Urgent Debates Declined — Deed of Settlement—Ngāti Awa

I have received a letter from Stephen Franks seeking to debate under Standing Order 376 a proposal to enter into a deed of settlement with Ngāti Awa. An urgent debate is an opportunity to consider something that has occurred, not something that is about to occur, so the application must be declined on the ground that it does not relate to a particular case of recent occurrence.

Defence Cooperation

I have also received a letter from the Hon Ken Shirley seeking to debate Government decisions to promote defence cooperation. This is a particular case of recent occurrence involving ministerial responsibility, but it does not seem to me that the decisions result in a major change in defence policy. Rather, they are aimed at delivering existing policies more effectively. In these circumstances I do not consider that this requires the immediate attention of the House.