Turia Tariana: General Debate 
Turia Tariana: General Debate 
[Volume:648;Page:17126] 
Hon TARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Deputy Speaker. There are some moments of inspiration that cause us all to reflect but believe me that is not what happens in this House. But one of those moments happened this last weekend. Henare O’Keefe told a crowd of more than 2000 people: “My faith has been restored in mankind today”. The Hastings District councillor was reduced to tears by the outpouring of love that came from a community that cared a community that had had enough of violence and a community that had been shattered by the brutal home invasion of a young family in Flaxmere. 
The No. 1 issue facing Aotearoa today is not about KiwiRail KiwiSaver Kiwibank or any other aspect of Kiwiana; the question facing us all is what can we as everyday families do to transform our lives? What can we do to step up to the challenge put on our own walking shoes and take our streets communities and homes back? Last night in this House a lot of emphasis was given to the need for a moral code—the need for standards. I wonder whose standards we are being judged against and whose code of morality prevails. I recall a release issued by the Muliaga family that described what it called the strange silence from Blue Chip in failing to offer to repay one cent of the millions of dollars owed to New Zealanders who had lost their life savings. Their release concluded: “These people continue to live in million dollar mansions and drive luxury cars while the Muliaga’s struggle week to week living in a state house”. 
Every day the newspapers tell us of the grim reality of poverty and deprivation of violence of crime and of desperation. There is no denying that those are the defining issues of our time but they must not strangle hope. In addressing the rally in Hawke’s Bay Henare O’Keefe ended by saying: “no amount of legislation no number of social workers or policemen can substitute what has happened today”. And he is right. We must look to each other for our solutions. We must actively harness the strengths of whanau as an opportunity for the people to flourish. We must all search our collective histories for examples of courage truth justice compassion dignity humility and the power of service that we can draw on to inspire our next steps. 
We have many solutions within our reach. Pio Terei in his no-sweat parenting approach tells us that the essentials in every child’s school-bag are good sleep good food a hug and a smile when they wake up and a huge repertoire of encouraging words. Pat Ngata inspires us to raise our sons as gentle men. Project Mauriora tells us how we can draw on our kaupapa and tikanga as tools to help us to work towards a lifelong restoration of peace within our whanau. And that is just a start. 
The Maori Party believes that families are the foundation of any society and the value that society places on its people determines the quality of that society. We must promote the special role of the whanau the first educator in the well-being of this nation. Whanau must be supported to care for and make decisions affecting their own members and must be able to access all the resources that they need in order to thrive. We have to restore to ourselves the value of taking responsibility for the actions of the members of our families and for the impact that those actions have on others. Henare O’Keefe did exactly that. He stood and addressed the children and I quote: “To our children I want to say I’m sorry. If you have been hurt in any way shape or form I’m so sorry”. That district councillor that distressed dad and grandfather could have stood up and railed against the gangs and hyped up the crowd to get tough and to get even. But instead he practised what Mahatma Gandhi once said: “An eye for an eye just makes the whole world blind.” Henare O’Keefe opened our eyes to a different way: a way of stepping up and creating community unity of inspiring hope of recognising injustice and of taking responsibility. That sort of action is what restores my faith too. Kia ora.