Korero: Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill - Te Ururoa Flavell

Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill

Third Reading

TE URUROA FLAVELL, MP FOR WAIARIKI:


Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker Robertson. Ka nui te mihi ki a koe i tēnei ahiahi. Ko taku kōrero, he kōrero i te reo Māori ki te whakamārama i te āhuatanga o te hiahia o te Pāti Māori ki tēnei pire. Tuatahi, me pēnei rawa te kōrero, kua rongo au i te kōrero a taku hoa, a Kevin Hague i a ia e kōrero ana mō tōna āwangawanga, mō te mataku i te mea kua taka katoa te mana kōrero mō tēnei pire ki roto i te tangata kotahi. Inā kē te pānui o tōna mana ki te whakatau i ngā huarahi hei whāinga mā te ture mō ngā rongoā pea ki ētahi, mō ngā taru kino pea ki ētahi. Kei te āhua rongo ake i tērā engari kō tāku, ko tā te Pāti Māori, he mataku nō mātau, he āwangawanga nō mātau mō ngā kino kua tae mai ā-tarutaru nei ki runga i ngā hapori Māori. Nō reira, koia pea tētahi tīmatanga kōrero hai whakatau i te āhuatanga o tēnei pire i te ahiahi nei, arā, te Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill.

I ngā rima tau kua hipa, i puta te kōrero rangahau o te New Zealand Alcohol and Drug Use Survey mō tēnei mea mō te kai tarutaru. Me pēnei rawa te whakamarāma ake. Kotahi nei o ia tokowhā ā-Māori nei i te tau kua hipa, kua kai i te taru kino. Kotahi o ia tokowhā ā-Māori nei kua kai i te taru kino. Mō te motu whānui tonu o Aotearoa, ko te kotahi o ia tokowhitu. Ko te kotahi o ia tokowhitu. I te pērā te kino o te kaute mō te hunga i raro i te 14 te pakeke mō te hunga i kai tuatahi i te tarutaru. Nō reira, nā runga i ēnei tatauranga kai mua i a tātau, ka taea te kite i te noho ā-raruraru nei o te Ao Māori nā ēnei tarutaru kino. Ēhara i te mea, ko ngā papātanga o nāia tonu nei te raru ēngari, ko ngā whāinga mai āmuri ake, arā, ko te kore haere ki te kura, ko te kore eke ā-mātauranga nei, ko ngā raruraru ā-wairua o te tangata. Nā, ko te pai o tēnei pire, he tō mai i ngā tarutaru pēnei i te Kronic me tōna momo i ngā toa o te motu mō ngā 12 marama, mō te kotahi tau. Me kī, kua rāhuitia-mō-te-wā kia taea ai te āta titiro ki ngā pānga o te tarutaru nei ki te tangata. Tērā pea, ka whakakorengia mō ake nei, ko wai ka hua, ko wai ka totohu.

Kua tautoko te Pāti Māori i tēnei pire mai i tōna taenga mai ki roto i te Whare nei. Kei te kite tātau katoa i te kino kua puta ki ngā whānau nā te kino o ngā kai tarutaru. Kai te mōhio tonu tātau, ko te kino ki a ngāi Māori nā te kai tarutaru, kai tupeka, inu waipiro. Nā, pēnei i te āhua o te tupeka, ki te hikareti rānei, pēnei te tū o te Pāti Māori mō te waipiro. Koirā te kōrero, me whakaiti i ngā kino nā te kai o ēnei momo kai.

Ahakoa kei te tautoko te Pāti Māori i tēnei pire me te poto o te rāhui nei, ka kaha tonu mātou ki te āki i ngā take rongoā, ngā kaupapa ārai ki tā te Ao Māori titiro, ki tō te Ao Māori whakaaro. Ko tā mātau, kāore ngā whāinga e hāngai tonu ana ki te katoa i te eke ki te wāhi e tika ana mō te Ao Māori. Ki a mātou mō ngā raruraru e puta mai ana i roto i ngā hapori Māori, he pai ake mēnā ka riro mā te Ao Māori tōna whare e hanga, e whakatika, e whakahaere mō te Ao Māori. Kai te pērā te titiro ki ngā huarahi katoa, me kī, mai i te tokonga o ngā take hauora ki te āhuatanga o te whakatika ā-tinana tae atu ki ngā mahi maimoatanga, whakaora rānei. Nā, kai te kōrero au mō ngā tari whakaora, ngā akoranga rongoā, ngā rata, ngā tākuta rānei, ngā kaupapa whakaora me ngā huarahi katoa e wātea ana ki te Ao Māori. E pēnei ana taku kī inā tata nei, ko ngā kaupapa Māori ā-hauora nei e whakatinanahia ana e te Ao Māori mai i ngā whakaaro me te tirohanga o te ao mō tōna hauora, mō tōna oranga. Me kaha tautoko te Kāwanatanga i ngā Māori e mahi nei i roto i ēnei mahi i waenganui i te whānau anō hoki.



