Thomas Cawthron Trust Amendment Bill

I move, That the Thomas Cawthron Trust Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee to consider the bill.

It is a privilege to be a member of the Cawthron Institute Trust Board, as the MP for Nelson, and to bring this private bill to Parliament. My interest as one of the statutory trustees is hereby disclosed, including the proposal that all members of the trust board have their personal liability limited and indemnified by this bill.

It has been quite a journey bringing this private bill to the House and I am pleased we are finally here. I want to place on record my thanks to a number of people who have helped bring this bill to fruition. My thanks to my fellow trustees, to chair John Palmer, Sarah-Jane Weir, and Harvey Ruru for being the driving forces behind the introduction of this bill. Thank you to Cawthron Trust secretary Elizabeth Bean for keeping us all on task throughout the process. To the exceptional team in the Clerk’s Office and the Parliamentary Counsel Office, thank you for your wise advice to ensure we were compliant with the many Standing Orders that govern the introduction of a private bill. And finally, thank you to Cawthron lawyer David McLay for his patience and perseverance in getting the bill to this stage.

There is a high bar for bringing a private bill to Parliament, which is as it should be. There needs to be a very strong rationale for private organisation to use the time of the House for its private purposes. Throughout my contribution, I will explain why a private bill is needed to achieve the objects of the bill instead of seeking a judgment through the High Court. The purposes of the Thomas Cawthron Trust Amendment Bill are to provide for the appointment of a member of the trust board nominated by Te Tau Ihu iwi, and to clearly articulate the objects of the trust board and to specify the legal liability of the trust board members and update and modernise the governance arrangements of the trust board. In addition, there was a change made to the existing Act by the Trusts Act 2019 that was inconsistent with a previous High Court judgment. The Bill will correct this error.

But before I address the bill in some detail, I wish to provide some historical background. The Cawthron Institute is New Zealand’s largest independent science and research institute and has operated for over 100 years. It plays a special role in the life of Nelsonians in Aotearoa New Zealand and on the world stage. Cawthron Institute is a taonga and a jewel in the Crown of the Te Tau Ihu top of the South region.

The Cawthron Institute is named after its benefactor, Thomas Cawthron, a name that has resounded in Nelson for over a century. Cawthron was one of New Zealand’s earliest philanthropists and a pioneering businessman. His contributions have had a lasting impact on Aotearoa and the city of Nelson. Born in London in 1833, Cawthron lived in Nelson from 1849. He recognised the importance of enriching life with music and beauty, as demonstrated by his donations to the Nelson School of Music, Nelson’s public hospital, the chains on Rocks Road, and his gift of the granite steps leading to Nelson’s iconic Christ Church Cathedral. After his death in 1915, Cawthron’s will provided for £230,000—about $127 million in today’s terms—to establish an industrial and technical school, institute, and museum to be called the Cawthron Institute. Cawthron envisioned an education institute that would address the problems facing our agricultural industries in order to further our country’s economic, social, and environmental development. Cawthron’s will was made while he was in London in 1902 and resulted in the need for clarification of his bequest by scientific advisory committee by the then Supreme Court in 1919, and ultimately by way of the Thomas Cawthron Trust Act 1924. It wasn’t long before the institute, guided by some of the country’s leading scientists, gained a strong reputation for providing the research needed to support New Zealand’s primary industries.

Today, Cawthron is one of New Zealand’s most significant scientific organisations. Not a year goes by without reports in both mainstream and scientific media in Aotearoa and overseas, highlighting progress made by the small yet world-class scientific community. In recent years, Cawthron’s research focus has been on aquaculture, seafood safety, ocean and freshwater health, algae and bioactives, and food testing. The institute is currently investigating the potential of the native red seaweed Asparagopsis to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. The seaweed has already been proven in trials overseas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in livestock by up to 80 percent. Cawthron has recently partnered with Westpac, Port Nelson, and forestry company OneFortyOne to launch a national seagrass restoration project that aims to fight climate change and improve ecosystem health. Cawthron is also part of an international collaboration with Boston Children’s Hospital to develop the world’s first algae-based local anaesthetic using shellfish toxin: neosaxitoxin.

Last year, the Cawthron Institute celebrated its centenary, albeit with the impediment of COVID. I was proud as the MP for Nelson to mark the occasion here at Parliament and pay tribute to this world-class Nelson institution. One hundred years of Cawthron can be attributed to the many people who have worked for, guided, and supported the institution through its ups and downs, and is testimony to the pioneering vision of Thomas Cawthron.

Now, to the bill. Clause 5 of this bill is the first key provision. It will inject an objects clause that states the charitable objects of the trust board. The clause represents the objects set out in the will of Thomas Cawthron and the judgment of the then Supreme Court in 1919. The proposed wording is that the objects: “are the advancement of science to benefit Te Tauihu and Aotearoa New Zealand, with a focus on natural resources.” Clause 5 also contains an interpretation provision proposed section 2B that includes definitions of “Te Tauihu Iwi Bodies” and “Te Tauihu Iwi Chairs Forum”. Clause 6 will then provide for the appointment of “the Te Tauihu Iwi member by the Te Tauihu Iwi Chairs Forum, acting on behalf of Te Tauihu Iwi Bodies.” These two clauses will ensure that local iwi can appoint a statutory trustee to join the four existing trustees: the MP for Nelson, Mayor of Nelson, Mayor of Tasman, and Anglican Bishop of Nelson. Some might say that this could be achieved by way of an application to the High Court. However, that would not be honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the Te Tau Ihu iwi member would not then be one of the statutory trustees identified in the Thomas Cawthron Trust Act 1924. In order to create a statutory trustee, the Act must be amended, and this is what this private bill seeks to achieve.

