Flavell Te Ururoa: Motions — United Nations Security Council—Election to Non-permanent SeatText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFlavell Te Ururoa: Motions — United Nations Security Council—Election to Non-permanent Seat[Sitting date: 21 October 2014. Volume:701;Page:9. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon TE URUROA FLAVELL (Co-Leader—Māori Party):Tēnā koe Mr Speaker kia ora tātou katoa e Te Whare. Ko tāku ko te whaiwhai haere i ngā kōrero a Te Pirimia ki te mihi ki ngā ringa raupā i kawe nei i tēnei o ngā kaupapa ki mua i te aroaro o te United Nations ka mutu tēnei o ngā kaupapa ki tōna taumata. Ka mihi rā ki ngā tāngata pēnei i a Murray McCully ki a Jim McClay ki a David Shearer ka nui te mihi ki a koe ka mutu ki ngā Pirimia o ngā tau kua hipa ki a Helen Clark ki a Jim Bolger ko rātou katoa ngā ringaringa rāweke i te pepa kia eke tēnei o ngā kaupapa ki tōna taumata otirā ngā mea i āwhina nei i ngā kaikōrero ki te kawe i ēnei moemoā o Aotearoa ā ki tāwāhi.[Thank you Mr Speaker and greetings to us all in the House. My address follows the sentiments expressed by the Prime Minister. I congratulate the team that worked to put forward this of the bids before the United Nations which ultimately was a successful one. I acknowledge those involved particularly Murray McCully Jim McClay and David Shearer. A big thank you to you and furthermore to former Prime Ministers Helen Clark and Jim Bolger all of them—all the people who played a part in preparing the document that enabled this of the bids to be successful those indeed who assisted the presenters to convey these dreams of New Zealand abroad.]I also just acknowledge the other gentlemen and ladies who have been mentioned earlier and the contribution that they made in terms of presenting New Zealand’s case to the United Nations.When the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke at the University of Auckland just recently I am told that he talked about the powers of connectivity in creating enduring peace. In his speech he referred to the lack of mutual understanding and respect for the traditions beliefs and faiths of others and the initiative of creating the Alliance of Civilizations to promote genuine understanding. New Zealand as others have said can be proud today of our success in winning a Security Council seat but there is also the courage and the foresight of this Government in overturning the previous Labour Government’s bizarre decision in 2007 to oppose the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. So I count myself pretty lucky and privileged to have been at the United Nations when Dr Pita Sharples presented the case and righted the wrong. That was indeed a great privilege of my political career.Although we congratulate all of those involved in supporting the bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council as others have said we must also recognise the challenges ahead. New Zealand must use our strength and our moral courage to now focus on those goals of connectivity particularly in light of the rights of indigenous peoples. We must take advantage of our efforts to address the most pressing security concerns for humanity: issues such as the negative impact of climate change and the degradation of our environment the desperate need to disarm nuclear weapons and the elimination of poverty. We in Aotearoa are clearly respected throughout the world and have a solid reputation. We need to ensure that we continue to build on that. Ka nui te mihi.