RELEASE document information about Waitangi speech 002.pdf

Document 9
From:
s9(2)(a)
To:
Tama Potaka; ^Parliament: SarahBoyle
Subject:
RE: Waitangi: PM"s speech
Attachments:
image001.jpg
Speech is still a wee distance away from the finishing line, sorry.
s9(2)(a)
Best wishes for today.
From: Tama Potaka <[email address]>
1982
Sent: Thursday, February 1, 2024 11:53 PM
To: s9(2)(a)
Sarah Boyle s.9(2)(a)
@parliament.govt.nz>
Subject: Waitangi: PM's speech
Act
Kia ora e hoa mā
Can you please advise the draft speech for Monday – I would like to synch my own kōrero with the Prime
Minister’s comments.
Bring your togs if you are coming up – it is very warm.
Mauriora,
Hon. Tama Potaka
Information
Minister of Conservation
Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti
Minister for Māori Development
Minister for Whānau Ora
Assoc. Minister of Housing – Social Housing
MP for Hamilton West
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
Official
Authorised by Hon Tama Potaka Parliament Buildings, Wellington
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Released

1982
Act
Information
Official
the
Under
Released

Document 14
From:
s.9(2)(a)
To:
Tama Potaka;s.9(2)(a)
Cc:
^Parliament: SarahBoyle; ^Parliament: Cameron Burrows
Subject:
PM"s Speech
Attachments:
Waitangi 2024 speech v8.docx
Kia ora Tama and s.9(2)(a)
Thank you so much for your willingness to look at this. It’s very much Christopher’s speech so
we’re not looking for wholesale changes s.9(2)(g)(i)
)
Thank you so very much for doing this. I’d spend longer conveying my gratitude but time is of the
essence. If it was possible to come back to us by around 4-ish, we’d be most grateful but I know
that’s likely pushing the friendship.
Thank you again.
s.9(2)(a)
s.9(2)(g)(i) - following 10 pages also withheld
Under the Official Information Act 1982
Released

1982
Act
Information
Official
the
Under
Released

were not upheld by the Crown.

Part of the history of modern New Zealand has been our struggle to understand the
intentions and expectations of those who signed the Treaty, and how we should act as
a result. That work is still happening and will keep going.

Every nation’s past is imperfect. But no other country has attempted to right its
historical wrongs or dared to undertake such an ambitious national reconciliation
project as we have. While the journey continues, all New Zealanders can take pride. It
has required a generosity of spirit from both Iwi and the Crown to restore mana. For all
1982
the pain that process has sometimes entailed, we are a better, more open-minded
and, I think, more tolerant country because of it.

Act
The Treaty is our past, present and future. It has shaped the country we have become,
and the obligations it imposes on both sides will always be with us. However, we must
aspire to go forward not as two sides, but together as New Zealanders because there
is more that unites us than divides us.

However, unity doesn’t mean all of us being or thinking exactly the same. We can
value our differences, debate them constructively while respecting each other, and still
find a pathway to a better future together. New Zealand has demonstrated the
courage to identify, name and wrestle with its differences and challenges throughout
its history. And we will, and we must, keep doing that. Information

The arc of New Zealand’s history and progress is not linear, but our experience of the
last 184 years should give us tremendous confidence that we can shape our future
and thrive in the 21st century.

That, if you like, is my preamble to my vision for 2040.
Official

I believe New Zealand is the best country on earth. We have unlimited potential, and
everything we need to be successful - the best people, a country well positioned in the
the
middle of the Asia Pacific region, and a liberal democracy with well-established social
institutions. We are a multi-cultural nation built on strong bi-cultural foundations, with
an acute sense of fairness and a willingness to lend a hand to those who need it.

There are simply no excuses for why we can’t do exceptionally well and be one of the
world's leading, advanced small countries.
Under

By 2040 we will have built a bigger, more productive, smarter, modern 21st century
economy that will generate the wealth required to pay for all the things that we need
and want to improve the lives of our people.
Imagine a New Zealand where a world class education is setting all of our kids up to
take on those higher paying jobs and to do well for themselves.
Imagine a country that embraces technology and innovation to reduce our isolation
Released
and so we can sell more valuable exports and earn bigger incomes.
Imagine a country with modern and reliable infrastructure to make all our lives easier
and our communities more resilient and prosperous.

  Imagine a New Zealand that encourages businesses with less red tape so iwi and
others with good ideas don’t have such a struggle to realise them, and can grow and
offer more job opportunities and higher wages.
  And imagine an outward looking country hustling and connected to the world so it’s
easier to make the most of all the global opportunities that exist.

By 2040 we will be the best place and society in the world to be a child, to raise a
family, and to make a contribution to your community.
1982
Imagine a New Zealand where every 5-year-old, walking for the first time through the
gates of their kura or school, does so with a similar chance of success when they
leave school.
Act
And whoever they are and wherever they come from, imagine every single child
being safe and well-supported at home so they genuinely have an equal opportunity
to do well at school.

·    Imagine a New Zealand that provides better access to quality healthcare and
actually delivers improved health outcomes for everyone. Where parents of Māori
children do not wonder if their tamariki will live 6-7 years less than other children.

·    Imagine a country where every Kiwi has a safe, warm, dry home.

Information
·    Imagine a country that always helps Kiwis in genuine need with a social safety net,
but also has less people dependent on welfare and needing support from their
fellow citizens because work pays.

·    Imagine a New Zealand with less crime and victims of crime where people feel safe
in their own homes, businesses or communities. Because at the heart of our society
Official
sits the notion that we have both rights and responsibilities to each other and to our
country, and people are leading more productive and useful lives.

the
·    Imagine a New Zealand where Te Aō Māori is flourishing, where the enduring
relationship between the Crown and Iwi improves services and outcomes for
tangata whenua, where Treaty settlements have all been completed, and some of
New Zealand’s most successful enterprises nationally and internationally are iwi
businesses who are using their profits to invest in their people, their rohe, and more
business growth.
Under

·    Imagine a place where our multi-cultural society is a source of pride for all of us.

