"\u003C!DOCTYPE html\u003E\u003Chtml xmlns:xlink=\u0022http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink\u0022 xmlns:xsi=\u0022http://www.w3.org/2007/XMLSchema-instance\u0022 xmlns:mml=\u0022http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Chead\u003E\n    \u003CMETA http-equiv=\u0022Content-Type\u0022 content=\u0022text/html; charset=utf-16\u0022\u003E\n    \u003Cmeta name=\u0022viewport\u0022 content=\u0022width=device-width, initial-scale=1\u0022\u003E\n  \u003C/head\u003E\n  \u003Cbody style=\u0022font-family:sans-serif; font-size:100%;\u0022\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002200a534353c094e6386a97fedebeef151\u0022\u003EWednesday, 7 May 2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000003\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002278e17483caf2416489db528d5fc14204\u0022\u003EWednesday, 7 May 2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000002\u0022\u003EMr Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000004\u0022\u003EPrayers.\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000005\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b3782f5883a642a582c2c04c966f3b0b\u0022\u003EVisitors\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000006\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00229ccf28b12f8c4262bbfd5b9623ebc88a\u0022\u003EAustralia\u2014Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee, Senate\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022 data-id=\u00225a976a3b6268417c84d3edf7671e2c0f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000007\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225a976a3b6268417c84d3edf7671e2c0f\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Honourable members, I have much pleasure in informing the House that a parliamentary delegation from the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee from the Parliament of Australia, led by the Senator the Hon Ursula Stephens, is present in the gallery. I am sure that members would wish that the delegation be welcomed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000008\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022073f8ef3a7704994bfefbd6f1b6bd627\u0022\u003EQuestions for Oral Answer\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000009\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022cbe66dabd92644c6966b92581fe551d6\u0022\u003EQuestions to Ministers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000010\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00220315b0eb30934a649fc27fe615fba375\u0022\u003EMinisters\u2014Confidence\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022 data-id=\u00229614c2a2d89a4de88b0fb4b219aef830\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000011\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E1. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229614c2a2d89a4de88b0fb4b219aef830\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Leader of the Opposition)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022 data-id=\u002264d85eb6b7874d7da6c10a242fb6201e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000012\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002264d85eb6b7874d7da6c10a242fb6201e\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes, which is a lot more than Trevor Mallard can say. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000013\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d62cf85d7dea4ccda3282de9fe4d4a90\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! [Interruption] Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000014\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220b4fcdf714e74659a55356d64cdb2dc7\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Prime Minister stand by his statement that \u201CWe have a lot to be proud of.\u201D, and if so, does he include in that list his handling of Judith Collins\u2019 massive and undeclared conflicts of interest, a Minister who thought it was acceptable to call the police about an ongoing prosecution, and revelations of ministerial \u201Ccash for access\u201D programmes being run out of his Government?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000015\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ac76a1d0e66e4feeabad5db0c70b0e9e\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, the first part of the question I do stand by. There is a lot to be proud of\u2014so much to be proud of that Shane Jones left Labour for a National-led Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000016\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e845e32818ff4039aaa344c1e6b7196e\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: I guess he will have to ask the diplomats whether they agree with him. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000017\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228d7f11d620fa4f2888380370987a5e20\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000018\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bcae73f2a82f4a9bbec1f8c7322592ad\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: Is he proud to lead a Government that prioritises giving millions to big businesses like Rio Tinto, does deals with companies like Skycity and Chorus, but tells New Zealanders like the Pike River families that he has no moral obligation to help them?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000019\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002213b3f3168852465695434062f7fc7383\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: In relation to the last part of the question, I really think it is a disgrace, actually, that that member would say that, with all the things that this Government has done in relation to Pike River, including funding to go up the drift, which is in excess of about $9 million. I have personally been to the West Coast on numerous occasions. To play games, actually, with those families, who have gone through an enormous amount, shows how low that member is getting as Leader of the Opposition.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000020\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226f480c4ab3224896bc901477eaed3b8f\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: While the Minister is on his high horse, he can go and find Mr Whittall and bring him back.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000021\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222b82c761e97344e39eb9bb55df33ffeb\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I call the Hon David Cunliffe to ask a supplementary question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002241753b0198884f3baf74c3c67ae95d27\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: Is he proud to lead a Government where a senior Minister, Maurice Williamson, believed that it was acceptable to improperly interfere in a police investigation into domestic violence against Donghua Liu?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000023\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227076f071205e4bb68ae73bfa68b195ce\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: What I am proud to do is lead a Government that has standards. If a Minister does not meet those standards, then they pay a price. But, you see, if I was part of a Government that campaigned against secret trusts and the very first step I took was to establish one to set up what must be explosive conflicts of interest, and not to declare them, it is no wonder New Zealanders have such a low view of David Cunliffe.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000024\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022455c244c4f354eaebbb963e63961c950\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! [Interruption] Order! The level of interjection now coming from my right is unacceptable.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000025\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022220d1467fe104d61ba5880481bc40ff8\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: Do the Prime Minister\u2019s high standards include the standards and values of his Minister Judith Collins, who misled him and the public about her involvement in Oravida, attacked a press gallery journalist and made veiled threats against others, and wants to drain every swamp but her own?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000026\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226df51dffdf604474be2ee4c22435ba44\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: The first thing is the Leader of the Opposition needs to get a better question writer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000027\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002263ac0eac851c4a5cb21656ea0c7379d7\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000028\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cf4605f88cd8418bbde6a8fca055c447\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! This is a point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000029\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002223318f3cbca64baa87045cf2b49db9e3\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: I appreciate it was a political question, but that was not actually an answer as such from the Prime Minister. He needs to at least attempt to address\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000030\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002251d8a55916ed44ae8589644d06b9c9a0\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I need no assistance at all. The Prime Minister was asked a question that was very politically loaded. I allowed it to go forward. I certainly did not rule it out. The Prime Minister has chosen to answer it by addressing it in the way that he has. That is satisfactory to me.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000031\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228106bdfcdcc14d6bb884dad11dfa7120\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: As the Prime Minister so obviously cannot defend the Minister of Justice, why does he not do what all New Zealanders expect as the inevitable and let her go?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000032\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223a883ef4a82a4196ac17a1b9a1c80b86\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Far from that, the Minister enjoys my full confidence. I think that, as a Minister in a number of portfolios for the last 5\u00BD years, she has done an outstanding job. What she has not done is set up a secret trust to hide donors. What she has not done is had the hypocrisy of being part of a Government that campaigns against trusts and then takes money from people\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000033\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225a92ca84e8344469ba4722b08cd1dab1\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! That answer is sufficient. [Interruption] Order! The Hon Gerry Brownlee\u2014please tone it down a little.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000034\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f406834788d94de28b997f56e8c6caf1\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: If the Minister believes in high standards, does he believe that paying for access to Government Ministers, including the Prime Minister, whether it is through a so-called charity golf game or undisclosed attendance at the Antoine\u2019s dinners, whether it is through Oravida or the systematic abuse of the Cabinet club, which contravenes the Cabinet Manual\u2014does the Minister think that those are the standards that New Zealanders have a right to expect of him or his Government?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000035\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224147efb8844a448aa0a373f4f779dbcb\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: If you will bear with me for a moment, because this is a slightly longer answer, but let me start with the Cabinet Manual. Paragraph 2.54 makes it quite clear around what a Minister can and cannot do. They certainly cannot take additional remuneration unless I sign off on that, and only one Minister so far has done that, and that was Maurice Williamson. Paragraph 2.94 makes it quite clear that Ministers can go to fund-raising functions for their own electorate or for any other member of Parliament. If they are paid for that, they are meant to donate that. They can also\u2014the Cabinet Manual makes quite clear\u2014be at events where people pay political donations. They can talk about their portfolios, interests, and all of those things. That is because they fundamentally go in their capacity as an MP or a member of the party. But let me\u2014if you will bear with me just for a second on these points\u2014say that I am aware of a couple of interesting situations. I am aware of a situation where a market stand was established, where a fee of $1,250 plus GST was paid\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000036\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ddffaf962969409fbc5c372e649a6872\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000037\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002268bf7e8c203a48da801ea149a125adc8\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: No, sunshine! Sit down!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000038\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228048e3da0c3f46248329e7ae99fc9093\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The Prime Minister will resume his seat. [Interruption] Order! If members on my right want to stay for the full question time, I expect some cooperation. [Interruption] Order! A point of order has been raised. It will be heard in silence.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000039\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022132509060e5b4d20ad2383f7ecdaff09\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I have actually got two points of order. The first of those is that for a considerable time after you were on your feet the Prime Minister continued to talk, barrack, and completely ignore your rulings and\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000040\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002244eb33e8c5854893ab4e6e6e4bba6af1\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: And your second point?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000041\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223981e001ba5c4b59ab5a2a9bbf27bd6e\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: I hope that you will rule on both these points of order, thank you. The second point is that the Prime Minister\u2019s answer was very long, was straying into highly irrelevant matters. He had dealt with the question. If he wants to do a speech, he should do one in the general debate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000042\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002233d8fecfbd6040458cf59d3b6b970900\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, I do not need assistance. [Interruption] Order! As to the first point of order, the Prime Minister should resume his seat immediately when I stand. I said that to him, so I consider that matter closed, but it had better not happen again. On the second point of order, when I considered the allegations in the question, I allowed a reasonable amount of licence in the answer given by the Prime Minister. I do accept the point that at this stage it had gone on for long enough, and I do not expect that answer to now be continued further.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228598160c926549ca99fb07d9f91b7ebe\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The member asked me a very loaded political question. As part of that, I gave him the very straight Cabinet Manual advice that is there for everybody. On the basis of the very political question that was asked, I think I am quite entitled to point out that there are other examples that have taken place, and I do not think I was given the chance to answer my question. The reason that Mr Robertson got on his feet was that he knew I was about to point that out.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000044\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aef8535e275e482f8df3309fc4ce3f17\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I have heard enough. The Prime Minister gave a factual answer referring to the Cabinet Manual. I accept that. He then added quite a lot of political content and I allowed that. I consider the answer has gone on for long enough.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000045\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a6702aaf930e4bfa93934180661f1e6b\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Supplementary question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000046\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229de51a80a3294c1eb83d8dbe033dc2fa\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: To the rescue, Gerry!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000047\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022641e488f9cab4504b647d8f7dec8e71c\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! All members have a right to ask a supplementary question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000048\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220c400b11e99048e891b27bf91cffc324\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Has he seen any reports of interesting and innovative fund-raising methods deployed by political parties? [Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000049\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224120a6fab7864b74a5aee8ddf039ab2e\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! There is no prime ministerial responsibility for other parties. [Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000050\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228d05b5555c8e47c7ae5925ec359947b3\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order, Mr Speaker. [Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000051\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022367bb6d81f294e20b68f25eab8b898f0\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I just want to clarify before I take the point of order that the member is not in any way attempting to relitigate a ruling I have given, because if that was happening, I would be tempted to ask the member to leave. If it is a point of order, I will hear it, but it better not be\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000052\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002209e651be2926475e91e7e65d9a5ab819\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. There is always that temptation, but what I am simply saying is that I asked the question whether the Prime Minister has received any reports.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000053\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b308ca6bc6054d33b5ab2179804afbd6\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: It is a matter of prime ministerial responsibility. It asked about any reports but then you went on, Mr Brownlee, about other parties\u2019 innovative means of fund-raising, or words to that effect. I ruled instantly that I did not consider that that had prime ministerial responsibility. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000054\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002291c9d724cb3140108317d947d3c84385\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order, Mr Speaker. [Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000055\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002281a264a6856343519223efeede84e780\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! This is a point of order. It will be heard in silence.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000056\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022001ae61d514946108c0cde33a6a1d900\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table a report that shows that a market place was established where $1,250 was paid for an opportunity to meet one-on-one in a short meeting with your choice of MP. That was at the Labour Party conference last year\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000057\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223e3583fa747d493eb29e735f04573deb\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The document has been satisfactorily explained. It is in the House\u2019s hands, when I put the leave, as to whether members want that document tabled.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000058\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ba632996022549509a6e4cdfa1e845cc\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: What\u2019s the source?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225bfd1ac942604d5889c38095a4f1462a\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member is asking what the source is. That is a reasonable question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000060\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a4fbe263c6594820a067f5f3f36b2609\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: The Labour Party website. [Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000061\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002221ca11b937c24b46b22c15287c3da051\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! My patience is fast running out with members on the right-hand side of this House. If the source is the Labour Party website, then that is freely available to all members and I will not be putting\u2014[Interruption] Order! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000062\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d35295231cea4d7d824cbdeb8f12f59d\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000063\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022145903818b704df6a271006021964283\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Again, can you just clarify whether this is a fresh point of order?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000064\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022afe674f3374f47fdbc3b5373b9235882\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: It is a fresh one\u2014yes. I seek leave to table a document that shows people had paid $500 to attend a lunch\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000065\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002236e1ab7b51634ace82af4c9d356b831f\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Again, I want the source of the document.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000066\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c74c9dd05d924eb18095b734262799ec\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I am not sure of the source but I am sure I can get it for you\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000067\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223d44afd19bb043848379b7eb0acbb8fe\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000068\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220c70e4fa4d184c7a99548aa933ce83a9\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. [Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000069\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002237b3610e9a8e441d9301277f80bc16f9\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! This is a point of order. [Interruption] Order! The noise is coming relatively equally from both sides. On this occasion I will not be ejecting any member. But I have points of order raised. I call for silence; I expect silence.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000070\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227dee49952bf641f590578db9b54846bc\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Brownlee asked a supplementary question and you ruled it out of order. Then you said to Mr Brownlee that if he disputes your ruling, you will be tempted to throw him out. He did dispute your ruling and you, in\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000071\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228adca83052624383a8ce5a08eb91544f\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! No. What I took from the second point he raised was that he sought clarification rather than to dispute. That is the way I ruled it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000072\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022749554883cf149c381de4255176a8236\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: From the source Scoop, I seek to table\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000073\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226f342bdf5d1c4f4fbf6a3c9a866b45e0\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The member will resume his seat. Scoop is available to all members, and if this sort of nonsense continues from the Prime Minister, to restore order, again, I will have no choice but to ask the Prime Minister to leave the Chamber.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000074\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002298b08df27fb44275aa7fb00204dbc120\u0022\u003EEconomy\u2014Outlook and OECD Report\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022 data-id=\u0022e265cb7957d14c1196a71e26428ff905\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000075\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E2. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e265cb7957d14c1196a71e26428ff905\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR (National\u2014T\u0101maki)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on the New Zealand economy and how do those reports fit with the economic outlook to be presented in the Budget next week?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u002242d7b429f88643fead0a38dc9f5abc59\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000076\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002242d7b429f88643fead0a38dc9f5abc59\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E The OECD has just released its latest country report on New Zealand, which says the economy is in good shape. Amongst other points it says that \u201Ceconomic growth continues to be strong, but so far inflation pressures have remained muted, thanks to renewed currency strength and moderate wage increases.\u201D The OECD also says that the Government is on track to a small surplus next year. That follows the IMF making a favourable report on New Zealand recently. These reports are consistent with an economic picture that puts New Zealand back on its feet and delivering gains for New Zealand families.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000077\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223b2031dcd2f44bc9b75a5245dd8f509b\u0022\u003ESimon O\u2019Connor\u003C/span\u003E: What does the OECD\u2019s latest country report on New Zealand say about the outlook for the current account, and how does this outlook compare with New Zealand\u2019s current account position 6 years ago?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000078\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225050beadf4584b919f54fce8e7a52b4d\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: The OECD paints a much-improved picture for the current account, certainly compared with the record deficits New Zealand was running up to 2008. It expects New Zealand\u2019s current account deficit to fall to 3.3 percent by December this year. It then expects the current account deficit to shrink further to 2.7 percent of GDP next year. I cannot help thinking that this improvement is directly related to the Labour Party saying it is a crisis. This is not only considerably better than deficits of around 8 percent of GDP in the years up to 2008 but much better than the situation that Treasury has been forecasting since Budget 2009, where it predicted a deficit of 5.5 percent for 2013 and it actually turned out to be about 3.5 percent.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000079\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cf067c1805c44fe1a1136ed786228a9e\u0022\u003ESimon O\u2019Connor\u003C/span\u003E: How is the higher growth outlook for the economy translating into more jobs for New Zealanders, and what will the Budget forecast be for jobs over the next 4 years?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000080\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224d103503a63a4e5cb45b96c330367bf4\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: Interestingly, the household labour force figures released today, showing that 84,000 more people were employed in the year to 2014, indicate that we are on track to deliver the 170,000 new jobs discussed back in Budget 2010. The quarterly employment survey, also out today, showed that average wages increased by 2.5 percent in the year, well ahead of inflation of 1.5 percent. Labour market participation\u2014that is, the proportion of the working-age population available for work\u2014increased to 69.3 percent, which is the highest level ever recorded in this series. Alongside that high participation rate, unemployment remained steady at 6 percent in March.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000081\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226bb76d3c18ac4c8290a7189a5370fd9e\u0022\u003ESimon O\u2019Connor\u003C/span\u003E: What steps will the Government take in the Budget to further support sustainable economic growth and keep interest rates lower than they otherwise might be?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000082\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002250cd2b8bdc8640f6a22a403046d147e3\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: We will assist in keeping interest rates lower by being disciplined with fiscal policy\u2014that is, with Government spending and revenue\u2014and by ensuring that we can get more houses built more quickly to prevent a runaway housing market. We would expect that if we can meet these conditions, we will do much better than in the run-up to 2008, when first mortgages reached 11 percent, Government spending was out of control, and the housing market was running away.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000083\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00227c2cc7767c1a4c1d8dbd6f88f8b00b1a\u0022\u003ETax System Changes\u2014Impact on Revenue\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022 data-id=\u0022949f12bdeddf449a86ae3feea4f58b1b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E3. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022949f12bdeddf449a86ae3feea4f58b1b\u0022\u003EANDREW WILLIAMS (NZ First)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: For each of the years ending 30 June 2011, 2012, and 2013, what was the reduction in tax revenue specifically in the top tax bracket as a result of the tax reductions in Budget 2010?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u0022479c164caf5a4a6c89a29188ccc97263\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000085\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022479c164caf5a4a6c89a29188ccc97263\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E It is not possible to give the member an exact figure, because we can only measure it against assumptions about what tax would have been paid. However, as a rough estimate, if the top tax rate had stayed at 38 percent and all other things had remained equal, income tax revenue would have been higher by around $400 million in the 2011 tax year and by about $1 billion in 2012. However, members will recall that all personal income tax payers in all tax brackets had a significant income tax reduction in 2010, at the same time as GST went up. Analysis done at the time demonstrated that the combination of a reduction in income tax rates and an increase in taxes on investment property and increased GST were distributionally neutral\u2014that is, it had roughly the same effect on income distribution across the income range.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000086\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022820cd5d5ef394b8da03cb55610f598de\u0022\u003EAndrew Williams\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Minister mentioned 2011 and 2012. My question also specified 2013.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022705813ff2ff04dff9619112583dd6bc7\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, but the member will recall that the Minister started his answer by saying that it is simply not possible to answer the question accurately. The member has further supplementary questions. That is the way to delve into it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d6b1d38628d441188628313e2bc2df74\u0022\u003EAndrew Williams\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table, from the Parliamentary Library, a paper detailing each of the years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 in terms of totalling $4 billion\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000089\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002258d9470751de4786b036175024c362d0\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! [Interruption] Order! The member will resume his seat. The point of tabling a document is to give further information to members. I am prepared to put the leave, but it is not for the member to take the opportunity to make a political statement. Leave is sought to table that information from the Parliamentary Library. Is there any objection? It can be tabled.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000090\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003EDocument, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000091\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f3fa4ef66a1d4b029e2bd93f7701fa81\u0022\u003EAndrew Williams\u003C/span\u003E: If it was so vital to sell State assets for about $4.7 billion, why did the Government\u2014based on these Parliamentary Library figures\u2014give away $4 billion to top income earners over the past 4 years?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000092\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225140aa301c4c4e1ea6626a6f8a4cc12a\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: The tax package in 2010 did not give away $4 billion to top income earners. What it did was change the mix of taxes, for the same total revenue. Higher-income earners paid more GST, and the impact of about a billion dollars of extra tax collected on investment property fell largely on higher-income earners. The analysis done at the time by Treasury and Victoria University showed that the tax package was roughly fiscally neutral and that it was roughly distributionally neutral\u2014that is, it had the same impact on income groups right across the income range. It is a tax package that this Government is proud of. We have a very good tax system and it collects revenue very efficiently. Among high-income earners there is much less tax dodging than there was under the previous Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000093\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fa93b7cd8f8f4f849944317129b4d6a5\u0022\u003EAndrew Williams\u003C/span\u003E: What is the estimated loss in the Government\u2019s revenue stream in the 2014-15 Budget year as a result of dividends foregone due to the sale of $4.7 billion in State assets over this past year?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000094\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002283f563e4012d40d5a558d85a79c08bc5\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: I cannot give the member those numbers off the top of my head. However, if he looks at the investment statements that were published for the electricity companies, he will be able to see that. I must say, though, that from the taxpayer\u2019s point of view these large, risky businesses are now being managed and scrutinised by people who have much better capacity to deal with the complexities of the electricity market than the Government ever had.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000095\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221cf191cbf532446f96ceacac9d965eb3\u0022\u003EAndrew Williams\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table, and the source again is the Parliamentary Library, a paper detailing the amount of dividends foregone\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000096\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f341d077531e479395f7a2171f236ece\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Leave is sought to table that particular document. Is there any objection? There is none. It can be tabled.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000097\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003EDocument, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000098\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c7d8a60011b04fc4942b6352eca49775\u0022\u003EAndrew Williams\u003C/span\u003E: Does he agree that had he not made the $4 billion in tax cuts over the last 4 years to top income earners, and had he invested this and maintained Government contributions to the high-performing Cullen superannuation fund, New Zealanders would all be much better off long term, in terms of their retirement superannuation; if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022102994170c2143e09eb955720d219c1e\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: No, I do not agree with that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000100\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e2549796d4af41739a5f96bb1d4bf56c\u0022\u003EAndrew Williams\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I ended the question by saying \u201Cif not, why not?\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000101\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022223e909f49324184a9b48f1603494764\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! [Interruption] Order! The member has been here a long time. He gets the ability to ask a supplementary question. If he puts two legs in it and the Minister chooses to answer one, that is satisfactory.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000102\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022edd46bc63301446e9d32858bccecf128\u0022\u003EAndrew Williams\u003C/span\u003E: Does he accept that having already given up over $4 billion in tax revenue in the last 4 years\u2014over a billion dollars per year\u2014the 2010 tax cuts were misguided, given next week\u2019s anticipated paper-thin Budget surplus and critical areas of Government spending such as conservation and biosecurity having suffered; if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000103\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dc3968d83e32415c8e0d6005ed64e087\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: The member is simply wrong. The Government did not give up $4 billion worth of revenue. It reduced income taxes across the board, which we are very pleased about because that means better incentives to work and to save and to exporting, and we increased GST and the tax on investment property. If one can recall, at the time New Zealand had been on a debt-funded consumption boom, and we decided to do something about it. It was effective, and now we have one of the stronger growing economies in the developed world. We are very pleased with those decisions. They were fair and they were economically sound.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000104\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00222aad0695632041338e42b75f25a4527a\u0022\u003EBudget 2014\u2014Apprenticeships\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ffff330f-1757-41d6-9973-25244f0fdada\u0022 data-id=\u0022dad1f32270964cffbb8a0b1bb28c7244\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000105\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ffff330f-1757-41d6-9973-25244f0fdada\u0022\u003E4. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022dad1f32270964cffbb8a0b1bb28c7244\u0022\u003ECOLIN KING (National\u2014Kaik\u014Dura)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment: What further steps is the Government taking to increase the number of apprentices in New Zealand?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022 data-id=\u0022d2cf10d25f3e4db0a576c97fd2bbb1eb\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000106\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d2cf10d25f3e4db0a576c97fd2bbb1eb\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment):\u003C/span\u003E Yesterday the Prime Minister announced that Budget 2014 will contain an additional $20 million to expand the Government\u2019s very successful apprenticeship reboot scheme by an additional 6,000 places. The extra funding means a total of 20,000 apprentices are now eligible for the reboot scheme. Under the reboot, apprentices, or trainees, who sign up for training have been able to apply for a subsidy of $1,000 towards the cost of tools and off-job course costs, or a subsidy of $2,000 for those in priority trades. Employers are also eligible for a similar payment. The reboot is proving successful in getting more apprenticeships under way, especially in the priority trades we need for the rebuilding of Christchurch and the housing construction boom in Auckland. It is giving Kiwis vital vocational skills that will set them up for their working lives, while meeting the needs of a growing economy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000107\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ffff330f-1757-41d6-9973-25244f0fdada\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002239f0b7b3b65a4a00bfbf7979de217030\u0022\u003EColin King\u003C/span\u003E: What other actions is the Government taking to increase the profile of apprenticeships?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000108\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b9e24a5904d24c3aa95dd45de68b1338\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE\u003C/span\u003E: A big part of the vocational training story in New Zealand has always been apprenticeships, but under Labour the importance of apprenticeships slipped in favour of more generic industry training, which in many cases involved a lot of short courses and very low levels of completion. This Government has created the new New Zealand Apprenticeships, which are a premier vocational pathway into an industry-based career for New Zealanders. The new apprenticeships provide the same level of support and the same level of subsidy for all apprentices regardless of their age. We have increased funding support for each apprenticeship and boosted their educational content as well. This Government is very committed to raising the skill levels of New Zealanders as part of our Business Growth Agenda.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000109\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ffff330f-1757-41d6-9973-25244f0fdada\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226928e81fbbb94addbd07b8ed85b84518\u0022\u003EColin King\u003C/span\u003E: How does the Government\u2019s work around apprenticeships feed into the wider employment picture in the economy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000110\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ed6ce4d8779b43d7a44554c37f843afb\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE\u003C/span\u003E: Well, that is a very good question. Today\u2019s household labour force survey confirms that the hard work of New Zealanders, with the support of the Government over the past few years, is paying off. Eighty-four thousand more New Zealanders are in jobs compared with a year ago. That is the largest growth in jobs in New Zealand in a decade. Labour force participation is at its highest level ever, and is now very much higher than Australia. Through our comprehensive Business Growth Agenda, the Government has a very strong focus on creating the opportunities for competitive businesses to invest and employ more people.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000111\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d7fbeed3e38b44269455a7156357e388\u0022\u003ECarol Beaumont\u003C/span\u003E: What specific steps has the Government taken to increase the number of women in apprenticeships, given the appallingly low levels in industries where there are significant skill shortages and where temporary migrant labour is consequently required, such as in building and construction, where only 1 percent of trainees in 2013 were women?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000112\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022442d06ac078849b78345496e41851e01\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE\u003C/span\u003E: The member raises a very interesting question in terms of the occupational preferences of different people. The reality is that she is right, of course. There are less people involved in the construction trades who are women than men\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000113\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229d00a06f462c4f6a96f7fdcd03693d5d\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Fewer\u2014you\u2019re the Minister for Tertiary Education; get it right.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000114\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002290e4c1a9f3ed45daafd75dcb48ba6c28\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE\u003C/span\u003E: There are many things I do not take a lecture on from you, Trevor Mallard, and one is the English language. The good news, though, for the member is that there are many more women involved in some of the higher level university study courses than men, so I am sure it balances out over time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000115\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226bef9656bce84138a385dfeb4de96b46\u0022\u003ECarol Beaumont\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. That answer made no attempt to answer the question about specific steps around women in apprenticeships.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000116\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e0f570488a624e178eebb9e569485d67\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: It was a very long-winded question. The Minister has addressed it. I accept that it may not be to the satisfaction of the member. If the member wants to take the matter forward, the way is to ask further incisive supplementary questions.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000117\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002201d6d100bae443d8b8582315d15947ed\u0022\u003EReserve Bank\u2014Monetary Policy\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u0022e0f18bd4f85e42b69f208ab46f9fcbae\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000118\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E5. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e0f18bd4f85e42b69f208ab46f9fcbae\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Deputy Leader\u2014Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree that the objective of the Reserve Bank in the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989 should be changed; if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u0022c9e2418fbbc24f259e861459b1d0ffa8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000119\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c9e2418fbbc24f259e861459b1d0ffa8\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E No, I do not. It has served New Zealand well through three significant recessions and a global financial crisis. The second reason is that going soft on inflation is worse for those at the bottom of the income range. Thirdly, if we keep it in place, it means you will not end up with silly policies like cutting people\u2019s net pay by 15 percent with no effect on interest rates, as the Labour Party proposes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000120\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002295ea2ef4523a459fbf9a06b9abab37fc\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: Does he stand by his statement that Labour\u2019s proposed changes to monetary policy are \u201Cnothing new\u201D, or does he stand by his other statement on the same day that Labour\u2019s upgrade of monetary policy is risky because it is untried?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000121\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e452314cabf74592aca2329024fd7151\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I stand by those statements. There is nothing new about a policy that says that we will raise KiwiSaver contributions. If that is a big new idea, well, it is not that new. The risky bit is messing up the current monetary policy decision-making framework by basically taking it from the Reserve Bank and putting it in the office of the Minister of Finance.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000122\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022371f5fa81c4d40e7aef8ad338fac51c8\u0022\u003ETim Macindoe\u003C/span\u003E: Under the policy targets agreement the Minister signed with the new Reserve Bank Governor in 2012, what other objectives does the Reserve Bank have to consider in setting monetary policy, in addition to price stability?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000123\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d64520a32ac24b249c2deec9379d1e4d\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: Interestingly, the policy targets agreement that I signed with the new Governor in 2012 was very similar to the one drafted by the Minister of Finance under the Labour Government, Dr Michael Cullen, which says that in pursuing its price stability objective the bank\u2014and it goes on a bit\u2014shall have regard to the efficiency and soundness of the financial system and \u201Cseek to avoid unnecessary instability in output, interest rates and the exchange rate.\u201D That means that the Opposition\u2019s view that the Reserve Bank Governor does not take account of things like the exchange rate or the impact on the current account is simply wrong. We have got an agreement that was actually largely written by the previous Government, when we did have bipartisan agreement on these things.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000124\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c0e6c22e6ef64d9893e1e1251f5b58e9\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: Why does he stand by his statement that no changes are needed to monetary policy settings, given that New Zealand interest rates through the cycle are significantly higher than those in our competitor countries and we have not had a current account surplus for 40 years?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000125\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a6a6dbe963a64bb8b9fb45c3f8802a63\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: If the member wants to use interest rates and current account numbers as a measure of success, then he should take account of this. Interest rates today are slightly higher than a 50-year low, and they are half the level when the last Labour Government left office in 2008. The current account deficit is 3.5 percent\u2014heading to 2.5 percent, according to some forecasts. When that Government left office, having tried all his theories, it was 8 percent\u2014the worst on record\u2014for 3 years in a row. So all the problems are at least only half as bad as they were, and getting better. We think that that is a recipe for sticking to the plan. Labour says that it is a crisis and that we should go back to making the same mistakes as last time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022715f122b7364431a94f35b6133945ad7\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: Is the reason our already overvalued exchange rate has increased recently, even though dairy prices have fallen by 21 percent in 3 months, due in part to the interest rate increases caused by out-of-control house prices in Auckland?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000127\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229009ce7c0d90443490b8140438ceb494\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: People can speculate on any reason they like why the exchange rate is higher, but it does indicate that something is happening in this economy that is pretty important. Something is happening that is pretty important that is different from the analysis of the Opposition. The exchange rate has been at 80 percent - plus against the US dollar for a long time, and last week we had record exports. No one would have predicted that 4 or 5 years ago, nor would they have predicted that interest rates would have stayed at 50-year lows for 3 or 4 years. So it could well be that some long-term structural problems in the New Zealand economy are actually improving. I know that that is bad news for the Opposition, but it is good news for New Zealanders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227c0e8d259aaa4d06ad9b594d211b98af\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Employers and Manufacturers Association wrong to say that our proposed monetary policy changes have merit, is Westpac wrong to say that our policy is sensibly modest, and is Brian Fallow of the New Zealand Herald wrong to say that our monetary policy looks good because it preserves the inflation control of the existing regime?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000129\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022701f91d1af41425cbe28ba89f48658a2\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: All those entities are in the same position as the Labour Party leader and the caucus, and that is that as they ask questions about what it actually means, like it is a proposition for a 15 percent pay cut for tens of thousands of low-income New Zealanders, they too will change their minds. One has only got to see the comments made by the leader of the Labour Party to understand that he never read the policy before it was announced, and he cannot answer basic questions like \u201CBy how much will New Zealanders\u2019 pay be cut in order to try to keep interest rates down?\u201D.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002247cf64dc31484548866757e6ba015b40\u0022\u003ETim Macindoe\u003C/span\u003E: What reports has the Minister seen rejecting the idea of changing the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act and, particularly, proposals to broaden its core focus away from price stability?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000131\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022574f3783308341bb950c6a26cb651d2b\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act has been examined a number of times, and so have the mechanisms of our monetary policy, over the last 15 years. There was one such report in 2008 by Parliament\u2019s Finance and Expenditure Committee, which was, helpfully, chaired by the Labour Party\u2019s most outstanding economic thinker in a generation, Charles Chauvel! It made a number of important inclusions, stressing that monetary policy remained the primary means of achieving low inflation and that New Zealand\u2019s monetary policy approach is standard among small, open, developed economies. At the time, the Minister of Finance for the Labour Government, Michael Cullen, sensibly agreed with the select committee and no major uncertainty was created through sophisticated, globally-leading but inexplicable ideas.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000132\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022440aab8c95694ec5af22f9441971142b\u0022\u003EMinisters\u2014Attendance at Cabinet Club Events\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022 data-id=\u00223e44b887d4104a2fb3ccfa22b0d6da55\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000133\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E6. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223e44b887d4104a2fb3ccfa22b0d6da55\u0022\u003EDr RUSSEL NORMAN (Co-Leader\u2014Green)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in all his Ministers?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022 data-id=\u0022b2aeb4ba90be4771a2425a851dd9004c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000134\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b2aeb4ba90be4771a2425a851dd9004c\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000135\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229cc76d5e99c14519b84963c806ad344a\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: Is it acceptable for Ministers to attend events known as the Cabinet club, where a few private donors pay thousands of dollars to the National Party for access to those Ministers?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000136\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a2085b548a2741ffa99de4536bd0dfaa\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Other than the fact that the member is making some assumptions on the last bit, absolutely it is. The Cabinet Manual makes it quite clear, and has done for a very long period of time, that it is actually totally appropriate for Ministers to go and attend these types of events. They are free to speak about their portfolios. What they cannot do is accept additional payment themselves unless they have my approval for doing that. It has been so much of a longstanding thing that I could, if members wanted me to, table an address to the New Zealand Labour Party fund-raising dinner by Michael Cullen, which, interestingly enough, was actually delivered by the person who has been asking all the questions in this area, Trevor Mallard.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022127a3c6477174ab98e2d3eb356479057\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: Does it corrupt our democracy for Ministers to grant access to individuals on the proviso that they donate thousands of dollars to the National Party?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000138\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f35cffd7931240c184638e805a462708\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I really think that member needs to recognise that his high horse went lame when he parked it up at the Dotcom mansion. But if he wants to carry on down this track, just make sure he tells New Zealanders he has never met Phillip Mills, he has never spoken about green growth, and he will never be part of the Labour-Greens Government, because, boy, is that hypocrisy coming into the House with that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000139\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022974752849f884b96ad7f7647cc6cafba\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It was a pretty direct question\u2014a politically loaded question, I give you that. The Minister\u2014[Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000140\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ad990cc7407646e59223150f5e465eeb\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I am going to ask the member to start his point of order again, because I could not hear it, and this time I demand silence from the Government side.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002218718dc58ad64233ba80bcdc45a50f67\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is a very simple point of order. The question was quite direct. It was a political question, I give you that, but it was a direct question. The Minister made no attempt to answer it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000142\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022275f0a2339d049e2a1b48e9b6c775ad1\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I thought the Prime Minister made an attempt to answer it that certainly satisfied many in the House. It may not have satisfied the member, but it was certainly a very political question that was asked.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000143\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b54e523311b246b9a4c798f23ad8288a\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: How many Cabinet club events have his Ministers attended in this term of Parliament?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000144\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002249d564d2727a4359a387ac0d1b08ef24\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I do not have that information with me but it would not matter what that number was, because the Cabinet Manual is quite clear. It is absolutely thoroughly appropriate for Ministers to do that. They go in their capacity as an MP or a member of the party, but they can absolutely go to those events. They can absolutely talk about areas of their portfolio and take questions. There is nothing wrong with that. It will not matter how many times Mr Norman gets on his feet and tries to claim something different; he is actually fundamentally wrong, and he needs to go and read the Cabinet Manual.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000145\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022939ebdbae61945a1a0d34a1653fec26e\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: So is the Prime Minister saying that it is acceptable in his Government for Ministers to engage in a cash-for-access scheme whereby members of the Cabinet club pay thousands of dollars to the National Party in order to get access to Ministers of the Crown?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000146\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002258b990b3eb794ae3bae8dad8c3613185\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Absolutely not, but it is quite acceptable for Ministers to go, in their capacity as MPs, to a fundraising event and talk about their portfolios. That has been happening for a very, very long period of time across parliaments. I could give you an example where, for instance, a political party ran an event, it charged $500, and you could go with the leader and have an opportunity to pick your key MP and discuss \u201Cimportant issues\u201D. I could show you an example of a political party that asked people to pay $1,250 to have an opportunity for a one-on-one meeting of your choice, on a subject of your choice, with any MP or senior party official. I could give you examples where fund-raising dinners were done and held by a Deputy Prime Minister and released on public websites. They all come from the Labour Party, and if you really want me to stay on my feet, I can continue to do so\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000147\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cd3c233e6fb6497ab1eba1b115c9edf8\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No; thank you for the invitation. The answer has been long enough. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000148\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002217d7ec68d5c34f438f545d2db0183c0c\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: When the Prime Minister attended the Cabinet club luncheon in Dunedin on 3 September 2009, how much money was paid to the National Party in exchange?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022620a41d05dad4ff2a038e629e6032f1f\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The Prime Minister has no responsibility as Prime Minister for the fund-raising of his political party.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000150\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e33553e118e2429a86e048f37cd96ed5\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: When the Prime Minister attended the Cabinet club luncheon in Dunedin on 3 September 2009, who was present and what was discussed with the Prime Minister at that exclusive event?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000151\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eb8a753617994518b626f778a675f68e\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I do not have those\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000152\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229d7a59a4aab9465c910f5f704cfa6a12\u0022\u003EHon Bill English\u003C/span\u003E: 25,000.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000153\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228a82c6cf5449405ea8051bcc6a40c4ef\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: No, there were not 25,000; there should not have been! I know that 25,000 wanted to get in. I am sorry; the place was not that big. I do not have those details. If the member wants to put that down in writing to my office, I can give them to him. But I can exclude two people. Kim Dotcom was not there, because he was too busy having the leader\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000154\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bc816ca69c3848068f9e523c59b65e46\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! That answer is now sufficient.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000155\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e5a5977c671a4c828ba808307ebb6f89\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table the diary from Michael Woodhouse describing the Prime Minister\u2019s Cabinet club luncheon on 3 September 2009. [Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000156\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002244c860fa57324974a274d289a5cb01df\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I will put the leave. It is for the House to decide. Leave is sought to table the diary of the Prime Minister on that particular day. Is there any objection to that being tabled? Is there any objection? [Interruption] The source was Michael Woodhouse. That means it is from the Prime Minister\u2019s\u2014I am putting the leave. You can deny it if you want. Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is none.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000157\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003EDocument, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000158\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022bdaf17848cb7471ca0bd51a5490dd7c7\u0022\u003EBudget 2014\u2014Cochlear Implants for Children\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022 data-id=\u00220e5a904079c5454abf5e022726a25458\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000159\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003E7. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220e5a904079c5454abf5e022726a25458\u0022\u003EJOANNE HAYES (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Health: What investment will the Government make in Budget 2014 to assist children with profound hearing loss?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022 data-id=\u00224eec13b949c648bdbd96cc45f917fe35\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000160\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224eec13b949c648bdbd96cc45f917fe35\u0022\u003EHon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health):\u003C/span\u003E Last week the Government announced that Budget 2014 will include an extra $6.3 million to provide two funded cochlear implants for children with profound hearing loss. The current 100 percent subsidy is for only one implant. Also, $2.1 million has been set aside to provide a funded second implant to children under 6 who have already received a single implant through the cochlear programme and were unable to get a second. These implants are a game-changer for young children and will help give them a great start in life.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000161\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022597c628c579b4aad8be09111095d3df2\u0022\u003EJoanne Hayes\u003C/span\u003E: What reports has the Minister received about this new funding?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000162\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227bf5523f99244e5fbd975c94338498db\u0022\u003EHon TONY RYALL\u003C/span\u003E: I was very pleased to hear a report from the mother of a 5-year-old girl who was born deaf that when she got her cochlear implant, she \u201Cbrightened up, became more confident, curious, and playful. Her world is much more open now. She does get tired at school, having to listen so hard and to concentrate with just one hearing ear. That is why we are so excited\u201D\u2014said the mother\u2014\u201Cabout now being able to have another implant, so it will be easier for her to hear and learn.\u201D This is a great investment by the John Key - Government in the future of young New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000163\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022640707db17d4494fa5469746d7ee382d\u0022\u003EMinisters\u2014Attendance at Cabinet Club Events\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022 data-id=\u0022bdf8e5d4afab4fe0935b8ed2aaeda0fa\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000164\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E8. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022bdf8e5d4afab4fe0935b8ed2aaeda0fa\u0022\u003ECHRIS HIPKINS (Labour\u2014Rimutaka)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Is he satisfied that all of his Ministers have fully complied with section 2.54 of the Cabinet Manual; if so, how does he satisfy himself that those provisions are being adhered to?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022 data-id=\u0022e6ebc19edd334201ab2cac205139c043\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000165\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e6ebc19edd334201ab2cac205139c043\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes. Ministers are not permitted to accept additional payments without my permission. Of course, if any were accepted, they would need to be declared in the register of pecuniary interests. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000166\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229144755f11a745b79aaee9323c16f462\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: Can he guarantee that no members of the Cabinet club have used their paid access to Ministers, at a cost of $10,000 a year, to lobby for changes in legislation, Government policy, or specific ministerial interventions; if not, why not? [Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000167\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229636675b4445446eb79a6b04d13db873\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The Prime Minister may not have heard the question. I had trouble hearing it, and the reason it is difficult to hear is the level of interjection coming from my right-hand side. I will ask the member to repeat his supplementary question. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000168\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c31461e45d704e04845ceb69470008ab\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: Can he guarantee that no members of the Cabinet club have used their paid access to Ministers\u2014at a cost, reportedly, of up to $10,000 per year\u2014to lobby for changes in legislation, Government policy, or specific ministerial interventions; if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222c4b69a8ec194b219c3fde2565a8f952\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: As I said in answer to the earlier question, what is quite clear is that Ministers can go to Cabinet clubs or other fund-raising events\u2014actually, Labour did those sorts of events the entire time it was in Government. What the Ministers are quite capable of doing is talking about their ministerial portfolios and areas of interest. The Government makes decisions based on its own analysis and its own decisions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000170\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221d5c0aae7efd40ff9143aeb77450fa46\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000171\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022876b69943b37422384f9323897914fd7\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Can I just say to the member that if he is going to raise a point of order about whether that question was addressed, I can assure the member the question was addressed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000172\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d2a18fa422a74fd69ca29344cc68f78b\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: A supplementary question, then. Can he guarantee that none of the people attending Cabinet club meetings have a potential beneficial interest in the decisions of the Ministers they are paying up to $10,000 to rub shoulders with; if not, why not? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000173\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022425739d779d94d97b2fe2bd1a0f4b279\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Political parties right across Parliament attend events that are fund-raising events. People always have interests\u2014of course they do; that is the real world. In the same way, the Labour Party accepted $60,000 from Phillip Mills\u2014Labour and the Greens accepted $60,000 and $65,000 respectively\u2014and very soon afterwards the Labour Party started promoting green growth. We know that Shane Jones, for instance, had his leadership bid funded in part by the oil and gas sector and, again, very soon came out and started talking about that. I have quite a long list. If Labour members really want to invite me to table all of those, they are welcome to do that, but I just make one little warning to them: do not go there. But if you want me to, I am more than happy to. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000174\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223c04a0c6e462456a9cad090c6195ac7d\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: Are Cabinet club events open to all those wishing to attend or only those who are willing to pay an annual subscription to be a member of the club?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000175\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022edb1ca4c1b8b49fdba22e1eeda50f4f0\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: They are fund-raising events, like many fund-raising events. As I said earlier, they are quite within the Cabinet Manual. The one thing that is a good point here, though, is that, quite simply, we declare our donations. People know where they come from. What do we know about David Cunliffe? He raises money, and he will not say where that money came from. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000176\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002211b87949d3d84cb4bdcdd661666490b5\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. My question was pretty specific. It was about whether the events were open to anybody or only to those willing to pay a subscription. The Prime Minister has not even addressed that part of the question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000177\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221742c4e0fce9439baa7ebf5f0a86f834\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The Prime Minister was certainly addressing the question\u2014maybe not to the member\u2019s satisfaction. He has further supplementary questions and he should use them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000178\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224b78407c7a6e40338147bebd1370020d\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: If the Cabinet club is such a legitimate fund-raising tool for the National Party, is he satisfied with the answers his Ministers gave yesterday when asked about it, such as Paula Bennett, who said: \u201CI\u2019m not sure. I\u2019m not sure.\u201D, and Anne Tolley who said: \u201CI don\u2019t know. What is Cabinet club?\u201D. Why are they trying to hide it?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000179\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022068b6bca190a4edba04bf6719687fce9\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: People are entitled to give their own perspectives. Not every electorate has a Cabinet club. Others call them different things\u2014pizza and politics; a range of things. But what I do know is this, and members on the other side will be interested to know. We declare our donations. Does the Labour Party? [Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000180\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002283b76ded5e0e4bae84612d681268d148\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Order! You can have the conversation afterwards.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000181\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022173dd6d29a724847b2de6043cb588783\u0022\u003EBudget 2014\u2014Canterbury Recovery\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022 data-id=\u0022a4cb29c6770844b5a328f977c0cb7e4c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000182\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022\u003E9. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a4cb29c6770844b5a328f977c0cb7e4c\u0022\u003EHon KATE WILKINSON (National\u2014Waimakariri)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Social Development: What recent announcements has the Government made about providing support for beneficiaries to contribute to the Christchurch rebuild?