"\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=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c0737da14ce94fd1a5dd8b0b81032e3e\u0022\u003ETUESDAY, 1 MARCH 2022\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000003\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002273054543184046dd87fb5142ca1ccd3f\u0022\u003ETUESDAY, 1 MARCH 2022\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000002\u0022\u003EThe Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000004\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022175e264dae2f40af868c19da43d6bd0e\u0022\u003EKarakia/Prayers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000006\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022a0e4a7cce83c4f2da3c8cbb4cc95e592\u0022\u003EKarakia/Prayers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u002216614410387b4c0ca7620740ee343480\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000005\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002216614410387b4c0ca7620740ee343480\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: \u0412\u0441\u0435\u043C\u043E\u0433\u0443\u0442\u043D\u0456\u0439 \u0411\u043E\u0436\u0435, \u043C\u0438 \u0434\u044F\u043A\u0443\u0454\u043C\u043E \u0437\u0430 \u0431\u043B\u0430\u0433\u043E\u0441\u043B\u043E\u0432\u0435\u043D\u043D\u044F, \u044F\u043A\u0456 \u0431\u0443\u043B\u0438 \u0434\u0430\u0440\u043E\u0432\u0430\u043D\u0456 \u043D\u0430\u043C. \u0412\u0456\u0434\u043A\u0438\u0434\u0430\u044E\u0447\u0438 \u0432\u0441\u0456 \u043E\u0441\u043E\u0431\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0456 \u0456\u043D\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0438, \u043C\u0438 \u0432\u0438\u0437\u043D\u0430\u0454\u043C\u043E \u043A\u043E\u0440\u043E\u043B\u0435\u0432\u0443 \u0456 \u043C\u043E\u043B\u0438\u043C\u043E\u0441\u044F \u0437\u0430 \u043A\u0435\u0440\u0456\u0432\u043D\u0438\u0446\u0442\u0432\u043E \u0432 \u043D\u0430\u0448\u0438\u0445 \u043E\u0431\u0433\u043E\u0432\u043E\u0440\u0435\u043D\u043D\u044F\u0445, \u0449\u043E\u0431 \u043C\u0438 \u043C\u043E\u0433\u043B\u0438 \u0432\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0438 \u0441\u043F\u0440\u0430\u0432\u0438 \u0446\u0456\u0454\u0457 \u043F\u0430\u043B\u0430\u0442\u0438 \u0437 \u043C\u0443\u0434\u0440\u0456\u0441\u0442\u044E, \u0441\u043F\u0440\u0430\u0432\u0435\u0434\u043B\u0438\u0432\u0456\u0441\u0442\u044E, \u043C\u0438\u043B\u043E\u0441\u0435\u0440\u0434\u044F\u043C \u0456 \u0441\u043C\u0438\u0440\u0435\u043D\u043D\u044F\u043C \u0434\u043B\u044F \u0431\u043B\u0430\u0433\u043E\u043F\u043E\u043B\u0443\u0447\u0447\u044F \u0456 \u043C\u0438\u0440\u0443 \u041D\u043E\u0432\u043E\u0457 \u0417\u0435\u043B\u0430\u043D\u0434\u0456\u0457.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000007\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E[Almighty God, we give thanks for the blessings which have been bestowed on us. Laying aside all personal interests, we acknowledge the Queen and pray for guidance in our deliberations, that we may conduct the affairs of this House with wisdom, justice, mercy and humility for the welfare and peace of New Zealand.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000008\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u0421\u043B\u0430\u0432\u0430 \u0423\u043A\u0440\u0430\u0457\u043D\u0456.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000009\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002209a9688b46114077a9609f827b71abcf\u0022\u003EMotions\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000010\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00229e3fbe8835724e2b88c3a9c5634f282b\u0022\u003EUkraine\u2014Russian Invasion\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022 data-id=\u0022e35e4fdd8991486294c6a7fe646a9143\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000011\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e35e4fdd8991486294c6a7fe646a9143\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E I seek leave to move a motion without notice on Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u00226f39885c33a14f55ad7f5ff06a53e027\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000012\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226f39885c33a14f55ad7f5ff06a53e027\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Is there any objection to that course of action being followed? There is none.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000013\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002260e81d7103d04577a584dee1bcb987b4\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: I move, That this House condemns the recent unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine by Russia, that it calls on Russia to cease all military operations in Ukraine and withdraw, and express New Zealand\u2019s strong support for Ukraine\u2019s people, its sovereignty and territorial integrity.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000014\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003EI will begin with the words of my colleague, foreign affairs Minister, Nanaia Mahuta. Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine is the blatant act of a bully\u2014brutal, intolerable, and an act of aggression that has been met with condemnation from the people and the Parliament of New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000015\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003EWe are united. Russia\u2019s actions are a direct challenge to our core values: democracy, human rights, and the international rules-based system\u2014values that we rely on for our own peace and security. We live in a world that is increasingly connected and borderless, a world where a challenge to one is a challenge to all. And that is why we have not only taken a strong position in condemning Russia\u2019s invasion because of our beliefs and our values but because, now more than ever, we must all take a stand together.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000016\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003EVladimir Putin\u2019s decision to launch an unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine is a flagrant breach of international law. By choosing to pursue this entirely avoidable path, innocent lives will be lost. New Zealand and our international partners call on Russia to do what is right. We call for an immediate end to military operations in Ukraine, and a permanent withdrawal to end a pointless war.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000017\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003EThe Russian Government has repeatedly ignored opportunities for diplomacy, negotiation, and de-escalation. Instead, Vladimir Putin has ordered an aggressive, unprovoked assault on the people and Government of Ukraine. This was not a miscalculation as a result of Russia\u2019s unprecedented military build-up on Ukraine\u2019s borders; this was a deliberate, calculated, and cynical decision\u2014a decision to violate Ukraine\u2019s sovereignty and territorial integrity, a decision to breach fundamental tenets of international law, and a decision by a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to violate the UN Charter. Russia must now face the consequences of those decisions; so must Belarus, for its accomplice role in facilitating Russia\u2019s invasion. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000018\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003EWe have moved quickly in condemning the invasion. New Zealand immediately implemented a number of measures in response to Russia\u2019s actions. These are: the introduction of targeted travel bans against Russian Government officials and other individuals associated with the invasion of Ukraine, and the prohibition of export of goods to Russian military and security forces. This covers the export of all goods intended for use by the Russian military and security forces, including any armed force, paramilitary force, police force, or militia. This includes weapons and dual-use technology that have a civilian use but are intended for military use or that may have military applications. Such a blanket ban is a significant step, as it removes the ability for exporters to apply for a permit and sends a clear signal of support to Ukraine. And, thirdly, the measures include the suspension of bilateral foreign ministry consultations until further notice.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000019\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003EI want to be very clear here, though: New Zealand has not yet reached the extent of the measures we will take to condemn this act. We are pursuing new measures to target Russian investment, including measures to target financial institutions in New Zealand, including separate but Russian-targeted, specific legislation. We continue to engage with international partners over the collective action we can all take, but it is clear that there will be a significant cost imposed on Russia for their actions. Our message must be clear: we are united. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000020\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003EHundreds of people have already been killed or injured, hundreds of thousands more already displaced because of a conflict it seems the Russian people did not choose. The harrowing images of displaced or suffering civilians in Ukraine speak volumes of this unfolding tragedy and underline in very stark terms the human consequences of Russia\u2019s aggression. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000021\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003EThe scale of the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding is devastating. As a first step, we have moved quickly and announced a contribution of $2 million in humanitarian aid to support those in Ukraine impacted as a result of Russia\u2019s unprovoked invasion. Our initial contribution will help deliver essential humanitarian assistance, with a focus on supporting health facilities and meeting basic needs such as provision of food and hygiene items. We will continue to contribute to humanitarian assistance, as a core part of our role in the global response. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003EI want to finish with the words of the President of Ukraine, who, hours before Russia invaded, said the following: \u201COur main goal is peace in Ukraine and the safety of our people \u2026 For that, we are ready to have talks with anybody, including you (Russia) in any format, on any platform. The war will deprive guarantees from everybody\u2014nobody will have security guarantees anymore. Who will suffer from it the most? The people. Who doesn\u2019t want it the most? The people. Who can stop it? The people. But are there those people among you?\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000023\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003EWe have all been shaken by what we have seen, because what we have seen is a sense of stability, or order, of security being taken away. That affects all of us. And so, too, must we all act. This war must end. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000024\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u0421\u043B\u0430\u0432\u0430 \u0423\u043A\u0440\u0430\u0457\u043D\u0456.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022c1e9a0296d934ec6adfc0cfdd5b48729\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000025\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c1e9a0296d934ec6adfc0cfdd5b48729\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The question is that the motion be agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022 data-id=\u0022a781a84fa7474e84b883bef04366bf4c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000026\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a781a84fa7474e84b883bef04366bf4c\u0022\u003ECHRISTOPHER LUXON (Leader of the Opposition):\u003C/span\u003E I rise on behalf of the Opposition to support this motion and to strongly condemn President Putin\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. There is no possible justification for the death and suffering this unprovoked attack has caused and will continue to cause. Our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine being subjected to such needless violence in their own home, and with their friends and family here in New Zealand and elsewhere who are, right now, fearing for the safety of their loved ones. This is an affront to human rights, an affront to democracy, and an affront to global peace and stability. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000027\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003EIt is heartbreaking to see Ukrainians who just days ago were like us, going about their everyday lives, dropping their kids to school, going to work, shopping at the supermarket, are now having to fight for their country. President Putin has shown total disregard for international law and the sovereignty of Ukraine. This attack is a wholly unnecessary escalation that warrants a severe response from the international community. We are seeing that response from many: the US, Canada, the UK, Japan, Australia, Singapore, the EU, and others have all imposed strong sanctions restricting Russian banks from accessing their capital markets and services. Export bans have been put in place and the assets of Russian elites affiliated with the Kremlin have been frozen. Russian banks are being cut off from the SWIFT international payment system. The assets of its central bank are being frozen. The scope and severity of these sanctions is unprecedented. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000028\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003ENew Zealand\u2019s lack of an autonomous sanctions regime means we can\u2019t join in these coordinated economic efforts. We support all actions taken to date by the Government to join in this response, but we encourage the Government to take two simple steps so that New Zealand can play an even stronger role. First, urgently pass autonomous sanctions legislation. National has a bill ready to go and we\u2019re willing to work with and support the Government to get legislation through this House\u2014but let\u2019s do it quickly. Second, create a humanitarian visa for the family members of Ukrainians already in New Zealand, and fast track existing visa applications from the Ukraine. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000029\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003EHistory is occurring as we speak and New Zealand must take strong, meaningful action to help the global community stop this senseless war. The National Party condemns Russia\u2019s actions and the catastrophic damage to human life they will bring. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022 data-id=\u0022f05b3fe5aafa4ca9a4bf405aaea59d3d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000030\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f05b3fe5aafa4ca9a4bf405aaea59d3d\u0022\u003EHon JAMES SHAW (Co-Leader\u2014Green):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. Many years ago, I had the privilege of working in the international headquarters of a student-run student exchange programme that was set up in the aftermath of World War II to promote peace and understanding between nations: l\u2019Association internationale des \u00E9tudiants en sciences \u00E9conomiques et commerciales. One of my closest friends there\u2014one of my colleagues and flatmates\u2014was Karina Luchinkina from Ukraine, who was an extraordinary young woman of mixed Ukrainian and Russian heritage, and I have been thinking about her and her family still in Ukraine and of the work that we did together to try and promote peace and understanding between nations a great deal in the recent days and weeks.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000031\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003EIn the horror of war, it is ordinary people like Karina and her family who suffer the most. The people of Syria know this. The people of Yemen know this. The people of Iraq and Afghanistan know this. Our forebears and those who were involved in the wars of the 20th century know this. So to watch an unfolding and full-scale attack on the people of Ukraine was shocking. It was frightening and it was deeply depressing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000032\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003EThe Green Party strongly condemns President Putin\u2019s extraordinary aggression and violence in the strongest terms. We call on Russia to immediately cease military action against the people of Ukraine and to engage in peace talks meaningfully. And our hearts do go out to the people of Ukraine today. New Zealand is a nation that has committed historically to human rights, to non-violence, and to cooperation at a global level. Multilateral rules-based order and diplomatic engagement are core pillars of New Zealand\u2019s independent foreign policy. What Russia has done cuts across all of that. It stands in stark opposition to peace, sovereignty, and freedom across the world. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000033\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003EOur response must focus, first and foremost, on what we can do to help those that this war will hurt the most: the ordinary people who are caught in the waking nightmare. That we are already seeing hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians seeking refuge in other European States, fleeing with little more than the clothes on their back, leaving their homes, their families, their hopes, and their dreams\u2014the Green Party strongly supports the Government\u2019s focus on humanitarian aid to support Ukraine in the first instance. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000034\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003EWhilst the preference, of course, is always for peace to prevail and for people to be able to return to their homes, right now there are tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people facing an uncertain future in overcrowded refugee camps along the border. The Green Party urges the Government to commit to supporting Ukrainian refugees in every way possible\u2014be that through resettlement or through direct humanitarian support in Europe. That must extend to everybody in Ukraine, regardless of their race or ethnicity, including migrant workers and students. We also know that it is the political activists, the journalists, the human rights defenders, and the rainbow community members who are more likely to be particular targets of the violence from Vladimir Putin\u2019s regime. Now is the moment for New Zealand to deliver on its historic commitment to human rights and to welcome Ukrainian people and their families with open arms. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000035\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003EWhen it comes to diplomacy, we support New Zealand\u2019s Ministers and officials doing all that they can to support efforts for peaceful de-escalation. The world must work together to resolve this conflict. The international institution that President John F Kennedy referred to as \u201Cour last best hope for peace\u201D, the United Nations, is imperfect by design. However we go forward, we must ensure that we uphold the principles of human rights, multilateralism, and the international rules-based order. To this end, we support the diplomatic efforts being made by the Hon Nanaia Mahuta, and we wish her success, however improbable, in her work. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000036\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003EWe also support New Zealand making efforts where it can to mediate for peace amongst international partners. And, as a long-term supporter of denuclearisation efforts, New Zealand should continue to push for an end to the long shadow cast by the threat of nuclear conflict. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000037\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003EDespite everything, it has been heartening to see huge numbers of people in Europe and in Russia itself turn out in recent days to protest against the war. It does give me hope that we can yet find a way out of this conflict for the Ukrainian people. A world without war is possible, but it does require enduring commitments by all nations to peace-building and diplomacy. New Zealand may only be a small nation, but we must never lose focus on doing everything that we can to support peace. 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=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022 data-id=\u0022762b425e0c6f425cabc8388a1a166880\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000038\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022762b425e0c6f425cabc8388a1a166880\u0022\u003EDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader\u2014ACT):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. On behalf of ACT, I would like to join with other leaders supporting this motion condemning the barbaric, illegal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin\u2019s Russia.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000039\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EAnd I\u2019d like to stand in support of those brave Ukrainians\u2014many of whom only 96 hours ago were shopping and had in their hands their iPhone, looking at Instagram\u2014now dug into trenches around their city defending their home with a military weapon. It is the most extraordinary display of grit and courage from those people\u2014from their leader\u2014and a display of what people are prepared to do to defend their home, to defend their freedom, and we are proud to stand with them and feel we should be doing more to support them, because no country has more to lose than New Zealand when a rules-based, values-based international order is lost and thuggery takes its place. If others are standing up\u2014and they are, in the most extraordinary way, right around the world\u2014to the kind of thuggery exhibited by Vladimir Putin, we, as a small nation, with a history of being right and taking moral stands on global issues of the day, should be right beside them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000040\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EI read in the newspaper over the weekend that this is \u201CWorld War Wired\u201D, a war where people can and are making a difference all over the world, not just through Governments, not just through States, but donating, volunteering, helping in the most unexpected ways, and it is extraordinarily hopeful that, actually, one dictator from one country\u2014despite having, as Stalin said to the Pope, more divisions\u2014does not have the power to overwhelm freedom and democracy. That has to be our hope, but New Zealand has a role to play joining in that \u201CWorld War Wired\u201D movement.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000041\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EWe need to say to Vladimir Putin: he is frozen out, the walls are going up, and we will not accept him in this world, so long as his actions are unacceptable. And I say, \u201CGood on you.\u201D to Fonterra saying, \u201CSorry, we\u2019re not going to sell to you. We don\u2019t share your values.\u201D I say, \u201CGood on you.\u201D to our allies around the world who\u2019ve said, \u201CSorry, no more banking system, because we don\u2019t share those values.\u201D And that is why it is so critical that I join with the call of the National leader that New Zealand has the legal ability to join in implementing similar sanctions at a parliamentary level. This is a Government that will go into urgency in this Parliament at the drop of a hat\u2014doesn\u2019t even have to be urgent. If there was ever a time to use urgency, then passing autonomous sanctions legislation\u2014that\u2019s the time to use urgency right now. And that\u2019s what we should be doing, so we can join in that moral movement against this Government of Vladimir Putin.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000042\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EAnd I have to say, for many people this is deeply personal. I can\u2019t claim to have any great connection to Ukraine, but I know someone who does\u2014Nataliya Shchetkova, the proprietor of La Vista restaurant of St Heliers, who came to national attention a few years ago. And I got in touch with her and I said, \u201CI\u2019m so sorry, I can\u2019t imagine what it must be like for your family.\u201D And she said, \u201CAll we want is for them to be here.\u201D As the rest of the world opens its borders unconditionally to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees walking across their border\u2014of course it is harder for New Zealand, a country that is literally on the opposite of the world. But if there are to be barriers to those people being reunited, safe, with their family here in New Zealand, surely the barrier should be geographical rather than legal. We should let them come here immediately, in these circumstances.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s critical that a worldwide effort ensures the Russian people see that Vladimir Putin, who many of them like\u2014and I know Russian people who like Vladimir Putin. You know why? Because he doubled their standard of living in 10 years. It\u2019s important they see he\u2019s had them frozen out, and they should be asking him, \u201CWhy has the rouble just dropped 30 percent in 24 hours, Mr Putin, if you\u2019re so great?\u201D It\u2019s absolutely critical that they\u2019re frozen out and that they are excluded from normal, day-to-day life of the State, so long as they behave in unacceptable ways.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000044\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s also worth asking where this man came from. And it\u2019s always good to read. A great thing to read right now is an old classic, The Road to Serfdom. The Road to Serfdom tells us that if you have an economic system where you can\u2019t pay people for their efforts, you have to force them. And the enforcement required often looks like the KGB. And organisations all have a culture, and they promote individuals that suit their culture. Vladimir Putin\u2014you can draw a direct line from the socialist experiment in Russia 100 years ago, to the enforcement tactics required to make it work, to the kind of monster it creates who is now terrorising people in Ukraine. That is a question of values. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000045\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EIt is an opportunity to talk about our values of democracy. The first thing I remember seeing on the TV screen was a whole lot of adults very badly dressed in 1980s fashion, tearing down a concrete wall decorated with graffiti. Of course, being six years old at the time, I didn\u2019t know there was a place called Berlin, I didn\u2019t know there was a Cold War, I didn\u2019t know there was a wall\u2014being six, I didn\u2019t know a huge amount about those things. But I knew it was important, and the first thing I remember\u2014it\u2019s seared on my mind\u2014watching on TV was my grandfather\u2019s gravelly voice saying, \u201CWell, it\u2019s good, people uniting.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000046\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EAnd for 20 years after that, I could look around the world and see that democracy and freedom were winning\u2014more and more countries were turning to democracy. It looked like the world was going to work out. Francis Fukuyama said history had ended\u2014or we\u2019d reached the end of history. Helen Clark said that we were living in a benign strategic environment. We had a free-trade agreement with China, the first Western country to do so, as we hoped they, too, would join Western liberal democracy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000047\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EThe truth is it hasn\u2019t worked out so well over the last 15 years since the great financial crisis. Democracy around the world is practised by fewer people, with less enthusiasm. And that makes for a more dangerous world for a country like New Zealand. That is why we need to reflect strongly on our values, our place in the world, and how we behave at times of crisis such as this. That\u2019s why we should be putting the walls up and freezing them out and giving ourselves the legal ability to do so. That\u2019s why we should be welcoming those who have family connections in New Zealand to the Ukraine without question, the way the European countries are, and if we were to do those things, then we could say that we are at the forefront of the moral reaction that is putting Vladimir Putin in his place and giving the Russian people the courage to put him there too. Thank you, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022ff3dad2965ae4b829008557d6ee3201b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000048\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ff3dad2965ae4b829008557d6ee3201b\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Members, this is a sitting of the House at which some members are participating remotely. This follows the House\u2019s adoption of rules allowing such sittings and the determination of the Business Committee that from Tuesday, 1 March, members may participate remotely in sittings of the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022 data-id=\u0022cf431b4700544536807546626d6bc7b2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000049\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cf431b4700544536807546626d6bc7b2\u0022\u003ERAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader\u2014Te Paati M\u0101ori) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, Mr Speaker. Can I be heard?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000050\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224667d6d74161441e89533809c56d0dc6\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, you can.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000051\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002264af3019f10140be8cf86be55bd9c51e\u0022\u003ERAWIRI WAITITI\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou e hika m\u0101 t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou kua wh\u0101iti nei i t\u0113nei r\u0101 ki te tautoko i te k\u014Drero kua wh\u0101rikihia i roto i t\u014D t\u0101tou Whare i t\u0113nei r\u0101. Nei r\u0101 an\u014D hoki te tangi atu ki a r\u0101tou te hunga kua riro t\u012Btapu ki te p\u014D. R\u0101tou kua mate i ng\u0101 heip\u016Btanga a R\u016Bhia ki runga i a Ukaraina i t\u0113nei r\u0101. Kei te tangi, kei te tangi, kei te tangi.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000052\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003E[Greetings to one and all who have amassed here today to support the issue laid before us in our House. We also mourn the loss of those who have passed. Those who have been killed by the Russian onslaught on Ukraine today. We grieve, we grieve, we grieve.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000053\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EWe are living through unprecedented and trying times. In the midst of a global pandemic and in the face of climate change and ecological collapse, kotahitanga and unity are more imperative now than ever. When the rich and the powerful play war games, it is the poor and the vulnerable who pay the ultimate price. Our hearts go out to the people of Ukraine, whose worlds were shattered overnight, who will die defending their homeland, and whose families will bear the burden of this war for generations to come. Our hearts also go out to the working people of Russia, who will be sent to their deaths on the rich man\u2019s whim. Their mothers grieve as ours do.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000054\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EThe people of Ukraine are caught in the middle of an imperialist proxy war, the likes of which we have seen in the Middle East and many other countries. Tangata whenua are all too familiar with the evils of imperialism and colonisation. This mamae is still felt today and is why I am speaking in this House on this motion. Te Paati M\u0101ori wholeheartedly condemn the unprovoked and unjustified actions of Vladimir Putin, his Government, and the fascist ideologies that enable this type of violence and supremacy. N\u014D reira e hika m\u0101, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000055\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003E[Therefore, greetings one and all.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000056\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022210082c9df7641528ab1ddea4bf08fa9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000057\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022210082c9df7641528ab1ddea4bf08fa9\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: \u0421\u043B\u0430\u0432\u0430 \u0423\u043A\u0440\u0430\u0457\u043D\u0456.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000058\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022cb85bab0901449029cf3deff7c6ae7dc\u0022\u003ESpeaker\u2019s Statements\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022aec42656a6844bc195530a4acc49fc28\u0022\u003EPhotography in the Chamber\u2014Remote Sittings\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022653658e70e024100b93899ed3bd5ace3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000060\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022653658e70e024100b93899ed3bd5ace3\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Members, I just want to do a reminder that despite doing remote sittings, the normal rules as far as photography in the House and the requirement to get permission to do it, and not doing it from the floor, apply. I will take very seriously anyone who breaches that and publishes the photos. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000061\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00222612c32dd3b54fb0a4b4e169abbe2ea1\u0022\u003EPETITIONS, PAPERS, SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS, AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLS\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000063\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b2ccef69d874483ba0abd43f68e5f186\u0022\u003EPETITIONS, PAPERS, SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS, AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLS\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022d998240d2be44c7f876177b568913c36\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000062\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d998240d2be44c7f876177b568913c36\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No bills have been introduced. Petitions have been delivered to the Clerk for presentation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022\u0022 data-id=\u00220f1ed55812394f67bf626fe31762b2a7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000064\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220f1ed55812394f67bf626fe31762b2a7\u0022\u003ECLERK\u003C/span\u003E: \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000065\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EPetition of Claire Dale requesting that the House change the law to substantially increase fines for misusing any mobility parking spaces\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000066\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003Epetition of Hadassah Meadows requesting that the House immediately repeal the changes made by the COVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Act No. 2 2021\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000067\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003Epetition of Danny Tahau Jobe requesting that the House pass legislation to make Aotearoa New Zealand the official name of the country, and\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000068\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003Epetition of David Barker on behalf of Action for Parent Immigration to New Zealand requesting that the House urge the Government to immediately reinstate the parent category entry requirements as they were before the category was paused in October 2016.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u00220d254391b48547f3ad86ac62a60ef542\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000069\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220d254391b48547f3ad86ac62a60ef542\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Those petitions stand referred to the Petitions Committee. Ministers have delivered papers.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022\u0022 data-id=\u00220213452cf5ae4abb8634c63d765cef2b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000070\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220213452cf5ae4abb8634c63d765cef2b\u0022\u003ECLERK\u003C/span\u003E: \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000071\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EFree Trade Agreement between New Zealand and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; the associated National Interest Analysis; and nontreaty status side letters on Ng\u0101ti Toa Rangatira\u2019s guardianship of the Haka Ka Mate, New Zealand\u2019s oenological practices, and Scottish whisky localities.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000072\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EAnnual reports for 2020-21:\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000073\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003ECanterbury DHB\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000074\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003ECapital and Coast DHB\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000075\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EHutt Valley DHB\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000076\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EMidCentral DHB\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000077\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003ESouthern DHB\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000078\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003ETaranaki DHB\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000079\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EWaikato DHB\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000080\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EWaitemat\u0101 DHB\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000081\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003ETeaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000082\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EOffice of the Children\u2019s Commissioner.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000083\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EAnnual plans of:\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EWaikato DHB\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000085\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EWaitemat\u0101 DHB.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000086\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EStatement of Performance Expectations 2020-21 for:\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EMidCentral DHB.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EStatement of Performance Expectations 2021-22 for:\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000089\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003ECanterbury DHB\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000090\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003ECapital and Coast DHB\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000091\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EHutt Valley DHB.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000092\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EAnnual plan, incorporating Statement of Performance Expectations 2020-21 for:\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000093\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003ESouthern DHB\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000094\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003ETaranaki DHB.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000095\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EStatement of Intent 2019-20 - 2022-23\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000096\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EMidCentral DHB.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022025ea1fa4163433094498fe7553b6d43\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000097\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022025ea1fa4163433094498fe7553b6d43\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Those papers are published under the authority of the House. Select committee reports have been delivered for presentation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022\u0022 data-id=\u0022ac0d37f7d2874fb2acba62fefbde0552\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000098\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ac0d37f7d2874fb2acba62fefbde0552\u0022\u003ECLERK\u003C/span\u003E: \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EReport of the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee on the petition of Louise Johnston\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000100\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003Ereports of the Environment Committee on the:\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000101\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E2020/21 annual review of the Climate Change Commission\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000102\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E2020/21 annual review of the Environmental Protection Authority\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000103\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003Epetition of George Hobson for Forest and Bird Youth.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000104\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003Ereport of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee on the briefing on the 2019/20 financial performance of Te Tumu Paeroa\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000105\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003Ereports of the Petitions Committee on the petitions of Bill Wollerman, Ehab Takawi, Kirsten Van Newtown, and Nurse Practitioners New Zealand, and\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000106\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003Ereport of the Regulations Review Committee on COVID-19 Public Health Response orders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022f84d62a9992b4dd89fcbe003d65fab5b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000107\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f84d62a9992b4dd89fcbe003d65fab5b\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The briefing and the COVID-19 orders are set down for consideration.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000108\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002241814db5fbb040b7bdc4b304302cea3f\u0022\u003EOral Questions\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000109\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002289947662d79c451990d761252d22325a\u0022\u003EQuestions to Ministers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000110\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002213da014fb5ae46a4a804ac359df39a1d\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 1\u2014Prime Minister\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022 data-id=\u0022a655785160dc4dc7bb97e9d71d8def2a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000111\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E1. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a655785160dc4dc7bb97e9d71d8def2a\u0022\u003EDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader\u2014ACT)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government\u2019s policies and actions?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022 data-id=\u0022ea2edc511d394e4ab611b363e36e8240\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000112\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ea2edc511d394e4ab611b363e36e8240\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes. In particular, I stand by this Government\u2019s decision to reconnect New Zealanders with the world as our public health advice confirms it is safe to do so. That is why, on advice from the Strategic COVID-19 Public Health Advisory Group and the Director-General of Health, the Government has removed the requirement for fully vaccinated travellers to self-isolate. In addition, the Government has announced it will bring step 2 forward so that New Zealanders from the rest of the world outside of Australia will be able to return home after midnight this Friday. We\u2019re expecting advice shortly on whether we can bring forward the remaining reconnecting steps, including international tourism. Managed isolation has been a crucial factor in our success as a team in responding to COVID-19, and I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the managed isolation and quarantine workers who, for almost two years, have worked so hard to keep us all safe. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000113\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c6e0761fb52347d397609712c3709aeb\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Prime Minister tell the House how many COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations will result from her decision to allow New Zealanders to enter the country without isolating from this week, and how many cases would have arisen from a decision to let foreigners enter the country without isolation from this week, and if she can tell us\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000114\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228852f6039ee14f2ab29fee80216d811d\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Order! That\u2019s two questions.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000115\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b424af16768f4c048cf8e20ca3bb956a\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s one question, Mr Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000116\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002204c4461c9fdc434bb133d7f1c8c8e12c\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: It is two questions.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000117\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d92fab4d7376477cbf90cf50b99bc2ae\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s a contrast between two figures.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000118\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224beca0dd2db746e7acc428f486662cd9\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: It doesn\u2019t matter where your brackets are. The member\u2019s asked for two different numbers; that\u2019s two questions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000119\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229e33712355e6484c94a89e0a22ec95da\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000120\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225a18365e2f434edc845710a36d6cc8ad\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, the member\u2019s finished his question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000121\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224fff9f49992c459ebe89306e40d0125e\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: If the member would be so\u2014if I could so put it\u2014brave or bold to put his questions on notice, I would be happy to provide the specific modelling that we receive as a Government when making these decisions. However\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000122\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e513b76f81df48868720c371199c4fb5\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Brave or bold\u2014brave or bold?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000123\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022372cb724f5e443bb86d14dae6408dc67\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: However, Mr Brownlee, for step 2 of the reconnection, under self-isolation requirements, we could expect between 100 and 485 cases to enter into New Zealand. However, that is with an estimate of 65 percent of cases being impacted by self-isolation. So when it comes to the number that would come in without self-isolation, you can assume it will be higher, and, of course, higher still if you have more than, say, 10,000 entries, which is what that modelling is based on. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000124\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aa635358a09a498bbdcffdad0f744e3b\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Prime Minister seriously telling New Zealand she just decided to let New Zealanders in\u2014but not foreigners\u2014without isolation, she doesn\u2019t know what the impacts of those decisions will be on case and hospitalisation numbers, but if David Seymour put the question on notice at question time, she would know that critical information?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000125\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002228a78d3444174855848e3cc65a171261\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Perhaps the member would choose to listen to the answer. With 10,000 arrivals in New Zealand, we have an estimate of between 100 and 485 cases coming in at the border. However, that is modelled with seven days of self-solation, so you would expect a higher rate of cases if you were not to have self-isolation. You would expect even further cases if you have not just 10,000 entries but tens of thousands of entries. We have asked our experts to consider what the likely impact would be of bringing forward tourism and a wider reopening. As you will have heard Professor David Skegg say yesterday, his initial response to that question is that you would wish to wait until after New Zealand has come through the peak of Omicron to ensure that New Zealanders in-country have the ability to get the response from their health system they need while we experience this significant pandemic. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ddc705c2628d4408b5042e43f31601ab\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: So how many cases would New Zealand expect, and how many additional hospitalisations, if the border was to be opened without isolation, and based on that answer, has she considered the cost\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000127\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c7affa86267f4130babad281a4a6b203\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s two questions again, Mr Seymour. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ff02ed9f9b1242eabb4595cd1e7d147a\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014of keeping the borders closed to New Zealand business? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000129\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223b0ee4a6060447c59d498524e1312d40\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019m not going to traverse the answer for a third time because I don\u2019t wish to waste the member\u2019s supplementaries. On the last part of his question\u2014have we considered the cost of business\u2014of course, at all times we consider the impact on the likes of tourism, on the likes of our regional economies, but we must also factor in the impact on our health system. Our health system is doing an extraordinary job at present, but we do have close to 400 hospitalisations at the moment and we have not yet reached our peak of this Omicron wave. To simply carte blanche open the borders\u2014as the member is suggesting and as the member has suggested consistently through this pandemic, might I add\u2014would be at a great cost, potentially, to New Zealanders, and we\u2019re not willing to do that at this time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c3895a0b3b3c4fcf807e5a9aa825b672\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: If the Prime Minister can\u2019t put a number on additional cases and hospitalisations from letting foreigners enter the country without hospitalisation, then how do people avoid the conclusion that she\u2019s just making it up and the decision making is now not based on evidence but entirely political?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000131\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022196a3542d6704f5d90975a38d563adcb\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: I utterly reject the premise of that member\u2019s question, and if he had listened to Professor Skegg yesterday, he himself made the point that the reason they have given the advice that we can open up at this stage to New Zealanders and those who are otherwise eligible is because of the Te P\u016Bnaha Matatini modelling that suggests that the numbers we would have are numbers that we can manage in-country at this point. He also went on to suggest that a wider reopening would be something that you would wish to consider after you\u2019ve come through the wave. I would also acknowledge Philip Hill, who is a member of that advisory committee. He believed that we should actually wait to even reopen to New Zealanders without self-isolation until after the peak. I\u2019ll finish with a quote from Professor Skegg\u2019s letter: \u201CIn November 2021, for example, there were concerted calls to drop all quarantine requirements for most vaccinated people arriving in Auckland, on the grounds that such travellers were less likely to be infected than Auckland residents at this time. This would have led to a major increase in Delta cases. Fortunately, the Government did not yield to the pressure, so our Delta outbreak was brought under control before the arrival of Omicron. In Australia, hospitals were still struggling to deal with the very large number of sick patients infected with the Delta variant when the Omicron outbreak took off.\u201D That is sage advice from a public health expert, and we will continue to seek the advice of experts before making such significant decisions, rather than the view of that member.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000132\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002265a5fe4d50fe4e6088e41e2e02b972da\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Prime Minister accept that every time I\u2019ve put down a specific question to her on notice this Parliament, she has transferred it to another Minister to answer, and, regardless of her answer to that question, will she commit to answer questions put to her in future?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000133\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221d71606e0ea64a56937902fce9957e75\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! No, that question is ironic.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000134\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221aa4534cb7524cb6be8cceaf708da1c6\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order. Mr Speaker\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000135\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f57a9a79aaef4a628fa8108800b864d4\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The Prime Minister has no option but to answer questions which are put to her in this House. That is an obligation of the Prime Minister. For the member to suggest that she doesn\u2019t is wrong. The member knows it\u2019s wrong and he\u2019s being deliberately disorderly. If he continues this, I will regard him as being grossly disorderly.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000136\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cd6128e3c6f94693b57100b4ea2df109\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order. Mr Speaker, if I can clarify\u2014I have no intention to be disorderly. The point I\u2019m making is that the Prime Minister\u2014and you accepted the answer\u2014criticised me for not putting a more specific question on notice. I was simply asking her if in the future, if I put specific questions on notice, will she not transfer them to other Ministers, as she always has? I think people have\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227447c04215e04130a42cb18f89f77a82\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The member has now said that four times. Does the member want a further supplementary?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000138\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e5a360c6cf364ebcad3413757c9c9fd3\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Of the 344 people reported to be hospitalised yesterday with COVID-19, how many were admitted with COVID-19 and how many were admitted for another reason and then tested for COVID-19 once in hospital?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000139\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221294da54384043fdac20ff5b6c52f884\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Speaking to that question directly, we have asked a number of times whether or not it\u2019s possible to provide a breakdown. We\u2019ve had the clinical leads in the Northern region give us their estimates. It is not at all the majority\u2014the vast majority are admitted for COVID\u2014but there is a portion who may, for instance, come in for broken arms, appendicitis, who are tested as part of the surveillance testing at A \u0026amp; E and picked up for having COVID. But it is, as I say, not the majority of cases. I\u2019d also point out that, actually, that is the case for most countries we would compare ourselves to. They also record everyone with COVID. So if you\u2019re comparing hospitalisation rates, we are still comparing apples with apples. To conclude, I look forward to answering that member\u2019s question at No. 9, specifically on notice, on Ukraine, as the Prime Minister\u2014untransferred.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000140\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225f2768ce606345ccb9c03e101a178d2a\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The Prime Minister will put her mask on and then I\u2019ll call someone else.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022db5c9cfd1cb4458faa53e7697689138c\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 2\u2014Finance\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022 data-id=\u00224cacf219666d46ed81749f7758a8561b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000142\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003E2. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224cacf219666d46ed81749f7758a8561b\u0022\u003EDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour\u2014Christchurch Central)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022 data-id=\u0022649ea9cf6a8f4ab6a542151aea271407\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000143\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022649ea9cf6a8f4ab6a542151aea271407\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E Mr Speaker\u2014[Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000144\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223bf6e18b495c4723b2477530ee290f34\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019ve never regarded the Minister for COVID as a wet, but\u2014the Hon Grant Robertson.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000145\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229a04241d240a45be851761d5806dba91\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: The international credit ratings agency Standard \u0026amp; Poor\u2019s reaffirmed New Zealand\u2019s local currency credit rating to triple A and the foreign currency rating to AA\u002B, both with a stable outlook. The agency once again praised the Government, saying New Zealand had weathered the pandemic better than most countries in terms of health, fiscal, and economic outcomes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000146\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022884454677dbe4adab2aff7bc0b5c14b6\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: How\u2019s business confidence?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000147\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223af90108e2e641c192c2d58076915923\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Bridges, I prefer the international ratings agency than your reckons on this matter. Mr Speaker, Standard \u0026amp; Poor\u2019s report is recognition that the Government\u2019s continued health-led response to the ongoing pandemic strategy has been the right one for the economy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000148\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b8826a6c7ae64e7b98c223e31558d35e\u0022\u003EDr Duncan Webb\u003C/span\u003E: What else did the report say about New Zealand\u2019s financial position?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ed0a50fec93e4eb99223b676fc1e061e\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: Standard \u0026amp; Poor\u2019s noted that New Zealand\u2019s relatively better management of the pandemic meant the country\u2019s credit position can withstand the potential damage of the shock to the economy. The agency is forecasting New Zealand\u2019s fiscal deficits to narrow materially from the June 2023 fiscal year towards a surplus in 2025. This is expected to ease pressure on the Government\u2019s debt levels. Standard \u0026amp; Poor\u2019s said that while debt is much higher than in the past due to responding to the pandemic, it remains below most of New Zealand\u2019s peers. It noted that if Budget deficits in the future were less than 1 percent of GDP, the foreign currency credit rating could be upgraded to triple A, in line with the country\u2019s triple A local currency credit rating.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000150\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225ca0460d4b1b4dffbd677b7d209fc7a4\u0022\u003EDr Duncan Webb\u003C/span\u003E: Why are credit ratings important?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000151\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224f6cb13b52224d1299c446882c938438\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: Well, otherwise we\u2019d be left with the reckons of the Opposition finance spokesperson! But in this case, the ratings are important for ensuring that the cost of our borrowing remains low. Our triple A and AA\u002B plus ratings give people more confidence that New Zealand is a good place to invest. It also helps ensure our debt-servicing costs are kept as low as possible. Overall, the upgrade is a sign of confidence in the economy and that the hard work of New Zealanders and Government decisions have put us in a strong position to recover from the ongoing pandemic and that no one is listening to the Opposition finance spokesperson run down New Zealanders and run down their hard work in growing the economy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000152\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00227edb174c5d3a4057bfa9b017f60b15d5\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 3\u2014Prime Minister\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022 data-id=\u0022ff894aec5ada471f970ca64559ca8c5c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000153\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E3. