7. Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Māori Party) Link to this
to the Minister of Maori Affairs
He aha te mahi māna, tētahi atu hoki, ā, mā tana Tari rānei ki te whakautu i ngā ngaukino i tau ki runga i a Ngāi Tūhoe ake, i whakaputaina rā e te kaikōrero mō Tūhoe a Tāmati Kruger, i kī rā: “Ki ahau nei, ahakoa ko wai te tangata, he tika tonu kia riri a ia—pēnei hoki i a mātau. Me kaua rawa e warewaretia e tātau.”?
[What action, if any, will he or his ministry be taking to respond to the trauma specifically experienced by the iwi of Tūhoe, as expressed by Tūhoe spokesperson Tāmati Kruger, and I quote: “I think any normal, regular person would feel anger—and we do feel angry about what has happened. We must not forget it.”?]
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of Māori Affairs) Link to this
I raro i taku tūranga, Minita mō ngā Take Māori, kei ahau te mahi kaitiaki mō ngāi Māori katoa. Kei te mahi kaha tonu ahau me taku Manatū ki roto i ngā taumata hapori ki te whakawhiwhi huarahi ahu whakamua mō te hapori, ngā tikanga, ngā ōhanga mō rātou o ngāi Tūhoe.
[As Minister of Māori Affairs, I have a duty to care for all Māori. I and my ministry continue to work constructively at the community level to provide social, cultural, and economic pathways forward for the people of Tūhoe.]
Has the Minister been advised that the Minister of Police justified the over-the-top reactions of the police towards the people of Rūātoki and their subsequent effect on innocent people as being merely “collateral damage”, and what advice will he be giving the Minister about such a statement?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
I rongo au ki ngā kōrero me ngā pirihimana e puta ana pērā tonu nā te mea, i roto i aku me ngā pīrihimana, te Kāwanatanga me ngāi Tūhoe e whiriwhiri i ngā take kei waenga i a rātou.
[I have heard statements of that nature that have emerged about the police, but that is something for the police, the Government, and Tūhoe to work through collectively.]
Dave HereoraHon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
Ko te tuku pūtea mō te Hui Ahurei o Tūhoe me ngā hui whakanui o Matariki ēnei hui rongonui e tautoko ana i te Tūhoetanga. Ko te tuku pūtea hei tautoko i te whanaketanga whānau ki roto o Tūhoe, te tuku pūtea ki ngā kaupapa pērā i a Mauri Ora e pā ana ki te whakakore tūkino katoa ki roto i ngā hapori.
[It has invested in the Tūhoe Festival and Matariki celebrations. These well-known events support Tūhoe culture. It has invested in supporting family development in Tūhoe and in projects such as Mauri Ora, which is about moving towards zero tolerance in communities.]
Pita ParaoneTēnā koe, Madam Speaker. Would the Minister agree that a number of people and organisations have contributed to portraying this issue as one about Tūhoe, when it is clearly not purely a Tūhoe issue, and that those people and organisations should be apologising for their part in needlessly singling out and alienating the Tūhoe people?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
It is very clear that some people have gone out with zealot-type behaviour in blaming everybody else. But, clearly, there are three Tūhoe, there are three Māori, and there are a whole lot of Pākehā. I say it again: mad Pākehā and overexcited Māori do not make a good mix.
Is the Minister aware that the recent Marae Digi-Poll confirmed that 75 percent of the Māori polled from the Māori roll considered the armed police raids in Ruātoki to be an unnecessary overreaction, and what work will his ministry be doing to improve the all-time low relationship between his Government and Māori?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
I have read and studied the Marae Digi-Poll well, and I understand the small catchment that it cuts. There is only one poll that matters, and that is on election day, and we will see each other there. There is a clear factor in this issue in relation to the struggle for Māori rights in this country, which has been strong and enduring. It should never, never involve arms and violence. Some parties and people in this House have stirred it up to be something else, and they should wake up.
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
Absolutely! I was in Murupara in the weekend, and I went past Ōpōtiki the weekend before that. I will be there.
Ron MarkWould he agree that the Tūhoe people have been besmirched by a very small number of extremists in their midst who, along with 13 others, 10 of whom were Pākehā, planned to commit acts of terrorism and murder, and that if any fault does lie with Tūhoe it is with those who knew that these activities were being conducted and that training camps were running, and who chose to do nothing about that?
Keith LockeI raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I think that question prejudices the court cases by referring to numbers of people and assuming guilt. Is that not against your instructions?
Madam SPEAKERI listened to it, and I think that it was close to the edge in the language it used. But I do not think that it actually referred to the cases that are before the court at the moment. I ask the Minister, in responding, to take that into account.
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. There was a specific reference to a number—13—and obviously it gets—
Hon Dr Michael Cullen Link to this
If we are talking here about the number of people charged under the firearms legislation, of course that is a matter of public record. Indeed, I think that the number of those who were involved in potential charges under the Terrorism Suppression Act was also in the public arena.
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
I am aware of those matters, and the reason why police took action in the first place needs to be kept at the forefront of our minds. It is not about the performance on the day, but it is certainly about why they went there.
Has the Minister received or seen any reports from other iwi who are upset at the alleged actions and plans of these suspected terrorists and at their negative effect on the portrayal of Māoridom as a whole, and who understand that the police have a job to do and must act against people who would plan murder and mayhem?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
Yes, I have, from Timi te Heuheu, who was concerned that certain factions were trying to drag the arikinui into this episode of happenings of the moment. I have also heard from Naida Glavish, a principal spokesperson who did not agree with the performance of the police on the first day, but who certainly voiced caution in relation to people continuing to work with the police in an amicable way, and urged the police to do better in the sense of working with Māori.
Can the Minister tell the House what credibility he can give to those people who would advocate that Māori who have been exposed to seeing men wearing masks, and Māori who have now been exposed to seeing men carrying guns, have been so traumatised that they need Government and State assistance to overcome that trauma, when daily we read in the newspaper of masked protesters, masked Māori gang members, and Māori gang members using firearms regularly in drive-by shootings and having firearms in their homes on a day-to-day basis—what credibility can those people possibly have?
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA Link to this
To the tail end of that member’s question—none, whatsoever. But I remind that member that there are issues that Tūhoe have to sort out with Tūhoe, and there are issues between the police and Tūhoe that they have to sort out. This Labour-led Government is quite clear and keen on supporting the Tūhoe people coming out of that incident.
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I think I might well have used the supplementary questions allocated to me, so I seek leave of the House to ask one final supplementary question.
No, you have one more, so you can use your last supplementary question for your party on this question.