Hon Christopher Finlayson

CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (National) : I endorse everything that the previous speaker, the Hon Mahara Okeroa, said in his excellent speech. To the outsider it may seem as though this is all dancing on top of a pinhead—what is in words? But the challenge for the Māori Affairs Committee, which, as the Minister said, worked in a very professional and collegial way, was to turn concepts into words that were acceptable to the tangata whenua of Tauranga.

Time and time again—in the very short time that I have been a member of Parliament—it seems to me that Parliament fails when it grabs hold of concepts and cannot adequately or professionally translate those concepts into words. An obvious example of that is the electoral finance legislation. Government members had a clear aim: they wanted to do in the National Party after the 2005 general election. But when it came to drafting the legislation, they shot themselves in the foot because they did not get the words right. As a consequence, that legislation is a shambles. The Minister of Justice makes a fool of herself every question time, the legislation will give rise to litigation, and yesterday we had the Prime Minister almost raising the white flag of surrender by saying that she knew it was a shambles and would have to be sorted out. She was acceding to what the Hon Peter Dunne had said about having a cross-party conference.

That is what happens when one does not get the words right, let alone the concepts. Of course, the Electoral Finance Act is ghastly legislation in concept as well. Therefore, it behoves members of Parliament, as legislators, to knuckle down and focus on the words.

Sue Moroney: The Exclusive Brethren wrote this speech.

CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: Instead of cackling away like that, Sue Moroney could perhaps listen to what I say, because it is about a very important thing that we could all learn from.

We were dealing in this Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill with a total agreement between everyone on the concept that we wanted this particular historic reserve to be transferred back in accordance with agreements made between the Crown and the tangata whenua of Tauranga, but the question was how the Crown would retain some kind of residual responsibility. When I looked at the way clause 7 had been drafted my immediate reaction was that this was not just a Clayton’s transfer but it was also insulting. It is worth just focusing carefully on the words, because it states that for the purposes of the enactment the reserve “must be treated as if the fee simple estate in the reserve was still vested in the Crown.”

That is totally unacceptable terminology, given the concept of what was trying to be achieved. I know that other members of the select committee, such as the good New Zealand First member, Mr Paraone, said: “Surely to goodness, this is a matter where we are agreed on the concept, and it should not be beyond the wit of parliamentary draftsmen to come up with a form of words that are acceptable.” Therefore, as the honourable Associate Minister said a few minutes ago, clauses 7 and 8 were omitted from the bill and a new clause 8 has been inserted. I think it is a very good piece of work, and it captures exactly what all the parties intended—that is, although the reserve is transferred back to tangata whenua, the reserve status is preserved.

Clause 8 comprises a number of key ingredients so that it remains a historic reserve under the Reserves Act 1977. For that purpose, the Minister continues to have the certain functions, obligations, and powers that the Minister has under the Reserves Act 1977. The Tauranga City Council continues to have a role in this. Importantly, however, the fact that the Minister retains certain powers does not entitle the Minister to exercise the power under section 26, which is the power to vest the reserve in some other person, or the power under section 15 to exchange the land comprising the reserve or part of it. As the Associate Minister said, clause 8(3) states, importantly, “the Crown continues to have, in relation to the reserve, the rights and obligations of the holder of the fee simple estate (including any obligations in respect of occupational health and safety, building, or rating liability legislation).”

Those words capture exactly the concept that everyone intended. I congratulate the parliamentary draftsmen on acceding to the wishes of the various submitters, and I congratulate the hard-working, diligent, and amiable members of the select committee on coming up with a form of words that were acceptable.

The Māori Affairs Committee is a collegial select committee. I do not want the Labour members on that committee to get into trouble, because if I say that they are collegial and are good to work with, then it could be reported back. Those members could be told to toughen up, as people on the Justice and Electoral Committee are told to do. That committee should be a good committee to work on, but sometimes it is poisoned by having far too great an adversarial approach to legislation, which gives rise to litigation.

As John F Kennedy said in his inaugural address, “civility is not a sign of weakness,”. We are a civil bunch on the Māori Affairs Committee—as the member for Te Tai Tonga would agree—but that does not mean to say that we do not knuckle down and do some good work. I think that this bill is an example of good work. I commend the approach of the Labour members on the Māori Affairs Committee to the Labour members on other select committees, particularly the Justice and Electoral Committee. If this amiable and collegial approach had been taken to the odious electoral finance legislation, then many of the problems we are now facing with that legislation would not have occurred.

With that little bit of sermonising in mind, I join with the previous speakers in supporting the second reading of this legislation. I hope that it can be passed through all its stages. I cannot really see why we could not have passed it through all its stages this afternoon, but that is a matter for the Leader of the House. None the less, I certainly hope that we get through the remaining stages as quickly as possible.