Quinn Paul: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Quinn Paul: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:656;Page:5834] 
PAUL QUINN (National) 
: 
 It gives me great pleasure to speak briefly on the great work that this new Government under an outstanding Minister of Maori Affairs is doing this year. I want to talk about the allocations in the appropriations for this financial year and compare them with the wastage that occurred under the previous administration. One of the things the new Minister took on was the early challenge of the Maori economic summit conference in terms of developing new ideas and a fresh approach to how we could better allocate the appropriations for this financial year. I would like to compare the output from that Maori economic summit with that thing called the Hui Taumata set up under the previous administration. I cannot believe that it was set up under the previous Minister of Maori Affairs because he is such a great guy so it must have been that in the Cabinet of the day he was driven to set it up. 
I think this Hui Taumata was formed in 2005 and the Government spent millions of dollars of previous appropriations on it. But what did it achieve? It achieved absolutely nothing for the millions of dollars thrown in those appropriations at these grand talkfests yet along comes the new Minister who is focused on the job and who immediately realised that Maori economic development is the thing that will take our people forward. Increased opportunity and aspiration for our tamariki are critical to ensuring the future economic benefit of the Maori people. 
I want to share some of the things that came out of the Maori economic summit. For instance let us talk about the infrastructure industry training organisation—InfraTrain. It is a new programme to give hundreds of Maori adolescents the opportunity to upskill to enable them to take on opportunities in the infrastructure industries that our Government will be focused on. We as a Government intend putting billions of dollars into the infrastructure that lagged behind under the previous administration. It is one of many steps to improve productivity in this country. This Government has ensured that Maori will be part of that by providing money in the appropriations this year to enable funding to develop skill sets in that area. 
Another area of training for our young Maori adolescents and tamariki is in the Aviation Tourism and Travel Training Organisation. Another one is the Seafood Industry Training Organisation. Again we have put money aside to enable young Maori adolescents to uplift their skills so that they can partake in the fishing industry which is an industry that provides enormous opportunities. I want to compare that against the record of the previous Government which used to dish out money to support its cronies. I read in the newspaper about Charles Waldegrave—now there is a doyen of statisticians! Let me tell members about Charles Waldegrave. He was on Te Puni Kokiri’s books for $20000 a year supposedly to produce some reports on social health and well-being but he never produced one report. That is the sort of thing that Te Puni Kokiri used to do with its money under the previous administration. 
Again I feel sorry for the previous Minister of Maori Affairs because I know that Parekura Horomia would never have employed that man. It would have been done under the direction of the then Prime Minister because one of Labour’s cronies had to be on the payroll of a Government department. However he did not produce one report while on Te Puni Kokiri’s payroll. Thank you Mr Chairperson.