Rahui Katene Speech: National Network of Stopping Violence
te-pati-maori
Thu Jun 09 2011 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Rahui Katene Speech: National Network of Stopping Violence
Thursday, 9 June 2011, 9:13 am
Speech: The Maori Party
Te Kupenga Whakaoti Mahi Patunga National Network of Stopping Violence
Toitoi Manawa – Inspiring Change
Rahui Katene, MP for Te Tai Tonga
Wednesday 8 June 2011 4pm
I am pleased to be here today, on behalf of the Maori Party, and in the capacity as your host MP as MP for Te Tai Tonga.
There could be few places that are as conducive to the theme of Toitoi Manawa – inspiring change – as Tapu Te Ranga Marae.
The Tupuna Whare Pare Hinetai No Waitaha was built by 26 young unemployed Maori - some of them homeless. It now stands, tall and proud at 26 metres high, taking a stand, reminding us that out of what others might consider cast-offs and castaways, can come something beautiful.
Along with the remains from demolition yards, car cases from Todd Motors, bits of timber came together. And today, we have a cluster of whare, huddled together, representing the mother and her children.
And this beautiful marae is nestled in the bosom of the most lush and thriving plantlife, from the urban native restoration project.
In so many ways, this setting exemplifies what the Maori Party’s position is on domestic violence and provides us all with an interesting image on how we can best address this issue and create a safer Aotearoa
I have no desire to contribute to the complex pathology that comes with analyzing domestic violence. Is it not now universally established that power and control underpins any incidence of violence? Whether we are talking about a poverty of spirit or a poverty of material wealth; cycles of domination and oppression, racism, economic violence; cyber-bullying or psychological abuse – in many ways it is all one and the same.
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As a party, we have fought in different ways to bring the issues of abuse to the fore – we have drafted private members bills on institutional racism, or corporate manslaughter; we campaigned passionately – despite some opposition within some parts of our community - to repeal Section 59 of the Crimes Act and therefore remove physical punishment as a defence.
And in the last two years, we are proud that it is our co-leader, Tariana Turia, who has led the Government’s response to family violence in chairing the Ministerial Committee on family violence.
It would be fair to say that some of the more recent decisions that Tariana has made have not been universally well received by all parts of the sector. Tariana’s approach has been to better use the limited resources available, to place the emphasis where it is needed most – in frontline services to families. The Maori Party wholeheartedly supports her approach to place faith in our families, to restore our families to the essence of who they are.
This approach is, of course, an approach most popularly known through the transformation of Whanau Ora.
In the family violence field, many of the same concepts that have proven so effective in Whanau Ora can and do apply.
Principles such as believing that families can create the most enduring and long term changes that lead to positive outcomes for all – if only they are given the opportunity to do so.
Principles such as there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ – what is right for Tongan families may not necessarily apply to the families of Tokelau may not necessarily work for rural Maori communities may not be applicable to inner city situations.
Principles such as encouraging our communities, our families, and indeed government to see solutions as based in holistic approaches, rather than perpetuating the separation out of victims from children from perpetrators.
Just as Tapu Te Ranga encourages us to look anew, at the structures and the building blocks that were always there, the Maori Party believes we need to look with fresh eyes at the strength and potential of our families.
I believe this is what is the source for the programme being promoted by Te Kahui Mana Ririki about supporting families to change behaviours through knowledge and understanding about their own culture and history.
And so as to the question asked of the panel - what has the Maori Party done and what will we do in relation to family violence – we will continue to express the belief in the potential of all our families to take collective responsibility for the wellbeing of their own.
I am reminded of the view put forward by Donna Durie-Hall and Joan Metge, in their advice on Maori aspirations and family law
“children belong not only to their parents but also to the whanau, and beyond that to the hapu and iwi. They are ‘a tatou tamariki’ (the children of us many) as well as ‘a taua tamariki’ (the children of us two….they belong to a descent group but at any given time are held by individuals on its behalf, in trust for future generations.
It is a same view that was expressed in Puao-te-ata-tu – the Daybreak report in 1988 – and it will be the same view expressed in advice from Maori twenty years from now.
But the Maori Party does not wish it to be reserved for departmental reports only. We seek to live in a way which will uplift and restore all our families to take back that which is rightfully theirs – the opportunity and responsibility to care for their families in a way which sets forward a positive direction for all our futures.
Finally, I want to just reflect back on my own journey. Twenty-five years ago I started off a Bachelor of Arts student at Waikato University, but after just one year readjusted my programme to focus on the law. That decision arose out of my concern around the injustices I had observed through my involvement with a group of women in Women’s Refuge. I wanted to make the law work for our women. I still want that today, as passionately, if not more than I did when I first started out on this journey.
And so your theme – Toitoi Manawa- inspiring change – speaks very clearly to me and to the Maori Party. I remember that saying, “If you keep on doing what you've always done, you'll keep on getting what you've always got”. We have to create a revolution in our thinking – not just in reawakening our families to the greatest opportunities they have within their own midst – but also in Government, in our providers, NGOs, our communities. It is utterly obvious that it won’t be easy – but just like it has taken decades for Tapu te Ranga to grow, we need to focus on the longterm plan, our intergenerational wellbeing, and start now.
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