Horomia Parekura: General Debate 
Horomia Parekura: General Debate 
[Volume:633;Page:4984] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
: 
 We have listened to some wayward prattle about the leadership of the Labour Government. Helen Clark will go down in history as being one of the finest and most decisive leaders and as leading a party that knows who its leader is. There is no guessing and no ballot-box running on who should be the leader. There is no ballot-box pool as National members play. I see one two three four National members: it is the Don and Gerry show the John and Bill show—they are all vying for the leadership. That tells us that the National Party is wayward. 
That tells us that National members are grasping at straws when they try to dominate these sessions and prattle on about race-based funding. They need lessons in history. In the 1990s who brought in race-based funding? Who wrote and developed the weightings about Maori specifically? The National Government did. It put a lot of time into ensuring there was a race-based focus. 
 This Government is quite clear. We are going to address issues like obesity and smoking and whatever else. And some of us have to try harder! I remind members that this Government along with Maori is dramatically moving people from dependency to simple development—and there is a difference. Our tax incentives are about remembering that there are all sorts of levels of people in this country—in different income-band levels and in different situations. Some of them are poor and some are more well-off. The incentives that Sue was talking about are created by those people. What is that about? It is about recognising Maori potential. It is building talents knowledge and skills so that we do compete. 
It is clear that Maori are strong in their culture and in their tikanga and the nation watched that last week with the passing of our Arikinui. People watched that and saw there was a strong continuum of the culture they bought into it and they recognised the window of opportunity to be serious about national identity. They saw the opportunity of understanding that this country does have a culture that belongs to it. We have listened to some redneck nonsense trying to put people agin people when this Government is serious about getting Maori going forward. It is about knowledge and it is about better use of their asset base. A lot of Pakeha companies and other people understand that Maori do have money and are getting better at managing their assets and those people want to be in. 
This is critical and the Government has been serious about a whole lot of issues. Unemployment is at its lowest in 24 years. When we came into office after the 1990s Maori unemployment was 26 percent. It is now running at 11 percent. Is that not a difference? Maori men and women are living on average an extra 8 years. Is that not progress? The Government certainly cannot lay claim to that. But in relation to schools we have put thousands of teachers into the education system while we have been in Government in the last 6 years. Adding 455 extra teachers next year is no mean feat. Building the police force is no mean feat. There are a whole lot of issues that Maori are alongside. 
There is no doubt that Maori are a renewed people. The contribution that Maori make to New Zealand and internationally is substantial. That some people want to scratch a bad itch and try to put people against people is a real sad state of affairs. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Where did the member get that hat? 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: I remind the member that a Labour-led Government as it continues over the next 5 to 10 years will be here pushing and developing because New Zealanders are living what this Government is doing with them. They are living that and they are very very clear on it. They are not trying to pitch people against people and take extreme positions in the sense of families young and old. What is that about—families young and old? We have different demographics we have Treaty settlements coming through and we have people trying to put communities agin each other as we have heard today. We heard Mr Brownlee accusing Mr Field of all sorts of things. There are members opposite who have pushed people down stairs and who have done naughty things and they never got sorted out until the allegations were proved.