Sharples Pita: Adjournment — Sittings of the House 
Sharples Pita: Adjournment — Sittings of the House 
[Volume:669;Page:16482] 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Speaker. He honore maku ki te tu hei kaikorero mo te Pati Maori i tenei ra. 
[ 
Greetings to you Mr Speaker. It is an honour for me to stand as the Maori Party’s representative today 
.] 
As we approach the year’s end we think of those families who will feel the loss of loved ones who are no longer with them. On this day today we acknowledge those who are mourning the passing of two tribal elders: John Haunui Waikato-Tainui kaumatua for the Maori King and Rongomaianiwaniwa Milroy of Ngati Whakaue and Te Arawa. We recognise too the clouds of grief that have hung over Aotearoa this year particularly over the 29 men who lost their lives in the Pike River mine. Our thoughts are with them all. 
The adjournment debate is customarily a time for reflection on the good the bad and the indifferent that has shaped our year. It has been a big year for the Maori Party and indeed for tangata whenua. Just over 8 months ago I had the privilege of speaking at the opening session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York. I will never forget the awesome sight of more than 2000 people rising to their feet dancing in their own custom to give a rousing ovation endorsing New Zealand’s decision to support the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. That moment in time was a fitting reward for all those who have worked so hard in promoting our indigenous rights and negotiating this agreement at an international level. 
Back home I am excited by the enthusiasm generated through my announcement in July that I was establishing a special ministerial panel to review te reo Maori and in particular Government spending on the revitalisation of our language. Tangata whenua refuse to relinquish their rights to uphold their mother tongue. It is a mark of identity of pride of cultural strength. The Waitangi Tribunal’s report in October challenged the Government to recognise the importance of Maori communities in revitalising the language emphasising that Maori ownership of the Maori Language Strategy is crucial to its success. This will be an ongoing challenge which our nation must address and I am very confident that the panel led by Professor Tamati Reedy will guide us well. 
Another key marker for the Maori Party this year has been the undeniable momentum gained with Whanau Ora. About 160 providers are currently involved in the first wave of Whanau Ora within 25 provider collectives. The basis of the approach is built around strong collaborative relationships between providers and whanau a focus on outcomes not activities and integrated contracting arrangements. But the key to its success is about whanau transformation. It is about whanau building positive pathways to achieve their aspirations. Whanau Ora returns the power and control to whanau to be resilient and nurturing and to develop their own leadership. 
Alongside of Whanau Ora I have been proud of the work that has been done in implementing programmes such as Kaitoko Whanau Oranga Whanau and Mara Kai. These programmes are targeted at supporting Maori whanau. Through the Christmas period I am sure that many whanau will be enjoying healthy food from the gardens that they have worked to create for the benefit of the wider community. We have been working steadily to achieve improved outcomes in the justice sectors through the Drivers of Crime initiative. Next year we are looking forward to sharing the success of Whare Oranga Ake—the kaupapa Maori reintegration units—where the focus will be on prisoners gaining employment and accommodation and improving family and wider social relationships. We look forward to their rehabilitation in the community and their not returning to prison. 
And of course we anticipate great things ahead with the work we have been engaged with on the Rugby World Cup the enterprise and initiative that have emerged from the Maori Economic Taskforce which we have led this year—particularly after our visit to China taking Maori businesses—and of course the nation-building exercise being undertaken with the constitutional review. I want to acknowledge the initiative of the working-group on constitutional transformation led by Professor Margaret Mutu and Moana Jackson which is seeking to develop a moral constitution based on Maori kawa and tikanga he whakaputanga o te rangatiratanga o Niu Tireni me Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 
The active engagement and leadership of iwi and the momentum generated by our Maori academics our iwi leaders our Maori scientists artists and educators our Maori authorities and our marae have been of profound importance in influencing this Government. I acknowledge those groups for all their efforts and thank them for the substantial differences that they make to ultimately the fortunes and well-being of whanau hapu and iwi. 
There is of course still much to do. We were not pleased with the super-city process and the way in which Maori representation was diminished. Although we are developing a positive relationship with His Worship Len Brown the broader issue of Maori participation in the decision-making processes across local government remains still high on our agenda. There are still many challenges ahead and we look forward with renewed vigour to 2011 and the debate on water the passage of the Marine and Coastal Area (Tukutai Moana) Bill and the ongoing issues that confront too many of our whanau—the impact of poverty family violence educational underachievement and so much more. 
The workload is formidable but the Maori Party is served well by a star team of senior private secretaries executive assistants press secretaries political advisers out-of-office parliamentary staff and department secondees who are some of the most dedicated hard-working and consistently positive people I have met. Ka nui te aroha ki a koutou. Around this complex there is a workforce second to none. We are all indebted to the service and support provided to us by the Speaker’s office; the Cabinet Office; the Office of the Clerk including Hansard the Bills Office and the Table Office; the ever-efficient Parliamentary Library service; the expertise and professionalism of Ministerial Services and the Parliamentary Service; our trusted Kaiwhakahaere - Nga Ratonga Reo Maori; the travel office whose staff help us serve our constituencies so well; and the cleaners and the finance personnel—both doing their best to ensure we keep everything in order! I often think this place and all its inhabitants would be ripe material for one of those  
Survivor 
 reality shows. 
All of us—left right or in the middle—have experienced the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune some of it motivated by political opponents some of it provoked by an energetic press gallery some of it of our own doing but we are also joined by our common humanity. We share the sadness of missing significant family events we feel the same frustrations we lose sleep we have health issues in our whanau we celebrate our new babies and we grieve for those we have lost. I want to mihi to so many people who keep our spirits lifted who support and sustain us through good times and hard. It is done in the everyday conversations we share with the VIP drivers security staff the messengers the buildings staff and those on reception at Bellamy’s in the gym and of course right across this House. 
Finally there are three special groups of people I want to mention. The first is to recognise the hand of manaaki that was extended to us the Maori Party by John Key in inviting the Maori Party to enter into a relationship with National. It has not been without challenge but we are proud of the way in which our relationship has developed and a spirit of cooperation has emerged with some of the key Ministers around the table. Secondly I mihi to Tariana Te Ururoa Rahui and Hone who sacrifice so much for the good of our people. We have worked so hard not just for the gains we have achieved but more important to retain the faith of our people and to keep our reputation high as the strong and independent Maori voice of Parliament. Sure we have our disagreements but we are all for the kaupapa and we are all for Maori and that is unbreakable. And through it all we acknowledge our wonderful whanau who are the all-out stars of this  
Survivor 
 series. It is because of their tautoko their commitment to us and our party that we are able to do what we do. Words can never reflect adequately the vital role that our whanau play in this Parliament for all of us here. 
Mr Speaker thank you for your distinguished and impressive leadership in the House. I wish you and all of our honourable colleagues a restful summer with the people you love. Ma te Atua koutou me o koutou whanau e manaaki e tiaki i te wa o te Kirihimete. 
[ 
The Lord will cherish and look after you and your families during the Christmas period. 
]