Prior to the introduction of this bill, our trust board chair, John Palmer, has spent significant time engaging with local iwi to ensure they are supportive of the changes we are making to the bill. It is clear that Thomas Cawthron’s intention was for local community leaders to have governance oversight of the institute in order to ensure its charitable status for the good of the people of the region was maintained. The trust board is of a clear mind that adding a statutory trustee nominated by iwi is in keeping with the will and intention of Thomas Cawthron.

I now wish to highlight the recent High Court orders made under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957 by what that Act terms a “charitable scheme”. In February 2003, High Court orders were made by Justice Wild that included an order that section 17 be deleted and replaced. Further orders were made in 2011. Those orders affect the trust instrument but have not been recorded in legislation. The Trusts Act 2019, the amended section of the Act rather than the Act, was changed by the court orders. In essence, the amendments to the Thomas Cawthron Act via the Trusts Act gave some of the responsibilities that the trust’s board had passed to the institute’s commercial board of directors through the 2003 High Court judgment back to the trust board. The trust board was not consulted, and the error was made that needs reversing. As I have already said, that error cannot be amended again by the High Court.

The last main change is that the liability of the trustees ought to be limited in a manner that is permitted by the Trusts Act, rather than the trustees having completely unlimited liability. This change is contained in clause 12 of the bill that will enact a new section 17A.

I thank everyone for their work in getting the bill to this stage. I am confident that members here will support this bill through to select committee where it can receive careful consideration. I commend the bill to the House.

The question is that the motion be agreed to.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It’s a pleasure to take a call on the Thomas Cawthron Trust Amendment Bill in 2022. The bill has been brought to the House on behalf of the Thomas Cawthron Trust by the member for Nelson, Rachel Boyack, who’s also a statutory trustee and I’ll get into that part of it in a little while.

We don’t often get private bills through Parliament, so it’s quite interesting, and it will be very interesting to see it go to the select committee. Unfortunately, it’s not coming to the best select committee in the House; I understand it’s going elsewhere, and I don’t know what I’m doing speaking on it, but I’m here—because I really only speak on things that concern the Governance and Administration Committee, the best select committee in the House.

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: Perhaps by popular demand, Mr McKelvie.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. When one visits Nelson, one immediately knows you’re in a place that’s different than just about anywhere else in New Zealand. I’m not going to comment on the quality of it, but it certainly is a nice place to go to. But the thing that’s so different about Nelson is that once you get past the apples, the wine, the grapes, the hops, and a little bit of dairy and sheep, you get to a lot of forestry and a lot of fishing—both topics that I’ve had interests in in my time in the House, and both very fascinating things. Certainly, Nelson was the largest fishing town—or port or city—in New Zealand and contains branches of all the largest fishing companies in New Zealand and certainly is the home base to at least two of those large fishing companies. It has by far the largest fishing fleet in New Zealand, and it’s a very important industry to Nelson—and I’ll tell you what that’s got to do with the Cawthron Trust in a minute.

A little down the road, one comes across a very special entity, the Cawthron Institute. The Cawthron Institute, as the previous speaker, Rachel Boyack, said, was started as a result of what can only be described as an extraordinarily generous gift by a benefactor of some £230,000. Now, there’s not many of us in the House that can remember pounds; I can. I’m not saying you can, Mr Speaker, but I can. And I could tell you that’s a lot of money, and that was in the year, I think, round about 1905 or something like that. It was an awful lot of money.

💬 Chris Penk: What was that like?

I can’t remember that. None the less, the Cawthron Institute is a very special entity, and it was formed as a result of that gift. It was formed, really, to, I guess, help the New Zealand agriculture industry at the time and to provide scientific backing to that industry. But, of course, Nelson’s changed a lot since then, and the institute has certainly changed its emphasis too to be much more concerned with things that are connected to the Nelson community and to the Nelson population. Now, it spends a lot of its time addressing issues related to the oceans, to fishing, to the vast seafood industry that includes the salmon industry and the mussel industry. And, particularly, Cawthron’s had a great impact on the mussel industry over the years with their research into spat and things like that, so they’ve had a very significant impact in the community that they operate in. The Cawthron Institute employs some 300 scientists, and it’s really quite interesting when you look through the list of them. There’s a lot of scientists there—and I don’t know whether scientists get paid better than MPs; they probably do—so they would add a significant amount to the Nelson economy, those scientists that are employed in Nelson. No doubt there are some employed elsewhere in the country and the world as well.

So it is a very significant organisation for Nelson, and to bring a bill to the House to change an entity that has been around for over 100 years and to change it in a manner that maintains its relevance today is pretty important. One of the things that really interests me about this, reading through the notes that we were provided by Rachel, is that it has a statutory board effectively set up. It’s probably quite unusual in New Zealand, now, to have a board set up for a start with an Anglican bishop on it—sorry, Mr Speaker—but it also has the Mayor of Nelson, the local MP, and it has community leaders on that board. And whilst that trust board operates the trust, it doesn’t operate the business of Cawthron, I don’t imagine, for a minute. None the less, it sets the parameters for the CEO, and the CEO and the board operate the Cawthron Institute from there and direct what it does. So it’s probably a very stable organisation and set up very well.

