General Debate 
General Debate 
[Volume:670;Page:17265] 
General Debate 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Police) 
: 
 I move  
That the House take note of miscellaneous business 
. I begin by acknowledging the tragedy in Japan in the last week. The fact that our friends in Japan have had an earthquake a tsunami and a nuclear threat is one of those tragedies that many of us thought was not even an option when we had our own tragedy on 22 February this year. Despite this terrible time we know that the thoughts of the people of New Zealand and the world are with the people of Japan as they go through this terrible situation. It was bad enough having the earthquake but then came the tsunami. We saw on various news reports images of houses and people who had been swept away by the tsunami—everything was just swept away in its path—but now they have this nuclear threat. 
When we had our own tragedy on 22 February Japan was one of the first countries to offer us assistance and I can remember on 24 February on the Thursday after the earthquake seeing the Japanese urban search and rescue team coming down to the CTV building to help go through the rubble to see whether they could find anybody alive. I spoke with one of the doctors who were with the urban search and rescue team from Japan. Extraordinarily professional people were in that team and they worked really hard and they have now had to go back to Japan to respond to their own tragedy. 
The aftershock on 22 February brought out the very best in our people and I think that is something that we can be very proud of. It has also brought out the very best in our Christchurch-based members of Parliament across the House who I note in the  
Press 
 today are still holding clinics and trying to do the best that they can to help their constituents. On a non-partisan basis I congratulate them on keeping on doing the job that they are paid to do and we expect them to do. 
I would also like to make a comment about the fund-raising in New Zealand. Never has an Aucklander seen so many pro-Canterbury people and really dyed-in-the-wool Cantabrians as we have over this matter. We have had fund-raising from one end of the country to the other. We have had fund-raising all over the world by people who have been sending us help. 
When I look at some of the very best of our people I think back to 24 February when I met a young constable. He had been with the New Zealand Police for 6 months and his job was to take me around some of the places where there were dead people and where all sorts of work was going on. He had 6 months’ experience and I asked him how his house was. He said it was destroyed. It had gone back to the swamp. The area had been drained but it had gone back to a swamp. His house was covered in liquefaction and debris. He had a wife and young baby and he said: “But we’re all right.” so I asked him why he was all right. He told me that his wife had made good friends at Plunket and one of them had taken his family in. Rather than being home or looking after his own property or his own family he was at work—where we would expect him to be because he is a professional and he is one of our finest. 
As we went around the central area of Christchurch in a marked police car we were stopped by various people. They came to ask him for help. Some people asked him for water so he popped the boot of the car and out came some water bottles for the people. We were asked for petrol and he let them know where he thought the next open petrol station was. When we were at the chambers in Christchurch where all the civil defence people were working he was approached by a young girl who wanted an asthma inhaler. Her asthma inhaler was on the fifth floor of an apartment building down the road and it was far too unsafe for her to go in there. He went off to look and then he went and let her know where to find an asthma inhaler. I looked at that young man—members know how it is; we get a bit older and all policemen start to look so young—and I realised that nobody was asking the people in suits; they were asking the police officers. I would like to congratulate them on the most excellent work they have done through this terrible time. I thank all of our emergency services our urban search and rescue people and everybody else. They have done a marvellous job. 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour—New Lynn) 
: 
 I begin by joining with the previous speaker the Minister of Police in acknowledging the suffering of the Japanese people following the 9.0 earthquake in Sendai the devastating tsunami and the current crisis with the nuclear facilities in Fukushima. A year ago today I was in Japan as a guest of Government in Tokyo and in the Yamaguchi prefecture where my father had served in J-force to assist post-war reconstruction. I must say I feel at a very personal level the suffering of the Japanese people today. New Zealanders know what Japan is going through; Japan was with us in our suffering in Christchurch. We commend the decision of the Government to dispatch an urban search and rescue team to Japan to assist in their struggle. 