Hei kupu whakamutunga, kia kite mai ai ko te pānga o te Kronic inā tata nei, i pātai mātou i ētahi o tētahi hapori i Te Ika-a-Māui nei, i Te Puku o te Whenua, mō tō rātou mōhio mō te new and unregulated psychoactive substances. I te tino ohorere mātou ki te rongo i a rātou e mea ana, he nui noa ake te hokohoko o te Kronic ki tērā o te parāoa me te miraka, me te hikareti katoa. Mēnā ka kohikohia ngā hikareti, ngā miraka, ngā parāoa ki roto i te pēke kotahi, nui noa atu te hokohoko o te Kronic ki tērā o ēnei mea katoa. Koinei te uauatanga o te take nei. Koinā te kino o te take nei. Kāore e kore, ka pākinotia ētahi toa, hoi anō, mēnā ka ora ētahi, ka ora te hauora o te whānau, me tautoko ka tīka. Koinei mātou e tautoko nei i tēnei pire i tēnei pānuitanga whakamutunga. Kia ora tātau e te Whare.



Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker Robertson. I commend you highly this afternoon. In my address in Māori I would like to explain what the Māori Party expects of this Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill. But first, I hear what my colleague Kevin Hague is saying, as he talks about his concern and fear because the authority in this bill falls completely upon one individual who has wide authority and powers to determine methods for the legislation to pursue in the case of drugs for some and cannabis for others. I can sense that somewhat, but for me, we of the Māori Party are concerned, and fear the harmful effects that the arrival of cannabis has had upon Māori communities. And that perhaps is a way to start an address this afternoon on this bill.

Five years ago the New Zealand Alcohol and Drug Use Survey released some information about the use of cannabis. Let me describe it this way. One in four of each Māori in the past year had used cannabis—one in four Māori. For New Zealand in general it was one in seven—one in seven. That is how bad the figures were for Māori aged 14 years or younger trying cannabis for the first time. So with these figures in front of us, we are able to see how high the risk is for Māori affected by these substances. Of course it is not just the immediate impact that poses a problem, but the after-effects that arise, such as truancy, poor academic performance, and personal behavioural problems. This bill has an advantage in that it will remove substances like Kronic, and other cannabis products like it, from shops nationwide for 12 months—for a year. Let us say that it is a time-limited ban that will give sufficient space to investigate offending substances harmful to a person. Perhaps there will come a time when they are banned for ever. Who will benefit, and who will go under?

The Māori Party has supported this bill right throughout its progress in this House. We can all see the ill effects to families caused by the use of drugs. We know for a fact that Māori suffer disproportionate harm through the use of drugs, tobacco, and consuming alcohol. Now, just like our stance on tobacco or cigarettes, the Māori Party sees alcohol in the same way. We will do anything possible to reduce harmful effects as a consequence of taking or consuming these kinds of products. End of story.

While the Party Māori supports this bill and its short ban, we will continue to advocate drug treatment, prevention programmes based on Māori perspectives and outlook. We believe that strategies designed for the general population have not reached levels that are right for Māori. We think that drug problems in Maori communities are addressed more effectively if Māori are left to construct, rectify, and conduct their own institutions for Māori. That approach is for all procedures, as, for instance, in the promotion of health matters, early intervention, and treatment or recovery. I am talking about detoxification services, drug education programmes, doctors or clinicians, rehabilitation regimes of every kind, being accessible by Māori. As I said a moment ago, it includes Māori-based health services established and implemented by Māori from within a framework of Māori concepts and perspectives about health and well-being. The Government must support Māori people as well who work in these services among families.

To close this address, I say that to find out about the impact of Kronic we asked a community recently in the North Island, in the central North Island, what they knew about the new and unregulated psychoactive substances. We were shocked to hear them say that much more Kronic was sold then bread, milk, and cigarettes put together. If the cigarettes, milk, and bread were gathered up and placed in a single bag, a far greater amount of Kronic was sold then all those things put together. That is the problem with this matter. It is where the real problem is. No doubt some shops will be affected, but nevertheless, if some lives are saved, then family health is better off. The bill has to be supported. We are pleased to support this final reading. Greetings to us, the House.