TE URUROA FLAVELL (Māori Party—Waiariki) Link to this
Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker. Ā, kāti huri noa i tō tātau Whare, kia ora tātau. Ki te hunga kua tae mai i tēnei pō ki te tautoko i tēnei o ngā kaupapa, ka nui te harikoa kua tae mai koutou ki te whakarongo ki ngā kōrero. Koinei te mihi o te ngākau ki a koutou, otirā, tātou e noho nei i roto i te Whare, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātou katoa. Me mihi rā ki a koutou katoa ngā kaikōrero i te pō nei i te mea, ōrite ō tātau whakaaro. Āe, he take nui tēnei, me kōrero i te take nei, me wānanga i te take nei nā runga i te mea, he take kua roa e noho tārewa ana. Ko te harikoa i roto i tōku ngākau, kua mau pai i a tātau te tikanga o tēnei pire. Ehara i te mea, kāore tētahi i te paku mōhio ki tōna tikanga, kua mārama katoa tātau ki tōna pūtake, ki tōna aronganui, ā me kī, ki te paerangi.
Ko te mea pai ki a au, ehara i te mea nō roto i te Pāti Māori ngā tauira. Mai i tēnā, i tēnā, i tēnā, tēnei taha, tērā taha, i muri nei, kei a tātau ngā tauira e whakaatu nei i te kino o te pūtake o tēnei pire. Ko te mea pai anō hoki kua mārama tātau, āe, he take nui tēnei, me whai atu i tētahi huarahi hei whakatikatika i te hē o tēnei pire. I ngā tau kua hipa, kua puta ngā mahi arotake a wētahi o roto i te Whare, o roto hoki i te Taraipiunara o Waitangi ki te āta titiro i ngā nawe o roto i te pire ēngari, auare ake. Ko te āhua nei, anā, kua ōrite ō tātau whakaaro ka anga whakamua te pire nei ki tōna taumata.
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.]
[Greetings, Mr Assistant Speaker, and indeed to us all throughout the House, greetings. To those of you who have come here tonight in support of this one of the policies, I am overjoyed you have come to listen to the addresses. I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to you, and especially those of us seated about the House, greetings to you, greetings to you and greetings to us all. I must acknowledge all of you who spoke tonight because we were of the same mind. Yes, this is an important matter and we should discuss and debate it because it has been on hold for quite some time. The pleasing aspect is that we have a good grasp of the intent of this bill. There is no lack of understanding and awareness of its intent. Let us say, we are fully aware of its rationale, direction, and focus.
The pleasing aspect for me is that negative examples of this bill have come not just from within the Māori Party but also from that one and that one, from this side and that side, and from the back. We have all come up with examples. A positive aspect, as well, is that we have an understanding. Yes, this is an important matter, and we should pursue an avenue that will amend a flaw in this bill. In the past, some in the House and the Waitangi Tribunal have undertaken reviews to examine flaws in the bill, but nothing came out of it. It appears that we are unanimous that this bill should progress to its ultimate conclusion. ]
I say in closing, on behalf of myself and the Māori Party, to all our supporters across the House that I appreciate their support. Clearly, people understand the issues and they have examples, and, therefore, I look forward to the bill going to the select committee for the debate to continue. I acknowledge National, our coalition partner, in the sense that it would have been all too easy for National to move towards a financial veto, and I am pleased to say that National has managed to leave that one to the side.
I close with a little bit of insight, in that today is a spiritual day. I say that because 2 years ago—and we know how hard it is to get a bill drawn out of the ballot—the Māori Party put the Foreshore and Seabed Act (Repeal) Bill into the ballot, and as soon as it went in, it was drawn out. That bill has now been referred to a select committee. The second bill we put in the ballot was this bill, the Public Works (Offer Back of and Compensation for Acquired Land) Amendment Bill. We know that the chances of putting a bill in the hat and having it drawn out on the same day are pretty slim. But what happened? Well, I did a very good karakia on that day, because out came the bill! And 2 years on, here we are tonight debating this bill.
I say also that today, of all days, I was asked to speak at a Treaty forum—and what should be on the agenda for me to speak about? It was this bill to amend the Public Works Act. It was this day—not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today. So I say to Mr Assistant Speaker Barker that he is a lucky man. He is a part of the spiritual history and the spiritual realm that this bill will travel through easily, smoothly, right to a conclusion that will be to the happiness and joy of my people. Nā runga i tērā, kei te harikoa te ngākau kua pēnei rawa wā tātau kōrero. Ki te reo karanga Ngāti Rangiwewehi, ka nui te mihi. Koutou, tātau kua tae mai i tēnei pō, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Kei raro.
[Because of that, I am overjoyed that our speeches were of this tenor. I acknowledge Ngāti Rangiwewehi greatly, and those of you who came here tonight. And to each of you, and to all of us, greetings, greetings, greetings. I resume my seat.]