Immigration Advisers Licensing Bill

Dr Pita R Sharples; Co-leader, Maori Party

Thursday 15 December 2005

I'm joining this debate on the Immigration Advisers Licensing Bill. I wish to refer to the Treaty of Waitangi. I wish also to begin my remarks speaking in the official language of this country - Te Reo Māori.

Tena koutou - kua oti kē taku mohio, ki etahi o koutou ko te Tiriti o Waitangi he mea kino. He mea whakawhiu, whakawehe, whakapau tangata.

Ki etahi o koutou hoki ko te Tiriti o Waitangi ko nga kereme kua whakatakotoria i raro i te maru o te Taraipiunara. Ki a koutou ra, he gravy train tera.

Atu ki enei - kei te mohio ahau, ko etahi o koutou kare i te mohio he aha te take ka korero Māori matou i roto i te whare nei.

He mea tino hoha tenei ki a koutou ki te rongo mai ki te tangi o te reo Māori, a, ka taria te whakamarama i roto i te reo Pakeha.

Tatau ma. Ko matau te Paati Māori. Korero Māori matau i etahi wa, a, ka kawea rawatia e matau nga kaupapa nga tikanga o nga tipuna Māori, kua heke iho nei, mai i nga whakatipuranga, ā, tae noa ki a matau tenei wa.

Ka whai haere matau i nga tapuae o o matau tipuna ara i a Tā Apirana, i a Tā Turi Kara, i a Tā Maui Pomare mā. Ko matau nei te kanohi Maori o te ra nei, he reo Maori e tu motuhake ana hei mangai mo nga hapu me nga rohe Maori o Aotearoa nei.

Kei warewaretia e nga tāngata o Aotearoa nei te ahua o te tangata whenua ka korero Maori ahau i tenei wahanga o aku korero.

I te ono o nga ra o Pepuere i te tau kotahi mano, waru rau, wha tekau, i hainatia te Tiriti o Waitangi. I hainatia e nga Rangatira o nga hapu Maori me te apiha mo Kuini Wikitoria te Karauna ki Ingarangi.

Na te mea, i hainatia e ratau e nga Rangatira Maori he kawenata ki a matau. Na te mea hoki i hainatia e Te Hapuku o Ngati Kahungunu, naku ano i haina.

Na reira ki etahi o koutou ko te Tiriti he kaupapa tawhito, he kaupapa hoha, he kaupapa moumou taima. Ki ahau nei - ki te Pāti Māori, ki te iwi Maori whānui, ko te Tiriti he kaupapa matua, he kaupapa hohonu, he kaupapa tika mo tatau katoa mo Aotearoa i tenei wa.

He aha te take ka korero penei ai au i tenei wa? Na te mea kei roto i te Tiriti nga wariu, nga uaratanga hohonu rawa kia whakakotahi ai tatau i Aotearoa i tenei wa, a mo te wa e heke mai nei.

Kei roto i te Tiriti o Waitangi - nga kaupapa matua o te Paati Maori. Kua whakararangitia enei kaupapa i ta matau mana topu ara te tu tohinga mo te Paati Maori.

Ka kaha taku tautoko i te Tiriti o Waitangi i tenei wa, na te mea, ko te Tiriti, te tu tohinga tuatahi mo te hekenga mai o nga manene ki Aotearoa nei.

I whakaae nga rangatira Maori i roto i te Tiriti, kia whakaheke mai a tauiwi, ara nga manene o Ingarangi, ki Aotearoa nei, noho ai.

Na tenei, au i ki - he kaupapa tino pai rawa te Tiriti O Waitangi. He kaupapa whariki mo tatau, he punga hoki mo to tatau noho tahi.

Ko te Tiriti he kaupapa kia whakakotahi i a tatau.

Ko te Tiriti he kaupapa manaaki i a tatau katoa.

Na reira, ka huri au ki te pire nei te Immigration Advisers Licensing Bill.

E Hine, ka korero ahau ki tenei Pire. Na te iwi Maori i whakatu te Ratonga manene tuatahi mo tenei whenua i tera rautau neke atu i roto i te Tiriti.

E rangi, mai i taua wa tae noa ki tenei wa, na te kawanatanga anake i whakatakoto ture mo te whakaheke manene. No ratau ano tenei ratonga manene.

