Whaitiri Meka: Environmental Reporting Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWhaitiri Meka: Environmental Reporting Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 23 September 2015. Volume:709;Page:7054. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti): Ā tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker e ngā mema o te Whare nei tēnā tātau katoa.[Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker; greetings to us all the members of this House.]I am happy to take a short call on this bill. The State Sector Act charges public servants with the ability to provide free and frank advice without fear or favour to the Government of the day. Why is this important? It is because we need to ensure that our advice to Ministers and the Government of the day is apolitical in nature and impartial.So I want to acknowledge the important role our public servants play in the running of our Government. I raise that because clause 18 takes that value of the State Sector Act and the protection of our public servants and says to our senior officials that “You are not good enough to provide free and frank advice to the Ministers on important issues like the environment. We don’t trust you; we actually think that sits with Ministers.” I am saying for all members of the House that we do not operate at the level that our senior public servants operate so I am really disheartened to hear that this bill takes away that very important role of senior public servants and places the ability to pick and select the topics that are under this legislation with the Minister and I am very very saddened by that.In the Minister’s speech on this bill he talked about managing the environment. I got to sit on the Local Government and Environment Committee briefly this morning to hear submissions on my Environmental Protection Agency (Protection of Environment) Amendment Bill.I heard another gentleman a submitter talk about managing the environment. I would challenge that the environment or how we term it from where I came from the taiao is something that you manage. What we are here to do—and my colleague Su’a William Sio mentioned this in his contribution—is to protect to nurture to awhi to manaaki and to look after what is ours for the short time that we are on this earth.So there have been two occasions today that I have heard the expression “managing the environment” and we do not have to look very far to see the impact of climate change not just here in New Zealand but all around the countries. So I would say that the use of the word “managing” is inappropriate but that is what the Minister has said in our reading of this bill for the third time.I just want to clarify another point that the Minister made in this House. He talked about the grand or good advice that he received from the Māori Party particularly in reference to new clause 4A of this bill when it comes to the Treaty of Waitangi. Mr Assistant Speaker perhaps for your benefit and for other members of the House can I make a very clear point around mandate. It is important as holders of Māori seats that there is only one party in this House that can say with confidence that its members speak on behalf of Māori because Labour holds six of the seven seats.So I just want it clarified in this House that when the Government talks about receiving good advice from its coalition party the Māori Party it should keep that in perspective because I would hate for the Government to feel that the advice it is getting from the Māori Party actually is a reflection of all the iwi around the country because it simply is not. So I want to make sure that that point is really really important.But in terms of the clause that I indicated new clause 4A when it comes to the Treaty of Waitangi there are two particular phrases there that probably highlight my issue around the Government’s reliance on the Māori Party. New clause 4A(a) talks about “a Māori perspective”. Can I say that that terminology is very dated. It is a very 1980s term and if you go around iwi Māori katoa they do not use the words “Māori perspective”. “Kaupapa Māori”—yes you hear that but not “Māori perspective”. So I just want to give that piece of advice for free.The second clause is new clause 4A(b) where it talks about iwi authorities. We well know because we have got one happening right now about the emergency of hapū entities. So these are two examples of the reliance of the Government on the Māori Party’s advice. I am saying that with all respect. Things have moved and you need to ensure that you are speaking to people who hold mandate and I am sure my colleagues on this side are more than happy to help build your strength in dealing with Treaty of Waitangi issues.I stand there; that is my contribution. We cannot stand in support of this bill. It has lost the opportunity and I think it has got really bad advice. Kia ora tātou.