Tamihere John: General Debates 
Tamihere John: General Debates 
[Volume:616;Page:12450] 
Hon JOHN TAMIHERE (Minister of Youth Affairs) 
: 
 Was that not a bizarre speech? A mature-aged woman from the Coromandel representing the Greens is now the champion for tino rangatiratangaism! 
I have to agree with the leader of New Zealand First—the National Party and the ACT party are inconsequential to any debate on nationhood whatsoever. Why? On the one hand the Court of Appeal will bring a judgment down and in the bedrock of the principles of the National Party—the desire to uphold the rule of law—they will trample on it. They will trample on it if it is not in favour with their rich elite little mates. 
Secondly why are those parties inconsequential? Because they will nationalise and socialise private property rights founded by the Court of Appeal of this country. That policy is duplicitous and we should ring the bells up and down this country and advise the country exactly what Don Brash stands for. It is nothing about nationhood it is everything about patronage to his new rich mates—cheap mates! 
Let us get it right about moving forward. This Government is the only Government—whether it is on infrastructure issues whether it is on the management of a wonderful and sustained economy or whether it is on the lowest unemployment rates served up to this nation; it is this Labour-led Government that will produce the results and continue to produce them. It is this Government—only a Labour-led Government—that can sort out the race-related issues. Here on this side of the House is the face of the future of this nation. Over there is the past and a failed past. 
People need to realise that we are talking about “solutionhood” not victimhood as they say over there. They are very good at engaging with what is wrong. They can tell people about angst hurt hate and frustration. They have no solutions. Over here we are driven by “solutionhood” not victimhood. 
Tomorrow when the seabed and foreshore legislation is tabled in this House for the very first time on a very complex issue we will have one of the best results for every Kiwi in this country. It will not please Gerry Brownlee. It will not please Don Brash. It will not please Titewhai Harawira. It will not please Ken Mair. But to hell with them. We are putting something on the table for the benefit of all Kiwis and so be it. 
And here is the message to the tino rangatiratanga people in the Greens and to the tino rangatiratanga people outside this Parliament. The sovereignty of this Parliament is the one thing that underpins everything about this country. The supremacy of this Parliament is what underpins the whole constitution and this Parliament will make the rules. It will regulate. That is why we will assert Crown ownership. We will assert Crown ownership because Maori have a relationship to the treaty with the Crown. We will assert Crown ownership because it is through this Parliament that it is asserted. We will assert Crown ownership because it is through this Parliament that it will be regulated and it is through regulation that we can be protected. That is why we will assert Crown ownership in the legislation tomorrow. 
Furthermore we will give everyone the right to go to the Maori Land Court to explore the extent of their rights. We will allow them in the event that they are not happy with that to go to the High Court to assert their rights. Even if one happens to be a non-Maori one gets to go to the High Court to assert those rights. 
We heard from Mr Gerry Brownlee in a very poor speech as usual. He said once again that this will lead to years and years of uncertainty. There is a time frame on this legislation and it is 10 years. There is certainty here. There is closure here. There is justice. That is something that only a Labour-led Government could serve up. 
I want to send one other message to the born-again horis out there who are jumping up and down over this issue: if they want people to walk across the House if they want people to become members of the National Party and if they want people to vote for Don Brash so be it. Let them look at this document. Let them look at this information and for the first time they will have a platform to make an informed decision. 
 At no time prior have we been able to lay something on the table out in our communities. Tomorrow we will do that. We will go on the front foot. What is the solution? We are putting it on the table. If somebody has something better let us put it on the table. Let us have a proper conversation about that. We will bring closure certainty and justice. That is what it is about. What underpins this great country is fairness to all. Tomorrow this bill will do exactly that. It will uphold the greatness of our institutions. We will not pull them to pieces as the National Party will want to do. We will not pull them to pieces as the ACT party and the cronies next to them will want to do. We will bring closure on it.