Waititi RawiriRAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori): I've been looking forward to this because I know that you can't sit me down for the fifth time! But I won't test you!E tipu e rea mō ngā rā o tō ao Arahina tō iwi eTō ngākau ki ngā taonga a ō tīpunaTō wairua ki te ArikiKi a koutou katoa e te rangatahi te oranga mō te ao katoa:Kia mau kia kaha pupuritia te mana o te Ariki.[Grow strong young plant for the coming daysWhen you will lead your peopleGive your heart to the treasures left to you by your ancestorsAnd your soul to the AlmightyTo you all young people you are life itself for the world:Stay proud stay strong stay true to God]Because you're magic magic people to me;You're magic people to me.Hold your head up high;Let your voices fly.I'm proud to be Māori.Because you're magic magic people to me;You're magic people to me.Hold your head up high;Let your voices fly.I'm proud to be MāoriProud to be MāoriProud to be Māori.Kia ora. He hōnore he korōria ki te Atua he maungārongo ki te whenua he whakaaro pai ki ngā tāngata katoa. Āmine.Tangihia rā ngā mate putuputu o te wā rātou te hunga wairua kua riro tītapu ki te pō. Whoatu rā koutou i runga i te ara kōrero kua parangia e te tini e te mano. Hoake koutou ki tua o Reitū ki tua o Reiao ki te huinga o te Kahurangi ki te kāhui Matariki; koutou e te hunga okioki haere haere whakangaro atu rā.Tēnā tātou e hika mā. Tēnā tātou e te Whare. Te Āti Awa te mana whenua o tēnei wāhi karanga mai mihi mai whakatau mai rā. Ahumairangi te maunga whakahī e tū mai nei e tū e tū e tū. Te moana e haruru nei Te Whanganui-a-Tara papaki mai rā papaki mai rā papaki mai rā. Tēnā koe e te Pīka e pupuri nei i te mauri o tēnei Whare. Ngā mihi nui ki a koe. E ngā mema o te Pāremata ngā kaipīkau o ngā wawata me ngā tūmanakohanga o te motu tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou e hika mā. E ngā Āpiha hoki ngā kaimahi o te Whare ka mihi anō hoki ki a koutou. E ngā mana e ngā reo e ngā kārangaranga maha te whānau kua whakawhāiti nei ngā iwi kua pae nei koutou i takahi mai te nuku o Te Ika-a-Māui Tikitiki koutou i raha mai nā i ngā parirau o te manu nui a Ruakapanga kia tau ki ngā tiriti pūkohu o Pōneke ki tēnei karanga whare a te pūngāwerewere a te rūrū haere mai haere mai haere mai.E Te Waiariki nā koutou i whakatau kia noho ahau ki runga i tēnei tūru hei māngai mā koutou; nā koutou i whakaae kia Māori ake te reo te wairua me te whakaaro o tēnei tūru o Te Waiariki. Mai i Maketū ki Tongariro mai i Ngā Kurī a Whārei ki Tihirau nā koutou te mana o tēnei tūru. Kua tau. Tēnā tātou e hika mā.[Honour and glory to God peace on earth and goodwill to all men. Amen.We continue to mourn the passing of our many dearly departed those spirits who have been taken to the dark night. We farewell you in speech as you tread the path that has been taken by so many before you. Farewell to beyond Reitū beyond Reiao to where the multitudes are gathered to Pleiades; to you all who now rest in peace farewell farewell farewell.Greetings friends. Greetings to all in this special House. Te Āti Awa you who host us on this land we accept your welcome your acknowledgments your greetings. The great hill of Ahumairangi may you stand for ever noble. The roaring waters of Te Whanganui-a-Tara we hear the incessant lapping of your waves. To you Mr Speaker as holder of the authority of this House I extend my greetings. To the members of Parliament the ones who carry the aspirations and dreams of the nation I offer warm greetings to you as well. To the Clerks and other staff of this House I extend greetings to you too. To the distinguished tribes the spokespeople the many representatives the wider family who have gathered here those who have travelled from throughout the North Island those who hail from Tolaga Bay you who grace the city streets of Wellington to arrive at this revered house of the spider house of the morepork I say welcome welcome thrice welcome.Waiariki it was you who decided that I would be the one represent you in this seat; it was you who determined that the Waiariki seat should have a more Māori voice soul and view. From Maketū to Tongariro from Ngā Kurī a Whārei to Tihirau the honour of this seat belongs to you. Indeed. Good evening friends.I want to acknowledge the place in which we stand and before I do like I said in a speech at our Māori Party launch in March this year I strategically asked for the launch to be at Hoani Waititi Marae. Why? Because all you will hear is Waititi Waititi Waititi". I then said "Nau mai haere mai ki te marae o Rawiri Waititi." Well guess what! The land outside of Parliament is called Waititi. And in every whakatau we have had so far all I have heard is "Waititi Waititi Waititi". Nō reira nau mai haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata o Rawiri Waititi. Therefore Mr Speaker I believe you may be sitting in my seat! I haven't got to sit down yet so kei te pai.I want at this time to mihi to a true political hero of Te Ao Māori: Dame Tariana Turia who courageously walked across this very floor and stood up for her people. She stood up against the degradation of the mana o te iwi Māori mō te tāhuna o te takutai moana [during the plot for the foreshore and seabed].Her unapologetic voice and commitment to Te Iwi Māori is the very reason why I am here and representing Te Paati Māori as the new member of Parliament for Te Waiariki. Her courage has inspired a whole generation and her act of bravery continues to inspire me today. E kui e te iti matakahi maire i whakahinga i te rākau ka tuohu.