By 2040, we will be well on track to deliver our Net Carbon Zero goals by 2050.
Imagine a New Zealand with abundant renewable energy that is using science and
technology to solve our environmental challenges and to preserve our biodiversity.

Well, I don’t just imagine these things. I am leading a government that is determined to
Released
achieve this 2040 vision. I want to see us get our mojo back - a much more confident,
positive and ambitious New Zealand. But we will only do it with everyone stepping up
and pitching in together.

We have 16 years to achieve that vision, and you have asked what we need to do in
the next 3 years to make progress towards it. The answer quite simply is - “lots”, and
we look forward to engaging more with you on it. But as the Chinese text says, “a
journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.

Over the coming three years, this Government will be relentlessly focused on
improving the economy because it underscores the standard of living of every single
one of us, every family and hapū, and every community and iwi in this country. The
struggle with the cost of living is one of the financial legacies of the previous
government that spent too much, borrowed too much, and left nothing to show for it
1982
except rising debt, high inflation, high interest rates, a shrinking economy, and a lot of
extra jobs in Wellington.

Act
So, we have to, as a first step, get the Government’s books back in order. We will
make savings and some will go to improving services for New Zealanders. Some
savings will have to be used to pay off the huge debt Labour left the country, and
some will be returned to you as tax relief. You earned that money and right now, you
could do with keeping more of it to make things just a bit easier at home.

We will focus on restoring law and order because Kiwis deserve to feel safe in their
own homes, businesses and communities. Under the previous Government, violent
crime, retail crime, and youth offending spiralled out of control, causing enormous pain
and suffering for too many Kiwis. That’s not fair and that’s not right.
Information

The Government’s third priority for this term is delivering better public services – with a
particular focus on health and education. Things like shorter wait times to see a
specialist, or be treated in an Emergency Department, and better school attendance
and achievement. We’ll be setting targets for many of these goals and holding
ourselves accountable for achieving them.
Official

I’ve spoken a lot about education since becoming Leader of the National Party and I
will continue to do so, because it is the thing that worries me the most. How can a first-
the
world country have 55% of our kids not attending school regularly and our children not
knowing the basics well? It’s a future moral and economic disaster.

So, our Government will do its part by backing our Kaupapa Māori education system,
reintroducing partnership schools, investing in structured literacy, teaching the basics
well, and setting clear targets focussed on attendance and achievement so that our
Under
kids can have the futures they all deserve.

Let me end with a message to iwi: I want Te Aō Māori to thrive. When Māori do well,
we all know it, New Zealand does well.

My view is that despite all the words and rhetoric, outcomes for Māori, and indeed all
New Zealanders, went backwards in the past six years. To face up to these complex
economic, social and environmental challenges, to deliver better outcomes for all our
Released
people, and to ultimately realise our 2040 vision, we must work together - and at
tremendous speed.

We, like you, believe in localism and devolution, not centralisation and control. No one

1982
Act
Information
Official
the
Under
Released

Document 20
1
WAITANGI DAY – 05 JAN 2024
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, rau rangatira ma. Tēnā koutou katoa.
He tino mihi ki te mana whenua o tēnei rohe.
Mihi mai, mihi mai, mihi mai.
Te whare e tū nei, tēnā koe.
He-wāhi whakahirahira tēnei mō Aotearoa.
Ka huri nga whakaaro, ki nga mate. Moe mai.
Te hunga ora, tēnā tātou.
1982
Thank you Ngā Puhi, Te Tai Tokerau iwi and the Waitangi National Trust for
Act
once again hosting these ceremonies commemorating the signing of Te Tiriti o
Waitangi.
Waitangi Day is an opportunity to pause and reflect on the foundations of our
nation – our history – and to look forward. So, thank you for prompting us in
this forum to answer two questions: 1) Where do we want to be as a nation by
2040? And 2) What do we need to focus on in the next three years to get
there? Both are good and timely questions.
Information
Now, no journey begins fresh out of nowhere.
All of us are shaped by our parents, families, hapū, faith, community, iwi,
ethnicity, nationality and environment.
Official
But the pasts of every one of us are more than a lineage of ancestors recorded
on a family tree or tupuna on the wharenui walls. Our pasts are also the stories
the
of what happened to our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents
because those events have contributed in some way to who we are today.
The nation has a past of its own. It is partly the sum of the pasts of its citizens,
but also is a history of events - the great and the small, the planned and the
Under
unexpected, the triumphs and the setbacks, the good and the bad.
184 years ago today, and seven decades after Cook sailed south from Tahiti,
Crown representatives and Māori came together to sign Te Tiriti o Waitangi –
The Treaty of Waitangi - a foundational event in New Zealand’s history.
On the 6th of February 1840, Hobson and the chiefs assembled here at
Released
Waitangi. And they were people just like us, who were trying to navigate their
way towards a united, stable, peaceful and prosperous future.

2

We know that they likely had different understandings of what they were doing.
And we know that in the years that followed, the promise and the obligations of
the Treaty were not upheld by the Crown.

Part of the history of modern New Zealand has been our struggle to
understand the intentions and expectations of those who signed the Treaty,
and how we should act as a result. That work is still happening and will keep
going.

1982
Every nation’s past is imperfect. But no other country has attempted to right its
historical wrongs or dared to undertake such an ambitious national  Act
reconciliation project as we have. While the journey continues, all New
Zealanders can take pride. It has required a generosity of spirit from both Iwi
and the Crown to restore mana. For all the pain that process has sometimes
entailed, we are a better, more open-minded and, I think, more tolerant country
because of it.

