Mahuta Nanaia: Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMahuta Nanaia: Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 10 December 2013. Volume:695;Page:15413. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato): I want to follow on from the comments made by my colleague Grant Robertson. He made some very good points. I would like the Minister in the chair Minister Collins to respond to some of those comments because I am sure that she would not be able to explain to New Zealanders just why Māori and Pacific people have been expunged from this bill the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Bill. The significant contribution they make to the identity of New Zealand through arts and culture cannot be understated.But more important than that why is it that the name used by Te Waka Toi cannot be used elsewhere? It just does not make sense. The Minister sits in the chair silently. She does not take the opportunity to respond and to explain to those people in New Zealand who are very passionate about the arts sector why the name Te Waka Toi cannot be used again. Te Waka Toi is more than a name. It is more than an institution. It is about a whole evolution of people who have grown up and nurtured the arts specifically within the Māori community. I am thinking about Elizabeth Ellisin her stewardship of this space. I am thinking of TeAuē Davis who made a significant contribution in this area. I am thinking ofNgāhuia TeAwekōtuku. Again these are people who are passionate about arts and culture and heritage and who have contributed significantly to nurturing what that looks like over a period of time in New Zealand and nurturing young people within the arts space.When we think about building a national identity something that all New Zealanders can be proud of we know that it is Māori and Pacific cultures that contributesignificantly in this space. Why oh why is it Minister—if you can be bothered to take a call and respond—that Māori representation on this council has been reduced to four people and Pacific representation to two people? Do you expect the sector to be happy with that? “That is your lot. You make of it what you can and you do with it what you will.” I say that it is an insignificant step going forward in terms of how the Government proposes to I think infuse what is rich and vibrant about our place and Māori and Pacific contribution in the arts area.I want to reflect on some of the young artists who have been supported by Te Waka Toi. I think about writers singers and artists who have all received sums of funding to enable them to explore the potential of their art whether it be to contribute to an exhibition that is held overseas or to actually help them learn from other peoples other indigenous nations and go and share their talent. These are all spaces where Te Waka Toi has seen great talent. Young Māori artists have certainly been able to infuse their genre of art with other peoples and other cultures. So art is just as much about an internal reflection of who we are as an external connection to who we are and how we connect to the rest of the world.I think this bill is a step in the wrong direction. I think the fact that the limitation of the way in which Māori and Pacific peoples contribute to the arts sector is not progressive. I do not think it will help grow the amount of talent that we have in New Zealand in a positive direction. I really seek an opportunity for the Minister to just get up and respond to some of these calls.Part 3—specifically the provisions around protecting the names—just does not make sense. Why is the Government not allowing the utilisation of these names beyond the passage of this bill? There is still silence. The Minister refuses to take a call. Why have Māori been reduced to four members on the Arts Council when prior to that they had a council that was specifically dedicated to growing that talent under Te Waka Toi? No response. Why is it that the Pacific community has been reduced to having two members on the Arts Council instead of a sector that can actually grow the full vibrancy of the talent that it has? There is still no response from the Minister. This is simply not good enough. Can I say that this bill is a step in the wrong direction. I do not think it will grow—