Address at Tuhoe Deed of Settlement Signing ceremony

Tuhoe whenua

Tuhoe mana
Tuhoe iwi

Nau mai, haere mai!

Kua tatu, kua tatu, kua tatu tenei wahanga o nga mahi
Na koutou te kaha
Na koutou te maia
Na koutou te manawanui i roto i nga tau

Kei te rangatira, Tamati
Tena koe te kaiarahi o tenei mahi nui
Nau nga kaupapa i hora
Nau nga take i kokiri
Ko koe te ringa ngawari, te ngakau mahaki
Kei te mihi, kei te mihi, kei te mihi te Karauna me te motu ki a koe me to iwi.

Nau mai, haere mai!

Tuhoe land
Tuhoe mana
Tuhoe people

Come hither, welcome !

Its completed, its completed,  this part of the task is completed
(It has been) through your determination,
(It has been ) through your courage.
(It has been) through your forbearance in the years gone by

To you the respected one, Tamati
The guide of this mammoth task
It was you who communicated these matters
It was you who lead the negotiations
You the gentle hand, you the humble one
We salute, we salute, we the Crown and the country salute you and your people.

Come hither, welcome !

I want to begin by acknowledging the memory of two people, recently deceased, who longed for this day. The first is well-known to you all. Dame Judith Binney, the author of Redemption Songs and Encircled Lands. She will be remembered for the important part she played in writing the history of Ngāi Tuhoe and her staunch advocacy for the iwi over many years. She worked to see the history of our country through Māori eyes, to hear it as expressed through kōrero and waiata, to read its traces in whakairo, wharenui and landscapes. Her contribution to Ngāi Tuhoe and New Zealand is immeasurable.

The second is former High Court Judge Sir Rodney Gallen. Knowing his deep and abiding affection for Ngāi Tuhoe, I consulted him on the Crown’s negotiations on a number of occasions. Prior to his appointment as a judge, he had been for many years the solicitor of the Waikaremoana Trust Board. I know how much he felt for you and desired to see a just and durable settlement of your grievances. At our last meeting in January 2012, Sir Rodney said to me that, at its heart, a settlement is not a complicated matter. You admit the Crown made mistakes, you admit the Crown did wrong and then you go as far as you can to rectify what happened. On this very special day, I want to pay tribute to this genial and quietly spoken man who served Ngāi Tuhoe and New Zealand with distinction.

Some weeks ago, the Crown and Ngāi Tuhoe met in the Grand Hall of Parliament to initial the deed of settlement which has now been ratified by you, the members of Ngāi Tuhoe. When it was my turn to speak, I said I wasn’t particularly interested in giving a teary speech outlining the litany of things that had gone wrong between the Crown and Ngāi Tuhoe over the years. I said I was more interested in focussing on the future with a steely determination. You know your history and little is to be gained on an occasion such as this by going through that history in any great detail.

Rather, I want to focus on the future. What we have negotiated is not just an historical account of what happened in the past together with an apology and compensation. It is also a forward-looking arrangement which has the potential to produce very positive results for both parties. In a very real sense, this is not an end, it is a beginning. No-one here is starry-eyed. We all know that there have been issues over the years. But equally we know that, if both parties work hard on the relationship, really good things will happen.

I want to say something about the redress over Te Urewera. It is both novel and exciting. When the legislation is enacted, Te Urewera will have its own legal identity and will be administered by a board made up of Ngāi Tuhoe and Crown representatives. After an initial period, the majority of the board will be Ngāi Tuhoe. This is as it should be. For too long the people of Ngāi Tuhoe have been locked out of any substantive say in the affairs of Te Urewera. This has been unfair, particularly when one looks at a map of Te Urewera and sees the extent of privately-owned Māori land within the area. This arrangement rectifies a huge historical wrong.

There are some who fear that access for the ordinary tramper will somehow be impeded. These fears are misplaced. Public access will only be enhanced in the future. Ngāi Tuhoe has always welcomed people to Te Urewera. Far from causing anxiety, the new arrangements should be a cause for celebration.

The second forward-looking aspect of the deed of settlement is the social agreement. Government agencies are already working with Ngai Tuhoe on an agreed set of actions. For example:

• The Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment is assisting Tuhoe to meet housing needs in Te Urewera;
• The Ministry of Health is working with Tuhoe to improve the delivery of primary care services;
• The Ministry of Education is helping Tuhoe develop a long-term education strategy underpinned by a Tuhoe philosophy;
• Child, Youth and Family is working with Tuhoe to achieve the goal of “no Tuhoe tamariki in CYFS care”

One of the goals of the social agreement is to build Ngai Tuhoe’s capability to manage your own affairs as much as possible, while improving the Crown’s delivery of services in Te Urewera.

We all know there is much to be done. In a sense, it has already started through many of Ngāi Tuhoe’s own initiatives. But there is much more to be done and much can be achieved with the Crown and its agencies working closely with Ngāi Tuhoe.

This afternoon, we of course must acknowledge past problems. We forget them at our peril. But let us focus on the future. It is an exciting future for Ngāi Tuhoe and New Zealand. In the end, that is what a Treaty settlement is all about.

Finally, I want to say something about those who have worked so hard to reach this point.

On Ngāi Tuhoe’s side I particularly acknowledge Tamati Kruger and Kirsty Luke. These two are outstanding servants of Ngāi Tuhoe. At all times they have known what they wanted to achieve and how to get there. Their contribution has been enormous. On the day we initialled the Deed, Tamati resigned as chief negotiator. He said his job was done and now it was for the iwi to decide its future. This you have done in overwhelming numbers.

On the Crown’s side, so many people have worked hard to achieve this settlement. I am the spokesperson for the Crown but I am only one of a large team. This settlement would not have been possible were it not for the steadfast support of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Hon Gerry Brownlee and both present and former Ministers of Conservation. Former Prime Minister Jim Bolger has been a tremendous source of support and guidance. I particularly want to thank Dr John Wood, my Chief Crown Negotiator, who has brought all his considerable diplomatic skills to this particular negotiation. I want to express my thanks and admiration for the efforts of Kevin Kelly and his team at the Office of Treaty Settlements. In particular, Lil Anderson, Clinton Geeves, Rachel Houlbrooke and the rest of the Tuhoe team. What can one say? They are simply outstanding.

On 2 July 2011, I signed a relationship agreement with Ngāi Tuhoe a Ruatahuna. It acknowledged that Tuhoe’s past relationship with the Crown had been grievous and filled with pain. Some hopeful and genuine attempts to improve it occurred in past but they swirled and faded away like the mists of Te Urewera. But then it said: “Now, however, Tuhoe and the Crown have committed themselves to achieving a just and honourable redress for the manifold wrongs inflicted on Tuhoe over centuries and many generations… we resolve to walk and work together for our mutual honour, dignity, advantage and progress.”

Almost two years on, we can say we have worked together in that spirit and achieved a just and a durable settlement. Much has been achieved in those two years; much is yet to be done. I can do no better than to finish in the words of the agreement we signed at Ruatahuna on that chilly Saturday morning in 2011:

E waiho ana ēnei kupu hai tohu mō tātau ki tētahi tatau pounamu
E tūtakina atu ai e ia o ā namata whakakitena mai,
E tuwhera mai anō ai hoki ia ki nā kawena mai o ā muri nei.

Let these words guide our way to a greenstone door which looks back on the past and closes it, which looks forward to the future and opens it.

No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.