Hauiti Claudette: Maiden StatementsText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHauiti Claudette: Maiden Statements[Sitting date: 12 June 2013. Volume:691;Page:11084. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]CLAUDETTE HAUITI (National):Ko Whetūmataurau me Rākaumangamanga ngā maunga. Ko Karakatūwhero te awa me Tangaroa te moana. Ko Tutua me Rāwhiti ngā marae. Ko Ngāti Ruataupare me Ngāti Kuta ngā hapū. Ko Ngati Porou me Ngāpuhi ngā iwi. Ko Claudette Hauiti ahau. Ehara taku toa he takitahi he toa takitini.[The mountains are Whetūmataurau and Rākaumangamanga. The river is Karakatūwhero and the ocean is Tangaroa. The courtyards are Tutua and Rāwhiti. The subtribes are Ngāti Ruataupare and Ngāti Kuta. The tribes are Ngati Porou and Ngāpuhi and I am Claudette Hauiti. My strength is not that of a single warrior but rather of many. ]I come not alone but accompanied by the many—those who have passed those who have yet to breathe life on this earth and those who are here with me today by thought and by presence. I acknowledge my whānau and friends who have travelled to Pōneke to be with me today. Ki āku whānau me ngā hoa tēnā koutou katoa.[To my family and friends I salute you all. ]This afternoon I rise before the House full of gratitude to the Prime Minister the Rt Hon John Key the National Party board president Peter Goodfellow and past presidents Michelle Boag and John Slater without whose support I would not be here today.I come to the House with all that I have: my whānau my iwi my people my life’s experiences. I am Ngati Porou and Ngāpuhi by birth and by blood. I am explicitly Māori and unequivocally a New Zealander. I would like to acknowledge my whanaunga and colleagues the Hon Tau Henare and the Hon Hekia Parata. I would also like to mihi the Hon Tariana Turia the Hon Pita Sharples and co-leader of the Green Party Metiria Turei. To my Māori colleagues across the parties tēnā koutou katoa.I come to this House in all humility as a descendant of Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti and although one of our most revered rangatira has passed from this world it is with the greatest honour and humbleness that I can continue to carry the tribe’s name and to honour the Hon Parekura Horomia. E te rangatira haere haere haere atu rā.My views have been shaped by the many people who have touched my life. My mother Josephine Lucus and father Jerry Teretiu Hauiti left their rural roots of Moerewa and Te Araroa for better lives. In the late 1950s they migrated to Auckland along with 25000 other Māori chasing their dreams of getting a job buying a house and seeing their children get the best education possible. My parents lived in Māori boarding houses in Parnell in Ponsonby and then in Harding Street in Auckland City. Friday and Saturday nights they ballroom-danced at the Orange Hall and the Māori Community Centre and on Sundays they got politicised at Tātai Hono Anglican Church on Khyber Pass Road. On weekdays my parents worked at lolly factories as machinists on the wharf at the freezing works on the roads and on the railways.The more Māori migrated the more they experienced socio-cultural upheaval—a loss of language dislocation from papakāinga disconnection from whānau. What we saw instead was a gravitation to alcohol and drugs while some substituted traditional whānau for life with patched gangs. Sadly we are still experiencing the fallout of that era where manual mahi went from boom to bust and lay-offs spread through our people like wild weeds and we are now trying to unbundle the stranglehold of dispiritedness that comes with intergenerational unemployment and social welfare dependency. Today too many of our precious babies are dying too many of our wāhine are being bashed and our tāne are in jail.It is education employment and building strong economic foundations that will help lift the spirits the hearts and the minds to break the shackles of dependency. With God-given strength my father turned his sights to education where—he reinforced in us his children—lay the answers to many of life’s challenges. A solid education would give you options. Good results would get you opportunities. An education would allow you independence freedom to choose and the ability to make wiser choices.Options opportunities independence underpinned by perseverance determination personal responsibility—these are the attitudes I have inherited. There is a whakataukī: “Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tuohu koe me he maunga teitei”—strive for the highest peak and if you must bow let it be to the loftiest mountain. To me this means having a dream and following it backing yourself as a winner.As a business owner working in the commercially aggressive television broadcast industry it demanded