Methodist Church of New Zealand Trusts Bill 2009

Tn
koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. Kia ora t
tou. I start by saying that the M
ori Party has a particular interest in the commitment demonstrated by Te Haahi Weteriana o Aotearoa towards what they describe as cooperative ventures with other churches, and, indeed, their stands on a couple of issues. In a landmark conference in 1983, I am told, the Methodist Church reaffirmed the priority to the nation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as a covenant that established Aotearoa. It was written into its constitution that the Treaty provides the basis of a power-sharing partnership and is to guide the church in its mission in this land.

So it is that when I come to this Methodist Church of New Zealand Trust Bill 2009, I think about that commitment to form a close association between mana whenua and the Methodist Church. It is a relationship of good will and faith, which we expect to see expressed in the redistribution of trust funds, and the processes are described in this bill.

This bill is very much a statement of the times. It is consistent with other legislative changes that place emphasis on simplicity and clarity rather than on the overly complex layering of terms and provisions that were a feature of earlier bills. This bill tries to make it easier to amend Methodist trusts that have charitable purposes. This is a solid goal, worth supporting, in terms of the support it will be able to provide communities to advance educational aspirations, eliminate poverty, and work towards wh
nau ora.

Making the process easier has been an object of other legislation that other members have talked about, which has passed through similar private Acts for the Presbyterian and Anglican Churches. So it would be only right that this bill passes through without too many hitches, as well.

About a year ago I was fortunate to travel up to a very large town called Ruat
huna, somewhere in the middle of the Urewera Forest, where the Presbyterian Church was to return land to the Tkhoe nation. How that church really got there, in the middle of the Tkhoe nation, is an interesting history that was spoken about that day. P
keh
families, indeed, formed a close relationship with the people up there, who were mainly of the Ringatk faith. So there was a great deal of celebration, which I think was very much along the lines of this bill, to set the scene in terms of a different relationship between the h
hi and mana whenua.

The other important aspect of this legislation is around the changes to charitable trust funds, and to properties relating to Methodist orphanages or children’s homes. This bill will now make it easier to use that funding in a more appropriate way for the care of children and young people. Over the course of time, care is no longer routinely provided for by orphanages or children’s homes, so this bill responds in ways that we hope will achieve the broader outcome of wh
nau ora.

These duel goals—the capacity to amend Methodist trusts, and the provisions relating to orphanages or children’s homes—allow the church to move with the times and adapt to new processes. We support that, of course, but there is one final rider that we would like to place on this bill.

The amendments proposed mean that the trust property is disposed of to another similar organisation, with a similar charitable purpose. This is what we will obviously be keeping a keen eye on, in respect of the developments of this bill. As part of the commitment to Treaty justice, consultation was held with tangata whenua within the church—namely, through the Te Taha M
ori arm, which supports the bill. We trust, therefore, that both of the parties in the covenant relationship will look carefully at the case when trust funds become freed up for distribution. In particular, we would hope that where the land given was originally from M
ori sources, and where it is proposed that this land be disposed of, then the tumuaki of Te Taha M
ori will be actively involved in decisions around that land.

We look forward to the select committee debate around this bill, and for assurances around the protocols that will naturally fall out of the bill. To that end, we will support this bill going forward.