Henare Peeni: Annual Review Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHenare Peeni: Annual Review Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 29 April 2015. Volume:704;Page:3061. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]PEENI HENARE (Labour—Tāmaki Makaurau):Tēnā koe Mr Chair. Can I take this opportunity to acknowledge a great man whose legacy is vast and broad. Perhaps the most enduring part of his legacy was his ability to connect with Māori people young and old alike. You may be asking whom I am talking about. I am actually talking about “Kia ora Chief”—the Hon Parekura Horomia—who on this day 2 years ago passed away. I want to acknowledge him as a segue into our contribution this evening around exactly what the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations has just spoken about—Māori development or I would argue the lack thereof.One of Mr Horomia’s legacies was a strong Te Puni Kōkiri. The focus was to ensure that the Government of the day met its obligation to the Māori people as sanctified in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. In fact it says that our principal duties under the Act are to monitor and liaise with Government agencies and to promote increases in the achievement of Māori in key social and economic development areas. This I believe is not what is happening. I believe that our people are being duped into believing that only via an economic pathway can they also achieve cultural wealth which is one of the key priorities of Te Puni Kōkiri.In the annual review I am concerned by the appropriation. If we look over the past 6 years Te Puni Kōkiri’s appropriation rate has barely kept up with inflation. Some might be asking what that means in real terms. Well for a young Māori fella what that means to “Joe Public” is that he is getting ripped off. In fact it has been a cut. If you look at that if it has slowly risen barely keeping up with the rate of inflation I would argue that over the past 6 years in real terms that means there has actually been a cut. You know this is certainly being felt in real terms across the regions and in the urban centres.But let me tell you whom I feel for the most. I feel sorry for the staff of Te Puni Kōkiri who are being asked to match biblical deeds at this point in time to turn water into wine to make miracles from the measly portion of money that has been allocated to Te Puni Kōkiri. What I am saying is that currently as it stands the annual review shows us that there are over 30 vacancies in Te Puni Kōkiri in what is an already depleted rank. Of more concern is that no waka can head in the right direction without the right leadership and as it stands there are four vacancies in key leadership roles in Te Puni Kōkiri right now.What is the plan of this Government? Well apparently we have been promised that those positions will be filled by the end of the calendar year—by the end of the calendar year. There is a difference in the Māori world between time and wā and I can tell you that this is definitely really exaggerating and pushing the boundaries of wā. What that means is that it has been over a year since the election and these key leadership roles within Te Puni Kōkiri have not been filled.Pita Paraone: Mā te wā.PEENI HENARE: Mā te wā—mā te wā. That is of course one of the big concerns in the new operating model that Te Puni Kōkiri is currently operating by. That operating model is one that as the Minister has already alluded to talks about the economic growth and economic prosperity of the Māori people. Well it just so happens that another priority of Te Puni Kōkiri is to improve the cultural wealth of the Māori. Nowhere in the annual review of Te Puni Kōkiri and almost nowhere in the discussion from the Minister this evening has there been any reference to the growth in the cultural wealth of te iwi Māori of the Māori people. This is an important priority in my eyes. A focus on business growth and initiatives has been at the cost of the well-being of the Māori people. In fact in my opinion this Government has lost faith in the Māori people and not surprisingly our people have lost faith in this Government.