3. Hon RODNEY HIDE (Leader—ACT) Link to this
to the Attorney-General
Does he stand by his answer of “yes” to my question yesterday that under the proposed Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill “…when we have Treaty settlements that shift property and titles to iwi groups, those settlements are brought before the House and select committees for public scrutiny and ratification by Parliament, yet when it comes to the foreshore and seabed a Minister, by private treaty in his or her office, can sign the deal, with no public scrutiny and no oversight by Parliament”; if so, what protection will there be against allegations of political patronage and corruption?
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Attorney-General) Link to this
Yes, the Minister answering yesterday confirmed that the processes are different. He did not necessarily accept the member’s description of those processes. As to the second part of the member’s question, as recent experience has shown, there can be no protection against allegations of patronage or corruption by people who either have not read the bill or do not care about the truth. The real question is whether patronage or corruption by individual members is protected against—
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It should probably be ACT that raises this point of order, but to accuse members in this House of—
Mr SPEAKERThe member will resume his seat. I listened very carefully to the Minister’s answer and he was speaking in a general sense. He did not accuse anyone in this House of not having read the bill, or whatever. If I recollect his answer correctly, he said that there was no protection against individuals who had not read the bill making allegations, etc. It is quite improper for a member then to try to twist that and aim it at an individual in this House.
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON Link to this
The real question is whether patronage or corruption by Ministers can be guarded against. The answer to that question is yes.
In light of his answer, what protections are there within the proposed bill to guard against political patronage and corruption?
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON Link to this
I refer the member to Part 4. In the case of when agreements are entered into, the responsible Minister is negotiating on behalf of the Crown. It is the Crown that enters into those agreements. There will necessarily need to be adequate Cabinet, and Cabinet committee, review of those processes. One can enter into those agreements only if the requirements of the Act in relation to customary title are satisfied. Any attempt to subvert those requirements would be met with an application for judicial review.
What public scrutiny and parliamentary oversight will there be of these decisions before they are ratified?
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON Link to this
If the procedure is done by way of an Act—and that is one of the options set out in clause 92—there will be an opportunity for parliamentary scrutiny. If the agreement is what is entered into, I refer the member to clause 95 about registration and notification of the agreement, and to the points I made earlier, which will indicate there will be an opportunity for interested parties to be involved.