The Treaty is our past, present and future. It has shaped the country we have
become, and the obligations it imposes on both sides will always be with us.
However, we must aspire to go forward not as two sides, but together as New
Information
Zealanders because there is more that unites us than divides us.

However, unity doesn’t mean all of us being or thinking exactly the same. We
can value our differences, debate them constructively while respecting each
other, and still find a pathway to a better future together. New Zealand has
Official
demonstrated the courage to identify, name and wrestle with its differences
and challenges throughout its history. And we will, and we must, keep doing
the
that.

The arc of New Zealand’s history and progress is not linear, but our
experience of the last 184 years should give us tremendous confidence that
we can shape our future and thrive in the 21st century.
Under

That, if you like, is my preamble to my vision for 2040.

I believe New Zealand is the best country on earth. We have unlimited
potential, and everything we need to be successful - the best people, a country
well positioned in the middle of the Asia Pacific region, and a liberal
democracy with well-established social institutions. We are a multi-cultural
Released
nation built on strong bi-cultural foundations, with an acute sense of fairness
and a willingness to lend a hand to those who need it.

There are simply no excuses for why we can’t do exceptionally well and be
one of the world's leading, advanced small countries.

3

By 2040 we will have built a bigger, more productive, smarter, modern 21st
century economy that will generate the wealth required to pay for all the things
that we need and want to improve the lives of our people.
•  Imagine a New Zealand where a world class education is setting all of our
kids up to take on those higher paying jobs and to do well for themselves.

•  Imagine a country that embraces technology and innovation to reduce our
isolation and so we can sell more valuable exports and earn bigger
1982
incomes.

Act
•  Imagine a country with modern and reliable infrastructure to make all our
lives easier and our communities more resilient and prosperous.

•  Imagine a New Zealand that encourages businesses with less red tape so
iwi and others with good ideas don’t have such a struggle to realise them,
and can grow and offer more job opportunities and higher wages.

•  And imagine an outward looking country hustling and connected to the
world so it’s easier to make the most of all the global opportunities that
Information
exist.

By 2040 we will be the best place and society in the world to be a child, to
raise a family, and to make a contribution to your community.
•  Imagine a New Zealand where every 5-year-old, walking for the first time
Official
through the gates of their kura or school, does so with a similar chance of
success when they leave school.
the
And whoever they are and wherever they come from, imagine every single
child being safe and well-supported at home so they genuinely have an
equal opportunity to do well at school.

•  Imagine a New Zealand that provides better access to quality healthcare
Under
and actually delivers improved health outcomes for everyone. Where
parents of Māori children do not wonder if their tamariki will live 6-7 years
less than other children.

•  Imagine a country where every Kiwi has a safe, warm, dry home.

•  Imagine a country that always helps Kiwis in genuine need with a social
Released
safety net, but also has less people dependent on welfare and needing
support from their fellow citizens because work pays.

•  Imagine a New Zealand with less crime and victims of crime where people
feel safe in their own homes, businesses or communities. Because at the

4

heart of our society sits the notion that we have both rights and
responsibilities to each other and to our country, and people are leading
more productive and useful lives.

•  Imagine a New Zealand where Te Aō Māori is flourishing, where the
enduring relationship between the Crown and Iwi improves services and
outcomes for tangata whenua, where Treaty settlements have all been
completed, and some of New Zealand’s most successful enterprises
nationally and internationally are iwi businesses who are using their profits
1982
to invest in their people, their rohe, and more business growth.

Act
•  Imagine a place where our multi-cultural society is a source of pride for all of
us.

By 2040, we will be well on track to deliver our Net Carbon Zero goals by
2050.
•  Imagine a New Zealand with abundant renewable energy that is using
science and technology to solve our environmental challenges and to
preserve our biodiversity.

Information
Well, I don’t just imagine these things. I am leading a government that is
determined to achieve this 2040 vision. I want to see us get our mojo back - a
much more confident, positive and ambitious New Zealand. But we will only do
it with everyone stepping up and pitching in together.

Official
We have 16 years to achieve that vision, and you have asked what we need to
do in the next 3 years to make progress towards it. The answer quite simply is
the
- “lots”, and we look forward to engaging more with you on it. But as the
Chinese text says, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.

Over the coming three years, this Government will be relentlessly focused on
improving the economy because it underscores the standard of living of every
Under
single one of us, every family and hapū, and every community and iwi in this
country. The struggle with the cost of living is one of the financial legacies of
the previous government that spent too much, borrowed too much, and left
nothing to show for it except rising debt, high inflation, high interest rates, a
shrinking economy, and a lot of extra jobs in Wellington.

So, we have to, as a first step, get the Government’s books back in order. We
Released
will make savings and some will go to improving services for New Zealanders.
Some savings will have to be used to pay off the huge debt Labour left the
country, and some will be returned to you as tax relief. You earned that money
and right now, you could do with keeping more of it to make things just a bit
easier at home.

5

We will focus on restoring law and order because Kiwis deserve to feel safe in
their own homes, businesses and communities. Under the previous
Government, violent crime, retail crime, and youth offending spiralled out of
control, causing enormous pain and suffering for too many Kiwis. That’s not
fair and that’s not right.

The Government’s third priority for this term is delivering better public services
– with a particular focus on health and education. Things like shorter wait  1982
times to see a specialist, or be treated in an Emergency Department, and
better school attendance and achievement. We’ll be setting targets for many of
Act
these goals and holding ourselves accountable for achieving them.

I’ve spoken a lot about education since becoming Leader of the National Party
and I will continue to do so, because it is the thing that worries me the most.
How can a first-world country have 55% of our kids not attending school
regularly and our children not knowing the basics well? It’s a future moral and
economic disaster.

