Pallett Sarah; Dean JacquiSARAH PALLETT (Labour—Ilam): Thank you Madam Speaker. He uri ahau nō tawhiti ka mihi ahau ki tēnei whenua me ōna uri. Ko Sarah Pallett tēnei e mihi ana ki a koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.[My origins are in distant lands but I pay tribute to this land and its descendants. My name is Sarah Pallett and I offer my greetings to you my greetings to you all.]I am a citizen of Aotearoa New Zealand but this is not my tūrangawaewae; this is not my standing place. My standing place is almost exactly at the antipode of where we stand today: straight through the globe. But in recognising that this is not my tūrangawaewae I recognise too the importance of taking my affirmation of allegiance as a citizen in te reo Māori. I also took my affirmation in te reo Māori here in this House. Because this is not my tūrangawaewae I've gone to some trouble to understand Te Tiriti o Waitangi but I am absolutely not an expert. I'll tell you who is an expert though: the MP for Te Tai Tonga Rino Tirikatene—not Reno" Tirikatene. Rino Tirikatene is an expert in the Treaty of Waitangi Te Tiriti o Waitangi; Tāmati Coffey the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee is an expert; Paul Eagle Arena Williams Shanan Halbert—they are experts in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. But I digress slightly.Talking to the bill this is a local bill. It's not a member's bill but it was introduced to the House by the member for Te Tai Tonga and for that I'm very grateful. This provides a local solution for a local issue. This bill would have the effect of continuing mana whenua's representation on the Canterbury Regional Council Environment Canterbury—or ECan—in the form of two Ngāi Tahu councillors from the 2019 local body elections. This was an arrangement that was first put in place by the National Government in 2010. As Environment Canterbury themselves say this "Bill is intended to reinstate direct Ngāi Tahu representation … Under … Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Act 2010 the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Local Government"—and you'll forgive me for reading this directly but it's quite complicated—"appointed commissioners who collectively had knowledge of and expertise in a number of matters including … tikanga Māori as it applied in the region. … The practical benefits of mana whenua representation in Canterbury were rapidly and widely recognised and this recognition remained [for] the nine years [that] that special legislation was in place."We heard Willow-Jean Prime speak earlier of the benefits which included greater efficiency in planning and consenting processes reduced costs for the council reduced costs for consent applicants improved enforcement decisions and in addition Ngāi Tahu participation on council played a pivotal role in building the social capital and community ownership of solutions that underpin water and land management in Canterbury."Since 2020 Environment Canterbury has had two Tumu Taiao appointed by the Ngāi Tahu Papatipu Rūnanga Chairs of the Canterbury Region to assist with Council decision-making. They sit at the Council table and make valuable contributions but they do not have voting rights."—they have a seat at the table but they can't eat. This bill is seeking to address that.Environment Canterbury we've heard is responsible for environmental outcomes but also social economic cultural and environmental outcomes in the 45 square kilometres from Kaikōura to Waitaki inland all the way to the Southern Alps. As we've heard before Ngāi Tahu are the original people and kaitiaki of that area. They're not just a business.There is a lot of support locally for this bill. There is support from Hurunui District Council. There is support from Selwyn District Council. There is support from Christchurch City Council who said in an earlier letter in July 2021 that they supported the previous proposed legislation for mana whenua representation and—their submission was the following: that "Mana whenua representation on Environment Canterbury provides real value and strengthens the strategic partnerships in Canterbury. The Council strongly supports the proposed legislative approach to ensure a representation model that ensures mana whenua representation." Although that was from an earlier submission they have said in this letter dated July 2021—the Hon Lianne Dalziel Mayor of Christchurch said "I shared your letter and the new draft bill with Councillor colleagues … can confirm … we support the new draft local bill and have no further feedback."But it's fair to say that concerns have been raised—it's fair to say that concerns have been raised. Concerns are occasionally raised about New Zealand Bill of Rights Act compliance. So I'd like to refer the House to the Attorney-General's legal advice that was submitted to the select committee. I'll sum it up. It says "We have concluded that the Bill appears to be consistent with [that] Act." I summed it up but I'm going to go into a little bit more detail because of the submitters seem to require it. As they said "Section 19(1) of the Bill of Rights Act affirms the right to freedom from discrimination on the grounds set out in the Human Rights Act 1993 … The key questions in assessing whether there's a limit to the right of freedom from discrimination are: … does the legislation draw a distinction on one of the prohibited grounds of discrimination under s21 of the Human Rights Act 1993; and if so … does the distinction involve disadvantage to one or more classes of individuals?" They go on to say—I'm skipping a couple of paragraphs because I'm sure you don't want me to read the whole thing—that "The Bill … confers rights on Māori that are not conferred on other people by providing Ngāi Tahu with non-elected representatives on the Council in addition to their vote for elected members. The Bill could therefore be seen to draw distinctions on the basis of rights or ethnic origin." But the important part is in the next paragraph because it goes as follows: "Notwithstanding this the extent to which the distinctions reflect the status of Māori as … Crown's Treaty partner and the Crown's duties under Te Tiriti o Waitangi we do not consider any other groups in a comparable position. The Treaty of Waitangi settlement agreed between Ngāi Tahu and the Crown in November 1997 acknowledged the rangatiratanga and mana of Ngāi Tahu over their lands … and affirmed their special association with the natural environment in a number of areas." This is where I would return you to—Madam Speaker I would return the House; not you Madam Speaker—to the concept of kaitiaki which is a really important concept to absorb especially as an immigrant as I am myself.The bill of rights assessment from the Attorney-General does conclude that in the context of the provisions within this bill no other person or groups can be considered to be in comparable circumstances to Ngāi Tahu and no person or groups will be materially disadvantaged by the passing of the bill. The result of this assessment is that section 19 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act is not engaged and the bill appears to be consistent with the rights and freedoms affirmed in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.Now it's important when we reflect on the legal advice from the Attorney-General that the Attorney-General does not always find in our favour and I think that it really does his reputation as an independent assessor—and one that we would uphold strongly because we don't always have agreement from the Attorney-General with this Government's position.But in summation this bill is not about special privileges for Ngāi Tahu; it's about recognising the responsibility that Ngāi Tahu as kaitiaki of the air land waters and coast of the region and enabling them to perform that duty. I commend it to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): I call Joseph Mooney—five minutes."