Ngati Porou Settlement Bill
Ngati Porou Settlement
Bill
Mr Speaker I move that the Ngati
Porou Settlement Bill be read a third time
To
the sons and daughters of Porou Ariki Te Matatara a Whare Te
Tuhi Mareikura o Rauru, welcome.
From the resting place
of the sacred waka Nukutaimemeha atop the peaks of
Hikurangi, to the Waiapu waters at Rangitukia as it surges
into Te Moana Nui A Kiwa.
The first on earth to see the
dawn of a new day – since the dawn of time itself: Ngati
Porou mana whenua, mana moana, mana tangata, mana
Atua.
Ko Hikurangi te maunga, Ko Waiapu te awa, Ko Ngati
Porou te iwi
Mr Speaker.
The area of interest for
Ngāti Porou is on the East Coast of the North Island. One
of Aotearoa’s largest iwi with 72,000 members, the marae
of Porourangi are located around the East Cape from
Potikirua in the north to Te Toka a Taiau in the south,
covering 400,000 hectares.
The
historical grievances of Ngāti Porou relate primarily to
the Crown’s failure to honour its Treaty promise to
respect Ngāti Porou rangatiratanga over their own
affairs.
Ngāti Porou rangatira signed the Treaty of
Waitangi in 1840, and from then on sought to uphold the
Treaty as a matter of honour. However Crown actions soon
created some disillusionment among Ngāti Porou as to the
Crown’s commitment to the Treaty.
The Crown imposed
land tenure reform on Ngāti Porou which deprived iwi
members of collective control over their land, and made it
difficult to utilise their land for economic development
While it is not possible to fully compensate Ngāti
Porou, nor any claimant group, for the loss their people
have suffered, the redress in this bill seeks to recognise
the longstanding cultural and spiritual association that
Ngāti Porou have within the region. It gives effect to the
undertakings by the Crown in the Deed of Settlement by
offering reconciliation redress including an agreed
historical account, Crown acknowledgements and apology;
cultural redress that vests sites of cultural and historical
significance; and a number of arrangements designed to
facilitate good working relationships between Ngāti Porou
and the Crown.
The financial, commercial and cultural
redress of the settlement totals $110 million. This
comprises $90 million in financial and commercial redress,
$20 million in cultural and historical redress, and redress
over Crown properties including licensed forest land
I am
confident that the Ngāti Porou Claims Settlement Bill will
settle the claims of Ngāti Porou in a full and final
matter, and set the foundation for a productive future
relationship with the Crown.
The Crown apologises to
Ngāti Porou for past dealings that breached the Crown’s
obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi. These include the
detention without trial of some Ngāti Porou on the Chatham
Islands, the Crown’s abuse at times of its monopoly powers
to purchase Ngāti Porou land, and the Crown’s failure in
a number of ways to respect Ngāti Porou rangatiratanga in
the administration of their own land.
This settlement
will see the creation of a strategic partnership arrangement
where the Crown and Ngāti Porou jointly develop a separate
section of the East Coast Bay of Plenty Conservation
Management Strategy to be known as Ngā Whakahaere
Takirua mö Ngā Paanga Whenua o Ngāti Porou. This
arrangement will provide Ngāti Porou with input into the
strategic governance of specified public conservation lands
within the Ngāti Porou area of interest.
Fifteen sites
of cultural and historical significance will be vested in
Ngāti Porou, totalling approximately 5,898 hectares. These
sites are currently administered by the Department of
Conservation except for one site, Taitai (170 hectares),
which is Crown forest land administered by Land Information
New Zealand.
The Crown also recognises that Ngāti Porou
have a proud record of military service overseas in New
Zealand’s defence. The New Zealand Defence Force and
Ngāti Porou seek to affirm their relationship through the
naming of officer entry scholarships, and higher defence
training programmes that are awarded to people of Ngāti
Porou descent. The naming will be subject to the
recipient’s approval.
As we prepare to settle the
Treaty of Waitangi claims of the descendents of Porourangi,
it is fitting to honour those who are not here in body but
who no doubt are here in the hearts and minds of their
people and whose spirit lives on in the words of this
historic settlement.
Mr Speaker we pay tribute to:
Mate Kaiwai , Dr Te Kapunga Koro Dewes, Dame Katarina
Mataira , Dr Paratene Ngata, Sir Henare Kohere Ngata,
Merekaraka Ngarimu, Anaru Paenga, Hopa Keelan, Waho Tibble,
Wi Kuki Kaa, Martin Kingi, Jules Ferris, Honore Chesley,
Tame Te Maro and Whaia McClutchie.
Mr Speaker, Ngati
Porou mana whenua, mana moana, mana tangata, mana Atua.
I commend this Bill to the House.