Turia Tariana: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Turia Tariana: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:626;Page:21208] 
9.  
TARIANA TURIA (Leader—Maori Party) 
 to the  
Minister for the Environment 
: What consultation if any occurred with Maori regarding the position that New Zealand took at the recent biosafety meetings in Montreal to consider the Convention on Biological Diversity? 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS (Minister for the Environment) 
: 
 Prior to New Zealand’s decision to ratify the protocol there were extensive opportunities for consultation offered to all interested stakeholders including Maori on the issues New Zealand would have to consider if it became a member. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade convened two further meetings with stakeholders in preparation for the Montreal meeting. 
Tariana Turia 
: How does the inadequate consultation undertaken with tangata whenua demonstrate compliance with the Environment Act 1986 which requires the Ministry for the Environment to ensure that in the management of natural and physical resources full and balanced account is taken of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi? 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS 
: I reject the statement that the consultation was inadequate. 
Metiria Turei 
: What is the Minister’s response to the concerns expressed by the European delegates at the second meeting of the parties in Montreal who asked why New Zealand even bothered to ratify the protocol if its only intent was to obstruct its progress; is it not the case that New Zealand delegates are just there to do the dirty work of the GE export companies which do not have a vote? 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS 
: The text that was proposed by some of the delegates at that meeting would have shifted the very protocol away from its purpose as an instrument to protect biological diversity to an instrument that protected and regulated certain trade. New Zealand did not support that shift away from biosafety so along with Brazil and other countries that were not able to be present there such as Nicaragua we did not support the text. 
Tariana Turia 
: Is the Government resiling from its treaty obligations and was that supported by its Maori members or did the Government not bother even to consult them? 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS 
: We did not resile. Consultations included notification of the consultation process directly to over a thousand interested stakeholders including Maori. The public consultation process included notification of progress in the consultation process on the Federation of Maori Authorities’ fortnightly electronic bulletin and on its website. I have here a list of Maori authorities that were directly contacted through Te Puni Kokiri. 
David Parker 
: How did New Zealand officials at the Montreal meeting work to safeguard the interests of all New Zealanders including Maori? 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS 
: The New Zealand delegation worked to secure practical and meaningful rules for biosafety protection. The proposed final text contained measures that could have impacted seriously on our exports. Our delegation was vigilant and prevented their adoption thereby protecting our exporters and protecting the protocol’s integrity as safeguarding biosafety protection.