Mihi

I now call on the senior Māori member to give a mihi.

“He rūrū anō te rūrū, he kāeaea anō te kāeaea. Tēnā ko au ko Māui Tikitiki-o-te-Rangi, he takawae whiti, he takawae tai. He tū whai pō, he tū whai ao, he tapu tawake i whānakenake ki te papa o Wahieroa. Ka tangi te kura i te ata o Waikau, he ata amohanga, he ata kite paerangi. Kia hui e te kura pō i tīwhaona ki te paparei o te iho rangi e iri iho nei. Kī e, ka ao ka ao, ka ao te rā, tihi-wa mauri ora!”

E Te Māngai o Te Whare, tuatahi ake māku e huri atu ki a koe nāu nei i whiwhi tēnei tūranga. Mōhio ana tātou he tino tohunga koe kei roto i ngā tikanga me ngā ture o tēnei Whare, mōhio hoki ana tātou, ahakoa Kāwanatanga, āhakoa Āpitihanga, ā, ka tāpaehia e koe aua tikanga, aua ture i runga i te tika me te pono, nā reira, kei te mihi atu ki a koe.

Kai te huri ngā whakaaro ki te wāhi ngāro, ko tērā te kaumātua o Te Kāwanatanga a Lewis Moeau, kua tangohia, ko tērā hoki tō tātou whanaunga, tō tātou hoa, tō tātou kaiwhakapākehā, a Rangi McGarvey. Nā reira, kua hoea atu rāua i ō rāua waka wairua, atu i tēnei Whare, kua hoea hoki atu ō rāua waka wairua, atu o ō rāua iwi, kua tae atu ki Te Rererenga Wairua. Atu i reira ki ngā Hawaiki o ō tātou mātua tupuna: a Hawaiki nui, Hawaiki roa, Hawaiki pāmamoa, nā reira kourua ōku rangatira, haere, haere, haere atu rā!

Nā, ka hoki mai tātou ki te hunga ora huri rauna i tēnei Whare, e Te Perēmia, te Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, tēnei te mihi atu ki a koe nāu nei i tae ki tēnei tūranga. Mōhio ana tātou ki ō whāinga kia mahi mō te motu whānui, kia kore tētahi e mahue ki muri. Ki ngā tumuaki o ngā pāti atu, ki te Rt Hon Winston Peters, te Hon James Shaw, te Rt Hon Bill English, te honourable member David Seymour, tēnei ahau e mihi ana ki a koutou ngā tumuaki o ō koutou pāti. Ā, ki ngā mema huri rauna i tō tātou Whare, nau mai, hoki mai! Ko koutou ngā waewae tapu, tēnā rā koutou, nau mai, haere mai. Nā reira, e kore au e tōroangia i tēnei tū engari, e manakohia ana ka mahi tātou hei hāpai i Te Motu whānui, i ngā tangata katoa o Aotearoa. E Te Māngai, kei te mihi hoki au ki a koe. Nāu nei i tīmata tō tātou huihuinga mā tēnā karakia i roto i tō tātou Reo Rangatira, nā reira, kei te mihi atu au ki a koe. Nā reira, tātou mā huri rauna, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[“Lolling the head aimlessly is one thing, and looking avaricious is another. Here I am, Māui Tikitiki-o-te-Rangi, moisture from humidity and moisture from the sea. I am steadfast at night as well as in the day, a sacred growth that has developed from the lands of Wahieroa. The treasured one calls out at the dawning of Waikau, a heavy dawning beyond the horizon to meet the treasured night darkened by the spread of the heavens that hang there yonder. Let the call go, there is light, there is light, there is dawning, behold, there is life!”

Mr Speaker, the first thing for me is to turn to you who acquired this position. We know that you are a real expert in regard to procedures and rulings of this House, and also know that, regardless of whether it is the Government or the Opposition, you will apply those procedures and rulings properly and correctly, therefore, I acknowledge you.

Thoughts turn to the unseen place, to that elder of the Government Lewis Moeau, who has been taken, and also that relation of ours, our colleague, our interpreter into English, Rangi McGarvey. Therefore, they have paddled their spiritual canoes away from this House and away from their tribes, and have arrived at the leaping place of spirits, Cape Rēinga. From there, the spiritual canoes will journey on to the Hawaikis of our ancestors: the great Hawaiki, the long Hawaiki, and the distant Hawaiki. And so to you two, my esteemed ones, depart, journey on, go forth indeed!

Now then, coming back to us, the living ones throughout this House, to the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, I congratulate you who achieved this position. We know about your aspirations to work for the whole nation so that no one is left behind. To the leaders of other parties, to the Rt Hon Winston Peters, the Hon James Shaw, the Rt Hon Bill English, and the honourable member David Seymour, I acknowledge you, the leaders of your parties. To the members throughout our House, welcome, welcome back! To you the newcomers, salutations to you indeed, welcome, come hither. Therefore, I won’t prolong this address but hope that we will work together to support the country at large and all the people of New Zealand. Mr Speaker, I also congratulate you. You began our gathering with that prayer in our esteemed language, and so well done to you! Therefore, to us all right around, acknowledgments, accolades, and congratulations to you collectively and to us all.]

Waiata

Nā reira, kāti mā huri rauna, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia orā mai anō tātou.

[Therefore, enough for now, and so to all of us throughout, congratulations and accolades to you collectively and thank you once again to all of us.]