Opinion: A reason for being political

Maori Party leaders Megan Fox and Te Ururoa Flavell are the only two MPs from their party in Parliament. Photo/File

Tena ano tatou katoa.

A few weeks ago, a piece of legislation was passed through Parliament under urgency which sought to amend the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act 2013.

The purpose of the bill was to clarify and make more certain that when the housing minister intended to take and use Crown land for housing development purposes (which has always been the law) that would then be on-sold to new property owners, the provisions of the Public Works Act (PWA) 1981 would not and have not ever applied.

So for any future property owners, that creates certainty that the land can't be offered back under the Public Works Act.

Before the minister takes it for housing development purposes, he first has to check the land is not subject to a Treaty settlement or Right of First Refusal (RFR) mechanism. If it is, this law won't apply.

The problem is, what if there is a Treaty claim but it's not yet settled, or a Right of First Refusal is not in place or a Treaty claim is yet to be made?

The law takes away the ability of any claimant group from having back the land taken under the provisions of the Public Works Act because they may not yet be the subject of a Treaty claim, or have an RFR mechanism.

The bill passed by one vote. The Maori Party, Labour and Green parties voted against this, but the Government with support from Act and United Future were able to pass it.

The legislation goes directly against my Private Member's Bill from 2010 that I put forward seeking to have land taken under the Public Works Act offered back to the original owner or descendants as the first point of call.

It is hugely disappointing, and a harsh reminder that Parliament, indeed Government is a game of numbers.

If you have the numbers, you can pass laws. Had there been just one more Maori Party MP sitting there able to vote, this legislation would have been halted.

A lot of the places I go to, and places I visit, I get told, please don't be political. The reality is that everything is political! Everything we do in normal everyday lives, is political.

The decisions that politicians make on your behalf every single day affect you in some way or another. So I don't apologise for being "political" when people need to realise the reality of having only two MPs in Parliament.

On the upside, I was privileged to recently be invited to Matamata College to meet the Maori students and talk to them about leadership, encouraging them to stay in school and work hard.

It was a great visit. I was so impressed with the beautiful wharenui at the kura. They have a great space for their students and manuhiri and then I got to speak with the students about some of the things I see as a minister, and Member of Parliament.

I told them about my travels, and how I am privileged to sometimes roll with those who are at the top, the pinnacle of all things awesome! The Steven Adamses, the Graham Henrys of the world, but at the same time, I see some of the worst things you can imagine.

The worst in terms of poor housing, those who are really down and out. I reminded them of the beautiful surroundings they have, and the opportunities presented to them by their teachers, their whanau, and to make the most of those opportunities.

I'm pretty sure that the little exercise we did resonated well, and I hope they are keeping up with the challenge I issued them all.

In closing, I just want to quickly remind everyone to make sure you complete your voting papers and have a say in who you choose to be our local council, mayor, and board members at the hospital. Kia kaha e hoa ma.

I welcome your feedback. Email mpwaiariki@parliament.govt.nz, phone (0508) 924 274.