Okeroa Mahara: Points of Order — Member’s withdrawal from Chamber ; Debate on Crown Entities Public Organisations and State Enterprises 
Okeroa Mahara: Points of Order — Member’s withdrawal from Chamber ; Debate on Crown Entities Public Organisations and State Enterprises 
[Volume:609;Page:6219] 
MAHARA OKEROA (NZ Labour—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 I was absolutely overawed by that presentation. It sort of added to my literary knowledge of how to say nothing in 3 or 4 minutes. 
A e te iwi kua whakarongo mai i nga rarurarutanga o roto i tenei Whare Paremata mai ra ano kua mohio koutou i nga tangata e whakararuraru i a matau te iwi Maori. Engari e te iwi ka tu tonu matau nei ki te hapai tika i te kaupapa o tatau katoa. Nga kaupapa e whakatiaki mai i te reo me nga mahi o te pouaka tango whakaahua me era atu o nga taonga o o koro a kui ma. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
Those of you listening in to the problems in this House of Parliament are aware that people have always found faults with us the Maori. But let me remind you we have always continued to take up matters that concern us all in a proper manner—matters relating to the protection of the language and to Maori television and those relating to the old people 
.] 
 The recent debate surrounding the issues of Te Mangai Paho and to some extent Te Puni Kokiri gives light to the total preoccupation of some members of this House in scoring brownie points. For example I remind the Hon Murray McCully who is loudly declaring that separate funding for Maori broadcasting should stop that not only was he part of the National Government that established Te Mangai Paho in 1994 he was also a member of the Cabinet that agreed in 1997 that Te Mangai Paho should be strengthened in its present form rather than abolished or merged with another organisation. 
I do not credit that honourable member with having the gift of prophecy. However the issue for me is that for some politics is about being a chameleon. We all understand the ability of the chameleon to change its colours to suit its environment. Because those members are now sitting in the Opposition benches another world view is being promoted. The motivation for that is entirely about gathering votes at the expense of Maori who as the Hon Tariana Turia has said have dedicated their total lives to filling the gaps left by the assimilation policies of previous Governments. That is an absolutely honest attempt. As a Government we are committed to increasing the capacities of our people and a failure at a managerial level should in no way encourage the kind of deluge that our people have been submitted to—both outside and inside this House. 
Rodney Hide 
: I’m not attacking your people. 
MAHARA OKEROA 
: That is a matter of perception. Mr Rodney Hide would appear to be totally intoxicated with getting political brownie points—cheap brownie points. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I take grave exception— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Clem Simich) 
: I know what was said. 
Rodney Hide 
: I would like the member to withdraw and apologise. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Clem Simich) 
: It was a figure of speech and in no way related to the member’s sobriety. 
Rodney Hide 
: You might rule that it was a figure of speech— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Clem Simich) 
: The member has taken it the other way. He takes exception. Would the member please withdraw it. 
MAHARA OKEROA 
: I withdraw that statement. Speaking to the point of order the comment was not meant in the sense that the member probably interpreted it. 
The Minister made an attempt to clarify the issue and give a personal statement to the House. Of course the Opposition denied him leave to do so. We have acted—a Treasury report has taken place and an interim chair is currently working through the concerns raised by that report. 
Rodney Hide 
: Getting out the crooks! 
MAHARA OKEROA 
: I hope the member does a good job of that. 
Rodney Hide 
: I’ve done all right so far. 
MAHARA OKEROA 
: Let us forget about Tuku’s undies. An excellent article by John Tamihere states: “Maori broadcasting fronting agency Te Mangai Paho is audited by the Audit Office as with any other taxpayer-funded organisation yet it does not appear to be widely known that in its last audit the Audit Office rated Te Mangai Paho’s performance as ‘excellent’ in four of the five financial and service performance measures and ‘very good’ in the fifth. Te Mangai Paho is subject to the financial review process of the Maori Affairs select committee.” He also writes: “Suggestions that Maori are getting special treatment while not being required to meet the same standards and scrutiny as the rest of the population can be easily flung by politicians with an eye for easy point-scoring whatever the reality may be.” Maori normally endure double the scrutiny. 
If we want to be critical and raise issues of the same nature as those being raised by members of the ACT party we need to ask ourselves why ACT is happy for Donna Awatere-Huata to be still a member and for taxpayers to pay her $90000 a year plus allowances yet it denies her the vote. As to the cost of principles should ACT expel Donna Awatere-Huata she would be free to cast her own vote but ACT would lose $111000 in parliamentary funding for the year. That is real principle! 
Rodney Hide 
: I know how Parekura feels now. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Clem Simich) 
: In any reference to members please use the proper form of address. 
MAHARA OKEROA 
: Our Government has a long-term commitment to working in partnership with whanau hapu and iwi Maori communities so that they reach their full potential. Budget 2003 demonstrated that the Government is committed to managing the country’s finances responsibly and lifting New Zealand’s economic performance. We have a strong stable Government and a responsible and cautious fiscal manager. Budget 2003 is about fiscal certainty and stability in an uncertain environment and balanced policies. Surpluses will be used to ensure long-term stability. 
I commend the Minister of Maori Affairs on the speed with which he has moved to address outstanding issues related to Te Mangai Paho. Maori are a small community in which kinship ties are tribally very close—for example when the previous chair resigned—and there are a whole set of issues surrounding that. It took courage and the Minister should be acknowledged for that. I am not standing here defending Mr Te Rangi in whatever form—not at all. 
Rodney Hide 
: What about Hemana Waaka? 
Hon Tariana Turia 
: Who is he? 
Rodney Hide 
: He’s the guy who was paying them off. 
MAHARA OKEROA 
: Is that member giving the speech or am I? 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Clem Simich) 
: No the floor is yours. 
MAHARA OKEROA 
: In that regard the Minister said Mr Te Rangi’s resignation came far too late and that the management and board of Te Mangai Paho must therefore take a share of the responsibility. That is absolutely about accountability. Although I consider the resignation of Mr Curtis to be the appropriate action I want to acknowledge the tremendous contribution Toby has made to Te Mangai Paho over the last 8 years. He is another Maori person who has committed himself to bringing reality to Maori needs in respect of our care for our language and how we want to determine what broadcasting and television can do for us. 
In conclusion I will quote once more from John Tamihere: “There is a growing demand from both Maori and non-Maori for Maori-orientated programmes that are relevant and accessible. The international success of the film  
Whale Rider 
 demonstrates how taking themes and ideas that are undeniably Maori and making them accessible to all has huge potential benefits—not only for Maori but for New Zealand as a whole.” Let me broaden that from the perspective of our national interest to that of our international interest. That film has promoted Maori cosmology beliefs and mythology to the world.