Ē ngā iwi, ē ngā reo, ē ngā mana rangatira ō te motu, he mihi maioha tēnei ki ā koutou katoa.

He mihi hoki ki ō tātau tūpuna, ki ngā tāongā tuku iho, i whakarērea mai ē rātau, hei tauira, hei korowai manāaki mai i a tātau i ngā wā katoa.

Nō reira, nau mai, hāere mai, ki tēnei hui-ā-motu.

I want to thank the organisers of this event, Suicide Prevention Information New Zealand, and their partners Te Rau Mataini, the Ministry of Health and Regional Public Health, for your leadership and investment in our future, by hosting this symposium.

Six years ago, at the spectacular celebration of Irihapeti Ramsden, the late Michael King stood and spoke on this marae, quoting a phrase from the words of Timi Kaara, Sir James Carroll.  He said,

“my mind is a hive to which home a thousand honeyed memories”.

And so it is, that whenever I come to Pipitea a thousand honeyed memories flood in – of Irihapeti – and of many others. 

I remember other tangi; I think about the kapa haka I have seen here; I recall the excitement of hui; I remember launchings of strategies; the dignity of Ngati Poneke and always I remember the people.

Just above this marae is the site of Pipitea pa, the space of many other memories – the histories of Ngati Mutunga; of Patukawenga and Te Poki; of Te Atiawa.

While the memories may be unique to Pipitea Marae, the process of reliving treasured relationships can occur in any setting; and often does.

It comes with that quiet hongi of our kuia who rub our faces, and whisper ‘tena koutou’ – immediately connecting to the tupuna who gave us life.

It comes with the poignancy of a special song, as we think back to the people we associate it with.  It comes with the phenomenon of déjà vu, that sense of having been here before.

And so it is, as I travelled here this morning to open this symposium, my mind wandered to our whanau who have lost loved ones to the destruction of suicide. 

It is in memory of those who have passed on that I stand here with utter determination to say that we must do all we can, to build on our strengths and improve the well-being of our whanau.

Suicide has touched too many of our whanau and too many communities in Aotearoa where we are disproportionately represented in the rates of both completed suicide and suicide attempts. 

In my role as Associate Minister of Health with special responsibility for Maori health, I am adamant that we must do everything we can to sustain life, to survive the challenges that come with it, and to work together in the pursuit of whanau ora.

I am proud to announce that today, on World Suicide Prevention Day, we are focusing on the role of culture in suicide prevention.  And I say proud, deliberately.

Proud because it is about time,

Proud because we join our indigenous family across the world in recognising suicide prevention in different cultures.

Proud because this symposium has acknowledged that together there is much potential to make a difference, to invest in our collective will to restore the health of the people.

Proud to be tangata whenua, and to celebrate all that can be called on in our culture, our whakapapa, our stories to create whanau ora.

Story-making is an essential part of the cloak we wrap around us, to build our resilience, to strengthen our sense of self.

And in thinking of stories, I just have to share with you how special this time of year is to our whanau.

It is almost a year ago, that 32 of us, of all ages and stages, crowded into the maternity ward to witness the birth of a special mokopuna – the baby of my mokopuna, the grandson of my son.

It was an incredible moment for us as a whanau as we lay our eyes on Nga Wairiki Pahia Ramiha Potaka Turia-Gawler.

As we welcomed him into the world, back home in Whanganui our Kui Te Manawanui Pauro celebrated her 101st year at Pakaitore, and so as we approach our mokopuna’s first birthday we also remember that very special connection that spans a century.

Nga Wairiki and Nanny Nui represent to me, everything that I would want for our whanau.  In fact, I think this may be what Trina Markland means, in her workshop, ‘To infinity and beyond – whanau ora across the lifespan’.

The security of whanau all around you; the knowledge of your unique whakapapa, the ancestral ties that connect you to tupuna, proud and noble.  

There is no doubt how greatly they are loved; how they are at the very heart of our whanau; that their wellbeing is our collective concern.

We know our mokopuna will have access to all the taonga that is ours to share – to speak his own language, to value his taonga, to know the meaning of kaupapa tuku iho and the tikanga that lead from them. 

