5. Question No. 5—Māori Crown Relations: Te ArawhitiHon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (National) to the Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te ArawhitiQuestion No. 5—Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti5. Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (National) to the Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?Hon KELVIN DAVIS (Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti): Yes in the context they were made and taken.Hon Christopher Finlayson: How does he reconcile his statement last Thursday agreeing that an important role of Te Arawhiti is to ensure that the Treaty is a successful partnership between the Crown and Māori with the statement of Winston Peters last week denying the existence of any such partnership?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: It's because it's true that the Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti agency is there to strengthen the relationship to make sure the public sector is the best partner it can be with Māori.Hon Christopher Finlayson: Well who's right: him who agrees that it's an important role of Te Arawhiti to ensure that the Treaty is a successful partnership or Winston Peters who said last week that he never believed the Treaty is a partnership between Crown and Māori?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: We both are because we know that Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a partnership between Māori and the Crown at the time but also it's about the relationship between the Crown agencies—departments of the Government—to make sure that we can ensure that Māori tribes Māori groups organisations are successful in whatever they try to do so that we can work together to fulfil their aspirations.Hon Christopher Finlayson: What did he mean when he said in the House last Thursday that one role of Te Arawhiti will be to co-design partnership principles"?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Well exactly what it says. We will work together with Māori to design the principles around the partnership. I think it's self-explanatory.Hon Christopher Finlayson: Do his answers to my questions today show that the Government really doesn't have to justify the way it operates to anyone be it on this issue or as he said in the House yesterday on the Meka Whaitiri scandal?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: I was full of admiration for the work that the former Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations did and the Māori/Crown relations portfolio is a natural extension of that work. It's a pity that he's now working and talking to undermine the very work that he did when he was the Minister.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Whatever the relationship is it a fact that he intends his new ministry to have a profound effect in the settlement of the Ngāpuhi claim which has languished so long under the former Minister?Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Much as the Minister responsible for employment can't answer questions about employment relations we think it inappropriate that the Minister for Crown/Māori relations whether it's a partnership or not can't answer a question about Treaty settlements.SPEAKER: He was asked about—I think paraphrasing—the input that his agency might have under that process and he can certainly answer that.Hon KELVIN DAVIS: My role is to support my colleague the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little in the fine job that he's doing to settle the Ngāpuhi claim. [Interruption] Rt Hon Winston Peters: Ho ho Billy Bunter.SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Prime Minister—the Acting Prime Minister—actually the Prime Minister will stand withdraw and apologise.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I withdraw and apologise.SPEAKER: And the National Party can have an additional six supplementary questions."