Tamihere John: Estimates Debate — In Committee Procedure 
Tamihere John: Estimates Debate — In Committee Procedure 
[Volume:618;Page:14412] 
Hon JOHN TAMIHERE (Associate Minister of Maori Affairs) 
: 
 I want to take a short call to respond to the honourable member who is a spokesperson for the National Party for matters Maori Mr Gerry Brownlee. On a number of matters and in every speech he has made since his appointment we have yet to know what that party would do in power with regard to some of the difficulties that are being managed by this Government with regard to our communities. At no time do we hear any detail. One hears the buffoonery and all the rest of it but one never hears any detail substance or policy. [ 
Interruption 
] That member is always very good like the member for Rakaia at screaming and yelling across the Chamber. [ 
Interruption 
] There he is yelling and screaming at me again for the listeners. The reality is that he is one of the cheerleaders for Gerry Brownlee which is probably why he got into the caucus. 
But let me just point out a number of things. Under this Government—a Labour-led Government—Maori have surged forward in the last 5 years more so than they ever did in the previous 15. Maori unemployment with regard to which these estimates are very well calibrated will continue to drop. It is now down to its lowest level for the last 16 years and it will continue to drop. In terms of the whanau development fund about which the great Mr Gerry Brownlee opined he knew nothing I agree with that—he knew nothing about it. Let me just disclose for members what that budget might go towards—and it is not “might”; some of it will. We know in our communities which families are in difficulty and we know in our communities exactly where our babies who are in difficulties are. At the moment we will ring fence them by way of a wrap-around care plan and look at the whole family’s difficulties—not just when they come to the attention of the care and protection or youth justice agencies or are managed by our criminal justice system. Early intervention early risk identification is where that funding is going. It will drop youth offending overnight once it hits the communities that it can roll out in. Maori families will start to lift their performance as they are doing right now. 
We are in a wonderful stage of our evolution and we will move on from the victimhood and grievance policies being suggested by the Maori Party. We are moving on but not from the deficit model of the Maori Party or the National Party—in fact I now know why Tariana Turia gets on so well with Don Brash after that speech. We are moving forward in a positive and progressive framework. We understand the latent and wonderful potential of our communities and they have to be talked up. Our children will start to march for things; they will not be told by leaders of the Maori Party to march against things. They will be told that they are as good as every other baby and that they have the same opportunities as every other baby in this country to be wonderful and positive Kiwi citizens moving forward albeit Maori and with a love of their heritage and their culture. They are still Kiwi babies but they are Maori in terms of their culture their reo and their tikanga. 
That is the sort of estimates and Budget that are being brought down and that this Minister of Maori Affairs will champion on behalf of our people. A huge amount of money has gone into the retention of our reo and our tikanga. It is now time to feel and understand the fruits of that victory rather than always be grasping for something else in that regard. Let us start standing up now and let us deliver. These estimates commend to the leadership in our communities that they start to stand up and take some ownership of our problems to acknowledge that they have responsibilities duties and obligations and to stop putting them off on other communities or on others. That is why when the scrutiny comes on a number of the leaders in our communities they run to the Maori Party because they understand control and victimhood but they do not understand solutions at this particular point in time. 
I commend the estimates and I also commend my colleagues in the Maori caucus who have held the faith and held true to the Labour Party which has a history of always delivering to all communities but particularly of lifting Maori performance.