Davis Kelvin: Local Electoral (Maori Representation) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Davis Kelvin: Local Electoral (Maori Representation) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:664;Page:11801] 
KELVIN DAVIS (Labour) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker. E tu ake ana ahau ki te tautoko i tenei pire na te whanaunga a Te Ururoa Flavell i tuku mai ki to matou nei aroaro ki roto i te Whare nei. Tu ake ana ki te tautoko i te tukunga o tenei pire ki te komiti whaiti hei whiriwhiringa mo tatou katoa kia taea ai e te komiti hei whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro e pa ana ki tenei kaupapa. Na reira mihi kau ana ki a Te Ururoa nana nei i mau mai tenei pire pai; he kaupapa rainei kahore ana hau i te kitea nei horekau tera taha o te Whare e tautoko ana i tenei kaupapa. E papouri ana engari horekau ohorere ana i te mea mohio ana tatou katoa ehara tera ropu tera kawanatanga he kawanatanga e ngakaunui ana i nga take Maori. Na reira e mohio ana tatou mai ra ano ratou kihai i tautokongia nga kaupapa Maori. 
Taku whakapae i hea ratou i runga i te hikoi i hikoingia e tatou i tera tau mai i Takaparawhau tae noa atu ki tera atu moka o Queen Street. I hea ratou? I hea ratou i a matou e hikoi ana ki te tautoko i nga turu Maori mo Tamaki-makau-rau? I hea ratou? Horekau i kitea. Na matou i hikoi i tautoko tena kaupapa matou te Ropu Reipa. He aha ai? Taku whakapae taku patai ki a ratou he aha ai ratou e mataku ai kia whai reo ai a ngai tatou te Maori; matou katoa te iwi Maori kei roto i nga kaupapa e pa ana ki nga kaunihera a-rohe? He aha ai ratou e mataku ai ki te rangona i te reo Maori te reo o nga Maori ki roto i aua kaunihera? 
[ 
Greetings to you Mr Assistant Speaker. I rise to endorse this bill that the relative Te Ururoa Flavell brought before us in this House. I rise as well in support of this bill being sent through the select committee process where the matter can be considered on our behalf. So I acknowledge Te Ururoa for bringing this wonderful bill before us. Indeed I fail to see why the other side of the House is not supporting the matter. Sad as it is I am not surprised because we all know that that party that Government is one that is not committed to matters relating to the Maori people. We have known for a long time that they have never supported Maori policies.  
My accusation is this. Where were they in the march last year when we walked from Bastion Point to Queen Street? Where were they? Where were they when we marched in support of Maori seats on the Auckland super-city council? Where were they? They were not to be seen anywhere. We the Labour Party marched and supported that cause. And why did we do so? My accusation and question to them is this: why do they fear Maori representation our total representation in local government matters? Why do they fear Maori gaining a voice in those councils? 
] 
I stand to support the Local Electoral (Maori Representation) Amendment Bill and its progression through to the select committee. I support and congratulate Te Ururoa Flavell on bringing it to the House. I support the bill but I am not surprised that the party on the other side of the House does not endorse it and will not support it to go any further. That is a crying shame and I have to ask why it is that National members are so afraid of Maori representation on councils. I hear from National members over there that they are saying that if the community wants Maori representation then the community will ask for it. But that is fine if people live in the big broad white world where they are in the vast majority and not in an ethnic minority like Maori. We are always—always—going to be trampled on like this. 
This is a matter of Maori representation; we want our voices to be heard. We want to be able to put our case forward on all the issues that relate to us as a people but time and again National and ACT put down Maori aspiration. It is about the Treaty. It was only a few weeks ago that the National Government endorsed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Those members endorsed it but this is a sign that they never ever intended to actually give it any mana any status whatsoever. This is just another way of National and ACT putting down Maori people. It is fine to keep on saying that the community if it wants Maori representation will ask for it. But if people are an ethnic minority a minority in their own land when do they ever get to have a say in reality? When they are only 15 percent of the population how will their voices ever really be heard? I think that it is a shame. 
Surely the National Party has members out there—not just members of Parliament but members out there in the community Maori members—who should be standing up and saying that this is not good enough. They as National Party members need to stand up and say to their MPs over there that enough is enough and that Maori deserve representation on regional councils on district councils and on all councils so that the Maori voice can be heard. It is just not good enough that we keep on getting put down like this over and over again. Maori need to have a voice on those councils and I think that National and ACT need to be condemned for the stance they are taking in not allowing Maori to have representation on councils. Kia ora.