DEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori): Tēnā koe e te Pīka, tēnā tātou e te Whare. I rise to speak to the first reading of the COVID 19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Bill. Te Paati Māori will not be supporting this bill. Experts and tangata whenua leaders have warned the Government about imposing one-size-fits-all vaccine mandates; they risk dividing Aotearoa and undermining the public health response. Mandates are an important tool that whānau, hapū, iwi, businesses, and communities should be empowered to use where and when they determine a need. We support them setting their own tikanga; rāhui are widely used in our communities. Informed consent must be a guiding principle, so that people can make the best possible decisions to protect their whānau from the virus and fully participate in society. Te Paati Māori are opposed to this Government's vaccine mandate system. The Crown does not have the constitutional right to impose mandates on tangata whenua, as our tino rangatiratanga to make these decisions for ourselves is enshrined in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.