Flavell Te Ururoa: General Debate 
Flavell Te Ururoa: General Debate 
[Volume:672;Page:18346] 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 The Black nationalist leader Malcolm X once said that “Sitting at the table doesn’t make you a diner unless you eat some of what’s on the plate.” It made me think about the unique and independent Maori voice that the Maori Party brings to the table every hour every day here in Parliament. What we bring to the table is the opportunity for Maori to participate at the highest level and for voices to be heard. We bring in our kete whakatauaki pepeha and korero tawhito if you like the cultural capital of tangata whenua. 
Hon David Parker 
: Sold out! 
TE URUROA FLAVELL 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I gave the gentleman the right to have a clear run in his speech. I do not mind a bit of heckling but can we just tone it down please if that is all right? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I ask members to be reasonable. I do not think they are being too bad I have to confess but I ask members to be a little bit reasonable. 
TE URUROA FLAVELL 
: Really? Kia ora mai. 
We look to our tikanga—not like some people—and our kaupapa to guide us in our responses. In short we recognise our indigeneity and the indigeneity of others as the strength of the many peoples who live in this land. 
The question that is being debated right now is whether the Maori Party should sit at the table. I say “Hell yeah!”. Do we have something to offer? Absolutely. It is about being clear about our purpose and our unique branding—Maori. Of course there are options at the table: the Greens the blues and the reds. Over the last week other options have appeared to the far right and to the far left of the spectrum bringing with them the interests of corporates socialists unionists and others simply looking for a home. 
For us the Maori Party there has never been any doubt. Our reason for being is to advance the solutions of our people tangata whenua. Those are the solutions they have shared with us. It is about promoting Maori enterprise and entrepreneurship for the unique difference that they have made to our nation’s economy and encouraging the Government to learn from that legacy. I think that was summed up best by Dr Apirana Mahuika last night in a pretty powerful korero he was having with the Prime Minister. He reminded politicians and political parties that although they are here for the now and then iwi are here for ever. Iwi have no other place to go; Aotearoa is our natural home and our history is the history of this nation. That is just like mana. Mana can rise and fall and indeed be lost but Maori are here for ever. The greatest task ahead of us as the Maori Party therefore is to persuade Ministers of the powerful presence and potential of having tangata whenua at the table. 
The question might be asked about whether it is better to be on the outside throwing stones and otherwise and pointing out the inevitable or putting our hands up to say we are here for the long haul working on solutions and crafting a positive future? I say the latter. The Maori Party has always said that we exist to defend Maori rights and advance Maori interests for the betterment of all New Zealanders in this land. In doing so we are proud of the benchmark for progress that we believe is established in kaupapa Maori. 
In his book written in 2003 Professor Mason Durie explained this approach. He said “Maori progress whether in commerce education or science could not be accomplished without taking cognisance of Maori values and the realities of modern Maori experience. In other words Maori development was not solely about making economic progress or reducing state obligations towards Maori; it was also about being able to retain a Maori identity and formulate development according to Maori aspirations.” So we continue to see every issue discussed in this House as a Maori issue. 
We will demand that the call of the people to determine their own answers is responded to as we have seen with Whanau Ora. We will ensure that in areas where Maori have not been able to access the opportunities they are entitled to there is strength in numbers to bring the Maori world view to the debate. We saw that yesterday with the establishment of Nga Pu Waea a working-group to advise on Maori interests and development opportunities in broadband. 
Despite the desire of some in this House to relegate Te Tiriti o Waitangi to history we embrace it as the founding document of the nation which we see with the work on the constitutional review. When the Crown has not treated mana whenua with the respect it should we will not stop until that is addressed and a pathway forward is traversed. We hope we will see that appearing now in relation to the interface between Te Whanau-a-Apanui Ngati Porou the Crown and Petrobras. 
We are here for change we are here to keep our word and we are here for the long haul. To make the difference that is needed we will work constructively with any major party. We will sit at the table. We will always work hard in the best interests of our people. Our challenge as the Maori Party is to open the door. As long as we are in this place it is a challenge that we will work very hard to live up to in every which way we can.