DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) : Thank you, Mr Chairperson, for the chance to finish off my call on these very important parts of the Māori Trustee Amendment Bill, being the title, commencement, and principal Act amended. Before the Committee stopped for dinner, we were talking about the title of the legislation and the very important point that Paul Quinn raised in his speech, about the fact that this—

Paul Quinn: He missed it! The chief whip missed it.

DAVID BENNETT: The chief whip of the Labour Party missed it. The important part is in bold, so the chief whip should get it. It states “2008” when the reality is that this bill will be passed in 2009. The very important point that Mr Quinn made was that the Labour Government did not have sufficient grace to pass this bill when it had an opportunity to do so. The reason it did not pass it was that it did not have the votes. It was election year and it was struggling. The other fact is that, basically, this bill has been amended in the sense that the controversial part is not part of the legislation any more. There was a controversial part to it in the sense of the slush fund that Labour was looking to set aside—

Paul Quinn: For their mates.

DAVID BENNETT: Yes, for its mates, for its own purposes, and, in typical Labour fashion, for its own interests. This bill needed to be, and is now, in the best interests of Māori and in the best interests of the Māori Trustee. That is what the National Government has endeavoured to do, and we have achieved it through this legislation.

Members will note that the Act commences 6 weeks after the date on which it receives the Royal assent, so essentially it comes into force straight away, once it has been passed through this House and receives the Royal assent. Clause 3 states that the principal Act amended is the Māori Trustee Act 1953. The important part of the title is not only the word “Māori” but also the word “Trustee”. When we think of a trustee, we think of somebody who holds something in trust—somebody who has a fiduciary duty to act on behalf of the beneficiaries of that trust. We have heard throughout the debate on this legislation some issues raised by Tau Henare in particular about the ability to find the beneficiaries. He eloquently related it to the fact that the Inland Revenue Department would be able to pick up someone pretty quickly, but the Māori Trustee was not able to do so. He felt there was a dilemma there that should be dealt with in this legislation, or in the future as we look at the Māori Trustee going forward, and that is a very important thing. I think that, although all parties in this Chamber agree with the legislation—

Hon TAU HENARE (National) : As my learned colleague Mr David Bennett has said, these provisions in the Māori Trustee Amendment Bill deal with the title, commencement, and the principal Act as amended. I want to draw the attention of the Committee to this: the Act comes into force 6 weeks after the date on which it receives the Royal assent. So from the time the bill was promulgated—

Paul Quinn: Prior to July 2008.

Hon TAU HENARE: —that is right. Those fellas on the other side—

Hon Mita Ririnui: Us fellas?

Hon TAU HENARE: —those fellas and “fellesses”—have consistently tried to put up this bill in two parts. We went through the select committee process and through the process of listening to submissions, and it was pretty obvious, even in the late stages of a dying Government, that it could have got the bill through. If only it had used common sense—

Paul Quinn: And a will!

Hon TAU HENARE: —and had a will to do it, the bill would have passed. It had the numbers to pass this part. In fact, the Māori Affairs Committee suggested to the previous Minister of Māori Affairs that he should split the bill, that everybody would be happy with the first part, and that he should leave the second part. But what did the previous Minister do? He was so stuck in the mud that he would not and could not move. The Minister was unwilling to move, as my colleague Paul Quinn said, and that somewhat shocks me.

The fact remains that the Minister in the chair, the Hon Dr Pita Sharples, is the one who has come in and swept aside the old. He is in with the new. How long has it taken him? How long has this Government been in place?

Hon Mita Ririnui: Too long!

Hon TAU HENARE: Mita Ririnui says that it is too long, but we have been in Government only 6 months.

Hon Damien O’Connor: It’s 6 months too long.

Hon TAU HENARE: Now we hear from Damien O’Connor, the new blood of the Labour Party; the new face of the Labour Party! But, all kidding aside, the commencement date for this bill should have been prior to July 2008, because the previous Minister had it within his powers to shunt this measure along—to move it along—but, unfortunately, there was not a will when there was a way. So that is the disappointing part of this matter.

Clause 1, “Title”, states: “This Act is the Māori Trustee Amendment Act 2008.” It is a long time since the actual Māori Trustee Act has been amended. So I suppose, to be gracious, we have to tip our hats just a little to the previous Minister—

Hon Mita Ririnui: Just a little?

Hon TAU HENARE: —just a little—for having the discussion and going through the select committee process. But, all in all, the bill does what it says; it heralds a new era for the Māori Trustee. It heralds a better form of accountability and transparency for beneficiaries—for those people whose lands are tied up under the Māori Trustee. The bill enables the Minister of Māori Affairs to appoint the Māori Trustee and to appoint other people, as well.

Hon MITA RIRINUI (Labour) : It is interesting that since the beginning of the debate this afternoon members who have spoken, including the Chairperson, have said we need to narrow our comments to relevant aspects of the different parts of the bill. I am surprised, Mr Chairperson, that you did not pull the Hon Tau Henare up on a couple of occasions because he talked about a part of the bill that does not exist. That discussion may have taken place during the process in the Māori Affairs Committee, but certainly his comments were not relevant to the bill.