So, our Government will do its part by backing our Kaupapa Māori education
Information
system, reintroducing partnership schools, investing in structured literacy,
teaching the basics well, and setting clear targets focussed on attendance and
achievement so that our kids can have the futures they all deserve.

Let me end with a message to iwi: I want Te Aō Māori to thrive. When Māori
Official
do well, we all know it, New Zealand does well.

My view is that despite all the words and rhetoric, outcomes for Māori, and
the
indeed all New Zealanders, went backwards in the past six years. To face up
to these complex economic, social and environmental challenges, to deliver
better outcomes for all our people, and to ultimately realise our 2040 vision, we
must work together - and at tremendous speed.
Under

We, like you, believe in localism and devolution, not centralisation and control.
No one understands your iwi like your iwi does. So, where iwi and community
providers are best at delivering results for your whānau - for example, in
childhood immunisations, which was a big programme we funded late last year
- we’ll power them up. With that comes accountability for spending public
money and for delivering improved results.
Released

So, we will keep talking – sometimes boisterously, always sincerely, I hope
respectfully and, I believe, ultimately productively. And alongside the kōrero, in
te reo Māori and in English, we need action. Because it’s action that will create
tangible improvements in our people’s daily lives.

6

This Waitangi Day, I renew this Government’s commitment to helping all New
Zealanders, Māori and non-Māori, get ahead, and to giving all our children and
grandchildren hope for a prosperous and secure future here in this great
country.

That goal, and many others, are entirely in our grasp. We can realise them
together.

1982
Finally, I say to you that this event, on this marae, and our lifestyles, would
have been unimaginable to the people who stood here 184 years ago. But the
Act
most fundamental human aspirations are universal – to watch our whānau and
families grow in peace and prosperity, to provide for them, to see them flourish
and get ahead, to protect and enjoy the environment, to enjoy the freedom of
cultural expression, and to know we have an even better future. There is no
better country in the world than this to make that a reality.

No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.  Thank you.


Information

Official
the
Under
Released

7

1982
Act
Information
Official
the
Under
Released

1982
Act
Information
Official
the
Under
Released

we know that in the years that followed, the promise and the obligations of the Treaty
were not upheld by the Crown.

Part of the history of modern New Zealand has been our struggle to understand the
intentions and expectations of those who signed the Treaty, and how we should act as
a result. That work is still happening and will keep going.

Every nation’s past is imperfect. But no other country has attempted to right its
historical wrongs or dared to undertake such an ambitious national reconciliation
project as we have. While the journey continues, all New Zealanders can take pride. It
1982
has required a generosity of spirit from both Iwi and the Crown to restore mana. For all
the pain that process has sometimes entailed, we are a better, more open-minded
and, I think, more tolerant country because of it.
Act

The Treaty is our past, present and future. It has shaped the country we have become,
and the obligations it imposes on both sides will always be with us. However, we must
aspire to go forward not as two sides, but together as New Zealanders because there
is more that unites us than divides us.

However, unity doesn’t mean all of us being or thinking exactly the same. We can
value our differences, debate them constructively while respecting each other, and still
find a pathway to a better future together. New Zealand has demonstrated the
courage to identify, name and wrestle with its differences and challenges throughout
Information
its history. And we will, and we must, keep doing that.

The arc of New Zealand’s history and progress is not linear, but our experience of the
last 184 years should give us tremendous confidence that we can shape our future
and thrive in the 21st century.

Official
That, if you like, is my preamble to my vision for 2040.

I believe New Zealand is the best country on earth. We have unlimited potential, and
the
everything we need to be successful - the best people, a country well positioned in the
middle of the Asia Pacific region, and a liberal democracy with well-established social
institutions. We are a multi-cultural nation built on strong bi-cultural foundations, with
an acute sense of fairness and a willingness to lend a hand to those who need it.

There are simply no excuses for why we can’t do exceptionally well and be one of the
Under
world's leading, advanced small countries.

By 2040 we will have built a bigger, more productive, smarter, modern 21st century
economy that will generate the wealth required to pay for all the things that we need
and want to improve the lives of our people.
Imagine a New Zealand where a world class education is setting all of our kids up to
take on those higher paying jobs and to do well for themselves.

Released
Imagine a country that embraces technology and innovation to reduce our isolation
and so we can sell more valuable exports and earn bigger incomes.
Imagine a country with modern and reliable infrastructure to make all our lives easier

and our communities more resilient and prosperous.
  Imagine a New Zealand that encourages businesses with less red tape so iwi and
others with good ideas don’t have such a struggle to realise them, and can grow and
offer more job opportunities and higher wages.
  And imagine an outward looking country hustling and connected to the world so it’s
easier to make the most of all the global opportunities that exist.

By 2040 we will be the best place and society in the world to be a child, to raise a
1982
family, and to make a contribution to your community.
Imagine a New Zealand where every 5-year-old, walking for the first time through the
gates of their kura or school, does so with a similar chance of success when theyAct
leave school.
And whoever they are and wherever they come from, imagine every single child
being safe and well-supported at home so they genuinely have an equal opportunity
to do well at school.

·    Imagine a New Zealand that provides better access to quality healthcare and
actually delivers improved health outcomes for everyone. Where parents of Māori
children do not wonder if their tamariki will live 6-7 years less than other children.

Information
·    Imagine a country where every Kiwi has a safe, warm, dry home.

·    Imagine a country that always helps Kiwis in genuine need with a social safety net,
but also has less people dependent on welfare and needing support from their
fellow citizens because work pays.

·
Official
   Imagine a New Zealand with less crime and victims of crime where people feel safe
in their own homes, businesses or communities. Because at the heart of our society
sits the notion that we have both rights and responsibilities to each other and to our
country, and people are leading more productive and useful lives.
the

·    Imagine a New Zealand where Te Aō Māori is flourishing, where the enduring
relationship between the Crown and Iwi improves services and outcomes for
tangata whenua, where Treaty settlements have all been completed, and some of
New Zealand’s most successful enterprises nationally and internationally are iwi
businesses who are using their profits to invest in their people, their rohe, and more
Under
business growth.

