Sharples Pita: General Debate 
Sharples Pita: General Debate 
[Volume:647;Page:15939] 
Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker. Tena tatou katoa. Yesterday was a down day. The Minister for Social Development and Employment warned the nation last week that employment figures were likely to go up and down over the next 18 months and down they went. Tragically yesterday morning the 466 staff at the Oringi meatworks in Dannevirke realised the full effect of that warning when the PPCS company’s “right-sizing programme” resulted in the closure of the works. 
Last week’s downers took place in the Coromandel where Carter Holt Harvey dismantled 145 jobs on the spot at its Kopu sawmill and in Whangarei where Tenix Shipbuilding let 60 jobs go. Before that there were down days in Mosgiel as 450 jobs disappeared from Fisher and Paykel. Another 50 jobs were lost when Tamahine Knitwear closed its doors; a possible 150 jobs were lost in Ashburton when Design Line shut up shop; and a massive 11300 jobs were lost from the construction industry almost 6000 from manufacturing. 
In fact there have been an awful lot of down days in recent times so much so that the latest quarterly employment survey has demonstrated a decline in the number of people in jobs on a scale that has been unprecedented and unseen since 1989. If there was any doubt at all that we are experiencing some pretty dismal days in the job stakes the economists removed any question. ASB Bank chief economist Nick Tuffley described the job figures as “very grim”. New Zealand Council of Trade Unions economist Peter Conway said he had heard of employers in Te Waipounamu who are regularly seeing close to 100 hopefuls turning up for job interviews whereas in other years they would be lucky to get five applicants. Westpac chief economist Brendan O’Donovan called the statistics an “absolute shocker” and described them as “extraordinarily weak”. 
Although New Zealanders and all the commentators and economists are worried about the loss of some 29000 jobs the Minister in charge had the audacity to say “This is not a dramatic change if we look at the overall picture.” Even worse she said “I don’t think that this is bad news at all actually.” Well try saying “Actually it’s not bad news.” to the workers of Dannevirke—the families who are now struck by another blow in the wake of last year’s closure of Norsewear and the closure of the Feltex Carpets plant in 2006. 
These figures are all down and no up. But where things begin to get really grim is when we look at the differences and the disparities between groups of New Zealanders. I refer to New Zealanders whose unemployment rates shot up to 8.6 percent and 8.2 percent respectively—Maori and Pasifika New Zealanders. It is a pretty significant contrast to other groups of New Zealanders—Europeans sit at a rate of 3 percent compared with 8.6 percent for Maori. 
The Maori Party has sat in this House for 2½ years and it has been reminded every day of the gigantic gaps that still exist after this Parliament decided it was no longer fashionable to talk about closing the gaps. We have sat witness to report after report that shows little or no progress in the alleviation of social and economic deprivation for certain groups of New Zealanders. We wonder when they will enjoy the fruits of the economic growth that the Minister alludes to as “the ups of the cycle”. When will we see the equitable distribution of wealth that will raise the standard of living of all individuals in this country especially those on lower incomes? How long does this nation have to wait before the gross disparity between the employment prospects of Maori and Pasifika peoples and other New Zealanders is removed? 
The good news we are all waiting for is the announcement of a Government that cares and will take up the urgent social legal and constitutional imperative of fundamental change in order to end these injustices. Until that day comes we will be forever relegated to the status of a nation in a position that is extraordinarily weak an utter shocker.