Finlayson Christopher: Annual Review Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFinlayson Christopher: Annual Review Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 29 April 2015. Volume:704;Page:3060. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations):The theme of internal affairs and Government relationships encompasses quite a number of portfolio areas and I particularly want to start by referring to the report of the Government Administration Committee and its review of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.I particularly refer to the category of World War I commemorations and begin by thanking the previous speaker the member for Port Hills for her very generous comments. I do appreciate them. They should also be directed at the outgoing Chief Executive of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage Lewis Holden who is moving to Auckland to take up a senior position in the State Services Commission. I worked with Lewis over a period of 5 years. He was a very good chief executive officer. He and his team and in particular Brodie Stubbs of the ministry did a tremendous job in ensuring that the World War I commemorations that we had here in New Zealand were of real international quality. So I am very pleased that in terms of continuity the Government of the 1930s established the War Memorial Carillon and the previous Labour Government established the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. This Government has been lucky enough to continue that tradition by developing the War Memorial Park and the Arras Tunnel. I think we should all be very pleased with what we achieved.Of the areas within my particular sphere of influence at the present time I want to refer to the report of the Ministry of Māori Development. This ministry is doing some hugely important work on the reform of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993. Eleven percent of the North Island is governed by this legislation. Eighty percent of that land is undeveloped or underdeveloped and there have been a number of reports that have been released and I particularly refer to the recent Ministry for Primary Industries report that says that if we can free up this land for development it could be worth up to $8 billion to the Māori economy and create thousands of jobs with inputs of a couple of billion dollars. So this Government has said it is worth the challenge.I pay tribute to the people in the ministry the advisory groups who have done so much work on this particular exercise. It is hugely important work. I would go so far as to say it is one of the biggest pieces of economic reform that this Government has undertaken. Very shortly an exposure draft is going to be released so that people can talk about it. There have been some people who have been saying that there has not been enough consultation. There has been a glut of consultation up and down the country talking to people to make sure that we get it right. This is a complete rewriting of the legislation and it is hugely significant for New Zealand.I also want to say something about Treaty negotiations. It is never easy to advance Treaty negotiations but we are making very good progress. I particularly want to acknowledge the very good work of the Office of Treaty Settlements and Crown negotiators like Paul Swain and Rick Barker. They are fine people. They could have stayed here in Opposition hurling insults across the Chamber getting bored but instead they got out into the wide world working with me—not for me but with me—and I would like to think that they and the other Crown negotiators are making very good progress.Highlights of the previous year include the Te Ātiawa settlement and of course the hugely significant Whanganui River settlement. There was 130 years of litigation laid to rest through that particular settlement. There is a huge amount of work that is being undertaken at the moment and every person in the Office of Treaty Settlements is utterly dedicated to the job at hand. I believe we are making good progress.I also want to say that the Māori Affairs Committee first under the chairmanship of Mr Tau Henare and more recently under the chairmanship of Mr Korako has been doing tremendous work in pushing the legislation through the House. I am very satisfied that in the area of Māori development this Government has been doing a huge amount of work. It is incredibly important work for our nation. I am particularly excited by the proposed reforms of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act which will benefit the Māori economy.