Appropriation (2010/11 Estimates) Bill, Hon Bill English, 3R taken with Imprest Supply (Second for 2010), Hon Bill English, 2R (3 hour debate)
Hone Harawira, Maori Party Member of Parliament, Te Tai Tokerau
Tuesday 03 August 2010

Mr Speaker - exactly 150 years ago to this very day, on the third of August 1860, on behalf of a gathering of chiefs at Kohimarama, Tamihana Te Rauparaha presented a petition to the Native Secretary asking that the Conference of the Maori Chiefs of New Zealand be established and made permanent, while at the other end of the country, the warship Victoria was coming in to New Plymouth, with the Commander of the Forces in Australia, and his staff, on board.

So as we consider this appropriations bill today which allocates extra funding over the next three years for Treaty Settlements, we are reminded to look to the lessons of our history to help set the guidelines for our future; a history in which 150 years ago today, Maori were stepping up to the challenge of nationhood, while the Crown was girding for war in the Taranaki.

And it is in line with the importance of settling historical Treaty claims to help grow the Māori economy, that the Maori Party supports the resourcing in this bill for extra staff to support treaty negotiations and treaty settlements, which many iwi and Māori entities are now using to unlock the potential value of the Māori asset base through further research and development.

But we note that this bill is not the only thing we want to see in government’s budget planning, and we also note that the Treaty has far greater value to our society than just that of backstopping recent treaty claims.

In 1970, Ngā Tamatoa’s activism forced New Zealand to come to terms with Māori issues, particularly those related to the Treaty of Waitangi; and by 1974, Waitangi Day had become a national holiday.

In 1975, Whina Cooper led the Great Maori Land March to Wellington to protest the loss of millions of acres of Maori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi; which led directly to the establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal.

And it was Nga Tamatoa who helped organise the petition to government which gave birth to the revitalisation of the Maori language, a taonga under the Tiriti, and the emergence of Kohanga Reo in the early 80’s.

And if you were to ask the Minister of Māori Affairs, he would tell you that although there has been significant progress made in the area of language revival - still it is not enough - hence his announcement last week of a $250,000 review of the Maori language sector, to update the Māori Language Strategy and to ensure that government expenditure on the reo was meeting Maori aspirations; again, a great move, and one that we fully support.

And it would be remiss of me to forget to mention the Foreshore and Seabed March of 2004, which challenged government’s intention to deny Maori rights to the Foreshore and Seabed enunciated under the Treaty of Waitangi; and which gave rise to the Maori Party for whom I speak today.

On another level Mr Speaker, just yesterday, the Waitangi Tribunal released the second instalment of its report into the history of the conflict in the Urewera, where they recommended return of part of the park to Tuhoe.

And I am reminded that only a fortnight ago, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples, Professor James Anaya, respectfully urged the Government to reconsider its decision to refuse to return the Urewera National Park to Tuhoe.

And while I’m talking about Tuhoe, I see that the Police Commissioner, Howard Broad, says he would like to bring Tuhoe and the police together before he leaves next year, although Tuhoe say it's unlikely the rift between the iwi and police will be resolved any time soon.

And yet none of this is rocket science Mr Speaker.

As Tuhoe Negotiator Tamati Kruger said, the basis of good relations between Maori and the Crown is good will and sincerity, the absence of which jeopardises the very basis of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

In fact, those are also the very reasons why I drafted a bill to establish a Parliamentary Commissioner for the Treaty of Waitangi - to promote respect for the Treaty as the nation’s founding document and constitutional blueprint, and to:
review and investigate Treaty related issues;
provide information and analyses to the general public;
promote respect for the Treaty; and
provide advice to Parliament.

And if I could just add, it was also the advice of the United Nations Special Rapporteur that the principles of the Treaty provided a foundation for Maori self-determination - as guaranteed under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - based on a real partnership between Maori and the Crown.

Finally Mr Speaker, I wish to speak to government’s radical reshaping of our society to cope with the effects of a global recession, and its failure to protect the most vulnerable in our society from its impact.

A 2% lift in benefits will do nothing to help those already living on a knife edge, particularly during a period when GST has been increased, prices are going up, job losses have been huge, and economic recovery has been slow, particularly for Maori.

The Maori Party remains committed to ensuring Te Tiriti o Waitangi becomes a document that the whole country will one day see as the basis for good relationships between Maori and all others in Aotearoa, the source of sound environmental policies and practices, the footing for strong and positive growth for our economy, the background to the nation’s commitment to eliminating poverty and addressing the injustices that limit the potential of a great sector of our society; and the foundation for a legal framework that encompasses tikanga Maori and pakeha legal principles for the benefit of all New Zealanders.

ends

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