Hipango HareteHARETE HIPANGO (National—Whanganui): I've been briefed since Madam Chair. Thank you. I now speak to Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) 259. That has been accepted through the Clerk's Office. It is on the Table and I intend to address the committee and members of the public in relation to this Supplementary Order Paper. To those of us who are viewing out there in the public a Supplementary Order Paper is an amendment to what is proposed under this bill. There are a number of amendments that have put by my colleagues here in the committee and this is critically and literally a matter of life and death. Madam Chair and everybody who is listening in I stand to speak to this Supplementary Order Paper 259 which is in relation to clause 27B proposed to be inserted after clause 27A which addresses and states duties in relation to the Treaty of Waitangi. Madam Chair and members and members of the public—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): I'm sorry to interrupt the member but that has been ruled out of order and no debate on that SOP. HARETE HIPANGO: Madam Chair my understanding is as I have been briefed that it had been resubmitted and that the clerks had endorsed or approved that. CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Well I'm sorry but I don't have it in front of me so—HARETE HIPANGO: Well until we clear that Madam Chair then perhaps—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Sorry but I have ruled that there is no debate on that until something is put in front of me because actually it is the presiding officer who decides whether something is in order or not. It's not—the officials can give advice but it's the presiding officer and I haven't seen anything to make a decision on. Chris Penk: I raise a point of order Madam Chairperson. CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): If you're going to challenge my ruling—Chris Penk: I'm not. My point of order is to seek clarification that we presumably are able to speak to the subject matter—provided we don't—that might happen to have been contained—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): No. Chris Penk: My understanding is that we can't speak to SOPs. CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): No. I ruled very clearly at the beginning that those two were out of order. Chris Penk: Yes. Those two SOPs. CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Those two SOPs. Chris Penk: But the fact that a debating point might happen also to be reflected in the SOP. CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Well the Hon Alfred Ngaro just debated it—Chris Penk: Certainly but if you're making a ruling on the basis of repetition—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): —circuitously. Sit down—sit down. The member Harete Hipango started referring to the Treaty of Waitangi and her SOP. That is ruled out. If it is changed then I have to see it before we can allow any further debate. I don't want another point of order; I have ruled. Harete Hipango had the floor. HARETE HIPANGO: Thank you Madam Chair. Well until such time—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): If she wants to continue her call. HARETE HIPANGO: If the Chair would indulge me to do so. Accordingly I won't be speaking to that SOP but if I may address the committee generally then in relation to issues of concern following on from my colleagues—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): As long as they relate to Part 4 and not general discussion around the bill because to date the committee has accepted that there will be an end of life—you know we've gone through all that in parts earlier. HARETE HIPANGO: All right. In my submission then I refer to clause 27A on SOP 259 which specifically states The Director-General may approve and issue forms for the purposes of this Act." Also I know that this matter has been debated previously but this has correlation and relevance under Part 1 "Purpose of Act" and the purpose of the Act is "to establish a lawful process for assisting eligible persons who exercise that option." So I'm just going to defer to the director-general if this bill is passed into law having the ability the mandate to approve and issue forms for the purposes of this Act. I'm now going to segue that into the relevance of the Treaty of Waitangi. There may not be a provision—it has been ruled out and I accept and heed that from the Chair—but these are matters critically of life and death. I have previously addressed the House around the responsibility that we have as legislators and also that the State and the Crown has in terms of protections and responsibilities to care and provide for our most vulnerable. Our most vulnerable I submit are here those persons who are afflicted with a terminal illness and it is a case of a decision to be made around life and death. The relevance around the provisions of the Treaty of Waitangi or the principles of that—and I correlate this to legislation that is the law of this land in relation to care and protection and the welfare of our children the Oranga Tamariki Act which provides or states specific duties of the chief executive in relation to the Treaty of Waitangi. Madam Chair members of the public and of this House I premise that we know that the foundation of our nation is on the—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Look I'm sorry I'm going to interrupt the member because we are debating Part 4. The member talked about clause 27A where the director-general may approve forms. She needs to relate anything that she's saying specifically to that clause. Just general conversations I'm sorry are out of scope. HARETE HIPANGO: All right then Madam Chair. If I may then just making reference to the legislation that is in place in terms of protecting the vulnerable—and I mentioned a reference to the children—I'm going to bring that back to this law as it relates to the forms and regulations that the director-general may approve. I put it that there are many forms and regulations that chief executives and directors-general of State agencies are required in terms of recognition of those principles under the Treaty of Waitangi and the relationship with the State or the providers of that care around this—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Yes I'm sorry but you're going to have to relate it to the actual forms that the director-general will issue that are in this part described in this part as part of this process OK? HARETE HIPANGO: I'm conscious my time is about to run out. I will contemplate that because the whole point of clause 27A as it has been inserted is that it's there for the director-general to devise what those forms are. I will address the committee later in terms of some of those specific points if I may. Thank you."