Brownlee GerryHon GERRY BROWNLEE (National): I'm just picking up from where my colleague just left off but first can I just refer to the comments made by Minister Nanaia Mahuta prior to Mr Luxon taking his call. She said that Isn't it strange that here we are 20 years later from a time when a bill like this was discussed we're discussing the same things and we're hearing the same arguments." and then there was sort of an idea that we hadn't made somehow some sort of progress. Well what's wrong with there being argument that sustains over a long period of time?It was to me—with all due respect to you Minister—quite a statement about the arrogance of the position that you and your party are taking on this particular bill. If we look at it you could take the other side of the argument and say that when all of the binding referendum aspects of the polls on Māori wards and Māori constituencies are disestablished and it's just in the hands of the elected members who sit around a particular table as to whether or not they go or stay or are created or are disbanded then where is the gain for any community that wants a particular degree of representation? I just don't think there's been enough thinking about this.In the earlier part of the debate we heard from a number of people who were saying that if you actually looked at the proportional representation of our population these days Māori are well represented at local body levels. In the South Island Ngāi Tahu have decided they don't want this.Chris Bishop: Is that right—they don't want it?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: They've decided they don't want it. Why? Because they work incredibly constructively with local government throughout the South Island—incredibly productively with South Island councils—and they have developed two things. They've developed the strategic partnerships and they have developed the whole concept of reasonable respect through a co-governance model. We found out a lot about that in Christchurch. Without the generosity of Ngāi Tahu there would not be as much residential land available in Canterbury in the present time as there is and there certainly wouldn't have been as quickly as it was after the earthquakes of 10 years ago.So you've got to ask this question: why is there a Minister standing up and telling Māori throughout the country "Wave a flag thump a drum. This is great."? We have handed over the future of Māori representation at local government to all the old grey white men who sit around council tables from one end of the country to the other—utterly ridiculous. And to say "Well the problem is that no one came along with a poll to say 'Let's have Māori representation.' in the short time that the opportunity has existed." a time where if you go back to that point the Minister welcomed it as groundbreaking legislation but now says "No it's racist." somehow—that's just an excuse. It's just an excuse.I would like to know why it is that so many members in this Chamber tonight are going to stick their hand up repeatedly as we go through the clauses of this bill and say "Yep that's me." when they read here what it actually says. It takes away the authority or the power or the capability of a local community to go to their local authority and say "We want specific representation." and it hands it to all those people sitting at the council table to make a decision on. Well guess whose shoulder they look over! Their own and when they see people who don't like it why are they going to stick their hand up?It's unbelievable it's almost the trick of charlatanism but it most certainly should not be called a "Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill". "Abolition Bill" would be a good word but I think the phrase that was used by Mr Luxon which said "Removal of the Poll" was probably the most accurate title this could be given because it doesn't guarantee anything. It doesn't guarantee a single bit of extra representation to Māori communities anywhere from one end of this country to the other. What it does is put their fate in the hands of all of those who sit at council tables from one end of the country to the other and we know where they come from."