And so the bills come to the House, effectively, to change some of those things that, after a hundred years, clearly need changing. And as the previous speaker said, some of those issues have been created by rulings of the courts over the years, and I think it’s typical of New Zealand and, I suppose, our penchant for trusts, because there are an awful lot of trust in New Zealand and many of them date quite quickly—in spite of the fact that we think they’re going to see us out. And so the fact that they date means they need to be resurrected and altered quite frequently. And so what this bill sets out to do is to modernise some of those issues, to ensure the stability of the Cawthron Trust, to ensure the trustees are protected within the role they’re expected to do, and also to appoint a new trustee from the Te Tauihu iwi. That just adds, I guess, another statutory trustee and gives them a place on that trust. And I understand that the chairman, John Palmer, has spent a lot of time making sure that that negotiation is satisfactory and that it works well for both parties.

And as I said before, it contains the MP for Nelson, the Mayor of Nelson, the Mayor of the Tasman District, and the Anglican Bishop of Nelson. And I think a previous Mayor of the Tasman District may also be on the board of the entity itself. So it is an interesting organisation. It’s an interesting thing that we’ve got to bring a private bill to Parliament to alter it. But, I think, when you see the magnitude of that organisation and the contribution it makes to New Zealand as well, it’s well worth this Parliament’s time, investigating further through the select committee process where it gets to and ensuring that this bill goes back in the form that both the trust, the community, and the Parliament want it to be presented back in.

I can’t resist the opportunity to talk very briefly about, I suppose, the establishment that, I think, succeeded Cawthron as an agricultural institute in New Zealand and provided the research and development for agriculture, of course, which is in the Rangitīkei electorate in the Massey University. And Massey University, of course, is a very important part of our agricultural and productive sector in New Zealand as we speak today. That was one of the reasons that Thomas Cawthron set this institute up, of course. It was to do the things that are now to some extent carried out by other entities in New Zealand. But they have found not quite a niche, because they’re pretty broadly spread and they’re even into growing such things as algae for many, many years, trying to find ways of growing algae in a more efficient manner, because algae historically has been a pretty inefficient—well, we’d imagine it’s inefficient because you need such a vast lot of water and such a vast lot of sunlight, and, of course, Nelson would tell you they have sunlight, but we have sunlight in the Manawatū too. Even in Wellington, there’s sunlight. But you need a lot of sunlight and a lot of water to grow algae effectively, and it’s, I suppose, an onerous process. They are going through that process and they’re looking at alternative forms of that, and, of course, some of those—[Baby cries] Point of order, Mr Speaker. I didn’t know I had that effect on people!

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: It aroused some in the House, Mr McKelvie!

Obviously not everyone’s asleep. So I suppose I’ve probably got almost to the end of where I wanted to be, but I just want to talk about one or two other Nelson entities that Cawthron has a significant impact on: one of those being King Salmon. When you look around the world, the salmon industry around the world is moving at a great pace. We have some challenges in New Zealand with it because we’re, I guess, a little more challenged as to where we can locate these things from an environmental perspective. But, certainly, that company has benefited from research done by Cawthron. It certainly looks around the world for opportunity, and, again, the fishing industry as a whole, and the industries that Cawthron service, really rely on us having a decent set of environmental laws that enable people to do what they want to do.

So, from the National Party’s perspective, we totally support it. We’d be very interested to see where it gets to in the select committee. It’s a shame it’s not coming to a good select committee, but, none the less, they’ll manage it well, I’m sure. And that’s probably my lot.

Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. It’s a pleasure to speak in support of the Thomas Cawthron Trust Amendment Bill. Can I firstly acknowledge the member in charge of the bill, the wonderful MP for Nelson, Rachel Boyack, who is also a statutory trustee on the Cawthron Institute Trust Board. I thank her for her work in bringing this bill to the House and also working very closely with her fellow trust board members and wider stakeholders and advisers. I believe this a private bill, which is quite rare for this House. So Rachel has now successfully brought a member’s bill through Parliament and now she’s bringing a private bill, and, to top the trifecta off, I guess all that awaits is a local bill. So a very effective MP for Nelson and I want to acknowledge her.

This is a really important bill. As has been mentioned, the Cawthron Institute is a taonga, is a jewel in the Nelson, top of the South region. I particularly want to acknowledge, among all of the amendments that are being made to modernise the operations and the workings of the trust, the inclusion of the iwi of Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka-a-Māui.

Now, for those folks who don’t know, Te Tau Ihu means “The prow of the canoe” Te Waka-a-Māui. So Te Tau Ihu is a special name and it encompasses the eight iwi of Te Tau Ihu. If the House would indulge me, I’d like to mention all of those iwi who now have a direct route through the Te Tauihu Iwi Chairs Forum to be able to appoint a representative on to this esteemed organisation. They are: Rangitāne o Wairau Settlement Trust, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Kuia Trust, Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō Trust, Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira Incorporated, Te Pātaka a Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua Settlement Trust, Ngāti Tama ki Te Waipounamu Trust, and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Trust.

