Horomia Parekura: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Horomia Parekura: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:606;Page:3302] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
: 
 Mihi kau ana ki a koe ki a ratou ma o te motu e rongo ake ano ki te korero. Mihi atu ano ki a koe tena koe tena koutou. 
[ 
Greetings indeed to you and to those of the general public listening to the address. Greetings once again to you and to you listening in 
.] 
I think we have just been subject to what has been worrying me regarding the pathway forward for Maori. We have heard both divisive and destructive connotations on what Maoridom is about. Before I forget I need to inform that member who has just resumed her seat that the OECD has since retracted its summaries on the youth debacle that it invented. I remind the member of that.  
Today we heard the Prime Minister give a very concise speech setting out the Government’s key activities for this year. This year will be a very exciting and important time for Maoridom. It will be about progress. It will be about consolidation and most certainly it will be about finishing off activities and developments that have never ever been finished by successive Governments. Earlier we heard a plethora of suggestions about conviction and purpose. The conviction and purpose of this Government is first to the development of the tangata whenua. There is one tangata whenua in this country and that is Maori. The purpose most certainly is to progress Maori through the intergenerational adjustments that are needed. 
One person over here talked about the four lots of generations. In the history of this country over the years Maoridom generally has been forced into generations of atypical minor labour market positions. We want to be more than motel cleaners. We want to do more than just answer to Pakeha employers. We want to be part of the management groups. We want to be part of owning the businesses and we want to make sure that we are recognised as such. In the sense of both developments that that member talked about social dependency and benefit dependency is not where modern Maoridom wants to be. That situation has been orchestrated and adjusted to make sure that Maoridom stays there and that is something that this Government is doing something about.  
The member wants to talk about the unemployment rate. Today it is at 4.9 percent. Maoridom’s rate is down at just over 10 percent one of the lowest rates in this country for years. In the sense of the mismatch and the skills that are needed Maoridom needs time to work through issues and get there. 
The member who has just resumed her seat was dwelling on the economic development of this country. It is important to understand also that Maori-owned commercial assets produce more export revenue—$650 million—than New Zealand’s overall wine wool kiwifruit or fisheries industries and the time is nigh for the nation to be reminded of that. Maori want to turn up the usage of those assets. There are flaws in the management of them and issues arise that our people struggle with but it is no different from what happens in Pakeha businesses. We talk about measures and cost. We talk about the $20000 that was wasted in the Mercer area on some discussion about a spiritual being in the river. Nobody talks about the $17.5 million wasted by senior managers and organisations on the road going to nowhere at Mercer. Take a ride and have a look on your way back. See where the bridge is and work it out. There has not been any mention about the money wasted on the road in the same area. Nobody talks about it.  
In terms of our economic development I want to remind members that Maori people are consolidating their assets and they do want to be in the run of things. There has been a lot of talk about the treaty. My learned colleague over here has become an expert and other people are discussing it. The one surety about the treaty is that there are two partners to it. The reciprocity that is required in the treaty is not one-way as some people are hinting—suggesting that only Maori are using it. It has been used through statute and legislation to do other things too. The treaty has two partners. It was the founding document of this country. We respect the law of this country—LAW—which generally mirrors Westminster practice but I also remind members about the lore—LORE—of this country which is about our tangata whenua rights. It is about time that everyone understood that. The divisive and destructive suggestions the previous speaker made need to be put under the blanket and put to sleep. What a lot of nonsense!  
We have been talking for some time about treaty information developments. We will make sure that that happens. The problem with talking about education is that it gets confined within narrow mindsets. Generally only the academics and the upper levels of the purported intelligentsia of this country seem to harbour the definition and usage of the treaty. The treaty is a living document. The treaty has a role in modern society. It is important to build on releasing our people from the shackles of dependency. In any society where the tangata whenua is settled and its nationality is understood there comes a time when there is an upturn. With our very young population—a totally different demographic to non-Maori populations—we are on a run. Watch this space for where Maori people are going in the next 5 to 10 years. Maori economic development is critical.  
One of my learned colleagues in this House who is a Pakeha talked about the Hui Taumata in 1984. I wrote a paper then that does not say too much that is dissimilar about the needs that are required today. Certainly in the sense of what we need the Hui Taumata is not about treaty information. It is part of it but the partnership that has built up over the past 2 years is more important. We have had 40-odd different hui talking to Maori about education and recognising that it is the cornerstone for the advancement of Maoridom so that we can get into the upper-level sciences so that we can make sure that we run our businesses for ourselves with reliable partners and make sure that our people benefit from that.  
Professor Mason Durie said that although education had a number of other goals—including enlightenment and learning for the sake of learning—three particular goals had been highlighted relevant to Maori and their troubles over the last 2 years. One enables Maori to live as Maori. People seem to have a real problem with that. I do not have a problem with how the Welsh the Irish and the Chinese want to live. We should be facilitating participation as citizens of the world which is critical to any New Zealand family. We should be contributing towards good health and higher standards of living including housing and whatever else. Some might argue that that goal is more important than the other two or that less emphasis might be afforded to another goal but those goals were presented in discussions with our people around the country. It is important to understand that what we are on about is the partnership in this country. Some of us do not need scribes to write speeches. Outside the bastions of this building some of us are very capable of standing on our marae and talking to our people. Some people outside the House can make members feel very uncomfortable when they come to the marae and make mistakes. 
Hon Georgina te Heuheu 
: Obesity! 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: Obesity. I am trying very hard. Let us be careful about treading on people’s toes about that. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: We’re both doing well on that Horomia. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: I hope that is the only thing we are doing well on.  
There are organisations in this country hapu and iwi that are really getting on with asset development. The Maori wardens who are at every hui do not get paid. Does the Maori Women’s Welfare League which cares about the people get paid? No. There is a lot of voluntary support in this country. Do we need to encourage wananga? Yes. Do we need to support them more? Yes. Are we the tangata whenua in this country? Yes. The divisive nonsensical destructive suggestions from people like that member make one really struggle in this country. Whanau is the cornerstone of our development. Watch the Maori people going forward. They are in this country and this Government supports them. This Government has the guts to stand up and do that. It does not play the mealy-mouthed scratch-scratch games that go on with some members of the Opposition.