Davis KelvinHon KELVIN DAVIS (Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti): Thank you Mr Speaker. Melissa Lee had five minutes then and spoke for 3½ minutes about herself her puppies her driver's licence and a golf simulator. I think that's indicative of what the National Party stands for: themselves. E te Māngai o te Whare tōku hiahia kia whakapuaretia tēnei wāhanga ki te mihi atu ki a koe. E puku pai ana te hāte ko koe te Māori tuarua kia tae ki tēnei tūranga nā reira e mihi kau ana ki a koe e te tuakana e Adrian. [To the Speaker I want to open this section by acknowledging you. I am very proud you are the second Māori to make it to this role so I congratulate you my senior Adrian.]Mr Deputy Speaker I'd like to acknowledge yourself but also the Speaker Adrian Rurawhe—and acknowledge that he is the second Māori to hold this position. As we say in Ngāpuhi E puku pai ana te hāte"—it means the heart swells with pride. I'd just like to acknowledge Adrian Rurawhe and the job he has done as our Speaker. I'd also like to thank the Clerks our security staff the hospitality staff and all of the staffers across all the business units here at Parliament and the wonderful staff in our offices and in our electorates. This term in Government has really reinforced why I wanted to get into politics and why joining the Labour Party was a no-brainer to me. We've been tackling inequities head on fighting for workers' rights working hard for all of our communities—especially those who are marginalised. We've done that and will continue to do that in our next term as Government. Under the leadership of Chris Hipkins we've been able to build on all the mahi that was started under our former leader Jacinda Ardern.Mr Speaker you have heard today about the massive wins we have achieved under this Government for all New Zealanders but I want to focus particularly on the work that we have done for Māori. As Prime Minister "Chippy" proudly mentioned in the House this week we have a lot to be proud of: Te Aka Whai Ora - Māori Health Authority; the 145 percent increase in funding for Whānau Ora since 2017—that's 145 percent increase in funding. The doubling of the number of ākonga studying Māori language immersion at levels 3 and 4 and more than 32 percent increase in schools offering it. I also want to add the record investment into Māori education under this Government: that's been more than $1 billion over the last five years. We have achieved pay parity for kōhanga reo teachers and it is absolutely uplifting to the soul to hear a kōhanga reo teacher—a kaiako—say that her salary has doubled under this Government. We have 1000 fewer Māori in prison. We're seeing a significant reduction in tamariki Māori entering care in the last five years; uplifts have decreased by 70 percent. We have the least number of young people in Oranga Tamariki care since 2010—the numbers who are entering care have reduced to the lowest point since 2004. We have had the biggest investment ever into Te Matatini and something I'm especially proud of is Matariki. We now have a public holiday that we can truly say is not just for Māori but for all New Zealanders because being able to reflect on the past celebrate the present and prepare for the future are universal aspirations and we can do that regardless of the culture or the ethnicity that we come from. Since Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki was launched two years ago there's been a huge uptake in New Zealanders who want to celebrate it in their own way and I can see that there will be other ways in the future that all New Zealanders can celebrate Matariki. We produced those little karakia booklets that are in Māori and English with an explanation about what each star does. In the future I see those being translated into other languages—into Korean into Samoan into Chinese into French—so that all New Zealanders from their cultures can celebrate this uniquely New Zealand way and make it even more unique through their ethnicity and their cultural groups their people celebrating it. We noticed that while Mr Christopher Luxon shied away from celebrating Matariki he got on the waka that went up to Takaparawhau—that's Bastion Point—with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei to welcome in the Māori New Year and I congratulate him on that small concession.But everything that we've done is at risk with a potential ACT-National Government because they want to scrap the Māori Health Authority despite practitioners and academics all saying that this is a step in the right direction. I want to remind them that it's not OK that myself my whānau my nephews my nieces—we will probably die seven years earlier than any other New Zealander simply because we are Māori. It's not OK that Māori wait longer for operations. It's not OK for Māori to be denied access to healthcare. The facts are the facts and for the Opposition to accuse this of being race-based policy it sends a message that not only are they OK with the status quo—OK with Māori dying seven years earlier—but they are in fact defending the status quo and we will not stand for it. A huge concern that we all should share is the ACT Party want to rewrite the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. David Seymour fails to recognise that under the founding document of our country we're able to build nationhood; we're able to really come together under the promises subscribed in Te Tiriti. I always talk about how when Kāwanatanga the article 1 proposition and rangatiratanga the article 2 proposition come together that's when we'll see the magic happen. And that is about New Zealanders coming together; it is not about divisive race-based policies. So sadly their proposed rewrite of the principles eliminates rangatiratanga which then means that the cosignatories to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840 just will be written out and their place is jeopardised. Māori as cosignatories to Te Tiriti are a minority and historically have a deep mistrust of the system because the guarantees were not upheld. It's not just Te Tiriti o Waitangi Mr Seymour wants to do away with; it's the Ministry for Pacific Peoples it's the Ministry for Women it's the Ministry for Ethnic Communities and it's the Human Rights Commission. Although it might be hard for him to grapple with the reality is that we all have different starting positions in the race of life. That's why we've worked hard to bridge the gap and to ensure that all New Zealanders are not just relegated to trying to survive but to thrive. Mr Seymour reminds everyone of his Ngāpuhi ancestry whenever it's convenient so I'd like to share with him a proverb from our tūpuna and it goes "He aha kē ahau e tū nei kia whakawātea e koe te tangata tāhae te tangata kore tikanga? Ka tika ake māku kē koe e whakawā ki runga i ōku tikanga. Kotahi anake te tatūtanga: ko te tika me te pono."—that translated means why is it that I as a Māori am judged by Pākehā people who have taken my land and my possessions by dubious means? It would be more appropriate for me to judge you according to my customs and there would be but one outcome and that is the truth.So I challenge the ACT Party and I challenge Mr Seymour to go and speak to his Māori people in our cultural context on our marae where our customs prevail where our language is heard where our traditional world view is experienced and justify to them kanohi ki te kanohi—face to face—on his and their side of the bridge that is Te Tiriti o Waitangi why he wants to write rangatiratanga out of Te Tiriti. On that note I reserve my final comments for te Iwi Māori. Kei te kapu o ō koutou ringaringa kia tohu ko wai ka tū hei Kāwanatanga ā muri i ngā kōwhiringa pōti: whakamahia. Toro atu ki tō whānau ki ō hoa ki tō hapori kia puta atu ki te pōti. Tairangatia. Nō reira e aku rangatira ngā mema o tēnei Whare te Mana Whakawā tēnā rā tātou katoa.[In the palm of your hands is the power to decide who will stand as the Government following the elections: use it. Reach out to your family your friends your community to get out to vote. Promote it. Therefore my noble leaders the members of this House Mr Speaker my thanks to all of us.]"