Mooney JosephJOSEPH MOONEY (National—Southland): Thank you Madam Chair. I just want to expand on that issue and just ask Minister Mahuta why there hasn't been an extended process because this is a crucial issue for New Zealand and it's an issue that we've been working on for a long time I think in New Zealand. New Zealand has a proud history in my respectful submission of trying to resolve these issues—certainly imperfectly and there's a lot more to be done but the question for me and certainly for people I talk to in my communities is: why hasn't there been a more extensive process of consultation and discussion? I go back to a point I raised yesterday and I've experienced this many times in my professional career: if people do not feel they have an opportunity to be heard they will not engage with the process and they will not respect the outcome. In this case there has been an incredibly truncated select committee process. It has not given the opportunity for over 70 people who expressed the desire to be heard in the less than two days that they had to put in submissions—there have been over 12000 submissions put in in less than 48 hours. In my submission with an issue addressing the real democratic principles on which our country is founded and which we all agree on and we all understand underpin the success and security of our country we need to have a proper discussion about these things. Even if members of our community do not agree with the Māori wards or with the polls being removed from the community on whether Māori wards should or should not be established there should be a proper discussion and there should be an opportunity. The normal process Minister as I understand is six months for something like this to go through a select committee and on an issue as crucial as this for New Zealand—and this is an issue that is about both our democracy and empowering Māori and empowering Māori decision-making and empowering Māori to have the ability to determine their own destiny but in a way that all of New Zealand can understand and respect—I respectfully suggest that there should be a proper process and it should not be rushed through the House. It should not be rushed through the select committee process. Some of the wording in new Schedule 1 just doesn't help that. For example clause 5 Demand for poll by electors … must be disregarded"—whether or not that is right it's certainly going to raise concerns in our communities that this Government is not engaging the community is not discussing changes to electoral law with the community and is rather imposing its decisions on the community. That's a very concerning point. The other matter that deserves in my submission a more considered discussion is the retrospectivity of this law. In any democratic country or arrangement it is important that our communities can make decisions knowing that the law that they make their decisions on is the law that will apply tomorrow and it will not be changed without them being given advance notice that the change will happen. There needs to be a proper discussion I would suggest Minister with our communities about why that is not the case here but rather retrospective changes have been made to take away the right—and this is a very important point that can't be lightly swept aside: communities have voted in polls and whether or not you agree with the polls that have been called for the fact is electors in our communities have called for that and now they're being told that the vote that they made or the polls that they participated in will now be disregarded. That is a disturbing thing I think and it just sets a disturbing precedent and it's one that deserves further consideration and further discussion. Just on a slightly different point in my part of the world—that's the Southland electorate—I have five district councils. I have two regional councils. And I know that under section 82 of the Local Government Act 2002 each of those councils must—and I stress the word "must"—"ensure that it has in place processes for consulting with Māori" and I know that they take it extremely seriously. They consult with Ngāi Tahu and I note that Ngāi Tahu is noted for example in the Christchurch district council—[Bell rung]"