Ngati Mutunga

Te Ururoa Flavell, Mema Paremata mo te Waiariki

Ra Apa 27 Hongoingoi 2006

E te whare tena tatau.

Ngati Mutunga, koutou i haramai i te hauäuru, koutou i haramai i raro o te tihi o te maunga Taranaki, tena koutou. Haere mai e te raukura i titiia ki nga hau o Taranaki. Haere mai Tokomaru. Haere mai e te hunga i rongo nei i te raupatu me te muru o te whenua.

Haere mai ki te whare, nana koutou i tukino, nana, na ona ture koutou i patu. Kua hikoi mai koutou ki nga kuaha, ki nga pakitara o te whare nei, ahakoa kua rongo koutou i te makariri o te ringa o te tangata nei o te Karauna. Nau mai, haere mai ki te rua o te taniwha.

Tena koutou i a ratau i para nei i te ara mo tenei ra, ratau kua haere ake ki tua o te aria, haere nga mate, haere koutou ki tua o te pae o maumahara, kua oti.

E hoa ma, anei tatau o te whare e whakawhitiwhiti korero nei, e whakawä ana i tenei o nga pire.

E whakawä ana matou mena kua ea nga nama ki a koutou o Ngati Mutunga, i runga i te tika me te pono, me kii ko nga mamae o nga mahi a pokokohua me ona käwai uri, a tähae, a whanako, a kohuru, a mürere, a küare, a whakaiti, a patu tangata, a patu mahara, a patu mauri.

No reira, Ngati Mutunga ahakoa kua ea te wahanga ki era i uhia i te kakahu pütiotio a te kuia nei a mate i nga tau, ki a matau o te Paati Maori, kare ano kia ea te wahanga ki nga uri whakatipu.

Kia mohio mai koutou anei te ahuatanga ki a matou o te Paati Maori. I te tuatahi, ko ta matou e kii nei, e tika ana ma tena iwi, ma tena hapu ia e korero, e whakarite, e whai i ona ake huarahi, ko nga huarahi e tika ana mona. Koia ra te tikanga o te tino rangatiratanga e korerotia ana, e waiatatia ana i runga i o tatou marae.

Ko te mate ke i tenei take a koutou, otira a iwi ke ano hoki, ki te whakaae matou kia riro ma te whanako ano te whanako, e whakawa, e whakarite i tona ake nama ki te hunga i rongo nei i te hara, me tana kii mai, “aroha mai, anei nga kongakonga o taku tepu ”, ko te ngakau kei te kii, kaore tera i te tika. Koira te mutunga mai o te he.

Kaore matau o te Paati Maori i te whakapono, kei te tika nga mahi a te Karauna, kore, kore, kore rawa matau e whakaae.

E kii, e kii. Na wai i kii, ma te tähae tonu e whakatau ko te wäriu o te whenua i whanakohia e ia. Na wai i kii ma tähae e tohu, ko tëhea o nga rawa ka whakahokia mai e ia?

Ara ano te korero “he kitenga kanohi, ka hoki nga mahara”.

Kei te maumahara matau Ngati Mutunga, i te köhurutanga o a koutou tupuna e te Karauna. Kua tuhia ki roto i nga korero o te motu. I timata mai ai nga pakanga i te wa i paku mai nga pu o nga kaipuke i waho ake o Waitara. Ko te tangata tona kai.

Nawai ra, ko te katoa o Taranaki i rongo i te ngau o te ture, ara ko te muru me te raupatu. Kei te mohio tonu au, kei te rongo tonu a Taranaki i te mamae, e te ahuatanga o te raupatu, e kore e taea karo.

I te mauheretia o koutou whanaunga, mo te aha?

Ko to ratau hara, he whawhai kia kore ai a whanako e mahi i ana mahi, kia kore ai o ratau whenua e riro ki a tähae. Koira anake to koutou hara.

