McLellan TraceyDr TRACEY McLELLAN (Labour—Banks Peninsula): Tēnā koe Madam Speaker. Thank you for the opportunity to contribute today when we talk about the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Bill. To start with I really do want to acknowledge the member who's shepherding this bill through Rino Tirikatene the member of Parliament for Te Tai Tonga and a very proud member of Parliament for Te Tai Tonga as well.Before I go on I like others would also like to acknowledge the New Zealander of the year Tā Tipene O'Regan o Ngāi Tahu after receiving as Mr Brownlee just said New Zealand's highest Order our country's most royal sort of accolade by being named as a member of the Order of New Zealand in the recent Queen's Birthday Honours List. It is as Mr Brownlee said incredibly fitting and very well deserved.The bill that we've got before us today is a pretty simple bill and I don't want to make that sound as if I'm being simplistic about it because it's clearly engendered a lot of emotion today. But the bill essentially allows Ngāi Tahu to appoint up to two members to its council. It's what happens now it's what works well now and it's what Environment Canterbury (ECan) would like to continue to do. It seeks to reinstate mana whenua representation on the council and it reflects I think ECan's ongoing and commendable commitment to securing that permanent Ngāi Tahu representation.I just want to pick up on a couple of points that have been made. Joseph Mooney mentioned and Mr Brownlee also continued the conversation along the lines that Ngāi Tahu are well positioned and well placed to field very competent candidates. And I think the inference was that they were well placed to run very well-resourced campaigns and both of those things are true. In fact there are many Ngāi Tahu candidates elected in local body elections in the region who do a fantastic job. But that's not the point. Whilst they may be mana whenua this bill here is seeking a permanent recognition of mana whenua representation on that board. So it's not just about that.It's a unique bill in so far as it's a local bill—it doesn't happen that frequently. The Canterbury Regional Council colloquially known as ECan requested that Rino Tirikatene take this bill to Parliament and that he has done. They did so so that they can promote a legislative change at a local level. So in that sense it's a bespoke arrangement. And I'd like to quote my colleague Rino Tirikatene when he said This is a unique situation where you have a single iwi which has already appointed councillors and it's just seeking to reinstate that arrangement for a single geographic area." ECan is not urging that this model be adopted by others and I think that that's really important to note but it does ask this House that it be allowed to have a system that it believes is the right system for Canterbury. And as we've heard from others earlier on my colleague Willow-Jean Prime talked about the fact that there was an extensive and substantive representation review and they went through a process where they looked at options and they decided what was best for them. They considered the fact that they'd had nine years of benefit with something that was working really well and this is what they want.Willow-Jean Prime also mentioned the fact that when someone asked "Why not just opt for Māori Wards or constituencies?" It doesn't work like that for everyone. This is about mana whenua and not specifically about all Māori. So when we talk about ECan in terms of what their goals are and what their aspirations are for the way that they operate I think there's a couple of other things that we really need to bear in mind as well. The council only has one iwi with mana whenua throughout its region and for this reason the council prefers a direct appointment as their reflection of Ngaī Tahu as mana whenua. It's also not about special privileges. And I find some of the contributions that have alleged special privilege or used the concept of special privilege and have really almost crossed that line to be quite discomforting. Ngāi Tahu appointees do not come at the expense of elected members and that's really clear.The bill as recommended by the select committee would expand the total membership of ECan to 16 representatives so essentially an increase from the 14 who currently sit on council to 16. It's making room for that relationship. I think the bill is not about special privileges for Ngāi Tahu and if we cast our minds back to several contributions ago we heard what can only be described as quite a simplistic and condescending explanation a sort of ACT-splanation so to speak about Ngāi Tahu focusing on Ngāi Tahu as an organisation and not acknowledging Ngāi Tahu as a people.So this bill was not about special privileges. This bill is about recognising the responsibility that Ngāi Tahu has as kaitiaki of the air as kaitiaki of waters as kaitiaki of the land and the coast of the region—a particularly special region and unique region as well—and enabling them to perform what is their duty. That responsibility lies with Ngāi Tahu directly and not Māori generally. Crown Law has advised that the bill does not breach the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act as my colleague Sarah Pallett talked about. To quote "the extent to which the distinctions [on the basis of race or ethnic origins] reflect the status of Māori as the Crown's Treaty partner and the Crown's duties under Te Tiriti o Waitangi we do not consider any other group is in a comparable position."And also when we think about it—I wasn't able to listen to all of the earlier contributions I was elsewhere. But out of the corner of my eye—and quite discreetly I should hope—I was looking on my cell phone to see where we were up to and the auto cue was accompanying and making up for the lack of sound. And quite frequently again out of the corner of my eye all I could see from the Opposition was the word "democracy" "democracy" and "democracy" being sort of bandied about. My first thought was "Oh the irony of that"—particularly in this area particularly when we're literally debating the Canterbury Regional Council and everything that that went through and the precedent set by National. The irony of the Opposition to date.And again my colleague Rino Tirikatene I'd like to quote him again: "This arrangement of Ngāi Tahu councillors was first put in place by the National Government in 2010 when it installed commissioners on the council." And don't we all remember that? What we do know since the 2010 arrangement was and we've heard several people mention this—not just today but certainly as I understand through the submission process—was that a significant amount of details were provided about everything that was achieved during that time with a proper mana whenua voice being involved in ECan's decision making and from which the region has benefited. Again members opposite happy to take the benefit not so happy to contribute to ensuring that that benefit exists. It also benefits ratepayers hence their wish for this body to continue.I also note that the Hon Eugenie Sage along the same lines mentioned it's somewhat ironic that we have a National Party opposing this bill and talking about democracy because of course it was the National Party that got rid of the 14 elected councillors on Environment Canterbury in 2010 and did not return democracy to Canterbury for nine long years. I think it's been quite interesting listening to the Opposition's opposition to this bill. I know they're just doing their job but it's somewhat out of step with some of the other bodies in the area. And I certainly note that the Selwyn District Council strongly supported this bill in the select committee submission. The Selwyn District Council specifically said that it existed during the transitional Government's governance arrangement periods from 2010 until 2019 and it commended the Canterbury Regional Council and Ngāi Tahu on the commitment the actual commitment to work together for the benefit of the region. And further I note that Mayor Sam Broughton—a very good mayor—said "My experience has been that complex issues are dealt with best when all parties are in the room and [all parties] are involved from the start."To finish off I'd just like to commend the Māori Affairs Committee ably chaired by Tāmati Coffey and all of the people that participated during this process. I'd also like to acknowledge my friend Jo McLean wahine o Ngāi Tahu for her guidance and her wisdom and for always talking open heartedly about all of the issues that face us. Thank you."