There is a reason we celebrate our hui-a-tau at this time, every year.

A reason which has a whakapapa comprising the tohu of some 52 ariki and rangatira representing iwi and hapu across Aotearoa, including Te Hapuku of Ngati Kahungunu and Potatau Te Wherowhero of Tainui.

He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tirene (the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand) was adopted at Waitangi on the 28th October 1835.

What were the aspirations and intentions of these rangatira who sought to assert mana motuhake for the tribal nations of Aotearoa?

Would they be satisfied with the progress we have made some 172 years later, in our journey towards the rangatiratanga of Maori?

We have withstood challenge, we have resisted the oppressive powers of those who seek to undermine our authority; and we will continue in our ultimate transformation.

This is the evolving story in which the Maori Party is now a part.

I take such profound pleasure in being able to celebrate the multitudes who are the Maori Party.

Our membership is our strength, our asset base, our wealth.

We are so lucky to be part of a movement of momentum; a movement driven by people power; a movement for change.

And we absolutely embrace all activists who seek the social and political change that Aotearoa requires.

I want to pay particular tribute to our very hard working executive. The National Council has met regularly throughout this year, travelling all over the motu for our bimonthly meetings, coming together for planning meetings, participating in conference calls, emailing, phoning and generally keeping the movement in good heart.

This year we have seen the emergence of thekähui pukenga – a development which will provide us with that strategic edge to take into 2008.

The team has dedicated hours upon hours of selfless commitment to the cause.

The leadership we have seen from Te Orohi Paul (policy); Richard Orzecki (putea); Gaylene Nepia (Pooti Rautaki) and Pem Bird (people) must be recognised as helping to shape the Party into the force that it has now become.

Our rebel rousing champion from the North, Hone, has taken on the responsibility of strategic director with the flair and relentless drive that we love him for.

This Kahui Pukenga will have a particularly influential role as our candidates are selected, and our winning team prepares for election year.

I want to mihi also to those of us who keep on keeping on – our Treasurer, Parehuia Aratema; our Membership Secretary, Joanella Ngata and our National Secretary, Helen Leahy. We are truly grateful for your dedicated commitment to the Maori Party.

And when I think commitment, all of us, I know, think of one man – Matua. We are so utterly blessed with your guidance and wisdom Matua – your quiet challenges, your enormous appetite for knowledge, and its appropriate application, and your ever shrewd counsel, has provided us with the most solid foundation that any party could ever hope for. The huge sacrifices that you and Francie have made in believing in our party are treasured by each and every one of us. We are all indebted to the wonder of the Winiata way.

The President has played a crucial role in encouraging us to retain a tight sense of discipline and a healthy spirit of dialogue, as a team of four in Parliament. I am so proud of our team – the sheer workload is mammoth, the commitment is awe-inspiring.

For a team of four, we often have the most incredible discussions at caucus, as differences are aired, and indeed challenges given out in the strongest possible ways. None of us are shy in having our say, but we have all valued the importance of consensus.

And I have to just say how proud I am to be in a team with the kaumatua of the Nation, the Communicator of the Year, Dr Pita Sharples. Pita is such a strong force in Parliament – his influence across the chamber is obvious and I know that his statements are always respected as bringing particular authority to any issue.

Hone has the ability and the profile to be able to provoke huge reaction and in doing so, has generated debate not just across Aotearoa, but throughout the global indigenous community as well.

Te Ururoa’s digilent and meticulous attention to detail has been well rewarded with the impact he had made in areas such as treaty settlements; the Public Works Act, and in forcing the Government’s hand in reviewing the role of Landcorp, OTS and other agencies.

We are proud that we are probably the one political party that sustains divergent views in the open air of public debate – and we still live to see the day out. It is certainly not a top down direction – much as Te Ururoa would like to convince himself he is the Man. Or Hone. Or Pita. Actually I’m the boss, they just don’t know it.

