Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) - New Zealand Parliament

16 May 2009 Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill 3645
Polynesian city in the world. I will talk about a personal story, to put it in context. I say
hello to my mother, who is 80 years old and is watching us on television. Mum came
over from Samoa in the 1950s. She worked as a shorthand typist for the Department of
Social Welfare, and she managed to become the manager of 30 women. She became the
first Pacific equal employment opportunities coordinator in that department, together
with Elsie Ellison of Ngāti Porou, who was the first Māori equal employment
opportunities coordinator. The point about having those communities represented in the
workplace is that it means there is a better connection with those communities. Having
them represented ensures that they participate and have information, but, more
important, it ensures that the needs of those communities, and some creative responses
and innovation, can be part of the mix.
I am very, very proud to say to the Minister of Local Government that it is important
in this debate to honour the contribution that Pacific people have made to this country.
We should think of the big picture. I think of the Rugby World Cup. Who plays in our
rugby team? Who plays in the New Zealand Warriors and in the Kiwi netball team?
Who won the Lexus opera competition last week? It was a Kiwi-born Samoan. Who
heads Black Grace? It is Neil Ieremia from Cannons Creek, who now lives in Auckland.
Jonah Lomu and all those other people came from very humble beginnings.
It is those workers who need to be looked after. It is about value for money, but it is
also about value for people. It is really important that we address that issue in terms of
work, workers’ rights, and better investment to support those workers to lift their
capability. It is also important to have an organisation that reflects the look of
Auckland, because that is good for New Zealand, good for the Pacific, and good for the
world. Our whole community, like any other community, has contributed to “New
Zealand Inc.” New Zealand is very, very well known all over the world in terms of its
Māori, Pacific, Asian, and Pākehā contributions. Each contribution enhances us. Unless
those groups are reflected in the workplace, not just at the level of a cleaner but at the
management level where decisions are made, the delivery of the agency will be
ineffective and fall short of its responsibility.
I stand as a New Zealand - born Pacific woman. I am very proud to be a Kiwi.
Pacific people are very proud of our country. We do not want to be honoured just for
playing good rugby; we have a contribution to make in terms of the economy and our
society. Our people, like those in many other communities, work extremely hard no
matter what job we do. We see examples of that in Parliament, from bottom to top. It is
important that we look after our people, because they contribute to the economy, and
they contribute enormously in terms of social capital, too. They do a lot of voluntary
work in the areas of sports, culture, spirituality, and faith. Those areas are all part of the
package.
I congratulate Carol Beaumont on her vision of creating personnel policies that are
not token gestures or responses but actually enhance, are integral to, and reciprocate the
enormous contribution that Pacific people have made to this country. After all, Aotearoa
is part of the Pacific. Thank you.
DARIEN FENTON (Labour): I rise to support this excellent new part proposed by
my colleague Carol Beaumont. I can only echo what all my colleagues have said. But I
also affirm our plea to the National Government to seriously consider this part, and to
think about what we are talking about when we talk about good employment practices,
being a good employer, and how important that is, particularly at a time when 6,300
workers are living with enormous uncertainty. They do not know whether they will
have a job in 18 months. They do not know what the rationalisation of their jobs means.
That is what the Government has proposed—that their jobs be rationalised by October
2010.