Ngaro Alfred: Budget DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeNgaro Alfred: Budget Debate[Sitting date: 06 June 2013. Volume:690;Page:10880. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ALFRED NGARO (National): I rise to take a call on this Appropriation (2013/14 Estimates) Bill. I just want to declare that the Budget of 2013 delivers over $480 million for our Pasifika families and communities. What I am quite proud of is that our Pasifika communities know that when the going gets tough the tough get going. They work harder for themselves and for their communities. Our story is not just a migration story; it is actually now a Kiwi story.What I am actually really proud about—and we talk about the fact that the landscape in our communities is changing—is that our Pasifika communities are now seeing that the National Government is a Government of choice. Here are the simple facts. When we look at the number of Pasifika MPs who are in Parliament there are five: two forLabour one for New Zealand First—Mrs Asenati Lole-Taylor over there—and two for National. So the landscape is changing. I want to acknowledge Mr Su’a William Sio when he said that the Government needs to be careful about the decisions that it makes that will impact the choices for the Pasifika community. He went on record last year and said that on Radio 531 PI and he declared that some of those choices may impact up to 30 percent of Pasifika votes. Why? Because the Pasifika community is saying that actually this National Government is now a National Government of choice for our Pasifika communities.I want to quote this. I was at the launch of the Salvation Army’s reportMore Than Churches Rugby and Festivals. What I agree with in parts of this report—and I know that Mr Sio was there. Unfortunately he left a little bit earlier so he could not actually speak but I got to speak on this report. What it actually says is this. It talks about the factors and that it is time for these issues to “serve as a challenge to our national and local leaders and to the Pasifika community”. What it is actually saying is that it is time for us not to blame the Government but to actually take some responsibility. It is a shared responsibility that we need to take.That is what this Government is doing—$480 million that is benefiting our Pasifika communities. Sir “Papa” Tom Davis said this: “Whatever walk of life you choose pursuing your dreams will bring personal satisfaction that you are making the world a better place. Your conclusions may be challenged along the way therefore it is important that you do all you can to ensure that the decisions that you make are the right ones.” I want to frame this. My Budget speech for our Pasifika community is simply this: our Pasifika community is not a problem to be fixed in society. That is not what this Budget says. This Budget says that our Pasifika community is in pursuit of a potential to be realised and a dream to be fulfilled. This is the Government of aspiration and these are the things that we are doing. This 2013 Budget supports these aspirations through improving access to quality education and training; provision of more choices in health housing and social service; affordable insulated housing; and jobs that provide them with good incomes and propel them along their chosen career pathways—$480 million towards our Pasifika community.I want to focus my speech on five key areas: housing social development welfare reform health and education. Let us take housing. It is the topical issue of the moment. The housing budget in 2013 delivers $100 million over 3 years into the Warm Up New Zealand: Healthy Homes programme. This will target low-income households for home insulation particularly those families with children and with high health needs. It is expected to insulate around not 10000 not 20000 not 30000 not even 40000 but 46000 homes—46000 homes insulated. The Warm Up New Zealand: Healthy Homes programme will provide real health benefits to our Pasifika communities.Let us take education. It is an important topic. In the education budget 2013 we are investing $173 million in early childhood education of which $41.3 million will support participation especially for vulnerable children—98 percent early childhood education participation by 2016. Last Friday—and I am sad that the member for Māngere has gone—we were in Māngere with the Prime Minister and we went out to one of the early childhood education centres the Nukutukulea language nest just off Kirkbride Road. There we were. In 1988 those people had formed this trust. They had seen the need for early childhood education and the language coming together. By 1998 they had formed their first early childhood education centre. I can say this: by 2008 they had had a grant of $1.1 million which allowed them to have a purpose-built early childhood education facility. Marina Vaha is working there. Not only does it have 50 children there plus a waiting list but its Education Review Office report has shown that it has excelled in all areas—language literacy numeracy—using the Te Whārikiprogramme. This is a great programme. They were so excited to have the Prime Minister present there. This was again affirming the results that they had had that the leader of this country was present there. They began to tell him about all the wonderful things they are doing such as home-based schools programmes. The community was out there at large in South Auckland in Māngere in the Pasifika community. The Prime Minister was mobbed by the little kids. But most important does it make the boat go faster? Is education improved for our Pasifika children? Yes it is—absolutely.We know also that for Māori and Pasific trade training there is an extra $43 million and another $5.9 million will be targeted for new mentoring programmes to help vulnerable students achieve National Certificate of Educational Achievement level 2. Again I am sorry that the member for Māngere across the way has left because I was with him at the Manukau Institute of Technology graduation service—Chris Hipkins: Point of order.Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member does not need to raise a point of order. A member cannot refer to the absence of another member from the Chamber. I know that it was not intentional but it was sloppy—it was sloppy.ALFRED NGARO: Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker. I know that that was not intentional. I just want to acknowledge my fellow colleague. I was at the graduation service and I know that Le’aufa’amulia Asenati Lole-Taylor was there too. Three hundred Pasifika students—300 Pasifika students—with everything from diplomas to degrees to Master’s degrees were celebrating their success in education. They got up. They were proud. They were also telling the rest of the community that through education through the work that we are doing through the scholarships and the funds that we are providing they were proud to receive their awards for the hard work that they had achieved—300 students. But we do not hear the other side talking about that. Why? I will tell you this: at that graduation one of the leaders of the community said that it is about time we start talking about the successes for our community and for our people rather than the other people talking about all the things that go wrong. Why? Like I said our Pasifika community is not a problem to be fixed but a potential to be realised. We realise that.Here is another issue. Last Friday we went out into the Māngere community again. We went to STRIVE Community Trust at the Ngā Tapuwae Community Centre which has youth programmes for mainly Pasifika students. What did the people there do? They welcomed the Prime Minister into that place. Sharon Wilson-Davis was there and Bill Peace was there and they told the Prime Minister that they have a programme called the Key programme. The Prime Minister stopped for a moment. They said that the reason they have called the programme the Key programme is that it represents him the successes that he has made and the aspirations that he has given to them. That programme has had success for the youth and young people of our community.I could go on and on. I will not. It is a great Budget. It is a great Budget that is surely benefiting our Pasifika community. I commend this Budget to the House.