Ririnui Mita: General Debate 
Ririnui Mita: General Debate 
[Volume:641;Page:10921] 
Hon MITA RIRINUI (Minister of State) 
: 
 Kia ora Mr Assistant Speaker. What I have just heard in the House following that speech was applause for the spokesperson on health for the National Party whose greatest issues in health as far as he is concerned are cheese and chocolate. When one gets down to that level of the issues and one cannot raise anything of any substance it is time to go. I think it is also the view in that member’s electorate that it is time for him to go. 
The National Party conference of 2007 was not a good one for National. It was an even worse one for John Key. I ask members to imagine how John Key would have felt the day after the conference when he woke up and thought to himself: “My God I’ve stuffed that up. Bill please spare me the execution.” But you see that is what happens. When one is a sprinter who jumps from cloud to cloud—which is how Bill English described John Key—when it comes to the real issues one is unable to cope. The leader of the National Party is under pressure. Splits and divisions are starting to show. His days are numbered. We can see the grins on the faces of the National Party members on the front bench. They are grinning to themselves cheek to cheek and thinking: “Your time is over John. Sorry.” 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member will use the member’s full name. 
Hon MITA RIRINUI 
: Yes. Mr John Key’s days are numbered. I heard an interview on  
Morning Report 
 this morning. Is it not incredible that John Key stands up in this House today and calls everybody a liar when he told the interviewer this morning that Labour members are vindictive and are getting into personality politics? That is exactly what he did in the House today. He feels that nobody likes him. Well what does he expect? If he cannot be upfront tell the truth and put the issues on the table he is going to lose popularity amongst his supporters. 
Election 2008 is going to be about leadership—good strong dependable reliable and honest leadership. When we step up before the people and we put our policies on the table that is what they expect us to deliver. There are no flip-flops. There is no stealing of other parties’ policies. What was John Key’s position on Iraq? What was his position on nuclear ships entering New Zealand waters? What was his position on KiwiSaver? What is he saying now? National totally supports them. What was his position on global warming? It was a figment of our imagination! Now he is talking as if he has discovered it. Is not that double standards? There is a word that we are not allowed to use in this House but I am going to use one starting with “h”: hoha—hoha katoa tatou. We are tired of it. We want to see some substance and we want to hear some truths mentioned in this House. I know you are looking at me in that way Mr Assistant Speaker but when I talk about leadership I talk about the strong leadership from our Prime Minister the Rt Hon Helen Clark. She is a leader who walks amongst the people—the big the small the rural the urban—te iti me te rahi—to listen to the issues that they are faced with on a day-to-day basis. 
I want to make a few points about our visit to Tai Tokerau Northland 1 week ago. Northland in the 1990s was considered to be the most depressed area of our country. It was an embarrassment to the Government of the day. Nobody can say that now. If we go to Northland now there are no 18 and 19-year-old unemployed Maori. Their unemployment rate is well below 4 percent. In fact in the north they have a problem with getting skilled labour. They have a labour shortage. No one has ever been able to say that about the north over the past three or four decades. Now they have a problem with skill shortages. 
What does that tell us? It tells us that something is happening in the north that is working. There is a level of confidence in the north that is making people get up and make decisions about how they manage their own lives. New businesses are opening on a very regular basis. Now they are screaming out to the Government: “Help us find skilled labour.” There are health and educational groups taking control of their circumstances. We have seen that first hand in the north over the past 2 weeks. 
Is it not interesting that when we do speak to these people we ask them the question: “What is it that you do that is improving your circumstances in your particular community?”. What do they say? They say that there is strong leadership dependable leadership reliable leadership and good strong Government. Thank you Mr Speaker.