I know that this is a private entity, this is a private organisation, but it has deep roots into the community, it has a very proud history of over a hundred years, and to be able to have that direct connection now with the iwi of Te Tau Ihu is a wonderful action on behalf of the trust board. I especially endorse these elements of this bill.

But there’s more to it, because the Cawthron Institute is a world-class scientific organisation and the work that they do has helped lift the productivity and the profitability for our world-class industries and, in particular, in recent years, our agriculture industry, and our seafood industries. But also it goes beyond that: shellfish farming, finfish farming, and seaweed farming. And also a range of other areas: algae and bioactives, freshwater health, ocean health, and seafood safety—all of these are critical aspects in the supply chain, in product production, and also in the export and, ultimately, the trade of our goods, which is so vital for our nation but also our regions, especially the top of the South region.

So I want to commend the work that the Cawthron Institute does. In addition to the work about strengthening connections with iwi, the Cawthron Institute has a Māori team, Te Kāhui Āio, and they are doing great work building connections with Māori across all of the different work areas that they are involved in. It’s really important that research that affects Māori also benefits them, and that is a key part of what that team does.

So this is a really welcome bill. I am so pleased that we are able to modernise and update the key documents that will help the Cawthron Trust continue its great work. I want to acknowledge all those involved once again, including the member in charge, Rachel Boyack, and I commend the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee in their task ahead. I commend this bill to the House.

E te Māngai o te Whare, tēnā koe. The Green Party is pleased to support the Thomas Cawthron Trust Amendment Bill. I congratulate Rachel Boyack and everyone in the Parliamentary Counsel Office and the Cawthron Institute for all of the work that they have done in developing this bill.

I’m grateful to the Cawthron Institute, because I came face to face with a scampi there. One of the many aquaculture research projects that the institute has done involves being the first agency in the world to captive-rear scampi, which are a species of clawed lobster. They live in deep waters. We’ve got species that are endemic to Aotearoa. They’re quite a substantial fishery in the Southern Ocean, but the Cawthron Institute’s work here was aiming to establish captive-rearing so that scampi could be taken at peak condition and avoid pressure on the wild fishery.

As Rino Tirikatene has noted, the institute works across a range of sectors to benefit primary industries in Aotearoa, particularly in fresh water, in aquaculture, and their base at Nelson and their research facilities on the Boulder Bank does enable and make sure that they’re close to a really diverse community of interests in Nelson and Marlborough, particularly in the aquaculture space. There are more than 300 staff and I noted, too, that they’ve got quite a programme of having guest workers where they invite others from other institutes and universities to come in and do research for a period of time, and that helps encourage collaboration.

This bill is important particularly because of the provision not just for modernising the principal Act but also for enabling Te Tau Ihu to appoint a statutory trustee to Te Tau Ihu’s chairs forum, to appoint that statutory trustee to join the Mayor of Nelson, the MP for Nelson—in this case, Rachel Boyack working alongside the Hon Dr Nick Smith in his new role on the trust board. That representation for Te Tau Ihu is really important because of the increasing work which the Cawthron Institute is doing in terms of Te Ao Māori and Te Ao Pākehā perspectives on issues like aquaculture.

Just some of their research projects: I discovered something called oxygen nanotechnology, which involves small bubbles of oxygen seeking to trap nutrients in the sediment of some of our eutrophic lakes. And it was the New Zealand Māori Centre for Research Excellence, Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, which commissioned the Cawthron Institute to do this research to look at how we could have other techniques other than geoengineering some of these polystyrene rafts that are being put into lakes to absorb nutrients.

And another really interesting project, which again provided that bridge between Te Ao Māori and Te Ao Pākehā and māramatanga and just the Māori knowledge and more traditional knowledge, was looking at the impacts of trout and people’s different views around trout in our rivers and lakes in Aotearoa. Of course, Fish & Game has done a lot with trout advocacy, which is aimed at improving river water quality, lake water quality, and getting water conservation orders. Others perceive trout—as Tā Tipene O’Regan called them, opossums of our rivers—as a pest. So it’s how do we get some shared objectives here, and the Cawthron Institute’s research was looking at where is there a shared goal: restoring native fish habitat, removing trout where rare species are threatened.

So this bill, in modernising the work of the trust board and providing for more diverse representation, ensuring that there is a strong representative there for Te Tau Ihu iwi, will take the institute further and build on its very good work, particularly across our water spaces and the work that its staff and the board do. Kia ora.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise as probably one of the first members of the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee—a great select committee—and as its deputy chairperson to say a huge thankyou to the member for Nelson, my good colleague Rachel Boyack, for sending this bill to our select committee. We will look after it well and I’m sure that there will be lots and lots of great conversations had about this wonderful institute as we pass this bill, and it’s great to hear that there has been support garnered from both sides of the House as well.

I think—I’m just looking at the Order Paper really quickly—that there will be a bit of a theme of good governance coming through this afternoon, with lots and lots of great members from this side from electorates who are doing their thing for their communities, and this one is no exception. The Thomas Cawthron Trust Amendment Bill is looking at strengthening the constitution and, therefore, the statutory arrangements for this organisation in terms of their board and in terms of clearly articulating the objects of the institute and making sure that we have a good governance structure that honours Te Tiriti, and making sure that we have that iwi representation on that board as well.

