December 12, 2023 — Maiden Speech in New Zealand Parliamant, Pāremata Aoteoroa, Wellington NZ

 

Tēnā rā koe, e te Pīka. Tēnā rā tātou, e te Whare. Ka ngau ki Mōkau, ka ngau ki Tāmaki. Ka rū te whenua, ka mate te marama, ka taka ngā whetū i te rangi, ka ara Waikato i te rua, au, au, aue ha.

Haka — E ko te tūī

He aha rā, he aha rā?

He aha te mahi mō runga i te marae e tū nei!

E ko te tui, e ko te tui!

E ko te hono ki te kotahitanga ki te Kīngi Māori e tū nei

E tū nei i runga i te mana Māori motuhake e tū nei

Whiti! Whiti!

Whiti ki te tika

Whiti ki te ora

Whiti ki te rangimārie

Titia iho

Au! Au! Aue hā!
Hikohiko te uira, papā te whatitiri, whakahekeheke mai te Kōhanga ki runga o Pāremata.

“Kua ara ake ahau i te papa o te whenua, kua kite au i ngā whetū e tū takitahi ana. Ko Matariki te kairuri, ko Atutahi kei te taumata o te Mangōroa. Ko te Atua tōku piringa, ka puta, ka ora.” He tongikura nā Kīngi Tāwhiao.

Kei taku kīngi, Kīngi Tāwhiao Pōtatau Te Wherowhero te Tuawhitu, me te whare kāhui ariki whānui, te Puhiariki o te motu, Ngā-wai-hono-i-te-pō, kua rangatira tō tātou nei pō i a koe. Rirerire hau, pai mārire.

Ngā mate o te tau, o te marama, o te wiki, o te rā nei, ngā rārangi kīngi o te pō, hoki atu rā koutou ki te pare kawakawa o Pareārau.

Ki te mana whenua o Te Ātiawa, nei rā ka tūohu.

He raukura nō Rongowairereiao, Taranaki.

[Thank you, Mr Speaker. Greetings to us all, to the House. I wander to Mōkau, I wander to Auckland. The land quakes, the moon wanes, the stars fall from the sky, Waikato arises from the abyss, it is our time.

Haka — E ko te tūī

What is it, what is it?

What is the purpose of the gathering on the marae that stands here!

It is to unite, it is to unite!

It is to come together under the mantle and unity of the Kīngitanga

Upon the foundations of our Māori self-determination

Emanate and shine!

Emanate what is right

Emanate life

Emanate peace

Let all these things come together

Au! Au! Aue hā!
Lightning flashes, thunder crashes, the Kōhanga generation descends on Parliament.

“I arose from the bed of the earth, I have seen the stars standing alone. Matariki is the one who serenades in farewell, and Atutahi is at the zenith of the Milky Way. God is my refuge, I emerge, I am well.” A royal statement by King Tāwhiao.

To my king, King Tāwhiao Pōtatau Te Wherowhero te Tuawhitu, and the entire royal household, the Royal Consort, Ngā Wai-hono-i-te-pō, this night has been honoured by you. Peace and goodness be upon us.

The dearly departed of the year, of the month, of the week, of this very day, the ranks of kings of the night, return to the kawakawa wreath of Jupiter.

To the mana whenua of Te Ātiawa, I bow to you.

The leader from Rongowairereiao, Taranaki.]

Over 1.2 million acres confiscated. He uri o Whakaotirangi o Waikato.

[A descendant of Whakaotirangi of Waikato.]

Over 1.2 million acres confiscated. He whakahekenga nō Āhuaiti o Ngāpuhi.

[A scion of Āhuaiti of Ngāpuhi.]

Over 200,000 lands confiscated. He mangainga nō Hamo-i-te-rangi o Ngāi Tahu.

[A descendant of Hamo-i-te-rangi of Ngāi Tahu.]

34.5 million acres confiscated. Ka ora tonu tō rātou uri whakaheke. Ko Mutuwhenua te marama i te rangi nei, ko Hine-i-te-weka te whetū.

[Their descendant heir will live on. The moon phase today is Mutuwhenua, the relevant star is Hine-i-te-weka.]

Well, I was almost just going to say, “We are here; let’s get to mahi.” But those flights down for our whānau were pretty expensive and some of my cousins even missed Allen Stone’s concert tonight for this. No, this is better. Ironically, they say the stars align, but I think tonight is a little bit more than the stars aligning. The meteors will shower. The comet 46P in a full circle moment will shower tonight across Aotearoa. Last time this meteor showered was in 1972, when te Petihana was brought to Pāremata from our grandparents. This mokopuna delivers their maiden speech 51 years later.

I truly feel like I’ve already said my maiden speech outside the steps of Parliament last year, for the 50th anniversary of Te Petihana, where my last statements of my speech — I quote — “I will leave the decision with you whether or not you jump on our waka or not, because with or without you we will sail in both worlds. We’ve come so far, but we’ve got a long way to go. Let’s see what we can do in the next 50 years.” My last question at the time was to Minister Grant Robertson: “Aotearoa, te Whare Pāremata, are you ready?” A whole year later, we can say we have made it inside the House and we have arrived. We are here. We are sailing. We are navigating, just like our ancestors once did, in the biggest ocean in the world, Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa — even though some others aren’t even jumping on the Waka Kotahi.

