Jones Shane: Maori Purposes Bill — Procedure Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Jones Shane: Maori Purposes Bill — Procedure Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 13 September 2011. Volume:675;Page:21254. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon SHANE JONES (Labour) 
: 
 A tena ano tatou e te Mangai o te Whare. Tuatahi e whakaatu atu ki a tatou i roto i te Whare ka tautoko matou o te Ropu Reipa i tenei pire kia oti wawe tana whiriwhiringa i tenei po. Tautoko ano hoki matou i nga whakaritenga i whakatakotongia ai kia kaua rawa atu tenei po katoa e pau i a tatou e taukumekume ana mo tenei pire. Konei atu i tera puta nga korero atu i taku hoa i a Mita ko te nuinga o nga mahi ehara matou i te tauhou ki enei mahi mena e oti i a matou te whakamahi i te ture hei muru i nga raruraru he aha oti te he o tera kia riro ma te iwi no ratou nga taonga e whiriwhiri me aha nga taonga.  
Nga poari o te Ao Maori kua to te ra ki runga i ena poari. Ena poari i whakatutungia ai i te wa i mua noa atu i te taha ki a matou o roto i Te Tai Tokerau i mua noa atu i te Pakanga Tuarua. Ara noa atu wetahi o nga poari i whakatungia ai e ratou ka pahemo ki muri. Na reira me pena nga korero mo te wahanga ki nga kaupapa mataitai ki te pire mo nga ika hore he raruraru ta te mea ki te tinihia te ingoa haunga ano te ingoa engari ko te runanga o te poari ranei te ropu hei arataki i nga take pakihi o roto i tetahi iwi me kaua rawa atu tatou e whakauaua i te huarahi haere ma ratou; katahi tenei ka whakamamatia. Na reira me pera rawa te korero i roto i te reo aro nui ka nui noa atu to matou tautoko. Na reira tena tatou katoa. 
[ 
Greetings once again to us Mr Deputy Speaker of the House. Firstly I want members of the House to know that the Labour Party supports this bill and its deliberations being completed very quickly tonight. We also endorse the arrangements outlined whereby we do not spend all of this evening opposing each other over this bill. Furthermore my colleague Mita Ririnui alluded to the fact that much of what is involved is not new to us. If we can implement the law as a means of removing any problems what is wrong with doing that and leaving it for the tribe that owns the resources to negotiate how those resources are to be used? 
As far as Maori boards are concerned the sun has set on them. For us in the far north such boards were set up a long time ago long before the Second World War and several boards established back then have long since disappeared. The discussions should be the same when it comes to the part dealing with policies relating to seafood and the amendment regarding the fisheries. It is not a problem because when it comes to a name-change—not so much the name perhaps but rather the board’s executive; the entity to lead the business arm within the tribe—we must never hinder the way forward for the entity. That must be mollified then. The general policy statement must therefore reflect that and we endorse that wholeheartedly. Thank you all. 
] 
Naturally we will support the Maori Purposes Bill. It need not be a matter of controversy. I find myself in the unusual position of agreeing with Tau Henare and I am sad only that this bill does not contain a section dealing with sign language. There is scope. One of the Maori trust boards that will be improved could be encouraged to offer sign language lessons and indeed I would encourage the great-grandson of the original Tau Henare in the House to take sign language lessons to ensure that he does not unwittingly worsen his position of chairman of the Maori Affairs Committee by putting his thumb the wrong way putting his finger in the wrong direction or indeed giving the impression that he is giving a gang salute because that will not advance the interests of our people. 
The Minister of Maori Affairs this evening has been represented by Georgina te Heuheu and she has done it ably. 
I do not think we should overlook the fact that we see we are in a deep crisis when we look at the position of our young men and women in Maoridom. Whilst simplifying the process in order for Maori fisheries assets to be better managed Maori trust boards to be slowly reformed or Pukepuke Tangiora’s estate to be modernised none of us—particularly Maori members on that side of the House—ought to lose sight of the fact that these are largely administrative changes that will impact on some of our people but not the majority. 
The majority of the people particularly the young people have been forgotten about. The policies that unfortunately drive a lot of the Maori affairs thinking at this particular point in time have consigned them to an unemployment scrap heap. Not a day or a night in this House should go past without our reminding the listeners of Parliament and the observers of politics that although these small amendments enjoy widespread support the deeper malaise afflicting our people has unfortunately led to an approach riddled with neglect. There is neglect that has come from the junior party the Maori Party and there is widespread neglect unfortunately that has come from the Maori members in the National Party. It is unfortunate that this bill this evening obscures the opportunity for us to talk about those real issues. I know that wild gesticulations from the other side of the House may occupy a wee bit of space but unfortunately they do not mask the reality and the reality is that as our people seek to make these improvements they are largely being forgotten ignored and neglected. 
It is a matter of some disappointment that that neglect is nowhere more evident than in the attitude of the former Minister of Maori Affairs. These issues were dealt with in a very unsatisfactory way back then. They were tidied up by Tau Henare in his dreams and were addressed by Parekura Horomia and that is why we support what Dr Pita Sharples is doing this evening. But the real issue is one of wilful neglect ignorance and a sense of our rangatahi being jettisoned. They are being jettisoned because the current Minister and the other Maori members of the Government have other priorities as reflected by the Prime Minister. That is an unpalatable fact and it pains me to point it out but in the interests of openness and the interests of candour it is very very important to do so. 
It comes as no great surprise that these fangs are actually hurting. Perhaps the best way to point this out is although we support the bill to remind the majority of our people that the major policies have left them worse off. Pukepuke Tangiora—kei te pai for the beneficiaries there. Fisheries—kei te pai. Maori trust boards—kei te pai. But the real challenge lies unfortunately in a state of neglect. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: The real challenge lies with the Labour leadership eh Shane? 
Hon SHANE JONES 
: All the shouting and all the wild finger painting in the air does not change that sad reality. 
I should finish on a more positive note. The more positive note is we will support this bill. We will truncate our speeches to ensure that we actually focus not only on the bill but on the issues that influence people’s lives. 
I cannot be held responsible for the fact that the Maori members on that side of the House are slowly diminishing in relevance. That is of their own doing. They are irrelevant not only in the hierarchy of the party as reflected by the very miserable rankings they enjoy but also in the very low rankings they are scoring amongst our people. They know they have been overlooked. They know they have been neglected. It is really a story of neglect: just as the trust boards have been neglected so the interests of Te Ao Maori have been neglected. It is a case where there is an inverse relationship between a loud voice and the ability to influence change. It is possible that some of those members opposite will be back for a second term. I have no doubt that they too will finally see the light as they watch the assets that earlier generations sought to secure and transfer to our people being wiped out and dissipated. We will not hear a single word of criticism because of the extent to which they have been both muted and in the case of the men neutered. Thank you very much.