Speech: Turia - General Debate
te-pati-maori
Wed Apr 01 2009 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Speech: Turia - General Debate
Wednesday, 1 April 2009, 5:09 pm
Speech: The Maori Party
General Debate: Wednesday 1 April; 4.30pm
Hon Tariana Turia
Former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, once said "No one is born a good citizen, no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts off from its youth severs its lifeline."
We can help our young people evolve into future leaders, exemplary citizens; devoted parents; the shapers and thinkers of tomorrow.
We must, as a moral obligation to the future generations, invest well in youth potential, create the positive opportunities that will encourage them to demonstrate leadership as a matter of course.
I recently shared in the celebrations of a Youth Centre called EVOLVE in Wellington. A one stop health job employing doctors and nurses; great people doing a great job.
The youth support worker for that organisation, Josh Briggs, had just been honoured with a World of Difference Award.
And it was absolutely evident the difference he – and EVOLVE – had made to the lives of the young people they worked with. They had created an innovative activity space with everything from kickboxing, yoga, movie making, dance, creative writing, employment skills; with art and music therapists; and even Narcotics Anonymous.
It seems to me that the Youth Health Services; Youth One Stop Shops like Evolve – are exactly the type of programme we need to invest in, to nurture the future potential of our young.
Another programme I’ve been really excited by is Ngā Kanohi Marae o Wairarapa. This project is supported by eleven marae in Wairarapa and I’m telling the House, to get that level of support from all of the marae in the rohe is pretty significant by itself!
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Their whole focus is on developing opportunities for the people of Wairarapa by developing marae as centres of potential.
They started off with a couple of goals in mind – one was that they knew their rangatahi wanted to learn trade skills and the other was that their marae facilities needed to be upgraded and maintained.
The programme therefore allows youth to be taught trade skills while undertaking maintenance and development work on the marae.
The programme targets primarily youth sixteen years; it’s fee-free; and it’s based around the whare tapa wha concept of holistic wellness.
So as well as building, construction and allied trades skills there are cultural and life skills such as te reo; waiata / haka; whakapapa; tikanga / kawa; Tiriti o Waitangi; computer training; numeracy and literacy; to say but a few.
Mr Speaker, I wanted to draw attention to these two initiatives because I think they demonstrate the type of investment that will lead our young people onwards, to be fully rounded global citizens.
I contrast that with the decision that was made just before Christmas to cut an alcohol and drug rehabilitation centre in the Waikato. I received an email from a researcher shortly after that decision and I want to share it with the House:
I have seen, met and talked with youth that go through the services of RongoAtea. Our youth have the right to have access to support that will understand their world view and empower them to move forward. There are three things that I wish for my children and all our children: Health, Happiness, and a world to live in that accepts them as the precious taonga that they are.
Rongoatea provided specialised mental health services for youth, children and their families within the context of comprehensive community-based mental health services.
The community that Rongoatea served were absolutely aghast when the decision was made that Rongoatea, alongside six other community based Child Youth and Adolescent services (which included Parentline) within Hamilton city would be cut; that the community that was in effect supporting their young people were being turned away.
I return again to the thought – a community that cuts off its youth, severs its lifeline.
We spend so much time in this House talking about how to get tough; how to exert control and discipline over our young.
Why not do something new, be positive, and actually give opportunities and invest in the potential of youth?
It is a challenge I am willing to live up to.
ENDS
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