Fox Marama: Customs and Excise (Tobacco Products—Budget Measures) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third ReadingText is subject to correctionFox Marama: Customs and Excise (Tobacco Products—Budget Measures) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading[Sitting date: 26 May 2016. Volume:714;Page:11456. Text is subject to correction.]MARAMA FOX (Co-Leader—Māori Party): The Hon Dame Tariana Turia in 6 years as Associate Minister of Health made remarkable contributions to reducing smoking in New Zealand. She introduced no fewer than four pieces of legislation including the annual increases to tobacco excise rates that began in 2010 which will now run to 2020. She was also responsible for banning retail displays of tobacco products reducing duty-free allowances and introducing the plain packaging bill to Parliament. As a result adult smoking rates fell from 21 percent in 2006 to a record low of 15 percent in 2013. Her tireless and relentless focus in the face of constant criticism and challenge is testament to her leadership. There is no doubt that she achieved more in terms of reducing the smoking burden carried by Māori than any other politician ever.Some 15 percent of adult New Zealanders or 550000 people smoke daily. This is a record low but it does not tell the whole story. You see the problem is that the smoking rates are still 35 percent for Māori and 22.4 percent for Pasifika peoples. That is hundreds of our whānau dying needlessly every year so we must carry on and do more. We can all bemoan the increases to cigarette prices but the greatest price we all pay is seeing too many of our whānau go to their graves early through the harmful effects of smoking.In fact I cannot remember a time when I have been to a funeral of one of our old people or young people where the death was from natural causes. In 27 years—because that is how old I am—of going to funerals of my whānau over and over and over again not once can I remember someone dying of natural causes. The majority of them died from smoking-related illnesses and for the rest of those who smoke half of them will die—half of all people who smoke will die from smoking-related illnesses—and the rest will be sick.We must do something to halt the decline because this is about whakapapa. This is about retaining our whakapapa for our future for our tamariki our mokopuna. We are losing our people far too early. The disparity for Māori in the death rate is 8 to 10 years. They die 8 to 10 years earlier than non-Māori. My entire family of in-laws died before the age of 70 and half of them died before the age of 60. It is not good enough. For most of them it was all from smoking-related illnesses. We must look after ourselves and each other. We must do all we can to support whānau to thrive and having our urupā overflowing with whānau who have died from smoking-related illnesses is wrong.This is not about having a crack at the smokers. The Māori Party kaupapa is manaakitanga and it extends to smokers too. Tariana’s focus was as much about having compassion for smokers as it was about preventing rangatahi from starting to smoke. We have no option but to carry on the legacy. It is a legacy piece of legislation—four pieces of legislation. I look forward to the day that we put the nail into the plain packaging legislation and get that back into the House and see it through. I commend this bill to the House. It is a start but we must do more.