Turei Metiria: Ministerial Statements — UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples—Government Support 
Turei Metiria: Ministerial Statements — UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples—Government Support 
[Volume:662;Page:10233] 
METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green) 
: 
 The Green Party is committed to a society that is prosperous sustainable and equitable that treats all people in our community fairly and that is premised on the recognition of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the rights of Maori as tangata whenua in Aotearoa. And so we welcome the announcement that Aotearoa New Zealand is finally recognising the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It has been Green Party policy for many years and we are very pleased that it is at last happening. We consider the declaration to be the minimum international standard for the protection of indigenous communities around the globe and their right their entitlement to self-determination. The concept of self-determination is protected in the UN charter for people; indigenous communities are people too. 
This battle has been going on for 20-odd years and I acknowledge and pay respect to the Maori Party—to Tariana Turia to Pita Sharples and their team—which has managed to pressure a National Government into recognising the agreement. Kia ora! The declaration recognises— 
Hon Tau Henare 
: No pressure! 
METIRIA TUREI 
: No pressure! 
Hon Tau Henare 
: We just did the right thing. 
METIRIA TUREI 
: Yup! The declaration recognises and helps to protect the rights of Maori and it is great to see that progress is being made. The struggle to have the declaration recognised has been going on for a very long time and I pay tribute to all of those others in the Maori community who have fought long and hard and have been very active on this issue—to name a few Moana Jackson Aroha Mead and Nganeko Minhinnick. Others too whom Tariana Turia has referred to today fought hard for this declaration to be recognised but they have died in the intervening years. We pay our respects to all of them and to their whanau for their commitment to the declaration. 
It is an achievement particularly worthy of celebration because of course John Key’s Government has been very hostile to the development of iwi and hapu rights since—[ 
Interruption 
] They do not like it do they. We need only consider John Key’s opposition to Maori having seats on the Auckland super-city council for example. It is all right to recognise a UN declaration but it is not OK to give Maori decision-making capacity on the council of our biggest city in this country! I think the National Government has agreed to recognise the declaration only because it continues to assert that here at home iwi and hapu interests must remain subservient to those of the Government. We heard that from Murray McCully on the radio this morning. The whole idea of placing restrictions or caveats on the declaration is certainly the wrong message to be sending on what should be a day of celebration. The declaration was already watered down to meet the needs of States and it does not need to be watered down any further by a National Government hostile to Maori interests. 
One of the main objections to recognising the declaration particularly from the previous Labour Government in the last few years has been the desire to amend it to make it consistent with New Zealand’s domestic law and we have heard that again today. Of course one of the problems with this is that iwi and hapu rights under Te Tiriti o Waitangi do not have constitutional protection in New Zealand law which is unlike the position of some other indigenous communities who do have that protection in their own States. We can see the result of the lack of that protection in our domestic law in Labour’s foreshore and seabed legislation which took away Maori rights and secondly in National’s foreshore proposal which simply mimics what Labour did—it makes no changes. 
But none the less we acknowledge that the struggle for recognition of Maori rights continues despite which party might be in Government. Today is a good day for Maori and for all New Zealanders. Our status as one of only three countries in the world not to sign the declaration was an ongoing source of shame for us in the international community and of course here at home. We have an obligation to act as responsible global citizens. New Zealand’s failure to support the declaration left many millions of indigenous people around the world without a framework for the protection of their basic human rights—their human rights as indigenous peoples their human rights as indigenous collectives. New Zealand has made a small step—a small step—but none the less a step towards supporting and protecting those vulnerable communities around the globe. This declaration gives our country another tool to work through the issues of colonisation and to help create a fair society based on Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I congratulate the Maori Party on its success. Kia ora.