[To my elder the little axe that felled the large tree I bow to you.]I stand in this House and I feel the presence of our koroua Sir Apirana Ngata an iwi and political leader who had no bounds and because there are Ngātis present a Ngāti Porou leader and politician! But because this is my maiden speech he also has very strong affiliations to te whānau.Apirana Ngata is one of Aotearoa's best known rangatira living and working according to the traditional iwi structures and as the member of Parliament for Eastern Maori he acted to strengthen Te Iwi Māori te reo me ōna tikanga. His drive for the betterment and the citizenship of his people came at great sacrifice. "For God for King and for country" was the call to arms for the price of citizenship. Ake ake kia kaha e.[Let us for ever hold fast.]Sir Apirana Ngata argued that Māori support of the war effort was the ultimate way to honour the Treaty and gain equality with and respect of Pākehā. Seventy-five years later we are still arguing the validity of our participation in the great wars the place names that decorate the very walls of this House. Has the Treaty been honoured? Did we gain the respect of Pākehā? Article 1: consent to the Crown to custodianship and to kāwanatanga—not ownership nor sovereignty. Article 2 was the security of the absolute mana of tangata whenua of Aotearoa—our land our rivers our sea our forests our traditions and practices our people our mokopuna. Article 3 was about equality: that Māori would be treated as equal citizens in Aotearoa. Two hundred and fifty-five years of colonisation 175 years of the signing of He Whakaputanga Declaration of Independence and 180 years since Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed. What has been delivered to us?I take an analogy about the current Treaty partnership between Pākehā and tangata whenua used by uncle Tamati Reedy who was supposed to be present today but fell ill this morning: the great white shark Pākehā and the kahawai Māori. The great white shark Pākehā and the kahawai Māori: the great white shark said to the kahawai "Should we form a partnership?" The kahawai replied "Yes that sounds like a fantastic idea." The great white shark then ate the kahawai and said "Now we are one."As Dame Tariana Turia stated in her maiden speech what has been delivered to us? One hundred and eighty years of struggling to have the Treaty recognised in law that we have survived despite cultural extermination practices assimilation of policies monocultural institutions treacherous land-stealing laws tauiwi bureaucracies that have run our affairs denial of our tangata whenua status and struggling to maintain cultural identity integrity tikanga and to keep our language alive.Now the largest media publisher in Aotearoa Stuff has publicly apologised for the way it has portrayed Māori over the past 160 years after an internal investigation uncovered evidence of racism and marginalisation in its representation of the country's indigenous people the true indigenous people te iwi Māori. They have said sorry to Māori for the monocultural viewpoint that has sought to oppress tangata whenua. They have said sorry to Māori for continuing to create and reinforce the negative narrative of tangata whenua that keeps our people at the bottom of the heap. They have said sorry to Māori for aiding and abetting the system of racism that strips us of our spirit and our oranga. But they have taken responsibility for their failures. They have owned their failings and they have made a commitment to do better.My question to you Mr Speaker and to this House is: when will the Crown do the same? When will the Crown say they are sorry to Māori for the monocultural viewpoint that has sought to oppress tangata whenua? When will the Crown say they are sorry to Māori for continuing to reinforce a negative narrative of tangata whenua? When will the Crown say they are sorry to Māori for aiding and abetting the system of racism that strips us of our spirit and our oranga? When will the Crown take responsibility for their failings? When will the Crown own their failings and commit to doing better?I refuse to allow my tamariki or my mokopuna to one day sit in the same seat asking the same question. We will no longer accept this approach as it allows the State to continue to feast on the dysfunction that it has created amongst our people. We will no longer accept that the State continues to fund itself every year to allow Oranga Tamariki to steal more of our babies a justice system to lock up more of our people a welfare system that keeps my people dependent and poor an education system that keeps my people dumb a health system that keeps my people sick and a housing system that keeps my people homeless. This has to stop. Einstein said stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It is time to transform the way we do politics in Aotearoa. It is time for Māori to look after Māori as we know what is best for us. COVID-19 lockdown showed how Māori can look after themselves without Government support or intervention.