·    Imagine a place where our multi-cultural society is a source of pride for all of us.

By 2040, we will be well on track to deliver our Net Carbon Zero goals by 2050.
Imagine a New Zealand with abundant renewable energy that is using science and
technology to solve our environmental challenges and to preserve our biodiversity.

Released
Well, I don’t just imagine these things. I am leading a government that is determined to
achieve this 2040 vision. I want to see us get our mojo back - a much more confident,
positive and ambitious New Zealand. But we will only do it with everyone stepping up
and pitching in together.

We have 16 years to achieve that vision, and you have asked what we need to do in
the next 3 years to make progress towards it. The answer quite simply is - “lots”, and
we look forward to engaging more with you on it. But as the Chinese text says, “a
journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.

Over the coming three years, this Government will be relentlessly focused on
improving the economy because it underscores the standard of living of every single
one of us, every family and hapū, and every community and iwi in this country. The
struggle with the cost of living is one of the financial legacies of the previous
1982
government that spent too much, borrowed too much, and left nothing to show for it
except rising debt, high inflation, high interest rates, a shrinking economy, and a lot of
extra jobs in Wellington.
Act

So, we have to, as a first step, get the Government’s books back in order. We will
make savings and some will go to improving services for New Zealanders. Some
savings will have to be used to pay off the huge debt Labour left the country, and
some will be returned to you as tax relief. You earned that money and right now, you
could do with keeping more of it to make things just a bit easier at home.

We will focus on restoring law and order because Kiwis deserve to feel safe in their
own homes, businesses and communities. Under the previous Government, violent
crime, retail crime, and youth offending spiralled out of control, causing enormous pain
Information
and suffering for too many Kiwis. That’s not fair and that’s not right.

The Government’s third priority for this term is delivering better public services – with a
particular focus on health and education. Things like shorter wait times to see a
specialist, or be treated in an Emergency Department, and better school attendance
and achievement. We’ll be setting targets for many of these goals and holding
Official
ourselves accountable for achieving them.

I’ve spoken a lot about education since becoming Leader of the National Party and I
the
will continue to do so, because it is the thing that worries me the most. How can a first-
world country have 55% of our kids not attending school regularly and our children not
knowing the basics well? It’s a future moral and economic disaster.

So, our Government will do its part by backing our Kaupapa Māori education system,
reintroducing partnership schools, investing in structured literacy, teaching the basics
Under
well, and setting clear targets focussed on attendance and achievement so that our
kids can have the futures they all deserve.

Let me end with a message to iwi: I want Te Aō Māori to thrive. When Māori do well,
we all know it, New Zealand does well.

My view is that despite all the words and rhetoric, outcomes for Māori, and indeed all
New Zealanders, went backwards in the past six years. To face up to these complex
Released
economic, social and environmental challenges, to deliver better outcomes for all our
people, and to ultimately realise our 2040 vision, we must work together - and at
tremendous speed.

1982
Act
Information
Official
the
Under
Released

Document 22
1
WAITANGI DAY – 05 JAN 2024
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, rau rangatira ma. Tēnā koutou katoa.
He tino mihi ki te mana whenua o tēnei rohe.
Mihi mai, mihi mai, mihi mai.
Te whare e tū nei, tēnā koe.
He-wāhi whakahirahira tēnei mō Aotearoa.
Ka huri nga whakaaro, ki nga mate. Moe mai.
Te hunga ora, tēnā tātou.
1982
Thank you Ngā Puhi, Te Tai Tokerau iwi and the Waitangi National Trust for
Act
once again hosting these ceremonies commemorating the signing of Te Tiriti o
Waitangi.
Waitangi Day is an opportunity to pause and reflect on the foundations of our
nation – our history – and to look forward. So, thank you for prompting us in
this forum to answer two questions: 1) Where do we want to be as a nation by
2040? And 2) What do we need to focus on in the next three years to get
there? Both are good and timely questions.
Information
Now, no journey begins fresh out of nowhere.
All of us are shaped by our parents, families, hapū, faith, community, iwi,
ethnicity, nationality and environment.
Official
But the pasts of every one of us are more than a lineage of ancestors recorded
on a family tree or tupuna on the wharenui walls. Our pasts are also the stories
the
of what happened to our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents
because those events have contributed in some way to who we are today.
The nation has a past of its own. It is partly the sum of the pasts of its citizens,
but also is a history of events - the great and the small, the planned and the
Under
unexpected, the triumphs and the setbacks, the good and the bad.
184 years ago today, and seven decades after Cook sailed south from Tahiti,
Crown representatives and Māori came together to sign Te Tiriti o Waitangi –
The Treaty of Waitangi - a foundational event in New Zealand’s history.
On the 6th of February 1840, Hobson and the chiefs assembled here at
Released
Waitangi. And they were people just like us, who were trying to navigate their
way towards a united, stable, peaceful and prosperous future.

7

1982
Act
Information
Official
the
Under
Released

1982
Act
Information
Official
the
Under
Released

events have contributed in some way to who we are today.

The nation has a past of its own. It is partly the sum of the pasts of its citizens, but also
is a history of events - the great and the small, the planned and the unexpected, the
triumphs and the setbacks, the good and the bad.

184 years ago today, and seven decades after Cook sailed south from Tahiti, Crown
representatives and Māori came together to sign Te Tiriti o Waitangi – The Treaty of
Waitangi - a foundational event in New Zealand’s history.

