Prime Willow-JeanHon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Associate Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage): Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. Tēnā tātou katoa i tēnei ahiahi. Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare tēnā tātou katoa i tēnei ahiahi. He tū whakahīhī tēnei i te putanga mai o te Tahua Pūtea mō tēnei tau e heke mai nei.Kātahi anō ka hoki mai mātou ngā Minita Māori. I patu mātou i te rori mai i Moerewa i Te Tai Tokerau ki te Tairāwhiti ki te Waiariki ki Waikato ki Tāmaki ki Ōtautahi ki te kōrero e pā ana ki te Tahua Pūtea Māori. Tata ki te iwa rau miriona tāra i roto i tērā pūtea. E hiahia ana ahau ki te kōrero e pā ana ki te pūtea kua whiwhia e Te Matatini. Toru tekau mā whā miriona tāra kua tohaina ki te kaupapa o Te Matatini. I te wā i puta mai tērā karere i hūrō ngā kapa haka puta noa i te motu o Aotearoa nā te mea kua roa rātou e pātai ana e whawhai ana e pakanga ana mō te pūtea mō te moni. E hiahia ana ahau ki te tuku mihi ki te Minita i mua i ahau te Hōnore Kiritapu Allan nāna i mahi ki te taha o te poari o Te Matatini kia hanga i tētahi rautaki kia whiwhi rātou i tēnei pūtea hei tautoko i te kaupapa o Te Matatini. Kātahi ahau ka uru mai hei Minita mō te Manatū Taonga i mahi hoki ahau ki te taha o te poari kia tutuki tēnei tono ki te Minita Pūtea. Nō reira āe i hūrō mātou ngā Minita Māori te kāhui Māori i roto i te Rōpū Reipa nā te mea i whiwhi [i] tērā pūtea hei tautoko i te kaupapa o Te Matatini.Kia mōhio mai koe ko tērā pūtea ehara mō te whakataetae nui ia rua tau noa iho kāhore—he mea nui tērā—engari ko te hiahia o te poari o Te Matatini ko te hiahia mō te kaupapa ko tō rātou tino whāinga kia pēnei: mana motuhake ki te kāinga matatū mataora matatini ki te ao. E ai te poari neke atu i te whitu tekau paiheneti o wēnei pūtea ka tohatoha ki ngā rohe o Aotearoa kia whakawhanake ake whakatupu ake i te kapa haka mai i ngā mokopuna ngā tamariki o te kura tuatahi tuarua ngā rangatahi taitamariki pakeke kaumātua kuia hoki. Koirā te pai o tēnei pūtea ka taea te āwhina ngā rohe puta noa i Aotearoa ki te whakatipu whakawhanake i te kapa haka. Ētahi ka tae atu ki tērā atamira o te whakataetae nui ki Te Matatini Herenga Waka Herenga Tangata engari he painga tēnei mō te katoa mō te oranga mō te hauora.Kua kite ahau i ētahi rangahau e pā ana ki Te Matatini. Neke atu i te 1.8 mirona tāngata i mātakitaki i te whakataetae o Te Matatini i tēnei tau i Tāmaki. He nui tērā nui ake tēra i te iwi Māori katoa nō reira he mea mō te katoa Te Matatini. Ki te hoki ahau neke atu i te rua tekau mā rua miriona tāra te pūtea i whiwhi i te rohe o Tāmaki Makaurau o tērā whakataetae nui nō reira he kaupapa hoki tēnei mō te whakawhakanetanga i ngā rohe mai i ēnei momo whakataetae. Engari tētahi kitenga tino pai rawa atu ki ahau i roto i ngā rangahau ko ngā tamariki e mahi kapa haka ana i ngā kura ka whiwhi i a rātou ngā mātauranga ka piki ake ō rātou painga i roto i te mātauranga.Nō reira tino whakahīhī ana mātou i tēnei o ngā pūtea kua whiwhi i tēnei tau mō Te Matatini nā te mea e whakapono ana mātou he nui ngā mea kei roto i tērā hei oranga hei hauora hei painga mō te reo mō ngā tāngata katoa e mahi ana i tērā. Nō reira e te Māngai o te Whare ka noho au i konei. [Greetings to the Speaker greetings to all of you this afternoon. I stand proudly today following the release of the Budget for the next year. We the Māori Ministers have just returned. We hit the road in Moerewa in Te Tai Tokerau went to the East Coast to Waiariki to Waikato and to Auckland and Christchurch to talk about the Māori Budget. There is almost $900 million dollars of funding there.I want to talk about the funding that was received by Te Matatini: $34 million dollars was allocated to Te Matatini. At the time of that announcement there was joy felt amongst the kapa haka groups all around New Zealand who have long been enquiring about fighting for and striving for funding for money. I want to acknowledge my predecessor as Minister the Hon Kiritapu Allan who worked with the board of Te Matatini to create a strategy to achieve funding for Te Matatini. Then I took over as Minister for the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and also worked with the board to finalise the application and its delivery to the Minister of Finance. Therefore yes we the Māori Ministers and the Māori Labour caucus are extremely happy that this funding has been allocated to support Te Matatini.Please note that this funding is not only for the biennial national competition not at all—although that is important—but the wishes of the board of Te Matatini the wishes for the initiative their primary goal can be put like this: be independent at home be alert stand strong and face the world together. According to the board more than 70 percent of this funding will be allocated to the regions around New Zealand to develop and to grow kapa haka from grandchildren through to primary and secondary school children young people and adults to male and female elders. This is what is good about this funding: it will be able to assist in the growth and development of kapa haka throughout the regions of New Zealand. Some will get to be on the stage at the national competition at Te Matatini Herenga Waka Herenga Tangata but this benefits the health and wellbeing of all.I have seen some research about Te Matatini. More than 1.8 million people watched the competition Te Matatini this year in Auckland. That's big that's more than the whole Māori population. Therefore Te Matatini is something for everybody. If I go back there was more than $22 million in revenue to the Auckland district as a result of this national competition therefore this type of competition is also an initiative for development in the regions. But one finding in the research that really pleased me was that children who partake in kapa haka at school are not only receiving education but they also do better within the educational environment.So we are very proud of the funding given to Te Matatini this year because we believe there are many things within it that not only benefit the wellbeing and the health of the language but also all the people who engage in it. Therefore Mr Speaker I will leave it there.]