Turia Tariana: Address in Reply 
Turia Tariana: Address in Reply 
[Volume:628;Page:129] 
TARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 First of all I want to acknowledge the Governor-General and to congratulate the Hon Margaret Wilson the Hon Clem Simich Ross Robertson and yourself Madam Assistant Speaker on being elected Speakers of this House. I also want to acknowledge the Prime Minister all the leaders of political parties and all our colleagues who are here in this Parliament. 
It is my privilege to respond to the Speech from the Throne in this entirely new Parliament—a Parliament that for the first time includes within its midst a party dedicated to the advancement of a strong and independent Maori voice and Maori people. The Maori Party is committed to making a positive contribution to Parliament and to advancing our kaupapa in the best interests of the nation—a nation in which “one law for all” can truly be said to represent all within its brief. We have tested the concept of “one law for all’ from our first utterances in this house in swearing our oaths and affirmations. It was right and appropriate to swear allegiance to the Queen; it was also right and appropriate to swear allegiance to the Treaty of Waitangi. 
Some members will recall a speech made by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on her 50th jubilee. Speaking about the resolution of Treaty issues she said: “There still remains some way to go but I would like to express my respect for the courage of all those parties who have been working in good faith towards resolution. I am sure that a stronger nation will emerge from your efforts to address the past and move forward towards a shared future.” Elizabeth a direct descendant of Queen Victoria understands the significance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as providing the constitutional framework for this nation. She recognises the Treaty as providing the context for all to live harmoniously in this land. It is the context that we sought to swear allegiance to but were prevented from doing so by the laws of this house. We would suggest that the rational and informed dialogue on the role of the Treaty of Waitangi described in the Speech from the Throne would extend within this debating chamber in our first symbolic actions. It must also extend throughout domestic law. 
Eighteen months ago many tangata whenua and other New Zealanders came to this Parliament asking how a Government could legislate to confiscate the lands of tangata whenua and remove the rights of hapu and iwi to due process before the courts. In 2 days’ time the world’s gaze will extend to these shores with the arrival of Rodolfo Stavenhagen the special rapporteur on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples. His visit here follows the findings of the United Nations that the foreshore and seabed legislation contained discriminatory aspects against the Maori in particular in its extinguishment of the possibility of establishing Maori customary title over the foreshore and seabed. The Maori Party as a priority will be working on a member’s bill for the repeal of the Foreshore and Seabed Act. 
Members of this House may recall that the United Nations committee recommended that the Government resume dialogue with Maori regarding the legislation and take steps to minimise any negative effects. The Government responded by saying that the committee did not understand the complexity of the issue. It suggested that “discriminatory” could not really be seen to be breaching the convention. It criticised the United Nations forum as “a committee that sits on the outer edge”. This is the same Government that last month went to New York and criticised the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People as being “unworkable and unacceptable”. This was after 10 years of Government delegates working through the 45 provisions gaining acceptance for the declaration. 
Throughout the globe indigenous communities have signalled their disappointment at the actions taken by New Zealand in arguing against indigenous peoples. A treaty between two peoples at home is suddenly interpreted overseas as discriminating against other citizens as suggesting two standards of citizenship or two classes of citizen. It is like being on a see-saw except that since the signing in 1840 one side has progressively swung upwards and the other has hit the ground with a thump. Now with the latest actions overseas it appears that the Crown is willing to jump off and let the relationship agreement be dumped with it. 
There may be one law for all but the question that needs to be asked is whether it is applied equally or whether people are treated differently. In order to make the difference to see the changes we all desire in the best interests of the nation we may need alternative strategies. It may mean we see a world of abundance and not limits. Sometimes it is a simple matter of asking the right questions and looking at things differently—strategies such as projects for youth academies and focus areas of sports drama culture and the arts; academies that seek to develop students’ special interest so that their learning is relevant and challenging. It is a national disgrace that the Education Review Office annual report describes a group at the bottom perhaps as large as 20 percent who are currently not succeeding in our education system. 
The Speech from the Throne stated that it is time to not dwell on the past failures. Well that is exactly right. We do need to celebrate success rather than fear success. We have had too many successful Maori providers coming to us in recent weeks concerned about what appears to be this minority Labour Government through its institutions undermining the successful delivery by Maori of both health and education programmes. We are all for celebrating success but we also will not turn a blind eye to the present failure of the system to respond to the distinctive needs of this nation. We must start bringing balance back to the see-saw. We must enable the distinctive strengths of all peoples who call this land home to be truly understood and respected. That is why we have called for an inquiry into the application of tikanga including the use of powhiri throughout the State sector. Last week we witnessed the ceremony of the carrying of the Mace and the knock-three-times procedure of Black Rod. Just as the House observes these conventions the Maori Party wants to ensure that when others’ cultural protocols are being adopted respect for their significance must be upheld. 
Bringing balance to the see-saw will also mean restoring a decent income for all New Zealanders. It was curious that the Speech from the Throne talked of a significant decline in poverty levels when we lack a clear poverty line from which to measure progress in the first place. We must set tangible goals if we are to achieve one law for all—the right to a decent standard of life. Central to this is an agreement on a specific target date to reduce child poverty. The speech confirmed that the Working for Families package will be extended from next year. However it is grossly misleading to say that there will be tax relief for every low and middle income family when 250000 of the poorest children in this country will miss out. In 2 days’ time when the special rapporteur observes the state of the nation will he see a see-saw tipped in favour of one side? Who will explain away the inequalities the disparities and the variability in understandings of the Treaty of Waitangi. 
I will conclude by talking about the retention of the Maori seats. It is the intention of the Maori Party to ask this Parliament to entrench the Maori seats through a member’s bill. We think back to the words of Chief Judge Durie who said: “Like the Treaty of Waitangi the Maori parliamentary seats stand as an enduring symbol of their constitutional status and historic statements of principles like symbols are essential tools in rebuilding a national identity.” That will be a land where one law for all actually means something.