From the sands of Papakanui and Muriwai in the west to the waters of upper Waitematā in the east.
To the sons and daughters of Haranui, Reweti, Kakanui, Araparera and Puatahi marae.
The descendents of Ngāti Whātua, Te Taoū, Ngāti Rongo, Ngāti Hine.
Nau mai, haere mai.

Whaia te Kotahitanga o Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara.
Seek to unite the people of Kaipara.

Mr Speaker.

These simple, yet profound words were a constant touchstone for the impressive claims negotiators at the helm of a journey that today brings Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara to the New Zealand House of Representatives.

I stand to pay tribute to those who began this journey but who now live on in the memories and lives of their children and descendents. Importantly, in coming months, these visionaries will also live on in the laws of this nation.

Moe mai rā e ngā rangatira, moe mai rā.

Mr Speaker.

The Crown’s alienation of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara lands began one hundred and sixty eight years ago and have been carried by generations of families.

It began in eighteen forty four with the Crown’s takeover of large tracts of lands bordering the upper Waitematā. The government’s pervasive and unrelenting land buying policies meant that by eighteen sixty eight the mana whenua of south Kaipara had lost two hundred and eighty one thousand acres of land. The Native Land Court fragmented and alienated lands further by awarding title to individuals rather than iwi and hapū.

Mr Speaker, by nineteen hundred, and within a single generation:

Ngāti Whātua had lost ninety per cent of lands in southern Kaipara.

This unprecedented loss of land has forever shaped the lives of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara people.

Without the land and resources to take ownership of their own destiny, Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara’s right to determine their own economic and social wellbeing was denied.

Mr Speaker, this land loss also meant the right of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara to uphold their own mana motuhake, to exercise their own rangatiratanga, was denied.

I stand to acknowledge Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara whose tenacity and leadership will soon see settlement for the hapū and marae of southern Kaipara. I commend the trustees of the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Kōmiti and the Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara Development Trust for their passion and commitment. They have shown incredible leadership by working alongside other iwi and hapū of Kaipara, Tāmaki Makaurau and Hauraki.

I was honoured to sign the collective settlement deed for Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makarau a few weeks back alongside Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara representatives. The spirit of whanaungatanga and rangatiratanga demonstrated by Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara has enabled the resolution of claims across the Tāmaki Makaurau region.

Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara and the Crown negotiated an Agreement in Principle which was signed on the twenty second of December two thousand and nine. A Deed of Settlement was initialled in June two thousand and eleven, and ratified by the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara community with a signing on the ninth of September two thousand and eleven.

A post-settlement governance entity to receive and manage settlement assets was launched in April two thousand and eleven, from that time the mandate to negotiate the claims of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, passed from the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Kōmiti to the trustees of the Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara Development Trust.

The support of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara people for the settlement negotiated on their behalf is clear. Two ratification processes held in August two thousand and ten and August two thousand and eleven returned approval rates of ninety six and ninety two per cent respectively.

As part of this acknowledgement, nine reserves and conservation sites of significance will be transferred to Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara as cultural redress. These sites include:

• Atuanui Scenic Reserve
• Mairetahi Landing
• Mauiniu Island
• Moturemu Island
• Tīpare
• Makarau
• Makarau Bridge Reserve
• Parakai; and
• Ten Acre Block Recreation Reserve