Shanks Katrina: General Debate 
Shanks Katrina: General Debate 
[Volume:653;Page:2715] 
KATRINA SHANKS (National) 
: 
 It is my pleasure to speak in the general debate today. It has been a great week for the Government so far. It has been a great month for the Government so far. It has been a great year for the Government so far. Unfortunately the Labour Party cannot say the same thing. It has been a tough month for the Labour Party so far. It has lost Helen Clark; it is losing Michael Cullen. The mum and the dad of the party are finally leaving—leaving the coop and leaving the children behind. But that is OK because the Labour Party is rejuvenating. Next week Damien O’Connor comes in. Two weeks ago the party forgot to tell Damien he was coming in. He was not sure when he was coming in but the party will let him know because he is part of the fresh blood that is coming into this Labour Party. And then who will come in to replace Helen Clark? If we listen to the rumours we hear it will be David Shearer. That fresh young face that young man is to come into the Labour Party to rejuvenate it. 
But this is not the first time that David Shearer has tried to come into Parliament via the Labour Party. In 1999 he was a list-only candidate for Labour. He was so good he was at No. 62 on the list. In 2002 David Shearer tried to come in again. He stood for Whangarei; he did not do very well. He did not win the seat and he was ranked at No. 45 on the list. I understand that Shearer also stood for Waitakere against Lynne Pillay but lost there as well. So that is the fresh blood the rejuvenation of the Labour Party. When David Shearer finally gets here maybe or maybe not he will be the new face of the Labour Party. 
What does David Shearer have to say? What does this new fresh face have to say? I do not know. Let us have a look at a little of what he has written. I quote: “The principal obstacle to regulating private military companies has been the tendency to brand them as ‘mercenaries’ of the kind witnessed in Africa 30 years ago rather than to recognize them as multinational entrepreneurs eager to solidify their legitimacy.” Legitimate multinational entrepreneurs instead of mercenaries—that is very interesting coming from someone who wants to represent the Labour Party. Does that sit well with his colleagues? Do they believe that as well? So far they have stood by exactly what he has said. Even more recently when David Shearer has been interviewed he has still stood by what he said. In fact he went on to say “Consequently regulation can be best achieved through constructive engagement.” That is how he will regulate his mercenaries. That is very interesting. 
Is that very Labour? Is that the new face of Labour that we are actually seeing? I do not see anybody standing up and saying it is not. All of a sudden the Labour Party members have gone very quiet. Only moments ago they were yelling across the House. I say they should stand up and defend this new member who is to come in. But no. [ 
Interruption 
] So now they say David Shearer is not going to be a candidate. That is not what we hear; that is not what Labour people are telling us. They are telling us something totally different from that. 
What else did David Shearer go on to say? I think he has even better ideas. I quote: “The prospect that private military companies might gain some degree of legitimacy within the international community begs the question as to whether these firms can take on UN peacekeeping functions and improve on UN effort.” Well that will be very interesting for Helen Clark to defend in her new job. 
So mum and dad—Helen and Michael—have now left the family. They have left the family behind and new siblings are coming in to replace them. What a new face this Labour Party will have! It will be so connected to the people of New Zealand—so connected to the causes of New Zealand. In fact I heard the other day that some of the members of Parliament for Labour went on a provincial road trip through the provinces of New Zealand. Wow! That will be the first in a while. Labour members have not been particularly connected with people. I think that the 1 million people who voted for the National Government would say they have not seen the Labour members of Parliament at the grassroots for a long time. It may take a little while for people to identify those Labour members of Parliament if they go through the provinces.