Thursday 01 March 2007

Hone Harawira: Te Roroa Claims Settlement Bill

Hei timatanga, anei tëtahi korero no Maori Marsden:

Tu mai Tane Mahuta, tu mai koe
No nehera ano koe
Te uri whakahirahira
No tua whakarere iho koe
Korerotia mai nga taonga nga whakatapuranga i piki ai koutou
Ki te teiteitanga o te rangi hei whakaruruhau mo te ngahere e

Stand tall, Tane Mahuta, stand tall as you have done for aeons of time
For you are the impressive descendant from the beginning of Aotearoa
Tell us of the treasures and the blessing upon you all
Why you climbed up high to the sky to shelter the forest

Mr Speaker, in the heart of the Waipoua stands Tane Mahuta, ‘Lord of the Forest’, the largest remaining kauri tree in all of Aotearoa.

At 52 metres high, and 1200 years old, this forest giant holds huge spiritual significance for the people of Te Roroa, Ngati Kawa, Ngati Whui and Te Kuihi – nga uri o Manumanu me Rangitauwawaro – me mihi au ki a koutou e te whanau kua haere tawhiti mai, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

E oku whanaunga, I greet you in this time of change, this time of possibilities, but also a time when this House needs to be reminded of the historical destruction of Te Roroa’s economic base, the denial of your access to your traditional mahinga kai, and the threat to your spiritual connection to the Waipoua itself.

I greet you also with the words of Judge Acheson, who said in 1942: 'The circumstances of this case … cry aloud for redress for the Natives. The reserves are theirs and should be returned to them, no matter what cost to the Crown this may involve.' and I ask Mr Speaker how it can be that it took 65 years for this matter to come before the House, or indeed, as Georgina Te Heuheu pointed out, 165 years, since Te Roroa first laid complaint with the authorities about breaches of the Treaty?

Mr Speaker, as with all other settlements which the Crown insists be concluded for less than 3% of the claim value, this House is again bearing witness to a people of deep history and connection to the land, being asked to accept an imposed settlement.

And I remind the House that the Waitangi Tribunal found clearly that the Crown used unfair methods to purchase Te Roroa lands; that the Crown failed to make proper provision for native reserves; and that the Crown persisted – as it has in every other Treaty settlement – in ignoring the true depth and breadth of Te Roroa's grievances.

The Tribunal in 1992 recommended that all Crown purchases of the Maunganui, Waipoua, Waimamaku, and Wairau lands be returned to Te Roroa, but we see that today’s Bill delivers considerably less, effectively leaving Te Roroa virtually landless.

The Tribunal report also recognised the massive impact of the alienation of Te Roroa from their lands, and how much this has hindered their economic, social and cultural development, and I draw the Houses attention to the lengthy and decidedly criminal separation of Te Roroa from those lands, and those places, and those practices, which sustained them over the centuries.

And I refer here to places like Manuwhetai, Whangaiariki, Maunganui Bluff, Kawerua, Waipoua, Kaharau, Taraire, Taharoa and Kaiiwi, some of the primary 'cultural and tribal markers' of Te Roroa, those places wherein lie the history, the honour, the wellbeing, and indeed the future of Te Roroa.

And along with my whanaunga, I too mourn the alienation and outright loss of many of those vital heritage areas through land theft, improper land sales, legislative acquisition, settlement, local body development, expensive beachfront housing subdivision, exotic forestry, and private farmland.

But worse than this loss of land Mr Speaker has been the fate of human remains and sacred objects acquired by private collectors and museums, for voyeuristic and commercial exploitation.

The handling and mishandling, studying and probing, dissection and division by scientists, archaeologists, doctors, lawyers, anthropologists and other raiders of the lost ark – those acts which we associate with the name Te Roroa-o-nga-aureretanga o Te Roroa – the continuous crying of Te Roroa.

Mr Speaker, the Maori Party recognises:
the history of violation of Te Roroa’s taonga through the actions, and lack of action, of the Crown;
and the denial to the people of Te Roroa, of the benefits of development enjoyed by other New Zealanders.

And we recognise also the fact that if an unfair settlement is imposed in 2007, it will surely be revisited by future generations.

We commend the strength, the commitment and the courage of the people of Te Roroa in pursuing justice, but we recognise also a negotiations process drafted by the Crown, based on false faith and double talk, a negotiations process which masquerades as being ‘fair and reasonable in the circumstances’ but which in fact is anything but, and an empty insistence by the Crown that all settlements be full and final – an insistence which will haunt this Chamber, long after it is cleared.

And in this seeming end-game Mr Speaker, I raise one outstanding issue - the Crown's continued refusal to properly deal with the area known as Kaharau, a burning issue that succeeding generations will surely continue to pursue until a proper resolution has been reached.

When the Government’s draughtsman originally drew up sale plans in 1875, without even going to Waimamaku, and without any discussion whatsoever with local rangatira, two blocks, Kaharau and Taraire were not set aside as reserves, and were included in sale arrangements, without the approval of Te Roroa and contrary to their wishes.

Indeed plans submitted to the Native land Court by the Government Surveyor clearly show both Taraire and Kaharau to be outside the area of land for sale, and yet, with all that information, and evidence from experts both Maori and Pakeha, here we are, 132 years later, with government still refusing to provide redress for the theft of Kaharau.

In light of all this Mr Speaker, I regret to remind this House that an apology and the return of less than 3% of the claim value, pepper-potted throughout the tribal homeland will simply not suffice.

I don’t expect Te Roroa to put off current arrangements in pursuit of a more just settlement. Te Roroa have waited long enough.

Mr Speaker, at the first hearing of this claim, the late Maori Marsden said: “We the living are the ... 'Whatu-ora', the living seeing eyes of our sleeping ancestors. We are the 'tukutukunga-iho' literally, those that 'follow on'.”

The Maori Party recognises the courage, the commitment, the advocacy, the dedication, and sheer bloody-minded determination of the whanau who have been in negotiation for the last fifteen years, since the findings of the Waitangi Tribunal in 1992.

The Maori Party stands alongside Te Roroa in watching over the process of the legislation being tabled today, as we will also stand alongside those who follow on, those who will follow this process until justice has finally been done.

Ends

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