Thursday, 7 April 2022

THURSDAY, 7 APRIL 2022

THURSDAY, 7 APRIL 2022

The Deputy Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.

Karakia/Prayers

Karakia/Prayers

DEPUTY SPEAKER: E te Atua kaha rawa, ka tuku whakamoemiti atu mātou, mō ngā karakia kua waihotia mai ki runga i a mātou. Ka waiho i ō mātou pānga whaiaro katoa ki te taha. Ka mihi mātou ki te Kuīni, me te inoi atu mō te ārahitanga i roto i ō mātou whakaaroarohanga, kia mōhio ai, kia whakaiti ai tā mātou whakahaere i ngā take o te Whare nei, mō te oranga, te maungārongo, me te aroha o Aotearoa. Āmene.

[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 and humility, for the welfare, peace, and compassion of New Zealand. Amen.]

Business Statement

Business Statement

Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): Next week, the committee stage of the Appropriation (2020/21 Confirmation and Validation) Bill, or the annual review debate, will begin. Ministers covering 14 different portfolios will participate that week. Other legislation to be considered will be the remaining stages of the COVID-19 Response (Courts Safety) Legislation Bill, and the third reading of the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Bill. On Wednesday, a two-hour debate on the report of the Finance and Expenditure Committee on the long-term fiscal position will replace the general debate, and, on Thursday, the House will consider another motion to approve COVID-19 orders.

CHRIS BISHOP (National): I thank the Leader of the House for that update. I wonder if he could advise on when item No. 24 on the Order Paper, the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill, which is now approaching its sixth anniversary of being on the Order Paper, will see some progress.

Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): Of course, it may have seen speedier progress if the last Government had not botched the process in the first place so badly. But in the fullness of time, at the appropriate moment, I’m sure that the House will turn its attention to that again.

Hon JAMES SHAW (Co-Leader—Green): Thank you, Mr Speaker. I wonder if the Government’s had time to ruminate on the Organic Products Bill, a sufficiently low item No. 19 on the Order Paper, given that it was presented to the House in March 2021?

Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): I can confirm that the organics bill does still remain on the Government’s work programme, and we are intending to make further progress on it.

PETITIONS, PAPERS, SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS, AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

PETITIONS, PAPERS, SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS, AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

DEPUTY SPEAKER: No bills have been introduced. Petitions have been delivered to the Clerk for presentation.

CLERK:

Petition of Malcolm Richards, requesting that the House ban the use of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) in New Zealand

petition of Andrea Menzies, requesting that the House remove GST from all essential food items and hygiene products but leave GST on non-essential “junk food”.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Those petitions stand referred to the Petitions Committee. Ministers have delivered papers.

CLERK: Government responses to the reports of the Health Committee on the petition of Sarah Teare and the petition of Denise Astill.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Those papers are published under the authority of the House. A select committee report has been delivered for presentation.

CLERK: Report of the Finance and Expenditure Committee on the Statement on the Long-term Fiscal Position, the Long-term Insights Briefing, report of the Controller and Auditor-General, commentary on He Tirihanga Mokopuna 2021.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: The report is set down for consideration.

Oral Questions

Questions to Ministers

Question No. 1—Education

1. ANGELA ROBERTS (Labour) to the Minister of Education: What is the Government doing to encourage healthy drinks in schools?

Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): This morning, I announced that we’re beginning public consultation on a proposal for primary schools to only offer healthy drinks. We know that, if kids eat and drink well, there are a myriad of benefits and good outcomes for learning. While some schools have already seen these results and chosen to put their own healthy drinks policies in place, we want to hear what people think about whether we can replicate those benefits across all primary schools and all young people, parents, and teachers.

Angela Roberts: Why does the Minister consider a greater emphasis on healthy drinks in schools to be important at this time?

Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Research shows us that dental decay is now the most common disease reported amongst children in New Zealand, and rates of obesity amongst CHILDREN have increased significantly between September 2020 and August 2021. Further, sugar-sweetened beverages account for more than a quarter of a child’s sugar intake here in New Zealand. That’s why we want to ask what people think about all primary schools offering only healthy drinks—healthy drinks being defined as “water, milk, and non-dairy milk alternatives”.

Angela Roberts: What is his approach to healthy drinks in secondary schools?

Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The initial proposal—the one that we’re consulting on—is for healthy drinks in primary schools. Evidence shows that the earlier in a child’s development that healthy habits can be encouraged, the better. However, the Government is also considering whether a similar policy could be considered in the future in secondary schools, and we want to get feedback on that as well, including from schools and communities, about what barriers might exist to implementing such a policy. The consultation’s being run by the Ministry of Education; it is open for eight weeks up until 2 June.

Question No. 2—Social Development and Employment

2. DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori) (remote) to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she agree with the Child Poverty Action Group, who said in October 2021, “in the face of abundant evidence that the stop-gap measures initiated in the first 2020 lockdown for low-income families were nowhere near enough, this year, unbelievably, the Government has done even less”; if not, why not?

Hon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development and Employment): No, I don’t agree with the statement. This Government has made once-in-a-generation increases to incomes for those on a benefit and is continuing to lift incomes for New Zealand families. Our 1 April changes benefited over 1.4 million New Zealanders. However, supporting low-income families is about more than just income support, which is why the Government has a wide range of initiatives that will benefit families, including building more social housing, free doctors’ visits, lunches in schools, and free period products. On top of that, as part of our COVID response, we have set up our care in the community model in order to effectively meet the needs of people and whānau while in self-isolation. This is a Government that has successfully supported New Zealand families through a global pandemic, with measures like the wage subsidy, main benefit increases, and lifting the minimum wage. But, as I’ve always said, we recognise we have more to do.

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: What is she doing to ensure food security for whānau as we come into winter, given that vegetable prices increased 19 percent in the year to September 2021 and food box usage more than doubled, and that we know the situation will now be much worse with even higher inflation?

Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: The support for food security in New Zealand stretches back before we experienced the inflationary increases that we’re experiencing at the moment. I think back to Budget 2020, when we put $32 million towards our food secure network, the first time that there’d been that level of investment. And, with regard to supporting families to be able to self-isolate safely, we’ve also invested millions of dollars into our care in communities programme across the country. If we look at our food security budget, of the about $30.1 million in total funding, that’s only a portion of the care in community funding. But food security is front of mind for us, and we’ve absolutely acted in a myriad of ways over the course of our time in Government.

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Does she stand by the Government’s decision last year to not bring in further lockdown-related benefit increases or double the winter energy payment, and will she take a different approach this year and at least double the winter energy payment?

Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: The benefit increases that we have seen are a once-in-a-generation increase. They reverse the cuts that were made back in 1991. They do respond to the Welfare Expert Advisory Group’s recommendations with regard to increases to benefits. I do recognise that it was two years on, but we went above and beyond for families that have children. On top of that, we didn’t just increase benefits. On 1 April, that member would have seen that we increased the family tax credit, we increased the minimum wage to $21.20, and, on top of that, we see a reasonably significant increase for superannuitants as well. These are the families that needed to have targeted assistance during this time. And so, yes, we stand by our decisions as a Government.

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Will she ensure that all low-income whānau are eligible for Working for Families payments, and, if not, why not?

Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: There’s criteria in place with regard to Working for Families. I do encourage all whānau to check that they are accessing what they are eligible for with regard to Working for Families, but also, with respect to supplementary supports through the Ministry of Social Development, I’m always concerned that there’s, potentially, families out there that are not accessing supports like accommodation supplement or child-care assistance. We do have an eligibility calculator on the website now so whānau can check for themselves what they might be eligible for. We want to support any whānau that is experiencing hardship at this time. With regard to further changes to Working for Families, we have said publicly there is a review of Working for Families under way, but that didn’t stop us from increasing the family tax credits on 1 April.

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Does she accept the statement of Dr Renee Liang that “The populations most affected by COVID and most likely to die from it are those living under socio-economic strain and indigenous populations.” and, therefore, agree that means Government has a responsibility to urgently lift incomes and reduce costs for low-income whānau such as through benefit increases, tax relief, and much quicker increases in the minimum wage?

DEPUTY SPEAKER: In so far as the Minister has responsibility for that.

Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: That was a very long quote. For the main part, yes, I do agree. We do recognise that low socio-economic whānau often have that intersection with regard to a range of other population groups, which means that often they are more at risk with regard to things like COVID. With respect to the actual initiatives that have been mentioned, we have done many of those things, if not all of them. We have lifted incomes for beneficiaries; also, for low-income workers, with respect to the minimum wage; also, put more money into the pockets of students and superannuitants, and those are the targeted groups I believe that member was referring to, and they have absolutely been front of mind for us alongside—can I just add, disabled people here in New Zealand. They have been absolutely front of mind for us with regard to every action we have taken in response to the pandemic.

Question No. 3—Prime Minister

3. NICOLA WILLIS (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime Minister: Does she have confidence in all of her Ministers?

Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Deputy Prime Minister) on behalf of the Prime Minister: Yes. In particular, I have confidence in Ministers who have helped deliver 3.2 percent unemployment, more than 5 percent annual average economic growth, a reduction in the indicators of child poverty across the board, and a world-leading COVID-19 response—to name a few. I also have confidence in Ministers who have prioritised the safety of our communities by significantly increasing police funding by $450 million since we took office. I stand by Ministers who are supporting the police to deploy 700 more organised crime staff to bust gangs. I’ve got confidence in Ministers who are progressing legislation through this House that will give police more tools to address gang violence. And, finally, I have confidence in Ministers who’ve understood and prioritised the need for more police, which is why we have put 1,400 more cops on the front line.

Nicola Willis: Was it acceptable for the police Minister to dismiss media questions about a blowout in police response times saying, “I’m not kind of prepared to step into that.” and “I’m not over the detail of that.”?

Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On behalf of the Prime Minister, in the 13 years that I have been in the House, I have heard each and every police Minister refer to matters as being operational matters. What I haven’t been able to hear, until recently, is the $450 million extra that this Government has put into the police, the 1,400 front-line cops that this Government is supporting the police with. That’s the difference.

Nicola Willis: Is it the Prime Minister’s position that the Minister of Police should take no interest in police operational matters relating to how long it takes for a New Zealander to get a police officer to come and see them when they report a crime?

Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The Minister of Police has the job of overseeing the police portfolio, which means making sure they have the resources they need to do the job. So, rather than the last National Government, who froze police funding, the police Minister’s overseeing a $450 million increase in that. We’ve got 1,400 more cops on the front line. The police Minister has the confidence of the Prime Minister because she is overseeing record levels of investment.

Nicola Willis: So is it the Prime Minister’s position that all the Minister of Police needs to do is sign off on the funding and the press releases and take no interest in the results that are delivered?

Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No, the Minister of Police takes a great deal of interest in the results that are delivered. For example, the results that have been delivered by Operation Bloodhound, which was announced today, with more than 30 people arrested associated with gangs in the eastern district, 30 firearms being taken out of the hands of gang members and associates, and large amounts of cash being seized, with approximately $100,000 taken from a gang headquarters in Napier. That’s something that the Minister of Police is taking a significant interest in.

Hon Chris Hipkins: Has she seen any reports suggesting that one in eight of New Zealand’s police was involved in protecting New Zealand Parliament, and has she seen any further criticism that, in fact, more police should have been involved earlier on in that operation?

Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I think all members of the House would be grateful for the role that the New Zealand Police have played throughout the time of COVID-19, and particularly in protecting this building here and the people who work around it. We should be grateful for the role that New Zealand Police are playing.

Nicola Willis: Is the Prime Minister aware that the average response time for police has more than doubled, and is it seriously her position that this is not a matter the police Minister should take an interest in?

Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As I said, in answer to earlier questions, the police Minister takes her role seriously in making sure that the police have the resources that they need to be able to support and protect New Zealanders.

Hon Chris Hipkins: Has the Prime Minister seen reports that the numbers just referred to in the question that she has just answered were taken in the context of a significant COVID-19 outbreak while a number of police—up to one in eight of our police—were involved in protecting New Zealand’s Parliament?

Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The police force in New Zealand have played a significant role in protecting New Zealanders through COVID-19—that has included not only work at managed isolation and quarantine but also work around borders and also work around this building here. The New Zealand Police Force have had a very difficult job to do through a very stressful time of COVID-19, and we should all be grateful to them.

Nicola Willis: Does it concern the Prime Minister that the Leader of the House was able to provide more detail about police response times than the Minister of Police, and is this the standard that this Prime Minister is prepared to accept?

Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On behalf of the Prime Minister, what concerns me is that a National Party who froze police funding, who did not provide police with the resources that they need, can stand up here, in this House today, and lecture this Government. This Government is proud of the fact that we’ve invested for 1,400 more cops to be on the front line, 700 cops dedicated to organised crime, and we’re busting up gangs—including Operation Bloodhound, that we saw today.

Simeon Brown: $2.75 million to the gangs.

Nicola Willis: Has she—

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! No. Simeon Brown, you will stand, withdraw, and apologise.

Simeon Brown: I withdraw and apologise.

Nicola Willis: Has she or her office bothered to even have a conversation with the Minister of Police to encourage her to get across the detail of the significant matter in her portfolio?

Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On behalf of the Prime Minister: the Prime Minister and her office engage on a daily basis with Ministers, and, during those engagements with the Minister of Police, I’m sure the Minister and the Prime Minister have shared the fact that we are proud of a New Zealand Police Force that, just today, has broken up gangs in the Hawke’s Bay, in the eastern district; that is part of Operation Tauwhiro that seized over 1,500 firearms, arrested over 1,200 people, seized over 50 kilograms of methamphetamine, and conducted 900 searches under warrant. That is what you get when a Government properly funds the police and doesn’t freeze funding for the police.

Question No. 4—Environment

4. BARBARA EDMONDS (Labour—Mana) to the Minister for the Environment: What announcements has the Government made about supporting the restoration of waterways?

Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister for the Environment): Today, the Government announced a Jobs for Nature project in partnership with Porirua City Council, Ngāti Toa, and Sustainable Coastlines to restore the health of the Porirua Harbour. Porirua Harbour is the largest estuary in the lower North Island and once was plentiful with pipi, mussels, oyster, and tuna. I’ve just come back from the estuary. It is obvious that the tens of thousands of tonnes of sediment from road and subdivision earthworks and some agricultural practices are degrading the estuary. Remedial action is clearly needed, and I commend the efforts of the local community.

Barbara Edmonds: How will the Jobs for Nature project support employment and improved environmental outcomes in Porirua?

Hon DAVID PARKER: This is a long-term project. It will plant some 630,000 plants in many kilometres of riparian planting and fencing, as well as fund weed and pest control. An integral part of the programme is providing training and skills that improve capability. The funding will also support the Integrated Catchment Management Plan. Fine-scale LiDAR data for every stream and all parts of the harbour, enabled by the Provincial Growth Fund, is helping drive down costs for this project while also assisting developers in the community. Coupled with the training, this project is driving productivity upwards as well as improved environmental outcomes.

Barbara Edmonds: How is the Jobs for Nature programme tracking in its first 18 months?

Hon DAVID PARKER: Well, it’s having a significant impact on the environment and our communities over the last year and a half it’s been running. As of December 2021, the programme has funded over 380 projects, with more than 7,000 people employed. This progress is great to see. Across all these projects, over 4 million plants have gone into the ground, with many freshwater habitats being restored. It’s leveraging council, private sector, and community action to help clean up our environment and improve our waterways.

Question No. 5—Housing (Public Housing)

5. CHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing): How many people were on the Housing Register in September 2017 compared to today, and what is the median wait time for people on the Housing Register to be housed in public housing?

Hon POTO WILLIAMS (Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing)): The housing register reflects the strong emphasis that we have placed on people coming forward and telling us if they need housing support, and the long-standing failure to build the homes New Zealanders need that we inherited. The register has increased by 20,485 applications since September 2017, when there were 5,844 applications. The median days to house is 234. Since September 2017, we have housed 29,501 households, and in that time we have overseen record building consents, up 25 percent on 2021, added over 8,900 new public homes, and we are on track to deliver the 18,000 additional public and transitional homes to be built and delivered by 2024.

