Wall LouisaLOUISA WALL (Labour): E te Māngai o te Whare tēnā koutou katoa and a mihi to our whānau up in the gallery and all those who are listening around the motu and particularly those who have fought for this law reform. In preparing for this I downloaded the Ruapehu District Council Māori Wards FAQs and it says Why do we have the option of establishing Māori wards in Ruapehu?" And they said "The option of establishing Māori Wards was developed by Parliament to enhance the role of Māori in local government." That was in 2001. Twenty years later we are doing the same thing enhancing the role of Māori in local government. Sixty-three of the territorial and regional authorities have had a kōrero about establishing Māori wards. Of those 61 don't have them. They don't have them because of the process and that process—going to a poll and having a referendum—has not provided the option for local government to create Māori wards. So this bill 20 years after it was first introduced is not fit for purpose. So just like Parliament did in 2001 today we are taking another step to improve opportunities for Māori to contribute to local government decision-making. There are currently Māori involved in local government. We have iwi advisory boards we have Māori focus groups. We have Māori liaison committees we have iwi standing committees and we are going to add to those options by creating elected representatives. So as with the Māori seats in Parliament Māori wards or constituencies in our territorial and regional authorities will guarantee a minimum number of members who can and who will represent Māori-specific views and perspectives in the business of territorial and regional authorities. They will complement the seven Māori seats. I'm a proud Māori in this House. I have been fortunate my party selected me to represent a general seat and we also have list MPs who are Māori. The point about having Māori seats and Māori wards is that you have specific Māori representatives who are here specifically to represent the needs and interests of Māori. So whether or not our authorities will create Māori wards or Māori constituencies actually is about their relationship with their mana whenua. I know people have referenced Ngāi Tahu in the debate tonight and I want to reference them myself because I've had a kōrero with Mayor Gary Kircher who's the mayor of the Waitaki District Council and they have consulted with their mana whenua Ngai Tahu who do not support Māori wards. They prefer a direct relationship as has been spoken about. But in addition to having a relationship with Ngai Tahu the Waitaki District Council also has a memorandum of understanding with Te Rūnanga o Moeraki and also has a relationship with Waitaha Taiwhenua o Waitaki Trust Board. So who might want the option of creating a Māori ward or Māori constituency? I go back to the Ruapehu District Council who in a media release on 30 October 2020 and I want to quote Mayor Don Cameron who said he "was very proud of [the] Council for showing leadership in this area and voting to support the introduction of Māori wards." And he said "This is a brave landmark decision whose time has come." They made that decision after having kōrero with the Ruapehu District Māori Council. So it's going to be up to the Ruapehu community whether or not they want Māori wards and constituencies. Finally I can't not recall for Minister Mahuta what she said about this legislation in 2001 and I quote her: "At least a stepping stone for Māori to commence a relationship which underpins Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It's about dialogue it's about participation but ultimately it's about shared decision-making." The Minister would reiterate all of those sentiments today because the values and beliefs that at the time introduced this bill into the Whare are the values and beliefs that we stand on today. Kia ora koutou."