Ka hoki nga whakaaro ki a ratau ma, ko o ratau pona kei muri i nga taringa. Ko ratou i mauheretia i Otakou, i Wharekauri ranei, nga wahine i tukinohia e nga hoia o te Kawana. Me pehea e taea ai te whakamaamaa i te ngau o era tü momo mahi, ko te tükino tangata. E kore e taea e te moni, e kore e taea e te kupu korero, e kore e taea e te tuohu o te mahunga.

Ara ano te korero, “ma te wa a te mamae e whakaora, e whakamama”.

E kare ma, e kore e taea mena ka patua te kino ki tetahi kino ano. Koia nei te mahi o te Karauna i te ra nei.

I tenei rangi kei te aroha atu matau ki a koutou, kei te taumaha te ngakau.

He aha te rongoä hei panipani hei whakaora i era tü momo taumahatanga. Anei pea etahi whakaaro.

Kohia nga korero i körerotia e koutou, pänuitia i roto i nga pukapuka, tohatohaina ki nga marae me nga kura o Taranaki kia kitea mai ai e te katoa o nga reanga whakatipu, anei ke nga korero a Ngati Mutunga.

Tuarua, e kii mai ana te ngarara, ka mutu nga take katoa e paa ana ki nga kereme na tenei Pire. Ko ta te Karauna, kaore he hokinga tuarua mai. E hoa ma, penei i tera waiata rongonui, ko ta matou o te Paati Maori e kii nei:

“Hoki mai e Mutunga ki roto ki roto i nga Ringa e tuwhera atu nei…”

Kii atu ki a koutou tamariki ki te hoki mai ki te whare nei, patoto ki te kuaha, ahakoa ko wai te hunga o roto. Tera pea, he paraoa nui nei kei te tepu a taua wa.

Hei ta tetahi korero o Mokomoko o te Whakatohea: nana te ki:

“Tangohia te taura i taku kaki, kia waiata au i taku waiata”.

Ki taku mohio he momo taura ano kei o koutou kaki, he pene i te ringa. Kei te ringa o te Karauna ko te taura, ka tana mahi ko te kukume mai, hei mirimiri i te kaki.

Kei te pai, hoki mai, tangihia te taura, kia waiata ano koutou i o koutou waiata, kia poi atu ano koutou i o koutou poi, kia rongo ano te motu i te paopao mai o te taramu.

Na kia tahuri tatau ki nga korero a te Kawana i tera tau ara, i te ra toru tekau ma whitu o Höngongoi i te marae o Urenui.

E ai ki taku rongo, i reira i puta nga korero mo Pömare raua ko Te Rangihiroa, nga uri o Ngati Mutunga, ko a raua whakaähua kei te pakitara i waho ake i o matau tari.

Ko te tangi tonu te ngakau ki a raua i mua i taku taenga mai ki te korero i tenei wa, he tangi aroha, he mamae, he pöuri nei.

Kei konei a Tariana, to koutou mema paremata o te Hauauru, e tangi nei, a kei te maarama koutou ki tona ahua, me nga take kua kokirihia e ia.

Ko tana he tü pakari, he tautoko, he whawhai, he akiaki i te käwana, kia tika, kia pono nga mahi a pokokohua ma, ahakoa te uauatanga o era mahi.

Kei te möhio koutou ki tona tü i Pakaitore i roto o Whanganui, tona tü hoki i te wa i murua e tenei Kawana, i te taku tai moana i te tau rua mano ma wha.

Ko te ahua nei i whakaae ake koutou i aua mahi a Tariana na te mea na koutou ia i tautoko kia uru mai ano ia ki roto i te ana o nga raiona - na reira Ngati Mutunga, tena koutou.

Me kii kei te hari koa a whanako i tenei rangi.

Ko ta te Minita i Urenui i tera tau he mihi atu ki a koutou mo o koutou whakaaro rangatira. “Mo Aotearoa whanui te painga” e ai ki tana.

Mo Aotearoa whanui te painga, i whiwhi i a koutou ko te tekau ma rima miriona taara kia ea ai te nama mo nga mahi nanakia engari ko tona tikanga, ara noa atu te utu.

