Martin Tracey: Address in ReplyText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMartin Tracey: Address in Reply[Sitting date: 21 October 2014. Volume:701;Page:67. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]TRACEY MARTIN (Deputy Leader—NZ First):Kia ora Mr Deputy Speaker. Can I please offer my congratulations on your ascension to the seat. I offer my congratulations to the Rt Hon David Carter to Trevor Mallard and to the returning Lindsay Tisch. I hope that nobody took it personally when New Zealand First nominated our very able colleague Ron Mark to that office. Those who know Ron and who knew him are thrilled to have him returning with us in this session and will know that he is very capable should New Zealand First have been allowed to have some participation and discussion around those nominated. And that was the point that New Zealand First was trying to make.Once again it is funny coming back here; the more things change—they may be different faces over there—the more things stay the same. Mr Bennett still does not read anything before he speaks about it.Mike Sabin: Don Clarke’s surname’s still the same.TRACEY MARTIN: Mr Sabin still continues to shout out no matter what anybody is saying because Mr Sabin has one role. Now that Mr Henare has gone now that Tau has gone Mr Sabin’s role is to be the shouter. Righty-o. So we will just put that to one side New Zealand. That is something we know. This is how it works. They must have at least two or three.So the more things change the more things stay the same. National once again has come into this House and rather than have discussion—let us talk about what the actual definition of the word “consultation” is shall we? Please the new National Party backbenchers just absorb what that word actually means. The Oxford Dictionary says that to consult means “to have discussions with someone typically before undertaking a course of action.” That is what “consultation” means. We have had Ministers who have not understood that word for the last 3 years. We have had a Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage who has not understood it. We have had a Minister of Education who has not understood it. The word “consultation” does not mean to just put out what we are going to do and then say that because we told you we consulted. So the more things change the more they stay the same.This is a little piece of advice to the backbenchers of the National Party there: if you do not want to be just fodder every now and then stand up inside your caucus and challenge it. Every now and then at a select committee hearing do not just shrug your shoulders and say: “Oh why not? Because my whips told me to.” Actually challenge it. Think about what it is that you are voting on. Think about what it is and the direction that that piece of legislation you are voting on takes the country. Just once give it a shot; give it a shot inside of 3 years.When we had the Speech from the Throne this morning we again had more of the same. What we got were really nice words a lovely vision painted—almost what is it colour by dots or something or colour by numbers—so that New Zealand would remain calm. That is what National members want you to do New Zealand. They want you to think that they won the election with a landslide. Now New Zealand First members are exceptionally pleased with our election result.Jacqui Dean: No you—TRACEY MARTIN: Yes I am Ms Dean. In 2008 Ms Dean and her colleagues thought that New Zealand First was dead. They breathed a sigh of relief. They said: “Phew! Thank goodness those people who actually stand up for New Zealanders here are gone—gone.” They had 3 years without us and boy did they miss us. Boy did they miss us. The first thing they said—the ushers and the security people and all the people who work here—when we came back in in 2011 was: “Oh thank goodness Winston’s back! It’s been so boring without him. Thank goodness he’s back.” And look at the team. Look at the team behind me. Look at the team we brought with us. There are 11 of them—11 of them Ms Dean. And I am sure that Ms Dean and her colleagues breathed a sigh of relief on election night too that they did not actually have to deal with New Zealand First after the election because they know that unlike the puppets they finally signed up over there it would have been a hard graft. We would have made sure that the voters for New Zealand First would have actually seen major results from our being in a position of responsibility.We are fine with our result. We have brought with us some strong strong members of our caucus like young Darroch Ball. Darroch Ball is from Palmerston North of Tongan and Kiribati descent. For a person such as myself sitting in Warkworth with one of the largest Kiribati communities in New Zealand I am thrilled to have a member of the Kiribati community in our caucus. He is a young man a solo father who will go on to the Social Services Committee and bring a perspective that has not to my knowledge been there before. I am thrilled that Darroch Ball is here. Mahesh Bindra—a New Zealander of Indian descent who has come through from Mount Roskill to represent his community. He has worked hard for the New Zealand First Party for the last 6 years. I am ecstatic that Mr Bindra is here. We have Clayton Mitchell from Tauranga coming forward with us. Clayton—the Energizer Bunny of New Zealand First. This man is go go go and he will take on whatever project he has and he will push the New Zealand First perspective until there is no further to go.We have Ron Mark returning—Ron Mark and the experience that he brings. And in the 6 years he has been away from this Parliament he has gained even more experience around local government around settlement issues and around other issues. We are thrilled to have Ron back. Pita Paraone—what Pita Paraone does not know about Māoridom in this country is not worth knowing. So we are thrilled to have Pita with us again. Fletcher Tabuteau is from Rotorua with his commerce understanding. His background is in commerce and finance and secondary education and tertiary education. We have never seen such a strong caucus since the early days of New Zealand First. Barbara Stewart—one of the rocks of the New Zealand First Party—is back again with the health portfolio among other issues. I am very very proud to have Barbara as a member of our team.I am thrilled to be the spokesperson for education from the cradle to the grave once again. I note that it was mentioned just slightly in the Speech from the Throne. But the Government members do not want you to talk too much about education in New Zealand. They do not want you to realise that when they make comments such as that they are going to reinvest more money in this and put some more money aside for that—they do not want you to take a moment and think: “Hang on a minute—didn’t they make those cuts back in 2009? Wasn’t it the National Government that cut that funding in 2009? Wasn’t it the National Government that shifted all the resource teachers of learning and behaviour out of the schools? Wasn’t it the National Government that stopped the teachers of literacy coming into our schools?”. Why yes it was and now they are going to put that funding back. Now they are going to say “Pat us on the back New Zealand. Pat us on the back New Zealand and stay calm.” because they do not want you to see the bigger picture New Zealand.But I will guarantee you one thing New Zealand—I will guarantee you one thing. New Zealand First is here in larger numbers than it has been before since 2008. New Zealand First will be back in 2017 in larger numbers again. The National Party cries out in fear. The National Party cries out in fear because it knows that should New Zealand First be in a position of holding the balance of responsibility in 2017—or perhaps even leading the Opposition—then it will get no free ride under New Zealand First. There will be no free ride under this group under this caucus. This caucus will hold them to account for the next 3 years. Kia ora.