Waititi Rawiri; Mallard TrevorRAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori): Tēnā koe e te Pika tēnā tātou e te Whare tēnā koutou katoa e te iwi.[Greetings Mr Speaker greetings to those in the House greetings to one and all.]I want to acknowledge the Government on the delivery of their Budget today. In particular I acknowledge my whanaunga the Māori Ministers who have secured some important funding decisions for our people. There is a lot to like in this Budget particularly in relation to targeting Māori housing packages and the long overdue increase in baseline benefits. There are new initiatives that will make a real difference to the lives of tangata whenua. We give credit where credit is due.Engari—but—let me contextualise for you what Budget day means to us. At the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840 my ancestors and many others from around the motu consented to Kāwanatanga and the establishment of this Parliament. But they also affirmed our existing rangatiratanga. As article 2 explicitly states the Crown guaranteed to Māori the undisturbed possessions over our land our rivers our seas our forests our traditions and practices—our people.This covenant envisioned the relationship of equals a partnership that would enrich Aotearoa. Rangatiratanga and Kāwanatanga must be working together based on a relationship of respect partnership and goodwill for the betterment of people tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti. The only way this nation can work is where tangata whenua assert our right to tino rangatiratanga our self-determination our governance and our self-sufficiency.A new Aotearoa is on the rise. There is an unapologetic generation of tangata whenua who recognise that being forced to work within the system no longer suits our struggle for mana motuhake. That is what we must do—dismantle the system and create our own. Tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti living and working together in peace is the Aotearoa that Te Paati Māori is fighting for.Our people sent us here to be the unapologetic voice for our tino rangatiratanga as tangata whenua: to rebalance the scales of power in Aotearoa and realise the partnership that was envisaged by our ancestors tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. You might be wondering Mr Speaker what on earth Te Tiriti o Waitangi has to do with the Budget. I can certainly hear that from my colleagues either side of me and they have no idea so let me enlighten you.The covenant that gave consent to all Pākehā to live in Aotearoa is and will always be Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The realisation of our tangata whenua rights under the covenant will always be our benchmark. Te Tiriti o Waitangi demands that tangata whenua secure 50 percent of the resources and decision-making power. Equality demands that tangata whenua secure 16 percent of all the resources and decision-making power. Equity demands the tangata whenua secure 25 percent of the lion's share. On every level of those benchmark indicators we fall short. One week of COVID subsidies to businesses added up to more than the total sum of Treaty settlements over 30 years. One year of corrections funding adds up to more than the total sum of Treaty settlements over 30 years. This is a disgrace.I mentioned in my maiden speech about how we will no longer accept that the State continues to fund itself every year to steal more of our babies to lock up more of our people to keep our people sick poor and homeless. The point is that more money is not always the answer. Ultimately we seek for our people to be at the decision-making table with regard to where the resources are allocated rather than being the recipient of. These are our rights under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.Āperahama Taonui prophesised: He taniwha kei te hāere mai. Ko ōna niho he hiriwā me te kōura. Ko tōna kai? He whenua. Kaua e mataku ki ōna niho hiriwā me te kōura engari kaua e tukua te hiriwā me te kōura hei atuatanga mōu."["There is a taniwha on its way with teeth of silver and gold. What does it crave? It craves land. Do not fear the teeth of silver and gold just do not allow it to become your God."]The key is not to allow ourselves to become intoxicated by the euphoria of the million-dollar signs and look at the gains from a perspective of proportionality. Last year Vote Māori received 0.3 percent of the entire operating Budget. This Budget announcement sees an increase to 0.37 percent going to Māori—a whopping 0.07 percent increase. It appears as though this Government has an obsession with putting zeroes and a decimal point in front of what they give Māori. Funding for Māori programmes will not work if those programmes are not conceptualised designed managed and governed by Māori. Funding for Māori programmes will not work—mā te Māori ki te Māori mō te Māori e ai ki te Māori; by Māori to Māori for Māori according to Māori is the only way. This is what we mean when we talk about mana motuhake. Let us not confuse the oranga of our people with money and dollar signs or silver and gold; mana motuhake means we make our decisions and receive our resource equally because that is our Treaty right.The Māori Health Authority is an important step—a start—but there is so much more to do. This Budget announced $240 million over four years which also equates to 0.3 percent of the total health budget. There goes that 0.3 percent again. We have underfunded primary healthcare underfunded dental care ambulance services have had to beg for funding every year to stay operating and the Government refuses to fund lifesaving cancer drugs that are funded in comparative countries. Far too many people simply can't afford to go to their GP let alone the dentist.Just last week we had people suffering from a life-threatening cancer on the steps of Parliament in the pouring rain calling for Pharmac funding to be doubled to fund medicines that could save and extend their lives. The announcement today didn't get anywhere near that. Recommendations to lower cancer screening ages for Māori have fallen on deaf ears. We need to ensure we have a health system that actually works in keeping our people well and protecting our whakapapa as tangata whenua. I am also perplexed as to why Whānau Ora received no additional funding given it has the Minister on record telling us that it had the highest-performing portfolio in Government.The disparities and inequities in income for Māori are disgraceful and are reaching new levels. Pākehā have a net worth almost five times higher than Māori while non-Māori have a 13 percent higher median age. What we are seeing is the result of decades of under-investment deregulation and the slashing of the social security system. We welcome the increase to baseline benefit levels and the reinstatement of the Training Incentive Allowance. These have been long fought for by the grassroots. Since 1986 the number of Māori forced to rent has increased by 88.3 percent—70 percent of Māori cannot afford a home and are living in rentals. One third of Māori live in houses considered damp and overcrowded. Māori make up 50 percent of the waiting list for social housing.Because I only get 10 minutes I am going to go straight to the last page the most important part of my speech. It is evident that we are already delivering real change and that the Māori across this House each coming from their own position and using their own platforms—we can succeed. Te Paati Māori will continue to play a constructive role in both working alongside this Government and holding them to account. Sitting on the cross-benches we will oppose when our people's interests are at stake and we will support when support is warranted.Today I call on the Government to continue adopting policies from our manifesto. In only six months we have already seen so many Te Paati Māori policies adopted: the purchase of Ihumātao; the removal of barriers to establishing Māori wards with the procurement of 5 percent which is still way off our 25 percent; the replacement of the Oranga Tamariki chief executive with a Māori leader; investigations into our broken criminal justice system; the public holiday recognition for Matariki; te reo Māori and Māori history in schools; new investment in kōhanga reo and Whānau Ora; ratings reform for whenua Māori; and of course as already mentioned the Māori Health Authority and the Māori housing package. This is what we have achieved in Opposition in six months and I can't wait to see what we can achieve in the next Budget. Nō reira e hika mā tēnā tātou.[Finally thank you one and all.]SPEAKER: I'm going to call the Hon David Parker in a second but I want to thank the member Rawiri Waititi for drawing my attention to the fact that he was reading his speech. I want to make it clear going forward—normally there's some flexibility around the first day of a Budget debate vis-à-vis reading speeches but going forward the rules on reading speeches will be enforced and I'm pleased that we have the whips at least from the major parties—and I'm sure Ms Davidson will pass that on to—and of course the ACT Party.Hon Member: Oh!SPEAKER: Well I could—there's some re-definition going on there but anyway the member will take it all right? But I am going to enforce those rules going forward."