Mahuta Nanaia: Māori Language (Te Reo Māori) Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMahuta Nanaia: Māori Language (Te Reo Māori) Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 09 March 2016. Volume:711;Page:9562. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato): Tēnā tātou katoa tuatahi e tāpiri ana i aku whakaaro ki a rātou kua whetūrangitia rātou nō te kāinga tēnei ka tukuna aku mihi maioha: ki a pāpā Matua Dick Rākena nō Ngāti Tamaterā ki tērā rangatira rongonui o Te Whakatōhea a Ranginui Walker. Tērā kuia o tō mātou nei rangatira nō Waikato a Vivien Tapa nō Ngāti Korokī arā ki a koe Tāhuna ko koe tētehi o ngā māia hoki ngā toa kei waenganui i a Ngāti Kīato e moe e moe!E tū ana ki te whakatakoto i ētehi o ngā whakaaro e pā ana ki tēnei pire ki tēnei wāhanga o te pire. E tika ana e tautoko ana a Reipa i tēnei wāhanga me ngā momo kōrero kua puta mai i mua i te aroaro o Te Komiti Whiriwhiri. Mēnā ka whakarāpopotohia ētehi o ngā whakaaro ka penei te whakaputa atu. Ka nui te mihi atu ki a koe Minita. I whāia e koe te rori pikopiko nau i whakatinanahia tērā rotarota a Robert Frost. Ka nui te mihi atu ki a koe nā te mea i te tīmatatanga o tēnei wāhanga ka whakaaro ake te komiti me waiho. I tukuna te pire tuatahi kia mutu taua wāhanga ā tīmata anō koe ēngari nā runga i tō hiahia ki te whakapūmau ki te whakaū ki tērā hiahia o tō rangatira a Tā Pita ka haere tonu tēnei mahi ahakoa ngā piki me ngā heke ahakoa te roa rawa o ngā āhuatanga ki tēnei pire. Heoi anō he wāhanga anō mō te komiti hei āta wānanga i ngā nawe i puta mai i mua i tō mātou aroaro me te wawāhi i ngā kōrero kia āta whakaarohia ka pēwhea ka pēwhea anā kua kite koe i ētehi o ngā whakaaro o te komiti. Kua kite mātou ētehi o ngā whakaaro kua whakahokia mai e tō komiti motuhake ki waenganui i a mātou ā ka pai! Kua titiro ake ki te painga o tērā mahi ka nui te mihi atu ki a koe. Ko ēnei take kāre ano i tutuki pai i tā mātou komiti.I whakaaro mātou nā runga i te ngākau nui ki Te Reo Māori me kuhu tētehi wāhanga hei whakapāha atu a Te Karauna ki Te Iwi Māori mō ā rātou ture patu i tō tātou Reo Māori. Ahakoa i wānangahia tērā kāre i whai wāhi ki te whakatinana i tērā o ngā hiahia. Nō reira kāre i uru mai tētehi whakapāha mō tērā tūāhuatanga. Ko tētehi anō e pā ana ki ngā mahi a Te Taura Whiri me Te Māngai Pāho. Kua tae mai ētehi me ō rātou nei whakaaro me tū motuhake tonu aua tari me ā rātou nei mahi hei noho whakaruruhau ki te hāpai i ngā āhuatanga o Te Rautaki Reo Māori. Kei te pai kua kite i tērā!E pā ana ki ngā maihi. Kua whai whakaaro mātou ki tēnei tūāhuatanga mēnā ka tū Te Maihi Karauna me Te Maihi Māori ki te taha me kī ki te whakaatū atu ki Te Karauna me ngā iwi anei ngā pou o Te Whare ka pēwhea te whakatinanahia? Kei roto i tēnei pire ētehi o ngā wāhanga hei tuitui i ēnei rautaki kia whakatīnanahia tēnei tūāhuatanga mō Te Mātāwai. Ū kua tae mai ētehi o ngā tāngata nō te tāone me ō rātou nei hiahia me whakawāwāhitia tētēhi tūranga mō rātou nā kua tutuki tērā wāhanga. Koinā ētehi o ngā whakarāpopoto mō ngā tīnihanga hei whakamanatia me kī ngā nawe i haria mai i mua i te aroaro o te komiti. Ka tika me kōrero atu ki tērā!Ki roto i a au mēnā kei roto i tō whatumanawa Te Reo o ō mātua tūpuna kei reira te tīmatanga o tō tātou nei Reo Māori kia ora ai. Ahakoa ka whakaturengia tēnei pire ko te tino whakatinanahia o tēnei wawata o ō tātou nei mātua tūpuna kei waenganui i te whānau kei waenganui i tō iwi hei hāpai i tērā tūāhuatanga mō ngā whakatupuranga. Nō reira i tēnei wā ka nui te mihi atu ki ērā momo a Te Rangihau arā a Heikōkō Mataira a Ngāhina Teuira me Mīria Simpson ērā tangata e kaha ana i ō rātou wā i waenganui i ngā whare wānanga ki te kawe i ngā kaupapa pēnei ki mua i te aroaro o ngā tāngata ahakoa ko wai ahakoa nō whea. Kia kore ai au e noho tonu ki roto i Te Reo Māori ki te whakawhānui ake i ēnei kōrero ki te nuinga ka huri au ki te reo Pākehā.[Greetings everyone but first of all I add my thoughts and tributes to those from back home who have departed: to the father figure Uncle Dick Rākena of Ngāti Tamaterā and that widely acclaimed academic from Te Whakatōhea Ranginui Walker. To this matriarch of ours from Waikato Vivien Tapa of Ngāti Korokī and indeed to you Tāhuna one of the capable and bold ones amongst Ngāti Kīato rest sleep.I rise to express some views that relate to this bill. It is fitting that Labour endorse this part and the various thoughts that have been put before the Māori Affairs Committee which considered this bill. If these views were summarised this is how they would be expressed. I commend you highly the Minister for Māori Development. You chose a path that meandered this way and that but in doing so brought the world of Robert Frost to life. I really commend you because at the start of this process the committee had considered abandoning it but because of your commitment to ensure that the goal set by your former leader Sir Pita was fulfilled this process continued despite the ups and downs and regardless of the lengthy delays in regard to circumstances that concerned this bill. Nevertheless there was a part that came before the committee that had to be considered analysed and examined by the committee until a way forward was found. You have seen some of the conclusions the committee arrived at. We have seen some of the views expressed by your advisory group that it sent back for our consideration and that is fine. We have looked at the positives that came out of that collaboration