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022 data-id=\u00221caa17efbb79455c9c649611097d1dd5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000183\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221caa17efbb79455c9c649611097d1dd5\u0022\u003EHon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development):\u003C/span\u003E Yesterday the Prime Minister announced a new initiative, and I was there as well, called 3K to Christchurch, which will help beneficiaries find much-needed work and will be able to assist with the rebuild. An amount of $3.5 million in new funding will go towards giving keen beneficiaries outside Canterbury a one-off payment of $3,000 if they have a full-time job offer in Canterbury and are ready and willing to move there. The rebuild is creating thousands of jobs in Christchurch, and unemployment there is down to 3.3 percent. I have just heard that we have had more than 50 inquiries already from people who are interested in taking this up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000184\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002274c429daf4c94039ba0c4a90fae8d9c4\u0022\u003EHon Kate Wilkinson\u003C/span\u003E: How will the 3K to Christchurch initiative work, and will it also apply to my own Waimakariri electorate?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000185\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e036971b79c44a98b76c45b3c3c67993\u0022\u003EHon PAULA BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: To the second part of that question, I am pleased to let the member for Waimakariri know that, yes, it will include her area. It is the Greater Canterbury region, if you like, where it goes to. We will target the 19,000 beneficiaries aged 18 to 24 with work obligations who currently live outside of Christchurch, although beneficiaries of any age can apply. The payment will help them with sorting accommodation, travel, clothing, and actually getting there. We will work closely with employers to make sure that we connect them with beneficiaries who would be suited and would be willing to do the work. The job must be for over 30 hours a week and for longer than 91 days.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000186\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229ac274da589d426aa422bc8b8e7f07a5\u0022\u003EHon Kate Wilkinson\u003C/span\u003E: What other support for Canterbury has she announced?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000187\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225205b0cde2154a7bb8552388c0b10670\u0022\u003EHon PAULA BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: Although the Christchurch rebuild is going at full speed, the Government recognises that some Cantabrians are still struggling with the impact of the earthquakes. Yesterday I announced ongoing support for counselling services and helplines, as well as the Earthquake Support Coordination Service, worth $13.5 million over the next 4 years, which will pay for coordination support for up to 5,000 households. What the evidence tells us is that they can still be feeling the psychosocial effects of the earthquakes for up to 5 to 10 years afterwards. We want to continue with that counselling support, and this money will do that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000188\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224b5bbad90b764d7590445ff1d551920b\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: In light of the fact that there are currently 495 priority applications for Housing New Zealand homes in Christchurch and that since the February 2011 quake rents have risen by 34 percent, what provisions for suitable, affordable accommodation are being made for these additional 1,000 new Canterbury residents, let alone local people?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000189\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f5106ea5dd3d46008705d1e023e2365a\u0022\u003EHon PAULA BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: Well, of course, there are a number of initiatives, one being the accord that the Government has just signed with the council, injecting another $75 million\u2014[Interruption] You asked the question. Another $75 million is going into that, to make sure that we can see that we are freeing up land and actually partnering with the council. But the point I will make is that we have seen students who can make amendments. Most of these are young people, as I said, they are likely to be single, and they can go into flatting situations. I know the member herself said yesterday that you can see houses being rented for anywhere from $400 to $600 a week. If you took it on a room-by-room basis, actually that is about $100 or $150 a room. They can board. They can go in with relatives. They are pretty inventive in what they can do. Employers themselves are there to help them with their accommodation. I just think it is a bit of a catch-22: if you do not have the workforce you cannot be building those houses.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000190\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002232f96526c68341a4b4a0771e538aae50\u0022\u003EJustice, Minister\u2014Visit to China\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022 data-id=\u0022871ef434b5fa44378195d61f8e185a32\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000191\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E10. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022871ef434b5fa44378195d61f8e185a32\u0022\u003EGRANT ROBERTSON (Labour\u2014Wellington Central)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in the Hon Judith Collins; if so, why?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022 data-id=\u002296a0485e6ae94ad8a0a0089143054b1b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002296a0485e6ae94ad8a0a0089143054b1b\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes; because over the almost 6 years Judith Collins has been a Minister, she has made a significant contribution to the Government and New Zealand in the portfolios she has held.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022854f556ae9f44359a8ba0fc47e3d1165\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: When he and his office provided material to the Cabinet Office to assess whether Judith Collins had a conflict of interest, did that include material from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade about her visit to China?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000194\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229341a2a020ce4659b2ed2b79f718f21a\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: There was a variety of different sources, which I felt ensured that the Cabinet Office could make a fair ruling, and we provided all that information to it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000195\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022207b9dcd097c46bda0d6766fea2bc121\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. That was a very specific question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000196\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a97c10aacad84c86857d461940f2bd9a\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I will allow the member to repeat the question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000197\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cfd041c7cf17475cb9ba663303ec0ce5\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: When he and his office provided material to the Cabinet Office to assess whether Judith Collins had a conflict of interest, did that include material from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade about her visit to China?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000198\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002240c68fdd5ace4c9f82e028472937cb99\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I cannot absolutely 100 percent say yes, but I am pretty sure the answer is yes, because part of what was discussed with the Cabinet Office was the name of the person, the agency they worked for, and their seniority. I assume that came from the ministry, but I cannot be sure.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000199\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a207ef8c02604b1898d85c098521258a\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Was the Cabinet Office provided with all of the material that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade held about Judith Collins\u2019 visit to China, including the change of the programme that led to the visit to the Oravida headquarters?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000200\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002251845a3ae3754c4e87d9e0431b8ea53d\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: It was provided with all of the information that would have been relevant. The fact that a programme changes is of absolutely no relevance whatsoever. But what is interesting is this. The paperwork shows right through this that not only did the Minister have a very busy programme, which the member wants to gloss over, all on judicial and justice issues, but, secondly, all the way through it talks about a private dinner. That was at a time when the information was never likely to be in the public domain. I say this to Perry Mason: \u201CIt\u2019s time to sling your hook, son.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000201\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225311e11e3bff4d36be206eec6dfaa134\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: What did New Zealand Ambassador Carl Worker tell him about that dinner and who attended it when he discussed it with Mr Worker on his visit to China in March 2013?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000202\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002247a69107f1ae4ef3bdf775d53b37c138\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: He told me it was a private dinner that he did not attend.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000203\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222f0e05820e104cc399e7a66c3ea3ef8f\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Would the Prime Minister like to clarify whether that comment he has just made was the only thing New Zealand Ambassador Carl Worker told him about the dinner and who attended the dinner?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000204\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ef3da9d38fc349db811304545feb783a\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I do not tape ambassadors and everything they say, but the broad conversation we had was that it was a private dinner and he did not attend it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220d520bbf0af24727af264168123e8631\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Does he believe that it was appropriate for Judith Collins\u2019 husband, David Wong-Tung, to have contacted the New Zealand Ambassador to China to lobby for Oravida\u2019s products to be showcased at events in China on his visit in April 2013, using information and contacts Mr Wong-Tung gained while accompanying the Minister on a trip to China in 2012?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000206\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227d40b342bee748f997ead3fcaf01ebb4\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I refute the last part of the question. In terms of the first part of the question, lots and lots of companies contact embassies and say they want to showcase their products. There is nothing new about that. Oravida is a genuine New Zealand company that is building an export market in China. If the member does not want that, he will\u2014I can actually understand why he does not want that. Let me rephrase that. I understand that the member does not like economic development, because that is exactly what Shane Jones said when he quit. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000207\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d9e147243259432585b01810f9f80317\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order, Mr Speaker. [Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000208\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b9301dde05784f50abe30c2c664c274f\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I am trying to assist the member with his point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000209\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d388c1b4de4743d49a9c8db58aadb405\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave of the House to table an email from David Wong-Tung to the Ambassador to China, Carl Worker, which includes the statement, talking about his visit in 2012: \u201CI remember vividly your advice\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000210\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229f1dc58b39444450a4b4976436cddbd0\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Leave is sought to table that particular email.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000211\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220f3820076b5b403d8fc9d65d2712f774\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. We are not going to oppose the leave, but I would point out that yesterday the House gave the opportunity to Mr Robertson to table some documents. Upon inspection, those documents were not as he described. It would only be reasonable that he\u2014[Interruption]  \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000212\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022803de7486d254fabb2f7df9562e021c9\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! First of all, I am going to put the leave to table that particular email, and then I will make a comment on the point raised by Mr Brownlee. Leave is sought to table that particular email. Is there any objection? There is none. It can be tabled.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000213\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003EDocument, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000214\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229212a3a095fc4d65be013728b9d0b52d\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: As regards to the point raised by Mr Brownlee, if any member seeks leave to table a document and misdescribes it, that is a serious offence and then there is an appropriate way to address that\u2014not by raising it as a point of order; the matter needs to be raised rapidly with me as the Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000215\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002253c71c1a5be84d85aa76d79d30ea4c88\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Don\u2019t tell lies.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000216\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bf1d911af38c4f3cba74789ce84755bb\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Grant Robertson, that sort of interjection will lead to disorder.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000217\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f61989315755466caa858b163814271c\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Gerry Brownlee stood up and made an accusation that you yourself have said is a very serious one. It is a complete lie\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000218\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226549045e7df542f2983fbe4fd8a1e61a\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The member is in danger of having to leave the House. That is going to create disorder. I accept the point. The member may disagree with what Mr Brownlee said, but, as I pointed out to Mr Brownlee, if he believes it was misdescribed, there is an appropriate avenue for dealing with it. It is not something that is appropriate to be discussed on the floor of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000219\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224c121b84f9974e6fbf3caff519a22869\u0022\u003EHon Anne Tolley\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Can I ask you just for some clarification? If a document is released under an Official Information Act request, is it then the practice of this House that those papers can be tabled one at a time? The opportunity was offered yesterday to table them all. Are we now going to expect that in this House? I thought the ruling was that anything that was publicly available was not able to be tabled.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000220\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022baf10e64fd374afeb237f4107c34790d\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, that is not the ruling. It is a matter that I consider case by case, and, at the end of the day, if I am in doubt as to whether to put the leave, I will put the leave and let the House decide. So it is ultimately the House, not me, that decides as to when a document gets tabled. My intention with the tabling of documents is that when members seek to table a document, I consider whether it informs the current debate before the House. If it is something that is freely available to all members, such as media reports or from Scoop or some matter like that, there is little point in even seeking leave. It will not be put. But with something like an Official Information Act release, if members want to release it and they think it is something that would be valuable information to the House, I will consider it at times to be appropriate to put the leave, and then it is for the House to decide.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000221\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00223f055b8bef1e43e9927be5378c89c1e5\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Defence Force\u2014Budget 2014 and Upgrades\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022 data-id=\u00224838e49bee404396993209b2555da063\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000222\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E11. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224838e49bee404396993209b2555da063\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Defence: What will Budget 2014 mean for the New Zealand Defence Force?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022 data-id=\u0022867b6df5ef3948f48a52c95b69e89c91\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000223\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022867b6df5ef3948f48a52c95b69e89c91\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Defence):\u003C/span\u003E As we announced last week, in Budget 2014 the Government will be investing $100.9 million of operating expenditure in defence for the 2014-15 year. This is the first stage of an allocation of $535 million in additional funding over the next 4 years. This new funding will enable the New Zealand Defence Force to deliver on the Defence White Paper 2010, to maintain and improve its current mix of capabilities, and to sustain and grow personnel numbers over time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000224\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223f85d0015ee444f7ad86d79020e8e776\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: Why is investment in the New Zealand Defence Force needed?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000225\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223963b430bf604c4da83d801f2856461c\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: The Government inherited a significant funding hole from the previous Labour Government. It had ordered new equipment that it could not afford to run, such as the NH90 helicopters. The Defence White Paper 2010 signalled that new money would be required over time to maintain and improve New Zealand Defence Force capabilities. The Government commissioned the Defence Mid-point Rebalancing Review to look at the costing of various combinations of capabilities that would enable the New Zealand Defence Force to meet the Government\u2019s expectations. Budget 2014 provides the funding that the New Zealand Defence Force now requires.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000226\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c225acbccbb343138a866c1a53b242f2\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: What new capabilities are on the horizon for the New Zealand Defence Force?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224f446d8efa074a4e9233db1ff2649b2a\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: In the last year the Government purchased eight new Seasprite naval helicopters for $242 million, 200 new state-of-the-art trucks, and 11 new T-6C air trainers as part of a $154 million pilot training package. Just last week the Defence Force signed a $446 million contract for a self-defence upgrade of the navy\u2019s frigates, and a contract for a new battle-training facility for the New Zealand Special Air Service will be signed shortly. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000228\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ea8bd1f4627148bc97e0c384f88d2893\u0022\u003EHon Phil Goff\u003C/span\u003E: Will the problems disclosed in the Minister\u2019s latest Defence Force annual report\u2014which discloses that critical trade groups are \u201Cseriously degraded\u201D, that the Defence Force is unable to \u201Cmeet all expected outputs and readiness\u201D, and that there is \u201Can increase in the risk of Army\u2019s ability to sustain a deployed force\u201D\u2014be solved by his latest package, where he is putting back in $100 million but since 2012 has been demanding cuts of $350 million to $400 million a year, which caused those problems?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000229\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d1371386391c4e0fac09a2ce32f530c6\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: What I can say is that the defence budget has not been cut. It is completely untrue to say that. We are putting extra money on top of that. We are solving the problems we were left by Phil Goff. When he was Minister of Defence, the front page of the New Zealand Herald on Thursday, 4 September 2008 said \u201CCan\u2019t sail, can\u2019t fly, can\u2019t fight\u201D, and that the defence chiefs presented a damning picture of the state of New Zealand\u2019s armed forces under Phil Goff. We have been left with solving the problems, which we are doing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000230\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a9b097c70ad14804884dfc20d6e41cb4\u0022\u003EHon Phil Goff\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave of the House to table a statement from the Minister of Defence in 2012 that the Defence Force\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000231\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dc6ac8eea458458b80323286e3979f32\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! No. Such information is freely available to members.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000232\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c02a5d7bfb3a4f428970ad6d892f5113\u0022\u003EClimate Change\u2014Government Position\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022 data-id=\u0022df73620aaf604fee8e037108f9b8ec55\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000233\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022\u003E12. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022df73620aaf604fee8e037108f9b8ec55\u0022\u003EDr KENNEDY GRAHAM (Green)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Climate Change Issues: Does he agree that climate change is a clear and present danger, as highlighted by the landmark US Climate Assessment Report released overnight?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022 data-id=\u0022d49a8958090b4c5ca12f2f32c5c23df6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000234\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d49a8958090b4c5ca12f2f32c5c23df6\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES (Associate Minister for Climate Change Issues)\u003C/span\u003E on behalf of the Minister for Climate Change Issues: In light of the fact that the report came out late last night, New Zealand time, and is some 841 pages, I have not read all of it and I have not yet been briefed on it. I do, however, agree with Minister Groser\u2019s endorsement of the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which concluded that the warming of the climate system is unequivocal. The Government considers climate change to be a serious issue. This is why we are undertaking a range of measures over the short, medium, and long term to help mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000235\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227d88524f99d3430896d749cbb7ba7bf8\u0022\u003EDr Kennedy Graham\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave of the House to table a hard copy of the report, which has only just come out. It is an overseas publication and I think it would benefit the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000236\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224f750ea6c9a24607949df4f557297b1e\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! That is for the House to decide. I will put the leave on the basis that this is the hard copy and it may not be readily available to members. Leave is sought to table this particular document. Is there any objection? There is objection.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000237\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b43049cdc8744c39b426a6e8f60543d9\u0022\u003EDr Kennedy Graham\u003C/span\u003E: Given the Associate Minister\u2019s response that the Minister takes climate change as unequivocal and serious, notwithstanding recent comments subsequent to that by other Cabinet Ministers, will his Government be undertaking a national climate risk assessment, as the US administration has done, and as requested by the Wise Response petition tabled here last sitting week?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000238\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cd06ce066e014c4481ae5849b465e55c\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES\u003C/span\u003E: I think the member will be well aware that we commission numerous reports. We have officials doing numerous assessments, and, indeed, through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change process, we are constantly assessing where we are at against the global position.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000239\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b859f65f4aec404186ca118300541095\u0022\u003EDr Kennedy Graham\u003C/span\u003E: In light of the US President\u2019s pledge to rely on the advice of US scientists to guide US climate policy, will Minister Groser retract his statement in this House of 15 April where he dismissed the accepted findings of a leading New Zealand scientist as \u201Ccomplete and utter nonsense\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000240\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bc889c5ef5a24beb9921b3aa5a8c62ce\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES\u003C/span\u003E: I think precisely what the Minister was referring to was that that academic was absolutely entitled to his opinions, but he really gets deference only when he is talking from his expertise and not straying off that field of expertise.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000241\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225259251888c04a288fab68fd6e7e05fa\u0022\u003EDr Kennedy Graham\u003C/span\u003E: If the Minister agrees with the US report that the amount of future climate change \u201Cwill \u2026 be determined by choices society makes about emissions.\u201D, will he change his Government\u2019s policies, which are currently on track to increase New Zealand\u2019s emissions by 50 percent over the next 10 years?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000242\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ccd49b9a8fd548ccadf6854a9ad57912\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES\u003C/span\u003E: Well, of course, those figures are projections based on an extremely low carbon price globally at the moment. I do not think that anyone is predicting that that is where it stays. What is also true is that the Government has a policy and a strong set of policies to do our fair share, both globally, where we are pushing for a comprehensive agreement, and also domestically, through our emissions trading scheme and in numerous complementary measures, where we are spending significant sums of money in bioenergy, in the Pacific, and in many other areas that, if the member would like to know more, I am happy to tell him about.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00228adae5168f6147c98d89fbc0aaa2c80f\u0022\u003EBusiness of the House\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000245\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ea00ea3baba5491a976e941f83b2d69a\u0022\u003EBusiness of the House\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022 data-id=\u0022a96e0c26dbb3425b92597d32fd382236\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000244\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a96e0c26dbb3425b92597d32fd382236\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE (Leader of the House):\u003C/span\u003E Following discussions in the Business Committee, I seek leave for the second reading of the Te Urewera-T\u016Bhoe Bill to be set down as Government order of the day No. 1, despite Standing Order 292, and for the extended sitting on Thursday, 8 May to include Government orders of the day Nos 1 to 3.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022 data-id=\u002218ae69d65a8c490eaf448e072cb2860f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000246\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002218ae69d65a8c490eaf448e072cb2860f\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Leave is sought for that course of action. Is there any objection? There is none. It will so happen.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000247\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022f9f6c7526e1a45499d94377a2eabea44\u0022\u003EGeneral Debate\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000249\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022334e13908b074123a8353f4fc3cead4e\u0022\u003EGeneral Debate\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022 data-id=\u00228fdf570cb55b49e085620b758677de31\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000248\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228fdf570cb55b49e085620b758677de31\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Economic Development):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the House take note of miscellaneous business. Let us take stock of where things are as we head into the halfway point of the first week of the session, when the Opposition, once again, is absolutely focused on the issues that matter: private dinners, innovations in fund-raising, and even, this afternoon, correct grammar. This Opposition is a million miles from reality, and the people of New Zealand know it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000250\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003EMeanwhile, on this side of the House we are focused on achieving things for New Zealand, and today we had another example of it, with more growth in employment\u201484,000 more New Zealanders have got jobs this year than a year ago. It is the largest increase in employment in nearly a decade\u2014nearly a decade\u2014and there was not a word out of the Opposition on that today. Business and consumer confidence is at record highs, manufacturing has been in expansion now for 19 months, welfare reform is working, more people want to move to New Zealand, and fewer Kiwis want to leave. Last month we had a seasonally adjusted net loss to Australia of just 400 people. We heard nothing from the Opposition on that; those members are too wrapped up in their private dinners and their fund-raising events. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000251\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003ENew Zealand is doing better on all other economic indicators\u2014economic growth, the balance of payments. The Labour Party\u2019s obsession about the balance of payments\u2014maybe it is some sort of delayed apology for how appallingly it did with the export sector when it was last in Government. Our international liabilities are one of those things that boffin Parker likes to focus on. How much we owe the world is down to just 66 percent of our economy. It was just over 85 percent when Labour finished its handiwork in 2008. The export crisis that we know about\u2014our goods exports have just had their biggest quarter ever. The goods surplus for the last 6 months is over $2 billion. But that does not stop the boffins on the other side trying to reform the economy with their wacky new monetary policy, which they have no idea how it would work. And here we are, 8 days into it, and one David Parker\u2014boffin in charge\u2014cannot tell us at all how it would work and to what extent it would work.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000252\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e124c7266d814fe99e3b8bbf05c34dda\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: You don\u2019t understand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000253\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f077a7b6c6c24c6884ddbb600e2e701d\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE\u003C/span\u003E: Apparently, the rest of the world does not understand. It is very complicated. It is a very interesting alchemy of stuff that Mr Parker has concocted, but he cannot answer the question. There is a very simple question\u2014which neither he nor Mr Cunliffe can answer\u2014that is very straightforward. How much would people\u2019s KiwiSaver rates have to go up to avoid a 1 percent increase in interest rates? And if they do not know the answer to that question, it is not a policy; it is a thought bubble. The problem for the Opposition is that it does not know the answer, and the silence is deafening. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000254\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003EThe problem with that is that it is another example of a policy where you have to read the fine print. It is like Labour\u2019s trucking policy that does nothing about trucks. It is like its baby bonus that does not provide a baby bonus. And this is the monetary policy that does not actually achieve anything. It does not actually deal with anything like interest rates. The public know that, and the public say\u2014actually, it is not just the public. There is, of course, one late-lamented\u2014again, not mentioned in the House this week\u2014Shane Jones. Ah, he knows it, too. He popped his head up and said that he was leaving, and we all thought: \u201CWonder why that is.\u201D The reason was that he believed that being an economic development Minister in a Government that is opposed to economic development would be an oxymoron. He is right\u2014it would be\u2014and so, not surprisingly, he started to talk about other jobs. He realised that it would be the worst possible job because Labour and the Greens together are opposed to economic growth. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000255\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003ESo here we have it. On this side of the House we are focused on the issues that matter and achieving great things for New Zealanders through the hard work of the Government and New Zealanders. On the other side of the House those members are obsessing about the silly stuff and then coming up with wacky policies that achieve nothing. It is no wonder the country is in favour of this Government. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022 data-id=\u0022009b4462020542f19557f03b13e2fd5e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000256\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022009b4462020542f19557f03b13e2fd5e\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Leader of the Opposition):\u003C/span\u003E How desperate is that Government? The guy it puts up to deflect and dissemble could come up with only the unemployment rate on a day that it stayed the same\u2014from 6 percent to 6 percent. As the Labour Opposition\u2014why does he not listen to this\u2014has revealed, long-term unemployment under this Government has tripled since National took office. If that is the best it can do in a general debate, it really is in trouble. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000257\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EMr Joyce mentioned Labour\u2019s monetary policy. He obviously did not like it. I will tell you why he did not like it: because the Employers and Manufacturers Association did, Federated Farmers did, the Manufacturers and Exporters Association did, the bank economists largely did, former Reserve Bank Governor Don Brash did, and bank board members did. So that is why Steven Joyce did not: because New Zealanders did. They know that it means lower interest rates. They know that it means a better export economy with better jobs and higher wages. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000258\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EAnd, ladies and gentlemen, has not the last week just shown the contrast between these two parties? On the Government\u2019s side\u2014politics as usual. On the Labour side\u2014a party of new ideas that wants to put people first. That is what Labour is about: putting New Zealanders first. This Government puts money first. That is the common theme of the sad parade of the last couple of weeks. It put subsidising Rio Tinto ahead of compensating Pike River families. It chose to help Skycity, not to end child poverty. It chose the Cabinet club, Oravida, and Maurice Williamson\u2019s call to the police about a donor. It is privileging wealthy donors and granting special access to Ministers. It is our duty, though it gives us no pleasure\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000259\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cc8af6ce87aa4205838c8492f41b866e\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: Ha, ha!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000260\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d6b7634b8d0a43a597f61b799a7f5767\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014to point that out to New Zealanders. Well, there is the laugh of the damned. There is the laugh of the damned. They are damned because John Key came to office 5 years ago promising to be a breath of fresh air. I think he was bouncing from cloud to cloud at the time, but that is what he promised. He promised high standards from his Ministers. He did not promise Oravida and draining the swamp. That is what he has got. He did not promise Ministers intervening with the police to help out wealthy donors. He did not promise Ministers taking wholesale donations and then forgetting that they had got them. Those are not the standards New Zealanders expect. That is, sadly, what politics as usual has become, but it is not good enough and it is not what Labour stands for. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000261\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EWhat Labour stands for is putting New Zealanders first. We have a positive agenda that is about our children: the idea that every single New Zealand child deserves the best possible start, irrespective of where they are born, irrespective of who their parents are or where they come from, irrespective of the size of their family\u2019s wallet or home. Every child deserves the best start, and that is why the Labour Party has been working so hard to bring in the Best Start package, to end the fact that one in four of our children is growing up in poverty. One in four of our children is growing up in poverty, and that Government is enriching itself and its members and their families, not the most vulnerable children of this land. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000262\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EEvery New Zealand child deserves to grow up in a warm, dry, healthy home. There are 5,000 families in New Zealand on the waiting list for a State home. Is it not sad that the Prime Minister cancelled 500 State houses in his own electorate of Hobsonville? The same Prime Minister tells us how he came from a family that depended on a State house. The difference between the Government and the Opposition is that we do not pull up the ladder. We put all New Zealanders first. We do not mind hard work, but we want every New Zealand child to have the opportunities that we had. Politics as usual or politics for people? It is an easy choice in 2014.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022 data-id=\u002241102a5b81594a5380158f33843ebcd0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000263\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002241102a5b81594a5380158f33843ebcd0\u0022\u003EHon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Attorney-General):\u003C/span\u003E I agree that the past week has been a very interesting week in New Zealand politics\u2014a difficult time for a member of the House. It proves the old adage that nothing in this game lasts for ever. What is here today can be gone tomorrow. It was an emotional week. Of course, I refer to the impending retirement of Rajen Prasad. Attention from the very good work that the Government is doing for this country was diverted by the stunning news that Rajen is on his bike. But I am here to remind the House that life will go on without Dr Prasad. He may no longer be with us after the election, but we will still have the lowest crime rate in 25 years. The OECD, as we know from today, says that we are in very good shape. Some say that we will have the highest economic growth in the developed world this year. We still have the extra $22 million boost for budgeting services, announced by my good friend Paula Bennett this week, and, as Mr Joyce said, an extra 84,000 jobs created in the last year, so we must continue. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000264\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003EAs Dr Prasad noted, he has made his contribution to Parliament. His work is done. When earlier this year he asked three questions in question time he equalled the total number of questions he had asked in the previous 5 years. Little, sadly, did we know that this flurry of activity was really a death rattle. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000265\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003EI want to tell the House a most interesting story. Last Sunday I woke up at 6.55 and, as is my wont, lunged for my radio so that I could listen to the news on Radio New Zealand National. After the news, I thought the children\u2019s programmes must have continued, because there was a bizarre interview with a fellow called David Cunliffe. Wallace Chapman, who has replaced Labour lovey Chris Laidlaw on the programme, was asking him a question: \u201CWho in your caucus, Mr Cunliffe, has experience as a manual worker?\u201D. And Mr Cunliffe said there were many. As I look across the House, I cannot see many, but Mr Chapman said: \u201CWho, exactly?\u201D. Oh, Darien. I recognise Darien Fenton. But then Mr Chapman said: \u201CWell, who in particular?\u201D.  And Mr Cunliffe said: \u201CMe.\u201D Apparently Mr Cunliffe was a manual worker. Between secondary school and going to university, apparently he was a shearer. I would very much like him to challenge Colin King to a shearing competition. So the bard of Harvard is really a son of the soil. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000266\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003EAs a man who works with his hands, Mr Cunliffe will appreciate this week\u2019s announcement of $20 million in the Budget for 6,000 more apprenticeships, which will give eligible apprentices or trainees an opportunity to apply for a $1,000 subsidy towards the costs of tools and off-job course costs, or $2,000 for those in priority trades. So what we have with Mr Cunliffe is a very, very strange person, and Wallace Chapman is not the only person to have identified this. He is always secretive and always darting around the edges of the truth. We have the secret trusts, we have those extraordinary statements about the whaling case, which was a triumph for this country, and he denied that we were there. As Sunday\u2019s radio interview showed, he is so adept at being tricky that when he has no one to deceive, he deceives himself just to keep in practice. He is a very, very odd fish indeed. When he talks about the stark contrasts in the next few months, I will place the house on this fellow Key going head to head with Cunliffe and crushing him.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u0022105f06b258eb436ea12f47a23efe0d06\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000267\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022105f06b258eb436ea12f47a23efe0d06\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Deputy Leader\u2014Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I have some respect for the Attorney-General, but a week out from the Budget, as we approach an election, I have to say that that was a very lightweight speech. As we head into the election season, a few weeks away from the Budget, you are going to hear less from the Labour Party about the other side and more about the difference that we are going to bring to New Zealanders\u2019 lives. Of course we are still going to be exposing the cronyism that is rife under this Government. I do not have time to go into that any more today, other than to say that it is the responsibility of the Opposition to hold the Government to account for poor practice, in the interests of democracy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000268\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EI want to talk about why it is that our revisions to monetary policy struck a chord with New Zealand. It is a topic that is not particularly sexy, but it was well received by New Zealanders because they are now seeing the linkages between what the Labour Party stands for and the lives that they live. They see that our policies are connected to improving their lives in the way and in the areas that they worry about. They know that despite the fact that New Zealand had low general price inflation in the last quarter\u2014zero percent, excluding the increase in tax on cigarettes\u2014house price inflation is out of control, particularly in Auckland, and that is why the Reserve Bank put up interest rates, which, in turn, put up the exchange rate. They know that there has been a 40 percent increase in house prices in Auckland. The average is now $680,000. Homeownership rates are at a 50-year low. That is one of the most important measures of rising inequality under this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000269\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003ENew Zealanders know that because interest rates went up because of poor housing policy, it has meant that people have lost their jobs in the forest processing industry, that we export too many raw logs, and that the problems of insecure work and of an unemployment rate still at 6 percent are related to housing policy and monetary policy. They know that the Government hides the lot of ordinary New Zealanders in its averages. It says average wages have gone up, when it knows that 45 percent of New Zealanders did not get any wage increase last year and that, even on average, the average wage rate went up by only 1.6 percent, which is exactly the same as the increase in inflation. They know that we are on to something and that we have got to align the objectives of the Reserve Bank with our export sector. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000270\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EWe hear Steven Joyce coming in here and trying to minimise, trying to dissect down to the littlest thing, and trying to reject the idea that we have actually got some pretty comprehensive policies that work across the economy to reduce interest rates, to get our interest rates down to lower levels, which are always higher than the rest of the world, and which jack up our exchange rate and mean that we have not covered the cost of our imports in interest for 40 years. They know that those changes are complex but important. They know that it is better to save a bit more money than to pay it on interest. They know that the Australians have done that and that is why the Australians sustain higher income rates and lower interest rates. That is why they like universal KiwiSaver. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000271\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003ENew Zealanders know that there are lots of other tools that the Reserve Bank has got, like macro-prudential tools, that it could use differently. They know that a capital gains tax, to tax speculators, not the family home, would take the heat out of the price of houses, and would therefore have less lead from the Reserve Bank to jack up interest rates. They know that we should restrict foreign buyers buying existing homes. They can build a new one; they cannot just buy an existing one, because that pushes up prices to the detriment of New Zealanders and their children. They know that the same thing is happening with farmland. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000272\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EThe Labour Party is determined\u2014it is determined\u2014to bring our interest rates back to international norms. We have got a once in a lifetime opportunity, as we transition to compulsory or universal KiwiSaver, to get saving rates up and interest rates down, to get people into their first home by helping them save for a deposit, and to help people in our productive sector, because our exchange rate will not be overvalued beyond its fundamentals. What was the Government\u2019s response? Bill English said that it is bad that the exchange rate is too high, but it is bad if it settles at realistic levels. He said there is nothing new in this, but no one has done it before. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000273\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EOn this side of the House we are determined to bring forward policies that will help people have secure work, better-paid jobs, lower interest rates, more export earnings, and better lives. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022 data-id=\u0022aa0cb75335904891bcc6f4ef1e86f9b0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000274\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022aa0cb75335904891bcc6f4ef1e86f9b0\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Associate Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E That speech made by David Parker really shows the problems that the Labour Party has. David Parker is a very nice, pleasant, na\u00EFve fellow, trying to explain where Labour is at with economic policy. Frankly, none of that makes sense to the person in the street. The fact is that it was a whole lot of garbage. In economic terms David Parker is like the bloke at the rugby club who still showers in his underpants. That is where he is at. He is totally na\u00EFve and out of touch. He has got this policy thing that he is calling the \u201Cbig tool\u201D. The problem is that no one out there in the real world can understand what the heck he is talking about. It is all academic mumbo-jumbo. It is no wonder that David Parker is not an electorate MP, because, quite frankly, he has no connection with real people, just like David Cunliffe, his leader, who makes out that he has been a guy who has sheared sheep and done all this sort of stuff. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000275\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224b0eab0f05b7460badef633c13195110\u0022\u003EHon Chris Tremain\u003C/span\u003E: He was a war hero.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229ed59876e8724fc9b7017fde631ce316\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: Yeah, his grandad was a war hero or whatever. Well, that was not true. In actual fact, David Cunliffe hides out in his Herne Bay mansion pretending to be the New Lynn blue-collar man, and it just does not work. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000277\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003EI will tell you something very interesting. I do not know whether you listened to Radio New Zealand National this morning, but Guyon Espiner asked Grant Robertson whether he thought that his leader should reveal the details of his secret trust. I will tell you what: Grant Robertson would not back up David Cunliffe. He would not back him up. Grant Robertson was one of the 68 percent of people in the Labour caucus who did not want David Cunliffe as leader. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000278\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003EThe problem they have is that the Labour Party leadership is now for sale. And who have they sold it to? They have sold the leadership to the unions. Basically, 70 percent of unions voted for David Cunliffe. Now the Labour Party has to deliver on what the unions want. That is a real problem because what the unions actually want is not what New Zealand wants. So these people, as Steven Joyce has said, have been caught up in all sorts of distractions all week. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000279\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003EMeanwhile, National is delivering for New Zealanders. There is fantastic economic growth. There is 3 to 4 percent growth in GDP predicted over the coming year. There were 68,000 jobs created over the past year. The balance of payments is extremely healthy. Terms of trade are the best they have been for a long, long time. David Cunliffe was going on about interest rates, but do you know what they were under Labour in 2008? For a first mortgage they were 11 percent. That party was crippling the average Kiwi. So those guys do not have the record to stand on. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000280\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003EDavid Parker was also talking about overseas investment and how he is going to do this and that and that New Zealand is not for sale. Well, David Parker\u2014their finance spokesman\u2014personally signed off much, much more land in his 5 years doing the job than we have in our entire time in Government. So these guys talk one game in Opposition but they are totally different in Government. We are just focusing on getting on with the job. We are focused on health, education, the economy, and law and order\u2014the things that matter to New Zealanders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000281\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003ETony Ryall today announced $6.2 million for cochlea implants so that kids can hear. That makes a real difference. Paula Bennett announced that there was $10 million for sexual violence counselling services in the Budget. It is so important. The Christchurch announcement was about paying $3,000 to get beneficiaries off their backsides and down to Christchurch to work, develop a career, and add something to the economy. We are tackling real problems. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003EThose guys over there are just making it up. We have not heard any policy from Labour apart from the \u201Cbig tool\u201D. But do you know how bad it has got over there? It has got so bad that Labour has had to promote Trevor Mallard to be its economic development spokesman. Labour has now had to put Trevor\u2014who is finished, whom the New Zealand public hate\u2014at No. 15 because the only guy there with any economic clue, Shane Jones, has actually said: \u201CI\u2019m out of here. I\u2019m not going to be part of any Labour-Green setup.\u201D What did he say? He said that Labour and the Greens together will not be promoting economic development. Shane Jones knows which way it is going. Shane Jones knows that it makes sense to come and work for the Government of New Zealand, because we focus on what Kiwis care about. And when it comes to the election, people are going to put all the rubbish\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000283\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222dcd9fde988e48d6a994d3519df537db\u0022\u003EDr David Clark\u003C/span\u003E: Oravida.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000284\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226a3508a8941d43c9a7d719a3e38aeef5\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, that is David Clark for Dunedin North. He is the guy who says that he will ban Google from New Zealand. What an idiot. That is the standard we have got. He is another \u201Cshower in his underpants\u201D bloke\u2014the vicar from Dunedin who thinks he can help run the economy. I tell you what: those people are in trouble big time. We are delivering in health and education. We have the lowest crime rate in 25 years. Kids are achieving at school, and the Polynesian community is achieving. I can tell you what. Labour members can say what they like, but the public know which side their bread is buttered on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022 data-id=\u002206310386b64f486c81993df2311abb9c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000285\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002206310386b64f486c81993df2311abb9c\u0022\u003EDr KENNEDY GRAHAM (Green):\u003C/span\u003E Yesterday the United States released its national climate assessment report. Its main message is that climate change is not a distant threat but a clear and present danger. To quote the report: \u201CClimate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present. Americans are noticing changes all around them. Summers are longer and hotter, and periods of extreme heat last longer than any \u2026 American has ever experienced. Winters are generally shorter and warmer. Rain comes in heavier downpours, though in many regions there are longer dry spells in between.\u201D This follows the latest UN Fifth Assessment Report, which advances the same conclusions at the global level. \u201CThe debate over climate evidence is over.\u201D, to quote one of the lead authors of the US report. Except that there never really was a debate over climate change\u2014or at least there should never have been. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000286\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022\u003EClimate science is not a matter of subjective political judgment. It involves natural processes where the scientific method applies, with hypotheses and evidence self-correcting to a higher level of confidence. The scientists sounded the alarm in 1988. The international community formally identified the danger in 1992. It launched its first response strategy in 1997. Then, in 2005, the then Opposition leader, John Key, advised the world that he was sceptical of global warming. Coming to power in 2008 he began weakening New Zealand\u2019s response strategy, assisted by a cohort of troglodytes determined to undermine any purposeful climate policy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000287\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022\u003ENew Zealanders would be able to report similar experiences with climate change as those of the Americans\u2014recent storms and floods, droughts and fires, and sea level rise that is already occurring. But there is no report. The Government has no interest. Last sitting week an eminent group presented a petition to Parliament urging the Government to undertake a risk assessment of New Zealand. Not one National MP was on hand to receive the petition. The petitioners, above all, appealed for a cross-party accord on climate change. An hour later I highlighted the petition in general debate. Not one National MP acknowledged the petition. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000288\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022\u003EJudith Collins spoke about the economy, law and order, health, and welfare, just as Jonathan Coleman has just now\u2014pretty much everything that matters to ordinary Kiwis, as she put it, with exquisite ignorance of the petition that had just been tabled. The ever-prescient David Bennett contented himself with the humble view that the Green Party represents a vision that has gone. It represents, he said, a vision of the past. Ian McKelvie enthused that it was another great day for provincial New Zealand because it was raining everywhere, except, he cried, the lower Rangit\u012Bkei. Significant rain, he warned, again, with unwitting irony, will be needed very soon. And he was kind enough to explain why \u201CFor those who do not understand this \u2026\u201D, tupping will not be as productive with less rain. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000289\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022\u003EWhat has to occur to bring this ideologically blind Government to its senses? During the last dismantlement of the emissions trading scheme in this House I accused John Key and Tim Groser of the moral crime of ecocide. I make that charge again today because these leaders are wilfully maintaining a response strategy that condemns New Zealanders to a future that undermines our economy, including agriculture. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000290\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022\u003ELast weekend the UN Secretary-General said this: \u201CThe planet is sending us clearly a message that nature is now sick. We must listen. That is why I am saying to world leaders: \u2018Don\u2019t be on the losing side of history. Change is in the air. Solutions exist. The race is on. It\u2019s time to lead.\u2019 \u201D John Key and Tim Groser are, in fact, leading on the losing side. New Zealand\u2019s net emissions are projected to triple between 1990 and 2030. The rate of increase is higher than global emission projections. Global projections are expected to breach the 2 degree threshold and land us in danger territory\u2014somewhere between 2.6 and 4.5 degrees. But if the world emitted at the rate New Zealand is projected to, the global temperature would rise by 5 to 7 degrees\u2014truly catastrophic. This is how New Zealand, under John Key, is doing its fair share. The man should be ashamed of himself and his Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022 data-id=\u002266a6602286d44b819fc7630910a68e1e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000291\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002266a6602286d44b819fc7630910a68e1e\u0022\u003EHon NICKY WAGNER (Minister of Customs):\u003C/span\u003E I have a really good feeling about the Budget. I have got a good feeling about the Budget because it is absolutely focused on the things that matter most to New Zealanders and their families. It is about opportunity, it is about economic well-being, and it is about providing a good quality of life for everyone. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000292\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003EFirstly, and so importantly, we are moving back into surplus. It is not a huge surplus but we are on the way to ongoing surpluses and the opportunity to strengthen our economy by paying down debt so that we can keep our interest rates down, as low as possible, and put something aside for the next rainy day. It is so good to see our economy growing. Now we have to lock down that growth so that everyone\u2014our families, our households, and our businesses\u2014can benefit. Yes, we have all worked pretty long and pretty hard and pretty smart to get here, and we have managed to survive really tough global economic times and survive them well, but now we have to manage that economic growth equally as intelligently so that we can continue to benefit into the future. We want more jobs and we want better incomes, and the only way to get those is by sticking to our very successful economic management plan and focusing on our Business Growth Agenda.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003ECanterbury and the Christchurch rebuild are a key focus of this Government, and a significant amount of the new Budget money is targeted at supporting our community\u2014firstly, supporting our very resilient but by now pretty tired and stressed families. The Minister for Social Development, Paula Bennett, has announced $13.5 million in operational funding over the next 4 years to continue the Earthquake Support Coordination Service. It is a great service. It includes counselling and the Canterbury 0800 support phone line. I know of dozens of people who have benefited from the free counselling, and hundreds, maybe thousands, who have got support on that phone line. This money will provide ongoing earthquake coordination to support 5,000 households and about 250 new people every month to go through counselling services. It is estimated that the 0800 number will handle nearly 13,000 calls in the next year. International research tells us that the third year after a major disaster is often the worst. It is very stressful for our families, so we really need and appreciate this support. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000294\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003EI am always very pleased to see the $20 million allocated for 6,000 new apprenticeships and the incentives for beneficiaries to come to Christchurch to take up pre-arranged jobs. I am really pleased because in the past adjournment I have had several businesses talking to me about desperately needing more workers. I have spoken to construction companies that have thanked us for the apprenticeship reboot scheme, and they say that it has been a real breakthrough for them and has increased the number of apprenticeships that they can take up, and that is great for our young people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000295\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226c27856f835e4ba2817d04447075af96\u0022\u003ECarol Beaumont\u003C/span\u003E: Where are they going to live, Nicky?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000296\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002204ea94deea594ff2a8c6e2525c3f9977\u0022\u003ENICKY WAGNER\u003C/span\u003E: Also, to the interest of Carol Beaumont, who questioned earlier, I recently visited the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology women\u2019s trade training course and I met a fabulous group of women\u2014about 60 of them\u2014who are working hard and just itching to get out and work on that rebuild. Although we are getting through the repairs, we are only about 10 percent through the construction phase, so there is plenty of work for them once they have graduated. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000297\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003EOther businesses that I visited are also very short of staff. I met one that was short of 40 full-time semi-skilled workers. It wants to continue to expand and this is what is stopping it. It pays well, it is family friendly, and it is flexible, but it still cannot get enough employees. There was also a smaller company that was short of only a couple of workers, but for that size of company it is crucial if they want to continue to grow. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000298\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003EThere is work in Christchurch\u2014all types of work\u2014and I welcome people who are keen to come to our city and add to the rebuild and our city\u2019s prosperity.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022 data-id=\u0022335dadb8771c42b2b660e16ad451f64a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000299\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022335dadb8771c42b2b660e16ad451f64a\u0022\u003EJACINDA ARDERN (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I think it is pertinent when we come to a Budget to ask a really simple question. It is a question that I think we should ask every Government when it is in office, and it is whom the Government is here for. When judging a Government on a question like that, actions will always speak louder than words or the rhetoric that we have had from that side of the House this afternoon. Let us look at the Government\u2019s action. Let us look at its record since it first came into Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000300\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003EIt may brush over this, but one of the first things that it did was reorder our tax system so that tax cuts\u2014significant ones\u2014meant that 40 percent of what it redistributed went to the top 10 percent of New Zealanders. When this Government claims that it is moving back into surplus, we need to keep in context that it is borrowing up to $10 million worth of interest a day in order to pay for tax cuts like that, which went to people who just did not need them. That was the trade-off that the Government was willing to make. At the same time, it cut things like the training incentive allowance. It scrapped adult and community education. It has poured $40 million into private schooling and established charter schools. Whom is that Government here for? Actions speak louder than words. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000301\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003EIt is not just about policies; it is about the way the Government acts when it comes to individuals who are in positions of wealth or power. We have seen some examples in recent weeks of this Government\u2019s attitude towards certain New Zealanders. We have seen it with Judith Collins. We have seen it with Maurice Williamson. In fact, we have seen it from almost all of the Government members with their exclusive Cabinet clubs, because what the Prime Minister did not acknowledge today when he tried to bandy around that these were just simply innocuous forms of fund-raising is that the people who belong to these clubs are not told they are part of a fund-raiser; they are told they are part of a club. They are told they are part of a club. A Government should never be elected to serve for the exclusivity of the few or for the members of a club. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000302\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003EFor the Labour Party, our driving force has always been very, very simple. Our ethos has been simple. It has always been very clear. We have always been here because we believe in serving on behalf of people. It is always what we have been about and we are proud of that. I do not care if the National Party members want to mock us for having a value set. I am proud of it\u2014ever since Kirk was in this House and he simply articulated it as all that people need is something to do, somewhere to live, someone to love, and something to hope for. If you want to distil down what we fight for every single day on this side of the House, it is exactly that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000303\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003EI have had from that side of the House questions over some of the policy ideas we have raised. I am happy to outline all of them. Starting in January was Best Start. Best Start is a $600 million investment in children, acknowledging that if we want to move forward as a nation, the best thing we can do is invest in the early years of those children by giving their parents choices, by ensuring that they have access to early childhood education, and by increasing support for parents who need it most. That is what that package was about and that is something we are really proud of. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000304\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003ESecondly, what about housing? That simple issue of somewhere to live is not a simple issue in New Zealand any more. It is increasingly unaffordable for families, and particularly families with newborns are moving more and more often. That impacts on children\u2019s education. That is why we have boldly said we will build 100,000 houses. We will introduce a capital gains tax. We will introduce monetary policy that is focused on families, interest rates, and employment. That is why we have boldly said we do not care if we are having to be world leaders in monetary policy if it means doing things on behalf of people and putting people first in a market economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000305\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003EWe have always been proud of our history. We are proud of our ideas because they are positive. They are about focusing on what matters most. It is not about a club. It will always be about people.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022 data-id=\u00223800a367e27b4804b2b2ab4ab5ac2822\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000306\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223800a367e27b4804b2b2ab4ab5ac2822\u0022\u003EMAGGIE BARRY (National\u2014North Shore):\u003C/span\u003E Next Thursday our Minister of Finance, the Hon Bill English, will be presenting his sixth Budget, and, like our newly minted Minister, Nicky Wagner\u2014congratulations\u2014I have a good feeling about this Budget. Already we have seen some good initiatives coming through, and that is only the start of what is to come. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000307\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EFor my part, I would like to concentrate in this call on what this John Key National-led Government is doing for senior citizens in New Zealand, the people who are very vulnerable at the last stages of their lives. This year, for example, we are going to invest more than $1.55 billion in aged care. This is an increase of over 60 percent under Labour\u2014$1.55 billion. So we are spending more on respite care, carer support, day programmes for older people, and a lot of other initiatives that really will make a difference to the quality of life of our seniors. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000308\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EOne example is that we have developed a new clinical assessment tool for aged care providers. This ensures that each resident in residential care will get up to two nationally consistent clinical assessment tests twice a year, or more if their health suffers. That is the kind of thing that really is important because older people\u2019s health does change quite dramatically and quite suddenly, so that is an important initiative, as is, in this space, a national minimum standard, which will mean the same level of care is going to be expected from providers across New Zealand. Again, this is a very important initiative, and we have tightened up on a lot of the regulations around residential care. Across the board, across this country, in every electorate, and in every home, you can relax in the knowledge that New Zealand seniors are going to be better looked after. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000309\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EElder abuse, in my opinion, has been a shameful secret for far too long, and this John Key National-led Government is very committed to confronting elder abuse. We are actively encouraging police to work more closely with partner organisations such as Age Concern, which already does a very good job, but there is not enough sharing of information. There are too many silos around this kind of thing, so we are breaking those down. We want to improve the responses to elder abuse. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000310\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EThe new Crimes Amendment Act, for example, which came into effect in 2012, makes it an offence, with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, to not take reasonable steps to protect a child or a vulnerable adult. We are focusing on older New Zealanders\u2019 health and well-being. In my own North Shore electorate I have seen plenty of examples of that. We have invested in the past few years more than $200 million in new facilities and new services. Gone are the dark days under Labour\u2019s incompetent Minister of Health Annette King, when we saw long waiting lists, people going to Australia for cancer treatment, and just horrific situations\u2014terrible situations. But under the Hon Tony Ryall that has all changed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000311\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EIn North Shore Hospital, for example, we have just put in a state-of-the-art elective surgery centre. We have a new emergency department and a new cardiology centre. Last week I opened up a $3.5 million community dialysis centre. This is the sort of thing that makes an enormous difference to people\u2019s lives, and it is complemented by the dialysis centre on the North Shore Hospital site, which the Minister of Health, Tony Ryall, opened a couple of years ago. So there has been a lot of spending\u2014some $200 million on that one example of one hospital\u2014but it does not stop there. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000312\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EThere are indeed a lot of things happening in terms of superannuation. In just over 5 years of a National Government the married rate of superannuation has gone up by $183.88 a fortnight and the single living alone payment has increased by $125.10 a fortnight. That equates to a 25 percent increase since April 2008. We stick with a plan. We make one, we stick with it, and we stick with our promises. Our Prime Minister, John Key, has undertaken to the people of New Zealand that we will maintain the married rate of superannuation at 66 percent of the average wage, and under our watch the age of eligibility will remain at 65. