Harawira Hone: Motions — New Zealand Defence Force—Deaths of Corporal Luke Tamatea Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker and Private Richard Harris in Afghanistan 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Harawira Hone: Motions — New Zealand Defence Force—Deaths of Corporal Luke Tamatea Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker and Private Richard Harris in Afghanistan 
[Sitting date: 21 August 2012. Volume:683;Page:4531. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Leader—Mana) 
: 
 Hoi ano hei korero tuatahi me mihi atu ki a koutou katoa e tuku poroporoaki ki a ratou nga rangatira kua mate atu ki tera taha o te ao. E tika ana kia mihi atu ki nga mate i tenei wa haere haere haere. Koutou e nga whanau e tatari tonu ana kia hoki mai ki te kainga e tika ana kia mohio ai koutou anei matou katoa o roto o te Paremata hakoa ko wai te tangata ko tehea te pati e tu kotahi ana i roto i te pouritanga kei runga i a koutou i tenei wa. 
[ 
So to begin with I acknowledge you all who made tributes of farewell to them the chiefly ones who died on the other side of the world. It is fitting as well at this point in time that I say to the deaths farewell depart and journey on. To you the families who are still waiting for their return home it is fitting that you know that all of us here in Parliament regardless who it is and which party it is stand as one with you in this hour of sadness upon you. 
] 
Last week a number of Maori MPs from different political parties debated a range of issues on  
Native Affairs 
. Naturally we all had our different opinions on all of those issues except one: what to do about our troops in Afghanistan. It was nice to hear that on that one issue we were all singing from the same song sheet: bring the troops home. 
I know that in this House it might seem inappropriate to be asking why we are at war when our troops are dying. I do not want people to think that asking questions here today in any way challenges the sacrifice that our troops have made for some have made the ultimate sacrifice. But I also know that when we go to a tangi for one of our whanau who has died in a car accident or from smoking or from an act of violence or from anything else we openly ask ourselves why they died and whether or not there was anything we could have done to stop them dying. Today is no different. Today people prepare for the return of their loved ones from Afghanistan. Today we all mourn those who have died both Maori and non-Maori and we all share in the grief of their whanau and their communities. Today is the right time to ask questions about why they died and whether or not there was anything we could have done to stop them dying—questions that some of the families of those still in Afghanistan want answered. 
They are questions like why exactly it is that we are expected to stay the course when that course has changed from one of reconstruction to a more aggressive role. Are our troops still involved in reconstruction or has that changed to a more direct battle for their survival? Why are we hearing that New Zealand vehicles are being stopped and searched by the Taliban? Is that happening because neither New Zealand forces nor any other coalition forces can guarantee security there any longer? When the Prime Minister himself talks about the need to restore security is it because he too has accepted what everybody already knows—that security is deteriorating in Afghanistan? Is deteriorating security the reason why the Hungarians refuse to patrol at night and is that why New Zealand troops are being asked to take on a greater role there? Does the Government accept that the deteriorating security status in Bamian and across the country means that New Zealand need not commit itself to an American timetable of departure and that we are entirely within our rights as a sovereign nation to ensure the safety and security of our own troops by withdrawing them from front-line action? When the Government says that it does not want it to look like the Taliban is forcing New Zealand out of Afghanistan surely it is not saying that it is willing to sacrifice New Zealand troops to prove how staunch we are. When the Minister of Defence confirmed last night that the reports are true that the Taliban is now specifically targeting New Zealand troops why was he unable to say what additional security is being provided for those troops? Can somebody in the Government tell mothers and fathers at home why it is that the Government has cut back on the resources for our remaining troops when they are under greater threat now than they have ever been? And can somebody please tell us why we have withdrawn the SAS at a time when their support is most desperately needed by our own troops on the ground? 
If the Government’s commitment to reducing funding reducing resourcing and reducing the support levels for our troops in Afghanistan is met by a declaration of specific targeting of our remaining troops by the Taliban then it is time to accept that the reduction in overall security of our forces on the ground presents our Government with one of two simple choices: an immediate enhancement of the security for those on the ground until such time as they can be withdrawn as soon as possible or an immediate withdrawal of all New Zealand troops from Afghanistan. 
Hoi ano hei whakakapi i taku korero ehara i te mea hei takatakahia i nga mahi a te Kawanatanga engari kia mihi atu ki nga whanau e tatari ana kia hoki tika mai nga tupapaku o ratou kia mate atu i tera o nga whenua. No reira e nga mate haere koutou haere koutou haere koutou. Huri tu ki a tatou te kanohi ora tatou e nohonoho nei tena koutou huri rauna kia ora tatou katoa. 
[ 
So to end my address it is not as though I am walking all over Government action but rather I am paying a tribute to families waiting for the bodies of loved ones to come directly back to them from those lands over there. And so to you the dead farewell depart and move on. I turn to us the living seated about here to acknowledge you and all of us throughout thank you. 
]