Waititi RawiriRAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori) (remote): Tēnā koe e te Pīka otirā tēnā tātou. Ka tīmata i tētahi waiata i titoa e Tuini Ngāwai mō Te Pakanga Tuarua ā i heipū tēnei tūāhuatanga ki runga i a Rūhia.[Greetings Madam Speaker and greetings to us all. I will begin with a song written by Tuini Ngāwai about the Second World War and perfectly appropriate for this situation in Russia.]'Putini waha huka upoko mārōHe tangata tohetohe ki te riri e!Hinga atu hinga mai i runga o Rūhia!Ka whēru ōna mahi! Hei! Auē auē!Tūhikitia rā tūhāpainga rāTe rau o tō patu ki runga i te upokoHoatu e tama karia te kauae oTe pūrari paka nei a Putini e!' [Putin foaming at the mouth pig-headedHe keeps fighting on and onWith many deaths on both sides because of Russia!We'll wipe the floor with him Hei! Auē auē!Lift right up lift high upThe blade of your weapon above his head!Come on son break the jawOf this bloody bugger Putin!]I take this opportunity on behalf of Te Paati Māori to speak on the first reading of the Russia Sanctions Bill. As I said when I spoke to the motion last week Te Paati Māori wholeheartedly condemns the unprovoked and unjustified actions of Vladimir Putin his Government and their invasion of the Ukraine. Our hearts go out to the people of the Ukraine and the Ukrainian community here in Aotearoa and we stand in solidarity with you.I want to mihi to the Minister of Foreign Affairs the Hon Nanaia Mahuta for taking the time to meet with me to brief Te Paati Māori on the bill and the sanctions regime it puts forward. We commend her work in advancing this legislation in support of Ukrainian sovereignty. Therefore we will be supporting the bill. The bill recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Ukraine which has been undermined by Russia and their allies. Upholding the international rule of law around territorial integrity is important for all sovereign peoples including indigenous peoples and tangata whenua. In an increasingly unstable insecure and connected world violent imperialism threatens us all. We must not allow imperial superpowers to invade and annex sovereign nations or this threat will only grow.It is our position that sanctions should be primarily targeted at oligarchs and the ruling class of Russian society. Those who hold the power should be those who face the repercussions. We recognise that the sanctions that slow down the Russian economy which is necessary in the immediate term to halt their military progress will have some impact on the working people of Russia. That is why sanctions must be time bound and reviewed on a continuous basis to determine their effectiveness and their adverse impact on working people. The exemption of humanitarian reasons must also be used wherever necessary.Te Paati Māori is also supporting the urgency motion for the legislation. We believe the use of urgency must meet a high bar but that in this case the bar is met. The need to support Ukraine is a rapidly evolving situation that is urgent and real. However it is our view despite our support of the motion that we should always have a public submissions process on every piece of legislation even if the process is only a week long. We have communicated this position to the Minister and appreciate her response that engagement with civil society is being considered. We also acknowledge that the legislation includes a post-implementation review which will be completed after the passage of this bill.Finally it is the view of Te Paati Māori that in future Aotearoa must be more consistent in applying sanctions. Any imperial power illegally invading a sovereign nation should be sanctioned. All imperial proxy wars must be condemned and opposed. Why did our successive New Zealand Governments not condemn the illegal US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq or Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine? Rather than condemn the United States for their illegal imperial invasion we've supported them with troops with training with intelligence. This must end. Aotearoa should not be in servitude to any imperial power. This bill will establish a framework of sanctions sanctioning Russia but we need a consistent sanctions regime that reflects our position as an independent Tiriti-centric nation in the South Pacific. Kia ora tātou.