Chris Bishop: Does she think that rent increases of $150 a week since 2017 have contributed to the housing register quintupling since 2017?

Hon POTO WILLIAMS: There are a range of considerations when addressing the issue of the register and the wait times, and one of them is the fact that we inherited a housing crisis that the previous Government ignored and we are determined to fix. We’re making good progress, but it will take some more time.

Chris Bishop: Just in reference to the last part of her answer—that we need more time—has she been advised as to when the housing register will return to the levels it was in September 2017, and, if so, what is it?

Hon POTO WILLIAMS: There is no acceptable number. We want to ensure that people are housed in affordable, warm, dry housing, and that’s why this Government has committed to building more public housing. We do that because we want to ensure that, when people feel the need, they can come forward to the Ministry of Social Development and express their need for housing.

Chris Bishop: Point of order, Mr Speaker. It was quite a specific question, which was whether or not the Minister had received advice as to when the housing register numbers will decrease back down to 2017 levels. It was a reference to the Minister’s first supplementary answer in relation to the Government needing more time. I’m seeking to find out exactly how much more time they need and when that might be.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Minister did speak to part of that. I’m not sure she mentioned if it was official information. Maybe the Minister would like to clarify.

Hon POTO WILLIAMS: No.

Chris Bishop: How many children are living in emergency housing whose families are on the housing register?

Hon POTO WILLIAMS: It’s never acceptable for children to be in emergency housing, and that’s why what we are doing is ensuring that we build more public housing. It would be important for the member to recognise that emergency housing is part of another delegation, and I would welcome the opportunity, if the member wishes to choose it, for the member to put that question in writing and I would pass it on to the Minister who is responsible for that work.

Chris Bishop: Point of order, Mr Speaker. It’s correct, somewhat oddly, that the Minister for Social Development and Employment is responsible for emergency housing but the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing) is responsible for the housing register. And my question was: how many children are living in emergency housing whose families are on the housing register? The Minister does have responsibility for that, and I’d ask you to get her to address the question.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: I actually think she did, but I’ll give the member one more supplementary. There’s enough doubt for him to explore that again.

Chris Bishop: Has she been advised as to the increase in the number of children who are living in emergency housing whose families are also on the housing register, and, if so, what is it?

Hon POTO WILLIAMS: As I’ve just said, we are talking about two different responsibilities here. My role in public housing is to ensure that we provide sufficient housing for our people on the public housing register to move off. The circumstances of that is that people come to us with a range of needs. If the member would like to know if people are in emergency housing, I can pass those questions on to the Minister responsible. That member should put his question in writing to me.

Chris Bishop: Why is the Minister not across the detail of her portfolio to the extent where she does not know how many children are growing up in motels who are on the housing register that she is responsible for solving or addressing?

Hon POTO WILLIAMS: There are a range of circumstances that people on the housing register are in, including whether they have been living in substandard homes, whether they have been dealing with life circumstances that have made things very difficult for them. My role is to ensure that we support the build of housing so that we can move people from the register into warm, dry, safe, affordable accommodation, and that’s what this Government is doing.

Chris Bishop: Has she had a conversation with the Associate Minister of Housing Marama Davidson regarding her open letter calling for rent controls, and, if she has had a conversation, in that conversation, did she suggest to the Associate Minister that, as a Minister of the Crown, she perhaps had some responsibility and some influence over Government housing policy, such that she wouldn’t need to write an open letter to the Prime Minister of the Government in which she serves?

Hon Chris Hipkins: Point of order, Mr Speaker. Clearly, the Minister answering this question is not responsible for the subject matter that the member has raised.

Chris Bishop: Speaking to the point of order. The question was around whether or not she had a conversation with the Associate Minister of Housing Marama Davidson. The Minister is definitely responsible for a conversation she’s had with their Associate Minister, I hope.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yeah, but on the other hand—[Members interjecting] Order! No, your question went on to include issues and factors that the Minister is not responsible for. She can answer the first part of the question.

Chris Bishop: Point of order. We are in a bit of a difficulty here, because the Associate Minister of Housing Marama Davidson has written an open letter to the Prime Minister, and my question is a very simple one, which is whether or not Minister Williams, in the Associate Minister role—

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yeah, I heard what the question was, and I’ve made a ruling. [Members interjecting] No, sit down. No one’s speaking to the point of—I have made a ruling and the Minister can address the first part of the question, in so far as she’s responsible for it.

Hon POTO WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have conversations with Minister Davidson all the time on a range of issues concerning housing, concerning family and sexual violence, and a whole range of other concerns.

Hon Carmel Sepuloni: Point of order, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, just seeking your advice with regards to that line of questioning that’s just occurred. It was incredibly confusing, because incorrect assertions around people’s portfolios were made and the wrong responsibilities—

DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, that is not a point of order. That is not a point of order. You cannot take a point of order to seek advice. I’ve made the ruling, and that ruling stands.

Question No. 6—Internal Affairs

6. Dr EMILY HENDERSON (Labour—Whangārei) to the Minister of Internal Affairs: What work is the Government progressing to reduce gambling harm in vulnerable communities?

Hon JAN TINETTI (Minister of Internal Affairs): I have announced a review of the regulation of class 4 gaming machines, otherwise known as “pokies”. Pokies are known to be the most harmful form of land-based gambling in Aotearoa, with one in five players considered to be at risk from gambling harm. The review, which is now under way, aims to target and reduce harms experienced by some who use pokies, and those close to them. As the Minister of Internal Affairs, I am committed to ensuring our regulations are working to reduce harm as much as possible, and we have the necessary enforcement tools for non-compliance.

Dr Emily Henderson: Why is a review of class 4 gambling machines needed?

Hon JAN TINETTI: Harm caused by pokies gambling contributes to the majority of referrals to gambling treatment providers. We know it’s a major cause of second-hand gambling harm experienced by a gambler’s whānau and friends. Data from the 2020 Health and Lifestyles Survey indicates that about 10 percent of New Zealanders use pokies. While some may consider pokies a form of recreational fun, for far too many Kiwis and their families they cause serious mental, financial, and social harms. We also know that gambling harm tends to adversely affect those who can least afford it and may already be experiencing social or financial challenges. That is why I’m taking action to ensure our legislation is fit for purpose and appropriate interventions are in place to reduce harm.

Dr Emily Henderson: What is in scope of the review?

Hon JAN TINETTI: The review will bring greater clarity around what venues need to do to identify and support at-risk gamblers. We’re also looking at pokie machine features and technology options, as well as strengthening enforcement for non-compliance. There is a focus on prescriptive tools that will discourage continuous harmful gambling. The discussion document is publicly available now, and I encourage anyone who has been affected by gambling harm, or knows someone who has, to make a submission. We have a chance to improve lives and make meaningful change. Feedback from public consultation, in addition to harm treatment providers, societies, and gambling venues, will help us create regulations informed by gamblers, their whānau and friends, and people who work with those experiencing harm.

Question No. 7—Police

7. Hon MARK MITCHELL (National—Whangaparāoa) to the Minister of Police: Does she stand by her statement regarding the reported blowout in police response times, “I am not over the detail of that”; if so, why?

Hon POTO WILLIAMS (Minister of Police): Yes, in the context my statement was made. There are a number of points I would like to confirm to the member in regards to police response times. Response times for emergencies have remained stable, with the median response time in urban areas around eight minutes over the past four years. The response times significantly fluctuate during the year and across New Zealand, and tend to be higher over the summer period. There have been unprecedented pressures on the police due to multiple COVID outbreaks, which have had a significant impact on police resourcing and response times. As a Government, we are committed to support police, and that’s why we have invested significantly in police resourcing.

Hon Mark Mitchell: Does she believe it is acceptable that some Kiwis are waiting nearly two hours for police to respond to serious incidents?

Hon POTO WILLIAMS: No, I do not, but what I am supportive of is the fact that, despite the fact that police have been significantly impacted by COVID—the temporary COVID spike—they have been working significantly to support the members in this House. They have been working at managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ). The numbers that were reported in the Official Information Act request that the member has been referencing relate to February 2022, when these conditions were at their peak. And, despite all the pressures on the police, they were still able to deliver an emergency response that was within or around eight minutes, which is within the same kind of time over the last four years. So it has not significantly increased. And that is because they have been supported by this Government to deliver, because we have put 1,400 extra cops on the beat and invested heavily in them by adding $450 million into supporting police.

Hon Mark Mitchell: Did crime increase or decrease over the COVID spikes?

Hon POTO WILLIAMS: There are two different priority areas that the police respond to: priority 1, which is the emergency response time, which I’ve already said has stayed around eight minutes regardless of the pressure on the police. The second part of their priorities—priority 2—has seen an increase, and that has primarily been in the area of family harm. We know that some of the most significant and important calls to the service are in the family harm area, and our police respond. And they do that because they have been supported by this Government with an extra 1,400 police on the beat and record investment.

Hon Mark Mitchell: Point of order, Mr Speaker. In her response, the police Minister referred to COVID spikes as being a reason for an increase in police response times, and I asked her a very clear and direct question: “Has crime increased or decreased during the COVID spikes?” She didn’t address that at all.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, she did.

Hon Mark Mitchell: Is there a link between an increase in gang violence and a reduction in police response times?

Hon POTO WILLIAMS: Has the member got some research that indicates that? In my view, Operation Tauwhiro—taking 1,000 gang arrests, taking 1,500 gang firearms off the streets, and taking 52 kilos of gang meth—is just one example of the work that the New Zealand Police do every single day to break the back of the gangs in this country. I find every single time that member stands in this House, he criticises the work of the New Zealand Police. And I back the police, this Government backs the police, and we do it by ensuring they have the investment they need to do the work that they need.

Hon Mark Mitchell: What is the targeted time for priority 2 events?

Hon POTO WILLIAMS: As soon as possible would be great, but the police have experienced—particularly in February 2022, which is where that member is taking his particular information from. That was at a time when police were impacted by COVID. They are our front line. Not only were they impacted by COVID, they put themselves in harm’s way of COVID all the time. They were off being isolated, there were hundreds of cops here protecting us, and they were in MIQ. Now, that is the time when that member chose to look at response times, and it is an absolute credit to the New Zealand Police that they were able to respond to emergencies in the same time frames, and that is because we have invested in police and they have the resources to do so. If it had been under National, where they froze budgets and they cut—

SPEAKER: Order! Order! I think that’s been addressed.

Hon Mark Mitchell: Point of order, Mr Speaker. I am seeking your guidance on this, as my primary is very specific and it deals with response times, and I asked the Minister a very specific question—“What is the targeted time for priority 2 events?”—which she has spoken to, and she did not answer that question.

SPEAKER: She did actually address the question. Although she did not give a specific time, she did address the question.

Hon Mark Mitchell: Is a home invasion a category 1 or a category 2 offence?

Hon POTO WILLIAMS: It’s a significant category 1 event.

Hon Mark Mitchell: Is the Minister sure about that?

Hon POTO WILLIAMS: The police respond to category 1 events where there is a threat of harm to that person, and I would expect the police to be dealing with that as quickly as possible.

Question No. 8—Social Development and Employment

KAREN CHHOUR (ACT): My question is to the Minister for Social Development and Employment—[Interruption]

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Sorry to interrupt the member. Interjections during questions are out of order. You know who you are. I’ll let you start again, Karen Chhour.

8. KAREN CHHOUR (ACT) to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she believe that jobseeker beneficiaries who fail to meet their work obligations should have their benefits reduced; if so, why were work-related benefit sanctions in the last quarter of the last year less than half what they were in 2019?

Hon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development and Employment): Only if it is appropriate to do so, and as a last resort. The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) has changed its way of working during COVID-19. Staff are more proactive with clients and offer more phone engagements, in line with the alert and traffic light settings. The member will notice the number of people sanctioned for failing to prepare for work has remained steady over this time period, and almost all the drop-off in sanctions is for failing to turn up to an appointment. This reflects the changed environment due to COVID-19, as well as increased Government investment in front-line work-focused case management. I’d also like to point out the big drop in the number of parents with dependent children who are sanctioned. This fell from 1,980 in December 2019 to 579 in December 2021. MSD are working more closely with clients to understand the reason for their non-compliance and make it easier to re-comply if they have children. Our new ways of working have been successful. Last year, more people moved off a main benefit and into work than at any time since electronic records were kept, a trend which is continuing in 2022.

Karen Chhour: If someone on jobseeker support does not have an exemption for health reasons and refuses to fulfil a suitable job vacancy, should they be able to stay on their full benefit with no consequences?

Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Every person’s situation on the benefit is different, and it’s important that the Ministry of Social Development and the case managers recognise that. We also need to begin from the starting point of assuming that the vast majority of people who are on benefit do want to work. MSD’s job is to support them into the job opportunities that are available, that are best suited to them, and work to ensure that the work they take up is sustainable and meaningful for them and good for them and their whānau.

Karen Chhour: Is it fair to use hard-working Kiwis’ taxes to pay for 106,000 work-ready jobseeker beneficiaries when many industries are crying out for labour, with some having to shut their doors due to understaffing?

Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: What is not fair is to use the politics of divide and rule by trying to pit those “hard-working” New Zealanders against people that are on benefit. Many of us in this House would have had a stint on benefit at some point in time. We’re no longer on it. We didn’t have the intention to stay on it. We always had aspirations to get out and work for ourselves and our whānau, and that is what the vast majority of beneficiaries also have. There’s also a cohort of New Zealanders who struggle to get into work for a range of other reasons, including health conditions and disabilities, and for far too long they have been under-invested in. It’s not just about expecting the person on benefit to get off benefit and go and work. It’s about a Government being committed to breaking down the barriers to them being able to take up employment.

Karen Chhour: Why, when so many businesses need staff, have the average future years on a benefit risen from 10.6 years in 2017 to 12.4 years in 2021?

Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: I saw some recent information that came through to my office yesterday that actually saw there’s been a reasonably significant increase in the number of New Zealanders who were exiting benefit and still in employment six months later. This is what we’ve been focused on since day one in Government—is not just seeing getting people off benefit as the win, which the previous Government saw as a win, regardless of where they went, but actually supporting them into sustainable, meaningful employment so that they are able to continue to work for them and their whānau and, hopefully, with the right support, not return to benefit.

Question No. 9—Transport

9. SHANAN HALBERT (Labour—Northcote) to the Minister of Transport: What updates has he seen regarding the Government’s Clean Car Programme?

Hon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Transport): Very good news. I can confirm that the Clean Car Discount programme is off to an electric start, with already over 12,000 rebates processed and paid out. This means that more Kiwis are getting behind the wheel of more affordable zero- and low-emissions vehicles. With today’s milestone, electric and hybrid vehicles now make up over 1 percent of New Zealand’s light vehicle fleet, with monthly sales generally double or triple what we were seeing before the Clean Car Discount programme—and we have strong endorsement from the Leader of the House as well. By choosing to purchase zero- or low-emissions vehicles, New Zealanders are collectively helping our nation transition to a cleaner and a more efficient vehicle fleet.

Shanan Halbert: What recent changes have been made to the programme?

Hon MICHAEL WOOD: Major changes came into effect from 1 April, whereby the rebates will be available to a wider range of used and new fuel-efficient hybrid and electric vehicles based on their fuel efficiency. This extension will help even more Kiwis to make the change to more efficient vehicles and—given increased petrol costs—will assist them in lowering their household costs. Everyone who’s buying an imported vehicle now has more opportunities to join our efforts to clean up our fleet, reduce emissions, and make our country more resilient against energy shocks. Our Government has a comprehensive policy in response to the climate emergency, focused on the critical task of decarbonising the transport system—not just myopically building more roads.

Shanan Halbert: How is the programme helping Aotearoa New Zealand achieve our emissions targets?

Hon MICHAEL WOOD: New Zealand sits at the end of a long supply chain and risks becoming a dumping ground for the world’s highest-emitting vehicles without these policies. The clean car scheme is helping to expedite the transition of our vehicle fleet, and doing so is putting a massive dent in our vehicle emissions, which make up 43 percent of New Zealand’s carbon dioxide emissions. Over the life of a car, clean cars are proven to have lower costs in the long run once maintenance and fuel costs are taken into account, meaning they save Kiwis money as well.

