Tirikatene RinoRINO TIRIKATENE (Labour—Te Tai Tonga): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. I'm proud to stand in support of this very important bill Te Ture Whenua Maori (Succession Dispute Resolution and Related Matters) Amendment Bill. Māori land as the Minister for Māori Development has said is 1.4 million hectares of the land mass of Aotearoa. That's about 5 to 6 percent of our total land mass so this is a very important piece of legislation and it is really important that we are unlocking the potential of that 6 percent of the land mass of Aotearoa through the enactment of this bill.I want to acknowledge the Minister the Hon Nanaia Mahuta for her outstanding leadership with her department Te Puni Kōkiri in crafting this bill so that it is acceptable to Te Iwi Māori katoa because as we know in the previous Parliament we had a massive bill that the previous Government put forward to the House. Quite frankly it was a cumbersome bill which tried to totally repeal and replace the existing Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 and it just didn't meet the grade. It didn't cut the standard that was required to be accepted by our people as an acceptable piece of legislation which would be workable—workable—for Iwi Māori katoa all Māori land owners. There were so many deficiencies in that bill—I don't really want to go into it. I'm pleased though that it was withdrawn because there were tremendous concerns about the impacts of that bill had it passed. So I want to acknowledge the Minister for withdrawing that bill but also putting this much-improved bill before the House.This is a much-improved bill because we are making targeted amendments which are widely regarded as necessary which are easy to implement and which further the coalition Government's agenda of boosting productivity and strengthening our regional economies. We know that Māori land particularly in the geographic regions where it's concentrated—unlocking the potential of those lands will indeed strengthen our regional economies and so this is a very welcome piece of legislation. It fits as the Minister has said. It's not a bill in an island of its own; it's integrated into a wider whenua Māori plan providing support for whānau and for Māori land owners providing better service providing access to better information streamlining processes making it easier to go through various processes such as succession dealing with whāngai dealing with disputes—making all those processes much easier.I want to acknowledge the members opposite for their support of this bill because this is a good bill. This is a no-brainer bill. This is a bill that we want to put through this House and which Māori will greatly welcome and I'm looking forward as chair of the Māori Affairs Committee to hearing from submitters on this bill. If there are refinements that can be made certainly we are always open to doing that but this bill actually has been well-canvassed well-consulted upon and it has the broad support of Māori leadership. When we think of groups like the Federation of Māori Authorities the strongest and largest Māori business network of Māori land interests spread across Aotearoa who support this bill; when we think of the Iwi Chairs Forum who support this bill; and when we think of all of the Māori legal practitioners and those who are involved in the Māori Land Court and possibly the bench also who support this bill it has been well-canvassed and consulted upon and there is strong support for the provisions that we are seeking to enact.Just to go into the targeted amendments which we are implementing in this bill: succession in trust matters. It's very welcome. As all Māori know we all have interests in Māori land spread up and down the motu. I'm legally trained. I practised law and I remember having to do a succession application. I had to fly from Wellington to Christchurch wait for a court sitting and fill out paperwork. It wasn't an easy task having to fill out all of the actual forms and then actually wait to be scheduled for a court hearing just to do a succession just to succeed to the land and set up whānau trusts or the like. That poses a huge cost on whānau and also delays—delays in terms of waiting for court scheduling waiting to appear before the judge—and what does this bill do? Well it streamlines that process. It makes it easier for whānau and it puts those administrative functions in the hands of the court registrar and that's where they should rest really. These are more administrative tasks. So that's a very welcome amendment.As we go on the other targeted amendments are around dispute resolution. We need to think outside the box. Court processes shouldn't be just focused on adversarial litigious processes before a judge. I mean it might be welcome for their counsel and lawyers that represent certain clients but it's not the optimal process. The fact that through this bill we are providing expanded options for dispute resolution I think is a very welcome addition to the court processes which will make it much more user-friendly for those applicants those whānau that will be interacting with the court.Likewise the issue around whāngai and adopted children. It can be quite a very sensitive issue in terms of succession for particular—just in general it can be quite a contentious topic. With this bill we are clarifying and making sure that those decisions will ultimately be determined by Māori tikanga of the relevant hapū and iwi. I think that's the best place for those very tricky issues to be determined in accordance with the tikanga. So just returning to the purpose of this bill—it's very important. We are legislating to unlock the potential and enhance the further development of 1.4 million hectares of land across Aotearoa. This is going to be a very welcome piece of legislation and we know that this is just the first in a series of bills and further actions that the Minister and that this coalition Government are doing. We mustn't forget that we are helping—this forms part of our broader programme as a Government about boosting productivity about supporting our regions and economic development and enhancing the opportunities for our whenua and our whānau on those lands—be that through economic generation from their lands or through the ability to have papakāinga housing and support right across hapū up and down Aotearoa. So this is a welcome piece of legislation. Again we are looking forward as a committee to giving it further consideration. I want to acknowledge my colleague the Hon Meka Whaitiri who led the charge when we were in Opposition in terms of highlighting the shortcomings that were evident in the previous incarnation of a ture whenua Māori bill. I'm looking forward to her contribution sitting on our committee with her expert knowledge that she will be able to share with our committee as we further hear from submitters and give further examination to all the different provisions of the bill. So with that I look forward to the work that lies ahead and I commend this bill at its first reading to the House. Kia ora tātou.