Ririnui Mita: Maori Trustee Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Ririnui Mita: Maori Trustee Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:653;Page:2324] 
Hon MITA RIRINUI (Labour) 
: 
 Otira kia ora tatou. Wahi tuatahi ano e tika ana kia tautoko i nga korero whakatau nei i runga i te wahine o te motu i tenei haora a te honore a Helen Clark. Kua korerohia e te Pirimia tana korero ki te whakanui i te turanga kua whiwhi mai ra i tenei wahine rangatira. No reira tenei na ko te tu ake ki te tautoko ake. 
[ 
Greetings indeed to us. But first and foremost it is fitting that I endorse the congratulatory messages bestowed upon the lady of this hour and of the nation the Rt Hon Helen Clark. In his congratulatory address the Prime Minister extolled the position that this great leader had secured. I rise to support it 
.] 
Before referring to the Maori Trustee Amendment Bill I join the Prime Minister and other speakers in the House today in congratulating the Rt Hon Helen Clark on her magnificent achievement in gaining the position she now holds. As was said on the 6 p.m. news tonight it was good to see this House unanimous in its support for her in acknowledging her great achievement. Naturally we all wish her well. 
I refer to the Maori Trustee Amendment Bill before us this evening. This is the second reading of the bill. I am in some ways amused and bemused in particular by some of the comments made by the previous speaker Tau Henare whom I see has now left the House which is fine. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: The member cannot comment that a member is not here. 
Hon MITA RIRINUI 
: I apologise for that Mr Deputy Speaker. No offence was intended. 
I acknowledge the support of the Minister of Maori Affairs Dr Pita Sharples for this bill. In particular I acknowledge the efforts and foresight of the previous Minister of Maori Affairs the Hon Parekura Horomia who basically listened very very carefully to a number of leading Maori commentators who have been saying for a number of years that the Maori Trust Office needed to be a stand-alone organisation. In other words it should not be an attachment to the Ministry of Maori Development whose primary role is to provide policy advice to the Government whichever Government it may be. 
The role of the Maori Trustee is to administer multiple-owned Maori lands that have not been succeeded to and over a number of years considerable putea or returns have accumulated. I have on many occasions heard Maori leaders say that this fund needs to be utilised. I am sure that during my years employed at Te Puni Kokiri the Ministry of Maori Development the then chief executive Harawira Gardiner also expressed those views. 
I am glad that this evening we are debating this particular matter. Part 1 sits comfortably with a number of people in this House. However Part 2 has met with some considerable resistance. I can go back to the comments made by a former Minister of Maori Affairs the Hon Tau Henare who basically exaggerated a lot of the comments made at the Maori Affairs Committee. I am amused or bemused by the fact that he is opposed to Maori utilising this particular fund when it has been sitting there for a number of years underutilised. It could be utilised in a positive way to promote Maori development particularly in the area of business development. That is what is intended in the case of Part 2. 
I recall that Mr Henare worked during the 6 years when he was out of this House—when he was on the bench as we might say—for an organisation that was partly established by this fund. I am wondering why it was OK back then but that now when we are looking to formalise the utilisation of the fund it is not OK. In fact he described this bill as stealing money from Maori landowners. This is their money; there is no dispute about that. What he overlooked is that many of those who would be able to utilise this fund are also the beneficiaries of the fund. Why Maori have not succeeded to their interest in Maori land is a question that will be around for a very very long time. I remind that member that he needs to show some consistency. If it was all right for him to be employed by an organisation that utilised this fund for its establishment then I ask why he is so against Maori across the board using the fund for economic development. It certainly eludes me. 
Hon Nanaia Mahuta 
: What was that organisation? 
Hon MITA RIRINUI 
: I do not want to name the organisation because it is a very very credible and honourable organisation—may it reign for a very long time. 
I also acknowledge that since the change in Government there has also been a change in the membership of the Maori Affairs Committee. That committee had a very very difficult task given the opposition of the National members on the committee. The National members had their own reasons and we have no issue with that but as I said there needs to be consistency. 
There certainly needs to be an acknowledgment of the efforts of the officials from Te Puni Kokiri and in particular of members of the Maori Affairs Committee. Dave Hereora is no longer in Parliament but he managed to facilitate and chair a very very difficult committee through a difficult time. 
Nathan Guy 
: What’s he doing now? What’s he up to? 
Hon MITA RIRINUI 
: I tell the member to keep quiet as he might learn something. I also acknowledge the Hon Mahara Okeroa who is no longer in this House. He provided some very very sound advice to the Maori Affairs Committee. The New Zealand First member Pita Paraone also had a lifetime of experience in Maori development with the Ministry of Maori Development and the Maori Trust Office. Those people brought valuable information knowledge and skills to the table when we were discussing the merits of this bill. Those people could tell the members stories of a number of organisations that have in the past accessed this fund. 
I am concerned that when people in some organisations are out in the community working they have a particular point of view as they should but when they come into this House and take over the Treasury benches their view is completely different. In fact what is good for them is not good for everybody else. That is the whole issue here. The fact that this accumulated fund with the Maori Trust Office has never been properly utilised to facilitate Maori economic development is a tragedy. 
As the previous Minister of Maori Affairs the Hon Parekura Horomia highlighted in his speech in the House this afternoon a lot of work has gone into the development of this amendment bill. A lot of discussion has also taken place not just in the last few months of 2008 but over a number of years. I personally take offence when the Hon Tau Henare says that the previous Minister of Maori Affairs did nothing prior to the 2008 election. That is not true and if that member had not been out of here and on the bench the past 6 years then he would know that for a fact. I am sure that other Maori members in this House of whichever persuasion are aware of that as well. 
The previous Minister of Maori Affairs made it very clear when he became the Minister of Maori Affairs that his intention was to find innovative ways to assist Maori economic development. This bill is one of the ways in which—with the assistance of his Cabinet colleagues and particularly the previous Prime Minister and the previous Minister of Finance—he was able to do that. The previous Government was going to make a considerable contribution to this particular fund not only to assist in the development of Maori economic development but also to accelerate it. Now that opportunity may be lost. 
By the way when the former Minister of Maori Affairs became the Minister he enjoyed an appropriation in excess of $300 million annually for Maori development but when he left office it was below $57 million annually. I would like to ask the member who is not in the House how that happened. I think it was because as members have heard in the House this evening he has a do-nothing attitude—of not making the hard decisions because he may have to live with them. Well what is wrong with that? That is why the member is here. He should learn to suck it up and get on with the job. That is what people expect from him. 
This bill is very similar to other pieces of legislation that have come before the Maori Affairs Committee and those are too numerous to name. But I find that the attitude from some members has been the same—do nothing because it is too tough to make the right decision. Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker.