1. Question No. 1—Prime MinisterRAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori) to the Prime MinisterORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Prime Minister1. RAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori) to the Prime Minister: Tēnā koe e te Pīka otirā tēnā tātou e te Whare. Kei te mihi atu rā ki te Kāwana-Tianara hou ki a Cindy Kiro i riro ia i tōna tūranga i tēnei rā. [Thank you Mr Speaker and my greetings to all of us in the House. I acknowledge the new Governor-General Cindy Kiro who was officially appointed to her role today.]Does she stand by all her Government's statements and actions? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Deputy Prime Minister) on behalf of the Prime Minister: Yes. In particular I stand behind the steps this Government has taken to support Māori whānau in responding to the impacts of COVID-19. The Government has continually provided support to our Māori communities including our funding announcements last month that invested $22 million for Whānau Ora commissioning agencies to boost their work on COVID-19; $17 million to help Māori providers adapt their services to support the COVID-19 response; $14 million to help whānau access health services medications and hygiene products; $3 million to strengthen the Māori psychosocial response ensuring whānau have access to mental health and wellbeing services; and $2 million to ensure providers have sufficient money to manage the long tail of the response sustain their efforts and prepare for future outbreaks. Having said all of that we know that there is a lot more work to do and we are committed to working alongside iwi whānau and anyone across New Zealand who can support an increase in vaccination rates. Rawiri Waititi: Why did she abandon the elimination strategy when due to the lack of Government investment in power sharing Māori vaccination rates are so far behind? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Well on behalf of the Prime Minister I would challenge the premise that sits behind both parts of that question actually. We are committed to lifting Māori vaccination rates. Throughout this vaccination programme we have worked with Māori providers on the ground to make sure that we get alongside those communities. It has not worked to the extent that everyone would have wanted it to but it has been a programme of work that the Government has got alongside communities on and as I said in my primary answer we know there's more to do and we're doing it. Rawiri Waititi: Does she accept that if she hadn't consistently ignored the advice of Māori health experts since the first outbreak last year the Māori vaccine rates would now be much higher; if not why not? SPEAKER: Order! Order! There's an assertion in the front of that question which makes it out of order.Rawiri Waititi: Why are rural Māori communities like Ngati Porou having to use crowdfunding to fund-raise for their own mobile vaccination clinics if the vaccine programme and Māori equity are top Government priorities? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On behalf of the Prime Minister as she noted she herself was in Ngati Porou - East Coast territory and was able to be part of mobile clinics working up there in Ruatōria also in the Gisborne area and I think at the opening of the Tairāwhiti Arts Festival—there was another mobile clinic there. So there are mobile facilities in the Tai Rāwhiti region. But again I don't disagree with the member: we need to do more and that is what this Government is committed to doing. Hon Chris Hipkins: Does having prominent Māori political figures actively discouraging people from being vaccinated help or hinder the vaccination effort? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On behalf of the Prime Minister we want the support of every community leader across all groups in New Zealand for the vaccination campaign. We do know that there are hesitant people in a number of communities including the Māori community and I want to thank members of this House who have stood up as community leaders. For those who in the wider community are not doing that I ask them to reconsider that approach. We need all hands to the wheel here. Rawiri Waititi: Point of order. SPEAKER: A point of order related to this latest question? Rawiri Waititi: Well it sounded like an assertion that there are Māori political people out there who are discouraging the vaccination. SPEAKER: Well there are some things which are assertions and there are some things which are matters of fact. My old propping mate Pem Bird who I played quite a bit of rugby against in the King Country some time ago is properly described as a leading political figure and I think in fact the member himself will know his history in that way. So it's just a matter of record. A further supplementary question—Rawiri Waititi: Point of order. SPEAKER: No a further supplementary—we've dealt with that. A further supplementary question? Rawiri Waititi: Another point of order Mr Speaker. SPEAKER: I am warning the member now: if this is not a proper point of order he will have lost his supplementary questions which he would otherwise have. Is it a supplementary question or a point—Rawiri Waititi: A supplementary. SPEAKER: Right. Rawiri Waititi: What specific actions has she taken to ensure Māori providers have access to data they need to boost Māori vaccine rates rather than having to take civil action in court? A matter of fact. Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On behalf of the Prime Minister we work every single day with our team at the Ministry of Health and through the Associate Minister Minister Henare in particular around Māori health provision to make sure we're doing all that we can within the law to make sure that we support—the roll-out of vaccination data is part of that; so are many many other things. Rawiri Waititi: Point of order. I take umbrage to the fact that we've mentioned a kaumātua in this room that has taken a position of a professional physician in that particular community that has created that particular assertion that Māori are encouraging people not to get vaccinated. I think that's absolutely wrong.SPEAKER: Well the member will disagree with me on that. I rely entirely on the media reports of the former president or former kaumātua—leader—of his party who has taken a stand indicating that Māori should not accept the current vaccine. I have heard him and seen reports of him doing that and so it is as far as I'm concerned a matter of fact and not a matter of opinion.