Speech
Te Arawa Economic Development Conference
Uuia kia Rangi-nui e tuu iho nei - ia Papa-tua-nuku e takoto ake nei - tohia nga hua o te tau- hue ha!
E wehi ano to te rangi - e wehi ano to te whenua - e wehi ano to te takiwa
Tihei mauri ora!
Te Arawa tapu - Te Arawa mana - Te Arawa waka - Te Arawa iwi - mai Maketu ki Tongariro maunga - nau te reo powhiri ki nga hau e whaa - whiti atu ki te tua whenua o Canada - ki te iwi maatahi o reira - kia huihui mai - ki tenei hui taumata - e mihi ana - tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa!
Paa-paki ana te moana - Rotorua-nui oo Kahu Mata Moemoe - nga wai tuku kiri oo ratou kua huri - haere nga mate - ki tua oo pae mau mahara - haere oti atu ra!
Hinga atu he tete-kura - ka ara mai he tete-kura - ratou kia ratou - tatou te hunga ora - kia tatou!
Te Arawa iwi - te Ariki Tumu te Heu Heu - Pihopa Peneti - Taa Tipene - Te Tiamana Arapeta Tahana - me nga iwi e tau nei - tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa!
Good morning, and greetings to you all.
In recent years, as you will know only too well, there have been several comprehensive reports comparing the experience of Maori and non-Maori in our country. There was another - "Closing the Gaps" - put out by Te Puni Kokiri just recently. Health statistics, educational measurements, unemployment and employment numbers, income levels - the figures for each of these indicators of well-being are showing marked differences between different groups of New Zealanders. Yet without even the shadow of doubt, unless the gaps opening up in our society begin to narrow again, this country is storing up trouble for the future; grief and sadness, certainly; bitterness very probably. But what should we be doing to reverse the course we seem to be on?
Sometimes, some simple, single solution is proposed. Thankfully, you also hear it being acknowledged that, as there is no single cause for the widening of the gaps, we need many solutions, work is needed in many areas; the issues, in Georgina te Heu Heu's words to the Maori Women's Welfare League last week, are "interrelated and interdependent," so that they "must be considered together. No issue stands alone." But, even though any set of solutions will probably be difficult to determine and hard to implement, solutions must be found.
And that is why I was so ready to accept the invitation to be with you this morning. This Conference, potentially, could be of extraordinary value to all of Te Arawa, this year, next year, in the next decade, for all future Te Arawa generations. And if, simply by coming here, I could help the organisers of this Conference to underline this fact, to send a signal that the Confederation's economic development strategic planning was a task of critical importance to the future well-being of everyone in this region, whether members of Te Arawa or not, then that alone was reason enough for me to come.
I expect that most of you here this morning will know the story of Gulliver's Travels at some time or other, or know the story at least. One of the key images in that tale is that of Gulliver in the land of Lilliput, the very busy, very little people. Gulliver goes to sleep, out in the open, out on the land, and wakes to find himself pegged to the ground, tied down by the Lilliputians, and not by just a few tethers, but by thousands of them. Rather than doing what might have seemed the simplest thing, just staying lying there tied down and helpless, waiting to see what would happen, Gulliver throws off his bonds, (taking great care not to injure the Lilliputians surrounding him,) he throws off his bonds simply by stirring himself and making the great effort to sit up.
Is there not a parallel here? The very reason this Conference has been called is that you, the people of Te Arawa, with an asset base of $1.5 billion, see yourselves tied down, in so many ways that prevent you from realising the full value those assets have, that prevent you exercising the full economic and social strength of your canoe. And you obviously understand too, that to break free of those constraints requires a collective will, a summoning of the strength that can be found only in unity. Gulliver couldn't break his bonds by lifting one arm, or just his head. He had to put his effort into one powerful movement of his whole body. So it is with you.
I know fragmentation of assets, of ownership, of control, is one of the strongest constraints. This fragmentation is, I expect, largely a legacy of history, but history should teach and inspire us for the present and the future, not hold us prisoner to the past. Sometimes the old human factor gets in the way too, does it not? None of us likes to give up something we've had or held for ourselves, or our family, or our particular community. But there comes a time to think of the greater good, to see for ourselves how unity results in strength
And so you may be asking yourselves; for instance, how great a disadvantage is it in having so many different kinds of assets, all managed individually; run tactically rather than strategically? How can separate marginally-profitable enterprises be brought together to achieve economies of scale?
