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Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: There is nowhere else I would rather be. I have to say, with respect, that I thought the discussion in the Committee was excellent. I particularly note the contribution of my friend Ms Pillay, and I say “my friend” advisedly because we enjoyed working together, she as chairperson and I as deputy chairperson of the Justice and Electoral Committee, even though we disagreed on everything and she took the Labour members off on a wonderful jaunt to Australia and I pulled the National members out because I thought that they should be at home working.
 
 
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Attorney-General) : Hearing the dulcet tones of Lynne Pillay takes me back to those very happy days between 2005 and 2008 when we were getting ready for Government and she was the chair of the Justice and Electoral Committee. How we enjoyed working collaboratively and positively together on the electoral finance legislation! It was one of the thrills of my life! I regret to say that I was the one who was responsible for pulling the National members out of that select committee visit to Australia, because we do not believe in trips like that, which are primarily vacations.
 
 
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Attorney-General) on behalf of the Minister of Justice: I move, That the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Bill be now read a second time. The bill contains a package of new measures aimed at resolving civil disputes involving both the Australian and New Zealand jurisdictions more effectively and at lower cost.
 
 
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Attorney-General) : I move, That the Limitation Bill be now read a second time. This bill was introduced in June 2009 to replace the 1950 Act that, as I noted last year, is creaky, outmoded, and long overdue for replacement. So this is indeed an exciting day for all of us because today we move a step closer to replacing the 1950 Act with a modern, clear, and comprehensive statute that will set out the general rules for determining the limitation periods for civil claims. Our rules are based on the United Kingdom limitation rules, which have been described as a “ghastly network of unreformed legal fossils impervious to natural understanding and intelligence”.

Simon Bridges: Like the Labour caucus.
 
 
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Attorney-General) : I will not speak at any length on Part 1, which simply outlines the preliminary provisions, but I do want to say something about Part 2, which is, in many respects, the core of the bill and sets out that there are to be defences to money claims.
 
 
DAVID GARRETT (ACT) to the Attorney-General: Are iwi and hapū who gain ownership of the foreshore and seabed by negotiation with the Government likely to gain a title with greater or different rights from those granted by the courts?
 
 
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage) : I move, That the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Bill be now read a first time. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be considered by the Government Administration Committee, that the committee present its final report on or before 3 December 2010, and that the committee have the authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting, except during oral questions, during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House, and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House, despite Standing Orders 192 and 195(1) (b) and (c).
 
 
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Attorney-General) on behalf of the Minister of Justice: I move, That pursuant to section 5 of the Independent Police Conduct Authority Act 1988 and section 32 of the Crown Entities Act 2004, this House recommend His Excellency the Governor-General appoint Ms Angela Irmgard Hauk-Willis, and Ms Dianne Mary Macaskill as members of the Independent Police Conduct Authority, each for a term of three years, and appoint Mr Edward Richard Woods as a member of the Independent Police Conduct Authority for a term of two years.
 
 
Hon TAU HENARE (National) to the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: What recent progress has the Government made towards its goal of settling historical Treaty of Waitangi claims by 2014?
 
 
DAVID GARRETT (ACT) to the Attorney-General: Will he commit to prohibiting Māori owners from charging other New Zealanders for access to beaches; if not, will he at least limit the amount they can charge to $5, the fee currently charged by the Māori owners of Tākou Bay in Northland?