Williams Poto: Maiden StatementsText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWilliams Poto: Maiden Statements[Sitting date: 29 January 2014. Volume:696;Page:15652. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]POTO WILLIAMS (Labour—Christchurch East): Engā mana engā reo engākārangarangatangamahatēnā koutoutēnā koutoutēnā koutou katoa.[To the authorities voices and many callings greetings salutations and acknowledgments to you all.]Mr Speaker distinguished members colleagues friends supporters and family kia oranakotoukatoatoana roto I tearo’ama’ata o TeAtua. My parents came to this country in the 1950s to give their family a better life. We had a happy childhood amongst our widerwhānau and the children of other immigrant families. We did not have a lot but Dad always had a job we owned our home and we always had food. Buttimes changed in New Zealand and by the time I started working in the social services sector I realised that some families did not have it so good.On 4 April 1999Riri-o-te-Rangi JamesWhakaruru died from injuries sustained from severe and prolonged beatings from his mother’s partner. He was not the first child to die from the euphemistically described non-accidental injuries and he has not been the last but his story like no others before it left me with a deep sadness of the lives many of our children live. I return to him often to honour his short and tragic life and to reaffirm my commitment to our children. There is an image of James where he holds his face in the palms of his hands—a boy with a sunny disposition who in his darkest hours must have thought “What have I done to deserve this treatment?”. And what would be our response to him if he asked us why?A decent respectful society is one that shows the highest level of care for its most vulnerable and marginalised citizens and it enhances the mana of us all if when at their lowest ebb we show them the deepest of our love and care. Every member of this august House would hold that to be the sacred duty of the Government—to care for its people. However we may differ on how we achieve that and on who is the most vulnerable and therefore the most deserving. For me actively engaged in the very grassroots of community life the dream I have for my community is one where all of our people are housed in warm dry appropriate and affordable homes where families can put down roots and develop those social connections that enhance and sustain our lives. It is a place where none of our children go hungry where they are warm they are healthy and above all they are safe from the violence in their homes at the hands of those who are charged with their care.My dream includes ensuring that we all have the same opportunities the playing field is levelled and everyone has a fair go at reaching their potential. It is a place where when unwell health care is accessible and affordable according to our circumstances. It is a place where the wealth of the nation can be more fairly distributed to those who need it without discouraging those who earn it and where we all pay our fair share. It is also a place where a decent day’s work is rewarded with a decent living wage.In our current environment of a low-wage economy we have pushed the unwaged further and further into poverty. We require of them whether they are capable of it or not to jump through increasingly more difficult hoops in order to satisfy ourselves that they deserve the help we provide. I fully believe that it is a privilege to have the support of the taxpayer but it also has to be noted that if those who avoid paying their fair share were required to do so there would be more to go around. It has also become a place like no other time before where holding down a job does not guarantee that you have enough to care for the needs of your family even if you are working in more than one job.What I want is a place that listens to the voice of children; that provides support and care for them when they witness and experience the trauma resulting from violence abuse or neglect; and where we do not permit damaged children to go on being harmed but support them to become well whole and capable of reaching their potential.So what would this have meant for James’ mother? What outcome would there have been for him if she had had teenage pregnancy help and support for her mental well-being? What if bonding and attachment with her young baby had been encouraged and nurtured? What if she had had access to training resources and housing to raise her young child confidently? What outcomes for James then? He could have been a young man now embarking on training work or study. We will never know but surely it would have tilted the odds more in his favour.There is a direct correlation between the level of inequality in a society the haves and the have-nots and the level of social harm experienced by that society. Mentalunwellness teenage pregnancy suicide rates dependency issues poverty and poor health outcomes occur to a greater degree when that gap widens. Tax changes the living wage job creation a regional renewal programme—all these things contribute to a more egalitarian society a fairer society.I have actively championed communities to be empowered to decide for themselves what is in their best interests. This can be achieved to benefit communities if they are provided with the right information to make informed choices. There is no doubt that in Canterbury the extraordinary times require extraordinary responses but I for one have always felt that you should bring the people along the road with you when decisions are made