1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,240 Speaker 1: The Select Committee looking into the Treaty bill gives a 2 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:06,519 Speaker 1: big thumbs down three hundred thousand submissions ninety percent opposed. 3 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:10,119 Speaker 1: Seymour still wants a referendum. If people believe that the 4 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:12,320 Speaker 1: public don't support this, they should not be opposed to 5 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:14,720 Speaker 1: having a referendum on it. James Meaga is the chair 6 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:16,920 Speaker 1: of the Justice Committee. He's with me now, good evening, 7 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:20,079 Speaker 1: Good evening, Ryn. Is this going to be voted down 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: next week? 9 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:23,799 Speaker 2: Ultimately that's up to the House and what parties do 10 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 2: National's positions Being clear, we supported the bill through to 11 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 2: Select Committee, have a conversation, we don't support the bill, 12 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 2: so we'll be bringing against it. 13 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:32,600 Speaker 1: Okay, and other parties. 14 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:33,239 Speaker 2: That's up to them. 15 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 1: But does this next week the voti happen. 16 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 2: That will be up to the Leader of the House 17 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:41,240 Speaker 2: who manages the legis of the schedule. So as the chair, 18 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:43,839 Speaker 2: I've got the report back done, so it's ultimately over 19 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:47,000 Speaker 2: to the government. Now is to when it appears. 20 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: Has this been a giant waste of time or do 21 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: you feel that we have all grown as a nation 22 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: and learnt something. 23 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 2: I think there's a significant amount of work that's been 24 00:00:57,440 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 2: done and if researchers. Look back, you've got, you know, 25 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 2: three hundred thousand submissions on a particular issue at a 26 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:04,319 Speaker 2: particular point in time, So there may well be some 27 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 2: academic value. But we've of the position where we don't 28 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 2: think the bill's going to proceed, so we're very keen 29 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 2: now to i think, get it done and just to 30 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 2: move on and get on with things that are actually 31 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:17,319 Speaker 2: growing the economy and making a change to people's life. 32 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: With the submission, there was a bit of who ha 33 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:21,760 Speaker 1: are about the submissions and whether there be about tens 34 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: of thousands that weren't going to be read? Was everyone 35 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 1: read by will everyone be read by someone? 36 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 2: Yeah? There was a bunch of game playing there, and 37 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 2: it's really frustrating because some of that was done a 38 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 2: little bit underhandedly. So here's the facts. Every submission that 39 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 2: was received was read by a human at the Ministry 40 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 2: of Justice. All of those submissions were incorporated into what's 41 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 2: called the Departmental Report, which was produced by the Ministry, 42 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 2: and then all those submissions were always going to be published. Now, 43 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 2: the difference was when submissions are still being processed for 44 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 2: consistency with standing orders. After the bills reported back, they 45 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 2: go into a bucket called the general business bucket. We 46 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 2: wanted to put a motion to have them treated all 47 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 2: as the same. Labor blocked that in Business Committe. That's 48 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 2: what Duncan Webb has not been telling you. He's been 49 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:09,239 Speaker 2: telling you that the government's been blocking it. That's not true. 50 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:11,639 Speaker 2: They wanted to do their own motion to extend the 51 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:13,239 Speaker 2: report back because they wanted to play politics. 52 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:15,680 Speaker 1: So well, there's been a lot of politicking over this. 53 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: Let's be clear about that. I didn't know there was 54 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 1: a general business bucket. That sounds probably the least interesting 55 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,799 Speaker 1: thing I've heard today. Hey, okay, so we've got here. 56 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: The Select Committee's reported back. We're going to have a vote. 57 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: It's going to go. No where should it have been 58 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:32,920 Speaker 1: in your coalition agreement? 59 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 2: James? That is most certainly not an answer or a 60 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 2: question for me. But the fundamentals is that it wasn't 61 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 2: a coalition agreement. That is the price we pay for 62 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 2: living in an MMP environment, and I guess the consequence 63 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:48,239 Speaker 2: is that we have the opportunity to be in government 64 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:50,519 Speaker 2: to make some real change for people's life. So he's 65 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 2: probably the extent of what I can do on that one. 66 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 1: Do you think this is something that we will come 67 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,560 Speaker 1: back to and revisit as a country. Do the I mean, 68 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: you're a former lawyer, you're a politician, Marty. Do we 69 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: need to define them at some point? 70 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 2: I think the underlying debate is probably one that was 71 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 2: worth having. We didn't agree with this particular mechanism. There 72 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 2: is another mechanism going through at the moment around reviewing 73 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 2: particular phrases in legislation where Treaty principles are mentioned, and 74 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:20,519 Speaker 2: I think there were some valid concerns about whose role 75 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 2: is it to define what the principles are or aren't. 76 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 2: So I don't think it's going away, but I think 77 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 2: for this particular case, it wasn't the right way to 78 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 2: do it, and so now we'll move on to some 79 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 2: other ways. Maybe. 80 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: All right, interesting stuff, James, Thanks for that, James Mega, 81 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: who's the Justice Select Committee Chair? 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