Āperahama Taonui a prophet from the North once said "Kauaka rā Te Tiriti o Waitangi e ūhia ki te haki o Ingarangi engari me uhia ki te kahu Māori." which translates: "Do not cover the Treaty of Waitangi with the Union Jack. It must only be covered by our Māori cloak." I am committed to challenging the reason why the Union Jack consistently smothers Te Tiriti o Waitangi and I am going to take it off. I will ensure that our unapologetic Māori voice is heard and that our Māori cloak is felt and is present in every piece of legislation and bill passed in this House. You know what it feels like to have a pebble in your shoe? That will be my job here: a constant annoying to those holding on to the colonial ways reminder and change agent for the recognition of our kahu Māori."Oranga whenua oranga wairua"—"If the land is healthy so are the people"—was a twist on the prophetic words uttered by Wīremu Rātana. Te Piupiu a kuia from the Waikato people: "Māuiui whenua māuiui tangata"—"When the land is sick so are the people." It is time for the Crown to honour its Tiriti obligation and partnership and it needs to devolve its resources to a by Māori for Māori to Māori approach.We demand a Māori Parliament. We want to implement constitutional transformation based on te Matike Mai report. We want to change racist electoral laws so Māori can switch between the Māori and general rolls at any time. But first of all commit Māori to the Māori roll and then they can opt out. Establish a commissioner for Te Tiriti o Waitangi to provide oversight of the Crown. Are you listening Mr Jackson? We want Māori procurement to put whānau first—for more than 5 percent. We want a by Māori for Māori mokopuna Māori entity that takes the place of Oranga Tamariki. We want Whānau Ora to be better resourced and for all its funding to go to the commissioning agencies and not to Crown agencies. We want Māori proprietary rights recognised when it comes to water. Māori own the water. We want to stop onshore and offshore oil exploration and drilling and also deep-sea oil drilling in Aotearoa. We want to officially change the name of New Zealand to Aotearoa and all place names to be changed back to their original names. And yes you guessed it—we want the oath changed to also reflect tangata whenua e Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Many political commentators and many members in this House have said that these policies are ambitious but they also said that of the Māori Party's return to Parliament—but we are here.I have put my hand up to be the voice for my people not just for the Waiariki but for Te Iwi Māori. This also comes with great sacrifice. I want to acknowledge my parents both who have struggled this year with health issues but are here today. I love you both. I want to acknowledge my babies who will have less time with their pāpā but they understand that I am trying to make a better today for their tomorrow. Taowaru Huiarangi Te Ohanui Tumanako: this I dedicate to you and your generation.To my beautiful wife a Ngāpuhi princess—the last one—when I told her I was running again she said "I must've done something bloody wrong in another life. First my dad and now my husband." Thank you for your support your patience your strength your unsolicited advice but most of all your love. I love you my darling.In closing our tipuna from Te Whakatōhea Mokomoko was wrongfully convicted and tried for the death of Reverend Völkner in Ōpōtiki whose head was decapitated. But because he looked like the perpetrator and his rope was found at the scene of the crime he was imprisoned in Mt Eden and hung to death. Māori have had enough of being assimilated and forced to do and look like everyone else. We are not like everyone else; we are unique. Being Māori is like having superpowers. There is no one else in the world like us and we need to maintain who we are. We are in the business of revival we are in the business of empowerment and we are in the business of emancipation. Before they hung our tipuna Mokomoko he uttered the words: Tangohia te taura i taku kakī kia waiata au i taku waiata. Tangohia te taura i taku kakī kia waiata au i taku waiata which means: "Take the noose from around my neck so that I may sing my song." Therefore I will adorn myself with the treasures of my ancestors and remove the colonial noose around my neck so that I may sing my song. [Removes tie]Nā reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.[Applause]Waiata"