Hon Christopher Finlayson

Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations) : Ngāti Apa rohe, Ngāti Apa tangata, ngā kanohi o te maunga tūpuna i a Pārae Kāratu, ngā uri o ngā hapū o ngā wai rongonui, mai i Rangitīkei ki Ngā Wairiki, rau rangatira mā, tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou i tēnei rā nui, rā tino whakahirahira. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

I tēnei wā, e whakaaro anō mō te hunga kua mene atu ki te pō. E ngā mate, moe mai, moe mai, moe mai rā.

[To the region and people of Ngāti Apa, to the representatives of the ancestral mountain Pārae Kāratu, descendants of the subtribes of the renowned waters, from Rangitīkei to Ngā Wairiki, and indeed to the many chiefs, I acknowledge you on this great day of real significance. Greetings to you, greetings to you, and greetings to you all.

My thoughts at this moment are with those who have passed away. Rest, sleep, and slumber on. ]

I welcome Ngāti Apa representatives who have joined us today for this historic occasion. Just in case some of them were wondering why I had sloped off out of the House instead of listening to the speech of my parliamentary friend and colleague Tariana Turia, I say that I did so because an odd rule of this place requires that the Minister in charge of the bill cannot be present in the House in those circumstances. That is why I had to listen to her speech in the lobby—but I was certainly listening.

The grievances of Ngāti Apa in the North Island are significant and longstanding. The Ngāti Apa (North Island) Claims Settlement Bill recognises and addresses those grievances. The bill settles all of the historic Treaty of Waitangi claims of North Island Ngāti Apa. The iwi’s area of interest extends from the north of Foxton up to the south of Wanganui, and runs east from the coast, up past Hunterville. The historical grievances of the iwi relate primarily to the Crown’s purchase in 1849 of the 260,000-acre Rangitīkei-Turakina block, including the subsequent failure to adequately protect approximately 35,000 acres of reserve land set aside from this transaction. Their claims also relate to the operation and impact of native land laws, which contributed to the erosion of traditional tribal structures and resulted in the gradual alienation of nearly all remaining North Island Ngāti Apa land.

Ngāti Apa have travelled a long road to have their claims addressed by the Crown. The Crown recognised the mandate of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Apa in November 2004, and negotiations on the settlement package began with the signing of the terms of negotiation in July 2005. An agreement in principle was signed on 12 July 2007, followed by an initial deed of settlement in September 2008. During September and October last year, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Apa undertook a ratification process for the deed of settlement and proposed a post-governance entity. Thirty-five percent of the registered adult members of North Island Ngāti Apa voted on the deed of settlement and proposed governance arrangements. Of those, 97 percent voted in favour of accepting both the deed of settlement and the proposed governance arrangements. The Crown and North Island Ngāti Apa subsequently signed a deed of settlement on 8 October 2008. I want to acknowledge the efforts of previous Ministers, including the previous speaker, Mita Ririnui, in getting to that very happy state.

Settling the North Island Ngāti Apa claims is an important further step in this country’s progress towards settling all historical Treaty claims. The bill gives effect to the undertakings by the Crown on the deed of settlement, and includes an agreed historical account, Crown acknowledgments and apology, commercial and financial redress totalling $16 million, and a right to purchase approximately 6,500 hectares of Crown forest licensed land and certain other Crown-owned properties and assets. It also includes a cultural redress package designed around the aspirations of North Island Ngāti Apa, as articulated by Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Apa during negotiations. It focuses on cultural revitalisation and cultural reconnection.

Key components of the package are unique to the settlement and include cultural revitalisation in respect of the gifting of five papakāinga properties and the provision of funding to develop and implement a strategy for revitalising tikanga, funding to assist in compiling a comprehensive historical record, and cultural reconnection in respect of the transfer of 12 sites of significance, of which nine are public conservation land with public access and third-party rights protected for all but two sites. It also includes other cultural redress instruments over Crown-owned land and relationship agreements with certain agencies.

Although it is not possible to fully compensate Ngāti Apa nor any claimant group for the loss their people have suffered, the cultural redress in this bill seeks to recognise Ngāti Apa’s longstanding cultural and spiritual association in the region. I am confident that the bill will settle Ngāti Apa’s claims in a full and final manner, it having taken into account all of their grievances and the rights of all New Zealanders.

I want to acknowledge the Ngāti Apa people who suffered the breaches of the Treaty and who carried the grievances. I particularly want to acknowledge those who are no longer with us. Ngāti Apa is historically well known for visionary leadership, and today’s leadership has sought to restore iwi unity and prestige.

I wish to acknowledge Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Apa, including the members of the negotiating team. I agreed with the previous speaker who, in a very gracious and generous speech, described them as a young team, and indeed they are a young and dynamic team with great futures. Their dedication and determination on behalf of Ngāti Apa have been vital in the path towards achieving settlement.

I also want to thank other Ministers in departments involved in this settlement. A number of people from across the political spectrum have made important contributions to this settlement, over the years. The introduction of this bill begins the last stage of the settlement process, which seeks to recognise what is important to the people of Ngāti Apa and to provide redress for historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. It is one of the many settlements this Government is progressing towards its goal of settling historical Treaty claims justly and durably by 2014. I very much look forward to the bill returning from the select committee so that we can pass it as quickly as possible.