Turei Metiria: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTurei Metiria: General Debate[Sitting date: 02 July 2014. Volume:700;Page:19147. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader - Green):I move That the House take note of miscellaneous business. Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker. John Key told families today in question time that under another 3 years of a National Government they can expect to keep on struggling with their daily lives while he makes sure that the privileged few continue to improve their lot. On 20 September I will be asking New Zealanders for their party vote because we must change this Government. Party vote Green to change this Government. We must not allow another 3 years of a National Government that puts our kids and our environment at risk.New Zealand children are being cheated by John Key and the National Government. At every turn over the last 6 years with every report that has been produced and with all of the evidence that has come before this House families have still been falling behind. More and more children are living in poverty under John Key than ever before and yet John Key will stand in this House and pretend they do not exist. Those 45000 children whom Treasury lost last year still do not exist for John Key. John Key denies that inequality and poverty are growing denies that struggling families are facing more and more difficulties just to pay the rent and denies that these additional 45000 children have been living in poverty since he took office.Today when I asked him about those families he blamed me in part for them and worse still he blamed them for their circumstances. They should be grateful he implied that he did not cut Working for Families. They should be grateful he did not cut Working for Families he said. They should be grateful that national debt is greater now because of them. He is blaming New Zealand families for the plight they are suffering. A working family with a couple of kids and parents on $15 an hour that is getting the accommodation supplement and getting Working for Families is still living below the poverty line in this country—they are $132 short a week. National is driving New Zealand families backwards and silences those families by blaming them for their circumstances.We need a Government that looks out for every child. No child should be living in poverty in a rich and progressive country like New Zealand yet child poverty is a national disgrace. Child poverty is a national crisis. No family should be left living below the poverty line when a parent is working full-time and getting above the minimum wage yet that is the case for 40 percent of New Zealand’s poorest children. What happened to our New Zealand values of a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work? What happened to the values of taking care of our neighbours so we are all doing well not just the very privileged?John Key and his National Government have abandoned those values that were delivered to us by our parents our grandparents and their parents before them. Today he refused to assure New Zealand working families that they would not still be in poverty in 2 years’ time. He refused to ensure that the rewards of the economy would be fairly shared with all New Zealanders. That is not an unreasonable thing for New Zealanders to ask for—that the rewards of the economy as it continues to develop as we slowly come out of the global financial crisis as things slowly improve should be shared fairly with all families. Yet when asked today whether he would guarantee that families that are currently working full-time for more than the minimum wage but that are still living below the poverty line could expect that their circumstances would improve he refused to guarantee that to them.John Key has abandoned those families. The National Government which does not like to hear this truth has abandoned these families. That was made very clear today in John Key’s answers to my question. If New Zealanders want our inherent values as a community to be returned to the centre of our decisions as a Government and as a Parliament a fair share of the bounty of this country to be distributed to and shared amongst all of our families and a country where every child is doing great no matter what their family’s circumstances then we must throw this National Government lot out on 20 September.