Annual Review Debate — Māori, Other Populations, and Cultural Sector

Tēnā koe, Mr Chair. I’m very pleased to open up the speeches speaking on the Māori sector for the annual review of 2016-17, as the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee. We conducted three reviews which are automatically referred to us from Crown entities, which are Te Puni Kōkiri, Te Taura Whiri i te Re Māori, and Te Māngai Pāho, but we embarked on a bit of a wider approach this year.

In light of the fact of the recent passing of Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori / Māori Language Act, we wanted to conduct equivalent reviews of other entities that are now operating in the Te Reo Māori space. So we had a briefing from Te Mātāwai, which is an independent statutory entity created under that Act. As well we also invited in Te Whakaruruhau o Ngā Reo Irirangi Māori, which is the Māori broadcasting radio station network. This was the first time that they had an opportunity to come before our committee.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to conduct a review of Māori Television, as we understand that their annual report hasn’t been tabled in the House yet, but we will definitely follow that up expeditiously when that happens.

I really want to just focus, primarily, on Te Puni Kōkiri as it is the lead agency for the Crown in terms of being responsible for Māori policy and on advising on the Crown - Māori relationship. Can I acknowledge the new Minister, the Hon Nanaia Mahuta, and I must commend her for the leadership that she’s shown since taking on this important portfolio to provide some sound leadership over what is a very vast and broad area.

If we just look at the vote for Te Puni Kōkiri, I guess one of the main matters that came to our attention was the increase in non-departmental expenditure—a whole bunch of programmes that have been delegated or given to Te Puni Kōkiri as a result of the previous administration. These non-departmental programmes can range anything from Māori housing, to suicide prevention, to ICT, to Whānau Ora. It’s such a broad landscape that Te Puni Kōkiri is charged with producing, delivering upon the appropriations which are given to them.

One of the matters that came to our attention was the use of contractors. Te Puni Kōkiri spends 37 percent of its expenditure on contractors. We just found that astounding. It was an increase from $5 million the year prior, to over $11 million in the year which we’re reviewing. That is a huge increase on contractors, but also we could understand the rationale, given the diversity and the range of all of these new programmes which were given to Te Puni Kōkiri. They had to upskill very quickly and devise how they were going to deliver on them. But, certainly, that is one area that we, as a committee, would hope to see an improvement upon, so we could see, I guess, Te Puni Kōkiri settle down—settle into, you know, its core business; settle into delivering consistently across the regions, with some certainty across those very important areas of housing and of Māori development in general, as well as its other responsibilities.

So there is so much that Te Puni Kōkiri is charged with. By and large they’re doing a good job, but I’m excited that under the leadership of the Hon Nanaia Mahuta there will be an increased sense of focus and direction for Te Puni Kōkiri. That’s already being evidenced not only through the Hon Nanaia Mahuta but through her Associate Ministers as well, with the Hon Peeni Henare, and right across this Government. So there is a lot of work going on in the Māori development space, and I believe some fine-tuning does need to happen. I believe that will be taking place under the direction of the new Minister, and I’m very pleased to be able to commend this section. Kia ora.

Tēnā koe e Te Kaiwhakahaere. Can I first of all start by acknowledging the previous speaker, Rino Tirikatene, our new chair of the Māori Affairs Committee? It’s nice to see that it’s stayed under the Ngāi Tahu watch, anyway. I’d also acknowledge the new Minister for Māori Development, the Hon Nanaia Mahuta, and also Minister Peeni Henare.

I just want to pick up on one point that the previous speaker actually covered, which is that there are actually a number of new innovations and projects that have been undertaken by Te Puni Kōkiri. I think that, if you look at that, reflect back to the extra funding, actually, that was given back in 2016-17 for that year, it went up, actually, by 23 percent—so from $184 million to $226 million. That was actually new money that was given to support those new programmes. I think the other part of it, too, in what the previous speaker was talking about is that there were actually some real concerns back in that 2015-16 financial year, and under that review there were things like risk management, contract management, performance reporting, and also employee severance payments and all of that. I think the report that we got back from the auditor was the fact that it had improved immensely. I just want to acknowledge those things that I’ve just said, because that was on the National Government watch, and those were the things that we actually put in place.

I think moving forward, though, particularly on one other important bill—it was a major bill during our time in Government—and that was, as you said, Te Pire mō Te Reo Māori / Māori Language Bill. The actual journey, the hīkoi, of that, is, I think, really continuing on, but I think there’s just one thing that we need to actually raise a flag on, and that is the fact that we did actually have Te Maihi Māori, Te Mātāwai, in there, actually talking about the really important things that they were doing. They were already up and running, but I think what we should be, actually, also flagging is that we still haven’t got Te Maihi Karauna part of that strategy up and running yet. I believe it’s coming out shortly. But, you know, these two need to work in Kota hitaka. They need to work in unison. So I think it’s important that we flag that, and hopefully that is actually going to happen.

