10. DAVID GARRETT (ACT) Link to this
to the Minister of Maori Affairs
Did the Government inform Māori Television that he was flying to New York to speak to the UN; if so, on what date?
Hon TARIANA TURIA (Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector) Link to this
Māori Television was briefed in confidence on Friday, 9 April 2010, to enable it to send a reporter and a camera operator to New York in time for the announcement.
Did the Prime Minister advise him before his trip to New York that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples would have “no effect whatsoever”; if so, how does he justify the secrecy and expense of the trip?
Hon TARIANA TURIA Link to this
It was very clear what the parameters of the declaration were. There was no secrecy to the Minister’s going to New York. The Prime Minister signalled very early last year that this matter would be on the agenda this year. There has been no secrecy.
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The question was quite specific: did the Prime Minister advise him that the declaration would have “no effect whatsoever”, which was a direct quote from the Prime Minister. It was not about the contents of the document, which was the subject of the answer given on the Minister’s behalf.
Mr SPEAKERIf I recollect correctly, that was not the question the member asked, at all. I seem to recollect there was another hunk to the question, and that was what Minister Turia chose to focus on in her answer. That is the thing: if members want a particular point to be covered in an answer, they must not add more, because that enables the Minister to latch on to the bit they did not particularly want to be focused on. I believe that the Minister adequately answered the question.
Will he be advising Tūhoe that, as the Prime Minister stated, the declaration he signed in New York will have “no effect whatsoever”, and that they—Tūhoe—are mistaken in citing the declaration in their claim to ownership of Te Urewera National Park?
Hon TARIANA TURIA Link to this
It is very clear that this declaration must fall within the parameters of New Zealand law and within the Treaty obligations that have been agreed between the Crown and Māori people, and that is also how the Tūhoe decision will be made.
Kelvin DavisWas it his intention to travel all the way to New York to, as the Māori Party says, sign the declaration, or was he, as the National Government says, going over there just to affirm it, and which of these affirmations or declarations will help the most to reduce Māori prison numbers and unemployment, and increase Māori educational achievement?
Hon TARIANA TURIA Link to this
It was appropriate for the Government to make its first statement publicly to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues as it was the setting in which much of the declaration was negotiated.