Sharples Pita: Motions — New Zealand Police—Death of Senior Constable Len Snee in Napier Armed Siege 
Sharples Pita: Motions — New Zealand Police—Death of Senior Constable Len Snee in Napier Armed Siege 
[Volume:654;Page:3053] 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 A kai te rangatira tena koe kai te Whare tena tatou katoa. E te Whare kua kapohia a te tangata e te ringa kino o kohuru. Koia tera e okioki ana i runga i tona moengaroa e tiraha ana i raro i te korowai i tona whanau. He pera te mamae o mate ahakoa he tangata ahakoa te ahuatanga o te hinganga. Engari te mate kua pa atu ki te tangata kua tu hei whakaruruhau hei tauira hei poupou mo te hapori a he parekura ano hoki tera. Aue taukuri e. 
[ 
Greetings Mr Speaker and to us all. I say to the House that a person has been taken out by a cruel and murderous hand. He is the one resting there upon his bed of eternal slumber stretched out beneath the cloak and before his family. Regardless who one is and the circumstances that is the nature of death. But when a person regarded as a protector icon and pillar of the community dies in the manner he did then it becomes a devastation and a real travesty 
.] 
The roll-call of lives lost over the last century—officers killed in the performance of their official duties—is a tragic memorial to people who paid the highest sacrifice for their commitment to public service. Last Thursday that list grew longer. We in the Maori Party pay our deepest respects to the family the colleagues and the community who now grieve their loss. It is indeed appropriate for this House to mourn with those who are most affected by the heartbreak caused by the shooting in Napier. All of us in this House will know the pain of losing a loved one through death—the loss of a father a son a brother a cousin an uncle or a partner. That grief is dramatically and traumatically heightened when it is under such tragic circumstances as this. We extend our support also to the families of the two officers and to the brave member of the public injured in this event and forever scarred by the events of the day. 
This is an extremely serious and sad moment for all New Zealanders. The context of the shooting itself cannot be overstated. That day will always be marked for the people of Bluff Hill by vivid memories of the chaos that rolled out that morning. They will think of the threats of munitions. They will be haunted by the shots that pierced the air. They will remember the reports of the high-powered weapons the involvement of the armed offenders squad and the Special Tactics Group the lockdown of all the schools in the vicinity the rescue helicopter circling the deployment of the dog unit the ambulances on stand-by and the police cars searching the streets. Well over 2000 children now have an experience of terror that no one would wish for our young. The children of Carlyle Kindergarten Nelson Park School Napier Central School Napier Intermediate School Sacred Heart College and Napier Girls High School were all unwilling participants in the incident that erupted around them. 
This is the not the New Zealand that we believe in. The horrific shooting and the subsequent siege that occurred over the weekend will have massive impacts rippling across many communities. First and foremost we think of the families who grieve and who suffer the enduring legacy of that day. We think of the police officers throughout New Zealand who will each take on the pain of the slaughter of one of their colleagues but will get up each day and go to work. We think of the Napier community: the children and the members of the public who are shell-shocked at the events that unfolded in their town. We think of Takapau a small town of relatives and friends of Maori and Pakeha—the home base of the Snee family—who shed tears and mucous together as the village said goodbye to a loved son on his marae. And we think of ourselves as New Zealanders haunted by the violence that took over a community and asking why it happened and how things could have been done differently. 
We must never let this happen again. If there is one thing I hope we can do to honour the memory of Lenny Snee it is to cooperate across this House to invest in peaceful communities in all that we do. 
Na reira kai te tamaiti kai te rangatira haere i te huarahi kua wharakitia te mana ki o tipuna matua. E Lenny haere haere haere. 
[ 
And so to you Lenny son and leader tread the pathway to your ancestors which is paved with integrity. Go forth depart farewell 
.]  
Waiata