Look, finally, there was, as you say, Te Māngai Pāho, which actually came to our committee. I think one of the things I want to talk about is Māori broadcasting. One thing, particularly, when you look at Māori broadcasting—when it comes under Vote Māori Development, there’s the administration of Māori broadcasting, Māori television, and Māori radio broadcasting, with appropriations in the last review of about $112 million. But one thing is that Māori media platforms are really one of the few avenues that Māori have to communicate their views. National acknowledges that kaupapa that Māori don’t speak in one voice. It’s actually multiple types of voices needing multiple platforms.

What I’m greatly concerned about is that Māori are being used as scapegoats now because of the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media’s train wreck at the moment, which is actually through lack of openness. We’ve already seen no Māori put on the public media funding ministerial advisory group. We’ve already seen our own Māori broadcaster, Carol Hirschfeld, sacrificed because of the broadcasting Minister’s lack of openness and transparency. I struggle to believe, though, that Te Puni Kōkiri and the Minister for Māori Development would have agreed to either of these two outcomes for Māori. I think the important thing, looking forward, is we need clarification, because we know that in that whole thing about the Labour manifesto originally—$38 million promised each year to public broadcasting. There it is, and yet we’ve got no Māori actually sitting on that advisory group. That there is a travesty, and that is something that we actually need to address. The fact is this broadcasting Minister is actually working to the detriment of Māori, and that’s one thing that we actually need to address, because, at the end of the day, there may be one single platform.

I am pleased to take a call in this appropriations debate, and there are a number of things that have been mentioned that I will want to comment on. Firstly, if we start with the last contribution, from Nuk Korako, on the issue of Māori broadcasting, let’s be very clear: the Minister for Māori Development is responsible for Māori broadcasting, which, by and large, relates to Te Māngai Pāho and Māori Television (Māori TV). But here’s the thing: we are now at a point where Māori TV themselves recognise that they have to move significantly in the way that they deliver on their broadcasting aspiration in the Māori space to move from a terrestrial platform to a digital platform.

Now, the conversation that has to be had firstly, prior to any consideration of public broadcasting, is: how is Māori TV as an entity reorienting its strategy to be able to look towards the future? That was the first priority, and I believe, as the new Minister coming into this portfolio, that focusing and supporting Māori TV on that vision for the future was a worthwhile thing to do, albeit recognising that this Government has ambitious plans in the public broadcasting space. But why that’s important is that if there’s going to end up being a greater focus within the Māori broadcasting sector on Reo revitalisation, then it is easy to track across in the public broadcasting space what the relationship will be.

My colleague Rino Tirikatene, the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee, pointed to the concerns that the select committee had in relation to the issue of the amount of funding spent on contractors. That is not ideal for a Government department, and, in fact, that doesn’t build the capability and expertise of a ministry like Te Puni Kōkiri. It contracts out the responsibility in key areas, like policy development, somewhere else. We will see a shift under this Government, because we believe in the integrity of a Māori development ministry that retains capability and is able to contribute to other key areas of policy development where we are lifting outcomes for Māori.

The other thing, in relation to the comments with regard to Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill, is it is true: prior to becoming the Government, coalition parties and confidence and supply parties of this coalition Government did not see the benefit of investing, for example, in the Māori Land Service. Prior to confirming legislative reform, it made no sense. A huge amount of funding had been spent in that space when the Government knew that there was no political mandate to support the legislative reform. We continue to be concerned about this. We signalled clearly prior to Christmas that we would drop the proposed legislative reforms and reorient the focus to support Māori land owners, but let’s be very clear. As the select committee knew when they looked at the appropriations, funding in the area of the Māori Land Service was significant, without tying down the political reality of whether or not there was support for the direction that the previous Government, of which that member of the Opposition was a part, were going down.

The point on Te Pire mō Te Reo Māori / Māori Language Bill—yes, it is true that the Maihi Māori was established. In fact, it was established prior to the election—very early. Around this House, everybody agreed that Te Whare Mauri Ora, as a way of working to deliver on the Reo revitalisation, was a way of doing something differently. But the Maihi Karauna was delayed even before we became the Government. So let’s call a spade a spade and say that the delay was not a result of our new Government actually wanting to ensure that we had a Maihi Karauna which could work with the Maihi Māori; there was a delay before I even became the Minister.

I am encouraged by the work that has been undertaken by the relevant entities: Te Taura Whiri, Māori Television, Te Māngai Pāho, Te Puni Kōkiri, and other relevant Government agencies, who have pulled together a draft Maihi Karauna for us to be able to confirm. We want it to be workable. We want it to work. I look forward to members of the Opposition actually endorsing the Maihi Karauna so that we can deliver on its real intent, which is to lift the utilisation of Te Reo for all people in Aotearoa so that we can move forward. I also look forward to the reorientation of the way in which Te Puni Kōkiri will support Māori development.

Thank you, sir. I was going to say something about the report on the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, but the cultural sector is in such an excellent condition after nine years of a National Government—six of which I was the Minister—I didn’t want to spend five minutes simply praising myself. So what I thought I would do is focus instead on Te Puni Kōkiri and this unbelievably missed opportunity of the development of the Māori Land Service. Of the many things this Government has done since they assumed office toward the end of October, the most stupid, the most wasteful, the most disappointing thing they have done was ditch the reforms of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act.

