You can view Associate Minister Turia's full speech here, or read some of the highlights below.
"Ka rere atu nga mihi ki te hau kainga, te tangata whenua, Ngati Rahiri, Ngati Kawa, Ngati Hine, Ngapuhi whanui, tena koutou katoa. Ki Te Matapihi He Tirohanga mo te Iwi – tena ra koutou. Ki aku hoa, aku whanaunga, ki a koe e Phil, tae noa ki a koutou katoa kua tae mai i nga kokona e wha o te motu, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa."
"Housing is more than just a roof over your head, our homes are where our whanau gather, it is a place where we foster our happy memories, and it is a place that often impacts on our health and overall wellbeing. It is a place to retreat from te ao hurihuri; a site of sanctuary and safety; a haven of peace in our busy lives. It is the place where sometimes, our babies are born; often it also becomes a place where our loved ones lie before their final journey.
Our homes are our whanau museums; the walls adorned with the photos of our tupuna and our tamariki. They reflect our penchant for DIY, every room tells a unique story. Housing is of vital importance to the future development of our whanau, and our people. When we talk about programmes that deliver holistic outcomes, you cannot go past the value of a whare. I was recently reminded of the concept of a living marae, a place to meet, a place for whanau to be together, and a place which forms an inherent part of our identity – our turangawaewae. Our place to stand. Where you live, how you live and who you live with – impacts heavily on who we become, what we do, and the quality of our lives. Needless to say, we all recognise that housing is a key part of the Whanau Ora vision."
"I specifically asked for the role of Associate Minister of Housing because I could clearly see, that if we are serious about looking after our whanau here in Aotearoa, then we need to deal with the issue of housing. A warm, safe and healthy place to live is more than an aspiration – it is a right that we all share. We must absolutely be addressing the social housing needs of our people. We need healthy homes to raise healthy whanau; we need housing security; and to improve the issue of affordability and accessibility so that we can create sustainable housing solutions."
"One of the things that we, as tangata whenua, know about each other – is that there is no universal ‘Maori’ view on anything. That each marae, and each hapu and iwi have different aspirations, and different ways of doing things which will fit those aspirations. In the past, governments have not understood this. They have instead, created programmes, and criteria which layer by layer have added heaviness upon our people. We seek outcomes, when governments sometimes want to see outputs. We seek holistic solutions, whereas governments, for many years, have separated health from environment from housing and so forth."
"We are the people of the land – the tangata whenua, and we have responsibilities to that land, to our awa, to our marae, and to our people. My hope is that during the course of this hui, you will talk about what that looks like to each of you, and find the solutions that will move every element of our wellbeing forward. My role will be to work towards preparing the Government to better respond to those aspirations."
"My intention is to prepare the Government to better respond to Maori housing needs, with the support of the Maori reference group on housing, and other key stakeholders, such as Maori or whanau trusts, the iwi leaders group sub-committee on housing, as well as individual iwi who wish to pursue housing projects. Perhaps then, the most critical role I will play, is that of advocate for the many aspirations that we have, as tangata whenua, at the highest level of government. So on that note, I will leave you with a simple question – me ahu pehea tatou te iwi Maori? How will we move forward from here?"
"It is time to uphold article 3 rights – that tangata whenua deserve every opportunity to live and enjoy the same rights as every New Zealander – warm healthy homes, where windows open and shut – they let the sunshine in and keep us sheltered from wind and rain. Matapihi are also about the protection of taonga – our article two rights to live as Maori, to restore our collective rights and responsibilities to one another, to assert tangata whenua approaches as the solutions. And finally matapahi are about creating the chance to fling open our window to the world – to look at all the opportunities and initiatives whether they be indigenous inspired or the latest call for expressions of interest in social housing. Today, is your moment, Te Matapihi he tirohanga mot e iwi – I am extremely proud to be here with you as you set forth, to help us all, whanau, hapu, iwi, take up every opportunity to carve a pathway forward."