1982
On the 6th of February 1840, Hobson and the chiefs assembled here at Waitangi. And
they were people just like us, who were trying to navigate their way towards a united,
stable, peaceful and prosperous future.
Act

We know that they likely had different understandings of what they were doing. And
we know that in the years that followed, the promise and the obligations of the Treaty
were not upheld by the Crown.

Part of the history of modern New Zealand has been our struggle to understand the
intentions and expectations of those who signed the Treaty, and how we should act as
a result. That work is still happening and will keep going.

Every nation’s past is imperfect. But no other country has attempted to right its
Information
historical wrongs or dared to undertake such an ambitious national reconciliation
project as we have. While the journey continues, all New Zealanders can take pride. It
has required a generosity of spirit from both Iwi and the Crown to restore mana. For all
the pain that process has sometimes entailed, we are a better, more open-minded
and, I think, more tolerant country because of it.

Official
The Treaty is our past, present and future. It has shaped the country we have become,
and the obligations it imposes on both sides will always be with us. However, we must
aspire to go forward not as two sides, but together as New Zealanders because there
the
is more that unites us than divides us.

However, unity doesn’t mean all of us being or thinking exactly the same. We can
value our differences, debate them constructively while respecting each other, and still
find a pathway to a better future together. New Zealand has demonstrated the
courage to identify, name and wrestle with its differences and challenges throughout
Under
its history. And we will, and we must, keep doing that.

The arc of New Zealand’s history and progress is not linear, but our experience of the
last 184 years should give us tremendous confidence that we can shape our future
and thrive in the 21st century.

That, if you like, is my preamble to my vision for 2040.

Released
I believe New Zealand is the best country on earth. We have unlimited potential, and
everything we need to be successful - the best people, a country well positioned in the
middle of the Asia Pacific region, and a liberal democracy with well-established social
institutions. We are a multi-cultural nation built on strong bi-cultural foundations, with

an acute sense of fairness and a willingness to lend a hand to those who need it.

There are simply no excuses for why we can’t do exceptionally well and be one of the
world's leading, advanced small countries.

By 2040 we will have built a bigger, more productive, smarter, modern 21st century
economy that will generate the wealth required to pay for all the things that we need
and want to improve the lives of our people.
Imagine a New Zealand where a world class education is setting all of our kids up
to take on those higher paying jobs and to do well for themselves.
1982
  Imagine a country that embraces technology and innovation to reduce our
isolation and so we can sell more valuable exports and earn bigger incomes. Act

Imagine a country with modern and reliable infrastructure to make all our lives
easier and our communities more resilient and prosperous.

Imagine a New Zealand that encourages businesses with less red tape so iwi and
others with good ideas don’t have such a struggle to realise them, and can grow
and offer more job opportunities and higher wages.

And imagine an outward looking country hustling and connected to the world so
it’s easier to make the most of all the global opportunities that exist.
Information

By 2040 we will be the best place and society in the world to be a child, to raise a
family, and to make a contribution to your community.
Imagine a New Zealand where every 5-year-old, walking for the first time through
the gates of their kura or school, does so with a similar chance of success when
they leave school.
Official
And whoever they are and wherever they come from, imagine every single child
being safe and well-supported at home so they genuinely have an equal opportunity
to do well at school.
the

·    Imagine a New Zealand that provides better access to quality healthcare and
actually delivers improved health outcomes for everyone. Where parents of Māori
children do not wonder if their tamariki will live 6-7 years less than other children.

Under
·    Imagine a country where every Kiwi has a safe, warm, dry home.

·    Imagine a country that always helps Kiwis in genuine need with a social safety net,
but also has less people dependent on welfare and needing support from their
fellow citizens because work pays.

·    Imagine a New Zealand with less crime and victims of crime where people feel safe
in their own homes, businesses or communities. Because at the heart of our society
sits the notion that we have both rights and responsibilities to each other and to our
Released
country, and people are leading more productive and useful lives.

·    Imagine a New Zealand where Te Aō Māori is flourishing, where the enduring
relationship between the Crown and Iwi improves services and outcomes for

tangata whenua, where Treaty settlements have all been completed, and some of
New Zealand’s most successful enterprises nationally and internationally are iwi
businesses who are using their profits to invest in their people, their rohe, and more
business growth.

· Imagine a place where our multi-cultural society is a source of pride for all of us.

By 2040, we will be well on track to deliver our Net Carbon Zero goals by 2050.
Imagine a New Zealand with abundant renewable energy that is using science
and technology to solve our environmental challenges and to preserve our
1982
biodiversity.

Well, I don’t just imagine these things. I am leading a government that is determined to
Act
achieve this 2040 vision. I want to see us get our mojo back - a much more confident,
positive and ambitious New Zealand. But we will only do it with everyone stepping up
and pitching in together.

We have 16 years to achieve that vision, and you have asked what we need to do in
the next 3 years to make progress towards it. The answer quite simply is - “lots”, and
we look forward to engaging more with you on it. But as the Chinese text says, “a
journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.

Over the coming three years, this Government will be relentlessly focused on
Information
improving the economy because it underscores the standard of living of every single
one of us, every family and hapū, and every community and iwi in this country. The
struggle with the cost of living is one of the financial legacies of the previous
government that spent too much, borrowed too much, and left nothing to show for it
except rising debt, high inflation, high interest rates, a shrinking economy, and a lot of
extra jobs in Wellington.
Official

So, we have to, as a first step, get the Government’s books back in order. We will
make savings and some will go to improving services for New Zealanders. Some
the
savings will have to be used to pay off the huge debt Labour left the country, and
some will be returned to you as tax relief. You earned that money and right now, you
could do with keeping more of it to make things just a bit easier at home.

We will focus on restoring law and order because Kiwis deserve to feel safe in their
own homes, businesses and communities. Under the previous Government, violent
Under
crime, retail crime, and youth offending spiralled out of control, causing enormous pain
and suffering for too many Kiwis. That’s not fair and that’s not right.

