Katene Rahui: Animal Welfare Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Katene Rahui: Animal Welfare Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:660;Page:9084] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 As uri of Ngati Koata I have grown up in a tradition in which the concept of respecting and caring for animal life is second nature. Our iwi is the kaitiaki or guardian of the tuatara of Takapourewa or Stephens Island. It is our humble duty and obligation to take every precaution necessary to care for and protect from harm these incredible living fossils. So the concept of introducing legislation to prevent the wilful ill treatment and neglect of animals is consistent with my own tribal values and belief. 
I hasten to suggest that the sacred status of tuatara is not the only example of an animal being revered and respected by tangata whenua. In part of my tribal rohe on Rangitoto ki te Tonga otherwise known as D’Urville Island the spotted brown kiwi occupies a special status as well. In another aspect of the significance of the animal kingdom for Te Ao Maori kaitiaki manifest in animal form continue as living realities for whanau hapu and iwi. Such kaitiaki include the kiwi kuri ruru and tuatara. The paraora or whale also features prominently as an animal revered by hapu and iwi. The practice of whale riding—highlighted in the movie based on Witi Ihimaera’s novel—was a common theme in Maori oral histories.  
The Whale Rider 
 retells the traditions of Paikea but there are other notable whale riders including Te Tahi-o-te-Rangi an ancestor of the Mataatua tribes and Tunui a tohunga of Hawke’s Bay who was seen riding his pet whale Ruamano on his way to Cape Kidnappers. 
Our history is rich with stories of the great affection that Maori had for animals including pet kaka eels and shags. In fact Kupe had a pet shag whose remains are seen today at Te Aumiti the narrow pass between the Mainland and Rangitoto known as French Pass. Kuri the humble dog was known as a great companion even back to the days of the explorer Kupe. In other stories horses are described as extraordinary some describing them as taniwha or supernatural creatures. One chief from Tuhoe Te Maitaranui describes these new beasts as “kuri waha tangata”—people-carrying dogs. For Ngati Porou there is a particularly strong association with what are commonly known as the Nati horses those versatile horses that travel over stony grounds or through water and bush without faltering. And of course for Ngati Tuwharetoa the association with the wild Kaimanawa horses is so powerful that there has even been a claim lodged with the Waitangi Tribunal to prevent them from being culled. 
I share some of these stories with the House as a way of setting the scene for the changes we are today debating to the Animal Welfare Act proposed by the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill—in particular the drive to increase the penalties for offences involving wilful harm and reckless cruelty to animals. Our history helps to provide us with guidance about how to consider issues such as the welfare of animals. Although the recent media portrayal of this type of offending has demonstrated just how horrifying some of these incidents have been it is always useful to have a broader context from which to respond. The history of Maori experience with animals tells us that ill treatment and neglect not only was unknown but would be considered grossly inappropriate. That is why the Maori Party remains concerned about the use of 1080 poison to condemn possums to a truly cruel and painful death. How do we measure animal welfare? Why are pests are allowed to be treated in a different way to pets? 
There is another aspect to the wilful treatment of animals that I feel duty-bound to bring to this House—that is the known association between cruelty to animals and human violence which has been referred to by previous speakers. In 2002 a Child Youth and Family supervisor in Otara Briar Humphrey conducted a 3-month sabbatical project resulting in the paper  
Child Welfare / Animal Welfare—a Discussion Document 
. In her project Ms Humphrey explored aspects of the animal welfare sector’s relationship with child welfare in Auckland in cooperation with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Auckland. During the course of her study she spoke with animal welfare trainers managers and front-line staff and concluded that child protection social workers could learn much from animal welfare professionals working in the same communities and often in the same homes. In her conclusions Ms Humphrey suggested that child protection social workers should include consideration of family pets in their assessments of abusive and neglectful families. 
The study demonstrates that the link between the treatment of pets and the children’s attachments to animals often spoke volumes about the children and the family. In essence children and young persons who are violent and cruel to animals needed immediate help. I think this is another really important dimension to the debate as it makes it explicit that people convicted of violent crimes are often also predisposed to the cruel treatment of animals. I think it is also worthy of comment to observe that there are successful models of child and animal welfare agency cooperation throughout the United States and the United Kingdom. 
Coming back more particularly to this bill the Maori Party supports the provisions that enable a court to disqualify a person from having custody of animals and to order forfeiture of animals to the Crown or to an approved organisation in the case of an offence being proven. We need to be able to demonstrate that the threshold of acceptance of any form of violence reflects the serious attitude we have to ill treatment and neglect. We must set the bar high showing in our actions that we have no tolerance for violence or abuse of any kind. As an electorate MP I know only too well the horrific levels of violence amongst our communities. As a Maori woman I know that our women are substantially overrepresented in Women’s Refuge statistics. Our women receive higher levels of medical treatment for abuse and experience more severe abuse than other groups of women. In fact I have recently learnt that Maori women between 15 and 24 years of age are seven times more likely to be hospitalised as a result of an assault than are Pakeha women. 
This crisis of circumstance must occupy all of our attention within the House. I particularly acknowledge the work that my colleague Tariana Turia has been doing with the Maori reference group on family violence. Its report on how to eliminate family violence within the whanau  
E Tu Whanau Ora 
 is a wonderful resource that can help us to take actions to restore peace across our communities. But our attitude to violence across the wider community is also critical in stemming the tide and that is why bills such as this are so critical. The Animal Welfare Amendment Bill provides us with an opportunity to understand the links between cruelty to animals and other types of violence. It establishes a threshold of behaviour that rejects the ill treatment and neglect of animals and creates a public standard that encourages us to act with compassion care and respect to all forms of life including animals. For all these reasons we support the bill.