Henare PeeniHon PEENI HENARE (Labour): Thank you very much Madam Chair. Members on the other side of the Chamber seem a little glum this late in the evening so I'm going to start my question by quoting that well-known Māori fellow by the name of Billy T James. What he says is When you put Kiwis in the room you put two of them in the corner and they're bound to make a separate committee." Now why do I say that? That's because one of the parts in clause 17 which looks to repeal subpart 5 of Part 2 which is dispute resolution—now that's really important because we're not always going to agree and I accept that the Government has already made their intentions clear with respect to the Māori Health Authority. But where throughout this entire system is there an opportunity to resolve issues where we do not agree? That's just a fact of politics; that's a fact of life. In that particular part that's being repealed there are separate provisions there that instruct the Minister of Health to also consult with the Minister for Māori Development. I'm looking for reassurances from this Minister: is that still his intention to include the Minister for Māori Development in the decision making and the process around dispute resolution?The part that's being repealed here also recommends that the Minister of Health also discuss these matters with the Minister for Te Arawhiti. That's really important because what we've found and certainly in our time as Government—and this Government's finding out at the moment—is that dispute resolution is really important especially when we're talking about large bodies who have opportunities to be able to influence in this case health policy who do not agree. The question is quite clear to the Minister who's looking to just simply scrap any dispute resolution process here: what is the Minister going to do when there is clearly a dispute—one between let's say the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee and Health New Zealand; let's say an iwi-Māori partnership board and Health New Zealand; let's say an iwi-Māori partnership board and its locality leadership? There are questions here; there are matters here that not everybody's going to agree on. So we're looking for assurances from the Minister that dispute resolution mechanisms will continue to remain there.I've already mentioned the Minister for Māori Development and the Minister for Te Arawhiti. They play important roles in making sure that the Minister himself gets the support he needs to make sure that as we work through a dispute resolution process all voices are being heard fairly the arbitration process is going to be heard fairly or is the Minister suggesting to everybody with this particular bill that he's going to play God on the matter that it's entirely up to him on how the dispute is resolved or his decision is the final say and he'll play judge jury and executioner? I think that's completely dangerous and against the democracy that our countrymen our fellow Kiwis expect from this particular institution. That's really important.So if the Minister of Health is as I've mentioned going to be the final decision-maker on any dispute resolution process how then do Māori actually find their voice in that particular process? Is it through the tribunal? Well we've heard that that's not going to be the case. Is it that they make an appointment with the Minister directly? Well what we've seen is the Minister's willingness to speak to more and more people and to engage with far more Māori about matters relating to health in general and Māori health in particular. So do they need to make an appointment? Are they able to discuss these matters directly with the Minister or is it simply waiting for the opportunity for the Minister and the Government to front up to the iwi chairs where the iwi-Māori partnership boards for example are able to prosecute their particular dispute with whatever body the Minister has in charge of Health New Zealand? These are important fundamental questions.As I said as Kiwis we won't always agree but it is important that there are strong mechanisms. Given that the Minister's repealing this we want to seek a surety from the Minister that there will be mechanisms to resolve these disputes that he will continue to seek the support and counsel of his colleagues namely the Minister for Māori Development and of course the Minister for Te Arawhiti and indeed even further colleagues across his Cabinet. That's going to be really important and I look forward to hearing the Minister on those questions."