Sharples on Appropriations Debate
te-pati-maori
Fri Jun 18 2010 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Sharples on Appropriations Debate
Friday, 18 June 2010, 9:51 am
Speech: The Maori Party
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader-Maori Party):
Tuesday 15 June 2010; 4pm
Appropriations Debate; Parliament
I am happy to talk about the Budget because there have been quite a number of wins in it for the Maori, particularly in the areas where it is needed.
There was a time when Maori were on the sideline of the economy: unemployed, Labour's socio-economic group, last to be employed, first to be laid off. It is a different story now as Maori and iwi are developing assets and starting to work in terms of the economy. There is $16.5 billion in total of what they have towards kickstarting the economy. I was pleased to receive $10.5 million for my economy task force, which set up a number of Maori entrepreneurs in economics, who are working in different areas. One of those areas is establishing possibilities of iwi infrastructure development. They have produced a book of all the infrastructure to be done in the next few years around New Zealand and ways in which iwi can partner with each other, with Government, and with private companies in order to get involved in infrastructure, to provide training, and to create more jobs. It is a major move forward coming out of my task force. Another area is the coordination of small to medium sized enterprises.
A network has been set up whereby they can help each other and work with each other in terms of their small businesses. We are establishing a Maori brand of exports. This work has been going on for some time and it is coming through now. There is a group working called Koura Inc., where we have a seafood export line off to various parts of Asia where quotas, whether they are large or small, can be combined. It allows a small quota holder to participate at every level as the major quota holder, and they get in what they put out. If they put in 2 percent of the quota, that is what they will reap from it. It allows them to participate in the world export economy. Science and innovation is another area where this will go. Maori are looking to value-add to the products they are exporting, rather than just moving out timber on wool. They are looking at how their products can be value-added through the use of science and innovation, and we have invested in that area, as well.
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In September I am taking a group of Maori entrepreneurs to the Shanghai Expo. They will be working in different areas. We lead the world in certain areas of graphics, so we are taking graphics people along with agriculture, forestry, fishing, infrastructure, culture, language, culture, language, technology, phone, and education leaders, investment entrepreneurs, and so on. The group of Maori I will be leading will go to Beijing then down to Shanghai for the Expo. We are looking forward to that.
Training is very important. I remember a training programme, launched with InfraTrain and Te Puni Kokiri. We were hoping to get 250 students on the programme to train in infrastructure development. We wanted 20 from outside the industry to be involved and three to reach diploma level. Instead of getting 250, I went to the graduation and we had 359. Instead of 20 from outside the industry, we had 40. Instead of three reaching diploma level, we had eight diploma graduates. The programme we set up is quite exciting.
Another facet that everyone knows about is the contribution to Whanau Ora. There is $134 million over three years. Tariana Turia spoke about that in her delivery; I am a little late being in here because I am not in the House a lot.
Treaty settlements have received a boost of $6.5 million. This will strengthen the teams that will go out and do the negotiating; in line with the Government's aim to complete the claims as soon as possible and as soon as iwi want them.
Added to that, we have managed to accumulate $72 million-worth of land that has been land-banked to go towards those settlement processes. In education for Maori there are a number of areas kura literacy and numeracy with $126 million. For the development of new wharekura, to move from a kura into a wharekura stage by stage and class by class, there is another $12.6 million, which will set up seven wharekura.
The most important thing about education for Maori is Government drive for early childhood education. Another $91.8 million has been put in there. We will be concentrating on puna reo and kohanga reo, particularly in areas like south Auckland. The very urgent area I am working in is corrections. We have $20 million for Whare Oranga Ake. Two of those establishments are to be built, one in Hawke's Bay and one in Auckland. The whole idea of this is they will house initially 16 inmates. Ultimately they will house 32.
The value of this is we are not just incarcerating 32 inmates; it is 32 each year because they are not coming back. One of the problems with the prison is there is recidivism, as 55 percent of Maori who are released return to prison. We have tried different programmes. We have Maori focus units up and down the country; there are five of them now. Some of them have been marginalised by the demands of mainstream, which interface, if you like, with the numbers, the muster, who go in and the programmes in Maori focus units. It has been difficult to run a straight programme through there and have them benefit in the way it was intended.
In Waikeria, it is different. We have been able to protect, to a certain extent, that Maori focus unit. I am happy to say that since 2007 they have had 217 go through there, and of those only 23 have offended and are back in the prison system somewhere in New Zealand. That is a far cry from 55 percent of Maori incarcerated. The thing about Whare Oranga Ake is they will be required to map themselves out a career. They will be required to go through some programmes where they deal with their faults-what is wrong with them and what caused them to commit crime-whether that is through psychologists, tohunga, social workers, or whatever. There will be less jailers but more people working on their rehabilitation. They will be trained in whichever vocation they want to. They can get a degree or train to be a carpenter. We have firms like Fletchers that are prepared to give tool sets and to mentor these people to work.
I think the main thing for Whare Oranga Ake is the people outside who are involved are contracted in. They will run the programme and make sure there is a Whanau group outside so when these people are gradually rehabilitated into the community, they will be rehabilitated into a support group. The support group will bring them into their Whanau, whether it is onto a marae or into a different activity such as a gym, as well as progressing their work. The main reason why people have gone back into prison is they have not been able to make it once they are released.
I remember two guys in Paremoremo. When they were being released, they were happy and looking forward to their flat and having a life outside. I visited them two months later in their flat, there were no light bulbs, no money, and no jobs. They were depressed, and few months later they were both back inside and happy as Larry. We are fighting institutionalisation, and that is why we want to make sure they re-establish themselves out in the community.
To round off, I say that Minister Turia and I have been lobbyist for the Government to get money into health, early childhood, housing, innovation, warm up New Zealand, land-banking settlements, and so on. The figures come to $400 million in total. Added to another $400 million in the general area for Maori, it is $800 million. Thank you.
ENDS
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