Flavell Te Ururoa: Aviation Security Legislation Bill — First Reading 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Aviation Security Legislation Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:638;Page:8115] 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
Tena koe Madam Speaker kia ora tatou katoa iteneipo. One of the accusations that sometimes comes to us in the Maori Party is that our positions on bills seem predictable. If that is the case we stand guilty as charged. We apply a methodology that is not subject to the whims of political number crunching to every vote. Our interests are always in how we defend Maori rights and advance Maori interests for the benefit of the nation Aotearoa. We are not about being suppressed by Cabinet conventions or coalition conditions. Our position is a position driven by kaupapa and tikanga Maori. 
So how does this methodology apply within the context of provisions to enhance the security measures for New Zealand civil aviation? Well the relationship of our kaupapa is not always immediate but it is always relevant even if it takes a little bit of time to work through. We are always happy to do the hard work in order to ensure that a strong and independent Maori voice is brought to bear on every issue. 
First and foremost our concern is always to support initiatives that seek to create a clean safe and healthy environment in which the well-being of people is protected. Our belief in the value of kaitiakitanga entails an active exercise of responsibility in a manner beneficial to resources and the welfare of the people. We believe that aviation security threats lead to increased risk of danger whether in the national or international environment. We support the intention of the Minister for Transport Safety Harry Duynhoven to ensure that New Zealand can respond to such threats responsibly promptly and immediately. We seek also through the expression of manaakitanga to create an environment where the care and welfare of people is still important. So we look to the Aviation Security Legislation Bill to ensure that passengers and the families they may have left at home are not exposed to any security risks that could be addressed through the course of the legislation. 
We note the new groups of items that pose sufficient threat to safety concerns including items such as chemicals and electronic components that could be disguised in one form or another as weapons. We also welcome the consistency that will be applied through the bill in prohibiting dangerous goods traditional weapons potential weapons imitation weapons components of weapons and innocuous items and substances. The Maori Party notes the inclusion of traditional weapons in the list. This does cause us some concern and we will be asking some questions around the treatment of our traditional taonga. Does this mean for example that our patu our taiaha and our mere pounamu will now have to be removed from inside an aircraft and placed in the baggage hold? It is a question to which the Maori Party will be interested in seeing some sort of answer considered when the bill comes before a select committee. This may well be an area of interest that Te Whare TuTaua o Aotearoa the National School of Maori Weaponry should be consulted on further and we would be happy to facilitate such hui should the Minister wish to take up this idea. 
The key point is that there has been a revival in maurakau or the use of taiaha and in tikanga. The stories that go with our weaponry invest such taonga tuturu with considerable significance. They may have been passed down from generation to generation. In many cases they will carry the name of a tupuna and as such they are treated with the utmost respect. Many such taonga may be classified or interpreted as traditional weapons such as our patiti a whalebone-handled tomahawk or the tewhatewha a two-handed fighting weapon. Wrapping such taonga in plastic and shoving them in the baggage compartment of a 737 may thus bring more risks to one’s cultural essence than perhaps the bill anticipates. All we are saying is that there is an issue here that needs further consideration. 
We also suggest that it would be useful for the select committee to consider the value of a public education programme so that people are fully aware of the requirements that lead to the new procedures. We would expect that such a campaign would also include what is to be expected of passengers their rights and the consequences of certain actions they may take. 
The other issue we come to through the expression of manaakitanga is the anticipated impacts on staff of the increased compliance costs to airlines in increasing security measures. It is not as though this is an industry that needs any more industrial disruption. This House will recall that the threat of outsourcing of about 1800 ground services jobs has only just this month been resolved. The airline had wanted to contract the work to Spanish company Swissport International causing the Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union to take action to the Employment Court. It alleged that Air New Zealand acted in bad faith regarding consultation over its plans to contract out. A different union the Service and Food Workers Union has also strongly objected to the company’s proposal which it alleges will jeopardise the security of 300 check-in staff mostly at Auckland International Airport. With such a fragile employment environment it is essential that the impacts on staff operating at the international airports are taken into account. 
Such industrial turmoil is of course made worse by the fact that the same airline company recently announced a $109 million half-year pre-tax profit and a special share dividend of $105 million. The Government as the majority shareholder receives $83 million of that. Meanwhile back on the ground staff are being asked to take a $12 million cut in pay and conditions—an average of more than $7000 per full-time staff member. Although all these conditions and contractual risks are particular only to Air New Zealand they will of course be highly relevant to the likelihood of this bill being successful in its implementation. The threat of work being contracted out at lower terms and conditions the reality of staff working harder and the prospect that many staff will be offered a pay cut or the path to redundancy is already placing the sector under considerable stress. 
The analysis to which we subject every bill before we consolidate our position takes into account the influence and direction of kaupapa Maori the foundation principles of the Maori world and the bedrock from which we frame our analysis. So finally in relation to the kaupapa of rangatiratanga we caution that our sovereignty may be put at risk if in responding to the security paranoia of the United States we succumb to having American armed in-flight security officers on our planes amongst our people. I mention this as I have been aware of the trigger-happy nature of the Americans from tales related to me by my uncles and cousins who fought in World War II the Korean War and Viet Nam and more recently from what our Special Air Service troops have reportedly said of their experiences in Afghanistan. 
 In balance however we consider that the opportunity in front of us to ensure that New Zealand can participate in an international response to a threat to aviation security is one that requires our full support. The possibility of a risk to life being placed by passengers who take firearms explosives or dangerous weapons on board is simply too great for any member to disregard. The Maori Party will be supporting this bill. Kia ora tatou.