Royal Society of New Zealand Amendment Bill
First Reading, Wednesday 22nd September 2010
Te Ururoa Flavell, MP for Waiariki

Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. Kia ora anō tātou.

Ā, ko te tikanga o tēnei pire e ai ki tāku e kite nei he āhua mārama ana. He whakawhānui i te whāinga, me ngā mahi o te society nei, kia tāpirihia atu ki te mahi rangahau ā-tangata, arā, ko te humanities. E tika ana ki te āta rangahau i te society nei, i te mea mai i tōna tīmatanga i te tau 1867, kāore anō tētahi kia tō mai me kī, i te rōpū nei ki te ao hōu. Ko te mate kē, koinei anake te mea e whakaarohia nei e te Royal Society ki te tō mai i te hunga nei ki te ao hōu, arā ko te humanities tērā. Ehara i te mea he huarahi māmā tēnei. Kua puta te pire nei i muri mai i ngā mahi a ngā pūkenga o Kōtimana, me Kānata, me tētahi kirimana i waenganui i te society nei, me Te Whāinga Aronui mō ngā humanities.

Kua kaha whakapau te Royal Society ki te kupu kotahi. Arā, ki tā te Pāti Māori, me huri kē ki ngā kupu e whā: Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Nā, ko te whāinga nui o te pire nei, he hiahia nō rātou ki te āki, ki te whakanui, ki te whakarangatira i tēnei mea ko te humanities. He mea pai tērā. Nā reira, me pātai i te pātai pēnei ā ētahi atu: he aha tēnei mea ko te humanities? Arā anō ngā momo reo, ngā momo tuhinga, ngā momo ture, ngā hītori, ngā momo kaupapa here, ngā momo tikanga ā-hāhi, tae atu ki ngā mahi ā-rēhia.

Me kī, technology, anthropology anō hoki cultural studies, te mea, te mea. Arā anō he kōrero mō te āhuatanga o te tangata. Ko te mate kē, kaua ko te tangata Māori, kaua ko te tangata whenua rānei. Karekau he paku kōrero i roto i te ture, arā te Royal Society of New Zealand Act 1997, ki te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ki a mātou, me whai wāhi te tiriti i roto i tēnei momo ako. Me whai wāhi anō hoki tēnei mea te cultural competency.

I te mea ā kō ake nei ka puta te pūrongo o te Wai 262, me titiro whānui tātou. Ko te tirohanga whānui e kōrerohia ana ko tērā, me kī i roto i te reo Pākehā, me kī ko tētahi kōrero kua kōrerohia nei. Anei te kōrero;

Tino rangatiratanga and kaitiaki by the claimants over indigenous flora and fauna and other taonga, and also over mātauranga Māori, Māori traditional knowledge.

Ana ko tērā kōrero kua roa e kōrerohia ana i roto i te Wai 262. Nō reira koinei te tikanga o taku kī atu, me titiro whānui tātou ki ēnei āhuatanga katoa, kaua ko te humanities me tana titiro whāiti nei, me whakawhānui tonu te titiro. Ka mutu, kei te titiro anō hoki pēnei i tāku e kōrero nei, kei te titiro mātou ki te āhuatanga o te piringa o te Tiriti o Waitangi, ki tēnei pire. Nā runga i te aha? Nā runga i te mea ko te Tiriti o Waitangi i tōna whānuitanga, he titiro anō rā ki ngā rawa o Tangaroa, ki te whenua e takoto nei, ki te taiao, me kī ngā momo rangahau, ēnei āhuatanga katoa. Nō reira ko tā mātou ko te kī atu, me titiro anō hoki ki a ngāi Māori, me te āhuatanga o te noho o te tangata me tana mōhio ki te Ao Māori, me ngā mea o iwi kē. Koinei te āhuatanga o tēnei mea.

Te tūmanako ia ka tautoko tēnei rōpū i te whakaputanga o Mātaatua, tae atu ki te whakaputanga o te ao, arā i te reo Pākehā, The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Nō reira he paku whakaaro noa ake ēnei, kua puta i a mātou i te pō nei mō tēnei pire. Kei te tautoko ake te Pāti Māori i tēnei pire i tōna pānuitanga tuatahi, me te tūmanako ia ka kōrerohia whānuitia ēnei take i te komiti whāiti.

[Greetings to you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and to all of us once again. The purpose of this bill appears fairly simple: to expand the objective and functions of the Royal Society to include the humanities. One would think it both logical and necessary that a society that has been operating since 1867 actually becomes updated. Believe it or not, all that the Royal Society thinks is necessary to meet the contemporary need of our communities is to add one word: humanities. It is not as easy as one might think. This bill has come about only after the analysis of scholars from Scotland and Canada, and as a consequence of this society signing up to a memorandum of understanding with Te Whāinga Aronui / the Council for the Humanities.

But if the energies of the Royal Society have gone into just one word— humanities—the Māori Party wants to encourage a wider focus on just four words: Te Tiriti o Waitangi. What exactly do we mean by humanities? Examples of the disciplines of the humanities are ancient and modern languages, literature, law, history, philosophy, religion, and the visual and performing arts. Other disciplines include technology, anthropology, and cultural studies. They are about the human condition, but not about Māori humans, or tangata whenua. There is no reference in the Royal Society of New Zealand Act 1997 to the Treaty of Waitangi. It is our view that the Treaty should be included in these areas. The development of these areas should occur within an environment of cultural competency.

As the report on the Wai 262 claim draws near, we should be aware of the broader vision of that claim. Basically, that vision is one that promotes tino rangatiratanga and kaitiaki by the claimants over indigenous flora and fauna and other taonga, and also over mātauranga Māori, Māori traditional knowledge. That stance has been long discussed around the Wai 262 claim. And that is why I said we should take a broad view in terms of these matters, as opposed to the narrow view of the humanities. In subsequent phases of this bill we will be looking for the connection between the Treaty of Waitangi, natural resources, the environment, the economy, the arts and culture, and research, science, and technology.

We would also like to see a greater understanding between Māori and non-Māori cultures, and support for indigenous declarations such as the Mātaatua declaration and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

These are our views expressed tonight about this bill. The Māori Party will support this bill at its first reading, and looks forward to further debate on these matters in the select committee.]

ends

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