The Government’s third priority for this term is delivering better public services – with a
particular focus on health and education. Things like shorter wait times to see a
specialist, or be treated in an Emergency Department, and better school attendance
and achievement. We’ll be setting targets for many of these goals and holding
ourselves accountable for achieving them.
Released

I’ve spoken a lot about education since becoming Leader of the National Party and I
will continue to do so, because it is the thing that worries me the most. How can a first-
world country have 55% of our kids not attending school regularly and our children not

knowing the basics well? It’s a future moral and economic disaster.

So, our Government will do its part by backing our Kaupapa Māori education system,
reintroducing partnership schools, investing in structured literacy, teaching the basics
well, and setting clear targets focussed on attendance and achievement so that our
kids can have the futures they all deserve.

Let me end with a message to iwi: I want Te Aō Māori to thrive. When Māori do well,
we all know it, New Zealand does well.

1982
My view is that despite all the words and rhetoric, outcomes for Māori, and indeed all
New Zealanders, went backwards in the past six years. To face up to these complex
economic, social and environmental challenges, to deliver better outcomes for all our
Act
people, and to ultimately realise our 2040 vision, we must work together - and at
tremendous speed.

We, like you, believe in localism and devolution, not centralisation and control. No one
understands your iwi like your iwi does. So, where iwi and community providers are
best at delivering results for your whānau - for example, in childhood immunisations,
which was a big programme we funded late last year - we’ll power them up. With that
comes accountability for spending public money and for delivering improved results.

So, we will keep talking – sometimes boisterously, always sincerely, I hope
Information
respectfully and, I believe, ultimately productively. And alongside the kōrero, in te reo
Māori and in English, we need action. Because it’s action that will create tangible
improvements in our people’s daily lives.

This Waitangi Day, I renew this Government’s commitment to helping all New
Zealanders, Māori and non-Māori, get ahead, and to giving all our children and
Official
grandchildren hope for a prosperous and secure future here in this great country.

That goal, and many others, are entirely in our grasp. We can realise them together.
the

Finally, I say to you that this event, on this marae, and our lifestyles, would have been
unimaginable to the people who stood here 184 years ago. But the most fundamental
human aspirations are universal – to watch our whānau and families grow in peace
and prosperity, to provide for them, to see them flourish and get ahead, to protect and
enjoy the environment, to enjoy the freedom of cultural expression, and to know we
Under
have an even better future. There is no better country in the world than this to make
that a reality.

No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa. Thank you.

Released

1982
Act
Information
Official
the
Under
Released

family tree or tupuna on the wharenui walls. Our pasts are also the stories of what
happened to our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents because those
events have contributed in some way to who we are today.

The nation has a past of its own. It is partly the sum of the pasts of its citizens, but also
is a history of events - the great and the small, the planned and the unexpected, the
triumphs and the setbacks, the good and the bad.

184 years ago today, and seven decades after Cook sailed south from Tahiti, Crown
representatives and Māori came together to sign Te Tiriti o Waitangi – The Treaty of
1982
Waitangi - a foundational event in New Zealand’s history.

On the 6th of February 1840, Hobson and the chiefs assembled here at Waitangi. And
Act
they were people just like us, who were trying to navigate their way towards a united,
stable, peaceful and prosperous future.

We know that they likely had different understandings of what they were doing. And
we know that in the years that followed, the promise and the obligations of the Treaty
were not upheld by the Crown.

Part of the history of modern New Zealand has been our struggle to understand the
intentions and expectations of those who signed the Treaty, and how we should act as
a result. That work is still happening and will keep going.
Information

Every nation’s past is imperfect. But no other country has attempted to right its
historical wrongs or dared to undertake such an ambitious national reconciliation
project as we have. While the journey continues, all New Zealanders can take pride. It
has required a generosity of spirit from both Iwi and the Crown to restore mana. For all
the pain that process has sometimes entailed, we are a better, more open-minded
Official
and, I think, more tolerant country because of it.

The Treaty is our past, present and future. It has shaped the country we have become,
the
and the obligations it imposes on both sides will always be with us. However, we must
aspire to go forward not as two sides, but together as New Zealanders because there
is more that unites us than divides us.

However, unity doesn’t mean all of us being or thinking exactly the same. We can
Under
value our differences, debate them constructively while respecting each other, and still
find a pathway to a better future together. New Zealand has demonstrated the
courage to identify, name and wrestle with its differences and challenges throughout
its history. And we will, and we must, keep doing that.

The arc of New Zealand’s history and progress is not linear, but our experience of the
last 184 years should give us tremendous confidence that we can shape our future
and thrive in the 21st century.

Released
That, if you like, is my preamble to my vision for 2040.

I believe New Zealand is the best country on earth. We have unlimited potential, and
everything we need to be successful - the best people, a country well positioned in the

middle of the Asia Pacific region, and a liberal democracy with well-established social
institutions. We are a multi-cultural nation built on strong bi-cultural foundations, with
an acute sense of fairness and a willingness to lend a hand to those who need it.

There are simply no excuses for why we can’t do exceptionally well and be one of the
world's leading, advanced small countries.

By 2040 we will have built a bigger, more productive, smarter, modern 21st century
economy that will generate the wealth required to pay for all the things that we need
and want to improve the lives of our people.
1982
Imagine a New Zealand where a world class education is setting all of our kids up
to take on those higher paying jobs and to do well for themselves.

Act
Imagine a country that embraces technology and innovation to reduce our
isolation and so we can sell more valuable exports and earn bigger incomes.

Imagine a country with modern and reliable infrastructure to make all our lives
easier and our communities more resilient and prosperous.

Imagine a New Zealand that encourages businesses with less red tape so iwi and
others with good ideas don’t have such a struggle to realise them, and can grow
and offer more job opportunities and higher wages.

