Flavell Te Ururoa: Budget Debate 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Budget Debate 
[Volume:647;Page:16426] 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Deputy Speaker; kia ora tatou i tenei po kua tae mai ki te whakarongo ki nga korero. Having listened to some of the speeches this afternoon I think I am fairly convinced that I bring a different perspective to some of the debate—hopefully—which shall be in a positive light. 
In the hakari of offerings that is called Budget 2008 the Maori Party wants to move from the kongakonga the crumbs to focus on the miti the meat in the menu for Maori. The main meal for Maori in Budget 2008 is the announcement of the new economic development institution Maori Business Aotearoa New Zealand. Can I make it clear that the Maori Party believes that Maori enterprise and the mobilisation of Maori business networks are absolutely central to the future success of Aotearoa. We consider it urgent that the nation comes together to increase our creativity and productivity and a clever utilisation of the tax system would be a key component. Success in this area would help to deal with the high price of our dollar and the tendency towards price increases. It would also ease interest rate pressures by discovering growth activity that does not rely on raising the demand for capital. 
There is a catch: the so-called brand new initiative Maori Business Aotearoa New Zealand is not actually brand new. It is supposed to be a really innovative approach to using up unused money. It is called the old “Let’s have a spend-up of TPK’s surplus funds” trick. You see if we go back to the 1998-99 financial year we find that the total surplus fund paid by Te Puni Kokiri into the consolidated account was in the vicinity of $6.336 million. It is the ongoing saga of a department that underspends and some say under-delivers. The books have not been exposed to the light of public scrutiny; instead Te Puni Kokiri money for business development has been siphoned off for the Maori business support agency. This was in addition to another one-off payment of $360000 from Te Puni Kokiri funds that was uncovered a few weeks ago. 
The other more controversial contribution to the investment in this new business agency is of course the $35 million that will be siphoned off from the restructuring of the Maori Trust Office. Budget 2008 invests $19.4 million of operating funding and $4.4 million of capital funding into Maori Business Aotearoa New Zealand to establish services to support Maori business and Maori economic development as well as to give some facility for loans to Maori businesses. Well that would be absolutely fantastic if—and I say “if”—it were supported by the people it purports to represent. 
The last thing I want to do is suggest that the Minister is telling a big rukahu but apparently part of the rationale expressed about this proposal is that there was overwhelming support for such an entity during the consultation process on the Maori Trustee and Maori Development Amendment Bill. The truth is that the consultation process did not even raise the topic of the establishment of Maori Business Aotearoa New Zealand. The consultation process was focused solely on establishing the Maori Trustee as a stand-alone organisation separate from Te Puni Kokiri—a proposal that did indeed meet wide support. But I am told that there was no mention—no mention—of Maori Business Aotearoa New Zealand. What is more there was no mention of the concept of using $35 million which is actually the unclaimed moneys of Maori landowners. 
The thing is that out there amongst the whanau hapu and iwi the decision by Labour to use Maori landowners’ money for another purpose has not gone down well at all. In fact the people I have come across in my electorate of Waiariki have said to me: “Tell them to keep their hands off.” You see—by way of some background—the Maori Trust Office has been around since 1921 and was set up to assist Maori with the asset management of fragmented and multiply owned land. The office administers the General Purposes Fund which holds interest earned from beneficiaries’ funds—that is the funds of beneficiaries who are Maori and who own land with others of their kin. 
The bill introduced last year advocates that another statutory body—Maori Business Aotearoa New Zealand—be set up by transferring $35 million from the General Purpose Fund. Well we need to recall that this fund is according to the Charters Sykes and Nikora review in 1991 income derived from the beneficiaries and not from the Maori Trustee. So what we have is what some have described as State-sponsored theft. 
The Maori Party is first off the block to be proud of the amazing success that Maori businesses have created in the economy. Maori business success has earned us a glowing international reputation as entrepreneurs. A status of excellence has been acquired through the fruits of hard labour diligence perseverance and preparation. In fact the  
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 
 has confirmed that we are the third most entrepreneurial people in the world. 
All things being considered we would be extremely supportive of the new entity Maori Business Aotearoa New Zealand but we have the sinking feeling that it is nothing more than mutton dressed up as lamb. There are concerns not only around the ownership of the $35 million but also because full consultation has not occurred to appropriate levels. We believe that it would have been far better if consideration of such an entity had come up once it had been reported back to Parliament after full and due discussion by the Maori Affairs Committee but the committee has not reported back to Parliament with recommendations based on public submissions. So in many respects we are faced with the chicken before the egg in the shape of Budget 2008. 
 If there is a winner in the Budget hakari then it is the Maori Wardens Association which is finally resourced after 60 years of voluntary service. It must be noted again however that the $6.8 million of funds is funded through reprioritising Vote Maori Affairs and it makes one wonder why Te Puni Kokiri never manages to spend its budget. Putting that aside we want to put on record the incredible work these people do. They are the unsung heroes of our community. This weekend for example at home in Rotorua we have what is called Youth EFX being held at the Rotorua Aquatic Centre. It consists of dance battles and phat beats. It is a big thing for our rangatahi—last year some 800 people attended and the Maori wardens will be there again this year. 
Then there is the Maori wardens’ mahi as a part of their contract with the Rotorua District Council to monitor compliance with the sale of liquor laws on licensed premises and with the central city liquor ban. Just recently they have been on a trial programme walking alongside the police retrained and equipped with radios to prevent trouble in the central city. So whether they are working alongside our rangatahi on the beat with the cops or simply on the streets the Maori wardens play a major role in reducing the potential for disorderly behaviour while also supporting in both a preventive and caring role. They have been doing this since they were first established in 1968 and they are a major asset in any Maori community—indeed in the whole community. So it is really positive that the association has been resourced to grow while also maintaining the kaupapa of their movement. The Maori wardens are a trusted and respected group within our communities and we are pleased to think that the resources they will receive will help them to maintain their autonomy. 
The other great initiative whose time has finally come is the restoration of the significant whare of Ngati Awa named Mataatua. It was built over a century ago and was described in 1875 as “a grand carved house said to be one of the finest in New Zealand”. Although every whare tells a thousand stories this whare in particular is important as it includes within its walls the pain of the confiscation of 1866 and the invasion of Ngati Awa lands by Te Kooti in 1869. In 1879 this whare was sent to the Intercolonial Exhibition in Sydney and without any further consultation with Ngati Awa it was then sent on to the South Kensington Museum in London England before returning home not to Ngati Awa but to the Otago Museum. There it stayed until 1996 when following the recommendations from the Waitangi Tribunal in Wai 46 it was finally repatriated. 
I take the opportunity to mihi to Ngati Awa; to Ngati Awa carver Te Hau o Te Rangi Tutua who has been assisting with the reconstruction; to the analysis and research of Professor Hirini Mead; and to Te Roopu Kohikohi Korero o Ngati Awa for the safe return home of Mataatua Whare. 
The $7 million for this project along with the funding allocated for settlement negotiations and resolutions are an investment in our nationhood that we in the Maori Party fully support. If there is anything that Vote Maori Affairs should support then it is the building of nationhood for Aotearoa. If the department has a problem in that it is running out of ideas to spend its putea on the Maori Party hereby invites the Minister and indeed the department to pick up the phone and give us a call. The Maori Party will be very happy to assist.