Harawira Hone: Electoral Referendum Bill — Second Reading 
Harawira Hone: Electoral Referendum Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:669;Page:15862] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Maori Party—Te Tai Tokerau) 
: 
 Kia ora. On behalf of the Maori Party I say we support the Maori Sports Awards because we think that gives us the opportunity to showcase excellence in Maori sport; we support the Waiata Maori Awards because we think it gives us—the nation—the opportunity to highlight excellence in Maori music; and we support the Maori seats because we think it gives Maori people the opportunity to vote for excellent Maori candidates. We do not think that they are race-based; they are about increasing democracy and increasing the right of every sector of this community to have their say in the sorts of people they want to represent them in Parliament. MMP in fact is not necessarily the best option for the Maori seats because all of us from the Maori Party are in here because we won our seats. We nevertheless support MMP because MMP has meant greater participation by Maori in the electoral system. Anything that is going to increase the participation of New Zealanders generally in the electoral system has to be applauded. I look at the make-up of the House and I listen to the different twangs and the different ways in which people speak and I realise that that is the way this country is made up. To try to deny that and to deny tangata whenua particularly the opportunity to take their place in this House is simply wrong. 
We will not be supporting at all ACT’s amendment to the Electoral Referendum Bill to have a referendum on the Maori seats. We know that it is going to be defeated whether it comes up through select committee or comes up in the House simply because it is an issue that will be voted on on the basis of intelligence. So that amendment is likely to die as soon as it gets raised. The Maori Party does not support broad-brush referenda as an effective form of gauging Maori views. We support the view that Maori should be properly represented in Parliament in a way that reflects their place as the Treaty partner. We support a more comprehensive discussion with Maori over the whole range of issues affecting Maori and the electoral process. We support legislation that ensures elections are fair and reflect adherence to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We support an electoral system that advances the reconciliation of kawantanga and tino rangatiratanga. We support MMP because it has meant increased participation by Maori in the political system and we support the opportunity for the nation to discuss these issues so all sectors of our society can engage in this debate. 
We also support a cap on advertising expenditure by groups participating in this debate. When I heard about the amount of $300000 even that was quite a scary figure. I note that one candidate recently spent $25000—$25000 just to get some legal advice on his own position in coming into Parliament. I was quite stunned because it cost me $25000 for my electoral campaigns. That was not for each campaign either. It was $13000 for the first one and $12000 for the second one. So when I hear people talking about $300000 what are they talking about? We are talking about essentially different systems. I see the way in which big money is used and has been used quite divisively in the past. I have to say that the same crowd who ran the “Iwi/Kiwi” campaign back whenever they ran that is the same crowd running the Coastal Coalition campaign nowadays. So I know absolutely the damage that can be caused to our society by allowing untrammelled use of funding to push a particular point of view particularly one in terms of the Coastal Coalition that is clearly devoid of the reality of the legislation. That funding is being used simply to drum up fear of Maori getting access to the foreshore and seabed when the law clearly states that we will not get it. The Prime Minister himself has said that it is unlikely that Maori will be able to get it. 
When we talk about the amounts of money used in campaigns of that sort—or of any sort in fact—I am very wary about there being an open-door policy. The Maori Party opposed the Electoral Finance Act back in the day because we did not like the way in which we felt that Labour was trying to limit people’s abilities to participate in the electoral process. But what we are talking about here is the process itself the way in which this country will vote. I do not think that the success or otherwise of that debate should be determined on the basis of the kinds of campaigns people are able to run based on how much money they have to use. So we will be supporting the Electoral Referendum Bill and we will also be supporting the opportunity for MMP to continue after this bill is done and dusted. Kia ora.