This was a massive project, and they were opposing it for purely political reasons, even though the Labour Party, in their manifesto over a number of elections, promised to reform Te Ture Whenua Maori Act. The 1993 Act is not fit for purpose, and the development of a new piece of legislation, and within it the development of the Māori Land Service, was so pro whānau, hapū, and iwi, and that opportunity has been lost.

This National Opposition—and I’m sure I speak on behalf of the temporarily absent Māori Party—would say that the work done on the Māori Land Service was an important concomitant of the reform of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act. As envisaged by the architects of the legislation, the Māori Land Service would serve three functions. First, it would provide top-quality registration services for Māori land, and why shouldn’t Māori have exactly the same 21st century registration system that general land has? Why should they have to put up with this antediluvian nonsense that happens under the 1993 legislation? So that was the first point.

The second point was a dispute resolution service so that whānau who had difficulties could get speedy and inexpensive justice through a system governed by the Māori Land Service that would facilitate mediation and, as I say, the inexpensive and expeditious resolution of disputes, because the current system is simply not working. It takes months to get before the court, and many people just can’t be bothered going to court because the system is so run down. The kinds of reforms that we were proposing for the Māori Land Court were introduced in the general court system in 1984. So it’s simply unbelievable that these sorts of reforms, which were overdue, couldn’t proceed.

The third aspect of the Māori Land Service was the development of a land advisory system so that people were able to get advice to develop their land. It’s one of the tragedies of New Zealand that 11 percent of the North Island is governed by Te Ture Whenua Maori Act and 80 percent of that land is undeveloped or underdeveloped. There are massive problems with landlocked land. I recall a fellow from Mōkai Pātea who came and saw me and said he tried to get access to his land, which is landlocked, and the farmer said, “You’re more than welcome to walk in any time you want.”, and he said, “Well, actually, I need vehicular access.”, and he was told to go and see a taxidermist.

These are the kinds of issues that need to be grappled with. Treaty settlements, at the end of the day, will probably be worth about $3 billion to $4 billion in 2018 dollars, but if the nettle had been grasped on this particular issue, it is worth billions and billions of dollars to Māori. So it’s a massive disappointment that all the good work that was done on Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill, all the thinking, the hard work, and policy thinking that had been done on the Māori Land Service, has gone up in smoke.

I’m very fond of the Minister in the chair, Nanaia Mahuta, but I have to say she made an egregious error, and I largely blame the Minister of Customs, Meka Whaitiri, who I think had some rather unsavoury people who were persuading her to this point of view. But at the end of the day, the opposition to Te Ture Whenua Maori Act reforms was largely political.

Tēnā koe e Te Heamana. Tuatahi māku e tukuna atu i ngā mihi ki a koe e te pāpā, e Te Ururoa kua hoki mai koe ki Te Korokoro o Te Parata nāu i hoki mai ki tō whare, otirā ki a tātou i Te Whare e whakakāhui nei ki runga i ngā kaupapa nui o te wā.

[Good afternoon, Mr Chairman. May I firstly acknowledge your presence, Te Ururoa. You have returned to Te Korokoro o Te Parata, you have returned to this House where we are gathered to address important matters of the day.]

I would much rather have heard from the speaker who just resumed his seat, Chris Finlayson, around arts, culture, and heritage. However, it is left to me to address many of the issues that he raised in his contribution and, of course, make some comments of my own with regard to the performance of Te Puni Kōkiri. In order to do so, and to do it with great effect—and, if we are true about the Maihi Karauna being able to lead Te Reo Māori alongside Te Māihi Māori in Te Whare Mauri Ora, to make sure that Te Reo Māori revitalisation is taken seriously—I’m going to do the rest of my speech in Te Reo Māori.

Kāti ake rā, ka kite atu ahau i tētahi o ngā āhuatanga kei roto i tēnei rīpoata e pā ana ki te kaupapa e ngākaunuitia ana e tātou Te Iwi Māori, otirā, tātou te motu whānui. Ko taua kaupapa e kōrerohia ake nei, arā ko te kaupapa o Whānau Ora. Tā te mea ko au te Minita mō te take mō te kaupapa o Whānau Ora, ka kite atu ahau i ngā mahi nunui i oti i ngā kaimahi o Te Puni Kōkiri ki roto i ngā tau kua pahure ake nei. I āia tonu nei ka kite atu ahau i te tini o ngā tari Kāwanatanga, i te tini o ngā hapori e tiro mai ana ki tēnei kaupapa—arā ko Whānau Ora.

Tā te mea e kaha tautoko ana au i te kaupapa nei, ko te mate kē ki a au, i āia nei nā ko te hiahia o ngā tari Kāwanatanga nā ko te tāhae i te kaupapa nei; ki te rāwekeweke i te kaupapa nei; ko tāku e kite atu ai ki roto i te rīpoata, ko te kaha o Te Puni Kōkiri ki te ū tonu ki ngā uarā e pā ana ki tēnei kaupapa whakahirahira o Te Whānau Ora; nō reira e mihi atu ana au ki ngā kaimahi o Te Puni Kōkiri.

