Ferris TākutaTĀKUTA FERRIS (Te Pāti Māori—Te Tai Tonga): Tēnā koe e te Pīka. E tū ana au ki te wāhi i ngā kōrero mō Te Pāti Māori mō tēnei o ngā pire e mea nei ko te European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill. [Thank you Madam Speaker. I stand to open the statements for Te Pāti Māori about this one of the bills called the European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill.]I want to make the principles clear as to why Te Pāti Māori will not be supporting the bill at its first reading. Tangata whenua have long engaged in international trade. We're an enterprising people. In fact it was Māori who signed Aotearoa's first ever trade agreement in 1835 He Whakaputanga the Declaration of Independence so that Māori could continue to trade and export our goods overseas without being treated like pirates and having our ships detained. Throughout the majority of the 19th century Māori were the dominant economic partner in Aotearoa. Not only was He Whakaputanga the first free-trade agreement for Māori it was also the last as the balance of economic power and control in Aotearoa was forcibly removed from tangata whenua. Despite the fact that Māori culture is Aotearoa's biggest draw card and export—and is heavily exploited to provide competitive advantage value add and a point of difference—despite the fact that without whenua Māori Aotearoa would have no meat and dairy to export overseas or anything else that is grown on it or extracted from it the Crown continues to negotiate these trade agreements without us. Once again tangata whenua have been sidelined and treated as just another demographic for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to boast about or tag into their communications. Big statements about how Māori would be better off under this trade agreement is not partnership; it is not Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Any trade agreement that is not born off Te Tiriti o Waitangi is not legitimate in the eyes of Te Pāti Māori. While we acknowledge the potentially significant gains this free-trade agreement (FTA) could bring to New Zealand exporters it is yet another failed opportunity to re-imagine trade policy and move away from the colonial model that has been imposed on tangata whenua. We'd like to acknowledge the tangata whenua groups such as the Federation of Māori Authorities and Te Taumata who have endorsed and supported this FTA as they continue to strive to do the best for their people with the little leverage they receive from the Government. Te Pāti Māori's concern is that the Government alone decides the negotiating mandate what compromises are acceptable and the final text with no place at the table for Māori that is reflective of their role as the principal partner in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This is not at all surprising of course considering free-trade agreements have been used as a vehicle to advance colonialism while locking in indigenous peoples into capitalist systems of trade. This should not be news to anyone in this House. Whilst this is the first free-trade agreement with the EU to include a specific chapter on Māori trade the Treaty of Waitangi exception clause allowing more favourable treatment to Māori remains unchanged from previous free-trade agreements dating back to 2001. Despite decades of recommendations that more effective protections are needed and given the advances that the Māori economy has made since 2001 this just seems ridiculous at a time when Māori are more than 50 percent of forest and fish 20 percent of sheep and beef and 12 percent of dairy. The Māori trade chapter focuses only on the commercial interests for Māori but ignores wider concerns about the protection of our rights interests and intellectual property. There are also no provisions for the protection of mātauranga Māori from exploitation as we have seen with the use of the kupu mānuka". I could literally speak to this agreement and tear it apart for hours but nothing I'm saying is new to tangata whenua or this Government whose oversights have been deliberate. Aotearoa could lead the way on indigenous trade policy and intellectual property rights and this agreement was just another missed opportunity to do that. On the surface this is a good deal for New Zealand that Māori will see little to no benefit from in the long run. Beneath the surface however this is just another form of soft colonisation in 2024 and Te Pāti Māori will not be supporting the bill. Kia ora tātou."