Flavell Te Ururoa: General Debate 
Flavell Te Ururoa: General Debate 
[Volume:675;Page:21286] 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Speaker. Because we will talk about the Rugby World Cup tomorrow let me take members to another place. I will talk about today in history. 
I for one have had the honour and privilege of meeting and talking to Corporal Willie Apiata VC. There is something special about that man that is hard to describe. There is sort of an awe a mana to him. I am sure that Mr Speaker would have come across that having met him. Although he is not someone who wants to share the spotlight too much in any sort of way on receiving the Victoria Cross he had some really good messages which I want to share with everyone. He explained that we are all carriers of information and he says that his aim before they start shovelling the soil on top of him is to hand over to the young people what he has been taught because it does not belong to him. It was passed down by the people he grew up with and they did not keep it to themselves. 
I like to think that Maori Party members share the same philosophy with Corporal Willie Apiata. We acknowledge the past for the progress that has been made to date. We do our best to ensure that goals are being met and that new goals continue to be set always in the pursuit of rangatiratanga the desire to look after our own affairs. So today I stand here on 14 September 2011 remembering those carriers of information those who fought to change their world by using their influence and by inspiring others to do just as they had done. 
On 14 September 1894 Mahuta Tawhiao Potatau Te Wherowhero was elected the third Maori King. He went on to persuade many Waikato landowners to take up the land development scheme led by Te Puea Herangi. He was later described by Sir Apirana Ngata as being a great influence for progress and had he lived longer he would have been one of the greatest champions of land settlement. 
I remember the information carriers such as Hana Te Hemara Jackson who with the support of Nga Tamatoa and the Te Reo Maori Society presented the Maori language petition to Parliament in 1972. I acknowledge the strong Maori language supporters such as Matiu Rata and Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan—two former Maori MPs who stood at the steps of this Parliament to receive the petition which significantly led to the declaration that 14 September be the first Maori language day. Today is a really significant day in the Maori calendar. 
The publication of  
Te Karanga a Te Kotuku 
 in 1974 drew attention to the issues facing Maori in regards to land ownership and its struggles. Its author the late Saana Murray fought for the land rights of her people Ngati Kuri and for all Maori. On this day in 1975 from her papakainga in Te Hapua the historic 1975 Maori Land March departed for Wellington led by Dame Whina Cooper. When the 1975 hikoi marched across the Auckland Harbour Bridge it was led by Joe Hawke of Ngati Whatua o Orakei. Eighteen months later Joe and his whanau led the occupation of Bastion Point and Joe of course is another former MP. 
During the same period Eva Rickard—supported by Tama Poata John Hippolite and others—occupied the Raglan golf course to protest its seizure from Maori owners. Some years later with Saana Murray and the late Dell Wihongi and others they lodged the Wai 262 claim for rangatiratanga over taonga tuku iho. It took direct action at Raglan and Bastion Point for the public and the Government to recognise the injustice but in due course the lands were returned. Wai 262 of course is now an issue for us to settle for future generations. Land rights protests prompted Matiu Rata to draft the Treaty of Waitangi Act passed in 1975 which established the Waitangi Tribunal and a mechanism for addressing historic injustices against Maori. 
So Mahuta Tawhiao Potatau Te Wherowhero Hana Te Hemara Jackson Matiu Rata Saana Murray Dame Whina Cooper and Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan were all carriers of information who left behind a legacy. Today the Maori Party advances this legacy right into the lion’s den of te kawanatanga taking New Zealand into the future but with Maori at the table. The Maori Party was born out of the greatest land grab of all time—and the Labour Party can shout—the confiscation of te takutai moana. 
Today we have abolished Crown title restored the jurisdiction of the courts and reopened a proper process for determining ownership of the foreshore and seabed. We have helped to restore te reo Maori to its rightful place in this House as a symbol of the mana of all New Zealanders. Simultaneous translation helps all of us to understand te reo Maori. Today is an important day in the Maori calendar. I stand here on behalf of the Maori Party to salute those who have gone before me and to accept our responsibilities to pass on that heritage.