Davis Kelvin: Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill — In Committee 
Davis Kelvin: Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:657;Page:6417] 
KELVIN DAVIS (Labour) 
: 
 Tena koe Chairman Roy. Tuatahi maku e hiahia ana ki te tautoko i nga korero o tera o nga whanaunga mo Te Manu Korero e tu ana i roto o Te Arawa i tenei rangi 
.  
Tuarua e tautoko ana i nga korero mo te tuituiatanga o te reo rangatira ki roto i a tatou korero i roto i tenei Whare. Tuatoru tautoko ana ahau i te korero a te whanaunga ra mo tona patai e pa ana ki nga turu Maori nei i roto i te taone nui o Tamaki-makau-rau; e mataku ana te Kawanatanga i te aha? 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
Greetings to you Mr Chairman. First I want to endorse what that relative said about Te Manu Korero in Te Arawa today Secondly I support the interweaving of the chiefly language in our speeches in this Parliament and thirdly I support that relative’s statement pertaining to his question about Maori seats in the super-city of Auckland; what is the Government afraid of 
?] 
Previously when I have spoken in the House I have spoken about the Treaty of Waitangi being a bridge that crosses over a river. On one bank is the Maori world and on the other bank is the Pakeha world and the Treaty of Waitangi is the bridge that crosses over the river. It allows people from one side to cross over and engage in the life customs culture and language of the other side. The question is who has crossed the bridge more often. Certainly just about every Maori I know has crossed over the bridge into the Pakeha world and speaks the language goes to the schools and understands the culture and customs. But how many times have Pakeha crossed the other way and become familiar with our language our customs and our culture? The answer is very few—very few. 
I endorse what Te Ururoa Flavell just said when he asked what the Government is scared of in terms of crossing that bridge. What is the Government scared of? Maori do not really want to have a big takeover of New Zealand and to make everyone wear piupius and live in nikau whare. That is not what we are about. We simply want to be able to engage at a governance level. Be it in the country or be it in Tamaki-makau-rau the city of Auckland we want to be able to engage as of right so that we can help people on the Pakeha side of the river to cross over the bridge and come to understand us as a people and as a culture. 
I listened to the debate last night and I want to debunk a bit of a myth that flowed through all the speeches. The myth is that the National Government is listening. We heard it last night from Nikki Kaye. She stood up pointed her finger tapped her bench raised her voice and told us: “We are listening. We are listening. We are listening.” Simon Bridges was the same; he jumped up and said: “We are listening. We are listening. We are listening.” The Hon John Carter aside from running interference for Rodney Hide deflecting a lot of the criticism of Rodney Hide stood up and said: “We are listening. We are listening. We are listening.” The Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman said: “We are listening. We are listening. We are listening.” It is as if one says it long enough and loud enough it will become true. 
National members got into cars in Auckland and drove up the motorway to the Rodney District. They had said that they would cut the Rodney District in half. We must remember that this was at the eleventh hour before the bill came back to the House to be debated. In fact it was not at the eleventh hour; it was at about half past 11 or probably 5 to 12. Those members went up there and they realised that they had made a mistake. So they back-pedalled they backtracked they flip-flopped and they said: “Oops! We have made a mistake. All these people might not vote for us.” It was a political decision. They did a flip-flop they changed their minds then they wondered how to put a positive spin on it. They decided to say that they had listened that they had been listening. If I can say one thing positive about National it is that it knows how to put a spin on something. It repeats it over and over again but it is still spin. It is spin. 
I have a two-word reply to the National Government if it is genuine about saying that it listened. That two-word reply is “Maori seats”. I ask Nikki Kaye where the Maori seats are in Tamaki-makau-rau. I ask Simon Bridges where the Maori seats are in Tamaki-makau-rau. Where were those members when 7000 of us walked in the hikoi? Where were those members when 7000 of us marched up Queen Street? [ 
Interruption 
] They like to put another spin on it asking where Shane Jones and Parekura Horomia were. They make fun of our colleagues who were strategising over a McSalad. Where were members opposite when Pita Sharples stood up in front of 7000 Maori and said: “Keep going keep going the Government is about to crack.”? I was there when he said that. I heard him say that the Government is about to crack. There is nothing like raising expectations to dampen the party. 
Those 7000 Maori and 300 submitters to the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee said they wanted Maori seats on the Auckland Council. But the Government has not listened to Maori. Why not? Because there are no votes in it for National. That is why it has not listened. The Government listens only when there is something in it for the Government. Maori have not been listened to. 
This is a Treaty issue as Te Ururoa Flavell has said. The Treaty is about a partnership. Where is the partnership in the Auckland City debate? There is no partnership. This issue is about a group of people saying to Maori: “Sorry you don’t have a voice. You don’t have a say. ” We are meant to be grateful that the Auckland City Council has had one Maori city councillor every 17 years. I can almost hear people saying: “What are you Maori moaning about? One city councillor every 17 years? You should be grateful. You’re lucky that you’ve had one Maori voice every 17 years. Know your place Maori.” That is what we are hearing. One Maori city councillor every 17 years on the Auckland City Council is a disgrace. This bill is an opportunity to rectify that. It is an opportunity to show that the National Government’s new-found love affair with Maoridom is genuine. It is an opportunity to show that the rhetoric is more than empty hollow words. 
I ask Nikki Kaye how hard she argued in her caucus for Maori seats if she is genuine about saying she is listening to Maori. The member for Auckland Central pointed her finger tapped her desk raised her voice and said: “We’re listening.” It is spin. We want Maori seats; we have said from the start that we want Maori seats. As my colleague Steve Chadwick said our caucus spoke at length about Maori seats. We have wanted them from the start. I stood in a Maori seat. Labour supports the Maori seats. There is no argument beyond that. 
Thank you for the opportunity to speak. Saying “We are listening. We are listening. We are listening.” is spin. This is about the Treaty of Waitangi. Where is the partnership? Where is the Maori voice on the Auckland Council?