Question No. 10—Immigration

10. ERICA STANFORD (National—East Coast Bays) to the Minister of Immigration: Are there migrant doctors or nurses currently in New Zealand who are not eligible to apply for the 2021 Resident Visa, and, if there are, will he change the criteria so that all migrant doctors and nurses are eligible to apply to stay in New Zealand?

Hon KRIS FAAFOI (Minister of Immigration): The 2021 resident visa (R21) provides a one-off and streamlined pathway to residence for over 165,000 migrants. To meet the very simple and straightforward eligibility criteria, applicants must be on an eligible work visa and then either be settled, working in a scarce role, or be highly skilled. We did this to provide certainty to a large number of workers and their employers. It’s almost certain that there are migrants in New Zealand working in health who may fall outside the criteria due to their being on either a student or working holiday visa. The focus of the 2021 resident visa was to secure those already working in New Zealand on a work visa. I’m pleased to say that of the 90,000 applications that we have already received, over 2,500 applications have come from people working in health and aged care; this includes 775 registered nurses, 946 personal care assistants, 83 pharmacy technicians, 69 aged or disability carers, and 21 general practitioners—all people working in health who will have certainty of residency very soon.

Erica Stanford: Does he honestly believe that the hundreds of nurses who are now working in our hospitals should miss out on the 2021 residency visa just because they were on a student visa last year while completing their New Zealand nursing degree, given that we are 4,000 nurses short?

Hon KRIS FAAFOI: As I said, the 2021 residency visa is a one-off and streamlined visa process. The eligibility for that—or the applications close for that in July. That does not mean residency will disappear altogether, and I will remind the member that those people who want to stay in the country and whose skills we need will be able to apply under normal conditions when we return our focus back to normal conditions and away from the focus on the resident visa.

Erica Stanford: Is the Minister telling migrant doctors and nurses who are not eligible for R21, who are packing up and leaving New Zealand right now, that they should wait for some indeterminate date in the future that he won’t say before they know if they are eligible for residence?

Hon KRIS FAAFOI: No; they are the words of the member asking the question. What I’m saying is that there is a one-off visa opportunity for the people who are eligible. For those who are not and we need their skills, we still want you and we need your skills in the country, and, when we return to normal residency settings, they can apply.

Erica Stanford: Is the Minister willing to lose New Zealand - trained migrant nurses to offshore markets over a visa technicality that he has the ability to fix, when we are 4,000 nurses short across our DHBs and aged-care facilities?

Hon KRIS FAAFOI: My message to some of the people who the member may be advocating for is that we need your skills and, while you may not be eligible for residence under the one-off 2021 residency scheme, we want to make sure that you can remain in the country and that you’ll have the opportunity to do that when our focus of processing and applications moves away from the residency visa process and to the normal residency process.

Erica Stanford: Why is he so hung up on sticking to the R21 visa rules, rather than being flexible to allow doctors and nurses the option to apply for the residency visa now to stop them leaving New Zealand, when we have a critical shortage of healthcare workers?

Hon KRIS FAAFOI: The 2021 residency visa, as I mentioned at the outset, was, we believe, open to about 110 applicants and, we forecast, to about 165 individuals as a whole when we get to that stage. They are a very broad criteria to make sure that we secure the workforce that has helped us through the last two or three years. That does include a lot of critical healthcare workers. I would say to those who are likely—and some warm congratulations because you will soon be residents, and to those who aren’t eligible that we still need your skills and, when we move our focus away from the current resident visa to make sure we can get those applications done quickly and secure that workforce, that you’re almost likely to be eligible for residency under the normal settings when we get back to those settings.

Erica Stanford: Supplementary question.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: I’m sorry; the National Party has run out of supplementaries.

Hon Kris Faafoi: Oh, again?

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

Chris Bishop: Point of order, Mr Speaker. In light of the glee with which the Minister of Immigration greeted that, perhaps we could have another one or two supplementaries to continue the fun.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: No. [Interruption] Order!

Question No. 11—Commerce and Consumer Affairs

11. NAISI CHEN (Labour) to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What recent announcements has he made regarding business transparency?

Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs): Good news: on behalf of the Government, I’ll be introducing a bill which will crack down on global and domestic criminals who use businesses to hide money-laundering for tax evasion and the financing of terrorism. The changes we have committed to making will make it easier to see who owns or controls a company—that is, who the beneficial owners are. This is about striking the right balance. We want to ensure we don’t leave the door open for criminals to take advantage, whilst at the same time we want to preserve our well-earned reputation for ease of doing business.

Naisi Chen: Why is it important that the Government acts?

Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: The changes we’re making sit in line with the Government’s national security priorities to help identify threats, risks, and challenges to New Zealand’s security and wellbeing. It’ll also help to bring us in line with other jurisdictions. The Pandora and Panama papers highlighted some key vulnerabilities, which need to be addressed. New Zealanders deserve to know who they’re doing business with.

Naisi Chen: So what changes has he proposed?

Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: When searching the Companies Register, it can be difficult to see the complete picture of a company’s ownership structure. A unique identifier number or serial number will be assigned to all beneficial owners, directors, and general partners of limited partnerships. It’ll mean the Companies Office will be able to confidently link individuals with all the entities they’re associated with, and this will be publicly available. Also, the use of a director’s residential address has previously been a proxy for an individual identifier, but it has not always worked effectively, especially where someone had multiple addresses. The implementation of the unique identifier system will make linking connected interests much simpler.

Question No. 12—Housing

12. CHLÖE SWARBRICK (Green—Auckland Central) to the Minister of Housing: Does she agree that rent prices are contributing to hardship; if so, what steps, if any, will she take to lower them?

Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing): In answer to the first part, like all fixed household expenses, rent can be a cause of material hardship for some people. This is why our Government has been working hard to improve household incomes, including increasing Working for Families tax credits, the minimum wage, benefits, and superannuation; indexing benefits annually to the increases in wages; and increasing the accommodation supplement from 1 April 2018. In response to the second part of the question, the Government has taken steps to specifically improve affordability for renters, including limiting rent increases to once per year, prohibiting landlords from seeking rental bids, and banning letting fees, but ultimately, the best way to lower rents is to increase the supply of affordable housing. It is important to recognise that rent increases are driven by long-run supply shortages in the housing market. This is the housing crisis that has been decades in the making, and it’s why this Government is so focused on delivering new supply. For example, the national increase for the Statistics New Zealand rents price increase for the year to February 2022 was 4.6 percent. In regions like Auckland and Canterbury, which have had a lot of residential building activity, and, therefore, increased supply, rents increased by 2.7 percent in Auckland and 3 percent in Canterbury for the same period.

Chlöe Swarbrick: How long, specifically, will it take for rents in Aotearoa to become affordable, with the Minister’s aforementioned supply-side interventions alone, noting that one quarter of renters currently spend more than 40 percent of their income on housing?

Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I think we find consensus through just about every economist in the country that will point to our current rental and housing crisis being a supply-side problem, amongst other things, but I think if you have a look at, for example, the Green Party’s aspiration to limit rent increases to 2.8 percent, as put out in their policy today, I think we can see that we’ve actually seen Auckland, through a supply-side intervention, already performing better than that, with rental price index increases limited to 2.7 percent.

Chlöe Swarbrick: Will the Minister seriously consider rent controls, or would she prefer to rely on the discretion of landlords to lower rents to affordable levels out of the goodness of their hearts?

Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I think we can point to a suite of policies that our Government has already put in place, like limiting to once a year, stopping bidding and letting fees, but I also point the member to Shamubeel Eaqub’s comment, who said that rent controls can have an unintended effect of slowing down the supply of housing in the rental market. He said, “It seems like a deceptively simple thing to do: just stop rents rising and everything will be fine … But it isn’t that simple, there are known consequences. It means that we are likely to have fewer rentals.” We have a housing crisis in New Zealand because we do not have enough houses, and our Government is absolutely committed to supply-side solutions.

Ricardo Menéndez March: How long does she expect it will take for all the people on the public housing waiting list to have a suitable secure and affordable home to live in?

Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: We have a public housing build programme that is the largest of any Government since the 1970s. One of the points of both sadness and frustration for us as a Government, however, is that we are making up for the squandered opportunities of the previous Government. Not only did they end up with 1,500 fewer houses than they started with, but if they had built at the same rate as we did, there would be over 22,000 more public houses in New Zealand today, accounting for 85 percent of the current waiting list. So, while we are pulling every lever, unfortunately we are playing catch-up for the gutting of public housing by the previous National Government.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Sorry, before the member asks a question, can I ask the Hon Kris Faafoi to stop shouting behind the Minister answering the question.

Ricardo Menéndez March: Does she believe she is pulling all the levers to fix the housing crisis, and, if so, will she consider an in-house construction entity to increase the supply of public housing, as proposed by FIRST Union in its A Ministry of Green Works for Aotearoa New Zealand report?

Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Our Government is under no illusions about the size and the complexity of the housing crisis. It is decades in the making, and there is no one single simple fix to the housing crisis. We have to be combining both supply and demand levers, and we have to make sure that we’re exploring every opportunity. I think that we can see that we are already starting to see the green shoots of some of that activity. If we look to Auckland and we look to Canterbury, we can see that we have had significantly lower rental price index increases in those centres because they are also the centres that have had increased supply of housing.

Bills

Te Pire mō te Hararei Tūmatanui o te Kāhui o Matariki/Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill

Third Reading

Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN (Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage): Ka tāpaea e au te tauākī ā-ture o Te Pire mō te Hararei Tūmatanui o te Kāhui o Matariki/Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill.

[I table the legislative statement for Te Pire mō te Hararei Tūmatanui o te Kāhui o Matariki/Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill.]

DEPUTY SPEAKER: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.

Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: E mōtini ana au, Kia pānui tuatoruhia i tēnei wā Te Pire mō te Hararei Tūmatanui o te Kāhui o Matariki/Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill.

Kia ara ake a Matariki i te huapae e tika ana kia hoki ngā mahara ki te hunga kua riro ki te Pūtahi-nui-o-Rehua. I tēnei rā whakahirahira, arā te pānuitanga tuatoru o te pire kia hoki ngā mahara ki ētahi o ngā pou o Te Ao Māori kua ngaro i te tirohanga kanohi. Ko Pōhutukawa te whetū i hoki ai e mahara ki te hunga mate. Kia kī ake au ka nui te mokemoke i konei ki a Ahorangi Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa Jackson ki a Kahurangi Temuranga Batly-Jackson, ki a Tā Harawira Gardiner otirā ki tō rātou tira haere katoa kua tangihia kua mihia rātou, haere atu rā ki te huinga o te kahurangi. Whakarērea mai mātou ki muri nei ki te pīkau tonu i tā koutou i mahia ai ki te whakatinana hoki i tā koutou i wawata ai. Ki a tātou te hunga ora, tēnā rā koutou katoa.

Ka nui te hiamo o taku ngākau ki te pānuitanga tuatoru otirā te pānuitanga whakamutunga o te pire māna nei e tū ai te hararei tūmatanui e whakanuia ai Te Hararei Tūmatanui o Te Kāhui o Matariki, Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill. Ko te hararei tūmatanui tuatahi tēnei e aro ana ki te mātauranga me te tikanga Māori. He tino rerekē anō tēnei i ngā hararei tūmatanui katoa kua noho mai e tohu ana i te aronga kē o tō tātou motu. Ko te tūmanako kāhore e whakaarohia te hararei nei hei rā whakatā noa, engari hei wā kē e tūhonohono anō ai tātou, tētahi ki tētahi ki te whānau me ngā hoa ki te taiao anō hoki.

Ka kawea mai a Matariki te tau hou Māori, te wā e whakanuia ai kaua e ngāi Māori anake engari e ngā iwi puta noa i Aotearoa. He whakarāpopoto a Matariki mō Ngā Mata o te Ariki. E kōrero ana mō ngā whetū e iwa e mōhiotia ana ko Te Kāhui o Matariki, ka ara ake i te huapae i waenganui takurua, Tāwhirimātea. I nga rā o mua ko Matariki te tohu o te wā pai katoa ki te hī ika ko te mahi mātaitai ki te tanu rākau, ki te hauhake ki te kohi kai.

He aha koia te mea nui o Matariki, ā, ko wai ngā whetū e arahi ana i a tātou? Ko Matariki tēnā, ko Tupuārangi, ko Waipunarangi, ko Waitī, ko Tupuānuku, ko Ururangi, ko Waitā, ko Pōhutukawa, ko Hiwa-i-te-rangi te whetū tata katoa ki taku ngākau. Kia paku tirohia rātou katoa.

Kia tirohia ko Matariki, ko ia te whaea o ngā whetū e waru o te kāhui. Māna tātou e hono ki te noho ora, ki te hauora, e kīia tōna kōrero ko Matariki te huarahi ki te oranga tangata. Ka huri ki a Pōhutukawa. E hono anō tēnei whetū ki te hunga mate, ki te hunga mate kua riro mai i te aranga ake o Matariki i te tau o mua atu. Tupuānuku, nāna ko ngā kai o te whenua, ka whawhāria o te ringa, te whawhāria rānei e te ringa, ko tōna kōrero ko ‘Hauhake tū ka tō Matariki’. Kia tō a Matariki, kia hauhaketia ngā kai o te māra kua kainamu ki te Takurua. Tupuārangi, nāna ko ngā kai ka ahu mai i te rangi ko te manu tērā. Ko tōna kōrero ka kitea a Matariki kua maoka te hinu. Kia ara kē a Matariki kua mōmona te kererū e ngā hua o te ngahere, kua huatia kua rere te hinu kua hoatu ki tahā huahua. Waitī e hono anō ki te wai Māori me ngā tini katoa ka rere i ngā wai, i ngā manga, i ngā roto. Ko tōna kōrero ‘Ka kitea a Matariki ka rere te korokoro’. I konei kua rere te korokoro i te moana kua piki i ngā wai Māori ki tuku paratau. Waitā. E hono anō tēnei whetū ki te moana. E tohu ana i te huhua o te kai ka kohia ki tai kia tū mai ia ki te huapae o te moana māna e kukume ngā tai o ngā waipuke. Waipunarangi, ko te kōrero mōna ko ngā wai ka tāpuapua mai i te rangi e kīia ai ko ‘Matariki tāpuapua’. Ururangi. Ko ngā hua ēnei o te takiwā kei a Ururangi ngā hau o te tau. Hiwa-i-te-rangi, te whetū whakamutunga o te kāhui, ko ia ka kawea mai i ngā painga o te tau hou. Ka whakairia atu ngā wawata, ngā koingo o te ngākau ki a ia i runga i te tūmanako ka ea katoa.

Heoi, ka huri au i konei ki te whakamihi i te Kāhui Arotake i te Kāwanatanga e whai mana tūturu ai te pire. Kei a koe e te manukura o te kāhui ko koe tērā Ahorangi Rangiānehu Matamua. Ko te tohunga o Te Māramataka, ki a Rereata Mākiha, Te Mātāpuputu o Te Tau ki Aotearoa mō tēnei tau 2022. Ki a Hoturoa Barclay Kerr, kōrua ko Jack Thatcher. Kua roa kōrua e takahi ana i te au o te moana i te arahina e ngā whetū i te rangi. Kei a koe Tākuta Ruakere Hond e manaaki i ngā taonga tuku iho o Te Tai Hauāuru, ko Puanga tērā. Ki ngā wāhine tokorua o tō rōpū, ngā mana wahine tērā o Te Wai Pounamu o Ngāti Kahungunu ki Victoria Campbell kōrua ko Tākuta Pauline Harris. E mīharo ana ki a kōrua eke ki ngā taumata o te pūtaiao o te mātauranga Māori. Nā, ngā kaiarataki nei i kohikohi i ngā kōrero a ō rātou iwi me ā rātou tikanga o te tau hou. Ka whakahono i aua tikanga ki te pire nei. Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou katoa. Mei kore ake koutou i tika ai ngā huarahi i whāia i hua mai ai ko tā tātou taonga hou anā, te pire nei mō Te Hararei Tūmatanui o Te Kāhui o Matariki, Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill. Ka mihi rā te ngākau e kore e mutu ngā mihi kia koutou katoa.

