Mooney JosephJOSEPH MOONEY (National—Southland): Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise on behalf of the National Party to speak in support of the Māori Purposes Bill. This bill is one which will further enhance the ability for Māori trusts to operate an autonomous way free of some of the constraints that they currently have. As it says in the bill's explanatory note the bill will contribute to Māori wellbeing and development by providing Māori entities with greater autonomy and decision making addressing previous technical issues within legislation and reducing administrative compliance.So the primary purpose of the bill is to (a) provide Māori entities with greater autonomy and greater decision making (b) address previous technical issues within the legislation related to Māori affairs and (c) reduce administrative compliance. It's called an omnibus bill which means it enables minor technical or non-controversial amendments to be made to various pieces of legislation which affect Māori development. One of those is amendments to Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 to ensure that the Ruapuha Uekaha Hapū Trust can continue to exercise existing powers rights and duties in a manner that is consistent with the 1990 settlement of the Wai 51 claim in relation to the Waitomo caves.I'll just digress briefly to say that the Waitomo caves is somewhere that I remember visiting as a child and going with my brother. I think he was eight and I was 10 and we went into those caves for a little exploration in that vicinity ourselves and had an explore with a candle. I've got very fond memories of that area and I know it's a place that's very special to local iwi. And that was the recognition in the 1990 settlement the Wai 51 claim which probably is roughly around the era—probably slightly before that—when I was there as a child.But the second thing that it does it proposes amendments to the Maori Purposes Act 1959 to give the Lake Rotoaira Trust more autonomy and flexibility in managing Lake Rotoaira and its trout fishery. I think Mr McKelvie mentioned that he used to do some water skiing on that lake so there are many connections that we have in this country. I'm sure Mr McKelvie would have been a fantastic water skier. I'm not sure if he's still doing it—Mr McKelvie? No. But it's another special place to many people and it's good to see some amendments being made in terms of managing the flexibility and the autonomy for local iwi in managing Lake Rotoaira under the Māori Purposes Act 1959 and its trout fishery.It also proposes some technical and non-contentious amendments to the Maori Trust Boards Act 1955 and it proposes an amendment to the Maori Community Development Act 1962 to require District Māori Councils to provide a copy of the audited financial statements directly to the New Zealand Māori Council rather than to the chief executive of Te Puni Kōkiri.There are some amendments being made to Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 and as my colleague Stuart Smith mentioned it would be great if the House could come to a consensus on how to really do some deep thinking on how to reform that Act. There are some good small revisions being made in this omnibus bill but there needs to be a bigger piece of work done on Te Ture Whenua Maori Act to unlock billions of dollars of potential for iwi Māori. It's an opportunity that is currently not being realised and it could be realised with the right legislative framework. I am currently the custodian of a bill which started back with the Hon Christopher Finlayson on that and I would love to see some engagement from the other side of the House in that bill if that is possible—I know politically it is challenging but if it is possible—so we can actually come to a cross-party consensus to unlock the potential for Māori so they can exercise true autonomy and unlock the potential of their whenua.So overall in conclusion I would say National is supporting the Māori Purposes Bill and I look forward to seeing its progression through the House.