Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) - New Zealand Parliament

16 May 2009 Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill 3673
te iwi Māori. Nō reira, e Hone tēnā koe. Otirā, āhua hōhā ki tō tumuaki rā ki a Tariana,
hara mai ki roto i te Whare i nanahi, ka tuku i tana wero ki ā mātou ka kī mai rā, ē, āhua
taurekareka noa iho a kōtou kōrero e Reipa. Kai te tino whakahe ki tēnā wero i te mea
rā, mātou o tēnei taha ka tuku wero ki te Kāwanatanga kia āta whakaarohia, kia āta
whakarongo ki ngā nawe, ki ngā pōrarurarutanga kua horahia nei i roto i te Whare.
Kīhai i te whakarongo. Nō reira, nāna nā Tariana i kī ai, ē, āhua taurekareka noa iho ngā
wero, ngā kōrero katoa o te Rōpū Reipa. Ē, kai te tū a Reipa ki te tautoko i ngā iwi
katoa o Tāmaki-makau-rau. Ko wai a ia ki te kī mai, kai te āhua korotake noa iho ngā
kōrero?
Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. We have not had the
interpretation.
The CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch): Well, I did pause. Is there to be a
interpretation?
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.]
[Thank you, Mr Chairman. I rise to endorse the statements and the challenge set
down by my colleague the Hon Shane Jones. He stood up in this House to support the
matter in our midst. He stated that the authority of the Māori people of Auckland has
been trampled upon. We are troubled by that, a matter that the person seated by you,
the Minister of Local Government, created. Because of that, it is right that we challenge
that side of the House, the Māori members of each party, and, indeed, all parties
gathered here in this House, to stand up and express their views on the matter that is on
the Table about the authority of Ngāti Whātua.
As a descendant of Ngāti Whātua, I say that the authority of this one standing before
you has been trampled upon. As a descendant of Tainui, as well, my authority has been
trampled upon again. Kawerau-a-Maki’s authority, just like Pare Hauraki’s authority,
has been trampled upon, because this bill states that in respect of this matter you
collectively must remain silent. You have no authority at all. It has gone to smaller
groups whose members are somewhat fair in colour and who will steal Auckland’s
resources and sell them offshore. That is my reason for standing up.
Trampled upon as well is the authority of the people of the Great Ocean of Kiwa, of
the Pacific, those from Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Fiji, and all those islands. My
challenge once again, therefore, is for Māori members of all political parties to stand
up and oppose the matter on the Table. To the Minister seated at your side, Mr
Chairman, Auckland at large is somewhat weary of him.
And so I acknowledge the parties gathered here in this House. Be staunch and
address us at length and in depth about Māori independence. Greetings to you, Hone. I
find your leader Tariana a bit of a bore. She came into the House yesterday and stung
us by saying: “Labour, all your challenges and talk amount to nothing.” We reject that
taunt entirely, because we on this side are challenging the Government to really
consider and think through the complaints and concerns being presented in the House.
The Government is not listening. So for Tariana to say that all of Labour’s talk and
challenges amount to nothing is being somewhat extreme. Labour is actually standing
up in support of all the people in Auckland. Who is she to tell us that what we have
stated is pointless?]
Hon MITA RIRINUI: I thank the interpreter for his very close description of what I
said.
I would like to summarise one particular point. I was very offended—and I have to
say this while Hone Harawira is in this Chamber—by the comments made by the Hon
Tariana Turia yesterday. She came to this Chamber and described as vexatious Labour’s
efforts to have the Government recognise the needs of the Auckland people and allow
them to have a say in this process. That is absolutely ridiculous. If that member cannot