It's not for me to tell you your business: I am no business adviser myself, and I certainly don't intend in my retirement to set myself up as a consultant. But one thing that struck me is the Confederation's interests are in agriculture, horticulture and forestry - all sectors in which commodity prices have been trending steadily downwards for years. And it does not seem likely, assuming only that a quarter-century downtrend in primary product prices is not an aberration, that the return on equity in any of those sectors is suddenly going to lift significantly. So doing more of the same thing, investing more in the same types of primary production, concentrating solely on the first steps in the economic chain, may not be one of Te Arawa's best economic development options.
Of course economic development depends on strong leadership and effective management - on how business assets and processes are managed, or administered, day-by-day, quarter-by-quarter. It would of course, be an over-statement to say that all New Zealand businesses follow one or the other of two basic approaches - steady-as-she-goes, or radical re-structuring - but I do wonder whether those extremes are not just a little too-commonly found here. There is a middle way - continual, incremental improvement - recognising that even the furthest destination is reached by taking the journey a step at a time. Making sweeping changes in any business or group of businesses is always going to be difficult, even when they are very necessary, even urgent. Making constant step-by-step improvements, however, is much less disruptive in that steps forward can be taken without first taking steps back.
This continual improvement approach demands more of business managers: first that they plan intelligently; second, that they execute those plans diligently; and third, that they remain committed to reaching their goals until the desired results are achieved. Staffing a business with people such as these is, then, a critical success factor for economic development; people who stay in for the long haul, unlike many managers we have seen in recent years who energetically institute change, then, before their effectiveness is seen, move on to make more changes somewhere else, while another person comes in to change the changes they have made.
May I now come to something that I believe is absolutely fundamental. The first and greatest of all the restraints on this country's economic performance, not just Te Arawa's alone, is a skill and education shortage. I am not thinking only of high-level professional or technical skills, because the greatest educational shortfall in modern day New Zealand is in the educational "basics," in literacy and in numeracy. An OECD report published last April stated: "nearly half the workforce in New Zealand cannot read well enough to work effectively in a modern economy." Our Ministry of Education says that 70 per cent of Maori New Zealanders are "functioning below the level of competence in literacy required effectively to meet the demands of everyday life." Educational high performance is not solely a matter of money. It is also, quite clearly, determined by the extent of people's desire for maximum achievement, backed up with a clear expectation of it and insistence upon it, and the total commitment to it, by teachers, by school boards, above all by parents - everyone has a role to play.
I spoke of a desire for maximum achievement. I carefully avoided the commonly used "academic excellence", because I think those words can put people off, especially young people. Certainly many can achieve academic excellence, and those who can must have every encouragement and assistance. But that's not for everyone by any means. We are not all meant to be Einsteins. It would be a funny world if we were.
But we all have innate, God-given abilities, talents, that it is our individual responsibility to develop to the full; and it's the responsibility of parents, families and teachers to help our young people identify their particular talent, and then to polish it until it shines. Unrealised potential is a tragedy not only for himself, but for his hapu, his iwi, our nation.
Te Arawa's economic development is not just for today or tomorrow, but for our mokopuna, down the generations to come, and from them we must bring forth the skills, the abilities, the understanding and the leadership that ensure that the benefits of this Conference and its decisions will endure.
And so you are faced with a great challenge, my friends - to see the future course of Te Arawa, and then to communicate that vision to all those whom you represent. This is certain to be difficult. Different people might propose quite divergent courses of action. So it is, I suppose, possible that at times, in some sessions, discussions could become heated. But I hope, for the sake of Te Arawa, both its present members and for all those to come, that out of this Conference comes a vision for your economic future that all can see, and understand, and that all are prepared to work towards with a degree of unity. Then Te Arawa, like Gulliver, can sit up - or stand, or even run.
So, it is a vital task that you begin here. I wish Te Arawa well in thinking through what are sure to be difficult and complex issues, knowing that you will persist until all outstanding issues are resolved, all major decisions taken, until your vision of Te Arawa's future is clear. And confident that this will be, I am now very delighted, to declare the Te Arawa Economic Summit officially open. Kia ora. Kia ora tatau.