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ff894aec5ada471f970ca64559ca8c5c\u0022\u003ECHRISTOPHER LUXON (Leader of the Opposition)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government\u2019s statements and actions?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022 data-id=\u00226d1ce174d09545c9887adebdf96d2caa\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000154\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226d1ce174d09545c9887adebdf96d2caa\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes. Overnight, New Zealand and the United Kingdom signed a historic free-trade agreement eliminating all tariffs on New Zealand\u2019s exports, with duties removed on 99.5 percent of current trade from entry into force. This deal is expected to save our exporters $37 million per year on tariff elimination alone, and boost New Zealand\u2019s GDP between $700 million and $1 billion, and the agreement will be welcomed by key sectors across the country. The agreement is a major milestone in this Government\u2019s plan to accelerate our recovery from COVID-19 and grow our exports. This is also our first bilateral trade agreement to include a specific article on climate change, and provisions towards eliminating environmentally harmful subsidies such as fossil fuel subsidies. I\u2019m pleased to see that the other side of the House is celebrating this agreement with us. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000155\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eebb56e9ba9842e8bbb5f1d8eb9e5e44\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Does she accept we have a cost of living crisis, when Kiwis are paying hundreds more at the checkout and hundreds more at the pump, compared to a year ago? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000156\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227f6f1d1a479f4f25a71477bb036a7002\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: I, of course, keep a close eye on those petrol pump prices, as members around me well know, and that is, of course, one of the contributing factors that we\u2019ve seen in recent times. We\u2019ve heard much commentary around the impact on fuel prices\u2014most recently Ukraine impacting the supply chains, issues caused by COVID, and increases in demand\u2014and that is being felt here in New Zealand. We do expect, of course, as the Governor of the Reserve Bank has said, for that to peak and then start to come away. But we are not the only country experiencing this at present. It\u2019s why we\u2019ve made changes like, for instance, increases in benefit, minimum wage changes, and the increase in the family tax credit. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000157\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226d4da627427b4ebdb40a73235e0abdea\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Does she agree with media reports that the average Kiwi is paying $5,000 more a year for food, petrol, and housing than a year ago? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000158\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022afeed5e0a9864a1881aca8179ef484a2\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s one of the reasons we keep a very close eye on what\u2019s happening with wages, as well. You would have seen from last week the release of those household income surveys an increase in the median wage of over 5 percent. We\u2019ve worked very hard as a Government to make sure that, in terms of housing affordability, we see incomes grow, and that we see incomes grow over and above those increases that they see in the cost of living. That has been occurring until more recent times when we, alongside many other countries, have seen the impact of a simultaneous COVID recovery, and its impact on inflation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000159\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022db024663356e451893947e169e3aa828\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Is she honestly saying that Kiwis who have seen their real incomes fall over the past year shouldn\u2019t be concerned because inflation four years ago wasn\u2019t that bad? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000160\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d62f5b217c5844c28cdd64aaed65aaed\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: No, what I am pointing to is our record. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000161\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022345d09a24f6f48548c92ef5bd2b3fa4f\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: How are renters supposed to get ahead when annual rents have gone up by more than $7,000 under her Government?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000162\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002267748b94def7452ab40d8d1dd7e29b4d\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019d note, under that member\u2019s Government, rents, of course, continued to increase as well. Of course, over the last year rental costs have increased at about 5.4 percent; average household disposable income at 5.1 percent. Now, of course, we want to see that in reverse, which has been a goal of this Government and continues to be. It\u2019s why we\u2019ve taken the measures we have on housing. It\u2019s why also we have taken the measures we have to lift the incomes of low and middle income earners.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000163\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b3f537623b984a39872dd6760c272dda\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Does she agree with economist Brad Olsen, who warns that costs are going to keep rising, which means \u201CIt\u2019s harder and harder to put food on the table and keep a roof over your head.\u201D; if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000164\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227500e8b9101e4363b5ba3cace3c88c73\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: What I look to are the projections beyond what is an extraordinary period right now in our history\u2014a one-in-100-year pandemic and the economic impacts from that. And you can see those who are looking ahead, forecasting that we will come out the other side of that extraordinary period where constraints on supply, increases in demand are having an impact on inflation, and you\u2019ve seen the Reserve Bank commentating on when they expect that to be. In the meantime, we do have a job to do as Government to make sure that we\u2019re supporting families through that period in things like that increase in the family tax credit, benefit increases, and increases in the minimum wage, which I note the Opposition have not supported, and, therefore, I really question what it is the member is proposing that he would do to support families through this time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000165\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002231d96f18434b4e5d8590544903aaf5a1\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: What tools beyond interest rates does she believe the Government has to rein in inflation?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000166\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f84b015d2c4f4830a2e0d677d883f0dd\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I note that the member believes that it all comes down to our spending in core areas. So my question to him would be: does he plan to cut the thousands of nurses we\u2019re invested in or does he perhaps intend to cut the teachers?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000167\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002258606f8e19d14c39846f7ed1017e11d2\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, no. Order! There\u2019s a one-way track for questions in this one and the member\u2019s not allowed to ask the Leader of the Opposition questions.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000168\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229a32731bb967443995ecd152dfc7cdd7\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order, Mr Speaker. Are you going to make the Prime Minister actually answer the question the Leader of the Opposition gave?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c9f99469708b48c98a4cfe22e85fe69e\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Well, some of us could just about take the inference from the question that there might be another tool which the Prime Minister was asking the Leader of the Opposition if he supported. It was wrong of her to ask about his support for that tool, but not to mention it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000170\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ff2585959776453e99b8a19102e61abc\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: When she said, \u201CLook, I acknowledge that there will be times when Government policies will have an impact on inflation.\u201D, which specific policies was she referring to?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000171\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221826ddc18b104839a6de7976d4447a21\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: I certainly wasn\u2019t referring to cameras on boats, which is the only thing the member has pointed to. Look, to answer both this question and his previous one, what we have continually pointed to is the international environment that we\u2019re in presently and the impact it\u2019s having on inflation\u2014of course, examples like fuel being a critical component of the inflation increases we\u2019ve seen. But we\u2019re not alone in that, and I would reflect on the comments that have been made by the Reserve Bank, where \u201CGlobal inflation is expected to peak during 2022 and then moderate as supply disruptions are gradually resolved.\u201D So we are referring to both those as having an impact right now but also, when that abates, we\u2019ll also likely see inflation come away. In the meantime, the Leader of the Opposition seems to be suggesting that we should not have invested in the wage subsidy, that we should not have invested in our health response, or perhaps he\u2019s referring to our core Crown investment in things like teachers, nurses, and their wages. If he suggests that we should cut those, he needs to be honest with New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000172\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ec07b0c928884e0abe623dbb167916d6\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order. You have often cut off and restricted questions for going well beyond their relevance and scope. How is it possibly helping the House get answers to questions to have the Prime Minister speculate\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000173\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227e3eaa5da68d474399a4fdbafb6c2b31\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member will resume his seat\u2014[Interruption] The member will resume his seat. Judgment on the lengths of questions and answers is mine and mine alone, and it is disorderly to bring it up by point of order. The member\u2019s had two warnings. If he is disorderly again today, he won\u2019t be in the Chamber.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000174\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022301b77247066488e94ffbc99dd7eb69c\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Are falling real incomes just the price that Kiwis have to pay for her Government\u2019s desire to spend billions on vanity projects like underground trams?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000175\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c248c6412e644a0cbe29a7e1c48b37b9\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: I completely reject the premise of that question\u2014and what I point to is a record by this Government in making decisions that boost the incomes of particularly our low and middle income New Zealanders and where we have seen wages outstrip the increase in the cost of living. And the member\u2019s reference to some projects I\u2019ve seen, he\u2019s, on the one hand, said that he wants to cut transport projects; on the other, he\u2019s had members out there at the ribbon cutting, supporting them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000176\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022d4288b52878a475d8b8a37d1d27b5140\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 4\u2014Energy and Resources\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002227535d92-0798-4e04-be80-9e91b53610e2\u0022 data-id=\u002200785c2d6b144e1c90def7d2d102a166\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000177\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002227535d92-0798-4e04-be80-9e91b53610e2\u0022\u003E4. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002200785c2d6b144e1c90def7d2d102a166\u0022\u003ERACHEL BROOKING (Labour) (remote)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What action is the Government taking to decarbonise New Zealand\u2019s transport sector?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022 data-id=\u002238885e9351dd441f85851c0fdb8278a0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000178\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002238885e9351dd441f85851c0fdb8278a0\u0022\u003EHon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Energy and Resources) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E The Prime Minister and I recently announced the successful projects that the Government is co-funding through the first two rounds of the Low Emissions Transport Fund. The fund is about demonstrating and adopting high potential low emission transport technologies, innovation, and infrastructure to help accelerate and maximise the decarbonisation of how we power our transport sector. The $6.45 million of Government funding is being matched by more than $9 million of private sector co-funding.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000179\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002227535d92-0798-4e04-be80-9e91b53610e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022899e88b6e6eb497c8f5f615555aa9871\u0022\u003ERachel Brooking\u003C/span\u003E: What notable projects have been funded in the first Low Emissions Transport Fund round?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000180\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002210868ebd2f734bcaab8fc94e471536e0\u0022\u003EHon Dr MEGAN WOODS\u003C/span\u003E: Just three examples of projects being funded are: Firth Industries who will deploy New Zealand\u2019s first electric battery-swap concrete mixer truck; we\u2019re working with Fonterra to enable New Zealand\u2019s first electric milk tanker\u2014the tanker will operate with battery-swap technology at the Waitoa Depot near Tauranga; and Bayes Coachlines will provide a passenger bus with solar panels, providing 5 to 10 percent of its own power. These projects are helping demonstrate what is technically and commercially viable, enabling businesses to invest in their own decarbonisation with greater confidence.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000181\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002227535d92-0798-4e04-be80-9e91b53610e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e3acbdfd0188451399bb43b2e1366a9b\u0022\u003ERachel Brooking\u003C/span\u003E: What investments have been made in charging infrastructure through the Low Emissions Transport Fund rounds?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000182\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225fa0e15b5f9a4ec9ad8cb3339edf58bd\u0022\u003EHon Dr MEGAN WOODS\u003C/span\u003E: The Government continues to invest to build network coverage and accelerate the roll-out of the nationwide electric vehicle charging network. The funding has enabled a faster roll-out of a further 25 chargers distributed around the country, including in Te Tai Tokerau, Napier, New Plymouth, Masterton, Christchurch, and R\u0101kaia. The latest investment increases the number of chargers the Government has supported since 2017 to 1,313. Further investment will be focused on filling gaps in New Zealand\u2019s charging network. We are now seeing real progress in the roll-out, with more people able to access charging infrastructure where and when they need it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000183\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022301e9f20f04e484c8c5e616ce0697a51\u0022\u003ESimeon Brown\u003C/span\u003E: Has the Minister seen the Waikato Chamber of Commerce report which states the Te Huia train service emits 11 kilograms more carbon dioxide per passenger than people using their own cars between Hamilton and Auckland, and if so will she be advising the Minister of Transport to cancel this service to help reduce New Zealand\u2019s carbon footprint?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000184\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d0c00500d3f34247b45ea3dc6c9f4cf7\u0022\u003EHon Dr MEGAN WOODS\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I have seen that report, and so has my colleague, the Minister of Housing, who I have discussed it with. Funding this service, and ensuring that we are planning for the future is critical not only for looking how it is we are going to provide housing in the future but the way that we do that in a decarbonised and low emissions way. So no, I will not be recommending cutting such an important service.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000185\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c69e1d8a8a1647cdbc08764b7e75f656\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 5\u2014Finance\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022 data-id=\u002277b7e9b8afc74d9b98f7e95d84bcf953\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000186\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E5. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002277b7e9b8afc74d9b98f7e95d84bcf953\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES (National\u2014Tauranga)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all his statements and actions on the cost of living?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022 data-id=\u0022d6270e8f23f946afb76c27de56db8797\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000187\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d6270e8f23f946afb76c27de56db8797\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E Yes, in their context.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000188\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022176269b7690a4ec09a25922641591e47\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: Does he accept what the Reserve Bank\u2019s Monetary Policy Committee said last week in its Monetary Policy Statement that \u201CWage growth continues to lag CPI inflation.\u201D, making many Kiwis poorer, and, if so, what does he intend to do about it?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000189\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222529ee46cab242899ac23d2e4e427451\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: Well, on this side of the House we have a very clear position that increasing the minimum wage is one way to begin to do that, in contrast to the Opposition, who have three different positions: one where the member says it\u2019s not on, one where Nicola Willis says it is, and one where Chris Luxon can\u2019t make up his mind.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000190\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e709b76cbc444d7a9aa74789fe104bba\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: Does he also accept that in order to rein in the inflation the Monetary Policy Statement foresees, the official cash rate increases to 140 basis points over the next couple of years to over 3 percent, meaning higher interest rates and, again, less money for many Kiwis, and, if so, what does he intend to do about that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000191\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221cace518f36544319133f503f0d604f5\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: I know the member is new to his portfolio but I\u2019m pretty sure he will be aware that the setting of the official cash rate is the responsibility of the Reserve Bank, just as in 2014 and 2015 when that member was a Minister and the official cash rate was 3.5 percent it was the responsibility of the Reserve Bank.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ad0c78b1820247bbb1e3b5bc125e0189\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: Does he accept what the ANZ has said recently that \u201Ca higher than otherwise official cash rate may be needed to lean against even more fiscal stimulus come Budget 2022\u201D or, in other words, his spending may be forcing interest rates higher than they need to be, hurting even more Kiwis?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224893a4085ad047ca8fecf0242cd9ecd0\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: No, and on this side of the House, as we\u2019ve continually done over the four years that we\u2019ve been here, we will make sure that there is a careful balance between spending that we need to do in the economy and to support New Zealanders and a fiscal balance. The member opposite failed when he was on television the other day to actually be able to say what he\u2019d cut. What\u2019s he not going to do?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000194\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c25bb44bdbf84727ad4810ba144f83ab\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I think the member is beginning to go a bit far in these matters, but I will say to the member asking the question that I was probably a little lax in letting him have his first supplementary, which didn\u2019t relate to the primary question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000195\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a37cf0e4f47d421189b418249162bd00\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: What part of the ANZ\u2019s recent statement that \u201CIt is simply not sustainable for the Government to keep spending at the pace it has been.\u201D doesn\u2019t he understand?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000196\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022717e77b921c94d1ba79f14f3de214517\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: The member will note from the forecasts that were included in the Budget Policy Statement that spending does begin to track down after the one-off increase that there will be in this year\u2019s Budget, and I would note to the member that spending in response to a crisis is not new. The previous National Government did it and saw spending as a percentage of GDP rise to just over 34 percent, very similar to where we are now.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000197\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022536098ea79754d11b1a52093b3fa18a2\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: Wasn\u2019t he correct in 2019 when he told RNZ, \u201CWhat I do know is that fiscal and monetary policy do need to work together\u201D, and if so, why can\u2019t he now in the lead-up to Budget 2022 take his own advice and rein in the big Government spending?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000198\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223c8a1f4a3e88498c84273c930df573dd\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: I most certainly was right in 2019, if I can say so modestly. What I would say is that we have seen fiscal and monetary policy work together to get New Zealanders through this particular global crisis that we\u2019re seeing. I can only refer to the words of novice economic commentator Simon Bridges, who said on television the other day, \u201CI\u2019ve also made clear, inflation is international.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000199\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022eb63d4346cd3406abd2375dca74e8b7f\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 6\u2014COVID-19 Response\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227ec53e32-05ab-4c6b-a080-4024e72a9099\u0022 data-id=\u0022d22c25bc60574487938669079e013763\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000200\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227ec53e32-05ab-4c6b-a080-4024e72a9099\u0022\u003E6. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d22c25bc60574487938669079e013763\u0022\u003EDr ELIZABETH KEREKERE (Green)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Is he confident the current COVID-19 response settings are informed by best evidence on how to protect people from this virus without using lockdowns? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000201\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222db6a450a5c643689998f185b34460be\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Before I call the member, can I just ask the people who are running the TV system, having Dr Woods as a background is probably not the best use of the time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022 data-id=\u002290b1053811e547e7add15e7691d3694d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000202\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002290b1053811e547e7add15e7691d3694d\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister for COVID-19 Response):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. Yes. The Government\u2019s overall response to COVID-19 has put the safety and interests of all New Zealanders squarely at its centre, combined with input from experts and the latest evidence, which has meant that New Zealand has had one of the lowest hospitalisation and death rates as a result of COVID-19 in the world. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000203\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227ec53e32-05ab-4c6b-a080-4024e72a9099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b4d2d5b12ce84566866054d2a545da84\u0022\u003EDr Elizabeth Kerekere\u003C/span\u003E: What steps is the Government taking to protect the health and safety of especially health workers, who may be exposed to COVID-19 at their workplace? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000204\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223cc94a6ea2dc458ebe49807541daad2d\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: Our hospitals and our health system as a whole have good training and good knowledge around infection prevention and control, and our experts have been working with them to ensure that they have access to all of the resources that they need. So if I think about N95 masks, for example, we have been making sure that we have a plentiful supply of those for our front-line health workforce, and that includes in the broader health workforce\u2014so places like aged residential care, those working to provide health services to those with disabilities, and so on have access to N95 masks. In terms of other workers, we\u2019ve been making sure they\u2019ve had access to what we colloquially call the surgical masks\u2014so those ones with the blue frontages\u2014which are also very, very effective. In addition to that, we have put in place a Close Contact Exemption Scheme, which means that only those who absolutely have to go back to work should be going back to work if they have a household contact who has COVID-19, because that also helps to keep them and others safe in the workplace. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227ec53e32-05ab-4c6b-a080-4024e72a9099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002292c0d9b941c145e8bf6e50c8fb7234f0\u0022\u003EDr Elizabeth Kerekere\u003C/span\u003E: Further to that, what steps has the Government taken to ensure that supply of N95 masks or equivalent are distributed to the rest of the New Zealanders during the Omicron outbreak? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000206\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022106901e6f0be45a0847dc162d752673d\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: There is a limited supply of N95 masks and they are, of course, significantly more expensive than the other masks that we have available. So the workforces that they have been supplied to include aged residential care facilities, disability support services, homecare support services, mental health and addiction services, and pharmacy, who have been able to access them through the Ministry of Health. Others, of course, are able to purchase their own, but as I indicated, it is more expensive. To ensure that people have access to quality masks, though, those other surgical masks have been available, and the Ministry of Health has been working to make them available through the Ministry of Education, and through the Ministry of Social Development, where they\u2019re being distributed to organisations like food banks and other avenues. Te Arawhiti have been working with iwi providers to make sure they\u2019re available. The Ministry for Pacific Peoples have been making them available, including through church networks; the Ministry for Ethnic Communities have them available; and around 750,000 masks have been made available to community health providers, who are servicing wide regional networks as a one-off supply. So we have been making sure that there are appropriate masks available for the particular context. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000207\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227ec53e32-05ab-4c6b-a080-4024e72a9099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225b3abf456a384a63823cf1a78326ce93\u0022\u003EDr Elizabeth Kerekere\u003C/span\u003E: Is he aware that tamariki M\u0101ori in rural areas have the lowest vaccination rate of all children, and, if so, does he intend to urgently increase resources to M\u0101ori providers for vaccine outreach? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000208\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224a0a8988d6ac412aae6c355768ba0b3d\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I am aware of that statistic, and it is a stat that we should all be concerned about. We have put significant additional resourcing into our M\u0101ori health providers in order to try and reach into some of those communities. It is a more challenging group of people to reach and we need to be patient there. One of the things that I\u2019m acutely aware of is that the feedback we get from those communities is that they don\u2019t want to be stigmatised by the discussion of vaccination, and that also we are experiencing quite significant pockets of vaccine hesitancy and misinformation in those communities, and the best way to approach that is carefully and patiently, and that is exactly what those health providers are doing, and they have our full support to do that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000209\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227ec53e32-05ab-4c6b-a080-4024e72a9099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c4377dba2d0646d29521bbee52e7701e\u0022\u003EDr Elizabeth Kerekere\u003C/span\u003E: What advice, if any, has he received on instituting a test-to-stay policy for close contacts in schools and early childhood centres, as has been used overseas to limit classroom transmission?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000210\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220edc7379ad1f42489384ebbb4afd4ecf\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: That is something that we keep under close review. One of the things that we have stressed to schools and early learning services is that they should only be accessing the Close Contact Exemption Scheme for their staff where that is an absolute last resort because, in most cases, in fact, schools and early childhood services will have other things that they can do to keep those people who have a household contact who has COVID-19 out of the workplace. In terms of the broader student population, though, that is something that we are keeping under review, and it may well be that, as we sort of head towards the peak of this particular Omicron outbreak, we do more in that area.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000211\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227ec53e32-05ab-4c6b-a080-4024e72a9099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227c0757384197400981287d9c398d3d44\u0022\u003EDr Elizabeth Kerekere\u003C/span\u003E: Is he confident that the community care available during phase 3 will be able to identify people who need hospitalisation, including due to low oxygen levels, and provide timely hospital transfers?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000212\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226984a9324aa541fbb97b06f146d0cc96\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: This is, of course, one of the things that we have worked through very, very carefully. There is no system that is absolutely foolproof here, and we do rely on people self-monitoring for symptoms\u2014and reporting back in where their symptoms start to change. So a really, really important message for anybody who is at home isolating because they have COVID-19: if their symptoms worsen, if they are starting to experience significant health impacts, then ring 111. That is exactly what they should do because we want to make sure that they\u2019re getting the healthcare that they need. It is important that, for those who have relatively mild symptoms, that they stay home and they get better, and they make sure that those health services are available to those who really need them, whose symptoms could be getting worse.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000213\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002203c16465e54c4027a137196310a5c28a\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 7\u2014Health\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022 data-id=\u00221e1c8356fe9145fc8c4c235de9d608c3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000214\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003E7. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221e1c8356fe9145fc8c4c235de9d608c3\u0022\u003EDr SHANE RETI (National) (remote)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Health: How many inpatient events have been cancelled, in total, since the Delta strain lockdown on 17 August 2021, and how many people are currently waiting more than four months for a first specialist assessment?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022 data-id=\u0022d49a1ad7d3414b42a4321f64ce7fafc5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000215\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d49a1ad7d3414b42a4321f64ce7fafc5\u0022\u003EHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health):\u003C/span\u003E The Ministry of Health\u2019s latest reporting for the week ending 20 February 2022 estimates that approximately 7,219 in-patient elective procedures were deferred nationally due to COVID-19 since August 2021. As the member will be aware from my answer to his written question, these are estimates subject to revision by DHBs. Results for December 2021 show that there are 32,896 patients waiting longer than four months for a first specialist appointment. This compares to 19,765 in September 2021. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000216\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EAs I have said in this House previously, the reality is that pandemics disrupt health systems. All services reduce procedures in order to keep patients and health workers safe. Every effort is being made to reduce the disruption of planned care. Since the alert level 4 was lifted on 21 September 2021, many of the DHBs have reduced waiting times in their planned care schedule. DHBs have put a number of measures in place to maintain delivery. This includes prioritising urgent and non-deferrable cases, outsourcing where possible, running additional surgical lists and extending the use of providers that can deliver minor procedures in a day-case environment. We know that the Auckland based DHBs\u2014Auckland, Counties Manukau, and Waitemat\u0101\u2014have continued to be at the centre of the response to the latest outbreak and continue to see disruption to their schedules, but even these DHBs have worked immensely hard to keep delivering services and have lifted their delivery.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000217\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223cc0fd616832488486edd81674205409\u0022\u003EDr Shane Reti\u003C/span\u003E: When he said recently that the management of the health system had been \u201Csomewhat of a leader in terms of minimising harm\u201D, how does he explain his answer to written questions last week that a woman in Taranaki has now been waiting 789 days for a first specialist assessment?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000218\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002256ca842198344a8683ca336165dc5a41\u0022\u003EHon ANDREW LITTLE\u003C/span\u003E: What that member fails to mention is of course that for some of those outlier and exceptional cases, there are a number of factors that sit behind the delay of their first specialist appointment, often including the patient\u2019s own request for a delay. I think what\u2019s important\u2014as the member will know as a health specialist and health researcher\u2014is that, you know, we tend to look at mediums and means as indicative of the performance of the system. In any event, what we can say is that although the system in the early stage of the August outbreak cancelled and deferred procedures, since then many of those procedures have managed to catch up and, in fact, in December what we saw across the public health system as a whole\u201485 percent achievement of planned care procedures against that plan, which was a significant improvement in previous months given the disruption caused by the pandemic.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000219\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a54fae36053c499c8ca059af8445c44f\u0022\u003EDr Shane Reti\u003C/span\u003E: Does he believe he has minimised harm to the woman at North Shore Hospital who has been on the priority 1 waiting list since July, with specialist concerns that she may have thyroid cancer, who has now been told this type of elective surgery has been cancelled?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000220\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b602d6e5b64b4169afbd9d743c1c8a4e\u0022\u003EHon ANDREW LITTLE\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019m not familiar with that individual case and even if I were I wouldn\u2019t be disclosing patient details in a public forum such as this. What I can say is that I am satisfied with the response of our DHBs, including Waitemat\u0101 and all those Auckland DHBs, who have been under immense pressure responding to the Delta outbreak since August and now the Omicron outbreak, now seeing over 300 patients admitted just in the last few weeks alone for treatment, having to again defer procedures. They are doing what they need to do, what they can do, safely and properly, to keep patients well and staff safe, and they are doing what clinicians do in these circumstances: appropriately prioritising and triaging and keeping as many people as safe as possible.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000221\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f3c620e9b5e94ff2a36a81ea08a90ace\u0022\u003EDr Shane Reti\u003C/span\u003E: How has his leadership minimised harm to people with lung cancer who the cancer agency state have had a 30 percent fall in bronchoscopies?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000222\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022781098c3e7c8466299b2816d384e0112\u0022\u003EHon ANDREW LITTLE\u003C/span\u003E: One thing this Government has done is increase funding to Pharmac by 25 percent because it was virtually static under the previous Government, and we have significantly added a number of cancer treatments funded by Pharmac too. In fact, we added, outside the Budget cycle, another $60 million to enable Pharmac to fund additional cancer treatments. We have continued the roll-out of the bowel screening programme because that was underfunded by the previous Government when it started. We\u2019ve all but completed the roll-out of that programme. This is a Government, through those measures and the establishment of the Cancer Control Agency, that takes cancer seriously in a way that never has been before.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000223\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002208275885264e433ab0e2eb52e4cdf7a9\u0022\u003EDr Shane Reti\u003C/span\u003E: How has his leadership minimised harm from the report of 147 surgeries that were cancelled at Counties Manukau in the past two weeks?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000224\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002242953ce3c0c442ad90c0584c871bef88\u0022\u003EHon ANDREW LITTLE\u003C/span\u003E: I don\u2019t know whether the member has noticed, but we\u2019re not only two years into a pandemic but we are, sort of, about three weeks into one of the most significant outbreaks of the total COVID pandemic that we have ever seen. So we\u2019re now up to, roughly, 100,000 active cases in our communities right across New Zealand. We have over 300 people in hospital in Auckland alone as a consequence of the pandemic. The DHBs have been planning for this, but part of their planning is to make sure they have room in hospital for the people with the very serious respiratory conditions they\u2019ve got as a consequence of COVID, and that has meant deferring planned care. That is what they are doing. It is a perfectly orthodox, normal response to a pandemic that our DHBs are responding to appropriately.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000225\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022abecc8f351ce4dcbb7adc4c875747c15\u0022\u003EDr Shane Reti\u003C/span\u003E: When the director-general said today that the staffing of hospital beds is an issue that will have an impact on in-patient procedures, how many staffed hospital beds are currently available across New Zealand?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000226\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223e887dd5bcfa44e1a2b0d0918fbb76a7\u0022\u003EHon ANDREW LITTLE\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019m not quite sure what the member is referring to by staffed hospital beds, but I do point out to the member, one of the other consequences of the outbreak is that when staff are household contacts and are required under current protocols to isolate, that does have an impact on the staffing of hospitals, and that is happening now too. So part of the planning of the DHBs is not only planning for a significant increase in the number of patients with COVID who need treatment\u2014particularly for those difficult respiratory conditions\u2014but also planning for a reduction in staff because they have to respond to their exposure or risk of infection, particularly when they are a household contact. That has all been planned for, that is being played out at the moment, and staff and patients are being kept safe as a result.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022be34152e0a7d4ebcb332056a09645382\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 8\u2014COVID-19 Response\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022 data-id=\u002242b10cc7005c416aa60ad51bf0575a0a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000228\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003E8. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002242b10cc7005c416aa60ad51bf0575a0a\u0022\u003ETANGI UTIKERE (Labour\u2014Palmerston North) (remote)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What recent announcements has the Government made on reconnecting New Zealand to the rest of the world?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022 data-id=\u002285e88a99c7604ab8a307fa022ad0b082\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000229\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002285e88a99c7604ab8a307fa022ad0b082\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister for COVID-19 Response):\u003C/span\u003E Yesterday Cabinet agreed to remove the self-isolation requirements for fully vaccinated travellers. Advice from the Strategic COVID-19 Public Health Advisory Group and the Director-General of Health is that it\u2019s now an appropriate time to drop the requirement for self-isolation for fully vaccinated travellers after they arrive in New Zealand. We were already in the process of removing the requirement for managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) for that group. Now that we are two years into the pandemic, the balance of risk has shifted from our border and into our community. As the pandemic evolves, we are evolving in our response as well. Getting tested is now quicker and easier, requirements for isolation have been simplified to only those who share a household, and care in the community is focused towards those who are most in need of support.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000230\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022668f2f4d605f4803b279e118bf92344d\u0022\u003ETangi Utikere\u003C/span\u003E: When will this change come into effect, and what will it mean for New Zealanders overseas?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000231\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223d170be51b1241a1a0bed1fb0506a6a0\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: From 11.59 p.m. on Wednesday, 2 March\u2014so tomorrow night\u2014vaccinated travellers entering New Zealand will no longer need to self-isolate. That means that Kiwis coming home will be able to step off the plane and immediately\u2014once they\u2019ve been through customs\u2014connect with family and friends and enjoy all that New Zealand has to offer. The Government\u2019s also confirmed that we\u2019ll be bringing forward step 2 so that New Zealanders from the rest of the world can return from midnight this Friday, 4 March. Cabinet is also going to be regularly reviewing the remaining steps over the coming weeks.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000232\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b9b35720f5f248d99acd0392fc5854f6\u0022\u003ETangi Utikere\u003C/span\u003E: What requirements will remain on international returnees in order to protect the safety of all New Zealanders?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000233\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002239d561f6ff904a6d9892c2a985993e22\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: Travellers will still be required to have a negative pre-departure test before they board a flight to New Zealand, and they will need to undertake two rapid antigen tests, the first when they arrive in New Zealand, and the second five or six days after they have arrived here. If they return a positive result, they\u2019ll be required to report that result and isolate for the same period as a community case of COVID-19. Returnees will also be asked to follow up any positive rapid antigen tests with a PCR test. That will allow us to run whole genome sequencing for new cases that have been detected amongst people who have come across the border, which will help us to determine any new variants that might be coming into the country. That means that we can keep tabs on what\u2019s happening at our border and the emergence of any new variants that could be of concern to us.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000234\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e48f8adff5b74fa598398983621d0887\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: What instructions, if any, have been given to MIQ staff around processing applications for early release from MIQ in the last week, and what does he say to Michael Brown, who was recently denied early release to visit his father in ICU just yesterday despite testing negative three times in a row over the last five days?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000235\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022861ba3a5c2594de6b5ff3dd192be7dda\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: I won\u2019t comment on individual cases in MIQ, as has long been my practice of doing that. But in terms of the early release from MIQ, people will be released from MIQ early as a result of the announcements that we made yesterday.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000236\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c925be6a35d64fab80cd1f61c9f00ef3\u0022\u003ETangi Utikere\u003C/span\u003E: In response to my earlier question to the Minister, what impact will these decisions have on the ongoing use of MIQ?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000237\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d1512952bb2647aa892877aa984a05b8\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: It will have a significant impact on the use of MIQ, and can I begin by picking up where the Prime Minister left off in her earlier comments of thanking all those who have been involved in running our managed isolation and quarantine facilities over the last two years. I want to acknowledge that it has been a difficult job\u2014it\u2019s been more difficult at some times than others\u2014and many of those who have been doing that work have paid a significant personal cost for their involvement in MIQ. So I want to extend a very genuine thanks to them for their commitment. Their hard work is one of the reasons New Zealand has enjoyed such long periods of being COVID-free, and so we thank them. We will now be starting to scale back our MIQ operations. It will have an impact on those workers, and we\u2019ll be talking to them about that over the next few weeks. We do expect to retain some MIQ capacity, so we\u2019ll still need that at the moment for unvaccinated travellers and potentially also to support some of those cases in the community who are unable to isolate safely if they need to. So there will still need to be some MIQ capacity, but we\u2019ll be working through that over the next week or two.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000238\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c2afa0db12754e8789f978171bd79927\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 9\u2014Prime Minister\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022 data-id=\u002207d4ca844a824493a33135c97d746dfd\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000239\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003E9. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002207d4ca844a824493a33135c97d746dfd\u0022\u003EBROOKE VAN VELDEN (Deputy Leader\u2014ACT)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Is the New Zealand Government planning to take further measures to support Ukraine and stand against Russia\u2019s unprovoked invasion; if so, what is stopping the Government from implementing these measures right now?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022 data-id=\u0022119610b407ab4afc9640efe705daa300\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000240\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022119610b407ab4afc9640efe705daa300\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes. As I said in the motion earlier today, New Zealand has not yet reached the extent of the measures we will take to condemn the recent unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine by Russia. We will continue to look at measures to condemn this act of war, including measures to target Russian finances. To this effect, after exploring the role our Overseas Investment Office and Overseas Investment Act could play in further restricting incoming investment, we have subsequently sought advice on a specific Russian sanctions bill. We expect to engage with other parties on this course of action shortly. As a country, we moved quickly in condemning the invasion and immediately implemented a number of measures in response to Russia\u2019s actions, some of which are covered by other countries\u2019 sanction regimes or are at least similar. All put us in line with our partners\u2019 response. These are: targeted travel bans against Russian Government officials and other individuals associated with the invasion of Ukraine, the prohibition of the export of all goods to Russian military and security forces, and the suspension of bilateral foreign ministry consultations until further notice. New Zealand is also contributing to the humanitarian effort and has provided an initial $2 million in humanitarian aid to support those in Ukraine, and we\u2019re continuing to work through options that are consistent with New Zealand\u2019s unequivocal opposition to Russia\u2019s actions.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000241\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022096e967bfda14e49b39bb660225c3a96\u0022\u003EBrooke van Velden\u003C/span\u003E: Does she agree that if New Zealand\u2019s laws now currently allowed the Government to impose stronger sanctions, we would be better placed to stand with other liberal democracies against Russia\u2019s aggression, and if so, will the Government introduce an autonomous sanctions regime under urgency?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000242\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e1685260fa60431ab342d450eff1c72c\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: I reject the premise of the member\u2019s question that we are not standing with other international counterparts. We very much are. You\u2019ll see they\u2019ve introduced export restrictions, as we have. They have introduced travel bans, as we have. We were an early mover on humanitarian assistance, as we often are. Where there perhaps are differences are, for instance, where countries have made moves through SWIFT\u2014that is not something that New Zealand has a contribution to make, given the way that system works; the freezing of Russia\u2019s central bank assets; or bans on exports to Russia that extend beyond dual-use goods. That includes aircraft and oil refinery equipment or, for instance, freezing, for example, Nord Stream 2. So you\u2019ll see that where there has been a difference in approach by countries, it\u2019s often been because they have a very targeted area which would be impactful for Russia that perhaps is less so for us. That does not mean that there isn\u2019t more we can do, and we already are exploring a targeted piece of law.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226df78573bea34417a6ebb981b1cf5112\u0022\u003EBrooke van Velden\u003C/span\u003E: Will the Government consider fast-tracking Critical Purpose Visitor Visas for citizens of Ukraine who have family or work connections here, and then make them eligible for residence as refugees once in New Zealand, similar to what it did for refugees from Afghanistan last year?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000244\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221ff3498cda38417b9d5f0cc4ef4ffa94\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: So the Minister has already been liaising with his department over prioritising urgent visa applications from Ukrainian nationals. My understanding is that they\u2019re already in a position to do that and are doing that. When it comes to the processing of refugee applications or inclusion of refugees generally, obviously we have doubled our quota for refugees. That enables us greater capacity. Of course, there is pressure from a number of crises in that regard, but we always work through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for that category, and so there\u2019s obviously a process to go through there, but we do have more capacity than we did under the last Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000245\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d337ec3fd68b44929cd7e4ab6e9883fe\u0022\u003EBrooke van Velden\u003C/span\u003E: Will the Government consider allowing businesses to sponsor refugees from Ukraine if they agree to cover housing, health, and other costs, and if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000246\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228b46a97815a14117b87af1e8c23f010b\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Currently there is the ability of community organisations to be a part of that kind of programme. I couldn\u2019t speak specifically to the current scale of that. Obviously, some of our refugee quota has been impacted by COVID. We have, however, taken very direct action to at least make sure that did not act as a blockage to us responding immediately to the crisis in Afghanistan. It\u2019s fair to say that has put pressure on our community organisations who traditionally work with refugees. My final point: Ukraine wants us to get their home back, so of course we have to be mindful of what role we can play in the future for those who may not wish to return, but we also have to make sure at the same time we are not giving up on their ability to return to their homeland, and that is where a strong focus of New Zealand and all like-minded partners is.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000247\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f9570d8d4d2141aaa8f0a56862751e05\u0022\u003EBrooke van Velden\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order, Mr Speaker. My question was relatively specific about businesses being able to sponsor refugees, rather than community organisations, and the programme that the Prime Minister mentioned is specific to approved community organisations.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000248\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022233798f8f3124e3583950103af089b9b\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I will ask the Prime Minister to elaborate on her answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000249\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022315993780b174b289372589679d1a95c\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: I thought it was implicit in my response that what we currently have is a community-based sponsorship regime. When it comes to businesses, of course, they tend to do that through work visas.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000250\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022853d80452e7042268a3025eb8279b10a\u0022\u003EBrooke van Velden\u003C/span\u003E: Will the Government expel the Russian ambassador from New Zealand?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000251\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002287f043e0a1b14a3d8e215ab8aa0851a9\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: We\u2019ve not removed any options from the table at present. I would note that that is a significant step that hasn\u2019t been taken by many at this stage, and in part that is because at the same time we have to factor in our ability to continue to look after New Zealanders in the region too. So there is that consequence. My understanding is that at present there have been some who have recalled their own representation\u2014only, I believe, three countries have done that at this stage. But, as I\u2019ve said, nothing is off the table.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000252\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002280372042f607469fb75abbac80f917b9\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 10\u2014Building and Construction\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022 data-id=\u002258a4b9966abc4b7fb8a4c1c7be0aa95d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000253\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003E10. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002258a4b9966abc4b7fb8a4c1c7be0aa95d\u0022\u003EARENA WILLIAMS (Labour\u2014Manurewa) (remote)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Building and Construction: What recent reports has she seen regarding education and employment opportunities in the building and construction sector?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022 data-id=\u00229f63693ee3cd41b8b0c6e0328d7a11ca\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000254\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229f63693ee3cd41b8b0c6e0328d7a11ca\u0022\u003EHon POTO WILLIAMS (Minister for Building and Construction) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E I have seen a report that shows employment and education opportunities in the construction sector are on the rise, outperforming targets set by the Construction Skills Action Plan in 2018. This is a result of a strong role the sector is playing to support COVID-19 recovery, enabled by this Government\u2019s significant investment in infrastructure and housing. Since we launched the Construction Skills Action Plan, over 30,000 people have been supported into construction-related education or employment opportunities. I\u2019m pleased to report that this milestone has exceeded the action plan\u2019s target by more than sevenfold. This Government will continue to invest in our construction sector to ensure we have the skills, capacity, and capabilities we need to build back better from COVID-19. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000255\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ee3dabb1272348a686fe60a5aaa18a3e\u0022\u003EArena Williams\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Speaker. What initiatives has the Government put in place to help deliver the Construction Skills Action Plan? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000256\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f3b30e76018240b1a98d0c01381c79ce\u0022\u003EHon POTO WILLIAMS\u003C/span\u003E: Much of the success of the Construction Skills Action Plan is the result of a coordinated effort between Government departments and sector employers to play our part in growing talent in the sector. We have put in place a number of initiatives to deliver on the action plan, such as Mana in Mahi\u2014thank you, Minister Sepuloni\u2014which, as of October last year, has supported 3,500 young people into education and employment opportunities within the sector. It\u2019s also included the leveraging of the Government\u2019s procurement programme\u2014thank you, Minister Nash\u2014to ensure the Government agencies continue [Audio missing] development and training when evaluating tenders. These are just a few of the initiatives we have put in place to progress the action plan and to deliver\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000257\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022371f4d95399f45dfb60051598767c9d0\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Can I mute that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000258\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002260dd1b78291a4c8c92d9c2bb762905f3\u0022\u003EHon POTO WILLIAMS\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014a more resilient construction sector.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000259\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224386b3b157c445b795c9c66d76e33e0f\u0022\u003EArena Williams\u003C/span\u003E: Supplementary.