Maiden Statements

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā kārangaranga maha o ngā hau e whā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. It is with honour and humility that I stand in Aotearoa New Zealand’s House of Representatives as the member for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti. I wish to first thank and acknowledge the many whānau, iwi, and friends who are here in the public gallery and who have travelled to join me in this historic moment today. Tēnā koutou. To my parliamentary predecessors who passed the Māori Representation Act 1867, which led to the formation of the four Māori seats—Northern, Western, Southern, and our own beloved Eastern—and to the inaugural member who held the Eastern seat, Tāreha Te Moananui, and to the first Māori woman member, Iriaka Matiu Rātana, kei te mihi, kei te mihi. To my fellow Māori MPs in the House today, tēnā koutou katoa.

Our nation is founded on the blood, sweat, and toil of generations of men and women who worked the land, on our wharves, in the freezing works, the shearing sheds, with railways, and in forestry to build our nation and our economy into the stronghold that it is today. In 1916 the New Zealand Labour Party was founded on a single kaupapa: to be the voice of change for the working-class people. As this nation has evolved so has the party. But the founding principles remain the same: to care for the poor and the disenfranchised, and to speak up for those within our community who cannot for themselves. In 1935 in the first Labour-led Government the Rt Hon Michael Savage, in his wisdom, formed a political alliance with the Rātana Church, a precursory step to forming an allegiance with iwi Māori.

The bond between the New Zealand Labour Party and the electorate of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti is unique and entrenched in its own right. From 1943 to 1996 and from 1999 until today, Ikaroa-Rāwhiti has entrusted the Labour Party to advocate for the rights of its people; a relationship that expands some 70 years. But I state this as a friendly reminder: this historic relationship should never be taken for granted. The relationship between iwi Māori and Labour-led Governments has progressed considerably since 1935. Under Labour the Māori Trade Training scheme was introduced, Te Reo Māori was recognised as an official language, and under the strong influence of the Hon Matiu Rata the Waitangi Tribunal was established to address Treaty grievances. However, iwi Māori have not forgotten the challenges to this relationship in recent times, particularly with the introduction of the foreshore and seabed legislation and the Tūhoe raids. Despite these challenges it is now time to move forward, and to shift our focus to what lies ahead of us as a party and as a nation, towards the game-changer known as the Māori economy.

The Ikaroa-Rāwhiti electorate extends from the East Cape of the North Island to the Wellington region, and includes Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, and the Wairarapa, as well as most of the Hutt Valley and Wainuiōmata. Almost one-quarter of these residents in Ikaroa-Rāwhiti speak Te Reo Māori. This compares with barely 4 percent in New Zealand overall. Over one-quarter of those employed in the electorate are in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and manufacturing sectors. We have strong iwi within the electorate: Ngati Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata, Ngai Tāmanuhiri, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Rangitāne and Te Ātiawa.

During the 6 weeks leading into the by-election I had the opportunity to speak to our people, who were clear with me about the needs of whānau. Our people need jobs. Our rangatahi need opportunities here at home. Our kuia and kaumātua need access to quality health services. Everyone deserves a warm, affordable home. Everyone deserves a fair go. The national unemployment rate is 6.8 percent, but for Māori in the Hawke’s Bay unemployment is two times that, at 13.8 percent. Long-term unemployment on the East Coast has increased from 10.9 percent in December 2008 to 19.8 percent in March 2013. In the Wellington region, which includes the Hutt Valley, unemployment went from 3.6 percent in December 2008 to 7.9 percent in December 2012—that is an increase of 9,600 people who are unemployed. The people of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti need quality, sustainable jobs. The manufacturing sector, which employs many Māori, has taken a hammering in my electorate: 125 jobs at Cedenco Foods in Gisborne in 2009 gone; 304 jobs at Ovation meatworks in Waipukurau in 2011 gone; this year 70 jobs at New Zealand Post Petone gone; and between 50 to 80 jobs at Godfrey Hirst’s woollen mill in Dannevirke gone. The flow-on effects of these job losses on whānau and small communities are devastating. The people of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti need quality, sustainable jobs.

So what can be done? Local solutions to local problems working with local champions is a community development approach focusing on job creations that I have seen work successfully in times of despair. There are many local champions on limited resources doing their bit to help those most in need. I salute our community advocates, unions, churches, schools, businesses, marae, and iwi Māori organisations, including the Māori Women’s Welfare League and the Māori Wardens Association, for your compassion, caring, and sense of community commitment. Regional development is critical to the success of the nation’s sustainable economic growth, and more needs to be done at the regional level. In Ikaroa-Rāwhiti it is about people as much as it is about market drivers. Oil exploration and dams that wipe out complete valleys are not sustainable. There are alternatives, and greater investment in regional research and development will show that. Developing high-level strategic goals with community movers and shakers encourages ownership and, therefore, commitment.

I worked for many years in the Community Employment Group of the former Department of Labour. We were as diverse as the communities we supported. Company Rebuilders—retired executives who work with many company owners on the brink of closure to keep them afloat and, by association, save jobs. Super Grans—retired people who assisted young people with budget advice and meal preparation. Our “Labour shock response team” provided much-needed coordination and support when sudden job loss announcements were made, through establishing temporary resource centres to help with finding alternative employment, career counselling, and CV preparation. And Mainstreet, a small-town renewable initiative, showed that with a lick of paint and a few pot plants, out-of-towners would stop in small towns where once they would drive through, bringing much-needed money to the local economy.

