Sharples Pita: Maori Trustee Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Sharples Pita: Maori Trustee Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:654;Page:3018] 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
: 
 I move that the Maori Trustee Amendment Bill be now read a third time. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I cannot hear the Minister who is taking the call. The Speaker is on his feet and the Hon Annette King the Hon David Cunliffe and the Hon Trevor Mallard are all carrying on a discussion. That is not acceptable. I could not hear the Hon Dr Pita Sharples take his call. I call him now. 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: Tena koe Mr Speaker. Tena tatou e te Whare e huihuinga i tenei rangi. 
[ 
Greetings to you Mr Speaker. And greetings to us assembled here in this House this day. 
] 
I move that the Maori Trustee Amendment Bill be now read a third time. This is an extremely significant day in the life of this Parliament. It is a time to honour all those who have placed the issue of the Maori Trustee firmly on the political agenda for decades long before we came to this House. [ 
Interruption 
] I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I cannot even hear myself! 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Now look I say that senior members the Hon Maurice Williamson and the Hon Tau Henare were both interjecting when the Hon Pita Sharples their own ministerial colleague raised the point of order— 
Hon Parekura Horomia 
: Disgraceful—Shh! 
Mr SPEAKER 
: —and the Hon Parekura Horomia also. I do not know what members had for lunch today but could they please— 
Hon Member 
: Tories! 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I say to the honourable member let us just settle things down and actually treat this House—I ask members to treat this House—with some respect. 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: I move that the Maori Trustee Amendment Bill be now read a third time. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am sorry to interrupt my co-leader the Minister of Maori Affairs but he was probably about 15 to 30 seconds into his speech while all that discussion was going on. Unfortunately most of the members missed out on an awesome beginning to the speech of my leader. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: We will reset the clock. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: Thank you very much. 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: A kia ora tatau e huihui mai nei i roto i tenei Whare. Tena tatau. 
[ 
And greetings to us assembled here in this House. Greetings to us. 
] 
I move yet again  
That the Maori Trustee Amendment Bill be now read a third time 
. This is an extremely significant day in the life of this Parliament. It is a time to honour all those who have placed the issue of the Maori Trustee firmly on the political agenda for decades long before we came to this House. I acknowledge the challenges of the Henare and Wright review in 1989 of the Charters Sykes and Nikora review of 1991— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I cannot tell whether it is about Auckland things or what is happening down in that corner of the Chamber but we are trying to focus on the Minister of Maori Affairs and National members appear to be having a sub-caucus meeting down there. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Thank you for that. Yes conversations will be held in the lobbies not within the House. 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: I acknowledge the challenges of the Henare and Wright review in 1989 of the Charters Sykes and Nikora review of 1991 and of the Maori Affairs Committee report of 2001. I think today of all the calls from beneficial owners who have been moved to place their submissions before Parliament seeking to reform the role of the Maori Trustee. That has been a long time coming since the establishment of the function in 1921. Moving to more recent times I want to recognise the work of the previous Minister for his role in the preliminary stages of this bill—tena koe Parekura. 
But this bill is significant for one reason: this bill represents the first bill presented by an independent Maori Party. It makes for fascinating analysis to consider the passage of history that is marked this week in Parliament. Five years ago yesterday Parliament passed the first reading of the Foreshore and Seabed Bill and today the Minister of Maori Affairs from the party that arose out of opposition to that bill now stands to deliver on legislation. 
This is a significant bill. It establishes the Maori Trustee as a stand-alone organisation an aspiration that many people have had before this bill took shape. The bill changes the way that payments on money held in trust in the common fund administered by the Maori Trustee are determined. The bill is supported by funding increases for services to the Maori Trustee which are already in place. These are all achievements that we are proud to deliver on. Delivering on expectations is a commitment that we take very seriously and we realise that these expectations of course have a very long whakapapa to them. 
