Sharples Pita: Address in Reply 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sharples Pita: Address in Reply 
[Sitting date: 08 February 2012. Volume:677;Page:189. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Deputy Speaker. Kaore au i konei inanahi nga mihi o te Paremata tau hou ki a tatou tena koutou.[ 
Interruption 
] Huaki i tetahi kura hou i Kawerau pai tena hoki. 
[ 
Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker. I was not here yesterday so parliamentary New Year greetings to us all and to you collectively.  
[Interruption] 
 I was opening a new school at Kawerau. That was a great event as well. 
] 
Well the political year has started with the Treaty and Maori issues right up front and centre stage right where they belong. Debate is hot; debate is hot over how the Treaty affects the Government’s plans to partially privatise a number of State-owned enterprises. Once again the issue of Maori customary interests and rights in fresh water has come up. The place of the Treaty in our constitution is up for debate with national consultations getting under way this year. Meanwhile Maori are working on strategies for language growth and Maori economic development. Whanau Ora is in its roll-out stage at this time.  
The big question is how do all these things make a difference for the people of Aotearoa who are living in an increasingly divided and polarised society where the rich are getting richer and more and more families are struggling to make it through? The Maori Party is proud to be at the centre of the action. We have come to Parliament to represent our constituents’ views to take them to Cabinet fight them through and to work with the Parliament as a whole to make a difference for New Zealand.  
So that leads me to the question of poverty. We are happy that the Maori Party has been able to arrange with National a joint Ministerial Committee on Poverty— 
Jacinda Ardern 
: Can we join you? 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: We will certainly work with you. Minister Turia and Minister English co-chair this committee and I am a member as well. We have already started with Te Puni Kokiri out there working very very hard and showing what a good ministry it is doing the job.  
Hon Parekura Horomia 
: That’s right. You’re closing it down. What a disgrace! 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: Oh rubbish! Parekura you know that’s not true. In working with Te Puni Kokiri I have already initiated a number of activities in the areas of housing and housing help of jobs and training initiatives and education initiatives.  
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Cuts. 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: “Developed” is the word. It is in the most early stages at this time but it is really quite exciting to see that sections of the community are prepared to come forward and contribute although these are still hard times.  
So this brings me to Whanau Ora—that beautiful beautiful policy that is so admired by all the members in this House. It is so disappointing to see the redneck of racism emerging around Whanau Ora. There have been questions asked about one family of some 180 members who received $6000 which is a fairly meagre amount when we think of the scale of the transformation that they are commencing. I have to wonder what motivates a man to cast doubt on the capacity of families to turn their lives round. Why would any politician attack whanau who are doing the best they can to improve their situation and in the long term reduce reliance on State dependency especially since I have been informed that the member who raised this issue knows full well that his partner received sizable remuneration for advising one of those Whanau Ora collectives?  
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I think it has been a long tradition and a matter that has been reinforced a number of times by Speakers that members’ families are not brought into debate. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: That point of order is upheld. Can I just also caution the member that he used a term initially when he raised this particular matter in his speech which could lead to disorder. I let him get away with it because it was not attributed to a party or an individual but he did use a word that is unacceptable to attribute to a member or a party. So I just raise that consciousness with him. Continue Dr Sharples. 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: What I have seen occurring through Whanau Ora is real change tangible outcomes that show families taking responsibilities for themselves. This funding is about whanau transformation. The value in that is priceless.  
Transforming the relationship between whanau and the State may take a lot of time but we cannot continue to waste Government spending on interventions that make no lasting difference but just create dependency. Whanau Ora is about bringing whanau together to collectively plan to improve their well-being. The outcomes that we have seen are widespread: they span education employment health and social transformation. We have whanau who have looked at ways to address family violence others who have focused on rheumatic fever and others who have looked at rebuilding their lives after the Christchurch earthquake. The outcomes for these whanau show they are getting results. They are turning round trends which decades of failed Government funding have been unable to address.  
The Maori Party is about creating real transformation in whanau not just propping up a system that obviously has not worked for our people over the many decades past. Whanau Ora is the greatest opportunity that we have had to take back responsibility for ourselves. So why would anyone want to undermine that?  
Another major activity that the Maori Party is involved with and I am involved with is the constitutional review. This is a review of the constitution of New Zealand which will take place over 2 years. There is a panel of about 12 people led by Sir Tipene O’Regan and Emeritus Professor John Burrows and members such as Peter Chin Dr Ranginui Walker Peter Tennent Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith Hinurewa Poutu Dr Leonie Pihama Bernice Mene John Luxton Dr Michael Cullen and Deborah Coddington. So those will be the groups and they will go out over 2 years and hold meetings with the community. Parallel to this the iwi leaders have set up another team and they are going to formulate their views on what the constitutional review should look like and then I guess they will bring the two together and see what happens. So that is happening over the period of 2 years and it will take time for us to get this back.  
We have put the call out to iwi to make sure that they wananga on this topic because for years at Waitangi the question of where the Treaty does fit has come up with protests and even more recently the question is really relevant when you consider the State-owned enterprises. The first of these consultation meetings over the State-owned enterprises has been held today in Rotorua. There were over 300 people there— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Paul Quinn was there putting the chairs out! 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: —and unanimous by the people present— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Paul Quinn was there putting the chairs out. 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: —the whole lot. Do you want to hear this? The unanimous result by all the people present was that they support section 9 being included in the new bill—that it should remain there. I think this might be a warning for us— 
Grant Robertson 
: Does the Government support section 9A? 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: I beg your pardon? 
Grant Robertson 
: Does the Government support section 9A? 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: This might be a warning for us and for the Government that this could be indicative—[ 
Interruption 
] Yes that is right. That is why I am in the Government mate. That is exactly why I am there so I can sit at the table and challenge them on everything. That is the relationship we have: totally above board. So at the end of the day it will be decided in Cabinet and Tariana and I whatever the result is will be in there in that discussion full on acting our part and so on.  
Also carrying on at this time because I am a busy boy is the economic review.  
Hon Member 
: Ha ha! 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: You remember last time I had a task force on Maori economics and we looked at quite a few initiatives set up trading lines to China and a lot of Maori initiatives over there as well as the economy. We reviewed it and found it to be a $36.9 billion asset base which is growing fast. We are now progressing to phase two to mobilise the Maori economy asset base by developing a Maori economic strategy which was announced last year. The objectives of this strategy and action plan will produce strategic recommendations on improving the overall collaboration and infrastructure of the Maori iwi economy and secondly Maori iwi economic developments in the context of the Treaty of Waitangi New Zealand and the wider global economy. So the strategic and action plan will actually produce specific and practical recommendations on the following: improving the performance and productivity of the Maori economic sector clarifying the role and identity and the contribution that the Government can make to improving the performance of the Maori economic sector and thirdly considering the role and contribution of Maori to their own economic development. That team is led by Ngahiwi Tomoana—I think I have met him before—Greg Whittred Debbie Packer Roger Pikia Graham Stuart Gina Rangi Glen Tupuhi June McCabe Mark Solomon and Bevan Graham.  
So that is all happening and as well as that there is the language review that we are involved in totally. You know we had set up Te Paepae Motuhake which was a panel by the people and they are at an interesting stage of this development at this time. I have just been waved down so thank you for listening and for your support especially from that side.