Halbert ShananSHANAN HALBERT (Labour): Tēnā koe Madam Speaker and thank you for the opportunity to speak on this piece of legislation this evening. It is a dark day in this Parliament today. We started with the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora and at that time I did a passionate speech a well-prepared speech because I spend a lot of time with health practitioners people that are in my ear telling me to do better. I started that speech talking about my marae in the valley of Moawhango and the Rangitīkei—the person that is talking over my speech at the moment that represents that rohe—and like Hūhana Lyndon I appeal to the Minister for Māori Development tonight. And what I didn't say today is that in this room we have whanaunga connections. We share a tipuna the Minister for Māori Development and I in Mōkai Pātea and across to Te Pāti Māori with Takutai Natasha Kemp.And what I said this morning is that when I go back to my marae in Moawhango I hope that I can say that I have done better by my service in this House. Māori members of Parliament are held to an additional threshold to everyone else in this Parliament. Yes we all serve our communities yes we serve our constituents but at the end of the day we go back to our marae and we explain to our people. At the start of today we explained that we'll be going back to our marae to say that we've lost the fight today to take seven years off their life and under this one that we go backwards on addressing health inequities and particularly the rates of smoking for Māori.The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022 would have reduced tobacco outlets from 6000—6000—to 600 denicotinised tobacco and created a smoke-free generation—a smoke-free generation. But what is important is listening to the voices that we usually hear in this House. And I am saddened that up here in the gallery just like in the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora people aren't here hearing the debates ā-kanohi—in person—feeling the wairua of this discussion because it's shameful. It is disgraceful—Cameron Brewer: You had your chance.SHANAN HALBERT: —and it is an assault on Māori Cameron Brewer. These two pieces of legislation impact our people impact our rangatahi and impact our tamariki because like many I have grown up intergenerationally with smokers. The person just before who said it's a choice to smoke: after generation after generation after generation do you really think that our rangatahi have a choice not to smoke? Today you choose not to protect them. You should hang your heads in shame because not everyone's on track—not everyone's on track. If you read Hāpai te Hauora's comments on this particular kaupapa Māori will not reach the 5 percent target for a smoke-free 2025. Modelling shows that unless we act with urgency Māori will be left behind and not reach this goal till 2040.The smoking rates for Māori remain alarmingly high at 17.1 percent compared to our non-Māori counterparts at 6.1 percent. Māori continue to face substantial barriers to quitting smoking. Low-income communities have four times more tobacco retailers situated in their communities hooking more whānau into addiction.Now that word urgency" is important but not in terms of urgency in this House. It is a failure on our democracy tonight that we haven't taken the time to allow the critical voices of Māori to participate in this debate. Just as importantly we have not allowed the voices the expertise and the evidence from health practitioners to come and contribute to this debate to hold the Government to account—just like this side of the House is tonight. It is an embarrassment that you have chosen to ram through such legislation through this House in urgency not allowing those voices to have a say. Not just have a say—but because these are such sensitive kaupapa that affect our indigenous people therefore they affect everyone in Aotearoa New Zealand.The question has to be asked: who's moving who? Who is the boss in this Government? Because Luxon our Prime Minister says that he's serious about the outcomes for Māori but here we see the first health policy from this Government and all it promotes for Māori is death—is death. That is the reality of what we are talking about tonight.I am passionate about this topic because at the start of the year—my whānau are impacted by decisions such as these. It is a difficult journey for any family that has to go through a cancer scare a cancer diagnosis of those loved ones close to you. And when you sit in that doctor's room and hear that information come through you sit and think about "What could have I done?"—what could have I done? So tonight colleagues members of Parliament my whanaunga the Minister of Māori Development the Minister of Health—a health practitioner that signed up as a doctor to do no harm to others; to do no harm to others. To my colleagues on this side of the House who have stood all day shoulder to shoulder to fight these shocking pieces of legislation—Hon Scott Simpson: Most of them weren't here.SHANAN HALBERT: I've been here all day.Hon Scott Simpson: Most of them haven't been.SHANAN HALBERT: The assault—Ingrid Leary: Point of order Madam Speaker. There was an interjection suggesting that members were not here. That's against parliamentary rules.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): There was nobody named in that interjection. Thank you.SHANAN HALBERT: Thank you Madam Speaker. I'll continue. In my one-minute 30 that I have left I ask: who's the boss? Who's actually making the decisions? How do people come into this Parliament with such motivation that they didn't campaign on? But yes each of you have to go back to your communities and explain what happened because I know that the whānau in Maraenui do not support this piece of legislation that they will be impacted the most; that the people in Rongowhakaata down to Tairāwhiti they will be impacted by this piece of legislation. The people in Massey one of the most deprived parts of Auckland's North Shore—they do not support this legislation. And so each of you I look at you and ask you to dig deep because while this is a political environment we have an obligation to serve to do better to care for our whānau and to ensure that we protect generations to come. The arrogance that I have seen from that side of the House in such a sensitive kaupapa this evening is disgraceful."