E mōhio ana koe e Te Heamana i āia tonu nei e whakahaerehia ana mātou o Te Kāwanatanga i tētahi mahi arohaehae i tēnei kaupapa o Whānau Ora. Ko te take o te mahi arohaehae i te kaupapa, ko te whakapakari ake i te kaupapa o Whānau Ora kia kite atu kei hea ngā kōhao kei roto i te kaupapa nei, me te hiahia kia whakapakari ake mō te oranga o te whānau te take. Nō reira i ngā rangi kua pahure ake nei i mea, i whakaae mai Te Kāwanatanga, arā ko ngā kāhui Minita, ki te mahi arohaehae i tēnei kaupapa o Whānau Ora; ko te hiahia kia tukuna atu te poari arohaehae i ā rātou mahi; nā runga i te rangimārie me te hiahia kia kite atu i te mahi motuhake me te tū motuhake o te rōpū arohaehae i taua kaupapa o Whānau Ora.

Aa kāti ka waiho nā atu te kaupapa o Whānau Ora ki te taha mō te wā nei, ko te kaupapa i āia nei nā ki a au nei nā, ko Te Reo Māori. I rongo atu ahau i roto i ngā totohe a Te Whare o te pō nei ko ētahi o ngā āhuatanga e pā ana ki Te Maihi Karauna me Te Maihi Māori. E mihi atu ana ahau ki a Te Puni Kōkiri e tautoko atu ana i Te Mātāwai i a rātou e huri haere ana ki te motu whānui me te kawe ake i tēnei kaupapa o Te Reo Māori. I āia tonu nei nā ko te mahi nunui kei mua i te aroaro o Te Puni Kōkiri me tēnei Whare kia piki anō te ora, kia piki anō te kaha o Te Reo Māori ki roto i ngā hapori, ki roto i ngā tari Kāwanatanga, ki roto hoki anō i ngā kāinga me ngā whānau puta noa. Mā Te Kāwanatanga tētahi mahi uaua—ehara i te mea hei tohutohu i Te Iwi Māori, kahore, engari ko te mahi nunui ko te tautoko ake i Te Maihi Māori e whakahaerehia nei e ō tātou Iwi Māori puta noa i te motu whānui.

Kāti ki roto i ngā hēkona whakamutunga ki a au nei, he nui ngā mahi i oti i a Te Puni Kōkiri, ki roto i ngā tau kua pahure ake nei. Ko te manako, me te īnoi, kia tau tonu mai te kaha o Te Atua ki runga i Te Minita hou e kawea nei ngā kaupapa o Te Ao Māori, kia kaua e āta wāwāhi nei i ngā kaupapa whai aronga, whai oranga anō hoki mō Te Iwi Māori kahore, engari kia ū tonu Te Puni Kōkiri me tō tātou Minita ki ngā take motuhake e pā ana ki a tātou Te Iwi Māori. Kāti ki konei e Te Heamana, ka nui tēnei māku, tēnā koe, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Indeed, I note amongst matters in this report a subject that is dear to the hearts of the Māori people, and indeed to our nation. That subject is Whānau Ora. In my role as Minister for Whānau Ora, I am aware of the enormous amount of work that has been undertaken by the staff of Te Puni Kōkiri in recent years. I note that currently this initiative is under close scrutiny by various Government departments and community groups—that is, Whānau Ora.

Because I am an avid supporter of this initiative, the actual problem to me is that there are Government departments that would like to abscond with this initiative and to tamper with it; what I glean from this report is the determination of Te Puni Kōkiri to remain faithful to the values pertaining to this important initiative of Whānau Ora. Therefore, I salute the staff of Te Puni Kōkiri.

You will be aware, Mr Chairman, that the Government is currently arranging to undertake a review of Whānau Ora. The reason that this review is being undertaken is to identify any areas for improvement and to strengthen the initiative for the betterment of families. Therefore, just recently, this Government—that is to say, Cabinet—has agreed that the panel for the review of Whānau Ora should proceed; we say that in the spirit of helpfulness and hope that the independent work and independent standing of the review panel of the Whānau Ora initiative will be apparent.

Let me set aside the subject of Whānau Ora for the time being and turn instead to the matter of the Māori language. I have heard the evening debates, which canvassed opinions regarding the Maihi Karauna and the Maihi Māori. Once again I congratulate Te Puni Kōkiri, which supported Te Mātāwai in their peregrinations around the country to inform people about this Māori language initiative. A great deal of work remains to be done now by Te Puni Kōkiri and by this House to ensure the health and strength of the Māori language in communities, in Government departments, and indeed in homes and within families throughout the land. The Government has a difficult task—not to instruct Māori, no indeed; the real work is to support the Maihi Māori, which is managed by Māori tribes across the nation.

