Clark Helen: Financial Review Debate — Procedure In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
Clark Helen: Financial Review Debate — Procedure In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
[Volume:616;Page:11868] 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 What an Opposition in disarray we have seen this afternoon! What a National Party in disarray! All 11 speeches that it is entitled to in this debate have been wasted in trying to defend a leader who cannot foot it in Parliament. I feel sorry for those timid little National back-benchers who sat all morning getting their speeches on other subjects ready. We were told they wanted to debate social development they wanted to debate education they wanted to debate Maori affairs issues they wanted to debate the labour portfolio and they wanted to debate the agriculture portfolio but they have used all their calls trying to defend a leader who cannot foot it in Parliament. We have a lot of reviews yet to go in this financial review debate. We will have the pleasure of hearing another five speeches from the Greens on these subjects three speeches from United Future four from New Zealand First one from the Progressives and four from ACT because the National Party has nothing to say about social development nothing to say about education nothing to say about the Maori affairs reviews and nothing to say about labour or agriculture. It does not have its priorities right. 
What a panic the chief Opposition whip was in when he came to the Chamber and saw that National members had blown the game plan! They had thrown their speeches away and what a panic there was over there on the Opposition benches! There will be one winner of that debate on television tonight and it will be  
The Simpsons 
. At least they are genuinely funny and not a sad joke. And Homer will beat Don Brash any day of the week—Homer will win tonight. What a poor sad bitter and twisted little crowd those members were today! 
All I can say is that we have a Government in this country that sets out to uphold the rights of all New Zealanders and when we are presented with a complex issue like the Court of Appeal decision on the foreshore and seabed we do not set out to have a winner-takes-all approach. We set out to ensure that all New Zealanders can have their rights upheld. I have not yet heard a convincing speech from the National Party that it intends to have customary rights recognised at all. Yet as the leader of New Zealand First would remind us if he were able to take another call the fisheries legislation that the National Government introduced in the 1990s provided for customary fishing rights. If National members recognise one set of customary rights why do they stop there? Why do they say it applies only to fish? Why do they not say it applies to other areas in the marine area? They have been very silent. All they have ever moaned about in this Chamber is who has the fee simple title. They do not want to concede today the rights they conceded early in the 1990s. 
This Government has set out with the support and interest of other parties to see how two peoples’ rights can be reconciled and upheld. I say again that it is part of the birthright of every New Zealander to know that those special places—the foreshore and seabed—are there for New Zealanders to access when they want to access them. That is the absolute bottom line. I look forward to that legislation coming into the House. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: When? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: It will come when it is ready and it will meet the needs of New Zealanders to have those special areas available for all of us for all times. But it will also recognise that Maori have customary rights in this area—as National itself recognised more than a decade ago but which it finds convenient not to recognise at this time. Today we have seen a National Party in disarray a strategy blown and a leader who cannot front—it is a hopeless outfit.