Sharples Pita: Third Readings 
Sharples Pita: Third Readings 
[Volume:643;Page:12835] 
Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
Tena koe Mr Deputy Speaker. This bill is being read in a context that reflects the fickle state of popular favour. If this bill had been read a month ago as the nation commemorated the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele the context of military action would have been described using words like courage sacrifice comradeship discipline and honour. A more dramatic contrast to that would be hard to find than the descriptions of military training that erupted from the depths of the Urewera Valley on what is now known as Black Monday—15October 2007. Suddenly military training became likened to guerrilla warfare with wild descriptions of balaclavas camouflage clothing napalm gel and paramilitary activity decorating the debate. 
Just an hour’s drive from Ruatoki one will arrive at Tukaki Marae in Te Kaha where Corporal Willy Apiata VC was recently celebrated in a grand event supported by the New Zealand Defence Force and Te PuniKokiri. Tukaki Marae also has strong links to Second Lieutenant Te Moananui-a-Kiwa Ngarimu who was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously for actions while serving with the 28thMaori Battalion in Tunisia. Fighting for the honour of the country or guerrilla wars—what is it to be? 
I raise those contrasts in perceptions because they seem to be central to the context in which military reform is to take place. The suite of bills that we are considering today in this third reading debate has been constructed in such a way as to promote core values of discipline consistency fairness efficiency and simplicity across the military system. I am particularly interested in the notion of consistency. How is it that “camo” clothing—the parachute pants with multiple pockets and zippers in colours that blend into the lay of the land—is considered to be acceptable across the pages of the 2007 fashion catalogues but is unacceptable when the people of the Tuhoe nation take it upon themselves to wear it? 
Indeed ironically camouflage clothing has in previous eras been associated with the direct opposite of war—that is peace. During the Viet Nam War for example protestors wore camouflage jackets with peace signs and anti-war slogans written on the backs. Activists made powerful fashion statements in taking on the clothes of soldiers from the very war they were speaking out against. Will the duck and game hunters and gatherers from deepest Canterbury be taken in for questioning if they dare to go shooting in clothes that carry the shading of the jungle? 
I mean no offence in raising these questions. They are questions that New Zealanders have emailed to me written to me or have rung me about over the last month. They have asked me why it is legitimate to enrol on the 6-week military training course and earn the title of Limited Service Volunteer in a programme run at Burnham Military Camp and sponsored by Work and Income yet a wananga run by Tuhoe is likened to a preparatory school for al-Qaeda. 
 This suite of bills amends the armed forces discipline legislation and reforms the military justice system in line with human rights law. And this of course is the greatest inconsistency of all: a Government that has denied indigenous rights and that is happy to disregard the human rights of citizens and children in our small rural communities makes on the other hand a great public pretence of being the biggest human rights defender of the South Pacific. 
We in the Maori Party of course are wholly supportive of the move signalled in this legislation to be compliant with national and international human rights law. We do believe that the proposals in this legislation better protect the human rights of people who face military justice. But one good piece of legislation does not make us a role model for human rights compliance. The proposals in the armed forces law reform legislation although positive can in no way justify New Zealand having the audacity to announce its candidacy for the United Nations Human Rights Council for the period 2009-12. 
It is also of interest to us in the Maori Party that despite the fact that Maori are strongly represented in the army and navy no briefing or advice on this legislation had been received from Te PuniKokiri. Once again the question must be asked as to why we have a department ostensibly set up to advise the Government about the impacts for Maori yet we do not ask it for informed comment on legislation such as this. In particular we would be interested in seeing what advice Te PuniKokiri could bring to bear on these four bills in relation to the application of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In that declaration article 30 states: “Military activities shall not take place in the lands or territories of indigenous peoples unless justified by a significant threat to relevant public interest or otherwise freely agreed with or requested by the indigenous peoples concerned.” So when we think of the purpose of these bills being to reform the military justice system in line with developments in human rights law we would of course presume that to be in line also with the human rights of indigenous peoples. 
Another key movement in these bills has been to respond to the anomaly of the existing practice that legal representation is excluded from the courts of inquiry in all cases. That has long been thought to be inconsistent with the right to natural justice so we welcome the assertion of rights that will make these bills compatible with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. In particular we welcome the initiative this legislation makes with regard to sections 24(c) and 25(a) of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. The House will recall that section 24(c) states that everyone charged with an offence has “the right to consult and instruct a lawyer” and section 25(a) states that everyone has “The right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial court.” The Maori Party supports therefore the amendments included in the bills which now better protect the human rights of those who take up the challenge of working for the military. 
Finally we are pleased to support the momentum ensuring that there will be consistency across all strategic environments in respect of the summary disposal systems. The existing law lacks any appeal system for summary disposals so the changes included in these four bills to ensure joint operational orientation across the army navy and air force are very positive. We believe that the key features of the four different bills included in this package will greatly enhance the efficiency of the military justice system in its first significant reform since the original Armed Forces Discipline Act came into force some 24 years ago. We support also the possibility of better justice for all and if these bills are the starting point in the military sector then the Maori Party is happy to lend its support to them at their final readings. Thank you.