Horomia Parekura: Maori Trustee and Maori Development Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Horomia Parekura: Maori Trustee and Maori Development Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:645;Page:14568] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
: 
 I listened with interest to the member who has just spoken Tau Henare. All of the things he has talked about are all of the things he did not do. 
The Maori Trustee and Maori Development Amendment Bill is about doing something for the future of Maori. The changes set out in this bill provide the foundations for real and significant progress on key issues affecting Maori. The bill provides a new start for the Maori Trustee by setting the trustee up as a stand-alone organisation and making a number of associated changes. The bill also establishes a new statutory corporation to further Maori economic development for the benefit of the beneficiaries which will bring a more cohesive approach to realising the potential of Maori business. The new corporation has the working name of Maori Business Aotearoa New Zealand—or MBANZ. To reflect these changes the bill amends the title of the Maori Trustee Act 1953 to the Maori Trustee and Maori Development Act 1953. These initiatives will help Maori to make the most of opportunities for development and innovation. 
The bill amends provisions relating to the Maori Trustee’s organisational form and financial accountability. The Maori Trustee undertakes a range of important and valued functions set out in the Maori Trustee Act and other legislation. The bill does not amend these functions which include administering land where the owners have not been located or where the owners have asked the trustee to do so. 
At present the Maori Trustee is an office conferred on an employee of Te Puni Kokiri. The bill will establish the Maori Trustee as a stand-alone organisation that is separate from Te Puni Kokiri. This will underline the independence of the Maori Trustee in carrying out the positions and fiduciary responsibilities. 
The bill provides for robust accountability for public funding by including the Maori Trustee on the fourth schedule of the Public Finance Act 1989. This will have the effect of applying appropriate reporting and other accountability provisions to the Maori Trustee in respect of funding provided by the Crown while maintaining the Maori Trustee’s independence. The reporting requirements will include preparing an annual report with a statement of service performance. Many a time in this House there have been challenges to organisations that have not done that. The bill provides that the Maori Trustee will be appointed by the Minister of Maori Affairs for a renewable term of up to 5 years. Further amendments enable the new stand-alone Maori Trustee to employ his or her own staff and appoint a deputy Maori Trustee. 
The bill also makes changes to the way in which interest on money held in trust in the common fund is determined and this is one of the key issues. The bill provides that the Maori Trustee must pay the amount earned by the trustee in interest less the management fee. The Maori Trustee will be required to review the amounts paid on a quarterly basis in light of appropriate market rates given the nature of the common fund and the conditions under which the trustee operates. 
Together these changes underline the Maori Trustee’s role and independence and enhance accountability for public funding while protecting and furthering the interest of the trustee’s beneficiaries. In August and September last year Maori were consulted on proposals to set up the Maori Trustee as a stand-alone organisation and there was a good turn-out at the consultation hui held around the country—owners turned out in their hundreds. There was broad-based support for the proposals I have just outlined provided that the Maori Trustee would be funded on a viable basis. 
The second major initiative in this bill is the establishment of a new statutory corporation. This will have the principal function of furthering Maori economic development by utilising the potential of resources available to Maori. The new statutory corporation has the working name of MBANZ—Maori Business Aotearoa New Zealand. It is the result of careful consideration of how to achieve greater synergies between development activities already being undertaken by Te Puni Kokiri the Maori Trustee the Government and potentially other organisations. 
During consultation with Maori earlier this year on the proposals for a stand-alone Maori Trustee a wider discussion emerged at hui about the possibility of the Maori Trustee taking more of a leadership role to promote Maori development. This feedback has been taken into account in the development of the new corporation. 
The board of the statutory corporation will be chaired by the Maori Trustee. The remaining members will be appointed by the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Maori Affairs with the Maori Trustee. The board will be able to undertake services that enable it to fulfil its principal functions. These can include business support services identifying opportunities for economic development and developing the capacity to make loans and other payments to help beneficiaries and Maori set up new or developing businesses. As with any new body of this nature key considerations for the board will include its strategic direction and the nature and extent of the services it will be able to provide within its statutory responsibilities as the corporation gets under way. 
The corporation will be responsible for a new fund to enable it to carry out its functions. The fund will be made up of a significant contribution from the Government and a contribution of $35 million transferred from the general purposes fund. The general purposes fund is one of the funds that the Maori Trustee is responsible for under the Maori Trustee Act and currently it can be used for some development activities. There is the potential also for contributions from other organisations and that issue has been discussed. There will be ongoing discussions to ensure that that happens. 
The bill has a number of provisions that set out the powers duties and responsibilities of the board. The bill sets out accountability requirements which include holding a yearly public meeting and commissioning at regular intervals an independent review of the corporation’s performance. 
Finally the bill provides for a new schedule dealing with the detail of the board’s operations. The bill reflects the Government’s commitment to enabling Maori to realise their potential. It helps to ensure that the Maori Trustee is well placed to provide services to Maori in the future and this bill is about the Maori Trustee in the future. The new statutory incorporation chaired by the Maori Trustee will provide a cohesive focus for Maori economic development. 
Dr Wayne Mapp 
: Thieves. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: That member chortles about thievery. Why are those members afraid of making the Maori Trustee stronger giving the Maori Trustee independence and ensuring that beneficiaries know where to go know how to go and know that they are continuously supported? There has been consultation on this matter and I want to share with the House that this bill will be one of the great advancements for Maori in this country.