Ki a matau o te Pāti Maori kua tae ki te wa kia uru atu te tangata whenua ki roto i te roopu whiriwhiri kaupapa mo te Ratonga manene. Kia noho te tangata whenua ki roto i tenei roopu, ara, te Immigration Advisers authority.

Kei te tautoko matau i te pire nei. Na tenei pire ka whakatakoto ai te kaupapa kia uru pai ai nga manene ki roto i te ao o Aotearoa nei. Kia whakangawari ai o ratou noho i waenganui i a tatau.

He pire nui mo tatau i tenei wa na te mea ka haere mai nga manene ki konei no nga hau e wha, no nga pito katoa o te ao. Me kaha tatau ki te manaaki, ki te awhi i a ratau.

Me kaha tatau ki te ako kia mohio tatau i o ratau tikanga, ā, ki te tautoko i nga rereketanga i waenganui i nga iwi katoa o Aotearoa nei.

I roto i aku mahi i nga tau kua pahure ake nei, i rongo ahau i nga awangawanga maha i roto i enei manene hou. Ko etahi o tatau kare i te tino manaaki i a ratau no te mea - he tikanga kē a ratau, he reo rereke, he hāhi wairua kē, he kiri rereke rānei.

Ma te Pāti Maori e ki - mena whakaae ana tatau kia haeremai ratau ki konei noho ai, me manaaki me awhina ratau. Kia kaua tatau e whakatu whawhai-a-iwi pera tera i Cronulla i Ahitereiria i tenei wa.

Ki te korero i puta mai i te National Business Review i Hepetema (Mahuru) i tera tau, kahore tatau katoa o Aotearoa nei e tautoko ana ki nga momo manene kua heke mai nei.

I tera tatau pooti (poll) wha tekau ma rima o rau (45%) i ki he nui rawa nga manene Ahia i konei, toru tekau ma iwa o rau (39%) i ki; he nui rawa nga manene o te Middle East, toru tekau ma iwi o rau (39%) i ki he nui rawa nga manene o nga moutere o te Moana-Nui- a-Kiwa i konei.

Na reira tatau ma, ano au e ki; ki te whakapuare i te kuaha ki nga manene, ā, kia kaha tatau ki te manaaki i a ratau.

Kei te tautoko te Pāti Maori i te pire nei, na te mea he kaupapa awhina, he kaupapa manaaki, kei roto i te ngako o te Pire.

Kei roto i tenei pire ko nga ture whakahaere mo te kaupapa awhina manene ara:

- ko nga korero e whakapuakina ana te ahua o nga raihana;

- nga paearu kia whiwhi raihana;

- nga momo raihana

- me era atu whakamarama

Ka whakaturia hoki e te pire nei he Runanga (authority) awhina manene, kia tu kei raro i te maru o te Tāri Reipa.

Ko tetahi kaupapa o te Runanga nei kia whakatikatika ai te ratonga o nga kaimahi ki te iwi manene. Tautoko ana matau ki tenei.

Ko tetahi whakaaro o matau - kia whakatokia ki roto i te marautanga o te Runanga nei (hei kaupapa matua) he korero e pa ana ki te tangata whenua, he korero mo te Tiriti o Waitangi, a, me era atu korero e pa ana ki te hitori o Aotearoa nei.

Ko tetahi atu ringaringa mo te Runanga nei ko tera e awhina ana i a ratau o nga manene kei te hikoi tonu i te reo Ingarangi, me tetahi wahanga mo ratau e pirangi ana ki te ako i te reo Maori.

Na reira E Hine, kei te tautoko te Pāti Maori ki tenei pire, i raro i tenei ture matua:

- Mehemea ka powhiritia nga manuhiri, nga manene rānei, me manaaki me atawhai, me awhina ratau, kia noho rangimarie ai tatau katoa.

He aha te mea nui o nga mea katoa o te ao?

Maku e ki - he tangata 'he tangata'.

English interpretation

Salutations to you all. I am aware that many do not view the Treaty of Waitangi positively. It is seen as oppressive, divisive and wasteful.

To some of you the Treaty of Waitangi only relates to the claims before the Treaty of Waitangi Tribunal. To you it represents a gravy train.

