Costley TimTIM COSTLEY (National—Ōtaki): It's a pleasure to speak on this the McLean Institute (Trust Variation) Bill. I would like to bring this back to values if I can. There'll be some watching—maybe they've just tuned in and I think it's worth recapping—thinking Why is Parliament spending time looking at a charitable trust?" I mean many people in our community have vast experience with different charitable trusts. I for one formed a charity called the Missing Wingman Trust that looks after Air Force families when someone is killed injured wounded or ill—we call them our KIWI families: killed injured wounded or ill. Of course that was incorporated through a trust deed registered with the Charities Commission at the Department of Internal Affairs. So the question that some might asked is: why would this one go through Parliament? Some of those watching this may have missed the earlier part where it was explained that obviously this was taken to the High Court but because it was incorporated by an Act of Parliament it needs to be adjusted now through Parliament—the trust variation comes through this. This will in process—Katie Nimon: Set them free.TIM COSTLEY: Well it will set them free Katie and it will allow this in future not to have to come through Parliament for variation. But we are caught in a situation where it's necessary to come back to the House of Parliament to put this trust variation through.I for one would like to be focusing Parliament's time on some of the other members' bills instead—for example the Crimes (Impeding Major Bridges Tunnels and Roads) Amendment Bill a great member's bill in my name which I'd love to see come before the House. But instead due to process we have to speak about this one the McLean Institute (Trust Variation) Bill.I thought that to understand some of the values it's important to understand the history of Allan McLean. We've heard a little bit particularly about the end of his life but I don't think we can understand why this trust was set up in the way that it was and ensure that we are maintaining that alignment with values unless we really understand the man and his thinking at the time. I was really interested as many others in this House may well might be to read about his early life. Obviously McLean from the island of Coll; my ancestors would be Maclean of Duart but we'd probably share a tartan somewhere along the way. So that was a nice little personal touch.But of course he had a tough upbringing. His father tragically was killed in a boating accident when he would have been around 14 years old from my reading. His older brother John and he and his younger brother were left to run the family farm—his older brother only 18 at the time—plus two sisters. A family of five kids and the mum left to run the family farm. If that wasn't tough enough four years later the crops failed. They could have been left destitute. And we see that early sign of why he would be thinking about women that were left through no fault of their own in a tough situation because we saw that right at the start of his upbringing.His mum was a strong woman by all accounts and actually took the very bold step of moving the family to Australia. They were close to the final solution—to that place that the McLeans would call home. But they moved to Australia pursuing gold mining near Ballarat situated near Melbourne in Victoria. It looked like the family had got themselves back on top when they were tipped off by a Chinese friend by the name of Fan So that someone was plotting to kill his older brother John to steal the gold that they had found—literally it was hidden in their tent and they were going to be killed in the process. So once again they sold up the property they had acquired in Australia and moved to New Zealand. That's when they came and they arrived in Canterbury and I think this is important with the small means—"the small" it says; the small—they had which included 500 ewes cattle and horses—not that small.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): And this is going to come back to the bill.TIM COSTLEY: It is because I think we need to understand that not just once but twice his family were left in a terrible situation not because of anything his mum or his family had done and this speaks to the motivation of the bill.When we consider varying a bill like this one that was written as my great colleague Paulo Garcia said in a completely different time to what we speak in now we talk about different cultural norms we talk about different practices. The language we've heard from many members across the House is so different. We have to fundamentally understand the values that would have driven this the values as he arrived on that farm in Waimakariri—good Matt Doocey territory that one. We have to understand the values.I'd like to speak to what the values of this man and his family were. They were known for having and I quote "Loyal heart gracious manners and the will to work hard"—loyal hearts gracious manners and the will to work hard. People spoke of their steadfastness their courage their faith in each other and Allan Mclean's fundamental faith in other people. This is why I believe he wanted to form this. You know this trust that we're speaking of here today was formed without anyone knowing until the time of his death. People said "Why is he building"—Cameron Brewer just gave us a great example of this—"this massive wooden mansion?" as it was known at the time. Why was he building this? He was a bachelor he never married and he didn't have his own children. But his secret plan all along was to use the wealth that he had accumulated for the betterment of others. It was this altruistic principle that drove him—that drove him.So when we consider amending this—and his will is spoken as being one of the most detailed written by three lawyers—we have to run this through a filter of: is this the intent? We can modernise the language but are we maintaining that original intent? Would Allan McLean be proud of what we're doing here today? We are proud of the great work that the trust he formed his charity has done for so many people. Are the changes that we are making today as we send this through aligned with his original intent?Katie Nimon: And will they last another hundred years?TIM COSTLEY: As I read well—well it is important that they would last another hundred years because this is the last time that Parliament will have to look at this as it moves through this process now and then is taken outside Parliament. I think we owe it to the Allan McLeans of this world to ensure that we are sticking to those original values—values like strong families and caring communities; values like personal responsibility for working hard competitive enterprise and reward for achievement; loyalty to his country. These are the kind of values that we read of when we read the history of Allan McLean. Great values. Values that every Kiwi would I think want to be proud of.So the language may have been different back at that time but the values I think that we can extract are really important and something I'm proud of to stand here today—and I hope that Allan McLean would be proud of the new version of the bill. Modifiied I think positive changes have come out of the Social Services and Community Committee; it certainly removed a few questions that some might have had.But I think when we think back to that experience—I mean Madam Speaker can you imagine being put in a position where as a 14-year-old child you've lost your father you have seen the only source of income your farm completely wiped bare by crop failures as was around that whole community?ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): Come back to the bill.TIM COSTLEY: Well this is the bill because this bill is about the McLean Institute and why he would have founded that what he would want us to have at heart.Hon Carmel Sepuloni: Madam Speaker knows what the bill is about.TIM COSTLEY: I think—well some members in this House may not care—Hon Carmel Sepuloni: She spoke more on it at select committee than anyone else.TIM COSTLEY: —to spend more than two minutes on this and just dismiss it; they'll be back to the island in no time or maybe they got voted off the island.But this actually matters because values are important. Values are what drive us. Values come from the unique and harrowing experiences that someone like Allan McLean had—that drive to ensure that we are caring for people in our community that women and their children have a means to be looked after where otherwise they may not and not because it's their fault in any way that they found themselves in these circumstances. That is very clear from the bill. We need to care for them and help them.Here is a man that took his entire life's work and was willing to dedicate it to others. I think that's something we can learn from. I think that's something that we can take heart in. Those great values that we saw from Allan McLean—caring community strong families competitive enterprise—are great values for all of us—great values for all of us. That's why as I read this bill the McLean Institute (Trust Variation) Bill I have no hesitation—thinking about his life and the values that would have underpinned him and what he would want from this—in commending this to the House."