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000260\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002231756b9036894e7285e65818365ba478\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Order! No, no, the member doesn\u2019t have the call. I\u2019m going to make two points now. One is that members have been briefed, as part of their training, that there is sometimes a delay in getting to a member remotely. I\u2019m not going to put up with criticism of the staff who are involved in that when there is such a delay, and/or comments, as we did have. The second point I\u2019ll make is that patsy questions and answers have a limit, and the last answer went beyond that limit. And therefore, I\u2019m now going to call Hon Gerry Brownlee for the next question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000261\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223698613174d6453798e6fb799d0984ed\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000262\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ee80f2253ac54d6daca8902e89d1e26a\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Well, is the member going to disagree with the ruling I\u2019ve just made? Because I\u2019m prepared to reverse it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000263\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226282d574522b479388d3ff8d4b8f97d5\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: No, I just wanted to say, Mr Speaker, that certainly no one from the Opposition benches was having a go at the staff running the system at all. I want to make that very clear; they\u2019re doing a great job.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000264\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bf25ff738a894726ad1047f016f0af47\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Well, both the member and the member sitting next to him made loud noises during the delay to the supplementary question. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000265\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c0dfc5b68ff945159b09a7fece02d21b\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 11\u2014Foreign Affairs\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022 data-id=\u0022dfe7131fd679449b8c46bdd9a1da5d15\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000266\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E11. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022dfe7131fd679449b8c46bdd9a1da5d15\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: What additional options, if any, has the Government considered in responding to Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, and why hasn\u2019t the Government introduced an autonomous sanctions regime?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u0022a43957c2f87341528fd17f6146576e11\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000267\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a43957c2f87341528fd17f6146576e11\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs) (remote)\u003C/span\u003E: [Audio missing]\u2014both condemn the invasion and immediately implement a number of measures in response to Russia\u2019s actions. These are targeted travel bans against the Russian Government officials and other individuals associated with the invasion of Iraq, the prohibition of the export of all goods to Russian military and security forces, and the suspension of bilateral foreign ministry consultations until further notice. This invasion is a blatant break of the most important international laws and the rules-based world order that we rely upon. We will continue to consider other measures including those to target Russian finances. Again, as has been earlier said, Cabinet has sought advice on a specific Russian sanctions bill, which we expect to discuss with other parties across the House shortly. In terms of wider autonomous sanctions legislation, that would have implications that go far beyond Russia and impact our foreign policy position more broadly and would require further consideration.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000268\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002268dae2026f4b4062bb11dd243be4a9b0\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: I thank the Minister for that answer, but in relation to the last part: was he in fact incorrect when they said of the autonomous sanctions bill that it\u2019s necessary because there is \u201Ca growing risk of New Zealand being perceived as an easy target because of gaps in the range of sanction measures [available] to be imposed\u201D and \u201Cfor those reasons New Zealand is increasingly regarded as being out of step with security partners such as Australia, Canada, the European Union, and the United States.\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000269\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d8fe455414e547d89e810a898dc28b28\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: The Minister of Foreign Affairs has been clear that we don\u2019t rule out a future role for a broader autonomous sanctions regime, but we would note the matter is perhaps not quite as simple as the member would present it now. I would note that I\u2019m advised that National\u2014the prior National-ACT Government\u2014looked at the issue in 2012, chose not to progress it even after the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, and the member himself did not even give the bill a first reading when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000270\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002288c5b8cfc350427380cdff0f98113002\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister explain to the House how a Russia-specific sanctions bill, which the Prime Minister has spoken of today, would be so substantially different from the autonomous sanctions bill that we need to wait quite a long time to see it in the House?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000271\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fa9308d760ba448f9d5b07831fcc033a\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: I can give a couple of instances. I\u2019m advised that the member\u2019s version of autonomous sanctions legislation has insufficient consideration of human rights issues and the rising issue of cyber-security. Those are two of the issues that we would expect a broader autonomous sanctions bill should encompass.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000272\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002217bbb6c365f14d50b8d91a7558d8d85c\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: If, as Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has identified\u2014and I quote\u2014\u201Call New Zealand\u2019s key security partners have the ability to impose sanctions outside the UN framework.\u201D, why has her Government still not implemented the ability for New Zealand to do the same, and why are we getting so many excuses about why we cannot participate with other nations in the world to show the strongest condemnation of Russia\u2019s aggressive actions in Ukraine?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000273\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221b853e8ebe3c4188a9768c9b7033587a\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: As the Prime Minister has outlined, we have and we will continue to take appropriate action against the Russian regime. The wider considerations of a broader autonomous sanctions bill are complex, as the Minister found when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs and his predecessors found when they, for nine years, didn\u2019t introduce one even after the Russian invasion of Crimea.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000274\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022565b9741a4454f3eafa832f0f0b620ff\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Has MFAT recommended to the Government that an autonomous sanctions bill is necessary for New Zealand to be in step with the partner nations that we so like to identify ourselves with?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000275\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224fc5f16482944b94880c1eaf53d94f0c\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: The latest advice on that very issue was received yesterday and the recommendation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was that we first consider a specific bill in respect of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225e230b78bf14474ead236d09ecd01f4b\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Question\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000277\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002267249071ee8d479aa71ef3c12317d97a\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Speaker?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000278\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226ecca3c5922442edb87a11f28933d232\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No. The member\u2019s an optimist.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000279\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022007e27f99ad34b72b6134bf21402ac20\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Well it\u2019s been such a long time! I thought\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000280\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022db9d31c4ca4b49ad8c06f5e35f854f8d\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Seeing the member, except for myself, is the father of the House, I will give him another supplementary.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000281\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002288798473519644bb9793163969e363ca\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you. Thank you very much. I\u2019ll try and make it brief. Can the Minister tell us how long we may have to wait to see this Russia-specific sanctions bill introduced to the House?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222b36e20968e9414baa58d7ba28c59485\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: I haven\u2019t got a specific time frame to give the member, but the issue is being consider with priority by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. I would note that we\u2019ve already tightened the overseas investment rules into New Zealand, and that many of the new investments that the member might be concerned about would be covered by those tightened rules that this Government introduced.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000283\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ea7b14fc57a5499184d9a7af2029cec5\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 12\u2014Trade and Export Growth\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022 data-id=\u0022af91b623e5e44785ace324bc65274e26\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000284\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003E12. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022af91b623e5e44785ace324bc65274e26\u0022\u003EJO LUXTON (Labour\u2014Rangitata) (remote)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Trade and Export Growth: What recent announcement has the Government made about signing a free-trade agreement with the United Kingdom?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u0022ff8fda0b7817406ab2e3166977dc90b9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000285\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ff8fda0b7817406ab2e3166977dc90b9\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Minister for the Environment) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E on behalf of the Minister\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000286\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f61fd56bca454ea594e41c3eea071a0b\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! No. The member is not answering on behalf; he is the Minister for the moment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000287\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223183c75168934a58a19a8af483293df2\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order, Mr Speaker. I am the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs not the Acting Minister for Trade and Export Growth. I\u2019m answering this on behalf of the Minister.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000288\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227b744478127e45bd934be080af5de3f7\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I apologise to the member. I\u2019m quite wrong again.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000289\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022699fafe7dc464b40a1afed437cd86406\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: No problem, sir. On behalf of the Minister for Trade and Export Growth, I\u2019m pleased to announce that overnight the Hon Damien O\u2019Connor signed the New Zealand - United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement in London. This premium gold standard agreement secures New Zealand\u2019s preferential access to the UK market for the first time since 1973. That is important. It\u2019s the fifth largest economy in the world and, as the Prime Minister has already said, the deal eliminates tariffs on 99.5 percent of our current trade from the time of entry into force. It will accelerate New Zealand\u2019s COVID recovery by boosting New Zealand\u2019s GDP by between $700 million and $1 billion per annum, and exporters will save approximately $37 million per annum from tariff elimination from day one. Of course, they\u2019ll also benefit from the increased trade, which will flow from the increased access. This free-trade agreement sits alongside the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, PACER Plus, the China free-trade agreement (FTA) upgrade\u2014all agreements concluded by this Government to help revitalise our trade agenda, and I believe I would be speaking on behalf of many members of the House in congratulating the Minister, the Hon Damien O\u2019Connor.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000290\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c8a126e6c371412aa8ffa3003e593677\u0022\u003EJo Luxton\u003C/span\u003E: What Trade For All elements have been included in this FTA?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000291\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223a1f98388f05497fb74d1a6d58e7b967\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: The agreement reflects many aspects of the Trade For All Agenda. It includes commitments on the Treaty of Waitangi, small and medium sized enterprises, trade and gender, trade and development, and consumer protection. It\u2019s our first bilateral trade agreement to include a specific article on climate change. It includes important provisions that were hard won in the negotiation on eliminating harmful subsidies such as fossil fuel, and fisheries subsidies. We\u2019re pleased that this agreement advances not just economic gains but also wider Government priorities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000292\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229e78ecf14d084731a2f1b1da0f5a0d20\u0022\u003ERino Tirikatene (remote)\u003C/span\u003E: What are the benefits that are anticipated for M\u0101ori in this free-trade agreement?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002219e00d0877d04d8283112b8c53e240a0\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: Recognising the long and important relationship of the British Crown with M\u0101ori through the Treaty of Waitangi, this agreement contains the broadest set of outcomes for M\u0101ori that New Zealand has managed to negotiate in any FTA. Included in the FTA is a M\u0101ori trade and economic cooperation chapter, recognising the value of increased M\u0101ori participation in international trade and investment, and promoting cooperation between the parties to the FTA to enable and advance M\u0101ori economic and wellbeing aspiration. It also prioritises tariff elimination on a range of products of interest to M\u0101ori, particularly in fisheries, horticulture, dairy, and meat sectors.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000294\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00221d98bf1265d948d780c2d6f076143e0b\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 11 to Minister\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022 data-id=\u0022c481cdcade5d4517811eab19c3e2a793\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000295\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c481cdcade5d4517811eab19c3e2a793\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE (National):\u003C/span\u003E Point of order, Mr Speaker. In asking a question to the Hon David Parker, I was unaware that he was the Acting Minister. It does make a difference, as you know. I therefore used an incorrect pronoun in addressing him, and I\u2019ll make sure that\u2019s correct in the Hansard record.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000296\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022879ecb9d6e42483eb1ff85696348c68e\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019m certain he will be thankful for that, but I think the member will probably have to consult the Clerk before he makes a change of that sort. Hansard is a record of what he says probably more than what he should have said, but the member will consult with the Clerk on that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000297\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aff98b2fc7cf4b8b87ac7a6567f67d16\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order, Mr Speaker. I would hope that the Clerk is able to assist me, because otherwise it\u2019s a terrible change for the Hon David Parker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000298\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022bd786b97a6d94ae2b1fadd2d161df9e6\u0022\u003EAppointments\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000299\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002211a8d8bfc9004c58a4c8ee2d2fa10332\u0022\u003EAssistant Speaker\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022 data-id=\u002291403d6e4a9a45ceabf4df1531b12254\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000300\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002291403d6e4a9a45ceabf4df1531b12254\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House):\u003C/span\u003E A point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek leave to move a motion without notice on the appointment of an additional Assistant Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000301\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b715dee2ff884c7482315310061e4cbe\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Is there any objection to that course of action being followed? There is none.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000302\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223d5a640bd7b241b3aab23b392bb9059d\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: I move, That this House appoint Ian McKelvie as an Assistant Speaker, with effect during any sitting of the House that is held with members able to participate remotely.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000303\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EMr Speaker, this is an historic day for Parliament, with members participating remotely in the proceedings in the Chamber for the first time. You and the other presiding officers, I know, are going to considerable lengths to ensure that you can preserve your own health and wellbeing and that you\u2019re able to be in the Chamber when required. But after discussions at the Business Committee, I think it has been agreed that it would be wise to have an additional presiding officer on the team so that we can ensure that we have a presiding officer available for the duration of any remote sitting.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000304\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003ESo I have great pleasure in nominating Ian McKelvie for the role of Assistant Speaker. He\u2019s a very experienced member of the House, having been member for Rangit\u012Bkei since 2011. He\u2019s the chairperson of the Governance and Administration Committee, a role that he performs, I\u2019m told, with good humour and fairness. He is a respected and liked member across the House. He has a very calm and genial approach\u2014qualities that I\u2019m sure will serve him and us very well in the Chair. And so I thank him for agreeing to take on this role of Assistant Speaker, and commend his appointment to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022 data-id=\u00223fc56d7395b54d04bc3da589e4f259d0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000305\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223fc56d7395b54d04bc3da589e4f259d0\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP (National):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. It gives me great pride and pleasure to stand and support the motion moved by the Leader of the House nominating Ian McKelvie to serve as a temporary Assistant Speaker, and I want to echo the remarks of the Leader of the House in complimenting Mr McKelvie on his good humour and his good cheer and his experience. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000306\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226d860d47bc084936a4ddd65c53f15ff3\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: Does he get a pay rise? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000307\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b8edfdceca694c498011bcbf3c65fd1f\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP\u003C/span\u003E: He does get a pay rise, Mr Bridges, I think I\u2019m right in saying. I don\u2019t want to mislead the House. Mr McKelvie has\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000308\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a14fcb509179483d86587f43963dd6bb\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: No, he doesn\u2019t. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000309\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fb5fbc034aea45a08b3d1db29e781140\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: He\u2019s doing it for free? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000310\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c524679869b3424e9e2b828741b7e92e\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP\u003C/span\u003E: Mr McKelvie has served as an MP\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000311\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002270ad6f81f65149f5beeb64f92895416a\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s the same rate as a chair of a select committee. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000312\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220cc584c808084cb68ad7ca35d66e702f\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP\u003C/span\u003E: Oh well, there you go.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000313\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EMr McKelvie has served as an MP since the 2011 election as the MP for Rangit\u012Bkei, in addition to being the current chair of the Governance and Administration Committee, which is a reasonably bipartisan committee\u2014it is a small committee and reasonably bipartisan in nature; just with National and Labour members on it\u2014and he does a good job of keeping good order in that committee. He has also previously served on the Finance and Expenditure Committee and is a former chair of the Primary Production Committee. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000314\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EI don\u2019t think any member of the House would disagree with me in saying that he commands respect across the House for his wise contributions on a range of legislation, some of which is non-controversial and some of which is controversial, but he\u2019s someone who I think everyone in the Parliament always listens to. Because of that, there can be no better criteria to bear in mind when you\u2019re considering a presiding officer, because, ultimately, it is the respect of the House that is the most important in that role, and Ian will certainly command the respect of the House. So I\u2019ve no hesitation in commending this motion to the House. Thank you. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022 data-id=\u0022e19b5c855cb442dfb3ca1020c351058f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000315\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e19b5c855cb442dfb3ca1020c351058f\u0022\u003EDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader\u2014ACT):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise in hearty support of this glorious motion to appoint Ian McKelvie perhaps temporarily to the Speaker\u2019s Chair. I think it would be fair to say that Ian McKelvie is a man of maturity, quite considerable maturity, and he\u2019ll use that very well\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000316\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223f3ea60aba1b41e899960a1adfa36b93\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: What other qualities?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000317\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cc7188aebaae438db477953bd8c09297\u0022\u003EDAVID SEYMOUR\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014in the Speaker\u2019s Chair. Gerry Brownlee asked, \u201CWhat other qualities?\u201D Well, Ian McKelvie\u2019s someone I\u2019ve got to know and like over the years that we\u2019ve both been here in the House, and he\u2019s somebody who has great humility. He has great magnanimity, he has great judgment, and I think that those are wonderful qualities to have in a Speaker. The only thing I can say is that it might be bit of a shock for some members to get used to seeing those qualities return to the Chair, but I think we can welcome them. Thank you, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000318\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000319\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002231cf8362bbd3483e9fed2b49e31fb1bb\u0022\u003Ecovid-19 orders\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000320\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c96d5e6bd3e144e494d6d462d080d727\u0022\u003EApproval\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022 data-id=\u00222a27f95e07be470ba9c75c24e70b3993\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000321\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222a27f95e07be470ba9c75c24e70b3993\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister for COVID-19 Response):\u003C/span\u003E In accordance with the determination of the Business Committee, I move, That this House approve the following orders made under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020: COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order (No 2) 2021, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Required Testing and Vaccinations) Amendment Order (No 2) 2021, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order (No 3) 2021, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border) Order 2021, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Isolation and Quarantine and Other Matters) Amendment Order 2021, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border and Isolation and Quarantine) Amendment Order (No 2) 2021, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border and Isolation and Quarantine) Amendment Order (No 2) Amendment Order 2021, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border and Isolation and Quarantine) Amendment Order 2022, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order 2022, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order (No 2) 2022, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Amendment Order 2022, and COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order (No 3) 2022.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000322\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EI\u2019d like to begin by thanking the Business Committee for agreeing to debate the motion today. Here we are again, and I\u2019m asking the House to approve a number of orders\u201412 orders\u2014that have been made under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act. As is the nature with these debates, some of those orders themselves are already out of date and have already been replaced by other orders, and some are about to be, based on the announcement that we made yesterday. But I would like to, as I always do in these debates, thank the Regulations Review Committee for their consideration of these various orders. I think the committee does a very thorough job on behalf of the House in scrutinising the use of the powers provided under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act, and I\u2019ll touch on a few of the themes of their comments in a few moments.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003ESo the orders that we are confirming here were made between 10 December last year, 2021, and 23 January this year. The COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order (No 2) 2021 was reported back from the Regulations Review Committee in its report on 10 February. The remaining 11 were featured in the committee\u2019s report on 17 February. The 12 orders in question cover quite a wide range of issues, including the opening up of the Auckland boundary just before Christmas, the status of different parts of New Zealand in the traffic light system, and so on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000324\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border) Order 2021 and the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Isolation and Quarantine and Other Matters) Amendment Order 2021 set out the revised regime for travellers arriving into New Zealand that came into effect late on Monday this week and that was about to be replaced as of late tomorrow night. That, of course, was the one stepping through the removal of managed isolation and quarantine and imposing a self-solation system instead. That, of course, is now going to be replaced by another order that will also go through this process that, in due course, we will address and have to confirm here in the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000325\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EOther amendments address technical drafting issues, and they seek to clarify details that have emerged as our response to COVID-19 has continued to develop. I would like to take a moment here to thank the Parliamentary Counsel Office, who work under great pressure to put these orders together, often having to do so in a very compressed time table, and often having to deal with what are quite technical issues\u2014often quite a complex network and web of technical issues that they have to work their way through. Inevitably, from time to time, there are technical drafting amendments that need to be corrected, and we try and correct those in the next orders that are made.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000326\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order (No 2) 2021 dealt with a range of issues related to the crossing of the Auckland boundary. At the time of the transition from alert levels to the protection framework, the Regulations Review Committee expressed some concerns not about the orders themselves, or the provisions of the order, but about the accessibility of regulations. And they raised similar concerns about the difficulties of navigation through the order when they expressed concerns about the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border) Order of 2021. The committee asked for clarity over the meaning and criteria that applied to country groups in this order and, again, an issue around the ease of understanding.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000327\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003ESo the constant revision and updating that the rapid development of COVID-19 has necessitated has been a challenge in terms of keeping the secondary legislation as easy possible to navigate, and I want to acknowledge that, and I thank the Regulations Review Committee for drawing attention to those issues. I do agree that it\u2019s important the regulations should be clear, they should be easily understandable, and the comments and feedback of the Regulations Review Committee will help us to continue to improve the design of orders in the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000328\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThere are two orders that have been omitted from this motion, and I will cover them now because they have been subject of significant discussion over the last few days. The requests for vaccination mandates that originally came from the Police and the Defence Force were the subject of orders made under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act. There are operational factors that drove the decision by those agencies to request the vaccination requirements: for example, Defence Force personnel need to be vaccinated in order to undertake overseas deployments, in many instances, including in places like the Pacific for disaster relief. So there are operational considerations there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000329\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe decision of the courts to not uphold those two orders has only just been released, and we do need to take time to consider that. I do want to be clear that the judgment\u2019s quite clear that it\u2019s not questioning the role of mandates per se but whether they are required specifically for Police and for Defence in terms of business continuity purposes. So we need to take time to just carefully consider what the court\u2019s ruling is\u2014not have a knee-jerk response to that. So we will do that, and then we\u2019ll make further decisions. We have been really clear, though, that where there is no longer a justification for a vaccination mandate to be in place, we would look to remove that in a timely manner. So, in some cases, in the case of the Police, very high rates of vaccination have now been achieved, and it may well be that there is no replacement for that mandate. But we\u2019ll work through a careful process to look at that, and then we\u2019ll make decisions in due course.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000330\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EIn terms of wider issues around vaccine mandates, as the Prime Minister and I have both been clear, we will seek to remove those at the appropriate time, and at the moment, as we head into what is already a very large outbreak and growing by the day, it isn\u2019t the right moment to do that in many cases, but we will consider each of those mandates on a case by case basis. When the case has been made for them to be removed, then we would look to do that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000331\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225648455c66df46f68d694a5426106163\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Does that mean these four\u2014the Police ones\u2014they\u2019re not approved?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000332\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022793fa7a0908a440d990afe29fdda68bf\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: The Defence Force one, the one that related to Defence, and the one that related to Police, which were the subject of the court decision last week, have not been included in the motion. The motion was revised and has removed those from that. They\u2019re not being confirmed, so they will lapse. I didn\u2019t want the Parliament to be in a position of, effectively, voting to confirm something that the courts have ruled against, so we\u2019ve removed those from the motion, and we\u2019ll now take some time to consider what the future of those, if any future, may be. With that, Mr Speaker, I congratulate you and commend this motion to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022 data-id=\u0022b071e5afc6aa442e8224373630017314\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000333\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b071e5afc6aa442e8224373630017314\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: The question is that the motion be agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022 data-id=\u0022f726a17de34341078b830673292679ac\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000334\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f726a17de34341078b830673292679ac\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP (National):\u003C/span\u003E Can I start where the Minister for COVID-19 Response ended, which is congratulating you, sir, on your ascension to this august role. It\u2019s great to see you with a grin on your face, sir, chairing this session.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000335\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EI thank the Minister for COVID-19 Response for the exchange we\u2019ve just had and beg the House\u2019s indulgence for an interjection, but it was a genuinely interesting question, which is what do we do as a Parliament with these orders that the court has essentially ruled as inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and, essentially, ruled unlawful. We\u2019ve just heard from the Minister that that has happened, but also he didn\u2019t want to put the House into a position where we were confirming orders that the court has essentially ruled unlawful. I think that was the right decision, and so those orders now lapse, and it\u2019ll be interesting to see what the Government does with those orders and with the issue of mandates for the Police and Defence Force generally.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000336\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EI\u2019ve read the Yardley judgment, Yardley v Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, quite carefully, and some people have got a little bit carried away and said that it sort of means the end of vaccine mandates generally. That\u2019s not quite my reading of the judgment. It\u2019s actually quite a narrowly tailored judgment in relation to section 11AB of the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act that we passed an amendment to under urgency in the latter quarter of last year. I actually raised this in the debate\u2014and if you check the Hansard you\u2019ll find this. I raised this issue of the confusion between section 9 of the Act, which allows the Minister to make vaccination mandate orders in relation to public health, and the amendment that came in, which allows the Minister under section 11AB of the Act to make vaccination mandate orders when it\u2019s in the public interest. That is actually what\u2019s at the heart of the Yardley judgment and something that the Parliament is going to have to grapple with, because what happened in the Yardley case is that the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety made a mandate order in relation to the Police and Defence, not on the grounds that it was justified on public health grounds but that it was justified on the grounds of maintaining public confidence in the Police and the Defence Force and, essentially, the continuity of service for those two particular forces.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000337\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EWhat His Honour Justice Cooke found is that that argument or that ground that the Government put forward was not made out\u2014that because you were dealing with such a small number of people in relation to vaccination who hadn\u2019t been vaccinated, then there was no real impact on the continuity of service. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000338\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EInterestingly, and this is where it is true to say, I believe, the judgment will have an impact on vaccination mandates more generally, is the judge\u2019s comments made over the dicta in relation to transmissibility of COVID, particularly the Omicron variant and whether or not that has an impact on vaccination. The judge made two particular comments that I think are interesting and that I think we need to bear in mind as we have the debate around mandates. The first is the public health advice was that no further mandates were necessary. In other words, the Police and Defence Force mandate that the Government imposed was not necessary, and the existing mandates that were in place prior to the Police and Defence Force mandate made by the Minister for Workplace Relations were not necessary. That is interesting\u2014that is interesting. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EThe second point is the judge made very careful comments obiter dicta in relation to the impact of Omicron on vaccination and how that applies in terms of limiting transmission. Because it\u2019s very clear, I think, to most members of the House now that there\u2019s been a sea change in our COVID response because of Omicron. Under Delta\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000340\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002208351c19c6e046ae8bb5671ddced3092\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: The Government\u2019s still working it out.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000341\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a5b5a942e80f4c11b3fae8dd84a32cdf\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I\u2019m not sure if that\u2019s actually true. I think they\u2019re starting to get their head around it. Under Delta, it was very clear that vaccination made a big impact on transmission. Scientific evidence is very clear on that. Under Delta and the previous strains of COVID, vaccination made a big difference. It limited the transmission. So if you had 100 vaccinated people in a room, the chance that they would spread COVID amongst themselves was very, very small indeed; very low\u2014not zero, but very low. Omicron has changed the game. It busts through vaccination, it busts through double vaccination, it busts through booster vaccination, and actually, the vast number of people, the vast bulk of people who are getting COVID\u2014almost 20,000 today, 15,000 yesterday; you know, it was 3,000 last week or whatever it was\u2014are vaccinated. They are fully vaccinated and indeed they are boosted. So that raises significant questions for the Parliament as to the utility of, firstly, vaccine mandates, and, secondly, the issue of vaccine passes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000342\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EI want to make it very clear for the House that we worry on this side of the House around whether or not there is any utility of vaccine mandates and vaccine passes any more. As the judge comments in the Yardley decision, it is worth bearing in mind that mandates impose on rights. I think, possibly in the last year or so, we have worked out that we\u2019ve been too quick to impose on rights. It\u2019s been interesting that the Attorney-General has not really ventilated and had a discussion, publicly at least, about the intrusion on rights that mandates have on individuals. There are two particular rights\u2014and, again, these are covered in the Yardley judgment\u2014that are intruded upon. One is the right to be free from medical treatment or the right to choose your own medical treatment, and the second is, of course, freedom of religion, which is touched upon as well. So it\u2019s very clear\u2014I think everyone would agree\u2014that vaccine mandates intrude upon individual rights and freedoms. So the question is whether or not the intrusion on those rights is justified. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000343\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003ENow, our view in the National Party was that we would tolerate those intrusions on those rights for a temporary length of time\u2014for a small length of time\u2014while we were battling COVID because the science, at least six months ago, was very clear that vaccination made a big difference in terms of the spread of the virus, the spread of the illness, and of course, the wider impact that that spread has not just on individuals but more, actually, on the public health system and our wider society. It made a difference to limit the spread of COVID, and generally we\u2019ve done a pretty good job of doing that in New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000344\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003ESo our view was they were justified as a temporary measure, but times have changed. Omicron has changed the game. The transmission benefits of vaccination are no longer anywhere near what they were, and because of that, the rights calculus\u2014the careful balancing of whether or not something is a justified intrusion on a right\u2014has therefore changed. And, actually, that is what His Honour Justice Cooke made comments about in the Yardley judgment. So that\u2019s why it is right that the Minister is taking time to consider the impact of that judgment when it comes to vaccine mandates.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000345\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EBut we should not underestimate the impact that mandates are having on individuals out there. I\u2019m not just talking about the group of protesters on the forecourt\u2014they are at the hard edge of people who have been impacted by vaccine mandates\u2014but right throughout the country, there have been people who have found themselves shut off from their local sports club, shut off from their local golf club\u2014not allowed to even play a round of golf outside. I think worldwide there\u2019s one case of transmission of COVID outside, but yet the local golf club has banned him from participating. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000346\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EThe thing that really gets me is young kids: 13-year-olds who can go to a physical education class and participate with unvaccinated 13-year-olds, but can\u2019t go to a rugby practice after school\u2014can\u2019t go to rugby practice because it\u2019s not involved in school sport. It\u2019s a private school sport\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000347\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cfdf2e17a3574177b658ec8f17505d1e\u0022\u003EHon Scott Simpson\u003C/span\u003E: Or swimming club. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000348\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022958eac6ac3404631aa46c0eb3cff848f\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP\u003C/span\u003E: Or swimming club\u2014as my friend and colleague the Hon Scott Simpson says, kids going to swimming lessons in outdoor pools. What is the risk of a 13-year-old contracting COVID outside? It\u2019s not zero, but it may as well be zero. Of course, you\u2019ve got to weigh that up against the impact of banning a 13- or 14-year-old from participating in sport, and keeping them active, fit, and healthy. All of those things have fallen by the wayside. So my view and National\u2019s view is we\u2019ve got the balance wrong and we do need to start to unwind the mandates. We do need to start to unwind the vaccine pass restrictions, that I haven\u2019t had time to cover. The sooner they are gone, once we\u2019re through the peak of the Omicron outbreak and then we can start getting back to normal life, the better. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227ec53e32-05ab-4c6b-a080-4024e72a9099\u0022 data-id=\u0022cb5649b7412c41f68e76c23ea45c38a1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000349\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227ec53e32-05ab-4c6b-a080-4024e72a9099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cb5649b7412c41f68e76c23ea45c38a1\u0022\u003EDr ELIZABETH KEREKERE (Green):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe te M\u0101ngai o te Whare. I want to also congratulate you on your new role. I have not known you as long as many other people in this House, but I got to work with you while we were doing the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Bill, as it was going through the Governance and Administration Committee, and I can say that many people in our communities who took part in that process were very impressed with the way that you handled that committee. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000350\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227ec53e32-05ab-4c6b-a080-4024e72a9099\u0022\u003EI rise on behalf of the Green Party to support these COVID orders. We note these orders were presented between 15 December\u2014just before we finished work or before the House rose\u2014and 1 February. Because these orders were during the summer holidays, we saw falling Delta numbers at the beginning, but then the community outbreak of Omicron started at the end. We note that the main issues are covered around international border rules, including the future move from Managed Isolation and Quarantine to self-isolation\u2014the consequent pushing back of the time line to reflect the risk of Omicron and adjustments to the traffic light system. It feels like we\u2019ve in red for such a very long time and we are very aware that red makes no difference to how Omicron is spreading. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000351\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227ec53e32-05ab-4c6b-a080-4024e72a9099\u0022\u003EUntil now, we\u2019ve been shielded from the skyrocketing numbers of COVID that we\u2019ve seen around the world over the past two years, but no longer. Despite there being people in this country who think COVID-19 is not real, and therefore masks are not necessary, 100,143 active cases would beg to differ. The Ministry of Health has noted that about 60 percent of those cases have been under 30 years of age, 12 percent over the age of 50, and that the numbers are really concentrated in our 10- to 19-year-olds, and our 20- to 29-year-olds\u201425 percent each. However, we\u2019re seeing the opposite pattern for those who end up in hospital, where only 20 percent are under the age of 30, but 54 percent are over the age of 50. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000352\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227ec53e32-05ab-4c6b-a080-4024e72a9099\u0022\u003EWith more people self-isolating, we\u2019re concerned that health and community workers, who are already stretched\u2014who were stretched before COVID\u2014will be able to identify people who need hospitalisation, including due to low oxygen levels, and provide timely hospital transfers. The Government\u2014we need you to resource local M\u0101ori, Pasifika, and community health providers and organisations, to support those in self-isolation at home, to visit and ensure their health and wellbeing, and provide vaccinations and testing as required. Because, out of 20 DHBs, we still only have six who have reached 90 percent of M\u0101ori fully vaccinated. If boosters are the magic ingredient to stop people going into hospital, and dying, many M\u0101ori are still not eligible. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000353\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227ec53e32-05ab-4c6b-a080-4024e72a9099\u0022\u003EAlso, only 51 percent of our 5 to 11 year olds are vaccinated with one dose: for Pasifika, 43 percent; for M\u0101ori only 31 percent. Hundreds of our schools now have active COVID cases and, with close contacts no longer needing to isolate, there\u2019s a huge risk of infection to our vulnerable children and their wh\u0101nau\u2014especially the under-fives, who cannot be vaccinated. Test-To-Stay has been used overseas to manage infections in schools, as an alternative to isolating close contacts. We hope the Government will urgently introduce this at all schools across Aotearoa. Wh\u0101nau are greatly concerned about sending their children to school; we must do everything we can to ensure our schools are safe at this time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000354\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227ec53e32-05ab-4c6b-a080-4024e72a9099\u0022\u003EAnd, of course, at this stage in the pandemic, we know that some people can be infected with COVID and not show symptoms, but rapid antigen tests, or RATs, are only available for free to those with symptoms, if they are available at all. In Gisborne, there\u2019s one pharmacy who sells them, and they\u2019re sold out, and there is a queue of cars around the block\u2014which is great; get tested\u2014at the Salvation Army hall, but it\u2019s really, really hard to get those tests. So we need to scale up provision of those RATs so that anyone can screen for COVID, to prevent asymptomatic transmission in high-risk locations, and to vulnerable people, because the vaccine pass can no longer guarantee that the holder is not infected. N95 masks, or equivalent, need to be free and easily accessible, and community health providers must have the resources to get masks to those who need them most. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000355\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227ec53e32-05ab-4c6b-a080-4024e72a9099\u0022\u003EFinally, I acknowledge the mana whenua of the land on which this House sits. Taranaki Wh\u0101nui gathered yesterday at Pipitea Marae to lay down Te Kahu o Te Raukura, a cloak of peace in a form of cultural protection over their ancestral whenua, including all of Parliament, until the occupation is dispersed. They wanted to send a strong message to protestors\u2014who have not honoured their role as manuhiri, as honoured guests\u2014that now it is time to listen to mana whenua. Te Raukura contains the three feathers representing honour, peace and goodwill\u2014the same symbol used at Parihaka. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000356\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227ec53e32-05ab-4c6b-a080-4024e72a9099\u0022\u003EThis is an incredibly graceful and dignified response to what is happening outside this building, despite the fact that last week protestors broke into Pipitea Marae, in Thorndon, through the back door and served a trespass notice\u2014as if they had any kind of authority to do such a thing\u2014to the police and M\u0101ori wardens who were inside. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever heard of such an outrageous breach of tikanga. Let us take their advice, though, that healing will not happen on the grounds of Parliament; that healing will happen when people go home, back to their communities and alongside their people. Yes, the Government should absolutely clarify when mandates are no longer needed\u2014we all want to know this because we all want that to happen\u2014and it appears that if the Government is not ready to ease those mandates, the High Court has indicated that it is ready to make that decision themselves. These orders have been put in place to keep us protected, and I commend them to the House. Kia ora. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022 data-id=\u002276a0669e1b7c4f16a351510bf7e76ab1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000357\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002276a0669e1b7c4f16a351510bf7e76ab1\u0022\u003EDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader\u2014ACT):\u003C/span\u003E I rise on behalf of ACT in opposition to these motions, and, just to make it clear, to summarise what\u2019s going on here, the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act allows the Government to make orders that direct New Zealanders to do or not do things, to be or to not be at a place, and they\u2019re able to do it just by signing a piece of paper. The catch is that Parliament has to debate them retrospectively. The ACT Party, at first, was actually prepared to support this basic idea because we thought the Government would stop making rules when they no longer made sense. We asked that there be more accountability into the system and the Government didn\u2019t bring it, so that\u2019s when we stopped supporting this\u2014months ago. We voted against the last set of orders, I think in November. We voted against the COVID-Public Health Response Amendment Bill that made many of these orders possible; we voted against that last year. So we\u2019ve been opposing this for some time because the problem is the rules no longer make sense. The benefits of these rules no longer exceed the costs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000358\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s time to move on from a paradigm of fear, from a world where people are supposed to bear huge costs at the altar of the COVID god, even if it doesn\u2019t make, practically, any difference. And we heard that in the parliamentary question time today. I asked the Prime Minister: if we let people come and be tourists and drive the New Zealand economy, if foreigners could come without isolation, how many extra COVID cases, how many extra hospital cases, would there be? The Prime Minister didn\u2019t know. She said she knew how many there\u2019d be if they had to isolate\u2014a few hundred. How many if they didn\u2019t have to isolate? She didn\u2019t know. The fact is, there\u2019s no reason not to open up the border. The restrictions on people coming into New Zealand that we still have do not have benefits that outweigh their costs.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000359\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s the same with so many of these rules. You know, we\u2019re talking about rules here\u2014for example, the requirement for groups of people to be vaccinated. Well, we heard a summary of the recent court case under Justice Cooke from my colleague Chris Bishop, and it was a pretty good summary. What the judge found is that the mandates are not required for the specific purpose of business continuity for Police and Defence. They have enough people. They could take the people who are in danger of COVID from not being vaccinated and sub them out. They wouldn\u2019t actually stop the police or the Defence Force from continuing to do their work. So the mandates weren\u2019t justified. They weren\u2019t a justifiable limitation on people\u2019s freedom to choose. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000360\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EThen the judge said something else that\u2019s very important. He said Omicron is changing the calculus of COVID. Omicron is different. It\u2019s easier to spread; spreads more easily. It\u2019s less virulent. It\u2019s milder if you do get it. And it has what they call immune escape properties\u2014different, vastly different from Delta. So vaccination\u2019s effect on spread, and hospitalisation even, from Omicron is nothing like it was for Delta. And that changes the rules. It doesn\u2019t matter if you pro-vax or anti-vax or pro-mandate or anti-mandate, you have to start from an agreed set of facts. And the facts are that Omicron is now the dominant strain. Almost 100 percent of cases are Omicron now, and the effects of vaccination on Omicron are much different than they were on Delta. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000361\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EWhen the facts change, we have to change our response because this whole COVID response\u2014if the epidemiology, if the biological facts are the foundation, the policy is the frame, the politics is the roof. And right now, Omicron is shaking down the whole edifice on which this Government\u2019s COVID response has been built.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000362\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003ELet me give you an example of what some of these rules that are inflexible mean at a personal level, and this is a story of a constituent. When someone comes to see me as a constituent it\u2019s a secret. I don\u2019t talk about them. But this is from someone who said, \u201CIt\u2019s time to use my voice.\u201D I\u2019m talking about the chaplain at a school called Dilworth, that\u2019s had a lot of challenges. This school is going through all sorts of difficulties, not the fault of any of the people there now\u2014all historical, but still very painful. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000363\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EThe chaplain is not an anti-vaxxer. In fact, he was vaccinated twice. But he had a response that was very bad from his second dose. He went to see his doctor, and his doctor said, \u201CI recognise that. That actually is a legitimate recognised response to the Pfizer vaccine.\u201D It was so horrible that it affected him for months. He didn\u2019t want to get the booster, but because he doesn\u2019t want to get the booster and because of the mandates on whole professions like education and because of the requirement to be boosted by today if he wants to keep working, he has to go home. At a time when that school most needs a chaplain, it can\u2019t have one. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000364\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EI have to ask, given the changing calculus of COVID with Omicron: is that worth it? Is that sane? Dare I ask the Prime Minister: is that kind? I don\u2019t think so. It no longer stacks up. It no longer makes any sense. And there\u2019s so many ways that we could have had a more humane response to vaccination requirements. In fact, there\u2019s three things we could have done that would have helped him. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000365\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EFirst of all, we should have said it\u2019s vax or test. Sure, I understand under earlier variants people wanted to know the people around them were less likely to give them COVID. It\u2019s self-protection. But really, if the person gets a test every 72 hours as ACT proposed in October, if you know that they are not carrying COVID because they have been tested, then do you really care if they\u2019re vaccinated? Why would we indulge in a mania of going even further and saying that they have to be vaccinated if we\u2019ve already secured our own protection by them having regular tests? So it should have been vax or test. That would have let this guy keep working.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000366\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003ESecond of all, what we should have done is said, \u201CLook, we\u2019re able to have an organisation set its own rules.\u201D Now, this particular school, any time\u2014they\u2019d be very happy to make an exception for this guy. But, actually, they can\u2019t, you know, because it\u2019s the whole education sector. And here\u2019s the third thing we could have done to have a more humane response. If we had decided that we were going to let doctors have their own professional autonomy and give exemptions, his doctor would have given an exemption like that, but she\u2019s not allowed to. And the way that doctors have had their rights to give exemptions taken away was really quite extraordinary. You know, imagine if lawyers had to ask the Minister of Justice before they gave certain advice. There would be an outrage. Lawyers would never stand for it, you know? Doctors have been told, \u201CYou can\u2019t give certain advice to patients unless the Ministry of Health stands over you and says so.\u201D It\u2019s pretty extraordinary. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000367\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003ENow, if we\u2019d made it vax or test, and we had organisations like schools make their own rules and exceptions, and let doctors operate with professional autonomy and make exemptions, I suspect we wouldn\u2019t have the loss of social cohesion, and some of the angst that\u2019s out there. We could have had a much more humane effect on vaccination with the same outcomes in terms of public health. And yet, here we are post hoc ratifying vaccine mandate rules. Well, ACT opposes them and we have since at least October now, and we\u2019ve made positive suggestions that could have given us a more humane response. They\u2019ve been there all along.