He rā nui whakaharahara tēnei mō Aotearoa nui tonu, mō ngā whakatipuranga katoa, tae atu ki ngā reanga katoa kāore anō i whānau mai. Ka tupu rātou i runga i te mōhio e noho mātāmua mai ana te mātauranga Māori ki te whenua arohanuitia ana e tātou tō tātou kāinga, tō tātou ūkaipō e tū tangata ai rātou i te mata o te whenua. E Te Māngai, nōku te hōnore ka tāpaea i konei Te Pire ki Te Whare nei, ā, kei raro.

[I move, That Te Pire mō te Hararei Tūmatanui o te Kāhui o Matariki/Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill be now read a third time.

When Matariki rises on the horizon, it is appropriate that we remember the group that have been taken to Canis Major. On this important day, that is the third reading of this bill we should remember some of the stalwarts of the Māori World who have passed from our sight. Pōhutukawa is the star of remembrance for those who have passed. I have to say they will be greatly missed here, Professor Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa Jackson, Dame Temuranga Batly-Jackson, Sir Harawira Gardiner, and to their whole travelling party, we weep for you and we mourn you, may you rest in peace in distinguished company. We are left behind to carry further what you have achieved, to bring your dreams to fruition. To us, the living, I acknowledge you all.

I am really excited about this, the third and final reading of the bill, which will create a public holiday to be commemorated, Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill. This is the first public holiday that focuses on Māori knowledge and customary practice. It is also very different from all the other current public holidays, a sign of the changing direction of our country. It is hoped that this holiday will not be thought of as just a day off but as a time of connection for us all, one to another, to family and friends and also to the environment.

Matariki conveys the Māori New Year, a time to be commemorated, not just by Māori but by all people in New Zealand. Matariki is an abbreviation for the Eyes of the God. It talks of the nine stars known as Pleiades, which rise on the horizon in the middle of winter. In days gone by, Matariki was the sign that it was a good time to fish, to gather seafood, to preserve wood, and to harvest and gather food.

What indeed is the importance of Matariki and who are the stars that guide us? Matariki is one, the others are Tupuārangi, Waipunarangi, Waitī, Tupuānuku, Ururangi, Waitā, Pōhutukawa, and Hiwa-i-te-rangi, which is the star closest to my heart. Let’s take a brief look at them all.

Take Matariki, she is the mother of the other eight stars of the cluster. She connects us all to the living, to health, her story described as Matariki, the pathway to wellbeing. Turning to Pōhutukawa, this star connects to those who have passed, those who have passed since the rising of Matariki in the previous year. Tupuānuku, from where comes food from the land by the work of the hands, described as ‘the harvest ends when Matariki sets’. Until Matariki sets, harvesting food from the gardens should continue until close to Takurua. Tupuārangi, from where the food of the sky comes, that is the birds. As the story goes, when Matariki is seen, the game is ready. If Matariki has already risen, the New Zealand pigeons are fat from the fruits of the forest, the game is cooked and stored in its own fat in calabashes. Waitī connects us to fresh water and the myriad tiny creatures that run there, in the streams and the lakes. It is said that when Matariki is seen, the lamprey migrates. The lamprey moves from the sea to climb in fresh water to spawn. Waitā—this star connects to the sea. It signifies the abundance of food collected from the coast when it rises on the horizon of the sea and it is also associated with flood tides. Waipunarangi is associated with the rain that creates pooling of water and is known as the pools of Matariki. Ururangi—the fruits of the season that belong to Ururangi are the winds of the year. Hiwa-i-te-rangi, the final star of the cluster, the star that carries the promise of prosperity into the new year. Dreams and desires are sent to this star in the hope that they will all be fulfilled.

I turn now to acknowledge the Māori Advisory Group, which has given the bill real authority. A huge thanks to the leader of the group, Professor Rangiānehu Matamua. Thanks also go to the Māori Lunar Calendar expert Rereata Mākiha, who is the Senior New Zealander of The Year for 2022. Also to Hoturoa Barclay Kerr and Jack Thatcher. For a long time, the two of you have been travelling the currents of the seas under the guidance of the night sky. To you, Ruakere Hond, who has taken care of the treasures handed down on the West Coast regarding Rigel. To the two women of your group, women leaders from the South Island and Ngāti Kahungunu, Victoria Campbell and Dr Pauline Harris, I admire your ascendancy to the heights of the science in mātauranga Māori. So these guides gathered together the stories of their tribes and their customary New Year practices. These practices have been interweaved into the Bill. A wholehearted thank to you all. We were fortunate to have you to straighten the path for us to follow which has produced this new treasure, Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill. My heart expresses never-ending thanks to all of you.

This is a very important day for New Zealand at large, for all generations including those as yet unborn. They will grow up in the knowledge that mātauranga Māori has a primary place in the land that is loved by all of us, our home, our real home, so that they may hold their heads high in this world. Mr Speaker, it is my honour to hereby present the bill to The House, thank you.

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National): Thank you, Mr Speaker. Your microphone doesn’t seem to be working, but that’s a matter for you—ah, you turned it off! Thank you very much, and my pleasure to speak on this Te Kāhui o Matariki public holiday bill.

Look, we on the National Party side of the House are very supportive of having this celebration of Matariki recognised as a public holiday—it’s important and, I think, timely and right that, amongst our public holidays, we have one that recognises Te Ao Māori, and Matariki is as good a suggestion as any. So we’re very supportive of it and looking forward to celebrating on 24 June 2022. That all makes very good sense—you know, it’s the middle of winter and it’s going to be cold, but it gives people a chance to reflect on what’s going on, reflect on the impact and contribution of Te Ao Māori in our national identity and who we are and where we come from. It gives an opportunity for kids to learn about the stars and the traditions and the stories connected with public holidays—so that’s all great.

Our concern around this bill is quite a natural one, which is to say it’s our view—and it’s our humble view—that, rather than adding another public holiday to our list, this should have been brought in replacing one of the current ones. And this Government will say, “Well, pooh-pooh to you”, because they sort of see Government as some kind of Father Christmas role where Government Ministers come along and they puff out their chests and they say, “Aren’t we wonderful, aren’t we kind, aren’t we generous, you people? You can have another public holiday on us!” It’s very easy for Grant Robertson to rock up to his office and sign his little pen and just say, “Yes, everybody, we’ll have another public holiday.”

In fact, I’m a little bit surprised he hasn’t come up with five public holidays—why not? Why not? That’s my point: it’s so easy. You can just whip the pen out and say, “Yes, have another public holiday, because we want everybody to be happy.”—as if there is no cost, there’s no consequences from this, and it’s part and parcel of what this Government’s been doing on a regular basis over the past few months; all things which people no doubt enjoy but, ultimately, we as a country need to pay for it. There is no sort of magic, and I think of the small-business operators, I think of the small little-cafe owners struggling—and they have been struggling throughout the COVID crisis that we’ve had particularly, but they’ve been struggling for a long time.

Hon Kelvin Davis: Because no one goes to a cafe on their day off!

Hon Peeni Henare: No one drinks coffee on a holiday?

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: The members opposite mock, and they sit there and they say, “Oh, isn’t this just a joke? I mean, why shouldn’t we just be having extra public holidays? Why shouldn’t we be using our ministerial pens to give new opportunities, to give things away?”—money that they are not giving away. This is not them giving people a public holiday; it’s passing a law that forces other people to give extra days off. And, ultimately, the regulatory impact statement, and so forth, talks about the potential costs of $377 million to $448 million—a trifling matter, obviously, to the other side of the House; not something to be remotely concerned about! And, in the context of a country needing to strengthen its economy at a dangerous time internationally, where we’re facing, astonishingly, unexpectedly, over the last few years, the retreat of globalisation, the disruption of international trade—for a small trading nation like ours—these are troubling times. The best thing we can be doing is concentrate on how we strengthen our economy so that we can continue to enjoy the living standards that we have over a long period of time and, actually, build on them so that New Zealanders can look after themselves and their families—and they’re the things that we’re concerned about over here.

It’s very easy for Ministers, like I say, to come in, puff out their chests, and say, “Aren’t we fine? Here’s another holiday. Isn’t this great, aren’t we special, aren’t we lovely people?” and expect other New Zealanders—the business owners particularly—to pay for it without any consequences. And our simple point is: yes, let’s celebrate Matariki; yes, we agree with that; it’s a good idea, and it is appropriate for New Zealanders to reflect on Te Ao Māori, celebrate this and talk about it—we agree with it. But let’s just, at this difficult time, consider replacing one of the current public holidays so that we’re not adding additional pressure on our small businesses and our economy at a difficult time for the country. And, I think, actually, most New Zealanders, on reflection, would consider that a reasonable course of events.

So thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity, and we’d be interested to hear the debate coming from the other side. Thank you very much.

Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): It’s always a pleasure to follow on from my Ngāti Porou whanaunga “Pāora” Goldsmith! There’s nothing like a sign of how supportive you are: you don’t make it halfway through your speech, you’ve got your hands in your pockets all the way through your speech, and you keep shrugging your shoulders. Mr Goldsmith might do very well to reflect a little on the importance of what we are discussing today, because, when he spoke, he made it sound like it was some kind of lottery, what day we might choose for there to be a celebration of Matariki and for there to be a public holiday—as if we could have picked any day! We could have picked today—could have picked December, could have picked any day of the year! In actual fact, this is not that at all; it is not just another holiday. This is a celebration of Aotearoa New Zealand. This is a recognition of tikanga Māori, of Te Ao Māori view of the world, and a celebration of who we can be as a nation. It’s not just about picking a day, Mr Goldsmith. It’s not just about making sure that New Zealanders can have another day off. It’s about building a culture in New Zealand where we understand and appreciate one another and where we understand the history and the heritage of how we have got to this point.

When the suggestion was floated, and it came through in the Labour Party’s manifesto in 2020, I believe it was part of a number of measures that we put in place that give better recognition of who we are in Aotearoa New Zealand today and who we can be. And, for me, it very much sits alongside the introduction of New Zealand history into the Curriculum in our schools, because, as part of that work we will, for example, understand more about the way in which people came to be in Aotearoa New Zealand—the role that Matariki and the stars played in our navigators finding their way to New Zealand. So, as we build up that understanding of our collective histories, we can start to then say, “Well, how do we reflect that in our society?” We reflect that through more people learning te reo Māori, we reflect that through more people understanding their histories, and we reflect that through taking a day, with Matariki, and saying, “This is the day when we will acknowledge that. We will come together and talk about what lies ahead in the new year.”

Ka puta a Matariki, ka rere a Whānui, ko te tohu tēnei o te tau hou: Matariki reappears, Whānui starts its flight, being the sign of the New Year. This is an opportunity to understand and reflect on the year that has been and the year that will come. The brighter the stars are, I understand, and the clearer they are, that means how abundant the harvest will be. In June this year, we will see bright and clear stars, because the harvest will be abundant for New Zealanders as we come through COVID and we find a time to celebrate this important part of our nationhood.

Mr Goldsmith spoke about the impact on small businesses, and this has been a very tough time for small businesses right across New Zealand, particularly those in the hospitality and the tourism sector. They will be welcoming the fact that New Zealanders, in June this year, will be able to go out—and, as my colleague Kelvin Davis said, “No one drinks coffee on a holiday, do they?” They go out and they go to cafes. They travel around New Zealand, they visit their friends and their whānau, and they spend their money with those hospitality and tourism operators. But the National Party’s solution here—the National Party solutions that they put forward during the debate on this bill—was to get rid of Labour weekend; was to take Labour weekend off New Zealanders. And I want to make sure that all New Zealanders know that the National Party put up an amendment during the committee stage of this bill to get rid of Labour weekend, to take Labour Day off New Zealanders. That’s the approach—

Hon Kelvin Davis: They hate workers.

Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: —exactly, Mr Davis—working people, for whom Labour weekend represents the sign that they work hard, the 40-hour week; the fact that we recognise, every single year, the importance of that. National wanted to take that off New Zealanders.

Hon Members: Shameful.

Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Shameful indeed. On this side of the House, we’re extremely proud of the fact that we are taking steps to recognise who we are as Aotearoa New Zealand, and, I believe, te Kāhui o Matariki public holiday bill is an important step in that. It sits alongside a number of other steps that will make sure that New Zealanders and future generations of New Zealanders grow up understanding more about themselves, more about their history. This is a great day of celebration for Aotearoa New Zealand.

Hon SCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel): Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Minister of Finance was quick to criticise the body language and the posture and the pose of my colleague the Hon Paul Goldsmith, but anyone watching—in this Chamber and beyond—the body language of the Minister of Finance would know he did not have his heart in it. He did not have his heart in it, because he’s really good at being addicted to spending and addicted to borrowing and addicted to making light with taxpayers’ money, actually.

So I want to pick up on the comments that my colleague the Hon Paul Goldsmith made in his contribution in his third reading speech. He made the point that on this side of the House we support, endorse, and accept that this is a good idea, actually, to have a holiday marking Matariki. It’s part of what is the heritage of our country, and it should be appropriately marked. But we humbly suggest that at a time of economic concern—some would say crisis—when there is a well-accepted, now, cost of living crisis, and the squeezed middle of New Zealand society is being squeezed even harder, the Government should be careful in the way that it is administering and stewarding New Zealanders’ hard-earned taxpayer dollars.

Now, there’s no cleverness in actually giving things away. There’s no cleverness in making things free. But most of us know—I’m sure that Government members maybe don’t know this, but most people know; certainly most voters know, most taxpayers know, most business people know—that there isn’t anything for free. Everything comes at a price, at a cost, and someone pays.

So, yes, great, have another public holiday. This legislation increases the number of statutory public holidays that we have in New Zealand from 11 to 12. There would be some—there are certainly some on the Government benches—who say, “Well, look, you know, just keep creating public holidays. People love it.” Look, I’m the member of Parliament for the beautiful Coromandel. We love long weekends in the Coromandel. People come from all over the countryside and they do come and spend time and money in electorates like mine. From my point of view, and for the hospitality and tourist providers in my electorate, that’s a good thing. We welcome that.

But we all know that those people who do come and spend time and money during a long weekend are usually business people or employees, or they are people who are contributors to our economy elsewhere than just coming to the beautiful Coromandel to buy coffee and have a lovely brunch somewhere around the beautiful electorate of mine. They know that if they are an employee of a manufacturing business, for instance, their employer will be having to pay them as if they were at work that day. So there is a cost—there is a cost to business and there is a cost to us as a society.

It’s the condescending derision that comes from the Government that I find most difficult to accept on this side. They seem to think that there isn’t an associated cost with it, and they seem to just have no respect or regard for other people’s money. That’s really the big problem with socialism. This is not just about the granting of another public holiday; this goes to the fundamental difference and principle of a socialist Labour Government that actually wants to spend other people’s money with abandon, in a reckless way.

Now, surely it makes sense over the last couple of years to be more prudent and more careful and less reckless with taxpayers’ money. But no, we have a Government that has taken it upon itself to spend more, borrow more, print more money than any Government in the history of this nation—and there have been some justified reasons for that. But no prudence and caution around the impacts not only for us and our generation but for the next generation and the generation that will follow, and it will be our children and grandchildren who end up paying for most of their working life for the spending, borrowing, and printing of money that has occurred over the last couple of years.

So this is just another example. Yes, great, Matariki—have the public holiday. That’s all good. But at least give some consideration to balancing it out a bit. We have a number of public holidays that maybe have ceased to be relevant in terms of the culture and heritage and understanding of our society. My good friend and colleague Paul Goldsmith suggested in an earlier debate that maybe we consider looking at removing Labour Day. That’s probably something that should at least be considered. I don’t think this Government even considered it. In fact, what we know from the impact statement and speeches and contributions made at earlier stages of this legislation passing through the Parliament—we know that, actually, no consideration has been given by this Government to even thinking about rationalising the range of statutory public holidays in New Zealand. I think that’s an opportunity lost and an opportunity missed.

