Wall Louisa: General Debate 
Wall Louisa: General Debate 
[Volume:648;Page:16910] 
LOUISA WALL (Labour) 
: 
 Kia ora Mr Assistant Speaker. Tena koutou katoa. It is my pleasure to take this call in this general debate. It has been an exciting day with the signing of the deed of settlement for the central North Island iwi collective. This is the biggest single Treaty settlement in dollar terms and in terms of the number of people—over 100000 individuals. It is also the biggest in terms of the amount of land—some 170000 hectares. That is a huge commitment to historical Treaty of Waitangi redress and I am proud to belong to a party that has helped broker such a deal. 
Labour has a plan for the future. Maori are a central part of New Zealand’s future and our policies are all about building on Maori assets and achievement in partnership with Maori. Central to this is our position on Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I note a quote from Dr Cullen who said: “the place of the Treaty in New Zealand today in one sense … is a simple one. It is that it is a living document which provides an orderly framework for the settlement of historical grievances and the resolution of ongoing debates about the rights of the original inhabitants and owners of the land.” It is acknowledgment of us as tangata whenua. So for Labour the Treaty is very important. 
What is National’s position? National members think the Treaty is an irrelevance actually. National members on the Health Committee led by Tony Ryall last week voted against inclusion of the Treaty of Waitangi in the Public Health Bill. So as usual National voted against it. What about other parties? The Greens voted for the Treaty clause New Zealand First voted for the Treaty clause and I note that although Tariana was not present at the actual vote the Maori Party too at a prior meeting indicated its support for the inclusion of a Treaty clause. So what hope would there be for Maori in the Treaty settlement process if National were to gain a mandate given its position on the Treaty? 
This is a typical position of the Opposition. It has no thought for today no thought for tomorrow and no thought for the future. Unlike my Labour team and our leader Helen Clark Opposition members do not have a long-term relationship with Maori or a long-term emphasis on supporting and working with Maori. So what would National do for Maori? Actually of its 14 policies I think there is only one related to Maori and that is to abolish the Maori seats with no consultation and no korero. They would rather listen to the Business Roundtable and a non-Maori academic. Will Maori put up with this? I know they will not. Frankly National has no plan for the future development of Maori. I recall that John Key’s mentor Don Brash actually thought about scrapping Te Puni Kokiri the Ministry of Maori Development. Ano no consultation and no korero; just the privileged National Party telling Maori how to live their lives. 
I have one more point starting with a quote from John Key when speaking about National’s Treaty settlement policy in early March 2008. He said: “in attempting to distinguish between our current position and the formal policy document that will follow later this year I gave the impression that National did not have a date for the settlement of historical Treaty claims. This was wrong.” I am not sure exactly what was wrong but apparently National’s slogan is that all historical Treaty settlements will be completed by 2014. I note that it is now later in the year and still there is no policy and no detail. That is typical of National. 
Labour is the only major party that is delivering actual and tangible benefits for Maori. We will continue to do so and we will continue to build on the relationships we have. So at Ratana Pa next year we will be there; at the Kingitanga hui and coronation we will be there; and at the annual Maori Women’s Welfare League hui we will be there. For Labour this is simply business as usual. The National Party never comes to any of these events it does not have any ongoing relationships with Maori and it never will. It wants to get rid of the Maori seats and it does not have any commitment to historical redress. 
So what is business as usual for me? Well I will tell members a little bit about what I did during the last adjournment. For me it is all about the future and it is all about our children—it is all about our tamariki me mokopuna. For us as identified this morning it is all about education. Maori now have an economic base where we can start mobilising our young people so that they can be the directors they can be the lawyers and they can be the doctors that will service not only our people but the rest of New Zealand. We have a commitment to being part of this country. The National Party does not think that we have any right to be part of this country. It does not think that our status as tangata whenua has any value whatsoever.