All New Zealanders are still struggling with the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake and Labour supports every effort to help them through that. We know that Government agencies on behalf of all Kiwis have played a remarkable and an honourable role in that relief effort. Beyond that we have seen the best of New Zealanders over the last 3 weeks: the man who pumped the water out of his well on to the street so his neighbours could quench their thirst neighbours helping neighbours people providing food and services free of charge relief centres and search and rescue personnel. All of it proves that New Zealanders have a quiet strength in adversity and are prepared to do the hard yards to rebuild our city and our country. 
Someone said to me that if we could only bottle that spirit of rebuilding Christchurch and use it to rebuild New Zealand we would be better off. I join with that person in expressing that hope. But that is where it becomes difficult unfortunately because the reality is that even before the earthquake New Zealand was going backwards. Growth in the third quarter of last year was negative. Treasury and the Reserve Bank say that growth in the fourth quarter was zero or negative. Unemployment is at recent record levels and apparently rising again. Meantime food prices and petrol prices are rising and people have not had wage rises or they got a puny 25c increase in the minimum wage. 
All around the country and not just in Christchurch New Zealand families are in crisis. It is a crisis because they do not know how they will make ends meet. It is a crisis because they cannot put petrol in the car or food on the table. They face the devil’s choice between taking their kids to the doctor and putting the budget together for the groceries. At the same time Government debt was blowing out and Government services were being compressed. 
Why is all of that happening? The bottom line is that this Government does not have a strong structural and sustainable plan for turning the economy round. This is no time for petty point-scoring; I am not trying to do that. But I ask on behalf of all New Zealanders whether it is not time that we had a recovery and rebuild plan for our whole economy as well as for the great city of Christchurch. If strong Government leadership is appropriate after a disaster surely strong Government leadership is appropriate when our country is in the biggest economic crisis it has faced in decades. 
The Government does not have a plan. Cutting more services from the Government simply puts more people out of work and undermines confidence. Failing to address the underlying imbalances in the property sector in the savings gap and in the investment gap simply means it takes longer to turn business round. When business lacks confidence because they do not know the plan they cannot hire and they are reluctant to invest. That means that people stay out of work and wages stay down. 
As Wilkinson and Pickett in  
The Spirit Level 
 pointed out we are all in this together. When we share the gains and share the pain we are all better off than if we have a society of haves and have-nots where a few at the top do better and better and most in the middle and the bottom do worse. It is not sufficient to rely on a relationship with a few well-placed mates—the Mark Weldons the Rob Fyfes the Fonterras the Telecoms and the MediaWorks of the world—to fill the gap because it does not make the difference. 
Hon KATE WILKINSON (Minister of Conservation) 
: 
 Firstly I add my voice to the voices of others in the House who have acknowledged the tragedy that has struck Japan—that they have potentially lost more then 10000 people in this disaster is absolutely horrific. It has been incredibly difficult to come to terms with the number of lives we have lost in Canterbury but we simply cannot comprehend the pain we would feel had we lost anywhere near the number of people that Japan has lost. Our thoughts and prayers are certainly with them as they go through a rebuilding stage as well. 
Whilst the eyes of the world are quite rightly focused on the volatile situation in Japan we continue to forge ahead with the recovery and rebuilding of Christchurch. I congratulate—with some disappointment I have to say—Auckland on getting the Canterbury Rugby World Cup 2011 games. It has just been announced. This will be a disappointment and an emotional blow for rugby-mad Cantabrians—and I am one of them—but at least now we can move on and look at the big and bigger picture of rebuilding Christchurch and Canterbury. 