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000368\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EThere are other suggestions here around the border, but I don\u2019t think the Government is capable of making sane calculations around any policy to do with COVID. That\u2019s why we say it\u2019s time to move on. It\u2019s time to ask\u2014when it comes to isolation rules, for example\u2014why does it make sense for somebody to isolate for 10 days when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the incubation period is two to three days and your infectious period\u2019s day four and five? The New Zealand Government says you got to keep isolating for another five days after you\u2019re infectious. Why? Because they don\u2019t care about the cost they put on New Zealanders. They don\u2019t care about other aspects of your life or wellbeing. It\u2019s COVID above all else. It\u2019s sacrifice at the altar of the COVID gods and damn all the other costs that people face. Those isolation rules are completely wrong. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000369\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EAnd then there\u2019s the question of QR codes. Well, actually, you\u2019re only a contact if you live with someone. So unless you\u2019re scanning the QR code in your house, then it\u2019s actually not going to\u2014Mr Speaker, I assume you\u2019re too sensible to have one. Unless you have a QR code in your house, then scanning QR codes doesn\u2019t help with contact tracing. But you know what? Every business in this country is required by law to display one, and every customer that goes into those businesses has to scan. Does it make any difference to public health? No. Is it an imposition on New Zealanders? Yes. Does it show how much the Government cares about other aspects of New Zealanders\u2019 welfare? Absolutely. \u201CWe\u2019re making it do it because we can. It won\u2019t make any difference. So what?\u201D And then the likes of Michael Baker have the temerity to say, \u201CWell, it doesn\u2019t work now, but it might work at some time in the future, so you have to keep doing it.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000370\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EThis is the lack of analysis of the costs and benefits of the Government\u2019s COVID response, and it\u2019s absolutely shameful. There\u2019s the border, there\u2019s the mandates, there\u2019s the QR codes, there\u2019s the isolation requirements. There\u2019s the ban on rapid antigen tests. Those things all matter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000371\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222f670b38cba24250859c77aaff8b5c63\u0022\u003EHon Andrew Little\u003C/span\u003E: And the low fatality rate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000372\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002232754807d2044c79ab03fd665727cced\u0022\u003EDAVID SEYMOUR\u003C/span\u003E: And there\u2019s Andrew Little barking away in the corner saying, \u201COh, we have a low fatality rate.\u201D We don\u2019t have a low fatality rate because of anything that Minister\u2019s done, I can assure you. He\u2019s been incompetent from start to finish. How many tests can the Government do? Oh, 58,000? No, they forgot about rising rates and the inability to pool. Nothing that Minister\u2019s been responsible for has made any difference. How many ICU beds do we have? He barks away, but he knows he\u2019s screwed it up at every point. That\u2019s why we need to move on. We need to get past rules that no longer make sense and take our freedom back. Thank you, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022 data-id=\u0022b8a4e3f837164103a9ffe93083dee2fd\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000373\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b8a4e3f837164103a9ffe93083dee2fd\u0022\u003EDEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER (Co-Leader\u2014Te Paati M\u0101ori) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe e te P\u012Bka. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. Te Paati M\u0101ori initially supported the Government\u2019s health response in COVID but continued to not support the Government\u2019s ongoing policies due to a host of reasons but, mainly, a lack of transparency with the testing regimes and the traffic light framework, and you know well our views on the way that you handled a mandate. M\u0101ori are the most regulated peoples that we know. Tikanga M\u0101ori and r\u0101hui could have been done in this sense. Your mandates have been cruel and, quite frankly, are very confusing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000374\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003EWith currently the highest COVID reproduction rate in the world, it has never been more important that we prioritise looking after w\u2019\u0101nau and, indeed, our communities. We need to understand that phase 3 policies point to the failure of the Government to properly prepare for the Omicron outbreak, and heavily invest in healthcare and community services. Despite warnings, the Government has not invested in things like ICU, testing, and contact tracing capacity. We are supporting the call of Wh\u0101nau Ora for an inquiry into the Ministry of Health\u2019s handling of the roll-out of rapid antigen testing and, indeed, the whole testing regime, which has been an absolute shambles.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000375\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003EIn February 2021, Director-General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield, said \u201COf all the different testing models, antigen testing seems to be the least reliable.\u201D, and that he was not contemplating using rapid antigen tests (RATs) in Aotearoa. This statement was made while RATs were being deployed in the United Kingdom, throughout the United States and Canada, and some Australian states. Our M\u0101ori experts knew that RATs would be a useful screening tool as a first line of defence. Six months after\u2014September 2021\u2014still Bloomfield had denounced RATs, although with 100,000 RATs being purchased and later deployed at Middlemore to take the weight off overwhelmed services, indeed, in the middle of Delta. That same month, saliva testing was made available for Wh\u0101nau Ora, in partnership with Rako Science. The cost of saliva tests is lower than nasal swabbing. In the middle of regional spread, Taranaki iwi also got into a similar partnership, as did Tupoho iwi in W\u2019anganui.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000376\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003EFast forward to a year later, 23 February 2022, we now have the call that RATs are no longer just a screening tool but, in fact, he has determined, against all good science, that they would now be deployed as a diagnostic tool across the whole of Aotearoa. We then learnt that a shipment of RATs had just arrived in Aotearoa, which would double the country\u2019s capacity. Why were the RATs not ordered earlier? Why are they not readily available in communities like mine? All I have to say is, thank goodness for iwi, for M\u0101ori providers, who, at their own cost, took up saliva testing in areas that DHBs are not readily popping up and testing in.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000377\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003EWhy did the Ministry of Health (MoH) not support progressively building our testing capacity, including through partnering with iwi and Wh\u0101nau Ora, who, instead, have had to establish saliva testing capacities and capabilities at their own cost? How many iwi are subsidising the poor performing MoH by providing their own testing crew, which this MP has been part of? There are some, and these are questions that demand to be answered, indeed, in an independent inquiry. What has been clear, time and time again, ever since our first COVID case two years ago, is that we as tangata w\u2019enua, cannot, and must not, rely on Government and the State to protect our w\u2019akapapa and keep our people and our communities safe and well in home isolation. Manaaki packs, testing\u2014where would this nation be without M\u0101ori hauora, Wh\u0101nau Ora, and iwi providers?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000378\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003EAt every stage during this response, our calls have been ignored, as have many M\u0101ori health experts. Resources have been delayed, power has been centralised rather than shared. In Te Paati M\u0101ori\u2019s COVID policy release in November last year, we anticipated the risks of the Omicron wave and called on the Government to invest heavily in testing and contact tracing capacity, and we recommended a targeted M\u0101ori home isolation strategy. Crucially, we called for the establishment of an independent M\u0101ori pandemic response group with statutory powers to develop and lead the M\u0101ori COVID-19 health response. We never supported the traffic light system. It fails to protect tangata w\u2019enua and vulnerable communities, and it didn\u2019t receive support from our people, whether it was iwi leaders, Wh\u0101nau Ora, or grassroots. Government should have increased testing capacity in the regions and issued home isolation packs, to all w\u2019\u0101nau, with essential supplies.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000379\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003ENow, at 20,000 cases today, we have the same leader, the same person within Ministry of Health, apologising\u2014apologising for testing mishaps and delays. It\u2019s not good enough. Too much of the response to this Omicron outbreak has been left to chance and to super-bureaucrats. Our people deserve better.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000380\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003EE te w\u2019\u0101nau, we saw us as Taranaki put down Te Kahu o Te Raukura. That\u2019s our way of saying to you, \u201CEnough is enough\u201D. You have outstayed your welcome. The mana w\u2019enua have asked you to return. I wear with me today our raukura of honour, peace, and goodwill. Your mamae has been heard. It is time now, wh\u0101nau m\u0101 [family], hoki ki \u014D k\u0101inga [go back to your people]. Go back to your people, where we will love and look after you. Go back and leave the mana w\u2019enua to return the mauri to their w\u2019enua.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000381\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003EOn that note, e te w\u2019\u0101nau, it\u2019s good to see you all well here, on this first virtual forum, and I hope that we listen to the people, inside and outside. It is time for us to work at unity and healing. E te w\u2019\u0101nau, you do not belong standing next to racists and white supremacists. Hoki ki \u014D k\u0101inga. Kia ora. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000382\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003E[Go back to your homes. Thank you, greetings one and all.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022 data-id=\u0022cdb1df36cd624dac8153ae9960f5959e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000383\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cdb1df36cd624dac8153ae9960f5959e\u0022\u003ECHRIS PENK (National\u2014Kaipara ki Mahurangi):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. May I begin by congratulating you on your elevation. Others have noted your popularity. I think I\u2019m right in saying it\u2019s universal among the House, so I think the only danger of anyone objecting to your elevation to your current role would be yourself.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000384\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022189fb93f1fa849b2ab5d38bc83ca1fbc\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Ascension.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000385\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002229574f1dae1e46ddbfcebbbf5387efcc\u0022\u003ECHRIS PENK\u003C/span\u003E: Ascension, no less.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000386\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EI do want to take at least a brief call on these COVID orders. I mostly want to make some remarks as the chair of the Regulations Review Committee. If I do make any comments in my capacity as a National Party MP, I will make that distinction clear. As others have noted, something very interesting and, I think, actually really helpful has happened in the House today, and I think it\u2019s a significant moment in our public law history in this country. I don\u2019t wish to overstate it but as you can tell I\u2019m rather excited, sir, at the interplay that we\u2019ve seen before\u2014a discussion between the shadow Leader of the House, Chris Bishop, and the Leader of the House, Chris Hipkins, in relation to the non-presentation or the non-inclusion of a couple of orders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000387\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003ELet me take a step back, first of all, by noting that the Regulations Review Committee is known as a collegial committee. That\u2019s how we operate internally, so to speak, but it also marks our interactions with other key players\u2014for example, Ministers of the Crown or in a broader sense, hearing complaints with complainants, of course, but also relevant Government agencies, and so on. But I do also want to acknowledge an element of collegiality or comity\u2014which is often the specific word used\u2014in relation to the committee as a creature of Parliament and the comity or collegiality of Parliament with the other branches of Government. So in this case we\u2019re acknowledging the fact today that Parliament has recognised that the court has made a judgment that is in a similar sphere to the substantive policy basis of a couple of COVID-19 orders, and Parliament has respected that the court had the right to make that determination on the facts in a case that was particular to the complainants, so to speak, before it, and the Government has respected that by removing the orders in relation to the Police and the New Zealand Defence Force members who had brought that motion. So I don\u2019t really want to talk too much about the case specifically but I do want to commend the Government for recognising that appropriate separation between the powers of those respective branches of Government. So that\u2019s, I think, an interesting development, and I think it\u2019s very appropriate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000388\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EOn a similar but slightly different note, we\u2019ve seen that the orders that the Government first saw fit to promulgate\u2014and the Regulations Review Committee agreed, albeit in a narrow way, considering, as they do, orders\u2019 appropriateness\u2014were appropriate at the time but are no longer appropriate according to the court. And it struck me as interesting that it would be possible to say quite rightly that an order is appropriate at one moment but later, when facts change\u2014not the order itself; but when facts change, and in this case the transmissibility of COVID, being the Omicron variant as opposed to the Delta one\u2014that actually changes the suitability of the order. In judicial review terms, that might speak to the reasonableness of the decision maker\u2019s judgment\u2014with a lower-case \u201Cj\u201D, not to be confused with a court\u2019s judgment\u2014and in Regulations Review Committee terms, that\u2019s, of course, going to the degree to which human rights are impacted or the extent to which the order might be said to be consistent with the objects and intentions of the Act, and so forth.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000389\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EA number of orders have nevertheless been presented. I\u2019ve spent a lot of time talking about those that weren\u2019t, but I think it\u2019s worthwhile to note that a number obviously have been presented. They were relatively uncontroversial, although the committee, in its usual diligent way, as excellently advised, provided some feedback to the Minister on various ways that we thought these could have been expressed more clearly. In a couple of cases, we\u2019re yet to hear back from the Minister, which is reasonable, I think, given the time frames and the busyness in the real world of further orders that are being made along the way, in the way of a global pandemic. So, for that reason, we have an interim report. So that\u2019s just explaining to anyone who\u2019s following along and wondering why we might have only done an interim report, well, that\u2019s the technical answer for that\u2014that we need to hear back from the Minister, give him, and it is him, a chance to respond to concerns that we\u2019d raised in the report.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000390\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EI won\u2019t dwell any further on those, and I\u2019ll conclude a relatively short call by just noting as well the mandate orders that were not presented to the House. I\u2019ve given kudos to the Government for not seeking to present them and putting Parliament in the position of having to seek to confirm that which the court had, in a sense, overturned. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000391\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EBut I do want to speak briefly with my different hat on\u2014as a National Party MP\u2014and at the time the order was put in place, as the National Party defence spokesperson. It seemed to me that it was inappropriate that the mandates should remain in place such that members of both those uniformed services should be told that they would not be welcome to remain in the service while there was litigation going on. I did write to the Minister of Defence at the time and made that suggestion. He declined to accept that suggestion, and I feel a sense of vindication that in fact if he had taken that advice, then we wouldn\u2019t have the messiness that we do now with people having been let go from employment, from service, and now, as a result of a very recent court order, are, effectively, having that put on ice.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000392\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EMy other comment would be with a different hat on again\u2014shadow Attorney-General. I did write to the Attorney-General some time ago, asking for the release of advice around the balance of rights considerations for a number of these different orders. He declined\u2014in fact, he outright refused\u2014to release publicly that legal advice, which I would\u2019ve thought would be a helpful exercise for the sake of transparency, for the sake of ventilating, to use the phrase of my colleague and friend Chris Bishop, some of these issues which are now, unfortunately, the subject of uncertainty given the court judgment interacting and indeed contradicting the will of Parliament, or at least the Government, in the making of the orders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000393\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003ESo that concludes the remarks that I did want to make. I don\u2019t know how much of it made sense to anyone but me, but I think other fans of public law and constitutional issues will think that today\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000394\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002298cbda12e90246c2a3b4e87418eec87f\u0022\u003EGreg O\u2019Connor\u003C/span\u003E: Just the usual.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000395\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a3f87c5e94c242c6aa9476110275f40f\u0022\u003ECHRIS PENK\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Greg O\u2019Connor says it\u2019s just as usual, I think, so I\u2019m sorry that he didn\u2019t enjoy it as much as I did. But, in any case, thank you, Mr Speaker, and before I get any other expressions of support, I\u2019m going to stop there. But thank you for the opportunity to comment on these orders, and, again, congratulations to you in this role.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221ebd1031-ea10-4c3d-bb56-2cd99528ae91\u0022 data-id=\u0022f1084f1930174991818c02ba0df8c4b7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000396\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221ebd1031-ea10-4c3d-bb56-2cd99528ae91\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f1084f1930174991818c02ba0df8c4b7\u0022\u003EWILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Assistant Whip\u2014Labour) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E [Audio issue]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000397\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ff0cc34942054752a6f5e88e4a3ed9df\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: Willow-Jean, can you please start again? We can\u2019t hear you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000398\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221ebd1031-ea10-4c3d-bb56-2cd99528ae91\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226668aa34c6714c158cb4c5429edeb118\u0022\u003EWILLOW-JEAN PRIME\u003C/span\u003E: [Audio issue]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000399\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226aae2a3c46ab4af797636c45f354172f\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: We still can\u2019t hear.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000400\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221ebd1031-ea10-4c3d-bb56-2cd99528ae91\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002240d35053ae0f45a2b22077dd4c23036c\u0022\u003EWILLOW-JEAN PRIME\u003C/span\u003E: I move, That the question be now put. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022575f2916df8b4910b6f6c880db8c28d2\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 question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 75\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 65; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 45\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 33; ACT New Zealand 10; Te Paati M\u0101ori 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022e3f4a185402c46da9ab3a0f61713e8bf\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 this House approve the following orders made under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020: COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order (No 2) 2021, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Required Testing and Vaccinations) Amendment Order (No 2) 2021, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order (No 3) 2021, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border) Order 2021, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Isolation and Quarantine and Other Matters) Amendment Order 2021, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border and Isolation and Quarantine) Amendment Order (No 2) 2021, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border and Isolation and Quarantine) Amendment Order (No 2) Amendment Order 2021, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Air Border and Isolation and Quarantine) Amendment Order 2022, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order 2022, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order (No 2) 2022, COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Amendment Order 2022, and COVID-19 Public Health Response (Protection Framework) Amendment Order (No 3) 2022.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 75\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 65; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 45\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 33; ACT New Zealand 10; Te Paati M\u0101ori 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000401\u0022\u003EOrders approved.\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=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000402\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b324b85709e44e8a9cdd6652fcf7a396\u0022\u003ENg\u0101ti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000403\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022e27b877960f74961b3ec6c0d207b562a\u0022\u003ESecond Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022 data-id=\u00222b5ee419810f4e8d96c931e337be5353\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000404\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222b5ee419810f4e8d96c931e337be5353\u0022\u003EHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations):\u003C/span\u003E I present a legislative statement on the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000405\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224992070b17d34ff69cec1d12587b4de9\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the parliamentary website.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000406\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222e5fc48c9bea40888eff777a7dfe7a30\u0022\u003EHon ANDREW LITTLE\u003C/span\u003E: I move, That the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000407\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EE ng\u0101 mana, e ng\u0101 reo, e rau rangatira m\u0101 t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000408\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E[To the authorities, to all the voices, and to all the esteemed leaders, greetings one and all.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000409\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s my honour to support the second reading of the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill. Firstly, I want to acknowledge the members of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, who haven\u2019t been able to travel to the House this time\u2014as would normally happen for any reading of a Treaty settlement bill\u2014but because of the COVID restrictions, they\u2019ll be watching this second reading online, and I want to acknowledge those who are doing so. I want to also acknowledge the members of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi: their resilience, their energy, their tenacity, and their drive, which has brought us here today at this second reading; one step closer to closing out their settlement legislation and for them to face their future. I also want to take time particularly to thank the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi negotiation team and Te Mana o Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi Trust, who\u2019ve shown extraordinary dedication to their work. Their ongoing commitment to achieving a fair historical Treaty settlement between Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi and the Crown is greatly appreciated.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000410\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EThis bill reading brings us one step closer to bringing effect to the deed of settlement between Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi and the Crown, which was signed at the Rangitihi Marae in Matat\u0101 on 5 December 2020. The deed of settlement settles historical Treaty of Waitangi claims relating to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi and comprises historical redress that records the Crown\u2019s breaches of the Treaty and the past injustices the Crown inflicted on Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi; the Crown apology for historical Crown acts and omissions in breach of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles and the resulting pain caused to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi; cultural redress acknowledging connections to land and resources of significance to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi; relationship redress building new connections with the Crown, local authorities, and other groups; and financial and commercial redress providing a strong economic base for the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000411\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EAfter its first reading on 22 June last year, this bill was referred to the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. The committee called for submissions between June and August 2021, and received 20 written submissions from interested groups and individuals. They also heard seven oral submissions. Firstly, I want to thank the committee for swiftly considering the issues raised in submissions, and I want to acknowledge the hard work of that committee, which is greatly appreciated. I also want to thank all those who took the time to share their k\u014Drero with the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. The committee reported back to the House on 17 December last year, and recommended that the bill be passed with a small number of technical and minor amendments.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000412\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EThe committee\u2019s report was focused on key issues raised through submissions. This was primarily around concerns about the cultural redress sites being offered to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi in the Tarawera region, and disagreements between ownership rights with T\u016Bhourangi and Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi for the Waimangu Volcanic Valley. I acknowledge the committee\u2019s position that the Crown has engaged with T\u016Bhourangi and has considered any effects that redress will have on them. T\u016Bhourangi are close neighbours to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, and both have continued to work together in great spirit throughout negotiations. The bill enables the on-transfer of sites from Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi to T\u016Bhourangi.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000413\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EFinally, it\u2019s the Crown\u2019s sincere wish that Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi settlement will restore the Crown\u2019s honour and atone for the past injustices it has inflicted on Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi. Although no settlement can truly ever make up for this wrongdoing or compensate for the hurt Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi has endured, the Crown hopes that this settlement will be a starting point of a new, strengthened relationship between Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi and the Crown. I look forward to welcoming Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi to Parliament for their third reading. Until then, I commend this bill to the House. 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=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022 data-id=\u00229405ae12990447788570eb309fb2ca02\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000414\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229405ae12990447788570eb309fb2ca02\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: The question is that the motion be agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022 data-id=\u002291964a1dc29241359133063b6b5de4c3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000415\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002291964a1dc29241359133063b6b5de4c3\u0022\u003EJOSEPH MOONEY (National\u2014Southland):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa. To the members of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi watching this afternoon, I want to say welcome to Parliament virtually. I wish you could be here in person, and I hope we will be able to see that for the third reading. But this is a good step today that we are progressing this through the House. It\u2019s been a long time coming, and it\u2019s good to be here on what is a historic day, despite the fact that we are doing it, effectively, by Zoom, which seems to be the way of the world at the moment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000416\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003ELook, I do hope that I have an opportunity to visit with Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi and to speak with them in person in their rohe. I do have a personal connection to this region, having spent a relatively small but very memorable part of my childhood living on the shores of Lake Tarawera as a child and taking a bus into Lynmore Primary School in Rotorua and going past the Buried Village of Te Wairoa every day, back and forth. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000417\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003EI\u2019m very aware from that experience\u2014it impressed on me deeply as a child\u2014of the Tarawera eruption on the people of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi back in 1886. About half of the approximately 110 people killed in that eruption were from Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, and it led on, unfortunately, to injustices where the Crown didn\u2019t assist the people of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi at that time adequately, and that\u2019s part of the injustices that we\u2019re seeking to restore here today. So it\u2019s a special moment for me personally to be aware of some of that history from my childhood and to be here today speaking on a bill that\u2019s helping to restore some of the mana of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi\u2014and I acknowledge some of the pain and suffering that their ancestors have experienced\u2014and, as best we can in this process, to make that right for their descendants and those who followed on. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000418\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003EI am a permanent member of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, and we were grateful to hear from those who submitted on this bill. We are happy to recommend that this continues through to the third reading with a couple of minor amendments, which I acknowledge the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Andrew Little, spoke to previously. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000419\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003EThere are some other matters that were considered. The cultural redress sites in the Tarawera region: some submitters from T\u016Bhourangi raised concerns about the cultural redress sites being offered to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi. Specifically, submitters did not believe that Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi had the right to seek redress in the Tarawera region. The Waimangu Volcanic Valley is one such redress site, and, as the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, we understand the concerns regarding the cultural redress sites in the Tarawera region led to some uri of T\u016Bhourangi applying to the Waitangi Tribunal for an urgent inquiry. Although the application for an urgent inquiry was declined, the tribunal continues, I understand, to consider the matter. However, it\u2019s not for the committee to comment on matters under active consideration by the tribunal, but we wish to acknowledge the views we heard from submitters on the matters raised. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000420\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003EAlso, we heard about the Waimangu Volcanic Valley. When there are disagreements between iwi in relation to specific items of redress, the Crown prefers that they are addressed by mutual agreement between the interest groups, and we had been advised that Te Mana o Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi Trust and T\u016Bhourangi Tribal Authority, the governance entities for the two iwi, resolved to seek an enhanced parcel of land at Waimangu. This enhanced parcel of land includes the adjoining \u014Ct\u016Bkapuarangi site, to which the Crown agreed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000421\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003EOutside of settlement, the two iwi have resolved that Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi will transfer ownership of \u014Ct\u016Bkapuarangi in full and Waimangu in part to T\u016Bhourangi. The two iwi also resolved that the sites should be jointly administered by Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi and T\u016Bhourangi. The bill provides for these arrangements to be implemented post-settlement, and it will be up to the post-settlement governance entity to make the arrangements necessary. We did hear that transferring land in this way to other interest groups is unusual, and Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi is only the second iwi to have these provisions in its settlement bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000422\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003EWe will have an opportunity to speak more at the third reading on this bill, and I will save some of my comments for then. Like I say, I do hope that Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi can be here in Parliament when we do have that third reading. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000423\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003EI do want to acknowledge all of the work that has been done to date to get it to this stage, and I also acknowledge the former Treaty negotiations Minister, Christopher Finlayson for the work he did on this and for the work that has been done by Minister Andrew Little, as the present negotiations Minister, and his staff. So with that, I will commend the 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=\u0022911eec109a5f4eefae54169e0940c688\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000424\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022911eec109a5f4eefae54169e0940c688\u0022\u003EHon MEKA WHAITIRI (Minister of Customs):\u003C/span\u003E E te M\u0101ngai o te Whare, t\u0113n\u0101 koe, otir\u0101 ng\u0101 mema katoa o te Whare nei, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000425\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E[Mr Speaker, greetings, and to all members in the House, greetings to you all.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000426\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EMr Assistant Speaker McKelvie, can I add my warm congratulations to your appointment. It is lovely to have your wisdom and expertise from the House, so congratulations. I look forward to much more of your guidance in this House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000427\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003ETo our Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, e te iwi e haramai nei, e whakarongo mai nei anei ng\u0101 mihi maioha ki a koutou katoa i runga i t\u014D kaupapa whakahirahira i te ahi nei. N\u014D r\u0113ira, \u014Dku rau rangatira m\u0101, e kui m\u0101, e koro m\u0101, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000428\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E[To the tribe coming here and listening, these are my affectionate greetings to you all, as you present important issue here this afternoon. Therefore, my chiefs, to my elders, greetings, greetings, greetings to you all.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000429\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI\u2019m pleased to stand in support of the second reading of the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill. It\u2019s important to contextualise the second reading in a process that generally takes years, if not decades, for iwi, particularly, waiting to hear their particular claims. So at the second reading, it is a time to reflect on what the public consultation on this bill transpired\u2014and I\u2019ll touch briefly on that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000430\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EThe previous speaker, Joseph Mooney, who is a member of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee\u2014and I want to congratulate Mr Mooney and all the members of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee who heard this bill and have reported that with very few changes to this House. But, essentially, all Treaty settlements generally have three parts: they have the apology; they have the cultural redress; and, of course, they have the commercial financial redress as a way to acknowledge the breaches of the Crown or the acts of omission of the Crown in respect of the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi people.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000431\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EAnd just to help\u2014because some of my colleagues have asked, \u201CWhere exactly is Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi?\u201D So it\u2019s the Rotorua-Kaingaroa-Matat\u0101 area. It\u2019s not part of my estate of Ikaroa-R\u0101whiti, but not far. It is part of the Waiariki M\u0101ori electorate, and I\u2019m, like I said, really pleased and honoured to have a short call on this significant piece of legislation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000432\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EThe point that I wanted to just take some time to explore\u2014and the previous member did address that\u2014was around the Waimangu Volcanic Valley. I think I want to underscore what the settlement actually does, because, in general, when we have disagreeing areas of interest between two neighbouring iwi or, in the past Treaty settlements, where the ownership of the return or gifting of some properties are gifted to iwi then gifted back to, generally, the Crown. But in this example that Mr Mooney alluded to, we are actually gifting land to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi who will then give it back to T\u016Bhourangi. That is the area that Mr Mooney highlighted in his contribution.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000433\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s unusual that an iwi who is at the heart of a settlement receives property and then gives it to another iwi. That\u2019s why I wanted to underscore it, because it would have been an enormous generosity of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi to accept those conditions of receiving a piece of property and then handing it to T\u016Bhourangi as a means of acknowledging the shared interests they have in that particular property. Not only is this settlement enabling that to happen but they will jointly have a governance structure, as I understand it, over the particular property that\u2019s been mentioned in this House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000434\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI just think when we\u2019re in a time of\u2014[Assistant Speaker knocks microphone]\u2014kindness and generosity\u2014are you all right, Mr Speaker? In this time of kindness and generosity, I think the iwi through this particular settlement of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, I think, cannot be underscored enough. So I just wanted to mention that as a unique quality within the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill that we are debating this afternoon, and, again, want to acknowledge the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi negotiators, their steering committee, and their people for that generosity, but for their perseverance in this full and final settlement of which the second reading is a critical part.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000435\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EThe $11.3 million in financial and commercial redress is made up of two parts. Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi is a recipient of the Crown forest land of the Central North Island (CNI) Iwi Collective, which, if you recall, was negotiated many, many years ago. So it\u2019s important that that mechanism to ring-fence Crown forest land for Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi is being realised through this particular settlement, and that\u2019s about $7.3 million. Then, of course, $4 million in straight financial redress, making a total of about $11.3 million that has been offered to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi. Of course, it\u2019s never, ever going to be enough, but I wanted to acknowledge and highlight the origin of that commercial make-up, the fact that Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi has an interest in the largest CNI Crown forest, which is in the central North Island. I\u2019m sure, as we get to the third reading, the plans to unlock not just the economic but the social and the cultural and environmental aspirations of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, this settlement package will lean quite a lot into ensuring that they receive that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000436\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003ECan I just add my appreciation to the Treaty Ministers\u2014Ministers plural\u2014who have had a hand in this particular settlement. Can I also acknowledge the hard-working M\u0101ori Affairs Committee that did receive 20 submissions\u2014I think they heard seven submitters in general. But the way in which the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee has reported unanimously back to this House shows that there\u2019s goodwill across this House when it comes to Treaty settlements. So with those few words, can I again extend my appreciation to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi. I too hope that in the third reading that we have some of them here in the House. It is a momentous occasion when you have your third and final reading of your Treaty bill. I commend the bill to the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022 data-id=\u00228a73ecff1dbc41b6a385341535e3eedd\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000437\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228a73ecff1dbc41b6a385341535e3eedd\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES (National\u2014Tauranga):\u003C/span\u003E Like the previous member, it is a pleasure to rise and speak on this. I spoke at the first reading and just note that of course the members of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi were here for that, but now we\u2019re in a position where it cannot be so. And as my colleague Joseph Mooney said of our life and the world we live in, these are strange times. But, nevertheless, it\u2019s good to be here speaking on this second reading. I\u2019m not on the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, but I have been on it previously. Good times, simpler times, I really enjoyed it actually\u2014getting around the rohe and the motu and checking out little marae all over New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000438\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003EThis bill, of course, does a few key things in terms of key settlement outcomes. There\u2019s $11.3 million there in financial redress, comprising $7 million throughout the Central North Island Forests Iwi Collective settlement; the right of first offer of the Rotomahana farm, currently owned by Landcorp; and the right to buy the land under Matat\u0101 School and the school house site, with a lease to the Ministry of Education. There\u2019s also, of course, cultural redress, which is usual in a case such as this, for Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, and that reflects in relation to the Crown Minerals Act\u2014and I was the first Minister of the Crown to do such protocols and agreements\u2014the Resource Management Act, and the Fisheries Act, and the deed of settlement provides for the vesting of 19 sites to be transferred to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi as cultural redress.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000439\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003EOf course, as the previous member has said, this is a great part of the world, where Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi live. I know it very well, I\u2019ve spent a lot of time there\u2014Matat\u0101, a great place to stop for a pie, a great part of the world; very beautiful there on the Matat\u0101 straits. And, of course, Lake Tarawera as well\u2014in my view, the most beautiful, mystical lake in New Zealand. There\u2019s one or two\u2014Waikaremoana could come a close second, because it\u2019s a beautiful one too\u2014but actually I think Tarawera is just very, very special and, as I say, my favourite lake in New Zealand, having spent a bit of time there over the years. This is a special area. As with all Treaty settlements, what\u2019s in it won\u2019t compensate fully and in some ways it\u2019s token, but it does acknowledge and provide redress for the harms, the injustices of the past.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000440\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003EThat, of course, brings me to National\u2019s position on Treaty settlements, and they\u2019re rather straightforward. I\u2019ve said this before, and I\u2019ll say it again: National is proud to be the party that has started this process, fundamentally, with Jim Bolger and Sir Doug Graham, and has carried it on through the likes of the inimitable, some would say idiosyncratic, Chris Finlayson and others under John Key\u2019s tenure. We have seen more Treaty settlements than the other big parties. We are proud of that. We\u2019re proud of our role in progressing historic Treaty settlements to deal with and provide redress for historic injustices. That doesn\u2019t mean that we think that actually, you know, all that Te Arawhiti and the likes of Willie Jackson, Kelvin Davis are doing\u2014prospectively\u2014is right. Actually, we think there are some of those things which are a bit adventurous, which actually put New Zealand on the wrong path. But in terms of this bill and this historic Treaty settlement process that Te Arawhiti leads, we\u2019re fully behind it. We will enjoy celebrating with Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi at the third reading. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022 data-id=\u0022ae316bbb94964775b2b9654af719e4ca\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000441\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ae316bbb94964775b2b9654af719e4ca\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean)\u003C/span\u003E: I call Barbara Edmonds. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002261725fea-7d5e-4d1f-8fd3-e5779bb7a14d\u0022 data-id=\u0022bd5be795382c492e88971312a7abacbb\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261725fea-7d5e-4d1f-8fd3-e5779bb7a14d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022bd5be795382c492e88971312a7abacbb\u0022\u003EBARBARA EDMONDS (Associate Whip\u2014Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I\u2019m sorry, it\u2019s on the Chamber\u2014I\u2019m just checking. The Chamber staff online hasn\u2019t responded back to the member\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000443\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002212481917dc1943bb979b6988e593934b\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean)\u003C/span\u003E: Is this a point of order? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000444\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261725fea-7d5e-4d1f-8fd3-e5779bb7a14d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221ebde863f75246828e0695c23b6ef080\u0022\u003EBARBARA EDMONDS\u003C/span\u003E: A point of order, yes. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I\u2019m just noting that we have a member who\u2019s sought a call on the Zoom, and we haven\u2019t had a response from the Chamber staff to say it\u2019s been received. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022 data-id=\u002252a13f56b0dd4ac586156c63d15962f1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000445\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002252a13f56b0dd4ac586156c63d15962f1\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean)\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, thank you for that. With the footnote, with apologies to the Hon Eugenie Sage, I call\u2014coming in remotely\u2014T\u0101mati Coffey. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022 data-id=\u00220de5eea7bf724cdab6ad96ef54f5bba3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000446\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220de5eea7bf724cdab6ad96ef54f5bba3\u0022\u003ET\u0100MATI COFFEY (Labour) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, Madam Speaker. Forgive me for being a little bit novice at this whole\u2014the technology side of how we\u2019re presenting today. But I\u2019m very pleased, as chair of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, to be taking a call on this, the second reading of the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill. I just want to take a moment to acknowledge the previous speaker, the Hon Simon Bridges, who talked about how Treaty settlements will never be enough. I absolutely agree with that. In fact, we\u2019ve heard that in the submission from the chair of Te Mana o Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi Trust, Leith Comer. He said it will never be enough, and I agree with that, which is why I think that it\u2019s on us as the Government of the day, and for every other future Government to come, to ensure that we\u2019re topping up that account, that we\u2019re actually making sure that we\u2019re engaging with iwi to create co-governance and co-management opportunities at every level, so that we don\u2019t leave them out of pocket and so that we actually acknowledge that Treaty settlements, when we have them, are not full and final. They need to be supplemented with future power-sharing. I look forward to the member of the Opposition, who just resumed his seat, supporting that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000447\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003ECan I first of all, as I say, acknowledge Te Mana o Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi Trust. Usually, it would be something that we would be able to do in person, go and hear the submissions, travel to Matat\u0101. That was the plan. Unfortunately, COVID got in the way, so we were unable to travel. We let the hauk\u0101inga know that we were unable to travel to Rangiaohia, to the marae, to be able to listen to the people of the land. Kanohi ki te kanohi is a very important tikanga M\u0101ori, and unfortunately on this occasion we weren\u2019t able to do that. We did do that on Zoom, though. On Zoom, we heard various submissions. So can I thank everybody that presented their submissions: 20 in total, seven orally.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000448\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EI want to acknowledge, as I said just then, the chair of the trust, Leith Comer, when he talked about the harm that\u2019s been caused over the years. To quote him, he said \u201CCrown actions in the early and mid-20th century destroyed this place. The cutting of the Tarawera and Rangitaiki Awa directly out to sea\u201D also was an action of the Crown which put them back, also \u201Cenabling the mill at Kawerau to discharge anything [that] it wanted into the Tarawera [River] were the acts that caused the destruction. The Crown has taken the [right] step in righting these wrongs by acknowledging [that] it breeched [those] Treaty obligations to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi.\u201D But again, he said \u201Cthis is nowhere near enough.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000449\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EPatrick Nicholas, another submitter, said \u201CNo settlement will ever be [enough] to compensate for the mamae [that] our people [have] suffered\u201D, and yet he still found that the submission from Leith Comer, as chair, was \u201Cvery inspirational\u201D. I also want to acknowledge Rex Bunn, an avid researcher, who\u2019s dedicated his life work to the eruption. He was the one that came forward and said that he knew that this bill was going through and he wanted to make sure that we had the exact location of \u014Ct\u016Bkapuarangi. If you didn\u2019t know that, \u014Ct\u016Bkapuarangi is the M\u0101ori name for the pink terrace. He was very happy for the exact location, the coordinates, to be included, making sure that the relevant iwi knew where they were, and he had the photos and the science to prove it. Although, I must say, I\u2019m pretty sure that between our iwis, T\u016Bhourangi and Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, they probably already knew.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000450\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003ECan I also acknowledge the T\u016Bhourangi Tribal Authority and Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi for working together on this. They themselves agreed outside of the settlement on a way forward, and my colleague Meka Whaitiri talked about it before\u2014a way forward on the Waimangu thermal valley. You see, what they decided was that outside of the settlement, it would go to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, but that it would be transferred to T\u016Bhourangi the pink terrace, \u014Ct\u016Bkapuarangi, in full, and Waimangu in part. The two iwi also resolved that the two sites should be jointly administered by both of the iwi as well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000451\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EI want to acknowledge Tania Rangiheuea and Rea Martin, who are my whanaunga from T\u016Bhourangi. Their views were very different from that of the tribal authority, and Rea pointed out that they had concerns around the cultural redress sites being offered to the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, specifically saying that they did not believe that Rangitihi had the right to be able to seek redress in the Tarawera region. To that point, they have a Waitangi Tribunal claim in, Wai 2771, and they wanted the committee to be able to hold off until the tribunal had heard it. They applied to hear that urgently, but that didn\u2019t happen. That was not upheld by the tribunal, but it\u2019s still being considered by the tribunal. So for the short time, and to be able to have some progress in this space, the committee thought that it was prudent that the show went on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000452\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EThis is a great piece of legislation, and it is going to settle the outstanding grievance of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi. For that reason, this being the second reading, I\u2019m proud to support it, but I know that myself, the committee members, and, most importantly, the people of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi will be looking forward to the third reading so that they can finally put this to rest and start their journey off into the future, and, hopefully, that will be done \u0101-kanohi [face to face] instead of \u0101-rorohiko [via computer]. I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022 data-id=\u002215b9e9304c314bd89c9cf68016a42d5a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000453\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002215b9e9304c314bd89c9cf68016a42d5a\u0022\u003EHon EUGENIE SAGE (Green):\u003C/span\u003E My apologies for being slightly premature. E mihi ana ki a Ranginui r\u0101ua ko Papat\u016B\u0101nuku, t\u0113n\u0101 k\u014Drua. T\u0113n\u0101 koe e te M\u0101ngai o te Whare, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou ng\u0101 mema o te Whare P\u0101remata. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000454\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E[I acknowledge and greet the Sky Father and the Earth Mother. Greetings Madam Speaker, greetings to the members of this House of Parliament. Greetings to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, greetings, greetings, greetings one and all.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000455\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EI\u2019m really pleased to take a short call on the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill, and can I particularly acknowledge the Te Mana o Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi Trust, who negotiated with the Crown, and particularly people like Leith Comer, Catherine Moana Dewes, Tia Warbrick, Merepeka Raukawa-Tait, and Donna Semmens. The bill, as others have said, was referred to the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, under the capable chairing of T\u0101mati Coffey, last June. It received some 20 submissions and there have been some small technical changes to it, but nothing substantive.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000456\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EI feel very humbled to speak on this bill because of my role last term as the Minister of Conservation, and the role that Te Papa Atawhai had, particularly in some of the cultural redress in the bill. It\u2019s always instructive just to get a small insight into the horrors of colonisation, the loss of mauri, the loss of mana, the loss of whenua, to look at the history that is encapsulated in all of the Treaty settlement bills. In this bill, clause 8 describes some of the history and some of the impacts of colonisation on Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi. They had very little contact with P\u0101keh\u0101 before the 1820s. They didn\u2019t sign the Treaty and they didn\u2019t accept the Crown\u2019s authority. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000457\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EIn 1866, of course, there were large confiscations of land in the Bay of Plenty, including land to which Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi had a strong connection. Those confiscation claims were never properly investigated, despite the protests of rangatira. Of course, in our land law, back in the 1860s, the Crown went about converting collectively held land, land that was held by M\u0101ori in tribal ownership, into individual tenure. This was devastating. Then in the 1870s through to 1890s there were proceedings in the Native Land Court, but this succeeded in burdening Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi with considerable survey costs and didn\u2019t really resolve any of the claims. Then you had the Crown refusing to pay rent on land where the tenure was yet to be determined.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000458\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EThen, of course, there was the Tarawera eruption, the largest, the deadliest eruption in Aotearoa in the last 500 years. More than 110 people perished and around half of those were Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi. We\u2019ve seen the devastation that the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha\u2019apai eruption has caused\u2014people losing their homes, crops being destroyed, livelihoods being destroyed. That big plume of ash from the Tarawera eruption, the flattening of forest, the destruction of villages, the destruction of crops, caused enormous harm and damage to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi. What did the Crown do? Did it provide the sort of humanitarian assistance that we\u2019ve seen the community and the Government extend to Tonga? No. The bill records, in clause 8(4), that instead of extending support and help to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi\u2014and I quote\u2014\u201CThe Crown generally acted as a monopoly purchaser, and aggressively purchased Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi lands.