Harawira Hone: Social Assistance (Future Focus) Bill — First Reading 
Harawira Hone: Social Assistance (Future Focus) Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:661;Page:9914] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Maori Party—Te Tai Tokerau) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker Barker. In looking at the Social Assistance (Future Focus) Bill I have to look back at the history of the struggle for tino rangatiratanga a long and hard road whose early beginnings were paved by warriors who fought and died to hold their lands by statesmen who sought a peaceful path but got trampled underfoot by colonial invaders by small communities retreating into themselves in a vain attempt to stave off the devastation of European diseases and by the many new Maori religious and Government systems set up to try to deliver the shattered dreams of Te Tiriti o Waitangi for a society where the white man governed those for whom he was responsible Maori managed their own affairs and both societies worked together for the betterment of all. 
I list historical figures from throughout that time such as Eru Patuone and Tamati Waka Nene who signed both He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni and Te Tiriti o Waitangi and who tried to hold together a shaky peace that settlers had no intention of keeping; Hone Heke who opposed British taxation in an area he considered his own and went to war against the Crown to protect those rights; people from small communities like Whakapara where one of the iwi actually had to live in the cemetery to bury the dead to save his people from the raging deaths caused by the common cold and the dreaded influenza; Anikaaro for creating a religious umbrella to try to protect her people; the rangatira who founded the Kotahitanga movement to give their people an alternative Government based on kaupapa Maori; and Hone Heke Ngapua Tai Tokerau’s greatest ever member of Parliament whose vision and courage and maturity belied his youth and whose memory has been thankfully captured in a wonderful book by historian Paul Moon. 
In looking at this bill I also add to that list more contemporary figures such as Sir James Henare the last true paramount chief of Ngapuhi who reminded us that we know that we have tino rangatiratanga when we have the power of life and death over our people. We might never exercise it he was quick to point out but it most assuredly rested in our hands—a sobering thought indeed. I think of Whina Cooper who realised that genuine power rested in the hands of Maori women and formed the Maori Women’s Welfare League to give voice to that power and who energised the whole of Maoridom by leading the great Maori Land March to Wellington. That protest had a simple slogan: “Not one acre more.”—a slogan that has been ignored by every Government since. I think of Dame Mira Szaszy who said in the year of the land march: “The loss of land has haunted the Maori since the Treaty of Waitangi. Some action is necessary to lay this ghost to rest for ever. Only then it seems will Maori find themselves and become once again a self-determined self-respecting people. The march must go on if for no other reason than the expression of an awakening spirit.” I think of the Hon Matiu Rata who gave birth to the Waitangi Tribunal and established a pathway to redemption that successive Governments have eagerly travelled all the while reminding Maori to be realistic in their expectations which is the Government’s way of saying: “We’ll say sorry but you must be joking if you think we’re gonna give it back!”. And dare I say it I also include old “Dirty Dogs” himself the Hon Tau Henare who in his short time as Minister of Maori Affairs flouted the rules at every opportunity snaffled money for Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori where none existed signed off on our wharekura at Te Rangianiwaniwa when all the bureaucrats were saying no and proved that belief in boldness was a genuine prerequisite to the exercise of good ministership. 
So when I come to this benefits reform bill I am reminded of a history that teaches me to speak truthfully of the issues to speak boldly of the future but to be guided by the words of Matiu Rata who said: “If you think on your journey through leadership for our people that your road will be hard you can rest assured that it is 10 times harder for the rest of our people out there.” 
That is why the Maori Party opposes this legislation—because Maori have never sought the debilitation that comes with crippling dependency and nor do we seek poverty but neither are we the guinea pigs to be mucked around with by a bureaucracy that victimises those who are powerless and who are suffering because of the crash of a system of bloated financial greed fed by past Governments and rescued by current ones. 
I know heaps of folks who have gone hungry looking for work rather go on the dole because they know what a demeaning experience it can be. They know the shame that comes from not being able to provide for their kids. They are already feeling worthless and then a Minister comes out with a line like “The dream is over.” I know heaps of people on the benefit and for them it is no dream. There is no dream in having to push your baby downtown in a rainstorm because you cannot afford a bus. There is no dream in living on the edge when money is tight and you are worried sick about the kids needing to go to the doctor the power being cut off the car breaking down or needing money for school trips. Having no job ain’t a dream either. It is a brutal reality. There is no dream in being so addicted to tobacco that people sacrifice food to buy smokes especially when we know that Governments current and past know it is a killer but will let people die so that they can take $1 billion every year in taxes. A dream? Not bloody likely. It has been a nightmare. 
We hear a lot of talk about this bill creating a shift away from dependency and into employment. But the truth is that the economic downturn has actually resulted in a greater need for social security. Honestly forcing 43000 domestic purposes beneficiaries to go and get a job when their child turns 6 sounds a bit bloody ridiculous when we already know there are not even 4300 jobs out there. And that is just the domestic purposes beneficiaries. What about the 26 percent of rangatahi Maori and 27 percent of Pasifika youth registered as unemployed? With that level of unemployment the question is obvious: what is the point in waving the big stick when there simply are not any jobs out there? Why penalise and even criminalise beneficiaries when clearly a more positive and inclusive approach is required? 
That brings me to Whanau Ora because that is what Whanau Ora is all about. It is a way to help Maori lift themselves out of despair to help Maori lift themselves back to square one to help Maori realise that they are the masters of their own destiny by reshuffling the resources to ensure the help gets to where it is most needed rather than going round and round in aimless policy circles in Wellington redesigning idiotic schemes that change according to the politics of the day and generally have no impact whatsoever on those they are intended to help. Whanau Ora was designed by Maori to help Maori. And it is not even about money. Hell given the confidence and support of the Government it would very quickly lead to less money because Whanau Ora is about helping whanau to see that they are the answer to their own future that they are the focus for their children and that Whanau Ora is indeed all that Future Focus can never be. Whanau Ora is not just about amalgamating contracts nor is it just another social welfare programme like the many failed ventures of the past. Whanau Ora is a bold attempt to rewrite the book; to take the $1 billion currently being wasted on social recovery for Maori and make that money work for the whole of society by putting it in the hands of providers who are directly connected to the communities they serve so that they can work with whanau to change their circumstances and take responsibility for their future. Yes we support the calls to move people off the dole for a move away from dependency and towards a world where work is an option for all. But the better option is Whanau Ora not sliding back down that well-travelled road of targeting the victims. 
We are passionately opposed to any move that will penalise families living in poverty. We will oppose any legislation that will hurt children who have no way of defending themselves. And we will work with anyone who wants to address those issues in a positive manner rather than through bills that are already sending signals that those in need are a burden on society rather than a reality in a world still struggling to cope with the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression. The Maori Party accepts the position that Minister Turia is in as we accept also the view that Whanau Ora is the only positive option available to address the many social concerns facing Maori at the moment. We are disappointed that at a time when a bold and visionary approach is needed to deal with the desperate social plight of many in our society when we have the chance to take up Whanau Ora as a mark of that boldness and that vision the Government has simply chosen the “blame the victim” option. The Maori Party will be opposing this bill.