However, the bill is aptly titled the Māori Trustee Amendment Bill, and that title covers a lot of the debate this afternoon about what Part 1 means in terms of setting up a stand-alone Māori Trustee Office free of the shackles of Te Puni Kōkiri and free of the encumbrances that come with the position of Māori Trustee in the current legislation. This amendment bill, which is going through the parliamentary process, will set up that stand-alone organisation, once the bill is enacted.

In listening to the quality of the debate and some aspects raised, it is interesting to note that both the previous Government and the current Government have supported this bill. It is important that we take another look at the way in which Māori-owned assets that are held in trust are administered, and whether we can put in place a regime that will help the Māori Trustee do the job better. We believe, as we have since the bill was introduced by the previous Minister of Māori Affairs under the previous Labour-led Government, that it is an important bill to bring about those necessary changes. It was really pleasing to see the present Minister of Māori Affairs stand in the Committee stage and commit his total support to the bill. He also provided some clarity around some of the issues that were raised during the debate on Part 1, and also Part 2 in terms of the transition process where it concerns not only the transfer of assets from one entity to another, which technically tends to be the same organisation under separate legislation, but also provisions that affect employment-related issues for Māori Trustee staff. I believe there are not too many of them, but if the Minister picks up the challenges that were put before him this afternoon by a former—three times removed—Minister of Māori Affairs, the Hon Tau Henare, I am sure he will have an incredible task ahead of him.

As I said earlier on, members on this side of the Chamber are committed to improving the quality of trusteeship over Māori-owned assets, so we will work with the current Minister of Māori Affairs, put our political differences to the side, and have the best interests of Māori at heart. However, having said that, we have high standards and high expectations. We will be reminding the Minister on a regular basis, should we go down this pathway, of what those expectations are.

I did not leap to my feet to respond to the unkind comments of the previous speaker but I need to clarify some of the things that he raised, because they are relevant to the good work of the previous Minister of Māori Affairs under the previous Labour-led Government. As I said, the present Minister of Māori Affairs is certainly showing leadership on this very, very important issue. Thank you.

SANDRA GOUDIE (National—Coromandel) : I also acknowledge the excellent work of the Minister in progressing the Māori Trustee Amendment Bill—

Hon Mita Ririnui: Which one?

SANDRA GOUDIE: —and that Minister is obviously the Hon Pita Sharples, who has done a wonderful job. We could call this trust a good trust as opposed to being a bad trust, and I have alluded to the fact that there are bad trusts. This bill is an excellent bill. It provides for the Māori Trustee entity, and that is as it should be.

The bill introduces a level of accountability for the office of the Māori Trustee that has not previously been required. It also allows for the Māori Trustee to be free of political pressure, by establishing it as a stand-alone organisation. That is to be commended. The bill provides for better, more open communication between the Māori Trustee and its beneficiaries, and the bill’s provisions mean that the beneficiaries of the Māori Trustee can be sure they are receiving equitable income from the common fund.

The National Government’s support of the bill shows our commitment to a strong relationship with the Māori Party. In the current financial climate it is important that all public entities be seen as transparent and accountable.

I do not know whether members recall my earlier comments about one entity, the Earthwise Living Foundation New Zealand, a trust that also runs Kiwi Internships. That trust does not have that same level of accountability, and it certainly does not have that same communication with its beneficiaries. It does not have the openness and transparency that the Māori Trustee is gaining through the process of this bill. Jon Traylen of the Earthwise Living Foundation New Zealand is questionable in what he purports to represent. His environmental site, which I have visited, is a mess, and he treats the environment, animals, and people disgracefully. He makes his visitors, volunteers, and interns, who are all overseas visitors, feel unsafe. He is more of a predator of young women as time goes by. He promises a lot but delivers little.

The CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch): Order!

SANDRA GOUDIE: He exploits people for personal gain. I say that, Mr Chair, because I am talking about a situation where someone is not accountable. That is not the case with the Māori Trustee Amendment Bill—that is what is so good about the bill. It provides for those accountabilities, it provides for that communication, and it ensures that those things are there for the benefit of the beneficiaries. In a lot of respects the Māori Trustee is very similar to the Public Trust.

It is interesting to note that many members have spoken on this bill and spoken so well, and they know so much more about the implications and the subject matter than I do. But I was very impressed by the words spoken tonight by the Minister. He clearly enunciated the intent of the bill—that it does away with the Māori Trustee office and establishes a new stand-alone entity. I am delighted to be able to speak in support of the bill, and I commend it to the Committee.

• Clause 1 agreed to.
• The question was put that the amendment set out on Supplementary Order Paper 16 in the name of the Hon Dr Pita Sharples to clause 2 be agreed to.

• Amendment agreed to.

• Clause 2 as amended agreed to.

• Clause 3 agreed to.

• Bill reported with amendment.

• Report adopted.