\u201D Those were lands that, if they hadn\u2019t been damaged, if Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi hadn\u2019t lost so many of its own and been dispersed and displaced, Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi would have been very unlikely to have sold.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000459\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003ESo you have considerable poverty, huge displacement, the loss of a basis for economic wellbeing, the loss of mauri, the loss of the connection with the whenua, and then, of course, the Crown action in draining areas like the Rangitikei wetlands\u2014an enormously significant mahanga kai drained and converted to pasture.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000460\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EAll of this history and the destruction of the connection with the land meant the loss of the traditional tribal ownership structures. The bill recognises, acknowledges, and apologises for that history of Crown action.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000461\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EThe Crown, in the bill, also recognises its failure to protect the Tarawera River. The Tarawera awa is of enormous spiritual and cultural importance to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi. Like others in this House, I have walked beside that river. It flows out of Lake Tarawera. It\u2019s in almost pristine condition. The waters are crystal clear at Te Tapa Horo, which is the campsite beside the river which is being vested in Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi. It disappears underground and then some distance downstream it shoots out of the rock in a 65-metre cascade down a rocky cliff face. It is spectacular, one of our natural wonders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000462\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EIn contrast to the river flowing out of the lake in crystal clear condition, downstream, because of the pulp and paper mill in Kawerau, it becomes the black drain. In 2010, when the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment reported on some of New Zealand\u2019s filthiest rivers, the Tarawera was the second filthiest. So this black drain has had thousands of tonnes of pulp and paper discharged into it over decades, and it was because of the legislation the Crown passed in 1954, the Tasman Pulp and Paper Company Enabling Act, which had minimal concern for the environmental impacts of those discharges, the impacts on the mauri of the river, and Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi. I acknowledge the work of Catherine Delahunty, former Green MP, working alongside Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi to try and get the loophole in the Resource Management Act closed and to clean up the river and stop those discharges.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000463\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EThis settlement is really important because it provides for Tarawera awa restoration strategy group, an eight-member joint committee of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council with four members from iwi Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi alongside Ng\u0101ti Awa, Ng\u0101ti Mangakino, and Ng\u0101ti T\u016Bwharetoa and for local councils. Their mahi will be to restore the mauri and the wellbeing of the Tarawera River and redress the harm that has been done by the pollution and those thousands of tonnes of pulp and paper effluent.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000464\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003ECertainly the bill provides for financial and commercial redress, but we\u2019d just like to talk again about some of the cultural redress, because it is the cultural redress, the return of 80 hectares of really significant conservation land at Waimangu to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi in a way which has been negotiated with T\u016Bhourangi which will allow the joint ownership and management of that land. It was in 2017 that Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi and T\u016Bhourangi purchased the concession which enables the public to visit the spectacular geothermal wonders of Waimangu and operate that jointly and now we see this land which has got the most significant geothermal vegetation in Aotearoa on it going back to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi. Like others, I really commend the generosity and the negotiations which have happened with T\u016Bhourangi which allows land to be returned to T\u016Bhourangi, particularly the \u014Ct\u016Bkapuarangi area on the shores of Lake Rotomahana in a separate side agreement with T\u016Bhourangi.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000465\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EThe cultural redress also includes the recognition agreements over about 1,800 hectares of the Tarawera scenic and historic reserves around the lake to ensure that Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi\u2019s values and the significance of those areas to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi are properly recognised through the statutory written acknowledgment in resource management proceedings and in any proceedings about the management of that land.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000466\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EThe bill, as others have said, is never enough, but it is a step, in terms of recognising the harm that has been done in the past and setting Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi on a new direction where it is getting the basis of its connection with the whenua actually restored. The Green Party is very pleased to support the bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022 data-id=\u00220ba72acd1d2c49198ed2e8214d6a4304\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000467\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220ba72acd1d2c49198ed2e8214d6a4304\u0022\u003ENICOLE McKEE (ACT):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise to speak to the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill on behalf of the ACT Party. We will be supporting this going through, as we did in the first reading. Part of the reason for that is because we are aware that those that voted from the iwi to support this bill got 92 percent support for it. So we intend to support them to support this settlement.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003EFrom the previous speaker, the Hon Eugenie Sage, I was quite surprised to hear about a black drain coming out of Tarawera. Having grown up in Rotorua in the 1980s and the 1990s, I actually spent quite a bit of time swimming in that lake with my family, and there was nothing black, but a lot of pristine about that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000469\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003ENow, the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee have said that they\u2019ve made minor changes after having listened to the submitters through their written and their oral submissions. Having been given this to speak to today, I went and had a look at the bill myself, and the history within the bill did make some interesting reading and I will be repeating some of the things that previous speakers have already acknowledged. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000470\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003EAfter reading the history, I\u2019m very glad to hear that the Crown and iwi are finally able to acknowledge the grievances and to move on, that the offered cultural, historical, and financial redress has been accepted, especially as Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi assisted the Crown in defence of the area of land between 1865 and 1872, offering the Crown their military support and doing this all the while, while the Crown was confiscating land around the area.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000471\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003EI note also that during that time, the iwi also sought redress from the Crown but they were not recognised, and in fact, at that time, their complaints were not even investigated. Later, as has been already acknowledged, the Crown aggressively started purchasing land, land that they had already been leasing and land which they had decided payment of the rental was being now used as an advance payment for the land itself. Once again, Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi were trying to lodge claims, trying to be heard, and they were largely ignored. I admire their tenacity, because they kept on going, as has been shown since the 1860s\u2014there are generations of this iwi that have kept on pushing even though the Crown was ignoring them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000472\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003EOn 10 June 1866, Mount Tarawera erupted. This beautiful big maunga lost half its top and created nine craters in the middle of it. The destruction of the Pink and White Terraces on Lake Rotomahana was devastating, but not as devastating as the burying of Te Wairoa village. By the 1900s, Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi had virtually lost all of their land or most of it, and they moved to Matat\u0101. And at this point I\u2019d like to acknowledge my uncle from Matat\u0101, Wahia Mita. I note that after the move to Matat\u0101, Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi lobbied the Crown for relief again for what they had lost, and they spent 30 years doing that lobbying. I also acknowledge the draining of the Rangitaiki swamp, which affected their ability to gather food. It affected urup\u0101, two of them, and it degraded the mauri of the Tarawera awa. Despite this, Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi continued with their military support for the Crown while holding their mamae within.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000473\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003EI note that T\u016Bhourangi had their concerns over the ownership of certain parts of land, and I see that colleagues from the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee actually have addressed this. The concerns, of course, were over parcels of land in Waimangu Valley, Te Waimangu volcanic valley, and I commend the agreed resolutions that have been made between Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi and T\u016Bhourangi and understand that the transfer and ownership of some of this land will include jointly managing it together and that this will be concluded after the settlement with Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi gifting their settlement land in the Waimangu Valley, parts of it, to T\u016Bhourangi.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000474\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003ETo Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, we acknowledge your history. We acknowledge your extensive lobbying over trying to get your property back. You lobbied for well over 100 years. We acknowledge your military service to the Crown and we also acknowledge your stamina and your resolve. We are pleased that the mauri of the awa can be restored. We support the settlement of the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi grievance. It is time to move on, time to restore your mana, and time to grow your mauri. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022 data-id=\u0022bab47c88d4094407b948044def430c44\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000475\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022bab47c88d4094407b948044def430c44\u0022\u003EARENA WILLIAMS (Labour\u2014Manurewa) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe e te P\u012Bka. Ki te Arawa waka, t\u0113nei te mihi. Ki ng\u0101 uri o Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000476\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003E[Greetings, Madam Speaker. To the peoples of Te Arawa, I acknowledge you. To the descendants of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, greetings.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000477\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EThe Treaty of Waitangi is a foundational document for New Zealand\u2019s legal system and our constitutional framework. I\u2019m proud of the long-established principle in New Zealand that the Crown owes M\u0101ori the duty to act in good faith, in accordance with the Treaty. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000478\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EIt has cross-partisan support, as we\u2019ve seen today in the House, with Opposition members speaking in support of this bill and for the general principles of what we are doing here, which is righting the wrongs of the past and not erasing those histories which are uncomfortable today.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000479\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EThis settlement legislation brings us one step closer to giving effect to the deed of settlement between the Crown and Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, which acknowledges those instances where the Crown has not acted in good faith, and I\u2019m proud to be a part of the Parliament today that is doing so now. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000480\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EAs such, I agree with the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, the Hon Andrew Little, that this bill is an opportunity for the Crown to atone for the injustices that Rangitihi has been subject to at its hands. And it\u2019s an opportunity for Rangitihi to look to the future as an iwi, to continue to build its identity, to flourish collectively, to be a leader within its rohe, and to face Government as a partner.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000481\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s a privilege to speak in support of the settlement which means so much more than the sum of its parts to the negotiating team, to the uri who will benefit from it, and to partners in Government who look forward to working with Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi going forward.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000482\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EI also want to thank everyone who submitted on this bill; the Office of the Clerk and my colleagues on the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee for their work and considering the views of those submitters and the advice that was delivered, largely online in a Zoom environment. I agree with the chair of the committee, T\u0101mati Coffey, when he said that the kanohi ki te kanohi engagement is a part of the settlement process and of tikanga M\u0101ori. But it\u2019s good that we\u2019ve had those moments where the Minister has been able to meet with the groups on the ground and that we were able to host Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi in the House for the first reading of this bill, and I look forward to the future when we can be back together again.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000483\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EThere has been a history of excessive land takings by the Crown, under the guise of the Public Works Act, from this iwi, and not having sufficient land in the aftermath of the Tarawera eruption to live dignified lives. Today, Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi are, effectively, a landless people. They have been dispossessed of their tribal lands and they now have interests in less than 4 percent, or approximately 9,000 hectares, of their original 250,000 hectare tribal rohe. It\u2019s an area made up of 175,000 hectares of the central North Island, known as Kaingaroa, and the adjacent lands in the 75,000 hectares of confiscated land within the Eastern Bay of Plenty confiscation area. I also note that much of that 9,000 hectares that I talked about the iwi having an interest in today is unable to be used for economic benefit, due to its status as conservation and reserves land.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000484\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003ERangitihi were forced out of their inland rohe by the eruption of Mount Tarawera, as other speakers have canvassed. But they relocated in the coastal rohe lands in Matat\u0101 and Hauone, and by the time their inland rohe was again fit for human habitation, the Crown deemed that land [Audio missing] public [Audio missing] conservation estate and for Crown [Audio missing]. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000485\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EThere are two main ways [Audio missing] those wrongs in this piece of legislation and in all Treaty settlement legislation. The first is financial redress and [Audio missing]. And I want to touch now on [Audio missing]. Cultural redress in this settlement looks like the 19 sites of deep significance to be transferred to Rangitihi as cultural redress on the settlement date and this [Audio missing] which is known in and around the Waimangu Volcanic Valley, the former site of the Pink and White Terraces, and five properties at Matat\u0101. That means for this iwi, in practice, that relationships with neighbouring iwi, with local government, and with arms of Government like the Department of Conservation and the department of culture and heritage can be developed from a strong standing point.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000486\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EI will conclude by saying that I look forward to considering this legislation again at the third reading. I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022 data-id=\u00220936a7d8fb474508a89f06602ad471d7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000487\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220936a7d8fb474508a89f06602ad471d7\u0022\u003EHon TODD McCLAY (National\u2014Rotorua):\u003C/span\u003E Madam Speaker, thank you very much. It gives me pleasure and it is a privilege to speak on this piece of legislation, as all of the area that we\u2019re talking about in this settlement for Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi either is in my electorate or previously\u2014before boundary changes\u2014has been. I\u2019ve had an opportunity over the period of time that I\u2019ve been the elected member of Parliament for Rotorua to talk at great length with many of the leaders of this iwi about the land, the history, and what it means to them. And indeed, I remember\u2014it might have been in my first term, which feels a little while ago now\u2014I had an opportunity with Ken Raureti who lives down the road from me, to visit Mount Tarawera together. I\u2019d been talking to Ken about why public access had been taken away many years ago. I remember as a child having an opportunity, as many people in New Zealand did, to just drive on up the mountain and wander around at will. In fact, I think I went there with a Scout group or something where we slid in the scoria down into the volcano mouth on a number of occasions\u2014the very first adventure tourism, I suppose, in Rotorua.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000488\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223534e0d602c34d7f94062a6be97fd154\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: That doesn\u2019t sound very health and safety!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000489\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c240e979ae9a481b911d6afabe124a67\u0022\u003EHon TODD McCLAY\u003C/span\u003E: That was the day when health and safety was: if they didn\u2019t come back then there was one less in the Scout group, that\u2019s correct. However, the point of this was I said to Ken, \u201CWell why do people not have access now? There\u2019s a great concern in the community. So he said, \u201CWhy don\u2019t we go up and wander round and we\u2019ll talk about it?\u201D I arrived at his house, and he decided he wanted to go in my freshly painted blue National Party truck\u2014we were in Government at the time\u2014and we drove south towards Taup\u014D, we went round past Rerewhakaaitu, and then drove up towards the mountain. It stopped at a very large gate that was double locked, and I said to Ken, \u201CIf you open the gate, we can drive all the way to the top.\u201D He said, \u201CWell I will\u201D\u2014but the keys are in the glovebox in his car back at his house in Rotorua. So we got out and we walked all the way, which is probably an hour to an hour and a half walk to get to the landing area where there were young men and a few women camping, and I learnt a lot that day. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000490\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EIn fact, it wasn\u2019t a decision on the part of iwi to close the mountain when it was open\u2014and Mr Bridges talked about health and safety. Somebody went up riding mountain bikes late at night and landed in the crater and was badly injured, and the owners of the land at the time, Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, were held to account so they had to close it as a result if health and safety. The point of this is, over time, there has been less than enough understanding about the claim of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, and largely this goes a long way to address that. I\u2019m very pleased that they have recognition over the Central North Island forest. Much of that land, as with others in the area, falls within their responsibility previously, and Mount Tarawera, its reserves, and many other areas including where the Pink and White Terraces were, and the Waimangu Valley and tourism volcanic area also form part of this. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000491\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003ECan I say, and I don\u2019t want to speak for too long because the actual member of Parliament for the Wairakei electorate that all this falls in, I think is\u2014well the M\u0101ori Party are speaking after me\u2014Rawiri Waititi, and I would leave it to him as the elected member of Parliament to talk much more about this. But can I recognise the work of Leith Comer, with whom I had the opportunity to go up on the mountain a few elections ago and talk about settlement and what access would mean for others who also might like to go and understand much, much more. To Ken Raureti who gratefully gave much of his time to me, Merepeka who also is there, and the other trust members for their diligence, their hard work, and commitment over many, many years to create greater understanding, to move forward for their people, and to find a settlement with the Crown.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000492\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EMr Bridges says that these settlements don\u2019t go all the way to meeting the injustices of the past, but this is an opportunity to draw a line under those and then look forward together to an area of New Zealand that we can develop together. I would finish by saying\u2014not to be at all political\u2014but to the member of the Green Party that spoke earlier, Eugenie Sage, they are forever talking about the bottom of the Tarawera River. It\u2019s good that there is a joint effort to continue to make sure that the bottom of the Tarawera River is healthy, but she along with others knows that the regional council, with local iwi and local people, have worked very, very hard over many, many years through continual consents to make sure it meets the standards that are required. It no longer has the term that she gave it, it is no longer a drain, it is healthier than it has been for many, many years, and there is wide-ranging commitment to continue to improve it. I commend this bill to the House, and look forward to it passing fully.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022 data-id=\u00225a40959195d84db1bf7dd60eb7fb24dc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000493\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225a40959195d84db1bf7dd60eb7fb24dc\u0022\u003ERAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader\u2014Te Paati M\u0101ori) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, kei te rongo koutou i a au? Kia ora, kia ora t\u0101tou. Ka tangohia taku p\u014Dtae e ahau. Koin\u0101 hoki taku mahi ia te w\u0101 o ng\u0101 k\u014Drero m\u014D ng\u0101 pire, n\u014D reira, kei te mihi atu r\u0101 ki a Rangitihi i t\u0113nei r\u0101. Kei te mihi atu ki a Te Arawa wh\u0101nui me ng\u0101 wh\u0101torohanga ki roto i a M\u0101taatua, engari i a Rangitihi nei r\u0101 te mihi atu r\u0101 ki a koutou. T\u0113n\u0101 r\u0101 hoki koutou i runga i te \u0101huatanga o \u0101 t\u0101tou mahi.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000494\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EKite au i a Rangitihi, \u0101, heke iho mai r\u0101 ki a Pikiao, ar\u0101 ko t\u0113r\u0101 o \u014D t\u0101tou mate ki a Muriwai i roto i ng\u0101 wiki kua hipa ake. M\u0101na hoki te ope t\u0101rewa e kawe ki t\u014Dna nohonga ki a r\u0101tou kua parangia, i te ara kua parangia e te tini e te mano. N\u014D reira koutou e ng\u0101 mate, haere, haere, whatungaro atu r\u0101. Kua hoki mai r\u0101 ki a t\u0101tou ng\u0101 mahuetanga iho. Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003ET\u0113nei t\u0101tou i t\u0113nei p\u0101nuitanga tuarua m\u014D t\u014D koutou pire, m\u014D ng\u0101 ker\u0113me Tiriti o te iwi, me te mea hoki kei te tautoko i ng\u0101 k\u014Drero a te heamana a Komiti Whiriwhiri Take M\u0101ori, n\u0101na hoki te k\u014Drero \u0101hua kei te mokemoke tonu m\u0101tou k\u0101ore e tarea te haramai ki roto i a koutou ki te whakarongo ki ng\u0101 k\u014Drero engari e tarea tonu t\u0101tou te whakatutuki i runga i te ipurangi nei. N\u014D reira, ahakoa k\u0101ore t\u0101tou i tae \u0101-tinana, ko te mea nui i rongo tonu m\u0101tou i w\u0101 koutou k\u014Drero e rongo tonu m\u0101tou i te wairua o te kawe o t\u0113nei o ng\u0101 pire i roto i t\u0113r\u0101 t\u016B\u0101huatanga. N\u014D reira, kei te mihi atu an\u014D ki a koutou. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000496\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EKei te kite atu au i roto i t\u0113nei o ng\u0101 pire he \u0101hua \u014Drite ki ng\u0101 t\u016B\u0101huatanga i whakaritea e ng\u0101 iwi i mua noa atu i a koutou\u2014te whakahoki whenua mai, ahakoa kotahi pai heneti noa kua hoki, ka hoki mai t\u0113tahi w\u0101hanga. T\u0113r\u0101 an\u014D i w\u0101 koutou ngahere, t\u0113r\u0101 an\u014D i w\u0101 koutou whenua rotarota, t\u0113r\u0101 an\u014D i w\u0101 koutou roto k\u014Dreporepo, ng\u0101 k\u016Bk\u016Bwai, ng\u0101 awa, ng\u0101 ahi tipua, ng\u0101wh\u0101 tae ake r\u0101 ki ng\u0101 taha moana paku nei kua whakahokia nei ki a koutou. Koir\u0101 an\u014D hoki nei te painga o ng\u0101 ker\u0113me Tiriti nei. Ka tarea an\u014D hoki e koutou te wh\u0101toro atu ki roto i w\u0101 koutou ake, t\u014D koutou ake mana whenua, t\u014D koutou mana moana, t\u014D koutou mana wai m\u0101ori hoki. N\u014D reira kei te mihi atu r\u0101 an\u014D ki a koutou, \u0101, tekau m\u0101 iwa an\u014D hoki ng\u0101 w\u0101hanga kua riro i a koutou ki roto i to koutou redress, me te mea hoki ko Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi koutou e haut\u016B nei i t\u0113nei kaupapa. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000497\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EN\u014D reira, \u0101e, kei te mihi atu r\u0101, kei te mihi atu r\u0101. Ki a koutou ng\u0101 taratih\u012B, ki a koe Leith. Ko koe te haut\u016B nei i t\u0113nei kaupapa i roto i ng\u0101 submissions, i ng\u0101 k\u014Drero i whakawh\u0101rikihia ki mua i te aroaro o te Komiti Whiriwhiri Take M\u0101ori, ko koe t\u0113r\u0101 e haut\u016B nei i ng\u0101 hiahiatanga, i ng\u0101 wawatatanga o Rangitihi o \u0113nei r\u0101, \u0101, me te p\u012Bkau an\u014D hoki ng\u0101 koroingo o ng\u0101 m\u0101tua t\u012Bpuna. Ki taku k\u014Dk\u0101 ki a Cathy, ki a Merepeka, ki a Tia, ki a Melanie kia tae ki, ki a Donna an\u014D hoki koutou hei h\u0101paitia nei i t\u0113nei o ng\u0101 pire, ng\u0101 mihi nui ki a koutou. Anei r\u0101 t\u014D koutou mema o Te Waiariki e kaha nei i whawhai nei m\u014D t\u014D koutou pire m\u014D ng\u0101 wawatatanga me ng\u0101 t\u016Bmanakohanga o Te Waiariki, kei te mihi atu ki a koutou i t\u0113nei r\u0101.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000498\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EE, k\u0101ore t\u0113nei e whakat\u014Droa i ng\u0101 k\u014Drero, ko te mana o t\u0113nei t\u016B\u0101huatanga ka noho tonu ki roto i a koutou, ki Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, \u0101, me te mea hoki ka hoki atu r\u0101 ki ng\u0101 k\u014Drero i whakawh\u0101rikihia i mua noa atu i t\u014D koutou aroaro i a koutou e whakatinanahia i te pire i te p\u0101nuitanga tuatahi me te mea hoki, t\u0113nei t\u014D koutou mokopuna. T\u0113nei t\u014D mokopuna e t\u016B whakah\u012Bh\u012B nei kei roto i ng\u0101 t\u016B\u0101huatanga kei mua i te aroaro. Kia kaua e waiho m\u0101 ng\u0101 mahi nei hei whakamutunga engari me waiho ake m\u0101 \u014D t\u0101tou tamariki mokopuna hei ng\u0101 r\u0101 e haere ake nei te whakahaere tonu i ng\u0101 hiahiatanga a te iwi, \u0101, i ng\u0101 koroingotanga a ng\u0101 m\u0101tua t\u012Bpuna kei mua i te aroaro.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000499\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EN\u014D reira k\u0101ore t\u0113nei e whakatoro i ng\u0101 k\u014Drero, te tautoko katoa i ng\u0101 k\u014Drero a ng\u0101 mema P\u0101remata o t\u0113n\u0101 taha o t\u0113n\u0101 taha e tautoko nei i t\u0113nei kaupapa. \u0100, k\u0101ti ake, ko Te Paati M\u0101ori nei e tautoko nei i t\u0113nei pire, n\u014D reira Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, maranga mai ki runga, kei a koutou t\u014D koutou mana kei a koutou te w\u0101 t\u0113nei Te Paati M\u0101ori e tautoko ana i t\u0113nei pire, kia ora t\u0101tou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000500\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003E[Hello, can you hear me? Greetings everyone. I\u2019ll take off my hat. This is what I always do when are talking about bills, therefore I acknowledge Rangitihi today. I acknowledge the wider people of Te Arawa and their connections within Mataatua, but to Rangitihi, this is my acknowledgment to you. I greet you as we work together. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000501\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EI look at Rangitihi, descending to Pikiao, and to our deceased one, Muriwai, who passed recently. May they be carried by the spirit group to their resting place by way of the path that has been cleared by the many before them. Therefore, to the dead, go, go, be gone. Returning to us all, those who have been left behind. Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, I greet you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000502\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EGreetings to everyone to this second reading of your bill, for the Treaty claims of the tribe, and I support what the chair of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee said, along these lines, we felt very lonely, not being able to be amongst you to listen to your stories, but we can still complete this process by means of the internet. Therefore, although we not able to attend in person, the main thing is that we heard your stories and we felt the spirit in which this bill was carried in those circumstances. Therefore, I acknowledge you again.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EI see in this bill some similarities to arrangements made by tribes preceding you: the return of land, even though only 1 percent, at least a part has been returned. Then there are your forests and your wild areas, then there are your lakes, marshes and wetlands, the rivers, geothermal and hot springs, including the small amount of coast that have been returned to you. This is one of the benefits of Treaty claims. You are able to explore your own territorial rights, your own rights over the sea and fresh water. Therefore, I acknowledge you once again, and, there are 19 areas that you have obtained in your redress, and you, Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi are guiding this issue. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000504\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003ETherefore, yes, you deserve our thanks. To the trustees, to you, Leith. You have steered this issue through the submission process, laid out the stories for the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, and you have guided the desires and dreams of Rangitihi today, while carrying the wishes of the ancestors. To my aunties, to Cathy, to Merepeka, to Tia, and to Melanie as well as Donna, you have shouldered this bill, many thanks to you. I stand as your member of Parliament for Te Waiariki, having fought hard for your bill, for the dreams and the hopes of Te Waiariki, and I thank you today.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000505\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EWell, I don\u2019t wish to extend my speech because the power in this situation rests with you, Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, and, I hark back to what was said to you as you were fleshing out the bill at its first reading, and it is as if this is the offspring. This is the offspring standing proudly to face the issues in front of it. Don\u2019t let this be the end of it, we must let our children and grandchildren continue to manage the perceived needs of the iwi, and the desires of the ancestors.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000506\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EWell, I don\u2019t wish to go on any further, I support what has been said by the members of Parliament on all sides of the House, supporting this issue. And, to conclude, this is Te Paati M\u0101ori supporting this bill, therefore Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, stand tall, you have the authority, this is your time and this is Te Paati M\u0101ori supporting this bill, greetings one and all.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022217f4585-f6ef-408d-9318-8a6b8506920b\u0022 data-id=\u00222dbc15a9636847159c2fe5bbda080889\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000507\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022217f4585-f6ef-408d-9318-8a6b8506920b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222dbc15a9636847159c2fe5bbda080889\u0022\u003EPAUL EAGLE (Labour\u2014Rongotai):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, Madam Speaker, and it\u2019s a pleasure to be able to speak on this bill, the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill. Can I acknowledge all members of the iwi Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, and, for many reasons, primarily COVID, they are watching online today. Can I acknowledge you all. I want to just also acknowledge the Hon Andrew Little, the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. The Crown and iwi negotiators\u2014these people do an amazing job to bring these arrangements together and present them for us to process through the parliamentary system. I want to also, while we\u2019re on the acknowledgment section, just give some warmth to the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. It\u2019s a good, cross-Parliament group of people who work constructively to ensure that these are worked through with the spirit, mana, and mauri that they deserve. Can I acknowledge the chair there, T\u0101mati Coffey. Those who submitted\u201420 submissions on this particular bill. Look, it could have just been one, but it\u2019s always good, I think, that we get a range of views from across the iwi, the wh\u0101nau, the hap\u016B, that express a whole range of concerns. Sometimes it\u2019s a bit late to include them in. Sometimes they\u2019re just alerting us to history that often we don\u2019t know about, and seven came in to express that orally.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000508\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022217f4585-f6ef-408d-9318-8a6b8506920b\u0022\u003EIt brings us to be a step closer to giving effect to the deed of settlement. Each time these come to be, I\u2019m always quite excited. I\u2019m horrified at the history, and so any historical redress that records Crown breaches is very important, and what I\u2019ve learnt is that it\u2019s really important that we get that accurate and recorded into the settlement. There\u2019s also cultural redress too, which in this situation acknowledges those connections to land and resources of significance to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi. Part of that, too, when you look at redress, is also about relationships and building new connections, because often this is about resetting the relationship with the Crown, with iwi, with wh\u0101nau, with local government, and with other groups, and then moving forward. Of course, to finish that off, some part of that will be financial and commercial redress.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000509\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022217f4585-f6ef-408d-9318-8a6b8506920b\u0022\u003EI want to move to that, because when I look at the summary of that package, there\u2019s a few things I just want to point out. I don\u2019t think the money is everything here. At just under $12 million, it\u2019s very important to not only show a tohu or symbol of the horrific history here but also, as I said, it allows them to work with their post-iwi settlement\u2014to a post-settlement entity to move on. It\u2019s interesting, when you look at those 19 sites of deep significance to Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi which will be transferred, of course, the learning for me was that former site of the Pink and White Terraces, which is tied up into that Tarawera Awa group. That settlement will help establish the Restoration Strategy Group, as it\u2019s called, and they\u2019ll be a permanent joint committee of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. That just ensures that that gets into the local governance structures of the rohe and ensures that this has some enduring and permanent decision-making capability. There\u2019s a good sum there of half a million to get that up and running, and it\u2019s great to see that that\u2019s being worked through and provided in terms of those statutory acknowledgments and recognition of the four areas\u2014sorry, seven areas\u2014that form that relationship.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000510\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022217f4585-f6ef-408d-9318-8a6b8506920b\u0022\u003EWhen I look at the apology\u2014and I think this is important\u2014and when I first looked at one of the Treaty claim settlements, I found that this was normal in terms of making an apology for those breaches, and then, reading back on what that\u2019s covering, it really does. It\u2019s painful to read out, but the Crown acknowledges it breached its Treaty obligations when it failed to protect things like the tribal structures of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, to act in good faith, to protect the iwi from becoming virtually landless, the Tarawera River, te reo M\u0101ori and increasing or encouraging its use, and to just protect the iwi from the impact of high survey costs and act in good faith in terms of taking the excessive land at Te Ariki for public works purposes. These are just a range of things that that redress will cover.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000511\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022217f4585-f6ef-408d-9318-8a6b8506920b\u0022\u003EI\u2019m really proud that we\u2019ve worked through this as a committee. We certainly did when it reported back to the House on 17 December last year. There were a small number of minor and technical amendments. We worked through those, and although\u2014in conclusion\u2014no settlement can truly make up for this wrongdoing and compensate for the hurt, I know the Crown hopes that this will be the starting point for a new and strengthened relationship between Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi and the Crown. I look forward to seeing this back for the third reading. I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022fdb01002-a7cf-4a77-8f05-678d24a36849\u0022 data-id=\u002235a73794ad9d47f9aca7f50b697e4b50\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000512\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fdb01002-a7cf-4a77-8f05-678d24a36849\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002235a73794ad9d47f9aca7f50b697e4b50\u0022\u003ETODD MULLER (National\u2014Bay of Plenty):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, Madam Speaker. It\u2019s very humbling to be able to stand up here and say a few words in support of the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill this afternoon. As often is the case on these types of occasions, the contributions across the House have been reflective of the sacrifice of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi and appropriately optimistic about the partnership between the Crown and Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi into the future. Can I acknowledge those who are watching in their own homes back in the Bay of Plenty. It is, I\u2019m sure, not the same as being here. When you are here in this place when we have these conversations, the atmosphere can be very electric and powerful. But be assured that whilst you\u2019re not here in physical presence, all of us, as we have spoken and reflected today on the significance of this bill, very much have you in our hearts and can sense the importance of this for you and your people.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000513\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fdb01002-a7cf-4a77-8f05-678d24a36849\u0022\u003EI just want to really make a few personal comments as a contribution today. I\u2019m not on the select committee. The select committee is, though, quite an impressive group of people. I had the pleasure of being on it for a few months a few months ago, and the people on there are very generous in terms of their time and reflection on matters such as this. But I do want to reflect just on really the values that have been expressed by Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi throughout the last 150 years. When you look at that history, from supporting the Crown in 1864 when they joined Te Arawa, having to deal with the large-scale Crown confiscations that occurred in the Bay of Plenty in the 1860s, having to endure the Crown acting as a monopoly purchaser in the 1880s and 1890s, being devastated by Mount Tarawera, and then having not only the appalling loss of life but the remaining lands confiscated to the point that they were largely landless in the 1900s, and then, of course, the Rangit\u0101iki swamp being drained\u2014an area of great importance to them. Yet despite that, when World War I came along, Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi put forward their bravest and their best to go and fight for Crown and country, and many of them died. Despite the treatment of the Crown, in 1939 they did it again, and in subsequent battles.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000514\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fdb01002-a7cf-4a77-8f05-678d24a36849\u0022\u003EWe often reflect as a House on values. They can purse our lips quite quickly. But actually, when you read the history, it is stark that a people that have been let down so consistently by the Crown still believes in the partnership, still believes in honour in holding their side of the bargain, and still is optimistic about the future, and willing, despite all evidence, to take the Crown at face value and to build an enduring relationship into the future. That is values in action, and I think, as a House, as we reflect on the details that have been so superbly articulated of the process and what was negotiated through the various contributions this afternoon, we mustn\u2019t lose sight of the fact here that this is a remarkable people in the Bay of Plenty who have endured immensely, over many generations, yet still look to what can unite us as a country and where they can contribute in partnership with the Crown going forward into the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000515\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fdb01002-a7cf-4a77-8f05-678d24a36849\u0022\u003ESo I want to acknowledge that today, acknowledge the enormous sacrifice, and the fact that this House\u2014although you are not with us\u2014is reflecting deeply on that sacrifice and hoping that you can see here, in the contributions that have been made on the second reading of the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi claims bill, that there is cross-party support, that this is a step forward for you and for the Crown that is positive and can be built on. Kia ora t\u0101tou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022 data-id=\u0022e8c91a8b632646758ba055cdc464d419\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000516\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e8c91a8b632646758ba055cdc464d419\u0022\u003ESHANAN HALBERT (Labour\u2014Northcote) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe e te P\u012Bka i roto i te p\u014D nei, ki ng\u0101 mema i roto i te Whare ki waho i te Whare, t\u0113n\u0101 rawa atu ki a koutou i t\u0113nei p\u014D. Ki ng\u0101 kaiurungi o Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi ka mihi atu ki a koutou i t\u0113nei w\u0101 i runga i te kaupapa nei. Me mihi kau ana ki a koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000517\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003E[Greetings to the Speaker this evening, to the members in the House, and to those outside the House, I acknowledge you all this evening. To the leaders of Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi, greetings to all of you on the occasion of the issue at hand. My acknowledgments, greetings, greetings, greetings to you all.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s my honour and privilege as a member of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee to speak on the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill this evening, albeit virtually. Last time that I met these members was in fact in the House. It\u2019s been an honour to be a member of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee because you learn so much along the way. It\u2019s a history lesson where you get to deep dive into the stories of our local iwi across Aoteaora, and in this particular instance, Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi have been very generous in what they have shared with us along the way. Can I acknowledge our Minister, the Hon Andrew Little, for the work that he has done in leading the settlement of Treaty negotiations across Aotearoa, and in this one in particular, and also our very capable chair of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, T\u0101mati Coffey, who enables us as a committee to come together, to build a sense of kotahitanga, and where we are able to move towards supporting a particular kaupapa like we are this evening. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000519\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003EWhen it comes to Treaty settlements, it\u2019s an opportunity for the Crown to acknowledge and in many respects to apologise for its breaches to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the commitment that we have all made. Tonight, I would like to speak out loud to what those breaches are and to acknowledge them within the Whare this evening. The Crown acknowledges its breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its failure in its obligations for Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi to protect the tribal structures, to act in good faith when leasing and purchasing Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi land blocks, to protect Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi from becoming virtually landless, to protect the Tarawera River, to actively protect te reo M\u0101ori and to encourage its use, to protect Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi from the impact of high survey costs, and to act in good faith by taking excessive land at Te Ariki for public works purposes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000520\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003EThose points are really, really important for us to acknowledge within the House this evening, and I do it from a heartfelt place as I too follow my own iwi journey and our own settlement process and understand the many years of hard work that people, and people that we\u2019ve heard from, do in order to take such proceedings forward. So I acknowledge that this particular speech at the second reading within the House is an important one and that Part 1 effectively sets out the purpose of the bill and provides the provision of the bill to take effect on the settlement dates unless the provision states otherwise; Part 2\u2014we\u2019ve heard this evening about the cultural redress for Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi\u2014and Part 3 for the commercial redress and the commitment that we make in enabling this iwi to move forward independently, and part of this process is to pass back the mana that has been impacted along the way. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000521\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003EI want to acknowledge particularly the presentations and the submissions that we heard as a part of the select committee process. And we all know him well and we\u2019ve heard his name mentioned a number of times this evening, but Leith Comer, who was one of our primary speakers on this particular bill, reflected on the Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi journey and the settlement process, and today that has been largely cohesive and unifying. But he also acknowledges, sadly, too that while we acknowledge this particular part, it signifies the beginning and also with the discussions this evening that we have a role to play in continuing to stand alongside this iwi to enable them to re-establish the mana that has been impacted, but also enable investment to go forward into future generations in education and in their local economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000522\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003EI want to acknowledge, also, Rea Martin, who spoke against this particular bill on the basis that she advised that the Wai 2771 claim has not been brought to a close and that Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi should not have their settlement under this claim resolved. That\u2019s the nature of M\u0101ori politics in one sense, but also part of the history and whakapapa that\u2019s been shared in this particular journey. All submissions that we heard as a Maori Affairs Committee are valid and important, and a very important part of the fabric and whakapapa of this particular story. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000523\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003EThis piece of work also enables this iwi to move forward, and I look forward to the third reading of this particular bill. I appreciate the consensus that has been established right across the House. One particular old boy who was schooled in my local area is Patrick Nicholas. He also made a submission on this bill, and he acknowledges that no settlement can truly compensate for the hurt that Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi have suffered, but he hopes that the settlement will enable Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi to achieve their cultural, environmental, social, and economic aspirations. And that\u2019s all of our aspirations for this iwi, for all of our tamariki and mokopuna across Aotearoa\u2014that they too get to enjoy the fruits of our labour, of our country, and that they have an opportunity just like I had in education and employment and where we all stand today. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000524\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003ESo I want to thank Ng\u0101ti Rangitihi for their patience over this journey and acknowledge the work of our Minister and our M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, and I commend this bill to the House. T\u0113n\u0101 tatou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000525\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000526\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003EBill read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022 data-id=\u0022c0121845c3f14fa585975553ef2a8ea3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000527\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c0121845c3f14fa585975553ef2a8ea3\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean)\u003C/span\u003E: This bill is set down for committee stage next sitting day. Members, the time has come for me to leave the Chair for the dinner break. I just want to thank all members in the House for their patience and forbearance as we all settle into this hybrid Parliament. I want particularly to acknowledge the technical people, there are two sets of them, for some wonderful work. I can see you\u2014thank you. I also want to thank the Office of the Clerk and all Chamber staff as we settle into the new reality. The House will reconvene at 7 p.m. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000528\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003ESitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.\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=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000529\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00224f235d1a940f4966a847a74a35ea153b\u0022\u003ENg\u0101ti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000530\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022d58ffb1d4cd54302b66419ad3e0bcb09\u0022\u003ESecond Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022 data-id=\u0022f4a868cf0cd4485ba688f55864296199\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000531\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f4a868cf0cd4485ba688f55864296199\u0022\u003EHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations):\u003C/span\u003E I present a legislative statement on the Ng\u0101ti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000532\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9a94bf3-a948-4410-8413-403a7454114b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002214bb9df9dbf444e8af9be02e81738611\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: The legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the parliamentary website.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000533\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d4c996acbe2c41198e761062d91143a5\u0022\u003EHon ANDREW LITTLE\u003C/span\u003E: I move, That the Ng\u0101ti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000534\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003ENg\u0101ti Maru iwi, he r\u0101 tino nui t\u0113nei m\u014D koutou, n\u0101 koutou te kaha me te manawanui, n\u014D reira e rau rangatira m\u0101 t\u0113nei taku mihi atu ki a koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000535\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E[To Ng\u0101ti Maru, this is a very important day for you, and your strength and steadfastness, therefore, to the many chiefs this is my acknowledgment to you, greetings, greeting, greetings one and all.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000536\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EThis bill gives effect to Te Hiringa Taketake, the deed of settlement between the Crown and Ng\u0101ti Maru signed on 27 February last year. The bill comprises three parts detailing cultural and commercial redress and the Crown\u2019s apology redress. This redress has been designed to support Ng\u0101ti Maru on their future journey. As kaitiaki in their rohe, the natural resource redress included in this bill is essential in enabling Ng\u0101ti Maru to fulfil their responsibilities to the natural world. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000537\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EI intend to speak in more detail about the Ng\u0101ti Maru settlement in the third reading, but for now, I acknowledge those Ng\u0101ti Maru members who are watching this reading from afar, and I pay particular respect to the work and dedication of the Ng\u0101ti Maru negotiation team. Through negotiations with Ng\u0101ti Maru, the Crown has come to learn what friendship and partnership with Ng\u0101ti Maru entails. I\u2019m optimistic that this bill contains redress which will support this relationship into their future with the post-settlement governance entity, Te K\u0101hui Maru Trust, Te Iwi o Maruwharanui. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000538\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EAfter its first reading on 6 July 2021, this bill was referred to the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. The committee called for submissions between July and August 2021, and received 35 written submissions from interested groups and individuals. They also heard eight oral submissions through an online forum. I\u2019d especially like to thank those who took part in this process and shared their k\u014Drero with the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. I acknowledge and thank the members of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, who have swiftly and considerately progressed this bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000539\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EThe committee reported back to the House on 21 December last year, and aside from the small number of recommended technical amendments, the committee recommended that the bill be passed with minor amendments in two areas, with the first of these amendments being two provisions relating to the administration of the riverbed within the Whanganui River catchment area. These amendments will give effect to the agreement reached between Ng\u0101ti Maru, Ng\u0101 T\u0101ngata Tiaki o Whanganui, Te Pou Tupua, and Ng\u0101ti H\u0101ua that it would no longer be appropriate for the Department of Conservation to administer and manage any riverbed running through the relevant sites. Instead, Te Pou Tupua, the representative of the legal person Te Awa Tupua, will assume these responsibilities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EThe second substantial amendment is to the provisions relating to the resource consent process as part of the proposed joint-management agreement between Ng\u0101ti Maru and the Taranaki Regional Council, aiming to clarify the intended role of the New Plymouth District Council under the joint-management arrangement. These amendments will be beneficial for Ng\u0101ti Maru to have a greater voice in the management of their rohe. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000541\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EThis second reading of the Ng\u0101ti Maru Claims Settlement Bill represents the next step in the iwi\u2019s journey towards reconciliation with the Crown. It also brings the Ng\u0101ti Maru community closer to benefiting from all of the good this settlement will bring to their rohe. I acknowledge the Ng\u0101ti Maru people\u2019s resolve to continue progressing this bill, considering the effect COVID-19 has had on their ability to fully celebrate their most recent milestones, and I look forward to welcoming Ng\u0101ti Maru back to Parliament for their third reading in the coming weeks and finding a time in the near future to formally deliver the Crown apology in their rohe, which I wasn\u2019t able to do when we did the deed signing, which is typically when it is done. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000542\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EBut on that note, this bill is good. It\u2019s made good progress. I\u2019m very thankful to the work of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee and all those MPs who have worked on it, and the various members of Ng\u0101ti Maru and parts of their community who have supported it. On that basis, I commend the bill to the House. 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=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022 data-id=\u0022dc583a757e7d4e8b8f357b0ff3af26cd\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000543\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022dc583a757e7d4e8b8f357b0ff3af26cd\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: The question is that the motion be agreed to. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022 data-id=\u0022fcdf1a0000734011bbaa5710b26dc641\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000544\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fcdf1a0000734011bbaa5710b26dc641\u0022\u003EJOSEPH MOONEY (National\u2014Southland):\u003C/span\u003E Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to rise on behalf of the National Party to speak on the Ng\u0101ti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill. I want to thank Minister Little for the work that he\u2019s done in guiding this process through to date, and I also acknowledge Ng\u0101ti Maru themselves, who cannot be here today for what is an historic occasion as we guide this bill through the second reading, and heading towards the third reading, which, hopefully, will happen in the near future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000545\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003EI just want to say we feel you are here in spirit, so to speak. We look forward to, hopefully, having you here at the third reading for what is a process that is a very big moment for Ng\u0101ti Maru o Taranaki and is a big moment in reconciling these claims, which have taken a long time to get here. I want to acknowledge the negotiators, the steering committee, and Te Arawhiti staff for the work they\u2019ve done in getting us this far. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000546\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003EI do have a little bit of sorrow that we haven\u2019t been able, as a select committee of which I am part, to get out and actually talk to Ng\u0101ti Maru in their rohe, and I hope to be able to do that at some point in the future. I\u2019m part of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, which has listened to submissions on this bill, and that\u2019s primarily what the second reading is about today: just reporting back on where we\u2019ve got to after the bill\u2019s been through the select committee and is heading towards the third reading, which will culminate this process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000547\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003EThe bill gives effect to the deed of settlement signed by the Crown and Ng\u0101ti Maru to settle all historical Treaty of Waitangi claims. The area of interest for the iwi is centred on the inland Waitara River Valley, and extends from Taranaki Maunga in the west to the upper Whanganui River in the east. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000548\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003EThe bill includes a summary of the historical account, and as Minister Little spoke to, he looks forward now to giving a formal apology when that is possible. The bill also addresses cultural redress, relationship redress, and financial redress, and the vesting of 16 sites of cultural significance as part of that, which we looked at as a committee.