Hereora Dave: Maori Purposes Bill (No 2) — Second Reading 
Hereora Dave: Maori Purposes Bill (No 2) — Second Reading 
[Volume:646;Page:15685] 
DAVE HEREORA (Labour) 
: 
 A ko te mea tuatahi ka huri noa ki nga mate a Alec Phillips raua ko Mahinarangi Toka. Haere atu haere atu haere atu. 
[ 
So the first thing is to turn and acknowledge the deaths of Alec Phillips and Mahinarangi Tocker. Depart go forth farewell. 
] 
I take the opportunity as chair of the Maori Affairs Committee to stand in support of the Maori Purposes Bill (No 2) in its second reading. The bill came before the committee for consideration last year. Public submissions closed in mid-February and we have given the bill careful consideration over the past month. Although it is not a large bill considering it is an omnibus bill it brings together a number of amendments to four different Acts. The issues it deals with are varied and are relevant to Maori. This is reflected in the eight submissions we received on the bill which included some passionate and some thoughtful points of view. The committee carefully considered all the submissions and subsequently was satisfied that the bill should proceed unchanged. In doing so we recommended that the bill be passed with no amendments for the establishment of a regional management committee for Kawhia Harbour the lowering of the minimum voting age for Maori trust board elections to 18 the provision for the new annual payment to be paid by the Crown to the Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board an increase in the membership of the Waitangi Tribunal the restructuring of section 6 of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 and the general tidy-up of Maori affairs legislation as promoted in the bill. 
The committee’s support for the bill was buoyed by the fact that many of these amendments are sought by Maori groups affected by current provisions. Once implemented these amendments will provide certainty for these groups. Some submitters opposed the bill’s proposal to establish a new regional management committee for Kawhia Harbour that represents Te Mahoe Pa and Mokai Kainga marae. On hearing from these submitters the committee asked officials to seek the views of the Maniapoto Maori Trust Board which requested this amendment and representatives of the two Maori marae at issue. It was clear to the committee on hearing from the trust board and representatives of Te Mahoe Pa and Mokai Kainga marae that these marae want to be represented by the new regional management committee and that the submissions we received were not supported. To that end I acknowledge the request of the Minister of Maori Affairs that the committee consider correcting its report to accurately describe who was consulted on this issue. It is my intention therefore to take this request to the committee for its consideration at our next meeting. However most important I note that the committee has recommended that the amendment to establish a regional management committee for Kawhia Harbour proceed as originally introduced. 
We also support the inclusion of the under-age voting validation in the bill. During our discussions we queried whether this provision was necessary but in the end we are happy for it to progress. We agree that the validation will provide clarity to what has been a confusing situation for the trust boards. These trust boards can now move into the future and manage their affairs with confidence and certainty. 
Last year the Maori Affairs Committee considered the amendment proposing a closing date of 1 September 2008. The setting of this closing date represented a first step in the Government’s commitment to settle all historical Treaty claims by 2020; both the closing date and the 2020 policy are important developments in our nation’s progress towards a final settlement of historical Treaty claims. The closing date gives Maori the Crown and the Waitangi Tribunal the certainty of knowing that the historical inquiry process will be completed in a timely fashion. This bill will help ensure that the completion of the historical inquiry process is done not only in a timely fashion but in a comprehensive and expert manner by providing the capacity for four extra members to be appointed to the tribunal. This is done by amending section 4 of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 to raise the maximum number of appointments from 16 to 20. 
As chair of the Maori Affairs Committee I thank submitters for their contributions in what is an important process. I also thank the members of the committee for their thoughtful contributions and their input into the consideration of this bill. In doing so I assure Christopher Finlayson that it is the Government’s intention to ensure that we adequately resource the tribunal. That is the basis behind the amendment to the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. Finally I also acknowledge our Minister of Maori Affairs the Hon Parekura Horomia for sponsoring the bill. On that basis I am pleased therefore to support the second reading of the bill and its quick passage.