Samuels Dover: Budget Debate 
Samuels Dover: Budget Debate 
[Volume:631;Page:3365] 
Hon DOVER SAMUELS (Minister of State) 
: 
 I have listened over the years to a number of Budgets being announced in this House and I have found it very very interesting especially when one is in Government and the Budget is being delivered to hear the responses of those on the Opposition benches. Things really have not changed very much at all except for the responses made by Opposition members and specifically the National Party to this Budget which have been very predictable—unusual but predictable. 
The strands of Opposition members and their contribution to the debate has been twofold. Two threads of deliberation and contribution have been made by the National Party to this Budget. One is the mantra we heard before the election about tax cuts and how they would benefit our people. The other one is unusual. It is unusual because it is the first time I have ever heard a member of this House encouraging people to go to Australia. So those are the two threads I want to talk about—the mantra of tax cuts and how they will benefit our people and the new one whereby Don Brash wants to emigrate to Australia. 
I will pick up on the second one by way of a letter to the editor of the  
New Zealand Herald  
yesterday. It was sent by a New Zealander who has family who live in Australia. It states: “Don Brash and patriotism. As a loyal National voter I have one message for Don Brash—shut up. I am unimpressed by the anti-New Zealand rhetoric and offensive tax-rate billboard campaign. Let me give Dr Brash some perspective. I have family in Sydney.” This is not from somebody who is just claptrapping here from this Parliament; he has a family in Sydney. “The husband left a $45000 job in Auckland for a $70000 job in Sydney yet the family is saving next to no more than it was in New Zealand. The reason is simply a myriad of user-pays fees expensive sports club fees for the children huge stamp duty on house buying hugely expensive insurances and so on. The result? Five more New Zealanders will be coming home sooner rather than later. National’s tax-rate campaign is disingenuous at best dishonest at worst. Are you actually trying to make us feel bad for staying in this great country on purpose?”. 
 That letter to the editor certainly was not canvassed by the Labour Party. It was from a member of the National Party. I have listened to all this and it makes one wonder. Could one imagine Don Brash and Gerry Brownlee in their speedos lying on a towel on Bondi Beach? Could one imagine them in their bikinis under the sunshine at Bondi? I would say that the best policy would be to repatriate every New Zealander not just in Bondi or Sydney but from all around Australia. If we want New Zealanders to come back to this country then just get them to picture Don Brash and Gerry Brownlee in their bikinis lying in the sun on Bondi Beach! God help the Australians! That was in the  
New Zealand Herald. 
I was interested to hear the comments made by my colleagues in the Maori Party. They said that this Budget has nothing in it for Maori. Certainly I acknowledge that the Budget does not mention the word “Maori” many times but I say to those members on the other side of the House—a group of people who I would say are “Ngati knockers”—that if they look very carefully at the Budget documents they will see in them a lot of goodies for Maori. 
I will talk about the Budget in terms of housing health tourism and education. But first I will talk about the health budget. The sum of $10.6 million is going to the health sector this coming year— 
Jill Pettis 
: Extra. 
Hon DOVER SAMUELS 
: There will be $931 million extra this year. Do Maori go to the hospital? Of course they do. When we go to our hospitals we see a lot of Maori patients being looked after? Do Maori belong to primary health organisations? Of course they do. Do Maori women have babies in our maternity wards in our hospitals? Of course they do. Do Maori have access to primary health care? Of course they do. Does the Labour Government provide funds for health hauora and Maori providers? Yes it does. Do Maori Party members understand what Budgets are all about? No they do not. I do not blame them—I can understand that—because instead of looking at the detail of the Budget and at what is provided in it for our people they are looking for the word “Maori”. If I were a member of the Maori Party I would certainly be looking for the word “Maori”. 
But I want to tell my colleagues that there is more good news. There is better news for us in housing. That is an area that is close to my heart and to the heart of my colleague the member for Te Tai Tokerau. Labour is investing $659 million in the building of an extra 7200 State houses. I say to members of the Maori Party—to the “Ngati-knockers Party”—that the majority of State house tenants 39 percent of them are Maori . About 13000 State houses were flogged off by the National Party—and I can see my colleague across the other side of the House is looking very disappointed. He cannot believe this. When National was last in Government it sold off 13000 State houses. This is the reality. This is not just claptrap talk about the Budget and all the high-flying phrases used. How many families do members believe were displaced? Labour will build an extra 7200 State houses by 2009. 
What is in it for Maori? Let me tell this House and the Maori Party in particular that 21139 State house tenants are Maori. I ask whether they can beat that. Never mind about the korero—the claptrap is easy. This Government delivers. I am proud to be a member of a Government that delivers for our people and I am proud to be a member of a Maori caucus that does not go around the radio stations talking a lot of humbug or writing claptrap in letters to the editors of newspapers. In fact we deliver for our people. 
In education we are spending an extra $361 million with a budget per year of $4 billion. Do our Maori kids benefit in kohanga reo? Do our Maori kids benefit in their primary education? Those members should think about it. Do our Maori kids benefit in their secondary education? Of course they do. So where is all this claptrap coming from—claptrap that says: “Oh poor Maori. We have to have the handouts identified with the label ‘Maori’ on them.”? Well I say to this House that the majority of Maori are intelligent people. We accept the challenges that are set down by the community. We do not want something for nothing. We do not want handouts. We are as good as anybody else and we want to be treated just like anybody else. We want to be treated equally with equity and dignity in this country. This Budget actually does that. 
I challenge anybody who is really serious about saying what is good for the Maori community to stand up and counteract some of the facts I have put before the House to consider especially my colleagues in the Maori Party who almost every day bleat about how Maoridom is hard-done-by. We are spending $1.3 billion on roads and part of that expenditure is going up north to Te Tai Tokerau to tarseal the road to Cape Reinga. Has any other party in Government done that? Some months ago members of the National Party were gnashing their teeth and frothing at the mouth about the underspending on our roads. They should look at the situation now. They were ambushed outclassed and outflanked by Michael Cullen. I say to those people who talk a lot of humbug and who want to knock the contributions to Maoridom that have been made by this Government that they had better think again. Tena koutou tena koutou. Have a nice day.