Davis KelvinHon KELVIN DAVIS (Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti): Tēnā koe Madam Speaker. Look there's one reason why the National Party will not agree to entrench the Māori seats and that's because they know they have absolutely no show of ever winning one of them so it's just political collateral to them.They would prefer though to surreptitiously throw their support in behind other parties to try and win them off the Labour Party but they would not set out themselves to contest those seats because they don't want to look like they are talking out both sides of their mouth.I'd like to quote Sir Taihākūrei Eddie" Durie in his submission when he says "The Māori seats in Parliament represent our Māori mana motuhake. They are the voice of our tūpuna and their claim that we should be recognised and represented on account of our indigeneity." Now for some of us the words "They are the voice of our tūpuna" are actually the voice of our tūpuna. Now I know two of the Māori members in Parliament right now whose tūpuna actually held a couple of the seats. One is my colleague my friend my nephew on one side of the whānau my uncle on the other side of the whānau the Hon Peeni Henare whose tupuna the Hon Tau Henare held the Northern Māori seat in the early part of the 20th century.Then there was also the second member of Parliament for Eastern Māori a man called Karaitiana Takamoana. Karaitiana had a daughter called Merehoka who had a son called Panapatuari who had a daughter called Maorapanapa who had a son called Walton Davis who had a son called Pānapa Davis who had the speaker who now has the floor. So our ancestors their voices were heard echoing around the walls of either this Chamber or the Chamber that preceded it. So for us as Māori the Māori seats are a taonga. They were held by our ancestors and we treasure them.I also want to turn to the submission of Apotoro Runanga Anaru Ratapu. He said "The seats are more than 150 years old and they carry the memory of individuals – including former Māori seat holders – the memory of movements – including the Rātana movement". Now every late January the National Party traipses up to Rātana there they put on a fine show of turning up and saying how much they support the start of the political year at Rātana and yet they don't actually stand and support the very cause that Tahupōtiki Wīremu Rātana promoted—that is the Māori seats.The submission continues "The seats embody this memory and hope by guaranteeing a kaupapa Māori voice in Parliament. Māori seat holders are exclusively accountable to Māori whereas general seat holders and list MPs are not. This makes the Māori seats unique." He goes on to say in his submission "Entrenching the Māori seats also ensures that the seats are given the same mana as the general seats." So here we have the National Party actually reinforcing unequal outcomes for Māori compared to the general seats. So what we're saying is that the entrenchment of the Māori seats—we believe that there should be a 75 percent majority that is needed before they can be overturned just like the general seats. We just think that this is equality.Andre Mason also he says in his submission "The establishment of the Māori seats are a step towards Crown achieving their partnership obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. In particular the equal rights and protection of the Māori people." But when he talks about the partnership obligations under Te Tiriti O Waitangi I raise this because as the Minister for Māori Crown Relations I tell the story about the Treaty of Waitangi being a bridge between the Māori world and the Pākehā world. In fact Nicky Wagner spoke before in talking about the seats bridging a gap. Now if Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a bridge between the Māori world and the Pākehā world the question is how far are people from the Pākehā world prepared to go to cross over that bridge into our Māori world and to understand why things are special for us: why we think feel speak and act in the way we do in our Māori world. What we're seeing now is the National Party refusing to cross over the bridge that is Te Tiriti o Waitangi and come into the Māori world and to understand why it is that we so treasure and so value the Māori seats.Article 5 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) which the National Party in 2009 made a big fuss about signing up to—they signed up to it but they never ever had any intention to honour what the UNDRIP stands for. But article 5 of the UNDRIP says "Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinct political legal economic social and cultural institutions while retaining their right to participate fully if they so choose in the political economic social and cultural life of the State." This is exactly what we're choosing to do. What Māori want is to be able to have the right to maintain and strengthen our distinct political institutions. One of those institutions—the way it's embodied in this House is by the seven Māori seats.Now I say that it is just not right for a major political party to want to treat the Māori seats differently to the general seats. All we're asking is for a fair go. All we're asking is for the same rights that are conferred upon general seats and the general population to be conferred on us in the Māori seats and the Māori population. I take my hat off to my colleague Rino Tirikatene who is carrying the same kaupapa that I think Matiu Rata carried Parekura Horomia and he did mention another name. Sorry I—Hon Willie Jackson: Mita Ririnui.Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Mita Ririnui the Hon Mita Ririnui. They've all carried this and it's always failed. There's always been a stumbling block and the stumbling block is sitting across the aisle from us. They need to change their minds their attitude. If they want to be true Treaty partners then they actually need to have a good look at this and ask what is so wrong about it. There's been nothing that the Hon Nicky Wagner said today that convinces us that they have any valid reasons other than—in my humble opinion—they just know they're not going to win the seats. They know they're not going to have a chance of ever winning the seats. They know that Māoridom just doesn't back them so they're not prepared to back our people. And I say that that's wrong and I think that the National Party really needs to re-examine the stance they're taking on this issue. It's just a matter of fairness—fairness for Māori. Do the right thing is what I say to them.I mean I say to the Māori members across from us just do the right thing. Stand up for your people; that's all I'm saying. Stand up for your people. Speak up for your people. The Māori members of the National Party know that this is what our people want. They just need to do it. They just need to have the intestinal fortitude to get up and do something and do what's right for their people. So it's highly disappointing to hear that the National Party isn't going to support the entrenchment of the Māori seats—it's highly disappointing. It's not surprising and I just believe that the Māori members of the National Party really should have stood up to their leader. Then I forget that yes that's right the leader of the National Party is Māori the deputy leader of the National Party is Māori but they're not doing what's right by Māori.I'm looking forward to hearing in the rest of the debate the reasons—I'm looking to be convinced but I just don't think that there are any arguments that the National Party can put up that are going to convince us that their position on this bill is the right position. Kia ora."