6. Provincial Growth Fund—Ngāti Hine and Crown Joint VentureHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister for Regional Economic DevelopmentProvincial Growth Fund—Ngāti Hine and Crown Joint Venture6. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Acting Prime Minister) on behalf of the Minister for Regional Economic Development: Yes—on behalf of the Minister.Hon Paul Goldsmith: When he said yesterday the fact that they"—Ngāti Hine—"believe that the transaction suits both their interests and ours is hardly page one news." how do we know the transaction suits our interests—i.e. the Crown's and taxpayers'—when he refuses to reveal the key details of the deal?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Well to paraphrase a very famous Australian Prime Minister Menzies the first thing we're going to do with Ngāti Hine is put a "g" in it and call it Ngāti Hine—pronounce it properly and ensure that people up there are not offended every time he asks a question. Now having said that there is a clear delineation of value to both the owners in the trust and the Government and that is in a document which as a commercial document is confidential.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Why are the key details of the joint venture—annual rental and net stumpage rate—commercially confidential given that it's public money and the public has a right to know to what extent he is subsidising a private trust?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: In the same way that the hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars divvied up in the Callaghan Innovation fund under that Government were in confidential deals—not available to the public—in the very precise exact way that that Government behaved when they were in power.Hon Paul Goldsmith: When he said yesterday that Ngāti Hine's acting chief executive officer the former New Zealand First MP Pita Paraone was "most certainly within those discussions" about the project what was the nature of his involvement?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: The reality is that Pita Paraone is someone who was promoted to positions by the former National Government. He is a person of immense respect. His father was one of the last surviving leaders of the Māori Battalion. No one in the North whatever their politics thinks that he has been self-interested other than in serving the people of his tribe or his iwi. This is the first time we've had any questions about the propriety of his involvement. In fact it's not possible for Māoridom to advance their cause if people of that calibre and experience are denied a chance to make a contribution.Hon Paul Goldsmith: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That was all very interesting but it did not answer the question at all.SPEAKER: I think it did. Further supplementary?Hon Paul Goldsmith: I suppose it's worth it.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Was he aware that Mr Paraone told Radio New Zealand that "I had no part in … signing … the deal or determining what the deal should be other than to attend the actual planting of the first tree."; and how does he square that with his comment yesterday that he the same Mr Paraone was "most certainly within those discussions." on the project?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Because in the full picture of the developments in Northland and particularly the intended Waitangi settlement Mr Pita Paraone has been a very essential personality who's very persuasive and in that full context he would have been involved there and also with respect to Ngāti Hine because he belongs to that iwi. As someone who acted for that iwi myself 40 years ago I know how long they've been waiting for some help and it's reflected in the very fine statement in today's Northland papers explaining this: "It certainly is refreshing to have a government that seems to want to actually govern."Hon Paul Goldsmith: I ask again: what was the nature of Mr Paraone's involvement in the discussions?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I could tell that member that everybody in Ngāti Hine has been involved in these discussions. It's been a long cause that they have campaigned for and in that respect his involvement is no more special than any other member.Hon Paul Goldsmith: How can people have confidence in the probity of his handling of the fund when $6 million has been given to a trust on conditions that he refuses to release the acting CEO of which was a New Zealand First MP last year and is two spots off entering Parliament again on the New Zealand Party list?SPEAKER: I think you mean "New Zealand First".Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Look the fact is that the number of people seeking to enter Parliament on the New Zealand First Party list is legend and I can understand why. It's a certain course to a career and a long career at that. Can I say secondly—Hon Members: Richard Prosser!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Eh?Hon Members: Denis O'Rourke!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Oh so you do have a voice then? They do have a voice do they? Can I just say that everybody that's looked at Ngāti Hine from a long way back all the way back to the 70s when Carter Holt Harvey sought to get a 99-year lease and was stopped by a very smart young lawyer at the time so that the properties and the land and forest stayed in Ngāti Hine's control.Hon Member: Who was it?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Well modesty prevents me from saying who that lawyer was but people in Ngāti Hine remember well and there's nothing untoward in this arrangement whatsoever other than it begs this question: what has the National Party got against Māori advancement?"