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000313\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EThe SuperGold card started out with very, very humble beginnings, and now we see that there are more than 10,000 outlets in New Zealand that are involved in SuperGold. Businesses range from pharmacies and dentists to transport and utility services. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000314\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022efc12db803844382803b9fd7034fd155\u0022\u003EDenis O\u2019Rourke\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s not a National Government achievement. That\u2019s a New Zealand First achievement.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000315\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221cf6899c861e49c3b65e196c5e64e67d\u0022\u003EMAGGIE BARRY\u003C/span\u003E: So from extremely humble beginnings we have managed to crank it up. It is also now across Australia as well, so New Zealand seniors can go across to Australia and receive a range of commercial discounts that are the same as those that Australian seniors receive. So since 2010 our Government has not just mithered on about it and sort of suggested it and then left well alone, as one of the members who was heckling before was indicating\u2014he was trying to claim the credit for it. We have invested $68.6 million in the SuperGold card scheme, and next week in the Budget we will see even more exciting initiatives that will mean a brighter future for New Zealanders. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022 data-id=\u00220732b997273f4093a61bd4fe30fc15ea\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000316\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220732b997273f4093a61bd4fe30fc15ea\u0022\u003ESUE MORONEY (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E National Party members have just spent the last half an hour or so trying to convince New Zealanders that they are interested in the issues that matter to them. Well, tonight in the House they are going to get a chance to vote for an issue that matters to New Zealanders. They can choose to vote to extend paid parental leave to 26 weeks. So the question is whether they will. Will they put their money where their mouth is and deal with that issue, or will they do what they have been doing for weeks now and filibuster to try to delay the Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months\u2019 Paid Leave) Amendment Bill from having its vote in Parliament tonight? I think that is the sort of issue that New Zealanders are going to judge this Government on. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000317\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003ENational Party members would have us believe that they want to do things that are relevant to people, but we are going to see whether that is true when they debate tonight. Are they going to spend a lot of time talking about the Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill, a tiny little bill that really does not impact anybody at all, or are they going to let the House get on and vote for extending paid parental leave to 26 weeks? The Government has a problem. It has got a problem. This bill defeats the Government. The only thing that stands between families and 26 weeks\u2019 paid parental leave is the Government, because the majority of members in this Parliament will vote for that. I thank all of those parties that really are dealing with the issues that matter to people, because if families can get 26 weeks\u2019 paid parental leave with their newborn babies, then that will make a huge difference to people\u2019s lives. If we can get the bonding and attachment right, which we know now from all the research and evidence is so important for helping children develop well, then we will have a much better future in this country. The only thing that stands between now and that future is the Government. So we will get to see tonight whether those members are going to do that. They have gone very quiet. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000318\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EGovernment members say that they are going to deal with the issues that matter to people. Well, what I want to know is which people. Are they the people who are in the Cabinet club? Are those the people they are talking about? I believe they are. Someone sent me a tweet today that I think said it all. They said: \u201CSue, do you know what a \u2018Cabinet club\u2019 handshake looks like? Of course you don\u2019t, because it\u2019s done in very deep pockets, and you don\u2019t get to see it.\u201D That Cabinet club handshake is done in very deep pockets and with people who have the money to buy influence. That has been the theme of the last week. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000319\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EWhile we have been addressing issues that matter, like extending paid parental leave, the Prime Minister has been spending his time trying to defend all of his colleagues and all of his Ministers from being donkey deep and dealing with people who have the money to buy influence. So\u2014[Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000320\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e694602f4eff44648cf02f07f748e8dc\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I am sorry to interrupt the honourable member, but I just remind members that when we are having a debate, people may interject on the speaker, but they cannot interject on each other if they do not have the floor. It is very discourteous.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000321\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002235d228ea50354cdd8c4beac1d4d0f721\u0022\u003ESUE MORONEY\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you. I have obviously touched a nerve there. What is the theme here? Judith Collins was working with Oravida, with people who have the money to buy influence. Maurice Williamson went and phoned the police to defend somebody who has the money to buy influence. Then we find out that they are all doing it\u2014all of the Ministers are involved in these Cabinet clubs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000322\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EI would like to know from the members opposite\u2014could the next person who gets up and speaks for the Government please tell us all of the electorates where these Cabinet clubs operate. Where are the electorates where these Cabinet clubs operate? Well, maybe in 5 minutes you are not going to have time to list them all. Maybe it is going to be quicker to name the electorates where there are no Cabinet clubs in operation, because I think this is happening up and down the country. In every electorate, I am guessing, there are going to be these people who belong to these exclusive clubs. They pay money to belong to these exclusive clubs for one reason and one reason alone, and that is to buy influence with Ministers in the National Government. I want the members opposite to name any of the electorates held by their MPs that do not have a Cabinet club. I think that will\u2014well, Tau says he has not got one. There is one member who is going to be honest about it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f0eab35fd9a84e7f9c50b2384926b0cc\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The member\u2019s full name.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000324\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022487194025a274360b6856ca6bd495c68\u0022\u003ESUE MORONEY\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, Tau Henare\u2014the Hon Tau Henare says he has not got a Cabinet club, but he is on his way out anyway. I want to know from each one of those members opposite which one of them has a Cabinet club, who is in that Cabinet club, and what influence people are buying when they join up to the Cabinet club. I think that those are the issues that we need to hear about before we see the Government\u2019s Budget.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022 data-id=\u002270b6701ba8e0442d8abe2face7720940\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000325\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002270b6701ba8e0442d8abe2face7720940\u0022\u003EHONE HARAWIRA (Leader\u2014Mana):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora mai an\u014D t\u0101tou katoa. Way back on 14 September 1972 a petition with more than 30,000 signatures was presented to Parliament, spearheaded by the Te Reo M\u0101ori Society and Ng\u0101 Tamatoa, calling for Te Reo M\u0101ori to be taught in schools. That petition led directly to the creation of Te Tau o te Reo M\u0101ori\u2014which later became Te Wiki o Te Reo M\u0101ori\u2014and to M\u0101ori being included in the school curriculum. That love for the language also led to the establishment of the world-leading initiative to teach M\u0101ori to preschool children that is the k\u014Dhanga reo movement. From k\u014Dhanga we got kura kaupapa, and from kura we got wharekura, and eventually we saw the establishment of Te W\u0101nanga o Raukawa, Te W\u0101nanga o Aotearoa, and Te Whare W\u0101nanga o Awanui\u0101rangi. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000326\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003EIn fact, the 1980s was a big time for Te Reo M\u0101ori. The M\u0101ori language claim was lodged with the Waitangi Tribunal in 1985 by Huirangi Waikerepuru and Ng\u0101 Kaiwhakap\u016Bmau i Te Reo M\u0101ori, which sought official recognition for Te Reo M\u0101ori in places as diverse as the courts, Government departments, local authorities, and even Parliament itself, and for the Reo to be made compulsory in schools, a claim widely supported by all corners of the M\u0101ori world. The tribunal ruled that the Crown had failed to protect the M\u0101ori language and recommended that Te Reo M\u0101ori be legally recognised as an official language, that a statutory body be established to foster the use of Te Reo M\u0101ori, and that a broadcasting policy be formulated to help promote the language. In 1987 the M\u0101ori Language Act was passed, making M\u0101ori an official language, and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo M\u0101ori was established to promote the use of Te Reo M\u0101ori as a living language. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000327\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003EThose initiatives were further enhanced by another claim led by Huirangi Waikerepuru and Ng\u0101 Kaiwhakap\u016Bmau i Te Reo M\u0101ori, stating that the M\u0101ori Language Act had failed to address radio and television broadcasting, and a claim from Sir Graham Latimer and the New Zealand M\u0101ori Council calling on the Crown to recognise M\u0101ori interests in the radio spectrum. The Crown opposed both claims, and M\u0101ori were forced to take their case to the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and ultimately to the Privy Council, where they won support for an amendment to the Broadcasting Act in 1993 to establish Te M\u0101ngai P\u0101ho to fund M\u0101ori language television and radio programmes under the Minister at the time, the Hon Maurice Williamson. Today we have 21 M\u0101ori radio stations around the country, and M\u0101ori Television finally went to air on 28 March 2004. But in case anyone thinks that things are all OK with the Reo now, please note that just 2 years ago the Waitangi Tribunal ruled that the Government had breached the Treaty of Waitangi by systemically failing to fund and support the k\u014Dhanga reo M\u0101ori language strategy, that the Government should apologise for its failings, and that it should appoint an independent adviser to oversee an urgent programme to overhaul policy, increase participation, improve quality, increase funding, and provide the support necessary for the upgrade and maintenance of k\u014Dhanga facilities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000328\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003EThat is just a snapshot of the last 40 years of the struggle that M\u0101ori have been through to get Te Reo M\u0101ori recognised and to get resources committed to keeping it alive. In all of that, it is worth noting that the struggle was led by those who cared for the Reo, those who had a deep and abiding love for the Reo, and that they often did so at great personal cost to themselves and their families. Many of those early pioneers either could not even speak Te Reo or were themselves just taking their first tentative steps along the pathway of M\u0101ori language revitalisation. They were often castigated by older, more conservative native M\u0101ori language speakers for daring to lead the charge for the Reo. But their passion and their commitment and their refusal to take a backward step marked them out as true champions for the language. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000329\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003EAnd that is the reason Mana opposes the Government\u2019s plan to take the language away from those who care for it and to give it to those who would corporatise it. The plan, led by the M\u0101ori Party, is to scrap Te Taura Whiri i te Reo M\u0101ori and Te M\u0101ngai P\u0101ho and to put the language into the hands of corporate iwi leaders. We oppose its plan because the grim reality is that iwi leaders at that level are simply not capable of managing such a taonga. They were not there when the people needed them to lead the fight for the Reo. Their corporate statements speak glowingly of the importance of the Reo but their financial statements suggest that they have other priorities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022 data-id=\u002244d97faca325430792dc353b9e948481\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000330\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002244d97faca325430792dc353b9e948481\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR (National\u2014T\u0101maki):\u003C/span\u003E We have been hearing a lot from the Opposition members today around Cabinet clubs and their great concern about what might somewhat transparently be happening in the Government over here. Well, I have been fascinated, as they have talked about money and influence and access, to think about what is the world\u2019s largest Cabinet club. Ladies and gentlemen, the largest Cabinet club of money and influence and access is the unions\u2014the unions that behold that crowd opposite every day. Do you know what makes it worse? Do you know what makes it even worse? The constitution and structure of the New Zealand Labour Party allow the unions\u2014the unions of New Zealand\u2014to decide who the Labour Party leader is, and, God forbid, who could be a Labour Prime Minister. That is buying access. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000331\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EDo you know what makes it even worse? Even worse is that the unions are taking the money from the pockets of hard-working New Zealanders, particularly in the Civil Service. I remember it well. They take money from hard-working Kiwis, push it on to their union hacks, and then pass it on to the hacks who sit on the other side of this House. [Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000332\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fc5d1fdad5774c43b166c4bef8d52f9c\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I am very reluctant to interrupt a member who is in a 5-minute speaking slot, so I am going to allow him to start again. I am going to allow him to start again because I have two members who do not have the floor who continue to interject on each other. It is totally out of order. The member can start again. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000333\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002278f4f245b5fe48bfbf5608deb6b84e7e\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: I will not continue on this line of vitriol per se, but I think the reminder is there: if the party opposite wants to talk about money and it wants to talk about access and it wants to talk about influence, then it must begin and end with a conversation about the Labour Party and the role of the unions. I go back to that other point that it is money taken from hard-working, ordinary Kiwis, channelled through the system. Once again, you see it in the constitution of the Labour Party, which gives effective majority control to the unions to decide the leadership. That is just shocking. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000334\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EI am looking forward to this Government\u2019s sixth Budget. The fine electorate of T\u0101maki is looking forward\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000335\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e8a804455bba418781e54504dbbde348\u0022\u003EMaggie Barry\u003C/span\u003E: Magnificent. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000336\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224b23b32708ef4abca398783f01cd165b\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014the magnificent electorate of T\u0101maki, thank you to the member.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000337\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b6d7a587f1b749a1b3264dca632c65dd\u0022\u003EMaggie Barry\u003C/span\u003E: Almost as good as the North Shore beaches.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000338\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221dafe6e392d145a8a2f87a1f09825fc6\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: Almost as good as the North Shore. And why are we looking forward to it? Because we are a positive party looking for a brighter future. We know that we sit on great news, like 3 percent growth. Some economists are forecasting even higher. We know that over 1,500 people a week are coming off welfare. Unlike the other side, who are a lot of sort of theoreticians, those of us who have worked on the front line\u2014in fact, within the likes of Work and Income\u2014know that for those 1,500 individuals, going into work changes their lives. This Government is committed to that. To the Labour Party that is just a number and something to be heckled at, but, again, for the real, hard-working, experienced people on this side of the House it makes a difference. There were 84,000 more jobs added to the economy in the last 12 months. Unemployment is at 6 percent and it is forecast to go even lower. Contrast that with the OECD rate of 7.6 percent. We are on our way to surplus. This National Government promised it, and we will deliver it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EWhat about the other side, though? What about the other side? They are completely distracted, never focused on the issues that matter. All we heard was rambling rhetoric. I think there was a promise of unicorns, fluffy bunnies, and rainbows in there somewhere. In fact, when Opposition members even come to try to do a policy, it really is sort of being akin to a theomachist in an apothecary. Most people will not know what that means, and that is a good analogy because no one understands what Labour\u2019s policies mean. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000340\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226c176e2b6fdf4874ade7b6a0856567e7\u0022\u003EMaggie Barry\u003C/span\u003E: Or care less. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000341\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228776742774e847d0bcb161460005c124\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: Or care less. Well, actually, I quite like the word \u201Capothecary\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000342\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228cf0fb6b-0b8f-4327-983d-73e1166c220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fcd0d137e29b4ceaaeb56afe782a8d50\u0022\u003EDr Cam Calder\u003C/span\u003E: What policies?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000343\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e10f21c770754d3892fe34dfc66fa607\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: What policies? It is a shocker. What we do know is that there would be higher taxes from Labour and the Greens and more taxes through their emission trading scheme. Have no illusion, New Zealand, things like the emission trading scheme, capital gains taxes, and changes to KiwiSaver are costs to you. They want to nationalise the electricity system. I heard the other day that I think the Greens in particular now are against milk products and logs. What are we left with in this country? They really also want to spend like troopers. Well, we are a prudent Government. We are a prudent Government. We have capped it, effectively, at up to $1 billion of new spending because we know that that is the prudent and right thing to do. The majority of Kiwis understand this, and that is why the Labour Party and its union mates are polling under 30 percent\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000344\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227c025831dba04d609b3458e6b91f1caa\u0022\u003EMaggie Barry\u003C/span\u003E: And down\u2014going down. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000345\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c31610e843634c3ca3d2e5397658fe63\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014and continuing to go down. That is why a certain Mr Jones jumped. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000346\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EBut what about the wins? We are seeing some prefigurations\u2014[Interruption] Or he was pushed, as my honourable colleague notes. We are looking at some really serious positive wins for Kiwis at the moment, like $6.3 million over 4 years for bilateral cochlear implants. As someone who has worked with them\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000347\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228cf0fb6b-0b8f-4327-983d-73e1166c220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c115b38332384fd19db00cd10b8979db\u0022\u003EDr Cam Calder\u003C/span\u003E: How much, sorry?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000348\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002225733d61ac334ddf85826bed09a612c2\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: $6.3 million. As someone who has worked in the health system, what a difference that makes. I would like to suggest, though we probably cannot find the money, that we probably need some implants for the Opposition members so they can truly hear the wants of New Zealanders. We heard from Paula Bennett that there is $10.4 million in new operating funding to support sexual violence services. That is absolutely critical, absolutely important. As someone who has worked in the community for years\u2014and I think, particularly, of working as a chaplain at Mt Eden prison\u2014and seen the abuse and the violence that happen to our most vulnerable, it is critical to get in early to make a real difference. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000349\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EAs I turn towards the end, because I am conscious of time, I want to turn to T\u0101maki. There are many, many local wins that this Government has delivered to the people of T\u0101maki\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000350\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228cf0fb6b-0b8f-4327-983d-73e1166c220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224999c6c2f6f14c7e870629a909dc671a\u0022\u003EDr Cam Calder\u003C/span\u003E: And continuing to deliver.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000351\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f0d0c062c0504170adac7cf721e11dfa\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014and it will continue to do so, like $3 million to the St Thomas School for new buildings, and ultra-fast broadband to our schools. We have the T\u0101maki Transformation Programme, an agreement between the Government and the council, working with the Auckland chamber of commerce, around a Career Start programme. The Career Start programme is a cooperation of the T\u0101maki Transformation Programme, the Government, and the council to help young people into jobs. There is new housing in Glen Innes and Panmure and the electrification of rail. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000352\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EThe debate having concluded, the motion lapsed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000353\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00224251046794104269a03a5eb5070e294f\u0022\u003EVoting\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000354\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022302a9138b7a543fd84cf78420a41c729\u0022\u003ECorrection\u2014Urgency Motion\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022 data-id=\u00223422c0ac1f0945f9a06b0f645e639b51\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000355\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223422c0ac1f0945f9a06b0f645e639b51\u0022\u003EEUGENIE SAGE (Green):\u003C/span\u003E I seek leave of the House to have a correction to the record of the voting on the urgency motion yesterday for the Psychoactive Substances Amendment Bill. The Mana party\u2019s vote should have been recorded as supporting that motion, not opposing it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022 data-id=\u002242c9bd1337b74dce97ca69444c7f5691\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000356\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002242c9bd1337b74dce97ca69444c7f5691\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Is there any objection to that course of action being taken? There is none. The member\u2019s request is granted. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000357\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002288fce58fd51b40339d96bb1964e72072\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000358\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022869bf593d2d2434bbbaebcf12c5acce5\u0022\u003ESecond Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022 data-id=\u002280428b7e5b0447ad90c88b628d5da46a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000359\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002280428b7e5b0447ad90c88b628d5da46a\u0022\u003ETE URUROA FLAVELL (M\u0101ori Party\u2014Waiariki):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. Ka nui te mihi ki a koe i t\u0113nei r\u0101. I move, That the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill be now read a second time. I would like to thank the members of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, the fine committee that is chaired by the Hon Tau Henare, for the very prompt way in which they have dealt with the bill and recommended back to this House that it be passed with amendment. I note that the select committee received 14 submissions. The committee heard eight submissions, and we held all of our hearings in Tauranga. Today this House moves history along, with our debate helping to advance the goal of eventually transferring land in the Tauranga area from the New Zealand Mission Trust Board to the newly created \u014Ctamataha Trust. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000360\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EJust over a week ago I stood with other members of this House at the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gate P\u0101\u2014Pukehinahina. During the course of the day we attended the military memorial service at the \u014Ctamataha Mission Cemetery. At that sacred site, surrounded by p\u014Dhutukawa and bordering on the highway north, there is a sort of solemn reminder of a history that so many of us, so many New Zealanders, have yet to actually know about. There are headstones representing young lives stolen from their family tree. Both British soldiers and mana whenua were buried side by side. That day added another story of the Waikato War alongside the battles of Rangiriri, Waiari, and Rangiaowhia, followed by \u014Cr\u0101kau at the beginning of this month. In June of this year the last major battle in the sequence, Te Ranga, also in the Tauranga area, will be commemorated. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000361\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EI wanted to set the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill in this sort of context because when the select committee attended the hearings in Tauranga it was evident that the submitters had lived this history, and they brought their t\u016Bpuna with them into the room. They continually told us: \u201CThe history is well-known. Those events have been talked about among our people since they occurred.\u201D Stories were shared from the descendants of K\u014Draurau, Hikaraia, and H\u014Dri T\u016Bpaea. We were told about the legacy of the koroua rangatira such as H\u0113nare Taratoa, H\u014Dri Ng\u0101tai, and R\u0101wiri Puhirake, all of whom lie there at \u014Ctamataha\u2014the wh\u0101nau Kohu, the wh\u0101nau Te Kane, the hap\u016B Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi, Ng\u0101ti Tapu, and te wh\u0101nau a Tauwhao. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000362\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EThe M\u0101ori Party believes that a nation can be only as strong as its collective memory allows. Our past builds our present, and if we do not understand our history we are pretty much like a leaf that does not know it is a part of the tree. We come to this particular history, the history and the story of the New Zealand Mission Trust Board and its benevolent intentions in establishing a trust for the purpose of spiritually benefiting and instructing local M\u0101ori. At the time, 1852, no doubt the Church Missionary Society had noble intentions, and indeed many of the submissions noted that although the church and its missionaries brought what they described as \u201Cmany good things to the tangata whenua of Tauranga\u201D, the so-called purchase of the land at Tauranga, including \u014Ctamataha, was never regarded by M\u0101ori as giving up their rights to the land. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000363\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EThe Tauranga Moana M\u0101ori Trust Board spelt out the situation really clearly in its submission. It said: \u201CAs the result of defending their lands at the Battles of Pukehinahina and Te Ranga tangata whenua were considered rebels and vast tracts of land were confiscated by the Crown. Included in the confiscated lands was the \u014Ctamataha site. The Crown, at its total discretion (indiscretion), vested the \u014Ctamataha lands in the Church Mission Society.\u201D Forty-four years after that land transaction executed by Archdeacon Brown, the residue of the land, including \u014Ctamataha, was transferred by the Church Missionary Society to the New Zealand Mission Trust Board. Fast forward another century, and then in 1998 the trustees of that board, in recognition of the mana and the process by which the land was acquired from tangata whenua, all resigned en masse. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000364\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EIt is a fascinating story that deserves to be told. It has all the elements of a great thriller\u2014a land-grab at the time of settlement under the authority of the missionaries; legislative stealth via the Religious, Charitable, and Educational Trust Boards Incorporation Act 1884, a remorseful Church that seeks the pathway for reconciliation, the mandate of the Waitangi Tribunal, which in 2004 found that the Crown was in breach of the Treaty principle of active protection, and the generosity of the hap\u016B of Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho in seeking to work with the Crown to put right the wrongs. Today we open a new chapter in that thriller. The purpose of the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill is to extinguish the New Zealand Mission Trust Board and to discharge its trustees. To effect this purpose, legislation is required to mandate the change in the trust and the beneficiaries, namely that of the hap\u016B of Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000365\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EThere is one other key element of this bill that requires some explanation. There was a call within some of the submissions for Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi to be considered one of the beneficiaries alongside Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho and Ng\u0101ti Tapu. The submission from Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi outlined their support for the progression of the bill, while also noting their close whakapapa links to Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho and Ng\u0101ti Tapu. They told the select committee: \u201Cwe believe it is fundamentally necessary to include Ngai T\u016Bkairangi as one of the beneficiaries. To not address this issue, leaves our hap\u016B members distraught \u2026\u201D. The select committee took on the commitment to address this issue in good faith. We noted that when membership of the New Zealand Mission Trust Board had been given to hap\u016B in the 1990s, Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi had chosen to withdraw its involvement within that trust. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000366\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EWe are also informed by the Waitangi Tribunal findings that the strength of the customary interest in the land had not been determined. Our recommendation to the House therefore recognises that the interests of Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi must be balanced against the needs of the existing trustees and the deed of the new trust. The \u014Ctamataha Trust board was amended in March 2014 to allow Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi members to benefit through their whakapapa links to the historical hap\u016B of Te Mater\u0101waho, whose connections to the land are now recognised in the trust deed. A definition of Ng\u0101ti Tapu has also been expanded to take this whakapapa into account. The select committee therefore recommended that the bill should be amended to align it with the changes made in the trust deed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000367\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EFinally, I want to leave the last word on this bill to the Te Kohinga, the reconciliation network of Tauranga Moana. It was its contention that the bill will make a further contribution to the reconciliatory healing between M\u0101ori and the Crown, and M\u0101ori and the Anglican Church, in Tauranga Moana. Te Kohinga shared with the select committee a statement on the record from Archdeacon Brown made prior to the Land Wars. He said: \u201CI am between the devil and the deep blue sea. In time the Government will require more land \u2026 to steer clear of giving offence \u2018to the powers that be\u2019 [Government] and at the same time to sustain our character as Guardians of the Natives will require much of the \u2018wisdom that cometh from above\u2019.\u201D On the face of it, 150 years ago the interests of the original owners were sacrificed, compromised, and extinguished in favour of the powers that be. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000368\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EToday we sanction an important move in restoring the \u014Ctamataha land to its rightful kaitiaki, and in doing so offer the potential for reconciliation and resolution of the wider Te Papa block issue in Tauranga. Under those conditions I thank the members of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee and the officials for their help. We know that there is one more reading to go, and it will be done and dusted. I appreciate the help of all the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, and I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022 data-id=\u0022417f3f399e13446da8d15a54889ef244\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000369\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022417f3f399e13446da8d15a54889ef244\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE (National):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, Mr Assistant Speaker. I just want to read, first of all, from the Waitangi Tribunal report Te Raupatu o Tauranga Moana: Report on the Tauranga Confiscation Claims of 2004. After considering the manner in which a Crown grant for the land including \u014Ctamataha was awarded to the Church Missionary Society in 1852, it concluded, at page 218: \u201Cwe find that Godfrey failed to ascertain and acknowledge the conditional nature of the transactions under \u2026 customary law and that he wrongly concluded that the [Church Missionary Society] had fully and fairly purchased the whole of the area. The Crown, in accepting Godfrey\u2019s recommendation and finally awarding the [Church Missionary Society] a Crown grant for the whole area, was therefore in breach of the Treaty principle of active protection.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000370\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EYou see, I suppose a little-known fact is that the Treaty was there to protect, and this did not do it. So what you see in the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill, and what you see in a whole raft of Treaty settlement bills, stems from the lack of protection that came out of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. I know that there will be people in our country who say: \u201CWell, you were conquered. You should just move on.\u201D It is very difficult to use that principle when we are a law-abiding country and as we move together down the path of nationhood. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000371\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EThe bill transfers land in Tauranga and other property from the New Zealand Mission Trust to the \u014Ctamataha Trust so that it can be used for the beneficiaries of the \u014Ctamataha Trust: the hap\u016B of Ng\u0101ti Tapu, Ng\u0101i  Tamar\u0101waho, and Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi. The return of the land is highly significant to the hap\u016B. It re-establishes their connection to the water. It provides income to the hap\u016B to finance other activities, including allowing hap\u016B to participate in the downtown economy of Tauranga. It comes with the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gate P\u0101, which was only last week. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000372\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EThe \u014Ctamataha Trust has been established by the hap\u016B of the Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i  Tamar\u0101waho to own and manage land and other property acquired through the historical common interests of those hap\u016B in Tauranga. It is not a charitable trust. The Church Missionary Society was established in Tauranga in 1835. In 1838 the society bought two blocks from tangata whenua\u2014and when I say \u201Cbought\u201D, I mean \u201Cbrought\u201D. In its view, it purchased it, on the site where the city of Tauranga is today. The transaction has never been accepted by tangata whenua as a sale of the land to the Church Missionary Society, so you can now understand why since 1838 there has been an issue, there has been some raruraru, and there has been some significant hard feeling by the aforementioned iwi and hap\u016B. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000373\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EIn 1867 the Crown again \u201Cacquired\u201D by the gift of the Church Missionary Society four-fifths of the land that had been vested in the society by Crown grant in 1852, and military settlers were settled on it. This land was surrounded by confiscated M\u0101ori land, which was also settled. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000374\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EI want to just deviate for a minute and talk about back in the day, when soldiers were asked to come from England, Ireland, New South Wales\u2014from wherever. One of my ancestors on my full-blooded P\u0101keh\u0101 side was a guy called Andrew McMahon. He came out, and the price of his coming out\u2014I would not call him a mercenary; I would say he was just looking for a job, like most of us, or some of us, will be after 20 September. They called him a fencible. He had a little plot. If anybody knows Onehunga, just right where the Onehunga fire station is, is where Andrew McMahon was given a piece of land to come and secure Auckland against those rebels from the other half of my ancestry. Basically, that is what we are talking about here, and what happened in Tauranga is similar to what happened to one of my ancestors. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000375\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EIn 1896 the remaining land, including \u014Ctamataha, was transferred from the Church Missionary Society to the New Zealand Mission Trust Board, which \u201Cheld the assets of the Board on trusts for the spiritual benefit and spiritual instruction of Maori people in the North Island of New Zealand or failing that, the evangelisation of the heathen races in any part of the world:\u201D. Those are not my words; those are the words that were used back in the day, and I do not think that local M\u0101ori needed any schooling in spiritual instruction, or even in the evangelisation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000376\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EMoving forward, in 1996 New Zealand Mission Trust Board handed the control of the land back to the new trustees appointed by Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i  Tamar\u0101waho. This was done in recognition of the manner and process by which the land was originally acquired from tangata whenua. The land involved in this was the 7,863 square metre waterfront site where the Trinity Wharf hotel now sits. The trust collects the ground rent from that hotel. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000377\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EThough the new trustees had control of the land, they were still obliged to use the money in investments derived from the land \u201Cfor the spiritual benefit and spiritual instruction of Maori people in the North Island of New Zealand or failing that, the evangelisation of heathen races in any part of the world:\u201D. Up until 1996 the money was used for the purpose of the spiritual instruction of M\u0101ori in the North Island, and if that did not happen, it was used to evangelise throughout the world. So it has some significance\u2014albeit, in terms of its financial commitment, most probably very small\u2014in the evangelisation of heathen races around the world. It has always been the intention of the two trusts that it be changed so that the two hap\u016B could benefit from it. However, the conditions cannot be changed in any way other than through new legislation\u2014hence our speaking to this bill here today. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000378\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EA similar issue arose in 1986 with money and investments derived from land held by the New Zealand Mission Trust in Port Waikato, that was to be transferred to Ng\u0101ti K\u0101rewa and Ng\u0101ti T\u0101hinga. The result was the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Port Waikato Maraetai) Empowering Act 1986. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000379\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EThe M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, I think, did a wonderful job in listening to the concerns of the folk from Tauranga, and it is with great pleasure that we see another part of New Zealand\u2019s unfortunate history. It is history, and it did happen, but we are seeing the righting of those wrongs. We are seeing the righting of those indiscretions for the rest of the nation and, in particular, for three hap\u016B in the Tauranga region so that they can move forward, and certainly not at the expense of those people who hold the lease, who are the people running the hotel.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000380\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002211149049851b4d57a77746ea089ce595\u0022\u003EPhil Twyford\u003C/span\u003E: Bring back Tau\u2014much better than Alfred.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000381\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002216623b345ddc4789a94a07c4ff6967ad\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: I do commend this bill to the House. You caught me on the hop there, brother. I thought you were going to be nasty to me. But why should I think that? The M\u0101ori Affairs Committee has done a great job and I commend my colleague from Waiariki, Te Ururoa Flavell.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022 data-id=\u0022f07cce006a5842d2969e157d2ec041a3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000382\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f07cce006a5842d2969e157d2ec041a3\u0022\u003EHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour\u2014Hauraki-Waikato):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. It gives me great pleasure to be able to speak as a member of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee and support the passage of this bill, the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill. I assure the local member sponsoring the bill, Te Ururoa Flavell, that it is our intention to see the speedy passage of this legislation through this House, so you may not hear us take the full extent of our calls in order for that to happen. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000383\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EI do note that both the local member Te Uruora Flavell and the chair of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, the Hon Tau Henare, amply stated the history in relation to the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill. Can I just point to one small part of the submission process, that the committee considered at length to assure itself that the provisions contained in here addressed, I think, a substantial concern that was put by Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000384\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EIn the final summation, we had considered that when the property transferred from the Church Missionary Society to the New Zealand Mission Trust Board, it was quite clear in the letter of transaction that the two hap\u016B stated were identified. We did pursue questions for Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi in terms of why they thought, in that earlier transaction, their hap\u016B was not recognised and stated by the Church. We had some deliberation around that and got some information. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000385\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EI am drawing the attention of the House to this matter only because I suspect that Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi may see that the solution we got to might fall short of their expectation. However, can I say that in asking Ng\u0101ti Tapu to change their trust deed, they were only too happy to do so in order to give an absolute assurance to Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi that any descendent of Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi had an avenue and a mechanism with which to claim benefit under the provisions of this bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000386\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EMention was made of Pukehinahina, and lands across New Zealand have a very chequered history in terms of how they came to be an estate of various churches. Can I say that that being the case, this is a historical type of example where you can rectify the ownership of lands that have gone to the Church and repatriate them back to tangata whenua as kaitiaki of those particular areas. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000387\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EI am really pleased to be able to support this bill. I am really pleased that the local member persisted and made sure that it would progress in a way that would give resolution to something that had definitely been long standing amongst Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho and Ng\u0101ti Tapu. I am also pleased that the select committee was able to consider fully the representation of Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi and address that by changing some of the provisions within which the bill applies. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022 data-id=\u0022f3cf0222b9fc40068c7340e165ea75ba\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000388\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f3cf0222b9fc40068c7340e165ea75ba\u0022\u003EJONATHAN YOUNG (National\u2014New Plymouth):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora. T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. I am very pleased to stand in support of this bill, the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill. It is sponsored by M\u0101ori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell, who is a very positive contributor to the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. It was very interesting when we went to Tauranga, a place that I think is full of history. I lived there myself for a number of years. We went there to hear the submissions regarding this bill that came in from the surrounding hap\u016B. I guess it is an interesting, fascinating mix of events that contributed to the dilemma that this bill is now bringing repair and a sense of justice to. This bill transfers land in Tauranga and other property from the New Zealand Mission Trust Board to the \u014Ctamataha Trust so that it can be used for the beneficiaries of that trust, the hap\u016B of Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho. So this land has got a fascinating history. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000389\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EOne of the submitters, Mr Alistair Reese, brought what I thought was a very interesting perspective on the history of it. If I can, I will just read out some aspects of his submission. He said that the Church Missionary Society, which was founded in 1892, \u201Cacquired the Te Papa peninsula, including the land under consideration by this Bill, for several reasons. Primarily as a location for their missionary endeavours, but also in the words of Brown to establish a land bank to mitigate the new P\u0101keh\u0101 settlers\u2019 appetite for land and as a symbol of [Church Missionary Society] commitment to M\u0101ori. He said, \u2018it seems necessary, in the present excited state of the [people] to show them by this act that we have no present intention of leaving them.\u2019 \u201D So what he was conveying was that the purchase of this land, or the receiving of it, was in fact a sign of their long-term commitment. That is an interesting perspective. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000390\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EAlso significant is that the land was received in order to create a land bank because of the appetite of settlers who were coming in to buy up parcels of land\u2014so, in order to protect it for the future benefit and use of the surrounding hap\u016B. This view, seeing it as an investment to be held in trust for M\u0101ori, was evidenced by the following statement by the society\u2019s parent committee in London. The submission says: \u201CIn 1865 the Society stated that the Te Papa land had been \u2018[a]cquired and is retained under a solemn Trust that it should be applied to the benefit of the [M\u0101ori] race \u0026amp; Church \u0026amp; that it should never be bartered or sold for the mere purpose of raising money. [Those] who gave the land for the benefit of themselves \u0026amp; their posterity would have just ground of complaint against us if we sold that land for a Military Settlement.\u2019 \u201D We can see that there were altruistic motivations around the receiving of this land, yet there was dispute and disagreement around this to the point that the tangata whenua never acknowledged, agreed to, or came to any sense of acceptance that this land was sold. It will be seen that this land was received to be held in trust. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000391\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EThe submitter whom we had heard, Mr Reese, also in his submission wrote these words, which I believe are important to read out as well. He said that \u201CFollowing the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, Archdeacon Brown, like many other missionaries, agonised over his \u2018split\u2019 allegiances, as the following quote suggests. Prior to the land wars he stated: \u2018I am between the devil and the deep blue sea. In time the Government will require more land \u2026 to steer clear of giving offence \u2018to the powers that be\u2019 [Government] and at the same time sustain our character as Guardians \u2026 will require much of the wisdom that cometh from above\u2019. Similarly to other [Church Missionary Society] missionaries, Brown initially opposed the Crown response to M\u0101ori resistance over land sales in Taranaki and the Government\u2019s subsequent confiscation policies. However, his position changed after the rise of Kingitanga, and the armed response by Waikato and Tauranga hap\u016B to Grey\u2019s invasion of the Waikato.\u201D This is a very interesting analysis of history. Mr Reese said: \u201CBrown viewed this as a \u2018rebellion\u2019 against the \u2018divine\u2019 and sovereign authority of Queen Victoria and her delegated representatives.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000392\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003ESo we see that the wheels are falling off what was happening here in Tauranga. All sorts of different perspectives and views were now being taken and they were changing, in a sense, what was an altruistic and perhaps noble position, as it could be described, to be a guardian and a protector of local hap\u016B and iwi. He saw these responses by Waikato and Tauranga hap\u016B to Grey\u2019s invasion of the Waikato as a rebellion against the divine and sovereign authority of Queen Victoria and her delegated representatives. There was a major conflict of interest\u2014or conflict of loyalty and allegiances, essentially\u2014taking place.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000393\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EMr Reese\u2019s submission went on to say: \u201CHis subsequent allegiance to the Crown over and against his parishioners in Tauranga Moana,\u201D\u2014because this is what was happening; he was now shifting his allegiances\u2014\u201Cwas considered a betrayal by many M\u0101ori. This \u2018betrayal\u2019 was epitomised for tangata whenua when Brown hosted a dinner and the Eucharist with Government officers at the Te Papa Mission Station, the night before the Battle of Gate in 1864.\u201D That is something that we have commemorated in just this last week, as the member Te Ururoa Flavell has highlighted. Mr Reese finished by saying that \u201CPerhaps the resulting estrangement between Brown and local M\u0101ori is best encapsulated by a Bay of Plenty Times report on his death in 1884: \u2018and it was noted in the account of his funeral that there was but a poor attendance of members of [M\u0101ori] to which he had devoted his life.\u2019\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000394\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EI think this is a story of not just external conflict but internal conflict. We can see the human aspects of this story and what has taken place. Something that was intended for good became an issue of disenfranchisement for local hap\u016B. What happened was that the Government came in, took four-fifths of that parcel of land and let the Church retain one fifth of it, and so disenfranchised the local hap\u016B. So it moved from being a caretaker situation, or a responsible, noble, beneficial situation, to one where iwi were certainly disenfranchised from their land, which was far from the original intention of Archdeacon Brown. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000395\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EFinally, I say that here we now come to this point in time and history where these matters are being resolved to the best of our ability as parliamentarians. I have to acknowledge all the members of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee for the collegiality and respect that we obviously show to one another to try to bring the best result possible for iwi in our nation, who have been aggrieved by the history of the past. Let us hope that the history we set in these days is going to be of benefit to them. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022 data-id=\u0022a9c689d6178348b0974d3806b5857402\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000396\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a9c689d6178348b0974d3806b5857402\u0022\u003ECATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou e te Whare P\u0101remata. I would like to start by acknowledging the member in charge of the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill, Te Ururoa Flavell\u2014t\u0113n\u0101 koe, Te Ururoa\u2014because every time somebody brings something like this before the House, it is an opportunity for others. Quite a lot of complex mahi has gone into many of the bills, including this one, and it is great to have got to this point. I acknowledge the other speakers so far because I think it is an important k\u014Drero that is very interesting. I also want to acknowledge Ng\u0101ti Tapu, Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho, and Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi because all of these hap\u016B have had strong interest in the Te Papa lands through mai r\u0101n\u014D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000397\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EI would like to acknowledge the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. I sat on the select committee for only brief periods of time. I did not get to go to Tauranga Moana\u2014which I would have loved to do\u2014to hear the k\u014Drero firsthand, but I want to acknowledge the select committee because I felt that there was a lot of really genuine commitment there to try to resolve the issues and to go back to the people of Tauranga Moana who are associated with this bill and find solutions. The select committee was not trying to tell them what the solution was; the select committee was trying to whakamana them, if you like, to make their own solution, and that is never simple. In some ways it is particularly complex because we are using parliamentary instruments, through law and a select committee, etc., to attempt to resolve hap\u016B issues that are about whakapapa and ahi k\u0101 and relationships with land. We are using instruments that are not really designed for that purpose. There were, and are, traditional ways of resolving these things. But at some point something had to be done, and so the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee has done something, with the best of intentions and to the best of its abilities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000398\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EAs others have said, we are in the context of the 150th anniversary of Pukehinahina\u2014the Battle of Gate P\u0101\u2014and the raupatu of Tauranga Moana. It is very interesting to think about those times and to think that we hope to do differently, as Jonathan Young has just said. In order to do that, I think we really need to be honest about the driving force of the history here, and we have to recognise that the evangelisation of the heathens, which was the driving force of the Church Missionary Society missionaries, was\u2014essentially, from the context of the individuals, it may well have been conducted with deep conviction and goodwill from their perspective, but in the end it was a paternalistic and colonial mind-set, which did harm. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000399\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EWhat is interesting about the Church Missionary Society is how much land it got out of it. All rhetoric aside, the Anglican Church has done bloody well out of colonisation, and, in actual fact, it has not been that keen to give it back. It has been quite a noticeable struggle with a number of the churches that they have acquired wealth, power, buildings, and status at the expense of tangata whenua, and it is only through these challenges that some of them have been forced to look in the mirror at their own behaviour. I enjoyed hearing about Alfred Brown and his conflicted, contradictory emotional landscape, but what I feel is that, with the hindsight of history, this was paternalistic. This was fundamentally racist because there was no respect for what I believe is article 4 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which is the principle of ritenga. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000400\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003ESo it depends on whether you acknowledge \u201CTe Tiriti o Waitangi\u201D, or whether you are talking about \u201Cthe Treaty\u201D, and that comes up in many bills. But it is equally true in the \u014Ctamataha bill because, actually, by 1852, the articles\u2014not the principles that have been invented by lawyers since, but the articles\u2014of te Tiriti were beginning to be undermined through a series of acts, raupatu, and legislation from 1852 onwards that undermined the goodwill that was present in that short and more cooperative era after 1840. So it is definitely important for us to understand this and to recognise that this bill does take small but positive steps. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000401\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EEach one of these moments is important. Maybe it is a series of bills before this House, but, in the end, for the mana whenua it is very important that we do this right and that, in doing this right, we acknowledge the actual history of marginalisation and raupatu that is represented here, and that although the Church did not give the land to the military for settlers to develop, the Church kept it for itself. The Church argued that it was doing this to protect the interests of the so-called natives, but, in fact, it protected its own interests. When the chips were down, Alfred Brown sided with his own people\u2014understandably\u2014and he sided with them to the detriment of the people whom he said he was there for and would make a total, lifelong commitment to stand alongside. That is the difference between power with and power over, because what actually took place in Tauranga Moana was the crude exercising of dominance. It is great now that finally, in 2014, we have got to the point where there has been a renegotiation of what happened in terms of the \u014Ctamataha mission. It was a mission, all right, but it was not a mission that actually benefited the tangata whenua or the mana whenua. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000402\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EI think that one always has to ask the question as to who has benefited from these processes, and clearly the churches have benefited and clearly the settlers have benefited. But, again, we were in a difficult place while discussing this, because conflicting hap\u016B claims are outside the realm of understanding and experience of many of us. This is not so for M\u0101ori members of Parliament, but for those of us who are not M\u0101ori members of Parliament, it is quite difficult to know how to act with authenticity, integrity, and good faith around issues that are beyond our understanding, and yet that is sometimes what these bills require. They require that we take decisions about who is going to get what, and, again, that does raise for me the issue of the contemporary context being as equally fraught as the context was in 1852. We are still in a very fraught era, and that era requires us to have more than just new legislation. It requires us to have new education. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000403\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EIt is interesting that the Constitution Conversation that has taken place in this country in the last couple of years talks about te Tiriti education. Clearly, I think it is obvious that we do not have a robust te Tiriti education system. We do not have many people understanding the principle of contra proferentem, which is the principle whereby the only Treaty that should be accepted as the fundamental one is the one that was signed at Waitangi in Te Reo M\u0101ori. That is what the international principle of contra proferentem means. It means that the indigenous version, as understood by the indigenous people, is the legal te Tiriti. If you acknowledge that, then it is pretty clear that the Church Missionary Society and others were not in the spirit of te Tiriti. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000404\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003ESo it is good that we stand here today and that the member has brought this bill through the House and that the select committee worked so positively with it. We welcome this bill, but we do remind everybody that if we are going to talk about Te Tiriti o Waitangi\u2014the articles\u2014let us go back to what international law and tangata whenua know, particularly those who have read the book Ng\u0101puhi Speaks, which outlines that tangata whenua have been trying to deal with the culture of immigration and settler issues since 1808. Since then they have been having k\u014Drero about that. We need to hold true to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, to the articles of the Treaty, and to acknowledge the painful and difficult history that took place at \u014Ctamataha and many other places. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000405\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EWe recognise that the Church did not develop the land in the same way, in the sense that it did not become private property. The huge issue that we have with many of the Treaty settlements is that so little land is available because of private property. It has been a very good strategy since the 1850s\u2014to bring in private property and prevent people from being able to get their land back\u2014but we really need to acknowledge that the churches need to be more generous and more responsible for what they have done. They have made a lot of money out of M\u0101ori land. It is time to recognise that this country is not a huge continent. It is a small country. Every inch has a story. Every maunga, every awa, every piece of whenua has a history, and we need the courage to work through issues of justice, as we are trying to do today. Kia ora t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022 data-id=\u0022647e92fe0cfa4f32b146fd40676ae3a3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000406\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022647e92fe0cfa4f32b146fd40676ae3a3\u0022\u003ERINO TIRIKATENE (Labour\u2014Te Tai Tonga):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou e te Whare. I would like to, firstly, acknowledge the member for Waiariki, Te Ururoa Flavell, for promoting this New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill, because were it not for his sponsoring of this bill, we would not be in this position today. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000407\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003EThis is a really joyful time to be able to speak on legislation that, as I describe it, is like a reverse engineering happening here, or a reverse privatisation, whereby lands that were originally lost\u2014yes, lost\u2014by the tangata whenua are now coming back, albeit small residues or remnants of the original blocks, but at least it is good. I am very, very pleased to be able to participate with fellow M\u0101ori Affairs Committee members in ushering this piece of legislation through the House because it is historic. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000408\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003EI would like to pay acknowledgments to the other members of the committee who have made contributions thus far, in particular, the Hon Tau Henare and, in particular, his pronouncements of \u201Cevangelising to the heathens\u201D, which was in the original 1896 trust. I think the Hon Tau Henare could find a good role as a R\u0101tana minister after his career in Parliament has ended. He gives a good kupu kauhau from the pulpit. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000409\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003ECan I also acknowledge Mr Young for his thoughtful contribution, which was very respectful to the submissions that we heard, particularly from the church groups. I guess there are many, many different sorts of reasons or motivations behind why the land was purchased or acquired and the Crown actions that subsequently meant that the land was permanently out of the original owners\u2019 reach. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000410\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003EI do acknowledge the trustees, who in 1998 came to the realisation that \u201CHey, this is wrong. We shouldn\u2019t be hanging on to this land. We need to give it back to the original owners whom we acquired it from.\u201D So I do acknowledge the trust for handing the reins over to the hau k\u0101inga, to the hap\u016B who are now going through this process whereby they can actually set up their own private trust to look after their lands. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000411\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003EUnfortunately, I cannot carry on with my contribution. I am going to have to curtail it, but I do acknowledge the work that the committee has done thus far and I look forward to awhi-ing the passage of this bill through the House. Kia ora t\u0101tou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022 data-id=\u0022328db03557b44ad3ab5eb5cfbf8130ec\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000412\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022328db03557b44ad3ab5eb5cfbf8130ec\u0022\u003ECLAUDETTE HAUITI (National):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. It is a privilege to stand and take a call to support the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill in its second reading. I hear from quite a few of my colleagues here in the House that bills like this, as well as the bills around Treaty settlements, are a really good reminder of our history. I would say that the member who brought this bill to the House, Te Ururoa Flavell, would be very well placed to understand that a lot of our history in terms of M\u0101ori and P\u0101keh\u0101 interaction was not taught in our schools, whether they be mainstream schools or like the one that Mr Flavell taught in, St Stephen\u2019s College. Interestingly, schools like St Stephen\u2019s and Queen Victoria School and Te Aute College\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000413\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002248431ed8bd44490e95479fe274ebbcda\u0022\u003EMeka Whaitiri\u003C/span\u003E: Hukarere.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000414\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002289e845fd64214201a3f580942d065cf2\u0022\u003ECLAUDETTE HAUITI\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014Hukarere Girls\u2019 College, too\u2014were a result of the relationship that the churches had with M\u0101ori. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000415\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EI heard what my colleague Catherine Delahunty said, which was in those days although the missionaries might have had a very real and genuine desire to contribute in a Christian fashion to the people whom they came to deal with and meet with, going forward in these very modern and contemporary times it is perhaps now seen to be fundamentally\u2014I think my colleague used the word\u2014racist. That is with the benefit of hindsight. However, having said that, it is legislation like this that can redress those types of issues, and the Treaty legislation as well can address some of those indiscretions and discrepancies. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000416\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EThis bill will transfer land in Tauranga and other property from the New Zealand Mission Trust Board to the \u014Ctamataha Trust so that it can be used by the beneficiaries of that trust\u2014those being the hap\u016B of Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho. The return of the land is highly significant to that hap\u016B of Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho because, according to them, it re-establishes their connection to the water. It provides income to the hap\u016B to finance other activities, including allowing hap\u016B to participate in the downtown economy of Tauranga. I think that one of the significant features of this bill and also other settlements is the social and economic development of the hap\u016B and the iwi in which they are placed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000417\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EThe bill comes to the House at around the same time as the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gate P\u0101 as well, as we have heard from our colleagues. That too is significant to the introduction of the bill and that auspicious occasion. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000418\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EThe \u014Ctamataha Trust has been established by the hap\u016B of Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho, as we have heard, to own and manage the land and other property acquired through historical common interests of those hap\u016B in Tauranga. It is not a charitable trust, as my colleague the Hon Tau Henare mentioned earlier. The bill declares the new trustees to be a leasing authority for the purposes of the Public Bodies Leases Act of 1969. The land being transferred will be subject to a lease granted under that Act, and this allows the transfer to happen without affecting the lease and lessee rights. I think it is very important to note that, as part of the technicality of the bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000419\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EThe Church Missionary Society was established in Tauranga in 1835, as we heard earlier as well. Several years later, the Church Missionary Society bought from tangata whenua the two blocks on the site, which is where the city of Tauranga now stands. That transaction was never accepted by tangata whenua as a sale of the land to the society. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000420\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EIn 1867 the Crown acquired, by the gifting by the Church Missionary Society, four-fifths of the land that had been vested in the society by a Crown grant in 1852. Military settlers were settled on it. This land was surrounded by confiscated M\u0101ori land, which was also settled. Again, I want to raise these issues because they are part of not just Tauranga Moana\u2019s history or M\u0101ori history but New Zealand history that should be for ever mentioned and put in the books so that we can refer back to it in future years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000421\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EAt that same time in 1896 the remaining land, including \u014Ctamataha, was transferred from the Church Missionary Society to the New Zealand Mission Trust Board, which held the assets of the board on trust for the spiritual benefit and spiritual instruction of M\u0101ori in the North Island, or, failing that, the evangelisation of heathen races, as we heard earlier, in any part of the world. Alongside that and at around about the same time we saw a lot of the sons of our rangatira being shipped to, or travelling to, Poih\u0101kena, in Sydney, Australia, where they worked in the market gardens to be trained in horticulture by Samuel Marsden. So in terms of the global thought and reach, M\u0101ori saw the missionaries as a conduit or a platform to reach out globally, and the Church Missionary Society was one of the vehicles by which they could see the possibility of global exports. So even back in those very early days we can see that M\u0101ori were very entrepreneurial in terms of trading internationally. