Paraone Pita: Land Transport Management Amendment Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee Instruction to Committee In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Paraone Pita: Land Transport Management Amendment Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee Instruction to Committee In Committee 
[Sitting date: 01 July 2008. Volume:648;Page:17056. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
PITA PARAONE (NZ First) 
: 
 It is a pleasure on behalf of New Zealand First to make a contribution to the Committee stage of the Land Transport Management Amendment Bill. I want to talk specifically to new section 4 inserted by clause 5 which refers to the Treaty of Waitangi and to take this opportunity to express the disquiet New Zealand First has in terms of this provision. Section 4 as it stands now states: ”In order to recognise and respect the Crown’s responsibility to take appropriate account of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and to maintain and improve opportunities for Maori to contribute to land transport decision-making processes …”. I have submitted on behalf of New Zealand First an amendment to omit the words “principles of the” but to still retain reference to the Treaty of Waitangi. 
New Zealand First’s position in respect of that wording should not come as any surprise to this Committee. Our amendment shows that New Zealand First is consistent on this matter and is an indication of our strong feelings and belief that undefined principles by this House have no real benefit for this bill. It is not about doing away with the Treaty as some of our opponents would like this House—and indeed the New Zealand public—to believe; nor is it about doing away with reference to the Treaty in legislation. We would like to see references to the Treaty retained but not references to the principles because they are undefined and lead to a lot of unclear understanding. 
I want to give an example of how that applies in our society today. At the moment we have 21 different district health boards each required to deliver health services that give due recognition to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. First I suggest to members of the Committee that each district health board probably has a different understanding of what those principles are. Secondly I had the privilege of availing myself of our wonderful health service about 18 months to 2 years ago and after my operation I asked the surgeon under which principle of the Treaty of Waitangi he had undertaken his service to me. He could not give an answer. He told me just to be thankful that he was able to carry out his duty. That doctor was able to do that without any reference to the meaning or understanding of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. 
I suggest that this bill will be just as effective without references to undefined principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and I hope the Minister will consider lending some support to the amendment I have presented on behalf of New Zealand First. Again I say to the Committee that New Zealand First does have difficulty in terms of supporting the bill if the words “the principles of” are retained in new section 4. We have no difficulty with the section as it is proposed if those words are omitted. Kia ora.