A similar approach was taken with a small community whose major employer closed its doors, leaving nothing to absorb the many redundant locals. Every community has a unique point of difference, and after a series of community planning meetings the locals in casual conversations joked about how whales visiting their coastline was their unique point of difference. The rest is history. Whale Watch Kaikōura is now a multimillion-dollar business that not only employs many locals but has almost single-handedly been the catalyst for economic growth in Kaikōura and the surrounding district. So what can we learn from these initiatives, from this approach? Government has an enabling role to support hapū, iwi, and communities to create sustainable solutions for whānau. The key word here is “enable”.

This era is the beginning of a Māori economic renaissance, and recognises the Māori economic powerbase that has been fought for by whānau, hapū, and iwi on the streets, in the courts, and most recently at the negotiating tables with the Office of Treaty Settlements. I pay homage to the many men and women, some no longer with us, who have worked tirelessly in pursuit of justice and equity through the Treaty settlement process. It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the Hon Michael Cullen, the late Hon Parekura Horomia, and, more recently, from the opposite side of the House, the Hon Christopher Finlayson for their collective commitment to settling Treaty grievances.

The role of iwi Māori in a post-settlement era is to grow and protect its asset base and to create intergenerational wealth. Innovative iwi Māori are exploring opportunities and how these opportunities provide wider returns. Ngāti Whātua has committed to getting its own people into affordable and sustainable homes, and Ngāti Kahungunu has recently purchased Tautāne farm to act as a catalyst to unlock the economic potential of other land blocks, to provide an investment opportunity for recently settled hapū groups, and, ultimately, to provide jobs.

Investing and creating opportunities for their own people is unquestionably applaudable, but is it not the responsibility of iwi Māori alone. The role of Government is to enable innovation that will create jobs. Tailored regional investment in areas like research and development, technical internships, and encouraging multipartite arrangements including iwi Māori, local government, businesses, schools, and unions will accelerate this form of innovation, just like the Whale Watch Kaikōura example. I am convinced that what is good for iwi Māori economic development is good for the nation as a whole. If this great nation of ours is looking for a game-changer, then I am offering one: regional investment in partnership with iwi Māori to unlock inherent opportunities that will create real jobs throughout the electorate and for the people of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti. I come into this House with a commitment to work with any party that has policies that work—policies that create sustainable jobs, warm and affordable homes, quality health services, and clear pathways, be it in education, training, or jobs for our rangatahi and people of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti.

I was raised in a loving whānau, surrounded by values-based role models, many who shaped who I am today. I wish to acknowledge some of them. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge my great-grandmother Reremoana Hakiwai née Paratene, who gave relentless service and unconditional love to her family, to her faith, and to her beloved Hukarere Girls’ College. On behalf of my late great-grandmother and the Hukarere community, we need to complete the chapel. Her daughter, my grandmother Ruruhira Robin née Nepe Apatū, known affectionately as Aunty Lulu, was renowned for her ability to keep our men, when speaking from the paepae, from straying off topic with a certain glare. Suffer fools she did not. And my dear uncle Pong Wyllie, father of the former member for Te Tai Tonga, Tūtekawa, who taught me the value of work—hard work. A man who never minced his words, his brutal honesty and cheeky charm would disarm the most disconcerting amongst us. He taught me that there are no shortcuts in life—you get out what you put in. Finally, the late Hon Parekura Tūreia Horomia, who taught me to love our people, to serve our people, and, amongst all else, “hold the line”.

In summary, I have spoken about the real issues facing our people of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti. I have spoken today about the historic relationship between Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, the New Zealand Labour Party, and the Government. I have highlighted the challenges and, moreover, identified emerging opportunities and an approach that would assist to create sustainable quality jobs in a post-settlement era.

To every single person who supported me throughout the arduous and well-fought by-election, thank you for your dedication, commitment, and heart to retain the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti electorate. To my fellow Labour caucus colleagues—in particular our leader, David Shearer, Moana Mackey, Nanaia Mahuta, and Annette King—thank you for your time, your resource, your energy, and your wisdom you gave my whānau and me on the election trail. To my parents, Wīremu and May Whaitiri, thank you for your love, thank you for your sacrifices, and thank you for the opportunities you provided to all five of your children, and for carrying on that commitment to our children, your mokopuna. To my sister Joanne Rowe, who besides being the typical big sister was for 14 years Parekura’s out-of-office support. You and your girls went to extraordinary lengths to support him over the years—none more than over his last few months. From the electorate, thank you very much for caring for our chief Parekura. To my sons Nohorua and WīRangi, thank you for being awesome young men. The world is both your oyster, and all I ask is that you make the most of your opportunities at school, on the sports fields, and particularly in your next YouTube clip for next year’s general election. Finally, to my partner Kiritapu Lyndsay Allan, your unconditional love and support know no end. Thank you for all that you are; thank you for all that you will be.

I am proud to stand before this House as the Labour Party member of Parliament and the first elected woman for the Eastern and Ikaroa-Rāwhiti electorate. As a mother, a daughter, and product of hard manual-labouring parents I present myself to the New Zealand House of Representatives as a humble servant of the people of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti and to our great nation Aotearoa New Zealand. May I be judged on my actions and held accountable to those whom I seek to represent. Nō reira, e te iwi, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Waiata

Sitting suspended from 5.54 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.