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000549\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003EInterestingly, the administration of the Whanganui River catchment area was something we needed to look at as a committee, and clauses 57, 58, and 59 of the bill provide for the transfer of three properties that are public conservation land within the Whanganui River catchment area. One of those properties is to be transferred as shared redress with Ng\u0101ti H\u0101ua. These sites may contain riverbed owned by Te Awa Tupua, the legal personality that comprises the Whanganui River, but are administered and managed by the Department of Conservation. Te Awa Tupua - owned riverbed would not be transferred with the surrounding land as the Crown no longer owns it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000550\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003EWe have been advised that Ng\u0101ti Maru, Ng\u0101 T\u0101ngata Tiaki o Whanganui, the post-settlement governance entity for the Whanganui River settlement; Te Pou Tupua, the \u201Chuman face\u201D of Te Awa Tupua; and Ng\u0101ti H\u0101ua have agreed that it would no longer be appropriate for the Department of Conservation to administer and manage any riverbed running through these sites. Instead, Te Pou Tupua should assume those responsibilities, and they have agreed to do so. So, as a committee, we have recommended amending the bill to give effect to this agreement. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000551\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003EThe bill would require the trustees of Ng\u0101ti Maru and the Taranaki Regional Council to create a joint-management agreement for matters relating to the Waitara River and its catchment area. There\u2019s also a clause there which would apply to specified resource consent applications made to territorial authorities. In its submission, the New Plymouth District Council\u2014whom we heard from\u2014sought clarification of its intended role in the joint-management agreement, which we considered, and although the drafting of clause 87 actively reflects the equivalent drafting in the deed of settlement, Ng\u0101ti Maru have agreed that the joint-management agreement was only intended to apply to applications for resource consent between the Taranaki Regional Council and Ng\u0101ti Maru. The reference to territorial authorities in clause 87 was made in error, and, accordingly, the committee has recommended amending the bill to accurately reflect the agreed intention of the joint-management agreement.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000552\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003EThe bill as introduced removed memorials on land pertaining to Ng\u0101ti Maru\u2019s redress. It also removed the Waitangi Tribunal\u2019s jurisdiction to order resumption in favour of Ng\u0101ti Manu. We understand that it is Crown policy to remove all remaining resumptive memorials on land in a region once historical Waitangi Tribunal claims have been settled through legislation, and Ng\u0101ti Maru are the last iwi in the Taranaki region to settle their historical Treaty claims.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000553\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003ETe Arawhiti advised us as a committee that it was considering whether to amend the bill to remove other resumptive memorials within fully settled areas of the Taranaki region. However, as this was not considered or discussed with Ng\u0101ti Maru prior to the deed of settlement being signed, Te Arawhiti concluded it would be more appropriate to remove memorials at a later time, although this was the last settlement in the area, and the committee supported this approach as this bill is focused on Ng\u0101ti Maru o Taranaki.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000554\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222170b5bd-171f-4d9f-bfa6-cab72178f108\u0022\u003ESo I do look forward to having an opportunity to speak more generally on the bill itself, but given this is the second reading, I\u2019ve just focused on the select committee process and the considerations that we\u2019ve had. I certainly do hope that Ng\u0101ti Maru are able to be here in person for the third reading, which will be a historic moment and one I certainly look forward to. So, with that, 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=\u00223e96653f422f4e878fcbb940417cb1c0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000555\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223e96653f422f4e878fcbb940417cb1c0\u0022\u003EHon MEKA WHAITIRI (Minister of Customs):\u003C/span\u003E E te M\u0101ngai o te Whare, t\u0113n\u0101 koe, otir\u0101 ng\u0101 mema katoa, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa an\u014D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000556\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E[Mr Speaker, greetings to you, and to all the members, greetings again to you.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000557\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI\u2019m proud and pleased to take a call in the second reading of the Ng\u0101ti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill. To the people of Ng\u0101ti Maru, ng\u0101 mihi ki a koutou katoa, i runga i te kaupapa o t\u014D pire, n\u014D reira t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000558\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E[To the people of Ng\u0101ti Maru, I greet you all as you bring your bill to be discussed, therefore, greeting, greetings, greetings to one and all.] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000559\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI\u2019m not a member of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, so I\u2019m very reliant on the report that came back to the House and the close examination of this bill by the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. Can I, obviously, add my appreciation for and acknowledgment of the negotiators for Ng\u0101ti Maru. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000560\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI won\u2019t repeat what both the Minister for Treaty settlements and the previous member, Joseph Mooney, have said. They\u2019ve traversed the parts of the legislation that we\u2019re debating tonight. As a former Treaty negotiator, you always look for a unique part of each iwi\u2019s settlement, and I think the two previous speakers touched on the two, from my perspective, which give rise to the uniqueness of this settlement, and that is the use of conservation land\u2014which has been touched on\u2014and the riverbed of the Whanganui River, and, of course, the removal or the resumptive orders, which is really important as a mechanism to return what we can back to the people of Ng\u0101ti Maru.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000561\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003ESo it is one of the last iwi of the Taranaki iwi wh\u0101nui that is settling here. This is the second reading. I want to acknowledge all those that submitted on the bill. I want to acknowledge the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, who gave it the right scrutiny. I want to acknowledge the amendments that they brought to the House and that the Minister of Treaty settlements, the Hon Andrew Little, has taken on board, and has adjusted accordingly. This is a very important reading for the Ng\u0101ti Maru people of Taranaki, and the area of interest is the inland Waitara River Valley, which goes out to Taranaki maunga to the west and the upper Whanganui River in the east. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000562\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EIn acknowledging the significance of what we\u2019re debating here as the second reading, I want to acknowledge the Taranaki leadership that has bestowed itself on not only this House but the region of Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara, particularly as the iwi come together to put a cloud\u2014a karakia o raukura\u2014over this whole capital city of ours, and I want to acknowledge that tribe and the tribe of Taranaki with the people of Ng\u0101ti Maru because they are one people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000563\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003ESo I want to acknowledge the Taranaki wh\u0101nui Te Atiawa in terms of the karakia that it has bestowed on this place\u2014Parliament\u2014as acknowledgment of the mana whenua in my contribution to this particular bill. It is important for Ng\u0101ti Maru to feel the support on this side of the House\u2014and I thank all members of this House\u2014in the second reading of this particular bill. But it\u2019s also to acknowledge the significance that their people, the iwi of Taranaki, have also provided comfort and some blessings to this place of work\u2014the Parliament, the New Zealand House of Representatives\u2014and, to those that have found their way here, to politely say to them that it\u2019s about time they go home, and we\u2019ve heard contributions from previous members in this House that have talked about what has actually occurred to the people of Te Atiawa, of which Ng\u0101ti Maru is one of those key iwi that are part of that particular tribe.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000564\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI want to again commend the bill to the House. I want to acknowledge all the negotiators who have fought gallantly on the unique qualities of Ng\u0101ti Maru\u2014particularly, like I said, around the riverbed, and the clarification around the partnership that will be forged with the Taranaki Regional Council. From the limited knowledge I know of that part of the northern land, which is distinctly different to the East Coast, is that it is the significantly productive land that occurs in the wider Taranaki region, and, of course, there is the significance of the awas and its contribution to the primary sector.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000565\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003ESo, with those few words of support and endorsement, I look forward to the third and final reading of this bill in acknowledgment of what has been negotiated and agreed between Ng\u0101ti Maru and the Crown to address the past wrongs and hurts of the omissions and acts of the Crown. I look forward to, hopefully, hosting the people of Ng\u0101ti Maru, should they find themselves down this part if conditions allow, to celebrate alongside them the significance of this bill. I commend the Ng\u0101ti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022 data-id=\u0022ed2b6b32d8c047f3a05a62f2b68d8c22\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000566\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ed2b6b32d8c047f3a05a62f2b68d8c22\u0022\u003EBARBARA KURIGER (National\u2014Taranaki - King Country):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is a pleasure to stand here, and it is a shame that COVID restrictions have limited Ng\u0101ti Maru from travelling to Wellington, because one of the special things I always find when we do Treaty settlement bills is often we would have members of Ng\u0101ti Maru, or whoever we\u2019re speaking to, up in the gallery so that we can actually have them being much more part of what we\u2019re doing than they currently are. I too want to reiterate, as others have said, that I hope that by the time we get to the third reading, we can be in the state around the COVID regulations that we can have a room full of people, because it\u2019s never as good otherwise, and it\u2019s been a struggle for Ng\u0101ti Maru all the way through. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000567\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EIn terms of the deed of settlement, as Minister Little mentioned before, it was a beautiful, sunny day, and we were all out in a little place called Tarata, which is in inland Taranaki, where the deed of settlement was due to be signed. There had been over 650 people who had been invited to that event, and because of the COVID situation at that time, which was nearly a year ago now, it was attended by probably only about 30 or 40 people, I\u2019d say. It was really only the people who had been doing the negotiation, the Minister, and a few of us from Parliament, and I did feel for Ng\u0101ti Maru at that time, because they\u2019d been in the process of putting up a new marae and we couldn\u2019t use it to its full extent. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000568\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EIt was almost finished, and I look forward to the day, as Minister Little said, when he can go back there and give the full apology, which wasn\u2019t able to be given on that day. So it has been a hard row to hoe, but it\u2019s a pleasure standing here and speaking on the second reading, and we\u2019re looking forward to progressing this in the hope that we can all be together when we get to that final stretch and have the third reading and have a celebration together. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000569\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EBecause of the inland location of Ng\u0101ti Maru, they had limited contact with Europeans during the 1840s and the 1850s. They were not involved in the land dealings which led to the war in Taranaki in 1860 and were not directly involved in the subsequent fighting. Their involvement was limited to providing refuge to Wiremu Kingi Te Rangit\u0101ke in accordance with the requirements of whanaungatanga, and then it all changed. When the Crown confiscated huge tracts of Taranaki to punish so-called rebels in 1865, approximately half of the traditional lands of Ng\u0101ti Maru were included. Many of their main k\u0101inga, urup\u0101, and w\u0101hi tapu were taken, and some have never been returned. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EIn the early 1870s, the Crown attempted to promote European settlement on confiscated land by paying some Ng\u0101ti Maru compensation for the rights that the confiscation had extinguished. These deeds of cession covered about 60,000 acres and created significant divisions within the iwi, and it compounded the damage that had already been caused by the loss of land. So now we\u2019re talking many, many years\u2014150 years\u2014later, actually standing in the House of Parliament in New Zealand and feeling very, very appreciative that Ng\u0101ti Maru have been gracious enough to accept a settlement that\u2019s been offered, because\u2014I think it\u2019s been said earlier today in an earlier Treaty settlement bill\u2014there\u2019s lots of give and take through these things, and it\u2019s never enough to undo everything that was done at the time that these awful events happened. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000571\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EIn the early 1890s, some Ng\u0101ti Maru were virtually landless and appealed to the Crown for help. The Crown\u2019s response was slow and ineffective, and legislation was not enacted until 1907. The land ultimately provided to Ng\u0101ti Maru was poor and it was of limited size. So the extensive loss of the land and the assets has eroded tribal structures. It\u2019s bad enough what actually happened in terms of the assets being taken, but it actually eroded the culture and the tribal structures and it caused severe poverty, and that damaged the whole physical, cultural, and spiritual health of generations of Ng\u0101ti Maru people. The intense sense of loss and disconnection is expressed in the following Ng\u0101ti Maru lament: \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000572\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EMaru H\u0101h\u0101\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000573\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EH\u0101h\u0101 te whenua\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000574\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EH\u0101h\u0101 te tangata.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000575\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EMaru of extreme loss and breathlessness\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000576\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EThe land is deserted\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000577\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EThe people are gone and gasping for breath.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000578\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EI wasn\u2019t part of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, but it\u2019s good to see that the committee has taken care of some necessary changes, particularly in relation to the riverbed and the Whanganui settlement with Ng\u0101 T\u0101ngata Tiake o Whanganui, because each boundary isn\u2019t exactly\u2014particularly when it comes to rivers\u2014distinct and separate. So it\u2019s been really good that this has been made to work in a way that it can work for Ng\u0101ti Maru as well as for the people of Whanganui. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000579\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EThen, of course, it was very important to get that clear distinction when there is a relationship here with the Taranaki Regional Council, but it didn\u2019t extend down into the same relationship with the Taranaki district councils, of which there are three. So it was really important to make sure that the right terminology is in the bill and everything had been done right so that it didn\u2019t cause any problems later. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000580\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003ESo I just do want to make note that if we look at the schedules which sit in the back of this piece of legislation, there are some beautiful conservation areas and some beautiful scenic reserves. There are some great marginal strips, beautiful land along the Waitara River, Okau Scenic Reserve\u2014there\u2019s quite a range of beautiful New Zealand conservation and historic land here that I think Ng\u0101ti Maru can be very proud of in terms of the settlement they\u2019ve made. But I also look forward to working with Ng\u0101ti Maru and all of the iwi of Taranaki in terms of making these conservation areas and these scenic reserves even more beautiful than they are now as we work together in agribusiness and in M\u0101ori agribusiness, which we do have a lot of in Taranaki. It\u2019ll be just great to work together on some of those projects and get the biodiversity and everything of these lovely places up and running again in joint projects. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000581\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003ESo, with that, I\u2019d like to commend this bill to the House. Thank you. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022 data-id=\u0022d40bcab5c1814e7a8fbbcbd94ce3eb9d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000582\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d40bcab5c1814e7a8fbbcbd94ce3eb9d\u0022\u003ET\u0100MATI COFFEY (Labour) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can I acknowledge the tough times that we\u2019re going through and the fact that we have taken this online, as we did for our submission hearings, as well. As chair of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, it was less than desirable. We would very much have liked to travel to Taranaki to go and hear the submission hearings and to look the people in the eye, but, unfortunately, we were unable to do that then for the submission hearings, and we\u2019re still unable to do that now. So, Ng\u0101ti Maru, ahakoa kei hea koutou, poipoia e t\u0113nei whenua e t\u0113nei motu o Aotearoa, he mihi t\u0113nei ki a koutou. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000583\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003E[So, Ng\u0101ti Muru, wherever you may be, be cared for by this land, this country of Aotearoa New Zealand, this is my acknowledgment to you.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000584\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EI\u2019m proud to take a call on the second reading of this bill. The Ng\u0101ti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill was referred to our komiti M\u0101ori on 6 July 2021. The closing date for submissions was 18 August 2021. We got advice on the bill from Te Arawhiti\u2014thank you to them for their continued support to the committee through this process. The Office of the Clerk also provided some advice on the bill\u2019s legislative quality, and Parliamentary Counsel assisted with legal drafting. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EWe received and considered 35 submissions from various interest groups and individuals, and we heard oral evidence from eight submitters. The majority of the submitters had a desire to move everybody forward for the benefit of Ng\u0101ti Maru\u2014for their people, for the wider community, for the future, ng\u0101 tamariki mokopuna kei te heke mai [for the children and grandchildren to come]\u2014and they wanted to acknowledge also those people that had passed on, who were also quite active in initiating and moving the claim forward from the beginning, and the collective mahi and dedication achieved in reaching this settlement, their settlement. They had optimism for their tamariki and for their mokopuna so that they could fulfil their aspirations, and they had a desire to restore, revitalise, and enhance the mauri of Ng\u0101ti Maruwharanui. That was the overwhelming feeling of some of the submitters who were absolutely in support and saw no reason for the select committee to stand in their way. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000586\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EI will talk very briefly about the Ng\u0101ti Maru (Taranaki) Fisheries Trust, who also came before the committee. They put submissions in. There was a longstanding issue that we as a committee heard about that had been happening between the Ng\u0101ti Maru Fisheries Trust and Te K\u0101hui Maru, which is the entity set to receive this settlement. The fisheries trust felt as though, to be able to go through this\u2014what they said in their submissions was that they thought that the restrictiveness of the Ng\u0101ti Maru claimant definition for the Treaty settlement was too restrictive. They had concerns surrounding the facilitation process, and they had concerns around the r\u016Bnanga\u2019s mandate to negotiate a Treaty settlement\u2014full stop. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000587\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EWe had to fill ourselves in with this conversation, because it had been going for quite some time prior to it coming before the committee, but after we\u2019d heard the submissions and taken our advice, we\u2014the committee\u2014decided that, actually, Te K\u0101hui Maru Trust did in fact have the mandate, it did in fact go through thorough processes around facilitation to make sure that that was nice and tight, and there were plenty of opportunities via the independent review of the Ng\u0101ti Maru tribal register. That was conducted in 2017 as part of negotiations, and we were comfortable that they had a robust process to be able to include people that wanted to be included on their r\u016Bnanga register. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000588\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EThis was an interesting settlement because this is the last of the Taranaki iwi to come before the select committee, looking for settlement on their grievance. I, along with the rest of the committee, look forward to the third reading of their settlement bill. Again, I\u2019m sorry that we couldn\u2019t be in each other\u2019s company for this\u2014the second reading\u2014but what I did note, what I did observe, and what I do know is that Ng\u0101ti Maru are very, very keen to get this through, to be able to receive their settlement, to be able to receive their redress, and to be able to hear the Crown acknowledgments and the Crown apology as we move forward into the third reading. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000589\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EI do want to acknowledge that point there too\u2014the reading out of the apology\u2014which was something that was discussed. On 29 September, Ng\u0101ti Maru set out their aspiration for the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations to visit the Ng\u0101ti Maru rohe after the third reading to deliver the Crown apology to the claimant community. On their request, the Minister did not deliver the Crown apology at the signing of their ceremony, but we decided to hold off on it. We did have to go back to them to see if they wanted the apology mentioned at all throughout this select committee process or the first, the second, or the third reading, and they advised us that they would like the committee to be able to read their apology as part of the third reading. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000590\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003ESo we look forward to doing that and to addressing past wrongs, but I acknowledge Ng\u0101ti Maruwharanui and the journey that they\u2019ve been on, through our select committee process but through our wider political process as well, to try and deliver a better future for their tamariki and their mokopuna. I commend this bill to the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022 data-id=\u0022a37d1f987ec44120ac2d4e0953a54781\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000591\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a37d1f987ec44120ac2d4e0953a54781\u0022\u003ETEANAU TUIONO (Green) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe e te M\u0101ngai o te Whare. E mihi ana ki a t\u0101tou katoa e noho ana ki te Whare P\u0101remata, otir\u0101 ki a t\u0101tou e noho tawhiti nei p\u0113nei mai ki a au. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000592\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EE mihi ana ki a koutou Ng\u0101ti Maru. Maru h\u0101h\u0101, h\u0101h\u0101 te whenua, h\u0101h\u0101 te tangata. E mihi ana ki t\u014D koutou nei manawanui, t\u014D koutou nei manawaroa i t\u0113nei o ng\u0101 hiku o t\u0113nei pire, i te mea kua roa te w\u0101 e h\u012Bkoi ana koutou i t\u0113nei o ng\u0101 tukanga ki roto i ng\u0101 rua tekau o ng\u0101 tau. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000593\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EN\u014D reira, e mihi ana t\u0113nei ki a koutou e noho ki raro o te maru o te maunga t\u012Bt\u014Dhea ki t\u014Dna r\u0101whiti tae noa ki te p\u016Btake o te awa o Waitara, whakawhiti te manga o Hoehoe, heke atu ki te awa o Whanganui hipa atu ki a Matemateaonga ki Whakaahurangi. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000594\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EN\u014D reira, ko au an\u014D t\u0113tahi mema o te Komiti Whiriwhiri Take M\u0101ori. Ko te raru k\u0113 m\u014D \u0113nei w\u0101hanga e kimi nei t\u0101tou i t\u0113nei w\u0101 ki raro i ng\u0101 \u0101huatanga o te mate urut\u0101. T\u0113 taea e m\u0101tou te whai w\u0101 ki te haere ki t\u014D r\u0101tou nei marae ki te whakarongo ki ng\u0101 k\u014Drero, ki te whakarongo ki ng\u0101 p\u016Br\u0101kau, ki te whakarongo ki ng\u0101 kaupapa kia rongo an\u014D te taiao, kia rongo an\u014D te whenua, kia tipi haere ng\u0101 w\u0101hi e ng\u0101kau nui ana Ng\u0101ti Maru. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000595\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EHeoi an\u014D, m\u0101 runga i te whakawhiti ki runga i ng\u0101 hangarau mata hiko i tau an\u014D te whakaaro i ng\u0101 moemoe\u0101 o Ng\u0101ti Maru i a m\u0101tou ng\u0101 mema o te Komiti Whiriwhiri Take M\u0101ori. I ara mai i ng\u0101 nawe t\u016Broa o Ng\u0101ti Maru i te murunga i tapaina me te kounutanga hua mai i muri i t\u0101 Te Karauna raupatu i t\u0113tahi haurua o \u014D r\u0101tou whenua taketake i te tekau 1860. I k\u014Drerohia e \u0113tahi o ng\u0101 kaik\u014Drero e p\u0101 ana ki t\u0113r\u0101 w\u0101hanga, otir\u0101 te w\u0101hanga an\u014D te pakanga whenua ki Taranaki i m\u014Dhio wh\u0101nui t\u0101tou ng\u0101 konene e noho ana ki Parihaka me \u014Dna p\u0101nga ki a Ng\u0101ti Maru i raupatuhia te Karauna i \u014D r\u0101tou nei whenua. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000596\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EI te korenga o t\u0113tahi huarahi whaihua kia mau tonu i a r\u0101tou he taitara takitini ka rongo tonu an\u014D a Ng\u0101ti Maru i te kore haeretanga me te kurukurunga o ng\u0101 t\u016Branga o te iwi o te rautau tekau m\u0101 iwa. N\u0101 te h\u0113 o te whakahaere o Te Karauna i ng\u0101 r\u0101hui i t\u0101puitia r\u0101 m\u014D te iwi ka takahia te mana o Ng\u0101ti Maru me tana whakahaere i \u014Dna whenua e toe ana. N\u0101 ng\u0101 mahi o Te Karauna, n\u0101 te korenga r\u0101nei o \u0101na mahi ki a Ng\u0101ti Maru i muru ia te nuinga o \u014D r\u0101tou nei whenua t\u012Bpuna, i peia ai hoki ki \u014D r\u0101tou uri ki whenua k\u0113 atu.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000597\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EAhakoa kore rawa atu te utu paremata o te whakataunga Tiriti ki a Ng\u0101ti Maru e \u0101ta h\u0101ngai ana ki te taumata o te kino kua p\u0101 ki a r\u0101tou e pono ana taku t\u016Bmanako kia t\u016B ko te whakataunga nei hei huarahi atu ki te whakatikatika te whakatikahanga o \u0113nei takahanga o te ture. I a m\u0101tou ng\u0101 K\u0101k\u0101riki e whakaaro ana ki ng\u0101 \u0101huatanga p\u0113nei ana te \u0101hua, me m\u014Dhio mai t\u0113nei Whare, ehara i te Te Tiriti o Waitangi te kirimana m\u014D te hokohoko noa, ehara i Te Tiriti o Waitangi te kirimana m\u014D te hokohoko taputapu te hokohoko whenua. He oranga an\u014D n\u014D Te Tiriti o Waitangi. He hononga he piringa i waenganui i Te Karauna me ng\u0101 hap\u016B kia whakatinanahia ng\u0101 moemoe\u0101 o ng\u0101 m\u0101tua t\u012Bpuna. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000598\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003ET\u0113 taea atu te whakatau te whakamoe Te Tiriti o Waitangi i te mea kei a ia \u014Dna oranga mai i te w\u0101 i t\u0101mokotia e ng\u0101 t\u012Bpuna i Waitangi i te tau 1840 tae mai ki t\u0113nei rangi tonu. Ko t\u014Dna aronga m\u0113n\u0101 ka tiro t\u0101tou ki te w\u0101hanga tuarua\u2014tino rangatiratanga. He p\u016Btake an\u014D t\u0113r\u0101 ki a au ki a m\u0101tou te katoa e noho nei ki Aotearoa, hei h\u0101pai, hei \u0101whina t\u0101tou i a t\u0101tou e whakatere ana i o t\u0101tou nei waka ki runga i te moana pukepuke i t\u0113nei w\u0101.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000599\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EN\u014D reira, ki roto i t\u0113r\u0101 horopaki me mihi atu ki ng\u0101 uri o Ng\u0101ti Maru i a r\u0101tou takahi ki roto i ng\u0101 rua tekau, toru tekau e aha r\u0101nei ng\u0101 tau kia k\u014Dkirihia t\u0113nei ker\u0113me n\u014D r\u0101tou, i te mea kua m\u014Dhio ki roto i te tukanga ka puta mai ng\u0101 p\u016Br\u0101kau, i puta mai ng\u0101 k\u014Drero tuku iho ka tohatoha i \u0113nei taonga, \u0101, te k\u014Drero mai i ng\u0101 kaum\u0101tua, ki ng\u0101 reanga katoa. Ko te t\u016Bmanako kia k\u012B ng\u0101 kete m\u0101tauranga m\u014D te hunga rangatahi o te iwi kia wh\u0101ngaihia an\u014D \u0113r\u0101 k\u014Drero ki ng\u0101 tamariki mokopuna. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000600\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EKei reira an\u014D te oranga i te t\u012Bmatanga o t\u0113nei momo k\u0113reme, whakatau K\u0113reme. Ko te Whakatau K\u0113reme he tikanga kia tau te mauri kia whai whakaaro te hunga katoa e noho ana ki te takiw\u0101 i waenganui i ng\u0101 hapori katoa. N\u014D reira, ko t\u014Dku manako kia noho te katoa o ng\u0101 hapori e noho ana ki te takiw\u0101; tangata whenua mai; tauiwi mai; manene mai; a mai; kia whakarongo ki te h\u012Btori t\u016Bturu n\u014D Ng\u0101ti Maru.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000601\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EHoki an\u014D t\u0113r\u0101 whakatauk\u012B i m\u014Dhio t\u0101tou rongonui \u201CKo te kai a te rangatira he k\u014Drero\u201D. N\u014D reira n\u0101 runga i te k\u014Drero ka whai t\u0113nei me te rangatiratanga hei oranga m\u014D Ng\u0101ti Maru, otir\u0101 ki a t\u0101tou katoa i roto i a t\u0101tou e whakangungu ana ng\u0101 k\u014Drero tuku iho a ng\u0101 m\u0101tua tipuna. Ng\u0101 korero ko \u0113tahi e mamae ana te ng\u0101kau i te mea he k\u014Drero e p\u0101 ana ki ng\u0101 pakanga te whawhati o ng\u0101 t\u016Bmanako i ahu mai i Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Heoi t\u0113nei te \u0101hua o te ara i t\u0113nei w\u0101 me k\u014Dkiri an\u014D t\u0101tou ki te tika me pono hei oranga m\u014D t\u0101tou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000602\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EKi roto i t\u0113nei whakatau ker\u0113me ka tae atu i te toru tekau miriona te p\u016Btea kia whakarite he p\u016Btea an\u014D m\u014D te whakangungu te taha ahurea kia kite t\u0101tou t\u0113r\u0101 i roto i \u0113r\u0101 atu o ng\u0101 whakatau ker\u0113me. Kei roto hoki i t\u0113nei whakataunga te hoki mai i \u0113tahi o ng\u0101 kura p\u0113r\u0101 ki a Tarata a Matau me \u0113tahi w\u0101hanga o te urup\u0101 o Tarata me \u0113rahi w\u0101hanga t\u0101pui taiao me ng\u0101 kura e toru.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000603\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EE ai ki te k\u014Drero i a au e p\u0101nui ana i ng\u0101 pepa ko t\u0113tahi mea ka hokia mai ko te whare teihana pirihimana ki Whakaahurangi k\u0101ore ake m\u0113n\u0101 kei te whakahoki t\u0113r\u0101 teihana pirihimana ka noho ng\u0101 pirihimana ki hea. Heoi kei te pukumahi ng\u0101 pirihimana kei waho i te P\u0101remata i t\u0113nei w\u0101, t\u0113n\u0101 pea. K\u0101ore an\u014D t\u0113nei he raru kia tau ki a r\u0101tou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000604\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EI a m\u0101tou te komiti wh\u0101iti e whiriwhiri ana ng\u0101 take i puta mai i tautoko katoa i ng\u0101 k\u014Drero i k\u014Drerotia e te tiamana i mua. Te nuinga i tautoko mai i t\u0113nei kaupapa ko t\u0113tahi, he whakaaro ano t\u014D r\u0101tou. Heoi an\u014D i kite t\u0101tou i t\u0113r\u0101 momo k\u014Drero ki roto i \u0113nei tukanga whakatau ker\u0113me.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000605\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EKo \u0113tahi hap\u016B e aro an\u014D r\u0101tou ki Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I hainatia Te Tiriti o Waitangi m\u014D te hap\u016B, n\u014D reira ka puta mai \u0113nei o ng\u0101 k\u014Drero. N\u014D reira ko te whakatau k\u0113reme Tiriti o Waitangi ehara i te mea i whakatau te ng\u0101kau ki \u0113tahi atu. N\u014D reira, me mihi atu ki t\u0113r\u0101 \u0101huatanga o t\u0101tou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000606\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EE mihi ana ki ng\u0101 ringa wera i k\u014Drerohia e te Arawhiti ki Ng\u0101ti Maru me \u0113r\u0101 atu o ng\u0101 r\u014Dp\u016B n\u0101 te aroha o ng\u0101 iwi wh\u0101nui o taua w\u0101hi ki te awa me te awa o Whanganui i te mea he w\u0101hi an\u014D m\u014D Te Pou Tupua kia noho tahi me Ng\u0101ti H\u0101ua i te mea t\u0113r\u0101 te \u0101hua o ng\u0101 awa p\u0113r\u0101 i te awa tipua p\u0113ra ki a te awa o Whanganui. Maha ng\u0101 iwi e hono ana, maha ng\u0101 w\u0101hi e hono ana ki t\u0113r\u0101 o ng\u0101 awa, heoi an\u014D ko t\u014Dna tikanga n\u0101 Te Pou Tupua t\u0113r\u0101 w\u0101hi i k\u014Dkirihia \u0113nei iwi, \u0113nei r\u014Dp\u016B katoa. Ng\u0101 h\u0101pai, tiaki o t\u0113r\u0101 waha, m\u0101 r\u0101tou an\u014D ng\u0101 whenua e r\u0101rangahia.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000607\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EN\u014D reira, n\u014Dku noa iho he tautoko kia whai w\u0101hi an\u014D ki roto i ng\u0101 kaupapa tae noa ki t\u014D t\u0101tou p\u0101nuitanga tuatoru o t\u0113nei. Kei te tautoko m\u0101tou ng\u0101 K\u0101k\u0101riki ki t\u0113nei o ng\u0101 pire. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koe.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000608\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003E[Greetings, Mr Speaker. Greetings to all of us, those in the House of Parliament and also to those calling in remotely like me. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000609\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EI greet you, Ng\u0101ti Maru. Maru of extreme loss and breathlessness. I acknowledge your dogged persistence at this time of the final stages of the pire for it has been a long 20 years you have been pursuing these processes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000610\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003ETherefore, I greet you who live in the shadow of the barren mountain, on its eastern side stretching to the source of the Waitara River, crossing the Hoehoe Stream, descending to the Whanganui River and, by way of the Matemateaonga Ranges, back to Stratford.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000611\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003ETherefore, I am myself a member of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. The circumstances of the pandemic have made this difficult for us at this time. None of us were able to visit their marae to listen to what they had to say, to listen to their stories, to listen to the issues, and to experience the environment and the land as well as visit some of the special places of Ng\u0101ti Maru.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000612\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EHowever, the dreams of Ng\u0101ti Maru were also expressed and felt by us, the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, in our online discussions. The longstanding complaints of Ng\u0101ti Maru arose from the plunder and thus the withdrawal as a result Crown confiscation of half of their original lands in the 1860s. Some of the other speakers spoke about this part, as well as the Taranaki Wars and we all know of the refugees of Parihaka and its effects on Ng\u0101ti Maru when their land was confiscated.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000613\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EWith the erosion of an effective way to retain multiple title, Ng\u0101ti Maru continue to feel the effects of the continuing loss of tribal leadership that stemmed from the 19th century. Because of the Crown\u2019s failure to put aside reserves for the iwi, the authority of Ng\u0101ti Maru was disregarded and its ability to manage its remaining lands was undermined. Due to the actions of the Crown, or its inaction towards Ng\u0101ti Maru, the majority of their ancestral land was confiscated, leading to the displacement elsewhere of its descendants.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000614\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EAlthough the redress to Ng\u0101ti Maru in this Treaty settlement does not in any way match the harm that was done to them, it is still my hope that the settlement will provide a way forward to right these breaches of the law. While we, the Greens, were discussing issues such as these, the House needs to know that the Treaty of Waitangi was not an agreement for the sale of belongings nor of land. The Treaty of Waitangi is a living document. It binds tightly together the Crown and the hap\u016B in order to embody the dreams of our ancestors.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000615\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EThe Treaty of Waitangi cannot be silenced or put to bed, because it has been a living document since its signing by the ancestors at Waitangi in 1840 right up to this very day. Its purpose, if we look at article 2, is self-determination. This offers a direction to me, to all of us living in Aotearoa New Zealand, to support and help each other navigate the troubled waters in which we find ourselves at this time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000616\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003ETherefore, in this context, I would like to acknowledge the descendants of Ng\u0101ti Maru. You have been on this journey for 20, 30, or more years because they knew that, in the process, stories and legends would be told and these stories were shared from the elders to all the other generations. The hope is that the baskets of knowledge of the younger generations will be filled, so the future generations can also be nourished.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000617\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EThat is also one of the benefits of beginning these types of claim, claim settlements. A claim settlement allows all parts of the local community to calmly deliberate amongst themselves. Therefore, it is my wish that all parts of the community; the people of the land; Europeans; other immigrants; and whoever else will be able to listen to the true history of Ng\u0101ti Maru.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000618\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EI turn now to that famous proverb that we all know \u201CThe sustenance of chiefs is words\u201D. Therefore, upon these words and the word autonomy, this will bring wellbeing to Ng\u0101ti Maru, indeed to all of us, as we defend the stories handed down from our ancestors. Some stories were painful to hear because they referred to the battles and the crushing of hopes which had stemmed from the Treaty of Waitangi. However, this is an aspect of our journey at this time, we must continue to push for truth and justice for the benefit of us all. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000619\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EIn this claim settlement is the inclusion of $30 million. There is also another fund to protect cultural aspects as we have seen in other claim settlements. Included as well in this decision is the return of school properties such as Tarata and Matau, with some parts of the Tarata burial ground and some parts of environmental reserves and three schools.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000620\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EAccording to what I read in the documents, one thing that was being returned was the police station in Stratford, but if that police station is returned where will the police go? Well, they may be hard at work outside Parliament today perhaps. This has not yet become a problem for them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000621\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EWhile we on the select committee were discussing the issues, everyone supports what the previous chairperson has said. The majority support this issue, but other people had other thoughts. However, we have all seen that type of thinking in the claim settlement processes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000622\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003ESome hap\u016B focus on the Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed by the hap\u016B, and therefore these issues come up. There these of Treaty of Waitangi settlements don\u2019t sit well with everyone. Therefore, I must acknowledge that attitude of ours.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000623\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EI acknowledge the workers behind the scenes, Te Arawhiti, or the Office of M\u0101ori Crown Relations, who were mentioned; Ng\u0101ti Maru; and some other groups, for the support of the wider iwi of the river and of the Whanganui River as there is an opportunity for Te Pou Tupua\u2014that is, those that act and speak on behalf of the river\u2014to collaborate with Ng\u0101ti H\u0101ua, because that is one of the characteristics of these types of supernatural rivers such as the Whanganui. Many iwi and many places connect to that river. However, the idea is that Te Pou Tupua is a place where these people can come together. The supporters, the guardians of that voice, they themselves will weave together the land.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000624\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003ETherefore, I just need to say we support further participation in this issue right up to and including the third reading. We, the Greens, support this bill. Greetings to you all, greetings to you.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022 data-id=\u0022c24763a0e670477d8e6f31ccdf14139f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000625\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c24763a0e670477d8e6f31ccdf14139f\u0022\u003ESIMON COURT (ACT):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. The ACT Party supports the Ng\u0101ti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill. What is good about this bill is that the Treaty of Waitangi recognises private property rights in its second article. New Zealand is almost unique in the world in that our founding document recognises the property rights of all New Zealanders in its founding document. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EThe Treaty of Waitangi, in the English version, in the second article, says that \u201CHer Majesty the Queen of England \u2026 guarantees \u2026 the full exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries and other properties\u201D which the chiefs and tribes of New Zealand had in their possession. Then, as we know from reading our recent history, a number of egregious acts were committed, not solely by the Crown, which dispossessed Ng\u0101ti Maru and other iwi and hap\u016B of their lands. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000627\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EWe should count ourselves fortunate, particularly at this time of great strife in other countries that we regard as our equals, whether they be in Europe or in the Pacific, where strife between ethnic communities and disagreements over land and access to resources has led to violence and the breakdown of their civil society. So I think it\u2019s important that all New Zealanders acknowledge that having the Treaty of Waitangi as a founding document actually gives us an opportunity to focus on sorting out real infringements of private property rights. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000628\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EReading through the proposal that this claims settlement bill brings to the House, there is an apology and redress for the acts of the Crown and the omissions of the Crown\u2014an apology, a cultural redress, and a commercial and financial redress of $30 million. In terms of the apology, there\u2019s an acknowledgment of the Crown\u2019s actions and an apology for its breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi with regard to Ng\u0101ti Maru, and that is fit. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000629\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EIn terms of a cultural redress, the bill includes provision for a number of cultural redress instruments, which are listed in detail in the bill. The bill then comes to the substantive matters, which is the vesting of properties, because, despite the fact that the Crown has acknowledged a large number of properties and the extent of land that was alienated from Ng\u0101ti Maru unfairly, it\u2019s not possible for the Crown to restore all of that land, because since that event, much of that land is, in fact, owned by others. Other people now have private property rights in that land. So the Crown has to find some other way of giving redress, in terms of a financial redress of $30 million, and to make available other properties that the Crown has access to. That is land about which the Crown, essentially, says, \u201CWhile we might have wanted to use it for other purposes, it is far better that we give Ng\u0101ti Maru this land in recognition of the loss of their lands and alienation of their lands as a result of the Crown\u2019s action.\u201D, and that is fit. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003ESo there are properties in the Taranaki area, and then there are statutory acknowledgments. That is where in law the role, the mana, of Ng\u0101ti Maru is recognised in legislation, and that is fit. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000631\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EThere is a deed of recognition where the Crown is required to consult with Ng\u0101ti Maru on specific matters that affect this iwi and to have regard to their special associations that they have with places that are important to Ng\u0101ti Maru, and that is fit. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000632\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EThen we come to the matter of natural resource redress. In New Zealand, we have the Resource Management Act, and that was intended, in 1991, to be the vehicle by which private land owners and the Government and their agencies, whether they be a transport agency or a railways department\u2014as it might have been at the time\u2014could apply for consent from local government, and then the Environment Court, if it was appealed, to undertake activities on their private property. Now, the Resource Management Act is recognised to have failed to adequately allocate resources and to have imposed costs and burdens on the private sector and the State sector alike, and, in fact, that law is well overdue for reform. The ACT Party has proposed an alternative to the Government\u2019s Natural and Built Environments Bill, which we\u2019ll be presenting in the House later this week. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000633\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EBut coming back to the natural resource redress in this bill, this bill provides for joint-management agreements between Ng\u0101ti Maru and local government\u2014the Taranaki Regional Council\u2014and that is in relation to any exercise of the local authority\u2019s functions, powers, and duties relating to a natural and physical resource. Yet most New Zealanders would expect that resource consent decisions taken under the Resource Management Act are actually impartial and free from interference and influence by those who do not have an elected role and are actually not subject to all of the controls on regional councils, for example, which limit the exercise of their decision making. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000634\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EMany New Zealanders have raised concerns about these types of joint-management or co-governance arrangements, and some of these concerns are legitimate. I could give you the example in Auckland of the co-governance arrangements over Auckland\u2019s maunga\u2014our volcanic cones\u2014which has resulted in a large number of trees being removed against the wishes of the local community, because it turns out that once these co-governance relationships are entered into, many other people who live in that community, private property owners and those who care about their environment\u2014their parks and reserves and their natural place\u2014as much as any other New Zealander does, from any ethnicity, feel that their concerns are not in fact being heard. They have lost the decision-making power over their reserves, and, in fact, even their elected representatives on their local councils have lost their decision-making power.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000635\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EWhen we see joint-management agreements over natural resources identified in a piece of legislation, many New Zealanders are greatly concerned about that. It may well be there are other ways to deal with the private property rights that Ng\u0101ti Maru have and that they have demonstrated in the courts than a co-governance arrangement, which in many ways is the worst of all worlds, because any decision making they have over other people\u2019s private property would be regarded as unfair by those subjected to decision making by unelected people, and yet it doesn\u2019t actually give them the opportunity to do what they see fit with their own property.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000636\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003ESo, in many ways, while the joint-management agreement described here in the natural resource redress section of the bill appears to have good intentions, it\u2019s actually an example of where you get to with poorly thought out principles that are applied to sorting out issues of private property rights. That\u2019s why the ACT Party believes that, if there is a breach of property rights, that should be clearly defined, and that, if a party does in fact have a property right, they should be compensated for that if it\u2019s been affected. Otherwise, groups that are unelected should not have decision making powers over other people\u2019s property, and that is definitely a risk as these types of redress measures are advanced through legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000637\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EBut the ACT Party will support the Ng\u0101ti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill because we believe in the rule of law. We believe that it does go a long way to uphold the value of private property rights in New Zealand, and for that reason, we will support it at this reading. Thank you, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022 data-id=\u002224e6d3e1701d4b5f8141b786ad641023\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000638\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002224e6d3e1701d4b5f8141b786ad641023\u0022\u003EARENA WILLIAMS (Labour\u2014Manurewa) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe e te P\u012Bka, ki ng\u0101 uri o Ng\u0101ti Maru, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou. Ki a Maru Wharanui te tupuna matua iwi o Ng\u0101ti Maru Wharanui, t\u0113n\u0101 koe.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000639\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003E[Greetings, Mr Speaker, to the descendants of Ng\u0101ti Maru, greetings to you all. To Maru Wharanui, the eponymous ancestor of Ng\u0101ti Maru Wharanui, greetings.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000640\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s a privilege to speak tonight as part of the first sitting of the virtual Parliament. This is a Parliament that acknowledges the importance of the Treaty settlement process, and I\u2019m proud to be a part of the cross-partisan approach to acknowledging the breaches of the Crown\u2019s duty to act in good faith to its Treaty partner. Though we may not all have the same reasons for acknowledging the injustices committed by the Crown\u2014and I disagree with the ACT member\u2019s contribution almost in its entirety\u2014we have the same over-arching goal. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000641\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EIn my short introduction, I acknowledged the people of Ng\u0101ti Maru and their eponymous ancestor, Maruwharanui. He\u2019s the eldest child of Pito Haranui and Manauea, and brother to Maruk\u014Dpiri, Mihi-Rawhiti, and Hinepango. It is right to acknowledge this tupuna and all of the t\u016Bpuna of Ng\u0101ti Maru, whose hopes for their descendants we are supporting tonight. This settlement legislation brings us to giving effect to the deed of settlement between the Crown and Ng\u0101ti Maru, which acknowledges those instances where the Crown hasn\u2019t lived up to those hopes of the t\u016Bpuna of Ng\u0101ti Maru, and brings Ng\u0101ti Maru closer to taking on a complete kaitiaki role over its own natural environment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000642\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EI agree with the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations that this bill is also about bringing the people of the Ng\u0101ti Maru iwi and its rohe closer to enjoying the economic benefits of settlement, and I want to thank everyone who submitted on this bill, as well as those who advised on it and facilitated the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee\u2019s discussions. Only minor amendments were suggested, which reflects the confidence all members have in the process, and I want to echo the comments of the member for Southland, National Party MP Joseph Mooney, when he said to the uri of Ng\u0101ti Maru that we feel you here in spirit tonight.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000643\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003ENow, if I may, I wish to give the House some context for the settlement that we are discussing and why Parliament unanimously agrees that these injustices should be acknowledged and given redress. The Crown apology begins with the dispossession, displacement, and dislocation suffered by Ng\u0101ti Maru that began with the Crown\u2019s unjustified confiscation of almost half their traditional rohe. The damage caused by the loss of Ng\u0101ti Maru lands was compounded by the divisions created within the iwi when the Crown negotiated deeds of cession as a means of securing possession of the confiscated lands to make way for European settlement. The subsequent passage of the last remaining Ng\u0101ti Maru land through the Native Land Court individualised their customary land title, making the land more susceptible to alienation and further damaging tribal cohesion. Measures taken to ameliorate growing Ng\u0101ti Maru landlessness were ineffective, and much of the tribe\u2019s remaining land later came under Public Trustee administration and was subject to perpetual leases.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000644\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EThese are serious breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi that we are acknowledging tonight. That is why the saying of the iwi is appropriate, and a number of members have used it, but I wish to repeat it: \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000645\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EMaru H\u0101h\u0101\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000646\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EH\u0101h\u0101 te whenua\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000647\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EH\u0101h\u0101 te tangata. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000648\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EThat means:\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000649\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EMaru of extreme loss and breathlessness\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000650\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EThe land is deserted\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000651\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EThe people are gone and gasping for breath.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000652\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EI hope that this next chapter in the history of Ng\u0101ti Maru offers a breather, a time to recuperate, to gather together, and then move forward, once recovered. That\u2019s why I think the cultural redress portion of this bill is, in my eyes, the most important, because it is a moment that we can gather together all that has happened and look forward to something new coming. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000653\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EThere\u2019s one particular part of the cultural redress which I think is very important and I want to highlight, given the contribution of the previous member Simon Court about property rights and the rights of other property owners in the rohe of Ng\u0101ti Maru. This deed will provide for a natural resources plan, Maru Taiao, which outlines the values and principles of Ng\u0101ti Maru and the resource management issues of significance to Ng\u0101ti Maru in relation to the Maru Taiao area. Local authorities must take the Maru Taiao plan into account when they are preparing a review and policy statements and planning under the Resource Management Act. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000654\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003EThat\u2019s significant because this restores not only the kaitiaki role of Ng\u0101ti Maru, which they have always had and do not need the Crown to acknowledge because they have always been kaitiaki of the area, but it fulfils that hope of having the governance responsibility, of having the decision-making power, that iwi are so well placed to exercise for the benefit of everyone in their community, and I am pleased this Government has made that move. That\u2019s why I look forward to considering this legislation further again in the next reading, but I commend this bill to the House now.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022 data-id=\u0022a1a3b6327d4a461e9d3c3667e44fe655\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000655\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a1a3b6327d4a461e9d3c3667e44fe655\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: The next call is a split call\u2014five minutes each. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002293272d4e-6912-4148-8b35-c9622e18b814\u0022 data-id=\u002233436fe018e84a3e8fbf5cbdd7e71f0a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000656\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002293272d4e-6912-4148-8b35-c9622e18b814\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002233436fe018e84a3e8fbf5cbdd7e71f0a\u0022\u003ENICOLA GRIGG (National\u2014Selwyn):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise in support of the Ng\u0101ti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill. I think it\u2019s indisputable that settlements like this help iwi to unlock their economic potential and they boost the regional and provincial areas but, more importantly, as the previous speaker has referred to, they re-empower and re-engage iwi who have oftentimes been disenfranchised with their culture, with their heritage, with their rohe, and with their land.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000657\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002293272d4e-6912-4148-8b35-c9622e18b814\u0022\u003ESo, this evening, the House takes another step towards completing the eight Taranaki settlements. As many have observed, it has been a long journey for Ng\u0101ti Maru and its 2,800 members, ever since Christopher Finlayson and Te Ururoa Flavell recognised the mandate of Te R\u016Bnanga o Ng\u0101ti Maru Trust back in 2016, but I think some would argue it\u2019s been even longer than those six years. It\u2019s actually been 150 years since that dreadful confiscation of the iwi rohe.