Mahuta Nanaia: General Debate 
Mahuta Nanaia: General Debate 
[Volume:648;Page:16901] 
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Customs) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker. Anybody listening to the previous speaker would think that National has counted its eggs before they have hatched. In fact National is sounding very arrogant in terms of what will happen at the next election. 
Let us be very clear about the legacy of Labour-led Governments. Let us be very clear about that legacy. It was a Labour Government that started the Waitangi Tribunal. It was a Labour Government that made claims to the Waitangi Tribunal retrospective. It was a Labour Government that affirmed that te reo Maori is an official language of this country. It was a Labour Government that had the Hui Taumata in 1984 which put the question to Maori: “What is your future?” and asked them how they wanted to determine their way forward. It was a Labour Government that took those very brave steps at a time when National had said: “No thanks. We do not want to have anything to do with Maori.” 
Let us be very clear about the legacy of Labour-led Governments because we are very proud to continue that tradition and to be able to support not only Maori development but also the continuation of Treaty settlements; we know that the future of Maori depends on first reconciling and rectifying historical injustice and that is why we agreed to the settlements. Treaty settlements are a fundamental part of supporting Maori to move forward to look forward and to advance. But we cannot advance unless we are prepared to reconcile the past—the injustices that have occurred. Many members on both sides of this House have acknowledged that the Crown has over time acted improperly but it is a Labour Government that has been prepared to make some very brave decisions and to say that we will continue along this path despite the opposition and negativity we have faced from the National Party. We will continue along this path because we know that it is fundamental to growing a nation that is committed to ensuring that everybody has a place. 
If we look at the proud record of achievement since only 1999 in terms of this Labour-led Government’s contribution to Treaty settlements we see that we have already completed settlements with Ngati Mutunga the people of Te Arawa lakes Nga Rauru Kitahi Tuwharetoa Ngati Awa Ngati Tama Ngati Ruanui Te Uri o Hau Pouakani and Ngati Turangitukua. We continue to advance settlements in other areas. The Minister of Maori Affairs made the point today that this is a very historic time in New Zealand’s history because iwi have shown something that this Parliament still cannot get a hold of: iwi will through all adversities collectivise their interests in the bigger aim of moving forward whereas this House still fragments itself on the question of Treaty settlements and on the question of Maori advancement and Maori development. 
We have a lot to learn but let me say this in no uncertain terms: we are committed to Treaty settlements because we know that once a historical injustice has been resolved and reconciliation has occurred then iwi can start to look to themselves to determine their way forward. Our greatest hope and aspiration as a Labour-led Government is that these settlements will contribute to the Maori economy and to Maori working with Maori in ways that will realise their potential well beyond what this House could even fathom. We understand that we know that and we support that. People who listen to the words of the Opposition would be wrong to think that a vision of the future along those lines could be provided by those members. Although those members criticise us they will not stand in this House and provide solid policy that people can hang their hat on—that would allow them at least to see where those members are going. Nobody knows where they are going; that is the problem. 
The other thing that I want to draw to the attention of this House in this debate is in the area of education. Mr English raised comments around Ka Hikitia. Let me tell members the difference between Ka Hikitia and the model of education that the National Government favoured. If someone did not succeed in education under the National Government that person was out down the road and probably on the dole. What Labour wants to see for the future under Ka Hikitea is every school and every teacher taking responsibility for the learning outcomes of students. Maori must succeed in education; to let them fail would be absolutely unacceptable to this Government. So Ka Hikitea is about personalised learning it is about saying that there is no room for failure it is about accepting that we have to do things differently and it is especially about providing Maori kids with more pathways to enable them to succeed in education. That is why this Government supports apprenticeship training as well. That is why this Labour-led Government will work as hard as it can to ensure that there are many pathways for young people to succeed in our society. We will continue along that vein and we are proud to do so.