Speech: Flavell - Port Nicholson Block Settlement
te-pati-maori
Wed Aug 12 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Speech: Flavell - Port Nicholson Block Settlement
Wednesday, 12 August 2009, 9:50 am
Press Release: The Maori Party
Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill
Third Reading; 30 July 2009
Te Ururoa Flavell, Maori Party-Member for Waiariki
Kia ora huihui tātou katoa e te iwi. E te raukura haramai e te raukura haramai. Me pēnei rawa te kōrero. Tēnei te ara kai runga, ko te aro o tēnei tipua, ko te aro o tēnei ariki, ko te aro o tēnei matua iwi, ko te aro o Ranginui e tū nei o Papatūānuku e takoto nei. Kia rarau iho rā tapuwae o Tāne tēnei te pō nau mai te ao. Tēnei te pōuri o te ngākau pēnei ana tā koutou haramai ki te rongo i ngā kōrero a te Karauna i kī ana, āe, āe i mahi au i taku mahi. Tēnei te ao e kōrerohia ake nei, ko koutou tēnei kua tatū mai ngā uri o rātou mā e te iwi, e te raukura tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.
E pai tonu te kōrero a te mema a Mita Ririnui i te ahiahi nei, e te tuakana tēnā koe, i whakarite nei kia kōrero Māori anake i te ahiahi nei. Ko te mate o te Whare Pāremata kei aku rangatira, ko te tikanga o te Whare Pāremata, ka kōrero Māori mō te wā poto kātahi ka whakapākehāhia. Kua āhua noho tapepe te kōrero. Arā, nā Mita tērā i whakatika i te ahiahi nei, kia reo Māori mai te tīmatanga ki te mutunga, ā, ko au tēnei te uri o te waka a Te Arawa ka whai i tana tauira.
He pai tonu taku tū atu ki mua i a koutou i te mea ko hau tēnei he taokete nō roto i a koutou. Ko taku hoa rangatira nō roto o Taranaki tūturu ake, nō Te Pūniho, nō Parihaka, nō Ngāti Ruanui, anā, ko te toto o aku tamariki he wāhanga ki a Te Arawa, he wāhanga anō rā ki a Taranaki. Nō reira me pēnei ake pea te kōrero, ka waiho ake tēnei hei tāhuhu kōrero mō te āhuatanga o waku kauhau, taku kauhau ki a koutou i te ahiahi nei.
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I kī ana te kōrero a te waiata, titiro titiro ki te maunga tītōhea runga o Parihaka, Wai-te-toroa, Ngāti Moeahu, Ngāti Haupoto ko te tākiritanga i te kahu o Wikitōria, kaitoa, kaitoa. Ko Tohu ko Te Whiti ngā manu e rua i patu te hoariri ki te rangimārie, kss auē, kss auē. Ahakoa te pahūtanga o Parihaka uē uē uē hā! Ko te tūmanako i oti pai tērā momo karakia tērā momo waiata tērā momo kōrero i te mea, arā noa atu ngā kōrero o roto i tērā ngeri me kī tērā waiata.
Kei mua koutou i te kahu o Wikitōria, kei mua koutou i te kahu o Wikitōria. Ko tae mai te āhuatanga o te raukura ko Te Whiti tērā, ko Tohu Kākahi tērā. E kare mā he wiki nui tēnei. Āe, ko te Wiki o te Reo Māori; āe i tēnei wiki i kōrerohia te āhuatanga o te pire mō Matariki, kia noho a Matariki hei rā whakanui mō te motu, ko ētahi kei te whakaae, ko ētahi kāore anō kia areare mai ngā taringa ki te kōrero.
I te tīmatanga o te wiki nei i whakanuia te āhuatanga o Kāterina Heikōkō Mataira mō te āhuatanga o tana matatau ki te āhuatanga o tō tātou reo; i te ahiahi nei i runga i ngā pikinga ki te Whare Pāremata i tae mai ngā tamariki nohinohi nei ki te kī ki te motu me mutu i te āhuatanga i te patu i te tamariki. He aha te āhuatanga ki runga o Parihaka, patua te hoariri ki te rangimārie. Nō reira ko koutou tēnei kua tatū mai, e whai tonu ēnei i te wairua o tērā waihotanga mai.
