Laban Luamanuvao Winnie: Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
Laban Luamanuvao Winnie: Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
[Volume:654;Page:3644] 
Hon LUAMANUVAO WINNIE LABAN (Labour—Mana) 
: 
 Kia ora talofa lava and warm Pacific greetings. I am very pleased to stand in this Chamber to support Carol Beaumont’s amendment to insert new Part 10. 
I want to put forward a bit of history from a Pacific woman’s perspective in relation to the importance of being a good employer and having good personnel policies that acknowledge and look after the diversity of our communities and our country. Pacific unemployment has gone up from 8 percent to 13.7 percent yet Auckland is the biggest Polynesian city in the world. I will talk about a personal story to put it in context. I say hello to my mother who is 80 years old and is watching us on television. Mum came over from Samoa in the 1950s. She worked as a shorthand typist for the Department of Social Welfare and she managed to become the manager of 30 women. She became the first Pacific equal employment opportunities coordinator in that department together with Elsie Ellison of Ngati Porou who was the first Maori equal employment opportunities coordinator. The point about having those communities represented in the workplace is that it means there is a better connection with those communities. Having them represented ensures that they participate and have information but more important it ensures that the needs of those communities and some creative responses and innovation can be part of the mix. 
I am very very proud to say to the Minister of Local Government that it is important in this debate to honour the contribution that Pacific people have made to this country. We should think of the big picture. I think of the Rugby World Cup. Who plays in our rugby team? Who plays in the New Zealand Warriors and in the Kiwi netball team? Who won the Lexus opera competition last week? It was a Kiwi-born Samoan. Who heads Black Grace? It is Neil Ieremia from Cannons Creek who now lives in Auckland. Jonah Lomu and all those other people came from very humble beginnings. 
It is those workers who need to be looked after. It is about value for money but it is also about value for people. It is really important that we address that issue in terms of work workers’ rights and better investment to support those workers to lift their capability. It is also important to have an organisation that reflects the look of Auckland because that is good for New Zealand good for the Pacific and good for the world. Our whole community like any other community has contributed to “New Zealand Inc.” New Zealand is very very well known all over the world in terms of its Maori Pacific Asian and Pakeha contributions. Each contribution enhances us. Unless those groups are reflected in the workplace not just at the level of a cleaner but at the management level where decisions are made the delivery of the agency will be ineffective and fall short of its responsibility. 
I stand as a New Zealand - born Pacific woman. I am very proud to be a Kiwi. Pacific people are very proud of our country. We do not want to be honoured just for playing good rugby; we have a contribution to make in terms of the economy and our society. Our people like those in many other communities work extremely hard no matter what job we do. We see examples of that in Parliament from bottom to top. It is important that we look after our people because they contribute to the economy and they contribute enormously in terms of social capital too. They do a lot of voluntary work in the areas of sports culture spirituality and faith. Those areas are all part of the package. 
I congratulate Carol Beaumont on her vision of creating personnel policies that are not token gestures or responses but actually enhance are integral to and reciprocate the enormous contribution that Pacific people have made to this country. After all Aotearoa is part of the Pacific. Thank you.