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000422\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EComing forward to 1996, the New Zealand Mission Trust Board handed back control of the land to the new trustees appointed by Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho. This was done in recognition of the manner and process by which the land was originally acquired from tangata whenua. The land involved is the 7,863 square metre waterfront site that the Trinity Wharf hotel sits on currently, and the trust collects the ground rent from that hotel. Although the new trustees had control of the land, they were still obliged to use the money and investments derived from that land for the spiritual benefit and spiritual instruction of M\u0101ori in the North Island, or, failing that, the evangelisation of heathen races in any part of the world. That will no doubt probably be an ongoing discussion point for the tangata whenua. It has always been the intention of the two trusts that it be changed so that the two hap\u016B can benefit from it. However, the conditions cannot be changed by any other way than through new legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000423\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EA similar issue arose in 1986 with money and investments derived from land held by the New Zealand Mission Trust Board in Port Waikato. This was transferred to Ng\u0101ti K\u0101rewa and Ng\u0101ti T\u0101hina as a result of the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Port Waikato Maraetai) Empowering Act 1986. The return of the land is highly significant, as we have all discussed, and\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000424\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229016131fce0642d6893286fe4afd779d\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: You\u2019re using the same speech in some cases.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000425\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cc79e16c23b34987ad6c2398d7d3bf33\u0022\u003ECLAUDETTE HAUITI\u003C/span\u003E: Well, no, I think if you listen very carefully, I have\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000426\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022804e1d86e8fa43bd819ba6e5b9f24b48\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I have been listening. Heard this one before.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000427\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002221f639f7975241ab92327074692e816f\u0022\u003ECLAUDETTE HAUITI\u003C/span\u003E: Well, thank you very much for listening to me. It is wonderful that my colleague in the House Trevor Mallard is actually listening to me. Kia ora for that. I think it is very pertinent to emphasise that these hap\u016B are saying that the return of these lands is highly significant. Each and every one of us understands that and fully appreciates that. I do think that it is incumbent upon us to reiterate the significance of the return of those lands, not just spiritually but also economically. So although we might find that for some in the House, economic development for M\u0101ori by M\u0101ori might be anathema to them, in actual fact economic development is part and parcel of the social and spiritual development of iwi going forward. This bill is one such bill that achieves that, so I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022 data-id=\u00225108ec001da54a1aba55809c6d0c5344\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000428\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225108ec001da54a1aba55809c6d0c5344\u0022\u003EMEKA WHAITIRI (Labour\u2014Ikaroa-R\u0101whiti):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. I am honoured to stand in support of my fellow M\u0101ori Affairs Committee members in supporting the second reading of the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill. Like my colleagues on this side of the House, I am committed to a fast and swift passage of what is an important bill for the hap\u016B of Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho of Tauranga Moana. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000429\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EJust to remind us all, the aim of the bill is to transfer certain assets of the New Zealand Mission Trust Board in Tauranga to the \u014Ctamataha Trust to be held on the trusts set out in the \u014Ctamataha Trust deed so that the assets and any income derived from them can be used for the benefit of the hap\u016B of Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000430\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EEvery Treaty settlement or related bill is unique. They do share some similarities but each and every one of them has their unique characteristics. As a member of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee it was no surprise that when one of our submitters presented, it was clear that the issue of inclusion came up. That was the wh\u0101nau from Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi. As we see in a lot of Treaty bills, some wh\u0101nau or some hap\u016B do not see their hap\u016B named in bills and feel excluded or left out. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000431\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EOn this particular occasion, when we travelled to Tauranga Moana we were presented with a submission urging the select committee to include Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi as beneficiaries of the \u014Ctamataha Trust. I want to go on record as saying that the select committee did give this significant consideration in terms of what we would present back to the House. I thought it would be useful to just feed back what the select committee said in relation to Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi\u2019s submission for inclusion in the trust. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000432\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EEssentially, the select committee considered whether the bill should be amended to include Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi as beneficiaries of the trust. That was important to those who submitted. We understand that when membership of the New Zealand Mission Trust Board was given to hap\u016B in the 1990s, Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi chose to withdraw from involvement in the trust. The Waitangi Tribunal has found that Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi hold interests in the land in question, but the strength of their customary interests has not been determined. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000433\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EWe considered the inclusion of Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi as a third hap\u016B beneficiary of the new \u014Ctamataha Trust, but we believe that their interests must be balanced against the wishes of the existing trustees in the deed of the new trust. The \u014Ctamataha Trust deed was amended by the New Zealand Mission Trust in March 2014 to allow Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi members to benefit from the \u014Ctamataha Trust through their whakapapa links to the historical hap\u016B of Te Mater\u0101waho, whose connections to the land are now recognised in the trust deed. The definition of Ng\u0101ti Tapu has now been extended to include any person with the above whakapapa. So the point around its inclusion in this particular bill was, I felt, like I mentioned earlier, given enough consideration, and the conclusion of the trust is that the uri of Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi benefit from the trust as they share whakapapa with Ng\u0101ti Tapu. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000434\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EThe second point that is unique to this particular bill, or that this bill brings to mind\u2014and it was mentioned by a member in the House, Catherine Delahunty\u2014is the role of churches in our history as a nation, and not just historically but also in the economic make-up of this nation. It was touched on in terms of how many churches and missions have benefited economically from M\u0101ori land and M\u0101ori whenua. In thinking about this particular bill, we see it gifting back to the rightful owners and the hap\u016B mentioned, but it did bring to mind the many other trusts and mission societies out there that are sitting on what was considered very fertile and prosperous M\u0101ori whenua, and that I also encourage to participate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000435\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EOne that comes to mind is the Te Aute Trust Board. I do want to mihi to my fellow members who mentioned our M\u0101ori boarding schools. I have two in my electorate, Te Aute College and Hukarere Girls\u2019 College\u2014sorry, I do not have two; I have three. I have the Turakina M\u0101ori Girls College outside my electorate, but I also have St Joseph\u2019s M\u0101ori Girls\u2019 College in my electorate. They\u2014particularly the Hukarere and Te Aute boards\u2014were gifted a huge set of land, Te Aute endowment land, and to this day the state of both Te Aute College hostels and those of Hukarere leave a lot to be desired, although I know that the leases of the land are doing very, very well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000436\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI know that there is another bill coming through this House in terms of the settlement around Te Aute lands, but I was just picking up the point with a plea to our church leaders to practise, I guess, the sharing and the aroha. If you are sitting on major assets, then a lot of M\u0101ori boarding schools are in need of repair and support. I really just needed to make mention of that and try to convince our churches to participate in the education of our M\u0101ori students. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000437\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EIt would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the hap\u016B of Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho for their pursuing this bill. Way back in the 1970s we had stories by different submitters, so I know that it has been something passionate for the people of these particular hap\u016B to see the return of this whenua. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000438\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI want to pay tribute to the local MP for Waiariki, Te Ururoa Flavell. T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Te Ururoa, for your shepherding this bill through and championing it on behalf of the people of Tauranga Moana. N\u014D reira, t\u0113nei te mihi ki a koe. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000439\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003ELastly, the role of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee\u2014we work as a very good unit. Our chairman, the Hon Tau Henare, does crack the whip. It is proven by the amount of Treaty bills that come into this House that we do work very collaboratively together as members of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. But it is through Tau\u2019s leadership that we get through as much as we do and that we treat all our submitters with the dignity and respect that they all deserve. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000440\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003ESo, again, I stand in total support of this bill and I commend it to the House. Kia ora t\u0101tou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022 data-id=\u00221a155302f42648239f0fa20fa5f00aee\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000441\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221a155302f42648239f0fa20fa5f00aee\u0022\u003EJOANNE HAYES (National):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. I am privileged to stand and take this call to support the second reading of the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill. I want to acknowledge the co-leader of the M\u0101ori Party and member for Waiariki, Te Ururoa Flavell. I want to thank you for bringing this bill through and for shepherding it through the second reading and through to the third reading, no doubt. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003EI want to stand here because I was not here when this bill had its first reading. I came on to the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee at the beginning of this year and have been privileged to hear the submissions from the wh\u0101nau of Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho. This bill returns the land, this highly significant land, to the hap\u016B. I want to reiterate that according to the hap\u016B the bill re-establishes their connection to the water. The water is a key component of who we are as M\u0101ori. It is something that we not only drink and replenish our body with but cleanse ourselves with spiritually as well. It is very key. I have been privileged to be part of M\u0101ori traditional healing groups in Aotearoa New Zealand, and the power of the water we use is significant to us. So it is really key that the hap\u016B acknowledge that this bill does re-establish their connection to the water. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000443\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003EIt also provides income to the hap\u016B to finance other activities that they can get involved in. We all know about the dashboard that was released just recently to do with M\u0101ori business. We are looking at a growing M\u0101ori economy worth $38 billion to this country. It is all congratulations to the National Government on allowing that to happen and the claims process. It is a great feat for all iwi to be able to participate, but especially for this hap\u016B. It also marks the 150-year anniversary of the Battle of Gate P\u0101, which happened on 29 April and is very significant for the hap\u016B. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000444\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003EI want to talk just a little bit about the missionary history, because you are looking at somebody who was christened R\u0101tana, who was a Sunday school participant in a local Methodist church in Rangiw\u0101hia in the Manawat\u016B, and who was sent to an Anglican boarding school. You know, when you start looking at that, I must be just about one of the holiest people in this room! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000445\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229c0450b4b1ed4e08bf2129939b6e1ba7\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: A troubled child.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000446\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002233b262773c894ee2b243626155ed75ec\u0022\u003EJOANNE HAYES\u003C/span\u003E: No. When you start looking at that, back then, when you are young, you think that it is great to go to Sunday school and it is fun and we go off to camp. But I started to look at the history of how missionaries came to New Zealand. Back in 1814, Samuel Marsden brought them, and even further back than that, in 1799, the Society for Missions in Africa and the East was founded. I think of the long history and the long time it has taken to get to Aotearoa New Zealand. And then I hear things about the Church Missionary Society being established in 1835, and then in 1867 the Crown acquired four-fifths of the land, and I read how in 1896 the land was transferred from the Church Missionary Society to the New Zealand Mission Trust Board, which \u201Cheld the assets of the Board on trusts for the spiritual benefit and spiritual instruction of Maori people in the North Island of New Zealand or failing that, the evangelisation of heathen races in any part of the world:\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000447\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003EI want to talk just a little bit about that because this is a discussion that I had with my father before he passed away in 1997. We talked a little bit about that because my father was deeply religious. I said to him that for M\u0101ori we had our demigods and our history and our stories. We start looking at Papat\u016B\u0101nuku and we start looking at all of those gods that made us who we are. So the transition that we have made through to Christianity has been quite an amazing transition for M\u0101ori. It is amazing that we have still been able to hold on to the very crux of who we are as a M\u0101ori culture in Aotearoa New Zealand. We used to have these little discussions, and I am sure he used to get a bit brassed off with me for challenging everything, but that is what children are there for, is it not? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000448\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003EIn 1996\u2014I am going to reiterate this\u2014the New Zealand Mission Trust Board handed back the control of the land to the new trustees appointed by Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho. This was done in recognition of the manner and process by which the land was originally acquired from tangata whenua. The square metreage was 7,863 square metres on the waterfront site where the Trinity Wharf Tauranga hotel sits. Even though the trust does collect ground rent from the hotel, soon it will be able to participate much more than that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000449\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003EI see that, as a M\u0101ori people and as an iwi, these two hap\u016B have been very, very\u2014I am not going to say fortunate; what I am going to say is that they have been working very, very hard to get to this stage in their claims process. I take my hat off to them because it is not easy. It is not easy to place your history in front of people, to get the member here to bring it through, and then to sit and explain it to all of us in the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. It is a select committee that is very collegial, and a select committee that has a chair, as Meka Whaitiri has said and as other members have said, who does crack the whip, who does get the work done, and who gets us all into a mode where we are all agreeing to move these through. I think that the committee has done well in being able to get this far. We are a hard-working committee, and I thank everybody in the committee for the work that they do.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000450\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003EI want to talk a little bit about Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi. Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi came and put their submission to us. It was very compelling for us to listen to their k\u014Drero, their history of where they saw themselves in this. It was so compelling that the \u014Ctamataha Trust was amended by the New Zealand Mission Trust Board to allow Ng\u0101i T\u016Bkairangi members to benefit from the \u014Ctamataha Trust through whakapapa. I can tell you, whakapapa is deep and it is so historical. Nothing breaks whakapapa. That is why, as I stand here today, I am very proud to be commending this bill to the House and I look forward to the next part of this process. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022 data-id=\u002237508286dc88426cbfb4b4e4e1a18205\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000451\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002237508286dc88426cbfb4b4e4e1a18205\u0022\u003ECAROL BEAUMONT (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E It is a great pleasure to rise and speak in the second reading debate on the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill. Can I acknowledge my colleague and fine member of this House Te Ururoa Flavell. This bill obviously addresses some of the outstanding interests of iwi in the Tauranga Moana area that still need to be addressed. As others have gone through the history of that, I feel no need to do so. It is great also to hear about the very cooperative manner in which the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee works. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022 data-id=\u002240a3fc49d2f8495b9eb5d6f0fcd043a2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000452\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002240a3fc49d2f8495b9eb5d6f0fcd043a2\u0022\u003EMELISSA LEE (National):\u003C/span\u003E It is a great pleasure to rise in the second reading of the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000453\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228beb3deb9afe49539e55892dfa499cf8\u0022\u003EClaudette Hauiti\u003C/span\u003E: Fabulous!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000454\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b83b58a2a83848a0a5f224d2a0b15cbb\u0022\u003EMELISSA LEE\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you. Thank you. I am glad that my Te Reo actually passes muster today. I would like to congratulate my colleague Te Ururoa Flavell, whose bill it is that is receiving its second reading today. This bill transfers land in Tauranga and other property from the New Zealand Mission Trust Board to the \u014Ctamataha Trust so that it can be used for the beneficiaries of the \u014Ctamataha Trust, the hap\u016B of Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000455\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022476678acec484ea7b9baf1c2357c61fd\u0022\u003EClaudette Hauiti\u003C/span\u003E: Very nice.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000456\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220a9692ae544f495c886905b8c5743c88\u0022\u003EMELISSA LEE\u003C/span\u003E: T\u0113n\u0101 koe. Thank you very much.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000457\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221047d994bd224a878cc49f1efe903d17\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: Ka pai, \u201CKori\u201D.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000458\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002256e7509f226d4d34a937e38daea29684\u0022\u003EMELISSA LEE\u003C/span\u003E: Let me just say he just called me \u201CKori\u201D. That is a nickname that I actually recently acquired. \u201CKori\u201D stands for \u201CKorean hori\u201D. I do not know if it is actually derogatory or not, but recently I travelled with the M\u0101ori business delegation to Malaysia to promote M\u0101ori business. I feel very honoured to be called something by my \u201Cbrother\u201D over there, but I am not so sure if I should actually take offence at that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000459\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EThe return of the land is highly significant to the hap\u016B of Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho. The hap\u016B say that it establishes their connection to the water and provides income to the hap\u016B to finance other activities and all of that stuff. For me, it is actually really important because to my culture in Korea, the country where I was born, the water, the land, and the blood ties are so significant. I guess it is sort of like the M\u0101ori community. So even though we do not actually have the name of hap\u016B or whakapapa, genealogy is so important in Korean culture as well that we are divided into our distinct surnames. I am a Lee. In Korean it is \u201Cee\u201D, often spelt as \u201CYi\u201D. I belong to the Gyeongju Lee. Gyeongju Lee are very different to the Jeonju Lee. Often they are enemies because we come from the warring factions, like in M\u0101ori history. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000460\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EGoing back, our history is about 5,000 years old. There were three distinct hap\u016B who killed each other, and eventually it became one country. To them land and water is so important, and even to this day there is a major dispute with our neighbouring country about the water, because for Koreans, for more than 2,000 years, the Sea of Japan that we all know as the Sea of Japan was always the East Sea. For us, it was Donghae. So I can understand why the establishment of the connection to the water is so important to this hap\u016B.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000461\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EI will talk just a little bit about the background. The \u014Ctamataha Trust has been established by the hap\u016B of Ng\u0101ti Tapu. If I can understand this background\u2014because I was not part of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee\u2014the Church Missionary Society was established in Tauranga in 1835 and it bought two blocks of tangata whenua land, which is where the city of Tauranga is now today. However, the transaction has never been accepted by tangata whenua as a sale of the land to the Church Missionary Society. I guess it is sort of like the South Koreans never accepting the fact that North Korea is now the owner of the land that actually belongs there now, because we are still technically at war\u2014the 38th parallel is just a demarcation that there are still disputes over what belongs to what part of which country. In 1867 the Crown acquired four-fifths of the land, which had been invested in the Church Missionary Society by Crown grants in 1852, and military settlers were settled on it. This land was surrounded by confiscated M\u0101ori land, which was also settled. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000462\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EIn 1996 the New Zealand Mission Trust Board handed back control of the land to the new trustees appointed by Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho. This was done in recognition of the manner and process by which the land was originally acquired from tangata whenua. The land involved in this is 7,863 square metres of the waterfront site that the Trinity Wharf Tauranga hotel now sits on. The trust collects the ground rent from that hotel. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000463\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EI believe the select committee considered 14 submissions. Knowing my colleagues who sit on the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, they would have given due process to this, and I believe that they have done a good job. The thing that interests me is that although the new trustees have control of the land, they are still obliged to use the money and investment derived from the land \u201Cfor the spiritual benefit and spiritual instruction of Maori people in the North Island of New Zealand or failing that, the evangelisation of heathen races in any part of the world:\u201D. It has always been the intention that the trust would be changed so that the two hap\u016B can benefit from it. However, the conditions cannot actually be changed by any means other than through new legislation. I commend the work of the select committee and I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022 data-id=\u0022bba06b07ac8d4a1f9f27b5606898ced5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000464\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022bba06b07ac8d4a1f9f27b5606898ced5\u0022\u003ETIM MACINDOE (National\u2014Hamilton West):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa e te Whare. Ng\u0101 mihi nui ki a koutou. I have not been a member of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee that has worked on the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill, but I do want to begin, as others have done, by acknowledging the very fine work of a very fine MP, the member for Waiariki, Te Ururoa Flavell. It is always significant to be the member who is sponsoring a bill, and particularly as the local member. Given the historic significance of this particular measure, I know that it will be a matter of some pride to him to have reached this point, and I acknowledge his very fine effort in the area. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000465\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EI also want to acknowledge the members of the select committee\u2014as others have done\u2014who have worked tirelessly on this bill. They have considered the submissions that were made on it, and they have referred the bill back to the House with the recommendation that it should be passed with certain amendments that reflect the submissions that they considered, particularly up in Tauranga, where they met with a number of the submitters, or submissioners. I noticed that MPs in days gone by were always referred to in Hansard as submissioners, rather than submitters.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000466\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EParticularly, I would like to acknowledge the Hon Tau Henare, who has, I think, been a very fine member of this House. He has done a very good job as the chair of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, which has worked on this bill, and, of course\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000467\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c0fa1eff3d06410eb43f49b13979c7d5\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: He\u2019s a statesman now he\u2019s retiring.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022860db6444b794dd0bf27752946a5849e\u0022\u003ETIM MACINDOE\u003C/span\u003E: Yes. I think that is a wonderful acknowledgment from the Hon Trevor Mallard\u2014that the Hon Tau Henare is, indeed, a statesman; one of the statesmen of his era. I am sure that the Hon Trevor Mallard will be happy to tweet that now so that the Hon Tau Henare can retweet it, and it will go to a cast of thousands. I do agree with his acknowledgment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000469\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EIn all seriousness, I think it is worth acknowledging that the Hon Tau Henare entered this House 21 years ago. He has served as both the Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs in a previous administration and as the chair of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee under the administration of the Rt Hon John Key. He can be proud of what he has achieved. He can certainly be proud of what he has contributed to the excellent work of this Government on Treaty settlement issues, and, of course, we will be back here in the morning doing further work on that. This bill is related very much to the sentiment of what is at the heart of the Treaty settlement. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000470\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EI do also want to acknowledge those groups and individuals from the iwi who made submissions on the bill. As I have mentioned, the committee travelled to Tauranga and heard from eight of those submitters during the hearings in Tauranga. The committee took seriously what they had to say, and a number of amendments, which will be considered in more detail at the Committee stage of this debate, have arisen as a result of those deliberations. When the bill carries on through its second reading today, its Committee stage, its third reading, and its final enactment, and when it receives the Royal assent, that will be a very significant and mana-restoring achievement for the \u014Ctamataha Trust and the hap\u016B of Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000471\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EThere is also added significance to this particular development this year, 2014, because just last week\u2014as members in the House no doubt are aware, and many who may be listening to or watching this debate at this moment will have seen on the television\u2014there was the 150th anniversary of a very significant event: the Battle of Gate P\u0101 was commemorated by iwi and the Crown. I was not able to attend that particular commemoration, but I did have the privilege just a few weeks earlier of attending a similar event marking the Battle of \u014Cr\u0101kau near Kihikihi in the Waikato region. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000472\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EThe significance of that event\u2014and I think that most of the people I am about to mention were also at the commemoration of the Battle of Gate P\u0101 last week\u2014was underlined by the presence that day of K\u012Bngi Tuheitia; our Governor-General, Sir Jerry Mateparae; the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon John Key; Her Excellency the British High Commissioner; the M\u0101ori Affairs Minister, the Hon Pita Sharples; many civic leaders; the sponsor of this bill, of course; and other dignitaries. That was a very memorable, dramatic, and hot day. Waikato at that stage was still in the grip of the drought that we experienced over the summer, and I have to say it was one of the most moving and intimidating weros I have ever seen\u2014there was a re-enactment of the challenge on that day. The dust was being kicked up everywhere, it went on for a considerable period of time, and, as I say, it was one of the things I will remember long after I have left this House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000473\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EBack to Tauranga and to the New Zealand Mission Trust Board (Otamataha) Empowering Bill. It is an area for which I have a particular affection, having resided there for a period back in 2002 and 2003. In fact, our family lived very near Tauranga Hospital, which is just a very short distance from the site of the Battle of Gate P\u0101, and there is, of course, a historic monument there, around which the commemorations last week took place. My younger daughter attended Gate P\u0101 School before going on to join her sister at Tauranga Intermediate School. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000474\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EWe all have very fond memories of our time in that city and the region, although I have to say I do not have quite such fond memories of the reason why I was there. As you will well recall, Mr Assistant Speaker, it was when I was the National Party candidate for Tauranga in the 2002 election, which was not a great time to be a candidate for National in any part of the country, but in particular in Tauranga. I think there is a certain irony because I am, effectively, taking the New Zealand First call in this debate, and I think that it is sort of payback because the New Zealand First candidate who won\u2014W Peters\u2014effectively took my votes in that election. So I do want to say well done to both Bob Clarkson and Simon Bridges for repaying my debt to society. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000475\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003ETo summarise, this bill transfers land in Tauranga and other property from the New Zealand Mission Trust to the \u014Ctamataha Trust so it can be used by the beneficiaries of that trust. It is not a charitable trust, but the beneficiaries are, effectively, the hap\u016B of Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho. It comes, as I said, at a significant time\u2014the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gate P\u0101. The \u014Ctamataha Trust has been established by the hap\u016B of Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho to own and manage land and other property that was acquired through the historical common interests of those hap\u016B in Tauranga. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000476\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EThe Church Missionary Society, or CMS, was established in Tauranga back in 1835\u20145 years before the Treaty of Waitangi, so it has had a very significant role over a long of period of European settlement in this land. In 1838 the Church Missionary Society bought two blocks from tangata whenua on the site that is, effectively, where the city of Tauranga is today. But that was a transaction that was never accepted by tangata whenua as a sale of the land to the Church Missionary Society. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000477\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EIn 1867 the Crown acquired as a gift from the Church Missionary Society fourth-fifths of the land that had been vested in the Church Missionary Society by a Crown grant in 1852, and military settlers were settled on it. The land was surrounded by confiscated M\u0101ori land, which was also settled. So it is right that these historical grievances are now being recognised in this particular measure. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000478\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EIn 1896 the remaining land was transferred from the Church Missionary Society to the New Zealand Mission Trust Board, which \u201Cheld the assets of the Board on trusts for the spiritual benefit and spiritual instruction of Maori people in the North Island of New Zealand or failing that, the evangelisation of heathen races in any part of the world:\u201D\u2014extraordinary, and just over a century ago. It was exactly a century later that the New Zealand Mission Trust Board handed back control of the land to the new trustees, who were appointed by Ng\u0101ti Tapu and Ng\u0101i Tamar\u0101waho. This was done in recognition of the manner and process by which the land was originally acquired from tangata whenua. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000479\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EThe land itself is now the land on which those who are familiar with the area recognise the Trinity Wharf Tauranga hotel, and the trust collects ground rent from that hotel. It has always been the intention of the two trusts that it be changed so that the two hap\u016B can benefit from it. However, the conditions cannot be changed in any way other than through this legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000480\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003ESo that brings me back to the point where I started, where I acknowledged the fact that it is the member for Waiariki, Te Ururoa Flavell, who has done that work, who has liaised with local iwi, who has liaised with the Crown, and who has brought this bill ultimately to the point where today it looks as if, finally, this matter is going to be resolved. So it is a privilege for me to be able to speak on it, and I have great pleasure in supporting this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000481\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EBill read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000482\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022f5707b7db6a744599b7673f7bf0c8749\u0022\u003EElectronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000483\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022af30c15a722043d78e9e1341150c043b\u0022\u003EThird Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022 data-id=\u00224d475376a2024cd2a8ff230354444dff\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000484\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224d475376a2024cd2a8ff230354444dff\u0022\u003EPAUL GOLDSMITH (National):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill be now read a third time. It gives me great pleasure to speak at this third reading of my member\u2019s bill here, a bill over which many words have been spoken\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000485\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022413cf79357b141bbbca215ffefad43f2\u0022\u003ECarol Beaumont\u003C/span\u003E: Far too many. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000486\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002286db1c02b2cf4b929810e30022702462\u0022\u003EPAUL GOLDSMITH\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014most of them of them by me, I am bound to admit. But nevertheless, clear and predictable laws governing commerce are some of the foundations of the success of the modern economy upon which our prosperity depends. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000487\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EThe fundamentals of business have not changed over the years. Trading is the most natural of all the activities of men and women. It is a civilising activity because, ultimately, you only succeed in business and in trade if you give other people what they want at the price they want it; otherwise, you go out of business. Most of all, trade flourishes in an environment where there is a shared understanding of the rules, so contract law and contract formation has been fundamental to the progress that we have seen in global terms over the past few centuries, and, in particular, in this country since its formation. I trust this bill will go some way to add to that shared understanding, and on that basis I commend it to the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000488\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EClarity and certainty lead to confidence, and confidence leads to greater investment. That is why it is so important that this Government over the past 6 years has demonstrated the stable, predictable Government policies that have led to business confidence levels being so high. We see right now very high levels of business confidence and commercial confidence, which are buttressing the economy and are so important in getting us back into growth. Once businesses have confidence, they have the confidence to invest, to employ and create jobs, and to grow their businesses. So our laws need to be constantly maintained and adapted to respond to changing technology. This law comes into that category. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000489\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EAlthough I said at the start of the first reading that on its own this bill is not going to bring about the brighter future to which we all aspire and to which this Government is so committed, it is a small and useful addition to the lattice-work of our contract law formation. This bill tidies up one small area of uncertainty and will go some way to increase the flow of business. Given the prevalence of electronic communications in society today\u2014including emails, smartphones, and the use of social media\u2014it is useful that the current Act be amended to cover such areas. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000490\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EIf we can just drill down, the primary purpose of this legislation is to clarify the legal position on the time at which a contract is formed if the acceptance of the offer is sent by some form of electronic communication. The bill recognises the need for contractual transactions to join the electronic age. The general rule of contract formation is that a contract is formed at the time that acceptance of the offer is communicated to the offeror. So when somebody says \u201CYes, I accept the offer.\u201D or the offeror and the accepter shake hands then the deal is done. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000491\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EHowever, as we know, and as has been recorded in some of the earlier speeches, but does bear repetition here at this important third reading, an exception to the rule was created for acceptances created by post. This goes back to the famous case of Adams v Lindsell of 1818. It is worth just quickly going over the details of that case to remind the House. That case involved two parties in the sale of wool. On 2 September the defendants wrote to the plaintiffs offering to sell certain fleeces of wool\u2014I will not be pulling the wool over\u2014and required an answer in the course of the post. The defendants misdirected the letter so that the plaintiffs did not receive it until 5 September. In the meantime, the plaintiffs had posted the acceptance on the same day but it was not received until 9 September. Meanwhile, on 8 September the defendants, having not received an answer by 7 September as they expected, sold the wool to somebody else. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000492\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EThe defendants argued that there could not have been a binding contract until the answer was actually received and that until then they were free to sell the wool to whomever they wanted. The judge said that if that was true, it would be impossible to complete any transactions through the post. If the defendants were not bound by their offer until the answer was received, then the plaintiffs would not be bound until they had received word that the defendants had received their acceptance, and this would go on indefinitely. So it was considered that the offerors were making the offer to the plaintiffs during every moment that the letter was in the post. Then, when the offeree has placed his acceptance in the post, there is a fictional meeting of minds\u2014and that is the phrase that the judge used, \u201Ca fictional meeting of minds\u201D\u2014that concludes the offer and gives effect to the acceptance. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000493\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EThe problem is that that longstanding rule relating to postal acceptances started by Adams v Lindsell and enumerated in many other cases and laws consequently is not appropriate to electronic transactions. This has already been recognised. There is no clear authority yet on transactions by way of email. The point of this bill is to serve to clarify the law. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000494\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EWhen we go through the details, how I intended to remedy this in the draft law was by inserting a new section 32A into the Electronic Transactions Act\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022828072b4ac7a46cca6a8b0e4ae82abf9\u0022\u003ECarol Beaumont\u003C/span\u003E: This has to be the most boring speech ever. This is a personal best in boring. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000496\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227c762e47fac6401eacea318f61f6f94d\u0022\u003EPAUL GOLDSMITH\u003C/span\u003E: Look, it may not be the most exciting topic but it is an important topic. So I was introducing new section 32A, which said that an offer accepted by electronic communication is deemed to be accepted at the time of receipt of the acceptance by the offeror. I thought that was a rather neat way of getting the idea across, but the Commerce Committee heard a lot of submissions on this topic, led by Jonathan Young, the MP for New Plymouth. The committee members thought, in their wisdom, that it could have been more elegantly handled. In truth, this reflected some of the submissions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000497\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EThe concern outlined during the course of the select committee process was that there could be a misapprehension that a hard-wired rule applied and that the offer could be deemed to be accepted electronically only at the time of the receipt. So the suggestion during the select committee process was to abandon the new section 32A approach and instead insert a new section 13A into the Act, which was indeed what was done, to make it clear that this was a default rule instead of a rigid approach from which the parties would be able to contract out, if they wanted to. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000498\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003ESo we have here section 11 of the principal Act, the Electronic Transactions Act, which already establishes a time at which an electronic communication is taken to be received. So what we have is a new section 13A, which says: \u201C(1) For the purpose of the formation of a contract, an acceptance by electronic communication of an offer is taken to be communicated to the offeror at the time determined by section 11 \u2026\u201D. So I think this is a more elegant way of solving the problem that I set out to solve, to bring clarity to the situation. As a result, I think we have an effective law that will make a small but important difference. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000499\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EInterestingly, this bill nicely dovetails with my next member\u2019s bill in the ballot, which is all about freedom of contract over employment contracts. That fits very much with my principles that people should be able to arrange whatever contracts they want and have them enforced by the courts, which is the very foundation of all our commercial activities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000500\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EWhat we have as a result of the good work of the select committee\u2014for which I am grateful to the efforts of Jonathan Young and my colleagues\u2014is a facilitative piece of legislation that ensures that negotiating parties are free to specify their own mutually agreed conventions but in the absence of that, everybody knows the rules. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000501\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EStepping back from that, I know that this piece of legislation is a modest one. It deals with only a very small piece of the law that had been somewhat vague. But it is important more in the sense that it is an example of this Government\u2019s determination to work to ensure that every little piece of contract law is well tended and kept up to date with changes in technology. On that basis, I am thrilled at the broad measure of support that we have had from across the House and many parties. I commend this bill to the House and I look forward to the support of other parties. Thank you. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022 data-id=\u0022fb20823ee9454a1c8ed21f3ff5b2e944\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000502\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fb20823ee9454a1c8ed21f3ff5b2e944\u0022\u003ECLARE CURRAN (Labour\u2014Dunedin South):\u003C/span\u003E There is a four-letter word that could be used to describe the Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill, and it begins with \u201Cs\u201D. That word is \u201Cspam\u201D. This bill is a nothing bill. It is a time-wasting bill. It has wasted the time of Parliament in the long-winded debate. It has wasted the time of the Commerce Committee. It has wasted the time of officials. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EOur opposition to this bill, because we clearly oppose this bill, is on a point of principle. That principle is that such a bill should never have been brought before the House. It has ended up coming back to this House with no purpose. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000504\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EAt best this bill could be described as a clarification of the law; it adds nothing to the law. It is a massive waste of time for this Parliament, particularly for the Government on the other side of the House, which is clearly displaying that it has run out of energy, it has run out of ideas, and\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022 data-id=\u0022d2cc2c5e175d4a788d9c4d9a5c93b6bf\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000505\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d2cc2c5e175d4a788d9c4d9a5c93b6bf\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: Sorry to interrupt the honourable member. The time has come for me to leave the Chair. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000506\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003ESitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022 data-id=\u0022a523d393737b48218b38740974b893bd\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000507\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a523d393737b48218b38740974b893bd\u0022\u003EJONATHAN YOUNG (National\u2014New Plymouth):\u003C/span\u003E It is my pleasure to stand and speak on the Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill in its third reading. This might be a small bill\u2014in fact, measured by words, it is very small, and is crafted by such a wordsmith as Paul Goldsmith. Its size could leave us perplexed, except it takes far greater acumen to say something in fewer words than it does in many. Mr Goldsmith, a legislator, can be proud of his accomplishment in this law. Let me give some context to that. Creating law in such an important field of human endeavour and activity as contract law is important. Contracts are so important to the healthy development and growth of not only economies but society. They are like the sinews that hold so much together. \u201CWhat is a hand without an arm?\u201D, somebody might ask. Each, separately, has little use or function, but together they have mobility, leverage, and usefulness. What is a foot without a leg? What is a mouth without a mind? Perhaps some members on the other side could answer that question. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000508\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EBut contracts are those that connect disparate parts of our economy and our society together. They socialise people. You have what I want, and I have what you want\u2014that is the nub and centre of a transaction. So let us talk and let us see if we can come to an agreement. Let us do an exchange of value. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000509\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EContracts also connect countries, as we know with the free-trade agreements that are benefiting our nation in these times. They are agreements that have sheltered us from the global financial crisis perhaps more than most countries. Such is the power of contracts. They are built upon international understanding and agreements that connect us for mutual benefit, and that is good. They create degrees of dependency, and that is OK because you look after those whom you depend upon. They create bridges of trust and respect, value and inclusion. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000510\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EA few years ago I visited an integrated circuit manufacturer that has its factory between New Plymouth and Mount Taranaki. It makes dozens, if not hundreds, of components. One of the components it makes is a small integrated circuit of an onboard computer system of an F-16 Fighting Falcon, made by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force. How a small North Taranaki business can supply a single part to the United States Department of Defense baffles me, but it was a contract that makes it possible. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000511\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EI am a space buff. I love science fiction. I always watch every Star Trek movie that comes out, and I followed the progress and development of the space shuttle. The statistics are simply mind-blowing. It is the most complex machine ever constructed, with 2.5 million separate parts and 370 kilometres of wiring. Its three main engines are together more powerful than 60 Clyde Dams, and the pressure of their turbo pumps can send a column of liquid hydrogen nearly 60,000 feet into the sky. The space shuttle programme was supported by over 1,500 active suppliers, some of whom are the only known or certified source of a particular material, part, or service. What brings all these suppliers together, all these parts together, is contracts. What we are looking at tonight is a component, a small component, of a wider body of contract law. As every single one of those parts is important, so every component part of contract law is important. Contracts are the sinews and the ligaments that bind all their collective creativity and intelligence into detailed design manufacturing and quality assurance that, back with the space shuttle programme, enabled them to make one of the most complex and daring machines known to man. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000512\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EContracts are what grow countries. They are vitally important. They connect people and their ideas with outcomes and advancement. Any law that strengthens our contract law is not only good for business but it is good for our society. This bill is a single component of a bigger body of law, known as contract law. It has a part to play in our social and economic well-being. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000513\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EA very important part of why this bill has come to the House is all about when a contract, an electronic transaction, takes place. What is the timing that is critical for that to stand its stead? That is a very important thing, because we know that when it comes to disputes, often timing is the issue. To have some clarity in the law about the timing of when an electronic transaction or contract takes place is clarity that is going to benefit the wider body of contract law. The example that Mr Goldsmith used was a case that goes back a couple of hundred years, back to 1818\u2014the case of Adams v Lindsell. It was an English contract law case, regarded as the first case towards the establishment of the postal rule for acceptance of an offer. Ordinarily, any form of acceptance must be communicated expressly to an offeror. However, it was found that where a letter of acceptance is posted, an offer is accepted \u201Cin the course of post\u201D. When it came to an offer and an acceptance of an agreement that transacts through the post, you have this period of time where it is an unknown entity of whether the offer has been accepted. Of course, these days we do not do postal contracts that often. We do electronic contracts. They are the norm, and increasingly will be so in our modern society. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000514\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EThe case involved two parties in the sale of wool. On 2 September the defendants wrote to the plaintiffs offering to sell them certain fleeces of wool and requiring an answer in the course of post. The defendants misdirected the letter, so that the plaintiffs did not receive it until 5 September. The plaintiffs posted their acceptance on the same day, in good faith, but it was not received until 9 September. Meanwhile, on 8 September the defendants, not having received an answer by 7 September, as they had expected, sold the wool to someone else. Here we have this beautiful conundrum happening. The defendants argued that there could not be a binding contract until the answer was actually received. Until then they were free to sell the wool to another buyer. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000515\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EThe court said that if that was true, it would be impossible to complete any contract through the post. If the defendants were not bound by their offer until the answer was received, then the plaintiffs would not be bound until they had received word that the defendants had received the acceptance, and this could go on indefinitely. Instead, it must be considered that the offerors were making the offer to the plaintiffs during every moment that the letter was in the post. In essence, it is like sending an email offer that, when you send it, is open and alive for all of that period of time. In this case it was a matter of days, because the letter was misdirected and received late. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000516\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EThen when the offeree has placed his acceptance in the post, there is what is called a fictional meeting of the minds, which concludes the offer and gives effect to the acceptance. All of this had to be worked through in law 200 years ago, because what was happening was that trading was starting to happen in distant places\u2014similar, of course, to what we do all the time. The acceptance did not arrive in the course of post, strictly speaking. All parties understood the course of post to refer to 7 September, but because the delay was the fault of the defendant, it was taken that the acceptance did arrive in the course of post. In conclusion, this bill is about determining the time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022 data-id=\u00220314ff475fb34ff1b2576d4d87caf50d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000517\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220314ff475fb34ff1b2576d4d87caf50d\u0022\u003ECAROL BEAUMONT (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E As members opposite will know, Labour opposes the Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill. It is a spam bill, designed to clog up the members\u2019 bills ballot process. It should have been a Government bill or part of a Statutes Amendment Bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003EWe are also extremely concerned about the amount of time that has been wasted on this bill. It is clearly an attempt to block the passage of Sue Moroney\u2019s Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months\u2019 Paid Leave) Amendment Bill, or to have that bill put before the House. I will leave my comments there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002258f935f1-6646-40ab-9d99-17029396850c\u0022 data-id=\u00221ce9a978acf840b2ba33e0e7e2033e5f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000519\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258f935f1-6646-40ab-9d99-17029396850c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221ce9a978acf840b2ba33e0e7e2033e5f\u0022\u003EJULIE ANNE GENTER (Green):\u003C/span\u003E Like the previous speaker, Carol Beaumont, I have to say that this bill is clearly a waste of the time of the House. We have members\u2019 days so that all members of Parliament, even if they are not in Government, can submit bills. I would like to just note that the Green Party has 14 excellent bills in the ballot at the moment that would make a positive contribution to New Zealand. That is what we are here for\u2014to come up with constructive solutions that are going to lead to a fairer New Zealand, one that is greener and smarter, and has an economy that works for everyone. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000520\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258f935f1-6646-40ab-9d99-17029396850c\u0022\u003ESo, instead of debating bills that might actually make a substantial difference to the lives of New Zealanders, we are stuck here taking up the time of the House with a completely trite bill like the Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill, which clearly should have been in a Government bill or part of the statutes amendment process. That is all I have to say. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022 data-id=\u002254a3a3447e5d4fa080173738e2fe8269\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000521\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002254a3a3447e5d4fa080173738e2fe8269\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS TREMAIN (National\u2014Napier):\u003C/span\u003E At 7.18 this evening, just before we resumed this debate in the House, the Hon Tim Groser released a press release. The heading of that press release said: \u201COECD ranks New Zealand\u2019s service sector amongst most open\u201D. The previous speaker, Julie Anne Genter, talked about the importance of having a green and smart economy. Well, the service sector is very much a part of that economy, and at the heart of the service sector are the financial transactions that drive that economy. This bill takes a step forward to improve financial transactions through contract law, and I think that it does make a not insignificant step forward in that regard. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000522\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EThe Hon Tim Groser\u2019s press release said: \u201CNew Zealand\u2019s service sector ranked amongst the most open in a recent survey of 40 countries conducted by the [OECD]. \u2026 The OECD\u2019s new Services Trade Restrictive Index aims to quantify the restrictiveness of policy measures \u2026\u201D. What we are talking about here is a change in policy that actually improves the ability to conduct business online and in the service sector. This survey adds to a number of international comparators that have recently been received by this country ranking us globally as one of the best countries in the world. That makes for an exciting future for New Zealanders, particularly for young New Zealanders in this country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000523\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003ESo I rise to speak on this third reading of the Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill. Can I congratulate Paul Goldsmith on having had his bill drawn from the ballot and being able to progress it through the House before Parliament rises at the end of this term. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000524\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EYou will be aware that the Government has set four priorities\u2014four objectives\u2014for this term of Government. They were to return the country\u2019s books to surplus, to rebuild that beautiful city of Christchurch, to build a stronger and more competitive economy, and to build better public services. The Government has undertaken hundreds, if not thousands, of initiatives to take positive steps towards achieving these objectives. The reality is that there is not one silver bullet that will achieve these goals. However, the combination of many individual initiatives such as Mr Goldsmith\u2019s together make significant progress towards lifting the bar in New Zealand and building a brighter future for our country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000525\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EThe Government has made huge progress over this term, and this bill adds in a not insignificant way to that progress. To reflect on that progress, the Government will release a Budget that charts the surplus in the 2014-15 year. This is a huge achievement in itself and is the result of many different initiatives, such as Mr Goldsmith\u2019s. At the same time, the Australian Government will release a Budget that will paint a very different picture of its Government accounts. Through the tough decisions we have made over the last 5 years, we now have choices to extend funding, not to contract it. The announcements made just this week in regard to a $22 million increase for budgeting services, a $10.4 million increase in funding for providers who support victims of sexual violence, and a $20 million increase in funding for apprenticeships are no accident. They are the result of a very considered approach to bringing our Budget back to surplus, and thereby providing us with choices going forward. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000526\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EThe Government has made huge progress with the rebuild of Christchurch. Literally thousands of large and small initiatives have been delivered to progress the rebuild. Just yesterday the Government announced a $3,000 incentive for 1,000 beneficiaries to aid them in securing jobs in Christchurch to help with the rebuild. We are committed to that rebuild and to seeing it through. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000527\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EWe have made huge progress with our third goal, which is to build a stronger and more competitive economy. The Business Growth Agenda has provided the foundation for hundreds of big and small initiatives to advance that objective. Outside the Business Growth Agenda there have been thousands of initiatives made by businesses, local government, and many individual New Zealanders to help make the New Zealand economy grow. Thank you to all those people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000528\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EPaul Goldsmith\u2019s bill makes, as I have said, a small but significant contribution to making the boat go faster. The Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill clarifies the legal position on the time at which a contract is formed if the acceptance of the offer is sent by electronic communication. The reality is that we now live in a digital age, with more and more contracts being offered and accepted through digital mediums. This bill advances the law in this area, once again modernising our economy by improving the productivity and competitiveness of our nation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000529\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EThe results of the wider suite of initiatives, including Mr Goldsmith\u2019s, have been stunning, with New Zealand now showing huge signs of recovery. Our growth rate now puts us amongst the best-performing economies in the Western World. Interest rates remain at all-time lows, inflation remains within the target band, business and consumer confidence are at record highs, and employment continues to grow. As we heard from Minister Joyce today, manufacturing has been in expansion for the last 18 months, and in just the last few days we have seen very positive news about record highs in exports and employment growth, with 68,000 new jobs in just the last year alone. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000530\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EMost particularly\u2014and it a huge sign of the strength of our economy\u2014has been the turn-round in migration numbers. New Zealand has had net positive migration to New Zealand of in excess of 30,000, and there is a huge turn-round in the numbers migrating across to Australia. Young New Zealanders will always want to explore the world\u2014I have no doubt about that. My own children, I am sure, will want to explore the world, and I welcome that. But with this Government, Kiwis are starting to return in their droves. This, if not anything else, is the proof of a strong and a competitive economy in action: Kiwis returning in their droves and foreigners lining up to get work visas. If it were not for all the hard work that has gone in to achieving this, some would start calling us the lucky country, not Australia. But luck has nothing to do with it. Millions of Kiwis are contributing to this effort, and today Paul Goldsmith takes another small step. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000531\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EThe Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill also links strongly with our fourth objective in Government, which is to build better public services. For the first time ever, we have seen a Prime Minister not just talk about improved public services but hold the Government to account on key targets. From health to law and order, to education, the Public Service is being held to account to deliver better services. As a result of this, we now have more children than ever in early childhood education and more teenagers passing National Certificate of Educational Achievement, with significant improvements in M\u0101ori and Pacific Island communities. We have more elective surgeries than ever before, significantly better access to cancer treatment, and hugely improved immunisation levels\u2014once again, particularly in M\u0101ori and Pacific Island communities. In law and order, our police have delivered the lowest crime rate in 25 years. Once again my thanks go out to the entire Public Service for its commitment to delivering better services in very tight fiscal times. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000532\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EOne of the Public Service targets that has a lower profile but is extremely important to a modern economy is result area 10. This Public Service target requires that for 70 percent of New Zealanders, their most common transactions with Government will be completed in a digital environment by 2017. Kiwis are increasingly turning to their digital devices for information and services. They want their Government to be available online. They do not want to wait in queues. They do not want to have to replicate their details time and time again. Paul Goldsmith\u2019s bill will assist with the achievement of this target because it clarifies the legal position around when a contract is formed online. It modernises the law for our burgeoning digital economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000533\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EAt the heart of the result area 10 target is the Department of Internal Affairs, led by Colin MacDonald and Tim Occleshaw. Central to the Department of Internal Affairs\u2019 delivery is the Government\u2019s information and communications technology strategy and action plan and its digital-by-default strategy. It is an exciting strategy that leads agencies across Government to continuous improvement in their engagement with citizens over the internet. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000534\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EOne of the best examples of this has been the roll-out of passports online, with over 100,000 Kiwis having renewed their passports online within a 3-day turn-round period. This is an incredible result and it sets the benchmark for many other Government services across New Zealand. These initiatives will be leveraged by yet another digital initiative, RealMe, which is a national solution to establishing identity online. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000535\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EAcross New Zealand Kiwis are stepping up to drive a better country for all of us. Today Mr Goldsmith takes a small step towards achieving that and to taking the country forward as well. I congratulate him on his bill. Thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022 data-id=\u00224451db9f235546dc9950d3a31fb0e544\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000536\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224451db9f235546dc9950d3a31fb0e544\u0022\u003EANDREW WILLIAMS (NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E I take a brief call on behalf of New Zealand First on this member\u2019s bill, the Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill, simply to say that it is again somewhat disappointing. This is the second time in 2 weeks that we have experienced National members filibustering to ensure that they drag out this process so as to avoid other more worthy bills that have real significance to New Zealand, particularly to working families in this country, and that will have a benefit for them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000537\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003EIt is interesting, in my experience over many years in local government and central government, to watch many of the Government politicians in the last number of months stand up and give 30-second, 60-second, or 2-minute speeches when it suits them, when they want to get on with Government business and when they want to ram and push the legislation through the House at lightning pace, and where they give absolute lip-service to democracy and the democratic process. But here, where there are members\u2019 bills waiting on the Order Paper, waiting for New Zealanders to respond to, and for us to get on with, they completely filibuster and have 10-minute speeches, obviously prepared by their research units. Most of them would not have prepared those speeches themselves. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000538\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003EI am just going to say this to the Government, on behalf of New Zealand First: start being a bit more responsible, start putting aside some of your own political agendas, and start thinking about the benefit and the good of New Zealanders rather than your own political outcomes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022 data-id=\u00224a27b3891c1f4f96ba9b5073c71ebc0e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000539\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224a27b3891c1f4f96ba9b5073c71ebc0e\u0022\u003EKANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National):\u003C/span\u003E I would like to start by congratulating my colleague Paul Goldsmith on this excellent bill, the Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill, which was drawn from the ballot. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003EI want to talk about the last speaker, Andrew Williams, who said that this Government is not looking after the public. I would like to say that this Government has delivered so much in the last 5\u00BD years that the country can be proud of. The bill that we are discussing here today may seem small and compact, like the technology that most of us in New Zealand use today. However, its impact on all of us is likely to be very important. I would like to clarify here that with changing technology, things are getting smaller and smaller, and this bill is small but will have a huge impact on the business community. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000541\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003EIf we look at the number of postal deliveries in the last decade or so, they are decreasing because of technology. Nowadays, everyone is communicating through emails, through SMS, and through other resources available today that were not available a few years ago. There is little doubt that our reliance on the internet is increasing day by day. We use the internet for almost everything\u2014from checking our emails, to paying our bills, to completing our banking, and for other business transactions. It is essential to ensure that the new technology being used to do business is rooted in the time-tested way of transacting and running businesses. