Paraone Pita: Third Readings — 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Paraone Pita: Third Readings — 
[Sitting date: 15 May 2008. Volume:647;Page:16039. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
PITA PARAONE (NZ First) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Deputy Speaker. Ko te mea tuatahi e tika ana kia tu tenei ki te tautoko i nga mihi i mihingia ki tena o waku tuakana ki a koutou o Ngati Tuwharetoa me Ngati Maniapoto hoki. Tino koa te hari o te ngakau ki te kite atu i a koutou i roto i te Whare nei ki te hakarongo ki te matakitaki mai i te urunga mai o enei pire kia turengia e pa ana ki a koutou puta noa ki te iwi Maori whanui. Na reira tena koutou.  
[ 
Greetings to you Mr Deputy Speaker. It is fitting in the first instance that I stand and endorse the salutations extended to that one of my elder statesmen and to those of you as well of Ngati Tuwharetoa and Ngati Maniapoto. How pleasing it is to see you in this House listening to and witnessing the passing of these bills into law that relate not only to you specifically but also to Maoridom at large. So greetings to you. 
] 
I have just supported the expression of sentiments of welcome to our visitors from Ngati Maniapoto and Tuwharetoa. This afternoon they will witness the passing of the legislation that affects both them and Maori in general. But before I carry on I take this opportunity to say to you personally Mr Deputy Speaker and with due respect that although I acknowledge the decision you have made in terms of your long-term future relationship with this House it has always been a real pleasure to stand in this House when you have presided over its proceedings. I thank you for your dignity and for the control you have exercised in the course of your time in the Chair. 
The bills we are talking about this afternoon had their genesis in the Maori Purposes Bill (No 2). As we know the Maori Purposes Bill (No 2) was an opportunity for the Minister to make minor amendments in regards to various legislation affecting Maori affairs. Amendments to that legislation were suggested to the Maniapoto Maori Trust Board Act the Maori Trust Boards Act the Treaty of Waitangi Act and Te Ture Whenua Maori Act. I ought to say that the original bill included some other amendments but it was the view of the Maori Affairs Committee that those amendments required a separate bill outside of this Maori Purposes Bill and they will be dealt with at a later time. 
I want to touch on the bills that are the subject of the debate this afternoon. First I refer to the Maniapoto Maori Trust Board Amendment Bill. This bill has the support of the Maniapoto Maori Trust Board. It allows for the renaming of the council of elders from Te Mauri o Maniapoto to Te Kaumatua Kaunihera o Maniapoto. That is a simple amendment that should not attract any dissent from anyone in this House. Why? The reason is that the people requested the change. They wanted it and it is important to them so why not support that request? However the Maori Affairs Committee was approached by some people representing Te Runanganui o Ngati Hikairo who believed that the proposed membership and authority of the Maniapoto Maori Trust Board would impact on the boundary of the iwi. I reassure those submitters that the Maniapoto Maori Trust Board Amendment Bill does not do that. Any change to an iwi’s boundary must be the prerogative of the people themselves and not this House. I give that reassurance to those people. 
In addition the bill received support from representatives of the different marae that Te Runanganui o Ngati Hikairo purports to represent. The marae were represented by their chairpersons together with respected elders. They supported the proposal in the bill. It will give those five marae representation in terms of the regional management of Kawhia Harbour. It assures them of that voice. As a result New Zealand First supports the passing of the Maniapoto Maori Trust Board Bill. 
I turn to the Maori Trust Boards Amendment Bill which impacts on the iwi of Tuwharetoa. I am glad that this bill makes the annual payments payable to Tuwharetoa commensurate with present-day costs. It is for too long that agreements particularly long-term agreements between Maori and the Crown have not kept up with the rate of inflation. The bill addresses that issue and I thank the Minister for bringing it to the House. 
The bill also allows for the recognition of young people—that is people from the age of 18—to be able to participate in the democratic process in the selection of their boards. As the Minister quite rightly pointed out the future leadership of Maori lies in the hands of their young people. The leadership of Maoridom is changing. The type of leadership that people of my age group once recognised where there was one titular head is long gone. However there are two tribes in which there is no doubt as to the titular head. But where I come from my subtribe Ngati Hine we have a saying: “Ngati Hine pukepuke rau.”  
Hon Tau Henare 
: Subtribe? 
PITA PARAONE 
: The member is quite right; I should be saying “the iwi of Ngati Hine”. Ngati Hine’s saying roughly translates as: “Upon each hill is a chief”. With so many chiefs one can see the difficulties that we have in the north. This bill gives recognition to the young people and an expectation that they will participate in the democratic process. That will lead some of them to fulfil the leadership roles of their iwi. However during the discussions in the select committee we were a little concerned about those trust boards that had carried out their elections before this Act was passed. We support this bill. 
In terms of the Treaty of Waitangi Amendment Bill (No 2) of course New Zealand First supports it.  
Dail Jones 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I cannot hear the speech because Mr Harawira seems to be speaking into a cellphone. I have asked him to stop making such a noise but he seems to not want to do it. Could you do something about it please? He is on the cross benches and as we know there should be no interjections from there. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: I accept that Mr Jones. There will be absolute quietness while a member is contributing. It is disrespectful for that not to be so.  
PITA PARAONE 
: Tena koe Mr Deputy Speaker. As I was saying it is important in order to have the claims made under the Treaty of Waitangi dealt with in a timely fashion that we have the necessary resources for the tribunal. Increasing the membership from 16 to 20 is a step towards that goal but I support the comments expressed by the previous speaker: with the increase in membership must come the other resources that will allow the tribunal to carry out its role. 
Finally in terms of Te Ture Whenua Maori Amendment Bill (No 3) quite clearly this is just a cosmetic change in order to amend spelling errors in the original Act and references to the number of trustees who can make decisions by virtue of majority as opposed to what was originally contemplated in the original Act. New Zealand First supports the passing of all these bills. Kia ora.