Whaitiri MekaMEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. The lack of leadership from this Government—and let us call it for what it is: the dodgy gutless leadership from this Government—is plain to see for all New Zealanders right now. Bill English has badly failed the leadership test over the Todd Barclay affair. We all thought John Key was the master of the brain fade but Bill English is giving him a run for his money now. The Barclay affair has been mishandled and fudged and simply put it stinks. It is a sign of the arrogance the laziness and the lack of any real compass for this Government.It is in times like this with a Government in disarray that Māori really look to guidance and leadership from our people not just with a political scandal that goes all the way to the ninth floor of the Beehive but with the scandal—the absolute scandal—of a Government that spends $29 million on consultants advising it to sell State houses in a housing crisis. It is the scandal of a Government that has spent on average $100000 per night housing the homeless in hotels this year totally blowing the emergency-housing budget as hundreds of whānau a night are put up in motels—and that is not even taking into account those sleeping in garages in cars and on the streets or the 50 homeless whānau my staff alone have dealt with so far this year. This is the real scandal: the Māori and our aspirations for owning our own home or even for having a safe warm and dry home to sleep in have been cast aside.Unfortunately if Māori are going to look to the current co-leader of the Māori Party the Minister for Māori Development for leadership they will be looking for a long long time. When the emergency-housing scandal broke there was silence from the co-leader of the Māori Party Te Ururoa Flavell. When the Todd Barclay scandal broke there was silence from the co-leader of the Māori Party Te Ururoa Flavell. When the funding to fight rheumatic fever was halved there was silence and on it goes.This is the man who on Māori TV last week called me a liar. He alleged that Māori land owners are confused because of the lies I have allegedly told about the shambles of his Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill. So I called him out. I do not like being called a liar. I challenged the Minister to a debate on his own bill in his own electorate and what did this leader do? He ran. That is right—he ran. He ran from my challenge. He is good at running. That is why the only challenge he puts up there is to other politicians for a running race. But a debate on his own legislation? No never. Nothing will come of it." he says.So this is our Māori development Minister a man who calls MPs liars in the media and then runs from an opportunity to debate those alleged lies; a man who stays silent on the critical issues facing Māori; a man who tells Māori that the Māori Land Service will solve all their problems with their whenua when he has known since April this year that Treasury has slammed it as a shambles. Let me quote what Treasury said in its report around the Māori Land Service. It said: "a suitable business case to assist with decision-making was not ready to support Budget 2017 decisions. Key areas still to be developed include…investment options…the design of enabling technology and transition planning for affected agencies."Clearly the Minister is out of touch. He has misrepresented the wishes of Māori land owners. It is time for change. It is time for a fresh approach. Come 23 September we will see this in the House with the largest Māori representation of Labour MPs who will come into this House. I leave that with you. Tēnā tātou katoa."