In addition - I am aware that some of you are bewildered as to why we speak Maori in the House.

You may be extremely annoyed listening to the Maori language and then having it translated in English.

People we are the Maori Party. We will speak Maori at times and we will articulate the philosophies and beliefs of our Maori elders handed down to succeeding generations, including our generation.

We will follow in the footsteps of our elders Sir Apirana (Ngata), Sir Turi Kara and Sir Maui Pomare. We are the face of today, the Maori voice standing steadfast as the mouth piece for the Maori sub tribes and regions within Aotearoa.

Lest the people of Aotearoa forget the status of tangatawhenua I will speak Maori for this part of my presentation.

On the 6 February 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. It was signed by the leaders of Maori sub tribes and the representative of Queen Victoria, the Queen of England.

As it was signed by Maori leaders it is seen as a covenant to us. As it was signed by Te Hapuku of Ngati Kahungunu, I too consider myself a signatory.

To some of you the Treaty is a document past its 'use by' date, it is annoying, and to discuss it, is a waste of time. To me - and to the Maori Party, to Maori people overall, it is the primary document, it is deeply philosophical and it is the appropriate document for Aotearoa at this time.

Why you may ask, am I speaking like this at this time? It is because there is within the Treaty, values and challenges which form the basis of unity for this generation and for generations to come.

Within the Treaty lie the key principles of the Maori Party. These have been priortised by our Policy Council and stands as the Charter for the Maori Party.

I strongly advocate support for the Treaty at this time as it is the initial immigration Charter for Aotearoa.

The Maori leaders agreed in the Treaty for the migrants of England to settle here in Aotearoa.

This is why I say, the philosophies of the Treaty of Waitangi are admirable. They are the basis upon which we can live together.

The Treaty forms the basis for our unity.

The Treaty is the basis upon which we can all care for each other.

I will now turn to the Immigration Advisers Licensing Bill.

Madam Speaker, I will now address this Bill. Maori were responsible for the first Immigration policy established in the Treaty over 100 years ago.

However, from that time to the present it has been the Government who have determined the laws by which immigration should occur. Again, this document is the Government's.

We of the Maori Party say the time has arrived when tangata whenua must be involved in formulating immigration policy, that tangata whenua must be represented in the Immigration Advisers Authority.

We support this Bill. This Bill lays a foundation for the appropriate settlement of migrants to Aotearoa. It enables the migrant to settle with ease amongst us.

This Bill is important to us at this time as it impacts on the immigrants from the four winds, and from all corners of the earth. We must welcome and support them.

We must come to understand their ways and to support and celebrate the differences which exist amongst all peoples in Aotearoa.

In occupations I have previously had in years past, I frequently heard the many concerns of new immigrants. Some of us were not very welcoming because they had different customs, different languages, differents ways of expressing spirituality and different coloured skin.

The declared position of the Maori Party is that if we agree for people to migrate here, we must make them welcome and we must support them. We must not replicate the riots like those recently experienced in Cronulla, Australia.

A National Business Review poll in September 2004, indicated that many of us did not support the presence of immigrants in Aotearoa.

In that poll, 45% of those questioned thought there were too many Asian migrants, 39% thought there were too many from the Middle East and 39% thought too many have come in from the Pacific Islands.

People, I am saying that if we open the door to immigrants we must support and make them welcome.

The Maori Party supports this Bill because there are references to support and assistance within the Bill.

Within this Bill are the policies to assist immigration

- including the nature of the licenses

- the criteria to gain a license

- the types of licenses

- and additional notes of explanation

This Bill also establishes an Immigration Authority under the auspices of the Labour Department.

One of the functions of this authority is to asses the professional standards of those working with immigrants. We support this.

A suggestion we have - is the inclusion of information relating to the tangata whenua of Aotearoa, a synopsis of the Treaty and the discussion on the history of Aotearoa.

Another suggestion we have is that immigrants be resourced to learn English, and for those who wish, also be resourced to learn Maori.

Therefore, Madam Speaker, the Maori Party supports this Bill.

If we are to welcome visitors and immigrants we must care for them, look after them and assist them so that we may live in peace with each other.

What is the greatest thing of all things in this world?

I will say to you - it is people, it is people.

ENDS

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