Turei Metiria: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Turei Metiria: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Sitting date: 19 September 2012. Volume:684;Page:5370. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
10. 
METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does he stand by his statement “I do not know so much about ‘Planet Key’ but my expectations are it would be a lovely place to live it would be beautifully governed golf courses would be plentiful people would have plenty of holidays to enjoy their time and what a wonderful place it would be”? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes. But I feel that I was remiss in not adding that the only place you would find the greens would be on the golf courses. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! I want to hear Metiria Turei’s supplementary question. [ 
Interruption 
] Order! On this occasion it is the National members who are being unreasonably loud. 
Metiria Turei 
: On “Planet Key” his idea of nirvana are 270000 children living in poverty while their mums earn $13.50 an hour cleaning the toilets on his plentiful golf courses? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: No. We would not have toilets on “Planet Key”. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! Someone will be going if they are not silent while I am on my feet. [ 
Interruption 
] Look the House will come to order and that includes braying like a jackass when I am on my feet. That is not acceptable. 
Metiria Turei 
: On “Planet Key” his version of nirvana would women receive equal pay for equal work and pay equity for equivalent work so that women too can enjoy plenty of holidays with their families? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: No. People would not be working; they would be having a great time with leisure. 
Metiria Turei 
: Back in the real world where 150000 children—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! The member has every right to ask her question and I want to hear it. 
Metiria Turei 
: Back in the real world where 150000 New Zealand children in beneficiary households live in severe poverty why does he consistently refuse any solution to bring them out of that poverty including a targeted child payment which would help these children to be fed as they deserve to be? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Here in New Zealand—if that is what the member is referring to—in fact this Government has done a great deal to try to help at-risk young children. That includes in the worst of times maintaining large recycling of payments through the likes of Working for Families. We have set a target to make sure that 98 percent of youngsters get into early childhood education. We have been increasing the numbers of youngsters who are going into early childhood education. We have set a target of having 95 percent infant immunisation rates. In fact again we have been seeing immunisation rates go up. We have set a target to reduce rheumatic fever by two-thirds and again we are starting to see that reduction. We are undertaking significant welfare reform because we know that about 220000 children are growing up in welfare-based homes and we know the fastest way out of poverty is to get into paid employment. 
Metiria Turei 
: Why should 150000 poor hungry children have to wait for him to deliver the 87000 jobs that their parents would need to get off the benefit before he will step up and do something for them? Why do they not deserve to live in a wonderful place too? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Firstly I think it is really important to understand that businesses deliver jobs so what the Government is focused on doing is making sure that we have the environment that encourages people to create jobs. We have seen 50000 new jobs created in the last couple of years. We have also seen that member resist every measure that this Government has taken to deliver an environment that would be more conducive to job growth. If the member wants to follow her policy prescription she had actually better get used to signing up to a whole lot more kids not having parents who are working. 
Jacinda Ardern 
: When he said that he would not support Labour’s Child Poverty Bill because “it needed a range of measures of poverty” had he actually read it given it includes four measures of poverty or is it in the same reading pile as John Banks’ police file? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: It certainly deserves to be but no I have actually funnily enough read a little bit of it. What the member I think actually goes on to say is that there should be social obligations in it—something she was bagging National for when it was doing it. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! I want to hear Metiria Turei. 
Metiria Turei 
: Will the Prime Minister show these kids that he cares about them and support my bill for a child payment for the 150000 New Zealand children who unlike his mates on “Planet Key” do not get a holiday from poverty? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: I really take offence when the member says that we do not care about these young New Zealanders. This Government spends a huge amount of time money and energy focused on those young New Zealanders and on trying to give them help. If the member thinks that that will be resolved without giving them a decent education—because she does not support all the measures that this Government has taken to lift education standards—then she is dreaming. If the member thinks that that can be achieved by a universal payment as I said to the member some time ago she comes into this House and she bags this Government because she argues that we have people who are well off and then she wants to give the same millionaires yet more money to raise their kids. She is barking mad if that is what she thinks. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! I am going to ask the Prime Minister to withdraw that last statement. That is totally unfair. The Prime Minister should withdraw and apologise for that last statement. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: I withdraw and apologise.