Therefore, in the few seconds remaining to me, I do acknowledge Te Puni Kōkiri for their many accomplishments in recent years. I hope, indeed I pray, that the Almighty will bestow strength on our new Minister who bears the responsibility of matters Māori, that initiatives of great benefit to the Māori people are not diminished, but instead that they are strengthened and developed by Te Puni Kōkiri and our Minister. That brings my contribution to an end, Mr Chairman; greetings to you, greetings to us all.]

Thank you, Mr Chair. Great to be able to take a few minutes to talk on the reviews that we sat through in the Māori Affairs Committee. I just want to acknowledge the chair. I don’t sit on that committee any more. I was there for a few months but have now moved on to the Environment Committee, but the time that I did have there, I was impressed with the chairmanship of Rino and also just the general approach that all members had in debating and discussing and reflecting on the ambition of Māori and what is the appropriate policy response to assist in that ambition.

I do want to add my voice in support of my colleague Chris Finlayson, who I thought gave a very robust account of the lost opportunity that we all reflected on in the committee, particularly when we had Te Puni Kōkiri in front of us and asked them to reflect on the significant work that had been under way through the review period to establish the Māori Land Service that was envisaged as being necessary when Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill was passed. The Minister for Māori Development, when she stood up earlier and made her contribution, suggested that that was inappropriate from a policy perspective, that that work would go concurrently as we worked through the finer details of Te Ture Whenua. I fundamentally disagree with that approach.

It is too pedestrian to hold a view that as you are progressing a particular policy initiative the ministry that will be accountable for giving life to that when it passes should sit on their hands and wait for it to pass and then begin the planning to make sure that it gets operationalised. It might reflect the way this Government does business—as in pedestrian, and we’ll do a lot of working groups, and eventually we’ll come round to finalising a policy, and then hoping that it finds its way through to being operationalised—but it doesn’t reflect the way the National Government, with its support parties, ran the Government. We had a particular view that Te Ture Whenua would be a fantastic benefit to Māori and, particularly, release the productive potential of that land, which so much of it—as Chris Finlayson was so articulate in outlining—currently lies relatively dormant from a productive perspective. That’s why we wanted it to proceed, and I think putting money aside and getting the business of the Māori Land Service up and running concurrently were entirely defendable.

I think it is worth it, sir—oh, madam, sorry; the Chair’s changed in the meantime—to just repeat those three key reasons why we saw this as being critical: (1) top-quality registration, (2) a dispute resolution service, and (3) development of a land advisory system. Huge lost opportunity and one that we think will be a blight on this Government. It is much easier to destroy momentum than actually build it up, and that will now be the test for those on the other side who have accountability for delivering against this aspiration.

The chair, Rino Tirikatene, earlier referenced the fact that, as a committee, we heard from a number of agencies that are involved in ensuring that the Māori language is promoted and used by greater numbers. In particular, we had the Māori broadcasting radio network. They turned up and spoke at one of the committee sessions that I was at. I was particularly struck by the efforts that that organisation, or that network of radio stations, are applying themselves to, to ensure that at a community level, at a grassroots level, at a whānau level, this avenue, in terms of iwi radio, is actually meeting their needs and that people are actually engaging with it.

I spoke to them about the example that I saw in my area of Tauranga. I was at the Rā Whakangahau, the kapa haka festival. Moana Radio was there, with the incredible opportunity that their presence provided to showcase phenomenal Māori talent in our local area and actually enable, through Moana Radio, the opportunity for people who weren’t able to be there to participate. I think this is an area that should continue to have focus and resources, and I look forward to when the Government puts their money behind it, because there’s a whole lot of support for that to happen. It’ll be interesting to see whether that makes one of the 55,000 Budget requests that are currently being considered. Thank you.

I just want make a few remarks—firstly, that this debate is about the 2016-2017 appropriations, so, by necessity, we’ve got to look back to that year and what the previous Government did whilst they had the reins of power.

The second point I want to make is that whoever it was that decided we should theme these debates around particular themes, I want to acknowledge and thank them, because having the theme of Māori and Pasifika and other populations and cultures is actually a really great opportunity for this committee to start debating issues that pertain to particular sectors of our society who, by and large, have not received the full benefits of the economy that the previous Government used to talk about.

I draw attention to the previous speaker, the Hon Chris Finlayson, and the remarks blaming my colleague the Hon Meka Whaitiri about the dumping of Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill and his desire that that bill should have continued. The fact of the matter is that the fact that the Māori Party is no longer in this House is strong evidence—is strong evidence—that Māori, by and large, as represented by Meka, did not believe that that bill was going to benefit Māori in the long run, particularly when it pertains to land. That was about land reform and not necessarily for this discussion about how Māori as a group in Aotearoa New Zealand would benefit.

I want to say that in my travels around the Pacific region, but, from time to time, elsewhere, those overseas opportunities bring to home the fact that in no other country is there Māori other than Aotearoa New Zealand. That is something that this country needs to really be proud of, and we need to continue whatever work this Government is now embarking on. It is work that this House needs to back and get behind, because for the last nine years of the previous Government, we’ve found—and all I’ve got to do is pick up this paper and look at Māori life expectancy: low. Unemployment: low. Prison population: low. Homeownership: low.

