Turia Tariana: Reserve Bank of New Zealand Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Turia Tariana: Reserve Bank of New Zealand Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:632;Page:4228] 
TARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
Every now and then I feel the call to be Aussie bound. It is not the Dreaming of Uluru Ayers Rock that draws me nor even the recognition of reconciliation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Those are important and indeed historic symbols of cultural pride but that is not what draws me. It is about whanau: Naani in Melbourne and Ngahuia in Brisbane—my sisters—my brothers Anthony and Bernard; and my nieces nephews cousins and mokopuna. So I come to this bill thinking of them.  
This bill will amend the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act to implement the trans-Tasman coordination of financial sector regulation—changes that will move us further towards a single economic market sooner rather than later. The new Reserve Bank website promotes the message “Change for the better”. The change to achieve the trans-Tasman coordination of financial sector regulation may well be for the better if we think of the many New Zealanders—indeed the many whanau—who live across the Tasman.  
It is precisely because of those large numbers that Te Puni Kokiri is funding a study of Maori who live in Australia. Early survey results show an overwhelming response that Maori are going to Australia for better pay. Evidence shows that employment chances for Maori women in particular are better in Australia than here and I for one would like to know more about why that is so. And if there was ever a time to see the contrast between the two major economic markets of Australasia it is now. The number of people living in Australia who claim Maori ancestry jumped by a massive 233 percent in the 15 years to 2001. Maori in Australia now number well over 100000 which is 20000 more Maori than are in the entire South Island.  
This House has to come to terms with the huge loss of tangata whenua who are leaving their homelands. Why is it happening? Why are our whanau leaving Aotearoa in such huge numbers? Fifty-four percent of these “Mozzies”—Australian Maori—were in the prime childbearing age group of 15 to 44 and a further 31 per cent were aged under 15. That is a huge drain on our cultural capital. The human cost of that demonstrates the dire consequences of economic decisions made here. The upward trend will just go on for as long as economic differences between the two countries exist. So if this bill can do anything to keep our whanau home it will be a good thing.  
The bill requires our Reserve Bank to cooperate with Australian financial authorities and to avoid actions that are likely to have a detrimental effect on their financial stability including interfering without sourcing arrangements. Those changes are immediately relevant to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in light of its outsourcing policy released in January 2006. That policy defined intervention in outsourcing arrangements as being any action that is detrimental to financial stability in the other country.  
The reality is that closer economic relations between Australia and Aotearoa are inevitable. We need to be open to all the possibilities that could emerge. The Maori Party has been acutely aware that although the development of a single economic market with Australia may produce a potential risk to rangatiratanga that could be offset by increased financial stability. But we jealously guard our independence as a country. Although as a nation our rangatiratanga may diminish as hapu we may benefit if more of our profit and wealth-seeking incorporations find it easier to do business abroad—in this case in Australia. Lower costs for bank services and heightened financial stability could mean that whakapapa-based commercial entities like Maori land incorporations would be better able to serve their stakeholders. Indeed a firmer financial grounding may well open up opportunities for innovation and growth that tangata whenua can invest in to help shape our destiny. As an example the diversification of land incorporation into land-based activity across international boundaries may produce a new combination of risk and profitability that enhances their ability to serve their beneficiaries and shareholders better. 
These are as the Reserve Bank would say changes for the better. But these changes can be supported only if the advantages from such financial stability for indigenous peoples including Pacific peoples are envisaged and planned for. We must ask the question of how the goal of a single economic market will enhance the indigenous people of Australia. Will a single economic market protect the traditional lands of Aboriginal communities their rivers their lakes and their mountains? Will a single economic market support their culture and value enabling elders to pass on their knowledge arts rituals and performances from one generation to another? Will a single economic market preserve their cultural property develop their languages and maintain their sacred and significant sites? Or will the tangata whenua in Australia be placed under duress as we exploit commercial opportunities in their land? 
The bill will set in place a regime in which all registered New Zealand banks as well as the Reserve Bank will be required to consult prescribed Australian authorities before taking actions that are likely to be detrimental. Although we will support this bill at its first reading we expect subsequent iterations to provide for the explicit recognition of the tangata whenua of Australia. We also expect subsequent iterations to demonstrate how the anticipated gains might be shared with the people of the islands of the Pacific. The issue is all about whose voices are heard and whose feet are under the tables of power. 
We are pleased that the obligations set in place for New Zealand banks will be matched by equivalent changes that will require Australian financial authorities to cooperate with our Reserve Bank. But we also seek to raise the point that the proposed initiatives should not be established just as a preventive measure to reduce the likelihood of any detrimental effects on financial stability in either country. If reduced operating costs and more financial stability will result why should we not also consider the opportunity benefits that could be replicated elsewhere in the Pacific? One wonders what scope there may be for Aotearoa to encourage discussion with our close neighbours in Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. Indeed perhaps tangata whenua should assume a more prominent role in shaping Aotearoa’s relationships in the Pacific. Australia and Aotearoa have the financial strength and administrative know-how to also extend an inviting hand to our whanaunga in the Pacific and that may well be a beneficial outcome of the intervention contemplated in this bill. 
This bill sets in train a relationship that has evolved over the last century—a relationship that reflects an enduring testimony to the shared Anzac spirit. The historical economic social cultural and political foundations of this relationship run deep and it is only fitting that we respect the relationship by ensuring wide and open public debate before we presume to take this step. The Maori Party will support the bill at its first reading both for the potential benefits to the New Zealand economy and for—and this is important—the opportunity for a wide-ranging public discussion to take place that enables all New Zealanders both here and across the Tasman to speak of their vision. 
That vision may indeed build on the tradition established from Gallipoli of working together as allies and partners but there will be other visions that argue to protect the sovereignty and control of both nations. Just as the yellow and green squads identify our teams with the silver fern or the passion of “Kapa o Pango” there will be those who hold a vision for Aotearoa that does not include the lands across the ditch. The Maori Party hopes that in the debate about the pros and cons of a single economic market objective there is sufficient space to hear the views of New Zealanders about how best to protect national interests.