Education (Polytechnics) Amendment Bill
Hone Harawira, Maori Party

Member of Parliament for Te Tai Tokerau

Wednesday 26 August 2009

Mr Speaker, when we talk about representation, I am minded of a comment we got from a couple in New Plymouth yesterday, who were really upset with the decision to deny the Maori seats in Auckland, and said: “in this case democracy is two wolves and one sheep voting on what to have for dinner”

This was a couple who came here 18 years ago and thought Aotearoa was a wonderful place because of the relationship between Maori and European as Treaty partners, and wanted to help to correct this injustice because in their view “we will all be poorer if this is not resolved”

Mr Speaker, some MPs will also recall an event at Te Papa ‘bout a month back called Rangatahi Represent which featured artists like Dam Native; Upper Hutt Posse; and King Kapisi, a celebration of youth culture which this Parliament could take a lesson from, and a statement of their ability to represent their own opinions, to speak for themselves and to stand up for themselves as well.

And Mr Speaker, all MPs will know how well the Maori Party has grown into its role of representing Maori opinion, and standing up for the rights of Maori as the first peoples of this land, and as the partner to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the constitutional foundation of Aotearoa.

Mr Speaker, sometimes government gets the representation thing right – like with the Public Health and Disability Act which requires the Minister to ensure that Maori membership of the board is proportional to the number of Maori in the DHB region, and also ensuring there are at least two Maori on the Board.

But the latest debacle around the Maori seats in Auckland shows very clearly how

§  even when a Royal Commission recommends Maori seats;

§  and even when all of Maori submissions supports Maori seats;

§  and even when 80% of non-Maori submissions supports Maori seats;

§  and even when the majority of Auckland’s Councils supports Maori seats;

§  and even when most of the 5 major parties in parliament supports Maori seats;

government can still conspire to make a fool of itself by pandering to the whims of a party who are polling below the margin of error for god’s sake!

And now it appears Mr Speaker that another crisis is looming in the way in which Polytech Councils are appointed.

Mr Speaker, the Maori Party has always supported strong Maori representation, because of the value we place on the Treaty partnership – and the honouring of that partnership by both Maori and the Crown.

Indeed, in the National Party / Maori Party Agreement there is a statement of faith in the opening paragraph that is supposed, to say it all, and it reads: “Both the National Party and the Maori Party will act in accordance with Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Treaty of Waitangi”.

Mr Speaker, we take that statement of faith seriously, because it acknowledges the Treaty partnership as the very basis of the Crown’s relationship with Maori, and we expect government to do its best to uphold the Treaty.

So when Te Rünanga o Ngäti Whätua Chair, Naida Glavish, says of government’s plans to dump the Maori seats, that “to treat Maori as ‘mere stakeholders’ will maintain the status quo of poorly managed natural resources, ineffective consultation, and ongoing inefficiency, in decision-making and planning for the city" it’s clear for everyone to see how much the Treaty is NOT a priority for either this government, or for local government.

Mr Speaker, although that debate is not over yet by any means – the House is already witnessing another massive hit on the Treaty, with this Education Polytechnics Amendment Bill, which will cut the number of community members to one.

Government reckons it’s to ensure polytechnics have strong governance, but that’s bullshit of course, and suggests communities do not have the smarts to pick the right kind of people.

Down in Gisborne for example, the Tairawhiti Polytechnic Council currently has four community places, which are held by Te Runanga o Ngati Porou, Te Runanga o Turanganui a Kiwa, the Wairoa-Waikaremoana Trust Board and the Maori Women’s Welfare League. Given the breadth of participation from those various tribal areas, cutting the community seats to one will enhance neither the representation nor the quality of skills that can be brought to the table.

Most Polytech Councils already have Maori representation, and some have dedicated mana whenua seats – such as Tairawhiti, Whitireia and Waiariki – and those initiatives should be lauded, not discarded, for they show the value of the relationships between polytechs and the communities they serve, and the institutional success which flows from that.

In fact, just a couple of days ago, Dennis Sharman, spokesman for the national body for councils of institutes of technology and polytechnics, said:

"the performance and value of polytechnics depend strongly on the professional and vocational education they provide for communities throughout New Zealand.  Community interests must therefore feature strongly in the governance processes for polytechnics";

Mr Speaker – that’s from the people most affected by this proposal – and yet here we are planning to give that community input the chop.

Mr Speaker, if that community viewpoint, including mana whenua, is removed, governance will become simply an extension of central government, rather than an exercise in decentralisation and community ownership; central government will be trying to do for the regions what the regions have been doing well for themselves for decades; the nanny state that National so reviled over the last 3 years will be getting steroids when National says it should be getting laxatives

Mr Speaker, when the Prime Minister says that he wants to move forward, to bring the nation into the future, together, he needs to understand:

§ that respect for mana whenua must be part of that move;

§ that cutting back on Maori representation is a backward step;

§ that eroding the significance and the support of communities for Polytechs is a sign of danger to positive community development;

§ and that the Maori Party will never agree to any moves which threaten the Treaty as the basis of Maori representation to organisations and authorities in Aotearoa.

Mr Speaker, the Maori Party opposes this Bill.

ends

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