Flavell Te Ururoa: Dog Control Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Dog Control Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading 
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TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 Kia ora Mr Deputy Speaker. Kia ora tatou katoa. I am pleased to take a call on the Dog Control Amendment Bill (No 2). I greet Mr Gerry Brownlee this morning. I know he had a bit of a “wuff” night last night. 
Hon Members 
: Ha ha! 
TE URUROA FLAVELL 
: I just thought I would cheer him up this morning. I will tell a story. In the heart of the Waiariki electorate about an hour’s drive south-east of Rotorua there is a small township with “wuffly” 2000 people in it. 
Hon Members 
: Oh! 
TE URUROA FLAVELL 
: Let me continue. The township is the doorway to a region full of beautiful bush rivers forests and farmland. Within this rohe are the marae of Moewhare Tipapa Rangitahi and Painoaiho. This is the tribal nation of Ngati Manawa ia. Beside them is the nation of Ngati Whare who act as kaitiaki of the lush natural forests of Whirinaki Te Whaiti Nui a Toi and Te Urewera. There is also the legendary Te Kura Kaupapa Motuhake o Tawhiuau. The township I am talking about is Murupara. It would be good for members to go and see that town. It is an awesome little town and there are great people there. The downside of course is that in April of this year Murupara was known for only one thing. On 21 April Virginia Ohlsen lost her life there after being attacked by a pit bull and Staffordshire cross belonging to her nephew. The country watched in horror as the story unfolded about how it came to be that a 56-year-old mother was mauled to death by an unregistered dog literally in her own backyard. But it did not stop there. Two days later an 85-year-old Auckland woman was bitten on the face by a Rottweiler in a supermarket car-park and exactly 1 week after the fatal attack in Murupara 8-year-old Jackson Williams and 15-year-old Te Aroha Pukuivi were attacked by two pit bulls in Auckland leaving the youngest hospitalised.  
These attacks reinforce the need for owners to register their dogs and keep them fenced and under control. In all of the April attacks it was unregistered dogs that caused the problem. If there are any positives about this whole situation there is only one. The owners of the dogs that were the cause of the mauling in Murupara and South Auckland did stand up and take responsibility. They were prepared to take the consequences of the dog attacks.  
This bill makes it clear that the responsibility for the control of menacing dogs is a collective responsibility. The bill will establish new opportunities for central government to work proactively with local government to discuss dog policy matters. It requires each council to take the initiative in adopting a policy relating to dogs. It also establishes a new classification that makes it utterly clear that a dog owner must not allow a dog classified as a menacing dog to roam at large without being muzzled.  
The Maori Party appreciates the fact that the bill takes into account the need for transitional provisions. We believe that the capacity for owners to make the appropriate adjustments within the 6-month time frame is a reasonable measure and we hope that it will assist compliance with this bill.  
I am not going to take too much more time than is necessary to express our support for this bill to go to the select committee but I do want to end on a positive note by referring to a document entitled  
Murupara Dreaming 
 which reflects the current initiatives across this community to make a difference. The document I am talking about refers to a community of “determination passion people stepping up and leading people who can be bothered and people who truly care. This is because through this process we have seen ways to lift our community we have seen the opportunities for ourselves and for our moko taiohi and whanau and we’ve realised that no one can change things as much as we can change things for ourselves.”  
These words are from Jacob Te Kurapa of the Whakatane District Council and they reinforce for me the potential that all of our communities have to take leadership amongst their people and make progress across all areas. For me this is reflected in Te Kura Kaupapa Motuhake o Tawhiuau a special character school in Murupara where celebrating Ngati Manawatanga is a way of life. Te Reo Irirangi o Tawhiuau 99.7FM based at that kura is their link into that community and broadcasts every day because of the volunteers and community spirit. Actually the students of the school are the backbone of the station using te reo Maori throughout the day.  
The enthusiasm reflected in Murupara and expressed in the community report I referred to earlier is indeed a positive context for this reading of the Dog Control Amendment Bill (No 2) and gives us all the confidence we need to know that local solutions can and are the best approach for local problems. Kia ora tatou.