I often say that governance is not an end in itself, or good governance or the practice of good governance, but the practice of good governance is the guardianship of the entity or the business organisation which we try to guard and make sure that it goes further on to do better things than what it was established for. Throughout today’s debate, members will have heard many, many things mentioned about the good work of the Cawthron Institute. For me, some of the things have actually been like what happened on my research trip to Australia, where we sat down in a meeting with the Aussies, and I’m trying to think—I know my good colleague here is now trying to think, as well. We had a conversation about farming and agriculture, and the minute that Rachel Boyack mentioned Asparagopsis, the Aussies across the table—their eyes lit up and they knew exactly what we were talking about. They knew that this was a Kiwi technology and innovation from the Cawthron Institute. So we really know that this institute is exporting technology ideas throughout the world, but it is also helping as we try and tackle climate change and our farting cows, as well, by lowering those emissions through, obviously, the algae which we could feed to animals.

But upon a deeper dive into the organisation, I do know that this is a wonderful organisation as well. One of the statistics that I was particularly pleasantly surprised by was the diversity of its staff. I think my good colleague Mr Ian McKelvie had already mentioned that it employs a huge workforce and the precise numbers—actually, I’m just about to say that it’s around 300 people. So over 300 people are employed in Nelson by the Cawthron Institute, and they are lots and lots of high-level or high-paying jobs as well, but they range from 35 different countries. So you will see a lot of diversity at the Cawthron Institute—people from China, Poland, the United States, France, Fiji, Australia, Germany, Sri Lanka, England, Italy, and many, many, many more.

When we see that diversity and bring that expertise into New Zealand, the fact that these people, who are leaders in our science community, actually want to come and work in New Zealand and want to contribute to tackling some of the bigger problems that we’re facing at this moment through science and innovation, I think that this institute is one that we must protect and we must support as well, and support we have. The Government has given many different funds and grants to this institute so that they can continue their research, and I know that my colleagues will pick up on that point later on as well.

When we look at gender diversity, we often know that girls are under-represented in STEM subjects. However, at the Cawthron Institute, over 53 percent of their staff are female, 1 percent is gender-diverse, and 46 percent are male. So we’ve got not only a great balance but an overrepresentation, you could almost say, of our female scientists and innovators at Cawthron. As well, they have this very young workforce, where the majority of their workforce is aged between 30 and 39, with that being one of the average age groups of those working there.

This has been a great employer within the great city and district of Nelson, with a great MP that represents that area and who is bringing this bill to this House. So, on behalf of the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee, we look forward to shepherding this bill through the House, and we welcome all of the submitters and welcome engaging with you in the select committee process, as well.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It’s my pleasure also to rise on behalf of ACT to take a call on the Thomas Cawthron Trust Amendment Bill, a name which I’ve been familiar with all my life, and, unfortunately, I won’t be in the select committee that it gets sent to.

Every day, I’d have to walk past Cawthron Crescent on my way to and from primary school. The Cawthron Institute was always this mysterious, big, old building in town that, as kids, we weren’t sure what exactly went on inside, we just knew that it was good stuff that was coming out of it.

Thomas Cawthron, as was mentioned before, arrived in New Zealand when he was very young, aged 15, and went off—took off—when he was young, went over to Wellington and then over to Victoria to make some money. He came back when he was 22. When he was 23, he was involved in developing a copper mine on Dun Mountain in central Nelson and coalmining at Enner Glynn. I went to Enner Glynn School and Enner Glynn valley is just up the road. We used to spend a lot of time up there. He also developed financial skills, lending money to workmates. He was interested in Port Nelson, as well, over the coming years. He had a considerable skill as a trader, particularly in coal from Australia, but it was through his wide-ranging investments from 1960 in property, in mortgages, etc., that he made his fortune.

He was 32 when he started really spreading his wealth around: relief funds; church organisations; the Rocks Road chains, which are quite a feature still today; cathedral steps; and the Nelson School of Music, which was mentioned before. So he was quite a character. But the Cawthron Institute is how he will be remembered and, as Rachel Boyack mentioned earlier on, his will was drawn up in London, where bequeathed all of that money.

He had a hard start to life. His mother died when he was 12 years of age, and he went to a charity school in London. Through hard work and ability, he became a successful and charitable man. It is really awful to think that if he was around today, his success would be condemned.

The Thomas Cawthron Trust Act 1924 is a pretty substantial piece of legislation and has been amended a couple of times over the last 98 years. The Act explains pretty much everything you need to know: who makes up the board; what the board’s responsibilities and expectations are; what happens when a position becomes vacant; when meetings are; what contracts they’re allowed to do; additional powers, like borrowing money, lending money etc.; a guarantee to have put in balance sheets; and section 17 talks about remuneration of the board up to $6,000—I’m not sure whether I missed something because the preamble of the amendment says there was no remuneration, so I’m not sure about that one.

Then we get to the amendment bill, which, you sort of wonder if everything seems to be covered—the direction and all of those things. We wonder what the point is. There are four main objectives: clearly articulate the objects of the trust board and the powers conferred, which is pretty obvious; appointment of a member from the Te Tau Ihu iwi; specify the legal liability of the members of the trust board, which absolutely makes sense; and to modernise the governance arrangements, and from what I can read, that means changing it from board to trust board.

