Flavell Te UruroaHon TE URUROA FLAVELL (Minister for Māori Development): Thank you very much Mr Chair and it is good to see you back again. Just to set out it again this is a major piece of legislation and Part 5 of course brings another part to the equation which is about the provisions to enable owners of Māori freehold land to appoint governance bodies to represent them in relation to Māori land and also to allow the Māori Land Court to appoint kaiwhakahaere—which was the point of discussion from some members earlier—to act as agents for the owners when there is a clear need to do so. One of the main features of the bill is a new governance for Māori freehold land. This part shifts the right to appoint and form governance entities to the owners of the relevant freehold land themselves. This is to be done through a process of decision making and registration instead of requiring a discretionary decision from the Māori Land Court by way of application hearing and adjudication. This change is consistent with the principle of rangatiratanga which is at the forefront of this particular piece of legislation and contributes to a new framework in which the aspirations of owners for their land are supported and facilitated. The bill provides a wide range of options for structuring governance bodies and governance arrangements with compliance measures limited to those things essential to ensure that the process is fair and absolutely transparent. This means that owners will be able to set things up to suit their own needs and aspirations and their own tikanga as well as their own preferred way of operating whether that be with a commercially orientated focus or with a strong conservation focus. It has been clear for some time that owners have been looking for more flexibility and more options in setting up governance arrangements. The rangatōpū model responds to that call for better alternatives to ahu whenua trusts. Owners will be able to form an entity under other legislation to be their rangatōpū such as a company or they can form their own private trust. This will not disturb the current structure or constitution of existing ahu whenua trusts whenua tōpū trusts or Māori incorporations which can continue unchanged under the bill. They have a choice to move or transition into the new rangatōpū model but they will not be compelled to do so. This part also sets out a clear straightforward legal framework within which governance bodies may operate that protects the interests of owners if things actually go haywire or go wrong. Specifically about the kaiwhakahaere discussion that is going to come up tonight this bill provides a mechanism for the Māori Land Court to appoint a person as a kaiwhakahaere to act as an agent of the owners of Māori land that does not have a governance arrangement in place. This regime is similar to that found in the current Act and has been part of the legal framework for Māori land since 1974. The role of the kaiwhakahaere is to represent owners for—mostly—one-off specific issues such as responding to a notice issued by a local authority or implementing a decision of the owners. The kaiwhakahaere regime supports the principle of whakawhanake—development—and taonga tuku iho as it involves the owners. This is within the purview of the court and is a protective mechanism—absolutely. So those are some of the points I am sure that are the starting point for our discussion this evening. I am sure that when we get to some of the parts of the amendments presented by Peeni Henare or whoever else is putting forward those amendments I will be able to flesh those out a little bit more. Ka nui te mihi.