Horomia Parekura: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Horomia Parekura: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:623;Page:18261] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
: 
 Two thousand and five is the time to further the work of this Government from dealing with disparities to realising the full potential of Maori and building upon past successes of which there are many. As Minister of Maori Affairs along with my colleagues in the Maori caucus I am leading an approach of Maori succeeding as Maori. All the energies of the wider portfolio responsibilities will be directed towards providing an environment of opportunity and choice that supports and encourages moving Maori from dependency to development. Our work programme going forward in 2005 will consistently focus on unlocking supporting and realising Maori potential. The Maori caucus and my other colleagues have supported me in taking the Maori affairs portfolio to the next level: one that is based on realising Maori potential. That approach complements the tried and tested pragmatic approaches of those who work with our people kanohi ki te kanohi—face to face—day after day. My associate responsibilities for State services will also complement this work as well as giving momentum to succession planning. The other associate responsibilities will also do that. Certainly that will encourage the provision of seamless services in the communities where Government departments operate and provide opportunities for Maori to realise their potential. 
However it is important to understand that at this stage Maori are really starting to do things for themselves because of this economy. When the Government took office in 1999 we recognised that New Zealanders had put their trust in us again—and they will do so again at the end of this year—and that no matter what we could not let them down. After 15 years of ad hoc change people were looking for stable and predictable leadership and for a commitment to the basics that households and families rely on. Maori families rely on simple things: work homes good education and health care and opportunities for all of them to innovate succeed and build a solid platform for future generations. As our economy has grown as unemployment has plummeted and as our films music arts sportspeople businesses and high achievers have attracted international recognition we have felt a real pride in who and what we are. Keeping the momentum going by building on current Maori success and investing in Maori potential is the primary focus of our work programme going forward in 2005—and that member really appreciates that. 
 Though we have much to celebrate we are also mindful of the challenges ahead. Our contribution as tangata whenua to the greatness of this country lies in our unique cultural identity which defines and sets us apart from the rest of the world. One of the biggest challenges to our national pride and to the stability of New Zealand has come from those who have used Maori as a political target—as that Opposition member knows—claiming that the most disadvantaged group in this country is somehow the most advantaged. New Zealanders have a deep desire for this country to move ahead as one understanding that we are not all the same nor would we want to be. We must respect Maori as the first people of this land; that is a fact of our shared settlement history. The Crown and Maori made commitments to each other in the Treaty of Waitangi that cemented our respective rights and responsibilities. The relationship that has flowed from that settlement pact has like all relationships had its ups and downs. Striking the balance again as with all relationships is what committed partners who believe in the real future do together. Under our Government a lot more opportunity choices and chances are available for Maori. Maori have been as quick to see and as keen to take up those opportunities as anybody else. 
Some people in this country are divisive and happy to remain so. There are a whole lot of those people who have great Crown contracts. There are people who want to keep Maori subservient locked in the dungeons of doom and gloom. They would love to keep Maori there but there is a surprise in store for them because Maori are moving forward. Those people do not want Maori to do that; they do not want Maori to go forward. They are used to them being behind and being subservient. I am a 54-year-old Maori. I am from the last generation of children of manual labourers. Ninety-nine percent of my parents’ generation worked for the Ministry of Works the Post and Telegraph Department or for the freezing works or were shearers or fencers. They did all those great labouring jobs. They were loyal and they worked for 30 to 40 years for the same employer. They were neither close to management experience nor close to enterprise opportunities because other people kept them out. They were misinformed or uninformed and their potential was not realised. 
Well times are changing and changing fast. In 1986 two-thirds of working-age Maori had no qualification. By 2004 that figure had decreased significantly to one-third. Some exciting things are happening in Maoridom: more people are in good housing thousands of Maori are participating in things like the Modern Apprenticeships programme and more Maori are taking on managerial responsibility and ownership. I know that the next 5 to 10 years will be one of the most exciting and progressive periods of time for Maori economic development in a long time. 
In the sport and cultural areas our people excel. The cultural revitalisation amongst Maori is also strong. Custom and ritual are still strong for us but culture is not static and Maori must not hold themselves back by not being prepared for modern times and not getting modern skills. Kaitiakitanga and rangatiratanga—they are about rights and also responsibilities. They are about maintaining the things passed down from our ancestors—that is about our mana. Moni is about earning money—income—and creating a better life through enterprise and about better housing and providing for our grandchildren so that they can enjoy life. We need both mana and moni and this Government is supplying and supporting that. 
Maori are good at building partnerships but there is room for improvement. We need to be more rigorous in the sense of what partnerships mean in contemporary times. Often when we talk about partnerships we instantly think about the treaty relationship between iwi and the Crown and only that. To me partnership is also about working together with Pakeha central and local government and corporate as well as international forums. While those partnerships are important and must continue in these contemporary times we need to develop specialised partnerships in order for Maori to move forward. But by far the most important partnership we can have is to be better with each other. We need to get better at working amongst ourselves and understanding what is available for our children and grandchildren. Leadership roles make it difficult to please and address everyone’s needs at every level—try being the Minster of Maori Affairs. Leadership is about balance—about ensuring that enduring decisions are made in a strategic and well-managed way. This year we will continue to work with leadership at all levels of development with the aim of helping us to keep trucking forward. 
There will be stresses in that journey but I have learnt from experience that the bumpier bits are worthwhile. For the year to September 1999 the Maori unemployment rate averaged 17.9 percent. It is now down to 9.1 percent. During that time we have nearly halved the number of Maori on the unemployment benefit. There were more than 44000 on that benefit in December. We have halved the number on that benefit and there are more people than before going directly into work rather than hanging around. There are a whole lot of things in the early childhood area. The number of Maori in early childhood education has almost trebled since 1983. Tertiary education participation has doubled. Maori Television is up and running. I remember the mean spirits from the Opposition side of the House saying that that would not happen and it has had its bumpy bits in it. It is great that a lot of Pakeha watch Maori Television. They are energised by it because it is local stuff that they understand. Total Maori-owned commercial assets are worth nearly $9 billion. We have to extrapolate that out for the benefit of our people. Maori are estimated to control around 10 percent of New Zealand’s forest holdings. They are big owners of the fisheries and are developing them. Ninety-five percent of Maori who are able to work are in work. That is a huge number of employed people. Nobody talks about that; they talk about all the other bits. 
The question posed now is: “Where to from here?”. Let me assure the House that we are not resting on our laurels. Over the past 5 years we have engaged with our communities up and down the country. It is time to consolidate. Whanau family and individual development lies at the heart of that with considerable attention being paid to building leadership successes. I am pleased with the framework of the Ministry of Maori Development Te Puni Kokiri. It is critical that that framework is understood. It is about clear succession planning and it is about ensuring that Maori rights and issues are recognised. But at the same time it is important that we develop opportunities for our people.