Mahuta NanaiaNEW ZEALAND MĀORI ARTS AND CRAFTS INSTITUTE VESTING BILLFirst ReadingHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister for Māori Development): I move That the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute Vesting Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Māori Affairs Committee to consider the bill.Tuatahi ka tāpiri atu āku mihi ki ērā e rere atu mai i Te Ātiawa ki a koutou e huihui mai nei. Nō reira Ngāti Whakaue Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao Te Arawa waka tēnei te tuku mihi ki a koutou katoa.[Firstly I add my acknowledgments to those which have flowed forth from Te Ātiawa to those of you who are gathered here. Accordingly Ngāti Whakaue Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao Te Arawa waka I give my greetings to you.]I want to acknowledge the representatives of Ngāti Whakauē and Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao because it's their determination to progress the transfer of matters that brings us here to the debate today. In fact it was 10 years ago when representatives of Ngāti Whakauē and Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao met with Ministers to propose that the Whakarewarewa thermal valley lands be removed from Te Pūmautanga o Te Arawa Treaty settlement legislation and together with the other lands leased by the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI) be vested in a joint trust of iwi partners. They also started discussions at that time to find a basis on which the ownership of the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute business could be vested in iwi partners.The Minister at the time was the late Hon Parekura Horomia and I remember the discussions well because he went to a certain colleague the Minister of Tourism at the time to convince him this was the way to go. Having found out that the delegation had fallen to an associate that's where I first became involved with this issue as the Associate Minister of Tourism agreeing to progress that bill some time in 2007. Some 10 years later what we have is that while the land has already been vested with iwi partners the bill will finally see the vesting of assets and liabilities of the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute and Te Puia NZMACI Ltd partnership.The proposal to vest the assets and liabilities in this limited partnership was the subject of a postal ballot held in June-July 2017 with people who are affiliated to and are registered with Ngāti Wāhiao Tūhourangi o Whakarewarewa the three hapū of Ngāti Hurungaterangi Ngāti Taeotu Ngāti Kahu and the Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust being eligible to vote.I've been heartened by the significant level of support that the new arrangement has received with the local iwi and hapū. I am aware that a small group of individuals remain dissatisfied and have legal proceedings challenging the vesting agreement. However I am of the view that proceeding with the bill now rather than waiting for legal proceedings to conclude is appropriate and justifiable for a number of reasons: firstly there is substantial support for the vesting agreement from those with affiliations to both Ngāti Whakauē and Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao; the individuals bringing the litigation are still able to make representations on the issues before the court to the select committee considering the bill as this matter progresses; there is no clear end date for the legal proceedings; and delaying the introduction of the bill even further is likely to create uncertainty and anxiety for the many hapū and the iwi and the management and staff of Te Puia NZMACI. This bill is already 10 years in the making and it's important to give assurance that we need to move forward. There has also been no sign of growth in support for legal proceedings amongst the iwi or hapū and I felt that it was important to mention that as it undoubtedly will be a matter for the select committee to consider.On Monday my colleague the Hon Kelvin Davis launched the agency Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti and what we are doing today really underpins the intent of the leadership role that my colleague has to ensure that we are going to be a Government that is committed to doing something differently. This bill secures another step forward in the relationship that the Crown can have with Māori in Te Arawa region.On this significant occasion I'm reminded of the efforts of Tā Apirana Ngata in the 1920s to preserve and foster Māori arts and culture at a time when there was concern that actually the culture would be lost. His dream was to establish centres of learning to maintain and preserve traditional practices for future generations. Tā Apirana was instrumental in the establishment of a Māori school of arts at Rotorua Te Ao Marama in 1927 and the construction of a decorated meeting house—a carved meeting house—around the country. It was the efforts of Te Apirana and the tutors and graduates of Te Ao Marama who built and restored whare across the country and waka which resulted in the preservation of New Zealands cultural heritage. The way that I whakapapa to that history is that Te Puia sent Piri Poutapu who began the renaissance of carving within our own area of Waikato. We owe a debt of gratitude to the people of Te Arawa and to Tā Apirana because it was as a result of that relationship and that desire to hold intact our arts and cultures that we can continue to thrive today.Although Te Ao Marama was to close in 1937 Māori arts and crafts underwent a cultural reawakening in the 1960s. This eventually led to the establishment of NZMACI as a national institute for Māori arts and crafts in 1967. The arts and crafts school has successfully operated in tandem with tourism operations to provide a sound financial basis for ongoing cultural development.In 2005 the NZMACI board adopted a new trading name Te Puia to reflect the importance of the tourism side of the operations for promoting Māori culture and I want to acknowledge Harry Burkhardt who led much of the change during a period of time when we needed to look further and farther into the future about where tourism opportunities could go.The new strategic direction of the organisation has had far-reaching implications for this country not only in terms of our tourism market or trading relations but also in the way that we as a country tell our story and promote ourselves in the international trading fora. As a country we have proudly promoted our identity and culture on the international stage and Te Puia NZMACI is at the heart of these efforts.Our identity as a nation is now inextricably linked with our cultural traditions and the products and services that we create as a result. In fact I want to acknowledge initiatives such as Tuku Iho the Living Legacy exhibition a cultural engagement and events programme exhibited internationally which continues to allow us to showcase Māori cultural heritage globally and provide a platform for conversations debate and exchange all in the areas that are influenced by what's happening in a place like Te Puia.Such a proactive approach provides opportunities for Māori to establish and broaden relationships with indigenous people from other countries as well as sharing cultural experiences and aspirations. To illustrate the point earlier this year I hosted a delegation from overseas who attended the World Indigenous Business Forum. Australia Canada Chile and Mexico were hosted at Te Puia and we held a round table about the way in which we could leverage and learn from the way in which culture tourism and the integrity of mātauranga and its preservation and promotion could be done in a way that secures opportunity for Māori. They were all very impressed with what was happening at Te Puia. It's only fitting now that we discuss the issue of what this bill will provide to local hapū and iwi who will now take ownership of the future direction of the business as a way of further shaping their identity and place in the world but also of promoting us as Māori us as Aotearoa New Zealand and all from a cultural advantage.This bill will vest ownership of Te Puia NZMACI with local iwi and hapū. The entity remains a national institution. The bill carries forward functions and obligations that NZMACI currently has and transfers it to the partnership. The partnership must also take care to preserve the historically important taonga owned by NZMACI in the national interest.I want to make one last comment. Because the Crown will maintain a residual interest in the operations of the new entity through the appointment of a director to the board of the general partner of the partnership for a minimum period of six years the Crown-appointed director will act as the chair of the board during that time. The appointment of the chair will provide a segue from the previous governance arrangements to the new. I'll look to progress that appointment of the director as the bill proceeds through the House but as an indication of my intent and for those who are gathered in the House that continuity of strategic leadership and the ability to leverage opportunity locally and nationally are the skills that I think are best able to steward through this transition period.I'm aware that there are ambitions and exciting plans for the future in the development of Te Puia NZMACI. I look forward to seeing these plans realised for the full fruition of opportunity that it can provide. I want to acknowledge the hard work of Te Puni Kōkiri officials who have really made sure we can have this reading this side of Christmas—something that you can go home with good heart in. I want to also acknowledge all those local members of Parliament who have supported the progress of this bill.Nō reira he iti taku iti i roto i te ngākau whakaiti ka nui te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. Tēnā tātou.[So my small contribution is but small and made with a humble heart many greetings to you all. Thank you.]