When I heard one of the Opposition members talk about how this Government was using Māori as a scapegoat, I just find that offensive, because the previous Government had nine long years in power and nothing has improved, or very little has improved, when it comes to the social and economic well-being of Māori generally.

Following that, close behind, is the Pacific population. I know that the Pacific population—according to the Social Services and Community Committee’s report that’s tabled for discussion, it acknowledges that the Ministry for Pacific Peoples is the single ministry that is charged with providing direction and leadership to the rest of the Government departments. But we found that in the last year the continuation of low housing ownership continued under that Government to the point where homeownership for Pacific peoples is at about 16 percent. Now, once upon a time, in the 1970s it was close to 40 percent. But in the last decade very little was improved, and I can quote a number of figures in terms of unemployment figures, in terms of life expectancy, and in terms of income levels. That’s the legacy of that particular Government: that for Māori and Pacific very little was improved. I would challenge that previous Government to hold up the evidence of their last nine years, in particular the last year, to show that there has been some improvement. If members of this committee were to get down, on the streets, and talk to the people in South Auckland, talk to the people in Porirua, talk to people in Christchurch, you would find by and large the feeling amongst the Māori population and the Pacific population is that the previous Government neglected them. The previous Government was so bloody focused on—

CHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams): Order!

They were so focused on tax cuts that they didn’t recognise the value of Māori and Pasifika peoples.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Well, to start with, I just want to say to that previous speaker, Aupito William Sio, that’s not how Māori feel about the previous Government, the National-led Government. That is not how Māori feel about them. Māori know that it’s been through the National-led Government that so many Treaty bills have actually gone through this House. So I refute the words of that previous speaker, the Minister, speaking in a supposedly authoritarian way about what Māori think about the previous National-led Government. It’s a load of rubbish. So I refute that, what he said.

The previous speaker talked about these speeches being around the 2016-2017 annual reviews, and I get that. Unfortunately, for that Minister, the previous Minister that sat in the chair where he is now actually opened the way. She was the one, the Hon Nanaia Mahuta, who talked about dropping legislative reform, which was Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill, and looking at other things around what the Government is going to do over supporting landowners as Māori land owners. So as soon as she said that, she opened the way.

When the Minister for Whānau Ora got up and started speaking about some of the things that he is doing in the Whānau Ora space, he too opened up the ability for us to be able to include those in our speeches. So I don’t think that we should be limited to the annual review as such, when the Ministers in the chair actually open up the avenue for us to speak on broader-based topics—

CHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams): Order! That’s a very useful discussion, but I will ask you to come back to the annual review, thank you.

Yeah, I’m going to do that very shortly, Madam Chair. I just wanted to get my point across.

I just want to focus on, under the Māori development portfolio, the Whānau Ora section of Māori development. We all know it’s been a very great success for the Māori Party. This was their policy, and with the partnership with National they managed to get this particular policy through, and it has gone on, and thousands and thousands of whānau, both Māori and Pacific Island, have actually benefited from Whānau Ora within the Whānau Ora space.

As soon as the Government changed, one of the first questions I wanted to ask the new Minister was: what was his plan for Whānau Ora? So I’ve had to wait over 150 days to actually get that response from him. I’m really pleased that the Minister has been able to appoint a group of reviewers for the Whānau Ora review—a promise that the Labour Party had in their manifesto in 2014 and again in 2017, but it was more around the terms of reference, of what was that review going to look like. However, I want to congratulate the Minister. He’s managed to put an all-women review panel in there, which does beggar belief as, as you know, whānau is not just about women. We must have some men in there too, because that’s what makes up a wholesome whānau, male and female. So a couple of things around that: where are the men positioned in Whānau Ora?

The next area I want to talk about is when he spoke about—and in the annual review it talked about that some of the Government agencies that are picking up Whānau Ora. And it’s really great. We know about what the police are doing. They’ve got a very strong process in implementing Whānau Ora right across their ranks and right across all their police stations, and that’s really good, because they have to deal with Māori at the coalface. They’re on the streets. They are the ones that are brought in for all incidents and they must understand where Māori and Pasifika are actually coming from, when it comes to Whānau Ora and the way that they think within that whole sphere of whānau and hapū and whanaungatanga and their cultural beliefs.

The other area which I also want to talk about, which the Minister alluded to as part of the other ministries, is the Māori strategy He Korowai Oranga. He Korowai Oranga was brought in, in 2000. It is not a new thing. It’s always been with the Ministry of Health, based under Whānau Ora from the Hon Tariana Turia. I just want to say that that will keep on growing. What we need actually—I want to see into the future, as He Korowai Oranga goes across all of the Government agencies eventually. I don’t know if that’s going to happen over this review. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the review.

So, in closing, all I ask into the future around Whānau Ora is that that Government try and get it right. Because, on this side, I’ll be watching and I will be putting in my two cents’ worth around Whānau Ora and where it should go to. So, without any further ado, I will be ending my contribution. Kia ora.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I’d like to acknowledge the honourable Minister for Pacific Peoples, the Hon Aupatu William Sio. I agree with what he had to say.

