Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill

Members, the House is in committee on the Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill. I’ll remind members that it will be helpful for members to ask multiple questions, if they have them, of the member in charge during their call. We come to first to the debate on Part 1.

I seek leave for all questions to be taken as one.

Is there any objection to that course of action being taken? There is no objection.

Just for the benefit of many in the committee, we have a technical process to go through. There are some very minor amendments that have to be made to the Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill, and, largely, that reflects the changes in other legislation that have happened since the deed was signed. So there is a Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) in my name, and it’s Supplementary Order Paper 235. It makes those minor and technical changes that I talked about, and this is not in the order in which they appear in the bill. The first concerns auditing requirements, the second clarifies the date of transfer of the emissions units, and the third is a change to the name of the relevant health authority, which follows the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act, which we passed earlier this year.

Clauses 203 and 212 of the bill require the final financial report of the Maniapoto Māori Trust Board and the Maniapoto Fisheries Trust to be audited by the Office of the Auditor-General. But, as the Maniapoto Māori Trust Board and the Maniapoto Fisheries Trust are not public entities, it’s not appropriate or required for the Auditor-General to carry out that audit. That reflects changes made to the Maori Trust Boards Act 1955, so that requirement is removed.

The second point, as I said, relates to forestry emissions—so the emissions that accrue for certain forests—because there will be rights to Crown forest - licensed land transferred to Maniapoto. The practice has been for the rights to the units to transfer at the time of settlement. The Forestry Emission Unit Trust advised the Government early this year that the law appears to be that the right to those units doesn’t accrue until legal title to the land has passed, but, as we find with many settlements and the transfer of Crown forestry land, that can take up to five years, which would mean that the iwi would miss out on the benefit of those units. So the amendment in this SOP means that the transfer of those emissions units happens on settlement, not on transfer of title of the land.

Then the final change is that the reference to “the Waikato District Health Board”, which was in the original version of the bill. It is now changed to “Health New Zealand”, which is the legal name of the entity Te Whatu Ora—Health New Zealand, which has taken over the responsibility for all the old district health boards. So that change has been made as well.

None of the changes affects the redress package, they’re all very minor, and the changes have all been agreed between the negotiating parties. On that basis, I commend the bill to the House with those technical changes.

The question is that the Minister’s amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 235 be agreed to.

Amendments agreed to.

The question is that Parts 1 to 7, Schedules 1 to 6, and clauses 1 and 2 as amended stand part.

Parts 1 to 7, Schedules 1 to 6, and clauses 1 and 2 as amended agreed to.

Bill to be reported with amendment.

House resumed.

Mr Speaker, the committee has considered the Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill and reports it with amendment. I move, That the report be adopted.

Motion agreed to.

Report adopted.

In accordance with a determination of the Business Committee, this bill is set down for third reading immediately.

Third Reading