Katene Rahui: Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Katene Rahui: Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:676;Page:21542] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 This day—the third reading of a bill that I really cannot name because it is a lie—has been a long time coming. It is a day that the thinkers and not the reactors in this House had hoped would never come. I acknowledge the sterling efforts of the Labour Party and the Green Party which along with the Maori Party have tried to prevent this bill from ever being enacted. 
When the bill last came before the House on 7 September my colleague Te Ururoa Flavell sought the leave of the Committee that it be referred in its entirety to the Waitangi Tribunal under section 8 of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. This action was taken up after the intervention of Te Mana Akonga the national association of Maori students. Te Mana Akonga sought to take the claim to the Waitangi Tribunal on the basis that the bill would weaken the representation of Maori students. It was an action that unfortunately did not receive the full support of the Committee but nevertheless the concerns we had and have had since the outset of this bill bear repeating for the record. 
I want to do that by letting the student voices prevail. We believe we are here in Parliament to be the very best advocates for the people that we can be and it is only right therefore that the voices of those most affected should be ringing in the ears of every member of this House as we consider actions that impact on the student body. I remind the House that 4837 submissions were received on this bill. Of those submissions 4418 were from students who oppose this bill. 
Not long after Mr Flavell attempted to refer this bill to the Waitangi Tribunal he received an email that provides an interesting insight into the issues around students associations and their fate under this bill. That email stated: “As a past student of the University of Otago and a past tumuaki of Te Roopu Maori Maori Student Association at Otago University I would like to express my thanks to you and the Party for attempting to suspend the progress of this Bill. I also wish to express my utmost support for Student Associations in particular Maori Student Associations. These roopu are vital for students to survive at their chosen University particularly Otago. Most Maori students enrolled at Otago University are from the North Island. Te Roopu Maori offered me a place to call home because of the tikanga (values) they upheld that no other student service department or lecturer could provide. These being whanaungatanga manaakitanga aroha taha wairua and many more. It was a place I could go to when I felt I had no where else to turn where people can relate to how I was feeling or the challenges I was facing.” 
I imagine that most members around this House would share a similar view to the Maori Party that education is a front-end investment in our future. What this student is reflecting about Te Roopu Maori is in itself a very positive reflection of the value of students associations in supporting and encouraging Maori students to progress in tertiary education. 
What I found most illuminating from the submissions was how consistent the messages were about the value of students associations. I was interested in listening to Heather Roy’s opening remarks in this third reading when she talked about the importance of the freedom of rights for students. I recall the very first speech I made on this bill so many months ago. I thought it was with some irony that we are faced with a bill called the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill. It seeks to erode students associations but places the word “freedom” in its title. Students’ rights as the submissions tell us are best represented by students themselves in the students associations they have formed. 
I return to Otago University to the present day to the submission it presented to the Education and Science Committee. It said: “We oppose this Bill because it will exterminate the services that we provide for the Maori students at the University of Otago. It will diminish kaupapa Maori and tikanga Maori that Te Roopu Maori provide for students for example a whanau on campus whakawhanaungatanga aroha wairua and manaaki that are valued by Maori students.” The heart breaks when we read these submissions. This bill attacks those who are forming the very foundation of our future. It robs our rangatahi of the vital support that they have seen as being of such value in assisting them to undertake university study. 
What is most infuriating about this whole legislative travesty is that the current legislative framework is both flexible and inclusive allowing for both voluntary and universal membership of students associations. The legislation already has the potential for what Mrs Roy wants to happen so why are we going to so much bother to pass this bill? What does ACT hope to achieve by making students associations voluntary? More to the point what will enacting this bill do to the confidence and the optimism of our student body that Parliament is there to protect and support the interests of along with those of any other taxpayer? 
What will Te Roopu Whai Putaki the Otago University Maori Law Students Association think? This is the group that described this bill by saying it “attacks the Maori student voice and their ability to have democratically-elected collective organisations on campus by removing the existing right of students to self determination.” How will Mrs Roy account back to Te Mana Matauranga or Te Waiariki which have advised the House: “We believe that this Bill is unnecessary as the status quo works”? How can Parliament address the concerns of Nga Tauira Maori the Auckland University Maori Students Association which explained the case very clearly indeed: “… the Bill adversely affects the ability of Nga Tauira Maori (NTM) to exercise Tino Rangatiratanga Kaitiakitanga and Manaakitanga of which are guaranteed in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.”? 
Not only those who represent the associations of students are vehemently opposed. I recall the words of John Kingi welfare officer at the Auckland University Students Association who said: “Often times we are forced to turn away students who may require some assistance as we simply do not have the capacity that Universal associations do to meet the demands of students.” 
Maori students comprise a minority of university students: only 7 percent overall. These Maori students need to be introduced into the tertiary environment as a welcoming and safe space. Maori students associations assist in this by holding first-year support hui or wananga with active mentoring and academic support programmes. I am reminded of the submission from Te Mana Akonga which told this House that “The proud history of Maori Roopu and student associations has ensured Maori students have an outlet to speak their mind through the freedom of speech the freedom of autonomy and academic freedom. … As the representative body for Maori Students we believe that this bill does not support Maori students but increases the likeliness of Maori student failure due to the support structures not being present”. 
I am greatly saddened today that this bill has come to the House and that Maori students—indeed all students—will be fully aware now that there are some parties that do not see the value of supporting the ripe potential of our upcoming generations. 
I leave the last word to another submission from within my own electorate from Ngai Tauira the Victoria University of Wellington Maori Students’ Association: “It is our belief that until Maori become a normal feature of the tertiary environment then Maori student associations will be necessary to ensure equity and support of our students in the tertiary environment.” The Maori Party votes to oppose this bill with all of our might.