Samuels Dover: Maori Purposes Bill — In Committee 
Samuels Dover: Maori Purposes Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:636;Page:6976] 
Hon DOVER SAMUELS (Minister of State) 
: 
 Te mea tuatahi maku kei te mihi atu ki a koe te Kaiwhakahaere. A i tenei po e tu atu ana ki te tautoko i te pire whakawhiriwhiri take Maori. Hoi ano tenei e tu atu ano noki ki te tautoko i taku whanaunga a Pita te mokopuna o Kawiti e tu nei ki te whakamarama ki a tatou nga ahuatanga e pa ana ki tenei wahanga o te Tiriti. 
[ 
Firstly greetings to you Madam Chair. I rise tonight to support the Maori Purposes Bill and my relation Pita grandchild of Kawiti who stood to explain to us aspects of it that relate to this part of the Treaty. 
] 
I am taking a short call to stand and support my whanaunga there Pita Paraone in his submissions supporting this bill. You know it is very interesting that when I hear the comments of some of the previous speakers and those from the Kakariki the Greens I am inspired to recognise that we are getting closer to the days of festival the days of merry Christmas happy New Year and Santa Claus. I have listened to a lot of speeches in this House and I know that sometimes people get transformed as they get closer to Christmas because the figments of imagination and fantasy bloom in all of us as we peruse a number of bills that come before this House. But I suggest that if the Green Party supports a 2050 close-off then I do not think that many people will be around this House by that date—I certainly will not be here. I just wonder at their rationale because quite frankly the majority of the Maori people in this country want to get this business over and done with. 
Shane Jones 
: Apopo. 
Hon DOVER SAMUELS 
: Apopo—they want to get on with the action. “Bring it on!” They want to be able to see a cut-off date put their claims in do their research and get on with the job. They do not want all this ehara kau ratou te iwi Maori e hiahia ana kia tarewa tonu tenei kaupapa. 
[ 
they the Maori people do not want this matter left unsettled 
.] 
They do not want to see this hanging over their heads for the rest of their lives especially to 2050. Then in 2050 there will be some crazy somebody from some crazy party who will say that 2050 is not good enough so let us move it to 2100. Well it would just go on and on and on— 
Shane Jones 
: Good idea! 
Hon DOVER SAMUELS 
: It is nice for the whanaunga to say good one—kei te pai. Most of us will probably be in the mortuary by then but anyway no worries. 
I come back to some of the bills that have come before this House just before Christmas. I know that we all have good feeling for each other—some more than others—but when we look at this bill we see there is a lot of rational thought behind it and I support the submission of my whanaunga Pita Paraone. It just makes common sense. Let us get on with it. 
I know that National has said that it supports the date of 2008 as the date of introduction. National said that it was its policy to begin with. We can have another korero about that later on but as I said earlier on Christmas brings some funny things and perhaps people forget their own policy. But this is the date that has been mooted by the Labour Party since I was a young fella. 
I congratulate the Minister of Maori Affairs on bringing this bill and specifically this provision before the Committee. I wish him well. Some of the things that are raised in this Committee in terms of time frames really amaze me. I come back to what I said—perhaps it is because we are getting towards Christmas time. Maybe one day we will see the Minister of Maori Affairs coming down the chimney delivering some presents. I know that he is keen to do that; he is keen to put on the red suit come down the chimney and fill the tokenas with good kohas. So in terms of the debate I have heard a lot of funny things as we get closer to Christmas but I think that the submissions made by the Green Party actually take the cake. 
I support the bill and I believe that the majority of the people in this country and the majority of Maori people want to get on with the business put their submissions and applications in by 2008 do the research and get on and settle the claims. 
No reira kei te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. Meri Kirihimete ki a koutou katoa. Tena koutou kia ora tatou. 
[ 
So I greet you all. Merry Christmas and good health to one and all. 
]