5 August 2009 - I am pleased to speak to this Bill, as a member of the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee that has come to know this Bill in quite some detail, as we came to grips with at last count, 824 pages of amendments and adjustments.

Mr Speaker, I would have to be honest and say that the thorough and detailed analysis of taxation legislation would probably not register as the most exciting of challenges that have come before me as a Member of Parliament.

But there is one issue which has really stood out in the process, which I want to focus on in this second reading.

The focus of my interest is the payroll giving scheme, as I believe it reflects what we in the Maori Party attribute great significance to - the concept of manaakitanga.

Manaakitanga plays an important role in Māori society. Within its purest sense, it refers to the relationships between people. In essence, the expression of manaakitanga, is seen in the demonstration of generosity and hospitality towards another.

Over recent weeks, there has been some concern raised over the concept of giving to charities and community organisations.

The involvement of a professional telemarketing company cast a shadow of doubt about the direct transfer of donations through to the charities concerned.

The Fundraising Institute of New Zealand, the Charities Commission, and the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, all came forward and encouraged donors to look critically at the actual percentage of funding that goes through to the charity.

My colleague, Tariana Turia, was, however, only too clear in her response to the situation.

In essence, her words are summed up by the proverb inherited from Ngati Raukawa:

He iti pou kapua, ka ngaro, ka huna tini whetu i te rangi.

Though a cloud may be small, it is sufficient to obscure the many stars at night.

It is important that the recent cloud of doubt cast on a couple of charities, does not obscure the vital issue of encouraging the goodwill of New Zealanders to invest in our communities through gifts of money, time and in-kind.

In light of these recent events, and of course the impacts of the economic downturn, the fact that this Bill is back before the House is extremely timely.

This Bill contains two initiatives to support and grow giving in Aotearoa - the giving of time and the giving of money.

These gifts of the heart contribute to improved social cohesion and stronger, more resilient communities.

The other aspect of the timeliness of this legislation that I want to draw on, is the fact that this Bill follows the release of a ground-breaking report from the Department of Statistics, called Measuring New Zealand's Progress using a sustainable development approach.

We are very interested in this publication, as it resonated with the key policy direction that we in the Maori Party have promoted - that is the concept of a Genuine Progress Index.

In essence this means that in order to achieve any assessment of our society as a whole, we need to consider environmental, economic, social and cultural dimensions as a true measure of progress.

In this report, therefore, the concept of voluntary contributions by people to society are seen as a measure of social connection and governance.

75 percent of New Zealanders support the community and voluntary sector in some way, be it through volunteering, donations of money and goods, or other types of support. The Maori Party believe that Government needs to support and foster this type of generosity across every sphere of influence that it can.

The Taxation (international taxation, life insurance and remedial matters) Bill does this through referring to voluntary contributions in the focus on donations.

The two new initiatives contained in the Bill build on the earlier work to remove tax benefit thresholds for donations.

Pre-tax payroll giving will make it easier to give money and to use the existing tax incentive mechanisms.

I think this is an important development in the legislation which warrants our support.

Pre-tax payroll giving offers a simple mechanism for individuals to give through work-based payroll deductions, while simultaneously receiving the tax benefit for their gifts. It eliminates all the extra paperwork leaving the emphasis on the giving.

It is cost effective - once relationships between donors and organisations are established overhead administration costs are reduced to a minimum.

The payroll giving scheme will be voluntary for employers to set up and offer to their staff.

We would, however, expect that businesses that already practice some form of corporate social responsibility will be the ones that will take advantage of this opportunity, the first to lead the rush.

It is heartening to see more and more businesses realise that what is good for their communities, is also good for their employees and their own companies.

Pre-tax payroll giving will demonstrate how government, employers and employees can all work together to build strong, resilient communities.

These are really important issues which the Maori Party is pleased to support.

For tangata whenua, as for Pasifika peoples and many ethnic groups, gifts of time, money and even in-kind form part of our cultural obligations, and are essential for the maintenance of our cultures and languages.

We know too, that across Government, that the concept of promoting generosity is one which is gaining more and more credibility.

Tariana Turia, as the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, has been proudly supporting the Generosity project which explores ways to encourage individuals and businesses to participate in their communities and local community organisations by giving time, money or in-kind donations.

For many of us, the traditions and values of looking after others is one which has been part and parcel of the way we were brought up.

And yet sadly, in recent years, we know that many community and voluntary organisations suggest that a lack of resources and volunteers is dramatically impacting on their ability to achieve their goals.

The Generosity Project is being advanced by Philanthropy New Zealand, Volunteering New Zealand and the Office of the Community and Voluntary Sector to put the spark back into giving.

This Bill, then, is another step to make that happen.

In the select committee report we noted that the Inland Revenue Department website did not appear to have the information readily available or easily accessible to the public.

We therefore made the recommendation to encourage the Department to complete the work as soon as possible, and to communicate the changes to employers and employees. We also encourage the Department to include the information in the Tax Information Bulletin that will accompany the Bill.

The Bill also removes the confusion around the tax law for volunteer expense reimbursement and honoraria. It's about time! Back in 2001, the International Year of the Volunteer, our communities first identified this as a problem. It has taken eight years for change to be brought about.

I have concentrated on this one aspect in some detail, because I believe it is an important development which the Maori Party fully endorses.

We therefore declare our support for this Bill.