The Cawthron Institute has been a fantastic asset to Nelson and New Zealand for 98 years. Some of the stated objects make sense, we won’t be supporting the bill. The board don’t need to be directed to achieve the social and cultural benefits that the current CEO has mentioned.

I’d just like to end with a quote from Thomas Cawthron—it reminds me of the Labour Party—after he bequeathed all his money, he said to his sister’s friend Maria, “if the said Minnie Palmer gets married or has sexual intercourse with any man then this last payment shall … cease for ever”, which reminded me of the current entrenchment clause. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Kia ora, Mr Speaker. It’s a pleasure to stand here and support this private bill brought to us this afternoon by the MP for Nelson, Rachel Boyack, and, again, being the follow-on from my colleague Naisi Chen, being another member of the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee—

💬 Hon Gerry Brownlee: Can you mention the rest of the caucus?

We’ll work our way through over the next five minutes. So it’s a pleasure, I think, to bring this to our committee, although we’re a very busy, hard-working committee so it’s going to be a long summer without a break. But that’s OK because this is important work to be done. The Thomas Cawthron Trust Amendment Bill is something that is needed, something that the trustees themselves have worked on and are all in agreeance that this must be done and needs to be done. And so it’s disappointing to have the previous speaker, Chris Baillie, who has a wonderful, articulate history of growing up around this institute, and then choosing at the last moment to not support this piece of legislation. But that’s OK because it’s good to have the rest of the House backing what this is all about and what is going on.

Now, I was thinking about philanthropy as I was listening, which is something that I know does get thrown around occasionally, but not as much as it used to. And to think, more than 100 years ago, of this this man and this property, to actually be gifted, then the act of philanthropy is significant and something that I hope and would wish that—maybe through the course of select committees, through the course of the readings—people consider what it means to gift and to pass things on for future generations. Because as we’ve heard around the House this afternoon, the impact that this institute has, the impact that the research has, is generational, has been going for more than 100 years, or almost 100 years, and will continue to keep going.

When I look at philanthropy, it’s obviously about promoting the welfare of others. It’s around being generous in terms of whether it be giving money, giving land, giving goods for the betterment of our communities and for good causes. And so it is nice to be sitting here and reading a bit about Thomas Cawthron and the history that he brings and the fact that 100 years later we’re not only talking about him and his legacy but we’re talking about the innovation and the wonderful things that this institute and the act of philanthropy has done, not only for Nelson, not only for New Zealand, but for the rest of the world.

I’m going to look at what they’re all about. It’s interesting to see that they are New Zealand’s largest independent science organisation based in the little old Nelson. I know they’re sort of the centre of the universe, or centre of New Zealand or something like that, they’re up the hill of Nelson, but it is a lovely place. I visited there once; it was OK. I’ve been there several times, actually. But I was curious as I was looking at the achievements and the work that is done through the trust and the institute, and, you know, we look at our climate change lens in 2022, we look at our challenges within our environment, and, I think, 100 years ago they were discussing these things and they were looking at world-class research and science innovation; how do they grow the primary industries and how do they protect the marine and freshwater environment around New Zealand and the world. And the fact that it’s around producing research—around aquaculture, around seafood safety, algae, bioactivities, freshwater health, and ocean health—it is a good thing. And so that’s why it is great that we can, as a House, have this legislation, this private bill here that we can take through and ensure that the trust is set for another 100 years.

You know, when it was created back in 1924, they were different times. So to tighten the parameters in this piece, to also add iwi, which, again, all members of the current trust board wanted and have fought for, and I’m grateful that they have done that—I mean, you have a bishop there, you have a mayor or two there, you have an MP; so it’s only right to ensure that we have iwi at the table bringing their experience and history. And, as for Thomas Cawthron and the legacy and the good ancestor he is, it’s great to know that we have iwi at the table, as we move forward, because there’s another hundred years or more of this institute to go and there’s more innovation, and I am grateful to commend this bill to the House.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I’m just going to come right out and say it: Asparagopsis and neosaxitoxin. I will circle back around and explain, but there was a suggestion earlier today that if someone was to inculcate those two words into their contributions, they would earn a chocolate fish.

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: I’ll take your word that they are parliamentary terms.

They are parliamentary terms. And, later on, I will attempt to use them in a sentence just to shore up that chocolate fish.

But in all seriousness, it is a pleasure to take a call and make a contribution on the Thomas Cawthron Trust Amendment Bill at its first reading. I too, like many people, would like to commend my colleague the MP for Nelson, Rachel Boyack, for shepherding this bill through, and also acknowledge the fact that it will be the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee who will be no doubt providing a huge amount of rigour at looking at this particular bill.

When I think about everything I know about the Cawthron Trust itself, I have to acknowledge the fact that I’ve had to do a little bit of research. And it’s not for the lack of bravado or the lack of promotion that the local MP has given it, because it would be probably an exaggeration to say that she goes on and on and on about this particular trust, but she does mention it quite frequently. And it has prompted several of us, I think, to make visits, several of us to attend presentations when they’ve been here in Parliament, specifically to sort of catch up with what it is that they do. This particular bill and why we’re here today is that we need to support what is, essentially, a functional private bill, and that’s the reason that we’re here.