What we do know is that the regulatory impact statement has calculated that something close to half a billion dollars will be the net dollar cost. Now, in the great scheme of things, half a billion dollars on a day’s public holiday may not seem much to the Government. It certainly doesn’t seem much to the finance Minister, Grant Robertson. He’s used to spending much larger amounts of money than that, and he’s addicted to it. He just keeps doing it. But what I’m saying to members of the Government and to anyone that is listening this afternoon is that I think our Government needs to be more careful, more prudent, and more assiduous in terms of deciding how it is that hard-working taxpayers’ finances and money is spent. This is a laudable, good example of a public holiday—don’t have any problem with that at all—but at least some consideration should have been given to a debate, a conversation, consideration of a rationalisation of the number of public statutory holidays we have.

So this piece of legislation will be passed by the Government, using its absolute majority in this Parliament. That’s the democracy that we live in, and that’s their right and privilege, for the meantime, to be able to do that. I think that this is just another example of them using that in a way that they see fit. We choose to take a different view. In a democracy, that’s not a bad thing—to have differing views. But what is a bad thing is not having the discussion, not having the debate, and not having the opportunity to at least rationally talk about a range of options that are available to us. That’s the sad thing in our democracy—it’s when there isn’t a debate, there isn’t a discussion. Frankly, far too little discussion on far too many important public issues has been the hallmark of this Government’s administration. Thank goodness it’s coming to an end very shortly. Thank you very much for your time and consideration, Mr Speaker.

Hon KELVIN DAVIS (Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti): Tēnā rā ko e te Māngai o te Whare. He taku hōnoretanga tēnei ki te tū ki te kōrero mō te pire mō te hararei tūmatanui mō Matariki.

Hei tīmatanga kōrero māku e Rangi tēnā rā koe, ko koe te kaihautū o tēnei kaupapa, nāu nei mātou o Te Kāwanatanga i arataki i roto i tēnei kaupapa. Haramai te āhua o ō mōhioranga, te hōhonutanga, te whānuitanga o ō pukenga ō mōhioranga e pā ana ki tēnei kaupapa, arā mō Matariki. Taku tino pōuri kia rongo ai i ngā kōrero whakahāwea o te Āpitihana e pā ana ki tēnei kaupapa. E ai ki a rātou he hararei noa iho, engari ko mātou, ko tātou he kaupapa nui tēnei hei whakanui i a tātou o Te Ao Māori, ō tātou tino tūpuna, ō tātou tikanga, ō tātou kaupapa, wērā tūāhuatanga e kore e taea te Āpitihana te whakaine kei roto i ō rātou ake whakaaro. Nā reira e Rangi, mihi kau ana ki a koe, mihi kau hoki ki te kāhui i mahi tahi i a koe pērā i a Rereata, i a Hoturoa, i a Jack, i a Pauline, i a Victoria, Ruakere, wērā tohunga o Te Ao Māori kei roto o wēnei kaupapa. Nā reira tino ataahua, ngā mahi nā koutou i mahia. Kua rongo ahau i tētahi o te Āpitihana e tūwaharoa ana ki a koe i a au e kōrero ana. Tērā tētahi āhuatanga o te whakahāwea o te Āpitihana ki tēnei kaupapa.

Nāu nei i kī mai ki ahau e Rangi, ko tēnei kaupapa he kaupapa hei hokinga maumaharatanga, me hoki whakamuri me whakaaro whakamua hei takatū mō te tau hou e tū mai nei, he wā hoki tēnei hei āta noho, hei āta whakaaro.

Nā reira, i runga i wērā tikanga o ō tātou tūpuna e tika ana kia huri ngā whakaaro ki te tau kua pahure ake nei me rātou kua wehe atu i a mātou arā, ko wērā ngā ingoa i whakahuatia e te tuahine rā, i a Kiritapu arā ko te māmā o Willie, Tā Harawira Gardiner, arā ko Moana wētahi o rātou kua huri tuarā ki a mātou. He wā tika kei roto i ō tātou tikanga kia whakaarohia, kia maumaharatia i a rātou, nā reira rātou ki a rātou ko tātou ki a tātou, tēnā rā tātou katoa.

[Greetings, Mr Speaker. This is my honour to stand and to talk to this bill regarding the Matariki public holiday.

To begin, I acknowledge Rangi, you were the helmsman for the initiative, steering us of the Government through this issue. Your knowledge, the depth, the breadth of your skills, and the knowledge on this subject that is Matariki is unparalleled. I was very saddened to hear the belittling remarks of the Opposition about this initiative. They think this is just a holiday, but for us, for all of us it is a big issue, a celebration of the Māori World, of our important ancestors, our customary practices, those things that the Opposition cannot measure under their philosophy. Therefore, I acknowledge you, Rangi, and I acknowledge the group that worked with you, those such as Rereata, Hoturoa, Jack, Pauline, Victoria, Ruakere, those experts from the Māori World in these fields. From that was produced some beautiful work. I heard one of the Opposition yawning at you while I was speaking. That is one feature of the degrading behaviour of the Opposition towards this issue.

Rangi, you told me that this time is a time to remember, to look back and to look forward and to prepare for the coming New Year, it is also a time for peace and reflection. Therefore, under the practices of our ancestors, it is right that we look back to the previous year and to remember those who have left us, those whose names were spoken by my sister Kiritapu there, the mother of Willie, Sir Harawira Gardiner, and Moana are some of those who have passed on. It is an appropriate time under our customary practice to think about and remember them, and so let the dead be with the dead and let the living be with the living, greetings one and all.]

I would like to start my English contribution in this debate by first of all acknowledging Rangi Matamua, who has been our guide throughout this whole kaupapa of determining how te hararei tūmatanui o Matariki should go. And one of the things that he was most adamant about through the development of this was that this was not just a holiday; this is about the celebration of us as Māori—in fact, as us as New Zealanders. This is something unique to Aotearoa that we can revel in, that we can enjoy, that we can use as a nation-building opportunity.

Instead, what we get from the Opposition are words like this—in fact, I’ll quote Harete Hipango, “The National Party does not diminish the importance of Matariki.”; all we have heard today is the diminishing of Matariki. Paul Goldsmith in his contribution said that this is just throwing treats around. He said, “It’s just another public holiday.” They haven’t listened to anything that Māori have said about Matariki. Another member of the Opposition said, “We will celebrate Matariki but it is a mistake.” Another member of the Opposition said that this is a luxury. These sorts of comments are, as we say in Māori, whakahāwea. Whakahāwea means to belittle, to despise, to show contempt, to degrade, to undermine, and that is all we have heard from the Opposition—the belittling, the despising, the degrading, and the undermining of something that is really important to Māori.

They have just reduced it to a commodity—it is all about money. Well, let me tell you what the tourism industry was saying during COVID in the meetings I had with them—listen up. The hospitality and the tourism industries were actually asking for more three-day weekends, because they know that when there are three-day weekends, people do travel around the country, they do spend, and it does grow the economy. But the Opposition, of course, are in denial, because in their minds this is all about money and a day off. They haven’t listened to anything that Māori have said.

Simon Watts: No, you’re not listening.

Hon KELVIN DAVIS: That member over there, who has nothing to say other than stupidity, needs to stand up and talk to Māori, go into our context, our spaces, our places, and hear what it actually means to Māoridom. This whole country doesn’t just run on Pākehā time. This is about us as a nation doing something together and enjoying and lifting up Māoridom, our tikanga.

Simon O’Connor, in his speech earlier, was probably one of the worst. One of the things he said was that we shouldn’t use Matariki because it’s a Māori name. He explored the use of the term “the seven sisters”—because a Māori name is not good enough for Matariki but an English term is. Then he played around with “Pleiades”—I think is the word. So a Māori word is not good enough to use; English: maybe. But then he said he wants to use a Greek term because we can all relate to Greek mythology and the Greek gods—that it’s so important to us. Here’s the clincher: then he said maybe we could use—and I think this must be a scientific name—Messier 45, and sounds messy too when he’s saying it. He said it is a name that is more neutral.

This shows how much contempt the National Party has for anything Māori. They want to neutralise our culture, our tikanga, our kaupapa. How can any member of Parliament stand here and say, “How about using this as a neutral name?”, neutralising Māori tikanga, Māori language, Māori kaupapa? That does describe the attitude of the National Party, yet Harete Hipango said the National Party does not diminish the importance of Matariki. They all then set about diminishing everything about Matariki. They don’t want to use the Māori name. They want to just talk about it being a public holiday as if it’s just—takahia kia noa, takahia kia noa [just belittle it, just belittle it].

They don’t want to celebrate anything that’s Māori. But they want to stand in the Māori seats, of course, so we hear—they want to stand in the Māori seats. I’m looking forward to that. I’m looking forward to holding their track record up against them when they stand in the Māori seats, and this belittling of Matariki is just another example of the track record of the National Party, having nothing good to say about, and no support whatsoever for, anything that’s Māori, and it’s a disgrace on them.

But let’s come back to Matariki and what we’re all going to enjoy on 24 June. There is going to be a build-up to the day. There is going to be a celebration down here at Te Papa. It is going to be a celebration for all New Zealanders and I invite the National Party to come down and be part of something that’s bigger than their narrow minds and their narrow thinking.

This is going to be something that in years to come is going to grow. It’s going to become even better and a greater part of what is Aotearoa New Zealand’s culture and history, and I’m very proud to be part of a Government this has finally recognised a day that we can celebrate as a country but a day that is definitely Māori.

TEANAU TUIONO (Green) (remote): Tēnā koe e te Pīka, otirā tēnā koutou i te Whare. ‘Matariki tāpuapua. Matariki ahunga nui. Matariki hunga nui’. Nōku anō te whiwhi ki te mihi atu ki tēnei o ngā ture, tēnei o ngā pire mō Te Hararei Tūmatanui o Matariki, me te oranga onō kei te aro anō tō tātou, he hararei anō e whakanui atu i tō tātou nei ao Māori, e whakanui ana i tō tātou mātauranga Māori me ōna oranga katoa. Ehara tēnei e pērā ki a Kirihimete, ki te Aranga, i te mea nō tāwahi kē ērā hararei, nā reira tēnei hararei i tipu ake me tōna mātauranga taketake, i tipu ake ki konei ki Aotearoa. Nō reira, e tautoko ana mātou ngā Kākāriki ki tērā o ngā āhuatanga.

He nui ngā akoranga i ahu mai i ngā whetū o Matariki. I rongo au i ngā kōrero mō te whetū o Waitī, tērā whetū e aro ana ki ngā āhuatanga o te wai Māori. Ngā kōrero mō Waitā tērā o ngā whetū e aro ana ki kohinga kai ki te wai tai ki te moana. Heoi, i a au e haere ana ki te motu ki ngā hui o Matariki ki roto i ngā tau, i tīmata ēra momo hui me te, ā, ki raro i te tirohanga o Pōhutukawa, te whetū i whakaarohia ki a rātou mā kua whetūrangihia, kua whetūrangihia pērā i te kāhui o Matariki.

Nō reira i te pānuitanga tuarua i tērā wiki i mihi au ki Kahurangi June Jackson, e mihi au ki Tā Wira Gardiner, heoi ki roto i te wiki kua pahure ake kua hinga tērā o tātou Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa Jackson, ki a Moana Jackson. Ko ia tētahi e kaha ki te whakatinanahia i ngā āhuatanga o te tino rangatiratanga me te mana motuhake. Me te mea anō i taka mai tērā mātauranga mai i tērā o ngā āhuatanga, nō reira me mihi atu ki a ia, ka tika. Tē taea e au, kīhai au i whai wā ki te haere atu nō taratahi ki tōku kāinga ki raro i ngā waeture o te Kowheori, heoi anō ko tāku ngākau ki reira. I a tātou e whakaaro ana ki ngā akoranga i ahu mai i a Pōhutukawa, i a tātou e whakaaro ana ki te hunga kua pahure ake me whai whakaaro anō ki ngā akoranga i waiho mai rātou ki a tātou, te hunga ora.

I pērā ana a Moana Jackson i te wā i te ora. I pērā ana ia i te wā o te hinga, i a ia e tīraha ana ki tana marae ki Matahiwi. Kei te aro Te Ao Māori ki ōna ōhākī, ōhākī e rua. Te tuatahi kia kaua e hareruia Karaitiana ki tōna tangihanga, kia kaua karakia te kaikarakia karaitiana ki tōna tangi me te aro i ō tātou nei whakaaro ki ō tātou nei ātua Māori. Me te mea anō me whai whakaaro, me āhei te wahine ki te tū ki te marae. Nō reira me mihi atu au ki tēra o ngā āhuatanga. Me pērā anō tātou ki roto i ngā tau kei te haere mai, ngā akoranga i waiho ake mai pērā ki a Moana Jackson ki a tātou.

No reira, i a au e aro ana ki ngā āhuatanga ki tērā marae ko te wahine tuatahi i tū ki runga i te marae, ko te Minita i hēpara ana tēnei pire i tēnei wā, nō reira e mihi atu au ki te Hōnore a Kiritapu Allen, nāna noa i kōkirihia tēnei pire ki roto o ngā tukanga o te Pāremata, nōna noa te hōnore ki te tū ki te tuku whaikōrero ki te marae ātea ki te Matahiwi marae, otirā tēnā anō ki tō mātou nei rangatira a Marama Davidson, tō mātou nei rangatira wahine i whai wāhi ia ki te tū ki runga i taua marae. Ko te manako nōku nei kia kaua tērā momo tikanga hoki ki te moe. Kia oho tonu tērā tikanga i te mea i a tātou e hoki anō ki ō tātou nei akoranga mai ō mātou tīpuna kua mōhio kē tātou kua pērā anō te mana o te wahine, nō reira, ko Moana Jackson pērā i te wā i te ora, i pērā anō i te wā o te mate.

Nō reira te pāpā Moana Jackson, haere atu rā, haere atu rā, haere atu ki tō tuakana Syd, haere atu rā ki a Eva, ki Te Miringa, ki a pāpā Niko Tangaroa, rātou anō i pupū ake tērā whakaaro o te tino rangatiratanga i waiho ake i roto i Te Tiriti o Waitangi, me tōna tuakana He Whakaputanga i hainatia e ō tātou nei mātua tīpuna i te tau 1835, ngā tau e rima i mua i te hainatanga o Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Ināianei i a au, i a mātou o te Komiti Whiri Take Māori tōna tēnei waimarie i haere mai Tākuta Rangi Matamua ki te kōrero i ngā kōrero e pā ana ki te oranga o tēnei ture, ōna piringa ki roto i o tātou nei taiao, i te mea ehara tēnei i te hararei noa, kei te tautoko au i ngā kōrero i kōrerohia i mua i a au. He hararei o te maumahara ki te hunga kua wehe atu, heoi anō he hararei kia whakanui te noho o te tangata ki roto i te taiao, te noho o te tangata me ōna piringa ki te taiao. I te wā o ō tātou nei tūpuna, i kaha rātou ki te whai i ngā āhuatanga te whakatere moana, tae atu rā ki te pānui i ngā āhuatanga o ngā whetū. I pānuihia i āhei rātou ki te whai i ngā tohu ki roto i te taiao mō te hī ika, te wāhi anō mō te hauhake māra.

Nō reira, ko Rangi Matamua tērā i kōkirihia nō reira me mihi atu au ki te katoa o tōna ohu, ki a Rereata Mākiha, ki a Hoturoa, ki a Jack Thatcher, ki a Ruakere Hond, Pauline Harris me Victoria Campbell. Nā ēra momo pukenga, o ērā momo pukumahi ka whai oranga tēnei ture ki roto i ōna āhuatanga katoa.

I a au e whakarongo ana ki ngā kōrero he nui ngā oranga ki roto i ngā āhuatanga a te takiwā, i te mea, mēnā kei te aro tātou ki ō tātou nei whānau ki Taranaki kei raro i te maru o te maunga tītōhea kei te whai rātou i te whetū o Puanga ō tātou nei whanauka mā tētahi atu māka ki te Ngāi Tahu ko Puaka tērā i whai rātou. He tikanga anō ki te Nōta i te mea he rerekē te taiao ki ia takiwā. Nō reira, ki roto i tērā ka taea te whakapakari tō tātou nei tuakiri ā-rohe, tō tātou tuakiri ā-taiwhenua.

