Ririnui Mita: Treaty of Waitangi (Removal of Conflict of Interest) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Ririnui Mita: Treaty of Waitangi (Removal of Conflict of Interest) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:640;Page:10292] 
Hon MITA RIRINUI (Associate Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations) 
: 
Otira kei te Kaiwhakawa e noho nei i te turu o te Whare nei tena koe otira tena tatou. Tu noa iho tenei ki te tautoko i te panuitanga tuatahi o tenei pire. Otira i mua atu i tena he whakaaro ke ta matou kei tenei taha o te Whare. No reira ko koe ra e Pita nau tonu i arahi mai tenei pire i runga i tou ake whakaaro kia whakatikatikangia nga ahuatanga e pa ana ki te taraipiunara kia ahei hoki te hunga kei waho ki te korerohia o ratou whakaaro e pa ana ki tenei pire no reira tena koe.  
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
Greetings to you indeed Madam Assistant Speaker presiding in the Chair of this House and greetings to us as well. I rise in support of this bill’s first reading. Further to that we on this side of the House have our own views about it. And to you Pita the leading figure of this bill based on your thoughts to amend aspects relating to the tribunal and to give the public a chance to express their views on this bill greetings to you. 
] 
I thank the interpreter for that interpretation of my korero. It was very accurate. 
This is a very small bill when compared with many of the bills that come before the House. As I said earlier on I stand to support the first reading of this bill. But having said that and having listened to the speeches made by the member responsible for the bill and by the National member Chris Finlayson it is obvious that although this is only a small bill—a very succinct bill—it has far-reaching implications for many people. In fact when I read through it—and I comment to the member himself—I would have been tempted to rename it the “Treaty of Waitangi (Sudden Death for Some) Bill” because it basically goes to the heart of what they see as the problem. 
Every time we talk about the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 and we talk about the Waitangi Tribunal a bit of history is conjured up in this House. It is important that we acknowledge the history of the tribunal and all those who have sat on the tribunal since its instigation. In particular I refer to those members of the then Labour Government who had the boldness and the courage to introduce to this Parliament a bill of this magnitude knowing full well that there would be considerable resistance out there in the wider community. I also acknowledge their foresight in recommending that the tribunal be established to hear claims as from 1975. It was not the perfect situation I am aware for those members at that time but it was a very very good start. 
As I stand here I am reminded of the great work of the then Minister of Maori Affairs the Hon Mat Rata who basically drove the legislation through. I will take a moment to acknowledge the chairman of the special select committee that was brought together at that time and who happens to be my uncle Brown Rewiti the Labour member for Tai Rawhiti. So it has quite a history. 
In 1985 the jurisdiction of the tribunal was extended to hear claims dating back to 1840. I also take the opportunity to acknowledge the work of the then Minister of Maori Affairs the Hon Koro Wetere; the many Maori members of Parliament at that time; and those who sat on the tribunal from that time up until today. None of us who have observed and who have been direct participants in the journey of our nation since 1985 could dispute the huge impact that the tribunal and its inquiries have had on our development—for instance who we are where we come from and how we do things. I think in recent weeks we have been reminded of how we should do things. 
When the tribunal was established in 1975 the Treaty of Waitangi Act provided that it consist of a chairperson who could only be the Chief Judge of the Maori Land Court plus two other persons. Subsequent amendments increased the membership and the Act now provides for up to 16 members. The Act also provided that the Chief Judge of the Maori Land Court also be the chairperson of the tribunal. This requirement remained in position until 1998 when the longstanding chairperson of the Maori Land Court Chief Judge Eddie Durie was elevated to the High Court. Concurrent to this the Act was amended so that the chairperson of the tribunal could be either a judge or a retired judge of the High Court or the Chief Judge of the Maori Land Court. This enabled Justice Durie to continue as chairperson of the tribunal while also serving as a judge of the High Court. In recent years he has been succeeded as chairperson by the Chief Judge of the Maori Land Court Joe Williams. 
The Treaty of Waitangi Act enables the chairperson of the tribunal from time to time to appoint a judge including the Chief Judge of the Maori Land Court as the deputy chairperson of the tribunal. The Act also authorises the chairperson to appoint judges of the Maori Land Court as presiding officers of the tribunal. I think this is the area of conflict that my colleague Pita Paraone is referring to. The legislation therefore contemplates that serving judges will play a significant role in tribunal matters. The bill before us proposes the removal of the inherent conflict of interest of having a serving judge of the High Court or the Maori Land Court including the Chief Judge of the Maori Land Court sit on the Waitangi Tribunal. The bill proposes that serving judges not be eligible to sit on the tribunal but that retired judges can be appointed. The argument appears to be that retired judges will not have the described inherent conflict. Thank you Madam Speaker.