Flavell Te Ururoa: Third Readings 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Third Readings 
[Volume:635;Page:6546] 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 Kia ora tatou katoa i tenei po. In doing some research for the debate on this legislation I found that there has never been a better time to be reforming business. 
Over the last weekend in Otaki in the rain and the wind 2000 people flooded to the Otaki Racecourse to attend the second Te Arahanga O Nga Iwi National Maori Business Expo. The crowds were treated to some 97 Maori businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs from throughout Aotearoa specialising in education performance art creative design fashion tourism and other ventures. 
Last month New Zealand’s national indigenous broadcaster Maori Television recorded its highest ever ratings with a monthly cumulative audience of more than 580000 unique viewers tuning in to the channel. This is a sign of its spectacular business success and the growth of the Maori broadcasting industry and it also indicates the willing readiness of many New Zealanders to look into the Maori world. 
In my own electorate we celebrate the success of cultural tourism through Te Puia which builds on the success of the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute and the Whakarewarewa geothermal park. Next year we celebrate 40 years since the first intake to the carving school Te Wananga Whakairo entered the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute. Initiatives such as these demonstrate the strength of the contribution Maori are making to the economic social and cultural fabric of Aotearoa through Maori business. Indeed tangata whenua have an asset base of $9.4 billion. Approximately $3.1 billion of that figure is in agriculture fishing and forestry and $2.4 billion is in general business and property assets. The remaining $4 billion is evenly distributed across all business areas such as mining manufacturing wholesale - retail trade tourism transport education health and cultural services. 
Maori business is smart business for Aotearoa. The Maori Party is therefore delighted to welcome the removal of unnecessary compliance costs and the range of legislative proposals being introduced in this legislation. This package of legislation formerly considered as part of the Business Law Reform Bill is another step in the incremental improvements being made to ensure that there is consistency with business law and between different legislative requirements. 
We support the small—but priority—improvements that are being applied to business law statutes so that the operation of business can be clear efficient and effective. We also welcome the changes such as the workability of the provisions in the 1993 Financial Reporting Act. The changes seem to move towards there being easier smoother and lower-cost operations. They include allowing the registrar time to notify companies that they will have to file their obligations in the passage of the Act strengthening the accountability of the Accounting Standards Review Board in exercising the powers of exemption and enabling companies to take advantage of the reduction in compliance costs a year earlier. These changes will be of significant value for the Maori economy. 
For those members who are unfamiliar with the wealth of opportunity established in the Maori economy I have consulted the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research report  
Te Ohanga Whanaketanga Maori 
 
which states: “The Maori economy can be defined as the assets owned and income earned by Maori—including collectively-owned trusts and incorporations Maori-owned businesses (e.g. tourism broadcasting and the self-employed) service providers (especially in health and education) and the housing owned by Maori. The wages and salaries earned by Maori workers are also part of this definition.” It is in this context that newspaper headlines scream that Maori are facing extinction so it is great to come to this House to celebrate the successes of Maori business. 
Yet yesterday the Minister of Maori Affairs was unable to answer why the numbers of Maori living in severe hardship have increased by 243 percent under his ministry. Today the Minister of Education was unable to answer my questions around the fact that Maori students are nearly three times as likely as non-Maori students to leave school with little or no formal attainment. Well I hope these Ministers will find some answers in the entrepreneurship the visionary enterprise and the unprecedented achievements that have been reported in respect of the Maori economy. 
Every member of Parliament should appreciate the fact that the Maori economy contributes some $240 billion in taxes and $650 million in exports. All members of Parliament should familiarise themselves with the latest Maori business output figures which reveal that growth between now and 2014 will be the highest in transport utilities manufacturing wholesale and retail trade cultural and recreational services and health and education services. 
In the spirit of celebrating our productivity I want the House to take note of the significance of an award made today by the Public Service Association (PSA) in recognising honorary life membership to a Te Arawa Kaumatua Kiwhare Mihaka. Kiwhare has been a union member of the Council of Trade Unions since 1957—that is nearly 50 years of dedicated commitment to Maori and to the life of New Zealand workers. At 4.45 this afternoon Kiwhare was presented with his life membership badge at the PSA congress. It is only appropriate that we in this House recognise the enormous service he has given to this nation. 
 Finally in thinking of the decades of successful contribution to the Maori economy I want to refer briefly to the Friendly Societies and Credit Unions Amendment Act. Some 44 years ago in 1962 a gentleman by the name of Bill Proctor established a credit union for the benefit of Maori living in Pukekohe. This organisation was the first Maori credit union to become a registered member of the New Zealand Credit Union League. The Nga Hau e Wha Credit Union was focussed on enhancing the well-being of Maori within the Pukekohe community. The membership of the credit union quickly grew to 100 people and by March 1964 it had savings of £656 in hand with £781 loaned out amongst 27 people. Within 2 years 407 of the loans had been repaid. 
The growth of credit unions was dramatic and exciting and for the many Maori communities the opportunity to gain credit through such means was unique. So we welcome the new administrative changes that now allow credit unions to decide their own common bond—their field of membership—and to have the opportunity for amalgamations charities and incorporated societies to become members. We embrace these new proposals for the way in which the credit unions will be empowered with the appropriate flexibility to determine their own minimum deposit levels and be able to undertake such changes as offering new services to their members without requiring ministerial approval. These are all steps in the right direction in terms of recognising the autonomy and the independent self-determining journey of the credit unions. 
When one is faced with a range and diversity of proposals such as the ones that appear in these bills—the Companies Amendment Bill (No 2) the Dumping and Countervailing Duties Amendment Bill the Financial Reporting Amendment Bill the Friendly Societies and Credit Unions Amendment Bill and the Insurance Companies’ Deposits Amendment Bill—it is always difficult to confine the debate to specific issues of relevance. The Maori Party is however reassured that the changes are based on suggestions from business law practitioners enforcement agencies and the business community. In the spirit of always respecting the authority of the actual communities involved and in recognition of the tremendous achievements of Maori in business we are delighted to support the third readings of this suite of five business-related bills. 
Bills read a third time.