Māori Affairs
Release

Electricity Supply Industry Training Organisation Cadetships are leading examples of private-public sector partnership in action, says Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples.

Launching 50 new cadetship positions, Dr Sharples said the ESITO Cadetship scheme demonstrates the public, private and education sectors working together to grow New Zealand’s pool of skilled workers.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Speech

The World Economic Forum has identified scientific innovation as one of the most – if not the most – important drivers of our global economy.

Political and economic turbulence in some developed, western economies make it even more important for us in the Asia-Pacific region to keep our eye on the prize. The prize, as always, is the development, growth and wellbeing of our people, now and into the future.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Release

Budget 2012 will provide $7.6 million over the next four years for an education programme that gives schools and children a hands-on approach to looking after the environment, Environment Minister Amy Adams and Māori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples announced today.

Enviroschools and Te Aho Tu Roa (the Maori immersion approach) encourage children, their schools and their families to think and act sustainably – at school, at home and in everyday life.

Pita Sharples Amy Adams Budget 2012 Māori Affairs Environment
Speech

Ni hao mā.
Tēnā koutou katoa
Greetings

Acknowledgement: Steve Barclay, Director of Sydney’s Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office and delegation.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Release

Māori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples has opened a small office in Glen Innes to help tenants involved in the Tamaki Transformation Programme.

“This major urban renewal project is disruptive to some of the long-established communities there, while state houses are upgraded or reconfigured to meet current and future demands,” said Dr Sharples.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Release

Māori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples has announced the membership and terms of reference for a working group to refocus and strengthen Te Puni Kokiri.

“I am looking for a more strategic influence and impact from Te Puni Kokiri, as was indicated in the Māori Party’s Relationship Accord and Confidence and Supply Agreement with the National Party,” said Dr Sharples.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Speech

Acknowledgements:

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Release

The Treaty of Waitangi settlements process is restorative justice in action says Māori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples.

Speaking at the launch of JustSpeak’s paper on Māori and the Criminal Justice System, he recalled the recent settlement of five Treaty of Waitangi claims.

“The victims were the families of Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Pahauwera, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Whare, Ngāti Manawa. Tribes and families who, on the 29 March 2012, forgave years and generations of offending,” said Dr Sharples.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Release

Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples has congratulated his colleague, Trade Minister Tim Groser, for saying te reo Maori should be taught in all primary schools.

“I welcome Minister Groser's comments. His work at global meetings would show him that most people in the world today are bilingual or multi-lingual,” said Dr Sharples.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Release

Former Minister Georgina te Heuheu has been appointed to the Board of Māori Television, Māori Affairs Minister Hon Dr Pita Sharples said today.

“Mrs te Heuheu has been appointed to the Board for three years, effective immediately, and she will replace the current Chair of the Board when his term expires on 30 April 2012,” said Dr Sharples.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Speech

Mr Speaker I move that the Ngati Porou Settlement Bill be read a third time.

To the sons and daughters of Porou Ariki Te Matatara a Whare Te Tuhi Mareikura o Rauru, welcome.

From the resting place of the sacred waka Nukutaimemeha atop the peaks of Hikurangi, to the Waiapu waters at Rangitukia as it surges into Te Moana Nui A Kiwa.

The first on earth to see the dawn of a new day – since the dawn of time itself: Ngati Porou mana whenua, mana moana, mana tangata, mana Atua.

Ko Hikurangi te maunga, Ko Waiapu te awa, Ko Ngati Porou te iwi

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Speech

Mr Speaker, I move that the Ngati Pāhauwera Treaty Claims Settlement Bill be now read a third time.

Although I was unable to participate in the policy decisions about the Ngati Pahauwera settlement, due to a declared conflict of interest, it is with great pleasure that I stand to speak today in this third reading of the bill.

