Whaitiri MekaHon MEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti): Tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare. Otirā e ngā mema o Te Whare nei tēnā tātou katoa. I am pleased to add my voice of support as all members have in this first reading of Te Ture Whenua Maori (Succession Dispute Resolution and Related Matters) Amendment Bill. It is really important that we get Māori land legislation right not just for Māori land owners not just for Māoridom but for this nation. What do I mean by that? If I look at the Māori economy if I look across the Māori asset classes—to enlighten members of this House—to see Māori ownership in forestry 40 percent of New Zealand forestry is owned by Māori. In lamb production 30 percent of lamb production is owned by Māori. In dairy production 10 percent is owned by Māori and sheep and beef production is 30 percent. Kiwifruit is 10 percent and of course—not land-based—fishing is 50 percent.My point is that a piece of legislation that enables and unlocks the economic value of Māori land while retaining the protection mechanisms as described in the preamble of the existing Act which talks about taonga tuku iho is really really critical and that's why I support this bill. I support this bill because it simply acknowledges the complexity around unlocking the economic potential but not at the risk of losing your rights to Māori whenua.So I am pleased that the Minister for Māori Development has worked to bring this amendment bill to the House. It does isolate the targeted processes around succeeding in the Māori Land Court and if members have never ever been to a Māori Land Court hearing where you hear succession orders I encourage you all to go along and have a listen. I encourage you to go along and have a listen because as the Hon Shane Jones indicated it's not an easy process. Now I consider myself fairly educated. I'm no expert on Māori land. I feel myself that I'm fairly educated in succeeding to my father's land interests and my deceased uncle's land interests—thought I had succeeded only to find out I hadn't and that's by going to the land court. That's not a reflection on the Māori Land Court at all; it's a reflection on the complexity of the process.So that's why I'm supporting this bill because it tries to unlock the complexity of succeeding which is the rightful right of Māori who have interests in land to do. How they do it when they do it and why they do it is really really important. We've got to have a legislative framework that allows Māori land owners and those that have interests or beneficial shareholdings to do exactly that and that's what Minister Mahuta has brought to this House in terms of the succession and trying to simplify it. I love the fact that she's introducing a sort of low-level succession standard which only requires the registrar of the Māori Land Court. Anything more complex it'll obviously get kicked up to the Māori Land Court judges and can I please just acknowledge the work of the Māori Land Court judges throughout the motu. Can I also acknowledge the work of the Māori Land Court staff because under that lot they got under-resourced—they got under-resourced. I know under this side we're making amends on the infrastructure of nine years of neglect and it's not going to get fixed overnight but we're on that pathway.So Minister Mahuta's bill here the ture whenua bill absolutely talks around a Māori land plan. Like she said announced last February there was $56 million in the last Budget and that's to deal with again the targeted issue the vexed issue of how we succeed to land without jeopardising the protection measures of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act.She talked about mediators. I'm pleased to hear that in 2022 we're going to have a suite of new mediators that one of the criteria is that one you've got to have tikanga Māori but you've also got to be a good mediator. During the hearing of the last disastrous bill by that side that's what came to bear with the submitters: the need for good skilled mediators mediators not just in mediation but mediators who had a tikanga Māori skill as well. So I look forward to the Minister bringing that roll-out of that plan. It's an opportunity for a lot of Māori to be those mediators throughout the Māori Land Court and I encourage our whānau who have an interest in Māori whenua wherever they are round the motu to consider for themselves an opportunity around mediation.The Minister also talked about the ongoing plans. She talked about addressing paper roads talked about land acquired under the Public Works Act and she also talked about landlocked lands. So I'm looking forward to seeing further plans that come rolling out as a part of this bill that's just kicking off the phase around the introduction of this particular bill.You see it is a complex issue. It's a complex issue that ensures that with Māori land a lot of Māori land owners for right or wrong reasons may not want to develop it economically. You know it might be a wāhi tapu it might be of significance and they might just want to protect it for future generations and that's entirely their right to do it. But the other fact that I want to bring to the House is that most of the Māori freehold land the 1.4 million hectares is actually in the hands of Māori land owners. They don't necessarily sit at an iwi level and so it's critical that when we roll out Māori land legislation we're actually going to those that that legislation's going to impact on. As we did in the previous one having toured quite extensively during the consultation rounds—I think two rounds that I went—it was really clear the complexity that Māori land owners were saying. There isn't a Māori land owner who doesn't want their whenua developed—there isn't. They just want to be in the middle of that development driving that development leading that development and absolutely acquiring the returns from that development.What we heard when the last lot were in Government is that that wasn't what Māori land owners were seeing. They weren't seeing that. That's why you got the public outcry that they got. That's why Te Ururoa Flavell lost his seat. That's one of the biggest prices that that side needs to acknowledge. You guys cost a Māori member his seat by pushing a piece of legislation that Māori did not want. So it's pleasing that you're supporting this bill to first reading and select committee and I do hope that you keep your ears open to what Māori land owners are going to say because on this side we are going to make sure that Māori land owners do come in front of the select committee and give us their honest feeling about what this bill is proposing because it is a no-brainer bill. It's a no-brainer bill.It's around succession orders. It's around mediation. It's around low-level succession that only requires a register. But the biggest thing for me which is why I'm standing in support of this is that it's part of a bigger suite of plans to unlock potential in Māori land that this coalition Government committed to the day we came into office—the day we came into office. We are a Wellbeing Budget. We are a wellbeing Government that believes in deriving benefits for all. And Māori whenua as I expressed when I opened my contribution in terms of the Māori economy—conservatively valued at $50 billion and growing—is something that should be of interest to all members of this House. So I stand. I want to also acknowledge all the former leaders Māori leaders Māori politicians who have always fought for the retention of Māori land while also looking for opportunities to develop it. So it's with pleasure that I support this bill to first reading and look forward to the many submissions that are going to be coming to our select committee as we work through this piece of legislation that's going to bring those opportunities for Māori land owners throughout the motu. I commend this bill to the House.Bill read a first time. Bill referred to the Māori Affairs Committee.