The capacity to agree to disagree has been really important for our team, and there have been a number of different bills before the House, where we have voted in ways which others may describe as ‘split votes’ – and which we see as representing diverse views.

I do know that some of the decisions we have made, have upset some of our constituency – and I think particularly of the call we made regarding the repeal of Section 59 of the Crimes Act.

It was absolutely unthinkable for any of us to resile from the challenge we all face as a nation, in confronting the catastrophic cost of violence amongst us.

We have been chosen to represent our people – and we felt it was vital to set a gold standard, a benchmark by which we could strive for a world without violence.

We will never abdicate the responsibility of speaking out against injustice, against economic violence as demonstrated in the rising tides of the poorer poor; and in confronting institutional racism and state brutality, as we have all lived through in these last few weeks.

The persistent disparities in income inequality; the lower rates of employment, the reduced life expectancy, higher suicide rates, higher smoking and obesity rates must not be ignored.

But I say also to us, we must know that we can find solutions that reside within ourselves, within our own kaupapa, tikanga and matauranga - by maintaining a positive outlook on our future.

We must demonstrate the courage to overcome misfortune, injustice, discrimination, and disadvantage by simply believing in ourselves, that we have the power to do so.

Look at the prosperity of our Party as an example.

It is well known that we get by on the smell of an oily rag – and I want to make it quite clear to the press, that I’m not referring to Molotov cocktails.

But if we were do sit paralysed by powerlessness, forever focusing on our financial hardship, we will never achieve the success we deserve.

When we stand up, get involved, make that commitment to $1 a week; or $5 a month; we can all experience the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing we are working together for a better future.

We must, more than ever, raise the funds to allow us to determine our own future.

We must have the capacity to be able to be driven by the people and for the people – and to be held to account by the people.

I believe we can make it happen.

Look at what we have done already. The fact of consistently achieving a solid three percent in the polls is something to be really proud of. There is nothing to suggest we can’t lift that further, and we must all make the commitment today – to focus on the seven seats and to lift the party vote.

I am always inspired by the belief that Martin Luther King showed in his speech, the Trumpet of Conscience, in which he said:

If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.

We in the Maori Party are living our dream, we are breathing life into our moemoea, by making it happen.

As they say, those who wish to sing, always find a song.

In my case, I have pride and hope in us – in our whanau, hapu, iwi, in tangata whenua – and I always find good reason for that hope to keep burning, exciting and igniting my spirit to believe we are our own best solution.

I heard a story this last week, when one of our mokopuna was listening to the parliamentary debates on the radio – as so many of our people are now in the practice of doing.

She heard me mention Rua Kenana in the context of the Bill to repeal the laws of sedition, and asked the question, who was Rua Kenana? In that moment, the Tuhoe prophet from the Urewera was lifted out from the lyrics of Moana Maniapoto’s waiata, to become a real person, with a proud history of revolution, of transformation, of liberation.

Those moments are indeed precious – when our curiosity is aroused, the spark of life is generated by an action, a word, a memory.

The Maori Party is our voice of hope in ourselves. It comes from believing that our people, like our manu aute, our manu tukutuku, are made to be lifted up, to fly, indeed to soar.

The greatest secret is in knowing that none of us need to rely on politicians and political parties to determine our future for us.

And so, I want to finish in thinking of this vision of our manu tukutuku being lifted to the highest levels possible.

He taonga tuku iho, ko te manu tukutuku

Kua ngaro atu ke ki nga hau e wha

Kua whakamiharo a tatou nei ngakau

Kia puta ake ki te whaiao, ki te ao Marama.

Just as a treasured kite, lost to the winds, rewards us with much joy when found again, so too, do we, as the descendents of te ao Marama have our greatest potential in recognising the strength of our cultural ideals and values.

The precious gifts of our tupuna, the legacy of our whakapapa, the immense power of matauranga Maori, of tikanga, of kaupapa will keep us soaring and exploring our past, present and future. We have every reason to celebrate.

ENDS

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