12. Question No. 12—Māori DevelopmentRAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori) to the Minister for Māori DevelopmentQuestion No. 12—Māori Development12. RAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori) to the Minister for Māori Development: Ko taku pātai ki te Minita Whanaketanga Māori ahakoa he moumou taima. [My question is to the Minister of Māori Development though it may be a waste of time.] Does he believe that his statement that in every area of New Zealand society we have institutional racism" includes the Government and Government departments; if not why not?Hon WILLIE JACKSON (Minister for Māori Development): In terms of institutional racism there's no doubt that it is right across the spectrum in terms of New Zealand society. As far as Government and Government departments go we have responded positively to the challenge over the last 3½ years. I'm proud of the way this Government is not afraid to roll out programmes that advance the interest of Māori and in doing so we are addressing the huge inequities—Hon Simon Bridges: Labour Party largesse.Hon WILLIE JACKSON: —in the system Mr Bridges.Rawiri Waititi: What programmes or initiatives is this Government actively pursuing to stop racism against tangata whenua unconscious or otherwise in their Government in Government departments?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: We have a number of programmes that are addressing inequity and racism. I think that our support for what Minister Davis is doing in the corrections area is incredibly important and that change in having prisoners address their culture is incredibly important. The Māori Health Authority is a statement about tino rangatiratanga and by Māori for Māori. Right across the spectrum we are seeing examples of this and as we all know it's irritating the National Party very much.Rawiri Waititi: How are these programmes being measured and by whom and what recommendations from the He Puapua report that this Government commissioned have been agreed to?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Taking the second part of the question—nothing from the He Puapua report has been agreed to. The He Puapua report is an introduction in terms of a kōrero—it's a starting kōrero. I thank that group very much for the mahi that they have done but we've got a lot of work to do that is not Government policy but we will be developing that later on. And I forgot the first part of your question.Hon Kelvin Davis: To the Minister: what advice would he have for organisations that are clearly suffering from institutionalised racism who have few Māori amongst their ranks who have little or no knowledge of Te Tiriti whose leadership constantly refuses the need to support Māori aspirations—SPEAKER: Order! Order! The member was probably right for about one of the—you're allowed one leg to a supplementary; there were about three there and I think the member went—no I'm not going to let him answer it. The member went well off track and was a bit too transparent.Tāmati Coffey: What steps has the Government taken to address some of the inequities that Māori face?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: We have been a very supportive Government in terms of te ao Māori. We're addressing the inequities that Māori are facing every day. We've addressed the wonderful Māori social procurement target for the public sector to improve the barriers that Māori have in its accessing contracts—in fact 5 percent. We've put record investment into Whānau Ora and Mr Waititi should be very supportive of that. To support by Māori for Māori solutions we've announced the Māori Health Authority to address inequities Māori face in the health system. And I have to say we're very proud to have announced Matariki and also our commitment to teach New Zealand history both Māori and Pākehā in our schools—and Pasifika.Rawiri Waititi: Why did the Government transfer this question from the Prime Minister when the question directly asked for her views on whether racism exists within her Government and Government departments?SPEAKER: Order! That question's not in order. This is not a responsibility of this Minister.Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Point of order please. Why is the Speaker allowing the racism that is coming into this House in the treatment of tangata whenua that we've been experiencing and listening to solidly for the last two days?SPEAKER: Well I'm assuming that that's a point of order. Applying the rules or the kawa of this House to all members is not something I regard as racist.Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Point of order please. I do want to clarify: is Te Tiriti respected in the basis of this Government and this House or not?SPEAKER: Well that is certainly the subject of a PhD dissertation and not an off-the-cuff Speaker's ruling. [Interruption] The member I think knows that if she tries again she's being disorderly. Now I know that her colleague likes being disorderly and likes being tossed out but I don't really want to do it to her.Rawiri Waititi: Point of order. You were saying that the answers are for the betterment of the whole of New Zealand. Over the last two days all I have heard is Māori Māori Māori bashing in this House. [Interruption] We don't hear Pākehā—we only hear Māori Māori Māori bashing. So we want an explanation of why that is happening.SPEAKER: I think members pointing fingers at each other doesn't really help in this particular circumstance. I think the questions the answers and the debate is a responsibility for the members who take part and the question of racism is something that I look out for very carefully. I think it's fair to say though that people have different standards and balancing racism against the ability of members to express their views and the right to free speech in this House is something that requires a balance. Certainly it's something which I would take a lot of care on intervening on. I think if the member is unhappy with the actions of particular members then the appropriate thing to do is to seek appointments with them and to talk it through with them. But I think from this point we run the risk of becoming disorderly. The member I understand has one further supplementary question. Does he wish to use it?Rawiri Waititi: No.Hon Aupito William Sio: To the Minister why is it important for you to tackle institutional racism that arises from this House?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: I want to—SPEAKER: I'm sorry; I'm going to ask the member to repeat the question. I was slightly diverted.Hon Aupito William Sio: I'm asking the Minister: why is it important for him to tackle institutional racism head-on that arises from this House?SPEAKER: Order! It might be around the edge of his responsibilities but it is my responsibility in some ways and individual members' but it's not something that this Minister has responsibility for."