Katene Rahui: Offices of Parliament — Address to Governor-General 
Katene Rahui: Offices of Parliament — Address to Governor-General 
[Volume:672;Page:18482] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker Robertson. In these times of fiscal constraint it is somewhat unusual to speak to a motion in which the appropriations for each of the three votes—Vote Audit Vote Ombudsmen and Vote Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment—are to be increased in accordance with the determination of the Remuneration Authority. These are relatively minor increases in expenditure in the grander scheme of Government spending but there are some important items in the list that the Maori Party will mention. 
Firstly we welcome the increase of $400000 to Vote Audit to fund the Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions. We see the support being provided to the Pacific forum to develop the capability and capacity of Auditors-General and their offices in the Pacific as absolutely in keeping with the concepts of manaakitanga and whanaungatanga with our relatives across Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. It is therefore a pleasing gesture on behalf of the Government. 
We note too the need for an additional $160000 in 2010-11 to Vote Ombudsmen for the re-establishment of the Christchurch office which was damaged during the quake. The continuing trickle-down effect of the quake is being reflected in every vote in every appropriation of Government and of course in every home throughout Canterbury. For those of us who live in the Christchurch electorates I can say only that when we were woken at about 3 this morning by a violent 3.5 magnitude earthquake— 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: 5.3. 
RAHUI KATENE 
: —sorry I got it the wrong way round; a 5.3 earthquake—we wondered when the rumblings of Ruaumoko would quieten down and allow us to live in a way that resembles normality. 
The quake this morning was also the 25th earthquake that Canterbury has had measuring 5 or more on the Richter scale since the 7.1 magnitude earthquake on 4 September. Put that into the total picture of some 5490 aftershocks in less than 9 months and is it any wonder that a survey released today from the Southern Cross Healthcare group revealed that 46 percent of Christchurch respondents reported high levels of stress? When one is stressed it is important to have a forum to address concerns and to seek the benefit of advice. 
It is this next area of funding $50000 this year and $370000 over the next 2 years that speaks volumes about the role of the Ombudsman. As electorate MPs we have many cases of constituents who think they have been treated unfairly by a central or local government agency and turn to an Ombudsman for assistance. The extra funding to Vote Ombudsmen is required to clear a continued backlog of cases. I understand there has been some suggestion of a review of the functions and legislation in respect of the Ombudsmen because the workload is never-ending. I am interested in the views of the Minister on that particular issue as it certainly reflects the concerns that we get across our table. 
Another injection of funding into Vote Ombudsmen that warrants special focus is that related to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which has been mentioned already. This is a new putea an investment of $330000 in the ongoing programme that my colleague Tariana Turia introduced last year in her capacity as the Minister for Disability Issues. Article 33 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which New Zealand ratified in September 2008 requires the designation of at least one mechanism to monitor the rights of disabled persons. In Budget 2010 Minister Turia secured $2.34 million for the independent promotion protection and monitoring of the UN convention. The measures included the establishment of a Disability Rights Commissioner within the Human Rights Commission a protection and monitoring role for the Office of the Ombudsmen and resourcing a formalised vote for disabled persons organisations. This vote addresses the enhanced capacity of the Office of the Ombudsmen to monitor disability issues. 
I congratulate Tariana on the efforts that have been made in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities efforts which have been reflected well in New Zealand’s very first report to the United Nations on that issue. The work she has done is a major step in the measurement of progress in achieving New Zealand’s vision of full participation and improved well-being for disabled persons and their families. 
Finally I signal the Maori Party’s intention to appoint as an officer of Parliament a Parliamentary Commissioner for the Treaty of Waitangi to proactively promote the Treaty’s commitment to partnership. We have been researching a number of avenues by which to make this possible either by a member’s bill which we have drafted to this effect or indeed as a result of the process in relation to our constitutional review. This motion is ostensibly about ensuring that Parliament is held to account and about the strength of democracy generally. To this end we believe that the Treaty commissioner proposal is one that aligns well within the context of this motion.