Henare PeeniHon PEENI HENARE (Minister for Whānau Ora): E Te Māngai o Te Whare ka tīmata ahau ki roto i Te Reo Māori. Tuatahi māku ka takatū tōtika atu ki roto i te puna o mahara. Ko ngā maharatanga ki ngā aituā maha ki roto i te raumati kua pahure ake nei. Ā ka tīmata ake ki roto i a au ki tōku tupuna ki a Hone Bristow kua ngaro atu. Ki tōku pāpā ki a Te Kopa Tīpene kua ngaro atu. Ki tōku tuakana ki a Alby Shortland kua ngaro atu ki roto i ngā wiki tata ake nei. Rātou katoa ki a rātou ka kī tēnei otirā te Whare koutou o te pō haere haere haere. Ka whakahokia mai ngā rārangi kōrero ki a tātou te hunga ora e Te Māngai o Te Whare. Me ngā whakaaro nui ki te hunga ki roto o Te Tau Ihu o te Waka. Te wāhi i patu kinohia ai e te ahi ki roto i te wiki kua pahure ake nei.[Madam Assistant Speaker I will start in the Māori language. Firstly I will commence by delving into the wellspring of memories; the memories of those who have passed in the summer just passed. I will start amidst my own with my ancestor Hone Bristow who has passed away. To my elder Te Kopa Tīpene who has passed and to my kinsman Alby Shortland who passed in the recent weeks; may they rest with each other and I say and indeed the House says to those of the underworld farewell farewell farewell.] After acknowledging those who have passed on over the summer and of course acknowledging the hardship faced by the people of the Nelson-Tasman area with what's happening down there I want to express to them that our thoughts are with them. Madam Assistant Speaker can I say to you and to one and all in the House a happy New Year.After another successful Waitangi Day—and it pains the Opposition to hear that: after another successful Waitangi Day"—the names that were being shared on the marae to describe our Prime Minister were: Pirimia o te Aroha—Prime Minister of Love; Pirimia o te Rangimārie—Prime Minister of Peace; Pirimia o te Ngākau nui ki te Tangata—Prime Minister who has a big heart for the people.If there's one lesson that's clearly been lost on the National Party it's that politics in this country is headed in a different direction. For politics in Aotearoa New Zealand now the demands of our people are that we mahi tahi—we work together—and that we cut out cheap political shots and we focus on the matters that are important to our people. Some of those matters have been well-traversed by my colleagues and I want to share a couple with the House in my contribution today.I want to start with Whānau Ora. Much of the work that's been done by the Government over the past year has been well described by the Prime Minister in her contribution. She also talked about the challenges that are in front of us as a Government and the need for us to do more after what has already been a busy 12 months. She's right and after we've looked at all of the problems with the social systems the social inequities in this country I can say this: Whānau Ora is the way forward where we as communities where we as businesses and where we as a Government put families at the centre of all decision making. We make sure that we look after them.Hon David Bennett: Why did you cut it then?Hon PEENI HENARE: We have not cut Whānau Ora. Let me explain to that side of the House exactly how Whānau Ora was set up.Hon David Bennett: Well we know; we set it up.Hon PEENI HENARE: Listen up—listen up: Whānau Ora was set up by the National Party simply for commissioning agencies to commission for outcomes. We haven't cut it; in fact that contract is still going. However what we have found in the review that I established last year—and the findings will be made public very very shortly—is that it could be done better. It could be done better where we cut out the middlemen where we make sure that the money and the resources go to where they're needed: right to the whānau whānau who make up communities whānau who make up hapū and whānau who make up iwi. There is not one proof of evidence that the National Party can produce that says we have cut Whānau Ora or we are cutting Whānau Ora. In fact I challenge them: if there is table it in the House. Let this House debate it. Let the public see what it is. I can guarantee that there isn't one.However there is a positive future for Whānau Ora—there is a positive future for Whānau Ora. Off the back of the mental health inquiry we know—we know—that simply dealing with an individual isn't going to be enough to make sure that their mental well-being and the well-being of their wider family is indeed on the up and up. What we do know is that if we put the resources in the right place if we make sure that they have a safety net of whānau and an environment that will help them their mental well-being can only increase. So I am positive that Whānau Ora—off the back of much of the work that the Government has done in the past 12 months—is the answer. I really believe that.What I also took heart from in the contributions today was of course the discussion around the environment. In the last term of Parliament when I sat on that side of the House we heard the Government talk about their plans for the future protection of our environment here in Aotearoa New Zealand. The only problem was that plan was on ice for 30 years. They kicked the can down the road on eradicating pests from our forests and from our natural environment—they kicked it down the road to some year when I know for a fact most of the members on that side of the House will no longer be in the Whare will no longer be in Parliament. What we have done—and I'm proud of this Government in our work with the Green Party and of course with New Zealand First—is to make sure that what we all know is the rivers are polluted.Over the summer I challenged my colleagues to a bombing competition. There aren't many rivers in this country that you can actually swim in and we can all agree on that. So why is there such a challenge and a problem with us all focusing on making sure that rivers in this country are swimmable and making sure that water quality and the environment are actually healthy? That should be an important focus for this entire House but sadly the National Party kicked it down the road and I am proud that this Government has picked it up to make sure that not only are we focused on making sure that our environment is clean but also that the way we conduct ourselves is actually in line with making sure our environment is healthy and sustainable. I mean the last Government was too scared to ban single-use plastic bags—scared. The Māori word for that is "mataku"—mataku. They didn't do it; we did it. This side of the House did it—the Labour Party the Green Party and New Zealand First. We did it; they did not.One of the other lessons that the other side of the House didn't learn was clearly by the way they treat other people that you need friends in Parliament—you need friends. You need friends to be able to govern you need friends to be able to push forward the causes that our people care about and I am proud of the leadership of our Prime Minister in the way that she is able to work collaboratively for the collective good. With New Zealand First with the Green Party it's clear we are the Government that clearly has the mandate of the people and I am proud of that—I am proud of that. I also want to speak in the final two minutes that I have about some other kaupapa that are specific to Māori and indeed young people.Can I commend my colleague the Hon Willie Jackson. Mana in Mahi is a fantastic kaupapa and when the announcements were rolled out up in Te Tai Tokerau over the past week it was clear that in communities where it's needed the most—like Kaikohe Moerewa Kawakawa dare I say it in the Kaipara—they could see the value of Mana in Mahi and in fact could even identify that their own young people wanted to be able to benefit from such an important programme and such an important kaupapa. We know—and it's been said many times over—that the way we look after our young people will be how our country will be into the future. And I commend the Hon Willie Jackson for the vision and the focus he has in making sure that our young people have the opportunities through Mana in Mahi to contribute not only to our economy but also to their well-being. Can I just say in conclusion my grandfather the late Sir James Henare was right when he said: "Kua tawhiti kē tō haerenga mai ki te kore e haere tonu he nui rawa ō koutou mahi ki te kore e mahi nui tonu." which means "We have come too far not to go further and we have done too much not to do more." And I'm really excited that the 12-month plan set in motion by our Prime Minister and the Government of New Zealand is one that will reach the aspirations that our people aspire to and most importantly will make sure that this kōrero rings true across Aotearoa. Kia ōrite te noho a te Māori me te Pākehā ki runga i tēnei whenua. Kāti e Te Māngai o te Whare tēnā koe tēnā tātou. [This statement rings true across New Zealand: that Māori and Pākehā should live in equality on this land. Well then Madam Assistant Speaker greetings to you and to all.]"