Sharples Pita: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Sharples Pita: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:637;Page:7357] 
Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 There has been a lot of talk over the long cold summer of 2007—talk of an underclass of children going hungry to school of streets in my electorate. Party policies have been shamed; politicians have been blamed. There has been other talk about how well we are doing with the supposedly splendid social and economic progress being somehow responsible for the peaceful commemorations at Waitangi and the general levels of happiness. And while all the talk flowed other issues were raised around the kitchen tables of our nation—questions like why 11 percent of the Maori workforce is unemployed compared with the national average of 5 percent; why 28 percent of Maori over the age of 15 are receiving a benefit compared with 10.5 percent for the national average; or why the average hourly pay rate for Maori is $3 less than for non-Maori when they are doing the same work. 
The Maori Party has some hard questions of its own to ask. How many more whanau need to be ensnared as casualties of a welfare trap—a trap that is literally stealing the hopes and aspirations of our future generations from out of our grasp? How many more whanau are to be consigned to the ever-growing mountain of the working poor? How much longer will New Zealand’s reputation be damaged by generations of child abuse alcohol and drug-induced abuse domestic violence and murder? How long will we let talk flow before enduring solutions are available? 
This debate on the Prime Minister’s statement unfortunately has seen the House revert to a battleground all in the name of the political scoreboard. Over this last year we have been looking listening and learning but it has to be said that the way in which issues are raised in this House has at times left much to be desired. We welcome the move to develop a code of conduct for politicians. Indeed as a party driven by our kaupapa and tikanga we look forward to a new parliamentary environment—and we hope this year an environment in which te reo Maori thrives through simultaneous translation. 
Our interest as it always has been is to consolidate the influence of a strong independent Maori voice. We do this in our commitment to the growth of healthy resilient independent people. We want our people to be gainfully employed for a living wage. We are dedicated towards building whanau independence and community vitality. We encourage all parties to invest in people to inspire entrepreneurship and to reinforce that the best solutions are determined by the people themselves. 
In the instances of Maori social and educational needs we believe that the best solutions proposed by the people themselves have been deliberately ignored in favour of the Government’s agenda of expanding the service of Government departments and agencies. All this does is to heighten Maori dependence on the State. I think of the call that has come over many years for more Maori teachers to teach Maori immersion education. How did the ministry respond? By adding a new layer of staffing in the bureaucracy called Pouwhakataki. At the time of the murders of the two twin babies last year what was the bureaucracy’s response? It was to strengthen its bureaucratic services to the people. In my electorate—on this very very day—the issues associated with youth violence on our streets are confronting our communities. How does the Government respond? By sending in a team of outsiders much to the anger of the South Auckland community. 
 The Maori Party is saying we have had enough of the social rescue campaigns that end up blowing money and achieving little. We believe that this House is desperately in need of some fresh new ideas—ideas that demonstrate that our investments reflect our values like the initiative by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus that Bahrain introduced last week—a family bank. The concept is based on the ideals of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh which is owned by the poor borrowers of the bank mostly women. The borrowers become the owners and as they take on these new roles they ensure there is no failure of repayments. 
In a different part of the world in the Basque country the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation set up by the “People’s Worker Bank” allows members both access to financial services and start-up funds for new cooperative ventures. It has been so successful that in 2002 the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation contributed 3.7 percent towards the total GDP of the Basque country. These are just two examples that adhere to traditional cooperative values focus on family and ensure that all members have a financial stake in the success of the venture. They are models of success based on self-reliance and self-sufficiency. 
The welfare trap has created a seemingly impenetrable mindset amongst both tangata whenua and the helping agencies that keep people caught in the trap. The wholesale misery and poverty that is created by the welfare trap is clearly not producing the results that will achieve sustainable outcomes. Tangata whenua are at a crucial junction in the roads. When a decision is required to branch off into an entirely new direction the vital decision is about what vehicle will get them there. And it should not be a question of not having enough gas to get there; the total estimated tax paid by Maori and recorded in the half-year Economic and Fiscal Update for 2006 was $3832 million. That is plenty enough gas to nurture whanau independence to generate community vitality and to invest in people. We believe it would be a great day if we could redirect Government spending to enable tangata whenua to benefit from direct access to the source of the resource. Maori need to have a greater stake in the decision-making that is about us. If decisions keep being made by others about us there will never be the necessary movement to self-determination. 
This House needs to invest in ideas invest in people and invest in change. Importantly we have to be brave enough to face up to the racism that is endemic in unemployment and low-wage statistics and we must accord urgency to the need to take comprehensive action on climate change. The Maori Party has expressed its dismay that New Zealand is the fourth highest nation amongst developed nations in the emission of greenhouse gases and that New Zealand’s emissions are growing significantly faster than those in Australia. Indigenous peoples across the globe understand their role and their responsibility as being a unique one in conserving mother Earth. The Maori Party is also committed to assisting whanau hapu and iwi as tangata tiaki to take whatever measures are necessary to ensure the well-being and future good health of the environment. 
But it is not an exclusive duty that we hold. All of us have a responsibility to do what we can to ensure we assist this nation in not putting more carbon into the atmosphere than we are able to offset by other means. The Maori Party believes in the efficient use of water the conservation of energy and the need for active environmental management. We know that the urgency of the moment is upon us; we have no time to waste in point-scoring or political favours. Our priority must be to ensure we take the action that will truly make the difference for our people. It is the action that will enable tangata whenua to approach that fork in the road confident that the choice they make will take them on the right pathway to a brighter future—a pathway built on the premise that genuine progress for all New Zealanders is a right and an entitlement; a pathway that reflects that social justice is as much the responsibility of Parliament as economic prosperity. It is a pathway to progress to pride and to well-being.