Paraone Pita: General Debate 
Paraone Pita: General Debate 
[Volume:642;Page:12453] 
PITA PARAONE (NZ First) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker; tena no tatou. As this general debate concludes out at the Police College in Porirua a group of 27 Maori wardens from around the country will be saying their farewells to police staff and to one another following a 3-day training course that was intended to assist the wardens in their work of caring for their respective communities. The feedback I have received clearly indicates that the wardens and others involved are all speaking highly of the experience and its value to all involved and saying that the experience should be continued. The course is the first of a number intended to provide similar training to all Maori wardens. 
Members in this House might ask what the significance of this is. The significance is that this is happening because of New Zealand First. Budget 2007 set aside $2.5 million to fund wardens and this fund will be further extended for ensuing years. Today sees the beginning of this funding start to kick in for the benefit of not only the wardens but this country. I regard Maori wardens as being amongst the unsung heroes of this country. It is no coincidence that New Zealand First’s confidence and supply agreement with the Government required enhanced funding for wardens and I am very pleased to have been part of the process that has achieved this outcome. I take the opportunity of acknowledging that our Labour Party colleagues have kept their word unlike those members in previous agreements we have had with other parties. 
One could rightly describe the New Zealand First Party as being the “Postman Party”. Why? Because we deliver. For Maoridom we have done just that in regard to Maori wardens. I might say that unlike other parties in this House who also take pride in representing Maori we deliver. In previous years our leader Winston Peters has been responsible for ensuring that regular annual funding was made available to both the Maori Women’s Welfare League and to kapahaka. It seems strange that Maori wardens and the contribution they were making to our society and our communities were not being recognised. This $2.5 million over the next year with further funding in excess of $4 million over the following 4 years is in recognition of that contribution. The Maori wardens have their legislative responsibilities set out in the Maori Community Development Act 1962. Maori wardens are appointed for a period of 3 years and are specific to the district in which the warden resides. Although the Act was passed in 1962 the initiatives of working with other organisations in their communities are not new but have evolved over a long period of time to give Maori a degree of self-management in their own affairs. 
I want to take this opportunity of acknowledging the contribution of a former colleague of ours Mr Edwin Perry to the work of the Maori wardens in his particular community. But I also want to congratulate him on his recent election as a councillor in the Masterton District Council. Maori wardens work in close association with Maori committees and with the police in their areas. Their role is to promote respect among Maori people for the standards of the community and to take appropriate steps to prevent any threatened breach of law and order. Maori wardens play an integral role in our communities working with both Maori and non-Maori to keep our streets safe. Although most work done by the wardens is voluntary the Government recognises its value and this funding should ensure it is continued. Just as important it will provide much-needed resources to assist them in their role. 
The Maori wardens are indeed an asset to the community. The role they play has certainly changed from the time when Maori migrated from their homelands to the cities particularly during the 1960s and 1970s when this country witnessed a great migration of Maori families from rural areas into the towns. The contribution that Maori wardens made to help assimilate members of their Maori community in those areas was huge. Can I say that during my time working in the South Auckland area and in particular in Otara I can recall a number of Maori wardens patrolling the streets of their communities at 2 and 3 o’clock in the morning in the hope of helping their families to assimilate into the towns. 
The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.