Harawira Hone: Insolvency Law Reform Bill — First Reading 
Harawira Hone: Insolvency Law Reform Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:629;Page:1326] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Maori Party—Te Tai Tokerau) 
: 
 It seems that the current insolvency laws do not work properly which means more costs for creditors and debtors and more liquidations and bankruptcies hence the need to change the law. While the business community and insolvency professionals have been kind of positive about this bill there are a few points that I need to mention. One of them is the concept of planning for failure and recognising failure as an opportunity to improve on previous effort. Failure is not something to be feared. Indeed if Colin James is to be believed failure is a characteristic of our current financial situation. He said recently in a management magazine: “There is a growing anthology of Maori business professional artistic and sporting success but unfortunately it is swamped by failure.” 
I am not in the habit of agreeing with Mr Colin James but I do agree with him when he says that failure within the Maori business community is a failure of the whole nation. He rightfully acknowledges the righteousness of the Maori Party philosophy which is that what is good for Maori is also good for the nation as a whole. It is one thing to identify failure it is another thing to put in place processes that do not just penalise failure but also create new opportunities for growth. The Maori Party supports any initiative that does that. 
This country’s personal bankruptcy laws were last reviewed in the 1960s and our corporate insolvency laws were last amended in the early 1990s but the business world today is very different to that of the 1960s or indeed to that of over a decade ago. We know that Maori were really hurt by the removal of tariff protections the restructuring of the State sector and the sale of forestry the railways and the telephone and electricity industries. It was also Maori workers in textile clothing footwear car assembly and meatworks who suffered. That was a crisis point in our business and economic growth. Maori whanau continue to suffer through ongoing globalisation. 
The legacy of that betrayal of the Maori workforce lingers still. How do we know? It is easy actually. At the start of this year unemployment for non-Maori was only 2.5 percent compared with a shocking 7.6 percent for Maori. The failure to provide the failure to encourage and indeed the failure to support endeavour is very much part of our experience. But we also know that Maori perspectives are relevant to successful business start-ups that Maori business potential is under-recognised and underdeveloped and that Maori business would benefit from early intervention and the opportunity for help to enable them to manage their way though difficulties to stay afloat or to limit the expense of bankruptcy. 
We note the latest research by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor which listed Maori as the third most entrepreneurial people in the world. The study also identified a remarkable optimism and readiness for Maori to start a business. It unfortunately also noted a poor record in business survival. Again the Maori Party is supportive of any efforts to enhance business survival and business growth. We also of course recognise that the most important thing is to try to prevent financial strife in the first place. 
Although it is a bit outside the scope of this bill the Maori Party believes that we cannot clearly identify business success or failure without also looking at our tax laws. Maori businessmen tell us that the company taxes for small businesses are too costly while also noting with some sarcasm that the Government’s very own Inland Revenue Department always makes sure that it is at the head of the creditors’ queue. The Maori Party believes that the whole area of business tax needs urgent review to enable businesses to grow and to develop wealth for the whole nation. When we talk about wealth we are talking about investment research and development and innovation but also about the right to full employment and higher wages. We also note the changes to corporate insolvency proposed in the bill which would provide for rehabilitation of viable insolvent companies and a better return for creditors. The Maori Party supports any efforts to modernise and improve processes that are unwieldy burdensome and costly for all parties. 
Finally the House should note that the biggest asset of Maori with untapped potential is the value of our human capital and that is very much the case in the context of developing enterprises. The largest increases in the number of Maori aged between 15 and 24 years will occur before 2011 which means that the next 6 years will be crucial for developing the skills of this workforce. It is never too late to get it right. We must get it right for our young and for our future.