Pita Sharples

Hon Dr Pita R Sharples; Minister of Maori Affairs

Opening Address; 26 August 2009; 6pm

AUT Maori Expo 2009

Kia Tu Kia Maia | Seize The Day

Ngahau i te Po | Groove The Night

Fifty years ago, in June 1959, an article appeared in Te Ao Hou which set the ball in motion for this AUT Maori Expo.

The article, headed 'The Auckland Maori in Sport' described the vast range of sporting successes evident by Maori participation in sport across Tamaki Makaurau.

It reported the great events of league, basketball, swimming, tennis, and athletics, mentioning a galaxy of stars including George Nepia, Jim Rukutai, Peter Ririnui, those famous brothers Rangi and Tommy Chase, Steve Watene and Ivan Gregory, Ruia Morrison, June and John Waititi, and others.

And the key, according to Jock Taua, was in the special skills of the breed called the Auckland Maori, and I quote:

Quickness of the eye, speed of foot, good balance and ability to seize an opportunity were essential to his survival.

These highly developed skills were naturally handed down or taught to successive generations.

This trait the Maori has sustained in a measure to this day and is of great value in his modern activities.

Over the last few days, I have found myself thinking back to this article in 1959, and reminding myself of the inspirational legacy of those before us, who give us the courage to continue to fight for what is right; to demonstrate that same quickness of eye and speed of foot that will continue to keep our journey focused onwards.

And I will never, ever give up on the capacity to seize the day, to take up every opportunity to invest in our survival.

The AUT Maori Expo is a brilliant way to seize the day.

It is an opportunity to celebrate; to educate; to motivate; to liberate.

It is our time - Maori time - and we need not ask anyone permission to participate; to be represented; to respect the unique status we hold in this land, as indigenous peoples, as tangata whenua.

This is the time, as Cornerstone Roots would tell us, to free yourself, to immerse yourself in the Soul Revolution - that is, the renaissance and the revival of te Ao Maori.

Later today, you will have the privilege to hear from some outstanding Māori who have seized the day in their chosen field of endeavour and gone on to successes nationally and internationally.

In grasping the opportunities that came their way, they have achieved for themselves, their whānau and communities and for our country.

On the sports panel you'll hear from the Oceania Football Player of the Century Wynton Rufer, Surfing Icon Daniel Kereopa, Rugby League Legend Tawera Nikau, and Legendary All Black Captain Buck Shelford.

I am also really delighted that the 2009 Manu Korero Tamaki Makaurau competition participants will be sharing their whakaaro with us also.

Manu Korero encapsulates several themes that are very important to me: rangatahi, reo, and education. The competition nurtures the very attitude required to represent; to be the best that we possibly can be.

When we admire our rangatahi in action in the te reo part of the competition especially, we witness exactly the conditions required for further success.

What I'm talking about is how a kaikorero will be surrounded on stage by their school, their community and their whānau - together all of them creating a powerful image of strength.

It is a wonderful visual analogy of what we all need to do to ensure Māori success in education - all of us focused on doing what we can, to lift the game, to ensure our systems and our support are mobilised to bring out the best in ourselves.

I want to congratulate AUT for striding out, yet again, and taking up the challenge of organising this Māori Expo. This is an amazing forum for showcasing and celebrates achievements by Maori across a variety of disciplines.

Your enthusiasm as a tertiary education provider has been instrumental in providing us with stunning examples of success to emulate.

You have modelled the pathways to self-determination by a powerful belief in the potential of your students to succeed.

The challenge now, is to gather our wits around us, to foster the quickness of the eye, the speed of foot, the good balance and ability to seize an opportunity to ensure our survival is in our hands.

Our survival is dependent on us being at the top table; being a key player in all aspects of our life.

It is about participation; representation; Treaty rights and responsibilities.

It is about freely determining our political status and pursuing our economic, social and cultural development.

And in the best of James Bond traditions, it is about never say never - that resilient, and brilliant spirit of resistance that continues to give us the edge.

I want us to know and to be proud -that in the tertiary sector, Māori participation continues to grow.

In fact Māori are more likely to complete level 1-4 qualifications than other ethnicities.

In order to harness this success and grow it; we have to find answers to why Māori are doing so well at Levels 1-4?

Could it be because wānanga are providing a culturally safe and positive environment?

Or might the answer be that these levels often form part of industry and trade qualifications, which we have historically embraced as a pathway to address skill shortages and add resilience to the Māori workforce.

According to the Industry Training Federation there were 23,500 Māori in industry training in December 2007. There is a strong concentration within the forestry, dairy, food and beverage, agriculture, community support services, hospitality and building and construction industries.

I want us also to know that there have been some spectacular successes especially at the doctoral level.

Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga has been steadily developing the Māori and Indigenous Doctoral, Bridging, and Mentoring Programme. In 2002, they set a goal to see 500 Māori, over a five-year period, complete or be enrolled in a PhD programme.

Statistics from the Ministry of Education show that there were 308 Māori students enrolled in doctorates in 2007; compared with 120 in 1997.

The Te Amorangi National Māori Academic Excellence Awards were first held in 2002. Criterion for the award is conferment of a doctoral qualification in the year preceding the awards. At April 2009, 185 recipients had been acknowledged.

These are all such exciting results; examples of the enterprising spirit and undeniable talents of every Maori in this room.

Investment in education and training for Māori, particularly rangatahi, was seen as an essential short and long term investment by participants at this years Māori Economic Summit.

They wanted for Māori what each of us here today wishes for.

That is, for Māori to be at the vanguard of a shift to a diverse, highly differentiated, high value, export-led economy utilising both natural resources and technological innovation.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the incredible generosity of so many Aucklanders, for their expression of faith in a Treaty based relationship between the Crown and Maori.

The situation that was played out in the Beehive this week has been minimised as a debate about wins and losses; about right and left, about political power and point-scoring.

But actually representation of Maori is of far more significance than a political drama involving politicians.

It is a constitutional issue; of indigenous and human rights; of Treaty rights.

And as such, we will continue to stand tall and proud, in our place as tangata whenua, in our unique place in the sun.

Just as Ngati Whatua extended the hand of generosity to allow people to live in the city of Auckland, our collective efforts must now go, into helping to educate, to motivate, to stimulate debate and discovery about the significance of the Treaty framework for our future evolution as a nation.

And finally, before we disappear into Ngahau i te po - to groove the night away - I want to pay my tribute to some of our Maori Musical legends that continue to inspire us; to comfort us; to challenge us and to revitalise us in their songs of protest, of peace and of pride.

I think about the talents of groups like Cornerstone Roots; Herbs; House of Shem and, Ruia and Ranea; Tahuna Breaks, and of course Che Fu and I thank you for telling us to keeping holding our heads up high; our hearts beating strong, for the magic of te Ao Maori; and the possibilities ahead of us.