Jackson Willie; Bishop ChrisHon WILLIE JACKSON (Labour): Thank you Madam Chair. I just want to offer some help to the Minister because I know he has got a lack of expertise on his side of the House.CHAIRPERSON (Maureen Pugh): Stick to the bill please Mr Jackson.Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Well I just want to help him out because there's probably only one person over there who knows what we're talking about Madam Chair.CHAIRPERSON (Maureen Pugh): How is that relevant to the bill?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: I want to help the Minister out. He knows I'm very supportive of him.Grant Robertson was talking about the fast-track process and I want the Minister to consider this because I think he hasn't quite addressed the status of Treaty settlements. We're talking about Part 1 Schedule 1 Preserving the status of Treaty settlements" Madam Chair just for your information. I know that he's gone down the fast-track process and that's good but I think when iwi look at this you know I don't want the Minister in court. He's only been a Minister for five minutes and we want to look after the Minister's interests.CHAIRPERSON (Maureen Pugh): Come back to the bill.Hon WILLIE JACKSON: We know he's quite representative of the Māori over there in Wainuiōmata. But what sort of support can he give te ao Māori with regards to this? It's really a worry. All the work that the former Minister Grant Robertson did is all going to go down the tubes if he does not address this.I also want to follow up on what Peeni Henare said in terms of some of the hapū and iwi. We'd like to know—or I'd like to know—who are the hapū and iwi who the Minister has consulted with. We'd like that. And who are the iwi technicians that he has consulted with because that's a process that we went down thoroughly and you heard Grant Robertson he was turned up and down by some of his relations but he enjoyed that you know that's part of his whānau.So we went back there because we believe in a thorough process. What's been the feedback? Can he tell me one recommendation that the iwi technicians made that has gone into this bill? Just one—just one will do. If there's any I would really really appreciate that—I'm glad you're looking for it now—because we are so concerned about this process. We're so concerned that there's so little knowledge—Madam Chair I'm saying that very respectively—within the National Party caucus. As I've said there's only probably one person who knows te ao Māori; the rest of them you know with respect probably don't even know they're Māori. I don't mean to be disrespectful but I need to go down this track because Grant Robertson has quite rightly put this on the table with regards to the status of Treaty settlements. How are our leaders going to feel tonight when they hear the Minister skirting away saying "Yes the fast track's OK."Hon Grant Robertson: But what about the rest?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: What about the rest? What about Ngāi Tahu? What about Tainui? These are iwi who have been invested in by the National Party and now we have this attack from Minister Bishop. I don't know if he's meaning the attack or not but we still can't work out why he won't go through a democratic process in terms of a select committee and why he is so reliant—Madam Chair I say this very respectively—on some of the useless Māori in his party.Hon CHRIS BISHOP (Minister responsible for RMA Reform): I'm going to ignore the pejorative comments from the former Minister. Hon Willie Jackson: Very good of you.Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Thank you. This is not an attack on Māoridom; it's not an attack on te ao Māori either. He asked me a question as to what contribution iwi technicians had made. I have an answer for him: section 104 of the Natural and Built Environment Act which deals with Te Ture Whaimana in particular with relation to the Waikato River there was a suggestion made through the iwi technician process which we inserted into the bill at their suggestion. So there has been a—I accept the short process; I accept there's been a short process. However as I've said multiple times now our opposition to this legislation has been well known essentially from the start of the regime and the three Government parties have made that clear right from the start. Look we can traverse back through the history. There was an opportunity at various points in the last Parliament for consensus. That did not arrive.I've received a letter from the Hon Rachel Brooking in relation to a pathway forward. We'll be considering that letter and the contribution that maybe we are able to make. So we'll be considering that. It is important that there is some certainty and stability when it comes to our planning regime. Actually the Resource Management Act (RMA) 1991's been on the statute book for 30 years.Hon Grant Robertson: And you've been criticising it.Hon CHRIS BISHOP: We have and so have you. So has the entire Parliament.Hon Grant Robertson: And now you're just going to take us back there for no reason.Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Yes we're going to go back there because our view is that this Act that we are repealing is worse than the RMA which is saying something.Hon Grant Robertson: And that is ridiculous. That is ridiculous.Hon CHRIS BISHOP: It is not ridiculous. Many many people think that.Hon Grant Robertson: Nobody who understands the RMA would agree with that.Hon CHRIS BISHOP: No I'm sorry. Greatest of respect. I acknowledge the former Minister who sat through a lot of meetings that I'm probably going to sit through in the next three years. I acknowledge his hard work on this and a lot of people put a lot of time and energy into it. But just because you have put time and energy into something doesn't make it right. That goes back to the point I made before. You're actually better to cut your losses and walk away and that's our point. Anyway I've made my point about three or four times now."