Harawira Hone: Third Readings 
Harawira Hone: Third Readings 
[Volume:634;Page:5728] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Maori Party—Te Tai Tokerau) 
: 
Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker tenatatou katoa i te Whare. I was telling a group of friends recently that one knows one is a Maori when one’s people want one to be in Parliament and all one wants to do is to go home. But I also add that one knows one is in Parliament when one has to do research and give speeches on mind-numbing topics like this one which uses such sexy language as “takeovers” “fair trading” “management banning orders” “pecuniary penalties for civil liability events” “market manipulation laws” “collapses of finance companies” “structurally weak capital markets” “disclosure” and “deceptive conduct”. But that is the job and we are here to do it as best we can. 
The purpose of the Securities Amendment Bill is to reform our country’s securities laws and with language like that it will take a lot to fix a dictionary of double-talk. On top of that this bill is supposed to be read in conjunction with the Securities Markets Amendment Bill the Takeovers Amendment Bill and the Fair Trading Amendment Bill so it is supposed to change the way that business is done with the Commerce Commission the Securities Commission and the Takeovers Panel. 
This group of bills also brings in what is called a standard of civil liability to deal with breaches of rules about contributory mortgages and the putting out of ads that include untrue statements. We have to laugh when we think that this particular legislation is coming up today on the very same day that the Auditor-General’s report comes to Parliament. Of course we would also have to ask whether the distribution of Labour’s 2005 and even its 2002 pledge card would breach those standards of civil liability. Would the fact that taxpayer money was spent on election advertising without including the appropriate details be considered an untrue statement? If so who would be expected to own up to the civil liability and again who would be expected to cough up the $450000 to repay the unlawful spending of taxpayer funds on a dodgy pledge card of party political promises? 
Another key principle in this legislation assumes that investors can have greater confidence in our securities markets with these new more effective laws. That is OK except that the legislation is making changes in order to attract foreign investment to our shores. That can be a worry because no matter how we dress it up this country has a stink reputation in all the important places overseas at the moment. This Government has already been taken to task by the United Nations committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. In fact the New Zealand Government’s response to the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples did not once mention the words “indigenous” “Maori” “whanau” “hapu” “iwi” or “tangata whenua”. It is as though we are not even here. 
So when we consider this legislation today we have to consider also that this Government has said that it will not support the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples when it comes before the United Nations General Assembly next month. The whole world will be there to see that happen and the great myth of New Zealand’s racial harmony will go straight down the toilet. Again in respect of this legislation the Government has insisted that the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples must be consistent with international and New Zealand law—I guess the Government forgot about the Foreshore and Seabed Act—and that the declaration must protect the rights of all citizens. I have to ask how dumb is that? The Government wants a declaration on indigenous peoples that has to protect the rights of all citizens. We recognise the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which does not have a requirement to protect the rights of all citizens and we recognise statements on the rights of women that do not include protection of the rights of all citizens but when it comes to indigenous people all of a sudden we have to include that protection. Responses like that weaken the text and diminish the rights of indigenous peoples—and the world has noticed. 
I refer to those issues because they impact on New Zealand’s credibility in the international community. Respected international organisations like Amnesty International have condemned those activities as shameful and it is a joke to think that we can repair that damage to our reputation by simply tinkering with the securities legislation. 
All the fans of free markets reckon that opening up the country to unrestricted foreign investment will lead to enhanced economic growth more jobs and better living standards for all. That is a load of bulldust. I can remember some years back that Harley Davidson was being hammered in the market place in the US losing out in motorbike sales to Honda Suzuki and Kawasaki. And what did Ronald Reagan do? Did he leave Harley Davidson to face the music in the free and open marketplace? Like hell he did! He whacked a massive tariff on Japanese bikes so that Harley Davidson could survive. So when I hear all the rubbish that is said about free markets I chuckle to myself. 
Although the legislation makes securities and takeovers law less complicated easier to enforce and harder to avoid—and that is all good—we still have to be careful of foreign investment that compromises our security our sovereignty and our rangatiratanga. Foreign investment keeps going up every year including the buying up of land in Aotearoa which is a policy the Maori Party does not support. We also have to consider the security of our matauranga—our cultural and intellectual property—and the need to protect that from the multinational rape and pillage brigade. I raise those issues in respect of the Securities Amendment Bill because the most important tool for the security and protection of such vital assets to our nation is of course the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Along with that we have the Wai 262 claim which aims to protect Maori cultural and intellectual property rights in exactly the same way that indigenous peoples all around the world are using intellectual property rights laws and international agreements. 
The whole notion of free trade and the exploitation of indigenous knowledge that the Wai 262 claim is addressing also raises issues in relation to the Fair Trading Amendment Bill. The new bill deals with what is called “misleading and deceptive conduct” “false representations” “unfair practices” and “the importation of goods bearing false trade descriptions”. As we head towards Halloween I will highlight a case of misleading conduct impacting on Maori. The website for Halloween Town a “one stop Halloween and horror headquarters” was advertising Maori tattoo kits online with a picture of a full-face moko but after complaints from people like Ngahihi O Te RaBidois from the Waiariki Institute of Technology the fake moko was pulled. We hope that this bill will make it even harder for Halloween freak shows to exploit Maori knowledge and taonga.  
 This legislation is also supposed to strengthen the laws on investment advisers who will have to be more open to their clients—again a good idea. It is a bit like kaitiakitanga: accepting responsibility for those for whom we are guardians. Disclosure will help to protect people’s interests. 
One of the things I have heard from the Federation of Maori Authorities is that investment advice is a skill and that financial education should be a key aspect of our learning. The need to understand savings and budgeting was also raised by Kathy Loveday of the Budget Advisory Service in relation to the KiwiSaver Bill. It is not a new idea but it is certainly an idea worth promoting. Financial literacy is also something I have talked about earlier in this House. NgaiTahu have an initiative called WhaiRawa to improve their people’s financial management skills and enhance their financial security and independence. If whanau had those financial literacy skills then things like market integrity and market confidence might actually mean something to them and we might see that knowledge translated into diversified investments beyond housing properties and land into other areas of the economy. In today’s market a lot of people do not invest not just because they do not have a lot of money but also because they just do not know how to invest. 
The Maori Party supports the transparency and accountability of foreign investment and it supports proper regulation and protecting the interests of New Zealand investors. In the interests of integrity and fair trade and as a matter of principle we will support this bill. Kia ora tataou.