Katene Rahui: Tariff (Malaysia Free Trade Agreement) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Katene Rahui: Tariff (Malaysia Free Trade Agreement) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 22 June 2010. Volume:664;Page:12111. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 E te rangatu pou mua o te reo o te Whare tena koe. In November 2006 a group of Malaysian non-governmental organisations came across to Aotearoa with the explicit purpose of being able “to learn how the Maori people of New Zealand have brought their culture back from the brink of extinction”. The delegation represented several ethnic minority groups including four tribal members from the United Saba Bajau Organisation—I apologise if I have the pronunciation wrong. The Bajau people are one of the most well-known populations in what we might describe as the endangered ethnic groups of Malaysia. The Bajau are traditionally seafaring people and possess an incredible range of skills in the construction of fishing canoes and vehicles. They came here to learn together and to consolidate and develop a partnership between indigenous peoples. 
I raise this experience today because it would appear to me that international exchanges such as the one with the Bajau community might be the type of relationship we might expect to see as a benefit of a relationship with Malaysia. The Tariff (Malaysia Free Trade Agreement) Amendment Bill amends the Tariff Act 1998 to implement the Malaysia - New Zealand Free Trade Agreement which was agreed to in Kuala Lumpur on 26 October 2009. It enables the application of preferential tariff rates for imports originating from Malaysia. The bill also amends the Customs and Excise Regulations 1996 to give effect to rules of origin applicable to imports originating from Malaysia. Finally the amendments will enable transitional safeguard measures to be applied in appropriate circumstances to imports originating from Malaysia. 
I will place this free-trade agreement in some context for the benefit of the House. The Maori Party has previously voted against all free-trade agreements. Our rationale for doing so is that we believe the economic benefits of international trade agreements need to be balanced with consideration of our own local regional and national social progress and environmental enhancement. Our key position has been that we support fair-trade agreements as opposed to free-trade agreements. We want to use the opportunity of any trade relationships to advocate also for the support and implementation of indigenous international agreements such as the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples International Labour Organization Convention 169 the Mataatua declaration the declarations of the United League of Indigenous Nations and suchlike. We also seek to establish trade relationships with other First Nations peoples. 
We have been approached by Maori businesses in the past that have shared with us their genuine enthusiasm for any opportunity to take advantage of international markets. I think this is where the rubber hits the road for a party like ours because although some people have contacted us with their deeply held concerns about the impact of free-trade agreements others also see great potential in arrangements such as this. We speak for those innovative Maori businesses who want to seek new international challenges and develop a position as a significant player in our export growth but we speak also about our fundamental right to determine our own sovereignty rather than to surrender it to the march of overseas investors. We stand for the incredible diversity that characterises Maori economic activity from Maori individuals in the labour market to self-employed people running their own Maori businesses to tribal and pan-tribal Maori commercial entities. 
But we are concerned also about the loss of jobs. We also acknowledge that one of the consequences of the global market is that businesses and workers including Maori— 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: I am sorry to interrupt the honourable member but the time has come for me to leave the Chair. 
Debate interrupted.