Maharey Steve: General Debates 
Maharey Steve: General Debates 
[Volume:610;Page:7442] 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
: 
 I move  
That the House take note of miscellaneous business 
. I start today with a quote from the  
New Zealand Herald 
: “As time goes by and the Government gives no sign of stumbling National’s position becomes desperate. Its members and supporters begin to despair that the party can pose a serious challenge to the Government let alone restore the centre-right to power.” 
Everyone knows because history tells us that the 20th century belonged to the National Party as the natural power of Government. What we have seen since 1999 however is an already wounded National Party go into full collapse. First National took out Mrs Shipley and replaced her with Mr English. The National Party was defeated in a second election. It has gone on to try Mr Don Brash. Unfortunately he could not do much at all so the National Party has turned to Mr Williamson or at least he has turned to it and advised it that it is not polling not performing and as a result he is about to be thrown out of his own party. But what he did say is something that National is doing. Mr Williamson said that if National wants to get traction it needs to focus and return to its core constituency. 
The National Party today is more about focusing on other parties in this Parliament that are now its real enemies—New Zealand First ACT and United Future—rather than the Government. To survive the National Party now has to fight off challenges from those three other centre-right parties. As a result National has abandoned its mainstream position. Mr English who once saw himself as a leader of a party that aspired to represent the majority now looks for fewer and fewer supporters. He has slammed the door in the face of one group of New Zealanders after the other. Who amongst the Pacific Island community today would look to the National Party for leadership? None! Who amongst women would look to the National Party for leadership apart from the wives of the people who are on the other side? Who amongst the new migrant community would look to the National Party? Who amongst young people would look to the ageing National Party? And who amongst low-income New Zealanders would look to the National Party? Absolutely none! As a result National has got smaller and smaller by the day. Most noticeably Maori can no longer look to the National Party because they are explicitly no longer wanted. 
It is this narrowing desperate way of behaving by the National Party that has allowed it to begin to turn to using a platform in politics that any sensible mainstream politician would reject and that is the politics of racism. The desperation for traction has seen Mr English prepared to try to rescue his party by setting one New Zealander against the other. He will divide New Zealanders so that he can try to survive. 
Look no further than the foreshore debate where Mr Cullen has reassured New Zealanders that the Government will act to uphold rights of public access to and use of the foreshore and seabed. The Government will also act to protect Maori customary rights to the extent that they are not protected already. What we are looking for is a fair result for all to be achieved. What is the position of Mr English? Mr English has set out to inflame this issue by saying that Maori cannot be trusted and that they will block people from getting access to the foreshore. He has gone on to paint Maori as if they are about to claim every single grain of sand on our foreshore and stop people getting access to it. 
All of us in this House have been a part of slanging matches in our political careers but when we get to big issues all of us are expected to rise to the occasion. On occasions when our nation is at risk when we are asked to put unity amongst New Zealanders first and when we are supposed to identify our common purpose that is when we become true politicians and true leaders. Mr English will be judged by history on the way he behaves on this issue. He will fail not just as a failing leader of a failing party. Mr English will fail as a New Zealander. That is how he will be judged.