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000542\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003EWhat I mean to say is that the technology is here to help us do business at a faster pace. However, it is our duty to ensure that all due diligence is employed before using this technology. This bill specifically does that for consumers. It removes the uncertainty around the legal position on the time at which a contract is offered and accepted via electronic communication. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000543\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003EAs my colleague the Hon Chris Tremain mentioned, a lot of things nowadays are being done electronically. One of those is the renewal of passports. About 125,000 people have renewed their passports online, and the turn-round is 3 days.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000544\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aad52ed0751f4bbf813c77892c414d40\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: How many days?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000545\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ed1081395d394ade8c077d42efd38b65\u0022\u003EKANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI\u003C/span\u003E: Three days\u2019 turn-round. It is renewed in 3 days, and 125,000 people have used this facility since it was introduced in 2012. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000546\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003EContracts are an essential part of doing business. Contracts form the legal framework that facilitates trade and commerce. Contracts are evidence for all the parties that a transaction has taken place. All parties who are part of this transaction have certain obligations to fulfil as part of their contractual agreement. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000547\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003EA contract, as we all know from our experiences, also acts as a hedge against any surprises or misunderstandings that may occur after the product or services that that contract pertains to have been delivered. Therefore, this piece of paper protects all the parties in all transactions.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000548\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a3cf9515d95b43d7952bbbc71cace1a2\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: You should be able to do it spontaneously on this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000549\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fb0456b79fc045338e4d0250d3658ca8\u0022\u003EKANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI\u003C/span\u003E: What is that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000550\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a955e0fce6534738b29b60ea3037cf43\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: You\u2019re not allowed to read your speech.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000551\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a3ec99c9319148e2932e151e5acb4ca1\u0022\u003EKANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI\u003C/span\u003E: No, it is allowed. There is nothing stopping me from reading a speech.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000552\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227e8d1974d5024eda9141ac600c4d6e45\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: I know\u2014I wish there was. Complying with the rules would be good.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000553\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022210a520f08464797a159328c438b7fba\u0022\u003EKANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, you need to do that. You need to object to the Deputy Speaker about that. Every member speaks in this House by reading. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000554\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003EAs I said during the first reading of the bill, times have changed, and we are living in a digital world. So our laws are to be updated. We have to update the laws that are obsolete.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000555\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022064be7f6defd43289b2dd24ebcaf72ad\u0022\u003EHon Hekia Parata\u003C/span\u003E: Speak Hindi.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000556\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229058a379f94a41c5af9797739bc9c7af\u0022\u003EKANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI\u003C/span\u003E: Sorry?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000557\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022da9f5bdb82ef4b3a85bb98dd07790aa0\u0022\u003EHon Hekia Parata\u003C/span\u003E: Carry on in Hindi.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000558\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d55ad0b56263474ea3eaf6097fd5806e\u0022\u003EKANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI\u003C/span\u003E: I can speak for 10 minutes or half an hour in Hindi. Can that member understand Hindi? I do not think so. So for her convenience I am reading. I am making sure that she can understand what I am saying. This bill from my colleague Mr Paul Goldsmith does that. A clause of the bill amended the Electronic Transactions Act by inserting new section 32A. The amendment clarifies the formation of the contract when the acceptance of the offer is made through electronic communication. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000559\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003EFor example, currently, as soon as a contract is posted, the law states that a contract has been established. At present, this rule does not cover a contract accepted electronically. For example, if a person accepts a job offer by email, then there is no legal certainty over when the contract was created. In bygone eras before emails, there was a term postal acceptance rule. This rule created a directive whereby an offer was deemed to be accepted when the acceptance was posted. Over the years the rule has been extended to include telegraph, but has been held not to apply to acceptance by telephonic means, telex, or fax. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000560\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003EIn this modern time, when emails and smartphones are in regular use, it is important that the current legislation is amended to cover such areas. Currently, there is no mandate on acceptance by email, which is practically immediate, and the person who sends the email is usually in the best position to know whether it has been delivered or not. With the Government focus on building a more competitive and productive economy in the 21st century, in the global world we live in, there is little doubt that all of us will use the internet to do business and to transact online even more than we do currently. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000561\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003EWith this in mind, this National-led Government is working to ensure that our Public Service makes the most of online services, and we are rolling out ultra-fast broadband. However, our law needs to ensure that all parties who are involved in an electronic transaction, be it a business or a consumer, know their obligations after they have electronically offered and accepted contracts for the product or the service. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000562\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003EThe Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill recognises that we live in an internet age. It amends the Electronic Transactions Act to allow certainty to those who choose to accept a contract electronically. I support this bill and I congratulate Paul Goldsmith on his initiative in bringing this bill to the House. With this, I conclude my speech today.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022 data-id=\u00222bcafc8c90a64d5ea63f5e154bdc9e03\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000563\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222bcafc8c90a64d5ea63f5e154bdc9e03\u0022\u003EDr DAVID CLARK (Labour\u2014Dunedin North):\u003C/span\u003E I think that the importance and complexity of the Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill is best understood in light of the team of officials sitting to your right, Mr Deputy Speaker\u2014the usual Government squad here to unpick the complexities that come out in the debate in case the member needs to cover them off in a press release afterwards! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000564\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003ELook, we went to the Commerce Committee. We heard the nonsense of it all. I was there. I do not think the officials could believe they were there. Mr Goldsmith would be better off spending his time in his electorate\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000565\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022de44e4269cd648eead35188a016ad284\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: He hasn\u2019t got an electorate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000566\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221e2438b6283e4d828cc04f62514a5762\u0022\u003EDr DAVID CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014or the electorate he would like to have\u2014campaigning for an local exemption to the Resource Management Act, as the ACT Party, which he supports, would like to see happen. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000567\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EOne serious issue before I sit down\u2014I do not want to hold this bill up\u2014is that right now in Karitane, in my electorate of Dunedin North, there are real digital issues. The one shop in town has its eftpos machine crashing over and over again because of terrible coverage. This is another example of where the National Government has been too hung up handing out corporate welfare to its mates in Chorus due to the stuff-up of the ultra-fast broadband roll-out and has not concentrated on the basics. Karitane cannot run a web-based business. This is the kind of real issue that should be being addressed, rather than the nonsense that is in this bill. Labour will oppose this bill, and I stand to speak to that effect.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022656487fe-e0a2-485c-8dc2-fe61b9aec128\u0022 data-id=\u0022ced5e366ba7448db93fd9da67b4d4d72\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000568\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022656487fe-e0a2-485c-8dc2-fe61b9aec128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ced5e366ba7448db93fd9da67b4d4d72\u0022\u003EDr JIAN YANG (National):\u003C/span\u003E It is a great privilege to speak in the third reading in support of the Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill. I want to thank my good colleagues the chair of the Commerce Committee, Mr Young, and also, of course, the National MP Paul Goldsmith for bringing this member\u2019s bill to the House. I also thank the other committee members for their hard work. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000569\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022656487fe-e0a2-485c-8dc2-fe61b9aec128\u0022\u003EBefore I talk about the bill, I would like to talk about trade relations between China and New Zealand. I understand that when I became an MP in 2011, China was our second-largest trading partner. Now China is the largest trading partner of New Zealand, and we should not take that for granted. We still need to expand our trade with China. There are many ways of doing that, but online trading is a key part of expanding trade relationships with China. For that reason I understand that the Minister of Trade, Tim Groser, has been working very hard to expand online trading with China. I actually worked with Minister Groser to try to set up a virtual New Zealand house in China, and we did that. In March this year, when Minister Groser was visiting China, he launched a website that is called \u201CFresh New Zealand\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022656487fe-e0a2-485c-8dc2-fe61b9aec128\u0022\u003EAlibaba is the largest online company in China, basically. Alibaba is so important that on 11 November each year, for a single day, online trading through Alibaba is about 20 billion in Chinese currency\u2014in 1 single day. That is how much\u2014$20 billion in just 1 single day\u2014is going through Alibaba. That is how important online trading is in China.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000571\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022118015c2908847e3935f568229ecb745\u0022\u003EHon Kate Wilkinson\u003C/span\u003E: How much is that in New Zealand?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000572\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022656487fe-e0a2-485c-8dc2-fe61b9aec128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bd1817034ce2464a99afbf86543f8601\u0022\u003EDr JIAN YANG\u003C/span\u003E: That is about\u2014if you divide it by five\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000573\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022535c1556a2bb45e99d2274e339f2af5a\u0022\u003EHon Kate Wilkinson\u003C/span\u003E: Huge.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000574\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022656487fe-e0a2-485c-8dc2-fe61b9aec128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022709394edcb7e4c4894e2ae6765b171cf\u0022\u003EDr JIAN YANG\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, of course. It is very, very big trading in 1 single day. Look at this. This is the picture in China. The online trading market is basically\u2014we believe we cannot miss this particularly important market. That is why we say that we need to provide facilities and infrastructure for the future, and this bill will simply improve our infrastructure for the future, for trading. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000575\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022656487fe-e0a2-485c-8dc2-fe61b9aec128\u0022\u003EAs we have heard from the previous speakers, the purpose of the bill is to clarify the legal position on the time at which a contract is formed. This is important because for business we need clarity, right? If the acceptance of an offer is sent by electronic communication, when is the contract formed? That is very important, and this bill will clarify that. This bill will amend the Electronic Transactions Act 2002. The Commerce Committee, of which I am a member, recommended that the bill be passed with amendments. This is a good bill. It clarifies uncertainty around when contracts are formed if the acceptance of an offer is made through electronic communications like email. Clear and predictable laws governing commerce are some of the foundations of a successful, modern economy. This bill will deliver clarity and certainty, which will lead to confidence, and confidence leads to greater investment. Very clearly, overseas investors are very interested in New Zealand, not only because we have good opportunities but also because we have very clear rules. We have a very clear environment\u2014very transparent. So this is very important. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000576\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022656487fe-e0a2-485c-8dc2-fe61b9aec128\u0022\u003EUnder current legislation, when a contract is accepted by post, a rule applies that means that the contract is formed as soon as the acceptance is placed in the post. However, this rule does not cover contracts accepted electronically\u2014for example, emails. So if someone accepts a job by email, then there is no legal certainty over when that contract was formed. This bill tidies up a small area of uncertainty. It will amend the Electronic Transactions Act 2002 to follow the postal acceptance rule relating to electronic communications. Given the prevalence of electronic communications in society today, including email, smartphones, and social media, it is good that the current Act is amended to cover such areas. Basically, in today\u2019s world it is hard to imagine not having electronic devices. For example, iPhones are very important in our lives, and we work and also do transactions using them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000577\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022656487fe-e0a2-485c-8dc2-fe61b9aec128\u0022\u003EThe National-led Government is committed to operating online in the 21st century. It is about making the Public Service work better for taxpayers, businesses, and consumers. This will result in a more competitive and productive economy, which will support jobs, higher wages, and first-class education and health systems, and help New Zealanders and families to get ahead in New Zealand. Here, education in particular is also important. Why? I have a kid who is 13 years old. Every day when she does homework, she goes online to research all these things. Basically, the younger generation is more literate in terms of using electronic devices. It is important that we do have this clarity for future generations. These are the things that matter to New Zealanders and that the National-led Government supports and is working hard to deliver for New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000578\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022656487fe-e0a2-485c-8dc2-fe61b9aec128\u0022\u003EWe have set a target that an average of 70 percent of New Zealanders\u2019 most common transactions with the Government will be completed in a digital environment by 2017\u2014that is 70 percent. This includes, among other things, renewing adult passports, applying for visas, financial assistance, Inland Revenue Department numbers, and paying for vehicle licensing. But there are many more options, of course. We have many things that can be done via electronic communications. The National-led Government is also investing $1.65 billion to deliver faster broadband to 97.8 percent of all New Zealanders where they live, work, and study by 2025. We believe that ultra-fast broadband is vital. It will promote innovation, create jobs, and grow the New Zealand economy. Actually, I was talking to someone the other day. He was working online, basically, doing overseas transactions from New Zealand. He found that currently it is quite difficult because we do not have ultra-fast broadband. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000579\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022656487fe-e0a2-485c-8dc2-fe61b9aec128\u0022\u003ENational is focused on building a more competitive and productive economy. New Zealand\u2019s unemployment rate continues to be lower than that of most OECD countries. Through our comprehensive Business Growth Agenda, the Government has a strong focus on creating the opportunities for competitive businesses to invest and employ more people. Our results so far are reflected in strong growth, increasing employment, improved trade balance, stronger productivity growth, and real wages rising faster than the cost of living. We are working to ensure that our public services make the most of online services. The Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill recognises that we live in an internet age, and that is a good thing. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022 data-id=\u00226127ea9cdd7e43e2ba7abab634d58c58\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000580\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226127ea9cdd7e43e2ba7abab634d58c58\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I call the Hon Trevor Mallard. I am advised this is not a split call.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u002246d1f7cbd4d74eca9ac15a2790741f8e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000581\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002246d1f7cbd4d74eca9ac15a2790741f8e\u0022\u003EHon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour\u2014Hutt South):\u003C/span\u003E No, it is not a split call, Mr Deputy Speaker. I want to use the time that is available to both the Greens and the Labour Party. The first point I would want to make\u2014sorry, I am just trying to look through the non-transparent member standing there\u2014is to acknowledge the mover of the Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill, Paul Goldsmith. He did pick up something that should have been in a Statutes Amendment Bill. He used a Gestetner or a photocopier or something to copy it out and he put it into Parliament, and it is a bit of action. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000582\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003EBut I would say it is a waste of that member. That member is much more intelligent than Nicky Wagner, who has gone into Cabinet. He should have got in. I just want to say to him, after the news that we have got over the last few minutes, that I am sure that he is headed to a ministerial post, because Judith Collins is \u201Cgone-burger\u201D. Never before has the National Party dropped 6 percent in the polling in less than 2 weeks. The National Party is in free fall and Judith Collins is going to be blamed for that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000583\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003EWe already know that she has been practising because she is going to be singing the theme song for the National Party at the next election. Do you know what it is called? It is called \u201CDon\u2019t Cry for me, Oravida\u201D. Judith Collins is going to be leading the song. She is going to be leading the song. National is down 6 percent in under 2 weeks as a result of her chicanery and the lies that have been told around the country on this issue. As a result, no little diversion like this silly little bill, which should not have been in this Parliament, will make any difference whatsoever.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022 data-id=\u0022e1423be922d54d059066ad7e245ed059\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000584\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e1423be922d54d059066ad7e245ed059\u0022\u003EMARK MITCHELL (National\u2014Rodney):\u003C/span\u003E It is a pleasure to take a call on the third reading of the Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill. I want to open with an observation. We were lucky enough to listen to the Hon Chris Tremain speaking for 10 minutes, and he was uninterrupted. The Opposition benches were quiet. They had nothing to say. Then I listened to my colleague Kanwal Singh Bakshi and my colleague Jian Yang get up and make two very good contributions of 10 minutes each. The whole time they were making their contributions they were being laughed at, they were being abused, they were being interjected on by Ruth Dyson, and they were being abused by Trevor Mallard. So what I would ask people and viewers at home to do is to take their own observations from that. The Hon Chris Tremain got up for 10 minutes and made a speech uninterrupted. My colleagues Kanwal and Jian then got up to make their speeches, two thoughtful contributions, and they were abused the entire time and heckled by the Opposition benches. People at home can make up their own minds about that one, but I felt that it was a disgrace, and you should all be ashamed of yourselves.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022163d0b68-eb0e-4094-9bed-99e184f063e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002236beb5ef208944a183873fba9010f04e\u0022\u003EJami-Lee Ross\u003C/span\u003E: Because they\u2019re ethnic.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000586\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222a30f879919745e6b36cc134ddddb077\u0022\u003EMARK MITCHELL\u003C/span\u003E: I do not know whether it is because they are ethnic. People can make up their own minds about that. I am not going to accuse anyone of anything, but to me it was a disgrace and it was a smear on this House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000587\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003EIf you want to talk about how important the digital age is, we have to ask ourselves what Clare Curran was doing up at the Kim Dotcom mansion. What was Clare Curran doing up at the Kim Dotcom mansion, having the\u2014what was it\u2014digital bill of rights legislation delivered to her by Kim Dotcom? Who was sitting in the getaway car out the back? Probably Mr Mallard. Mr Mallard was probably sitting out there in the getaway car, ready for Clare to sneak away in the dead of the night with the new digital bill of rights legislation that Kim Dotcom had given her. Got anything to say now, Mr Mallard? Got any comments to make on that? Yes, it had to be a getaway car because you would fall off a bike. There is no doubt about that. There would be no doubt about that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000588\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003EThis is a very good bill and I want to commend my colleague Paul Goldsmith for bringing this bill to the House. It is an excellent bill. We do live in an age of the internet and technology and\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000589\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228ee77176666c48ecacaa89c147b99c7f\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Minus 6 percent and falling.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000590\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002229c62ce1b7bd461abcde6c5b8f165054\u0022\u003EMARK MITCHELL\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, well, you want to talk about polls; let us talk about your prospective coalition partner, the Greens. Let us talk about what Mr Norman has been doing, Mr Mallard.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000591\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002241a6c77da3dc4fde8cb242df80bf8420\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! [Interruption] Order! The member should be careful not to include the Speaker by the use of the inappropriate pronoun. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000592\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002207dbe5cf6f0141d392ca8918d08e323e\u0022\u003EMARK MITCHELL\u003C/span\u003E: You are right. I am sorry. I apologise, Mr Deputy Speaker. So, Mr Mallard, let us speak about your future\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000593\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a569fefcc16c4f59b3e5cf3b1a190382\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: I refused to do that yesterday. You\u2019re a wimp. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000594\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223d41c9fe37614a40a46c13d7cea9831f\u0022\u003EMARK MITCHELL\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014and who you proposed to be your Deputy Prime Minister. Yes, we are used to your abuse, Mr Mallard. We have just seen Mr Jian Yang and Kanwal Bakshi be subjected to your abuse over the last half an hour. But let us talk about your prospective coalition partner and what he has been up to. He has been up at the Kim Dotcom mansion too. He was probably high-fiving Clare Curran on the way through and being tasked by Mr Dotcom to stop his extradition. And this is a Government in waiting? This is meant to be a Government in waiting, up there talking to someone who is currently under a Department of Justice indictment for theft of intellectual property? To me, it is an absolute travesty. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000595\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003ELet us talk about Shane Jones. You know, I have been very fortunate and lucky to get to know Shane Jones in my time here in Parliament. I am involved in the Parliamentary Rugby Team. It is an honour to be the co-captain along with Damien O\u2019Connor. I have got to know Shane Jones very well. I will tell you right now that he is a man of integrity and he is a man who is focused on economic growth for New Zealand. I will tell you now that the reason he is not sitting over there with you guys and why he is not going to stay with you is that he sees no future in terms of economic growth, and that is what he is about. He has got aspirations for the people of Northland\u2014yes, he has\u2014but he understands clearly that, especially with your coalition partner the Green Party, there is no aspiration for economic growth. It is as simple as that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000596\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003EI will get back to the Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill because it is a good bill and it does actually fold neatly into what the Government is trying to achieve, and that is economic growth and a future for our generations. We are a small country. We are a country of 4\u00BD million people. We will not get ahead by trading amongst ourselves. We have to make sure that we position ourselves globally to continue to be a real global player and to continue to grow our exports. To do that there has to be attention to detail and we have to be seen to have the best global regulations and systems in the world. To do that we actually have to have bills like this to make the changes and to make the tweaks that are necessary in order to allow us to keep growing and moving in that direction. So it is with great pride that I stand and take a call to support this very good bill from Mr Goldsmith, this Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000597\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003EBill read a third time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000598\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022f504cfaf8c2042fba9f488f992f49ec4\u0022\u003EResource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000599\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022e25ca85669864701871c5f875f038d01\u0022\u003ESecond Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000600\u0022\u003EDebate resumed from 9 April.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022 data-id=\u0022f0d029dcd84e43f8a66effd133c416e9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000601\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f0d029dcd84e43f8a66effd133c416e9\u0022\u003ECATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa. This is our vision, our hope, and our commitment\u2014a river is not a drain. \u201CExceptional circumstances\u201D do not include the permanent use of a river as a drain because it is cheap and it is convenient. What about jobs\u2014I hear the mantra. Well, let us ask the FIRST Union\u2014it submitted on my bill\u2014because we can have clean rivers and we can have jobs. Crime can create jobs. Environmental crime can create jobs but not good jobs. We can do a whole lot better than that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000602\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EThis bill is about section 107(2)(a) of the Resource Management Act, which is arguably breaching Te Tiriti o Waitangi in terms of its abuse of rivers and river peoples, especially when you are comparing up to 150,000 tonnes of black, foaming, sewage-contaminated chlorinated pollution from the 1950s with the current dirty brown effluent now contaminated only with pine resin acids and bleach chemicals of unknown effects in 2014. Therefore, this bill represents the Greens\u2019 commitment, and my personal commitment, to cleaning up the law and to cleaning up rivers. We have waited a long time, as have the people of the Bay of Plenty and the people of Tai R\u0101whiti, to make sure that section 107(2)(a) is amended to put a time limit on the phrase \u201Cexceptional circumstances\u201D. We are committed to pursuing this irrespective of the outcome\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000603\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e61a064cf86b4a6cafad03856ee626ba\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! One and half minutes has been consumed. The member\u2019s time has now expired.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022 data-id=\u0022de4430ecf84e4d37adefff88f68c8a58\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000604\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022de4430ecf84e4d37adefff88f68c8a58\u0022\u003EHon PHIL HEATLEY (National\u2014Whangarei):\u003C/span\u003E I welcome the opportunity to stand and speak to this member\u2019s bill in the name of Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty, the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill. I thank her for bringing this issue to Parliament and, indeed, to the Local Government and Environment Committee. We do have some bad news for her, though. Although she put this bill tirelessly to us\u2014and the select committee certainly did a tremendous amount of work on it, hearing 27 submissions, holding hearings in Whakat\u0101ne and Wellington\u2014as a committee we came to the majority belief that, in fact, this legislation is not necessary. So National will not be supporting it in the second reading here this evening.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000605\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022\u003ENational does not support this bill. We understand that the purpose of this bill is to limit the time period for which a discharge permit or a coastal permit may be issued, when a permit to discharge is deemed necessary due to exceptional circumstances, to 5 years. Those circumstances were exceptional in all the cases we investigated. The Environment Court confirmed this and we see no reason to change the law. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000606\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022\u003EPeople understand pretty clearly in New Zealand that National does know how important the environment is to New Zealanders and to our quality of life. It is central to our international reputation, our primary sector, our growing tourism market, and, of course, our economy. We are delivering on our promise to make the Resource Management Act a law that better balances environmental protection and economic growth. The Resource Management Act is not a tool for extreme environmental activists to stop growth, to rid the country of jobs, and to involve themselves in economic destruction. It is an important law. The key factor behind our ongoing Resource Management Act reforms is a drive to ensure enduring outcomes while reducing the time, costs, and uncertainty involved in the process. That is, of course, what we are doing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000607\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022\u003ESo we came to this bill as a select committee and we received and considered 148 submissions from interested groups and individuals, as well as three form submissions comprising 18 individuals. The committee heard 27 submissions, as I said, in both Whakat\u0101ne and Wellington. We have examined the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill and we recommended that it is not passed. That is where I will be casting my vote this evening. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000608\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022\u003EIn regard to the water quality issues, which were the sort of high-level issues that we examined, we were not persuaded as a committee that this bill is the most effective way, in fact, of improving water quality. Rather, initiatives at a national level such as the Land and Water Forum and the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management are more likely to be effective in driving regions, districts, local communities, catchments, and individuals into making good decisions about what they do in their environment, which eventually leads to effects on water quality. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000609\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022\u003EOn the exceptional circumstances issue that was raised at the select committee and by the member Catherine Delahunty, it was questionable whether exceptional circumstances were a good reason to allow discharge permits. Section 107(2)(a) of the Resource Management Act has been used only a few times, and in each case the Environment Court has actually applied a stringent test and considered time frames. Each case has also involved detailed discussions about what constitutes exceptional circumstances, including these considerations: something out of the ordinary or unusual or not typical, a substantial investment, projects that involve a regionally or nationally significant resource, projects that of their nature rely on the use of a waterway, and projects that will contribute to resilience to national hazards. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000610\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022\u003EThat gives a very broad scope of consideration indeed. To narrow these things down simply to direct environmental consequences is not wise, particularly when many of these discharge permits are brief and due to unforeseen circumstances. The committee also believed that a shorter duration for exceptional circumstances could adversely affect the ability of companies to raise capital and ensure adequate long-term investment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000611\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022\u003EIn summary, the Government\u2019s resource management reforms are about ensuring that we manage our resources more effectively and efficiently to deliver both economic and environmental benefits for future generations. It is a balance. That is why we are a centre-right party. We look at both sides of the argument. We are looking for a way through to solutions and a balanced approach. We are not part of sort of an extreme movement on one side, driving only one agenda. We are the type of party that you would like to run your country or your business or your family. We are not sort of mad-out on one side. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000612\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022\u003EThe Government is currently in the second phase of its Resource Management Act reforms, and addressing whether this particular section needs to be amended should be part of a well-thought-out Resource Management Act reform package. Section 107(2)(a), which this bill seeks to amend, is rarely applied in discharge or coastal permits, as I discussed before. There is no evidence that this section is being used inappropriately or in a widespread manner. I mean, case law examples of where the permits have been brought before councils and the courts are very few. It was so easy for our committee to dissect them, because they were so few in number. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000613\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022\u003EWhere section 107(2)(a) has been applied, there have been only limited instances where permits issued under the section have resulted in appeals to the Environment Court. In each case, the Environment Court has applied a rigorous test to validate the exceptional circumstances definition and reaffirm conditions of the permits issued to minimise environmental effects. In other words, when the permits issued were tested on appeal to the courts by litigants concerned about what was going on, sensible people sitting in the judicial hierarchy looked at all the information and arguments and the science and took it upon themselves to make a decision that essentially said that all was well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000614\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022\u003EIn addition, this proposal to limit the time frame for consents issued where section 107(2)(a) applies would have no effect on current consents. So there is no way to use the legislation in looking back retrospectively to consents that are already granted that the member claims there are problems with. This is not the tool for Catherine Delahunty to fix problems that she perceives to be in existence at the moment under current permits, because it cannot do that. It cannot do that retrospectively. In addition, it is not likely to affect many consents in the future, given the current limited use of the section. As I expressed, historically consents under these permit conditions are not often sought and not often given. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000615\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022\u003ENational\u2019s reform programme has been about simplifying and streamlining the Resource Management Act processes, providing stronger central government direction, and addressing problems in areas such as infrastructure, water, aquaculture, and agriculture. We are not in the business of making resource management law more complicated and more difficult for environmentalists, businesses, and Joe Kiwi to understand. We want the process to be simple and accessible, not more complex. I am afraid that introducing legislation like this to the House makes things more complicated and difficult for people. That is not what this Parliament supports and certainly not what voters supported when they put this Parliament together to form a National-led Government with a particular view. I do say that we will be voting against this bill in the second reading. I cannot commend the bill to the House, although I acknowledge Catherine Delahunty\u2019s work.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022 data-id=\u0022c848b75a1a2443b7960756194f20bc32\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000616\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c848b75a1a2443b7960756194f20bc32\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Contrary to what the previous speaker, Phil Heatley, just said, I do not think that the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill is a very complicated piece of legislation at all. I do not think that changing a time frame in a piece of legislation is particularly complicated. It might be complicated for Mr Heatley, but, in fact, it is quite a simple change in that regard. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000617\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EThis bill does amend section 107 of the Resource Management Act and it aims to limit the period for which a consent can be issued in what are called exceptional circumstances to a 5-year maximum from the current maximum of 35 years in the Act. Thirty-five years is simply the default position in the Resource Management Act, so if you do not define another time frame, then in the Act it is automatically 35 years. So 35 years was not chosen for any particular special reason; it is simply just the default provision of the Resource Management Act. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000618\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EAs Phil Heatley said in his speech, the way this particular section 107 of the Resource Management Act has been applied has been upheld by the Environment Court. I find it very interesting that Minister Heatley said we should therefore never ever pass legislation where a court has made a determination, because I sincerely hope, and my colleague Ruth Dyson would agree with me, that the Government continues to uphold the board of inquiry decision on the Ruataniwha Dam, which would have turned the Tukituki River toxic. I sincerely hope that it is going to abide by Minister Heatley\u2019s comments\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000619\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ee7c6aec88b34f51ad56b92eca6840e5\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: No, no, he\u2019s not a Minister now. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000620\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ea04109fd88640f2b13cc9e9463d1968\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014oh, sorry, the former Minister Heatley\u2019s comments that we should just stand by these decisions and not overturn them, and that we will not see any legislation from the National Government in this House that overturns the board of inquiry decision on Ruataniwha, in much the same way as it overturned the court decision on paid family caregivers. But consistency has never been one of Mr Heatley\u2019s strong points, so I am prepared to let that slide. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000621\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EThis bill came about\u2014and I want to commend the member Catherine Delahunty not just for the bill but for the years and decades of work that she has actually put into the issue of the Tarawera River in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. Of course, this bill, if it passes, will not impact on the consent that the mill on the Tarawera River has been given. It still has another 21 years to run of a 25-year consent. It applied for 35; it got 25. That was 4 years ago, so there are still 21 years to run. This bill will not impact on that consent, but it could potentially impact on future applications for consent. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000622\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EIt should be acknowledged that the Tarawera River has gone, basically, to hell and back, really, in terms of what a river can cope with. In 1954 there was an Act of Parliament that was written that actually had the explicit purpose of enabling the mill to discharge waste into the river. It really is unthinkable that Parliament would pass that kind of legislation today, but it did in the 1950s. Before I came into Parliament I was a team leader of a persistent organic pollutants laboratory. We tested organochlorines and we tested a lot of product from mills around the country to make sure that the kinds of chemicals that were being used in the past that persist in the environment for a long time\u2014which are very expensive to remediate and which are damaging to human health and to the health of animals and to anyone who uses the river\u2014are not being used again. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000623\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EIn 1954 that Act of Parliament was passed, and the river did, basically, as it was called, become a \u201Cblack drain\u201D. In 2004 the Bay of Plenty Regional Council actually came up with a catchment plan for the river, because of the concerns. It was not just the mill, actually, in this river; there was the Kawerau waste water, which was all going into the Tarawera River at the time. There is geothermal on the river, as well as natural geothermal vents in the river that do affect water quality. There were still broken pipes leaching into the river from the Edgecumbe earthquake. There was runoff, obviously\u2014nutrient runoff, and also forestry. So all these things were impacting on the health of this particular river. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000624\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EIn 2004 a catchment plan was developed. The health of the Tarawera River is very different today from when it was considered a \u201Cblack drain\u201D. Even the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment said that it is no longer really valid to call it the \u201Cblack drain\u201D any more, because there has been significant improvement in the river, although, as with all these things, there is still a way to go. In 2004 the catchment plan was put in place. In 2010 the mill applied for its consent under section 107 of the Resource Management Act. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000625\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EMembers have talked about\u2014and I just want to put it on the table that I was very sorry that I could not get to the submission hearings in Whakat\u0101ne, as were members of the Labour Party. We were not able to have any members there because that was, of course, the week of our colleague Parekura Horomia\u2019s tangi, so all of the Labour members were in \u016Aawa. That was actually very unfortunate because I think we would have benefited enormously. We acknowledge that we were not able to be there to hear the submissions, and so that has made it more difficult for us to make a determination on the bill or to hear all the points of view, particularly from those people who live around that particular river. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003ESorry, I should have said at the outset that we will be supporting this bill at the second reading. I have tabled Supplementary Order Paper 422 in my name, for the Committee stage, around the time frame, and I will come to that when I discuss the time frame a little bit further on. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000627\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EThis bill is not about whether or not there should be an emergency discharge provision in the Resource Management Act, because this bill does not get rid of the emergency discharge provision. This bill is about the maximum allowable time frame for that provision to be accessed. As we have said before, it takes it from a maximum of 35 years down to 5 years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000628\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EAs environment spokesperson, I have to say I get a little bit nervous around a piece of legislation as important as the Resource Management Act and about making wholesale changes to it from Opposition, particularly when we were not able to hear submissions, because there may well be unintended consequences. We went to the member in charge of the bill, Catherine Delahunty, and said to her that we are a bit nervous that 35 years to 5 years might be too strict, but we would be prepared to go to 15 years as a maximum right now, because that allays our concerns that there might be unintended consequences. It gives us that wiggle room when there is uncertainty. So Supplementary Order Paper 422 in my name is to change the maximum time frame in the legislation from a maximum of 5 years to a maximum of 15 years. We believe that going from a maximum of 35 years to 15 years actually is a significant improvement. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000629\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EThe member in charge of the bill does not agree, and that is absolutely her right. I completely respect her decision and I thank her for engaging with us and negotiating with us in really good faith. We were not able to come to an agreement, but this is an issue. The health of our waterways is an issue, so we did not want to just vote against the bill because we did not come to some agreement with the member in charge of the bill. We want to be able to support it at second reading and say that in the Committee stage we will test the House on my Supplementary Order Paper 422, which extends that time frame out and allows more time for those resource consent conditions to be met. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EI also want to point out that the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, who supports this bill, did make the point in her submission: \u201CClearly there can be cases where it will take time and a great deal of expenditure to treat discharges to an acceptable level. But if it is not practicable to meet a particular standard at the end of 5 years, there is nothing to prevent an application for a second consent.\u201D That is absolutely correct, and that is really, I think, kind of the crux of where this bill is at. It is possible that there will be times when a 5-year consent period is too strict. Sure, a company could come back and apply for another 5-year consent. Our concern with that is that it may actually be cheaper for it to up sticks and leave, and leave a polluted river for ratepayers and taxpayers to clean up, than to potentially go through the process of trying to access the capital that it needs, often from overseas, to remedy the problem. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000631\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EThat was one of our concerns\u2014that the 5-year time frame might actually result in us being left with rivers to clean up ourselves if it is easier and cheaper for a company to say: \u201CWell, you know, we can go and invest this money in New Zealand on these environmental matters and then within 5 years we may have to apply for another consent, which we may not get. Part-way through we may have spent money that ends up being stranded.\u201D So from our perspective, we thought that if you went to 15 years, you do not have that issue as you do with a 5-year consent period. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000632\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EAgain, I would say we were also nervous about just plucking a time frame out of the air without being able to, from Government, actually look at all the reasons why you might pick a certain time frame. So we have gone from 35 years to 5 years. I note that when the Green Party made its submission on the resource consent, it called for 10 years as a maximum for that particular consent. I get a bit nervous about just plucking figures out of the air and saying that this is the magic number, particularly when it comes to a piece of legislation as important as the Resource Management Act. But as I have said, I congratulate Catherine Delahunty on bringing this bill to the House and for her work on the Tarawera River. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000633\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EIf this bill is to pass tonight through its second reading, as I said, my Supplementary Order Paper 422 is on the Table. It takes the maximum consent period from 35 years to 15 years, which I think is very reasonable. It allays a number of the concerns the National Party was outlaying, but it also would give far more certainty for the environment, and so I urge members to support that Supplementary Order Paper.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022 data-id=\u0022595e1cdba06e497391ff1824949c51dd\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000634\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022595e1cdba06e497391ff1824949c51dd\u0022\u003EJACQUI DEAN (National\u2014Waitaki):\u003C/span\u003E I too commend Catherine Delahunty for bringing the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill to the House. I think the member brought the bill to the House with an obviously genuine desire and love for the Tarawera River, a love for the communities, and a deeply held belief that the current regime around, perhaps, the practice of the Tasman Pulp and Paper mill and the legislation as it stands was failing that particular waterway. I hope I am encapsulating what Catherine Delahunty brought to the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000635\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EI have to say that National will not support this bill, and I will seek to set out my interpretation of the reasons why. I think the member who has just resumed her seat, Moana Mackey, with her comments around the time frame, really came to the crux of the matter. We believe, as the National Party, that a 5-year time frame, inserted into section 107(2) of the Resource Management Act, where discharges are allowed under exceptional circumstances\u2014if that time frame were narrowed down to 5 years, that would place those companies affected by it in an untenable situation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000636\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EAgain, we can have that discussion about whether economic activity outweighs environmental concerns. Yes, absolutely, we can have that discussion. I would argue that that discussion is very much part of this Government\u2019s work around reform of the Resource Management Act and is very much at the forefront of our thinking. In fact, we have made several legislative changes to make the Resource Management Act more responsive, more timely, and more efficient and its operation smoother so that we can address concerns like this. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000637\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EBut we have got to come back to the Kawarau River because that is the genesis of this member\u2019s bill, and it is a good member\u2019s bill because it has been brought to the House with a genuine desire to make a situation better for the water quality of that river. A number of members of Parliament, as well as the normal procedure that we go through when considering a member\u2019s bill, received and heard submissions in various places around New Zealand. A number of members variously took visits to have a look at the river. I, with a number of colleagues, spent some time on the river having a look at water quality and discussing with representatives of the Tasman Pulp and Paper mill its response to those concerns around water quality and how it was dealing with those concerns, both as a company in terms of the company practice but also in terms of compliance with the permit it had under the Resource Management Act. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000638\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EI acknowledge and agree that the Tarawera River was formerly described as a \u201Cblack drain\u201D\u2014have I got the terminology right? A \u201Cblack drain\u201D\u2014and I believe that it was. I believe that all sorts of toxins were being discharged into the river from the various industrial activities along the course of that river, as well as some other naturally forming pollutants further down the river from the Tasman Pulp and Paper mill. I recall there was an outfall as you head looking up the river on the right-hand side\u2014some geothermal discharges. I might not be quite right, but there are some other natural pollutants going into the river.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000639\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f02dcaae5e6048d8be7c13abb3d861d3\u0022\u003ECatherine Delahunty\u003C/span\u003E: Yeah, that\u2019s right.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000640\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221e01d6399ae0469fa22e82786c23e911\u0022\u003EJACQUI DEAN\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you. The member is helping me from way over on the Green side. So it is acknowledged by everyone that formerly that river was very much abused as a result of industrial activity but also by human habitation and some natural pollutants. Yes, it was a \u201Cblack drain\u201D and, yes, the water quality was appallingly bad, much to the detriment of the local communities along that river. The river is their home. The river is where they live their lives and they have their familial ties. The local communities feel very strongly about their river, where they catch eels, fish, and have their recreation and swimming. It is their river. Of course they had been concerned about the previous state of the river, but I also believe that that was a long time ago and that steadily, over the years, water quality in the Tarawera River has been improving. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000641\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EWe also observed on our trip from the mill down to virtually the mouth of the river and then back up again the varying levels of water quality, which are largely, these days, down to the amount of tannins occurring as a result of the industrial activity at the mill, but also occurring naturally because of the nature of the surrounding countryside and the leachates going into the river. There was certainly a colour variation. The water was at various stages yellower than at other stages, but it was explained to us and demonstrated to us that those colours were tannins and non-toxic. However\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000642\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002255f9a7db4aff4b399860ae50387c5f86\u0022\u003ECatherine Delahunty\u003C/span\u003E: Ha, ha! Non-toxic!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000643\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f3a5812e7e28472ba1d897c4b01edc9b\u0022\u003EJACQUI DEAN\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014yes, the member is laughing at me; OK. They were naturally occurring tannins but still of concern to the local community. So we saw for ourselves that, yes, this stretch of water\u2014possibly not unique in New Zealand, although, luckily, not common in New Zealand\u2014absolutely has been badly affected by the economic activity, which, by the way, has also provided many jobs to the local community over a number of generations. So although we are considering water quality in this bill, let us not forget that the Tasman Pulp and Paper mill has provided jobs for a number of generations in that community as well. Let us just keep that in our minds. It is not a reason not to clean up the river, but it is something we should always keep in our minds. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000644\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003ETo the bill itself\u2014section 107(2) of the Resource Management Act, which allows discharges into water under exceptional circumstances, is a provision that has been very rarely used in New Zealand. It is not a provision of the Resource Management Act that is in common usage, and, indeed, the number of years for which there can be exceptional circumstances allowing discharges is never very clearly defined. In fact, permits can be for as long as up to 35 years, which generally is about the common term in a discharge permit. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000645\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EIn this bill Catherine Delahunty seeks to narrow the length of time for a permitted discharge down to 5 years, and that is a laudable aim except for a couple of things. In the case of the Tarawera River, the current Resource Management Act permit and the conditions imposed on the owners of the Tasman Pulp and Paper mill require them to have a constant, steady, and aggressive programme of improving water quality. So if the aim of this bill is to improve water quality, then, yes, it does, but so do the current provisions in the Resource Management Act. For mainly that reason, it was believed on this side of the House that this bill, laudable though it is in its aims, would do more harm than good. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000646\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003ELet us go back to those jobs. Let us go back to that economic activity that has been carried out for generations in that small part of New Zealand that is working so hard to attract business into its area. I say, and I believe that it has to be acknowledged, that a focus on water quality is happening now under current rules around the permit that the Tasman Pulp and Paper mill has. So, on balance, we could call it 15 years, and there is a Supplementary Order Paper for that on the Table, Supplementary Order Paper 422, but, actually, even 15 years does not give enough certainty for anyone who wishes to start up a business and has this provision in the Resource Management Act hanging over their head. Well, hang on a minute. You might invest $10 million into an activity, but in 5 years\u2019 time, that is it\u2014you are going to have to pack up your bags. That is a disincentive. I do not believe that we should do that, because I do not believe that it is necessary. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000647\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EThe National Party does not support this bill but does congratulate the member on bringing the bill to the House with a genuine desire to do what we all want to do, and that is improve water quality in New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022 data-id=\u002209987a69d3ad411b9f0f74201980e000\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000648\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002209987a69d3ad411b9f0f74201980e000\u0022\u003EMEKA WHAITIRI (Labour\u2014Ikaroa-R\u0101whiti):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. I join to take a short call in support of this member\u2019s bill presented by Catherine Delahunty, the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill. I join this side of the House and our spokesperson Moana Mackey, who lay out her contribution in terms of Supplementary Order Paper 422, around amending the permits from the 5 years proposed in Catherine Delahunty\u2019s bill to what we believe is a workable solution, which is a 15-year target. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000649\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003ENo one is going to argue that the quality of our waters is not one of the critical issues facing everybody in this country. We all have memories and enjoyment of swimming in rivers or in the sea. I hope to do that, and my grandchildren hope to do that. The issue of water quality is a responsibility for all of us, and more so as we make legislation in this House. So I do want to acknowledge Catherine Delahunty for her intention to bring a bill to the House that, at the heart of it, is addressing water quality, particularly around the awa of Tarawera. I do want to pay tribute to her for that move she has undertaken. But, like I said, my colleague Moana Mackey has made it clear that Supplementary Order Paper 422 is our attempt to support Catherine\u2019s underline by allowing a bit more wriggle room in terms of the permit period. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000650\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI want to say that I am not a member of the Local Government and Environment Committee. In reading the select committee\u2019s report, I do note that there was a decision by the select committee not to pass this piece of legislation, but, obviously, there was a minority view in there presented by, obviously, the Green members about why the committee should pass it. Can I just make an observation about achieving consensus in select committees and acknowledge the role of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee as maybe a model for the Local Government and Environment Committee to try to tackle what are really critical issues like water quality. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000651\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI do not want to go too much into the detail of the bill, because that has been ably covered by my colleague Moana Mackey. Suffice it to say that we are supporting this bill, with the Supplementary Order Paper, to the Committee stage, where we can debate it more. Rest assured that on this side, Labour totally supports water quality. In fact, we want to assure people in the House and those who are listening that we support a comprehensive adoption of the Land and Water Forum recommendation to improve water quality throughout New Zealand, along with looking at resource rentals to ensure that our rivers throughout New Zealand are improved. Kia ora t\u0101tou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022 data-id=\u002274a3b74aff40412bbe05d56b46ab4373\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000652\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002274a3b74aff40412bbe05d56b46ab4373\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Ah! It is the honourable member Andrew Williams.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022 data-id=\u0022463a3aeb3c134bf2a3b5789eeea815d5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000653\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022463a3aeb3c134bf2a3b5789eeea815d5\u0022\u003EANDREW WILLIAMS (NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much, Mr Assistant Speaker Robertson. It is always a delight to see you in the Chair. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000654\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003ENew Zealand First is taking a call on the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill, brought to the House by Green Party member Catherine Delahunty. We too commend her for her efforts with this and for her intentions in terms of the quality of the rivers in New Zealand, but we are also unable to support the bill. In fact, I very much thought that Jacqui Dean had written my speech, because the comments that Jacqui Dean made just a couple of speeches ago were very much in unison with the feeling we have that the Resource Management Act adequately provides for this process already. The Resource Management Act is well known internationally and regarded as a very fine piece of legislation. Other judiciaries around the world and other legislative chambers often refer to our Resource Management Act as being a very fine example of covering resource management issues. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000655\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003EIn that respect, I was very pleased to sit on the Local Government and Environment Committee, which looked at the submissions on this back in 2012, which included some members visiting the river that was particularly referred to in terms of this, the Tarawera River in the Kawerau District. It was most interesting going there. I would like to thank the hospitality of the Kawerau District Council and Malcolm Campbell, the mayor there, and the councillors who met with me and gave me a rundown on the whole situation. I would also like to thank members of Norske Skog and other local industries, who were very forthcoming in terms of providing useful information. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000656\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003EI went on the Tarawera River from the bottom right up to past the mill. I looked at the river and we took physical water samples as we went and looked at them on the completion of our journey. We also looked at scientific analysis that was provided to us in terms of the river quality. It was most interesting, looking at the history of the river, that, indeed, in the last decade and back into the 1990s and 1980s this was a very, very polluted river. The old Kawerau pulp and paper mill had considerable discharges into that river, which was known in those days as the \u201Cblack drain\u201D. However, that is not the case today. Going up the river, it was very noticeable that the river quality today is significantly, hugely, different from what we saw recorded in the past. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000657\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003EIt was also interesting to note a side tributary river that came down from Edgecumbe. At the point there where samples were taken the water quality was significantly worse at that junction of those two rivers where the water came down from the Edgecumbe river because Edgecumbe, from its earthquake back in the last 1980s, had a huge amount of its sewerage system and other piping very, very badly destroyed as a result. To this very day there is still leaching coming from the Edgecumbe area that has been undetected\u2014and it is virtually impossible to find it all\u2014and that is getting into that tributary river and into the Tarawera River. So, as a result, where often the mill is blamed for some of the past pollution and the state of that river, in fact a lot of it is coming out of the Edgecumbe tributary. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000658\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003EIt is also interesting to note that in terms of this the mill meets the incredibly high standards of the review process specified by the Environment Court in terms of its consents. When the mill applied for its 35-year consent but was given a 25-year consent by the Environment Court, the court set very stringent requirements on regular reviews. Those reviews require a constant downward movement in terms of discharges into the river by the mill. We saw, again, scientific data that showed how that had significantly reduced over the years down to a fraction of what it was back 10, 15, or 20 years ago. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000659\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003EIt was also interesting to note that the mill used to provide the sewerage system for the Kawerau township and that the Kawerau township itself was a major polluter in terms of putting contaminated discharge into the mill\u2019s treatment plant, which was then discharging into the river. The mill, through good corporate social responsibility, built a new sewerage system for the township at its own cost a number of years ago and provided it to the township in conjunction with the district council. So its sewerage system is now completely independently handled by the district council sewerage system. Again, that had a marked effect on the overall amount of discharge that was going into the river. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000660\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003EIt was also interesting to note that very big signals were given in terms of the potential impact that this bill would have on the wider New Zealand economic development situation. If resource consents and permits of this nature were restricted to only 5 years for exceptional circumstances, it would have a very adverse detrimental effect on investment and industry in this country. In the situation with Norske Skog, it had, just in the last few years, invested $50 million in a major new machine at the paper plant there\u2014a very significant investment in a major piece of equipment. Had Norske Skog not had the extended permits, the parent company internationally would probably have made the decision not to invest that $50 million in New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000661\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003EWe heard from the mill management that it was up against equivalent mill management in many other countries that were similarly looking for support from the parent company for investment in their plants and equipment. The investment will certainly not go to somewhere the parent company feels it is going to have the potential for only a 5-year permit and then be required to shut down, meaning it would not continue. The parent company would therefore not make the initial investment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000662\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003EThat very grave signal to the wider New Zealand industry was certainly alarming for New Zealand First. We are a party that supports economic development, and we want to see growth around New Zealand in a controlled and very responsible manner. We see that controlled and responsible manner being via the likes of the Environment Court and via the likes of the Resource Management Act, which can put in place the right controls and processes to ensure that such industry and such investments are monitored in the correct way and are reported back on in an ongoing way in terms of the requirement to meet those standards. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000663\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003ESo New Zealand First will not be supporting this member\u2019s bill. This will not have sufficient votes to be passed by this House. However, we do acknowledge the member and her efforts to highlight the issues of water quality in this country. It is certainly commendable, and we are all looking to improve the quality of our rivers, to improve the quality of our marine environment. But, at the end of the day, it does have to be done in a responsible manner and it does have to be done in a holistic manner that also ensures that we do it responsibly. New Zealand First believes that the Resource Management Act will meet that adequately. Thank you. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022 data-id=\u0022d1f834d2fa134851a9f33a98927a1679\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000664\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d1f834d2fa134851a9f33a98927a1679\u0022\u003EMAGGIE BARRY (National\u2014North Shore):\u003C/span\u003E I rise to speak to the second reading of the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill. As others have said, this is a member\u2019s bill that is commendable because the member who has brought it, Catherine Delahunty, has done so with enormous conviction and with a lot of energy and application. Also, as others have mentioned, this is not a bill that is being supported by the Government. There are a number of reasons for that and I will go through them. The purpose of the bill, just to reaffirm, is to limit the time period for which a discharge permit or a coastal permit may be issued to 5 years, so limiting it to a 5-year duration when a permit to discharge is deemed necessary due to exceptional circumstances. I will go on to look at what \u201Cexceptional circumstances\u201D means, how it is being defined, and the attitude of the Environment Court to that. It is a very well-intentioned bill, but in the opinion of the Government it will not deliver on its aim. That is why we are not supporting it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000665\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EThe Local Government and Environment Committee, of which I am a member, received a number of submissions\u2014148 of them from various interested groups and from individuals as well. The committee heard 27 submissions and then heard hearings in Whakat\u0101ne as well as here in Wellington. Having examined this in some detail, it was the view of the committee that this bill was not to be passed. I acknowledge that that is a great disappointment to the member who has presented it, but let us look at why.