Ka timu te tai, ka pari te tai ki Takaparawhau, e tū whakahī ana. Ōrākei! Tūkuna rā tō karanga kia areare mai ngā taringa, kia hiki i te wairua. Ōrākei! He tohu maumahara ki ngā whawhai o ō koutou nā kuia koroua i tū pakari ai mō te iwi. Ka kore e warewaretia.

Mr Speaker.

As the waters ebb and flow against Takaparawhau, I recall the kuia and koroua of Ōrākei.

I recall their long, heartbreaking battles for their people.

Today, their determination, conviction and mana brings their children to New Zealand’s House of Representatives.

Haruru mai ana a Tumutumuwhenua i ngā moemoeā o āna uri. Tū tonu mai rā koe hei whakaruruhau mō ngā tamariki mokopuna o Tūperiri, arā, ko Te Taoū, ko Ngā Oho, ko Te Uringutu hoki.

Mr Speaker.

I am pleased to see the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Claims Settlement Bill back before the House for consideration and ready to progress through another key parliamentary stage.

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei have demonstrated great patience and leadership since their Agreement in Principle was signed with the Crown in June two thousand and six. Negotiations were suspended after a Waitangi Tribunal inquiry found other mana whenua interests in the Tāmaki Makaurau rohe. Subsequently the Crown sought to settle these claims collectively, simultaneously offering redress to all mana whenua iwi and ensuring transparency of commercial redress value.

I was honoured to sign the collective settlement deed for Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makarau a few weeks back alongside Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei rangatira. Their spirit of whanaungatanga and rangatiratanga has guided us all, their perseverance and patience enabled the resolution of claims across Tāmaki Makaurau.

It is worthwhile addressing the case of three point two hectares of land at Narrow Neck on the North Shore, included as commercial redress in this bill. This land will be leased back to the New Zealand Defence Force for fifteen years with a right of renewal of up to one hundred and fifty years.

The thing is, in spite of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust guaranteeing permanent public access to these three point two hectares – some residents remained uncompromising and in my view, unreasonable.

Mr Speaker.

My response is one of simple mathematics.

Three point two hectares of land returned.

Thirty one thousand, five hundred and sixty five hectares of land lost.

I would like to repeat those numbers:

Thirty one thousand, five hundred and sixty five hectares of land lost.

Three point two hectares of land returned.

This unimaginable loss of land and economic wellbeing have been etched upon generations of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and defined in the lives of their families.

All those things lost due to the actions of the Crown can never be totally replaced.

And yet the people of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei wish to settle their grievances with the Crown.

Today’s bill includes commercial redress comprising a quantum of eighteen million dollars, plus interest, less on-account payment for two million dollars received through the railways settlement in nineteen ninety three.

It includes the return of Pourewa Creek, the last remaining piece of undeveloped Crown-owned land that was once part of the seven hundred acre Ōrākei Block.

Mr Speaker.

When the great rangatira Te Kawau alikened the coming of the Treaty of Waitangi as a great wind from the North, his prophecy of massive change was, as we know, fulfilled.

As with the rest of Aotearoa, the world changed for Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei after eighteen forty.

However the aspirations of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei?

Those have never changed.

Those aspirations were the same in eighteen forty when Te Kawau signed the Treaty.

Those aspirations were the same in nineteen seventy seven when whānau bravely confirmed their mana whenua by reoccupying Takaparawhau in what would become a defining moment in the history of Aotearoa.

These aspirations were the same in nineteen eighty seven when they lodged one of the first historical claims to be heard by the Waitangi Tribunal.

Those aspirations are the same as those held today.

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei seek the right to take ownership of their own destiny, to determine their own economic and social wellbeing.

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei seek the right to uphold their mana motuhake, to exercise their own rangatiratanga.

Mr Speaker.

Yesterday marked six years to the day since the passing of Ōrākei rangatira, academic and iconic New Zealander, Sir Hugh Kawharu.

Part of Sir Hugh’s incredible legacy to us all, lies in the bill that is before us today.

In an interview before his passing he said and I quote:

“We have a beautiful city, a dynamic history, a shared future. Once we have moved from the Agreement in Principle and hopefully to the Deed of Settlement, we can put the grievances of the past behind us and all look positively forward.”

“I do urge all people to read the Agreed Historical Account as knowledge of the past adds richness to our lives.”

“I also want our people to understand more about our history, our customs and our language as we are tangata whenua and will be for generations to come.”

And with those wise words, Mr Speaker, I fully support the second reading of this Bill as amended by the Māori Affairs Committee and its quick progression to enactment.

Mr Speaker, I look forward to this bill proceeding to the Committee stage without delay.