Motions
Pike River Mine, West Coast—Tragedy, Thursday 25th November 2010

Whakataka te hau ki te uru, whakataka te hau ki te tonga, kia mākinakina ki uta, kia mātaratara ki tai. Kia hī ake ana te atākura, he tio, he huka, he hauhunga. Tihe—e mauri ora!

E te parekura, e ngā mate, e ngā aituā o te wā, e ngā tōtara nui o te wao, koutou kua tangohia e te Ringa-Kaha-o-Aituā, moe mai, moe mai, moe mai rā. Ko koutou tērā i haere ki te kōpū-o-Papatūānuku ki reira mahi ai i ngā mahi hei oranga mō ngā tamariki, mō ngā mokopuna, mō koutou, mō ō koutou hoa, tē hoki mai. Tē hoki mai, ki te whai ao, ki te ao mārama.

Koi nei au e tū ake nei hei whaiwhai haere i te āhuatanga o ngā kōrero i te rangi nei, e koro mā, e tama mā; ki te tuku i ngā mihi ki a koutou e noho huna nei i te whai ao, i te ao mārama. Ko koutou tērā i te kōpu o Papatūānuku e tatari nei, e tatari nei, e tatari nei. Anei te motu kei runga i a Papatūānuku e tatari nei, e tatari nei, e tatari nei. I tōna mutunga mai, kāre koutou i te hoki ora mai ki roto i ngā ringaringa o wā koutou whānau i te wā i a koutou. Ko koutou ngā toa i te wā i a koutou. Ko koutou ngā ringa raupā i te wā i a koutou. Ko koutou ngā kaitohutohu i te wā i a koutou. Ko koutou ngā kaimirimiri o te tuarā o wā koutou whānau i te wā i a koutou; e kore koutou e hoki ora mai. Koi nei te tangi o te ngākau e hoa mā, ko koutou tērā e takoto nei, e noho huna nei i te kōpū o Papatūānuku. Anei te motu, anei te ao e tangi nei ki a koutou. Okioki mai, okioki mai, okioki mai.

Kei te tangi te motu, Māori mai, Pākehā mai, tamariki mai, kōeke mai, kūia mai, korōua mai. Te motu tēnei e tangi nei ki a koutou, moe mai, moe mai, moe mai rā. Kua rongo i ngā kōrero mō koutou i te wā i a koutou e takatū ana i te mata o te whenua. E hoa mā, kua whakahīhī te motu i a koutou. Āe! Ehara i te mea i eke koutou ki ngā taumata o te motu. Ehara i te mea i eke koutou ki ngā pakitara o te Whare Pāremata. Kāo! Engari ō roto i te ngākau o wā koutou whānau, i eke, i eke koutou ki ngā taumata e tika ana. E kore taea te karo tērā āhuatanga. Anā i te rangi nei, kotahi tonu te kōrero, kotahi tonu te whakaaro, kotahi tonu te wairua, e hoa mā, koutou kua ngaro. Kua eke koutou, kua eke koutou, kua eke koutou ki te tiketiketanga o te ao. Moe mai, moe mai, takoto mai.

E te motu me pēnei rawa te kōrero. Waiho rātou kia moe, kia okioki. Kia hoki mai ki a tātou te hunga ora, huri noa i tō tātou Whare, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātou katoa. Kei wareware, ko te āhuatanga o te hunga pēnei i tā wēnei e kōrero nei, i ngana, i ngana, i whakahokia mai tērā tira ki roto i ngā ringaringa o te motu. Me mihi ka tika ki a rātou. Me te mōhio anō hoki i tino tīhaehae te tangi o te ngākau o tērā hunga nā runga i te aha? He hoa haere, he hoa tata rātau ki a rātau. Nō reira, me mihi rā ki a rātou. Ko tāku noa ake ko te whaiwhai haere i ngā mihi ā ēnei nā. Ko te mate kē, kāre i eke ki tērā o ngā wawata ō tātau katoa.

I a au e hoki ana ki te wā kāinga inapō nei, i te mutunga mai o ngā mahi i te Whare Pāremata, nei au e whakaaro ake nei, mēnā koinei te tangi o tōku ngākau mō te rua tekau mā iwa, ka pēhea hoki te motu i te wā o te pakanga i ngā tau kua hipa? Arā ngā tohu mō te hunga kua ngaro. Ko te tekau mā iwa tēnei engari, kai te tangi te motu. Koi nei te aroha atu ki a tātau katoa. Ko rātau tēnei i whai nei i te āhuatanga o te hunga kua ngaro. Arā, ko tērā i Brunner, e ai ki ngā kōrero, ono tekau mā rima te hunga i mate—Dobson tokowhā, Strongman tekau mā iwa, Cave Creek tekau mā whā, arā anō te tangi o te ngākau. Kotahi tonu te tira i haere nei i te rangi nei, me waiho rātau kia moe. Nō reira ko tāku noa ake e te Whare, huri noa, huri noa, waiho rātou kia moe. Ki ngā whānau, ki te rohe, ki te motu e tangi nei kia kaha mai tātau. Me tū pokohiwi ki te pokohiwi, ringa ki te ringa ki te tautoko i tērā hunga e tangi nei i tēnei wā, kia kore rātau e noho i te mokemoke, i te āwangawanga engari, me whakapakari tātau i a rātau i te mea, ko tātau tēnei e tangi nei. Huri noa i tō tātau Whare, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Whakaaria mai
Tōu rīpeka ki au
Tiaho mai nā roto i te pō
Hei konā au titiro atu ai
Ora, mate,
Hei au koe noho ai.
Whakaaria mai
Tōu rīpeka ki au
Tiaho mai nā roto i te pō
Hei konā au titiro atu ai
Ora, mate,
Hei au koe noho ai.
Āmine.

