Smith NickHon Dr NICK SMITH (National): Supplementary Order Paper 8 (SOP) from my colleague Chris Luxon is what I call the good-faith test on the Parliament. It's a good-faith test because if this Parliament's really serious about doing its job as effective legislators there isn't a member of this committee that would not vote for this Supplementary Order Paper and let me tell you very explicitly what it does. In the previous clause we removed all the poll provisions. We said Councils you're not going to be able to let the public have a vote." What this clause says is "Well at the very least the council should have to publicly notify it. At the very least the council should have to listen to submissions." So if you are in Ngāi Tahu and you have a view that actually Māori wards are not the best way to meet your Treaty obligations it should apply appeal rights. My colleague Christopher Luxon has taken the Minister at her word when she said she wanted the provisions to be the same as for general wards. So if a council wants to create a general ward it's required to publicly notify it. If a council wants to create a general ward it's required to take public submissions. If a council wants to take a general ward then it provides an appeal to the Local Government Commission. So can any member of this committee give me good reason why you would not support the bill or am I to conclude that this whole process is just a sham? We wish to put this amendment forward at the select committee. Now of course we had a select committee process. Normally we allow for submissions for 20 days—the Government gave one day. Normally the select committee has six months—we got six days. And the chair of the select committee said "No no no you guys from the Opposition—don't bother with any of your amendments. We don't have time." Well we do have time today. We've got time to make a very practical thoughtful consistent amendment and I just urge the Parliament to do the right thing. I had advice from one of our very bright Opposition staffers. They said that "If you don't include this provision frankly it's a breach of the Treaty." Let me explain that and I'll give the Waitangi Tribunal rulings. The Waitangi Tribunal has ruled that if councils are making decisions that impact on Māori they must be consulted. So if a council is going to make a decision to create two Māori wards and set the boundaries there are actually very real issues about how they will be set. And so the provision requiring consultation and notification actually enhances this bill's obligations under the Treaty. Without this amendment a council can establish Māori wards and the boundaries between them quite lawfully without talking to anybody without taking any public submissions and without being required to publicly notify its intention.I say that without this SOP this is bad law. For every other significant decision that a local authority is required to take it is required to go through such a process. Without this Supplementary Order Paper this bill is not doing what the Minister said—aligning the provisions of Māori wards with general wards. And without this SOP this bill is actually inconsistent with the Treaty obligation for councils to consult with iwi in their area over issues that affect Māori. Nobody could seriously stand up in this Chamber and say that determining the boundaries of Māori wards where you've got issues over different rohe boundaries and doing that without even talking with Māori and iwi is appropriate. This is a very sound amendment. I hope it's one that the Minister will choose to support because it meets all of the tests of those parliamentarians that came to this Parliament to make better law. If this amendment is not adopted we can only conclude that this process is a cynical sham."