On the 12th June this year a remarkable event took place at Parliament.

Four political parties held a joint press conference, announcing they were signing a voluntary code of conduct.

Amongst the six core elements of the Code, we agreed to work for the public good, to show respect for other members, to debate the issues raised and refrain from personal attacks, and to ensure that we will behave in a manner that enhances the dignity and decorum of the House.

And remarkable it was too, for in this year, 2007, we have seen a Parliament in which:

• a senior Minister was caught out live on air using the ''f'' word in the debating chamber;

• another senior Minister was found brawling in the Parliamentary lobby with an opposition MP;

• yet another senior Minister was forced to resign for misleading the public;

• while another Minister has offered his resignation and is awaiting the results of the Cabinet sweepstake this week to find out his fate.

There is a level of misconduct amongst the two largest parties in the Parliament, which was capped off yesterday, by a tirade in which the party leader of a Government support party let forth a barrage of vitriolic abuse about a certain group of New Zealanders he described as indulging in ‘taxpayer sponsored militant separatism’; and a political party he associated with apartheid.

The name of both the people and party Mr Peters attacked is Maori.

Interestingly – none of these parties – Labour, National, or NZ First, have taken the step of signing up to the Code of Conduct.

Against a rising tide of intolerance from the New Zealand public about the antics of these three parties, neither Labour, National, nor NZ First have demonstrated their support for a Code of Conduct which, in essence, requires Members of Parliament to act ethically and with integrity.

And so, I come here today, thinking about the importance of equal employment opportunities, and thinking about how being a fair and reasonable employer has much in common with the notion of a Code of Conduct.

And although of course I am aware that equal employment opportunities have wide application across age, religion, gender, disability, family responsibilities, sexual orientation – over the last twenty four hours there has only been one word in town – and that is race – and it’s not being used in the sense of the great human race.

There has been wild talk of ‘militant separatism’, followed by the allegation that ‘ordinary New Zealanders’ are becoming an endangered species.

Well first, it might be useful to just consider what an 'ordinary New Zealander' looks like.

From the 2006 Census we know that in Auckland, some 56.5% of the population here is European; 18.9% identify with the Asian ethnic group; 14.4% with Pasifika and 11.1% with Maori.

About one in ten New Zealanders identify with more than one ethnic group, and the look of the future is definitely becoming a more cultural – or is it cultured look.

By 2021, almost one in five young people will be Maori.

These demographic changes bring some special challenges that we must address if we are to invest in our future.

What we know now is that the unemployment rate of Maori at 7.6% is well above the economy wide unemployment rate of 3.7%.

What this means is that Maori remain over-represented amongst the unemployed, with our share of total unemployment in the year to June 2007 (some 20.5%) being twice as high as our share of the total working age population (10.1%).

Within this, Maori youth experience relatively low participation rates in the labour force. At 56.5%, Maori youth are some ten whole percent points lower than non-Maori youth. Our young people also have high unemployment rates at 16.8%.

So I am wondering if the endangered species that Mr Peters is speaking of, is actually rangatahi Maori.

In addition to a much lower labour force participation rate for Maori youth, Maori are over-represented in the lower skilled occupations, and conversely under-represented in the higher skilled occupations.

It’s a twist on that old limbo dance, how low can you go.

Thinking about the limbo - what’s even more fascinating, is that the history to the limbo in fact emerges from the slave trade. When the slaves were being transferred on to the ships, they were bolted to a bar. Their exercise under the limbo as such, was about the act of liberation, a way of keeping themselves fit, against the shackles of slavery or life.

Why I am fascinated with this allusion, is of course the various developments that were made this year, in relation to the Minimum Wage Act – an act we considered akin with slave wages.

For what the Minimum Wage (New Entrants) Amendment Bill, passed just a month ago did, was to confirm, in legislation, a minimum wage differential based on age.

As you’ll be aware 16 and 17 years are currently getting a minimum wage of $8.20 per hour compared to the adult minimum of $10.25 an hour.

The Maori Party was proud to stand up, throughout this Bill, to argue for the chance for all young people to benefit from adequate employment protection.

But what happened during the select committee stage was that the words, ‘abolition of age discrimination’ were deleted from the Bill, and instead replaced by the provision that young people will be paid at a new entrant rate for the first two hundred hours.

The Parliament heard from the Human Rights Commission, that paying young people less would perpetuate a stereotype that they were worth less; and would have a huge impact on the earnings of young workers.