that impact them their assets the places where they live and how they live their day-to-day lives.So why are communities where I live in a period of the most significant and profound change of their lives—of an entire generation most likely—not able to make decisions for themselves? When we measure our responses as I believe we should to the plight of our people in the most difficult of times we have experienced in our recent history will the examination of our conscience make us proud or ashamed?Here I must pay my respects to my predecessor Her Worship the Hon Lianne Dalziel who has taken her formidable skills to now lead our city into a more stable and positive time. I look forward to working with you and thank you for the opportunity you have provided to me. Many of your supporters have said that I have large shoes to fill. At least I start with a healthy footprint.I would like to take this opportunity to honour the people of the Christchurch East electorate who believe me are not shy to tell you what they really think and who have high expectations for their representatives. Their needs are fairly simple and specific—the opportunity to be heard for their views to be considered the ability to be fully participant in the decisions that impact their lives and above all a fair go.For you the electorate I will champion affordable housing that meets your needs and is fit for purpose. I will also champion inclusive democracy in decision making and the speeding up of processes that have stymied your opportunity to move on from the quakes. To the battlers of you out there keep battling on. Let us get our homes repaired and rebuilt and let us get our community and families reconnected and enjoying the most naturally beautiful part of our city.As the third anniversary of the 22 February quake nears I want us all to reflect on the impact that 3 years of stress and unresolved trauma have had on the people I represent and the resulting ill health alcohol and substance abuse rates of violence in the home high divorce rates and separation. We have had help to combat the medium-term effects but as funding for these services is relinquished later this year the NGO sector will likely pick up an increase in demand with no resulting increase in resource.All international literature on the impacts of major disasters states that it is post the third anniversary that levels ofunwellness truly escalate and our ability to cope diminishes. It would appear that vulnerability can be determined by a date and that after 30 June we will no longer need earthquake support to the level we currently receive. We have had to bring in large numbers of workers to cope with the level of rebuild activity for our city and I would like to think that we are able to provide opportunities for our young people—very many of them unemployed and not in training—with the chance to be therebuilders of our city. This takes commitment by us to invest in their training in the trades and associated services.Hand in hand with this is the commitment to invest in activities that create jobs not just for Canterbury but across the country and in particular regional New Zealand. Onesuch activity will beKiwiBuild—Labour’s commitment to build 100000 homes for New Zealand families. Families build communities especially if they are able to secure long-term tenure in their homes The relationships and networks that develop are the very threads of a strong social fabric that supports us in our times of need and shares with us in our times of joy and celebration. Our young people could be involved in building the nation’s homes—homes that they may have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own themselves. However affordability can be achieved only through the Government’s ability to build in quantity and the ability to access its favourable finance terms.Today is one of great honour to my family. My loved ones have joined me today and I thank them for their continued support and love and advice. It is an important day for the Cook Islands and Pacific communities as well and here I want to acknowledge Alfred Ngaro for being the first Cook Islands member of the New Zealand Parliament.I have the honour of being the first Cook Islands woman in the House of Representatives the first Cook Islands elected member of Parliament and I am also the first Pacific representative from Christchurch and from the South Island. I have colleagues and friends here from Christchurch East including Pacific leaders without whose support and encouragement and very hard work I would not be celebrating with you today.MeitakiMa’ataFaafetai LavaMaloAupito.I want to conclude with a Cook Islands saying: “Me kai koei tokou poke e uri to aro kimanavara.” Never forget that you do not succeed by yourself. At times of your greatest achievement and celebration we must acknowledge those who have provided the opportunity and support that brings you to this reward. And most especially we must acknowledge our ancestors our heritage and those who have passed on. Therefore to my parentsNahora and Marion Williams my brother AaronMarsters and my guiding light JamesWhakaruru I saymoemoeraaererameitakima’ata.I hope that all these things bring honour to your memory and serve as a marker of what can be achieved when we stand on your shoulders and raise the expectations for our people who come after us. I leave you with this challenge: to find within you that guiding light like JamesWhakaruru is for me—the inspiration to make our country the best place for us for our children for our families and for our community. Mr Speaker I thank you.Waiata