In terms of what Jo Hayes, the speaker that has just taken her seat, said, one of the legacies of the previous National Government is the fact that so many of our Māori families, so many of our Māori whānau, now are homeless. They don’t even have a roof over their heads. It is actually something that the previous National Government should be ashamed of. The fact that we have the highest rate of homelessness in the OECD today and so many of our Māori whānau do not have a roof over their heads is definitely not something that I would be proud of, but that happened under the last National Government over the last nine years.

I am speaking today on behalf of the ethnic communities. The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) in terms of its annual review—when you look at the report, at page 276, it states that one of the responsibilities of DIA is “informing, resourcing and advising communities, including working to ensure that ethnic communities develop and maintain a positive sense of belonging to New Zealand;”. It is essential that we support our ethnic communities to develop a sense of belonging, a sense of inclusion, and social cohesion, and that we help to empower and to ensure that they actively and fully participate in our New Zealand society. One of the ways that the Office of Ethnic Communities does this is by supporting a wide range of parliamentary and community events that promote inclusion and social cohesion.

But just looking overall at Aotearoa New Zealand, a couple of the questions I have are these. Do we live in an inclusive society? Is our society as inclusive as it should be?

Let me give you a couple of examples, and I take this from Manukau East, from Papatoetoe. One of the things I asked the MP that I replaced, Ross Robertson, when he was still the MP for Manukau East—when he first came in he was representing Papatoetoe. I wanted to see what the population of Papatoetoe looked like, and what he told me was that 27 years prior—because he was an MP for 27 years—80 percent of Papatoetoe were Pākehā and 20 percent were ethnic minority, but within less than 30 years, that had flipped. Now, 80 percent of Papatoetoe are ethnic minority and 20 percent are Pākehā.

I’ll give you another example of this question: do we live in an inclusive society? When we look at our schools, some of our schools in South Auckland are 90 percent to 100 percent Māori, Pacific, and ethnic minorities, but when you look across the other side of Auckland, over at North Shore, there are schools over there that are the other way round—90 to 100 percent Pākehā. So then the question is: do we live in a society where we live next door to each other and where different ethnicities are inclusive in how we live, and do our children all attend the same schools, regardless of our ethnicities, regardless of our socio-economic status, and regardless of the area that we live in? I think that the answer to that is, unfortunately, in the negative.

One of the things that the Office of Ethnic Communities does—and it is covered in page 280 of the report—is it builds stronger, more resilient communities, and one of the ways it does this is via the Ethnic Communities Development Fund that the Office of Ethnic Communities administers, via the DIA. I’ll give you a few examples of how this fund is utilised. Over in Canterbury, with the Canterbury Community Trust, they have a cultural radio for Sri Lankan, for Vietnamese, and for Persian communities in Canterbury, and they do this because they would like to increase social cohesion.

Another example of how this fund is utilised is the Tangata Tiriti - Treaty People Project in Auckland, where members of the ethnic communities applied to DIA, and they were funded because they wanted ethnic communities to understand the Treaty better. They wanted to promote and celebrate the Treaty of Waitangi. They wanted to have a more inclusive way of looking at the Treaty.

Last, but not the least, they also focus on leadership development for ethnic communities. Thank you so much for this opportunity to talk about the work of the ethnic communities department. Thanks.

Madam Chair, thank you for the opportunity to address the committee, as I speak for the first time as a first-term MP on the Appropriation (2016/17 Confirmation and Validation) Bill.

I speak from the perspective of a member sitting on the Māori Affairs Committee. So I acknowledge my colleague across the Chamber, Rino Tirikatene, as our chairman. I share with members of this committee that there is a very collegial approach that we do take as members sitting around the table on the Māori Affairs Committee, but, in regard to that collegiality too, that doesn’t mean to say we dispense with scrutiny, as is necessary and required from the perspective that we speak from and to.

So speaking for the first time as a first-term MP, I’ve been surveying the landscape, the language- and the legislative-scape, the people- and personalities-scape, and appropriating all that is necessary to contribute in a purposeful, meaningful way. So “to appropriate”—what does that mean? The definition is “A devotion to a special purpose.”, and, in speaking to this bill this afternoon, it’s the devotion of the appropriation of funds for the specific purpose of those matters that have come before the Māori Affairs Committee around the annual reviews.

My colleague our chairman of the committee has referenced that the reviews that have come before the committee are from Te Puni Kōkiri, from Te Māngai Pāho, which is the Māori Broadcasting Funding Agency, and from the Māori Language Commission, which is Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori. Further to that—although they’ve not yet been formally tabled but have been the subject of discussion—is the recently formed, under the Māori Language Act 2016, Te Mātāwai, and also the Māori radio network—that is, Te Whakaruruhau o Ngā Reo Irirangi Māori.

Now, I share with the committee something of particular interest that I draw from in the papers that have been tabled, and I would invite everybody, if not now but in time, to turn to page 542, where Te Māngai Pāho, in terms of their review—that is, the Māori Broadcasting Funding Agency—their particular task is one that involves supporting projects that aim to change society’s attitudes towards Te Reo Māori. Te Reo Māori is an official language of this land, and also we hear it spoken with regularity within the House. So the challenge that I put to my colleagues here, as members of Parliament, is that we not just leave this as a responsibility of Te Māngai Pāho; we embrace that, also, as responsible citizens of Aotearoa and in our leadership roles as members of Parliament.

