Whaitiri Meka; Borrows ChesterMĀORI PURPOSES BILLIn CommitteePart 1 Amendments to Māori Purposes (Wi Pere Trust) Act 1991MEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti): Tēnā koe Mr Chair. Otirā ngā members o Te Whare nei tēnā tātou katoa. It is indeed a privilege to make a contribution to the debate on the Māori Purposes Bill in this the Committee stage. Can I just reorientate us as to the purpose of this particular bill that we are debating. The Māori Purposes Bill serves to improve the governance arrangements for the Wī Pere Trust enable the trust to acquire and hold land for investment purposes and clarify the relationships between the Māori Purposes Act and Te Ture Whenua Māori Act.Why is this an important piece of legislation? Wī Pere was an important figure for Māori and for all New Zealanders in our early parliamentary history and his legacy deserves to be protected. In fact I am a linear descendant of Wī Pere's father so Wī Pere himself was my great-great-grand-uncle with the dad having had several wives. Wī Pere himself came off the fourth wife and my lineage to his father comes off the fifth marriage. So I would like to acknowledge that—Hon Simon Bridges: Busy boy.MEKA WHAITIRI: He was very busy—Thomas Halbert who was Wī Pere's dad. But look Wī Pere should be a leader celebrated for what he did particularly for the descendants who now enjoy a very successful land trust that operates in the Gisborne area. So I just wanted to remind us of that as we are debating this bill. It is clear that Labour is supporting it and I want to talk just briefly on the purposes of the bill. There are about seven parts that this bill is trying to address which we all support. It is looking at replacing trustees with an incorporated trust board with body corporate status and limited liability. Its purpose is to allow the trust board to adopt rules relating to internal management and governance and to set out the new trust board's initial constitution. It also attempts to remove certain ministerial involvements in the governance of the trust. It also removes the provision deeming all land held by the trust to be Māori freehold land. It enables the trust to acquire and hold general land for investment purposes. It allows the trust to maintain its own register of beneficial interests. It clarifies the interface between the principal Act and the 1993 Act and the jurisdiction of the Māori Land Court.Can I just turn your attention to Part 1 of the bill because I really want to speak to my particular Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) and give the Committee a reason I guess for the SOP. But before I get there there was a question—because Minister Te Ururoa Flavell is sitting in the chair—and that is in relation to Part 1 new section 3 Interpretation" in clause 8 particularly where we talk about " 'beneficial interest' has the meaning given to it in section 17". Then when we turn to new section 17 in clause 9 of the bill we have a definition there that says: "In this Act 'beneficial interest' means in relation to trust property the undivided beneficial interest of a beneficiary in the Māori freehold land vested in the board for the purpose of the trust and includes that beneficiary's corresponding undivided interest in all other trust property comprised in the trust." I guess the question that I had for the Minister—and he may be able to shed some light on it—is whether this beneficial interest extends to general land because it does not say that in either the interpretation or this particular part.So just some clarity if the Minister would just to make it really clear—we understand that we have the freehold Māori land in Wī Pere Trust. It has acquired general land. The issue is: who actually owns the general land?Hon Te Ururoa Flavell: What's the clause? What's the reference again?MEKA WHAITIRI: So it is new section 17 Minister and the question was yes whether it extends to general land. So that is just one point of clarification. But just in terms of my SOP SOP No.—Hon Ruth Dyson: 205.MEKA WHAITIRI: —205. There you go—SOP 205. The SOP that I have put forward to see whether we can get support across the Committee for it is in relation to clause 9. Again for the submitters who came in front of the Māori Affairs Committee there were concerns about the desire of the trust to put the running or the administration of the trust under the jurisdiction of the High Court. Reasons were given at the select committee not only about the cost to file if there were concerns about the running of the trust but also about making it accessible to the beneficial owners to have any concerns that they may raise with the way that the trust is running—their ability to go to the Māori Land Court as it currently is now.Can I just say that I have spoken to the current chair of the trust because I did not want Mr Hāronga to be blindsided by this SOP. His response to me was that the commercial expertise I guess would lie best with the High Court which is why the trust is asking that the administration of the trust goes under the High Court. My response was that the expertise in terms of tikanga actually sits with the Māori Land Court but I just wanted to give the Committee some assurances that this was put up for the sole reason of ensuring that Wī Pere's descendants and the whole set-up of the Wī Pere Trust—it does not get too far removed from those beneficial owners.So I just wanted by way of explanation to say both the motivation behind the SOP but also to give you some assurances that I have had this discussion with the chairman of the trust. He was neither here nor there but that is OK—it is entirely up to the Committee. But I just wanted to put that on the floor to let people know. Kia ora.The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows): Peeni—Peeni Henare: Henare.The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows): Peeni Henare."