Katene Rahui: Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Katene Rahui: Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 24 November 2009. Volume:659;Page:8043. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 Thank you Mr Chairperson—[ 
Interruption 
] I am sad to hear such disappointment that I have been called to speak. I have been sitting here thinking that for about 4 hours a week for at least 20 weeks of this year I have sat on two select committees hearing about the emissions trading scheme and it has been a very interesting time. During those hearings we have heard from environmentalists who say that the emissions trading scheme does not go far enough from business interests who say that the emissions trading scheme goes too far from farmers who argue that they should not be part of an emissions trading scheme and from Maori interests who argue that they need to look after the interests of Maori households the environment and the Maori economy. It is very clear that whichever way the Maori Party votes somebody will be unhappy. 
We had to look very carefully at what we were going to do about the emissions trading scheme. We did not enter into our decision at all lightly. I was a little bit concerned about the things that have been said in the Chamber today. Some of the things that have been said today have been very ironic. For example the Greens are very concerned that the Maori Party is about to be shafted. The Greens should know all about being shafted. They were shafted when they got cosy with Labour. Indeed when Labour was passing its emissions trading legislation and conning the Greens Labour came to the Maori Party and implored us to support its scheme. Labour members preferred to work with the Maori Party because they did not want to be working with—and this is a direct quote—“the crazy Greens who are off their tree”. 
Paul Quinn 
: Is that what they said? 
RAHUI KATENE 
: Yes it is what they said. The Greens know about being shafted because their legislation to remove age discrimination from the workplace was renamed as the Minimum Wage (New Entrants) Amendment Bill which was a mini version of the 90-day Mapp bill both Labour and the Greens vigorously opposed. But with the change in the name of their bill they along with Labour ensured that young people would continue to be discriminated against. Sue Bradford the sponsor of the bill recognised the principled stand of the Maori Party which voted against that bill when she said: “I would also particularly acknowledge the Maori Party members who are opposing the Bill in its amended form but who are in fact its fiercest supporters. I am grateful for the Maori Party’s unflinching and uncompromising support for the bill as originally conceived rather than in its watered-down version and I hope that one day their party and ours and others will join in going the whole way in abolishing youth rates altogether. This bill even as it was originally drafted was a compromise all along. Right from the start I was criticised in some quarters—and rightfully so—for putting up a bill that did not do away with age discrimination altogether but maintained it for workers under 16.” 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. As endearing as it may be for the member to read through the list of other bills that the Maori Party has welshed on I point out that it is not relevant to the bill at hand. I ask that you bring the member back to the bill in the remaining 5 seconds she has. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: By tradition the speeches on the preliminary clauses have come to cover a wider issue and I think the member is only following a pattern that we have had throughout this debate. 
RAHUI KATENE 
: Just to point out— 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. If you are happy for the member to refer to completely different legislation from the bill that is supposedly the topic of this important debate in the Chamber I ask that the member at least clarify for the Committee which bill she refers to. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: Members do refer to other things in order to support the arguments they are making. I am prepared to hear members and see them draw a conclusion from what they are saying. 
RAHUI KATENE 
: Speaking to the point that the Maori Party supports this bill and will continue to support it until it is enacted I say that we are very interested to hear the points that other parties have to make but we are not persuaded by them. Those arguments are made out of pure self-interest. We will continue to make that point because the existing scheme has nothing at all to do with Maori. There is nothing Maori in the existing scheme. We are very pleased to be working with a party that is able to see beyond its self-interest; to see how Maori contribute to the economy to the environment and to households; and to see that this bill will help them to do that. 
I am very pleased to know that others outside of this Chamber support this bill. We are pleased about that.