I stand to acknowledge the children of Tamatea Arikinui mai Tawhiti, Tureia, Te Huki, Puruaute. I pay tribute to those who have travelled from the brow of the sacred mountain, Tawhiwhirangi, from the ancestral waters of Mohaka.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Speech

Mr Speaker I move that the Nga Wai O Maniapoto (Waipa River) Bill be now read a third time.

The Nga Wai o Maniapoto (Waipa River) Bill formalises the eternal relationship of Ngati Maniapoto with the Waipā River. The Waipa’s journey from the headwaters in the Rangitoto Ranges into the heart of the Waikato River has been chronicled and cherished by generations.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Speech

Mr Speaker

I move that the Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare Claims Settlement Bill be now read a third time.

This legislation brings together the Treaty of Waitangi claims of the descendants of Apa-Hapai-Taketake, Tangiharuru and Toi Te Huatahi.

These are the peoples of the Kuhawaea and Kaingaroa Plains, the Rangitaiki and Whirinaki rivers, the lands of Te Whaiti and Minginui, Te Whirinaki te Pua A Tane, Urewera lands in the east, the mountains Tawhiuau and Tuwatawata.

I welcome the descendants of Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare to this house.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Release

The Minister of Māori Affairs, Dr Pita Sharples, is encouraging people to make submissions on a Māori Economic Development Panel: Discussion Document which was released today

“Māori are significant players in the New Zealand economy, with assets worth $36.9 billion, but when Māori realise our full potential, we can contribute so much more than we do already,” Dr Sharples says.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Release

Māori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples and Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Christopher Finlayson confirmed today that New Zealand will be sending a waka taua (war canoe) as the country's official participant in the Thames River Pageant, which marks the Diamond Jubilee celebrating the 60th year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II on 3 June.

Pita Sharples Christopher Finlayson Māori Affairs Arts, Culture and Heritage
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Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples says the formalisation of a collective of Maori tradesmen in Christchurch today shows ‘whanaungatanga in action’ – and the value of traditional cultural bonds to meet a modern crisis.

Speaking at the launch at Rehua Marae this afternoon, Dr Sharples said: “These guys forged strong bonds when they came together on the old Maori Affairs Trade Training Scheme thirty, forty or fifty years ago – and now those links will give extra value to the people of Christchurch as they rebuild after the earthquakes.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Release

Survey results released today show visitors to te Waka Māori during Rugby World Cup 2011 rated the experience as highly or higher than other RWC 2011 events and venues.

“Almost 180,000 people visited Waka Māori and survey respondents reported an average satisfaction rating of 8.2 out of 10; and 27 percent gave it ten out of ten,” said Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples.

“Results of similar surveys were 7.7 out of 10 for the Fan Zone and the Cloud, and 7.8 out of 10 for the REAL New Zealand Festival,” said Dr Sharples.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Speech

The late great scholar of Ngāti Porou, Te Kapunga ‘Koro’ Dewes, used to say that, to introduce yourself properly, you must answer the questions:

Ko wai koe?

Na wai koe?

No hea koe?

I want to talk this afternoon about what it means to be a New Zealander, and what is our place on the world stage.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Release

Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples has expressed support for the staff of Te Puni Kokiri, who have been given a preliminary briefing by the Chief Executive on the Ministry’s operating environment.

“How the Ministry manages their fiscal pressures and efficiency dividend is of course an operational matter for management. I expect to be consulted on the Chief Executive’s proposals for how Te Puni Kokiri continues to deliver the most effective services to the public, within the budget they have been allocated,” he said.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs
Release

The Minister of Māori Affairs, Hon Dr Pita Sharples, is inviting contributions for designs for tukutuku panels that will enhance the New Zealand Wall in the United Nations Headquarters General Assembly building in New York.

While at the UN Headquarters in 2010, Hon Dr Sharples identified an opportunity to both demonstrate New Zealand’s long-term commitment to the UN, while showcasing the unique cultural identity of Māori as tangata whenua, the indigenous people of Aotearoa.

Pita Sharples Māori Affairs