Let me start this column with a farewell to the descendant of Ngati Whakaue, Sir Peter Tapsell. The tides at Maketu still resound with the death of this great figure. To you, the surgeon responsible for the welfare of the people, rest. To you, the Member of Parliament for Waiariki and the East Coast, farewell. To you, the Speaker of our Parliament, farewell.
You were the first Maori to take up the role of Speaker in amongst the comings and goings of Parliament because of your understanding of what was appropriate behaviour. Your example is an inspiration to this new generation of people like me. You have completed all things expected of you and we bid you farewell.
I am in constant awe at Maori Members of Parliament in former times. I see their photos in Parliament and often wonder what Parliament must have been like for them. The majority of Parliament really has no idea about the Maori world and yet each day these same people are the ones who make laws for all. Each day Parliament is very much a battlefield where ideologies clash. Sometimes I think that people just disagree with the desires and Maori worldview just to be difficult.
Sir Peter, for example, was the one who raised the matter of compulsory Maori language teaching in schools. This would have been a significant issue in his time. No doubt he would have suffered all sorts of abuse over that issue but it came about for the love of his language, a language he did not have as a child.
As far as I know, racism was alive and well in days gone by and it is still in Parliament even today. It is not something that one can see openly. It is hidden under the surface. It comes about from a lack of understanding, from ignorance and a lack of desire to listen or even accept a differing world view. We are relatively fortunate in the Maori Party in that we have the ability to take significant Maori issues directly to the prime minister. It is not as if we win every issue but at least we have a listening ear and therefore can make some gains. So just as it was in Sir Peter's time, the battles continue.
Tena tatou katoa. Hei wawahi i taku korero, me tuku atu au i nga poroporoaki ki te uri o Ngati Whakaue ki a Ta Peter Tapsell. E ngunguru tonu nga tai o Maketu i te hinganga o tenei totara nui o wao. E te ringa kakama, te ringa whakaora i te tangata i te wa i a koe e moe. E te kanohi o Te Waiariki tae atu ki te Tai Rawhiti i te Whare Paremata i te wa i a koe, okioki mai ra, e te kaiwhakawa o te Whare Paremata, takoto mai i te takotoranga o nga matua tupuna. Ko koe tera te Maori tuatahi i te Whare Paremata i whakaaetia kia noho i tera turanga whakaharahara ara hei kaiwhakawa i waenganui i nga nukunuku, i nga nekeneke o te whare Paremata na runga i te mohio he tangata mohio nei koe i te ahuatanga o te tika me te pono. E koro, ko to momo te tauira hei whainga ma tenei whakatupuranga penei i a au nei. Me penei te korero, kua tutuki te wahi ki a koe, moe mai ra.