He will be raised in many homes and many hearts, where healthy relationships are cherished, and people take responsibility for each other.

Nanny Nui has inspired us and motivated us to live like this; to value and respect all who belong to us; to realise our roles, our functions and our responsibilities.

We look also, to the mountains that connect us to Ranginui, the Skyfather and Papatuanuku, our Earth mother.  There are the waters that caress the land, the rivers, the wellspring of new life; healing waters that flow.

We are rich in the wealth of our people; our tribal connections; our relationship to our lands, our special places, our home.

This then, is whanau ora – the cultural x factor – our source of greatest protection.

I remember the haunting lyrics of the serenade to Norma Jean, which stands as an enduring memorial to the legend of Marilyn Monroe.

It seems to me, you lived your life,

like a candle in the wind

Never knowing who to cling to, when the rain set in

And it reminds me of all of the research which identifies that if a person is in touch with their culture; their identity; and they have strong whanau support, then they are far more likely to be able to sustain disappointments, to survive challenges, and to live.

Whoever said that suicide was painless, forgot about families, forgot about friends, forgot about communities.   All of these are directly damaged by the impact of death by suicide, in ways which are hard to comprehend, let alone talk about.

And yet, we must talk, we must share, we must communicate.

All of us know the heartbreak that comes when a relationship ends.  The challenge is to make sure that our more vulnerable young ones have other significant relationships and experiences to live for, once the pain subsides.

Today I wanted to share some of my stories, as a way of reminding ourselves that suicide is preventable; that whanau ora is a reality; and that our aspirations for achieving health and wellbeing for our whanau can be transformed into tangible outcomes that truly make the difference.

I know that what will follow in this symposium is destined to make the difference.  

I am so pleased that Professor Mason Durie is able to share his wisdom with you about ways to support and strengthen whanau. 

Dr Tracy Westerman will enhance our knowledge further, through her experiences of preventing suicide amongst indigenous Australians.

And I am particularly thrilled that the symposium will learn from the efforts of the Kia Piki te Ora Community Development programme.  At its time it was the icon, and the way forward.   I am always mindful that when we come up with new strategies we must not forget those who which have brought us to this point in time.

There are seven Kia Piki te Ora sites throughout Aotearoa, including at home in Whanganui, and I want to extend my thanks to all of those hard workers who do so much at the local level to address issues.  They do the mahi – taking practical steps to connect and relate – doing what they can to ensure we all know who to cling to, when the rain sets in.

Finally, we have no option but to be successful. 

Each of us has our special mokopuna; our precious kuia and koroua to inspire us, to guide us, and to remind us of the wonder of whanau. 

We must reach far and wide across our whanau; to establish the deepest respect for life; the greatest pride in each other; and the unshakeable belief in mauri ora as the very essence of who we are.

LAUNCHING OF TE WHAKAURUORA

I want to acknowledge all of the dedicated groups and individuals who have put together Te Whakauruora, the new Maori suicide prevention resource.

Today we recognise each and every one of them, for their korero, their aroha, their patience, their tolerance, their advocacy and perseverance to reach this particular part of the journey and to officially launch Te Whakauruora.

I am really confident that it will contribute to the work.  One of things I want to say, is that it is always wonderful to have these words and this work, to inspire us on our journey. 

But as we talk about implementation there has to be the resource behind it, to give the words life.

We know that Kia Piki te ora o te tai tamariki could have done better but there was not enough investment made.   And so I want to make it clear to the Ministry of Health, and to others, that we can’t get our people to put these resources out and not resource them appropriately.

I trust the Ministry of Health and indeed the other Ministries will play their respective roles in ensuring this taongā is fully implemented in a manner that will meet all of our expectations; and I will certainly be keeping a watchful eye out for all of us.

Finally I want to draw your attention to the images of the tui, and the kopara, the female bellbird, that feature right throughout the resource – and the wonderful photographs taken by a 15 year old.

They challenge us in a symbolic wake up call, to focus on the music of life, to immerse ourselves in the song of whanau ora; to enlighten ourselves to keep our sights fixed on the wellbeing of our people.

I am proud to be here to launch another resource for our people as a guide for our people moving onwards.

Tena tatou katoa.