8. Question No. 8—EmploymentHon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Leader—National) to the Minister of EmploymentQuestion No. 8—Employment8. Hon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Leader—National) to the Minister of Employment: Does he stand by his approach to Mana in Mahi and how many Māori participants are involved in the Mana in Mahi programme?Hon WILLIE JACKSON (Minister of Employment): To answer the first part of the question yes I stand by the approach that this Government has taken which is to deliver Mana in Mahi in a phased approach. To answer the second part of the question a total of 143 clients have been placed in Mana in Mahi so far. Of these participants 75 have identified as Māori—52 percent.Hon Paula Bennett: Well how does he determine whether the Māori in the Mana in Mahi programme are Māori enough to be counted?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Well that's easy—that's easy. It's a well-known fact in this country that if you acknowledge your whakapapa Māori you can be part of the setup. It's a little bit unlike when the National Party used to measure Māori by half-castes and by how much of a percentage you had. We brought in this rule that if you whakapapa to Māori like the good member does over there then you're Māori.Hon Paula Bennett: Does he respect Māori participating in Mana in Mahi regardless of their background or skin colour or as he ascertained yesterday in this House whether or not he thinks they're Māori on that day or not?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: I think the member might be talking about herself. The reality is that I have total respect for Māori whether they speak the language whether they were brought up in a Pākehā environment Asian environment. If they choose to whakapapa to Māori like the good member I respect her and any other Māori. Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can I ask the Minister what happens when your discovery of whakapapa Māori is rather like Columbus' discovery of America—purely by accident?SPEAKER: Order!Hon Paula Bennett: Do the Māori in the Mana in Mahi programme need a Māori-sounding surname to participate or will he be telling people with names like the name Bidois that they should go back to Italy?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: I mean these types of silly questions are not necessary. The reality is and the member should know that a general debate is a general debate so get over it.Hon Paula Bennett: Does he expect then men in the Mana in Mahi programme to tell women like he did yesterday that they are useless while they're working?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: I take offence at that. I just said that some of the Māori MPs in National were useless like that member.Kieran McAnulty: Why has the Minister taken a phased approach to Mana in Mahi?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Thank you very much. What a great question. A phased approach has been taken to allow the initiative to be trialled and tested in order for us to be confident that we can provide a service that best supports our young people so that they can obtain the skills they need to have a secure long-term employment pathway. We're so pleased with this that we're able to invest in this programme. Young people who never had a chance under the previous Government who would have left them unemployed for ever—SPEAKER: Order! That's enough.Fletcher Tabuteau: Can the Minister confirm for the House: is the name Bidois French or Italian?SPEAKER: Order! We can stretch things a long way but that's not something he has responsibility for neither does he have responsibility for the questions asked by the deputy leader of the National Party.