Ki te māreikura, te wahine iho pūmanawa, e Nanaia Mahuta, e kore e ea te kupu, e kore e oti ngā whakamānawa ki a koe. Nāhau rā i para tēnei huarahi, nāhau rā tēnei Whare Pāremata i hamahama, nāhau rā i ringa raupā ki tō tāua nei iwi. Nei rā tō mokopuna e tūohu ana ki a koe.

[To the esteemed lady, the most talented lady, Nanaia Mahuta, the word will never be fulfilled, my gratitude to you will never end. You who blazed this path, you who hammered this House of Parliament, you who worked tirelessly for our people. Here your mokopuna bows to you.]

I was given some advice before making it into Parliament, to not take anything personally or it’ll eat you up. Well, I can’t help but take everything personally that has been said in this Chamber. In only a couple of weeks, in only 14 days, this Government has attacked my whole world from every corner. Health, taiao, wai, whenua, natural resources, Māori wards, reo, tamariki, and the right of me and you to be in this country under Te Tiriti. How can I not take anything personally when it feels like these policies were made about me?

E kore rawa au e tuku i te mana ki a koutou ki te pēhi nei i tōku nei ao. Kāore au e mōhio ki tētehi ao anō.

[I will never cede the mana to you who are suppressing my world. I don’t know any other world.]

I am not fearful of this place or this debating chamber; trust me, I’ve been to marae AGMs all my life — I will not say which marae either.

I dedicated my last speech outside of Parliament to my grandparents. I quote: “This is for my nana Eileen, that became in debt with a student loan to learn her reo she once lost. This is for my nanny Ranini, that was ashamed as a little girl of her name. This is for my papa Albie, that worked in a blue collar all his life to fit in society. This is for my pop, that still finds it hard to have confidence to sit on the pae. This is for my nana Gail, in her 70s, that spends most nights studying her language and now messages me on Facebook in te reo every chance she gets. This is for my koro Taitimu, that wanted me to come here with a hammer and red paint.”

However, this speech today, my maiden speech, is dedicated to all our children that join me from up above: our wharekura, our kura. To my younger siblings, my goddaughter, my nieces and nephews from up above, no matter what comes out of this Government, I will make sure our kids hear us. Never fit in. You are perfect. You are the perfect fit. To our tamariki, your reo is whispering for you. To the tamariki Māori who have been sitting in the back of their classroom their whole life, whakamā, waiting generations longing to learn their native tongue, to the tamariki who haven’t been to their pepeha yet, it is waiting for you with open arms. To our mokopuna, they can attack me, but I will not let them attack you. Our first words we spoke in this House was an oath to you.

To Hauraki-Waikato, I am at your service in and outside of Parliament. I will die for you in these chambers, but I will live for you outside these four walls. I will be a constant sponge, soaking up and listening to our kōrero tuku iho and the needs for our people, straight from the soil. Your job for me is to keep me in line and in check.

The first thing Te Pāti Māori taught me is to believe in myself and to always keep grounded. We do not own these seats; we are kaitiaki for our people. We are not the ones, but we are the kaikarere from the home base to the Beehive. We are the protectors in here and the providers in our home.

Ki ngā hoa piri o tēnei tauā o Te Pāti Māori: Rawiri te kaiurungi e tū hakahaka nei; Whaea Debbie, te wairua nō ō tūpuna a Te Whiti rāua ko Te Tohu; Whaea Mariameno, te wahine, ā, ko Reitū, Reipae e hao nei i tēnei waka nō Te Hiku; Takutai, ka rongo i tō reo nō Rātana Pā e tiori mai nei ki a au; Tākuta, tō whakapau kaha ki tēnei tira; Meka, tō wairua atawhai, e koa ana te ngākau ki te kite i a koe.

[To the loyal companions of this army of Te Pāti Māori: Rawiri the navigator that stands here to haka; Whaea Debbie, the spirit of your ancestors Te Whiti and Te Tohu; Whaea Mariameno, the lady, reminiscent of Reitū and Reipae that encapsulates this waka from the Far North; Takutai, I hear your voice from Rātana Pā singing here to me; Tākuta, your tireless work for this team; Meka, your nurturing soul, I am happy to see you.]

I am absolutely privileged to be by your side. At 21 years old, I can definitely say this was not the plan. I was perfectly fine growing my kūmara and learning maramataka, but this House kept tampering with things they shouldn’t be touching, and that’s why I left the māra to come here.

To my whānau who have travelled near and far from across the motu and everyone watching at home, I see you, I hear you, and I feel you, but I cannot thank you enough. I know they won’t like me saying this, but I want to thank all my grandparents, my parents — this is my mum’s worst living nightmare, me being in here, and my dad watching on the TV going, “You go, girl — get em!” My teachers, our kura, our club, my cousins, my in-laws, my bestest friends, and my siblings for keeping me sane and grounded and telling me when I need a wardrobe check. My partner, for your unwavering support and constant love. To every person that has gathered up top today, i rangona tō mātou haka. I rongo? I rangona. I whatitiri tēnei Whare i tō tātou nei reo.

[Our haka was heard. Did you hear? It was heard. This House thundered with our voice.]

To every person that is watching from home, to every person in this room up above, this isn’t my moment; this is yours. Every time you hear my voice, it will echo of my ancestors. Every time you look me in the eyes, you will see the children that survived. Over the next three years, you will see history rewrite itself without a pen. See you at Tūrangawaewae on the 20th. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā rā tātou katoa.

Waiata — He aha kei taku uma

Haka — E ko te tūī

 

 

Source: Hansard, New Zealand Parliament.