As my colleague Glen Bennett has just said, it’s a very straightforward way and a means by which to modernise the governance arrangements of the Cawthron Institute Trust Board and to allow for an additional trustee nominated by local iwi to join the trust board. In that sense, I think that we should follow not only the lead of the institution itself but certainly the lead of the people that advocate for that. And when we think about the Cawthron Institute, as we’ve acknowledged, it’s New Zealand’s largest independent science organisation, as we’ve heard on several occasions, not just today but over and over and over again, it’s based in Nelson, it was established about 100 years ago, and it focuses on what can only be described as world-class science that supports the growth of New Zealand’s primary industries and the protection of our marine and freshwater environments in particular. And it does that by concentrating its scientific research and its rigour and its main endeavours over five mains themes: and that’s aquaculture, seafood safety, algae and bioactive, freshwater health, and also ocean health. As we’ve also heard, Cawthron is one of Nelson’s largest employers, with a workforce of around about 300 highly skilled staff from all over the world. I think my colleague Naisi Chen listed all of the countries that many of those people are from, which goes to show that there’s a real understanding of the deep cultural significance of having a real melting pot of expertise and people, and that, no doubt, contributes to the fact that they want to make sure that their governance and relationships reflect a more modern way of thinking about that.

There are two things in particular that caught my mind when I looked up and did a bit of a Google search about what this particular institute does. And the first thing was that the Cawthron Institute—there’s a piece of media that says, “Kaimoana, but not as you know it”, 16 November 2022. The Cawthron Institute has contributed to the development of what is called a “pāua saucisson”—I’m going to call it that—in collaboration with a company called NewFish. And it caught my attention because NewFish has created this high-end product which combines Akaroa kelp—of course, Akaroa, being from the beautiful Banks Peninsula electorate, particularly caught my eye. And what they’ve done is pretty fascinating and I certainly can’t do it justice in the small amount of time I’ve got to talk today. But I would really encourage people who are interested in science and who are interested in primary industries and the future of primary industries to go and to really research what they do.

Before I finish, let me go back to Asparagopsis. Asparagopsis research—and the only sentence I can put it in is that Asparagopsis research reduces methane emissions from cattle. I’m sure someone will have a much more working knowledge of it than me, but it is one example of the pretty cool things that this institute does. So I have no hesitation to commend this to the House.

That description of Asparagopsis was said with such ratiocination, I have to say, so I commend that member for her diligent description.

Before this bill was being discussed by Rachel Boyack in the Governance and Administration Committee sidelines, I’d never heard of Cawthron—and I feel a little bit embarrassed about that, given the journey that I’ve gone on now to see quite how much they have contributed. My friend the Hon Gerry Brownlee tells me that lovers of mussels in this country have a lot to thank Cawthron for because of their research endeavours into that and many other seafoods.

But I want to touch on something that Glen Bennett—accidentally, I think—applauded, and that is the importance of private wealth, because this fantastic institution exists because of the generosity of a gentleman who donated the equivalent of $127 million in today’s dollars for research. He didn’t steal it; he gave it away. He earned it from his own endeavours, and then he became a benefactor for a very good cause. And I think there are a number of people in this House who risk demonising success—clearly this gentleman was a very successful business person, and he turned those creative and entrepreneurial endeavours into generosity that this country benefits from over 100 years later. I think we owe a great debt to people like Mr Cawthron and many, many others, over the generations, who have made this country better for their generosity.

So, in considering this bill, a very sensible bill that is appropriate—it’s not going to the Governance and Administration Committee, is it, Ms Boyack? It’s going to the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee, and I’m sure they’ll give it due consideration. But let we not forget that enterprise, endeavour, entrepreneurialism, and professional success created the conditions for the benefit that we see over 100 years later.

Mr Speaker, kia ora. It’s my pleasure to speak on the Thomas Cawthron Trust Amendment Bill and I just want to thank the member for Nelson, the formidable member for Nelson with an extremely high work rate, for bringing this bill before the House and also for her work with the Cawthron Institute as a trustee on their board.

This private bill will make it easier for the Cawthron Institute to operate in a proper manner without needing High Court or parliamentary approval. It will clarify administrative and governance matters such as the responsibilities and powers of the board of directors and also remuneration. And this bill helps modernise the governance of the Cawthron Institute Trust Board so it is fit to continue its important work effectively.

A most important aspect of this bill for me is that it allows for additional representation of the iwi voice. Until now, the Thomas Cawthron Trust Act of 1924 only allowed the board to have three statutory members: the MP for Nelson, the Mayor of Nelson, and the Anglican Bishop of Nelson. To better represent and support the people of Nelson and New Zealand, it’s important that local iwi can participate in structures like the Cawthron Institute, and, with this private bill, Te Tau Ihu iwi now have a seat on this board. This will be a huge benefit to the work of this leading science institution in New Zealand.

The Cawthron Institute has been an important part of research and scientific progress in New Zealand history for more than 100 years now, and, since 1921, the institute has helped advance science to the benefit of all New Zealanders in many different fields, from agriculture and forestry to marine and freshwater systems. Recently, the member for Nelson and I, along with a couple of other colleagues, went and visited the Cawthron National Algae Centre to see some of the innovative research that they’re doing, and it was absolutely fantastic, once we could figure out how to get into the gate—we parked up there. It’s a low-lying piece of real estate. It was actually devastated by the floods, so they had to do a lot of work and remediation to sort that out. But then we went and met some people in some white coats and they were so excited about the seaweed. I only thought there were really, you know, two types of seaweed, but, funnily enough, there’s a whole lot of other different types, and they gave us the rundown on the different things and the different properties that these different bits of seaweed have.