Mā runga i tērā ko te tūmanako ka whai wāhi ka taea ki te tūruhi haere, ko te tāpoi haere ki roto i ngā takiwā puta noa i a Aotearoa ki te ako i ō rātou nei tikanga, te ako i ō rātou nei pūrākau, te ako i ō rātou nei piringa ki te taiao. He oranga anō tērā mō tātou katoa, Māori mai, Tauiwi mai kia mārama anō he aha te hītori kei raro ngā rekereke o tātou nei waewae, kei reira to oranga.

I a au e whakarongo ana ki ētahi o ngā kōrero mai i ētahi o ngā mema o Te Pāremata, kāore i te pai ki tēnei o ngā pire, me pēnei ana taku nei kōrero ki a rātou. Me whānui te tirotiro, me whānui te aronga. Me whānui tō tātou nei whakaaro mō te tuakiri o tō tātou nei motu whānui, i te mea he ao anō kei tua i te hōhonu o te pūkoro. He ao anō kei tua i tēnei mea te pūtea. He ao anō kei tua i tēnei mea te kohi moni. Mā runga i tērā taha ka taea e tātou te rārangi i ngā ahurea katoa o tātou e noho ana, e karangahia ko Aotearoa ko tātou nei kāinga.

Heoi, ki te ora anō tēnei āhuatanga ki roto i ō tātou nei kura me kaha Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga ki te hoatu ngā rauemi, i rongo kōrero au kua tīmata tērā o ngā mahi nō reira me kaha ki te hāpai i te āhei o ngā pouako ki te whakanunui i ēnei mātauranga i te mea, mō ētahi, he hou ēnei kōrero. Nā tātou i haere ana ki ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori, ō tātou nei tamariki ki ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori, kua roa te wā i whakanui ana mātou, otirā tātou pea i ngā āhuatanga o Matariki. He mea tauhou ki ētahi o ngā Kura Auraki, nō reira, te mea nui me tīmata me ngā tamariki mokopuna, me tīmata me ngā rangatahi. Me hoatu ngā rauemi ki ngā Kura Auraki mai, Māori mai, kia puaki tērā whakaaro.

Heoi anō mēnā kei te whakaaro tātou i ngā āhuatanga o Matariki kei roto i te horopaki o te huringa o te āhuarangi, kei roto i te horopaki me te mōhio ko tātou te hunga tangata he wāhanga noa iho o te ao whānui, he wāhanga anō ki tō tātou taiao, nō reira me mātua mōhio mai tātou ko tēnei he ara kia ako te piringa o te tangata ki te whenua, te piringa o te tangata ki te awa, te piringa o te tangata ki te maunga, te piringa o te tangata ki te katoa o te hunga e noho ana ki te ngahere, nō reira tēnā koutou katoa.

[Greetings, Mr Speaker, and to all of you in the House. The pools of Matariki. The great mounds of Matariki. Matariki of many people. I once again am fortunate to be able to acknowledge this law, this bill regarding the Matariki public holiday, with the satisfaction that it focuses on—it is a holiday that celebrates our Māori world and our Māori knowledge with all its benefits. This is not like Christmas or Easter, because those holidays came from overseas, but this holiday with its associated traditional wisdom developed here, in New Zealand. Therefore, The Greens support that aspect.

There is much to be learnt about the stars of Matariki. I heard the stories about the star Waitī, which is concerned with fresh water. The stories of Waitā, the star concerned with the collection of food from salt water, from the sea. However, as I travelled around the country to gatherings for Matariki, those sorts of gatherings began with the observation of Pōhutukawa, the star thought of in relation to those who have become stars in the heavens like the Matariki cluster.

In the second reading last week, I acknowledged Dame June Jackson and Sir Wira Gardiner; however, in the past week, Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa Jackson, known as Moana Jackson, has also fallen. He was one who was committed to the realisation of sovereignty and independence. He has also increased our knowledge about these things, therefore I must acknowledge him. I wasn’t able to attend as I was isolating at home under the COVID regulations; however, my heart was there. As we think about what Pōhutukawa can teach us, as we think about those who have passed away we should also be mindful of what we, the living, can learn.

Moana Jackson was like that when he was alive. He was also like that in death, as he was lying at his marae, Matahiwi. The Māori World is cognisant of his dying wishes, his two dying wishes. Firstly, there should be no Christian hallelujahs at his funeral, there should be no Christian prayers at his funeral, with the focus on our Māori gods. And also, we should be attentive and allow women to speak on the marae. Therefore, I must acknowledge that aspect. That should continue in the years to come, the learning left for us by the likes of Moana Jackson.

Therefore, as I look at the functions on that marae, the first woman to speak on the marae was the Minister who is currently shepherding this bill, therefore I acknowledge the Hon Kiritapu Allen, who has progressed this bill through the parliamentary processes and who had the honour to stand and deliver a formal speech on the marae at Matahiwi, also acknowledgments should go the Hon Marama Davidson, our female co-leader who also took the opportunity to speak on that marae. My desire is that that practice should not go back to sleep. That practice should be kept alive because as we return to the learning passed down from our ancestors we already know that that woman possessed authority, so Moana Jackson continued to teach us in death as he had in life.

So to my uncle Moana Jackson, may you rest in peace beside you brother Syd, go to Eva, to Te Miringa, to uncle Niko Tangaroa, those who kept the thinking about sovereignty at the forefront, that was left in the Treaty of Waitangi and its older sibling the Declaration of Independence, which was signed in 1835, five years prior to the Treaty of Waitangi.

As we of the Māori Affairs Committee were lucky enough to have Dr Rangi Matamua come along to talk to us about the benefits of this law, its connections to our environment, for this isn’t just a holiday and I support those speakers who spoke before me. It is a holiday to remember those who have passed; however, it is also a holiday to celebrate the place of people within the environment, the place of people and their connections to the environment. In the times of our ancestors, they were keen sailors which read the features of the stars. They were read so they were able to follow the signs in the environment regarding fishing and harvesting the gardens.

Therefore, Rangi Matamua is the one who drove this forward, so I must acknowledge him and I must also acknowledge his working party, Rereata Mākiha, Hoturoa, Jack Thatcher, Ruakere Hond, Pauline Harris, and Victoria Campbell. It is through their skill and hard work that this law holds many benefits in all its aspects.

As I was listening to the stories, there were many benefits related to the different regions because, if we look at our family in Taranaki at the base of the barren mountain, they follow the star Rigel, and for our relations in Ngāi Tahu, they also follow Rigel. It is a different practice in the North because each region is different. Therefore, this means we are able to strengthen our regional identities, our rural identities.

With this in mind, the hope is that opportunities will be taken to travel around to the different regions all over New Zealand, to learn their practices, and to learn their stories and their connections to the environment. There are benefits there for all of us, Maōri and Tauiwi, to understand what the history is underneath our heels, there is the benefit.

As I was listening to some of the comments from some members of this Parliament who do not like this bill, this is what I have to say to them. Broaden your gaze, broaden your focus. We must all broaden our thinking about the identity of our country at large because there is another world beyond a deep pocket. There is another world beyond that of finance. There is another world beyond making money. It is with this we are able to align all the cultures living in New Zealand and who call it home.

However, if this initiative is to gain traction in our schools, the Ministry of Education must be forthright in resourcing, it is my understanding that work has begun, therefore we need to support the enablement of teachers to expand on the knowledge because, for some, this is new information. For us who went to Māori immersion schools, or for those of us whose children attend those schools, we have been observing Matariki for a long time. This is totally new for some of the mainstream schools, therefore the main thing is we must start with the children and the grandchildren, we must start with the young people. We must give those resources to both mainstream schools and Māori schools so that idea can be manifested.

However, if we look at Matariki in the context of climate change, in the context and knowledge that we, as a group of people, are only a part of the wider world, a part of our environment, we should first realise that this is a way of learning about the connection of people to the land, the connection of people to the rivers, the connection of people to the mountains, the connection of people to all of our biodiversity. Therefore, greetings one and all.]

CHRIS BAILLIE (ACT): Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise on behalf of ACT to take a short call on the third reading of Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill, a bill we don’t support, not because we don’t think it’s a great initiative, a great idea, but only because the country just simply can’t afford it. I say short call because I know this bill is going to go through today, and the ideology of this Government will once again take precedence over common-sense, basic economics. And even a slight understanding of the effects on businesses of these continued attacks just make it so difficult to make a living for businesses to pay their staff and just survive.

Last week, I read out a letter from a refrigeration company, which said, that they are increasing their fees due to inflation, minimum wage increases, and the cost of fuel over the last year. I got another one last Friday; it says, “Every endeavour has been made to hold to our current pricing. The time has finally arrived where we are unable to do so any longer, and, regretfully, an increase of 5.9 percent will take effect from 1 April. The recently announced statutory adult minimum wage increase, raising it from $20 to $21.20 has meant an additional increase to our services where the majority of our labour force will fall into the new bracket.”

These things are real. They’re not just made-up names that people use to justify an argument. To hear the rhetoric coming from all Labour MPs, having learnt from the grand master Grant Robertson that everything’s fine, businesses are being looked after, added costs, minimum wage, extra holidays, extra sick days—but what doesn’t actually affect them, just makes those who actually have businesses and business experience and going through the pain, shake their heads in disbelief.

Last week, we got a lecture from a Labour backbencher who said that some businesses will find it tough, but that what they don’t understand is that while they have to pay more on the minimum wage, those people will go out and spend the extra money in the community. It’s just so simplistic and just so wrong. If she was still in business, I know she’d have a different view.

Kiri Allan told us during the committee stage that businesses actually wanted the extra holiday, wanted to pay time and a half, wanted to pay a day in lieu, were rapt about the extra KiwiSaver costs, and wanted to not be able to trade. I suspect she spoke to a tourism operator in Gisborne and not the retailers who will be forced to pay this extra without any extra income.

ACT thinks it’s a great idea to celebrate Matariki, a very significant event and an occasion that certainly deserves its own special day. The cost of recreating a 12th public holiday is estimated to be around $450 million. ACT believes that if the Government wants to indulge in another holiday, it needs to identify a holiday to be removed from the calendar. I thought I’d quickly go through the options.

New Year’s Day—the start of the year; that’s pretty significant. Then there’s the day after New Year’s Day—maybe for those who enjoyed New Year’s Eve too much. Are we going to have a day after Matariki? Waitangi Day—a highly significant day, where we all agreed that all citizens of New Zealand have the same political rights and duties. Then we have Good Friday and Easter Monday, a Christian celebration. It’s interesting—I wonder how many Labour MPs took an affirmation and not the oath on the Bible. We have Anzac Day, to me the most important, relevant, and meaningful, where the New Zealand armed forces, including more than 2,000 Māori in the Pioneer Battalion joined the rest of the world against a common foe. Then we have Labour Day. It’s been celebrated in New Zealand since 1890, when, in 1840, builder Samuel Parnell won an eight-hour day in Wellington—quite an achievement. Then we go to Christmas day. It’s relevant to our Christian community. And Boxing Day, which dates back hundreds of years, where a Christmas box was given to workers by those who could afford it. That’s a nice idea but is it really relevant today?

Then we get to the Anniversary Days, celebrating the settling of our districts throughout New Zealand. This year, Auckland had their Anniversary Day six days before the Waitangi holiday. Hawke’s Bay this year will have their Anniversary Day a week after school holidays. Nelson was also on 31 January, just a week before Waitangi, and it’s a real nuisance for schools starting the year, very unsettling. So maybe they can go. Or maybe we replace them with other very significant events in our history. Maybe replace Nelson Anniversary Day with Te Rauparaha’s clashes with Rangitāne or Ngāti Kuia in 1827. We need an accurate history of New Zealand.

ACT appreciates the significance of Matariki for all New Zealanders. The use of the stars in the migration of Māori to New Zealand around 800 years ago is of great significance and really should be taught in school history classes. Abel Tasman used the same stars about 400 years later, along with James Cook after that, and they were used in the migration of all cultures to this beautiful country. What a fantastic story we have to tell.

I’ll finish with a quote from a man who did more for Māori than anyone in this House will ever do and who I’m sure would have welcomed the acknowledgment of Matariki. The late historian Michael King said, “Pākehā New Zealanders who are committed to this land and its people are no less ‘indigenous’ than Māori.” All New Zealanders will celebrate Matariki on 24 June, including ACT, but we can’t support this bill. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing): There are very few points in New Zealand history when this House has come to consider the days on which we will mark our nationhood. We can point to 1899, when this House made a decision to honour Labour Day as a public holiday. We can point to 1920, when this House decided that Anzac Day was a day befitting of a public holiday to mark out who we are as a people. We can point to 1973, when this House decided that Waitangi Day, 6 February, was a line and a mark in the sand that we should put, as a nation, to mark out who we are as a people.

I find it deeply saddening that, given the opportunity, this House cannot lift—on the other side of the House—the debate beyond squabbling over the issues of the day: of the minimum wage increases, of the cost of fuel brought on by a war in Ukraine. What we are debating here is about marking out who we are as a people in 21st century New Zealand. I am immensely proud that we as a Government are doing this; we are taking the time to consider what it means to be a New Zealander in the 21st century.

By training, I am a New Zealand historian, and I value that education that I received. At school, I learnt about Tudor and Stuart Britain: good knowledge and an education I am pleased I received. But one of the things I am so pleased about is that this Government has taken the moves to ensure that New Zealanders at school will learn their own history. And celebrating Matariki is an important part of acknowledging the unique place in which we live here in Aotearoa, located in the Pacific, where we pay our respects to the land, where we pay our respects to the people, and where we pay our respects to our history.

It is a time for us to reflect—traditionally, Matariki was a time for planting and planning activities—for valuing our past, and, importantly, preparing for our future. I think us given a chance as a Chamber to put into legislation—into the statute book—a day when we cannot only celebrate our past but plan for our future is something that we have a duty as parliamentarians to take the debate up a notch on.

What we’ve had is cries from the National Party to have a more neutral day. They want to have a more neutral name—that Matariki somehow is loaded; it is not neutral. So what we have heard from Simon O’Connor is that we should indeed look to the name of an 18th century French astronomer to name this day after—this would be more fitting for a country at the bottom of the South Pacific celebrating a day rooted in the Polynesian traditions of the stars; this somehow would be more fitting.

As a footnote, I think it is important to note that not only did Messier also give the name to the star cluster but he also, in 1769, published what today would probably be called a hagiography memoir where he was attempting to curry favour with the emperor at the time—Napoleon—when he linked the sighting of the great comet with the birth of the emperor. A neutral name in New Zealand? This is more relevant to us as a nation in 20th century Aotearoa New Zealand? This is where the National Party have taken the debate. They’ve also said that not only should we name it after 18th century French astronomers or that we should name it according to Greek traditions rather than our own Māori and Polynesian traditions—that somehow that is more relevant for us as a nation here in Aotearoa—but they’ve also shown just how small-minded they can be.

Let’s have a look at the facts. This is way more than a holiday, and I want to acknowledge the kōrero that my colleague Kelvin Davis had about this. We cannot reduce this to just being about a holiday, in the same way that Waitangi Day becoming a holiday on 6 February was not just about a holiday and a day off. It was a stake in the ground of who we are as a people and what we choose to celebrate. We do not begrudge other nations with their national days. I have never heard the National Party begrudge Independence Day in the United States—a day that is important to that nation for reasons within itself. And that is what this is about: days that are important to us as a nation.

But I think we all know that New Zealanders could do with another public holiday in winter. We do have a much-needed gap in that midwinter area, where it will be important not only for people’s wellbeing but also for the economy. I think one of the things where we’ve heard ACT and we’ve heard National railing is that the sky is going to fall in from an economic perspective. I ask them to look at some evidence, to look at the facts; let’s have a look at how we figure within the OECD for public holidays. Well, we are in the low to middle range for public holidays, with 18 countries having more than us and 12 countries having fewer. So I do not think this makes us an outlier—that we are still only, at best, in the low to middle of the pack of the countries to which we would compare ourselves in terms of public holidays.

