill, and to thank its members again for their work. In particular, I will address the part of the report that is headed “Ngāti Tama opt-out clause”. I particularly want to refer to clause 8(1), where there has been an amendment. Clause 8(1) states: “This section is subject to clause 8.2.3 of the deed of settlement as at the date of the deed of settlement.”
 
 
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): I move, That the Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time. I am pleased to move the second reading motion. This bill is an important achievement for those Wellington iwi who are part of the Taranaki Whānui collective. It is important for the Crown and it is important for the people of Wellington.

The bill gives effect to certain provisions of the deed of settlement that settles the historic claims of the collective in what is known as the Port Nicholson Block.