Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumePeters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 19 November 2013. Volume:695;Page:15066. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]4.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) to theMinister of Māori Affairs: Does he stand by his statement “I know Māori want to talk about the place of the Treaty of Waitangi in our constitution and how our legal and political systems can reflect tikanga Māori.”; if so why?Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Associate Minister of Māori Affairs)on behalf of theMinister of Māori Affairs: Yes; because that is what some folk have been saying to me over the years.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Does he not understand that under our existing constitution and law every New Zealander has the right to practise his or her religious or cultural identity?Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: Yes the Minister understands that perfectly well.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Well if he understands that perfectly well is it his view that our current constitutional arrangements give every New Zealander the same status of citizenship; if so why has he argued for a different constitutional status based on tribalism and race?Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: Yes the Minister understands that equality is a fundamental bedrock principle of our constitution. Constitutional structures evolve over time; there is no big deal in any of that.Rt Hon Winston Peters: If there is no big deal in that why is he arguing for our new constitution to include provisions that would be destructive of democracy—that is to say a provision where one group of New Zealanders gain their status from being New Zealanders and another group gain their status by being members of a tribe or iwi?Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: The Minister’s entire life has been dedicated to equality. That is why he took such a firm stand on the hateful foreshore and seabed legislation which denied people the right of access to the court on the basis of race and which that member supported.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! This is a point of order. It will be heard in silence.Rt Hon Winston Peters: That was a very clear question I asked the Minister and he has not given me any answer at all to the question I have put to him. The question is simply this: why—Mr SPEAKER: Order! No I heard the question and in my opinion the member addressed that question. The way forward is not to raise a point of order with theSpeaker. The way forward is to use a further incisive supplementary question to try to get the answer that the member wants.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The way forward is not as you suggest because we have only a limited number of supplementary questions. We well know that.Mr SPEAKER: Order! How many supplementary questions has the member got left now?Rt Hon Winston Peters: We have only—Mr SPEAKER: He has two left so I suggest he uses them quickly otherwise we will move to the next question.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Well I will ask the same question again one more time and hope for an answer. Why is he arguing for our new constitution to include provisions that would be destructive of democracy—that is to say a provision where one group of New Zealanders gains their status from being New Zealanders and the other group gains their status by being members of a tribe or iwi?Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: I am not arguing for anything that would be destructive of that constitutional bedrock principle of equality before the law. Indeed my entire life has been dedicated to making sure all New Zealanders are equal before the law including Māori who were denied the right to go to court in an endeavour to prove that they had a customary title because they were Māori something I found utterly repugnant. I pay tribute to that outstanding member Tariana Turia who worked with me to ensure that that disgusting legislation was repealed. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is a supplementary question. [Interruption] Order! I am just trying to get the House a bit quieter for the member.Rt Hon Winston Peters: If that customary title legislation was so disgusting to Māori why did every coastal Māori tribe back it unlike what the Minister has just said? More important are we to have now a Parliament that is sovereign or are we to have both a Parliament and a Treaty partner which means we have two sovereigns?Mr SPEAKER: The Hon Chris Finlayson in answer to either of those two questions.Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: I will endeavour to answer those manifold questions. The first is that not every coastal iwi supported that disgusting legislation at all. The second point is that there is no issue about parliamentary sovereignty and the member as usual is chasing moonbeams.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Whether you are aware of it or not there is a constitutional review going on now where precisely that is being argued—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] No what we are getting here is a relitigation of the answer that has been given by way of point of order. That leads to disorder. If the member wants to raise a point of order he should raise it quickly and refer to the particular Standing Order and I will attempt to help the member.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Standing Order is known to all of us. It is that the answer to the question be direct to the question that you were given.Mr SPEAKER: Order! Now the member can resume his seat. That is exactly the point that I made. The member is now relitigating the answer because it is not to the standard the member wants. The member in my opinion addressed very adequately the question that was asked by the member.