Despite this, the Parliament was still prepared to pass a law which breaches fundamental principles of fairness, of equity, countering the view of decent wages for decent work.

It was this youth slave bill that leads me to encourage you, to do all that you can to protect our rangatahi from becoming the endangered species of Aotearoa.

Perhaps now is a good time, then, to announce that it was right here, at Whakatuora Marae in Mangere East, that just over six weeks ago on 14th September, the Young Maori Party was launched to promote and positively influence the outcomes for nga rangatira mo apopo, our youth.

It is an amazing opportunity for our rangatahi to come together, to plan to achieve the aspirations they are entitled to hold, and just having watched their development I would encourage the Manukau Institute of Technology to look at ways that the young people in this organisation can lead the way in this workforce.

I think it is particularly important to focus on our rangatahi. Having a younger age profile means there is greater potential for gains to be made for the wider Maori population, in investment in tertiary education.

I know that the focus of this Institute is about how to best support a diverse range of students into tertiary opportunities, with a particular focus on sub-degree programmes.

You have higher numbers of Maori, Pasifika and Asian students in this region, than any other in Aotearoa, and as such, your greatest energy needs to be in looking at multiple pathways which can reap the greatest potential.

One of the key features of any success, will be in your commitment to work with the mana whenua of Tainui, and to develop stronger relationships with the local marae.

It will be their expertise and experience that could be crucial in helping you determine equitable ways of setting up recruitment, selection, training, promotion and reward employment practices.

Finally, we are all in the position that the legendary Snow White found herself in, in looking into the mirror that speaks only the truth.

When we consider what we could be doing better to achieve equality in the workplace, there are three key factors which will help us achieve the fairest EEO policies of them all.

The first, of course, is the legislative compliance that every ‘good employer must meet, in respecting the purposes of the State Sector Act 1988, including the recognition of:

• the aims and aspirations of the Maori people;

• the employment requirements of the Maori people; and

• the need for greater involvement of the Maori public in the public service.

The second is the future directions of our overall vision for Aotearoa, a vision based on the changing demographics, a vision which insists there must be a critical mass of Maori staff at all levels across managerial, policy and service delivery.

And the third important factor is how the principles of partnership, participation and protection have been actively fostered through your Treaty responsiveness programme.

The late Lord Cooke, in relation to the 1987 Court of Appeal ruling on the Maori Council's challenge to the sale of state assets, spoke of the Treaty of Waitangi as a partnership between the Crown and the tribes by which both parties could order their affairs on the basis of utmost good faith. Acting in good faith means both parties must be part of informed decisions, which will flow from effective consultation and cooperation processes.

Participation may be revealed in many ways across the campus. The staff development processes may include core competencies – and associated learning resources, for the whole staff to upskill in learning about the Treaty of Waitangi, about te reo Maori, and about relationships with iwi and mana whenua.

It may be that you look more creatively at resources such as an online information resources about Maori protocols and the language, or courses on cultural awareness which extend a welcome to the whanau of new staff.

Participation for Maori staff may be enhanced through the growth of Maori networks; or more informally with encouragement of an environment in which karakia or waiata are valued.

The protection of Maori interests and taonga is most obviously realised through demonstrable support for the language as a valued treasure of the Maori culture.

Some research released just yesterday, identified that 82% of Maori recognise the importance of the development and growth of the Maori language, compared with 59 percent in 2004. This is an amazing growth in our cultural pride; an outcome of the cultural renaissance and revitalisation that has been occurring throughout our whanau, hapu and iwi.

Manukau Institute of Technology would be doing well by Maori – and also in honouring the Treaty – in taking proactive and ongoing steps to foster and encourage te reo rangatira.

Protection is also realised through staff who have had the opportunity to develop targeted academic support initiatives for Maori students.

I started this address, with reference to political attacks which were being targeted at the name Maori, at the Party Maori, at iwi Maori.

It is really uplifting for me to come to an Institute which I know works actively to ensure that Maori have equal employment and education opportunities, to enjoy success, and to take on the learning which will equip them for higher-skilled, higher paid jobs in the labour force.

We ended our Maori Party Conference this weekend gone, with the overwhelming excitement that what is good for Maori, is great for the nation. Coming here to this Institute today has reminded me of that momentum we can share, in a treaty driven commitment to a future for us all.

ENDS

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