No one is disputing that rebuilding Christchurch and indeed Canterbury will be a long road and a difficult task. It will be many months before the central business district will be safe and secure enough for construction to begin. At this point we simply do not know how long it will take to return the city to the buzzing vibrant metropolis that it was prior to the September and February quakes. I had an interesting walk— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am not sure whether one is meant to do this immediately or at the end of a speech so I thought I had better do it immediately in case I missed the chance. If the Minister was speaking from an official document when she spoke in respect of the Rugby World Cup I require that document to be tabled. If it is just her speech notes then of course I cannot. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: As I recollect the Standing Orders if the Minister is quoting from a document that is just referring to an issue there is no requirement at all. I will refer to the Minister to make sure that I am not getting this wrong. Was the Minister quoting from an official document? 
Hon KATE WILKINSON 
: No I am referring to a  
3 News 
 breaking announcement. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is in order. That sorts the matter out. 
Hon KATE WILKINSON 
: As I was saying I had an interesting walk around the central business district on Sunday with the urban search and rescue engineer. Although the devastation is horrific there are some positives. It is interesting to see how the earthquake has affected ordinary lives. There are daily tasks that Cantabrians can no longer do. There are basic tasks that they cannot do but there are also other simple tasks and they are asking where the dentist is where the hairdresser is and where the shop where they used to do their shopping is. Those simple things will take a long time to heal. 
But there are some positives and I want to dwell a wee bit on the positives. Without doubt there were some buildings that as the engineer probably professionally said “misbehaved” but some others actually withstood the shakes and held up. I think we have to take some strength from the fact that some of those buildings had been earthquake-strengthened and it was pleasing to see that the strengthening did work. Some buildings look OK but they are not. Some buildings look bad but they are OK. What is also interesting is the random nature of the damage. It is I think very difficult to comprehend. What we do know is that there is not a single person in this country who is not behind the people of Canterbury and as a Cantabrian I thank the nation for that. People know that a thriving and successful Canterbury is crucial to New Zealand’s future. Cantabrians know it and they are determined to reclaim their lives and their city. 
Each day there is a constant reminder of how amazing our communities in New Zealand are how strong they are how resilient they are and how generous they are. There are simply not enough superlatives to describe how highly I regard the volunteers who worked tirelessly for days and weeks on end. Despite the overwhelming chaos they were faced with they just got on with it one step at a time and they have been truly remarkable. 
The Government has a mammoth task ahead of it to provide all the possible support it can to the Canterbury region. I believe that Friday’s memorial is an important event for the region. Huge numbers of people have not stopped even once to reflect on what has happened. They have not been able to not when they can see how much is still to be done. This is true not only for the general public but also for our policemen firefighters doctors nurses civil defence staff and many others. 
The focus of this year must be on planning the way forward for Christchurch and for Canterbury but Friday is about taking a step back and stopping to recognise the huge emotional impact the earthquake has had on all of us. It will be tough but I strongly believe it will help. I also commend the cooperation between the schools; their effort is superb. 
GRANT ROBERTSON (Labour—Wellington Central) 
: 
 I too join with other colleagues to express my thoughts and sympathies to the people of Japan who are facing the aftermath of the earthquake the tsunami and now the nuclear fallout from the explosions at the power plants and the resulting radiation. It is a time when people across the world are looking to provide support to the people of Japan as they deal with a crisis that I fear will be playing out for many many years. Obviously all members in the House will provide our support to whatever New Zealand can do. 
I will add also to other colleagues’ comments about our ongoing support for the people of Christchurch and Canterbury. It is indeed very sad to learn this afternoon that the Rugby World Cup games will not be played in Christchurch this year. Just to clarify some of Minister Wilkinson’s comments before I think the quarter-final games will be going to Auckland but the pool games that Christchurch was to host will be spread to other venues. I hope that venues in the South Island are considered for those pool games in terms of the overall economic benefit that will come from them. 
I note that it is a real shame that the Government which has quite clearly been aware of this decision for some time now has not been as upfront with the people of Canterbury as it may well have been. I think the performance we saw in the House today from Mr Joyce did not reflect well on the Government in terms of being upfront with the people of Canterbury who deserve given everything that they have been through for the Government to take that upfront approach with them. I think that stands as a shame in this House today. 