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000666\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EWhen we look at water quality, as other speakers from all sides of the House have indicated, it is a very important priority to many of us. National, in particular, has spent a lot of time, effort, and money since we took the Treasury benches on ensuring that our water quality and safety, and so forth, have been properly looked at and examined. As the Minister for the Environment, Amy Adams, has said many times, if you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it. So we have put a lot of money into that sort of thing, and a lot of rigorous processes around that as well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000667\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EWhen we looked at the initiatives that are being looked at on a national level, there is the Land and Water Forum as well as the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management back in 2011. It was the view of the committee, and certainly the Government, that those were more effective vehicles to achieve the outcome. Nobody wants to have the dirty water and the long-standing problems that some waterways have had. But when water goes wrong, it goes really wrong. It takes a very long time to put that right. It is not a quick fix in any way, shape, or form. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000668\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003ESection 107(2)(a) of the Resource Management Act, which this particular bill seeks to amend, is very, very rarely applied in discharge or, in fact, in coastal permits. There is no evidence that this section is being used inappropriately. Where that section 107(2)(a) has been applied, there have been only very limited incidents where permits issued under this section have resulted even in appeals to the Environment Court. In each of those cases, when the Environment Court has heard them and applied a rigorous test to validate these \u201Cexceptional circumstances\u201D, which, by its nature, is a very narrow definition, the Environment Court reaffirmed the conditions of the permits issued to minimise environmental effects. So when various cases did get to the Environment Court and were tested under exceptional circumstances, it was still found to be not applicable. When we look at limiting the time frame for consents issued, where that section 107 applies, as proposed by this bill, the feeling, the belief, and the analysis was that this would have no effect on the current consents and, in addition to that, it is not likely to affect many consents in the future, given that current limited use of the section. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000669\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EAs members of this House know only too well, the Resource Management Act is progressing. We are addressing, as a Government, the problems in areas such as infrastructure, water, and aquaculture. There are a number of initiatives coming through at this time. The Land and Water Forum, frankly, when it was first established under the Hon Dr Nick Smith, many thought would be a complete and abject failure. How could you possibly get all of the warring factions together in one place and have them agree? These are people who barely spoke to each other. The notion that they could sit together in one room and constructively work a solution out together was considered a fanciful notion. But, as it turned out, it has been an outstanding success. The underlying thing is that the people who are passionate about water and believe in the purity and the sanctity of it and the use of it and its long-term sustainability, and all the rest of it, actually believe that more than they believed in their own political silo positions. So they were able to come together very well, and that is why LAWF, as it is known\u2014the Land and Water Forum\u2014had resulted in such outstanding achievements, including that first National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000670\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EThe recommendations from the forum have worked very well to provide a national, scientifically based framework. You always have to come back to the science on things like this. We need to deliver a reform of freshwater management in New Zealand. Yes, science is something that this Government believes in very much. That is why we introduced the first-ever National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, and we have spent around $101 million on water clean-up. That is just in the first 4 years of the Government, compared with, I think, $17 million in Labour\u2019s last 4 years. It is a fivefold increase. As well as that, we have committed an extra $350 million to water clean-ups of various iconic New Zealand waterways. Those are progressing very well, when you look at the other areas of New Zealand. Others may think it is not working well, but a lot of this is politically motivated. We are doing a very good thing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000671\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EGetting back to this bill\u2014this bill would not solve the problem either in the local area where it is suggested and mooted for or in any other way. The Environmental Reporting Bill does represent this Government\u2019s commitment to a step change in the way that we monitor and report on the conditions of our natural environment, and that is a key manifesto that we fought the 2011\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000672\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220d95d7406b844614bbe18ca7bb303fe6\u0022\u003EEugenie Sage\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I thought we were talking about the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill, not the Environmental Reporting Bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000673\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dc479b811b9348ab97158948dea1624d\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: I think the member makes a very valid point.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000674\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022808756444c9b48a2b74bdc7469a25ed3\u0022\u003EMAGGIE BARRY\u003C/span\u003E: Can I speak to the point of order, Mr Assistant Speaker?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000675\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222b9385fe04394b0ca996d045a6b3fa6c\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: You most certainly are entitled to speak to the point of order, but you have to call for a point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fa61d545c8ee4661826bee13e160815f\u0022\u003EMAGGIE BARRY\u003C/span\u003E: Speaking to the point of order, the reason I am elucidating on these policies is that these are the measures that are working, and the select committee that considered the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill did not deliver a solution. The measures I am talking about have, so that is why I am talking about them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000677\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225eafbc03813a4649a840451e5b27b48a\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Can I just say to the member that she should try to speak as closely as she can to the intention of the legislation. You can draw inferences from different parts, but in the main you must try to speak to the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000678\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d81cddbfa8fb47c59a3795e25255b14f\u0022\u003EMAGGIE BARRY\u003C/span\u003E: Sure. Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. I will take note of that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000679\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002282235363122346eab8d272a9185250a1\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Refer to the legislation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000680\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d80a7d04e3f248e2bfe8ebd21183afa3\u0022\u003EMAGGIE BARRY\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you. When the committee heard the submissions surrounding this particular piece of legislation, there were certainly people in the area and supporters of the member who put this bill forward who believed that this was the solution. But, as I said, we looked at the number of submissions, particularly the 27 submissions, and held the hearings in Whakat\u0101ne and Wellington. As the Labour members pointed out, it was at the time of the funeral of the late Parekura Horomia, so they were not able to be there. New Zealand First, I think, did attend, and our members as well. I think Jacqui Dean went to Whakat\u0101ne, and there were a number of our people who went. But they remained unconvinced. I think when you look at the select committee process and recognise how rigorous it is and how seriously many of us who have members\u2019 bills before the House take the process, we can fairly say that we all did our best on this, but it was still not possible within the frame of reference that was put forward for us to agree to this. As I said, the committee was not persuaded that this bill was the most effective way of improving the water quality, but the Land and Water Forum and the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management did deliver and would get us around that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000681\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003ESection 107(2)(a) is something that has been used a few times. As I said, there are a number of reasons why it should not be repealed. I think that the committee believed that a shorter duration for exceptional circumstances could adversely affect the ability of companies to raise capital, and also to ensure adequate long-term investment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000682\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ae6ca5a999634a8bb884cd71c95c02dc\u0022\u003ECatherine Delahunty\u003C/span\u003E: What companies?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000683\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e7be24e5e6404773b284e4aa666f192d\u0022\u003EMAGGIE BARRY\u003C/span\u003E: Well, there are a lot of companies involved. You were at the select committee and recognised and acknowledged this, although of course you were the one person\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000684\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aa7df63079a544d98e0ebd00c07cba13\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Order! When the member uses the word \u201Cyou\u201D\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000685\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229cde0bb619fc4839bf6e87fd299f30ff\u0022\u003EMAGGIE BARRY\u003C/span\u003E: Indeed. I do not mean to drag you into this, Mr Assistant Speaker. But certainly the committee, with one exception, believed that the shorter duration was not actually going to deliver. When we look at projects that involve regionally and nationally significant resources, it is important that we look at something that will work. There has never been any evidence that the section that this bill seeks to repeal has been used inappropriately. Where it has been applied, there were only very limited instances where permits issued under this section even got to the Environment Court. As I said, when they got there they were not passed or upheld. I think that the findings of the select committee, although hurtful to the member who put the bill forward, are none the less where democracy sits. We did not agree with it. I do not support the bill, the Government does not support the bill, and nor did the select committee, so I cannot, therefore, commend it to the House. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022 data-id=\u00220620688f63b64e36b2ecd67a3f8aaadc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000686\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220620688f63b64e36b2ecd67a3f8aaadc\u0022\u003EHon RUTH DYSON (Labour\u2014Port Hills):\u003C/span\u003E I have seen a lot of people saying on social media this evening: \u201CWhy is the National Party filibustering? Why did those members all speak for 10 minutes on the Electronic Transactions (Contract Formation) Amendment Bill?\u201D. The reason is very simple. It is that National Party members do not want to get to Sue Moroney\u2019s bill that extends paid parental leave. It is extraordinary that they are not prepared to do that, because I think they are going to lose the vote when it gets to that bill, and it would be a fantastic thing, particularly for the parents of young children.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000687\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a599f75f2a9f4f8284a9819cf5a001a2\u0022\u003ETim Macindoe\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Members opposite were very concerned to bring the previous speaker back to the purpose of the bill. This member has not even begun to mention the bill, and the point she has just made is totally incorrect.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000688\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002286388c8bb7a44ae28d484444b5954e39\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Can I just advise the House that whenever there is any debate, it is generally the convention that the Speaker will allow the person a minute or a couple of minutes just to respond to the previous speaker. I think that is what the member was doing. And then she will be coming to order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000689\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002259f655231186490ea5d16317cf7bd58c\u0022\u003EHon RUTH DYSON\u003C/span\u003E: I will come immediately to the bill at hand because I want to commend the member Catherine Delahunty for her work on the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill, which has a very snappy title. I commend her not just for the work that she has done in bringing this bill to the House but for the work that she has done over decades to promote conservation and environmental values not just in her own community but throughout the country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000690\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003ELabour supported this bill going to the Local Government and Environment Committee, and, unfortunately, as my colleague Moana Mackey said, we were unable to participate in a critical part of the hearings that were held in Whakat\u0101ne, because they were during the tangi of our colleague Parekura Horomia, which means it was a year ago. It has been almost exactly a year since this bill was at the select committee for those hearings. We had some difficulties with some parts of the bill, most particularly a very important part, and that is the length of time that you might allow for a discharge to be permitted. It is on that particular issue that our support hangs or falls, and that is why my colleague Moana Mackey has introduced Supplementary Order Paper 422, which extends the time to 15 years. If that Supplementary Order Paper is supported, then Labour will be able to support the bill and, hopefully, further progress it. I certainly hope that that Supplementary Order Paper is passed and we are able to continue our support. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000691\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003EAnother point that was made earlier in the evening was again from my colleague Moana Mackey when she talked about the broader issue of water quality. One of the hot topics of debate over recent months has been that of Plan Change 6 by the Hawke\u2019s Bay Regional Council in relation to the Ruataniwha Dam on the Tukituki River. One of the rumours that is running rampant around Wellington is that there have been significant lobbying efforts made to National Ministers for them to change the law to overturn the determination of the board of inquiry that considered that Plan Change 6 in Hawke\u2019s Bay. I just want to put it on the record that it would be an outrage if this Parliament considered in the dying days of the current Government a change to the law that overturned a determination of a board of inquiry. The board of inquiry was really concerned about water quality, which is the whole point of this bill, and to have a process that is being undertaken in another part of the country but completely parallel to the intentions of this bill that some National Ministers are considering overturning by law would, I think, be a breach of the morality, if not the process, of the Environmental Protection Authority and the board of inquiry.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000692\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003EI just want to conclude by again commending Catherine Delahunty. She has consistently progressed matters such as are outlined in this bill. I hope that Supplementary Order Paper 422, which has been proposed, is passed and we are therefore able to continue our support for this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022 data-id=\u0022d5dc92b965fd4e2a83fd681381be22c2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000693\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d5dc92b965fd4e2a83fd681381be22c2\u0022\u003EPAUL GOLDSMITH (National):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, for this opportunity to speak on this bill, the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill, for the second reading. I am afraid to say that I find this rather a strange bill because it purports to reduce the effect on the Tarawera River but, of course, it would not have any impact for at least 22 years, because it is not retrospective. Tasman Pulp and Paper got a 25-year consent only recently, so for 22 years it would not have any impact. A lot of the submitters whom we heard at the Local Government and Environment Committee seemed to think that if this bill was passed, something substantial would change within 5 years and were confused. This bill sets out to do something in 22 years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000694\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EThe other thing is that, ultimately, the select committee was convinced that the bill was trying to provide a solution to a problem that does not really exist, given the utility of section 107(2) already in the Resource Management Act. The advice we were given was certainly that the 5-year limit on consents granted under section 107(2) would not provide sufficient time for investment certainty for businesses, especially in the situation where technology to reduce the pollution further does not yet exist, such as in Tasman Pulp and Paper. The advice we received was that the current ability of the Environment Court to assess each consent on its merits and tailor the consent solutions accordingly is more flexible and fit for purpose than an arbitrary 5-year limit. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000695\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EIt was interesting hearing some of the submissions. One of them was from Contact Energy. The committee was intrigued and very concerned because this bill does not relate just to the Tarawera River and Tasman Pulp and Paper; it would apply right throughout the country. We were interested that Contact Energy had relied on this provision in section 107(2) in the consent of Wair\u0101kei geothermal power developments. We asked Contact Energy what it would have done if it had not been able to use section 107(2) and the reply was very illuminating. It said that it had really only two other options. One was greater discharge into the Waikato River as a result of its geothermal power generation, and given the environmental policy of reducing those discharges, that would have been difficult to achieve and not really an option. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000696\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003ESo the only other practice was to increase its level of planned re-injection into the field. The problem with that is that it would have put the reservoir at risk of premature cooling because of the likely returns of cooler injectate intersecting the hot production fluid before the injectate had travelled a sufficient distance through the hot rock to reheat it. The net effect\u2014and I will not go into the geothermal details of it\u2014would be the risk that the productive life of the Wair\u0101kei Tauhara geothermal system would have been shortened, perhaps by many years, had all the injectate been required to go back into the field. Of course, if that was the case, then, indeed, the whole economics of the project would have been put into question. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000697\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003ESimilarly, if this bill had been passed and there was a 5-year limit on any future consents, we asked what impact that would have on geothermal developments. Again, we got a pretty clear response that because each geothermal system is different and responds differently, then it is very difficult in the undeveloped systems of the Taup\u014D volcanic zone to have any great confidence that the elimination options to respond to the characteristics of particular systems would be able to be worked out within a 5-year period. The net result of that would be that a 5-year grace period would be insufficient to enable an alternative to be developed to reduce discharges, so a 5-year limit would effectively be a decline of a consent. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000698\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EI go into this detail because I think it is very interesting. What we heard here today were speeches by New Zealand First, and for the first time since I have been in Parliament I found myself enjoying listening to one of Andrew Williams\u2019 speeches and I thought he spoke very well on this topic. New Zealand First members were quite strong in their conclusion that they could not support this bill because, first, the current regime was adequate and, second, they did not want to be stopping development in this country. But the surprising thing is that the Labour Party, which generally\u2014certainly in the past\u2014was more mainstream in its thinking about these things, seems to be chasing the Green Party further and further into the extremes of New Zealand politics in support of this bill. So it is not surprising to me that Shane Jones has left. Why would you want to be an economic development Minister in a coalition that does not believe in economic development?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EThen you have this extraordinary contradiction in what they are talking about. So we hear a great deal about the Labour Party policies, for example, around power. Members say they are very keen to reduce the cost of power, and yet here we have them, red-handed, supporting a bill that would quite clearly increase the cost of power generation and make it far more difficult to come up with renewable electricity in the geothermal space, because they want to follow everything that the Greens come up with. So I find it hard to reconcile those two sorts of things. On the one hand you are keen to have cheaper electricity, but here, again, is another example of being willing to pass all sorts of legislation and regulation that increases the cost of power. They do not seem to see the contradiction in what they are saying there. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000700\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003ENational does not support this bill. We stand strongly behind good environmental regulation for New Zealand. The Resource Management Act is quite detailed in its law. It balances the protection of the environment with economic growth, and streamlining and simplifying the Resource Management Act is important. But the most important thing in regulation is that businesses that are looking to create opportunities for jobs and economic growth in this country, upon which we all rely, have some measure of certainty and have some ability to cope with complex situations, such as those that you face with geothermal developments. If politicians come in and pass laws that put a straitjacket around all potential development and reduce that flexibility, then the consequence is obvious. It is going to be less investment, fewer jobs, more expensive electricity, and fewer options for New Zealand workers. I do not support that in any way, shape, or form. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000701\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EI finish by just reminding everyone, however, that although this Government has made a huge amount of progress on water quality issues generally across the country through such initiatives as the Land and Water Forum and the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2011, yes, it takes a long time. These things do not happen overnight, because there is a lot of talk and the issues are not easy to resolve, but at least we are making some progress. Beyond our shores I would like to, in the ocean\u2019s sense\u2014this is the party that brought in the exclusive economic zone legislation where there had been none, and, again, we receive great lectures from the other side about oil and gas exploration. Well, when other parties were previously in Government, they had nothing in place when they were passing all sorts of exploration permits. So I think this Government has a very strong record to stand on, in terms of environmental legislation and the contribution that we have made. But this bill, unfortunately, would not affect anything in the Tarawera area for 22 years. It would affect potential investment in geothermal power, and we do not support it. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022 data-id=\u002226b2f2f6f1354b0bb66e18cbb65805e0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000702\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002226b2f2f6f1354b0bb66e18cbb65805e0\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: The question is that the\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000703\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d853041103d64cc6ace92e7b3499b34f\u0022\u003ESu\u2019a William Sio\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Speaker\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000704\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a845bc4bbe0847d887bdc5d2798ca050\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, you have to be quick. Is the member seeking a call?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000705\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002204b41ec06bff44b490e9e4107ec6a7db\u0022\u003ESu\u2019a William Sio\u003C/span\u003E: Yes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000706\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022837e60619f98472282aadeb5dadcb934\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: I call the honourable member Su\u2019a William Sio. Malo le soifua.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022 data-id=\u0022cc1125b8df1c4f0994d05a09e9666464\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000707\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cc1125b8df1c4f0994d05a09e9666464\u0022\u003ESu\u2019a WILLIAM SIO (Labour\u2014M\u0101ngere):\u003C/span\u003E Malo le soifua, Mr Assistant Speaker. I apologise for that. I will not take too much of the House\u2019s time in terms of this particular bill, the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill. I want to acknowledge the author of the bill, Catherine Delahunty, and accept the fact that the view she is advocating through this bill is genuine. I think that on this side of the House, Labour is also of the view that it is important that as a country we do protect our nation\u2019s rivers and our waterways, and that we ought to be aiming to ensure that the quality of our water is improved. This is one of the reasons why Labour supported this bill going to the Local Government and Environment Committee. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000708\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EI note that a total of 147 submissions were made from industry, from M\u0101ori organisations, from NGOs, and from professional groups. A significant number of those submissions were from individuals, but we also had submissions from five local government regional councils. By and large, the two areas of concern that were raised in those submissions were the Tarawera River and the Tasman Pulp and Paper mill. The Tasman Pulp and Paper mill, which this bill focuses directly on, received resource consents under the Resource Management Act, under section 107(2)(a), on two occasions: first in 1995 and again in 2009. In 2009 the consent went to the Environment Court and the High Court. I just want to read from the report: \u201CThe Environment Court\u2019s decision took into account the assessment of the effects of a discharge on the river, the long-held and positive economic and social importance of the pulp and paper mill, both regionally and nationally, the critical dependence of the mill on the river for water and as a discharge medium, the significant capital outlay in the industry, including measures to improve the volume and quality of discharges to the river, and that the initial setting up of the industry on that site had been under a special enabling Act of Parliament.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000709\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EIt seems to me that although there is general agreement on most parts of the bill, the one area that seems to be a bone of contention is really the term, or the years, that the bill attempts to try to address. Although it argues that it should limit the discharge rights to 5 years, the present situation with the bill is that the pulp and paper mill is able to discharge for 35 years, and that has been approved through the courts. So from a Labour Party perspective, I totally agree with the aim of the need to protect our rivers and our waterways, but we also need to balance that out with the needs of the communities in terms of jobs. That is why Labour is proposing a compromised option of a limit of 15 years and has submitted Supplementary Order Paper 422 to reflect this.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000710\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EAs this bill is not retrospective, it will not deliver, in our view, the result that most people in favour of the bill were seeking\u2014that is, a restriction of the Tasman Pulp and Paper mill permit, which will still have 22 years left to go on its permit if this bill is passed. As I said earlier, presently there is a limit of 35 years on the amount of time this permit may be issued for in exceptional circumstances under section 107(2)(a). It does not seem in keeping with the intention of this section that exceptional circumstances include permits of 35 years. However, as the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment said when she submitted on this bill, 5 years would not be a sufficient period of time for all potential users of this section. Although we would regret it, if a compromise of 15 years is not accepted through the Supplementary Order Paper, we would obviously then vote against the bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000711\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EFinally, I just want to say that Labour supports the comprehensive adoption of the Land and Water Forum recommendations to improve water quality throughout New Zealand, along with looking at resource rentals to ensure that our rivers throughout New Zealand are improved. Thank you very much.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022 data-id=\u00221d3b0d3ffa85499898dfc41b6295d75e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000712\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221d3b0d3ffa85499898dfc41b6295d75e\u0022\u003ECLAUDETTE HAUITI (National):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, e te rangatira, Mr Assistant Speaker. It is a privilege and an honour to stand to take a call on the second reading of the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill. I am a member of the Local Government and Environment Committee. However, this bill came in prior to my arrival in Parliament. But, along with my colleagues, I would like to congratulate the Green Party member Catherine Delahunty on bringing the bill into the House. I would like to remind our colleagues here in the House that Catherine Delahunty\u2019s mahi amongst the M\u0101ori communities is extremely well known, and the mahi that her wh\u0101nau have done too is also extremely well known and very much appreciated and quite revered. So mihi atu ki a koe m\u014D t\u014D mahi me te mahi o t\u014D wh\u0101nau hoki.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000713\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003E[So I acknowledge you and your work, and that of your family as well.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000714\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EIt is, however, unfortunate that National will not be supporting this bill. I agree with my colleagues that the support for this bill is not forthcoming on a number of levels, and those have been explained and clarified and reinforced by my colleagues. The purpose of the bill is to limit the time period for which a discharge permit or a coastal permit may be issued to 5 years, when a permit to discharge is deemed necessary due to exceptional circumstances. However, National knows how important the environment is to all New Zealanders. At present we have a very good working relationship with a number of iwi, including Ng\u0101i Tahu and Tainui, to name just two, around this very issue and around the environment and around conservation. Therefore, the policies that we currently have in place are very well suited for iwi in order for them to determine and to define what is relevant for them in their contextual areas and in their space and on their rohe. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000715\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EWe are also delivering on our promise to make the Resource Management Act a law that better balances environmental protection with economic growth. Streamlining and simplifying the Resource Management Act is an important part of the Government\u2019s programme. A key factor behind our ongoing Resource Management Act reform is the drive to achieve enduring outcomes while reducing the time, cost, and uncertainties involved in the process. We know that to be effective, because of the feedback that we are getting from many of the iwi around the motu. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000716\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EThe Local Government and Environment Committee, as we have heard, received and considered around 148 submissions from interested r\u014Dp\u016B and individuals, as well as three submissions comprising 18 individuals. The committee heard 27 submissions and held hearings in Whakat\u0101ne and here in Whanganui-a-Tara\u2014in P\u014Dneke. The select committee has examined the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill and, as my colleagues have said earlier, we recommended that it not be passed. The committee was not persuaded that this bill is the most effective way of improving water quality. Rather, initiatives at a national level such as the Land and Water Forum and the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2011 are likely to be more effective vehicles. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000717\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003ESection 107(2)(a) of the Resource Management Act has been used only a few times, and in each case the Environment Court has applied a stringent test and considered time frames. Each case has also involved detailed discussions about what constitutes exceptional circumstances, including the following considerations: something \u201Cout of the ordinary\u201D or \u201Cunusual or not typical\u201D, a substantial investment, projects that involve a regionally or nationally significant resource, projects that out of their nature rely on using a waterway, and projects that will contribute to resilience to natural hazards. The committee believed that a shorter duration for exceptional circumstances could adversely affect the ability of companies to raise capital and ensure adequate long-term investment. The Government\u2019s resource management reforms are about ensuring that we manage our resources more effectively and more efficiently to deliver both economic and environmental benefits for future generations.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000718\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EThe Government is currently in the second phase of Resource Management Act reform. Addressing whether this particular section needs to be amended should be part of the full, well-thought-out Resource Management Act reform package. Section 107(2)(a), which this bill seeks to amend, is rarely applied in discharge or coastal permits. There is no evidence that this section is being used inappropriately. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000719\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EWhere section 107(2)(a) has been applied, there have been only limited instances where permits issued under this section have resulted in appeals to the Environment Court. In each case the Environment Court has applied a rigorous test to validate the exceptional circumstances and reaffirmed conditions of the permits issued to minimise environmental effects. Limiting the time frame for consents issued where section 107(2)(a) applies, as proposed by this bill, would have no effect on current consents. In addition, it is not likely to affect many consents in the future, given the current limited use of the section. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000720\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EI would also like to just reiterate here, for some of our colleagues who come and champion on behalf of iwi, hap\u016B, and wh\u0101nau around the motu\u2014could I just emphasise that iwi, hap\u016B, and wh\u0101nau are quite capable of championing their own issues, their own take, and their own kaupapa. We\u2014and I say \u201Cwe\u201D meaning M\u0101ori\u2014are more than capable of championing our own kaupapa within the parameters of legislation. In fact, the Environment Court is very well represented by M\u0101ori interests. Therefore, I think we should be very careful when we put ourselves forward as a m\u0101ngai of those iwi, when, in actual fact, iwi are quite capable of representing themselves. Therefore, I stand to debate this bill; however, we do not support this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022 data-id=\u0022aaed2659bd6e4ea2a18fad01302a29dc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000721\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022aaed2659bd6e4ea2a18fad01302a29dc\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Before I call the next honourable speaker, I just wish to advise the House that this is a split call that the Greens have agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022 data-id=\u0022bbd966703fab48cab09f096bab48df2e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000722\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022bbd966703fab48cab09f096bab48df2e\u0022\u003EEUGENIE SAGE (Green):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. I am pleased to take a short call on the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill. It is a beautiful 2-hour walk through mixed r\u0101t\u0101 and p\u014Dhutukawa forest from the source of the Tarawera River at Lake Tarawera to the Tarawera Falls. The river has shaped spectacular gorges and deep pools for swimming. Above the falls a torrent of water suddenly disappears underground to re-emerge out of fissures in a 60-metre rhyolite cliff. It creates a very spectacular waterfall. The Tarawera Falls is one of New Zealand\u2019s natural wonders. It is part of a scenic reserve, and the water here is clean and clear. You can see to the bottom. From the falls to some distance downstream the Tarawera is all that New Zealand rivers should be: clean, clear, and beautiful. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000723\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003ECloser to the sea at Kawerau, the Tarawera is a national disgrace rather than a natural wonder. It is a national disgrace because we continue to allow the Tasman Pulp and Paper mills, now operated by Carter Holt Harvey and Norske Skog Tasman, to pollute the river. The mills are responsible for the longest-running industrial pollution in New Zealand. They have turned the river into a \u201Cblack drain\u201D. Yes, it is improving, but it is still totally unacceptable, and it is what this bill is remedying. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000724\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EThe Green Party wants all of our rivers, from their sources to the sea, to be clean and healthy. We want an economy where businesses use modern technology to reduce their impacts on the environment. There were 148 submissions on this bill; 128 of those supported the bill. Those submitters wanted the river to be cleaned up so people can collect kai, so they can swim in the river, and so the Tarawera River is returned to its pre-1955 state. The Green Party cares about these places and it cares about people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000725\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EI am very proud of my colleague Catherine Delahunty for standing beside the community of Kawerau, beside Ng\u0101ti T\u016Bwharetoa, Ng\u0101ti Awa, and Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, and working hard for a clean river as well as jobs at the Tasman mills. There is a well-known M\u0101ori whakatauk\u012B: \u201CKo au ko te awa; ko te awa ko au.\u201D\u2014I am the river; the river is me. Catherine Delahunty lives that whakatauk\u012B. She came to Parliament to clean up the Tarawera River, and this bill is part of her huge mahi for the river and advocating for the community for a clean river. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000726\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EAs others have said, the bill amends the Resource Management Act to put a 5-year time limit on the term of a coastal permit or a discharge permit that was issued under the exceptional circumstances section in the Act. The Tasman mills have operated in Kawerau for more than 50 years. Section 107(2)(a) was inserted into the Resource Management Act specifically to provide for the discharge. It allows the discharge even if it impacts on fish and other aquatic life and even if it causes a conspicuous change in the colour of the river. Thanks to section 107(2)(a), in claiming exceptional circumstances the mills have twice got resource consents that allow them to continue the discharge of pulp and paper effluent, including organochlorines, into the river. The Resource Management Act does not contain any definition of exceptional circumstances. It contains no limit on how long exceptional circumstances can apply. There is no restriction on it being used more than once in relation to the same activity. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000727\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EThis bill would apply considerably more certainty by limiting exceptional circumstances to 5 years. That would provide time for a transition and it would provide a strong incentive to consent holders\u2014in this case, the Kawerau mills\u2014to reduce their impacts sooner rather than later. The submission of Norske Skog Tasman and Carter Holt Harvey was that they were working to improve the colour of their discharge, but there is no commitment to doing that in a timely way or to significantly reducing the other impacts of the mills\u2019 discharge. This bill would change that. It is a stand for a clean river. The work of the Land and Water Forum is not going to change the state of the Tarawera. This bill would, and that is why it should be passed. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000728\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227e42403da6f4447b9977eadc626eb078\u0022\u003ECatherine Delahunty\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Assistant Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022 data-id=\u0022ba79d7209cfa4428a5e2b3c3376edf60\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000729\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ba79d7209cfa4428a5e2b3c3376edf60\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Sorry\u2014the member has already spoken?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000730\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002241133030cfbd404faccd6a1709cf6fea\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I was there just speaking to the Clerk of the House, and I referred this to you too, to confirm that Catherine Delahunty could take the second 5 minutes. The Clerk of the House confirmed that that was the case, even though she had spoken initially in the debate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000731\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cfcd6c483b2e42cfb2b922ded8cf0913\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: That is fine\u2014there is no objection. That is fine. There is no objection to that course of action, and, of course, the House is the master of its own destiny anyway. I call the honourable member Catherine Delahunty. T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Ms Delahunty.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022 data-id=\u0022ac57dc4e0d024bd7b1fb12a337e9591b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000732\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ac57dc4e0d024bd7b1fb12a337e9591b\u0022\u003ECATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. I would just like to finish the debate on the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill by clearing up a few of the misconceptions and arguments we have heard. One is that I am in any way trying to be a m\u0101ngai for iwi. This is not about them; this is about the people\u2014particularly M\u0101ori, but not only M\u0101ori\u2014who submitted on the bill in support of me and who have worked so tirelessly since 1955 for a different outcome. That is for whom I am speaking here tonight. I would like to refer to Paul Goldsmith\u2019s uninformed comments on Contact Energy. If he had been aware of what was going on, he would know that we negotiated with Contact Energy for a Supplementary Order Paper to protect its right to geothermal discharges, but obviously he did not know anything about it. However, that is what was about to happen, in order to protect its rights to deep-water aquifer discharges. I would also like to talk about the argument that the Resource Management Act is adequate and that hearings have set high standards through Environment Court appeals. A commissioner from the Environment Court who had been involved with some of these river hearings approached me at another hearing and said to me: \u201CThank goodness for your bill, because we did our best but we were incapable of delivering under the law the protection for the river that is needed.\u201D I found that very interesting. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000733\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EHowever, my final comments relate to the debate tonight. I thank people for their kind comments to me personally, but this is not about me. This was never about me. This was about the people, the river, and the rivers across Aotearoa. And I have to say this about the arguments presented: what a load of bollocks. Let us just be completely honest about this for a minute. The parties that want to oppose my bill or want it seriously modified are undermining the future of the rivers because they are worried about upsetting vested interests and losing votes from the business sector or local government leaders who have given up on the environment in exchange for agreeing with everything corporates do. That is the truth of what has happened in Kawerau since 1955. It is corporate blackmail. Since 1955 at Kawerau the companies have always said that if anyone dares to limit their ability to externalise their cost in a serious way, they will shut down the mills and the jobs. Again, what a lot of disingenuous bollocks. But they have won it every time because people are too scared to stand up to them. Still, the Green Party, the awesome tangata whenua people who have stood up for the river, the environment groups that have cared, and the unions that support us will not give up. And just because Parliament has been gutless again, those who support us will not give up. We in the Green Party will stand for all rivers. Our connection to water is so intrinsic to our being alive. Our obligation to rivers is not some optional or rhetorical strategy. If the water is healthy and sustained, we will be healthy. If it is polluted and degraded, so are we. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000734\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EI would like to point out that this debate has indicated the lack of scientific knowledge in a modern context. This is not about whether the river is black or brown\u2014but at the moment it is brown\u2014it is about the invisible and subtle pollution that occurs when resin acids are released from pulp mill effluent when they have been crushed up to make paper and when they have been bleached and they have been put into the river with mill chemicals. If any of the people in this House knew anything about this issue, they would know that the synergistic effects of these chemicals are subtle and particularly dangerous in seawater. This is way beyond the understanding of the Environment Court, when it never hears from witnesses who know about this, but it is also obviously way beyond the MPs from all parties except Mana and the M\u0101ori Party, which have consistently understood what this bill is about. I would like to thank them very much. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000735\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EI did come to this Parliament to stand up for this bill, and I want to honour the commitment and honour the people who came to the Local Government and Environment Committee and told their truth. Whether people attended or not, the submissions were available to be read. It is very important for us to remember that people with nil resources have since 1955, through a series of incredible campaigns, forced these companies to reduce their pollution. This occurred not only in Kawerau but also in the Tai R\u0101whiti, where section 107(2)(a) of the Resource Management Act was used to allow raw sewage from 40,000 people to pollute the bay. I have lived the issues alongside those people. They gave up their time, money, and hearts to defend this environment. And to talk about the Land and Water Forum and other initiatives has absolutely nothing to do with this and is a convenient excuse for ignoring the reality that virtually everyone in this House except Mana and the M\u0101ori Party is unable to support the truth of this, which is that rivers are not drains. I would just like to say that this is not over. Kia kaha to all the people who supported this most reasonable and fair piece of legislation, and shame on the rest of you, who have failed it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u00225836461b4ee74eacbb969105f2a50668\u0022 name=\u0022division\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EA party vote was called for on the question, That the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill be now read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 51\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 34; Green Party 14; M\u0101ori Party 2; Mana 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 68\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 59; New Zealand First 7; ACT New Zealand 1; United Future 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EMotion not agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000736\u0022\u003ESitting suspended from 10.01  p.m. to 9 a.m. (Thursday)\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507dec667c8a3504e4cb03ac73d53e94e0e000737\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00221988628ebb3347ddb0410e39e9d1c7c1\u0022\u003EWednesday, 7 May 2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000002\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002288f8303fdc80421f9230224c8cacff14\u0022\u003E(continued on Thursday, 8 May 2014)\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000003\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022bf944add7ddf4b8f90c4219e57292959\u0022\u003ETe Urewera-T\u016Bhoe Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000004\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022fb55881933ce4dc7a3fa5557c68c1413\u0022\u003ESecond Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022 data-id=\u002245924722121f453f8cb37475b9763717\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000005\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002245924722121f453f8cb37475b9763717\u0022\u003EHon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the Te Urewera-T\u016Bhoe Bill be now read a second time. This bill will enable the settlement of all historical Treaty claims of Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe. As is very well-known and does not need repetition here, their grievances are significant, longstanding, and overdue for a just and a durable settlement. The bill reconnects Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe with Te Urewera and provides a firm foundation for improved relationships between the Crown and Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000006\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003EI know that we have some T\u016Bhoe guests in the gallery, so I simply want to say this to them: I do not think this is a time for long speeches. That can wait until the bill\u2019s third reading, but I do want to acknowledge the excellent work of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. Over the past 6 months the bill has been considered by the committee, and I really do appreciate its consideration of the bill and the very close attention it paid to the issues raised in the submissions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000007\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003ECommittee members considered 69 submissions from interested groups and individuals, and heard 26 submitters. They held hearings in Whakat\u0101ne and in Wellington. So, once again, I congratulate the chair and the members on their tremendous work. I am grateful to those who took the time to make submissions on the bill. Their participation in the committee\u2019s examination of a bill is an important component of Parliament\u2019s consideration of Treaty settlement legislation. It was also very, very encouraging to hear from many of those who support the bill. The committee has proposed a number of minor, mostly technical, changes to the bill, and its report is most helpful in that regard. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000008\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003EI acknowledge the work of the T\u016Bhoe negotiators\u2014two of whom are in the gallery this morning\u2014the Minister of Conservation and other Ministers, parliamentary colleagues, departments, and other agencies that have contributed to this bill. Concluding this settlement is one of the most significant achievements this Government has seen undertaken during its term. It addresses, as I said, some of the worst breaches of the Treaty in our history. I look forward to the bill progressing to its third reading to give effect to this very historic settlement. I commend the bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022 data-id=\u0022632ba7440726417fab322b3de5e49db6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000009\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022632ba7440726417fab322b3de5e49db6\u0022\u003EHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour\u2014Hauraki-Waikato):\u003C/span\u003E I acknowledge the contribution of the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations and tend to agree that this is not the time for long speeches, but it is the time to go through, in some manner, the issues that were raised before the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee in so far as the submissions on the Te Urewera-T\u016Bhoe Bill were concerned. They were substantial in our view. We do have a thorough report, Minister, preceding the second reading, which brings together the substance of our considerations. We, in good faith to those submitters, tried to whittle down the key components of their expectations and objections, in some respects, to aspects of this settlement.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000010\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EI do believe that the select committee got to the right place in its deliberations and I want to commend the officials for the way in which they helped advise on all but one issue, which has been resolved by the select committee. I understand, Minister, that you will be continuing discussions on that front, and perhaps the House will be of a mind to consider your response in the Committee stages. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000011\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003ESo let me go to the submission process. We went to Whakat\u0101ne and heard a number of submitters. We received around about 66 submissions in total\u201442 were in favour, 14 were opposed, and 10 presented a view neither one way or the other.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000012\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003ECan I say that\u2014as I work through the bill and try to give it some consideration\u2014there were the issues around Ng\u0101ti Ruapani, and there were the issues around the national park itself and aspirations for management and how that might take place, and the consequent impact on groups like Fish and Game and that community and hunters. There was a very strong representation from Te Tira Whakaemi o Te Wairoa. Also there were some reflections in a number of submissions around public access provisions for Te Urewera and also how the management board would conduct its very important obligation for this wonderful place.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000013\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EAs we work through each of those issues, in some respects it was helpful to know that the Minister had given an indication to Ng\u0101ti Ruapani that there would be a process for them in terms of their settlement, and that Onepoto would be set aside in terms of addressing their interests. That was certainly very helpful as we went through and considered the extent of their interest in Waikaremoana.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000014\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThe issue of the ownership of the lake bed came up. We sought advice from parliamentary counsel just to give confidence that what was actually said and intended in the legislation was indeed the case. The lake bed is not factored into this settlement. However, we did receive submissions that tended to insinuate that the consequent effect of having a Te Urewera Board, a management board for the national park estate, would have an impact on the lake bed. We have clarified that within our commentary. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000015\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EWe were also mindful that in regard to the Lake Waikaremoana reserves there was also a parallel process continuing through the M\u0101ori Land Court. During the course of our deliberations we received the judgment of Judge Fox and we were then in a position to pursue clarification around clause 91, I think it was, and whether the interests in those 13 reserves could be transferred to the ahu whenua trust as was directed by Judge Fox. We received clarification from the Office of Treaty Settlements officials who assured us that, yes, that is the case.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000016\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThe other aspect that we were mindful of was in relation to Fish and Game\u2019s interpretation of the management plans that will be developed and how it would infringe on their existing rights. I know that the Deputy Speaker, being from the hunting community, would be quite acutely aware of those types of interests. In all honesty, I certainly expressed the view, and members of the committee agreed, that this is a new normal for many members of the wider community in so far as it is the intention in the way in which the Te Urewera Board will operate that management plans will be developed. There is the provision for consultation to occur but, again, all those issues will be lifted up to the board and have consequent effect not only on hunters and fishers but also on T\u016Bhoe themselves in carrying out the obligation of the custodial protection of Te Urewera. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000017\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThe public access provisions in particular have been set out in clause 112(2) and also in clause 176(1)(d), where there are issues around public access\u2014the creation of by-laws. Again I draw the attention of the House and members here to those provisions because to some extent people might have got it in their heads\u2014and I know this was certainly the narrative prior to seeing the detail of the legislation\u2014that if T\u016Bhoe take over the management of Te Urewera, then public access would be prevented. That is indeed not the case. It is clearly set out in the clauses of the bill, where not only is public access preserved but for very specific reasons by-laws can be created to be able to limit public access for specific purposes. There is opportunity also, through the management plans, for the public to have input. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000018\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003ESo I think it is very important to again draw the attention of those listening to the debate on this bill with some intent, to assure them that public access continues. There is a management regime in place. There is the opportunity for public input. There are provisions for better management tools to be implemented for specific reasons, and we should be confident that a board with the range of interests represented can approach the long-term management and caring for Te Urewera in a way that better meets the needs of everyone in the community. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000019\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EI am very pleased, out of all the settlement bills that we have got to, with the committee\u2019s report and I thank the chair of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee for being so accommodating to all the concerns that have been raised by the members. Your accommodation of those concerns allowed us to pursue with some vigour aspects that needed to be done, so that when this bill goes to its third reading it has the full support, I hope, of members of this House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000020\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EMinister, can I just lastly assure you that should your discussions with Ng\u0101ti Manawa and T\u016Bhoe be successful to the degree that we are able to sort out the issues of the transfer of the remaining two properties, we would welcome further discussion in that space and we look forward to perhaps that detailed opportunity in the Committee stage. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022 data-id=\u00225dc962ec529a4fbda8e49b1c94509e6c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000021\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225dc962ec529a4fbda8e49b1c94509e6c\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Deputy Speaker, \u0101, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou kua hoki mai nei ki t\u0113nei Whare o t\u0101tou, ahakoa \u0113hara t\u0113nei i te r\u0101 whakamutunga m\u014D t\u0113nei pire, e haere tonu ng\u0101 k\u014Drero kia whakaotia ai \u0101kuanei. N\u0101 reira, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou me \u014D koutou tini aitu\u0101 n\u0101 koutou i tuku atu, n\u0101 t\u0101tou n\u0101 reira, waiho r\u0101tou ki a r\u0101tou. Ko te mea nui, ko t\u0101 t\u0101tou kaupapa nei i whakahuitia t\u0101tou, ar\u0101, ko te pire nei. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, nau mai, whakapiri mai.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Salutations to you collectively who have returned here to this House of ours, even though this is not the final day for this bill. Discussions to complete this stage will continue today. So greetings to you collectively, with your many deaths, whom you interred, as we all do. So therefore allow them to remain there amongst themselves. This matter of ours, this bill that assembled us here is the most important thing. Acknowledgments and congratulations to you collectively; welcome, draw closer.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000023\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EI am pleased to again rise in support of this bill, the Te Urewera-T\u016Bhoe Bill, to address the historical grievances of Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe. When this bill was introduced to the House last year, I said then that every New Zealander should know the history and stories of this country. I am pleased to announce that right now our Ministry of Education, our t\u0101huhu, is working on a whole scheme to set up a sort of a framework by which our history can be introduced into the school curriculum. Our history did not start with Captain Cook. All these things\u2014the battles at \u014Cr\u0101kau and at Gate P\u0101, and so on\u2014are unknown to tauiwi. How can they understand what it is like to be mana whenua, tangata whenua, if they have not learnt that part of our history? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000024\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003ESoon it will be in our curriculum. It will take a while to build up as each area contributes to the content, but hopefully all students will learn about the history of the locality of the school, the movement of tribes and hap\u016B in past times, the battles, and then, of course, colonisation and the effect on language and how their grandmothers were punished for speaking M\u0101ori in school, and so on. I think this is major, and it is long overdue to inform the rest of New Zealand about our history in that time, and even today, so that schools can value their local marae, know their local hap\u016B, and so on. I am really pleased that we have made progress in this particular area. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000025\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EFirst of all, I would like to acknowledge Tau and the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee too, like the other two speakers did. There is no doubt the committee did a really good job on this one in going out there as well as having a hearing here in Wellington. That committee really does go unthanked. I spent time on that committee and it does the groundwork that allows bills to go through in the final form. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000026\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EUpon reading the historical background to this settlement no fair-minded person could deny or dismiss the need to resolve the injustices that ensued. This bill documents a litany of disgraceful acts committed by the Crown against Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe over many generations. For its part, the Crown apologises to T\u016Bhoe for the indiscriminate raupatu, wrongful killings, and years of scorched earth warfare, for denying T\u016Bhoe the right of self-governing the Te Urewera reserve by subverting the Urewera District Native Reserve Act 1896 by excluding T\u016Bhoe from the establishment of Te Urewera National Park over their homelands, and for wrongfully treating Lake Waikaremoana as Crown property for many years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000027\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003ET\u016Bhoe have always approached resolution of its disputes with the Crown in a principled and determined manner. Through this settlement the Crown has been given a second chance to bring honour to its ongoing relationship with T\u016Bhoe. This bill contains a historical account of what happened in the past, together with an apology and some redress. This bill provides a foundation for the future. This bill has the potential to produce transformative results for T\u016Bhoe. It is late, but here it is. History has shown that in order to build better and brighter futures for our tamariki, our mokopuna, and our wh\u0101nau, hap\u016B and iwi must be involved in making the decisions that effect the future. T\u016Bhoe have always stuck by the philosophy of taking care of their own, a philosophy of self help\u2014Tama t\u016B, tama ora; tama moe, tama mate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000028\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E[Those who are productive will survive, and those who sit back will die or perish.] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000029\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EThrough a social agreement to build the capacity of Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe members, Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe are positioning themselves to manage their own affairs and improve the delivery of Government and iwi services to T\u016Bhoe communities. The settlement is the enabler of a stronger T\u016Bhoe economy. It is a lifeline that will help reinstate and redevelop T\u016Bhoe independence and cultural permanency. These acts restore the honour of the Crown and rightly return to T\u016Bhoe responsibility for their own health, education, housing, planning, justice, and other infrastructural needs. The key principles underpinning negotiations between the Crown and T\u016Bhoe centred on the premise that self-government is the basic principle of democracy and that T\u016Bhoe has a democratic right to self-government. Ko t\u014D mana motuhake, ko t\u014D T\u016Bhoetanga. Ko t\u014D T\u016Bhoetanga, t\u014D mana motuhake. Ka kore t\u0113nei \u0113hara noa t\u0101tou. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000030\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E[Your autonomy is your T\u016Bhoeness; your T\u016Bhoeness is your autonomy. Without this we will be nothing.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000031\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003ET\u016Bhoe were not signatories to the Treaty of Waitangi and have always maintained their right to uphold their unique T\u016Bhoe values\u2014always\u2014their culture, their language, and their identity within T\u016Bhoe homelands. Through this settlement T\u016Bhoe has a political authority and the arrangements necessary to serve the needs of T\u016Bhoe, their families, and their communities in all aspects of their daily lives. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000032\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EThis is an omnibus bill, to be split at a later stage into the T\u016Bhoe Claims Settlement Bill and Te Urewera Bill. The parts of the bill that will become Te Urewera Bill will lay out striking new arrangements for the governance and management responsibilities and obligations over Te Urewera. The bill creates an independent legal authority for Te Urewera. It recognises Te Urewera in her own right, with her own identity. Te Urewera will be released from the shackles of Crown control and will be governed by T\u016Bhoe and Crown nominees, with T\u016Bhoe having an increased role in management over time. Cultural values associated with Te Urewera will be captured in the bill. These include principles relating to the protection of biodiversity, natural and historic heritage, and public input into the management and future public access. Internationally, agreements like these have been held up as important achievements for environmental protection. To promote its unique cultural values, T\u016Bhoe will seek international recognition of Te Urewera as a Unesco biosphere reserve. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000033\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EIn the face of incredible injustice, today we witness the incredible generosity of the families of T\u016Bhoe p\u014Dtiki who wish to settle their grievances with the Crown. I want to acknowledge the sacrifice, pain, and injustice Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe has endured due to the actions and the omissions of the Crown. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000034\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EI would just like to acknowledge Minister Finlayson. This has been one of the most important areas of his work and he has been very, very active time and time again to get the bill to this stage, and soon to the final reading. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000035\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EAgain, I pay tribute to the sons and daughters of Hinep\u016Bkohurangi for their leadership and their mana. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 tatou. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022 data-id=\u0022a7218ca9a0f74af0bb2ab00b4cf9a1e3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000036\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a7218ca9a0f74af0bb2ab00b4cf9a1e3\u0022\u003EMEKA WHAITIRI (Labour\u2014Ikaroa-R\u0101whiti):\u003C/span\u003E \u0100, t\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa ng\u0101 mema o te Whare nei. E te iwi kua tae mai i T\u016Bhoe mana, T\u016Bhoe reo, T\u016Bhoe tangata, nau mai, nau mai, hoki mai. Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou kua tae mai, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000037\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E[And so, thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Salutations to you all members of this House. To the tribe who have arrived from T\u016Bhoe, where status, language, and people prevail, welcome, welcome, and welcome back. I acknowledge you greatly and commend you all.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000038\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI join with members of the House in rising in support of the second reading of a significant Treaty settlement bill, the Te Urewera-T\u016Bhoe Bill, and to acknowledge the people who have been instrumental in presenting this bill to the House today. I join with all members in acknowledging the work that has gone before us, and look forward to the third and final reading and passage of this bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000039\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EOur side of the House, like all members of this House, supports and acknowledges the reconciliation process for historical breaches of the Treaty between the Crown and M\u0101ori, and we see the Waitangi Tribunal and the Treaty process as critical parts of that process. We acknowledge the commitment, particularly of Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe, to reach an agreement with the Crown today, but we also acknowledge that it must be a durable settlement. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000040\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EEach settlement is unique, and its redress components attempt to restore what has been taken and what can be preserved and developed for future generations. I am going to touch on those shortly. We also acknowledge that Treaty settlements are an important part of our modern identity, and we hope that in this case Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe, the Crown, and our communities will better understand the conflict of our past and the commitment to resolve outstanding grievances in the hope of a shared future. