Ririnui Mita: Budget Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Ririnui Mita: Budget Debate 
[Sitting date: 16 June 2004. Volume:618;Page:13677. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
MITA RIRINUI (Labour—Waiariki) 
: 
 I want to reflect on the opening comments made by the previous speaker. Those few words make one wonder what goes on in the daily lives of some people. She said she was “ashamed to be a New Zealander”. How about that? Here we are a thriving growing little nation at the bottom of the Pacific with everything to live for. We are a country of nation builders and she is ashamed to be one of us. Well see you later! 
When this Government took office in 1999 we made a promise to run the economy in a responsible way. “Budget Heartland 2004” is good for our people because it provides a boost to the weekly incomes of thousands of New Zealand families. This is a Budget for working families who make a valuable contribution to this country’s infrastructure. It seeks to reward those families who are trying to make a go of it. Two-thirds of the money in the Budget goes to working-class families. 
The National Party’s answer to our Budget is to provide tax cuts for the rich and it has made that very clear. It is also clear that those who will benefit from our Budget are the people whom Don Brash and Rodney Hide and his buddies would ignore. Brash and Hide want to give those who earn $60000 a year a tax break that would net them an extra $81 every week. The bulk of my constituents earn less than $38000 a year and under an administration led by Brash and Hide they would get nothing. For people who earn $40000 Brash would deliver a mammoth $1.15 extra per week. That is the great Brash economy. 
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: The member must always remember to refer to members by their correct title. 
MITA RIRINUI 
: I am sorry; excuse me Madam Speaker. Budget 2004 will ensure that a two-child family on a modest wage of $30000 is $40 a week better off from 1 April next year. This increases to nearly $95 by 1 April 2006 and to $115 by 1 April 2007. Members should remember that that same family would get no assistance from Dr Brash’s administration. 
While Maori are not specifically targeted anecdotal evidence shows that Maori families feature highly in the socio-economic group that has been targeted for extra assistance. Te Puni Kokiri will put aside $14 million over the next 4 years in an effort to strengthen whanau-based research and sporting and cultural activity along with enterprise development. In addition about 28000 families and 33000 children will benefit from increases to childcare assistance with average gains of $23 a week per child from 2005. About 95000 households will receive increases averaging $19 a week in the accommodation supplement in 2005 and 2006. These increases represent the biggest offensive in the war against child poverty in decades. This Government loves families— 
Jim Peters 
: Not up my way. 
Pita Paraone 
: No. 
MITA RIRINUI 
: —as we have shown in the far north as those two members will testify to. [ 
Interruption 
] They want to hear it again. This comes on top of $31 million of Ministry of Social Development funding to help families in difficulty including funding for Maori service providers as the two members will appreciate. 
The voluntary community sector has been allocated $3.4 million—notice all the millions—for a national entity to act as a focal point for community voluntary and Maori organisations and to oversee projects. Is that not wonderful? 
Budget 2004 rewards those who are making an effort to upskill themselves. There will be more than 1000 young Maori involved in job training via the Modern Apprenticeships programme by next year. This is significant because in a few years’ time these young Maori will be an integral part of the workforce building infrastructure. 
In the area of Maori business if Aotearoa were made up totally of Maori it would be the fourth-most entrepreneurial nation in the world according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report. This is particularly relevant given the $10 million boost that Te Puni Kokiri has earmarked to assist Maori into business. The sum of $8 million will help Maori build Maori business networks. The growth and innovation framework provides the opportunity for regional development funding as I am sure the two members will also appreciate. The Maori economy contributes $700 million which equates to 7.4 percent of New Zealand’s total agricultural output while 10 percent of our forest holdings are controlled by Maori. These figures show that Maori make a significant and valuable contribution to the economy and Budget 2004 will further assist that expansion. Another big project is the hui taumata that will run at the end of this year. The sum of $750000 will be invested in a national summit which will formulate a blueprint for Maori development over the next 20 years. 
Jim Peters 
: Not another one! No no no! 
MITA RIRINUI 
: That member will not be here. Education is another priority for this Government as always. It is committed to lifting educational standards for all young New Zealanders by injecting extra funding of $2 billion over 4 years into education bringing total spending to $9.2 billion by 2007-08. I am sure the young people who are here tonight will appreciate that. Kura kaupapa Maori can apply for more funding to upgrade facilities given the $347 million pot that is available for facility upgrades of schools and early childhood education organisations. I recall the contribution from Mr Brian Donnelly of New Zealand First before the dinner break. He asked what is in the Budget for kohanga reo. Well he has just been advised. The sum of $4 million has been allocated over 4 years to strengthen use of Maori language in whanau and communities. This is on top of hundreds of thousands of dollars in baseline funding for education. Early childhood education will receive $365 million over the next 4 years. This will fund free early childhood education and lift quality and participation rates. Part of the Working for Families package will inject more than $118 million to help low and middle income families with childcare costs. Kohanga reo—once again I point this out for Mr Brian Donnelly—around the country will welcome this announcement. 
I move now to the subject of health. The median age for the Maori demographic is 22. By 2010 one in five people aged between 15 and 39 will be Maori. It is vital that we plan ahead to ensure that a large part of the workforce is more aware of health issues. This Government remains committed to funding organisations that deliver high-quality targeted health services to those people who require more assistance. Maori health providers will have increased opportunities to bid for health contracts that deliver to their communities. The vast majority of New Zealanders—that is 3.1 million people—are now in primary health organisations and $3 prescription fees have been extended to people over the age of 65 who are enrolled in primary health organisations. This makes primary health care for Maori more affordable and thus more effective. 
In the area of tourism additional resources will be allocated to expand the current Maori Regional Tourism Programme. I note that the Tamaki brothers are currently in my home town of Tauranga promoting Maori tourism. This Labour Government recognises that the Maori tourism industry is growing quickly and it is important that we assist the industry to develop in a positive and sustainable way. The Maori Regional Tourism Programme is a package that offers more assistance to regional Maori tourism organisations as well as the national body. I congratulate the Minister of Tourism as well as the Associate Minister of Tourism on these initiatives. The programme assists regional organisations to develop business plans enhance the quality of Maori tourism in the regions promote the interests of Maori tourism within key organisations and strengthen relationships with existing regional tourism organisations. More than 2 million people visited New Zealand last year spending about $6.4 billion in the process. Maori want a larger share of the pie and this package will assist them to achieve their desired results. 
There has been a commitment to expanding the capacity of the Maori Land Court. We want to advise the House that the Maori Land Court will receive $23 million over 4 years to implement the Maori freehold land registration project to ensure that Maori land is correctly recorded on land title systems. This will ensure that potentially hundreds of thousands of hectares are available to raise capital for investment. I am sure the member Pita Paraone with all his land will be more than happy to hear that.