Williams ArenaARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa): Tēnā koe e te Pīka o te Whare. Tēnā tātou ngā mema. It's a privilege to speak on the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Amendment Bill which is a short bill that does a very specific job of making the legislation fairer and it gives the ability to Te Ohu Kaimoana to make a very small and technical change using a limited power of discretion to be able to complete some of the settlements of aquaculture assets in regions where they would otherwise be held up. This is an important change for those iwi who have been waiting to realise the economic impacts of their settlements and to realise the ability to enjoy the gains of aquaculture that have been enjoyed all around the country where iwi are working with business to enjoy those assets. It's this particular inability of the iwi in those regions to reach agreement in accordance with the provisions of their settlement Acts about how regional aquaculture assets should be allocated among them that's the issue here.It's right that Te Ohu Kaimoana which plays a leadership role in Māori aquaculture and Māori fisheries assets is able to make these determinations because they are experts. They play a role in the industry which is world leading in my view. They should be commended for advancing this legislation and their role in it as well as dealing with all of the players in the industry.I also want to thank the member Tim van de Molen from the National Party for when he joined the Māori Affairs Committee to participate in the discussions of the committee on this bill. It's important that we are able to share views and share cross-partisan positions where we can and this is certainly something where we all agree that it's important for iwi to be able to realise these assets in a timely way. It was good to be able to have those discussions with the member who is passionate about this area and I wish him all the best with his recovery.It's important that we realise with this bill that if no changes are made settlement assets for iwi in those regions will remain largely held in trusts by Te Ohu Kaimoana indefinitely. That means that this trustee role will continue without any ability for people on the ground in these regions whether they are members of the iwi or not to enjoy the jobs created by these aquaculture settlements and the economic benefits for these regions. So it's within everyone's interest that this legislation passes.It's also in everyone's interest in these regions that the iwi involved in aquaculture settlements have a voice at the table. They have that through Te Ohu Kaimoana which is a particular body of governance which I am very proud as a member of this House to say has cross-partisan support that it has an important role in the governance of our fisheries assets in New Zealand. It is a great example of sharing the responsibilities of governance between iwi between Māori between the Crown and with an interest to including all industry players in that. It's a great model and one we can use for other assets.As I said this is a technical bill but it will not be in any way ignored by those iwi who are most affected by it and by regional players in this. That's why I commend it to the House.