Information
And imagine an outward looking country hustling and connected to the world so
it’s easier to make the most of all the global opportunities that exist.

By 2040 we will be the best place and society in the world to be a child, to raise a
family, and to make a contribution to your community.
Imagine a New Zealand where every 5-year-old, walking for the first time through
Official
the gates of their kura or school, does so with a similar chance of success when
they leave school.
And whoever they are and wherever they come from, imagine every single child
the
being safe and well-supported at home so they genuinely have an equal opportunity
to do well at school.

Imagine a New Zealand that provides better access to quality healthcare and actually
delivers improved health outcomes for everyone. Where parents of Māori children
do not wonder if their tamariki will live 6-7 years less than other children.
Under

Imagine a country where every Kiwi has a safe, warm, dry home.

Imagine a country that always helps Kiwis in genuine need with a social safety net, but
also has less people dependent on welfare and needing support from their fellow
citizens because work pays.

Imagine a New Zealand with less crime and victims of crime where people feel safe in
Released
their own homes, businesses or communities. Because at the heart of our society
sits the notion that we have both rights and responsibilities to each other and to our
country, and people are leading more productive and useful lives.

Imagine a New Zealand where Te Aō Māori is flourishing, where the enduring
relationship between the Crown and Iwi improves services and outcomes for
tangata whenua, where Treaty settlements have all been completed, and some of
New Zealand’s most successful enterprises nationally and internationally are iwi
businesses who are using their profits to invest in their people, their rohe, and more
business growth.

Imagine a place where our multi-cultural society is a source of pride for all of us.

By 2040, we will be well on track to deliver our Net Carbon Zero goals by 2050.
1982
Imagine a New Zealand with abundant renewable energy that is using science
and technology to solve our environmental challenges and to preserve our
biodiversity.
Act

Well, I don’t just imagine these things. I am leading a government that is determined to
achieve this 2040 vision. I want to see us get our mojo back - a much more confident,
positive and ambitious New Zealand. But we will only do it with everyone stepping up
and pitching in together.

We have 16 years to achieve that vision, and you have asked what we need to do in
the next 3 years to make progress towards it. The answer quite simply is - “lots”, and
we look forward to engaging more with you on it. But as the Chinese text says, “a
journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. Information

Over the coming three years, this Government will be relentlessly focused on
improving the economy because it underscores the standard of living of every single
one of us, every family and hapū, and every community and iwi in this country. The
struggle with the cost of living is one of the financial legacies of the previous
government that spent too much, borrowed too much, and left nothing to show for it
Official
except rising debt, high inflation, high interest rates, a shrinking economy, and a lot of
extra jobs in Wellington.

the
So, we have to, as a first step, get the Government’s books back in order. We will
make savings and some will go to improving services for New Zealanders. Some
savings will have to be used to pay off the huge debt Labour left the country, and
some will be returned to you as tax relief. You earned that money and right now, you
could do with keeping more of it to make things just a bit easier at home.

Under
We will focus on restoring law and order because Kiwis deserve to feel safe in their
own homes, businesses and communities. Under the previous Government, violent
crime, retail crime, and youth offending spiralled out of control, causing enormous pain
and suffering for too many Kiwis. That’s not fair and that’s not right.

The Government’s third priority for this term is delivering better public services – with a
particular focus on health and education. Things like shorter wait times to see a
specialist, or be treated in an Emergency Department, and better school attendance
Released
and achievement. We’ll be setting targets for many of these goals and holding
ourselves accountable for achieving them.

I’ve spoken a lot about education since becoming Leader of the National Party and I

will continue to do so, because it is the thing that worries me the most. How can a first-
world country have 55% of our kids not attending school regularly and our children not
knowing the basics well? It’s a future moral and economic disaster.

So, our Government will do its part by backing our Kaupapa Māori education system,
reintroducing partnership schools, investing in structured literacy, teaching the basics
well, and setting clear targets focussed on attendance and achievement so that our
kids can have the futures they all deserve.

Let me end with a message to iwi: I want Te Aō Māori to thrive. When Māori do well,
1982
we all know it, New Zealand does well.

My view is that despite all the words and rhetoric, outcomes for Māori, and indeed all
Act
New Zealanders, went backwards in the past six years. To face up to these complex
economic, social and environmental challenges, to deliver better outcomes for all our
people, and to ultimately realise our 2040 vision, we must work together - and at
tremendous speed.

We, like you, believe in localism and devolution, not centralisation and control. No one
understands your iwi like your iwi does. So, where iwi and community providers are
best at delivering results for your whānau - for example, in childhood immunisations,
which was a big programme we funded late last year - we’ll power them up. With that
comes accountability for spending public money and for delivering improved results.
Information

So, we will keep talking – sometimes boisterously, always sincerely, I hope
respectfully and, I believe, ultimately productively. And alongside the kōrero, in te reo
Māori and in English, we need action. Because it’s action that will create tangible
improvements in our people’s daily lives.

Official
This Waitangi Day, I renew this Government’s commitment to helping all New
Zealanders, Māori and non-Māori, get ahead, and to giving all our children and
grandchildren hope for a prosperous and secure future here in this great country.
the

That goal, and many others, are entirely in our grasp. We can realise them together.

Finally, I say to you that this event, on this marae, and our lifestyles, would have been
unimaginable to the people who stood here 184 years ago. But the most fundamental
human aspirations are universal – to watch our whānau and families grow in peace
Under
and prosperity, to provide for them, to see them flourish and get ahead, to protect and
enjoy the environment, to enjoy the freedom of cultural expression, and to know we
have an even better future. There is no better country in the world than this to make
that a reality.

No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa. Thank you.

Released

1982
Act
Information
Official
the
Under
Released