Koinei te aroha atu ki tā koutou haerenga mai. Ko te nuinga o ngā whakataunga kerēme ka riro mā te Karauna e muru i āna hara, e kī atu āe, engari nā runga i tā koutou whakaaetanga ko koutou tēnei e kī ana kāti, kua are mai ngā taringa ki wā koutou kōrero, kei te pai, kei te pai, kei te pai. Me waiho mā te rangimārie tāua e tūhonohono, ko koutou tēnei e whai nei i tēnā tauira, koinei te aroha atu ki a koutou katoa. Tēnā koutou, haramai.
Kua kōrerohia te āhuatanga o ngā mate mō te rua tekau mā rua aha rānei ngā tau kua roa koutou e tatari ana. E hia kē nei te hunga kua ngaro atu i roto i te āhuatanga o te raukura. Kawea mai te āhuatanga o ngā mate huhua o te wā kei aku rangatira, kia arare mai ngā taringa o ngā mema o te Whare Pāremata i te wairua o tēnei rangi. I te wā i noho au i waenganui i a koutou o roto o Taranaki i raro i te maunga tītōhea i pātai au i te pātai ki au anō, me pēhea e taea ai e wai rānei te rongo i te mamae o te muru me te raupatu mēnā karekau ō whenua, mēnā kua murua tērā whenua i raro i ō waewae? Pēhea e taea ai te rongo i te mamae i ngā taumahatanga?
Ko au tētahi i haere ki Parihaka i te tekau mā waru, tekau mā whitu ia marama, ia marama, ia marama. Ko ngā tamariki, ko ngā mokopuna i kōrero mō te āhuatanga o te muru me te raupatu. I rongo ngā taringa i te āhuatanga o te tangi o te roimata, ngā kōrero mō te ekenga o te Karauna ki runga o Parihaka, ā, pērā anō hoki arā ki te motu koinei te raruraru kite mai ai i roto i ngā kerēme.
Nō reira he mea pai tā koutou haramai, ahakoa te pōuri o te ngākau i te mea ka pānuitia ā ngā rā kei mua i te aroaro ko ngā kōrero kua puta i te Whare Pāremata i te rangi nei. Ka mutu ka rongo tātou ka rongo ngā tamariki ngā mokopuna ā te wā ko ngā kōrero i puta i te rangi nei.
Engari he paku pātai taku; he whare tāku kei roto o Korokoro; āe, kua rongo ngā kōrero a te Minita ko tana kī mai, ē, ko te wāhanga whenua o Korokoro nō koutou, nō reira me pēnei rawa taku kōrero, mēnā e pai ana kia whai wāhi pakupaku a Te Ururoa i waenganui i a Korokoro mō te wā poto i au e noho ana i te Whare Pāremata, hei wāhi noho mō māua ko taku tamaiti i a ia i te whare wānanga, i au i konei, he wāhanga whenua pakupaku noa iho e hoa mā, nā runga i te āhuatanga o te hononga ā-toto nei waku tamariki tāku e kōrero nei, waku tamariki tēnei e kōrerohia, nei kia whai wāhi o roto i ngā whiriwhiringa. Ehara he kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero.
Ā, me kōrero au mō te wā poto nei mō te āhuatanga ki tā koutou whakaaro nui ki te āhuatanga o tērā kōrero ki te Karauna ā kō ake nei, ā kō ake nei tērā take i raro nei, hei aku rangatira. Ki taku mōhio koinei te wā tuatahi kua tū ake tētahi iwi ki te kī ki te Karauna kei te pai kua rongo kua mārama, kua hokia mai te whenua, me haere tāua ki te paerangi. Me haere tāua tahi ki te paerangi. Ko te tūmanako ia ka rongo ngā nūpepa i tērā kōrero me ngā pouaka whakaata, kia rongo te motu ehara te iwi Māori i te iwi matapiko, he ngākau nui o roto i te iwi Māori anā ko koutou te tauira, whakaatu nei i te aroha a tētahi ki tētahi, i kōrerohia e rātou i te wā i a rātou.
Nō reira, kāti ake. Te tūmanako ia ka tere pau wā tātou kōrero ka tere mutu wā tātou kōrero, kia eke ki raro kia hainatia te pepa, kia noho kōhatu ngā kōrero i runga pepa mō ake nei, heoi anō ko tāku hei kupu whakamutunga, ki a koe Tā Paora tēnā koe haramai rā ki tō Whare. Ki a koutou ngā kaikōrero mō te iwi, Ngātata ko koutou tēnā, arā anō wētahi i ārahi i tēnei kaupapa ki tōna mutunga, me mihi rā ki a koutou me tā koutou whakaaro nui. E tika ana tā te mema nā, tā te mema o te Nāhinara, arā anō wētahi raruraru engari, waiho tērā mā te iwi Māori e whakatika. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.
