6. Question No. 6—JusticeHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of JusticeQuestion No. 6—Justice6. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of Justice: Is the Government committed to equal voting rights for all New Zealanders and regular accountability for all elected members at the ballot box?Hon KRIS FAAFOI (Minister of Justice): Yes. As I've previously stated in the House the Government is committed to every New Zealander's right to participate in our democracy on a fair and equal basis. In fact just today I've announced that the Government will be introducing a bill to allow Māori voters to switch electoral rolls at almost any time and this responds to repeated calls from both a number of justice select committees and the Electoral Commission to address the issue of the timing of the frequency of the Māori electoral option. Removing the restrictions that currently lock Māori voters into their roll choice for two general elections will be a significant improvement to the status quo that prevents Māori voters from fully exercising their electoral rights. I hope to see support from that member for these changes given his recent comments on equal suffrage and the recommendation of Parliament's Justice Committee inquiry into the general election in 2014 which was done in 2016 under the last National Government.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Have you got a supplementary?Hon Paul Goldsmith: Yes. Getting back to the question why are equal voting rights for New Zealanders and accountability at the ballot box important?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: For good governance.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Then how can the Government claim it's committed to equal voting rights when its Ministers voted for the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Bill which allows for two additional representatives to be appointed by Ngāi Tahu thereby moving away from equal voting rights for all New Zealanders and the ability of voters to remove councillors?Hon Chris Hipkins: Point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister is not responsible for the way members of Parliament vote. He's responsible for Government policy.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Speaking to the point of order Mr Speaker the primary asked: is the Government committed to two principles? And it flows perfectly to ask then why a Government voted for a bill that goes against those principles.DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Minister can answer in so far as he has responsibility.Hon KRIS FAAFOI: As has just been pointed out by the Leader of the House that is a local bill that has been brought forward by the Environment Canterbury council and also Ngāi Tahu which the Government has supported in order to make sure that that representation and request from the local community can be prosecuted.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he agree with the Ministry of Justice's advice on the Canterbury Regional Council bill which said the bill breached the Human Rights Act in that it draws distinctions based on race but that breach is justified by the Treaty?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: I will also note that that bill has been through the Attorney-General's New Zealand Bill of Rights Act process and has come through with a tick.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Has it? Does he agree with the Attorney-General's advice in relation to the Rotorua District Council bill This proposed arrangement detracts from the key constitutional principle of equal representation in a representative democracy. I consider that there must be strong reasons to depart from this fundamental constitutional principle and accordingly to justify the limit on the right to freedom from discrimination."; and if so did he have concerns with the Ministry of Justice's different advice in relation to the Canterbury Regional Council bill which equally moves away from equal representation?Hon Chris Hipkins: Point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister has no responsibility for the issues raised in the member's question. The issues around the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act vetting are matters for the Attorney-General and the two bills in question are not Government bills.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Point of order Mr Speaker. I actually just asked—DEPUTY SPEAKER: No no. If you want to speak to that point of order you can. I haven't ruled on it yet so you can speak to that not a new one.Hon Paul Goldsmith: I just actually asked that similar question to the Attorney-General and he said it wasn't a matter for him; it was a matter for the Minister of Justice because the advice came from the Ministry of Justice. I'm asking about the advice that the Attorney-General did and contrasting it with advice from the Ministry of Justice for which he is responsible.David Seymour: Speaking to the point of order Mr Speaker. The member asked about the Minister of Justice's views. Now I as a member and my constituents do want to know what the Minister of Justice thinks about these matters—including perhaps for reference whether he agrees with the Attorney-General's report on a matter that he does have wider responsibility for.Hon David Parker: Speaking to the point of order.DEPUTY SPEAKER: OK. One more.Hon David Parker: The Hon Paul Goldsmith with respect that's not what I said at select committee—that was represented to the Speaker there. I said it didn't fall within the Estimates.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yeah. I'm going to rule the question out of order. The Minister the Hon Kris Faafoi is not responsible for advice from officials from another Minister's office.Chris Bishop: Point of order.DEPUTY SPEAKER: A new point of order?Chris Bishop: Well Mr Speaker the question was about whether or not the Minister of Justice agreed with the opinion of the Attorney-General and the Ministry of Justice has the custodianship of electoral law in New Zealand and the Minister of Justice is responsible for that advice; in fact there's a long history of the Ministry of Justice being a good steward of electoral law. So I think it's perfectly in order for the justice spokesperson from the Opposition to ask the Minister of Justice about whether or not he agrees with the advice of his colleague the Attorney-General in relation to the matter that he's responsible for.DEPUTY SPEAKER: And I've ruled otherwise. The Minister is responsible only—it's only relevant to ask the Minister for views on matters that he is responsible for.Hon Paul Goldsmith: I'm not arguing—well—DEPUTY SPEAKER: No no no. Aroha mai kua mutu tēnei take? He pātai anō? [I'm sorry has this issue ended? Are there any other questions?] Hon Paul Goldsmith: Yes I've got another question. Thank you Mr Speaker. When did we decide that Treaty principles trump democratic norms that we enjoyed for a century; namely equal voting rights and the ability to throw our representatives at elections?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: No one's decided that. That's an assertion that the member is making. I would point out again that the bill that member is asking about has been called on by the locals and the local iwi. I'm not sure if that member whakapapas back to Ngāi Tahu I'm not sure which iwi he is from but we want to honour the commitment that that local government body has to make sure that this bill is put before the House.Hon Michael Wood: Does the Minister continue to support the right of members of the Independent Māori Statutory Board to have voting rights on Auckland Council committees as established by the Auckland Council legislation in 2012?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: Yes."