I was perfectly fine growing my kūmara
and learning maramataka.
But this house kept tampering
with things they shouldn't be touching.
How does it feel to be the youngest
New Zealand MP in over 170 years?
Out the gate.
But also a huge, huge privilege
representing rangatahi Māori.
Wāhine.
At the moment
I guess there isn't
a lot of younger people
coming through politics
because the narrative
is actually quite disgusting.
The culture,
the rhetoric
that comes out of these spaces
and places
is actually quite traumatising.
My maiden speech
is dedicated to all our children.
No matter
what comes out of this government,
I will make sure our kids hear us.
To our mokopuna, they can attack me,
but I will not let them attack you.
When I'm with my friends,
when I'm in my community.
I'm not different to them.
I'm not an MP.
I'm just, Hana.
I shouldn’t
jinx myself with
this seat and
this
I guess, role or title.
Just being young,
being me
is the true way
of being authentically unapologetic.
We can say we have made it
inside the house.
And we have arrived.
We are here.
We are sailing.
We are navigating.
Just like our ancestors once did.
I didn't get in here
because I was a politician,
or because I was 47,
or I knew all the world's answers.
I got in here,
because I feel like I'm
very in touch with my whānau,
with my community.
And I'm 21, so I'm not going to change.
Do you go to parties?
Yes.
So, of course I do.
My best friends, they keep me so sane,
so grounded.
It's like, I don't want praises.
I want people to keep me accountable
and I want people to give me
constructive criticism
because that's how I will grow
and my friends can give it to me.
They'll say 'Girl! You’ve worn
the same skirt
three times already at your speeches’.
They force me to be me.
And that's... So cool.
I was given some advice
before making it into Parliament
to not take anything personally
or it’ll eat you up.
Well, Mr. Speaker,
I can't help but take everything
personally
that has been said in this chamber.
How can I not take anything personally
when it feels like these policies
were made about me?
One goal of mine is
for te iwi Māori
to be heard
by this house.
When you come into this place,
they want to take everything away
that you live
so naturally at home.
I live in a world where
I haven’t yet felt racism
within my hometown,
my reo and whenua
have not yet felt
suppressed.
And that's a luxury.
I'm questioning everything
that's coming out of this place,
because these policies almost
feel like they were made to discriminate
every single being of you in your world.
So,
Te ao Māori is the only world
I’ve ever known.
Nō reira,
tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou
tēnā rā tātou katoa.