Turei Metiria: Maori Purposes Bill (No 2) — Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
Turei Metiria: Maori Purposes Bill (No 2) — Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
[Volume:607;Page:4814] 
METIRIA TUREI (Green) 
: 
 The Greens are very pleased to support this bill and I echo my colleagues in the Maori Affairs Committee in saying how relieved we are that the bill is before the House and will go through all its stages this week. The provisions in the bill relating to the Treaty of Waitangi Act are urgently needed for the effective management of claims through the tribunal. I will talk about that briefly in a moment but let me first mention the provisions in Part 3 of the bill. 
Part 3 allows for an increase in the number of fishing licences to Ngati Tuwharetoa. Yesterday I received a number of letters from people who are concerned about that many of whom have been very active in environmental restoration around Lake Taupo. They are concerned that the increase in licences will cause environmental problems and I want to assure them that the increase in the number of licences from 50 to 200 will not have a massively detrimental effect on the overall fisheries in Lake Taupo or on the surrounding environments. The licences are issued under existing statutory rights under the Maori Land Amendment and Maori Land Claims Adjustment Act which vested ownership of Lake Taupo in the Crown while providing amongst other things the right of Tuwharetoa to fish and catch for its own use indigenous fish in Lake Taupo waters. The number of licences for that right has not as has been said been changed since 1926 but general licences have increased considerably. The committee considered that the increase is long overdue small though it is. 
For the Greens the most important part of the bill is the change to the Treaty of Waitangi Act. Those amendments validate changes in membership either to replace or to substitute members during the course of tribunal hearings. Those changes are essential in order to ensure just outcomes from the tribunal. It is part of the process of natural justice though that only those who hear evidence should decide on it. Generally if a judicial officer is unable to complete a hearing the matter is reheard from the beginning. But for the tribunal and particularly for the participants that principle has to be weighed against a greater injustice since claimants spend up to 10 years before a tribunal and the membership of that tribunal has to change due to unforeseen circumstances. On balance the injustice caused to the claimants by having to repeat their claims from the beginning is frankly too great to contemplate. It is an extraordinarily long and exhaustive process that exacts a huge toll on those involved. A number of longstanding claims are waiting for this bill to pass so that they can be completed. The Wellington Tenths is one of them but there are claims as well such as Wai 262. We look forward to their eventual completion. 
The select committee’s report notes a concern from the Greens that clause 5AC(2)(c) inserted by clause 5 gives the chairperson subject to the protections in subclause (3) a broad discretion to replace a member. I do not imagine for one moment that that discretion is intended to be misused or will be misused but I am concerned that in this case we are enacting legislation that does not expressly require the member to agree to being replaced. I realise that some members—although not the member for ACT—may consider that point a little pedantic but I am solely concerned with the standing and reputation of the tribunal. As a semi-judicial body I do not want it to be considered to have a lesser standing than any other similar body in this country. I am concerned that any deviations from the principles of natural justice and from general practice are confined as much as is possible to curing the mischief. However that said the Greens do support this bill and look forward to its speedy passage. Kia ora koutou.