Harawira Hone: Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Harawira Hone: Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:666;Page:13967] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Maori Party—Te Tai Tokerau) 
: 
 Kia ora ra. Kia ora mai ano ra tatou katoa e te whanau e nohonoho mai nei i roto i to tatou Whare i tenei po. Ki a ratou ano e noho tonu ana ki roto o Otautahi me mihi atu mai i a matou katoa o roto o tenei Whare Paremata ki a ratou i roto i tenei taumahatanga kei runga i a ratou i tenei wa. 
[ 
Thank you and greetings to us all the family sitting there in our House tonight. Those who continue to live in Christchurch all of us in this House of Parliament once again indeed acknowledge this burden that is upon them at this point in time. 
] 
Watching my whanaunga—Tau Henare’s whanaunga actually—Tihi Puanaki trying to explain the terror of the earthquake on  
Te Kaea 
 showed me how serious its impact has been on everyone in and around Christchurch. I know Tihi well and she is no shrinking violet. She is a formidable and renowned kapahaka leader a passionate teacher of te reo and a real strength in her community. 
Tihi’s story of course has been repeated by many others in many ways every day in all media and in everyone’s daily conversations. It confirms the importance of the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Bill to assist with the response to the earthquake. So we are keen to support this bill and in particular to acknowledge the efforts of all those involved in the rebuilding of the devastated communities of Canterbury. 
Along with other community facilities that were able to be used Maori Party MP Rahui Katene has reminded us to acknowledge the efforts of the people of Ngai Tuahuriri in opening Tuahiwi Marae just north of the central business district to people in need of accommodation. No doubt all the other marae would have been opened up as well except they were all closed for structural safety assessments. Rahui also asked that we acknowledge the generosity of Nga Hau e Wha marae which was closed but which provided mattresses and general supplies to those welfare centres that were open to help those in need throughout Christchurch. 
Rahui also told us of the work of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu and has asked us to acknowledge it as well for doing its bit to support Ngai Tahu families other Maori living in its takiwa and all other residents in the stricken area; and to acknowledge its website which is a hive of valuable information—tips about how to cope through the crisis and specific information to help children and families deal with the trauma. We acknowledge also the practical assistance being provided by Ngai Tahu through their Tautoko Whanau bank account which they are proposing be administered by their own kaiwhakahaere the Mayor of Christchurch and a representative of matawaka and coordinated with other community support initiatives being put in place. 
As a special aside Rahui told us one of those little stories that help to lift people’s spirits in the midst of disaster. I am referring to the offer from Ngati Koata and other iwi in Nelson to open Whakatu Marae to give whanau a break after a very stressful couple of weeks in Christchurch the offer from Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu to provide transport to and from Nelson and the offer from iwi around Te Tau Ihu to provide kai and cater for manuhiri as well. 
One of the other big issues that came through to our caucus from Rahui’s regular reports was the concern she had that many whanau were opting to stay in their unsafe homes because they could not get to welfare centres. Rahui told us of spending a lot of her time last week visiting whanau kaumatua and kuia in Darlington and Hornby and she was shocked to find that many of them were still without power water and sewerage. Some of them even lacked transport to get to the welfare centres so many were opting to hunker down in their unsafe homes. 
Hearing these and many other stories from Rahui reminded me that even in times of common disaster sometimes support is not provided to all communities equally. I raise these points because Rahui’s comments also reminded me of the importance of the Government acknowledging the 30000 Maori living in Christchurch and recognising that their views and their needs need to be taken on board along with those of all other members of the community. I raise these points because again Rahui reminds us that it is important to the history of Otautahi to the background of the current crisis and to the future of a rebuilt Canterbury to ensure that Ngai Tahu is involved in all decisions being made during the rebuilding phase to ensure that the responses of Maori to the impacts of the earthquake are properly heard and acted upon. The Maori Party would like to see in the implementation of this bill the opportunity for tangata whenua to have an equitable say in the decisions that affect them and other Maori in the area and the opportunity for Ngai Tahu to add its considerable community knowledge and resource networks to the efforts to rebuild the district. 
We will be supporting this bill to assist the recovery and rebuilding of the Canterbury district but we are reminded again by our southern sister Rahui of the importance that Maori and specifically Ngai Tahu have formal representation on the commission to ensure an effective response to the needs and the circumstances of the 30000 Maori who live in the wider Christchurch area. Kia ora tatou.