6. Question No. 6—Māori DevelopmentTAKUTAI TARSH KEMP (Te Pāti Māori —Tāmaki Makaurau) to the Minister for Māori DevelopmentQuestion No. 6—Māori Development6. TAKUTAI TARSH KEMP (Te Pāti Māori —Tāmaki Makaurau) to the Minister for Māori Development: Does he stand by all the Government's policies and actions?Hon TAMA POTAKA (Minister for Māori Development): Āna āna. Kei te tino tautoko i te anga whakamua o tō tātou Kāwanatanga me ngā mihi matakoakoa ki tō tātou Pirīmia i āna kōrero tongarerewa i te Mane e hangā mai nei he whāinga mō tātou katoa.[Yes yes. I very much support the forward direction of our Government and happily acknowledge our Prime Minister for his precious statements on Monday that goals will be created for all of us.]Mariameno Kapa-Kingi: What is his level of involvement regarding the Government's policy to remove section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act which iwi leaders have stated really clearly will sever iwi partnerships will further alienate tamariki Māori from their 'hakapapa and lead to more harm of tamariki Māori in the Crown's care?Hon TAMA POTAKA: He mema au nō te Kāpenata ā ka wānanga ērā momo kaupapa ki te Kāpenata.[I am a member of the Cabinet and those types of topics were considered by the Cabinet.]Mariameno Kapa-Kingi: Was he consulted on the disestablishment of the Māori Health Authority and if so what is his view on the impacts this will have on Māori health inequities?Hon TAMA POTAKA: Ka nui hoki ngā kōrero i kawea atu e mātou o te Pāti Nāhinara me ngā rōpū haumi ki te Kāwanatanga haumi ki tēnei take mō Te Aka Whai Ora i te wā o te pōti me te mea nei kua tukuna mai e taku manu hauora nei ngā pepa ki te Kāpenata. Kei roto au i te Kāpenata kua kite au i ērā pepa. [There were a lot of statements that were taken by us of the National Party and the coalition parties to the coalition Government about this issue for the Māori Health Authority during the election campaign and my health leader here has passed those papers on to Cabinet. I am in the Cabinet; I have seen those papers.] Mariameno Kapa-Kingi: Was he consulted on the decision to repeal Aotearoa's smoke-free legislation given that the Smokefree Aotearoa campaign was initiated and led by Māori and smoking is the leading cause of preventable death of our people?Hon TAMA POTAKA: Ēnei pepa i kawea mai nei e te Minita e Casey Costello tērā uri o te Nōta ā i kawea atu ki te Kāpenata me te mea nei i kite hoki au i ērā pepa.[These papers that were brought by the Minister by Casey Costello that descendant of the North were conveyed to Cabinet and I also saw those papers.]Mariameno Kapa-Kingi: What advice did he seek regarding the disproportionate impact that scrapping funding for section 27 reports in sentencing will have on Māori which experts have stated will lead to further discrimination of Māori in the criminal justice system higher rates of offending and higher rates of Māori in prison?Hon TAMA POTAKA: I kite hoki au i ngā pepa i tukuna atu ki te Kāpenata me te mō'io hoki ahakoa kua takahi i tērā ara ki te whakakore i ngā pūtea tautoko mō ērā ripoata e taea tonutia ana e te marea e tae ana ki ngā kōti ki te kawe mai i ō rātou nawe e pā ana ki te āhuatanga te tuakiritanga o te tangata tōna hītori her-tori rānei. Koirā hoki te ara i ngā rua tekau tau tekau mā rima tau i muri.[I also saw the papers that were given to Cabinet and I also know that although that path to disestablishing the support funding for those reports has been walked the public that appear in court continue to be able to bring their issues with respect to the character the identity of the individual his history or her-story. That has been the way for the last 20 years or 15 years.]Mariameno Kapa-Kingi: What level of involvement did he have in the decision to reintroduce referendums on Māori wards which breaches Māori rights to representation in local government? Hon TAMA POTAKA: It's absolutely marvellous to see so many Māori councillors on councils throughout the country and the coalition agreements have stated that the Māori wards issues will be put to all constituencies that have not already agreed to the Māori wards. That's what the coalition agreement stated and that's what we are following today.Mariameno Kapa-Kingi: Point of order Mr Speaker. If I can just clarify my question was specifically what level of involvement did he have in the decision to reintroduce referendums on Māori?Hon TAMA POTAKA: Thank you for that question. I am a member of Cabinet and we have received papers in relation to that matter and Cabinet has taken decisions accordingly. Mariameno Kapa-Kingi: What is his view on the implications that policies such as the Fast-track Approvals Bill the Treaty principles bill the removal of section 7AA—Hon Shane Jones: Matua's bill.Mariameno Kapa-Kingi: —from Oranga Tamariki—SPEAKER: No just hang on—hang on. Wait please. The deal is—I don't want to name anybody here but we don't speak while the question is being asked so please start that again.Mariameno Kapa-Kingi: What is his view on the implications that policies such as the Fast-track Approvals Bill the Treaty principles bill the removal of section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act the ministerial alienation of te reo Māori and the disestablishment of the Māori Health Authority will have on Māori fundamental rights and interests and on the wellbeing of your and my mokopuna?Hon TAMA POTAKA: I am a member of the Cabinet and as a result I take very close to heart the notion of collective Cabinet responsibility and there have been a number of issues that have emerged out of various bills and pieces of legislation and policies that you've referred to. I am absolutely strengthened and motivated to ensure that the rights and interests of Māori—such as Treaty settlements—are preserved through those processes as you can see in the draft legislation for the Fast-track Approvals Bill which I hope ultimately will be passed and iwi and other Māori groups can take advantage of that legislation.