Motion of Condolence: Sharples - Napier Incident
te-pati-maori
Tue May 12 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Motion of Condolence: Sharples - Napier Incident
Tuesday, 12 May 2009, 2:57 pm
Speech: The Maori Party
Prime Minister’s Motion of Condolence regarding the death of a Napier Policeman:
Hon Dr Pita Sharples; Co-leader of the Maori Party
Tuesday 12 May 2009; 2.20pm
Kei te rangatira, tena koe.
E te whare, kua kapohia a te tangata e te ringa kino o kohuru.
Ko ia tērā e okioki ana i runga i tōna moengaroa, e tīraha ana i raro i te korowai o tōna whānau.
He pērā te mamae o mate ahakoa te tangata, ahakoa te ahuatanga o te hinganga, ēngari, te mate kua pā atu ki te tangata kua tū hei whakaruruhau, hei tauira, hei poupou mo te hāpori, a, he parekura anō hoki tērā.
Aue, taukuri e.
The roll-call of lives lost over the last century, officers killed in the performance of their official duties, is a tragic memorial to people who paid the highest sacrifice for their commitment to the public service.
Last Thursday that list grew longer, and we in the Maori Party, pay our deepest respects to the family, the colleagues, and the community who now grieve their loss.
It is indeed appropriate for this House to mourn with those who are most affected by the heartbreak caused from the shooting in Napier.
All of us in this House will know the pain of losing a loved one through death: the loss of a father, a son, brother, cousin, uncle, partner. That grief is dramatically – and traumatically - heightened when it is under such tragic circumstances as this.
We extend our support also to the families of the two officers and the brave member of the public; injured in this event and forever scarred by the events of the day.
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This is an extremely serious and sad moment for all New Zealanders.
The context of the shooting itself can not be over-stated.
This day will always be marked for the people of Bluff Hill by vivid memories of the chaos that rolled out that morning.
They will think of the threats of ammunition; they will be haunted by the shots that pierced the air.
They will remember the reports of the high-powered weapons; the involvement of the Armed Offenders Squad and the Special Tactics Group; the lockdown of all the schools in the vicinity; the rescue helicopter circling; the deployment of the dog unit; the ambulances on standby, the police cars searching the streets.
Well over two thousand children now have an experience of terror that no-one would wish for our young.
The children of Carlyle Kindergarten, Nelson Park School, Napier Central School, Napier Intermediate, Sacred Heart College, Napier Girls High School were all unwilling participants in an incident that erupted around them.
This is not the New Zealand that we believe in.
The horrific shooting and the subsequent siege that occurred over the weekend, will have massive impacts rippling across many communities.
First and foremost we think of the families who grieve; the families who suffer the enduring legacy of this day.
We think of the Police officers throughout New Zealand, who each take on the pain of this slaughter of one of their colleagues, but you know, each day they will get up and go to work.
We think of the Napier community, the children, the members of the public shell-shocked at the events that unfolded in their town.
We think of Takapau, a small town of relatives and friends, of Maori and Pakeha, who shared tears and mucus together as a village said their final farewells to a loved son.
And we think of ourselves, as New Zealanders, haunted by the violence that took over a community, asking why it happened, and how things could have been done differently.
We must never let this happen again; and if there is one thing that I would hope we could do to honour the memory of Lenny Snee, it would be for co-operation across the House, to invest in peaceful communities in all that we do.
Na reira, kei te tamaiti, kei te rangatira, haere i te huarahi ki te wharikitia i nga tipuna matua, haere, haere, haere.
ENDS
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