Baillie ChrisCHRIS BAILLIE (ACT): Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise on behalf of ACT to take a short call on the Thomas Cawthron Trust Amendment Bill and I also congratulate Rachel Boyack on bringing this bill to the House. Cawthron Institute has been an integral part of Nelson's identity for 100 years in New Zealand—owes a lot to Thomas Cawthron. Thomas Cawthron came to New Zealand in 1949 at the age of 15 years. Life was tough and he started work straight away soon realising he wasn't great at the physical stuff but he had a strong work ethic which was going to see him right. He went to Wellington in 1849 to work in an office and returned to Nelson in 1855 five years later when his father got sick. He had an eye for business and was a clever economist getting involved with contracting work and in 1859 he began a career in shipping at Port Nelson. He ran shipping companies for the next 25 years and made a lot of money with investments and in property and shares—and I suspect he would've opposed any capital gains tax.Besides the Cawthron Institute Thomas Cawthron will always be remembered for his financing of the Church Steps the School of Music organ the chains around Rocks Road and many other projects for the people of Nelson. He died in 1915 aged 83 leaving the city with over £200000 for the purchase of land and the construction and maintenance of an industrial and technical school institute and museum to be called the Cawthron Institute. He was an amazing man with amazing foresight which has had an immeasurable benefit for Nelson for New Zealand and ultimately for the world.The institute's focus is on growing and ensuring the safety of the seafood sector developing bioactive resources and improving the health of our freshwater ecosystems and oceans. There's a huge range of skills with expertise in aquaculture research marine and freshwater resource management food safety and quality algal technologies biosecurity and analytical and a fantastic enthusiastic and multicultural staff. The objects of the board are—there are four of them—to clearly articulate the objects of the Trust Board and the powers conferred on the Trust Board … [to] provide the appointment of a member of the Trust Board nominated by Te Tauihu iwi … [to] specify the legal liability of the members of the Trust Board; and [to] update and modernise the governance arrangements of the Trust Board".ACT opposed the bill at the first reading because we fundamentally believe that appointments to anything should be on merit not based on race. Many Māori work at Cawthron Institute and there is no doubt that Māori are able to be on the board because of their skills and abilities not because of who their grandparents were.I'll read a short quote from an award-winning book I've just read; it's called Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. It says "The megafauna of New Zealand—which had weathered the alleged 'climate change' of c.45000 years ago without a scratch—suffered devastating blows immediately after the first humans set foot on the islands. The Maoris [sic] New Zealand's first Sapiens colonisers reached the islands about 800 years ago. Within a couple of centuries the majority of the local megafauna was extinct"—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Poto Williams): Order! Could I just check the relevance of that to this bill please?CHRIS BAILLIE: It's relating to the environment and what the Cawthron Institute stands for. That's the end of the quote.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Poto Williams): I will allow—I'll listen to a little bit more but I just caution the member that we are discussing the second reading of the Thomas Cawthron Trust Amendment Bill so I would ask you to bring your comments back to that.CHRIS BAILLIE: Sure I'll just finish that sentence. "The majority of the local megafauna was extinct along with 60 per cent of all bird species." We're all human and the idea that everyone has innate knowledge depending on birthright doesn't sit well with us—as if my Scottish ancestry means I must like haggis and play the bagpipes. However despite these reservations we're not going to spoil the party. Thank you to the current board especially John Palmer. There are some things we just won't agree on but that's OK. I'm sure the Cawthron Institute will continue its great work and grow even more over the next 100 years. ACT supports this bill. Thank you."