Harawira Hone: Insolvency Law Reform Bill — Second Reading 
Harawira Hone: Insolvency Law Reform Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:633;Page:5182] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Maori Party—Te Tai Tokerau) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Deputy Speaker. Tena tatou i te Whare. This bill assumes we need change because the current insolvency laws are not working properly and everyone is losing out particularly with the growing number of businesses going under. So as with every other issue the Maori Party addresses we want to look at the bigger picture and consider the changes being proposed here. 
In speaking to the Insolvency Law Reform Bill I would like to paraphrase the words of one of the world’s greatest citizens Dr Martin Luther King. When the architects of this great land signed up to the Treaty of Waitangi they were signing a promissory note to which every citizen of Aotearoa was to fall heir: a promise that all peoples of this land would be guaranteed inalienable rights. It is obvious today that New Zealand has defaulted on its promissory note insofar as her citizens of colour are concerned for instead of holding the sacred obligation Maori have been given a bad cheque—a cheque that has come back marked “Insufficient funds”. But we refuse to believe that the “Bank of Justice” is bankrupt. 
We come to the debate on the bill with those words ringing in our ears. How can we say the “Bank of Justice” is pushing Maori to the brink of bankruptcy when so many Maori workers are underutilised and when the massive levels of unemployment for Maori can be described by the Business Roundtable as both economically wasteful and socially damaging? 
Members should make no mistake: like the proposer of this bill we welcome the introduction of systems for dealing with bankruptcy and the imposition of minimum costs without stifling innovation. But the bigger question remains. An article by the chairman of the New Zealand Business Roundtable in yesterday’s  
Dominion Post  
summed the issue up best: “Today the general unemployment rate is down to 3.6 per cent yet the Maori unemployment rate remains more than 8 per cent the same as the general rate in 1994. Worse the Maori youth unemployment rate is a tragic 18 per cent.” Yet how rarely do we hear politicians and commentators saying that that rate is unacceptably high. Well this is one political party and we are four politicians but we have been saying for the last 12 months that the rate of Maori unemployment is unacceptably high. 
When we look at this bill surely the most important thing to look at in terms of these changes is how to prevent financial strife from happening in the first place. But our current tax laws themselves are a big part of this strife—too many too costly and too clumsy. It is a wonder that more small businesses do not fall over. We need to review our business tax system to help businesses grow just as we also need to support growth in employment higher wages investment research and development and innovation. As part of that review we must also ask why the Government insists that it always be first in line to get its money back while everyone else can wait. 
We agree with the amendments to the voluntary administrative regime whereby a bankrupt company voluntarily puts its affairs into administration to either help save the business or help the creditors get a decent return. But we know that submitters to the Commerce Committee were also concerned that giving the Government first dibs on creditors’ money would make it harder for businesses to agree to the voluntary administration process in the first place because they would always be second in line. 
The Maori Party will support the second reading of this bill because we believe that small businesses will benefit from early intervention and appreciate the help to manage their way through hard times. Initiatives in the bill will help many businesses to stay afloat or wind up with minimum costs and better returns for creditors and will allow people to move on. These initiatives will help Maori to enhance their responsibilities while maintaining an open door to future innovation and growth. 
The Maori Party continues to defend Maori rights and advance Maori interests for the benefit of this great nation of ours Aotearoa. Although things are tough just like the great Dr Martin Luther King we too refuse to believe that the “Bank of Justice” is bankrupt. Kia ora tatou.