[Greetings to the people. Welcome to the raukura plume, welcome to the raukura plume. Let me state thus: this, the high path in the presence of this demigod, of this god, of this principal people, of Rangi, who stands above, and Papatūānuku, who lies here; may the paths of Tāne converge this night before the dawn. My heart darkens at the treatment you have endured in coming here today to listen to the Crown admit its wrongs. I acknowledge you, the people.
The member Mita Ririnui made a very good point in his speech—acknowledgments, my kin—declaring that his entire speech would be delivered in our Māori language. The rules of this House direct that all speeches delivered in our language be rendered piecemeal to allow for an English interpretation. This type of interpreting makes it hard for Māori speakers, because it interrupts the natural flow. Today, Mita has challenged this shabby treatment of the Māori language; he has shown how Māori should be spoken here: one delivery from start to end, uninterrupted. This descendant of the ancestral canoe Te Arawa will follow his lead.
I stand here proud to say I married into your iwi. My partner is Taranaki Tūturu, Te Pūniho of Parihaka and Ngāti Ruanui. Therefore, the blood of my children, part Te Arawa, part Taranaki, will form the basis of my speech this afternoon.
To recite part of a waiata: set your gaze upon the barren mountain that looms over Parihaka, over Wai-te-toroa, and in the presence of Ngāti Moeahu and Ngāti Haupoto, throwing off the garments from Queen Victoria. Good job! Good job! Tohu and Te Whiti, the two birds who triumphed over their foes, with love as their weapon. Heedless to the thunder that reverberates over Parihaka, ue ha, ue ha. I trust that my rendition was not too poor, because that change has many layers of meanings and understandings.
O people of Te Whiti, of Tohu, the people of the raukura feather, you are here present in the sanctum of Queen Victoria. This has been a momentous week, being Māori Language Week. Further, the bill seeking statutory recognition for Matariki was debated in the House; some agree, some do not. Kāterina Heikōkō Mataira was honoured for her efforts to preserve the language; and this afternoon on the steps of Parliament there gathered many young children to promote non-violence.
I recall the guiding principles of Parihaka: through goodwill you will overcome your foe. You, the iwi, have kept true to that legacy; that makes the occasion more poignant. In most claims settlements, the Crown admits the wrongfulness of its actions. However, in this instance, you, the people, have said: enough; let peace weave us in unity. You have followed this path, so I extend love to you all. Greetings, and welcome to you all.
Members before me have spoken of the people of the iwi who have passed on in the 22 years since the claim was lodged. You have lost many who were involved in the claims from the start; but they are here now, upon your shoulders, symbolised by the raukura plume. People, let our lamentations resound in this House so that members hear the deeper meanings of this day. When living amongst you in Taranaki under the shelter of the mountain, I would ponder the following question: how can you truly understand the pain and trauma of confiscation if you yourself have not had your lands taken from beneath your feet?
Each month, on the 17th and 18th days, I would join with others at Parihaka. There, the young people would speak about the confiscations and the plundering, and when the discussions inevitably turned to the invasion of Parihaka by the Crown, the tears flowed freely. It is a good thing that you have come, although I have misgivings that the matters stated today in the House of Parliament will remain on the public record. The children and the grandchildren will be able to read the words uttered today.
But I have a small request. I have a house at Korokoro. The Minister has stated that Korokoro now belongs to the iwi. Might I be able to retain my residence at Korokoro for a short period, while I serve my time in this House and my son attends university? My friends, a small piece of land for Te Ururoa, and let us not forget the blood ties of my children! But I jest—an attempt at humour!
Let me talk now of the signing that will follow the proceedings of the House, and your magnanimous gesture to the Crown. In my knowledge, this is the first time that an iwi has said to the Crown: it is good, all have heard and all understand; the land has been returned, so let us walk as one into the future. It is my real hope that the media highlights this settlement, so that the country knows that Māori are not a mean people; rather, they have goodwill in abundance. You are the shining example of this legacy spoken of by your forebears.
But enough—it would be a good thing if our debate ended soon, so that the document can be signed and the words therein stand for ever. In conclusion, greetings, Sir Paul, welcome back to the House. To the representatives of the people, to you Ngātata and the others who brought the claims to their conclusion, I congratulate you on your vision and sense of purpose. The National member who stood up before me is quite right, there are problems amongst Māori; however, leave those for Māori to address. Thank you.]
ENDS
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