Governor-General Bill
Third Reading, Tuesday 9th of November 2010
Te Ururoa Flavell, MP for Waiariki

Tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. Kia ora tātou katoa. Members will be aware that there has been a lot of kōrero recently about entitlements, appropriate use of expenses, and reimbursements related to the role of a politician. This bill fits within that broader context of public accountability and transparency for a prudent use of the public spend. This bill in itself, as other speakers have alluded to, is pretty innocent. Its purpose is to simplify the funding of the office of the Governor-General and to bring the tax treatment of the Governor-General’s salary into line with other Commonwealth countries.

This is a consequence of the 2007 Law Commission review of the operation and provisions of the Civil List Act 1979. The bill provides that the Governor-General must be paid a salary at a rate determined from time to time by the Remuneration Authority and that rate must not be reduced during his or her term. The bill also concludes that the Governor-General must be paid an allowance, at a rate fixed from time to time, for official expenses. The bill has many other aspects to it. There is compensation for superannuation rights lost during the term of being Governor-General, the annuity paid to the surviving partner of a Governor-General who has died after or during his or her office, and other benefits or privileges by way of payments in respect of domestic travel and the use of chauffeured cars when the Governor-General no longer holds the office of Governor-General. Like the Hon David Parker, I say it is important that we recognise the role of the Governor-General within the constitutional framework of Aotearoa, a context that was shaped by the Declaration of Independence, te Tiriti of Waitangi, and the relationship between the Crown and the Treaty partner, tangata whenua.

Arā anō atu tētahi take kua puta mai e hāngai tonu ana ki a ngāi Māori, arā, ko tērā ko te tū o te tangata whenua, me kī, hei Kāwana-Tianara mō Aotearoa. Ki tā mātou e kite nei, mēnā ka whakatūria tētahi Kāwana-Tianara Māori, he mea āwhina tērā ko te noho tahitanga o te Ao Pākehā me te Ao Māori i te mata o te whenua i Aotearoa nei. Ko te mea pai o tērā momo tū, ka noho he Māori me kī, hei kanohi, hei waha kōrero mo te Kuini o Ingarangi. Me maumahara anō tātau, ko te Kāwana-Tianara te kau mā ono o Aotearoa ko Tā Paora Reeves, ko ia tērā i tēnei wā tonu nei, ko ia anake o ngā Kāwana-Tianara katoa, he whakapapa Māori tōna, ā, ko ia tērā i whakatūria ki tērā o ngā tūranga whakaharahara. I te wā i whakatūria a ia i te 22 o Whiringa-ā-rangi i te tau 1985, e hia kē nei ngā Māori i mihi nei, i whakanui nei i te āhuatanga o tā Paora tū hei Kāwana-Tianara mō Aotearoa. Ko Tā Hēmi Hēnare tētahi, ko tana kōrero e pēnei ana: “It must be a fruit of the Treaty of Waitangi to see a person from our people.”

Arā, koia tērā, te kōrero a Tā Hēmi Hēnare. Ko Tā Pāora, he uri o roto o te hapū o Puketapu o Te Āti Awa o Taranaki, ā, he tangata, me ki, i roto i ngā take nui o te wā, ko ia tērā i kaha whakahē nei i te haerenga mai o te tīma whutupōro o Wherika ki te Tonga, arā, ko te Springbok Tour i te tau 1981. Ko ia tērā i whakatūria hei Pīhopa mō Aotearoa, ā, ka mutu, ko ia tērā anō hoki i haere hei tumuaki mō te Whare Wānanga o te Rau Kahikatea mō te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa.

Nō reira, he aha te tikanga o tērā kōrero mō Tā Paora ki tēnei pire? Ka mutu, ko tā mātou e whakapono nei, me whakaaro tātou mō tērā āhuatanga o roto i tēnei momo pire.

There is another matter that has emerged relating directly to the Māori people, and that is for someone of indigenous descent to become Governor-General of New Zealand. In our view, if there were to be a Māori Governor-General, it would improve relations between Pākehā and Māori. The great thing about that is that a Māori would become the representative and spokesperson for the Queen of England. We must not forget that the 16th Governor-General of New Zealand was Sir Paul Reeves, who remains the only person of Māori descent to have been appointed to this highly significant role. At the time of his appointment on 22 November 1985, many Māori groups welcomed the appointment, with Sir James Hēnare saying: “It must be a fruit of the Treaty of Waitangi to see a person from our people.”

So that is what Sir James Hēnare said. Sir Paul Reeves is a descendant of the Puketapu subtribe of Te Āti Awa of Taranaki, and opposed the 1981 Springbok Tour. He was an ordained bishop, later serving as dean of the St John Evangelist Theological College or the theological college of the Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa.

So how does all this fit into this bill? In the end, we believe that in a bill of this type we should take that situation into account.

We believe that this bill, in maintaining respect for the position of the Governor-General, maintains respect for the core elements of our constitutional understanding that have retained an importance in Māori consciousness. In many respects, until the constitutional review is in progress, the Governor-General must stand as the representative of the Queen, the embodiment of the Crown. In doing this, we will continue to place that role in the context of respect for the Treaty of Waitangi as the nation’s founding document and constitutional blueprint. Despite the policy and legislative changes of the last 35 years to better recognise the Treaty of Waitangi, shortfalls remain that adversely affect the lives of hapū, whānau, and iwi. These shortfalls also affect the quality of cross-cultural relationships and the operations of society more generally. Enhancing respect for and giving better effect to te Tiriti o Waitangi will enhance the quality of life for all. This bill does not do any of that by a long shot, of course, but it is a part of the conversation that must be had as a nation. In that sense, we support this bill at its third reading.

ENDS

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