3. Question No. 3—FinanceHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 3—Finance3. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Yes in the context in which they were made and undertaken. Hon Paul Goldsmith: How does he square his statement yesterday that a by Māori for Māori solution is not a characterisation of the Government's position in Ihumātao with the Prime Minister's statement in September that the Government is trying to find a by Māori for Māori solution to the issue."? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: There was a longer statement that came before the by Māori for Māori statement that was in the question yesterday. I stand by my answer. Hon Paul Goldsmith: How does he interpret the Prime Minister's statement that the Government is trying to find a by Māori for Māori solution to the issue at Ihumātao? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I think as the member will be well aware the Kīngitanga movement came into this process working with the mana whenua. They in turn have asked the Government to take on a role in facilitating discussions particularly with Fletcher's. That's the role that we are undertaking. Hon Paul Goldsmith: When he's considering a by Māori for Māori solution to this piece of land where do the interests of the landowners and taxpayers fit in? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As I said in the House yesterday the principles with which the Government is approaching this issue are to ensure that we uphold the mana of the Treaty settlement process and that we understand the needs of mana whenua and the needs of Fletcher's as the owners of the land and at all times I have the taxpayers' interests in mind. Hon Paul Goldsmith: When he said yesterday that Fletcher's had "in fact asked us to be able to help them facilitate an enduring solution." was that request from Fletcher's made before or after the Prime Minister vowed that no building would take place in Ihumātao? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I don't believe that's an accurate description of what the Prime Minister said. On 26 July the Prime Minister helped ensure that we got the parties together. Fletcher's are one of those parties. They got in contact with me to help with some facilitation issues early on and they continue to work with us. Hon Paul Goldsmith: Regarding his statement in a speech to the Debt Capital Markets Summit in August last year "We continue to sit near or at the top of Transparency International's ratings for the absence of corruption." how does he think his Government is improving New Zealand's reputation for transparency and an absence of corruption? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Every single day the actions that this Government undertakes enhances New Zealand's reputation in that regard and I would say that the latest rankings for things like ease of doing business in New Zealand fulfil that as do the Transparency International rankings as well. This Government prides itself on the approaches that we take. Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he stand by his statement in an urgent debate relating to the Provincial Growth Fund that "the role that I have in this particular set of circumstances—which is the role I take I might add in most of the discussions about the Provincial Growth Fund—which is to ensure that issues like governance and the overall commercial arrangements that surround a project are ones that we can be satisfied with."? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Yes I stand by that statement. Hon Paul Goldsmith: How can New Zealanders be sure that Ministers making decisions allocating sums from the Provincial Growth Fund don't have undeclared conflicts of interest? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: All Ministers understand their roles and from time to time they will declare conflicts of interest and take advice about conflicts of interest. Ministers understand those roles. Hon Paul Goldsmith: Is he absolutely sure that every potential conflict of interest has been declared by Ministers making decisions allocating sums from the Provincial Growth Fund? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: That would be my expectation but it's also not my responsibility."