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000041\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EThe Te Urewera-T\u016Bhoe Bill gives effect to the deed of settlement signed on 4 June 2013, in which the Crown and T\u016Bhoe agreed to the final settlement of the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims of T\u016Bhoe. The deed of settlement sets out in full the redress provided to T\u016Bhoe in settlement of all of their historical claims. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000042\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003ELike with all calls I take on Treaty bills, I try to find the unique difference in this bill, and in each and every Treaty settlement bill that comes through this House. I particularly want to acknowledge\u2014and there are many in this settlement\u2014three unique aspects of this bill and acknowledge the innovation demonstrated by Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe negotiators. That is clearly Te Urewera, and I acknowledge that giving an area of land its own legislation is unique. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EAs far as our people are concerned, our awas, our maunga, and our whenua are like our t\u012Bpuna, and so giving Te Urewera its own legal structure is, I think, clearly innovative, and I want to acknowledge that. Te Urewera will have its own legislation and exist as a separate legal entity. It will be governed by T\u016Bhoe and Crown nominees to act in the best interests of Te Urewera. In reading the details, it is a 50:50 split, but the descending Crown representation and return to full T\u016Bhoe governance is, again, quite innovative, and I applaud both the negotiators and the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations for agreeing to that for this taonga of Te Urewera. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000044\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EThe other unique feature in this settlement is the mana motuhake redress, which relates to improved relationships between T\u016Bhoe and the Crown, and the delivery of Government and iwi services to T\u016Bhoe communities. Standing as a former negotiator, I know that that was something that our iwi were interested in entering into. Obviously, we did not have the kaha that T\u016Bhoe have, but I do acknowledge that you were able to get this in your package, T\u0101mati. I know that having an influence on Government services that impact on your people\u2019s lives is a critical step forward in helping manage what I believe are the issues that only we can tackle, and they are the issues of our own people. So I do want to acknowledge that particular aspect in this bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000045\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EThe third part is not so much a part, but an absolute acknowledgment, of the shared interest in the idyllic settlement of Waikaremoana. I want to again pay tribute to the manaaki and h\u016Bm\u0101rie way in which Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe negotiators have worked with all the people around Lake Waikaremoana: Ng\u0101ti Ruapani and, of course, Ng\u0101ti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa. I acknowledge that it is not often an easy thing to undertake. I do want to say that the way in which you have done that, the door that you have opened and availed to the people of T\u016Bai and Lake Waikaremoana, knowing that often it is not an easy process when we have historic challenges around whakapapa\u2014I do just want to go on record as saying that I appreciate the way and manner in which that has been done. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000046\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EFor the people of Waikaremoana, T\u016Bhoe, Ng\u0101ti Ruapani, and Ng\u0101ti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa in terms of their interests in the Waikaremoana lake bed and surrounding reserve lands\u2014clearly, in the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee process we received submissions from various groups to ensure that their interests around the lake bed and reserve lands surrounding it were going to be protected. I am very happy with the consideration given, the examination by the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee to ensure that those interests and submissions were not only received but taken seriously. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000047\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI want to acknowledge our chairman, the Hon Tau Henare, to whom we look, as members of the select committee, for win-wins. I want to say yet again that I do need to acknowledge your leadership, Tau, in ensuring that the passage of this bill came through as expediently as it possibly could without impinging on the rights of the submitters. I am happy with the position of ensuring that the Ng\u0101ti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa interest in the lake bed remains with the Wairoa Waikaremoana M\u0101ori Trust Board, which has a 28 percent interest, and 72 percent goes to the Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe entities. I particularly want to acknowledge the committee in coming to that conclusion. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000048\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EIn terms of the reserve lands, it is heartening to see that in March this year the ahu whenua trust ruling was made, which, again, protects the beneficial owners, the shareholders in the reserve lands surrounding Lake Waikaremoana. We had several submitters passionately wanting to preserve their rights and interests in those reserve lands. Again, this goes to show the constructive way in which the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee works, and the advice that we get from officials to ensure that we get what we consider is a durable settlement at the end of the day. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000049\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EThere is much in this bill to highlight and celebrate. We will leave that for the third reading. This is, really, my opportunity to acknowledge and thank Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe negotiators, ably led by T\u0101mati Kruger; the governors and negotiators of Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe; obviously, the honourable Minister Chris Finlayson and his officials for opening negotiations and negotiating this settlement bill through the House; and, of course, my colleagues in the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. I enjoy working with them. Like all members of this House, I commend this bill to the House. Kia ora t\u0101tou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022 data-id=\u0022c282277a1c28448aad7d5d060293bfb8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000050\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c282277a1c28448aad7d5d060293bfb8\u0022\u003EMETIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader\u2014Green):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koutou e te Whare. The land that is the subject of this settlement bill, the Te Urewera-T\u016Bhoe Bill, was confiscated in 1865. The iwi at the time were not in rebellion. They were rightly and justly living as an independent nation, as was their right. The confiscation, which caused enormous harm at the time, was compounded by the courts, which later gave land away to others, compounding the harms, and then, later still, by Government inducements in the form of threats\u2014\u201CEither sell it to us or we\u2019ll take it.\u201D\u2014which, again, compounded even more the harms that had been caused. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000051\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EThis land, like all the land in this country, has been subject to an incredibly abusive process by various Governments over many years\u2014some that, like today\u2019s Government, will claim that good is being done when in fact harms are still being committed. We have to accept that to some extent our process here will never fully right what was wrong and will never fully return to those who are entitled what was wrongly taken from them. That is a hard situation to be in for us making the decision. It is worse, of course, for those who are subject to it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000052\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EThis bill is an attempt to repair some of that hurt and to restore some of those resources back to the people who actually own them, but the damage is done. We can see that damage and that hurt reflected in the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee when people come to us with concerns that they have been raising either with Government or with other iwi or through agencies or the courts\u2014still, decade after decade after decade. Iwi attempts to work through the Crown\u2019s process for restitution has itself exacerbated the harms of the past. It is expensive. It takes many, many years. It is often the same argument that iwi are running time after time with different Ministers, with different Governments, with different courts, and with different judges, and they are never properly heard and never properly dealt with. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000053\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EThis settlement is part of a much larger and older series of systems and negotiations and, at the end of the day, concessions that are made by iwi M\u0101ori in an attempt to find some way to work effectively together. It is an enormously generous act of iwi M\u0101ori that they still engage with us as a Parliament and they still engage with Government as an agency when they know and we know that the harm will not fully be repaired. They know and we know that harm will be created in the process itself. I want to pay enormous respect to those who have been working through these negotiations, particularly for this land in these circumstances. The minefield of a Government-driven process is very, very hard work. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000054\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EWe heard in the select committee very significant concerns from iwi and from hap\u016B that, as I have said, clearly have a very long history premised in previous Crown-inflicted harm. We will not have time to go into all of the issues in detail because they were significant and there were a number of them, but I do want to just acknowledge Ng\u0101ti Manawa, Ng\u0101ti Haka Patuheuheu, Ng\u0101ti Moewhare, Ng\u0101ti Whare, Ruapani, Kahungunu, and all of those who came and reiterated yet again, for our benefit but to some harm to them, the concerns that they have with this process.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000055\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EBut also I want to acknowledge T\u016Bhoe for pursuing a settlement for Urewera; for pursuing their best possible attempts for the independence of that land, for self-government; for taking on a national park and all of the P\u0101keh\u0101 history that is invested in that structure; and for finding a way to work through all of those issues with their own wh\u0101nau, with P\u0101keh\u0101 who have this deep commitment to the restoration and conservation of our land, and with a Crown-driven process that causes harm. It is an extraordinary act to have engaged with that. T\u016Bhoe deserve the utmost respect, as all of those who engage with settlements deserve, for all of that hard work. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000056\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EThis settlement will fix some wrongs that have been committed in the past, and for that we should be very pleased, but it has created others. It certainly will not fix all of those that have been created. So let us remember, as we go through the process for this bill, that we still owe it to those who have been excluded and who are still bereft of their rightful entitlements to hold on to their concerns and to look for new ways to right them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000057\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EThe Greens have long called for a significant review of this settlement process. It was designed by the Government. It was designed by P\u0101keh\u0101. Although it has evolved a little over the last many years, it has never been a process driven, determined, by M\u0101ori. That is its fundamental flaw. No Government has seriously addressed that fundamental flaw. If it was driven by M\u0101ori, we would have a very different kind of process, and rightly so. It should not be the perpetrator who decides how justice is meted out. Thank you. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022 data-id=\u002259eb2004171e49e5b9365a646d734554\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000058\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002259eb2004171e49e5b9365a646d734554\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE (National):\u003C/span\u003E Te mea tuatahi, kei a koutou e aku rangatira, e aku tu\u0101kana M\u0101taatua, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E[Firstly, to you collectively, my leaders and elder siblings of M\u0101taatua, salutations to you all.] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000060\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003ETheft, lies, blackmail, and then more lies. Those are the ingredients for a ripping Dan Brown or John le Carr\u00E9 novel that you would love to pick up and read. But no, it is a historical record of what happened to an indigenous nation some 100-odd years ago. That is the litany of Government theft, lies, blackmail, and more lies. I will keep this reasonably brief and I will leave the esoteric to my other colleagues who can think better than I can. No. 1 is the theft, as the story goes. This is the first chapter that you read in the Singapore airport as you pick up the novel. T\u016Bhoe were an independent nation who did not sign up to the Treaty of Waitangi, had no rebellious thought\u2014they were not in rebellion against the Crown, or anybody else for that matter, at that particular time. Then out of the blue the most productive land was confiscated by another nation\u2014the Government, more particularly. The confiscation was directed solely at T\u016Bhoe. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000061\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EThe next chapter is the lies. The prejudice created by the confiscation was exacerbated by the Compensation Court process, which returned much of the confiscated land to other M\u0101ori, and not those from T\u016Bhoe, who had traditionally occupied and cultivated that area of land. So it begins, and the story starts to unravel. The blackmail came in 1875, when the Crown induced T\u016Bhoe to sell a large area of land at Waikaremoana by threatening to confiscate their interests if they did not sell. So you can see the story unravelling, and it is like a novel. You would think that this could happen only in somebody\u2019s head. Unfortunately, it did not. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000062\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003ENow we get to the more lies part. After years and years of struggle, T\u016Bhoe sought to protect their remaining lands from sale, and in 1896, Parliament\u2014this Parliament\u2014enacted the Urewera District Native Reserve Act. This provided for local self-government over a 656,000-acre Urewera District Native Reserve and for decisions about the use of the land to be made collectively and according to M\u0101ori custom. T\u016Bhoe believed that this system would protect their lands from sale. As we know, however, the Crown did not implement the self-government provisions of that Act and undermined its protective provisions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000063\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003ESo there are four things in that litany of a Government attack of theft, lies, blackmail, and more lies on what was and still is, to me, an independent nation. The final chapter of this book\u2014of this story\u2014for us will come in the third reading. I will leave my other pearls\u2014maybe not pearls of wisdom, but pearls\u2014to that third reading process. But I must say, and this is from deep down within me, that T\u016Bhoe have a particular mystery about them and that is why I love T\u016Bhoe people. When they talk, they miss out a few letters. When they talk of their stories and of the people they are, the whole \u201Clegend\u201D\u2014and I put that in inverted commas\u2014of T\u016Bhoe resounds around our nation. They are one of the people who make us who we are. Whether we are from the north, south, east, or west, and whether we are black or white, T\u016Bhoe has a particular place in New Zealand\u2019s folklore. I will leave the rest for the third reading, and thank you very much. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022 data-id=\u00222bcce9f3e1b04bb7ab239fcdc3c3c20b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000064\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222bcce9f3e1b04bb7ab239fcdc3c3c20b\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader\u2014NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa. T\u016Bhoe\u2019s case for justice is not in dispute. T\u016Bhoe\u2019s case is about belatedly attempting to correct a grave series of historical wrongs. T\u016Bhoe\u2019s grievance is recognised by New Zealand First, and we have never ever thought otherwise. But on 31 May last year we wrote to the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations because we were concerned about the boundaries being encompassed within this bill, the Te Urewera-T\u016Bhoe Bill, in an endeavour to settle with T\u016Bhoe. Nothing we are going to say today is any way a questioning of or attack on T\u016Bhoe\u2019s leadership or their long-suffering forbearance over decades. We in New Zealand First accept that, respect that, salute that, and honour them for that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000065\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003EHowever, the issue for us becomes whether this bill is in fact going to do what it claims to do\u2014that is, to resolve a historical wrong. We fear, on the evidence and on the history that we understand, that there are other claimants being swept within the boundaries of this bill who themselves are going to be wronged because of it. In short, we are concerned about the eastern boundary of the claim within this legislation. Let us be very clear: New Zealand First is not opposed in any way, shape, or form to attempting to fix up this grave historical wrong, but we do not want one created as well whilst we try to do that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000066\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ff23db8c667449d78e415f3478b7f6bb\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s a really good point.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000067\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ffd15eb4a6ac42d7b9eefc109cfac294\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS\u003C/span\u003E: It is a very good point. I wrote to Mr Finlayson, and he wrote this back: \u201CThe substance of Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe\u2019s settlement has been well-scrutinised by the Waitangi Tribunal and the High Court as a result of concerns of other iwi and hap\u016B whose areas of interest overlap with that of Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe. The Waitangi Tribunal and the High Court have concluded that the proposed Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe settlement does not\u201D\u2014and these are the very critical words\u2014\u201Cprejudice the interests of any other iwi or hap\u016B.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000068\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003EWell, what about \u016Apokorehe\u2019s claim? And who here is going to tell me that they have not got a legitimate concern under this bill? The finest M\u0101ori politician who has ever been\u2014in fact, one of the finest politicians this country has ever seen\u2014was a man called Sir Apirana Ngata. If Sir Apirana Ngata way back in 1929 recognised the iwi I am talking about, who here is going to dispute it? Who in this Parliament, including the Minister, including the High Court, including the department, and including all these other so-called experts, is going to dispute that back in 1929 Sir Apirana Ngata, the then Minister\u2014that is, the Minister of Native Affairs, as it was at the time\u2014issued a seal and ensign recognising that iwi\u2019s status to \u014Cp\u014Dtiki and to the \u014Chiwa Harbour connection? Except that in this bill, all of a sudden T\u016Bhoe is at the edge and has claims to \u014Chiwa Harbour and traditional fishing rights. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000069\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003EI want to know from some M\u0101ori member who sat on that committee what happened to the claimants about whom I speak\u2014those claimants who somebody no less than the absolutely, totally esteemed leader Apirana Ngata recognised way back on 12 December 1929. If you are going to say that these people\u2019s rights are not in any way trammelled or fettered or influenced\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000070\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022369c99390d7a4c8b91ebf23724276c69\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: Why didn\u2019t you come to the select committee?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000071\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e7e27d3e34ae4ccb8c417c02a8b110aa\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I cannot come to the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, because I am on so many other ones. Unlike that member, I actually do some work. Unlike that member, I am on other select committees, and we cannot be on them all. But long before he got here, I was aware of this issue. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000072\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223bcfcccccddd4bd194fdd9596de13c77\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: Weren\u2019t you Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000073\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002275523ab0cecd4511ab6a9b89754e438e\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS\u003C/span\u003E: I am the Minister, Mr Henare, who went to T\u016Bhoe and gave them back their land. What is his record?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000074\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b1ed6493d8ca4fd5ab99299d428beb6a\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: What did you do?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000075\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002295e2f6508ce34b619ae835c668e7cf5b\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS\u003C/span\u003E: Oh no, I am the Minister\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000076\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223c5382e93b3343d89e4c00c9b2a15d65\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: What did you do?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000077\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fd83c37a982f4d1c8ac66fbc2b5673d3\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS\u003C/span\u003E: See, here we go. He wants to shout down\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000078\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224702ce10aa6448c486797a77b8f91ff8\u0022\u003EHon Nanaia Mahuta\u003C/span\u003E: My apologies for interrupting the member in mid-sway, but I seek leave to table for the benefit of the member, because New Zealand First is not represented on the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, the departmental report dated 19 March, drawing specific attention to page 5\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000079\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223ec4e88e0438467fb7b6577bfeda7f97\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: It is a public record.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000080\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f5620ea0cf604e0b98c84c5b8b9f7db7\u0022\u003EHon Nanaia Mahuta\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014which details the issues\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000081\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223dc8218acdce4e4cabaf064d984766a6\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Firstly, I disapprove of the member interrupting to table a document. The second thing is that I am not going to put the leave, because it is a public document.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000082\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022358614a056904648b690d0642076ccfd\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS\u003C/span\u003E: I want to remind that member out there who was interjecting that, unlike his record, I went to T\u016Bhoe\u2014and they will remember it\u2014back in 1991, and we handed back that land at their request. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000083\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002278aedd3fc715492e8f622188e8c8f052\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: Who tried to stop the inquiry into Waikaremoana?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022164ec156a4bc413ab19d6618ad86c09e\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS\u003C/span\u003E: No one else did, so let us not have this sort of humbug here. I am not disputing Waikaremoana; I am not disputing anything else, but what I am disputing is that on the eastern boundary I have a concern that some people\u2019s rights to a fair hearing will be compromised. If you say this\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000085\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002290df044be66f4c448393eb870a4d3248\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: Mates.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000086\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bb5f4379734a4ae2968b516d5930e128\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS\u003C/span\u003E: Look, you are not a lawyer, Mr Henare, so why do you not keep quiet for a second.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229c80c67d5fc24f7fa35690ef65d5739e\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: You\u2019re not a lawyer, either.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c0378d4c82c544b8b47747b1614b7e22\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I am a lawyer, actually\u2014a very esteemed one. Can I just say this. When you say something like \u201Cdoes not prejudice the interests of any other iwi or hap\u016B.\u201D, ask yourself, historically, can that possibly be true? We know what happens if a settlement like this gets through. If there is a legitimate claimant and they go through the same process, it will become so much harder. That is why this is happening here, and it is happening up there in the far north. It is happening up there in Tai Tokerau as we speak, and there is no way this Minister is going to get a settlement up there, for the very same reasons. There is a dispute as to who speaks for what, where, and when, and it is a very, very valid dispute. No one is challenging T\u016Bhoe here. I am just saying: \u201CLet us have a settlement\u201D\u2014[Interruption] I beg your pardon?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000089\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002251c1290ae48c44fbbf04e1775495719a\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: But.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000090\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223a8efeba146a4379b04950614b1f99fa\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS\u003C/span\u003E: Well, at least I am saying \u201Cbut\u201D. How can you say that \u014Chiwa and access to the coast was a T\u016Bhoe right all those years ago? They had access to Tangaroa. They had access to Tangaroa and it is a different principle, and one that this Minister does not understand. But that is a totally different principle to ownership, and just because some courts find it this way and just because some civil servants find it this way and just because the Waitangi grievance procedure finds it this way, it does not make right. We have been around too long to accept that as fundamental. I want to say to Mr Henare one more time: do you think you know more than Sir Apirana Ngata?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000091\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222fcca8274c524329a47287ad3814d12b\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: What the hell has that got to do with it?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000092\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220854adb8e7b5412cbb9f3c862cca37c0\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS\u003C/span\u003E: Well, it has got everything to do with it. If in 1929 the Minister of Native Affairs recognised these people as having legitimate claims, why is this member disputing it? Why, for example, is my esteemed colleague Pita Sharples going to argue against his former great leader? Or does he say that Sir Apirana Ngata was wrong? That is all I am saying. I think it is a valid point to put, because if you are going to have a settlement of a grave and serious wrong, which these people have suffered under for so long, let us, for goodness\u2019 sake, get it right.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022 data-id=\u0022888c2c87d919491caab5959949f01bad\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000093\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022888c2c87d919491caab5959949f01bad\u0022\u003ECLAUDETTE HAUITI (National):\u003C/span\u003E The Te Urewera-T\u016Bhoe Bill is a unique settlement. According to some academics, it is an \u201Cingenious alchemy\u201D, where it is governed by T\u016Bhoe and the Crown. Te Urewera legislation will provide for each wh\u0101nau and hap\u016B within the valleys of Te Urewera to be recognised as kaitiakitanga and, over time, with the Department of Conservation, to formulate management plans, integrating m\u0101tauranga T\u016Bhoe me m\u0101tauranga Te Papa Atawhai. Te Urewera nature is perhaps the embodiment of God\u2019s wealth. This is a world-first Treaty, and one that can be replicated globally, and I commend it to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022 data-id=\u0022eff645af750f4114bcd265beed342e1f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000094\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022eff645af750f4114bcd265beed342e1f\u0022\u003ELOUISA WALL (Labour\u2014Manurewa):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora. E ng\u0101 mana, e ng\u0101 reo, rau rangatira m\u0101, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. Ng\u0101 mihi T\u016Bhoe. Kia ora for your contribution to your settlement bill, the Te Urewera-T\u016Bhoe Bill, within the context of a May 2010 decision by the Prime Minister not to include Te Urewera. I actually want to focus on the leadership within T\u016Bhoe to stay focused on one of the most important acknowledgments within your settlement legislation, and so I mihi to the leadership of T\u016Bhoe for getting us to this place where you are satisfied with this bill. I have every faith and confidence in your ability to work with your uri and other iwi groups on your border\u2014so your whanaunga. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000095\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI actually believe that there is some integrity in the settlement process that means that M\u0101ori collectively will be able to move forward into the space that you want to take your people. One of the challenges moving forward for us as a House, though, will be to ensure we monitor the implementation of this legislation with the utmost of good faith, because one of the things that we recognise is that the historical relationship between all of our iwi groups and the Crown has been abysmal. It has been shocking. It has been terrible. In fact, it was the Crown that perpetrated a lot of the conflict confiscation on our mana whenua, and it is only in what happens post - these settlements that will actually make the partnership\u2014that relationship between the Crown and mana whenua\u2014real. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000096\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003ESo I acknowledge your mana motuhake agreement. T\u016Bhoe and the Crown have a N\u0101 K\u014Drero Ranatira \u0101 T\u016Bhoe me Te Karaunga relationship agreement. The intention of that agreement is to ensure that T\u016Bhoe and the Crown, post-settlement, will negotiate about how education is delivered in T\u016Bhoe and how social services are delivered in T\u016Bhoe. It will be founded on T\u016Bhoetanga. It will be driven and delivered by T\u016Bhoe people. I think, actually, that the most significant part of this settlement agreement, other than the return of Te Urewera, is the relationship agreements, the memorandums of understanding that have been established within the context of this piece of legislation. We are looking back to go forward, but I think that it is the forward-looking remembering of our past that will actually create the partnership that the Treaty envisaged and guaranteed for us as a country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000097\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI have faith in the process\u2014not only our parliamentary process but our Treaty settlement process with the involvement of all the different organisations, including the law and the legal aspects\u2014to us to get to this point of resolution. What these settlements are all about are truth and reconciliation processes. They are really about how we move forward positively as a nation, ensuring that our mana whenua and our iwi are recognised in terms of the historical relationship they have had with the Crown. But, as I have said before, the most important aspect of these settlements is the going forward. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000098\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EWhat I want to conclude with finally is that T\u016Bhoe for me have always been incredibly staunch. Whenever I have gone to kapa haka they are the fiercest, most staunch proponents of kapa haka. And what does that mean to me? It means that they are very loyal, very committed to T\u016Bhoetanga. I commend T\u016Bhoe for their projection always of their T\u016Bhoetanga and I thank them. I agree with my colleague Metiria Turei that we have to thank our mana whenua, our iwi leadership, for enabling us to move on. Yes, we also should acknowledge the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee and the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations\u2014and in this particular bill I think the Hon Chris Finlayson has done a fantastic job\u2014but for me it is always about the steadfast resolve of our iwi, who have got us to this point in time. So I thank you for your generosity and I look forward to the third reading of this bill, when I know that this place will be packed. N\u014D reira, thank you to those who have come. Safe travels home. N\u014D reira, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022 data-id=\u0022b24fda686ee546768e8ec0f8a7c3b648\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b24fda686ee546768e8ec0f8a7c3b648\u0022\u003EJOANNE HAYES (National):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. \u0100, ka huri au ki ng\u0101 wh\u0101nau wh\u0101nui o T\u016Bhoe, ka nui te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000100\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003E[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. And so, I turn to the extensive families of T\u016Bhoe to acknowledge you all greatly. Greetings.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000101\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003EI am pleased to take this very short call on this omnibus bill, the Te Urewera-T\u016Bhoe Bill. I am pleased, and I am going to do this on a three-step method. I attended a conference last year, the E T\u016B Wh\u0101nau conference, and the keynote speaker was none other than T\u0101mati Kruger. When he stood up, he said: \u201CYou know, when people stand up to speak there are three things that the audience are looking at: you get up, you get it out, and you sit down.\u201D So I have got up, ladies and gentlemen. I am getting it out. I totally support the second reading of this bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000102\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003EI want to acknowledge that there are not many more words that I can say to support this bill. All the words have been said by my colleagues on the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, by our Hon Chris Finlayson, who does a fabulous job in the Treaty negotiations work, and also by my colleague Tau Henare, who leads our committee. I am now going to sit down because I am now going to commend this bill to the House. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022 data-id=\u0022dec1e461098c46c9ace8652873ad71a4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000103\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022dec1e461098c46c9ace8652873ad71a4\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I call Iain Lees-Galloway. I understand this is not a split call.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022 data-id=\u0022317d33b142ee49dbab5f0e217531a4cb\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000104\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022317d33b142ee49dbab5f0e217531a4cb\u0022\u003EIAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Labour\u2014Palmerston North):\u003C/span\u003E This is not a split call. Labour supports the Te Urewera-T\u016Bhoe Bill and we look forward to its further passage through the Committee stage and third reading.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022 data-id=\u0022bdb3e6b58a3f4002bd3d69143b237b8d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000105\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022bdb3e6b58a3f4002bd3d69143b237b8d\u0022\u003ETIM MACINDOE (National\u2014Hamilton West):\u003C/span\u003E I too thank the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations for his considerable work and all members\u2014all but one member\u2014who have contributed to this debate. I acknowledge the iwi, and I support the Te Urewera-T\u016Bhoe Bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022796712ef0f144275bd9db467c0e1a5d4\u0022 name=\u0022division\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EA party vote  was called for on the question, That the Te Urewera-T\u016Bhoe Bill be now read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 113\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 59; New Zealand Labour 34; Green Party 14; M\u0101ori Party 3; ACT New Zealand 1; Mana 1; United Future 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 7\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand First 7.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EBill read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000106\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00229d8b31d732a14809bbb6417bad14b4aa\u0022\u003ENg\u0101ti Hau\u0101 Claims Settlement Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000107\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00220ca043b770354e6b94e237fcee615b8e\u0022\u003ESecond Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022 data-id=\u002212d4f2350245411cabfec38f2c8d2491\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000108\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002212d4f2350245411cabfec38f2c8d2491\u0022\u003EHon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time. The bill gives effect to a deed of settlement signed by the Crown, the Tumuaki, and Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 in 2013 to settle all remaining historical Treaty claims of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101. I think I said this in my first reading speech, but this was an iwi who came and saw Bill English and me towards the end of 2012 and said they wanted to conclude their settlement negotiations by signing a deed 6 months hence, and we said: \u201CYes, let\u2019s go for it.\u201D We did not believe that it was possible, but they did it because they are excellent negotiators. They were focused on the task. They had dealt with overlapping claims. It was a very, very impressive effort, and once again I commend them and their negotiators for their splendid work. The settlement provides financial, commercial, and cultural redress and acknowledges the losses suffered by Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 arising from serious breaches of the Treaty by the Crown. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000109\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003EOnce again, I want to thank the chair and members of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee for their hard work in considering the bill and exploring the issues raised in submissions at hearings held earlier this year in Karapiro and in Wellington. The committee received four submissions from interested groups and individuals and heard three of them. I am very happy to hear that people took the time to examine, to make submissions on, and to think about, the bill. It was especially pleasing to hear from those who supported it, and in particular I want to acknowledge the warmth expressed from a neighbouring iwi. Treaty bills like this one reflect prior agreements between claimant groups and the Crown. It is not always possible for the committee to make the changes suggested by submitters, but I want to assure submitters that the committee investigated the changes to the bill that they suggested.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000110\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003EIn 2008 the Crown and Waikato-Tainui signed a deed of settlement in relation to the great Waikato River. This settlement will geographically extend the co-management instruments afforded to Waikato-Tainui to cover the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 area of interest, and that means that Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 will play an important role in the co-management of the Waikato River within their area of interest, through Waikato-Tainui. The committee has incorporated a small number of changes to the bill. These changes are technical in nature and they do help to clarify aspects of the redress. I look forward to the third reading and seeing this wonderful iwi move into a positive future. I commend the bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022 data-id=\u002249f4ef58e2294fae9f510ef3304c52ef\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000111\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002249f4ef58e2294fae9f510ef3304c52ef\u0022\u003EHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour\u2014Hauraki-Waikato):\u003C/span\u003E It gives me great pleasure to be able to support the second reading of the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 Claims Settlement Bill. Although it is not in my technical electorate boundary, it is within my childhood rohe. I was very pleased to be able to attend the signing of this particular settlement at Rukumoana. There was a strong air of anticipation that some great things can emerge from a very discreet and small settlement. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000112\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThe Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 settlement exists outside of the Waikato raupatu boundary. Some of the key pillars for the settlement are around the Tumuakitanga and its relationship to the K\u012Bngitanga and, more important, the way in which Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 marae have organised themselves. Their governance has been propelled by the expectations of having a settlement that can help them to develop their marae and their resources, and look forward to see how they can optimise the value of other shareholding interests that they have within the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 area. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000113\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003ENg\u0101ti Hau\u0101 is rich in history, rich in resource of its people and marae, and rich in so far as some of the business and farming activities that they are involved in. There are two components through the submission process that the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee turned its eye to. One was in relation to an objection\u2014the only objection to the settlement\u2014and we have mentioned that in the report with relation to the supporting of the Tumuakitanga. We were very satisfied that nothing in this bill provides for the transfer of a payment to an individual. In fact, on ratification, tribal members themselves were informed that a component of this particular redress allowed for the support for the Tumuaki and an institution to be able to achieve that. This is a really important part of the bill, albeit a small commentary from the select committee, because it would be right for tribal members to have a strong sense of objection if they felt that in any way a particular individual benefited specifically from a Treaty settlement. I really want to assure members of the House that we put our minds to that objection. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000114\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThe second one was in relation to the transfer, I guess, of similar instruments that relate to those Waikato River iwi. If members have an appreciation for the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 region, some of the catchments feeding the Waikato River are inextricably linked to the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 area. What is happening now as a result of the river settlement is that catchment plans have been developed in conjunction with the regional council and Waikato-Tainui iwi representatives to be able to provide for the more efficient, better management and care and protection of tributaries through catchment plans, thereby influencing the positive impact on the Waikato River. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000115\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EBut here is a particularly unique example in Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101. This is how this settlement, I think, will build on greater stewardship and protection for our waterways. They have gone into a partnership with the regional council to be able to do something like the Clean Streams Project, such as put up fences, plant along waterways, and stop cattle from going into streams that have a high intrinsic value for Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 themselves but also are important in terms of the network of streams within the Hau\u0101 area. I can see that my colleague Tim Macindoe is very familiar with what I am saying. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000116\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThe point of this is that giving effect to the instruments contained in the Waikato River settlement and making clear that the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 Claims Settlement Bill allows the instruments to be extended to their rohe creates, dare I say it\u2014excuse the pun\u2014a streamlined effect for efficient management of waterways. That is a good thing. I know that members of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 are very excited about their settlement. I know that they are very appreciative of the Government pursuing this with some vigour, because in relation, I guess, to Waikato they understand that they would be seen as a very small component part of Waikato. So they have an immense amount of gratitude to the Government for getting their settlement on the table and through the House with such speed, and I feel compelled to convey that to the Government on their behalf. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000117\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThere are other aspects of the bill, but can I say that of all the settlement bills that we have heard at the end of last year and this year, this was probably the most efficiently managed bill, to the extent that all but one submission supported it. The ratification process was extensive. It was very clear how the components of the redress would be utilised. It has been very encouraging to see the growing attendance of the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 people at their monthly meetings and the way in which they have organised themselves. I think that Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 have become a model for Waikato to that extent. You can go to a meeting within Hau\u0101 and they will have near on, for the size of the hap\u016B, 60 to 80 people turning up at Rukumoana for their monthly meetings. I think that is a great hallmark of real development of people in their area. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000118\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EI do not have too much more to say, but can I commend the bill once again to members. Can I say, although it may be ruled inappropriate, that it does concern me that members who are not represented on the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee see fit to attack Treaty settlement legislation, and I would urge members who feel that they need to be on particular Treaty settlement bills to actually have members on that select committee, albeit for each one. Thank you. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022 data-id=\u002256f45a1751c9469d866602627ae937d5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000119\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002256f45a1751c9469d866602627ae937d5\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. \u0100, an\u014D t\u0113n\u0101 koutou kua tae mai nei ki t\u0113nei hui \u014D t\u0101tou me te kaupapa e takoto nei i mua i a t\u0101tou i te r\u0101 nei. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou, whakapiri mai.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000120\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E[And so, salutations to you collectively who have arrived here at this gathering of ours and to the matter that reclines here before us today. Greetings to you collectively; draw closer.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000121\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EI stand to tautoko the second reading of the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 Claims Settlement Bill and to note that the clear and pragmatic approach that Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 has brought to the settlement of their claims is a triumph and the product of their absolute belief and commitment. I endorse what Nanaia has said about the iwi and their commitment to their affairs. I quote Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 co-lead negotiator Lance R\u0101pana, who said: \u201CThe key to arriving at this sort of outcome is \u2026 the ability of your iwi to pull together, 100 per cent together, and move as one.\u201D So t\u0113n\u0101 koe, Lance. It was a result of hard work, unity, and the pursuit of justice by generations of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 that has allowed us to reach this point today. Although the recent Treaty settlement negotiations that culminated in the bill before us were perhaps some of the fastest on record for Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, this path was instigated many years ago by their rangatira W\u012Bremu Tamihana. W\u012Bremu Tamihana anointed the first M\u0101ori King, giving rise to the position of Tumuaki, a role of local, national, political, and spiritual significance that endures to this present day. The family is always involved in the appointment of K\u012Bngi to Kuini M\u0101ori. I would like to acknowledge the role of the tumuaki, whose leadership has contributed to the timely success of this settlement. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000122\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EIn this settlement the Crown apologises for breaches of Treaty rights from the 1860s onwards. In doing so, it has acknowledged the means employed by the Crown to strip Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 of their fertile lands, their rivers, and their maunga. Thriving communities with a strong economic base were totally destroyed. During the invasion of Waikato in 1863 and 1864 many Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 were killed or wounded. In 1865 the Crown confiscated a large area of Waikato land. The raupatu caused destitution within the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 rohe and left them virtually landless. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000123\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EUntil his death in 1866 W\u012Bremu Tamihana sought the return of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 lands\u2014a course subsequently pursued by his son Tupu Taingakawa. W\u012Bremu Tamihana submitted petitions to the Crown and his pursuit of justice and peace became a model for many generations of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, who continued to be confronted by prejudiced Crown systems. By the 1880s private parties had acquired a large quantity of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 land. The alienation was exacerbated through public works for roading, railways, schools, and hydro electric purposes. This included a Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 longstanding grievance relating to the Crown\u2019s public works taking of land at Waharoa. In World War II the land was taken for an aerodrome, after which there was a complete failure to return that land. Slowly, surely, and comprehensively the landscapes and waterways within Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 rohe were forcibly taken out of their hands. The loss of land undermined their social and traditional structures, removing the ability to exercise customary rights and responsibilities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000124\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EDespite the long history of seeking a meaningful relationship with the Crown and despite Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101\u2019s insistence for peace and justice, Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 has endured great prejudice at the hands of the Crown. So this settlement acknowledges the wrongdoings of the Crown in this regard. In doing so, this settlement heralds a new chapter in the relationship between Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 and the Crown based on respect for the mana and rangatiratanga of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 and its leaders. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou. Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 is already well regarded within its community and around the motu, and this bill will legislate in law the importance of their relationship to their whenua. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000125\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EThe settlement includes eight sites to be vested in Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, totalling 706 hectares. This includes Maungakawa vested in Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 as a scenic reserve with public access maintained. Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 will also be involved in the co-management arrangements for the Waikato River, as has been mentioned, within their area of interest through Waikato-Tainui, and if the Waharoa aerodrome land is no longer required for the aerodrome and ancillary aviation purposes and reverts to the Crown, then it too can be vested in Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101. This and other redress, including the settlement package, actually in no way compensates for the huge loss of land experienced by Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 at the hands of the Crown. However, I am really encouraged by the humility of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, their graciousness, their hard work, their unity, and their pursuit of peace and justice koutou as an iwi. It is inspiring not just to iwi in Waikato and around the country but to all New Zealanders. Joy, tears, and applause greeted this settlement when it was signed in July last year. Today I stand in support of the second reading of this bill with the same acclamation and commendation. N\u0101 reira, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa, t\u0113n\u0101 tatou. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022 data-id=\u0022dd550773bc12491bb1d7c233cdb23d73\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022dd550773bc12491bb1d7c233cdb23d73\u0022\u003EMEKA WHAITIRI (Labour\u2014Ikaroa-R\u0101whiti):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker, \u0101, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa ng\u0101 mema o te Whare nei. E te iwi, a Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 kua tae mai, t\u0113nei te mihi ki a koutou, nau mai, haere mai ki t\u014D Whare i t\u0113nei w\u0101. N\u014D reira, e ng\u0101 mana, e ng\u0101 reo, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000127\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and greetings to us all, the members of this House. To the people of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 who have arrived, I acknowledge you collectively; welcome, welcome to your House at this point in time. And so, to the authorities and voices, I therefore acknowledge, commend, and salute you collectively and us all.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI join with previous speakers in honouring the second reading of the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 Claims Settlement Bill and particularly with members on the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. We ensured that the submissions were well examined and that constructive recommendations have been brought to the House. The purpose of the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 bill is to give effect to the deed of settlement signed on 18 July 2013, in which the Crown and Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 agreed to the final settlement of the non-raupatu historical Treaty of Waitangi claims of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000129\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI join with the member from this side the Hon Nanaia Mahuta in acknowledging the unique settlement of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, the unique history of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, the breaches that occurred to the people of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, and their commitment and resilience to getting and participating in a reconciliation process that has brought this bill to the House. I do acknowledge and commend Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 who are in the gallery and those who are at home. Of course, the third reading is where the rubber hits the road, when the bill becomes an Act, but I do want to acknowledge those who have turned up to support this second reading. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003ELike I do with all Treaty bills I try to find the unique part in each settlement. My colleague Nanaia has already alluded to it and I briefly want to touch on it, and that is the commitment of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 to the Tumuaki. I particularly want to acknowledge \u0100naru Thompson, the Tumuaki of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, and his lovely wife, Hine Love Thompson. In acknowledging them I recall my first introduction to \u0100naru many, many, many years ago through the late Hon Parekura Horomia in our many visits to t\u016Brangawaewae. What a lovely man \u0100naru is. I want to acknowledge him in referencing Parekura\u2019s passing, which accorded many of us who worked alongside Parekura to understand the intricacies of iwi, hap\u016B, and wh\u0101nau in terms of our people. I was privileged enough to meet \u0100naru. In Parekura\u2019s way, he tried to tell me that his role was so significant because of the importance of his support of the K\u012Bngitanga. I learnt in my time alongside Parekura of the importance that the role \u0100naru plays in terms of the tautoko of the K\u012Bngitanga movement. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000131\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI do want to acknowledge that and I do want to acknowledge that through this settlement a contribution to the institute of the Tumuaki has been negotiated. I think of a lot of kaum\u0101tua around our motu who honour, protect, and manaaki kaupapa M\u0101ori within our wh\u0101nau and within our hap\u016B. I always think about the kaum\u0101tua who do a lot of travelling on behalf of our people to support and uphold the mana of wh\u0101nau, hap\u016B, and iwi. So it is fitting that you have a component in your settlement package that acknowledges not only the role that \u0100naru is playing currently but the role the Tumuaki of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 has played mai r\u0101 n\u014D and hopefully continues to play as we go forward. It is really to acknowledge and celebrate the second reading of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101\u2019s settlement bill and acknowledge the significant role the Tumuaki plays not just for the K\u012Bngitanga and not just for Waikato-Tanui but for all the motu. I cannot labour enough around the importance in acknowledging it in my small contribution on this significant bill for Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000132\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI want to, again, support all members in this House in commending this bill for its second reading and look forward to it in the Committee stage. I join too in looking forward to the third reading, when we will have a gallery full of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 to celebrate in fitting style this significant milestone in your history and to also acknowledge the opportunities of the doors unlocking for the future of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, particularly in relation to our Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 rangatahi and the opportunities that a settlement like this will bring to the iwi of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 as we go forward and also for the wider interests of the communities throughout Aotearoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000133\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI say thank you to the negotiators of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 and the people of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 for your part in getting us to this point. As I always do, I acknowledge the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, the Hon Chris Finlayson. He could not do what he does without the support of his officials, so I want to acknowledge the officials at the Office of Treaty Settlements and other officials who have participated in this significant bill. Of course, I cannot go without acknowledging my colleagues on the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. As previous speakers have said, we had several hearings at Lake Karapiro, and every time I go back there I always have visions of the national waka ama competition and being hosted by the lovely people of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 up there. Yes, I see you, Daniel, up there, and you were calling races. Of course, I also acknowledge the work and the stewardship of our committee chair, the Hon Tau Henare. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000134\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EWithout further ado, I support wholeheartedly the second reading of this significant bill on behalf of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 and commend it to the House. Kia ora t\u0101tou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022 data-id=\u002209bfd6c924ff434991ec2202b63f31e2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000135\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002209bfd6c924ff434991ec2202b63f31e2\u0022\u003ECATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. T\u0113n\u0101 koe e te Whare P\u0101remata, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101. He mihi nui ki ng\u0101 mana me ng\u0101 rangatiratanga.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000136\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. Salutations to you the House and to you collectively Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101. A huge acknowledgment to the powers and authorities.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EI am very privileged to speak to the second reading of the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 Claims Settlement Bill. It is my privilege to be a resident in the Hauraki and to therefore be in the neighbourhood of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, and to acknowledge, at the end of the rohe of Hauraki, Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101\u2019s strong interest in, and relationship and whakapapa connections to, Te Aroha, the maunga \u0101taahua in our area, the beautiful mountain that we are working to restore from pollution. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000138\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EI am going to take a brief call because in the third reading I would like to expand on some of these issues. I think the most critical issue is the need to bring the P\u0101keh\u0101 community into an understanding of what Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 and other tangata whenua groups have been through, so that we can actually say that things have been settled. I think that a number of P\u0101keh\u0101 might know the name W\u012Bremu Tamihana Tarap\u012Bpipi and the word \u201Ckingmaker\u201D but have no real concept of the extraordinary leadership of this tupuna, the history of his descendants, and everything that he and his people went through during the Land Wars of the 1860s. So it is really important to acknowledge his descendants here today and back in the rohe who have carried on since those times to assert their mana and rangatiratanga, despite the incredible process of violence and colonisation that took place in their rohe. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000139\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EOf course, the Waikato being one of the most fertile and beautiful parts of Aotearoa, it was in the sights of General Cameron and in the sights of the colonial settlers, and they were determined to wrest that land from its rightful owners. Much of that land is now in private hands, and thus there is a conundrum when we talk about full and fair restitution and justice for Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 and other Waikato people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000140\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EThe classic issues are involved in the settlement, but first I will acknowledge the effectiveness of this particular negotiation at this time. Obviously, Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 had initiated an excellent negotiation with the Crown and within 6 months had reached an agreement that represented the best that could be negotiated. I think we should acknowledge and celebrate that, while also stating the Greens\u2019 refusal to accept that settlements are full and final. These deals can never be the end of negotiation. The reason I say that is that we know that issues like those Patricia Grace has just experienced with the Public Works Act, even though it ended in victory, and discussions around post - Treaty settlement monitoring are not entrenched in the settlements. They rely on the goodwill of the Government of the day, and that is insufficient. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EWe cannot rely just on the goodwill of the Government of the day in post - Treaty settlement monitoring. That is not sufficient. We actually need, if we are going to make a proper settlement, to recognise the absolute legal obligation on the Crown under the articles of te Tiriti to continue dialogue and negotiation for ever so that we can attempt to live in the right relationship, out of the mess that colonisation created in Aotearoa. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000142\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003ESo the goodwill and willingness of each Government is not sufficient. We cannot rely on the fashion to support te Tiriti, depending on who is in power. We need to entrench those values and those articles of te Tiriti into these processes if they are going to be meaningful. I would like to acknowledge my colleague Metiria Turei, who said of the previous bill that although the process is designed by the perpetrator, it is pretty difficult to see that the redress is going to be appropriate in all senses, no matter how much good work has been done. It is an imbalance of justice. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000143\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EI want to talk about war because the Waikato War is not written on the walls of this building. I am looking forward to the day when we acknowledge the wars in our own country as well as the wars offshore. I think we have had a recurrence now of acknowledging \u014Cr\u0101kau, Rangiriri, and Pukehinahina, for example, but they are not on the walls of Parliament. They are not expressed as a true part of our history, and that does not do them justice. They are the most painful wars we have been involved with, because they strike at the heart of our identity as a nation and they strike at the heart of some of the myths of our nation about how we live together. When they are on these walls, I am going to have faith that we have truly taken on te Tiriti. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000144\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EThe other issue in relation to Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 is that I read the aerodrome provisions with some interest. The Public Works Act in the 1940s and 1950s was used to divest these people of their whenua. At the moment, the settlement talks about the future, but what it gives them in concrete terms is the right to sit on the parking committee. I do not think that is what justice looks like. To say that one day they might get the aerodrome back if people no longer use it\u2014well, that is not really justice either. One day when those people who like flying their planes around decide they might like to give the land back\u2014I am not sure that that is justice. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000145\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EI am interested in truth and reconciliation being meaningful, and it is not truth and reconciliation when one of the parties, i.e., the Waikato P\u0101keh\u0101 community, has no idea not only of the content of the settlement\u2014most of them\u2014but also of what happened in Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, what was done, and what conditions people have to survive with. Even the good things that are in the settlement do not really come to grips with that either. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000146\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EReally interestingly, the constitutional review process that the Government and the M\u0101ori Party led talked about the need for these issues. The report talks about the need for te Tiriti education and civics education as being critical if we are going to create a genuine reconciliation to history and therefore a real settlement of the Treaty process in Aotearoa. But the constitutional review recommendations have not been followed through, as far as we can tell, in any meaningful way. There was a discussion in Parliament yesterday on this very matter, and it was not at all clear who was going to take responsibility for making sure that genuine, robust te Tiriti education, based on what happened at Waitangi on 6 February 1840 in the Te Reo Treaty signed by the chiefs of the rangatira, will actually have any place in the education system. Words are one thing, but we are way overdue. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000147\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EIf we are talking about the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 settlement, we need the people of Waikato, the P\u0101keh\u0101 community, tauiwi katoa, to really understand what has taken place, what has been done, what is being returned, what is not being returned, what is the finished business, what is the unfinished business, and how they as citizens under te Tiriti, who are protected by article 1 in terms of k\u0101wanatanga, have a responsibility to work in a right relationship under article 2 rangatiratanga with the tangata whenua, the mana whenua of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, or anyone else in the Waikato. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000148\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EWe talk about co-management, co-governance, and all these models, but we have not got a basic understanding in the P\u0101keh\u0101 population\u2014and I know this because I have taught this subject for 20 years. The P\u0101keh\u0101 population has no basic understanding of what the articles of the Treaty mean in terms of their responsibilities or that the settlement process is actually their process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EI am one of the few very privileged P\u0101keh\u0101 who speak in the House about this. I do that because Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the most important issue for P\u0101keh\u0101 in Aotearoa, tauiwi katoa. Tangata whenua have never given away their rangatiratanga, and te Tiriti does not give it to them. It merely affirms the existing reality that has been damaged and that we are now attempting to heal. We as P\u0101keh\u0101, my people, need to understand\u2014and nowhere is this more significant than in the Waikato\u2014what happened and how we have a role in supporting the restitution and justice for Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000150\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EI am looking forward to the day that this constitutional conversation actually leads to proper te Tiriti education, so that every citizen can stand up in the Waikato and say: \u201CWhat happened with General Cameron and what happened in the burning of the women inside the church\u2014what does that mean for me and how can I understand that?\u201D. Not in a way of feeling paralysed with guilt or shame but in a way to feel empowered by history to live in the right relationship and support a settlement such as this one and to make the settlements in the future ongoing, robust, meaningful, and justice based. Kia ora t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b53f8451-a5f8-4e92-851f-9ca381f19343\u0022 data-id=\u0022b9a5ebe5309e47189d96073d7e132b4b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000151\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b53f8451-a5f8-4e92-851f-9ca381f19343\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b9a5ebe5309e47189d96073d7e132b4b\u0022\u003EHon JOHN BANKS (Leader\u2014ACT):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. I have not taken a call on Treaty settlement matters in this House in the last 10 Parliaments, but I thought I should today. I want to acknowledge all the M\u0101ori members of this House and the great contribution that they make in the best interests of the multicultural society that we are today. I also want to pay tribute to my friends Pita Sharples and Tariana Turia in the M\u0101ori Party for being such great workmates around this place in recent years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000152\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b53f8451-a5f8-4e92-851f-9ca381f19343\u0022\u003EI rise to take this call today to update the record on M\u0101ori claims settlements in this House in the last 25 years. Firstly, I want to give credit to Sir Douglas Graham and his negotiation team of the early 1990s and the great work that that fine New Zealander contributed to in this House in M\u0101ori claims settlements, some of them very substantial, very complex, quite difficult, and surrounded by much controversy. So I give praise and I give credit to Sir Douglas Graham and his team of officials in the early 1990s, as I do to the Bolger Government of the time, where I sat on the front bench and served for two terms. