Katene Rahui: Appropriation (2009/10 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
Katene Rahui: Appropriation (2009/10 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
[Volume:656;Page:5916] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 When I spoke on Vote Health a couple of weeks ago I shared with members the warning issued by the World Health Organization that in the past we have seen the social sectors robbed in times of economic downturn with dire long-term consequences. Little did I know that now the picture would look even worse. We know now that the unemployment rate for Maori 15 to 24-year-olds was 20.8 percent for the year ended June 2009. That is up from 16.9 percent a year ago. In absolute numbers that is an increase from 11500 to 15600. The Maori Party has received considerable expressions of concern from around the motu about the shock announcement in Budget 2009 that restricted eligibility for the training incentive allowance for tertiary study at level 4 and above. As we know about 4500 beneficiaries a year will be affected by the change. Beneficiaries already getting the allowance for university degrees will continue to do so for another 2 years but anyone enrolling in new courses at level 4 or above since Budget day will not qualify. 
We have to question the logic behind some of these changes. Sometimes it appears the Government is taking away with one hand and giving with another and it is not always clear why. It is hard to understand the rationale for targeting solo parents or those on the invalids benefits doing tertiary courses such as diplomas or university degrees. They are no longer eligible for support. It is hard to understand the cut to the Health and Disability Innovation Fund to help disabled people into employment. It is nigh on impossible to understand the reason for disestablishing from 2010 Skill Enhancement and in particular its very effective Rangatahi Maia programme. In a similar vein we have many questions around why the adult literacy educator grants will now be significantly reduced and reprioritised. 
One of the more well-read lines in the coalition agreement negotiated between the Maori Party and the National Party pertains to the “agree to disagree” provisions. We will continue to articulate our concerns when we see budget cuts. We will persist with the hard questions and we have no qualms in doing so. To paraphrase the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson ours is to reason why not but to do and die. We have too much at stake to sit in this House and not hold each of us to account for the grim reality of the current economic situation. All of us must heed the warning of the Family Centre social policy research centre and Waikato University which suggested earlier this week that New Zealand’s baby boomers could end up living in poverty if critical issues of income housing and health are not addressed. 
Any one of us in the House could stand and report on the grim state of his or her electorate: the impact of rapidly rising power bills the consequences of redundancy being realised in the increasing length of the queue lining up for food parcels poor health and compromised housing. But this is not the Charge of the Light Brigade. I will highlight some of the critical steps that are helping to lift our people out of these dire consequences. The groups I have met with appreciate the timely support of the Community Response Fund designed to assist non-governmental organisations affected by the recession. With an announcement imminent any day I know that many social service providers will be waiting eagerly to hear whether they will get the extra support necessary to help them cope with either a funding crisis or a significant increase in demand for their services. There is also the Community Max programme led by my colleague Tariana Turia. It is fantastic to learn that over 250 community groups have already registered their interest in this programme. With the help of the Maori Party networks we will make sure that that number grows. Other announcements have provided a source of comfort to many of our families as they negotiate difficult times. I am really proud of the work the Maori Party has done with the Minister of Housing to help draw attention to the need for social and affordable housing. I know that many of our families are keen to look further into the opportunity to build houses on multiple-owned Maori land that the Minister announced last week. 
Of course it is not all plain sailing. We have noted today the announcement of the Fresh Start package for young offenders. This issue arose during the select committee consideration of strategies to address the country’s worst youth offenders. The Maori Party was concerned to read the submission to the Social Services Committee from Unicef which advised: “Children are in danger of being victimised to respond to somewhat populist but ill considered proposals to satisfy the ‘pitchfork and torches’ mentality calling for more punitive harder harsher treatment of young offenders.” I think it is of value to refer to the research of Lipsey who developed a meta-analysis of 20 different studies of wilderness programmes involving more than 3000 juvenile offenders. Lipsey found that programmes involving a combination of relatively intense physical activity and therapeutic enhancement—such as individual counselling family therapy and group sessions—were especially effective. The key theme across all of these studies is that rolling out national programmes based on inadequate evidence can do more harm than good. 
Although we are pleased with some of the projects that have been included in the package today I want to end with a conclusion from a range of studies looking at mentoring high-risk minority youth in particular the Brothers Project. That study concluded that caring adults make an important difference in the lives of vulnerable youth. There is a message in that for all of us. It seems to me that in a caring nation our priority would be to support and keep warm those people at the front line of our families not to push them out into the cold. A caring nation would also be a nation in which we deal with the chronic levels of abuse and violence that keep occurring. I am pleased at the announcement that my colleague Tariana Turia made yesterday regarding the establishment of a high-level ministerial group to address family violence. At the end of the day all of the infrastructure in the world having all the assets in place and all these economic developments will mean nought if our children are not able to reap the benefits. We must put the foundations in place to achieve the vision of well-being for all. 
So in the debate on the Appropriation (2009/10 Estimates) Bill I want to plant the seed for future appropriations to work towards strategies to achieve the aspiration of whanau ora. The achievement of whanau ora has to be the most significant pathway to move us onwards from talk to action and from a time of crisis to a focus on prevention. At its very heart it is about restoring our homes to places of safety and love where healthy partnerships are the norm. It is an aspiration that the Maori Party has firmly staked its future on. As a final word I have to wonder at the value of the efforts that have gone into seeking the opportunity to smack rather than thinking of more nurturing and loving alternatives. I would love to see a referendum that asks New Zealanders: “Do you agree that the greatest gift of all we can give our children is the commitment that we will provide them with unconditional love security and safety?”. That is a referendum I hope the whole nation could sign up to.