Brownlee Gerry: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Brownlee Gerry: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:627;Page:22183] 
11.  
GERRY BROWNLEE (Deputy Leader—National) 
 to the  
Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations 
: Does he stand by the reported statement of then Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Hon Margaret Wilson in 2002 that National’s policy of putting a time limit on Treaty of Waitangi claims was out of touch and ignored the complexity of the treaty settlement process; if not why not? 
Hon MITA RIRINUI (Associate Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations) 
 on behalf of the 
 Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations 
: Yes and I note that the former Minister’s comment was in response to National’s policy that was to have a cut-off date by the end of 2006 and a target of 2008 for the settlement of all claims. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Can the Minister confirm that under the Labour Party in Government there will be no restriction on how long claims take to settle and no end in sight for the treaty grievance industry; if not can he tell us what dates it has in mind for settling such grievances? 
Hon MITA RIRINUI 
: We have been foreshadowing for some time that we will need to set a cut-off date because the historical claims process can never be completed if there is an open-ended entry point. I suggest that the member wait for the announcement on 21 August to know what the policy is. 
Russell Fairbrother 
: What other reports has the Minister seen about time limits on Treaty of Waitangi settlement deadlines? 
Hon MITA RIRINUI 
: I note that National’s 2005 treaty policy now sets down 2010 as being the date for total completion of historical Treaty of Waitangi grievance settlement claims. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Can the Minister rule out that the 21 August announcement he just mentioned will set settlement date limits? 
Hon MITA RIRINUI 
: The member will have to wait and see. 
Stephen Franks 
: What weight does the Minister give to warnings in the House against time limits for treaty settlements complaints that ACT member Derek Quigley’s bill in 1998 brought them into the “games of party politics” and claims that “… trying to set deadlines in legislation … is exactly the wrong approach. Artificial deadlines carved in stone will not work. They are a falsehood … I will bet that member the best bottle of Nelson wine … that if we go down this track a future Parliament will be undoing those deadlines …”; and would the Minister care to repeat with me Dr Nick Smith’s bet that this will not be the only piece of ACT policy that Labour and National will eventually adopt? 
Hon MITA RIRINUI 
: I give no weight to those claims. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Does the Minister accept that the statement by the Prime Minister: “Our treaty obligations extend beyond the settlements for historic claims—the closing of the huge gaps which have developed in almost every field between Maori and Pakeha.” means that the public simply could not accept that Labour would ever enforce a closure date for the settlement process? 
Hon MITA RIRINUI 
: As I said the member will have to wait and see. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Does the Minister have any reports as to who gave the most legs to the policy about which the National Party is currently complaining and who gave Doug Graham a knighthood for his work on the Treaty of Waitangi industry? 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. You may well be indulging Mr Peters given that it is the last day but I think it is only fair to say that the National Party is firm in its policy that there will be closure on these matters but is very proud to be promoting the idea that New Zealand should settle treaty grievances. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I am not sure where all that takes us but that is not a point of order actually. [ 
Interruption 
] Yes but I also note that the Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations is not responsible for the awarding of honours. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I know that but I am asking whether he has received any reports as Minister of the National Party’s involvement in the Waitangi industry per se and any reports as to how that actually graduated into giving Doug Graham a knighthood for it—contrary to the words they speak nowadays? 
Hon MITA RIRINUI 
: The reports that I have heard have come from the National Party itself.