Henare Peeni: Debate on Prime Minister’s StatementText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHenare Peeni: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement[Sitting date: 01 March 2016. Volume:711;Page:9268. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]PEENI HENARE (Labour—Tāmaki Makaurau):Tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare. Ko Tūtāmure te tupuna ko Te Whakatōhea te iwi. E te ahorangi e Ranginui Walker e te tohunga o te whakaiti e te ahorangi o te ao mātauranga tēnei e tangi apakura atu ana ki a koe otirā koutou kua ngaro atu ki Te Pō. Ka tāpiri atu ko te māmā o taku hoa mahi a Phil Twyford ki a ia ka tāpiri hoki ko tōku tupuna 2 wiki ki muri i mahue ake ki te pō. Nō reira koutou e te hunga wairua ki a koutou e moe e moe okioki!Ka noho ahau ki roto i Te Reo Māori. He aha te take i pēnā ai? Kia kite tātou me te whakamātautau i tēnei Kāwanatanga me wā rātau manawanui ki tō tātou Reo Māori tā te mea aianei tata ake nei ka uru mai Te Pire mō Te Reo Māori ki roto i tō tātou Whare. Nā ka kite tātou mehemea e manawanui ana tō tātou Kāwanatanga ki tēnei taonga o Te Reo Māori. E rua ana ngā take pū ana ki a tāua Te Māori. Ko te mea tuatahi i tēnei wā ko Te Pire mō Te Reo Māori ko te mea tuarua ko Te Pire Whenua Māori. Ka whakaaro ake Te Iwi Māori ko ēnei mea e rua he taonga. He taonga Te Reo Māori he taonga anō hoki te whenua ki a tāua Te Māori.Nō reira ka whakaaro ake ahau ki ngā mahi nanakia ngā mahi māminga o tēnei Kāwanatanga. Ka whakaaro ake ahau ki ngā kōrero a Ranginui Walker i roto i tana pukapuka e mea ana: “Me hui ngātahi Te Kāwanatanga me Te Māori ki runga i te marae. Me kaua Te Kāwanatanga e karanga hui ana ki roto i ngā hōtēra ki roto i ngā wāhi Pākehā. Me tae atu ki te marae ki te āta kōrero i ngā take e pā ana ki Te Iwi Māori.”Nō reira ka tukuna atu te pātai ki tēnei Kāwanatanga: he aha te take i tū ngā hui e pā ana ki Te Pire Whenua Māori ki roto i ngā hōtēra o te Pākehā? Ko reira katoa te wairua o Te Māori? Kāhore! Kāhore! Kāhore! E pātai atu ana ki tēnei Kāwanatanga e i a rātou e huri haere ana i te motu whānui i whakaae mai Te Iwi Māori ki ngā nekehanga o Te Pire Whenua Māori? E kāhore! E kāhore! E kāhore!Nō reira ka tukuna atu tēnei pātai ki tēnei Kāwanatanga: ko te aha koutou mō Te Iwi Māori—ko te aha koutou ki Te Iwi Māori? E tika ana te kōrero o taku hoa mahi a Nanaia Mahuta e mea ana: “Nō reira he aha te painga mō tāua Te Māori?”. Ka kite tātou ki roto i ngā tatauranga e mea ana: e pōhara tonu ana Te Iwi Māori; kei te ngaro haere te whenua Māori; kei te mimiti haere Te Rēo Māori. Anā kei te mauhere. Ā ko te nuinga o ngā mauhere ki roto i ngā whareherehere ko Te Māori. Anā ko ngā tatauranga o te ao hauora. Ānā ko Te Māori e pēhi ana ki raro. Nō reira ki te whakautu i te kōrero a te mema kātahi anō kua noho ki roto i tō tātou Whare ā e hoa he aha nei te painga ki a tāua Te Māori? Ka kī atu horekau! Horekau! Horekau!Nō reira ka tū au ki te whakahē i te kōrero a Te Pirimia i te tīmatanga o tēnei tau tā te mea kua kōrero ahau mō ngā tatauranga kua kōrero ahau mō ngā nekehanga māminga o tēnei Kāwanatanga. Ka whakaaro ake ahau mō te kōrero ā tōku tupuna e mea ana: “I rongo ēngari kīhai i rongo! I kite ēngari kīhai i kite.” Koi nā te mahi o tēnei Kāwanatanga ki tōku Iwi Māori. Kua kōrero ahau mo te pōharatanga. Kātahi ano au ka mutu i ngā huihuinga ki roto i te tāone nui o Tāmaki-makau-rau ā ko te nuinga o ngā kōrero e mea ana e pōhara tonu ana rātou. Ka whakaaro ake ahau ki Te Wharekura o Manurewa kua roa rawa e tatari ana mō Te Minita Take Mātauranga kia whakaae kia tū te wharekura ki roto o Manurewa. He aha te take? Ko Te Reo Māori te take. He aha te take? Ko te oranga o tāua Te Iwi Māori! Hei whakakapi ake kua kite ahau i ngā māngai o te Kāwanatanga e kore aro mai nei ki tō tāua Reo Māori. Hei whakakapi ake tukuna te poi kia rere! E hari koa ana kua tatū te whakatau mō te mahi poi a te tāne ki roto i te ahurea kā tū ki roto i ngā mārama e tū mai nei e Te Māngai o Te Whare tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.[Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. Tūtāmure is the ancestor and Te Whakatōhea is the tribe. To you Professor Ranginui Walker professor of humility and professor of the world of education I lament here for you but at the same time for all of you lost to the void. I add to him the mother of my parliamentary colleague Phil Twyford and an ancestor of mine 2 weeks ago who was left behind in the void. So to all of you spiritual ones sleep slumber and rest.I will remain speaking in the Māori language. And why do I do that? So that we can see and test this Government anditsstout heartin regard to our Māori language because not too far away nowthe Māori Language Bill will be introduced into our House. We will see then just how stout our Government’s heart is to this treasured aspect of the Māori language. There are two matters that we of Māoridom place emphasis on: the first one at this point in time is the Māori Language Bill and the second one is theproposed Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill. Māoridom consider these two a treasure. The Māori language is a treasure and so is the land to you and me the Māori.And so I think about the crafty and devious actions of this Government and the statement made by Ranginui Walker in his book which stated: “Government and Māori must meet together on the marae. Government must never convene a meeting in hotels and non-Māori settings. They must go to the marae to really talk matters through that relate to Māoridom.” So the question to this Government is: what is the reason why meetings for theproposed Te Ture Whenua Māori Billwere held in non-Māori hotels? Was the Māori spirituality all there? Not at all not at all not at all! I ask of this Governmentwhetheras it went around the country at large the Māori people agreed tothe actions of theproposed Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill? Not at all not at all not at all!So this is really the question to Government: what are youthento the Māori people—what are youthento the Māori people? What my colleague Nanaia Mahuta is saying is true: “So what is the benefit for you and me the Māori?”.We see what the statistics state: Māoripeople are still impoverished; Māori land continues to be lost; the Māori language is diminishing. Look at imprisonment: the majority of prisoners in the prisons are Māori. Consider the statistics in the health world: there you are; Māori is down. So to respond to the address by a member who has just taken a seat in our House: shucks mate what then is the benefit for you and me the Māori? I must saynone at all! None at all! None at all! Therefore I stand to oppose the Prime Minister’s statement at the beginning of this year because I have spoken about the statistics and the nefarious actions of this Government. I recall a saying by my ancestor who said: “I heard but I didn’t hear; I saw but I didn’t see.” That is what this Government has done to my Māori people.I have talked about the impoverishment. I have just completed a series of conferences in the city of Auckland. The majority of the conversation is saying that we continue to be poor. I think about Te Wharekura o Manurewa.It hasbeen waiting a long time for the Minister of Education to agree to such a school being established at Manurewa and for what reason? The Māori language. And why? For the welfare of you and me the Māori people! In conclusion I have witnessed Government representatives who have no regard to this Māori language whichbelongs to you and me. Finally let the poi fly! Iam overjoyed thatthe question ofmales performing the poi at the festival to be held this month has been settled. Mr Assistant Speaker acknowledgments to you and to us all.]