and acknowledge your high input into those benefits Minister. Some of these issues have yet to be resolved by our committee.Because of the enthusiastic attitude towards the Māori language we considered that an apology from the Crown to Māoridom should be inserted because of the detrimental effect that its laws had on our Māori language. Despite the debate over it that one ofour wishes was not implemented. Another issue concerned the roles of the Māori Language Commission and the Māori Broadcasting Funding Agency. Some came with their views that the independent roles of these agencies should remain so that they can continue to foster and support aspects of the Māori Language Strategy. That is fine; we have seen that.Now in terms of the maihi. We have considered this situation: if the Crown and Māoridom maihi are placed on the side let us say to demonstrate to the Crown and Māoridom that here are the pillars of the house how will it be implemented? Contained in this bill are some sections that can be drawn together to manifest these strategies as far as Te Mātāwai is concerned. And so some people representing the interests of urban-based groups have arrived with their hopes that a position be brokered for them. This has been done. These are some of the summarised modifications shall we say to be mandated in terms of the grievances that were brought before the committee and which rightfully need to be addressed.In my personal view if you have the language of your ancestors in your heart that is where the revitalisation of our language will begin from. Even if this bill is mandated the manifestation of these aspirations of our ancestors is really within the family and the support of the tribe for future generations. Appropriately at this time I too would like to acknowledge the likes of Te Rangihau Heikōkō Mataira Ngāhina Teuira and Mīria Simpson who worked tirelessly in the universities to bring policies like these to the attention of all people regardless of who they were and where they were from. In order that I do not remain speaking only in Māori I do wish to elaborate on these statements to the wider audience in English.]This Māori Language (Te Reo Māori) Bill is an opportunity for us to I think ensure that its aims and intents reflect the highest aspirations of what we would like to see for this country and that is that Te Reo Māori is the flourishing language for every New Zealander. It is by no coincidence that just this morning we had two young women come before our Māori Affairs Committee with their aspiration to have a national day of significance—Māori and Pākehā coming together. We asked the question: in 20 years’ time if we were to have a day such as this commemorated what would New Zealand look like? Two words—proud united. As well Te Reo Māori is one of those types of issues that can ensure that every New Zealander is proud about where we come from and the place of our language in this country.Many changes were made to the bill. As I said previously we did try to encourage the Minister to actually dismiss the bill and start again—to give himself free rein so to speak. But the Minister was absolutely sure that notwithstanding the challenges of the imperfect bill that was tabled in this House he wanted to maintain the essence of what was trying to be achieved which is a new way forward for upholding our ambition to see Te Reo Māori as a language that all New Zealanders can draw from draw strength from and draw identity from but also uphold in a way that reflects the type of country that we are. It was not easy. It was not easy because there were a number of craggy issues and I have outlined some of them. In the Committee stage we will probably highlight in more detail some of those aspects but can I say that in terms of the substance of the changes they give us as the Māori Affairs Committee enough confidence to believe it is a starting place. It is by no means a finishing place.My colleague Peeni Henare identified that the review will be very significant because this is a new way forward. It is the first significant piece of legislation that will be written in Te Reo Māori and the status of Te Reo Māori within our legislative system will be elevated. It will be an opportunity for the Crown to think in a very uniform way about how it upholds its obligations to have targets and achieve some more uniform ways to embrace Te Reo Māori.More fundamentally than that it is an opportunity for New Zealand to consider its ongoing commitment to the indigenous language of this country. With that I still regret that the committee was not in a position to be able to come up with the type of apology that the Crown could make on Parliament’s behalf for the systemic destruction of our identity through the loss of language through the institutionalisation of the Native Schools Act and through English being the only language heard. All of us can tell a story about our grandparents being beaten for speaking Māori but I tell you what it did not beat it out of their hearts that they had to uphold their language. It is with regret that we could not do that as a very important gesture to show that we have moved on that this country is moving on and that Te Reo Māori should be a language that is normalised in the lexicon of every New Zealander no matter where they come from to stay here. This is a language that belongs to everybody. Nō reira ki a tātou katoa tēnā tātou. [And so thank you to us all.]