innovation strategic acuity and ingenuity. I am proud to say that my company was part of the $10 billion Māori contribution to New Zealand’s GDP. In fact small to medium sized enterprises are the backbone of the New Zealand economy. Small companies like the very successful start-up operation Kapu Tī Productions run by Brent Job-Iremonger and Michelle Lee are an example of great product—simple smart durable. Brent Michelle and Kapu Tī Productions are Kiwi know-how Māori can-do New Zealand at work.I come to Parliament rich in knowledge and wealthy in experiences working for living with learning from and loving a diverse range of people. With gratitude I acknowledge my colleague Louisa Wall Labour MP for Manurewa for introducing themarriage equality bill to the House. Ki a koe e te tuahine. Tēnā koe. And to all of those who voted in favour I thank you. The fundamental principle of equality is one law for all.To the takatāpui community my friends my queer family Rangitūnoa Black and Mihirāwhiti Schranke who taught me that the strength in being takatāpui is in knowing you are Māori and Michael Gullery whose gentle nurturing of minds reinforces our valued place in Aotearoa New Zealand and is worthy of great celebration—you are my mentors.I would like to take this moment to remember some of our whānau who have departed this world: Rangi Chadwick Bossie Mana Jason Rāmeka—loyal trusted friends all talented young men steeped in Te Reo me ngā tikanga—and Kuini Mihaere a gifted and generous artist. Haere haere haere atu rā.Thanks to the takatāpui community I bring to this House and my Government the strength of courage to overcome adversity tolerance in the face of rejection acceptance where there is love and an ability to recognise diversity as being the fabric that makes up this young beautiful nation. If we go forward as a nation united in our diversity then we do so with purpose and with passion. We may not agree with one another’s policies processes or procedures. We are not a homogenous people but I respect the right of anyone to voice their opinion and I welcome the opportunity to debate robustly.The ability to challenge with vigour with passion and with authenticity all the while preserving the integrity of your opposition is what I learnt from my dear friend and colleague Willie Jackson—shrewd witty astute. I count myself fortunate to have worked with one of the sharpest political commentators in New Zealand.My broadcasting career was launched through the generosity of Dame June Jackson Willie’s mum. If not for her funding of my very first television programme for TV3 my career may very well have floundered. In fact Dame June Jackson assisted in the rehabilitation of some of the country’s most notorious criminals. She did it because she felt compelled she did it because no one else would she did it because they were whānau.Strong whānau breeds strong communities and for me my Ngāpuhi cousins have given to me unconditional love. My Nathan Haunui and Kōmene cousins showed me the beauty of eeling the joy in creek swimming and the thrill of rat shooting at the Moerewa tip. To my Ngati Porou girl cousins Jodi Īhaka Ērana Reedy Nērina Howe and Kath Ākuhata-Brown for your grown-up advice on business and on how to craft great stories I thank you.When asked “Why are you here?” I think of my sisters Rosina and Loraine and my brother Michael whose honesty hard work and integrity inspire me to contribute positively to this growing nation. When asked “Why are you here?” I think of my mum my father my stepfather Pita Mōrunga—a generation of Māori who came to town for a better life so that we the children could prosper. I do not want their sacrifices to count for nothing.When asked “What do you have to offer?” I say I can offer a strong sense of loyalty to my Prime Minister my colleagues and my Government. When asked “What do you wish to achieve?” I say that I wish to continue the legacy left by my father to work hard to build a strong economic future where business innovation thrives and ingenuity is celebrated and encouraged. When asked “What do you wish to achieve?” I say that I wish to continue building tolerance and compassion and to celebrate diversity as an integral part of this nation.To my beautiful wife Nadine for 25 years you have given me unreserved love and three beautiful tamariki. To Kiamana your perseverance is an inspiration to me. Te Ua your individuality is something to be cherished. And to our darling beautiful littleManawa you are the centre of our universe. Nō reira nāku te rourou nāu te rourou ka ora ai te iwi.[With your basket and my basket the people will live. ]Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.WaiataSitting suspended from 5.58 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.