Goudie Sandra: Māori Trustee Amendment Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeGoudie Sandra: Māori Trustee Amendment Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 05 May 2009. Volume:654;Page:2872. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]SANDRA GOUDIE (National—Coromandel):I also acknowledge the excellent work of the Minister in progressing the Māori Trustee Amendment Bill—Hon Mita Ririnui: Which one?SANDRA GOUDIE: —and that Minister is obviously the Hon Pita Sharples who has done a wonderful job. We could call this trust a good trust as opposed to being a bad trust and I have alluded to the fact that there are bad trusts. This bill is an excellent bill. It provides for the Māori Trustee entity and that is as it should be.The bill introduces a level of accountability for the office of the Māori Trustee that has not previously been required. It also allows for the Māori Trustee to be free of political pressure by establishing it as a stand-alone organisation. That is to be commended. The bill provides for better more open communication between the Māori Trustee and its beneficiaries and the bill’s provisions mean that the beneficiaries of the Māori Trustee can be sure they are receiving equitable income from the common fund.The National Government’s support of the bill shows our commitment to a strong relationship with the Māori Party. In the current financial climate it is important that all public entities be seen as transparent and accountable.I do not know whether members recall my earlier comments about one entity the Earthwise Living Foundation New Zealand a trust that also runs Kiwi Internships. That trust does not have that same level of accountability and it certainly does not have that same communication with its beneficiaries. It does not have the openness and transparency that the Māori Trustee is gaining through the process of this bill. Jon Traylen of the Earthwise Living Foundation New Zealand is questionable in what he purports to represent. His environmental site which I have visited is a mess and he treats the environment animals and people disgracefully. He makes his visitors volunteers and interns who are all overseas visitors feel unsafe. He is more of a predator of young women as time goes by. He promises a lot but delivers little.The CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch): Order!SANDRA GOUDIE: He exploits people for personal gain. I say that Mr Chair because I am talking about a situation where someone is not accountable. That is not the case with the Māori Trustee Amendment Bill—that is what is so good about the bill. It provides for those accountabilities it provides for that communication and it ensures that those things are there for the benefit of the beneficiaries. In a lot of respects the Māori Trustee is very similar to the Public Trust.It is interesting to note that many members have spoken on this bill and spoken so well and they know so much more about the implications and the subject matter than I do. But I was very impressed by the words spoken tonight by the Minister. He clearly enunciated the intent of the bill—that it does away with the Māori Trustee office and establishes a new stand-alone entity. I am delighted to be able to speak in support of the bill and I commend it to the Committee.Clause 1 agreed to.The question was put that the amendment set out on Supplementary Order Paper 16 in the name of the Hon Dr Pita Sharples to clause 2 be agreed to.Amendment agreed to.Clause 2 as amended agreed to.Clause 3 agreed to.Bill reported with amendment.Report adopted.