Flavell Te Ururoa: Financial Review Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFlavell Te Ururoa: Financial Review Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 04 March 2014. Volume:696;Page:16262. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]TE URUROA FLAVELL (Co-Leader—Māori Party):Tēnā koe Mr Chairperson.Ka nui te mihiki a koeitēneirā. I note that the Local Government and Environment Committee confirmed that there were no matters to bring to this Committee. Unfortunately I disagree. I think we should also use the financial review process to highlight the strengths not just the weaknesses of our current entities and in that regard the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is one we should highlight.As an independent Officer of Parliament the commissioner reports to Parliament as a whole not to a Government Minister. This is very different as I understand it from other environmental agencies such as the Ministry for the Environment and theEnvironmental Protection Authority which both report to and have their budgets set by a Government Minister. The commissioner therefore has a unique opportunity to provide Parliament with independent advice on any matters that may have any impact on the quality of our environment. The mission of the commissioner is to maintain and improve the quality of the New Zealand environment by providing robust independent advice that influences decisions.As a party committed to the kaupapa of kaitiakitanga we see investment in protecting our primary ecosystems as vitally connected to future economic prosperity for the benefit of future generations. In our approach we promote renewable energy - efficient marae communities towns and cities as the basis for economic development and the primary foundation must be to protectPapatūānuku as the key to our future.The commissioner pays particular attention to environmental problems that are irreversible cumulative and accelerating. Climate change ticks all of these three boxes and is the greatest environmental challenge the world faces. We appreciate the insights that the commissioner has shared with us. The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has offered particular value in profiling the specific trade-offs that must be decided upon such as the expansion of dairy farming versus the goal of maintaining and improving water quality. We submit that the inclusion of the mana o te wai supports the construction of a decision-making framework in which there is as there should be a strong presumption in favour of water quality. We are encouraged by the leadership the parliamentary commissioner offers in this regard.It is through our positive observations of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment that we are promoting the concept of a parliamentary commissioner for the Treaty. A commissioner from our perspective would have a lot of tie-overs. A Treaty commissioner would be required to report annually to Parliament on the status ofwhānau and to monitor State sector progress in improving outcomes forwhānau. A Treaty commissioner would also be required to proactively review and monitor progress of Treaty settlements as well as the performance of the Office of Treaty Settlements and the Crown’s commitment to the Treaty.Similar to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment we would hope that they would look to result areas. So our position is that a Treaty commissioner wouldhave specific roles that would see them looking at things such as developing a result area forwhānau that is measurable and for which we can hold chief executives for example to account. We would want services that are visible responsive and organised aroundwhānau and that policy provided to Cabinet and all bills tabled in the House be required to demonstrate the impact of the policy onwhānau and that Treaty relationship. Only from this can a model of justice that gives fair weight to the rights and needs of all people be derived. That is really important.So we would look to require an annual report to Parliament like the Commissioner for the Environment provides on the progress of things like theDeclaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in facilitating the right ofMāori to preserve evolve and transform their ways of life. We would introduce a requirement for Government departments and Crown entities to report annually on outcomes forMāori. Maybe another key deliverable might be achieved in conducting a Treaty audit across Government departments. The audit would include the effectiveness ofMāori-specific advice put forward by departments including assessment of the various mechanisms for presenting such advice whether it be toMāori focus unitswāhangaMāori or a deputy secretary forMāori etc. So the annual accounts of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment show the measures—