Turia Tariana: Appropriation (Parliamentary Expenditure Validation) Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee Third Reading 
Turia Tariana: Appropriation (Parliamentary Expenditure Validation) Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:634;Page:5924] 
TARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 There is a lesson in all of this for all of us. Mr Brady was doing his job which was to point out the need for tight controls in order to establish the legal legitimacy let alone any moral authority of Government and Parliament. This concept of doing the job is something that has resonated throughout the debate. We in the Maori Party have been very keen to learn the ropes—mahia te mahi. We understand the importance of the rules. We know that it is expected of us if we are to be the best representatives we can be for our constituency. The best is to act with honesty and integrity and to uphold the notion of collective responsibility—that we must all take ownership of our performance our practice and our behaviours. Collective ownership—the ability to think of the good of the team over and above the individual impact—brings with it additional obligations and responsibilities. 
I acknowledge that the concept of collective responsibility is hurting many MPs today who are now in the position of paying for mistakes that they may not have played a part in. The cost of making mistakes is far less for the Maori Party in terms of dollars and cents but like the other parties in this House we made a mistake. We stand here today knowing that with the exception of the Progressives no matter the amount involved there has been a misuse of public money by all parties of this Parliament including ourselves. We do not need to point the finger at each other or add further to what one paper called our “day of shame”. No one is absolved of blame. Indeed I recall the words: “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” 
Having an eye to history however means we can learn from our past and ensure we never go down that road again. If there is one clear outcome from the Auditor-General’s report it is the hope that we all as a Parliament be focused on our application of parliamentary purposes. There is a greater waste of public money on a daily basis when the public and those of us in this Chamber are subject to the constant free-for-all erupting in the House—the name-calling MPs being labelled a bunch of fruit cakes a pack of crooks—and the general bluff and bluster that some people erroneously perceive as doing the job of an MP. We have had days weeks and months of abusive tirades and accusations of corruption profiteering leadership crises and stolen elections and now reports that confirm illegal activity unlawfulness of parliamentary spending and inappropriate and misappropriated expenditure. 
It seems to have been a contest of wits. Who can call each other the worst names? Whose crime is the greatest? The debate has at times bordered on desperation—an air of hysteria is apparent as politicians scramble to denigrate each other. There is no reason why the value of robust debate has to be sacrificed by the constant barrage of personal abuse. 
This whole issue has been about protocols processes and rules. We knew from day one that members must not use parliamentary resources to solicit money votes or membership. We also knew that as a Maori party we would be under higher scrutiny than the others because this is our experience in the community. We have to be twice as good and twice as clean as others. We have been generally appreciative of the clear guidance we received from Parliamentary Service the Members Services Committee finance and the parliamentary staff who work so hard to create an environment that engenders respect. I would hasten to suggest that the rules of the job simply require some common sense. 
My colleague Mr Harawira referred yesterday to the description from the Clerk of the House who defined the role of members as encompassing “a considerable amount of legal freedom”. With freedom comes responsibility and with responsibility comes discipline. A critical issue that has arisen as a result of this whole debacle has been the recommendation that Parliamentary Service will be required to immediately institute controls and processes to pre-approve expenditure. Dr Cullen himself has stated that this is to be a “significant change from current practice”. 
This is one of the most critical issues in this legislation and it is central to our opposition to the bill. The proposed changes raise a raft of constitutional questions around the very way in which democracy will work. Who will decide what expenditure is to be approved and who will police the processes to make the critical judgments about what is a parliamentary purpose and what is electioneering? It is being said that the Controller and Auditor General’s view threatens long-established conventions on how we do the job of an MP. I want to make it explicitly clear that the Maori Party absolutely supports the need to be accountable and to be seen to be exercising responsibility in our use of the public purse. It is essential that we restore the public confidence in this regard. 
But respect does not flow on as a consequence of prescriptive rules; it follows from the proper exercise of responsibility—of kaitiakitanga. The high standards we follow in working within the legal freedom of an MP’s role must be balanced by the application of common sense. I want to raise the issue today that although Labour has been the party most under the spotlight with this legislation all parties in this House are equally open to scrutiny that may be defined as unlawful whether or not we were aware of it at the time. The key issue for moving forward as an MMP Parliament is that we must all take ownership and all participate in the process of a broader solution. If we are all part of the problem then let us all also be part of the answer. If there are to be significant changes they must be signed up to equally by all the political parties regardless of size. 
As the debate raged on last night I came across a letter from the Congregational Leaders Conference of Aotearoa which represents the Catholic religious brothers priests and sisters of our country. I want to share their comments because there is a message inherent in their words that we should all consider: “We prize and respect our democracy and the values that underpin it. At this time we wish to express our distaste at recent events in the political arena. Not only are the character assassinations innuendo details of the private lives of politicians etc causing untold personal distress to politicians and their families they also bring our democratic process into disrepute and are a misuse of taxpayers money”. 
It is no wonder that the faith of congregational leaders has been sorely tested. But all is not lost. I recall the advice of Te Ururoa Flavell in the first reading debate to move from a situation of paybacks—revenge and punishments—to a philosophy of pay forwards which means investing in our future. We need to invest in honesty integrity and accountability. I welcomed the words of Gordon Copeland last night in explaining that United Future would pay back its debt because it was a question of public perception and moral judgment. These sentiments were also expressed yesterday by the Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons who described the obligation as a moral one—as did Metiria Turei this morning—to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. 
We need to pay forward with consistent moral standards upholding best practice and abiding by the rules in pursuit of kotahitanga. We also need to value the capacity of the public service to deliver free and frank advice and we should demonstrate the maturity to consider the advice in the spirit in which it is given. The Maori Party wants to be part of a Parliament that New Zealanders can indeed look at with admiration so that they can tell us that they prize and respect our democracy and the values that underpin it. At this time of such turmoil and disrepute we need to invest in a Parliament that can once again earn back the respect of the people whom we are elected to represent—a Parliament not for politicians or for the public purse but a Parliament for the people doing the job in the best way we can.