[Cease the winds from the west, cease the winds from the south, let the breezes blow over the land, let the breezes blow over the ocean. Let the red-tipped dawn come with a sharpened air, a touch of frost, a promise of a glorious day. Behold the sneeze of life!

Oh disaster, oh deaths, oh calamities of the moment, oh mighty tōtara trees of the forest, those of you taken by the Great Hand of Death, sleep there, rest there, and slumber on. You went into the bowels of mother Earth to carry out your responsibilities that would ensure sustenance for the children, grandchildren, yourselves, and your friends, but never to return to the world of brightness and enlightenment.

This is why I am standing here, following up the circumstance of today’s speeches, oh old and young ones, paying tribute to you hidden there from the world of brightness and enlightenment; instead, you are there in the bowels of mother Earth, waiting, waiting, and waiting. Meanwhile, on the surface of mother Earth, the nation is waiting, as well—waiting, waiting, and waiting. But in the end, you are not coming back alive into the arms of your families, as before. You were warriors in your time, worked hard, gave advice, nurtured your families, but are not returning alive. This is the reason why we are grieving inside, because you are lying there, concealed from us in the bowels of mother Earth. Here is the country and the world in mourning for you. Rest in peace, rest in peace, rest in peace.

The nation weeps—Māori, non-Māori, children, adults, elderly womenfolk, elderly menfolk— this, then, is the nation that mourns for you; rest peacefully, rest peacefully, rest peacefully. We have heard stories about you in the prime of your life, during your life on the land. The country is proud of you. Indeed, yes! It is not as though you reached the pinnacles of the country, adorned the walls of Parliament House. No, not at all! But in the hearts of your families, you reached the right levels. You cannot ignore that. Not at all. So today, colleagues, there is only one statement, one thought, and one spirit; it is about you who are no longer here, gone. You have reached the very pinnacle of the universe. Sleep, rest, and lie there.

To the people of the country, let me say this: leave them there to rest and slumber. I come back to us, the world of the living, to us throughout our House: greetings to you, and greetings to us all. Lest we forget, as others before me alluded to, the country’s services made every attempt to rescue these men. We must acknowledge their efforts, in the full knowledge that they were heart-broken, as well, because they were close work compatriots and friends to each other. We need to recognise this. My part is merely to follow up on the acknowledgments by these ones who spoke before me. The real problem is that the outcome was not what we all wanted.

As I was making my way home after completing some work relating to Parliament last night, I was thinking to myself: if I am grieving like this for 29 people, how did the country react to a war in past years? Look about you. There are the memorial symbols commemorating those who fell. This is a mere 29, and the country is grief-stricken. How I feel sorry for us all. They are the ones who died. At Brunner, 65 died, at Dobson, four died; At Strongman, 15; at Cave Creek, 14; so the heart grieves. Only one company of men died today, so let them rest there. All I am simply saying to each and every one of you in the House is to allow them to rest there. My call to the families, the region, and the country in grief is for us to be staunch, to stand shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, and support those who are in grief now so that they do not feel alone and anxious. We must make them stronger, because they mirror us in our grief. So greetings to you throughout the House, and greetings to you all.

Show me
Your cross
Let it shine there in the darkness
I look to thee
In life and death,
Let me abide with thee.
Show me
Your cross
Let it shine there in the darkness
I look to thee
In life and death,
Let me abide with thee.
Amen.]

Members joined in the singing of the waiata.

E tau ki runga i a tātau katoa te wairua o ngā mātua tūpuna. Nā ratau i whakatakoto te ara hei hīkoinga mā tātau ngā uri; i whakatō ki ō tātau ngākau ki ngā tikanga hei aratakingia i a tātau; kia ngākaunui ki te hāpai i wā tātau mahi katoa i roto i te pono, i te tika, i te māramatanga; me te aroha o tētahi ki tētahi. Koia rā e Rongo, whakairia ki runga, tū toro whiti whakamaua kia tīna, tīna, hui e, tāiki e!

[Let the spirituality of our ancestors settle upon us. They were the ones who set down the path for us, the descendants, to traverse. They also embedded customs in us that would guide, commit, and elevate all that we do in good faith, righteousness, and understanding, with a love for each other. Hearken, Rongo, hang it above, and allow us to fix it there firmly, very firmly; alas, it is fixed and firm.]

ENDS

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