Mo Aotearoa whanui te painga, ahakoa nana koutou i kohuru i nga rau tau ki muri, tae noa mai ki ënei rangi. Kei te kohuru tonutia a tatou tamariki, matua e nga ture o te Kawanatanga.

Ara ano to koutou korero:

He honore, he kororia,

He maungarongo ki runga i te mata o te whenua

He whakaaro pai ki nga tangata katoa

Ko tau, he aroha ki te iwi. Ko ta te Karauna, he whakaaro mona ake, he matapiko.

Na reira kei te aroha ake.

Heoi ano, Ngati Mutunga, tena koutou, tena koutou i kaha nei ki te kokiri i to koutou tono ki a whanako, ara ki te Karauna kia taea ai e koutou te whai te huarahi ki te paerangi.

Kia mohio mai koutou ka noho wahangu matou. Ko ta matau ke - he tü toka, he akiaki i te Karauna kia whakatikatika i nga tikanga a tono ki a ia, kia mahi rangatira ia, kia ea ai ona nama.

Ko te mate, kei te mohio matou, i te mutunga kei a nanakia te korero whakamutunga.

Ko ia kei te kii, me penei, me pera. Ko ia kei te kii, anei nga taonga ka whakahokia, ko nga rawa hoki ka tohatohaina atu ki a koutou.

Tona whakahihi!!!

E te karauna, ara ano te korero, “E kore te uku e piri ki te rino, ka whitingia e te ra, ka ngahoro”.

Kei te tika tera korero i tenei ra. Kaua e pohehe kua ea katoa i tenei ra. He ra ano apopo.

Na reira, Ngati Mutunga, kei te tangi, kei te tangi matau, kia kaha, kia maia, Na reira, huri noa i te whare, tena tatau.

Ngati Mutunga Claims Settlement Bill

Te Ururoa Flavell, Member of Parliament for Waiariki

Ngati Mutunga, you who have come from the west, you who have come from beneath the crest of Taranaki, greetings.

Welcome the raukura, the feather of peace which has blown throughout Taranaki. Welcome Tokomaru. Welcome you who have suffered at the hands of confiscation and loss of lands.

Welcome to this house, which is the place responsible for your downfall, whose laws were used to silence you.

You have come to the door, to the walls of this house, even though you have felt the cold hand of this person, the Crown. Welcome, welcome to the lair of the taniwha.

Welcome as you bring with you those who set the scene, those who have passed on beyond the veil.

They have been farewelled and mourned, mucus and tears have flowed, so that we can say, let them rest in peace.

Greetings.

Friends, here we are in the House exchanging thoughts, examining this Bill.

We are considering whether the debts owed to you, Ngati Mutunga, have been settled in a fair and honest manner. That is to say, let the pain of those whose heads should roll, and their descendants, namely, greed, thief, murderer, traitor, ignorant, belittler, destroyer of people, of mind and of spirit.

Ngati Mutunga, although it has been settled with those who were covered in the prickly cloak of death in years gone by, to us, the Maori Party, the debt has not been settled with this generation.

You should know, this is what we of the Maori Party believe.

Firstly, we say it is appropriate that each iwi, each hapu, speaks for itself, organises itself, and follows its own path, paths that it sets for itself.

That is, the expression of tino rangatiratanga that we speak about and we sing about on our marae.

The problem is with this issue of yours, and indeed other iwi, if we leave it for the thief to judge the thief, to determine its debt to those who suffered by their actions, although he may say “I’m sorry, these are the crumbs at my table, it is all that I have” the heart says, this is not correct.

This is the ultimate crime.

We of the Maori Party do not believe that the Crown is behaving honourably, never, never, never will we agree.

How dare they!

Who said, it is for the thief to determine the value of the land that he stole?

Who said it is appropriate for the thief to determine which of the resources will be returned?

If indeed we were the thiefs, we would be incarcerated.

There is another saying that says

“Seeing the faces stimulates the memory”.

We remember Ngati Mutunga, we remember the murder of your people by the Crown.