During the bill’s second reading members of this House spoke of the importance of the role of the Maori Trustee. One of the legacies of the long sad history of past Government Maori land policies is the ongoing need for a Maori Trustee. We are very aware of the levels of concern that tangata whenua have expressed over the years about the different roles the Maori Trustee has been required to play in the management and at times the acquisition of Maori land. We acknowledge too that there are still some situations in which the beneficial owners have had considerable difficulty in being able to exercise due care and regard for the protection of their whenua. Some Maori land is so fragmented that the separate blocks are not economic. Land may be isolated with no road access. The owners may have had to move away from it long ago in search of work and a roof over their heads. None the less this land continues to have huge cultural and spiritual significance to whanau and to wider groupings. Toi te kupu toi te mana toi te whenua—these three: language prestige and land are the foundations of te Ao Maori of our past our present and our future. 
The responsibility of the Maori Trustee brings with it then the investment that tangata whenua place in preserving the important connections between people and the land—between the tangata and the whenua. There are some cases where the current owners may not be known or may not be able to be found. Many of our people have lost their knowledge of their connection to the land of their ancestors. The demands of the modern world may have driven them to cities in New Zealand and overseas. So I stand here today pleased to support the role of the Maori Trustee in ensuring that those sacred bonds are upheld. The Crown will fund the stand-alone Maori Trustee for a range of functions. Those include finding the owners of the land held in trust and where practicable helping owners to move towards managing their own land. 
One of the themes that emerged from the Maori economic workshop that I held in January was the real potential for Maori and for New Zealand if Maori assets were better utilised. This is one of the areas that were identified for further work following the Prime Minister’s summit on employment. Making sure that the Maori Trustee is a strong and viable organisation is one aspect of that approach. 
In 2007 the Maori Trustee acted as trustee or agent for over 188000 owners and over 111000 hectares of Maori land. Following the conclusion of the review of the Maori Trustee funding for the Maori Trustee was increased last year. This was the beginning of the end of a long and complex process that began nearly two decades ago and has included looking at many options for the Maori Trustee. Today it is up to all of us in this House to finally bring this process to an end. 
This bill will make the Maori Trustee a stand-alone organisation able to focus firmly on providing high-quality services to Maori. The bill will put in place reporting arrangements for public funding. This will involve including the Maori Trustee as an organisation on schedule 4 of the Public Finance Act 1989. These arrangements reflect the Maori Trustee’s independence while providing transparency and accountability for public money. 
As part of the shift to becoming a stand-alone organisation the Maori Trustee will need to be appointed in a new way. At present acting as the Maori Trustee is an office conferred on an employee of Te Puni Kokiri. Under the bill the Maori Trustee will be appointed by the Minister of Maori Affairs—and I am very aware of the serious responsibility this places upon me and of my responsibilities to beneficial owners. In order to provide continuity for the new organisation the bill provides that the current Maori Trustee will become the new Maori Trustee for a term of up to 5 years. Employees of the Maori Trust Office will also be transferred to the new organisation. I believe this provides certainty for staff and continuity for clients. 
The bill removes the potential for a differential between what the Maori Trustee earns from money held in trust in the common fund and what the Maori Trustee is required to pay beneficial owners. Under the new system account holders will get in returns what the Maori Trustee receives from the investment of the common fund less a management fee where applicable. That is a key part of the bill. It means that the return received by the owners of Maori land that is administered by the Maori Trustee will better reflect the returns received by the Maori Trustee. The Maori Trustee will also be required to report to account holders on these matters. The Maori Trust Office Regulations 1954 will be amended to be consistent with the changes set out in this bill. 
I want to place it on the public record that the reforms set out in this bill were widely supported during consultation in 2007. The bill was also unanimously supported by select committees. The bill implements much-needed and long-awaited changes to the Maori Trustee Act 1953. Once again I would like to thank all the many people and committees who have contributed to this exercise so we could reach this stage. The bill has attracted much debate throughout all of its stages and most of it has been very supportive complimentary and helpful. 
Today we will pass this bill and we will have a stand-alone Maori Trustee. It is therefore with much pleasure that I commend this bill to the House.