Mahuta Nanaia: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Mahuta Nanaia: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 24 October 2007. Volume:643;Page:12660. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Customs) 
: 
 That was a fine rendition from the grim Reaper of the National Party Tony Ryall. That last 10 minutes was all doom and gloom. There were no new ideas. There was nothing from that member about a way forward. He is the grim Reaper of the National Party. In fact when he did have the opportunity to present some new ideas in the health portfolio what did he do? He buried it. He buried it so deeply that New Zealanders now see a stark difference between what the Opposition offers which is very little—higher doctors’ fees—and what the Government offers. The difference with this Government is that it is working to improve lives and it is making a difference for everyday New Zealanders. 
The Government’s health policy has put a high emphasis on primary health care. Indeed the member who spoke before me talked about elective services but let us look at what has really happened. The emphasis on a Primary Health Care Strategy has meant that people can now pay $10 down from $25 to visit a doctor if they belong to a primary health organisation. The charge for prescription fees is not $15 like it used to be; it is now $3. People can now access health care at an earlier point when they need to not at a critical point in the hospital care system when they have to. The stark difference in the Government’s strategy to ensure that everybody has the right to good health and well-being is to emphasise the importance of people accessing primary health care services earlier when they need to not later when they have to. 
But we have done a lot more in the health area which has made a difference. There are more knee and hip operations and more cataract operations. Phil Goff said that the number of hospitals that have been refurbished and that have been built is making a difference to many communities and to the lives of many people. We have done a lot more than that. In 10 days’ time the Labour Party conference will be an opportunity for everybody to see just how far we have come in the last 9 years and how much we have made a difference to the lives of everyday Kiwi New Zealanders in health care. 
In housing we have moved from income-related rentals we are looking to improve and increase the existing stock of Housing New Zealand Corporation homes and we are also offering options for homeownership. That has made a difference. We have done more. We have provided opportunities for many homeowners to access rates rebates of up to $500. We have retrofitted homes so that they can be warmer for our kids and our old people and that has had a vast impact on health care as well. 
We have also made inroads in education. Just this year the commencement of the 20 free hours’ early childhood education for 3 to 4-year-olds will make a critical difference in providing a strong platform for all young New Zealanders to access good strong education choices going into the future. We are increasing the number of teachers in kura and wharekura. We have built more kura and the first stand-alone wharekura is in my electorate which I am very proud of. We are also enhancing the school curriculum to ensure that all cultures and languages can continue to succeed in an inclusive education system. 
So those are the types of gains we are seeing. Sure we can do more to lift achievement but we have come a hell of a long way from where we were when National was in Government. Either people fitted into its education system or they just missed out altogether. We know we have a lot of work to do in this area and that is going to be a major emphasis for us. We understand the importance of the education pathway that the Labour-led Government is leading the way on—our kids get many options to look at the way in which they can succeed and Modern Apprenticeships is a really good example of that. In a number of our schools we have the Gateway programme where kids can get on-site work experience and then perhaps gain a qualification in a trade. 
The trades were totally neglected by National when it was in Government. It did not want to know anything about the trades. [ 
Interruption 
] Yes it totally abolished apprenticeships. That was not a very good look because a lot of our young people in many of our provincial communities want to take up a career in the trades. The Young Apprenticeships initiative that we will be starting next year will again continue to have a fundamental and positive impact on the lives of many young people in the trades area. We can do more. 
In employment we have already heard that the Government has made a number of inroads into reducing the level of unemployment that exists in our communities but amongst young people in particular. With the support of local government and the Mayors Task Force for Jobs we now have fewer than 1000 young people unemployed and we know we are doing a good job.