Speech notes for Minister for the Environment

Introduction
Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

• Welcome to Parliament on this important day. I am delighted to be here to represent the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, and to initial this Deed of Settlement with you, the representatives of the people of Ngati Porou.
• It is entirely appropriate that Sir Apirana Ngata is looking at us from the corner of this room. He’s a little like the Mona Lisa – wherever you are he looks as though he is eyeballing you. I believe he would have been well pleased with our efforts today.
• It is a special privilege to be here. One of my most enjoyable days during my 20 years as a MP was 11 years ago as Minister of Conservation and Associate Minister of Treaty Negotiations, in the rich and beautiful rohe of Ngati Porou to return the mountain of Hikurangi, and I pay my respects to your mountain today Api.
• Can I also note the sad passing of Dr Koro Dewes who was a key player in this process. Many who have carried the torch have now passed on and I want to acknowledge them today.

Acknowledging Ngati Porou

• Thank you to all those Ngati Porou who have gathered here today. We acknowledge your tupuna, and the weight of grievances they have carried since long before this process began. We celebrate and remember them with respect and with gratitude.
• We also wish to acknowledge Te Haeata, who have undertaken the crucial task of negotiating this claim for the people of Ngāti Porou with great commitment and determination. Minister Finlayson particularly wished to recognise the efforts of Dr Mahuika and Mr Rob McLeod, who have led the claim, but also to acknowledge the hard, day-to-day work of the other negotiators.
• A lot of negotiation and drafting has taken place since March, requiring many hours in the office and away from loved ones and whanau. Compromises have been made on both sides, to complete a settlement that reflects the aspirations of Ngāti Porou and the Crown’s commitment to a final and durable settlement of Ngati Porou’s historical claims.
• Ngati Porou have had to wait a long time for this day. You have suffered as a result of Crown-imposed reforms of Maori land tenure, which made it very difficult for you to use your land for economic benefit. While this settlement can never fully compensate for the loss and prejudice you and your tupuna have suffered, it represents our collective best efforts to remedy the wrongs of the past and to move forward together.

Acknowledging others 

• Minister Finlayson would like to take this opportunity to thank his predecessor, Dr Cullen, for his contribution to these negotiations in 2008, and to thank the Hon Paul Swain, Chief Crown negotiator since the start of 2009, for his contribution to the settlement.

Settlement redress

• The redress package that the Crown and Te Haeata have negotiated and agreed is comprehensive. It includes measures that are intended to restore your mana and to assist you in pursuing the Ngati Porou vision of sustaining Ngati Porou and Ngati Poroutanga into the future.
• The redress package also includes some innovative conservation and cultural redress which strengthens the Treaty partnership between Crown agencies and Ngati Porou.
• It is our sincere hope and belief that these provisions, among others, will assist you to enhance and sustain the people of Ngati Porou and Te Tairawhiti.

Finalising the settlement

• We commend the negotiation teams’ work in finalising a settlement package in just over two years. That achievement represents tenacity, and a dedication to settling claims in an open and transparent manner. Initialling a Deed of Settlement marks the point at which both sets of negotiators have reached the full form of a deal to settle the claims of a mandated group. I do not underestimate how challenging this process has been.
• With negotiations completed it’s now time for the people of Ngati Porou to decide if they support the settlement package and the post- settlement governance entity proposed to receive the settlement redress.
• We wish you all the best with this process. I understand text voting is going to be used for the first time in ratification. That is an innovative initiative for a youthful Ngati Porou population.
• We look forward to hearing of a favourable outcome so that we can honour and celebrate Ngati Porou’s history, present, and future at the signing of the Deed of Settlement.
• E hoa ma (friends), congratulations on this achievement. Together we can now turn our minds to the future and to a fundamental change in our relationship, for the benefit of Ngati Porou, the Crown, and all of New Zealand.
• Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.