It has been written in the history. The battles begun at the time of the firing of the canyons out of Waitara.

People were the cost.

And so, it was all of Taranaki was to feel the gnashing of the law.

I know, Taranaki still grieves. The grief will be eternal. It cannot be removed.

Your relatives were incarcerated for what gain?

Their crime was to oppose the Crown so that the thief would not steal.

That was your solitary crime. Our thoughts go back today, to those who have passed on, whose knees are behind their ears.

Those that were incarcerated at Otago or the Chatham Islands. The women who were raped by the soldiers of the Crown. How can you possibly lighten the pain of those actions?

Neither money nor apology or the bowing of the head will ever erase from the memory the scars of that time.

There is another saying, ‘time will heal all pain’.

Friends - this is not possible if you layer one injustice upon another.

This is what the Crown is doing today.

Today we grieve with you. Our spirits weep, our hearts are heavy.

What remedy do we have to smooth over and heal such deep wounds?

Here are some thoughts.

Gather your stories. Publish them. Distribute them to the marae and schools of Taranaki so that the coming generations can see that these are the truths of Ngati Mutunga.

Secondly, the Crown says, this is a full and final settlement.

According to the Crown there is no return.

Friends, just like that famous song, we of the Maori Party say, “Return, o Mutunga, welcome back to our open hands”.

Say to your children to come back to this House, knock on the door, no matter who resides within.

Perhaps there will be a bigger loaf on the table.

According to a statement from Mokomoko of Whakatohea, when he said “take the rope from my neck, so that I can sing my song”, I believe there is a type of rope, also, around your neck.

The Crown has its hands on the rope. His actions are to tug at the rope, to give you a reminder.

It’s ok. Come back, take off the rope so that you may sing your song; so that you can swing again your poi; so that the nation can again hear the beat of the drums.

Let us now turn to the statement by the Crown last year on the month of July at Urenui Marae.

According to what I heard, there were related tales about Maui Pomare and Sir Peter Buck, the descendants of Ngati Mutunga, whose pictures adorn the walls outside our offices.

I grieved for them before arriving to speak at the House at this time.

I grieve.

Tariana, your Member of Parliament, grieves with me.

And it goes without saying, that you know the type of person that she is. And the issues that she has addressed.

Despite the difficulties, her position has always been one of strength, of supporting, of battling, and of raising the issues with the Government so that those whose heads should roll, should act honourably and with integrity.

You know of her actions at Pakaitore within Whanganui. And the actions she took at the time of the passing of the Foreshore and Seabed legislation in 2004.

It would appear that you agreed with her actions as you elected her back into Parliament. Ngati Mutunga, we salute you.

Let us say, the thief is indeed celebrating today. At Urenui last year, the Minister praised you for your generosity.

This is for the benefits of which were bestowed upon according to him, the benefits were for all New Zealanders.

It was for the benefit of all New Zealanders that you accepted only eleven million dollars to repay the debt, however we know, that the value of your losses were greater.

It was for the benefit of all New Zealanders, even though it was he who inflicted the suffering from that period of one hundred years ago, to the present.

There is another saying, honour and glory, peace throughout the land, goodwill to all people.

Yours was generosity to the nation.

The Crown’s response was mean-spirited.

So we lament for you.

However, Ngati Mutunga, we congratulate you for your strength in advocating with the Thief, that is the Crown, so that you can forge the path to the future.

You need to know that three of us will not be voting, and one will be supporting you.

We will stay silent and we weep.

What we will do ours will be to continue to challenge the Crown to improve the processes, to act honourably, to pay their debt.

The problem is that we know in the end, they have the final say. He will determine what will be.

He will determine what resources will be returned and distributed.

How arrogant.

To the Crown, there is another saying, clay will not stick to iron, when the sun shines it will dry and fall away.

Given today, how prophetic. Do not be misled that all will be settled today.

Ngati Mutunga, we the servants of the people, we the Members of the Maori Party, mourn with you.

We wish you peace on your journey home today.

ENDS

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