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000153\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b53f8451-a5f8-4e92-851f-9ca381f19343\u0022\u003EI want to now come to the present. This Government, under the leadership of John Key, has grasped this nettle and what I would call the mopping-up exercise of 25 years of M\u0101ori claims settlements. It is mopping up because many of the claims are small. They are not small in terms of the significance, because I understand the significance of what happened in the Waikato in the 19th century. I understand it well. I know the area from where these good people have come this morning\u2014they have migrated from the Waikato to Parliament Buildings\u2014and which they represent. I know the pain and hardship caused to those people by the injustice done to them\u2014from, in particular, around 1860 to 1865.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000154\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b53f8451-a5f8-4e92-851f-9ca381f19343\u0022\u003EI want to give praise to Chris Finlayson QC for the work he has done in the finest traditions of setting aside party differences and getting these M\u0101ori historical land claim grievance settlements once and for all settled on behalf of the people of this country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000155\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b53f8451-a5f8-4e92-851f-9ca381f19343\u0022\u003EI know where these people come from. I have fond memories of flying gliders well above this place to great heights many, many years ago. This is a small iwi, significant in their historical value to this country and its future, a great people, and dignified citizens who have worked tirelessly to bring this settlement together today with the Minister Chris Finlayson QC and his officials. So I want to join this House in congratulating them, in saying to them that we remember the past and we must never forget it, and in wishing them every success for the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022 data-id=\u0022cc37cf1e03a84ff78675e76fb003de91\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000156\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cc37cf1e03a84ff78675e76fb003de91\u0022\u003EJOANNE HAYES (National):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, Mr Assistant Speaker. Mihi atu ki ng\u0101 wh\u0101nau o Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000157\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003E[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. I acknowledge the families of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101. Greetings to you collectively.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000158\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003EI stand to support the second reading of the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 Claims Settlement Bill. I must say, reading all the information and listening to the submissions, I am very impressed with the process that Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 has gone through. The documented evidence of the ratification process and the submissions that came through when we were up in Hamilton talking with you and listening to you was just absolutely amazing. I was very impressed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000159\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003EThis bill is a Crown offer of statutory acknowledgments over the following areas: Wai\u014Drongomai, part of the Kaimai Mamaku Conservation Park; Ngatamahinerua, part of the Kaimai Mamaku Conservation Park and Maurihoro Scenic Reserve; Te Wairere, the Wairere Falls Scenic Reserve, part of the Gordon Park Scenic Reserve and part of the Kaimai Mamaku Conservation Park; Te Weraiti, part of the Kaimai Mamaku Conservation Park; Whewells Bush Scientific Reserve; Te Oko Horoi, a marginal strip alongside the Waikato River; and the Waikato River and tributaries within the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 area of interest. This is just absolutely going to be a changer for Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, and I congratulate you. I am not going to go on any more today because I am going to save that for the third reading. So without any further ado I commend and support this bill to the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022 data-id=\u002274f1a2a32b0f46828d1f463d2434af0f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000160\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002274f1a2a32b0f46828d1f463d2434af0f\u0022\u003ECLAUDETTE HAUITI (National):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. The Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 Claims Settlement Bill, sponsored by the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, the Hon Christopher Finlayson, has been set down for its second reading. The purpose of this bill is to give effect to the deed of settlement signed by the Crown and Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000161\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EI would just like to touch on some of the aspects that were raised during the select committee process. The M\u0101ori Affairs Committee examined the bill and recommended that it be passed with the following amendments. The committee recommended amending the bill so that right of first refusal land could cease to be subject to a right of first refusal where the governance entity waived or varied their rights in relation to that land. This would allow for the land in question to be transferred in accordance with the waiver or variation. We also amended the bill to enable notices to be sent by electronic means, because we are very modern these days. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000162\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EI would also like to reiterate what colleagues around the House have been saying earlier and throughout the Treaty claims settlement readings. This John Key - led National Government is making great progress on completing final, endurable settlements of Treaty of Waitangi claims. The settlements recognise and right the wrongs of the past and strengthen the partnership between the Crown and M\u0101ori. These settlements are about rangatiratanga. They are about mana motuhake, for each individual iwi and hap\u016B to define their motuhake according to their iwitanga. These settlements are also about kotahitanga, the building of our nation collectively as two partners in the Treaty of Waitangi. I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022 data-id=\u00220dffff36d7b540ceb9a1ab743f3ff25f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000163\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220dffff36d7b540ceb9a1ab743f3ff25f\u0022\u003ELOUISA WALL (Labour\u2014Manurewa):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. E ng\u0101 mana, e ng\u0101 reo, rau rangatira m\u0101, ng\u0101 wh\u0101nau o Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. I too have been looking through quite a bit of history and documentation around Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 and how we have come to be where we are today. What struck me was that in 1865 W\u012Bremu Tamihana signed Te Maungarongo, which was the covenant of peace. I think what I have felt today is that covenant of peace that is part of your entire settlement process. So I want to acknowledge that. I want to acknowledge that tikanga. I want to acknowledge that tupuna and the influence that he has and continues to have over how Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 conduct their business. I think within the context of Treaty settlements that is an incredibly empowering Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 trait that should be recognised, because I think it is the manner in which we conduct ourselves that defines who we are as a people and also provides the context and the platform for how we then move into the future. So I congratulate Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 on the second reading of the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 Claims Settlement Bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000164\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI congratulate our M\u0101ori Affairs Committee and also this Parliament for prioritising these Treaty settlements. The reality is there are 25 more sitting days, I think, before the House rises on 31 July, and then we enter what will be an interesting election phase. But what this Parliament has done is prioritise our Treaty settlements. So we are hopeful that you will have your third reading before this session of Parliament concludes. I want to pay tribute to all the work that you have done. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000165\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI am particularly interested in the joint committee that will be established with the Matamata-Piako District Council. It has a specific kaupapa, which is about the management of the aerodrome at Waharoa. But what I am hoping that that opportunity provides is a more sophisticated conversation about Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101\u2019s role within the operation of the council. This is an opportunity for the council and Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 to work constructively together within a partnership framework. I think that as we move into the future the conversation about mana whenua representation on our local councils is of this time. I think it is opportunities such as this that will provide opportunities in the future that continue to embed Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101\u2019s identity and their status and also opportunities to take all of our M\u0101ori values and beliefs into how we prepare and plan for the future of our rohe. It is something that we on this side of the House are concerned about. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000166\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EIt is about constitutional change. It is about constitutional recognition. A lot of the Treaty settlements have statutory recognitions. This is one such recognition, because what it does is embed your status within your rohe and within the context of a governance aspect of how our country will be governed going into the future. So I will look with interest. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000167\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI think this is another one of those areas where the implementation of legislation and this new entity that the Office of Treaty Settlements has established will provide more of an opportunity for Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 and for other iwi around the country to have more of a formal say. It is based on our status. So I am excited about that aspect. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000168\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI am not going to speak for much longer. I regret that I had to move from the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. I do want to acknowledge our chair, the Hon Tau Henare, and all other members of our M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, because we do work hard. In fact, I think if we looked at the number of bills that have been through the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee in this term, we would see that that committee has been the most productive select committee. Therein the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations has been the most productive Minister. I think what you see is normal practice across this Parliament, and that is that we have consensus around Treaty settlements. For us it is about moving forward positively and productively and trying to realise the partnership that was envisaged when some of us signed the Treaty. It was about not losing who we are, not losing our responsibilities as M\u0101ori, but how we can now work constructively in terms of our country Aotearoa, New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003ESo I wish you safe travels home, but, more important, I look forward, as you do, to the third reading of your settlement legislation in this celebration, and the opportunity to recognise all the leadership, all your t\u016Bpuna, both past and present, who have brought us to this point in time. N\u014D reira, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022 data-id=\u002251d504958aa64763bc1f03d68b1f8c24\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000170\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002251d504958aa64763bc1f03d68b1f8c24\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE (National):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, Mr Assistant Speaker, mauri ora ki a koe. Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou i a koutou i haere mai nei i t\u0113nei r\u0101. N\u014D reira, piki mai, kake mai ki t\u0113nei wahi tautohetohe. N\u014D reira, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000171\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and good health to you. Greetings to you all, Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, who came here today. Welcome aboard this place of debate.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000172\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EI will be very brief. I want to be able to say this in a manner that does not offend anybody. It is not my intention to offend anybody. I have prided myself on moving through my life without offending anybody. Whether they take offence is their worry. That is their problem. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000173\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EA couple of speeches in this House have talked about truth and reconciliation. It is not about that. This is about justice. This is about righting a wrong. Truth and reconciliation will come later on. If we imagine a 100-metre sprint\u2014or for those who are older than me, Pita, the 100-yard sprint\u2014where we are is about, say, 20 metres into the race. Truth and reconciliation will come once that move to justice is complete. I just want to put that out there. It is not that I am dissing those who believe that this is a truth and reconciliation process, but I think that we are not even there yet. We are still in the mode of seeing whether we can sort out some justice for a wrong. That is the background. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000174\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003ENg\u0101ti Hau\u0101, like everybody else, deserve at least a modicum of justice from where they were. They deserve their place in history. They deserve to be able to move from where they are to where they want to be, on their own, without being told what to do, told how to do it, and told when to do it. That is about tino rangatiratanga. That is about mana motuhake. It is about people figuring out for themselves where they want to go, with the sort of package that has been agreed to between the Crown and themselves. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000175\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003ELike my colleague Joanne Hayes, I will leave the pearls of wisdom to my third reading speech, if and when they come. N\u014D reira, k\u0101ti m\u014D t\u0113nei r\u0101. Anei an\u014D te mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000176\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E[Therefore, enough for today. Here again is my huge acknowledgment to you all, and congratulations.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022 data-id=\u00227677922121074838bff9191056cf5e94\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000177\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227677922121074838bff9191056cf5e94\u0022\u003ESUE MORONEY (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou e te iwi, t\u014Dku iwi a Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 kua tae mai. Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou, ki a t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000178\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. Greetings to the tribe, my tribe, Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101, who have arrived here. I acknowledge you and us all greatly.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000179\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EIt is a great honour to take a short call on this bill, the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 Claims Settlement Bill, because this bill is a little reflective of some of my own whakapapa. Being born and raised in the Walton and Matamata areas, it is very appropriate to be able to speak in favour of this settlement bill. I want to pay my respects to the iwi for their tenacity. Certainly, in my upbringing the name of W\u012Bremu Tamihana was one that we talked about a lot. We talked about him a lot in our education system, actually\u2014not nearly enough, but certainly W\u012Bremu Tamihana and the folklore and the culture and discussion about the area that I was brought up in were very, very prominent, and so they should have been. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000180\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EI want to particularly reflect on and support the comments made by the Hon Nanaia Mahuta, Meka Whaitiri, and Louisa Wall when they spoke on this bill. I particularly want to back up their support of the idea of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 having a relationship with the Matamata-Piako District Council. I do see part of this settlement as a real opportunity going forward. I hope that that is an opportunity that the council will make the most of, because I can see a real opportunity for not just management and decisions around the Waharoa aerodrome but many other things that will benefit our part of the country as well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000181\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EI am really pleased to see the very familiar names of scenic reserves in our part of the country that are going to be under the guardianship\u2014the very good guardianship\u2014of Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101. I have complete and utter faith that that means that the environmental aspects of those very important pieces of land will be absolutely guaranteed, and that makes me feel very proud. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000182\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EI am interested in thinking about\u2014and I hope to ponder on this more before the third reading of this bill comes along\u2014the matters that were taking place in Waharoa in the 1950s, when land was taken by the State for infrastructure development. That was done against the wishes of the collective land ownership at the time. My family had some involvement with that, and I had no idea about it, but I will undertake to try to find out whether they were part of that collective movement or not. My grandparents Eleanor and Charlie Casey \u201Cowned\u201D the land at the beginning of the area that was taken under the Public Works Act for the railway going to the Kaimai Tunnel. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000183\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EIt is a little bit of a departure, but I have got to say that every time I drive over the Kaimai Range and get stuck behind three trucks that are trying to overtake each other while going up that road on the Kaimais, I really sit there and curse and wonder why men lost their lives putting the Kaimai Tunnel through. We send so much going over that road cargo-wise and I would like to see much more of it go through the actual railway tunnel, but I depart from what I really wanted to say. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000184\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EPeople might be familiar with that part of the country. If you are driving along on State Highway 27, there is an overpass that goes over the railway line going through the Kaimai Tunnel. The land sitting beneath that was the land that my grandparents farmed. It is such an important part of our family\u2019s history and our whakapapa that my mother has made sure that my children\u2014the great-grandchildren of Eleanor and Charlie Casey\u2014have gone there. Even though that land has nothing to do, necessarily, with our family these days, my children have been taken for a walk by their grandparents around that land and told the story about my mother\u2019s upbringing there\u2014and about the walnut tree; there is a very famous walnut tree on that piece of land\u2014and about her upbringing in Waharoa. The story is not always a pleasant story, because there were frictions and there were conflicts and there were misunderstandings and there were laws that got in the way of good relationships.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000185\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E So I am not going to say much more on the second reading of the bill except to congratulate the iwi on their good grace\u2014their good grace\u2014in finding a way forward with the Crown and the State and to wish them all the best for the future. I look forward to the third reading of this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000186\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EBill read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000187\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022a069589541a648e1bedcebe3f78c53d1\u0022\u003ENg\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000188\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022303eba5f0c52491794ded0b6396c6ce9\u0022\u003ESecond Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022 data-id=\u00228686c2ded5bb480da0c6836a4c3d7eb7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000189\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228686c2ded5bb480da0c6836a4c3d7eb7\u0022\u003EHon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. I move, That the Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time. Can I begin by acknowledging the gracious and supportive and helpful comments made by my Labour opponents this morning. I particularly acknowledge Louisa Wall and Meka Whaitiri. They were gracious and constructive, and that can be contrasted with the ignorant and gross contribution of Mr Peters earlier today, comments that will resonate in Ruat\u0101huna and Ru\u0101toki and places like that\u2014most unfortunate, indeed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000190\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003EThis bill will enable the settlement of all the remaining historical Treaty claims of Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura. Earlier this year the bill was considered by the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. I have said on a number of occasions, and this morning I repeat it again, that I do appreciate the work that committee did in considering the bill and in considering the issues raised in the submissions. I congratulate the chair and the members on their hard and efficient work. The committee considered 12 submissions from interested groups and individuals. It heard nine submissions and held hearings in Karapiro and Wellington. I am very grateful to those who took the time to make submissions on the bill. They were very positive and very helpful. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000191\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003EEvery settlement, as a previous speaker said, is unique in some way. Obviously, with the Ng\u0101i T\u016Bhoe legislation, the unique feature is the issue of the Ureweras. Here the unique feature is that magnificent mountain in the Waikato, Maungatautari. The settlement with Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura\u2014and, therefore, this bill\u2014contains innovative redress relating to Maungatautari. It is at the heart of the rohe of this iwi. It is at the heart of their claim, but what they have done is agree to redress over the maunga that accommodates the interests of others, as well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003EI recall the period leading up to the signing of the deed of settlement, when there were a number of meetings that I had with various community groups to try to drill down and work out a solution that was acceptable for everyone. The net result of all that work is that the maunga will be vested in the local community as a whole: Te Hapori o Maungatautari. So the bill contains some complex and innovative drafting to provide for vesting an area in a community rather than in a legal person. I want to acknowledge the generosity of Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura and emphasise that I remain committed to working with them to ensure that the remaining issues concerning the legal status of the pest-proof fence are effectively resolved, and I think they will be. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003EThe Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act 2010 and the Ngati Tuwharetoa, Raukawa, and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Act 2010 provide very important mechanisms for the care and well-being of the Waikato River. The bill before this House is consistent with other Treaty bills in the Waikato in that it provides for the existing manawhakahaere arrangement north of Karapiro to be extended south to the Lake Arapuni sub-catchment, and I am very happy that the settlement facilitates those changes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000194\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003EThe committee carefully examined the bill. It has incorporated a number of small changes. The changes are technical in nature and they do helpfully clarify aspects of the redress. I very much look forward to the third reading and seeing Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura move confidently into the future. As I said in the first debate, and I say again now, I hope the fact that I am relatively succinct and to the point in the second reading speeches is not a cause of offence to the iwi. What we are trying to do this morning in extended sitting hours is progress three bills through their second reading. The full speeches, hopefully in the presence of many members of the iwi, will occur at the third reading. I commend the bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022 data-id=\u00226adb33df44bb42b4bed7dacca4585df7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000195\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226adb33df44bb42b4bed7dacca4585df7\u0022\u003EHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour\u2014Hauraki-Waikato):\u003C/span\u003E Labour supports the passage of the Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill, and I want to comment on three specific aspects that were raised in submissions. I want to thank the people of Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura for hosting the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee at Karapiro, where we heard a number of supportive submissions. I also want to, I guess, convey with concern subsequent emails that were sent to select committee members in relation to the consideration of the bill. I know for a fact that that particular submitter is well aware of the political process, and although he may not be satisfied, perhaps my contribution in this second reading may explain how some of those matters were considered. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000196\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThe issue of the co-management of the Waikato River and the point that was raised in the submission by Koroki Kahukura was that it was an expectation that they would continue to assert their role in the kaitiakitanga of the Waikato River because they live right next to it. There was no dispute over that in relation to the Waikato River settlement, in relation to Raukawa, in so far as the interests running from Karapiro to Arapuni. The issue that was raised with the select committee was that in order to carry out legitimate co-management responsibilities as an aligned iwi interest, there was a cost to it. We did pursue at select committee level whether there was an opportunity for some co-management cost to be ascribed to the rights and interests that are conveyed in the legislation. We received advice from officials that this was not possible and that this was to be considered within the context of the Waikato River settlement. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000197\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EAgain, this is problematic for Koroki Kahukura because they have to negotiate within the already set parameters from the ascribing of co-management funds through the Waikato settlement. So we saw the dilemma. The select committee saw the dilemma that if you are going to ascribe rights and functions within a settlement, the cost should be provided for, albeit to make clear, I guess, what the obligation and expectation arising from the river settlement management instruments could be towards Koroki Kahukura. I think partly what they were asking for was to give clarity on how their co-management function could be carried out, and to be able to accept the true cost of this. [Bell rung] Unfortunately, we were unable to achieve that and, again, that was probably what led to the email. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000198\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThere were other issues in relation to land-banked properties, and we have to see the three land-banked properties that were identified in relation to Maungatautari mountain. In terms of Maungatautari itself\u2014and both Louise Upston and Sue Moroney will know quite clearly what the tensions are\u2014the community certainly was very concerned about the transfer of ownership of Maungatautari mountain to Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura in and of themselves. In 2011 when all those tensions resurfaced, it brought into question the extent to which the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations was prepared to consider the three properties that were identified in Arapuni. This became a problem. This was certainly how it was explained at the select committee level.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000199\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022863239e6a7ba49a193ecd6c8ee140e07\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: Sorry, I rang the bell\u2014a 2 minute bell, in fact. When the clock was set, it was set at 5 minutes, so you actually have some more time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000200\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a4d24635791c4b2b86790232339cd73f\u0022\u003EHon NANAIA MAHUTA\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, fantastic!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000201\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002208f04e81a0564a03bc631045a42f8163\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: So that is my apology. You actually have 5 more minutes\u2014my apologies.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000202\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228860322064a84b9bbac2f6c28cba6bac\u0022\u003EHon NANAIA MAHUTA\u003C/span\u003E: Fantastic. So I can take my time here. As I said, the members listening to the debate have to consider the aspiration of Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura in wanting the full title of the maunga returned to them in the context that it was a very political issue. What we have in the bill is an establishment of the Te Hapori o Maungatautari, which is a community-wide, if you like, way of managing the maunga. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000203\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EI accept that the political tensions have been very high and tense, and it is positive to hear that the Minister says that further negotiation around the fence\u2014in particular, the ownership of it\u2014can continue to happen. It needs to happen because if we want to ensure that Maungatautari is a maunga that everyone can continue to enjoy, have access to, and be a part of, preserving\u2014again\u2014the ecological regeneration and repatriation of native wildlife to that place, then a very fluid and committed conversation has to happen with the ongoing management of Maungatautari.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000204\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThe three properties that were identified by Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura when they went into this settlement did not become a part of their redress package. They did convey to us through the submissions whether this could be reconsidered. We were told that there was an objection by Ng\u0101ti Raukawa, their neighbours, and on that basis there was no instrument or provision to reconsider the transfer of these properties because an objection existed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003ECan I say that at select committee this started to raise questions about the issue of whether there should be an opportunity to retrospectively reconsider properties when things have moved on. So in 2011, when there were tensions around Maungatautari, and the issues of the Arapuni properties got put on hold because of those tensions, and in 2012, when it came closer to the time to actually complete the legislation, there was no ability to go back and address this. I think that is more a policy issue. We recognise that. But it provided the curious situation where we thought: \u201CHeck, if these two parties can\u2019t agree and they don\u2019t have the ability as time has passed to reconsider whether they can come to some kind of agreement, because time makes all the world of difference, you could get the situation where properties that have been rightly identified with tribal interests could be sold outside of either interest.\u201D, and it just did not make sense to us. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000206\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003ESo, Minister, we understand that this is a policy issue. We understand that there was no scope for officials to move this forward, but I think common sense should have prevailed. If, in the event, any one of these three properties goes on the open market and neither Raukawa nor Ng\u0101ti Koroki has the ability to buy back these properties, then I think it is a great shame. If, in the event, the way in which Ng\u0101ti Raukawa interests to purchase these properties are strengthened because of their objection through a process, then, again, I do not think that the outcome has really served the best interests of the parties who have a clear relationship to those lands. I say this knowing that officials have put their minds to these issues and heard some very abrasive views from Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura on the matter. But I am heartened that none of these issues affected the quantum of the settlement that they do have. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000207\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThere is an opportunity for Ng\u0101ti Koriko Kahukura to continue to convey their aspirations as tangata whenua kaitiaki in their rohe. There could be more to be done in this space of Maungatautari. I hope that greater commitment can be achieved and that people do not fear what Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura can do for the benefit of\u2014certainly\u2014the maunga, the community, and the river. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022 data-id=\u0022e530c936a52044f9be284ebe978f7e3c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000208\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e530c936a52044f9be284ebe978f7e3c\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. I am pleased to support the second reading of the Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000209\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EIn 1863 war broke out, resulting in the deaths of some of Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura and the capture of others, including their esteemed rangatira T\u012Boriori. Despite their preference for peace, Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura were named rebels, and for that had much of their land confiscated. But this iwi still maintained their interests in their homeland, including these areas: from Karapiro along the Pukekura Range and through Rotorangi and Puahue in the west, from Maungatautari 4 and 5 blocks to the top of Lake Arapuni in the south, and then following the Waikato River back to Piarere in the east and from Piarere to the south of the Maungakawa Reserve and back to Karapiro in the north. Ko Maungatautari te maunga, ko Waikato te awa tipuna, ko Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura te iwi.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000210\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E[Maungatautari is the mountain, Waikato is the ancestral river, and Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura is the tribe.] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000211\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EMaungatautari was and remains their tipuna, their ancestral mountain, central to their identity. Yet in the 19th century the land in and around the maunga fell victim to Crown-imposed tenure reform. As a result Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura were involved in more than 50 Native Land Court hearings before 1901. Swamps and wetlands were drained and the Waikato River polluted, and hydroelectric power schemes depleted their traditional fisheries and flooded culturally significant sites. By the end of the 20th century Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura had become virtually landless. However, the history of Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura is yet another volume in the stories of this country that some of us know, yet many New Zealanders do not. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000212\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EToday this bill seeks to rectify these and other wrongs imposed by the Crown on Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura. This bill records a history of Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura and the Crown apology to Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura for the operation of the native land and public works legislation, the failure of the Crown to protect the traditional tribal structures of Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura, the Crown\u2019s failure to recognise and provide for their relationship to Maungatautari and Waikato River, and the Crown policies and laws that led to the economic, social, environmental, and cultural degradation of Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura and their physical and spiritual presence. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000213\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003ELike the other speakers, I say that we have the third reading coming up and I will reserve most of my comments for that time. I would just like to acknowledge that it has been referenced by many people that these histories are not known outside their area. I repeat what I said in an earlier speech, which is we have now begun work with the Government\u2019s Ministry of Education, Te T\u0101huhu o te M\u0101tauranga, to set up a framework so that our histories from each hap\u016B, each area, and each rohe can be provided and then put on to this framework and put into schools. All children will learn about their local marae and the history of it, the hap\u016B, the movement in the past, and so on. Battles that have taken place, which are missing from the plaques here in the Chamber\u2014the big battles that determined how M\u0101ori lived for a whole 100 years after that\u2014are very important. I stand in support of this bill today. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022 data-id=\u00227d77c62e76c4461b90ebc0cca23186d9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000214\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227d77c62e76c4461b90ebc0cca23186d9\u0022\u003EMEKA WHAITIRI (Labour\u2014Ikaroa-R\u0101whiti):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa. I too rise in support of the second reading of the Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill. I also want to acknowledge the work of the Koroki Kahukura negotiators, the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, and the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations\u2014of course, well supported by his officials. The Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill gives effect to the deed of settlement signed on 20 December 2012 and the deed to amend signed in October 2013 between the Crown and Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura. By signing these documents the Crown and Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura agree to the final settlement of the non-raupatu historical Treaty of Waitangi claims for Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000215\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EAs in previous calls I have taken in this House in acknowledgment of the three Treaty bills before the House, I want to draw the House\u2019s attention to the unique qualities of this particular settlement bill. It was touched on by my colleague the Hon Nanaia Mahuta. I do not really want to go over what she said, but really to give a bit more emphasis, particularly around the acknowledgment of the co-management of the Waikato River, the seeking by the people of Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura, and obviously taking care of the river through the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act of 2010, but in this particular case\u2014and as a submitter shared with us at Karapiro\u2014the absolute desire of these people to assist in the co-management in their catchment area of this magnificent river, the awa of Waikato. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000216\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EWe heard their submissions and reflected on what was said before the select committee. Like a lot of the iwi up the Waikato River, when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of managing their particular catchment areas, they are wanting more engagement. But we, as the select committee, and with the advice of the officials, acknowledged Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura as a representative on the governance of the Waikato River, but I guess the rubber hits the road in terms of being active members along the river where their tribal boundaries are. I do acknowledge the particular submission that came forward, and of course the way that the select committee, with the advice of the officials, has dealt with that. I am trying to get the good parts out of it before I turn to the Arapuni land banking properties and, like my honourable colleague, mention a certain email. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000217\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI do want to draw the House\u2019s attention\u2014and it was touched on again by Ms Mahuta\u2014to the lack of mechanisms when we cannot get agreement with cross-claimants on particular properties. It was unfortunate that we could not deal with what Koroki Kahukura were asking around these two land-banked properties in Arapuni. As a result of discussions between both Raukawa and Koroki Kahukura, we could not get agreement to ring-fence those properties until a later point to then come back and negotiate how best to claim those properties. I want to add my weight behind Nanaia Mahuta\u2019s claim that we must forge another mechanism for properties that fall squarely in the boundary of Treaty claims\u2014in these cases Raukawa and Koroki Kahukura. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000218\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI, myself, as a member of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, could not live with myself if an opportunity to give back property could not be realised simply because the two respective parties could not find a way through. That often happens in Treaty settlements. Parties cannot agree, but we cannot then take it and put it on the open market, which unfortunately is what is happening with these two Arapuni properties. If there is anything to learn from this particular bill, it is about the opportunity to create mechanisms for that very purpose of maybe land banking property that cannot be agreed between two interested parties. I would support the Minister in directing officials to examine that and come back with joint management options that I know are possible and have been used in previous settlements. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000219\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI want to acknowledge, as previous speakers have, the hard work of all those concerned. But I want to draw the House\u2019s attention to an email. My colleague did refer to it. She is a lot more diplomatic than me. Like many members in this House, I have been both on the side of and the receiver of emails that call into question the commitment of M\u0101ori members in this House. I took exception to that email calling into question the desire and the absolute commitment of M\u0101ori members of this House to do what is right for their people. I took exception to that email, like I said. I am not going to name that person because that person seems to dine out on the fact that their name is bandied around, but Tau knows him, because I know Tau must be related to him. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000220\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI just want people to know that not only the members of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, in terms of dealing with Treaty settlements, but M\u0101ori members in this House work tirelessly, as all members of the House do, to ensure the aspirations, particularly around Treaty bills, are dealt with fairly, constructively, and in good faith. To have somebody who should know better calling into question the decisions of the select committee I think not only does him a disservice but also does a disservice to the people whom he aligns himself with. I have seen plenty of acts where people are prepared to burn bridges and walk away. It is the people, and in this case it is the iwi, who are left to pick up the pieces. My tip is to say to people, in their passion, to get things right. A bit of diplomacy goes a long way, such as a bit of picking up the phone and having constructive conversations. Firing off open-air emails that call everybody\u2019s mana into question I think is not the way to go. I am going to leave it there, in terms of that kaupapa. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000221\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EComing back, it is a great day for Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura in this second reading. I support the bill wholeheartedly, like all members of this House, and look forward to the galleries being filled with people from Karapiro and Waikato-Tainui in support of the third reading of what is a significant bill, the Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill. I commend this bill to the House. Kia ora t\u0101tou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00222df33ee5-23d6-441c-a9ba-6495aa69f9fd\u0022 data-id=\u0022e7455e1e56d94d70b1b3377a9e3ff584\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000222\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222df33ee5-23d6-441c-a9ba-6495aa69f9fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e7455e1e56d94d70b1b3377a9e3ff584\u0022\u003EDENISE ROCHE (Green):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou e te Whare. Rau rangatira m\u0101 t\u0113nei te mihi ki a koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te r\u0101. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000223\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222df33ee5-23d6-441c-a9ba-6495aa69f9fd\u0022\u003E[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. Greetings to you collectively in the House. Leaders of a hundredfold, I acknowledge you in regard to the matter of the day. Salutations, greetings, and congratulations to you all.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000224\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222df33ee5-23d6-441c-a9ba-6495aa69f9fd\u0022\u003EIt is my privilege to take the call for the Green Party to speak on the second reading of this bill, the Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill. I maintain that it is a privilege. To be in this House at a time in history when the Crown seeks to right the wrongs and heal the hurt is an opportunity that very few New Zealanders actually get, and there are only 121 MPs allowed in this House. This is where we see the founding document of our country, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which enables non-M\u0101ori to live in this land peaceably. This is where we see te Tiriti finally honoured after many, many, many breaches that have left the people of Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura dispossessed, poor, and scattered. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000225\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222df33ee5-23d6-441c-a9ba-6495aa69f9fd\u0022\u003EI was not able to come to hear the submissions on this bill that were made to the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee in Karapiro, which is a shame because there is a much clearer understanding achieved when the select committee hears the experiences and notes the concerns of submitters kanohi ki te kanohi\u2014face to face. So I offer my apologies to the people of Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura for that. I did, however, have a close look at all the supporting evidence, all the written submissions, so that I could get a clearer picture of the issues and add to my understanding of the report that the committee has presented to the House. Those submissions, and there were 12 of them, include support from neighbouring iwi, from hap\u016B within the Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura iwi, and from community organisations with conservation interests in the land that will be recognised as being within the Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura domain. There is a submission from the local council also in support of all that the settlement outlines. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000226\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222df33ee5-23d6-441c-a9ba-6495aa69f9fd\u0022\u003EI note, though, that no settlement is without controversy, and I must state that the Green Party does hold concerns that these settlements can set M\u0101ori against M\u0101ori and, in so doing, create possibly more breaches of te Tiriti. There are frequently concerns about competing claims with other iwi who also have links to the w\u0101hi tapu and whenua in the area as outlined in the area of interest in the settlement bill. There are frequently overlapping claims and this settlement is no exception. So I just want to acknowledge what the previous speaker, Meka Whaitiri, said in acknowledging the Arapuni land and how that has been dealt with. It is an area of conflict and competing interests. But I also want to acknowledge Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura, who have worked with their neighbouring iwi to try to resolve some of those differences. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222df33ee5-23d6-441c-a9ba-6495aa69f9fd\u0022\u003EI note that Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura maintain their mana whenua status as having dominant interest in their sacred maunga, Maungatautari, although the ownership of the reserve rests with the co-management structure, Te Hapori o Maungatautari, which comprises other iwi and members of the wider community. This is an incredibly sophisticated and quite a difficult set-up. Co-management, which I note Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura have also engaged with in the treatment of their awa and their domain within the Waikato River, is not an easy road, but it is a road that gives the status of mana whenua to the tangata whenua of Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura. That is crucial to maintaining the status of the iwi. Co-management is a way forward, and I understand that, and I wish Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura all my best wishes for the work that they will be doing to restore the wairua of the river. We support the legislation because we are aware that Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura are looking forward to the settlement in this bill, as it will pave a way forward and place the iwi on a better economic footing. It will never ever compensate for what they have lost and the harms that were done to them by the Crown. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000228\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222df33ee5-23d6-441c-a9ba-6495aa69f9fd\u0022\u003EI have to make a political point because the Greens always do. We never ever feel that these bills are full and final settlements because the negotiation process is not an even-handed process, and we have seen that. There is really no option but for iwi to take what is offered, even though they negotiate hard. I pay my respects to the negotiation teams who have worked on this bill, but it is a deal. It is the best deal that iwi could get at this particular time, but there may also be further impacts on generations of Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura to come. That is why we do not believe that the settlement is final. Having said that, we celebrate with Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura the passing of this settlement bill through its second reading today. We will, of course, be supporting it. N\u014D reira, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022 data-id=\u0022ec5de375465d48e6a936361dbc0ce09b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000229\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ec5de375465d48e6a936361dbc0ce09b\u0022\u003ELOUISE UPSTON (National\u2014Taup\u014D):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. I am pleased to be able to stand and take a brief call in the second reading of the Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill. The iwi is, of course, in the electorate of Taup\u014D. Actually, the area where I live is Karapiro, which, of course, is a very significant part of Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura\u2019s lands. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000230\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003EThis has been an interesting process, working through some very challenging issues with the settlement. I think there have probably been some highs and lows in the process. I will keep most of my comments to the third reading, which is really the opportunity to traverse it in more detail with the iwi here. But I do just want to make the point that I think Minister Finlayson was incredible in coming up with a solution for Maungatautari that some would argue was not perfect, but it was actually acceptable to everybody. It was a very fractious issue. To be honest, I was quite revolted by the extent of what actually occurred and how divisive it became in the community. What impressed me more than anything was the Minister\u2019s commitment to finding a solution that was accepted, and the fact that I would request his involvement at meeting after meeting after meeting and he would come back every single time to find a way through. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000231\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003EThe solution of vesting the mountain in the community has never been done before. I really admire the fact that we have a Minister who is so committed\u2014so committed\u2014to endurable and lasting solutions that he is willing to explore all sorts of avenues in order to do that. So I want, at this stage, to commend the Minister for his creative thinking in solving what are some very challenging and fractious issues. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000232\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003EThe other thing I want to say is that I was pleased to be able to rejoin the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee\u2014albeit only temporarily\u2014for the hearings and submissions at Karapiro. I think it is really important to be able to hear the submitters and understand them, although I do regret that I was not a member of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee in taking the next step of the process to getting to today. But I am very confident that we have got the bill to a place that is acceptable. Yes, there are a couple of issues that potentially we can pursue further, but, more important, we have a solution that the iwi are happy with and that the community can also accept and enjoy. I think that is where we have got to\u2014a really great place. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022 data-id=\u0022269848fe663749e5a0825e2c561a5ed0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000233\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022269848fe663749e5a0825e2c561a5ed0\u0022\u003ELOUISA WALL (Labour\u2014Manurewa):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, Mr Assistant Speaker. E ng\u0101 mana, e ng\u0101 reo, e rau rangatira m\u0101 me ng\u0101 wh\u0101nau o Ng\u0101ti Korok\u012B Kahukura, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000234\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003E[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. To the authorities, voices, and leaders of a hundredfold, the families of Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura, greetings, salutations, and congratulations to you collectively and to us all.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000235\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI would like to talk about justice, because the chair of our M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, Tau Henare, brought up this concept of justice this morning within the context of my wanting to talk about our Treaty settlement process being about truth and reconciliation. I guess I premise my speech with that because for me the truth is that the facts and the history of our country is now encapsulated within our legislation. I want to pick up what the Hon Pita Sharples has said. The big challenge for the House now is disseminating that history, that reality of our country, so that every young person in our education system knows about the specifics within their rohe, and the specific experience that the mana whenua have had within the rohe of all of our kura in our history as a country. That is the truth part of the process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000236\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EIn terms of reconciliation, for me it is about relationships and partnerships going forward. I guess if we look at definitions, reconciliation is about restoring relationships. It is about becoming amicable, and fundamentally it is about harmonious and cooperative relationships, which we all want our Treaty settlements to be. For us it is that process that will enable us to forgive what has happened in the past and to move forward with confidence. It is about iwi groups and the Crown working towards a common goal. I guess that is why for me this process is about truth and reconciliation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000237\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI do want to talk about justice. Within the context of this particular Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill, that justice relates back to the 1860s\u20141863\u2014when 1.2 million acres was taken from Waikato iwi. That was the raupatu of 1.2 million acres. In 1871, 313,364 acres was returned to M\u0101ori. So the Crown took 1.2 million acres and it returned 313,000 acres, which was approximately 26 percent of the lands that were taken from Waikato iwi. Then, if I pick up on another point that Minister Sharples made, by 1901 there had been 50 Native Land Court hearings that Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura had been specifically involved in. What they got in terms of that 26 percent of lands taken was 800 acres returned, which is 0.25 percent of the 1.2 million acres that was taken from M\u0101ori. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000238\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EWhat do we have in this settlement? The return of 20 properties. It is 110 hectares, which equates to 44.44 acres. That is 5.55 percent of the lands that were returned to them in 1871. Is that justice? That is not justice. It is absolutely not justice, but it is the honour of our iwi leadership, the integrity of our iwi leadership, that they want to move forward in a positive and constructive manner. So no way should we ever frame this as being about justice, because it is not justice. It is about M\u0101ori\u2014our wh\u0101nau, our hap\u016B, and our iwi\u2014wanting to take control of their lives. It is about mana motuhake. It is about tino rangatiratanga. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000239\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EWithin these settlements the vesting of opportunities for our hap\u016B and iwi to be involved in the Maungatautiri Mountain Scenic Reserve is incredibly important. What that does is say to our communities across Aotearoa that M\u0101ori have a significant and special status that is over and above citizenship status or status that is conferred on us through the democratic process. What it says is that, by right, M\u0101ori\u2014tangata whenua, mana whenua, specific iwi\u2014have rights and responsibilities to ensure that these geographically identified taonga will for ever have their kaitiakitanga over them. Actually, these are the significant parts of these Treaty settlements that I think going into the future will provide that platform for partnership that this process has enabled. In the future that is what we will be held to account for the most. It is that. It is the implementation of these Treaty settlement partnership opportunities that we as a Parliament will be held to account for more than anything else. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000240\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI am not going to speak for much longer other than to again acknowledge Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura and their mandated negotiator, the Taumatawiwi Trust. It is the leaders within our iwi groups whose settlements these are and to whom we have to pay the ultimate tribute, because without their leadership we would not move forward. I look forward to the day when they have their third reading, when they have their piece of legislation that will enable them to move forward with the pride and positiveness that they had, because what we do know is that our iwi groups were prosperous. They were flourishing. We had lands. We used our lands in constructive ways. We fed ourselves. We clothed ourselves. We did not need intervention from anybody else. That base, which was taken from us, actually needs to be recognised. But we also need to recognise that as the Government moves forward the relationships it has forged, specifically those with iwi and hap\u016B, are really going to be the testament to how committed it is to this Treaty settlement process. N\u014D reira, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022 data-id=\u0022559b1b5c1c434219a620fb4491d01c4d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000241\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022559b1b5c1c434219a620fb4491d01c4d\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE (National):\u003C/span\u003E Of course it is about justice. Of course it is about justice, not some sort of fanciful notion that this is about truth and reconciliation. Like I said\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000242\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002288fa954fa8ce4dd7957bfed23490565e\u0022\u003ELouisa Wall\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s my words.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002269ad7781de924815a1797f989a25c9ad\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014no, I did not interrupt you\u2014this is about the steps towards justice. I never said this is about justice. I said\u2014and I used the analogy of a 100-metre race\u2014that we are in the very first steps of that race to justice. Somebody\u2019s definition of justice is somebody else\u2019s definition of something else\u2014and I accept that that member may have different ideas about what this is\u2014but this is essentially about righting a wrong. This is essentially about the beginnings of justice. This is about justice. Somebody took something from me, I have gone to court, and I have sought reparations. Those reparations may not be what you might have wished for, but at the end of the day it is the beginning of a process. If what I hear from a number of members of Parliament today is that it is not enough and we should not be doing it\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000244\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002264b30eaae4d948f18e26e8f27ade633b\u0022\u003ELouisa Wall\u003C/span\u003E: No one said that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000245\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223c345d654319475c868bf6e567626b31\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: Actually, if you listen to some of the speeches from my Green colleagues, that is what they hinted at\u2014that is what they hinted at. It is about getting to a place where you say: \u201CYes, we agree on the historical events. Yes, we agree on reparations.\u201D\u2014whether they are monetary or they are cultural redress. That in itself is the start of a justice process. It is not the be-all and end-all, and it never will be, but at the end of the day it is part and parcel of a justice process, because that is what it was always about. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000246\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EWhen somebody or an organisation takes something from you, there have to be consequences. Whether it is war, whether it is financial settlement, or whether it is the return of land\u2014whatever\u2014that is always up for negotiation. So I take my hat off to those who have been involved in the negotiation process, and I take my hat off to those people who have been able to get to a point where the two sides can sit down and sign it. Nobody forces people to do anything. Nobody forces people to accept what is on offer. At the end of the day it is about a process, and we have got to a point in that process where the two sides are reasonably happy. It will take, most probably, another 100 years to get to another point in the 100-metre race, but that is for other people to decide, long after we have gone from this place.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000247\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EI want to make a quick mention of Willie Te Aho, who is a firebrand, who is uncannily like me, who jumps in where most probably angels fear to tread, and who goes off like I do. In fact, he is so much like me it is scary. We should not get too worried about people like that, because they add to the mix. They add to the whole part of Treaty negotiations\u2014and people\u2019s passion. Without passion we will not get anywhere. Without belief we will not get anywhere. So I do take my hat off to people like Linda Te Aho and Willie Te Aho, who have put all of their lives on the line.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000248\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002209026048ed744a11adc731ce503b18b7\u0022\u003EMeka Whaitiri\u003C/span\u003E: Linda\u2019s not like Willie.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000249\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c8c5d5bbcb3d444e8cd4c362256166b8\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, no. I will tell you what\u2014if we cannot handle a few criticisms in this place, and I know that I have had a few over the 15 years that I have been here, we need to harden up. We really do need to harden up. This is a brutal place. It can be brutal within our own Parliament but also the criticisms from the public, for whatever reason\u2014whether they are right or wrong\u2014are brutal, but we should know, the day that we come in here, that that is going to happen. I hear what the sister is saying, and I appreciate what she is saying.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000250\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221c26b621e4f84db4a1ada2716382de1d\u0022\u003EMeka Whaitiri\u003C/span\u003E: I worry about the cost to the iwi.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000251\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222dc3d28c38a74d98ab72a2e58e0e30c6\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: Well, actually, I think if you are going to individualise it to Willie himself, Willie has done a huge amount in getting a number of settlements to the closure stage. This is really the first time that he has actually gone off, in terms of a Treaty settlement that he has been involved in. I am not going to besmirch his reputation. Everybody knows that he got settlements throughout the motu, and that was what he was paid for and that was what he was passionate about. So cut some people some slack if they now and again tend to go off. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000252\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EAnyway, those are all related matters. The fact is that we are here at the second reading. We are here at that part of the settlement process. I look forward, before the election and before the House pulls up sticks, to our getting to the third reading of this bill, the Ng\u0101ti Hau\u0101 bill, and the T\u016Bhoe bill at least. I think that will be a satisfactory point where we get to in this Parliament, and it leaves whatever comes next for the next Parliament. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022 data-id=\u00229819103bee2544b298c0fbeb052cd54f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000253\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229819103bee2544b298c0fbeb052cd54f\u0022\u003ESUE MORONEY (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. It is an honour to rise and take a short call on the second reading of the Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill. This is a bill that has been given a lot of serious consideration by the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, and I wish to congratulate the members of that committee and the officials who have worked on this bill on getting it to this stage. As the last speaker, Tau Henare, said, I very much look forward to the third reading of this bill because, again, this is an area that is close to my heart. Geographically, it is very close to where I live. I know of much of the hard work and challenges that have been going on with discussions in this area. I want to particularly acknowledge the cultural redress part of this package with Maungatautari, the importance of that maunga to many people living in and around the Waikato area, and the foresight of various community representatives. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000254\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EAgain, I want to put forward my utter faith in the ability of the people who will have governance to ensure that this maunga, which is groundbreaking\u2014if I can use that term about a mountain\u2014in terms of being an ecological island, continues to progress forward as an ecological island. I was certainly present on the maunga the day the Rt Hon Helen Clark, in her role as the then Prime Minister, ensured sufficient State funding went into helping to bring about that ecological island. It was a very proud day for many, many people. I know there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the management of that maunga, but I feel confident about the approach taken with this settlement bill and the way in which the iwi will ensure their guardianship of the land. Those things will stand us in good stead as we go forward. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000255\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EThe only other thing I really want to comment on here is how much I am looking forward to seeing the Te Manawa o Matariki tangata whenua facility that is to be developed at the Lake Karapiro domain. I think that will be something that will be a cherished taonga for many people living in the area, and, obviously, many visitors as well because Lake Karapiro is, of course, an area that attracts many tourists and many visitors. I think that will be a wonderful development, and I really look forward to seeing that as it develops. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000256\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EAs always with Treaty settlement bills, there are many stories that need to be told. There are many stories yet to be told. There is the reflection of this House across parties that needs to happen in a very thorough manner at the third reading. I will, in recommending this bill to the House, now resume my seat so we can work towards that third reading taking place before this House rises for the election.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022 data-id=\u00221962226af8c14f358658bab6f8078ec6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000257\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221962226af8c14f358658bab6f8078ec6\u0022\u003ECLAUDETTE HAUITI (National):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. I rise to take a short call on the Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill. I want to touch on several aspects that were found during the select committee process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000258\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EThe M\u0101ori Affairs Committee examined the bill and recommended that it be passed with the following amendments. Regarding the land-banked properties at Arapuni, the select committee considered whether a mechanism is needed to preserve future interests of any iwi in two land-banked properties at Arapuni. When it came to the time to sign the deed of settlement, the Crown felt that the positions were irreconcilable and there was no available mechanism for the parties to find a resolution. When the Raukawa and Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura settlements are completed, these properties will be sold on the open market and both iwi will have the opportunity to purchase them if they wish. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000259\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EIn relation to land subject to the right of first refusal, the select committee recommended amending the bill so that that land could cease to be subject to the right of first refusal in circumstances where the governance entity waived or varied its rights in relation to the land. This would then allow the land in question to be transferred in accordance with the waiver or variation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000260\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EI wanted to raise those issues because in and around that there was a lot of discussion, challenges, and push back on both the Crown and the select committee. I would like to acknowledge Linda Te Aho for leading the negotiations. I would also like to acknowledge Willie Te Aho as well. Willie and his contribution to the economic and social development of M\u0101ori over the years is very well-known and very well respected. The M\u0101ori business economy is worth around $38 billion. The return to GDP is between $8 billion and $12 billion. In and around that has been the work that Willie Te Aho has done on behalf of iwi to ensure that rangatiratanga is met, to ensure that motuhake, according to the definition of the iwi and the hap\u016B, is adhered to, and to ensure that kotahitanga, the relationship between the two Treaty partners, is enduring. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000261\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EAlthough we as individuals may not like the challenges, or may not like the comments or criticisms, at the end of the day we are here to serve. We are here to serve the people of New Zealand. We are here to serve M\u0101ori, P\u0101keh\u0101\u2014all New Zealanders. If we do not like those criticisms and if we do not like those challenges, then we should not be here. This is the Ng\u0101ti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill. I commend it to the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000262\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EBill read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000263\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003EThe House adjourned at 11.54 a.m (Thursday)\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20140507fe9ff75fc72b44c088375260d682dfda000264\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n  \u003C/body\u003E\n\u003C/html\u003E"