I refer today to a report undertaken by Regional Public Health in Wellington called  
Food Costs for Families 
. This report was produced just after the GST increase last year. Essentially the report goes through and talks about what percentage of a family’s income they need to spend to create a healthy diet for their family using the Otago University’s Food Cost Survey as the basis. Essentially the paper states that New Zealanders on average spend about 16 percent of their income on food. There is international research to say that if people are spending 25 percent or more of their disposable income on food they can be moving into food stress which is experienced by everybody who is spending more than 30 percent of their income on food. 
The survey shows that in Wellington a family with breadwinners on the minimum wage with two children will spend 34 percent of their income before rental payments or 50 percent of their income after rental payments on food. That puts them well above the international norms and well into the category of food stress. A beneficiary family with two children will be spending 52 percent of their income on food or 66 percent of their after-rent income in order to get a healthy diet. It goes up even more for a beneficiary family who is in private accommodation rather than in Housing New Zealand Corporation accommodation. 
Those are the pressures on families out there today. Rising food costs and the rising impact of the increase on the rate of GST mean that these people are spending a far greater percentage of their income to get a healthy diet than they possibly can afford. The consequences of families not being able to provide healthy food at an affordable price are long term. They are long term for the individuals and the families concerned in terms of issues like obesity and poor nutrition but they are also long term for the whole country. The economic and social costs of the outcomes for people with poor nutrition and poor health are enormous. 
That is why this Government is being irresponsible and out of touch if it does not accept that people are facing enormous increases in their cost of living. The Government is out of touch when the Prime Minister says that it is a lifestyle choice to go to a food bank—it is not. The cost of living in this country and the cost of putting healthy food on the table is getting out of hand. Beneficiary families and families on the minimum wage—working families—are struggling to make ends meet. This Government is out of touch if it thinks that that is a lifestyle choice for those people. The cost of living is impacting right across the board. If I look only in the health sector I see that general practitioner fees are up 6.5 percent and there are after-hours costs of over $100 for a child in Queenstown $129 for an older child and $139 for an adult. These kinds of costs are unacceptable. This Government is out of touch and it needs to realise that the cost of living is going up. 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Speaker kia ora tatou katoa. Ko taku noa ake ko te whaiwhai haere i nga kaikorero i te ahiahi nei mo te aitua i tawahi i Hapanihi ka mutu ka whai i tera parekura nui i Otautahi ka mutu i Ahitereiria no reira koi nei te tangi o te ngakau mo te hunga kua ngaro atu i te tirohanga kanohi. Te ahua nei koi nei wa tatou mahi i te roanga o tenei tau he tangi ki wa tatou mate. No reira waiho ratou kia moe kia okioki. 
I nanahi nei hai te ra nei apopo pea ko te take nui e korerohia ana i roto i te Whare Paremata ko te pire takutai moana hou ana ko tera kua whakairia e te Ropu Nahinara me te Pati Maori ki mua i te aroaro o te motu. Kua tu ake ki te whakautu ki te whakahe ranei i etahi o nga korero i korerohia inapo na runga i te he ranei o etahi o nga korero i puta; me te kore marama ranei o nga korero. Ko ta te ropu e noho atu nei te Ropu ACT e ai ki tana tetahi o nga kaikorero i reira he tere rawa te akiakinga o tenei pire i te Whare ka mutu e ai ki ta ratou kua katia tenei te korero i roto i te Whare Paremata. Kai te kaha whakahe au i tera korero. Kua whitu tau tenei pire e korerohia ana me ki i hangaia kia eke ki tenei o nga taumata. 
[ 
Thank you Mr Speaker and greetings to us all. I join the speakers this afternoon to express my condolences in respect of the calamity overseas in Japan following that huge disaster in Christchurch and the one before that in Australia. So the heart grieves here for those who cannot be seen again. It seems that this is all we are doing as this year unfolds mourning our deaths. So leave them there to sleep and to rest.  
The most important thing that was debated yesterday in the House and is to continue today and tomorrow perhaps is the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill that National and the Maori Party have put before the nation. I rise to respond to or to rescind some of the comments that were made last night because some were either made incorrectly or lacked clarity. According to one of the speakers of the ACT Party seated just along the way this bill was rushed through the House. I strongly reject that assertion. This bill has been debated and in the making for 7 years to be where it is now. 
] 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It is my understanding that this bill is the next order of business. I think this must be the classic case of anticipating a debate. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: It is not fair to interrupt another member’s speech. The member knows that this is the general debate and members are at liberty to talk about almost anything they wish to. He is not anticipating a debate; he is choosing to speak in the general debate on a bill that is currently before the House. I am not aware that there is any Standing Order that forbids during the general debate any comments on other matters before the House. I stand corrected if I am wrong but it is not my understanding— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I think you might be giving a correction soon. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Well we will see. In the meantime I will allow Te Ururoa Flavell to continue. If I am incorrect—and I will seek advice—I will apologise to the member. 
TE URUROA FLAVELL 
: Tena koe Mr Speaker; whakahokia nga meneti nei whakahokia ki te timatanga. Hoi ano kai te pai kai te pai. Ka mutu kia hoki ra ano ki taku korero— 
[ 
Thank you Mr Speaker rewind those minutes—take it back to the beginning. Never mind it is fine it is OK. Now let me go all the way back once again to my speech 
— 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: Kao kao. 
TE URUROA FLAVELL 
: Kei te pai. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. As long as the debate is extended we have no problem with it. I apologise to the member. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I appreciate the member’s attempt to assist but the member who is speaking has 3 minutes and 14 seconds remaining. 
TE URUROA FLAVELL 
: Kia ora Mr Speaker. Penei taku e korero nei kua roa tenei take e korerohia ana. E 5975 nga whakatakotoranga a-tuhi i tae mai ki te Whare Paremata. I haere te komiti ki te mata o te whenua ki Kirikiriroa ki Tamaki-makau-rau ki Whangarei ki Poneke nei ki Otautahi tonu. E ai ki ta Te Reo Motuhake o Te Tai Tokerau 72 noa iho o taua kaute no te Ao Maori kotahi pai heneti o nga whakatakotoranga a-tuhi no te Ao Maori engari me penei rawa te whakamarama ake. E kaha ana te Pati Maori ki te haere ki te mata o te whenua kia toro atu te ringa ki te mata o te whenua ki tena hapori i tae atu ki nga huinga o te Kahui Rangatira o te Motu ka mutu ko tae atu ki nga hui e hia ke nei. No reira koia tera ehara i te mea no naia tonu nei tenei take i puta mai i te kapata kao. 
Ka mutu he aha nga tino painga o roto i te pire? Kai te korerohia a te ahiahi nei pea apopo engari ko tetahi mea kua puta ara ko tenei kua whai tenei te tikanga i roto i nga take a-ture. He mea nui tera ki a ngai Maori tonu. Ka mutu kua whai wahi ano ra te kupu whanau i roto i nga whiriwhiringa mo te pire ana kua whakawateahia mai tenei whakamarama mo te whanau mo te iwi mo te hapu i roto i te pire. Ko tenei mea mo te manaakitanga he take nui i roto i te Ao Maori. Kua eke tenei mea te manaakitanga ki roto i tenei o nga pire. Ae e tika ana. Ehara i te mea i eke o matou wawata ki nga taumata e tika ana. I kaha tohe matou kia whakahokia nga take nei ki roto i te Koti Whenua Maori mana tonu nga take whakatau ka mutu e ai ki ta matou kai reira nga matauranga hai wetewete i te hohonutanga o nga take a-takutai moana engari me te mea ano hoki he mama noa iho te utu. He ngawari ake te utu o te Koti Whenua Maori hoi ano tua atu o tera kare matou i tino toa i roto i tera whiriwhiringa engari kua whakaaetia mai e te Kawanatanga kua whakatahangia he putea hai awhina i te hunga e hiahia ana ki te whakatakoto i tetahi kereme ki mua i te aroaro o nga koti. 
