Jones ShaneHon SHANE JONES (Minister of Forestry): Madam Chair I want to endorse those remarks but first say them in our Māori language acknowledging the ascension which you have experienced.Nā reira me mihi ahau ki a koe. Mōku i mōhio atu ki a koe hoki ana ngā whakaaro ki te wā i noho ai tātou tahi ki Tapu te Ranga ki Beach Street i Island Bay i te tau 1987-88. Hari ana au kua eke koe ki tēnei tūranga. He mōhio nōu ki ngā ritenga o tēnei Whare i ngā wā o te māramatanga i ngā wā o te kōrehurehutanga. Nā reira tēnā koe.[Therefore I must congratulate you. I have known you going back to the time we lived together at Tapu te Ranga at Beach Street in Island Bay in the year 1987-88. I'm pleased you have been appointed to this position. You understand the inner workings of the House during times of clarity and during times of uncertainty. So congratulations.]Thank you for indulging me Madam Chair. I recalled that in 1987-88 I was your neighbour. I lived at 22 Beach Street you lived at 24 Beach Street and I recall seeing a very large man in the form of David Lange from time to time lug himself up the stairs and if I'm not mistaken you had a guard dog or there was certainly a dog that was around there because I was continually worried that it might bite my son who has a tendency to antagonise all things of the natural world—which is why he has been known from time to time to gain the baleful glare of the current sitting member of the seat of Northland. However that's another matter. [Interruption] I did say the current sitting member.I want to take us to Part 2 Further amendments to principal Act" new section 69ZX. Prior to your arriving and taking the Chair I raised a couple of questions about some definition for the term "assessor". Now if I go to new subsection (1) "The Director-General must maintain a register of individuals who have been appointed as drinking-water assessors." Now at the end of the day it will fall to the High Court in the event someone tests the meaning of these words and with your forbearance Madam Chair I just want to pose a couple of questions to the Minister in the seat.When the director-general maintains a register that's not only a list of professionals; those professionals presumably have to comply with a backdrop of criteria in order for them to gain status on the register. I'm imagining that the term "drinking-water assessors"—and I couldn't see it in the definition but I understand it means an individual appointed under a certain section but it would be useful to know whether there is a statutory definition of the term "drinking-water assessor".So in order for the appointment to take place does this person he or she have to actually exhibit professional characteristics professional qualifications aptitude state of mind in order for them to undertake this incredibly important public health function? Or is it possible that such a statutory person is appointed after an additional set of regulations come into force? Members of the select committee may have made certain assumptions that by tightening up the definition of who can or can't be an assessor it's eminently straightforward. But please let me channel Kaikohe and Kaitāia for a moment. I think it's of tremendous interest to those distant places as to who might be an assessor living north of Whangarei. And would that assessor have local knowledge and would that local knowledge be given much emphasis in determining who can go on the register or will they all come from Opus engineering located somewhere in downtown Auckland? Now I only raise that because it'd be useful to know what will be the criterion to effect those kinds of appointments."