Brownlee Gerry: Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill — First Reading 
Brownlee Gerry: Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:626;Page:21172] 
GERRY BROWNLEE (Deputy Leader—National) 
: 
 We know that the Government is in severe trouble on a bill like this when it puts up a speaker like Mita Ririnui who has no idea what the bill is all about and then when he comes under a bit of attack who does the Government wheel in but John Tamihere to try to bail him out. Well let me make it very clear: the National Party will be supporting this bill’s referral to the select committee. We accept that the vagaries of the members’ ballot system mean that the bill is in the name of the Rt Hon Winston Peters but none the less we will give it support because it is core National Party policy. 
I want to ask the Labour Party where the Minister for race relations is. Where is Trevor Mallard? Why is he not taking a call in this debate? Last year when the Government found itself hopelessly on the ropes over this very issue the Hon Trevor Mallard was appointed Coordinating Minister Race Relations and he went out and said that references to the Treaty of Waitangi will be removed from laws if they were not needed and not appropriate. He told the  
Dominion Post  
that inconsistent and incoherent references to the Treaty of Waitangi in legislation would be tidied up. He was super-tough and those comments appeared under the headline: “ ‘There will be drama and tears’ says Mallard”. Well the only drama we have seen here today is the Government on its bike backpedalling so hard it is embarrassing. 
I think it would have been very easy for Mita Ririnui to say what the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi are but he could not. He gave us a smorgasbord of ideas about what those principles were. I think he mentioned eight points that might have been related to the principles. I tell Mr Mita Ririnui that he should not confuse the settlement process with the issue of treaty principles being pushed irresponsibly into law. Every single treaty settlement is done because those who settle understand that the Treaty of Waitangi granted as many rights to Maori New Zealanders as it granted to anybody else—as many rights to non-Maori New Zealanders as it granted to Maori. That is why we have a settlement process—because there is grievance there was bad dealing and there are matters to be settled. But that does not mean that we have to include in all legislation a reference to the treaty and to the principles of the treaty. It is littered throughout our legislation. It can be found in over 37 pieces of legislation. But it does not stop there. Government departments—well-meaning people that they are—require all of those they employ to have various understandings of the Treaty of Waitangi. For example a customs officer— 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I apologise to Mr Brownlee but some of my colleagues have asked me to do this. They have said they are so impressed with hearing our words read back to us that they would like an extension of time on the part of Mr Brownlee representing the National Party. We do appreciate the way he has been articulating our views so well. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: No the member— 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I seek leave for an extension of time from now. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: No the member cannot seek leave on behalf of someone else. He is a longstanding member and well knows that. It was a frivolous interjection. 
Lindsay Tisch 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The member from Labour Rita Ririnui fine fellow that he is has been interjecting and referring to my colleague Gerry Brownlee who is the shadow Leader of the House by his first name “Gerry”. We all know that he is Gerry but under the Standing Orders the member should be referred to by his proper name. I say to Mr Ririnui that I know the members are friends but there is a convention in the House and a Standing Order that says members must refer to other members by their full names and I ask you Mr Assistant Speaker to enforce that Standing Order. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I thank the honourable member for his contribution and just tell him that under Speakers’ rulings 26/7 and 26/8 it is correct that members should be referred to by their full names titles or portfolios. However the member was not actually speaking and there was an interjection across the House which I did not hear. 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. I take no offence at the interjection made by the Rt Hon Winston Peters. I see it simply as a coalition overture. Littered throughout today’s newspapers there are job advertisements for positions in the public service. 
Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: I take the opportunity to repeat again that the National Party supports this bill because it is part of our core policy to wherever possible remove the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi from legislation where that statement has little effect. That should not be confused with the issue of settlement because treaty settlements are made on the basis that the Treaty of Waitangi guaranteed as many rights to any one New Zealander as it did to any other. 
I ask Labour members tonight why they are not voting for this bill. In the early part of last year the Prime Minister appointed the Hon Trevor Mallard as Coordinating Minister Race Relations and said that he would be looking at legislation and removing where necessary such references from law where they were not needed and not appropriate. The Minister has been on the job for 18 months. He has done nothing. Here is an opportunity to have legislation that does the job. It may not be perfect but a select committee can make a difference to it. If those Labour members really think that the Prime Minister was sincere in that pledge to New Zealanders how on earth can they fail to vote for this bill tonight?