Williamson Maurice: General Debates 
Williamson Maurice: General Debates 
[Volume:617;Page:12647] 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON (National—Pakuranga) 
: 
 That was one of the most confused speeches I have heard that member make in recent times. He started off by saying what wonderful warm people were out on the forecourt—“We are with you. We are with you. My feelings my thoughts are with you.” He then went on to say how dreadful they were; that they would spit on people punch them and give them the bash. He said they were rotten shocking and evil. I am not sure which of those categories they are in and I would like Mr Tamihere to stay and tell me because he put them in both. He said that they were wonderful warm caring people then that they were dreadful people who would spit on others and give them the bash. 
He is also trying to get stuck into our leader. I want to tell people because this my first time in the general debate since the last election— 
Ron Mark 
: Where have you been? 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: I have not been anywhere but I have to say I have never been more proud in my political life than to serve in the party under a leader like Don Brash and I will tell members why. I think his Orewa speech was one of the best pieces of work I have ever seen. Why? It was not because it was racist as is coming from the other side; it was quite the opposite. It was the most non-racist speech one could get. What Don Brash said—and I want to know what was wrong with it because no one seems to want to address the substance—is that he does not want any one group in our society getting special or favourable treatment based on race. That is what he said. Members should read the speech: he does not want any one group in our society getting special treatment based on race and I agree with him. 
But I want to say something else about this current Labour Government because history has an enormously wonderful ability to repeat itself. There are no members here if I look around this House who have been through these events—excluding yourself Mr Speaker but I will not bring you into the debate—so I will tell them about it. In 1987 when I came here the members of the Labour Government of 1984-87 were absolutely unstoppable. One could not lay a glove on them. No matter what we threw at them during the 1987 election it just bounced off. The juggernaut rolled on and they actually won seats from the Opposition in the 1987 election. They won New Plymouth they won Manawatu and they won Birkenhead from the Opposition. But guess what happened? Within no time at all it had all turned to custard and I mean big custard; I mean big lumpy chunky oozy custard to the point that they could not stop it. There was a stench around the second term that no one could have predicted during the first term. They were the absolute love doyens of the political world for the first term and by the second 3 years no one wanted to be part of it. Several Labour members said that they wished they were not around. One of the members said to me one day: “I just wish I wasn’t around. I wish the ship would sink. It’s a mess.” And it got worse. Even Trevor Mallard has just tripped over at the thought of what it used to be like between 1987 and 1991. Well they slung out Lange and in came Sir Geoffrey Palmer. That did not work. They slung him out and brought Mike Moore in and daily it went down. 
I want to tell members that that same stench is creeping in around this Government now. We see Tariana Turia bailing out—for what reason? We are going to a by-election but I am not quite sure why. 
I have to tell members on the other side that I found the process of this foreshore and seabed policy offensive. I saw the Government say that it needed to go out and consult on it then set up a series of publicly funded hui where Government members spoke with Maori about it. Well where was the publicly funded meeting in Howick and Pakuranga for my constituents to have their say? Where was it? It did not exist. Eighty-seven percent of the border of my electorate—Pakuranga—is water. Did we get one public consultation from the Government? We got not a mutter not a murmur not a jot. But Maori were allowed to have consultations—paid for—at hui all around the place. In fact I understand there was one somewhere out near Whitford or Maraetai where again the Government tipped in money. But there were none where my people are. If that is not racist I do not know what is. If one is going to consult one should consult with everybody.