We also can see the analysis that accompanies this bill is that, actually, this could indeed have a net benefit impact on the economy, because public holidays are when people go on holiday, public holidays are when people tend to go out, and public holidays are when people tend to spend money. So let’s have a grown-up conversation about this. Let’s think about who we are as a people, who we are as a nation, and not belittle this House and the opportunities that it gets only every few decades to consider matters such as this and nationhood.

I’ve really enjoyed the “let’s sub it out” game that we’ve seen from the National Party and ACT on this. So Labour Day, according to many members of the National Party, is no longer relevant. Obviously, the fact that we celebrate working people, the fact that we celebrate the eight-hour day, the fact that we celebrate those crucial wins—that’s not relevant anymore; that is not relevant! We’ve heard from ACT that maybe we could take New Year’s Day or the day after, and I thought Paul Goldsmith got dangerously close to literally being the Grinch and suggesting Christmas in his contribution to the House.

I do not think that the Opposition parties have given this bill the serious debate that it deserves. It will be a shame and a blot on this House when people come to read the Hansard of the debate around this. When we look at the Hansard around the establishment of Anzac Day, I may not agree with everything that was said in those debates, but I read those speeches and respect them for the thought that had gone into them. When I read the speeches around the establishment of Waitangi Day, or New Zealand Day, as it was called—the debates in 1973—again, I do not agree with everything that was said in those debates, but I do not see people not taking it seriously and not giving it the due regard that it requires. Lifting the debate after whether or not we are going to steal Labour Day and whether or not we would rather name the day after an 18th century astronomer is not befitting of our nation.

SIMON WATTS (National—North Shore): On behalf of National and as a member of Parliament for North Shore, it is my pleasure to take a short call on the Matariki public holiday bill today. I want to say, just first up, that National very much support, in concept, having a Matariki public holiday. The Māori New Year and a celebration of that special day for all New Zealanders is an important opportunity for us as a country to come together and honour some of our important history for all New Zealanders. This holiday, obviously, honours how Māori navigated using the stars back in the past in order to come to this great country, and we acknowledge the importance of this public holiday.

As a father of two young boys, both at primary school, I enjoy, along with my wife, the much involvement that they have with this holiday at their school and the other celebrations that we have in our local community of the North Shore around this day. So I want to make it very clear that the concept of Matariki as a public holiday is a concept that we support. However, the challenge that we have, and we are opposing this bill, is for the reason that the party of this Government on that side of the House has not been able to tell us what they will do or take away instead of this. The simple reason is because New Zealand has been, and is currently, going through a significant economic shock as a result of COVID-19. And if you separate the concept that we should have a public holiday for Matariki, which I said the National Party supports, the conversation then leads to how do we effect that change? And the challenge that we have put on the table is the cost of this public holiday, to the economy and to businesses in New Zealand, is in the region of just under half a billion dollars at a time when our economy is under significant pressure.

A couple of weeks ago, Minister Robertson and Minister Nash received a letter from Mark Wilson, the owner of The Grange in Takapuna. It was on behalf of 450 businesses nationwide across this country who employ nearly 10,000 people in the hospitality sector. Mark wrote a letter on behalf of those individuals because they are all struggling. The hospitality sector is struggling significantly because this Government has not supported them. They have left them out in the cold and they continue to do so today. And the cost of this public holiday, in absence of taking another one away or finding the savings from business somewhere else—such as reducing the cost burden that has been placed by this Government on them—places the cost of this holiday squarely at the feet of our business community. And while we support the public holiday, we do not support increasing costs and increasing burden on our business community. Why? Because they are hurting and they employ hard-working Kiwis in this country and do not deserve that extra burden right now.

So what we have simply asked the Government to do is to identify what other public holiday they will take away to replace this. We support that. We would work, absolutely, with the Government in order to come up with that process. But you don’t get anything for free. There is a cost to adding one additional day. So, quite simply, take another one away and everyone would be happy. But this Government has failed to take any accountability around making that decision. It is easy to spend money, but it is very difficult to make it, and that side of the House have no idea in terms of the pressures that our business community are currently under—and particularly our hospitality sector.

I want to go back to that letter to Minister Robertson and Minister Nash. Their reply to those 450 businesses was a copy-and-paste letter from both of them. The letters from both of those offices was pretty much similar, in a copy and paste, and Minister Nash even attached an attachment which was some mental health phone numbers that the businesses might wish to consider if they were suffering from stress and anxiety as a result of financial pressure on these businesses. That is completely unacceptable. It is completely out of touch, and it shows that this Government on that side of the House has no appreciation for the pain and agony that many Kiwis in our country are currently facing as a result of failure by that Government to take action when it really counts.

And so what we are talking about today—

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The member’s time has expired.

RAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori) (remote): Kōkōmako, kōkōmako. Ko te hau tapu e rite ki te kai nā Matariki. Tapa reireia koia tapa tapa konunua koiana tukua, hī auē hī. Ko Matariki te kaitō i te hunga pakeke ki te pō—Matariki draws the frail into the endless night.

E te tokotoru, Tā Wira, Te Kahurangi Temuranga Jackson, Tākuta Moana Jackson. Whoatu rā koutou ki te pō e tōia ai e Matariki. Waiho mātou ki muri nei e takitaki ana i te hau tapu e ō nei te hau kāinga. Kāti ake.

[To the three of you, Sir Wira, Dame Te Kahurangi Temuranga Jackson, and Dr Moana Jackson. Go ahead into the night, drawn by Matariki. Leave us behind to recite in the hautapu ceremony as the response from home. Enough.]

What a momentous occasion this is for Aotearoa. Since the first celebrated public holiday, which was an anniversary day in 1843, it’s only taken 180-odd years to have a day that celebrates the essence of what it is to be Māori. I celebrate this kaupapa as a policy win for Te Paati Māori. I congratulate the Hon Kiritapu Allan and Labour and their courage to achieve this outcome. It is still a shameful stain on this country that Māori kaupapa or mātauranga Māori is still too brown or too native to acknowledge.

E te whanaunga e Rangi, nā koutou te hinu o tēnei pire i tunu kia maoa. Hotu, Jacko, Ruakere, Rereata, Victoria, Pauline, nei rā a Autahi ngutu tāperu e tārake mai nei, e mihi nei. Ko Matariki te whetū e arataki e!

[To my relation Rangi, all of you have prepared and cooked this bill, like a game bird, to perfection. Hotu, Jacko, Ruakere, Rereata, Victoria, Pauline, this is Canopus of the pouting lips, shining alone, paying tribute. Matariki will guide you.]

Matariki will guide you. Matariki is an annual reset, therefore an opportunity for our country to reset our nation’s compass. It allows us to acknowledge our past to inform our future. We have a huge window of opportunity to look at a more progressive, equitable, and equal future for Aotearoa. As Matariki prepares to reveal what the coming year may have in store for us, our nation’s reset is imperative. It is time for constitutional reset, for constitutional transformation that is rooted in the binding contract that is Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This will not only inform the way we do things but will underpin the values in which we do them. Tirohia Matariki te whetū o te tau e whakamoe mai rā – e homai ana rongo—look at Matariki, star of the year, preparing to sleep up there. It signals this news.

For many of our whānau out there, constitutional transformation is not high up on the priority list of things to do, because we’re trying to feed our babies and whānau, put a roof over their heads, trying to pay the rent and the doctors’ fees, or trying to find mahi—simply living in an oppressive colonising State. Matariki is the reset for reclaiming our mana motuhake and our tino rangatiratanga to be able to, as Māori, make our own decisions once again, to work out our own destiny, to exercise what is called in international law the right to self-determination. I express this to the House and to our people: e te iwi Māori, matike mai! [to the Māori people, stand up!]. Matariki is our reset. Matariki is our New Year. Matariki is our dawn. Matariki is the reawakening of our indigenous truth whose time has come. Kua tae kē te wā, mā Māori anō a Māori e kōrero, mā Māori anō a Māori e rangatira.

[The time has already come when Māori themselves should speak for Māori, Māori themselves should ennoble Māori.]

Nā reira, I conclude my contribution to this debate with the words of the great Māori composer Tuini Ngāwai: Shine down thy glowing light o Matariki on to Mother Earth as a guiding light for this land. Nurture the bloom that it may blossom and on it benefit for the poor and the needy.

Horohia e Matariki

ki te Whenua

Te māramatanga mō te motu e

Kia tipu he puāwai hōnore

Mō te pani, mō te rawakore e

Mō te rawakore e.

[Spread your light oh Matariki

On to Mother Earth

As a guiding light for the country

May an honourable bloom grow

For the poor, for the needy.]

I commend this bill to the House. Kia ora tātou.

RINO TIRIKATENE (Labour—Te Tai Tonga): Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare, tēnā koutou ōku rangatira. Tēnā koutou i tēnei rā nui whakahirahira. E tū tautoko ahau i te pire i tēnei pānuitanga tuatoru i tēnei rā, kaupapa nui whakahirahira Te Pire mō Te Hararei Tūmatanui o Te Kāhui o Matariki.

Ka huri tū me mihi ki ngā mate huhua o te wā – ko Tā Wira tērā, ko te whānau o Te Kahurangi me te māreikura o te whānau Jackson, āe, ngā mate huhua o te wā kua haere koutou ki ‘Matariki kāinga kore’. Kua whetūrangitia koutou. Āpiti hono, tātai hono. Ko te hunga mate ki te hunga mate, āpiti hono, tātai hono. Ko tātou te hunga ora ki a tātou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Greetings, Mr Speaker, and to my respected colleagues. Greetings, on this very important day. I stand to support the third reading of this bill, a very important bill, Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill.

I turn now to acknowledge the many deaths of this time—Sir Wira is one, the esteemed Dame of the Jackson family another—yes, the many deaths of the time who have gone to ‘homeless Matariki’. You have become stars in the heavens. The lines are unbroken. Let the dead rest with the dead. The lines are unbroken. To us, the living, greetings, greetings, greetings one and all.]

I am so proud to be able to speak in support of this momentous bill, Te Pire mō te Hararei Tūmatanui o te Kāhui o Matariki/Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill, in this third reading. I was bedazzled by the soaring kupu kauhau and almost—I could hear harmonies coming from the other side from Rawiri over the television set. It’s wonderful to have the tautoko—wonderful to have that tautoko for this bill. Great as the oratory and the waiata may be, the actual mahi of actually getting this bill done and passed through this House solely rests with this Government.

I want to acknowledge Minister Allan—all the Ministers that were involved in this bill. We took this bill to the motu at election time, and over 50 percent of the motu gave us the endorsement to not only give us the mandate to have the privilege of governing but also to be able to follow through and enact this legislation. So I’m very proud that we are following it up with the mahi.

I want to acknowledge the importance of this bill because this bill is not just another public holiday; this bill is a Māori public holiday. First and foremost, we need to celebrate that. This bill is about honouring mātauranga Māori, honouring the place of te Iwi Māori, who we are in Aotearoa, and it’s something that all of Aotearoa can share. Come 24 June, there are going to be celebrations up and down the motu all over because this is such a wonderful indigenous home-grown statutory holiday that we are enacting.

We’ve heard, quite sadly, in the debate—typical of the other side; they always know the cost of everything, but they know the value of nothing. The value that we are getting as a country from the passage of this legislation is beyond the cost-benefit analysis. We’ve looked at the—I’m not going to even go into the economics, because we hear this every time we bring these positive measures into the House. This is great for Aotearoa. This is great for te Iwi Māori and for everybody, because it’s not just an extra holiday but we know the benefits that will flow from this are going to be enormous—the economics that will be generated from 30 years and beyond, forever. Our country will celebrate a long weekend right through June and July, around that period. It’s already mapped out, so we can plan ahead. This is going to be absolutely fantastic for Aotearoa. I’m so proud. I’m so excited for all of our iwi, puta noa i te motu [all around the country]—all of the different traditions and practices that we have, which are all coming to life and will be just so revived from this piece of legislation, from this holiday.

I know that my whānau of the South, Te Wai Pounamu, Te Tai Tonga, we celebrate in our own ways—Puanga and the rising of the Puanga and the ushering in of our mahinga kai seasons and the changing of the seasons into the frosts of the winter. We’ll be able to share our kōrero, share our practices, with our whanaungas right across the motu, and with New Zealand Aotearoa at large. This is a fantastic piece of legislation.

I remember when a similar bill, I guess, to this was the—we heard from the other side about when we enacted the Mondayisation of Anzac Day. Oh, we heard the shrieks from the other side—the sky was going to fall in! Oh, how bad it’s going to be for business! Is anyone saying that now that we’ve had 10 years hence of Mondayisation, when it does fall, for Anzac Day? Of course not. It’s absolutely fantastic. Kiwis are actually really enjoying those days. They’re opening their wallets, they’re getting out there, and they’re enjoying the time together and the benefits that flow to the wairua of whānau to be able to have that extended break. I mean, that’s immeasurable, and that’s the benefits that will be happening. Using Anzac Day is a classic example of that. No one—no one—is moaning about how bad the Mondayisation of Anzac Day has been. And the same will apply to this holiday—the same will apply to this, mapping out 30 years into the future and beyond.

This is a landmark piece of legislation, and I want to acknowledge the mātauranga that has come together to guide us through the drafting and the planning ahead that is embodied in this bill. Dr Rangi Matamua and the expert advisory group, thank you so much for your leadership on this important kaupapa. I know my whanaunga Victoria played her bit too there within the group, and she is very proud to bring a southern flavour to your important mahi.

So this is a tremendous bill. I mean, when I heard the members opposite talking about the options about which holiday to ditch or—it’s just ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. But one thing I did pick up on was none of those holidays—well, every holiday that was read out, none of them had Māori times, apart from Waitangi Day. But everything was all Pākehā. The day after the day after New Year’s Day is a public holiday. Who really cares about that day?

This day, this day which we are enacting—which I would like to say: Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki. Remember that—Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki. That is the name for this special day, and that name will be carried not only by us but by our children and our mokopuna hence, and that will be part and parcel of who we are as a country. I’m really looking forward to just seeing how this evolves, because this is so important for us as a country, as a nation, in terms of our identity, who we are, our unique history, our Treaty bicultural roots that we are founded on. All of that can be given expression and celebration through the enactment of this bill and the creation of this new public holiday.

I’m really so delighted with this. I’m looking forward to joining in the celebrations come 24 June. I’ll be down in the mighty South with our big mountain and we’ll be definitely celebrating hard, as will Glen up in Taranaki, with the big mountain there, and all the big mountains and the big rivers and the big celebrations that will be taking place. It’s a cause for celebration—it really is a cause for celebration.

So, with that, once again, can I commend all who have been involved in this bill, from the Minister to everybody that’s been involved. This is making a difference for our country forever through the creation of this statutory holiday, which we will enact very shortly: Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki. So, with that, I add my tautoko and I commend this bill wholeheartedly to the House. Kia ora tātou.

Hon DAVID BENNETT (National): Thank you, Mr Speaker. First of all, I just want to pay tribute to Willie Jackson and his family and whānau, special families in the history of New Zealand that have given a lot to this country. So we pay tribute to your family.

I thought that was an excellent speech from the last speaker, Rino Tirikatene. Nobody can fault exactly what he said. Basically, the time has come in New Zealand’s history for us to recognise in a positive way our Māori culture and history, which often is somewhat in a controversial way through Waitangi Day. This would give a different way that we can all recognise and partake in a special celebration of Māori culture and history.

On this side of the House, we’re also very much aware of the need to have that balance, with the need to actually be able to have that enjoyment of a country that has a balance between respect and understanding of culture—and, as I say, the time has come for a holiday like this—but, on the other side, we also need to make sure that we have the ability as a country to actually progress and be able to have a system that enables us to actually, basically, fund the country going forward. So there is that quid pro quo, you could say, of “Do we take another day away?” so that we actually can get the direction that I think that last speaker spoke of. And that’s the point that many National speakers have been making today: that there is a cost with any additional holiday, and that cost, at a time when there is high inflation and other issues, is a cost which is upon New Zealanders.

