1. Question No. 1—Prime MinisterHon JUDITH COLLINS (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Prime Minister1. Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's statements and actions?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): [Uses sign language] Thank you Mr Speaker—in acknowledgment of New Zealand Sign Language this week. Yes in particular our announcement today for pay parity for early learning teachers. The Minister announced today that Budget 2021 will see funding of $170 million over four years to help deliver pay parity. This builds on the $151.1 million provided for improving teacher pay in Budget 2020. This will see certified teachers on the lowest pay in early education and care services take another large step towards pay parity with their equivalent in kindergartens. These changes will address difficulties with recruitment and we hope reduce turnover in education and care services enabling teachers to provide the consistent and secure relationships children need. This is an important part of our economic recovery plan further shows our commitment to addressing inequality by delivering salary increases to lower-paid workers and supporting pay parity while carefully managing our way through the impact of COVID-19 on the economy the books and on our people.Hon Judith Collins: When she told media on Monday that she plans to have public engagement on the He Puapua report when will that public engagement take place and what form will it take?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Actually this is the very issue itself that Ministers are yet to consider. But that is why He Puapua were asked to come together and to provide not only their expert opinion on the delivery of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples within New Zealand but actually how we as a Government should engage with the people of New Zealand—Hon Member: When?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: —in responding. I hear the member's call for a time line on that and whilst I can't provide that today I can tell you it will not take the nine years that it took National.Hon Judith Collins: Does she endorse her Minister for Māori Development's statement last night that he would first talk to Māori to see where they see things are going particularly in terms of the constitution … We want to get their view and then we want the public's on where we go in terms of the partnership."?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I would be very surprised if had the National Government fulfilled its commitment in its Cabinet minute in 2014 to set up a pathway to fulfilling the declaration—I would've been very surprised if that did not involve engagement with Māori because after all it was meant to be about a pathway to seeing the declaration lived up to within New Zealand and it is a declaration on the rights of indigenous people. So somehow the idea that you wouldn't talk to Māori about that seems slightly farcical to me.Hon Judith Collins: Does she in any way accept the view in He Puapua that New Zealand has two spheres of governance the Kāwanatanga sphere that represents the Crown and the rangatiratanga sphere that reflects Māori?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I see that as a reflection of the basic principles of the Treaty of Waitangi that's being reflected there by the members of He Puapua. However again you know I come back to this very simple premise that we spoke about a little bit in the House yesterday: it is 2021. You know in my view I think New Zealand generally accepts that we have a relationship between the Crown and Māori that does make us unique. I don't think we should be afraid about seeing further progress in the way that we build and improve that relationship. My question to the National Party would be: you seemed willing to see that progress in Government; you seem wholly unwilling from Opposition.Hon Judith Collins: Is this dual Government model what her Minister for Māori Crown Relations was referring to yesterday when he asked her if she agreed with the "comments made at the Iwi Chairs Forum in Porirua on Friday that when kāwanatanga and rangatiratanga work together in partnership we'll see great things happening."?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I see that all that the Minister for Māori Crown Relations was reflecting are the three principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Can you please give your view on whether the Leader of the Opposition's continued attack on Māori is racist?SPEAKER: There's a couple of things about that question. One of them is the "you" in it and the other is I think asking for a view on a matter which is well outside the Prime Minister's responsibility.Hon Judith Collins: Does she agree with former Prime Minister David Lange who stated that "Democratic Government can accommodate Māori political aspiration in many ways. … What it cannot do is acknowledge the existence of a separate sovereignty. As soon as it does … it isn't a democracy."?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I have no doubt that if David Lange had the ability to remark on what we are doing as a Government in the area for instance of health reform he would applaud it. What the member characterises as separatism I characterise as partnership and it is just unacceptable I would hope for any member in this House to stand by while we have a health system or systems across the board that lead to different outcomes for different people in New Zealand. Our job as Government is to make sure that we see opportunity and the potential of all New Zealanders realised and our current systems do not always achieve that.Rawiri Waititi: Point of order. Mr Speaker I seek your guidance and advice. Over the past two weeks there has been racist propaganda and rhetoric towards tangata whenua. That not only is insulting to tangata whenua but diminishes the mana of this House.SPEAKER: I thank the member for his point of order. I think I relatively ineloquently made comments in this area last week and that is that we are a House of Representatives that there are a broad range of views within the House and part of my responsibility is to allow those views to be aired. Many things in the time that I've been a member of Parliament have resulted in discomfort to other members because the views are very different and there are almost certainly some views that were expressed earlier in my career that would now be regarded as out of order for the reasons that the member has expressed. In my view we are not at that point now.Hon Judith Collins: Is it her—Rawiri Waititi: Point of order.SPEAKER: I am going to warn the member that—no the member will sit down when I stand up—litigation or relitigation of points of order or decisions on points of order is in itself disorderly and now that the member has been warned it would make it deliberately disorderly. So I am asking the member to make sure that if he has a point of order it is a fresh and different one.Rawiri Waititi: Fresh and different point of order Mr Speaker. When it comes to views of indigenous rights and indigenous peoples those views must be from those indigenous peoples for the indigenous rights of our people. They can't be determined by people who are not indigenous. So what I am asking e hika mā to this House—tēnā koe e te Pirīmia—is that if we find this attitude acceptable in this House the constant barrage of insults to tangata whenua then I find this House in disrepute and—SPEAKER: Order! Order!Rawiri Waititi: —Te Paati Māori—SPEAKER: Order! Order! The member's mike's off so he will resume his seat. [Member performs haka] Order! The member will now leave the Chamber.Rawiri Waititi withdrew from the Chamber. Hon Judith Collins: Is it her Government's position that article 2 of the Treaty is "exercise within the Crown's right to govern" as in the Cabinet circular or in partnership with the Crown as her Government is now stating?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I absolutely stand by the manifestation of the idea of partnership in the way that we are reforming the health system. There has been sentiment from the National Party when they were in Government that suggested they viewed these matters the same way. I note that the document that was part of the Māori health strategy released under the last National Government He Korowai Oranga states "Enabling whānau hapū … and Māori to exercise control over their own health and wellbeing as well as the direction and shape of their own institutions communities and development as a people is a key thread of He Korowai Oranga." Again as I've said we as a nation have been making progress. There is a lot of work to be done. I would encourage the National Party to return to the position they once held of the idea of partnership because I see this as a lead from—Hon Gerry Brownlee: It's just an answer not a speech.Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: —the Leader of the Opposition that is fundamentally taking us backwards.Hon Gerry Brownlee: No lecture required.SPEAKER: Order! Order! I'd just like to ask the Hon Gerry Brownlee to stop coaching me. Thank you.Hon Judith Collins: Does she agree with He Puapua that our current Government does not reflect the Treaty and that honouring the Treaty requires a rebalancing of the Crown and Māori spheres of governance?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Again a demonstration that this was a report—a group that we brought together to provide us with ideas advice and their views. It was not a Government report. As that statement then demonstrates the member cannot have it both ways. I'll say again what I said last week: we have not yet considered the report including the views that sit within it."