And then also we got to see their salmon farm. They did a lot of research in the salmon space, so they can breed in warmer water and also deeper water, the help counter the effects of climate change. So the first stage of that centre was officially opened by the Prime Minister in May last year and we also were able to commit some funding—$6 million worth out of the Provincial Growth Fund—and Cawthron also contributed $2 million towards the centre. That centre will enable Cawthron researchers to build on their existing expertise to meet growing global demand for algae-based products and solutions. Seaweed—you know, the cultivation, is one of the world’s fastest growing in the aquaculture sector, with the global seaweed industry worth more than $6 billion per year. And there are many species that have the potential to be transformed into a range of commercial products, as well as offering environmental benefits to counteract climate change.

There are also other initiatives like the Cawthron New Zealand River Awards to celebrate the achievements of people committed to improving freshwater health and show the institute’s contribution to the development of healthy ecosystems in New Zealand.

This private bill will help the Cawthron Institute modernise its governance and proceed with its research to the highest international standards and advance science in New Zealand. So I look forward to the future contributions of the Cawthron Institute and I have no doubt that integrating mātauranga Māori and iwi voices will only strengthen it. I look forward to the work that the select committee will do on this bill and I look forward to how they will further integrate iwi and local voices into the structure of the Cawthron Institute Trust Board. So I commend this bill to the House.

Rachel Boyack—five minutes in reply.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It’s a pleasure to have the opportunity to take five minutes to reply to my colleagues from across the House for what I think has been a really informative debate about the role of the Cawthron Institute and the importance of this bill.

I’m just going to respond to some of the comments, and I’d like to start with my colleague Michael Woodhouse, who made a very useful observation, at the beginning of his speech, that is very important, and very important to the trust board, which is that a lot people don’t actually know about the work of Cawthron. It’s a particular issue that we at the trust board discuss at every meeting: the importance of ensuring not only does the Nelson community know about the work that we do but that the people of Aotearoa New Zealand need to know. It’s one of the reasons why, during the 100 years of Cawthron, I ensured we had a parliamentary function here so that my fellow parliamentarians could learn more about the incredible work of the Cawthron Institute.

On that note, I’m really grateful to the number of MPs from across the House, and there are MPs certainly from the Labour Party, from the Green Party, and I know, in the past, from the National Party, who visit the Cawthron Institute—they really enjoy having visitors. The most recent visitor I took through was the climate change Minister, James Shaw. They really enjoy having visitors. I would really encourage any member to reach out to me, as both the local MP and as a trustee, if they want to learn more about Cawthron or have a visit. And I’m putting that invitation first out to my colleague Mr Baillie because you and I are both from Nelson, Mr Baillie, and, I must say, I am somewhat disappointed that ACT aren’t supporting this bill through to first reading.

There’s a couple of comments I want to make on that. The first is around your reference to remuneration. Actually, currently the trust board members can’t be remunerated. The legislation has actually been updated since the legislation you referred to, and that explains exactly why we actually need a clean piece of legislation. We have multiple pieces of legislation. We had the Thomas Cawthron Trust Act made in error when it amended the principle Act, and we have two High Court judgments. So for those of us who sit around the governance table of Cawthron, for anybody seeking to interpret that for legal purposes, it’s very important that we tidy this up because currently we’re actually presenting a lot of legal risk to Cawthron. So we have met the test of the Standing Orders, as advised by the Clerk, to ensure that we can actually put this bill into the House. There is a very high threshold for having a private bill. So I am somewhat disappointed and would really welcome the opportunity to take Mr Baillie to a meeting with some fellow Cawthron trustees.

I just want to respond to my colleague Mr McKelvie. I’m very sorry that we’re not sending this to the Governance and Administration Committee, the best committee in Parliament, but we are sending it to my new, second-best committee: the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee. I note he made some very worthwhile contributions about the role of Cawthron’s work in researching in primary industries. The original focus was very much focused on agriculture and horticulture. We still do a lot of that, but, in today’s climate—“climate” is probably the appropriate word—a lot of the focus is now on aquaculture, on seafood, on oceans, on water, on climate change, and on soil research, which is incredibly important.

So, as my colleague Dan Rosewarne noted, one of the organisations that we do research for is King Salmon, and some of that research has been very important. King Salmon locally, in Nelson, has lost a lot of money because of fish death, because of warming waters. It’s a very significant and serious issue for one of the largest companies in my electorate. So one of the things that Cawthron have been doing is stress testing particular genetic lines of salmon to see which ones can survive in warmer waters. It’s important that we do that work so that King Salmon can continue to provide some of the best protein to the world and provide a large number of good quality jobs in Nelson.

My last thanks is to my colleague Rino Tirikatene, who’s worked closely with me on this bill. There’s one particular piece that the select committee will need to look at, and that is the spelling of Te Tau Ihu. Te Tauihu Iwi Chairs want it to be two words, and I know there are some who would like three words. While it might seem like a small issue, it will be something important for the select committee to grapple with. I wish them well; I look forward to joining them at committee for considering the bill. Finally, I commend the bill to the House.

The question is, That the

Motion agreed to.

Bill referred to the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee.