Turia Tariana: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Turia Tariana: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:620;Page:15878] 
7.  
TARIANA TURIA (Leader—Maori Party) 
 to the  
Minister for Social Development and Employment 
: How many non-Maori organisations and individuals have come under review in connection with activities funded from the Social Entrepreneur Fund? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
: 
 Data on the ethnicity of the Social Entrepreneur Fund recipients was never recorded as the programme was not targeted to focus on particular ethnic groups. 
Tariana Turia 
: Were the problems with accountability and reconciliation created by a policy that allowed senior managers and the Minister to be one side of the responsibility to ensure that it worked; and why then did the social entrepreneur scheme fail given the highly successful Community Employment Group programme? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: My answer to the first question is no. As I said yesterday the changes in the Community Employment Group have come about because of change in the employment-unemployment environment which did lead to some struggling around programmes within that particular organisation. But it is now off I think in a very good direction—partly going to the Ministry of Social Development partly staying in the Department of Labour and partly moving to Te PuniKokiri. I imagine that the member will find as she moves around the country that there has been a lot of support for these changes. 
Moana Mackey 
: Will the reallocated Social Entrepreneur Fund still be available to communities? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: The answer is yes. The funding has been transferred to the Ministry of Social Development and will be made available to both Maori and non-Maori communities. More details will be announced later this month. 
Katherine Rich 
: When the Minister described the social entrepreneur scheme as a “ground-breaking initiative to support community champions movers and shakers and stunning examples of human innovation” did he agree with the Prime Minister’s comments that some aspects of his scheme were “loopy” and “silliness”? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: As I noted yesterday the idea of a social entrepreneur is widely used in jurisdictions all around the world. The US President for example recently pointed to his social entrepreneur scheme. I think the first round of grants contained a lot of quite stunning examples. I have listed one which was the grant to Mr Geoff Chapple who has been creating the walking path from one end of the country to the other. 
Katherine Rich 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question asked whether the Minister agreed with the Prime Minister’s statement. That was not addressed in that answer. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The first part of the question was addressed. If the member’s question has two parts the Minister can choose which part to answer. But if the Minister wants to add more he can. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I am sorry; I thought that all members in the House took it for granted that we always agree with the Prime Minister. 
Katherine Rich 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I have re-read my question and there were not two parts to it. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Minister took the opportunity to answer the question. If I was in error I apologise. 
Deborah Coddington 
: Precisely how does the Minister define a non-Maori organisation or community and can he confirm that the reason that so many Maori organisations have come under review is that under his Government’s race-based funding policy more Maori organisations receive funding in the first place? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: The question is completely irrelevant. As I pointed out in the beginning the Social Entrepreneur Fund recipients have not had their ethnicity recorded because ethnicity was not part of the funding model. 
Katherine Rich 
: Does the Minister stand by the statements he made at the 2001 social entrepreneur conference that the success of the social entrepreneur scheme was about promoting the concept particularly by wearing a kea lapel pin—the kea being the symbol of the social entrepreneur scheme—and does he recall saying: “I am going to wear this lapel pin as often as I can in the hope that people will say ‘What’s the story with the bird Steve?’ and I am going to tell them.”; if so what does he say now that the social entrepreneur scheme is as dead as a dodo? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I thank the member for repeating my speech. Could she repeat more of them? I quite like to hear the early ones come back again. I can tell the member that the kea badge is proudly displayed on my fridge. 
Tariana Turia 
: Why did the Social Entrepreneur Fund become driven by this Minister rather than responding to the needs in the community? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: This policy was driven of course and implemented by the members of the Community Employment Group—that is how policies get implemented. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The primary question that Tariana Turia asked would have had to go to the Clerk to be approved. The question interestingly asked: “How many non-Maori organisations”. The Minister said that was irrelevant because ethnicity is not an issue for those organisations. When I think about it I do not know whether—aside from the National Front—there are any non-Maori organisations in New Zealand. I do not think there are. The Clerk clearly must be thinking that there are non-Maori organisations to have approved such a question. I do not think the Minister agrees—[ 
Interruption 
] If people want to interrupt— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Would the member come to his point of order. I have not heard what it is yet. 
Rodney Hide 
: Does the Clerk in this Parliament believe that aside from the National Front there is such a thing as non-Maori organisations in New Zealand—yes or no? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: This is a question that can be asked. The facts can be enunciated. There was nothing wrong with the question as lodged.