Arahura Marae

Ko Aoraki te maunga
Ko Arahura te awa
Ko Ngāi Tahu te iwi

May I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand, in English, Māori, Cook Island Māori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language. Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the morning (Sign).

May I specifically greet you: Archdeacon Richard Rangi Wallace; Eli Weepu, Kaumatua; Tahana Tauwharo; Irene Royal; and Tui Cadigan; Your Worship, Maureen Pugh, Mayor of Westland District; Distinguished Guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen.

Thank you for welcoming me on to Arahura Pā, which I am advised is only pā of Ngāi Tahu from which the great maunga of Aoraki-Mt Cook can be seen-assuming it is not veiled in cloud.

On such a visit as this, my wife Susan would usually be with me, but she is in Wellington with our daughter Anya, whose partner recently gave birth to our first grand-daughter, Lola.  She is the second grandchild we have been blessed with in the space of six weeks-our other daughter Tara, who lives in London, gave birth to our first grandson, Joshua, in January.

Last year, 2008, marked ten years since the passage through Parliament on 28 September 1998 of the Ngāi Tahu Claim Settlement Act that was signed into law by the my predecessor, Rt Hon Sir Michael Hardie Boys.

Following the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu legislation signed into law by Her Majesty the Queen in 1995, it was the second major Treaty settlement.

Ngāi Tahu's achievement was marked by a reception in the Grand Hall of Parliament in Wellington earlier this month  and hosted by the Minister of Māori Affairs, Hon Pita Sharples.

The resolution of Ngāi Tahu's claim marked the end of a more than a century long battle.  It brought to an end the struggle for the rightful acknowledgement of Te Kerēme, the Ngāi Tahu Claim, and the breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi by the Crown.

In speaking at that gathering, Mark Solomon, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere, rightly noted:

"I could do this speech in one sentence because Ngāi Tahu have had a single vision that has driven the tribe for almost 100 years: Mō tātou, ā, mō ka uri a muri ake nei - for us and our children after us."

But as he added, while the Settlement was a goal, it was never the vision. It was merely a stepping stone that has allowed Ngāi Tahu to take a new path and forge a new future.

It has transformed Ngāi Tahu.  No longer is the tribe a people dispossessed in their own land.  It is the second largest landowner in the South Island and a vital part of the South Island economy.  It has also allowed the tribe to regenerate its culture and assist its people in health and education.
 
One part of the settlement, that seems appropriate to note here, was that the 1996 Deed of On-Account Settlement included an undertaking to return ownership of Pounamu to Ngāi Tahu.

This was given effect through the passing of the Ngāi Tahu (Pounamu Vesting) Act 1997 on 25 September 1997. This recognises that in selling land to the Crown, Ngāi Tahu never intended to give up ownership of the highly-prized Pounamu resource.

Pounamu, which can be found in plentiful supply in the rivers and streams of the West Coast,  has always been highly prized by all Māori as symbols of mana and chieftainship. Legend has it that when Ngāti Porou chief Hikitai flung a spear at Bay of Plenty chief Tamahae, that Tamahae taunted him because of his short stature.   Hikitai famously responded:

He iti rā, he iti māpihi pounamu which translates as: I may be small, but I am an ornament of greenstone.  

The return of the pounamu and its management to Ngāi Tahu symbolises its reclaiming its rightful place in the affairs of the South Island and New Zealand. 

And on that note, I will close in New Zealand's first language Māori, by offering everyone greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours.  No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.