Mahuta Nanaia: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Mahuta Nanaia: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:623;Page:18338] 
NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Tainui) 
: 
 Having heard that speech for the last 10 minutes I just about sought leave for that member Tony Ryall to have another 10 minutes to say what he stands for. That member is quick to say what he stands against but not what he stands for. That is just not good enough in a debate that is about going forward. 
This is a Government that believes in opportunity. This is a Government that believes in diversity. This is a Government that supports families. This is a Government that invests in New Zealanders. This is a Government that promotes understanding. This is a Government that thrives on providing creative solutions to age-old problems. This is a Government that looks towards the future. And the list goes on. What people all over the country were saying as I talked to them throughout the holidays was very positive but listening to the speaker before me one would have thought that the world was full of doom and gloom. Well that is the trademark of an Opposition that is going nowhere that has been nowhere and that has no vision. 
There is a lot of optimism out there in our communities. There are more jobs in our communities more people working and lower unemployment. For Maori alone unemployment is down below 9 percent. In the Waikato region alone it is down to around 2.3 percent. That is good news. It is good news for members of my community in my Tainui electorate. When we look at what this Government is about those hallmarks of achievement speak for themselves because there are more opportunities. Busy hands and busy minds lead to lower crime. We know that the crime rate has dropped in a number of our communities and we have heard numbers of Government speakers talk about that fact. 
Health spending is up by 40 percent. We have more people enrolled in primary health organisations. They are accessing early intervention through primary health-care at an affordable level. That means that under-18-year-olds can access free health-care and soon that threshold will move up to those aged 24 years. Free health-care is already available to people aged over 65 years. Those are hallmarks that speak for themselves. They are the achievements of this Government. 
Education spending is up by about 39 percent in the last 5 years. More pre-schoolers are accessing early childhood education services. In Pukekohe we opened the first purpose-built early childhood education centre. We are happy for families around there because kids who were never ever going to kindergarten or even to kohanga reo are now able to access an early childhood centre close to the community in which they live. They love it. They get up eagerly every morning and they love their early childhood education centre. Better access to education leads to greater participation in our education system and also leads to better opportunities. That creates a better place to live in. That is what this Government is about—creating vibrant confident Kiwi kids who can contribute as citizens to all communities in our society. This Government is about building a New Zealand that is committed to its people. 
I will talk very briefly about the Working for Families package because this is something that is closer to home for me. At the beginning of last year I received a letter from a constituent who said: “I am a mother of two kids. I’m working. OK the wage isn’t that great but I love to work. By the time I pay for my childcare I am actually getting less in the hand than what I would get if I wasn’t working. Now where’s the sense in that?”. This is a constituent of mine who raised this issue. She did the sums and said that if there was support for childcare assistance it would encourage mums like her to go back to work. 
She saw the Budget announcements last year. She opened up the  
New Zealand Herald 
 saw the announcements of the Working for Families package and saw that it affected her. She was just an ordinary mum who wanted to work and who was getting an average income and here was support from the Government for her having the opportunity to go back into the workplace. She loved it. 
Another mum in my constituency stopped me in the street and said: “You know I haven’t been working for 15 years. Just the other day I got a job in a factory. I didn’t think I had enough skills to work in a factory so one of my relations got me a job.” She said that the best thing about having a job was that she looked forward to waking up in the morning sending the kids off to school going to work then coming home and being tired because she had done a full day of work. That kind of enthusiasm from mothers who have not been working for a long time who have perhaps lost a bit of confidence and who do not have the self-assurance to get jobs shows that we are making some positive steps in a lot of our communities for mums just like that. She loves what this Government is signalling—that there is a place for her out there in the community. She is not just relegated to the domestic purposes benefit. She is not just a useless part of her society as members of the Opposition would have her believe. She can make a valuable contribution to the quality of life of her family first and foremost. That is what she wants. She loves what this Government is doing. 
 The Government has made many many gains in the workplace. Members on this side of the House have highlighted a number of them. The shift in emphasis alone from the Employment Contracts Act to the Employment Relations Act has signalled again some gains in the workplace: 4 weeks’ annual leave; increasing the minimum wage; improving paid parental leave; and introducing 20 hours of free early childhood education care subsidies to help working parents. Those are all positive gains that help promote people back into the workplace. I say they are working in a lot of our smaller communities that really want to see this type of thing happen. 
Those are the achievements of this Government; they speak for themselves. But more important when I go into Pak ’N Save people stop me—in Pak ’N Save; that is a really good indicator for any politician—to say: “Do you know what is happening in our community? About three local businesses have just started up that employ two or three people in our community.” New businesses are being attracted into their small town. When I hear that at Pak ’N Save about a little community that is about 35 kilometres away I have to think to myself that there are positive things happening around the place. And I have heard this all over. 
I am proud to say that the achievements in the Tainui electorate with regard to health education—in particular—and housing initiatives have had a fundamental positive impact on our community. In terms of growth and innovation we have an innovation park that looks to lead new businesses in our region. Tainui went into partnership to provide the land for the innovation park. What we are seeing coming out of there is good hard research and fact-based innovations leading to business opportunities. That is greenfield stuff and we like it we want it to continue and it will work for us. 
Those are the achievements of this Government and they speak for themselves. They are positive. They are working for our communities. It is really about being responsive to the change in our society—the look of our society. It is not about simple divisions between Pakeha and Maori. It is not about simple divisions between mums on the domestic purposes benefit and working mums. It is about getting all our people to be active participants and citizens in our society no matter where they come from what their income background is or whatever. Providing opportunity—that is what this Government is about. People do want to contribute. They do want to participate. 
Benefit bashing by the Opposition will not work in today’s society. Why? Because it leads to a doom and gloom philosophy that says there is no place for some people in our society. That is not what this Government is about. This Government believes that all New Zealanders can make a positive contribution. This Government also believes that despite some of the ups and downs we have on some of the hardest issues mainly race relations we are not afraid to confront some of those really hard issues and try to deal with them. Albeit they are hard we will deal with them in a way that leads to greater understanding. Those are the achievements of this Government and they speak for themselves.