Youth MP for Tai Tokerau Hope Puriri

General Debate Speech

Monday, 9 July 2007

Ka tangi te titi

Ka tangi te kaka

Ka tangi hoki ahau

Tihei wa mauri ora!

Ko te mihi tuatahi, ki a koe e Madam Speaker, tena koe, tena koe, tena koe.

No reira, ki oku hoa rangatira e hau mai nei ki roto i to tätou nei whare, tena koutou katoa.

Ka huri au ki te kaupapa o töku korero mo tënei wa, kei roto i te reo tuarua, a, kia märama ai tätou katoa.

Did you know that the second most common cause of death for young people in New Zealand is suicide?

Suicide – an unnecessary way for someone to take their life. It is a common cause of death all over the world, and also, unfortunately, here in our own country. It leaves families with the thought of “where did we go wrong?” or “were we the cause of this?”

It also leaves the many unanswered questions to the families who have lost their loved ones. But the question that has been revolving around in my head for quite some time is “why is it that the youth of today are choosing to take their lives? Why ? ”

There are many pressures, temptations and dangers that are open to our youth of today. The pressure of a 14-year-old girl from her 18-year-old boyfriend to have sex with him, the temptation of a growing 13-year-old boy to inhale the intoxicating fumes of some illegal substance, and the danger of a 17-year-old boy going home with one of his mates who is under the influence of alcohol.

These are only a few of the causes of youth suicide. For example the 14-year-old girl who was pressured to have sex with her boyfriend wasn’t able to handle the mentality of the fact that she had sex at the young age that she is, and decided to go and hang herself under the tree in the backyard. And you can only imagine what happened to the other two.

This clearly is an example of what I was talking about before, because the young girl has left her family with many questions that will never be answered, never.

Life is something that is very precious and that every single human being should feel very privileged to have the life they have been given. However, life is not something that should be taken by one’s own doing. And the deaths of these people are something that we should not glorify, because of the gaps that are left once those people have spiritually departed this world, for it is again I say, the families that are left to suffer in mourning for the selfish person who decided to murder themselves.

Fellow members, my point being is that we need and we must find a solution to prevent the cause of youth suicide. We must be alert and aware of what is going on with the youth of New Zealand in order for us to claim an end to youth suicide because we the youth are the future of this country, but who will be left for that job if our own peers are killing themselves?

Dear members, I stress – we must stop youth suicide. Prompt starting from not tomorrow but yesterday to accomplish the dream of decreasing suicidal death.

Kia ora.

ENDS

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