Flavell Te Ururoa: Urgent Debates — Environment Ministry—State Services Commission Briefing 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Urgent Debates — Environment Ministry—State Services Commission Briefing 
[Sitting date: 24 July 2007. Volume:640;Page:10622. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
Tena koe Madam Speaker. Kia ora tatou i tenei wiki te Wiki o te Reo Maori. Kati tenei take he take nui nei ki a matou o te Torangapu Maori. Kua rongo ke matou i te ahuatanga o te whakawhiu o te korero i mua tonu o te poti whanui o te tau 2005; te wa i rongo nei i te whakawhiutanga o nga mea Maori mahi i roto tari kawanatanga na runga i te aha? Na runga i to ratou piringa ki te Torangapu Maori. E ai ki ta wetahi o nga imera i rere haere nei i Te Puni Kokiri i reira tonu te korero e akiaki tonu ana i nga kaimahi o tera tari kia kaua e haere ki nga hui a Pati Maori nei. Kia kaua e mau i nga kara whero ma me te pango me ki nga kara o te Torangapu Maori. E hoa ma! Kia mohio mai tatou koi nei nga kara i runga i tera poti o tawahi o  
Alinghi 
 ko Brad Butterworth te kapene. 
Kei wareware i a tatou a Amokura Panoho. Ka kore te Pati Maori e wareware ki tera ingoa. Na i rongo a Amokura i te ngau o te kupu na te mea i mutu i tana mahi whakahaere i Te Tari Mahi i muri mai i nga korero whakawhiu i a ia na te aha? Na tana piringa ki Te Torangapu Maori. I reira tonu nga mema o Te Ropu Reipa he Minita tonu. Ko John Tamihere tetahi otira ko te Minita o naianei a Trevor Mallard. I taka ki runga i a raua te whakama ka mutu ka tuku aroha mai ki a ia. Na ko te whakatau a te kooti kia mai utua te $7500 ki a ia whai muri i tana hamenetanga i a raua. Ara noa atu wetahi o enei momo tauira. Ka mutu ko te mate ke o te wahanga ki a Ms Panoho ko te ngau ki runga i a ia otira ko wana mahi i muri mai o tera ahuatanga i nga tau kua hipa. 
Ko te mea nui e a ana i a matou o Te Torangapu Maori ko nga uaratanga e whakaputa ana i o matou utanga teitei ki nga matapono pera i te whakamaramatanga mahi te ngakau tapatahi me te marama. A na reira matou pera hoki i te maha o ngai Maori i kaha ai ki te mau pai i nga potae e hia ke nei. I kaha ai hoki ki te wehi ki nga rere ketanga i waenganui i o matou whanau hapu iwi tirohanga torangapu. Ko te whakanui i te wahanga kia tu motuhake nga mema kawanatanga i roto i nga mahi kawanatanga. Engari ko te mea nui kia whakanui te tangata kia kaua ai ia e rongo i te ngau o te tangata engari kia watea ia ki te tu mo nga turanga e tika ana otira ki te tuku i ona korero hei mea wananga ma te katoa. Kei te whakaae matou me eke nga kaimahi Maori ki nga taumata pera i etahi atu kia noho me ki kia watea ratou ki nga ngau o nga mahi torangapu engari kia eke ki nga taumata o era atu e mahi nei i te kawanatanga. Kei te mohio tonu matou ka taea e te tangata kotahi nei te eke hei Komihana Reo Maori otira me te noho ano hoki hei tiamana mo Te Rarawa.  
Kei te hoki nga mahara ki te wa i tu a Haami Piripi hei tiamana me ki aae hei tiamana mo Te Rarawa i te wa i tuku ai a ia i tetahi tapaetanga whakatupato ki te Paremata he pakanga kei te haere na te aha? Na te hanganga ture mo te Takutai Moana. E ai ki ta Haami Piripi ehara tana korero i te mea whakatupato whakararuraru ranei engari he inoi noa ake ki nga mema Paremata kia ata titiro ki te ahuatanga mahi noho wehe otira te noho taupatupatu noho raruraru ranei mena ka pahi taua pire. Engari i kaha nei a Reipa ki te wero i te mana otira te tu o matua Piripi me te kore paku whakaaro ake mo ona hiranga tu roa. Ka mutu ka hoki nga mahara ki te wa i tae mai te pire nei ara Te Pire Takutai Moana ki mua i te aroaro o tenei Whare i te wa Kawanatanga 47. I reira nga mema me ki nga rangatira o te Kawanatanga i rongo nei i etahi kupu whakatupato kia kaua rawa e hikoi i te whenua ki te whakahe i te hohonutanga o tera pire. Ko te mea tika ki te Paremata ko te tuku i tetahi korero. Koi na te huarahi hei whakatakoto i etahi nawe awangawanga ranei. 
Ara noa atu wetahi korero kua puta engari i te timatanga mai o Te Pati Maori nei e mohiotia nei e tatau ara ano tetahi rarangi korero otira e ai ki ta etahi mea Maori noho rangatira nei i roto i te Kawanatanga e ai ki wetahi he panga ano ra ki Te Torangapu Maori tino kaha rawa atu i tukuna i rere haere nei Te Ropu Reipa. Ka mutu he mea korero tera he mea whakaohorere hoki. Ka mutu anei te tino putake o taku korero. Me orite nga taumata i nga topito katoa i nga pakitara katoa o tenei o nga Whare. Kei te mohio tonu tatou katoa ko taua Ropu Reipa ano i puta tika i nga tari kawanatanga hei Minita ake mana tae atu ki a Honore Parekura Horomia o CEG ara o te Community Employment Group a Shane Jones o te Tari Mahi me te Minita o mua a John Tamihere no roto i Te Puni Kokiri. Ka mutu he kaimahi o roto tari kawanatanga a Honore Mita Ririnui me Honore Mahara Okeroa i haere tika mai ki nga pakitara o tenei Whare i o ratou turanga teitei i Te Puni Kokiri. Ara ano tetahi korero tera pea i tae mai a Honore Mita raua ko Honore Mahara tae ra ano ki a Honore Parekura Horomio na runga i te tautoko mai a wetahi o roto i era tari kawanatanga i te wa i a raua e haere nei i te mata o te whenua mo a raua mahi rapu kaipoti. 
