Flavell Te Ururoa: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:645;Page:14313] 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 Kia ora Madam Assistant Speaker. Kia ora tatau nga mihi nui ki a tatau i te timatanga o tenei tau hou ao Pakeha nei. 
[ 
Greetings Madam Assistant Speaker. Greetings to us and a huge one at that at the start of this new year of the Pakeha world. 
] 
Ten days ago some 8000 expatriate New Zealanders celebrated Waitangi Day in London with a rendition of that famous haka “Ka Mate! Ka Mate!”. That action demonstrated their difference from others who live in London and it reminded them of who they are where they are from and the home from which they come. But if we were to believe all the reports that come across our desk we would all be wondering what sort of home it is that we inhabit here in Aotearoa. 
The month of January as we know was not good—enough perhaps to make people want to pack their bags. We heard about a shocking crime wave which provoked a list of causes and explanations ranging from the adverse effects of alcohol to Christmas stress a hot summer a full moon and so on. As we lower the microscope on our nation the public picture has been quite frequently negative. What sort of home are we offering when seven of the 10 people killed in the first month of this year were under the age of 30? Well the Salvation Army is just one group that provides a view on Aotearoa. Its  
State of the Nation Report 
 described us as a nation that is “chronically indebted”. It details how homeownership rates have dropped and incomes have risen only modestly. These are the sorts of facts that we cannot ignore and we need to address them. 
But we should also acknowledge some of the positives and they may not have anything to do with what we do here in Parliament. For example there is the number of kura seeking to nurture new ideas to stimulate creativity and to inspire the generations of tomorrow; and there are the achievements of health and social service providers who value family and community ties. I do not wish to minimise the trauma and brutality that are associated with the impact of violence in our community. I welcome the commitment made to community groups working to address these issues and I commend the community and voluntary sector for its dedication in building a safer society. But we must not ignore the greatest majority of our young people and the greatest majority of our families with a focus on and preoccupation with the noisy exceptions. 
Of course we must address the causes and consequences of boy racers violent offenders taggers and others on the margins of our community but it is vital that we pay heed to those who have the answers—those involved in our communities those who hear the dreams and those who care. To that end the Maori Party calls for a genuine progress index which would count the social and environmental costs and benefits of economic activity. It would evaluate the impact of an economy that delivers on tax cuts but may at the same time be incurring hidden losses such as depleted fisheries dirty rivers gridlocked cities and damaged families. 
As an example a full cost-accounting analysis of the brand new plan to build 3000 new homes on Housing New Zealand Corporation land in the Tamaki suburbs of Glen Innes Point England and Panmure reveals a range of issues other than the desire to create the affordable home. As the Housing New Zealand Corporation chair Pat Snedden himself admitted a couple would need to earn at least $70000 to service a mortgage on some so-called affordable homes. What appears to be overlooked however in this bright new plan is the fact that the average household income for Maori families living in Tamaki-makau-rau based on 2006 data is $60000—that is $10000 short of the magic threshold. Barriers to Maori owning their own homes include not only low incomes but also the high levels of debt that people are accumulating poor access to information about home buying difficulty raising a deposit and of course rising house prices. For many Maori and Pasifika peoples this housing is not affordable housing yet these are the very people who need the new housing the most. Who will benefit most from this proposal? Will it be Maori and Pasifika families or private investors who will reap the rewards of improved property values? How does the sense of community identity fare in the decision to hand over parts of Tamaki to developers? 
The Maori Party would be one of the first to acknowledge the desire for progress the call to stimulate better employment and economic opportunities and the wish of the people to take advantage of health and educational opportunities and to live in safety. True progress will allow people to benefit from better access to homeownership while also maintaining community values and harmony. We want to know that our homes are protected and indeed that the land we call home remains ours and is not up for sale to the highest bidder.