Dyson Ruth: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Dyson Ruth: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:645;Page:14183] 
Hon RUTH DYSON (Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
: 
 When a former member of Parliament Deborah Coddington left she puzzled me with her statement about why she was leaving. She said: “I’m leaving Parliament because I don’t hate enough.” After listening to the previous speaker I say: “Deborah you can come back because Bill English has got enough for both of you and lots to spare.” He is so angry and so bitter. Deborah could come back and just sit next to him and she would feel fine. The irony of Bill English’s speech and the audacity of that member to talk about the “value of tradesmen” in our country when he sat here as Minister of Finance and scrapped apprenticeships in our country and said they were so useless and that we were better off to bring people in from overseas rather than train them ourselves. 
Hon Bill English 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. The Standing Orders refer to members deliberately misleading the House. The member will know that National passed the Industry Training Act which Labour actually voted for and it was simply a change in the form of apprenticeships. It did not abolish them so the member cannot mislead the House in such a deliberate way particularly when her party voted for the legislation. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: Please be seated. That was not a point of order and the member knows that he would have to raise that as a point of privilege. It is a point of debate. 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: Not only is it not a point of order but it is not even a point of debate because we know what happened to the apprenticeships scheme under that member when he was Minister of Finance. I know that our Government introduced the Modern Apprenticeships scheme and we now have 14000 apprentices because of our commitment to the value of tradesmen who are trained in our country rather than being brought in from overseas as that member did when he was Minister of Finance. 
Another incredible statement by the member was that we need higher wages just like his leader said. That member was Minister of Finance during the 9 years of the National Government when the minimum wage went from $6.12 for an adult to $7. 
Hon Pete Hodgson 
: Over 9 years! 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: That increase of just 87.5c was not in 1 year or in 2 years but over 9 years. That is what that member as Minister and his Government did for the most vulnerable members of our community—those people on the minimum wage. Every year since we were elected to lead the Government in 1999 we have increased the minimum wage and have we had one single statement of support from the National Party? 
Hon Members 
: No. 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: There has not been one single statement in support of increasing the minimum wage so that this year adults will get $12 an hour. We know they should get more. Our commitment is to continue to improve their lot rather than see the return of the bad old days that Bill English as Minister of Finance oversaw signing out the papers that meant the most vulnerable members in our community the people who often work the hardest were stuck on $7 an hour. 
It is a pleasure and a privilege to speak in support of the Prime Minister’s statement in this debate. It is actually a privilege to be a member of Parliament and I have to say that very few choose to leave this position voluntarily. I want to make a brief acknowledgment of one of our parliamentary colleagues who has made that decision and announced it today—Katherine Rich. Although Katherine is a member of a very different party from mine I can honestly say that I have enjoyed working with her over several years particularly on issues in relation to supporting families. She is a passionate woman and she has been very courageous in sticking with her principles. She has done that not just on easy issues but on very difficult issues like the repeal of the parental defence of assaulting one’s own child. She stood on her principles in opposition to bulk funding. She stood on her principles in refusing to join the populists in beneficiary-bashing and she stood on her principles in backing school zoning. That principled approach is one that for her as a member of a party that was moving in the opposite direction on all of those points must have been a lot harder than the alternative approach that her colleagues took. Katherine has earned respect from many parties around the House as a result of those stands. Life in this great institution addictive though it is we all know is hard on our families and particularly on young children—and Katherine has two. I want to wish her three things. I want to first of all wish her more time with her family in the future I want to wish her good health and I want to wish her challenges in the next stage of her life that will use her talents and her passion better than they may have been used in this place. 
Labour through the Prime Minister yesterday presented a strong vision so that we can secure the best possible living standards not just for some New Zealanders but for every New Zealander. We have big policies to roll out and progress this year because we want to achieve long-term change so that every family every young person and every older person can enjoy a secure and better life. We should never be satisfied with the status quo for our citizens. Regardless of how much we improve things we can always improve them even more. We want our nation to be sustainable to be prosperous to be secure in our identity as New Zealanders to be proud of our own country rather than running it down at every opportunity as the leader and deputy leader of the National Party do and to be proud of the achievements of our fellow citizens. Our plan to deliver that has substance. 
Often in Parliament we have robust solid debate but that has been less so over the last few years I have noticed. I want to refer to a comment that Colin Espiner made in that great newspaper the Christchurch 
 Press 
 delivered in Christchurch on a regular basis. He noted today that the Prime Minister has a formal role in presenting her address to Parliament: she actually delivers her speech to leaders of the various parties several hours before the Prime Minister’s statement is made. But it was clear yesterday as Colin Espiner noted that John Key had not even bothered to read it. He had no engagement on the policy no engagement on the issues and challenges that face our country and thought he could get away with that shallow approach. Well it might have been good when he had been the leader for 5 minutes but as I am sure Bill English is increasingly aware of and excited about it will not last for long. The public of New Zealand want and expect—and actually deserve—much better than that. 
Labour offers our country strong and proven leadership. We have a record of delivering on our promises and we have new initiatives that will build on what we have achieved for our country. Yesterday one of the major announcements by the Prime Minister was the roll-out of our Pathways to Partnership programme—a new model of central government working with our community organisations a new model that will deliver the best outcomes for our children and our families. It is based on working together to deliver the support that our families may need from time to time. The basis of that new model is full funding for contracted essential services with our community organisations. It has an automatic annual cost adjustment it has funding for forecast volume increases and it has funding for workforce development and capability improvements. It has funding to support collaboration to support those community organisations working together and it moves in total to outcomes-focused contracts. This was a very large investment of money—$446 million over 4 years. That support that investment is certainly welcomed and certainly deserved. 
Some of the comments I have here I would like to record for the House. Liz Kinley of Jigsaw Incorporated said: “In 20 years time we will look back at the 12 of February 2008 and say this announcement was a watershed day for the government community organisations and children and families in New Zealand. It is a powerfully delivered message from the Government about the value of the work our social services carry out at a local level often unnoticed by many of us until we need them. It demonstrates the importance of protecting and sustaining them as an integral part of our social network.” That is what Liz Kinley of Jigsaw said about it. It is recognition by our Government of the importance not only of the work that our community organisations do but of the importance of genuine partnership between central government local government and those community organisations. Paul Baigent of Plunket said: “This is a great result for families and children in New Zealand.” Jeff Sanders from Relationship Services said that the Government has recognised the significant role that the non-governmental organisation sector plays and has agreed to fund these key organisations in a sustainable way. This was a very significant announcement not just in terms of the amount of money but because of the commitment to ensure that these organisations can operate in genuine partnership with our Government to deliver the services that make a difference to families—to help them early to help in a way that will build their resilience so that they can go on to contribute significantly perhaps even—I tell Mr English—through Labour’s Modern Apprenticeships scheme so they can become the valued tradespeople that Labour supports and Labour delivers.