Smith Nick: General Debate 
Smith Nick: General Debate 
[Volume:624;Page:19482] 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (National—Nelson) 
: 
 That member is keen to get involved in personal derogatory politics and does not give a hoot about the real issues that face the people of New Zealand. The reason George Hawkins needs to go is that he is letting down the real people of New Zealand. Members opposite think it is funny that there are seven rape cases in south Auckland— 
Rodney Hide 
: Nine. 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: —nine Rodney Hide confirms—that have not been investigated. The junior whip would have seen the Prime Minister laughing about it in the House today rather than showing some care and compassion for the people who have been subjected to serious crime. 
I raise with the House the incompetence of George Hawkins and his dealings concerning leaky homes. Thousands of New Zealanders are being confronted with bankruptcy because of what has happened to their homes. George Hawkins was the Minister in charge. When he was notified there was a problem he did nothing for 18 months and that ensured that another 1500 families ended up with substandard homes. But George Hawkins had the answer. He set up the weathertight leaky homes resolution service. He promised that that would be a speedy and quick resolution process. Well it has been going for 2½ years. 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: For George that is speedy. 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: My colleague Maurice Williamson says that 2½ years might be speedy. Do members know that only 10 percent of the 2700 cases have been resolved? At the current rate that George Hawkins’ resolution service for owners of leaky homes is going—there are no more claims—it will take 20 years to resolve their problems and this Government calls that a speedy quick resolution service! Well I would hate to see a slow one. 
Then we had the awful plight of the Cox family which was typical of those families affected by leaky homes. The builder has gone into liquidation so too has his certifier. So what did George Hawkins say to the Cox family in Whangarei who look like they will go bankrupt whose home is so shonky that it is recommended for demolition and whose home was built after George Hawkins was told of the problem but did nothing? He said that they should go to the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service. They have. Do members know who went to the mediation? The family went. There was no certifier no builder and no representative from the council. When I asked the Minister yesterday what advice he had for the Cox family in Whangarei he said that he did not have any and that they should go back to the resolution service. That is great. They will go back to adjudication and nobody else will be there. 
This is a disgrace. The good reputation of the New Zealand Police has been dragged into the gutter by George Hawkins Minister of Police. The largest and most important asset of thousands of New Zealanders has been completely eroded and ruined families are destitute and we have had totally inadequate answers from George Hawkins as the Minister in charge of housing It is very simple: George Hawkins should go. If George Hawkins does not go a whole lot of Labour members will go with him because New Zealanders will not put up with that sort of incompetence—incompetence with regard to the police and incompetence with regard to his administration as Minister of Internal Affairs of those important issues concerning New Zealand homes. 
George Hawkins is an embarrassment and the Labour Party knows it. That is why it gave him such an appalling list ranking. Why is it that members opposite defend the indefensible? Why is it that they laugh when they hear that nine rape cases have been sitting around since Christmas uninvestigated? Why is it that they laugh when they see that the police are totally under-resourced to be able to do their jobs and provide for law and order? Those issues matter. If George Hawkins will not go Labour should go.