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000658\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002293272d4e-6912-4148-8b35-c9622e18b814\u0022\u003EI think the historical account and acknowledgments in this settlement legislation do make for sober reading and, at times, extremely troublesome reading. The confiscation of land in Taranaki is undoubtedly a stain on this country\u2019s history. I know that the Minister has undertaken to visit Tarata, to deliver the Crown\u2019s apology in person once this bill has completed its passage through the Parliament, and I think that\u2019s very important. It\u2019s very important that the Crown unreservedly apologises to the hap\u016B and to the wh\u0101nau of Ng\u0101ti Maru for failing to uphold its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000659\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002293272d4e-6912-4148-8b35-c9622e18b814\u0022\u003EOther speakers have covered the contents of the settlement, so I probably don\u2019t need to repeat that, but what I would like to canvas briefly is the work of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee and the very interesting issue that has come out of that with the conservation land properties within the Whanganui River catchment area. The Whanganui River settlement has attracted huge attention both here and abroad for the quite innovative approach that it\u2019s taken to the future management of the Whanganui River, and the concept of Te Awa Tupua has actually been world leading. The solution that\u2019s been found to the management of this particular body of water and, specifically, the riverbed running through the conservation land properties, as to the responsibilities of Te Awa Tupua\u2014and I think we can all be very proud of the result reached\u2014illustrates that Treaty settlement arrangements don\u2019t have to be static, but, with the consent of all parties involved, they can adapt to suit circumstances. It wouldn\u2019t have made sense in this case for DOC\u2014the Department of Conservation\u2014to fulfil an essentially administrative role, and, in fact, it probably would have been a backward step in this day and age.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000660\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002293272d4e-6912-4148-8b35-c9622e18b814\u0022\u003ESo National is proud to support the Ng\u0101ti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill, and I think that both sides of the House can be happy with the bipartisan history of Taranaki negotiations and settlements. They were started by the Hon Margaret Wilson in the early 2000s, and now are very nearly completed with this legislation. We all look forward to the third reading and to the future consideration by this House of the collective arrangements reached over Taranaki maunga. Thank you, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022 data-id=\u002213c1628b12144385b7c8ab4d5c0ca80d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000661\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002213c1628b12144385b7c8ab4d5c0ca80d\u0022\u003EDEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER (Co-Leader\u2014Te Paati M\u0101ori) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou e te Whare. Ki \u014Dku whanaunga o Ng\u0101ti Maru t\u0113nei te mihi a Te Paati M\u0101ori ki a koutou i t\u0113nei w\u0101hanga o t\u014D pire Whakatauanga. Ka t\u016B au hei uri o Taranaki, hei uri o Ng\u0101ti Ruanui, hei kai\u0101rahi o Te Paati M\u0101ori. N\u0101ku te whiwhi kia t\u016B i roto i t\u0113nei Whare, kia mihi ki a koutou i t\u014D koutou mahi rangatira.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000662\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003E[Greetings to one and all in the House. To my relatives in Ng\u0101ti Maru, this is the acknowledgment of Te Paati M\u0101ori to you at this stage of your settlement bill. I stand here as a descendant of Taranaki, as a descendant of Ng\u0101ti Ruanui, as a leader of Te Paati M\u0101ori. I am fortunate to stand in this House and acknowledge your noble work.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000663\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s with great pleasure that I rise on behalf of Te Paati M\u0101ori for the second time in support of Ng\u0101ti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill. First and foremost, I want to mihi to my whanaunga who are watching this today, who cannot be here in person during these trying times, and those of you who are out there on the ground testing, vaccinating, and keeping our wh\u0101nau safe, just as your t\u016Bpuna would have. No settlement can compensate for the pain, the suffering, and the trauma that you\u2014our people\u2014endured and still do endure that saw your natural development interrupted in the most horrible way possible. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000664\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003EThe Crown\u2019s negotiation policies are cruel. The fiscal envelope is cruel. I know the damage this process does to our wh\u0101nau, to our relationships, to our w\u0101nangatanga. There is no way that settlements in Aotearoa are fair or equitable. No one in this House has the right to congratulate themselves today or ignore how it is we got here today. So, once again, I would like to mihi to my whanaunga and to thank you for your generosity, for your aroha that you have given to this nation in agreeing to the terms of this settlement. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000665\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003ETe Paati M\u0101ori don\u2019t believe in full and final settlements. A treaty is to be honoured; not settled. There are many who have profited from our pain, from your loss, and Taranaki economy thanks and mihi to you all. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000666\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003ESo I want to remind the House today of what I\u2019ve said during the first reading of this bill. Tangata whenua will never settle for settlements. We will keep striving to get the justice that our t\u016Bpuna deserve to create a future where mokopuna can thrive as their true selves. Ng\u0101ti Maru have generously accepted 1 percent of everything the Crown has taken so that our future generations can come back for the 99 percent, and Te Paati M\u0101ori will fight tooth and nail to play our part in achieving this. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000667\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003EI want to reflect and appreciate all those of Ng\u0101ti Maru who have fought since 1891 until today. I want to bow to our marae, Te Upoko o Te Whenua, and all the kaum\u0101tua whose vision is to reaffirm your identity and your very existence. To the many: Polly Kopu, Tainui Tukata, Ray Peri, Ray Henry, Hazel Peri, and let\u2019s not forget Rata Pue. To all those back home who serve their people and who serve their roles as mana whenua, as ahi k\u0101 for Ng\u0101ti Maru, for being resilient, for what the Crown did to us has cost us, you have refused to let it define you. Your manaaki\u2014you are your people. You are active in your region. You are active in everything that needs to be done today, and I think last time I called you masters of resilience, I see your contribution to our te ao: Tupu\u0101nuku workforce development, Te K\u014Dhanga \u0100huru, your education scholarships. You fight to preserve your people during a pandemic. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000668\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003EAt your bill\u2019s first reading, I remember that we talked about these masters of resilience afterwards, and I stand by that analogy. Today, I ask that we reflect on what and where you would be today had your natural development not been interfered with. We would be landowners. We would be strong, multicultural language speakers, exporters, and importers in your thriving economy. We would have multiple networks of hap\u016B and wh\u0101nau development. We would have grown multiple leaders, managers, businesses. We would be the healthiest and we would be looking after those living beside us. We would take risks and, most of all, we would believe in each other. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000669\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003EOne of the biggest things I\u2019ve experienced in iwi is how hard we are on ourselves. None of what our wh\u0101nau have had to endure is settling. None of what has happened to us is our fault. We have waited for a long time for our reclamation. At times, it can bring out the worst of us. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000670\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003ETo all of our wh\u0101nau who are out there, to all our whanaunga, I ask that we remember peace and that we support each other. I also mihi to those in our tari of Ng\u0101ti Maru who are in isolation at the moment. Piki te ora, piki te kaha. Ng\u0101 mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa m\u014D t\u014D kaha m\u014D t\u014D manaaki mai t\u0101 t\u0101tou iwi katoa. Kia ora koutou. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000671\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003E[Get well and strong soon. We all send our affectionate greetings, for your strength and hospitality. Be well all of you.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f9a94bf3-a948-4410-8413-403a7454114b\u0022 data-id=\u0022f6eaf887f34a473090299d9ca524ef22\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000672\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9a94bf3-a948-4410-8413-403a7454114b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f6eaf887f34a473090299d9ca524ef22\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019d just remind members, if I have to wear one if these beautiful masks, you should too.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022217f4585-f6ef-408d-9318-8a6b8506920b\u0022 data-id=\u0022f4f76c2228c7446489cd60ad050dd551\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000673\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022217f4585-f6ef-408d-9318-8a6b8506920b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f4f76c2228c7446489cd60ad050dd551\u0022\u003EPAUL EAGLE (Labour\u2014Rongotai):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe e te M\u0101ngai o te Whare. E te iwi Ng\u0101ti Maru, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, and can I say what a pleasure it is to speak on this second bill, the Ng\u0101ti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill. I had the privilege of being part of a p\u014D\u2019hiri to welcome them here, with the Hon Andrew Little, the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations\u2014to warmly welcome them and meet representatives of their team, and can I acknowledge both the iwi and Crown negotiators. These settlements are big pieces of work. As a member of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, the more of these I do, the more that I learn about the processes that different iwi across the motu go through to bring these to a conclusion. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000674\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022217f4585-f6ef-408d-9318-8a6b8506920b\u0022\u003EI want to just acknowledge other members of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee\u2014in particular the chair, T\u0101mati Coffey. Hopefully, all things proceeding well, we will be able to partake in the celebration when the third reading comes to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000675\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022217f4585-f6ef-408d-9318-8a6b8506920b\u0022\u003EThis bill gives effect to Te Hiringa Taketake, the deed of settlement between ourselves, the Crown, and Ng\u0101ti Maru, which was signed on 27 February of last year\u20142021. There are some important parts, as per each settlement package, in terms of a redress. There are generally three key parts to this: the apology\u2014and look, I said in an earlier speech around the need to get this accurate. One of the things I\u2019ve learnt is that wh\u0101nau, hap\u016B, and iwi want to ensure that their story is told accurately to capture that historical account of what happened at the time, and the breaches of Te Tiriti\u2014the Treaty of Waitangi\u2014with regard to Ng\u0101ti Maru.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022217f4585-f6ef-408d-9318-8a6b8506920b\u0022\u003ESecondly, a key point is the cultural redress. Every settlement is different, and in terms of Ng\u0101ti Maru and those people from Taranaki, it talks about 16 sites in this case. There are some protocols, and I know one of the strong features of this settlement is with regard to primary industries and the fisheries, but probably something that was expressed\u2014and we had 35 written submissions; eight oral, and it would have been great to get there, if it wasn\u2019t for COVID. But we heard strongly around the importance of ensuring that the responsible Ministers issue protocols for any taonga, t\u016Bturu, or protected objects, found with the Ng\u0101ti Maru rohe of interest, and it talks about national monuments, the publications detailing history, and the provision of cultural and spiritual practices, right through to board appointments of interest to the people of Ng\u0101ti Maru. There are statutory acknowledgments that go with that, and that fulfils that cultural redress.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000677\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022217f4585-f6ef-408d-9318-8a6b8506920b\u0022\u003EThe third piece is around commercial redress. What I find interesting, and I have learnt lots, is that that exclusive right of first refusal over Crown-owned property\u2014this can be controversial. But they\u2019ve said in this commercial redress, within that Ng\u0101ti Maru rohe, it is for 179 years from the settlement. I know that this means much more to the people of Ng\u0101ti Maru than just a simple piece of paper. We\u2019ve heard this evening the recount of a range of provisions relating to the riverbed within the Whanganui River catchment area, for example, and the resource consent process as part of that joint-management agreement between the iwi and the Taranaki Regional Council clarifying that role for the local authority, the New Plymouth District Council.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000678\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022217f4585-f6ef-408d-9318-8a6b8506920b\u0022\u003ESo, in conclusion here, I want to just say how much of a pleasure it\u2019s been being part of progressing this bill for the people of Ng\u0101ti Maru. It certainly brings a strengthened approach between Crown and local government towards those people who have been most impacted, and I look forward to, hopefully\u2014fingers crossed\u2014seeing them here as part of the third reading of their settlement bill. I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022 data-id=\u0022d82f5bf8814740eba894107241c86cd2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000679\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d82f5bf8814740eba894107241c86cd2\u0022\u003ESIMON WATTS (National\u2014North Shore):\u003C/span\u003E E ng\u0101 mana, e ng\u0101 reo, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000680\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003E[To the authorities, to all the voices, greetings one and all.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000681\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003EIt is with great pleasure that I rise to speak on behalf of the National Party and as the member of Parliament for North Shore on the Ng\u0101ti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill. I want to just firstly acknowledge the last speaker, Paul Eagle, for his contribution as a member of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000682\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003EAs part of the preparation for this this evening, I had a review of the deed of settlement, which I think provides quite a detailed overview in terms of the full account of what occurred back in the 1870s. For someone who was coming to this with little knowledge, I\u2019ve learnt a lot from that overview. I guess that gives some context in terms of not only the importance of what we\u2019ve heard this evening from a number of speakers before but also the importance of such a process that, in a bipartisan manner across the House, we join together to make progress, and I think we\u2019ve heard that term used a lot this evening as well in terms of the progress that this process allows us all, as a country, to undertake.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000683\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003EThe select committee, of which T\u0101mati Coffey was the chair, contributed a great amount in terms of this process. I understand there were around 35 submissions that the committee heard. Eight were oral submissions, and, of course, that was undertaken virtually due to the reality that we are all faced with under COVID-19. But the committee did a good job. I want to acknowledge Joseph Mooney and Harete Hipango from the National Party, who are members of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, alongside all of the other members of that committee, many of whom have spoken here this evening.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000684\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003EI also want to acknowledge Minister Little for his contribution in terms of bringing this bill to the House and, of course, prior Ministers in this area\u2014particularly the Hon Chris Finlayson, who was very much a part of the initiation of this process. I also want to acknowledge the many members of the support team that provides support to our select committee process. The Clerk\u2019s Office obviously were key contributors, and I must say that for anyone involved in the select committee process, often those individuals\u2019 efforts go unnoticed by some, but it\u2019s definitely acknowledged and noticed by members of select committees in terms of their contribution, and often under quite significant pressure in timetable as well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000685\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003EObviously, this process in this settlement is one which provides an apology on behalf of the Crown. There is also an element, which we\u2019ve discussed already, around the financial redress. I think it\u2019s been acknowledged right through, no matter where we are or who we are, that this will never be enough, and I think that term has come through loudly and clearly. But it is part of that process and it is the part of that redress that this House does, and this evening, actually hearing two of those bills come across is pleasing to see.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000686\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003EObviously, I\u2019m from the Waikato, and I just want to acknowledge Mr Assistant Speaker McKelvie\u2014congratulations. It\u2019s good to see you in the Chair this evening. It\u2019s a pleasure to be able to get some guidance from someone so wise as yourself, so that is acknowledged. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000687\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003EAs a boy from the Waikato, I haven\u2019t spent much time in the Taranaki, but we\u2019re very lucky to have listened to Barbara Kuriger, my good colleague and friend, who articulated the beautiful elements that this settlement process will include, and\u2014vast areas and beautiful areas\u2014that was articulated in terms of what were Department of Conservation and conservation areas, which, I\u2019m sure, those 2,800 members of Ng\u0101ti Maru will, no doubt, really appreciate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000688\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003EThe select committee process had two major or substantive contributions, I guess, in terms of their process. One was around the administration of the riverbed within the Wanganui River catchment area\u2014that process\u2014and the committee considered that. The other aspect that was substantive in terms of amendments that were done by the select committee was around the resource consent process\u2014in particular, clause 87(1)(b)\u2014for which the committee recommended amending the bill to remove what was, in effect, an error in the original thing. So that brought value and that has made the bill even better than before.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000689\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003EObviously, today, we\u2019re embarking in terms of this virtual Parliament process. The hap\u016B and iwi that are unable to be here physically in the House will be watching from afar in terms of being online, and I do pass on my best regards to all of them. This is a long process, but we are coming towards the end of that. I\u2019m sure for that iwi and hap\u016B that that is a really important part, and I understand, as we\u2019ve heard from Nicola Grigg, the member of Parliament for Selwyn, in her contribution before that the Minister is going to provide that apology in person, which no doubt will be appreciated by those members.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000690\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003ESo I think that is pretty much what I wanted to cover this evening. The settlement process is something that is very, very important. It is, as I say, a redress. It\u2019s not enough in terms of the full compensation in terms of what was taken back in the 1870s, but it, hopefully, will provide a level of, not necessarily closure, but a level of acknowledgment of where the process is and allow us, together, to move forward from this point together. So t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022 data-id=\u0022a4cdf7ef637541679847397fd49e8e21\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000691\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a4cdf7ef637541679847397fd49e8e21\u0022\u003ESHANAN HALBERT (Labour\u2014Northcote) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Te M\u0101ngai o te Whare, t\u0113n\u0101 rawa atu ki a koe. Ki ng\u0101 kaiurungi o Ng\u0101ti Maru ki Taranaki, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, e mihi ana ki a koutou i t\u0113nei p\u014D. N\u0101 reira, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, e mihi aroha ki a koutou i t\u0113nei p\u014D.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000692\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003E[Mr Speaker, greetings to you. To the leaders of Ng\u0101ti Maru of Taranaki, greetings, I acknowledge you this evening. Therefore, greetings, greetings, fond greetings to you this evening.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000693\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003EThank you, Mr Speaker. It\u2019s wonderful this evening to speak to another Treaty settlement bill that is going through the House. It\u2019s always an honour to be part of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee for a couple of reasons, but, first and foremost, to hear the stories of our people of Aotearoa to share our history, and, through that, secondly, we learn so much. I\u2019m looking forward to those stories as a part of this process being shared with all of our communities across Aotearoa, but particularly that our taiohi, our tamariki mokopuna, grow up with the stories of old\u2014the stories that our old people shared\u2014and part of the process of being in this particular settlement bill was hearing the stories of Ng\u0101ti Maru. It\u2019s very, very special, and I acknowledge them this evening.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000694\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003EThe Ng\u0101ti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill gives effect to elements of Te Hiringa Taketake, the Ng\u0101ti Maru deed of settlement, which relies on legislation to be enacted and implemented. This takes a particular part of my heart because I am from an area just across the hill from this particular wh\u0101nau, and we\u2019re in our own journey to settle the M\u014Dkai P\u0101tea claim. It\u2019s wonderful that this particular wh\u0101nau, this hap\u016B, this iwi are well ahead of where we are at, in that we\u2019re at the second stage of this particular reading.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000695\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s my honour also to be the final Government speaker on this bill this evening as a member of the M\u0101ori caucus, and can I acknowledge the Hon Andrew Little and the amount of work that he has done to progress these particular bills. Also, can I pay acknowledgment this evening to our chair of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, T\u0101mati Coffey, who does a wonderful job of keeping us all on track to be as efficient as possible. The beauty of the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee is that we all at some point come to consensus to progress outcomes for M\u0101ori within Aotearoa, so I acknowledge all of the speakers this evening from across all parties and the contribution that they have made in particular for this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000696\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003EJust to recap, Part 1 of this bill sets out to provide the provisions and take effect on the settlement date, unless a provision states otherwise. It specifies that the bill binds the Crown and defines terms used in the bill, including \u201CNg\u0101ti Maru\u201D and \u201Chistorical claims\u201D. The second part is the cultural redress, which we\u2019ve heard a lot about this evening. It\u2019s important, as an iwi, and particularly for our tamariki mokopuna, that they have the opportunity to grow up with their culture and identity, and this particular bill will support them to do that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000697\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003EBut what is of particular interest tonight, and others have touched on it\u2014and it is important\u2014is that part of restoring mana to this iwi is enabling them to stand on their own two feet, giving them the resources that were, sadly, taken away from them, and enabling them to live and breathe as an iwi and as an entity to determine the future of their own people and of generations to come. Part of the commercial redress is the conditions that are set up as a part of this bill: the transfer of Te Wera Crown forestry licensed land and the transfer of 35 deferred selection properties, which Ng\u0101ti Maru can purchase within two to five years of settlement\u2014Mr Speaker, my apologies; I\u2019m getting a little bit of feedback\u2014an exclusive right of first refusal over specific Crown-owned properties within Ng\u0101ti Maru rohe for 179 years from settlement, and, finally, a shared right of first refusal over specified properties within Ng\u0101ti Maru rohe.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000698\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003ECan I acknowledge, finally, the work of Te Arawhiti, who share a vision constantly about enabling both M\u0101ori and P\u0101keh\u0101 to meet along the bridge so that as a country and what we signed up to as a Treaty is about us working together for the betterment of all people\u2014M\u0101ori and P\u0101keh\u0101 alike\u2014in this country and that we all do well. Part of this particular bill enables M\u0101ori in this iwi, Ng\u0101ti Maru and Taranaki, to do well and to determine the outcomes that they want for their own people. I believe that we can work together between the Crown and our iwi and that that sets up for quite an exciting future. It means that the Crown at some point has to learn, and part of this evening is that we acknowledge the hurt and the ill faith that has operated to where we lead in to today to establish an apology to Ng\u0101ti Maru. So, without future ado, can I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000700\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\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=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000701\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00225d7c9947703f415fa08a4494fcbba840\u0022\u003EMaritime Powers Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000702\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002267592f53bbe54dc1b892808387058d6b\u0022\u003ESecond Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000703\u0022\u003EDebate resumed from 17 February.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226e419a18-df21-483e-9650-2aaee4e06211\u0022 data-id=\u00224ba265382e6e4d5693e2e70b3a50cea1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000704\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e419a18-df21-483e-9650-2aaee4e06211\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224ba265382e6e4d5693e2e70b3a50cea1\u0022\u003EIBRAHIM OMER (Labour) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. It\u2019s a pleasure to take a call on the Maritime Powers Bill. New Zealand is an island nation with 15,000 kilometres of coastline and one of the largest exclusive economic zones in the world, so keeping our maritime environment secure is a critical component of our national security and prosperity. Trades such as trafficking of drugs, arms, wildlife, and humans compromises New Zealand\u2019s safety, security, economy, environment, and territorial integrity. Therefore, there is a critical need for New Zealand to be able to respond to these increasing serious maritime threats in international waters and this Maritime Powers Bill just does that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000705\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e419a18-df21-483e-9650-2aaee4e06211\u0022\u003EThe bill provides law enforcement agencies\u2014who are defined as police constables, customs officers, members of the armed forces, the Department of Conservation rangers, and endangered species officers\u2014with power to enforce elements of New Zealand\u2019s criminal law in international waters where they have reasonable grounds to suspect that serious offending is taking place on boats. It also provides powers to respond to a range of offending in international waters. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000706\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e419a18-df21-483e-9650-2aaee4e06211\u0022\u003EThe bill does quite a few things. It allows New Zealand to respond to criminal activities in the oceans and seas beyond New Zealand, allows for research and surveillance based on the powers in the Search and Surveillance Act 2012. It also allows enforcing detention and arrest powers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000707\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e419a18-df21-483e-9650-2aaee4e06211\u0022\u003EWe\u2019ve heard some concerns about the bill\u2014that it might be at odds with the New Zealand Bill of Rights and other international conventions on seas and oceans. But this bill is consistent with our rights and obligations under international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and international human rights obligations. So if it passes tonight, it will enhance the wellbeing of our communities and advance our security and shared prosperity. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000708\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e419a18-df21-483e-9650-2aaee4e06211\u0022\u003EI\u2019d like to thank the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee for their work. They have received about seven submissions, including from the Privacy Commissioner, the New Zealand Law Society, and the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties. The New Zealand Law Society and the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties recommended the bill be amended to make sure the Bill of Rights would apply to the powers exercised under the Maritime Powers Act. The committee reviewed this recommendation and was advised that the Bill of Rights already applied to the powers under this bill and does not need to be expressly set in the bill. So this has addressed already some of the concerns that had been raised about this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000709\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e419a18-df21-483e-9650-2aaee4e06211\u0022\u003EAs noted in our manifesto, when it comes to our independent foreign policy Labour Party values include a focus on upholding the international rule of law and this bill contributes towards this. We must be honest that with globalisation and increasing interconnectedness, and while people and goods move freely from place to place, our law enforcement agencies need tools to be able to do their job. If they can\u2019t, if they don\u2019t have enough tools, then New Zealand will be subjected to criminal offences. For our shores to be kept safe our officers must be equipped well and this bill is going to do just that. This piece of legislation is going to help to do that and I commend it to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f9a94bf3-a948-4410-8413-403a7454114b\u0022 data-id=\u0022f38522ffcca24cad93dfb53c465e05ef\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000710\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9a94bf3-a948-4410-8413-403a7454114b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f38522ffcca24cad93dfb53c465e05ef\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: The next call is a split call. I call Todd McClay.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022 data-id=\u0022f02012138f0a450f9a3e37eb9565e6cd\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000711\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f02012138f0a450f9a3e37eb9565e6cd\u0022\u003EHon TODD McCLAY (National\u2014Rotorua):\u003C/span\u003E Mr, Speaker, thank you so much, I\u2019d just prepared a 10-minute speech. I\u2019ll read it twice as fast as I normally do, perhaps.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000712\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9a94bf3-a948-4410-8413-403a7454114b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224f53be998d454b778758bd3864b129cd\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: Ha, ha! You\u2019re a great reader.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000713\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022565f6e14ec014668a68ceeb91b02c510\u0022\u003EHon TODD McCLAY\u003C/span\u003E: It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. It\u2019s important work that is about to be done when this is finally passed into law. It\u2019s a shame the Government hasn\u2019t shown more urgency in this as they have so many other things that they\u2019ve said are important but in the end the New Zealand public is not quite as sure that they are as urgent as they say.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000714\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EThe reason for that is it is about New Zealand enforcing our own laws internationally\u2014or this Parliament makes a decision, it passes a law as to what we think is legal and what\u2019s appropriate. We will now be able to enforce this, in as far as New Zealand registered ships are concerned, anywhere in the world, or ships that are not flagged under New Zealand within an area that we have an extraterritorial jurisdiction\u2014which largely means a few parts of the world and our exclusive economic zone (EEZ). \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000715\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EThe reason I say it\u2019s a shame they haven\u2019t shown more urgency in doing this is right now, in our EEZ, there is bound to be a boat there, a ship on its way, on its way out, nearby that actually we would want our services to look at if they suspect or believe that they are breaking international law that is in New Zealand law. But the reason I point that out, in as far as the Government not showing urgency here, is there\u2019s another situation that is comparable to this that\u2019s going on at the moment in the Ukraine and as far as Russia is concerned. And there\u2019s another area where decisions by New Zealand, perhaps this Parliament, are not able to be enforced overseas, just as in this legislation they are equally not, and the reason for that is that this Government has dragged its feet and even today said it won\u2019t pass an autonomous sanctions bill. So whilst we\u2019re here debating this about what could happen on the high seas or, you know, under a New Zealand - flagged ship or, let\u2019s say, a Russian ship in an area of the world where New Zealand has extraterritorial jurisdiction, when this law is passed we can enforce New Zealand law in as far as that Russian ship is concerned. So it\u2019s a good thing that we\u2019re passing this. We should be doing it faster.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000716\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EWhat\u2019s not a good thing is that the Government today drags its feet and says it won\u2019t pass an autonomous sanctions bill under urgency, although we are debating this piece of legislation today; instead of this today, we should be debating and passing an autonomous sanctions bill so that tomorrow, if we did so in urgency, the Government could put in place sanctions against Russia for the actions they have taken in the Ukraine, where today people are dying defending their country. We could put in place sanctions as the US has, as the United Kingdom has, as all European Union countries have, as Australia has. But no; we\u2019re here passing this legislation. And if it follows through the normal process, at the end of this three-week sitting block it will enter into law; that\u2019s a good thing. And lo and behold if one of those Russian fishing vessels happens to wander down here, we\u2019re going to send out our military or\u2014what does it say here?\u2014an \u201Cendangered species officer\u201D or \u201CDepartment of Conservation ranger\u201D to grab them. But in as far as three weeks from now, here\u2019s an ironclad guarantee: this Government won\u2019t have passed sanctions on Russia when, actually, I believe there is a majority in this House to do so today, to stand with our allies around the world and to make a very, very strong statement.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000717\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EThe Prime Minister put out a press release; that\u2019s a good thing. I don\u2019t think Russia read it and if they did, it didn\u2019t alter their behaviour. But as the rest of the world is taking a position to sanction them, New Zealand should be able to also, rather than only being able to if the UN allows us to\u2014we should be making those decisions here in this House and in New Zealand. The legislation is a good thing\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000718\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002240db61e104e64a8fb72f1d51f37aaf23\u0022\u003EHon Andrew Little\u003C/span\u003E: Why didn\u2019t you pass the bill?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000719\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228436d501749a4e53a6e5c7ebb37c5385\u0022\u003EHon TODD McCLAY\u003C/span\u003E: Well, the member said \u201CWell, you\u2019ve got to pass the bill.\u201D There\u2019s a lot of noise over there, but they were pretty quiet when it came to the Prime Minister\u2019s statement about the Ukraine and not being able to pass sanctions, because she wasn\u2019t clear about this. But this legislation will go through over the next three weeks and they\u2019ll rush out there and say, \u201CAh ha! If one of these Russian vessels happens to wander down to New Zealand waters, we\u2019ll grab it.\u201D But that will do nothing for the people of the Ukraine. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000720\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EWe do support this legislation. We do think there are some changes needed. I mentioned a couple of areas there\u2014we think probably some of the authority of powers given to Department of Conservation rangers or endangered species officers will be the same as the police or Customs or the military. I think that probably goes too far. There\u2019s another way to do that. The Government did say in committee that actually those powers would be used very, very cautiously. Actually, there is not such a thing. Once power is given, people use it. And in this case, I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve got it right. So we should talk about that more in committee stage and look to fix it. We will be supporting this and passing it. But we would support and pass an autonomous sanctions bill in urgency today if the Government actually could show urgency in areas that matter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022 data-id=\u0022629b79eb6b5e4c498179f4e8b4234ec6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000721\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022629b79eb6b5e4c498179f4e8b4234ec6\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean)\u003C/span\u003E: The next call is a remote call\u2014five minutes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022 data-id=\u0022343d853d0fb341fdbde3faefe8806c81\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000722\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022343d853d0fb341fdbde3faefe8806c81\u0022\u003EHELEN WHITE (Labour) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E I don\u2019t accept that this bill has anything to do with the Ukraine, but I do want to extend my worries and thoughts to the Ukrainian people today. Having said that, I would like to address this bill, which is one that absolutely needs to be passed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000723\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EThis is the Maritime Powers Bill and it will mean that we are able to extend New Zealand law to New Zealand flag ships internationally. We\u2019ll also be able to extend New Zealand law to foreign-flagged ships that are in our economic zone, and that zone is actually really big. It\u2019s one of the largest economic zones in the world, so it\u2019s very important that we are able to do that. What this bill does is that it actually builds on the Search and Surveillance Act, the Customs and Excise Act, the Fisheries Act, and it uses the same kinds of powers\u2014in our extraterritorial waters and internationally\u2014on our own ships. So it allows us to take what we\u2019ve already learnt about what works and put it in those settings. It means that if people are exploiting labour in those waters, if they are conducting drug deals, if they are pirates, we are able to do something about that urgently. I was thinking about the kind of people who do that work. Those kinds of people are really in a very vulnerable situation, the police and the defence forces and the customs officers, and even the Department of Conservation, when they are carrying out those activities they can\u2019t rely on the backup that you would rely on if you were on land. They are in a dangerous situation. So it\u2019s incredibly important that we support them fully. This law will do that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000724\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EWhat it does allow is it allows a search without warrant. There were some issues raised about that, but it does have a tempering of that because the warrant, if you do a search without warrant, under the fact, you must actually report that to the commissioner of police. So there\u2019s oversight, because this Government is very mindful of the rights of people and making sure that the response we have is proportionate, but also that we are watching these things. So we are making sure that there is no exploitation of them. Now, our Minister, Nanaia Mahuta, talked about the importance of this in a changing world because we are\u2014as unfortunately we know this week\u2014in a very changing world. We need those sorts of powers that make our territories secure and make it something where we know that we are going to be able to actually respond in a way that is appropriate in an ever changing situation. We\u2019re going to rely much more than we ever did on the sea for our supply, and it\u2019s so important that those supply ships can come in and we know exactly where we stand and those people policing those situations have our backup.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000725\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EI wanted to just talk about the hazards that are in that work because it is one of those things that\u2019s very, very real. The hazards are actually that people would have guns on those boats. They would be carrying out acts without any sense of the law of New Zealand. And that would happen. So these people who are going on to those boats really do step into an incredibly vulnerable situation. So this is a situation where people can go in if there\u2019s reasonable grounds to suspect and if there is a reasonable belief to suspect, but they have to do so in terms of a serious offence. So it\u2019s not something which they would do lightly, and that\u2019s been built into the Act too. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000726\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EFinally, this is consistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and that\u2019s really important because I think we\u2019ve all realised over the last few days\u2014perhaps been reminded\u2014that it\u2019s incredibly important that we actually work as a community. And so the UN conventions are incredibly important, and I think we\u2019re starting to work much more as a community and see that it\u2019s important that we actually work as a group and in a unified way when it comes to the areas that join us. That kind of mentality is something that I welcome in a post-pandemic world where we actually very much need to rely on our community of ethics and laws. So thank you. I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022 data-id=\u0022f401b54090a549378f2482eb4ab91399\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000727\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f401b54090a549378f2482eb4ab91399\u0022\u003EINGRID LEARY (Labour\u2014Taieri) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Speaker, for this opportunity to contribute on this, the Maritime Powers Bill. When I last spoke on this it was about the importance of the proposed legislation on drug trafficking and being able to search and seize drugs in international waters off our coast prior to them reaching our shores. I spoke about the debacle at Ninety Mile Beach in 2016, which resulted in what was then New Zealand\u2019s biggest ever meth haul, and it potentially could have been stopped sooner with the right surveillance and the right laws.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000728\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EToday I\u2019d like to speak about something else. I sit on the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, which is considering this bill, and we\u2019re also inquiring into illegal unreported and unregulated fishing, and it\u2019s something that several others have mentioned in this debate. We\u2019ve received many submissions on this, and time and time again we\u2019ve heard compelling evidence from submitters about the need for greater enforcement powers for Department of Conservation officers. Sea Shepherd has done a lot of due diligence in this space. They\u2019ve worked with lots of Governments all over the world as vigilantes of the sea, and in their oral submission they stress the need for greater enforcement powers for New Zealand Customs officers, and it was something echoed by many others. It\u2019s because the problem at sea is that it\u2019s very easy to throw away the evidence of illegal activity and throw it overboard in the case of fishing or, say, weapons smuggling. Currently, Customs officers don\u2019t have the power to be able to stop and search boats suspected of illegal activity, and that goes for fishing, for drugs, for human trafficking, and so on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000729\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003ESo, in short, New Zealand is in some cases unable to act or disrupt criminal activity before it reaches our shores. Our maritime powers simply don\u2019t align with our criminal law jurisdiction or our rights and obligations in international law, and that\u2019s why sorting this out has actually been a priority for Labour in our election manifesto.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000730\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EThis bill extends powers to stop, to search, to detain, and to arrest, and these powers already exist in domestic law and the bill simply extends these powers into international waters. As other speakers have mentioned, there were seven written submissions and one oral one\u2014a really helpful one from the New Zealand Law Society, and I\u2019d like to thank them for that. They submitted on three areas, including the application of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and human rights, and they basically said that these Acts apply and that an explicit reference was not necessary. In fact, they said it would perhaps be confusing if it was to be included because it would put into question whether other legislation would also need explicit New Zealand Bill of Rights Act references.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000731\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EThe second element that they mentioned was about powers exercisable without a warrant, and there has been a lot of discussion on this. The short answer is that these powers already exist and they exist in the same way. Without this law there is uncertainty relating to international law and vessels, and, as I mentioned before, the law deals with the mischief of evidence being thrown overboard, which is very real.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000732\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EThe Law Society also submitted about futureproofing for technological developments, and as a committee we did acknowledge there will be developments, and I\u2019m thinking here of developments around, say, autonomous weapons\u2014the work Minister Twyford is doing. There will always be technological developments, but that issue can\u2019t be resolved here because it really involves all maritime law\u2014but we will keep an eye on it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000733\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EThe law is not just needed to prevent illegal and unrecorded fishing. It also is needed, as my colleague Ibrahim Omer has said this evening, for weapons trading\u2014for example, firearms. The tightening of New Zealand\u2019s laws could lead to more smuggling through coastal borders. It relates to immigration. It relates to wildlife. The law supports important conservation and biosecurity work done under the Wildlife Act, and it also is needed to address the geopolitical risks, and we\u2019ve seen those increase recently with the impact of COVID and with climate change. That\u2019s brought the Pacific to the fore, and with the current terrible events unfolding in Ukraine, it\u2019s not difficult to see how we might be wanting to ensure our own corner of the world is as secure as it can be.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000734\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EAnother problem that this bill addresses is really what\u2019s been described as a good problem, which is our large coastline: it\u2019s 15,000 kilometres, in fact. A beautiful coastline with lots of pristine beaches. And also another good problem is that we live in one of the world\u2019s largest exclusive economic zones. So the law is also timely. We\u2019re living in a changing world\u2014we have a growing marine economy; we\u2019ve got a domestic market that is increasingly reliant on marine connectivity in relation to our supply chains, our shipping routes, and, again, that\u2019s certainly come to the fore during COVID. We\u2019ve seen the importance of shipping for importing and exporting and we do need it, as I said, to protect our national interests in the Pacific and in the Southern Ocean. This changing world that I\u2019m referring to in relation to maritime areas was all recognised in the 2018 Strategic Defence Policy Statement, and that statement said that \u201CMaritime security is fundamental to New Zealand\u2019s national security.\u201D It looked at climate change; it referred to transnational crime; to resource competition and the geopolitics that go with that; and to irregular migration.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000735\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003ESo this legislation supports the maritime strategy. It protects our economic interests, our cultural interests, and our environmental interests now and for future generations. What it does\u2014and others have spoken about it\u2014is it gives power to enforcement officers to respond to a range of criminal offending in international waters. That includes \u201Coffences that take place on board a New Zealand - flagged vessel in international waters; and offences that take place on board a foreign-flagged vessel or stateless vessel in international waters\u201D\u2014and that\u2019s vessels where\u2014\u201CNew Zealand has extraterritorial jurisdiction; and situations where an alleged offender or evidence of criminal offending is located on a New Zealand, foreign, or stateless vessel in international waters.\u201D It does this in a manner that is consistent with New Zealand\u2019s rights and obligations under international law\u2014so our human rights obligations, for example, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; or safeguards in the Search and Surveillance Act 2012. What it doesn\u2019t include is foreign ships outside those situations, unless there is permission from a foreign State, and unless they are in certain categories of offences, such as slavery or piracy or the continuous pursuit after contravening a New Zealand law\u2014those are all covered.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000736\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003ESo the benefits, as have been traversed by my colleagues, are that this law gives parity to agencies around enforcement powers for police, the New Zealand Defence Force, Customs, and the Department of Conservation, and it essentially puts those agencies under one regime. It counters transnational organised crime. It allows prosecution for criminal acts against our laws when the act is done outside New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000737\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EIn summary, our maritime laws do need updating. We need to protect the 15,000 kilometres of beautiful coastline that we have and our interests from organised crime, security threats, and wildlife threats. This piece of legislation aligns with international law and human rights. It\u2019s a strategic approach. It has long-term benefits and it shows the international and intergenerational approach of our foreign affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000738\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EI am personally invested in this legislation. I support all legislation that reduces the incidence of methamphetamine on our shores. I worry about the dangers of human trafficking, and this legislation deals with that. It has been through a full select committee process, and it\u2019s a real pleasure to commend it to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022 data-id=\u002295b79de635c7409f8e672ee42be80fc0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000739\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002295b79de635c7409f8e672ee42be80fc0\u0022\u003ECHRIS PENK (National\u2014Kaipara ki Mahurangi):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. As the member who has just resumed her virtual seat has said, it is a pleasure to contribute to the process of passing this legislation. It\u2019s a worthwhile endeavour and, as far as I can tell, it\u2019s supported by all parties across the House. National\u2019s indicated, of course, already that we do support the Maritime Powers Bill at this, the second reading.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000740\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003ESo, I haven\u2019t had much to do with the particular bill, so I\u2019m standing on the shoulders of giants in the sense that I\u2019ve read the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee report and, by doing so, had a bit of a flavour of some of the submissions and had the benefit of the work that they\u2019ve done. So, passing off their homework as my own, I\u2019m going to copy that and pretend that my points are original in the traditional way. But actually, I did genuinely have some reactions of my own to the legislation as I was reading it, so I\u2019ve compared notes with the select committee report, and indeed the bill itself as it now sits, and the legislative statement. And I think it\u2019s pretty clear what we\u2019ve got is a bill that does cover some pretty important gaps. That\u2019s what it sets out to do\u2014not actually create many new offences, if any, so much as clarify powers that are existing and extend them in a geographical sense. So not extending jurisdiction in the sense of any new kinds of offending being captured, but extending jurisdiction in the way of the reach of New Zealand\u2019s sovereign power, even out into international waters, which is sort of an interesting concept in itself.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000741\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003ETaking a step back, the obligations that allow New Zealand to exercise its authority\u2014and indeed as obligations New Zealand is required to exercise this authority in some senses\u2014to be able to enforce those laws actually makes them meaningful. If New Zealand\u2014and indeed other nations, in an equivalent way\u2014weren\u2019t able to enforce the laws, then those laws would not be meaningful and, of course, the high seas could be the Wild West, if you\u2019ll excuse the mixed metaphor. So it\u2019s explicitly to try and make consistent with New Zealand\u2019s international obligations under, for example, UNCLOS\u2014the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. I\u2019m glad I remembered that acronym\u2014every now and then it\u2019s possible to start one, isn\u2019t it, and get a couple of letters in and can tail off if you\u2019re not careful. But, anyway, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve embarrassed myself on this occasion. So that\u2019s sort of the underlying purpose and rationale of this legislation. So it\u2019s domestic law, but giving effect to and consistent with international law. And doing so not only in New Zealand domestic waters\u2014where actually we probably already have these powers\u2014but doing that in international waters too. So it\u2019s a pretty big deal. It\u2019s a big deal physically\u2014it\u2019s a huge area.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000742\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EI note that the legislative statement calls New Zealand \u201Can island nation with extensive maritime domain.\u201D Of course, that\u2019s a perfectly orthodox and reasonable way to characterise New Zealand, another way of thinking of our country, though, is we could say that we are a really large nation of which most of our territory is water. So, if we thought about it in that way, we have a huge amount of real estate\u2014or territory\u2014over which we are sovereign, and that might sound very much expressed in the language of\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000743\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225d96c1363f554636b724d4101b9f2370\u0022\u003EGreg O\u2019Connor\u003C/span\u003E: Talk about the navy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000744\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002219c2515c527d4945a3e0bb92c2b1dae3\u0022\u003ECHRIS PENK\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014having rights but also responsibilities attached as well. I\u2019m being encouraged, I think, by Mr Greg O\u2019Connor, to talk about the navy. And I don\u2019t usually require too much encouragement on that, but the only subject on which I can be more reliably depended upon to fill 10 minutes of a debate is the law. And this is at the intersection of law and maritime matters, so I\u2019m very much in my element, Madam Speaker, and I can only hope that you\u2019re enjoying my contribution as much as I am, but I doubt it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000745\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022edbad0e94d824718b885980c07e8d273\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean)\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019m in love!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000746\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a4dc1140e17f429cb439d26e2ab6aed6\u0022\u003ECHRIS PENK\u003C/span\u003E: Anyway, so the idea is for the New Zealand law to be extended. The long arm of the law needs to be pretty long if we\u2019re thinking about an exclusive economic zone as some 200 nautical miles. That\u2019s, of course, beyond that initial realm, so to speak, of 12 nautical miles\u2014being the territorial sovereignty, so to speak. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000747\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EAnd then, further out, of course, you\u2019ve got international waters, which are exactly as they sound. And if we think about international waters being the waters inter, or between, the nations, but thinking about trans-national crime, the things that could take place between different countries\u2014such serious matters as trafficking of humans, drugs, arms, and wildlife\u2014then it\u2019s, of course, pretty obvious pretty quickly that we\u2019re talking about pretty serious stuff. And the enforcement officers that the legislation empowers are pretty wide in their range, and that indicates a wide range of different interests and ideals that we have out on the high seas.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000748\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003ESo we\u2019ve got, variously, constables, I presume in the sort of New Zealand standard police kind of meaning of the word\u2014and I look over to Mr O\u2019Connor, this is a subject with which he is well versed\u2014so constables, as well as Customs officers, members of the armed forces, Department of Conservation rangers, warranted officers, and endangered species officers. Endangered species, of course, important to protect\u2014I\u2019m thinking birds, sea life, and of course Labour MPs: all endangered species. So we have, obviously on a more serious note, some pretty serious powers. The select committee turned its mind to the ones that could\u2014in fact, do\u2014breach human rights in a way, but in a way that they\u2019ve obviously decided ultimately is reasonable. So we\u2019ve got warrantless searches, so searches and, I suppose\u2014following that\u2014seizures, potentially of vessels without a search warrant. The practical dimension, of course, of boarding at sea\u2014an opposed boarding, so to speak; one in which the boarders are not welcomed, in fact, may be actively repelled\u2014is that it\u2019s pretty difficult to get hold of a justice of the peace or a judge to provide a search warrant at short notice in \u201CSea State Nine\u201D.