Quinn Paul: Public Works (Offer Back of and Compensation for Acquired Land) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Quinn Paul: Public Works (Offer Back of and Compensation for Acquired Land) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 17 June 2009. Volume:655;Page:4423. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
PAUL QUINN (National) 
: 
 It gives me great pleasure to rise to speak on this particular Maori Party member’s bill the Public Works (Offer Back of and Compensation for Acquired Land) Amendment Bill. 
I reinforce what the previous speaker from this side of the House Nicky Wagner said and confirm that this side of the House will support sending this bill to a select committee. We will support the first reading. Having said that I say that I stand for a reason which is that I have had firsthand experience in respect of Treaty of Waitangi settlements around this Public Works Act. Although I can sympathise I guess with the previous speaker Nanaia Mahuta I think that in reality she misses some of the actual detail because they are not the real issues. 
I think it was timely that during question time there was a question that I could almost have asked myself; in fact by some sort of divine guidance it was asked of the Minister for Land Information by a member of the Maori Party. It was pointed out in that question—notwithstanding the difficulties that this particular Act has caused Maori in terms of their Treaty settlements which I want to share with members very shortly—that the Government of the day between 1999 and 2008 had three separate reviews of this Act and each time it parked it. Now members of the Opposition stand here and say what a great thing this bill is. Their behaviour is just another example of procrastination of deferring and of setting up a committee to review the committee’s work to review another report because they were spellbound and had no idea what they should do. I thought it was ironic that that question should be asked on the very day that this bill comes before us. It is a timely reminder about the previous Government’s lack of work on understanding of and commitment to these very real issues that face Maori in terms of Treaty settlements. 
I want to say why this bill is important to this Government and to me personally. 
Hon Parekura Horomia 
: Who did your settlement? 
PAUL QUINN 
: Ngati Awa. I could speak for days on this but sadly I have only another 3 minutes left. Ngati Awa in fact had land declared surplus under section 40 in 1999. Ngati Awa had to go through two Land Information New Zealand reports and two High Court judicial reviews to prove that the Whakatane District Council was not the rightful body to which the land should go. The Land Information New Zealand report had decreed that it should go to that council. That is the sort of expense that Maori Treaty claimants had to go to under that Government because it was unprepared to stand by the principles that its members now espouse. That is the expense that Ngati Awa had to go to in order to prove its claim. Do members know that even now we are still waiting for a third report? 
Hon Nanaia Mahuta 
: Shh! 
PAUL QUINN 
: Well it is just that Parekura is speaking so loudly. We are now waiting for a third report. I could go on for days because I know about section 40 and section 50 of the Public Works Act. I know everything about this matter. I am just glad that we are supporting the opportunity to send the bill to a select committee to discuss all these issues—the issues that are dear to the Maori Party but also the issues that are dear to other Maori groups that are confronting the Public Works Act. I am very pleased that this Government is getting on with the job. It reaffirms once again its commitment to action and to getting on with the job. I support the Maori Party in sending this bill to a select committee. Thank you.