Katene Rahui: Methodist Church of New Zealand Trusts Bill — Third Reading 
Katene Rahui: Methodist Church of New Zealand Trusts Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:659;Page:8398] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 I am pleased to stand to respond to the Methodist Church of New Zealand Trusts Bill. In essence this bill is about changing with the times. The bill aims to provide an appropriate mechanism for varying charitable trusts of the Methodist Church where the original objectives or purposes are now impossible impractical or inexpedient to carry out. Heaven forbid that Parliament would stand in the way of the Church and its determination that any course of action would be impossible impractical or inexpedient. On any level it simply does not make any sense. But even more so for the Methodists. If we recall the origins of this Church in the mid-1700s it was the fact that the movement emerged from a group of students who sought to order their lives methodically to meet regularly for prayer and the study of the Scriptures. So when the Methodists tell us their trust provisions are no longer practicable we would do well to listen. 
But there is another even more noble reason for being pleased to speak to this bill today. If we think of the broader Methodist ethos from its first days in Aotearoa we see that it has been about a focus on social justice. Early Methodists campaigned against slavery they fought for prison reform and they advocated initiatives to improve literacy and health. The Methodist movement has been active in New Zealand speaking out against the sin of sweated labour racism sexism human rights abuses unfair trading practices Third World debt environmental pollution and other aspects. In my own electorate of Te Tai Tonga Methodists have been responding to many of the social service needs of the community since their arrival in our rohe. They have run orphanages and aged-care homes. They have moved to providing early learning adult learning and youth training centres. They run programmes for community social workers and provide advocacy and support. I want to acknowledge Te Haahi Weteriana o Aotearoa for the work that it has done in supporting those New Zealanders who are more vulnerable than others. 
I also want to acknowledge the initiative it has taken in trying to give life to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The Methodist Church describes itself as a Treaty-based Church expressing its governance in a bicultural power-sharing partnership between te taha Maori and tauiwi. Since 1973 Maori Methodism has been largely autonomous. Tangata whenua guide the Church through te taha Maori to understand exactly what a power-sharing partnership consists of. 
All of this background is a vital preamble to this third reading of the bill. This is an organisation that is truly trying to do its best by New Zealanders and in particular it is seeking to make amendments to enable the Church to provide more relevant and appropriate care for children and young people. The board is wanting to adopt simpler and more cost-effective provisions than those set out in the Charitable Trusts Act. It is also looking to use the trust funds or trust property for the broader purpose of the welfare of children in New Zealand. 
I am also aware of the recent information that showed that the number of families needing special grants to pay for school uniforms stationery exam fees and compulsory fees has soared in the past year. The Child Poverty Action Group estimates that some 240000 children live in families that do not qualify for the additional help given to others in the form of the in-work tax credit. 
To bring all these points together: we have an organisation the Methodist Church that wants to improve upon its current provisions in order to meet the needs of some of the more vulnerable citizens across our community; we have another organisation the Child Poverty Action Group that tells us that for many thousands of children in this land there are day-to-day difficulties that cause them to struggle with the capacity to live a decent life; and we have another organisation the Maori Party which is dedicated to advancing social justice to eliminating poverty and to the pursuit of whanau ora. We believe that the intentions of the Methodist Church are honourable ones and we are happy to support this bill to enable the Church to fulfil its aspirations without hindrance. Kia ora. 
Bill read a third time.