I hold in my hand the mere pounamu of my tupuna, and in my right hand I hold the Bible, both of which I carried into this House today to be sworn in and take the oath. Today at this first reading of this bill, holding both of these items of taonga, those of us of our Māori ancestry, as mana whenua, tangata whenua of Aotearoa New Zealand know full well, as we held these through the journey of other peoples coming to this land, that it was the stroke of the pen, it was the legislature and the legislation, that was mightier than the sword, mightier than the mere, mightier than the patu and mightier than the good word. And so it just happens to be that with my colleagues and members in the House today, we stand here as agents of the Crown to make amends for the power of that pen, mightier than the sword. 