Flavell Te Ururoa: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:665;Page:12739] 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Chair. Ka nui te mihi ki a koe e whakanui nei i to tatau reo Maori. Mena ka ata titiro ki te ahuatanga o nga take matauranga ara noa atu nga rangahau e mea ana kai raro te Ao Maori e putu ana nga tamariki Maori kua noho ngoikore i roto i nga kura. Ata titiro ki te hunga nohinohi kura tuatahi kura tuarua tae ra no ki nga whare wananga koi ra te korero. No reira nei ahau e tangi nei ki a au ano ki taku iwi waku iwi ki te iwi Maori whanui tonu na te ahuatanga o enei kaute o enei rangahau. Ehara i te mea no naia tonu nei enei ahuatanga e kao. No nga tau e heke nei kua hipa. Na kua tae mai ki tenei wa anei au e patai nei i te patai me titiro ki hea? Me anga whakamua ki hea? Kai hea te pae rangi e wawatatia ana e tenei whakatipuranga? 
I waenganui i nga hararei a-kura kua hipa e rima nga hui i tu ki roto i a au o Te Arawa. Ko tetahi mo te uniana Post Primary Teachers Association. Ko tetahi mo te uniana New Zealand Educational Institute Maori taku e korero nei. Ko tetahi mo te Community Based Language Initiatives ka mutu ko tetahi mo nga kaiako Maori kei roto i nga kura reo Maori nei me tana titiro ki te literacy a me te hui whakamutunga i tu ki roto i a au i Te Arawa tera mo te noho o nga iwi ki te taha o te Kawanatanga. 
He rawe enei hui i te mea i timata ano ra te Ao Maori ki te whakakorikori i a ia ano ki te titiro i tetahi huarahi hei whainga. Engari i tetahi ringa ara ano nga Maori e hui ana e korero ana mo nga rongoa mo te mauiui o te kore matauranga. Kai tetahi ringa me ki ko te tahuhu o te matauranga ko te Kawanatanga me ona apiha. Na he kupu taupatupatu ki tera momo noho ko te purongo i puta i te Education and Science Committee 
 
 me ki he pepeha i puta anei pea i te reo Pakeha “positive behaviour for learning; or “best evidence syntheses” 
. 
 Ko te mate ke kai te korero pea i etahi wa nga komiti matauranga i runga i te hiahia kia hari koa kia titiro ki nga painga engari o roto i toku ngakau kai te rongo ano ra i te mamae o taku iwi e noho nei me nga uauatanga o te matauranga. I roto i nga whiriwhiringa i puta te korero o tetahi o nga apiha o te tahuhu o te matauranga ko tana korero mai ki nga hui nei otira ki etahi hui. 
[ 
Greetings to you Mr Chair. I greatly appreciate the way you are celebrating this Maori language of ours. If you take a careful look at educational issues much of the research states that Maori are at the bottom of the heap. Maori children in schools continue to underperform: in early childhood primary and secondary schools and universities it is the same. So I mourn for myself my people and the Maori people at large at what these statistics and research show. It is not as if these circumstances are of recent times. Not at all. It is something from years past. So here we are now and here I am asking questions: “Where do we look? Where is the way forward? Where is the vision that this generation is yearning for?”.  
During the school holidays just past five educational forums were held in my region of Te Arawa: one for the Post Primary Teachers Association; one for the New Zealand Educational Institute—Maori members that is—one for the Community Based Language Initiatives; one for Maori teachers from immersion education focusing on literacy; and the final one to do with iwi partnerships.  
These meetings were wonderful because Maoridom began to galvanise itself to find a path forward. On the one hand the Maori people are there discussing remedies and the frustrations due to a lack of educational opportunities; and on the other hand there are the Ministry of Education the Government and its officials. A statement that best describes this conflicting situation is the report from the Education and Science Committee which states rather poetically in English: “positive behaviour for learning” or “best evidence syntheses”. The problem is that the committee at times talks about wanting us to be happy about positive behaviour for learning but in my heart I feel the cries of my people undermined by an education system that excludes them. In the deliberations a statement was made by an official of the Ministry of Education to these 
and other forums 
.] 
Progress reported. 
Report adopted.