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000749\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003ESo, those matters were thrashed out\u2014I think, pretty well\u2014by the select committee. I can see, reading between the lines\u2014and, in fact, the very words of their report back\u2014they did grapple with that question. A previous contributor, and it might have been Helen White, mentioned that the New Zealand Law Society contributed\u2014in fact, it might have been Ingrid Leary. Apologies to either or both of those if I\u2019ve misidentified them, but in any case obviously these were important matters that the select committee considered deeply. But I also think they added some value in some other ways that may be worth highlighting in my remaining time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000750\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EOne is the idea that these powers are given\u2014for example, to New Zealand - flagged vessels in international waters or indeed to offences that take place on a foreign-flagged vessel in international waters but for which we\u2019ve got extraterritorial jurisdiction. And then the idea that at the point that they come into New Zealand\u2019s more standard sphere of influence, that the powers would actually somehow go away, and that\u2019s the last thing we would want, of course, is for the certainty that this law is trying to provide that\u2019s given to the Customs or the navy or other law enforcement agency, to actually disappear at the point that they are getting closer to shore. Actually, the closer they get in a way you would think that the stronger New Zealand\u2019s influence and ability to detain and control would be. So the select committee in its wisdom\u2014and I do mean that genuinely\u2014recommended amending clause 33 to state explicitly that the powers may continue to be exercised in New Zealand\u2019s territorial seas, internal waters, in any port in New Zealand, or at any place where a ship reaches land, even though that exercise of power under the legislation had actually started considerably further out. So I think that\u2019s a really useful little confirmation there. You don\u2019t want to be having these arguments out at sea. I don\u2019t know how technical the legal arguments would be and how much it would be more a matter of force, but of course it\u2019s important to have a proper legal basis for these things, which is of course the very basis for us being here tonight.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000751\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003ESo my final comment, again in the spirit of commending the select committee\u2019s careful consideration, is that they\u2019ve gone to pains to make sure that this concept of a vessel being pursued without interruption reflects the international law. So that unclosed convention, article 111\u2014Nelson\u2019s number of course: one eye, one arm, etc. So that uses the same language as in that international instrument as in this law, in clause 6. And they\u2019ve recommended the insertion of another clause to make it clear that if reasonable efforts have been made by the enforcement officer to communicate requirements to stop, that basically they can go ahead as though that had been received and acknowledged, which I think is probably fair enough. So anyway, good bill, supported across the House, including by National, and, for what it\u2019s worth, by me. Thank you, Madam Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u00229a3906c4eb1544efb423af91a78378bf\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 Maritime Powers Bill be now read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 110\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 65; New Zealand National 33; ACT New Zealand 10; Te Paati M\u0101ori 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 10\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EGreen Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000752\u0022\u003EBill read a second time.\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=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000753\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00225953b93a690f4e0e8863ec3d9350c589\u0022\u003ELand Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000754\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00223f8eceb4d07e4c4182ee6c07ed2954b6\u0022\u003EThird Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022 data-id=\u0022e93ca0fec5424696a57ec2cefd6f5ac5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000755\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e93ca0fec5424696a57ec2cefd6f5ac5\u0022\u003EHon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Transport):\u003C/span\u003E I present a legislative statement on the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000756\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022127e86cd2a17452b886aadc1bc871b53\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean)\u003C/span\u003E: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000757\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b000e1d885654020bbb8defd12199acf\u0022\u003EHon MICHAEL WOOD\u003C/span\u003E: I move, That the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill be now read a third time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000758\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EI\u2019m very pleased to present the bill in its third reading to the House this evening. It\u2019s an important piece of legislation. I reflect on the fact that it was last week that the Government formally put out the public engagement campaign around the Road to Zero campaign, which is our piece of work, working with partners across the country to bring down New Zealand\u2019s road toll, to stop hundreds of deaths and thousands of serious injuries occurring every year in our land transport system. That was a really important piece of work that was commenced in the last term of Government. It is about not just accepting the current road toll that we have for some time. One of the recommendations of the Road to Zero programme that was established in the last term of Government was the establishment of drug-driving legislation. So it has been a long piece of work. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000759\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EI looked back on some of the dates in preparation for the debate this evening. It was back in February 2019, so three years ago from around about now, that the initial consultation document on drug-driving was released, and then July 2020 that the legislation was read for the first time, having been introduced by the Hon Julie Anne Genter. So this is an important piece of work, but it is one that we have worked through carefully and really turned over the issues to make sure that we establish a regime that is fair, that is justified, that will be durable, and that, most importantly, will be up to the task and will keep Kiwis safe on our roads.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000760\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EI would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee who have overseen the select committee process for this piece of legislation. It hasn\u2019t been a simple piece of law. They\u2019ve done a really good job, I think, of supporting the legislative passage and improving the legislation as it\u2019s gone through.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000761\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EI also want to particularly thank the members of the Independent Expert Panel on Drug Driving who contributed their considerable experience and expertise to the development of this bill and to making sure that we have robust, defensible, and fair thresholds for both infringement and criminal offences that are included in this bill. That panel was chaired by Dr Helen Poulsen and included some of New Zealand\u2019s leading experts in toxicology, pharmacology, and biochemistry. As we covered in some detail in earlier stages of the debate in the House and in the committee, I think that members of the House can have great confidence that the information that has been provided by that expert panel ensures that this is a robust and fair piece of legislation. I\u2019d also like to thank submitters who engaged in this process, and my predecessors\u2014the Hon Phil Twyford, the Hon Julie Anne Genter, and the Hon Stuart Nash\u2014who have all had a role in developing the legislation and bringing it through to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EAs I said previously, the goal of Road to Zero is to stop that sort of almost casual acceptance that the road toll is a necessary payment that we make for driving on New Zealand\u2019s roads. Last year, 320 Kiwis lost their lives on our roads; about 320 the year before that; and so on and so on; and thousands of people seriously injured. Drug-driving is a big and a growing part of that carnage on our roads. In 2020, of the people who lost their lives on our roads, 101 people did have drugs within their system. That is a very, very large proportion and it is a proportion that continues to grow in real numbers and as a percentage year on year. So it is very clear based on the evidence that taking action on this issue will help us to save lives and have a safer land transport system.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000763\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EIt is important to note within this bill that the oral fluid testing regime that we are setting up is only a road safety tool. The tool can\u2019t be used for detecting illicit substances and used outside of the context of people who are driving their vehicles. I think that\u2019s an important assurance to provide. A positive oral fluid test cannot be used as evidence of the use of a controlled drug, and a prosecution for an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act. A positive oral fluid test would not be sufficient to justify the search of a vehicle for the purposes of any other drug-related offences. This is purely about reducing the harm that is caused by drug-drivers on our roads.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000764\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EThe legislation establishes infringement offences for 25 drugs. It is important to note that these are both legal and illegal substances. So the focus here is really focused on the harm that may be caused by substances, no matter what the type of that substance. It is possible for someone consuming a legal substance to be impaired in the same way that someone who has consumed an illegal substance can be impaired. Again, I think this is just an important point to convey: this isn\u2019t about focusing on any particular substance or any particular demographic; it is focusing in on any of those substances that may cause people to be harmed in our system.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000765\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EBroadly speaking, the bill establishes a new random roadside oral fluid testing regime to deter drivers. The way it works is by providing officers with the power to administer that oral fluid test. A person who is asked by an officer to complete that test will do so and they will then be asked to complete it a second time if the first test shows that drugs may have been used by the person who was driving. This is about building as much robustness into the result as possible. It is important to note that a person who tests positive after two oral tests is only liable for an infringement offence, not a criminal offence. At that point in the process, under the legislation, the person themselves may elect to go down the route of receiving a determinative blood test, and it is only in the event that that blood test produces a positive result that the person may face a criminal penalty if they exceed the criminal thresholds that are set out in the Act. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000766\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EThe thresholds are different. The infringement thresholds, as advised by the independent expert panel, are a proxy for recent use, and the criminal thresholds are a proxy for a level of impairment. The expert panel set that after extensively working through the international literature on this issue, international examples, and the best and most up-to-date scientific advice from within New Zealand. So to be very clear: the threshold for criminal offending, which may only occur after the person has elected to go down the route of a blood test, is a higher threshold for people to reach.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000767\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EWe also recognise the added road safety risk of driving after combining drugs or drugs and alcohol. The regime does include stricter infringement combination offences and combination criminal offences when a driver has consumed more than one substance. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000768\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EWe do understand that people who consume drugs can, very often, benefit from a health intervention. As a result, there will be compulsory referrals for assessment to drug education or rehabilitation programmes for all third and subsequent criminal offences. In discussion with my colleagues and police, I am also assured that police will be adopting an approach of trying to provide support and direction towards those services at lower levels within the system as their resources allow.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000769\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EIn terms of the setting of criminal limits, as I outlined, 25 substances will be covered. These will include the most prevalent illicit and prescription drugs used by New Zealand drivers, including THC, methamphetamine, MDMA, opioids, and cocaine. As I said before, this is a road safety tool, and it\u2019s very important to note that. We\u2019ve been very careful in the development of the legislation to make sure that that is the focus.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000770\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EWhen the bill was originally considered by the Attorney-General in late 2020, his view at that point in time was that the bill did not pass a New Zealand Bill of Rights Act vet. I\u2019m very pleased to confirm to the House, as I have in earlier stages of the debate, that a lot of work subsequently went into the legislation, which came after the receipt of expert advice from the panel and engagement between Ministers, which means that those concerns of the Attorney-General earlier on in the process have been met. Significant changes to the bill were made, including introducing a medical defence pathway, inserting the limits advised by the expert panel into the bill, and making sure that the devices and the cut-off thresholds of the devices that will be procured by police will be gazetted so that the limits are very transparent and open to scrutiny.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000771\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003ESo I have a great deal of confidence, and I want to convey this to the House, that while we\u2019re dealing with complex issues within this bill, they have been thoroughly considered and I think we do have a robust and fair piece of legislation. And, of course, in the committee of the whole House stage, the Government did take the step of agreeing to a Supplementary Order Paper put forward by the Green Party and the ACT Party to set a review mechanism in place three years after the implementation of this piece of legislation. Once this bill has made its way through the House, we expect the regime to commence from 2023. I am confident that it will make New Zealand roads a safer place for Kiwi motorists, it will reduce deaths and serious injuries, and that is something that, I\u2019m sure, we all support. I commend the bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022 data-id=\u00229fda0582bf3b419b9f02649a1ce3d448\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000772\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229fda0582bf3b419b9f02649a1ce3d448\u0022\u003ESIMEON BROWN (National\u2014Pakuranga):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Speaker, and I rise on behalf of the National Party in support of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill, which is having its third reading today. I just want to start my comments by referring to where the Minister started, which was he was talking about the Road to Zero strategy, and he talked about how the genesis of this piece of legislation started with some consultation in 2019. Well, the reality is\u2014and I think it\u2019s important as we debate this legislation here at its final reading\u2014that the genesis of this piece of legislation took place two years earlier when the incoming Government was advised of the need in 2017 of legislation to implement a roadside drug-testing regime in New Zealand. It was the Green Party Associate Minister Julie Anne Genter who said, \u201CNo thanks\u2014no thanks. We don\u2019t want to do that because it\u2019s going to breach some people\u2019s human rights under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.\u201D She didn\u2019t think about asking some more questions and trying to get some more information\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000773\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e4483aa33e6a413c960c937717e0519d\u0022\u003EChl\u00F6e Swarbrick\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order, Madam Speaker. That\u2019s misrepresentation of the opposition that the Hon Julie Anne Genter had to this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000774\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a244f446c64b45c0ab16406f06e29315\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean)\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you. That is not a point of order. I call Simeon Brown. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000775\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d228f67999a04d8cb230a8c33ba9903a\u0022\u003ESIMEON BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Madam Speaker. And so the incoming Minister was advised of a need of some legislation to introduce a random roadside drug-driving testing service in New Zealand by the police and that was rejected. That advice was rejected back in 2018 by the then Minister. But it\u2019s the Labour Party who was in Government and they agreed with the Associate Minister of Transport\u2014rather than working with the National Party, who would have supported them to bring legislation into Parliament to address this important issue. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000776\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EI\u2019ll tell you why this is an important issue\u2014because the Minister of Transport talks about the need to reduce the death toll on our roads and to reduce the number of serious injuries, and we couldn\u2019t agree more. The facts speak incredibly strongly to the need to act in this area: in 2014, there were 18 deaths on our roads where the person causing the death was impaired by drugs; by 2019, that had increased to 107\u2014107. That\u2019s over five times as many deaths being caused on our roads and all of that time the Government has said \u201CNo thanks.\u201D, and then they said, \u201CWe\u2019re going to put it out for consultation.\u201D Then finally, at the very, very last hour of the last Government in the last Parliament, they introduced this piece of legislation to Parliament and here we are, two years later, about to give it a third reading. And thank goodness for that, because this legislation has been long overdue, and it\u2019s something which is needed to actually address one of the biggest and one of the fastest-growing causes of deaths and serious injuries on our roads. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000777\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003ESo I just want to acknowledge all of the parties who have been involved in bringing this bill to the House: the select committee, the submitters, and for the expert advice in bringing this bill to the position it is in now. Now the message is that we need to see it implemented and we need to make sure that our police have the resource so that they are able to actually act with the powers that are contained inside this piece of legislation. Because the reality is with the number of people who are suffering from serious injuries or deaths on our roads caused by drug-driving, this has to be one of the biggest priorities when it comes to trying to reduce the drug-driving. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000778\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EWe\u2019ve got a Government which has got a strategy and the Minister has got a big red zero. But he\u2019s taken four years\u20144\u00BD years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000779\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022603f2d546c48470c9d3b81c2a3aa7c38\u0022\u003EHon Scott Simpson\u003C/span\u003E: That was his rating.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000780\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002239f8e1a961e14ce6956048576203a6dc\u0022\u003ESIMEON BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: \u201CThat was his rating.\u201D says the Hon Scott Simpson. That might be the number of metres of light rail he\u2019s delivered as well. You could use that for a number of things. But the hard serious fact here is that this is something which should have been done far, far sooner. The reality is\u2014what we know that this piece of legislation is going to do\u2014it will be a deterrent. The reality is, at the moment, we know that with drink-driving, the police have a job, they\u2019ve got the powers. That legislation was introduced back in 1993, and there was a subsequent reduction in the number of deaths and serious injuries where drunk-driving was the cause behind those accidents. So we know that this legislation is going to have an impact. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000781\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EThe next thing which needs to be done is the Government needs to make sure that the police have the resources to be able to do that. I have serious questions at the moment around how that resourcing is taking place in the road safety partnership area between the New Zealand Transport Agency and the police. Only last year, the police delivered only half of the required 3 million breath tests on our roads; 1.5 million were delivered against a target of 3 million. So the reality is there will be serious questions which need to be asked to make sure that they\u2019re able to deliver on those targets and also on this piece of legislation to make sure that it is as an effective deterrent as it can be. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000782\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EThe reality is that this will have an impact, not just as a deterrent but in terms of the lives that it will save, the families who would otherwise have been impacted\u2014but also just the very clear message that this Parliament sends to people who wish to go on the roads after taking drugs, that that is not OK. It is not OK to do that, and we\u2019ve seen the television messages and we\u2019ve seen the ads on TV, but there are now legislative powers for the police to be able to stop you, to be able to test you, and to be able to potentially even prosecute you for that offence\u2014and to be able to make sure that those tests are done in an accurate way and that there is a fair process around that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000783\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003ESo the National Party supports this piece of legislation. Our hearts go out to the many hundreds of people who have been affected by drugged drivers. I know my former colleague the Hon Nick Smith, if he was here, would be referring to the young man, Matthew Dow, 23 years of age from Nelson, who was tragically killed by a drugged driver back in 2017. These are stories which are far too often heard throughout our country and it is so important that we get this legislation passed, we get it implemented, and we get that road toll down through this legislation. Thank you, Madam Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022 data-id=\u00225ad49b5c0a8240d7ac49e27f211282a7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000784\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225ad49b5c0a8240d7ac49e27f211282a7\u0022\u003EGREG O\u2019CONNOR (Labour\u2014\u014Ch\u0101riu):\u003C/span\u003E Madam Speaker, in several minutes you\u2019ll be passing this piece of legislation on behalf of the House. I\u2019d like you to listen for a cheer from downstairs where there are a large number of police officers who will be listening to this debate\u2014I\u2019ve just alerted them to it. Because I\u2019ve been speaking with them over the last few days that they\u2019ve been here, and they can\u2019t wait for this piece of legislation. They\u2019re very eager for it, like many police officers\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000785\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c2344f90336c4b03bb81b35e618c7d3d\u0022\u003ESimeon Brown\u003C/span\u003E: Why have they had to wait?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000786\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225b2b16143417485eac4c21745c9f12f9\u0022\u003EGREG O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014before them, including the time that I spent in the police myself.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000787\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EOne of the problems\u2014that we\u2019ve taken so long to get here. Let\u2019s just leave the petty politics out of this, please, Mr Brown. This is an important piece of legislation. The reason we\u2019ve taken so long to get here is because with drunk driving or alcohol-impaired driving, it\u2019s relatively simple because alcohol is a legal substance, so we were always able to concentrate on the impairment. Whenever we discussed it, when the law was implemented, it was always about impairment. The problem with illicit substances, particularly cannabis, where much of the debate seemed to focus, was that it was always clouded\u2014probably a bad pun\u2014by the fact that it was seen as a way to track down or to investigate drug offences. So why this piece of legislation is very good is it ensures, as the Minister said before, that it actually isn\u2019t going to be about drug enforcement; it\u2019s going to be about road safety. That, again, is why we\u2019ve taken, unfortunately, so long to get here.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000788\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EI\u2019ll just give you an example of how that may work: I\u2019m aware of people who live in a Middle Eastern country where alcohol is illegal. If you are detected with any alcohol on your breath in that country you are arrested, not for any driving offence; you are arrested for having alcohol. That has been the fear here. That is why the legislation, as put together and well advised by our advisory committee\u2014and I do have to, like the Minister, really praise the efforts of our Independent Expert Panel on Drug Driving. Because as we went into this process\u2014and I was privileged enough to chair the Transport and Infrastructure Committee that did do this work\u2014we were struggling a little bit with this whole concept of how we made sure we were actually policing impaired driving, and it got ourselves away from this whole unfortunate issue of just looking for cannabis smokers, which, again, a lot of our submitters tended to base their whole submission on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000789\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003ESo the expert panel, led so ably by Dr Helen Poulsen\u2014a toxicologist\u2014who actually did an excellent job, helped by Professor Shaw, Dr Sharon Kletchko, Andrew McGlashen, and Malcolm Tingle. These people were able to really assure us as a committee that when the amount of drug is detected, there is going to be a tolerance level\u2014that what we\u2019re going to be talking about here is an amount of the drug that we and those who are going to administer this will be able to go into the process with confidence, knowing it will detect an impairment level.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000790\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003ESo the first two tests: anyone who fails those two tests will receive an infringement. Now, it will be that person\u2019s choice whether they want to go on and take blood, and should the amount in the blood, or multiple substances be detected along with alcohol, then they will then enter a criminal regime where, obviously, the sanction will be much greater. So this is, again, a piece of legislation that those who are perhaps sitting at home, those who are a little bit worried that this is somehow just a way to go after dope smokers\u2014many submitters brought up a fear that someone who had had a joint three weeks ago on a fishing trip to Taup\u014D, that they would be detected in this, that perhaps someone who was sitting as a passive smoker in a car where others were smoking cannabis, that they would be detected.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000791\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EAgain, anyone who wants some reassurance, I would suggest that they actually get hold of this report by the independent expert panel\u2014the report that gave us as a select committee the absolute confidence to recommend this bill to the House and all the provisions within it. Because anyone reading this report, with good science from not only around New Zealand but also around the world, will be able to satisfy themselves that this is about road safety, not about drug investigation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000792\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003ESo as the chairman of the committee I\u2019m commending this bill. I can actually now give categorical assurance that for those who probably prevented this moment from arriving a lot earlier, that the science has advanced, that we can now rest assured that those who appear before courts or those who are fined for being impaired for drug driving, that the intended goal of road safety, which will come about by getting those people off the road, will, in fact, be reinforced by this piece of legislation. Therefore, I have absolutely no hesitation in commending this to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022 data-id=\u002282046dc5be0741ffac371b9e53b05108\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000793\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002282046dc5be0741ffac371b9e53b05108\u0022\u003EHon SCOTT SIMPSON (National\u2014Coromandel):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Speaker. It is a delayed pleasure to be speaking in the third and final reading of this Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill. I say it\u2019s a delayed pleasure because this is a bill that should have been passed years ago, and for the chairman of the select committee to stand and proudly proclaim to the House that he\u2019s been warning police officers around the precinct of Parliament, who have been doing such a good and noble job over recent weeks in this place, that they should be excited about this piece of legislation passing\u2014the piece of legislation that, I might add, won\u2019t actually be effective for another year or so yet. And in the fifth year of this Government\u2019s regime, that they should now be passing this piece of legislation belatedly, slowly, behind time is an appalling indictment upon their record of road safety, their diligence towards road safety, and their lack of enthusiasm for actually doing something that is sensible, pragmatic, and in normal ways, you would say, progressive.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000794\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EBut my colleague Simeon Brown actually related some of the history of it, and I think it\u2019s important in this third reading to go over that a little. There was an opportunity in this debating chamber to pass a piece of legislation that was brought to the House in a member\u2019s bill by my former colleague Alastair Scott. Now, that piece of legislation was almost identical in form to this piece of legislation, but for petty, party-political reasons it was voted down by the then Labour - Greens - New Zealand First administration. And they voted it down knowing, knowing then, that the science was unequivocal in terms of providing absolute evidence that drug testing, saliva testing, random saliva drug testing of this sort lowered the fatalities on our roads. We know that to be true because, in jurisdictions like Australia and in the United Kingdom, legislation of this sort had been in place for years with very effective results.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000795\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EWhat we also know is that when the Minister, who was then the Associate Minister, the Hon Julie Anne Genter\u2014and she\u2019s a member of the Green Party, who we, of course, know are dodgy on drugs and drugs issues. So she decided, by playing petty politics, to put the lives of New Zealanders at risk unnecessarily\u2014unnecessarily\u2014for years, and that is something that will be for her conscience for years to come. It\u2019s very sad that there have been so many fatalities, so many deaths, in those subsequent years, and the Hon Julie Anne Genter will have to confront her own conscience on that matter, because she used strawman arguments for putting aside the legislation that was brought to the House by my former colleague Alastair Scott, a piece of legislation that could have gone to a select committee, could have been tidied up if there were issues that the then Government had. But, no; they decided to play petty politics. It was the chair of the select committee only a few minutes ago who was lecturing this House and saying, \u201CDon\u2019t play petty politics.\u201D Well, pot, kettle, black, I think is the appropriate analogy. Pot, kettle, black. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000796\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003ESo finally\u2014finally\u2014in the fifth year of this Government\u2019s regime, we have an opportunity to pass this piece of legislation, and I guess we should be grateful for small mercies that better late than never is appropriate. The Minister told us, in his opening speech in this debate, that 320 lives were lost last year on our roads, and that\u2019s simply an unacceptable level of pain, suffering, and death to be occurring in New Zealand. But I\u2019m one of a generation that remembers when the road toll was significantly higher than that, when we had a completely different attitude and view about drink-driving, when it was socially acceptable to drive drunk. For some of us who were young drivers at a period of time in the late 1970s and early 1980s\u2014frankly, it\u2019s a miracle that some of us survived. Then insightful Governments\u2014in fact, it was a bold move taken by a previous National Government that actually introduced random drink-driving, and that was at the time considered pretty radical. But it actually had a very, very good effect, and the same effect can be attributed to this piece of legislation when it comes in. But the fact that it\u2019s going to be 2023 before it actually becomes effective\u2014as my colleague the very hard-working member for North Shore, Simon Watts, says, it is unbelievable that it could be taking so long. That the Labour Government, backed and supported by the Greens, have been dragging their feet for so long on this important piece of legislation is incredibly sad for us all, and it\u2019s an embarrassment not just for parliamentarians, but it\u2019s an embarrassment for New Zealand when in other jurisdictions it\u2019s been working so well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000797\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003ESo what we do know is that the Minister is right when he states the obvious\u2014that this is a road safety tool\u2014and that\u2019s a good thing because we need as many road safety tools as we can get. But when we have a Government that is notoriously soft on crime, these are the sorts of prices that we pay for it, and it\u2019s just a plain, simple fact that this Government has been dragging its feet on this issue. This is a Government that has been literally dragged kicking and screaming to this piece of legislation. They could have passed it years ago, with all the benefits that would have come from it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000798\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EBut I want to pick up on a point that my colleague Simeon Brown made, because for this piece of legislation to be truly effective, it means that if police officers are going to have to make it work on a practical basis, the Government needs to ensure that they have the appropriate resources. What we know is that police morale is low and declining under a Government that doesn\u2019t really support police in the way that our police force should be supported. I\u2019m very concerned that they won\u2019t have the adequate resources to do this. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000799\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EAs a pointer to a lack of adequate resources, what we know is that there are far fewer random drink-drive tests being conducted in the country at the moment. It used to be a very common occurrence that drivers around the roads of the beautiful Coromandel electorate would be stopped and would have to give their name and address into a little machine, and then they would be tested. Now, I\u2019ve noticed, as just a local driver in my part of the country, how infrequent those random tests are occurring. My concern is that this legislation will, finally, be passed tonight, hopefully, and I\u2019m sure it will be, and then it will be\u2014well, it may not actually be passed tonight, because it depends how quickly some of the Government members wish to speak, and knowing their record on this, I doubt that they will want to speak for long. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000800\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003ESo we will support this legislation. We have all the way through because it\u2019s the kind of legislation that a pragmatic, sensible National Government would have introduced years ago, given the opportunity, and it tried to\u2014it tried to. It tried to, with Alastair Scott\u2019s piece of legislation. But, no, this is a Government who had to be dragged kicking and screaming to it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000801\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EThis is actually a piece of legislation that should have already been passed, and I\u2019m recalling a situation when, early on in the COVID pandemic crisis, that was used as an excuse for not passing this legislation. Unbelievable\u2014unbelievable. We have a Government that seems not to be able to do two things at once, and so they don\u2019t seem to be able to prioritise things that are important, and it\u2019s suited them, actually, to use in this case\u2014shamefully, in my view\u2014COVID as an excuse for not speeding up this piece of legislation. So that\u2019s come as no particular surprise to us on this side of the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000802\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003ELook, we do support this legislation. It\u2019s been too long coming, it\u2019s too late, and it\u2019s been too slow, but, finally, this soft-on-crime Government has finally seen fit to deliver this piece of legislation to Parliament, and I can\u2019t wait for it to be implemented and effective on the roads and streets around New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022217f4585-f6ef-408d-9318-8a6b8506920b\u0022 data-id=\u0022c18c8477921a41a2a880f3c602b3a25c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000803\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022217f4585-f6ef-408d-9318-8a6b8506920b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c18c8477921a41a2a880f3c602b3a25c\u0022\u003EPAUL EAGLE (Labour\u2014Rongotai):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe te M\u0101ngai o te Whare, Madam Speaker. It\u2019s a pleasure to be speaking on this third reading of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill. I happened to be with the member for \u014Ch\u0101riu, Greg O\u2019Connor, and talking to the good men and women of the New Zealand Police service outside, and there was some discussion about reallocation of police resourcing. I wasn\u2019t sure, but a quick Google between Greg O\u2019Connor, the chair of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee, and myself did find that actually when the other side were in, they had to look at shifting 111 road policing staff positions to other tasks. So they are concerned about this, we\u2019re concerned on this side, and it makes me wonder\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000804\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224fa44c5ce2e44aa5831da36839257054\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Fake news, Paul, fake news.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000805\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022217f4585-f6ef-408d-9318-8a6b8506920b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e997ee00a8d8407ba5106add7e527432\u0022\u003EPAUL EAGLE\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014whether, sometimes you hear\u2014it\u2019s fake news! Well, well, well. Look, let\u2019s focus on this bill, because we\u2019re about saving lives, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing in terms of improving road safety outcomes in Aotearoa New Zealand. Look, this is, as has been said, long overdue. Let\u2019s get on with it. What we have seen\u2014and I know in my electorate there certainly are concerns about what\u2019s being done in this area, and I was looking back at the road toll 2019: 110 persons killed where the driver was found to have drugs in their system; 2020: 101. This is going to bring in a new oral fluid testing regime\u2014we\u2019ve talked about the setting of criminal limits, and the fact that the Minister said this is a road safety tool only, and explained that eloquently. I\u2019m not going to talk too much more, I commend this bill to the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022 data-id=\u00223438465bc2104ea4810514e34d640cfd\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000806\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223438465bc2104ea4810514e34d640cfd\u0022\u003ECHL\u00D6E SWARBRICK (Green\u2014Auckland Central):\u003C/span\u003E Te M\u0101ngai, t\u0113n\u0101 koe. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou o te Whare. Drug driving is a real and legitimate problem that has resulted in the unnecessary loss of lives. The question that we, as lawmakers, face tonight is if, on balance, we think that this law will prevent those deaths and that harm from occurring. The Greens, on balance, cannot in good conscience vote for this bill at its third reading, having thoroughly and constructively engaged, seeking changes at every single stage, knowing that, as drafted, it risks baking in\u2014forever\u2014methods that are currently scientifically not robust and that may perversely cause further harm to our communities.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000807\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EMadam Speaker, if I told you that I could cure cancer with this one simple, cool trick, would you believe me? No, I believe the answer would be. You wouldn\u2019t. You would believe the experts, you would believe the scientists, the regulators, who are responsible for ensuring that these treatments and medicines actually work before they\u2019re allowed to be tested on real people. If the regional public health authority, the New Zealand Medical Association, the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists told you that this medicine didn\u2019t reach scientific standards for rolling out, as they did on the methodologies prescribed in oral roadside drug testing in this bill, would we do it? No, we wouldn\u2019t. We\u2019d be kidding ourselves, and we\u2019d be pretending that we didn\u2019t see the evidence.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000808\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EBut, unfortunately, when it comes to particularly illicit drug policy, we tend to take a very different approach, as a Parliament over the decades; in our mainstream media reporting; and in the typically accepted, albeit slowly changing, social attitudes. That approach is often grounded in best intentions, and that does need to be acknowledged. We can see that drugs do and can cause harm. Some people have had profoundly harmful and sometimes deadly experiences. That, ultimately, makes this topic something really hard to debate, and an issue that can be very easily co-opted by those who are selling overly simplified solutions. When you are trying to distinguish between two critically important but two very different things\u2014one, the reality that drugs, and that includes alcohol and prescription drugs, can cause harm; and, secondly, the question of how we actually, in reality, grounded in evidence, reduce that harm\u2014there is a real tendency, particularly in the history of this Parliament, to miss that critical second question. That second question, however, is fundamental to making good policy, that does the things that we say that it will.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000809\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EWe have a ton of laws and policy that don\u2019t do what they say they will. The Frankenstein Misuse of Drugs Act, my mortal enemy, is one of the best examples of that. Forty-seven years ago, this Parliament passed a law promising to try and eradicate illicit drugs from this country by criminally penalising the people who use and supply them. In fact, 47 years later, we have seen more illicit drugs on the black market. We\u2019ve got far stronger illicit substances and far more of them. We\u2019ve seen more drug users, more families, and communities harmed. We\u2019ve had review after review, from the Law Commission in 2011 through to the mental health and addiction inquiry through to the safe and effective justice review, which have told us that that law is not only not working but is in fact causing more harm because it is so profoundly anti-evidence. And what\u2019s happened as a result of all of those reviews? Well, nearly 50 years on and with immense collateral damage in its wake, that law remains on our statute books. There\u2019s no real political consequences, it seems, for acting and talking contrary to evidence when it comes to the lives of people who use drugs\u2014which, I might add, if we\u2019re going to actually be honest about, is about 80 percent of New Zealanders who will use cannabis by the time that they are in their 20s.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000810\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EI want to acknowledge the Hon Julie Anne Genter, who, in fact, the Minister did, as well as members of the Opposition, for her work in introducing this bill in a very unique three-party governance arrangement. It would have looked very differently, I think everybody in this House would agree, had it been a law drafted solely, and negotiated solely, by just the Labour and New Zealand First parties. The Greens are, of course, yet to hold our own parliamentary majority in Parliament, so we sometimes joke that perhaps our position and our role in Parliament is one of harm reduction. We do not have the numbers to outright prevent certain harm being caused. Those on the select committee, and members across this House, know full well that the Hon Julie Anne Genter worked tirelessly behind the scenes\u2014even with the ACT Party, I might add, and the select committee report differing view\u2014to try and improve this bill. And in constant conversation with the Minister and his officials\u2014Minister Wood knew that we could not, in good conscience, support this bill at its third reading tonight without both of our Supplementary Order Papers in the Hon Julie Anne Genter\u2019s name passing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000811\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EThat is because, while a review is important\u2014that is, of course, the Supplementary Order Paper that members in this House did enable to get through\u2014a review alone with not fix bad law. We\u2019ve seen that with the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, which continues to sit on our statute books, with all of its political inconvenience and accompanying harm and destruction, despite review, after review, after review saying that it is failing to live up to its promise. Our proposed sunset clause\u2014voted down at the committee of the whole House stage on this bill\u2014would have forced a future Government and a future Parliament to look at what might end up being a quite inconvenient truth: that this law might not live up to its promises; that it might be causing unintentional and perverse harms. We don\u2019t know that yet because the science is not yet there. That future Parliament, had our proposed sunset clause got through, would have to proactively pass an amendment bill to keep a potentially otherwise ineffective piece of law alive, instead of conveniently ignoring it, as the current majority in our Parliament currently does with the likes of the Misuse of Drugs Act. If the law was in fact, as it may miraculously turn out, working, it would have offered a great opportunity to tighten things up with, I\u2019m sure, not all too much political contention. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000812\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EIf we want to talk about sizeably and meaningfully reducing drug harm on our roads, then we need to talk about the swathes of evidence-based drug policy and reviews which are proven to reduce drug demand: educate people on the dangers of what they\u2019re taking, or\u2014God forbid\u2014regulate what on earth they are getting access to in the first place. All of those reviews and all of that evidence is currently being ignored for the sake of political convenience. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000813\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EWe need to talk\u2014particularly\u2014about roadside alcohol testing resourcing. That\u2019s because alcohol still remains in fact the most harmful drug in our society but also on our roads. In 2020 more drivers were involved in a crash causing death having alcohol alone in their blood than drugs alone or even both alcohol and drugs. We are currently carrying out significantly fewer roadside alcohol breath tests than we were 10 years ago. We only did 1.5 million roadside tests for alcohol in 2020 to the 2021 period, despite aiming for 2 million. Ten years ago, in 2013, we did 3 million tests. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000814\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003ERoadside drug testing is also currently very limited in the number of drugs that it can detect. Synthetic cannabinoids are not likely to be covered, nor is GHB, which we know potentially impairs somebody\u2019s ability to drive. We also know from the Australian experience that while substances may register in somebody\u2019s system, that person may not in fact be impaired. So too, over 200 medications prescribed in New Zealand come with warnings about potential for impairment, but nearly 65 percent of New Zealanders are unaware that it is illegal to drive under impairment by medication.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000815\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EAs Julie Anne Genter wrote in the select committee report, and I quote, \u201CThe Royal Australasian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists was concerned that a harm minimisation approach is not implemented by this bill, as well as noting, \u2018The presence of drugs in a person\u2019s oral fluids or blood does not directly relate to impairment. We call for greater research in understanding the link between substance misuse and a person\u2019s impairment\u2019. The New Zealand Medical Association echoes this, stating, \u2018the science to support roadside oral fluid testing is not quite sufficiently advanced although it is rapidly evolving. Key concerns include the inability of oral fluid testing to detect impairments, the absence of well-defined threshold levels and impairment limits for many drugs, and the potential for the bill to exacerbate inequities for M\u0101ori in the criminal justice system\u2026\u2019\u201D\u2014from that select committee report. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000816\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EThe Green Party will tonight reject this bill. Without the requirement to repeal what may end up being harmful legislation, this law risks becoming yet another potential relic of politicians doing something which hurts the people we claim to want to help. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022 data-id=\u00227d4badfc67f04a7295abed0f1293ff8c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000817\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227d4badfc67f04a7295abed0f1293ff8c\u0022\u003ESIMON COURT (ACT):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Speaker. ACT will support the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill at this third reading. The ACT Party, as the member for Auckland Central pointed out, shared many of the concerns that the Green Party had about the operation of this legislation. There was still a great deal of work to do to establish an evidence base that roadside testing, for both prescription and illicit substances, would actually be able to detect that drivers were impaired, and that a testing regime would deter drivers from driving while under the influence of drugs.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000818\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EACT supports the Government having taken responsibility for roadside testing. Employers have been testing drivers who work for them for decades. I\u2019ve worked in the construction industry and, during my time in the industry, I was required to submit to regular testing while operating motor vehicles, and heavy plant and equipment, as were many of my staff.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000819\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003ESo it\u2019s a fine thing that the Government is now taking responsibility for establishing a similar testing regime on the public roads. ACT supports this bill because it\u2019s a practical series of solutions. They\u2019re not perfect solutions but they\u2019re practical, and they will help achieve healthier communities in the long run.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000820\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EACT will support this bill despite the fact that we have reservations around the data and the evidence that is available now to determine whether the testing regime, the testing methods, whether they be oral or otherwise, are actually of a sufficient accuracy and repeatability, so that people who are stopped and tested as part of a routine exercise, one that we\u2019re familiar with through what used to be commonplace drink driving stops\u2014although they\u2019ve become less common while the country\u2019s police force are engaged in managed isolation and quarantine duties, stopping people from escaping from hotel rooms, rather than policing the nation\u2019s highways. And we know that the police themselves feel very unhappy about that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000821\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EBut despite the fact that there are still gaps in the evidence and the data, the ACT Party supports this because there was an amendment proposed by the Green Party, which ACT supported, and which the Government accepted, to include a review clause in this legislation. So that after three years the data and the evidence on roadside testing will be reviewed, and a report will be provided as to whether the legislation is working as intended, and what other operational measures have been identified to improve the working of the legislation. Because it is important, both for the safety of the public\u2014for people learning to drive, for people who have been driving a long time, for people who drive for work\u2014to know that drivers who get into a car to drive while impaired with prescription drugs or illicit drugs are deterred from doing so.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000822\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003ESo this piece of legislation is part of the Government\u2019s Road to Zero plan, as the Minister alluded to. It\u2019s one small part of a much larger plan which we understand, having heard the Minister\u2019s announcement last week, is part of a $1.2 billion scheme involving additional road policing and other measures to make the roads safer. This particular piece of the Road to Zero plan focuses on the human factor, on behaviour, on deterring people who might otherwise get behind the wheel while under the influence of illicit drugs or prescription medication. The aim of Road to Zero is to reduce the road toll by 40 percent over a 10-year period. That started in 2020. So that\u2019s now 40 percent by 2030. Last year, 2021, 319 people lost their lives on the road, but the injury toll tells the real picture. The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) received 32,528 new claims for injuries on the road in 2021 alone, with a total cost of $568 million in claims to the taxpayer through the ACC account. So it\u2019s important that every possible measure, having weighed the costs and looked at potential benefits, that every possible measure that stacks up from a benefit-cost ratio analysis is implemented.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000823\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EThat\u2019s why the ACT Party, while supporting this bill, does take issue with other measures in the Road to Zero approach, such as simply applying blanket speed limit reductions across entire regions\u2014as is proposed for Northland or on that vital link, the Napier-Taup\u014D road, reduced to 80 kilometres an hour for its entire length\u2014and not considering the social and economic costs on communities of a blanket approach, which fails to recognise actually the Government has another responsibility, and that is to recognise that humans do make mistakes. Drivers do make errors. That it\u2019s not just about road policing, lowering speed limits and then enforcing them with the radar gun and severely increased penalties, which we know the Government is considering.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000824\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EActually, the Government has a responsibility to identify where it should be investing in roading infrastructure, in addition to legislation like this which is about improving driver behaviour. For example, road safety infrastructure such as guard rails and wire rope barriers have saved dozens and dozens of lives; people may well have been injured but they can still go home to their families. And yet, rather than investing in road safety infrastructure, rather than upgrading roads designed in the 1950s, two-lane roads with six-foot deep ditches either side, lined with trees and power poles practically in the carriage way, rather than making those investments, the Government\u2019s chosen to invest in other transport priorities which actually don\u2019t contribute to reducing the road toll and reducing injuries on the road at all, like a light rail project in Auckland or like a bike bridge in Auckland\u2014both projects which are doomed never to be built by this Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000825\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EThese 1950s-designed roads we call State highways in other countries would be modern, multi-lane, and often grade separated four-lane highways. I\u2019ll give you an example of Sweden, a country which has a much lower road toll than New Zealand: 5,000 kilometres of roads in Sweden, round about the same distance of State highways as New Zealand. Half of them, 2,500 kilometres is separated by median barriers. In New Zealand we\u2019ve only managed to separate not even 500 kilometres.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000826\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EThat is why, in terms of Road to Zero objectives, this bill only goes a very small way. It will be very difficult for the Government to identify the benefits and reduced fatalities from this legislation. ACT will support it because it\u2019s important that the Government puts its money where its mouth is and at least implements the same testing regime that employers and businesses have been undertaking with their workforces that use the road for decades. But it doesn\u2019t go any way to solving the real problem with this country\u2019s State highway infrastructure, with all of those design, engineering, and other issues with the State highway network which mean that when a person makes a mistake on the road, they are more likely to suffer serious injury or even death in New Zealand than they would be in a country we would normally compare ourselves favourably to, such as Sweden, which has made a real investment in road safety infrastructure.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000827\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002256cd77324e2d4f40a0af4d16e9beb5c9\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: 50 percent taxes!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000828\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002265b61aa2fc3245d78b12ea7463f02a43\u0022\u003ESIMON COURT\u003C/span\u003E: The former Minister of Police brings up the matter of \u201C50 percent taxes\u201D. He might not realise that New Zealanders on the top tax rate plus GST already pay over 50 percent in taxes; they pay road user charges and fuel excise duties and they\u2019re still not getting safer roads\u2014to the former Minister of Police over there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000829\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262828428-6565-42b4-bd4d-fa3b12531f88\u0022\u003EThat is why the ACT Party believes that, in addition to this legislation, it\u2019s vitally important that adequate investments are made in prioritised road safety infrastructure including State highways. Thank you, Madam Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022 data-id=\u0022f731012d6898479e8c6e0b6ee1238df9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000830\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f731012d6898479e8c6e0b6ee1238df9\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean)\u003C/span\u003E: Members, this debate is interrupted and set down for resumption next sitting day. The House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. tomorrow.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2022030155df5f8f3a0e41258991cf6ca6b48e3e000831\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EThe House adjourned at 9.55 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n  \u003C/body\u003E\n\u003C/html\u003E"