Henare Tau: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Henare Tau: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:639;Page:9600] 
12.  
Hon TAU HENARE (National) 
 to the  
Minister of Maori Affairs 
: Did he have a meeting with the Minister of Fisheries last night; if so would it be accurate to describe that meeting as a crisis meeting? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Leader of the House) 
 on behalf of the 
 Minister of Maori Affairs 
: The Minister is currently at the commemorations for the late Dame Te Atairangikaahu at Turangawaewae. The answer is yes and no. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Why did it take until last evening to hold an urgent Clayton’s meeting with the Minister of Fisheries when the decision to defer the reporting date of the bill had already been made yesterday afternoon? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: As far as I am aware the Minister of Maori Affairs and the Minister of Fisheries meet on many occasions. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Does the Minister recall a statement issued by the Labour Maori caucus during the foreshore and seabed debate: “The land wars are over so the consent of tangata whenua is required before customary title can be extinguished. Otherwise it is a confiscation.”; and can we expect just like the foreshore and seabed issue that members of the Labour Maori caucus will stamp their feet shake their taiaha then accept being patted on the head and pushed back into the corner as they are told to do? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: There are discussions occurring that I am sure will lead to a satisfactory outcome from the perspective of a wide range of people. I am sure that the National Party will still find a reason to oppose the legislation and I am sure that before we get to the next election it will express the view that it will not change it. 
Pita Paraone 
: Tena koe Madam Speaker. Does the Labour Maori caucus believe that the sustainability of our fisheries is vital to the success of the Maori Fisheries Act and what would be the effect of the collapse of our fisheries on Maori and the fishing industry? 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I just note that the Minister is not responsible for a caucus meeting or caucus affairs but if the question addresses a ministerial responsibility— 
Pita Paraone 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. This question is to the Minister of Maori Affairs and I understand that the Minister of Maori Affairs is a member of the Labour Maori caucus. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Yes but when he is addressing the question he is responsible only in his role as Minister not as a member of a caucus—I just make that point. Would the member like to rephrase the question so that it is clear it is about a ministerial responsibility. 
Pita Paraone 
: Does the Minister share the view that the Maori caucus believes that the sustainability of our fisheries is vital to the success of the Maori Fisheries Act; and what would be the effect of the collapse of our fisheries on Maori and the fishing industry? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Yes the Minister and his colleagues strongly support the sustainability of the fisheries. There is no point in owning 100 percent of nothing. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Was last night’s crisis meeting the first consultation that he as Minister of Maori Affairs has had with the Minister of Fisheries or has he known about these proposals and been complicit in trying to push them through from the start? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The Minister did not have a crisis meeting last night. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: How many other commercial decisions that directly affect the economic development and well-being of Maori are the Minister’s Cabinet colleagues slipping past him knowing he is not easily woken from the slumber of ministerial comfort? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The Minister attends many many meetings about Maori issues not least meetings with the Attorney-General on matters to do with the foreshore and seabed.