The other part that Te Māngai Pāho talks about is to foster the correct pronunciation of Māori words and focus on funding initiatives aimed at improving the fluency of competent speakers of Te Reo Māori. I just share with the committee that, as a woman who stands tall with the name “Harete Hipango”, that was given to me by my whānau, I’ve lived a lifetime of mispronunciation. So, again, I just invite members of this House, if we could give emphasis to the courtesy that’s extended to each other.

So coming back to the annual review, if I may—I’m mindful time has gone by very quickly—and the scrutiny that’s within that. My colleagues have spoken about Te Puni Kōkiri and the particular responsibility around the Māori Land Service. I just share around the formulation of the Māori Language Strategy, Maihi Karauna, that’s been spoken about. We’re still awaiting the delivery of that. I heard the honourable Minister Nanaia Mahuta speak about the fact that these things do take time. But I just stress and emphasise the importance that this House and the Government gave to other policies in pushing through legislation. So let’s give some priority to this. This is an official language of our nation. Let’s not just leave it to Te Puni Kōkiri. Te Puni Kōkiri is charged with the responsibility in terms of advising other Government agencies and policies. We also can take on that level of influence.

There’s so much that’s been covered in the annual reviews and just skirting over them does not diminish in any way the significance of what is within these documents that we have. I turn to the fact that the Māori Language Commission tasked with Te Puni Kōkiri has the responsibility in charging the development of the Māori Language Strategy. We are still awaiting that. I heard the honourable Minister Sepuloni in the House earlier this afternoon in the general debate saying that policies have been ready to go. I’m afraid that’s not the case in terms of this Māori Language Strategy. So I put that there as a challenge. We’ve been awaiting this at Māori Affairs Committee. We still await it. Let’s get it moving.

Madam Chair, I’m pleased to have the opportunity to speak on the Māori, Other Populations, and Cultural Sector of the Appropriation Bill. Previous speakers tended to focus on Māori affairs. Of course, I’m not expert in that area; as an ethnic Chinese I intend to focus on other populations, particularly the Chinese community.

In New Zealand we have over 200 ethnic groups. We speak over 150 languages. So this is a genuinely multicultural society and the Chinese community is one of the largest ethnic communities in New Zealand. According to the 2013 census, there were 170,000 ethnic Chinese in New Zealand. Of course, today our community is much bigger. Now, every year, the Parliament will celebrate the Chinese New Year. It has been so for 16 years, and the Government also partially funded Auckland’s Chinese Lantern Festival celebrations. That has been so for 19 years and that celebration has become one of the largest Chinese Lantern Festival celebrations outside of China. Auckland Harbour Bridge this year was lit to mark the lantern festival for the very first time. Of course, many other cities in New Zealand are also celebrating the Chinese New Year and the lantern festival.

Cultural diversity is particularly important to us because cultural diversity enriches our society, it strengthens our relations with other countries, and it attracts talented, high-quality immigrants from other countries. So it is important for us to continue to cherish our cultural diversity in New Zealand, and our Government agencies have been working very hard to facilitate and to encourage the public sector to accommodate cultural diversity in New Zealand. Many agencies provide language services to our communities. For example, we have Language Line. We provide services with over 40 languages, and many ethnic community people use Language Line to do their business, to communicate with the Government or Government agencies.

Also, the internal affairs department each year will provide funding for various sorts of ethnic community events. I understand we have about half a million dollars, which is not big funding, however, it does help. I have come across many ethnic community leaders and they appreciate the funding from the Government. Although the funding can be very small—for example, $1,000—a little bit of funding really does a lot for these ethnic community associations. So we, hopefully, in the future will be able to have more funding to support our community affairs and community events. Statistics New Zealand in this year’s census have recruited a large number of volunteers and staff from different ethnic groups. They have also prepared printed material in different languages to help our communities. These services are crucial for New Zealand because we are such a diverse society.

Last year, during the campaign, the National Party had a plan to teach second languages in primary schools, which would actually facilitate cultural diversity in New Zealand. We were planning to invest heavily in this area. But, unfortunately, of course, in the end we did not come back into power and, therefore, that policy was abolished.

Having said that, I genuinely believe living in New Zealand is very fortunate for ethnic minority people. As I said, as a Chinese in New Zealand, we have one of the largest ethnic communities in New Zealand. We have seen the cultural diversity, we have seen the Government’s support for multiculturalism, and we have seen the growth of communities, not only Chinese but also many other ethnic groups.

These ethnic communities are very helpful to our economic growth because cultural diversity means we’ll be able to communicate with other countries through business, so that we can have economic relations. For that reason, we’ll continue to support our communities. We’ll continue to encourage multiculturalism.

Reports relevant to the Māori, Other Populations and Cultural Sector noted.

Primary Sector