Today is an historic occasion

It is a great pleasure to be here to sign the Deed of Settlement for “pre-commencement’ aquaculture space.

This settlement covers the aquaculture areas of the Coromandel and Firth of Thames and the whole of Te Wai Pounamu.

It covers the vast majority of New Zealand’s most productive marine farming space. It also covers the rohe moana of many iwi and hapu in those areas.

This settlement makes amends for the impacts of establishing marine farms without regard to the rights of the iwi whose rohe moana was being used.

The settlement of Treaty of Waitangi grievances is a high priority for the new Government and a high priority for me. I want to see more settlements negotiated.

Settling these grievances will allow us to move forward as a nation.

It begins to heal the wounds suffered by tangata whenua created by past Crown actions, inactions and disregard for rights.

Settling grievances restores the Crown’s honour as a Treaty partner and shows a commitment to a shared future for our nation.

Treaty settlements go some way to restoring mana.

They also give financial resources to iwi and hapu to secure their economic future - resources to help them stand strong, economically independent and reaching their full potential.

I want to see this happen as quickly as possible.

The Government has set a target of 2014 for settling all historical Treaty claims. This is an ambitious target, but the Government believes all New Zealanders stand to gain from a faster completion of the historical settlements process.

If the Crown needs to work in different ways, if processes need to be made more flexible and pragmatic, if iwi and hapu need assistance, I want to find ways to make this happen.

Money is tight at the moment, but settling grievances is a high priority and we will try to find money to make settlements happen if that is what it takes.

The signing of the Deed of Settlement today is an example of the approach that tangata whenua and the Crown will both need to bring to the table to make settlements happen.

It is an example of what can be achieved with leadership, with flexibility and pragmatism, and with a willingness to put aside old differences and look to future possibilities.

Most importantly, it is an example of what can be achieved with good faith and a determination from both sides to reach a settlement.

It started with a genuine and innovative request to negotiate an early regional settlement that was outside the scope of the settlement legislation.

That request was met with a desire from the Crown to work together to find an early settlement so that iwi, the Crown and the aquaculture industry can move on with finality and with security.

Setting aside previous issues has allowed Te Tau Ihu and Ngai Tahu to reach a settlement for the whole Te Wai Pounamu - this is the first time this has been achieved and I give my congratulations and thanks for making this happen.

The Agreement in Principle to come to an early settlement was signed during a ceremony in the Beehive on the 12th of October 2008.

Today we sign the Deed of Settlement to formalise that agreement and make a pact between Crown and iwi to settle these grievances and move forward.

All the steps to make the agreement happen are taking place and the Government will, in the near future, introduce legislation to Parliament to make the changes to the law that are needed to complete the settlement.

I would like to acknowledge the hard work and commitment that has brought us to today’s historic signing.

I acknowledge the work of previous Ministers and their desire to work with iwi to achieve an early settlement.

I also acknowledge and thank the current Ministers here today who have worked to pick up this work and carry it through to completion.

I acknowledge the work of government agencies, led by the Ministry of Fisheries, to agree the details and work out the finer points of the settlement.

I would like to thank Te Ohu Kai Moana who worked through allocation agreements and provided support to iwi throughout the negotiation process.

Most importantly, I acknowledge and thank the iwi leaders and negotiators for their hard work, their good faith and their pragmatic, innovative thinking and approach to this issue.

The change of Government has brought a continuity of the Crown’s commitment to negotiating the settlement of Treaty grievances.

It has also brought a desire to be more proactive, more flexible and more pragmatic in those negotiations. It means a desire to achieve more settlements faster so the benefits of those settlements can flow through to iwi, hapu and whänau and so all of Aotearoa can move forward together.

What has been achieved in getting to this point today is an excellent example of the attitude and approach that will be needed from all of us.

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

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