Hipango HareteHARETE HIPANGO (National—Whanganui): Madam Chair thank you for the opportunity to address the committee as I speak for the first time as a first-term MP on the Appropriation (2016/17 Confirmation and Validation) Bill.I speak from the perspective of a member sitting on the Māori Affairs Committee. So I acknowledge my colleague across the Chamber Rino Tirikatene as our chairman. I share with members of this committee that there is a very collegial approach that we do take as members sitting around the table on the Māori Affairs Committee but in regard to that collegiality too that doesn't mean to say we dispense with scrutiny as is necessary and required from the perspective that we speak from and to.So speaking for the first time as a first-term MP I've been surveying the landscape the language- and the legislative-scape the people- and personalities-scape and appropriating all that is necessary to contribute in a purposeful meaningful way. So to appropriate"—what does that mean? The definition is "A devotion to a special purpose." and in speaking to this bill this afternoon it's the devotion of the appropriation of funds for the specific purpose of those matters that have come before the Māori Affairs Committee around the annual reviews.My colleague our chairman of the committee has referenced that the reviews that have come before the committee are from Te Puni Kōkiri from Te Māngai Pāho which is the Māori Broadcasting Funding Agency and from the Māori Language Commission which is Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori. Further to that—although they've not yet been formally tabled but have been the subject of discussion—is the recently formed under the Māori Language Act 2016 Te Mātāwai and also the Māori radio network—that is Te Whakaruruhau o Ngā Reo Irirangi Māori.Now I share with the committee something of particular interest that I draw from in the papers that have been tabled and I would invite everybody if not now but in time to turn to page 542 where Te Māngai Pāho in terms of their review—that is the Māori Broadcasting Funding Agency—their particular task is one that involves supporting projects that aim to change society's attitudes towards Te Reo Māori. Te Reo Māori is an official language of this land and also we hear it spoken with regularity within the House. So the challenge that I put to my colleagues here as members of Parliament is that we not just leave this as a responsibility of Te Māngai Pāho; we embrace that also as responsible citizens of Aotearoa and in our leadership roles as members of Parliament.The other part that Te Māngai Pāho talks about is to foster the correct pronunciation of Māori words and focus on funding initiatives aimed at improving the fluency of competent speakers of Te Reo Māori. I just share with the committee that as a woman who stands tall with the name "Harete Hipango" that was given to me by my whānau I've lived a lifetime of mispronunciation. So again I just invite members of this House if we could give emphasis to the courtesy that's extended to each other.So coming back to the annual review if I may—I'm mindful time has gone by very quickly—and the scrutiny that's within that. My colleagues have spoken about Te Puni Kōkiri and the particular responsibility around the Māori Land Service. I just share around the formulation of the Māori Language Strategy Maihi Karauna that's been spoken about. We're still awaiting the delivery of that. I heard the honourable Minister Nanaia Mahuta speak about the fact that these things do take time. But I just stress and emphasise the importance that this House and the Government gave to other policies in pushing through legislation. So let's give some priority to this. This is an official language of our nation. Let's not just leave it to Te Puni Kōkiri. Te Puni Kōkiri is charged with the responsibility in terms of advising other Government agencies and policies. We also can take on that level of influence.There's so much that's been covered in the annual reviews and just skirting over them does not diminish in any way the significance of what is within these documents that we have. I turn to the fact that the Māori Language Commission tasked with Te Puni Kōkiri has the responsibility in charging the development of the Māori Language Strategy. We are still awaiting that. I heard the honourable Minister Sepuloni in the House earlier this afternoon in the general debate saying that policies have been ready to go. I'm afraid that's not the case in terms of this Māori Language Strategy. So I put that there as a challenge. We've been awaiting this at Māori Affairs Committee. We still await it. Let's get it moving."