Kia kaua tatou e noho kapo ki te ahuatanga o te taenga mai o te ekenga mai o nga mema kawanatanga ki roto i nga torangapu katoa mai ra ano i pera rawa te korero. Ka mutu ehara i te mea he take ano ra ki reira hei whakaporearea hei whakararuraru i tera ahuatanga. Ko tenei take he korero me ki he tino whawhati i tenei kawa tikanga ranei i roto i te tari o te Minita otira te hononga o te Minita ki nga turanga mahi na te aha? Na te kore kitea atu o nga rohe tari kawanatanga me nga mahi torangapu otira ki ta nga purongo hiahia pea kia whakaaro pera tatou. Ki a au nei mena e pai ana mo Honore Parekura ki te whiwhi kaitono o te Ropu Nahinara i roto turanga tino teitei rawa atu o taua tumu whakahaere me te hoatu turanga teitei hoki ki te Perehitini Tuarua Maori o te Ropu Nahinara na he tauira pai pea tera hei whai ma tatau katoa. 
Ko te mea tino nui rawa atu ko ta tatau whiwhi tangata tino pai rawa atu i roto i nga tari kawanatanga. Kare kei te hunga torangapu te tika ki te uiui i te ngakau tapatahi o o tatou tari kawanatanga ahakoa pehea te pohehe te taumata ranei o te whakawhanaunga a-torangapu. Kia ora tatou. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
Greetings to you Madam Speaker and to us in this Maori Language Week. This is an issue of great relevance to the Maori Party. We have of course experienced the desperate allegations that were made in the lead-up to the 2005 general election when Maori public servants were accused—and for what reason? For being affiliated to the Maori Party! Allegations such as through emails circulated throughout Te Puni Kokiri instructing staff not to attend Maori Party hui and to avoid wearing red white and black clothing—let us say the colours of the Maori Party. Colleagues should be aware that those are the colours that adorn  
Alinghi 
 the yacht sailed by Brad Butterworth. 
We must never forget Amokura Panoho. For sure the Maori Party has not. Ms Panoho certainly felt the pressure and was forced to resign from a position she held in the Department of Labour. For what reason? Because of her involvement with the Maori Party. Labour was in office then; John Tamihere was a Minister as was current Minister Trevor Mallard. They were forced into an embarrassing back-down and had to apologise to Ms Panaho as well. They also subsequently had to pay court costs of $7500 after she sued them. There were many other examples of people paying costs resulting from such public humiliation. But in respect of Ms Panoho it impacted severely on her well-being and career prospects in the years that followed. 
We in the Maori Party are driven by values that express our highest commitment to principles such as accountability integrity and transparency. So we are able to wear many different hats with ease respecting the need for boundaries between our whanau hapu and iwi politics; respecting the need for an independent Public Service; yet also respecting and valuing the freedom of all people to have political views and to stand for office. We absolutely agree that Maori public servants must meet the same standards of political neutrality and accountability as all other public servants but we also acknowledge that one can be a Maori Language Commissioner and chairman of Te Rarawa. 
We remember the example that was made of Haami Piripi when in his position as chairman of Te Rarawa he made a submission to Parliament warning of the potential civil war over the seabed and foreshore legislation. Haami Piripi said his submission was not meant to be threatening but was more a plea for MPs to recognise the potential for conflict if the bill was passed. Yet Labour was quick to jump to attack the credibility and the reputation of Mr Piripi without a thought for the long-lasting implications. And of course we remember that in the day before the bill to repeal the Foreshore and Seabed Act came before this House—in the 47th Parliament—senior public servants were warned not to participate in the hikoi protesting against the legislation. Participating in the democratic process through direct submission was therefore the acceptable course of action for concerns to be processed. 
I could go on. There was in fact a rumour at the very establishment of the mighty Maori Party; a possible list of Maori senior public servants affiliated to the Maori Party circulated around the Labour caucus—certainly something that can be debated and is of concern. The point is that we must apply standards consistently across this cluster of buildings. We know that Labour has drawn directly from the Public Service in selecting some of its own Ministers including the current Maori Affairs Minister Mr Parekura Horomia from the Community Employment Group; Mr Shane Jones from the Department of Labour; and the former Minister John Tamihere who had formerly been with Te Puni Kokiri. Mita Ririnui and Mahara Okeroa had also gone into Parliament directly from their Public Service jobs from their management positions in Te Puni Kokiri. And the rumour has been that Mita Mahara and Parekura were supported by the Public Service all through their electoral campaign. 
Let us not be blind to the reality that public servants have always been represented in political parties. As long as boundaries are clear and integrity maintained there has never been any need for intervention. The current debate is in light of a very significant breach of this protocol in the Minister’s office—indeed the Minister being linked to employment positions as a result of boundaries being blurred between the political service and the Public Service or so the reports would lead us to think. If it was good enough for Parekura Horomia to have a National Party candidate employed in the higher senior management levels of that organisation and to also appoint the Maori vice-president of the National Party to a number of senior management positions then perhaps that is an example we could all emulate.  
The key issue is that we must have excellent people in the highest positions in the Public Service. Politicians have absolutely no right to question the integrity of the honour of our Public Service at any level on suspicion of political affiliation. Thank you all. 
 ]