Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa chairman Eru's Georges speech acknowledging transfer of Affiliate Te Arawa Iwi and Hapu settlement assets.

Date: July 2, 2009
Location Owhata Marae, Rotorua

It is a pleasure to be here today, and to be able to speak on behalf of the affiliate iwi and hapu members on this a very significant day for our people, and all New Zealanders.

Today marks the culmination of many years of commitment and dedication by many of our people.

It marks the conclusion of a process that has spanned generations of our tupuna who committed their lives to righting the wrongs and seeking resolution for injustices perpetuated on our people.

It was a quest driven by the very real needs that the communities of these men and women faced. For the reminders of that injustice were manifest in so many ways in the worlds of those who began, and those who continued, the process to seek the return of all that was lost.

It was manifest in the stranger that Te Arawa had become to the very landmarks and taonga that were at the heart of our being.
To the loss of the whenua that sustained every aspect of our people - culturally, spiritually, and economically.

It was manifest in the deprivation and the marginalisation that afflicted and has continued to affect the once strong and always proud Te Arawa people.

It is this suffering which has been at the heart of what has been in many cases a lifelong commitment to seek the return of that which was taken.

It is crucial for me to acknowledge the essence and heart of what has always been the focus of the settlement process.
It is not one driven by self-interest or a desire to take away from those with who we now share our communities.
It is a process based on justice and fairness, and doing the right thing, key tenets crucial to the health of the society and world that we all share.

The settlement process is not one which allows real compensation for the losses endured by our affiliate iwi and hapu.
For there is not the means, nor the Crown will, to compensate for the many lives that have been severely affected as a result of the cultural, social and economic losses endured through colonisation.
For the lives lost, the families and communities dispersed, for the despair that falls on a people when it has been stripped of the very things essential to its wellbeing.

Te Arawa are a resilient people. And we have remained strong through this period. We have committed to make the most of what we have, and what we had retained. All the while key people sought to have the wrongs of the past righted.

And it was a burden embraced by many. Bolstered by the korero and guidance of tupuna, who themselves had taken up the mantle.

Today is a day of celebration, for the quest for justice and compensation is now at an end. It is also a day of acknowledgement and remembrance of the many who have not lived to savour the results of their labours.

There are too many to name today, to too many to thank. However my gratitude to them all is immense.

And it is in acknowledging the immense sacrifice and commitment made by so many that must and will continue to guide our focus as we move beyond grievance, to one of embracing an exciting vibrant future.

Strong leadership, governance and management will continue as the guiding themes as we move ahead.
It is these concepts that will ensure there remains a strong base to support the cultural, social and economic aspirations of our people now and into the future.

From today Te Arawa can focus on growing the wealth and wellbeing of our people. We can do so now with some resources to add substance to our aspirations.

And, of course, there is much to do..

Te Arawa are fortunate to have the example of other iwi to guide our development post-settlement. We have learned from the mistakes and the successes of those who have come before us, to guide us as we strive to maximise the assets we have worked so hard to have returned. To manage and engage the appropriate environmental practices to maintain and protect our much loved and revered taonga, our mountains, our rivers, our lakes.

Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa, who are elected by our iwi and hapu members, have been given a very clear direction around how best to manage the assets and resources of our people.
And this will continue. It will be a guiding principle of Te Arawa Group Holdings which has been created to protect and grow tribal assets.

For they must grow. Because the needs of our people are substantial. More substantial than the resources we have had returned.

But it is a start. And with wise and reasoned decision-making we will begin to make a difference to those most in need among our own.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge those who have sat across the table as negotiations have progressed. The Crown representatives whose job it was to negotiate through the Te Arawa settlement process. And to thank the many others who worked alongside the process, smoothing its progress and ultimate conclusion.

To the Minister of Treaty Settlements, Hon Chris Finlayson, his predecessor Dr Michael Cullen, to Peter Galvin and your team at the Office of Treaty Settlements, it has been a lengthy and occasionally colourful process to achieve this outcome.
Sometimes there were hard looks and hard words, and other times laughter. But there was always a resolve to find a way forward. It has required compromise, often from our people.

I would also like to thank former Minister of Maori Affairs Parekura Horomia, who was instrumental in assisting with a number of aspects of the settlement.
I send a plea to the Minister of Maori Affairs, Dr Pita Sharples, to use his influence for his personnel at Te Puni Kokiri to complete the transfer of Whakarewarewa Thermal Springs Reserve and Roto-a-Tamaheke. We negotiated the return of these iconic sites in good faith. The delay in delivering on its promise calls into question the progress made to restore honour to the Crown. There is no honour in a promise unfulfilled.

I would like to thank all those involved, and to encourage you all to join us in the celebration of today.
For there is much to celebrate, and acknowledge.

The settlement of Te Arawa claims provides momentum to all in our community. It acknowledges the injustices of the past, and provides some momentum to providing the means for Te Arawa to assist our own.

And in this we all benefit.

And finally I would like to give thanks and pay tribute to the many thousands of iwi and hapu members who continued to be the bedrock of support to allow our negotiation team to continue their mahi to reach today’s conclusion.

It has been a journey that has traversed the generations, and I am proud to be here today to receive the return of our taonga on behalf of our people and our tupuna.

ENDS

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