Flavell Te Ururoa: Ministerial Statements — Islamic State Conflict—Government ResponseText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFlavell Te Ururoa: Ministerial Statements — Islamic State Conflict—Government Response[Sitting date: 05 November 2014. Volume:701;Page:616. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon TE URUROA FLAVELL (Co-Leader—Māori Party):Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. Kia ora tātou katoa e te Whare. I stand to follow on from other speakers in respect of the opportunity given by the Prime Minister to make a statement today.Today’s announcement about the possibility of New Zealand entering into a war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is set against in some senses some uncanny circumstances. Today Māoridom at least and those of Taranaki think about the cost and the casualties of Parihaka and also of course tonight is an acknowledgment of the works of Mr Guy Fawkes a ritual that has no cultural relevance to Aotearoa.It was 133 years ago early in the morning of 5 November 1881 that a small New Zealand settlement was the scene of one of the worst infringements of civil and human rights ever committed and witnessed in this country. A gentle rural community was invaded by 150 militia and armed members of the constabulary. As innocent children welcomed the army within their midst over 2000 locals watched on in silence. This was not an invasion by foreign troops on our own soil. Amongst the military forces in attack were politicians driven by their hunger for the rich fertile prime lands of Taranaki. The forces were led in fact by two members of Parliament both Cabinet Ministers.In respect of Mr Guy Fawkes it is my suggestion that today although there might be sparklers and rockets throughout the country tonight most New Zealanders will not be aware of the history that comes from that event—namely a plot to blow up Westminster Palace and to take the life of the then monarch King James I.I pay particular reference to Parihaka on this historical day because it provides a glimpse into war in our own nation. It gives some sense of harm caused to generations of families through the military action. The people of Parihaka commonly refer to that as Te Pāhuatanga o Parihaka the invasion of Parihaka. It is still even today spoken about.The Māori Party is strongly opposed to New Zealand taking up military involvement in Iraq in a civil war not of our making. During the 2003 to 2013 deployment in Afghanistan Aotearoa lost 10 New Zealand soldiers. As a nation we suffered the loss of lives through military presence in Afghanistan at a great and enduring cost to the well-being of families and communities living here.There is another reason why I wanted to refer to Parihaka. Parihaka was also the birthplace of course of the unique movement of passive resistance associated with the visionary leadership of Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi. Both men were committed to non-violent action drawing on ancestral wisdom to offer both spiritual and political leadership while war broke out all around them.There are other options that we could explore. We welcome the emphasis that the Prime Minister gave in his statement today towards humanitarian aid. The expression of manaakitanga in a global context is demonstrated by the commitment to increased support for refugees from Syria and Iraq who have fled their homes in terror as the result of the ongoing violence. This is a responsibility for peacemaking at an international level which we absolutely support. It is a responsibility that is consistent with other members who have held my office such as Sir Apirana Ngata who soon after war was announced in 1939 put into words the sacrifice our whānau were prepared to make. He said: “We are participants in a great Commonwealth to the defence of which we cannot hesitate to contribute our blood and our lives. … We are of one house and if our Pakeha brothers fall we fall with them. How can we ever hold up our heads when the struggle is over to the question: ‘Where were you when New Zealand was at war?’ ”.Our participation in serving the nation in such a way came as a result of our commitment to honouring the obligations and duties which we believe came out of the covenant we signed in the Treaty of Waitangi Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We commend that generosity of spirit that incredible sacrifice of life and limb that has caused enduring harm to the spirit of the generations who follow.I want to take us back to the last decade of deployment to Afghanistan. Those 10 fallen soldiers killed in attacks in the Bamian Province or Kabul were aged between 21 and 41. Seven were in their 20s—young New Zealanders starting off in life their lives brutally cut short. We cannot forget their sacrifice and indeed the sacrifices of the Second World War of the Korean War of the Malayan emergency and so on. The New Zealand Army Ngāti Tūmatauenga has served with distinction in the major conflicts in the 20th century; it has given so much to fight for for the honour of our country overseas. But when do we get around to having the national discussion around military contribution?Although the statement today—thankfully—rules out sending the SAS or any other troops into the combat roles in Iraq it does state that the military can and may well help with building the capacity and capability of Iraqi forces. It also indicates a willingness to help train the Iraqi forces to deploy military planners to the Middle East to determine whether New Zealand can play a role in helping Iraqi defence forces. We understand the importance of diplomatic and intelligence measures in order to engage but the Māori Party asks: “What makes the training work any different to being in the front line firing the guns?”. Although there is a clear statement that there will be no combat role in Iraq we are not convinced that helping to train the Iraqi forces is sufficiently removed from the combat zones.Throughout the wars of the 1860s the Parihaka leaders forbade the use of arms and condemned violence and greed and in doing so they modelled the art of passive resistance as a template for healing a nation for responding to conflict through peacemaking and dialogue. We have a proud history of protecting communities through different means through peace building. This is an opportunity we say surely to ensure that our distinctive legacy of peaceful action might be useful.There is one other area that I want to touch on and that is the increased authority and intervention by the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service to carry out video surveillance on private properties for the purpose of observing activities. The Māori Party will stand on record as stating our absolute opposition to any such actions that would see a repeat of Operation Eight in which the innocent lives of the whole communities of Ruātoki were trampled on traumatised and for ever changed as a result of the heavy hand of the State.We stand alongside the Tūhoe nation who have only just received the formal acknowledgment by the Crown in the last few months or at least by the police as well of those injuries that occurred on 15 October 2007. This incident was disproportionate surveillance under the guise of national security. What the Independent Police Conduct Authority has concluded is that the police failed to meet expected standards when carrying out the Ruātoki and Tāneatua road blocks and five of the 41 property searches. Tūhoe Ruātoki Tāneatua—let us not forget that we have raised these concerns at the highest levels and we expect this action to never occur again.We do support the need for citizens in their areas to have the ability to look after themselves to be self-determining and to be able to care for themselves against the atrocities of war but we will never ever support any contribution of a military nature that seeks to strengthen the potency of Iraqi forces to fight others. Our focus will always be on being a good international citizen promoting models of peace and supporting the well-being of families to care for themselves but we can do that in a peacemaking and humanitarian mode not in the context of civil war. We have a great international reputation of providing humanitarian support. Let us stay where we are strong. Nō reira kia ora tātou katoa.