In respect of that last speaker—and I know Willie Jackson will do a very great oratory now to finish off—the message that he gave, I think, is the right one: that, as a country, we are developing and the time has come to recognise an appropriate way. And it’s getting that balance right which is the essence of the future of New Zealand going forward, and it’s getting the balance at the right time and the right place. So thank you, Mr Speaker, and I just want to acknowledge the great speeches that have been heard today. Thank you.

Hon WILLIE JACKSON (Minister for Māori Development): E te iti e rahi te katoa e mihi mai ki taku whānau, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou i whakarangatira i tā mātou whānau, tēnā anō tātou katoa.

He tika me mihi ki a koe e Rangi mō tō kaha e hoa ki te kōkiri i tēnei kaupapa. He rawe, rawe tō mahi, ahakoa ngā piki me ngā heke ahakoa he tini ngā whakaaro o te rōpū Nahinara, kia ū tonu ki te kaupapa e mihi ana ki a koe. Kei te tino whakahīhī Ngāti Porou, oh no! Tūhoe—Tūhoe—i tēnei wā e hoa. E mihi ana, mihi ana ki a koe me ō hoa i kōkiri te kaupapa, Victoria, Pauline, Jack, taku hoa tawhito Rereata, Ruakere. I tino waimarie a mātou ki te kite i te mahi rawe ki te kōkiri i te kaupapa. Mihi ana ki a koutou.

Ko tēnei he kaupapa tino whakahirahira mō tātou te iwi Māori me ngā iwi katoa, me ngā iwi katoa, mihi ana, mihi ana ki koutou. Ki a koe e te tuahine. Tino waimarie koe ki te kōkiri tēnei kaupapa, e mihi ana ki a koe me tō tātou Pirimia i tēnei wā. Kua wareware tana kōrero i te tīmatatanga o tēnei rautaki. Tino māia, nui tana kaha ki te kōkiri ki te tautoko tēnei kaupapa. Ahakoa ki ētahi he tino mōrearea tēnei kaupapa kia ū ia ki te kaupapa e kōkiri ia te kaupapa. E mihi ana i a koe e Te Pirimia, Jacinda. Koutou katoa i tēnei wā, tēnā koutou, tēnā anō tātou katoa.

[To the small and the large, to everyone who acknowledged my family, thank you, thank you for honouring our family, once again, thank you.

It is appropriate that I acknowledge you, Rangi, for driving this issue forward. Your work has been amazing despite the ups and downs, and despite the many opinions of the National Party, you have held your course, well done. Ngāti Porou is very proud—oh no! I should say Tūhoe—Tūhoe—at this time, my friend. I acknowledge you and your colleagues who have driven this issue forward, Victoria, Pauline, Jack, my old friend Rereata, Ruakere. We have been very lucky to see the amazing work in promoting this initiative. Thank you all.

This is a very important issue for us, the Māori people, and for everyone, for everyone, I acknowledge you all. To you, my sister. You are very lucky to be driving this initiative forward, and I would also like to acknowledge our Prime Minister at this time. What she said at the beginning of this strategy has been forgotten. She was brave and very enthusiastic to drive this issue forward. In spite of the strong apprehension from some quarters, she stuck to the task of advocating for this issue. I acknowledge you, Prime Minister Jacinda. To all of you at this time, greetings, greetings one and all.]

I did my poroporoaki to my whānau yesterday, and I just want to thank everyone again for the support for the family. As I said, National gave mum a damehood, she always reminded me—she always reminded me—so thank you again. Thank you for those kind words—before I say some unkind words about your strategy with regard to this kaupapa, and, of course, I have to turn to the ACT Party who have been terrible over the last few weeks.

This bill isn’t just about a public holiday, as National and ACT have attempted to frame it; this is about identity. This is the flourishing of our cultural identity, which is at the very grassroots of our communities. Communities that, sadly, the ACT Party have forgotten. For David Seymour over there, Matariki is a public holiday; so, for the ACT Party, Matariki as a public holiday is cultural co-management and cultural co-governance in practice. Yes, OK, Mr Seymour. And the right are surprised that this sharing results in both sides of New Zealand doing well. It can happen. We believe in it.

When we first announced the Matariki kaupapa, I remember my good friend Judith Collins—who should probably still be the leader of the National Party—without a doubt supporting this kaupapa. No doubt about it. Judith Collins remembers that I watched her go “Oh no, what a beautiful kaupapa”, Judith Collins said. But now, we’re upside down, all around; they don’t know whether they support Matariki, whether they support co-management. They’ve forgotten Chris Finlayson—I’ll get to him shortly—they’ve forgotten him. And clearly they’ve forgotten the words of the best leader they’ve had over the last couple of years: the Hon Judith Collins.

Hon Judith Collins: Oh, leave me alone. Leave me out of it.

Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Māori are—we know this Judith, we know this—Māori are sharing their gift of Matariki with Pākehā, and Pākehā are finding a deeper sense of being a Kiwi through this cultural taonga. You found that, Judith—that’s why you got emotional and supported this kaupapa. But now, wanting a promotion back up the list, you’ve forgotten what you said all those months ago.

Hon Judith Collins: Point of order, Mr Speaker. The kaupapa of this House requires members to be addressed fully; not by just their first name.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, I will, actually, and it’s not the first time I’ve said this. It is correct. I might also add that the other names—you might want to mention their full names for Hansard and for the record. That would be nice.

Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Thank you, Mr Speaker. My apologies to the Hon Judith Collins—sensitive people, but kei te pai.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: No—no.

Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Kei te pai—no?

DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, and then you just carry on your speech, because any comment is a comment on the ruling, so that’s out of order.

Hon WILLIE JACKSON: My apologies—my apologies, sir. Many non-Māori, Kiwi families now participate in Matariki festivals at schools, and they’ve cherished the opportunity to reflect on the last year while casting hopes on the next year. There isn’t a price on making Matariki a public holiday; the cost is in not having it. We saw on Parliament’s lawns this year the dangers of isolation and fractured communities. Celebrations like Matariki are vital to reconnect those whānau who have fallen off the edges. We need to celebrate and come together to start the healing.

I believe we’re crying out as a society right now. This is not the time—and I’ll direct us to the ACT Party—to count lost dollars and bitter cents to find ways to denigrate Matariki; this is the time to build in good faith, without opportunism and without thinking that the party’s lost 10 percent of votes to the National Party in the latest poll. It’s time not to rebuild the vote but to try and work and build and work with communities. We look forward to a united nation. I was just on Te Karere, and they said, “Oh, isn’t it great the House are all working together?” Well, they are not, because we have an opportunistic ACT Party and a National Party that has forgotten its history and its background. We’re blessed to have matured, in my view, as a country where a Māori festival is embraced, respected, and shared by our fellow Kiwis. That’s why I’m hopeful that the co-governance debate that David Seymour is so desperately attempting to dog-whistle over will, in fact, lead to a reasonable, fair, and just conclusion, because I believe that Kiwis are less spiteful and mean-spirited than David Seymour and the ACT Party.

The fearmongering that some on that side of the House are trying to whip up is not in the spirit of partnership this country was founded on. If we can’t celebrate Matariki in this home nation, well, where can we celebrate it? Where can we celebrate it? Our celebration of Matariki shouldn’t come at the cost of another hard-won public holiday. To eclipse one by raising another is the very opposite spirit of Matariki. That’s the spirit of the ACT Party, eclipsing one by raising another. Matariki is a shared cultural gift, and to impinge the mana of that gift by voting on which public holiday should be replaced, in my view, is crass.

As we celebrate this cultural achievement, this shared celebration, we must look to this ACT Party’s co-governance referendum and prepare in good faith to debate. But I warn this party over here that the forces you unleash will be on you. Māori will come right after Matariki to debate the co-governance and co-management process, because we’ve been waiting 180 years, as we’ve been told by many people, to debate the promise of the Treaty. It is absolutely irresponsible, some of the kōrero going on. Chris Finlayson, a Minister who was an architect of the co-governance and co-management infrastructure that people are now railing against warned Mr Seymour on Radio New Zealand that a referendum would bring the worst out in people, and that he wouldn’t do a referendum. When Chris Finlayson is warning about being too corrosive, the entire country should be put on alert.

We celebrate Matariki—we celebrate it, because it’s a coming of age of our country, where our culture can be celebrated in a nation of our people. It’s incredibly moving to have watched New Zealanders grow and understand and appreciate the fullness and richness of our shared cultures and values. The House can come together for these types of kaupapa. As much as I attack the ACT Party or the National Party, we dream of the day—and it has happened on the odd occasion—where we can whakakotahi for the kaupapa. This is the right kaupapa to come together on. Rangi Matamua knows that. That’s why he put this kaupapa down, and I thank him. I do thank you, brother, for your hard work and your dreams and your aspirations. He’s a man who talks about kotahitanga, and it’s something we should think about. Attempting to put a price on that is too cheap of a spirit for the moment. We keep calculating the dollars instead of working out the benefits.

This is a proud moment for our party. This is a proud moment for this Government. Again, I mihi to my tuahine over here—Kiritapu Allan—for advancing it, and to all of the members in our party. I mihi to the Māori Party too. Well done to them, but stop trying to say that it’s your idea; it was always our idea, but we know the whanaungas, you know, they can’t help themselves. I think that’s that Tūhoe side. But in terms of the Māori Party, well done to them. Well done to the Greens for supporting it. My only regret is that I wish my mother and uncle could have been both alive to see Matariki as a public holiday. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, ā, tēnā anō tātou katoa.

A party vote was called for on the question, That Te Pire mō te Hararei Tūmatanui o te Kāhui o Matariki/Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Bill be now read a third time.

Ayes 77

New Zealand Labour 65; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10; Te Paati Māori 2.

Noes 43

New Zealand National 33; ACT New Zealand 10.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a third time.

Bills

Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Amendment Bill

Third Reading

Debate resumed from 31 March.

MARK CAMERON (ACT): Thank you, Mr Speaker. Thank you for the opportunity to speak on the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Amendment Bill. As I start, I just want to note the members on the other side of the House, in the previous piece of legislation, pontificating—

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! That bill is over. You speak to this bill.

MARK CAMERON: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Look, this is a wonderful piece of legislation. I’d like to speak to the third reading of this legislation. The bill is a small and concise piece of legislation and certainly gives certainty to iwi and property owners over the management of their assets.

Noteworthy is that no submitters explicitly opposed the bill, and the purpose of the bill by its design was succinct. It amends sections of the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Settlement Act 2004. The committee received 10 submissions: eight by iwi, one by aquaculture industry interest groups, and one by an individual. The bill as designed would ensure iwi can access their settlement assets within an appropriate time frame and, equally, improve the delivery of Crown aquaculture settlement obligations. I think this is deeply important. It supports iwi aquaculture aspirations as well as furthers the growth of the aquaculture industry.

In previous iterations, it was noted by the member Mr van de Molen—and I quote—“Fish are the most rapid food protein dietary source.” And I would wager Mr van de Molen is probably quite correct in that assertion. As was previously canvassed by other members when speaking on this bill, the aquaculture industry is worth some $600 million per annum and, arguably, employs approximately 3,000 people. Notably, as was offered during the select committee process, this industry could be worth billions, and I think this speaks to the wider concern and aspirations that those in the industry have for their asset certainty.

In short order, the ACT Party absolutely supports this bill as it speaks to the rights and protections of private property assets and their wellbeing. We commend this bill to the House.

ARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa): Tēnā koe e te Pīka o te Whare. Tēnā tātou ngā mema. It’s a privilege to speak on the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Amendment Bill, which is a short bill that does a very specific job of making the legislation fairer, and it gives the ability to Te Ohu Kaimoana to make a very small and technical change using a limited power of discretion to be able to complete some of the settlements of aquaculture assets in regions where they would otherwise be held up. This is an important change for those iwi who have been waiting to realise the economic impacts of their settlements and to realise the ability to enjoy the gains of aquaculture that have been enjoyed all around the country where iwi are working with business to enjoy those assets. It’s this particular inability of the iwi in those regions to reach agreement in accordance with the provisions of their settlement Acts about how regional aquaculture assets should be allocated among them that’s the issue here.

It’s right that Te Ohu Kaimoana, which plays a leadership role in Māori aquaculture and Māori fisheries assets is able to make these determinations, because they are experts. They play a role in the industry, which is world leading, in my view. They should be commended for advancing this legislation and their role in it, as well as dealing with all of the players in the industry.

I also want to thank the member Tim van de Molen from the National Party for when he joined the Māori Affairs Committee to participate in the discussions of the committee on this bill. It’s important that we are able to share views and share cross-partisan positions where we can, and this is certainly something where we all agree that it’s important for iwi to be able to realise these assets in a timely way. It was good to be able to have those discussions with the member, who is passionate about this area, and I wish him all the best with his recovery.

It’s important that we realise, with this bill, that if no changes are made, settlement assets for iwi in those regions will remain largely held in trusts by Te Ohu Kaimoana indefinitely. That means that this trustee role will continue without any ability for people on the ground in these regions, whether they are members of the iwi or not, to enjoy the jobs created by these aquaculture settlements, and the economic benefits for these regions. So it’s within everyone’s interest that this legislation passes.

It’s also in everyone’s interest in these regions that the iwi involved in aquaculture settlements have a voice at the table. They have that through Te Ohu Kaimoana, which is a particular body of governance which I am very proud, as a member of this House, to say has cross-partisan support, that it has an important role in the governance of our fisheries assets in New Zealand. It is a great example of sharing the responsibilities of governance between iwi, between Māori, between the Crown, and with an interest to including all industry players in that. It’s a great model and one we can use for other assets.

As I said, this is a technical bill, but it will not be, in any way, ignored by those iwi who are most affected by it, and by regional players in this. That’s why I commend it to the House.

Hon JUDITH COLLINS (National—Papakura): Thank you, Mr Speaker. I’m happy to support this bill as is the National Party. This really does address an issue whereby some settlements have not been able to be properly completed because of either disagreements or inability to reach settlements between different interests of iwi. That’s holding everybody back so we need to just get on with it.

I think, too, that what people may not be always aware of is that as we’re talking about the kai moana in the sea, we’ve got, right at the moment, technology and research science working very, very hard to actually have a lot of these stocks being able to be farmed. I was really amazed to hear, and to know, of fish such as hāpuku or kingfish now being able to be farmed.

We need to get past this arguing about these particular allocations, when we all agree we just need to get on with it, and at the same time, understanding that we do produce protein in New Zealand, we produce it very well, but, by the way, we need to actually just think a little bit broader than assets between particularly iwi or rights between that.

I think that’s one of the big issues here: the actual settlement system. The Māori treaties trust was established in 2004; that’s a long time ago. While there are some iwi at the moment who haven’t been able to access what they believe are their entitlements, everyone else is being held up too around those areas, so we just need to get on. We support this because we understand the need for this country to stop arguing about things between ourselves and just get on and start to grow the economy, because this country is going to be in desperate straits if we cannot do it better than what has been done over the last four years.

PAUL EAGLE (Labour—Rongotai) (remote): Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. It’s a pleasure to speak on this, the third reading of the Māori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Amendment Bill. It’s been a really good experience to be on the Māori Affairs Committee and seeing this through. Essentially, this provides for the full and final settlement of all Māori commercial aquaculture claims since September 1992.

We had submitters come in and clearly articulate the issues that were needed to be sorted and, essentially, the proposed changes will ensure that those aquaculture settlement assets are delivered to what are called iwi aquaculture organisations that wish to claim the assets it is agreed they are entitled to within a time frame. Secondly, it will protect those interests of the iwi who choose not to claim the aquaculture settlement assets they are entitled to within that time frame. And, of course, it assists the Crown, us, to fulfil its full settlement obligations. This is something that’s been long overlooked. I’m really happy that we’ve been part of—this Government put together an aquaculture strategy released in 2019 that recognises these issues, and I commend this bill to the House.

Hon DAVID BENNETT (National): Thank you, Mr Speaker. There’s general agreement between all the parties here, and I don’t want to take too much time, because we can possibly finish it off in a quick way. It’s a power that will actually benefit a lot of iwi and New Zealand in total. We looking forward to it passing through this House.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a third time.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Members, it has come time for me to leave the Chair. The House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 12 April 2022. Pō mārie.

The House adjourned at 4.55 p.m.