te Heuheu Georgina: Maori Purposes Bill — Procedure Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
te Heuheu Georgina: Maori Purposes Bill — Procedure Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 13 September 2011. Volume:675;Page:21251. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU (Associate Minister of Maori Affairs) 
 on behalf of the Minister of Maori Affairs: I move  
That the Maori Purposes Bill be now read a second time 
. The Maori Purposes Bill brings together amendments to the Maori Trust Boards Act the Maori Fisheries Act Te Ture Whenua Maori Act and legislation affecting the estate of Pukepuke Tangiora. 
Part 1 amends legislation to remove Crown involvement in the administration of the estate of Pukepuke Tangiora. Following the passing of Pukepuke Tangiora in 1936 the life beneficiaries under her will made various petitions to Parliament for relief from the terms of the will. These terms were altered by Parliament through provisions in various Maori Purposes Acts but as a result the Crown now has a more significant role in the administration of the estate than would otherwise be the norm. 
For example trustees of the estate are appointed by the Governor-General by Order in Council on recommendation from the Minister of Maori Affairs rather than by the High Court or the Maori Land Court. In recognition of the right of estate members to exercise control over their own affairs the bill clarifies the jurisdiction of the Maori Land Court to appoint and dismiss trustees of the estate in accordance with the wishes of estate whanau and to hear all matters relating to the administration of the estate. This is consistent with the Maori Land Court’s jurisdiction in respect of other trusts over Maori land. 
Similarly in 1943 Parliament removed the original will’s requirement that all estate assets be retained in trust for 20 years following the death of the last remaining life beneficiary before being distributed. This bill therefore extends the trust period to 5 years after the death of the last remaining life beneficiary in order to give the estate whanau time in which to make decisions about a possible future governance entity to hold and manage estate assets. 
Part 2 amends the Maori Fisheries Act to enable the transfer of mandated iwi organisation status and fisheries settlement assets between separate entities operating within the same iwi. Should such a transfer be attempted at the current time the protected provisions of the Act would require the settlement assets to be offered for sale to the highest bidder from other mandated iwi organisations and from Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee Ltd. This is clearly an unintended consequence of the Act. Allowing iwi to consolidate their fisheries settlement assets under a single entity will enable them to realise greater benefits from the management of their assets. The bill will not exempt iwi from the requirement to meet the provisions of any other legislation that may be required to effect a transfer. 
Part 3 amends the Maori Trust Boards Act to provide for direct accountability between trust boards and their beneficiaries. Present requirements for Maori trust boards to be publicly audited and accountable to the Minister of Maori Affairs for their financial arrangements will be updated as they no longer reflect the environment in which trust boards operate. Instead the bill requires trust boards to hold an annual general meeting to report to their beneficiaries on their activities and plans for the future including the presentation of audited annual accounts budgets and other information. The bill also provides that trust boards are to be audited privately rather than audited by the Auditor-General. Rather than charging the Minister of Maori Affairs with approving the trust board’s annual budget the bill now only requires the audited accounts and budget to be supplied to the Minister for his or her information only. 
Finally Part 4 of the bill makes various minor drafting changes to Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 and the Maori Incorporations Constitution Regulations 1994. All of the amendments in this bill are tangible manifestations of the National Government’s commitment to a more prosperous future for Maori. They are important in supporting the increasing independence of Maori in the stewardship of their assets. 
I support the recommendation of the Maori Affairs Committee that the bill proceed without amendment and I thank the committee for its work on this bill. I commend the bill to the House.