He nui nga korero mo tenei mea te muru whenua. Ko ta matou ko te ki atu ka tino kokirihia tenei take i tenei pire kia whakahokia te whenua Maori ki roto i nga ringaringa o te iwi Maori. E ki ana etahi ko te “legalised confiscation” 
tetahi take e korerohia. Ae ko ta matou ki me ata titiro ki tera take. Ko ta matou ko te ki atu mena i murua te whenua i nga tau kua hipa ahakoa a-ture a-public works 
  
he aha ranei e kore tera e aukati i nga huarahi katoa kia hoki nga iwi ki te koti. 
Ka mutu me mihi ki a Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti kua tae mai tetahi korero ki te ki me anga whakamua kaua e tatari. Kia ora tatou. 
[ 
Thank you Mr Speaker. As I alluded to before this matter has been talked about for a long time. Five thousand nine hundred and seventy-five written submissions arrived at Parliament. The select committee travelled to Hamilton Auckland Whangarei Wellington and Christchurch. The independent voice of Te Tai Tokerau has suggested that only 72 of that number were from the Maori people—just over 1 percent of the written submissions received; but let me explain it this way. The Maori Party went hard out to visit the country to extend the hand to that community and that attended Iwi Leaders Forum conferences and many many meetings about the matter. So it is not as if this has just emerged from the cupboard—not at all.  
What benefits are there in this bill? Perhaps these will be mentioned this afternoon or tomorrow but one benefit is that Maori customary values and practices will permeate legislation—a matter of huge importance to all of Maoridom. The term “whanau” is incorporated throughout the bill as are “hapu” and “iwi”. “Manaakitanga” is an important concept in Maoridom. It has been introduced in this bill and rightly so. However we were not successful in everything we advocated for. We argued strongly for cases relating to the foreshore to be taken to the Maori Land Court arguing that the expertise to untangle complex and far-reaching issues is there. Moreover the expenses involved in pursuing a claim at the Maori Land Court are considerably less. We did not win that one but we did achieve confirmation that the Crown will provide funding for claimants.  
There is much rhetoric about confiscation. We say that this bill advocates the return of Maori land to their people. Some say the issue in question here is “legalised confiscation”. Yes we say that the issue must be addressed. To us if land was confiscated years ago under legislation be it for public works or whatever that should not impede tribes from going back to the courts. 
Finally I must acknowledge a message from Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti which has just come to hand saying: “Go forward—do not wait.” Greetings to us 
.] 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) 
: 
 I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Yes it relates to the point of order I had previously; notwithstanding the fact that I had worked it out about a minute later I thought it was probably appropriate and polite to let the member who was speaking finish. But I submit to you Mr Speaker that Standing Order 109 is absolutely clear and if that is not clear enough then pages 185 and 186 of  
McGee 
 make it very clear that unless you are of the judgment that a matter will not be got to then it cannot be anticipated in earlier debate. I know that I have been told off by previous Speakers for anticipating debate during a general debate. Although we know that a general debate is wide-ranging the fact that it is wide-ranging cannot overrule the Standing Orders which make it clear that a member may not anticipate discussion of any general business—or in this case an order of the day. The bill is Government order of the day No. 1 and unless you know something that I do not know Mr Speaker I am anticipating that we will get to that within the next hour. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: Speaking to the point of order— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I do not think I need further assistance on the matter; I thank the honourable member. I accept the points the Hon Trevor Mallard is making—that specific debate around a matter on the Order Paper that is to come before the House later on should not be allowed. Indeed Standing Order 109 precludes that. But I ask the member to reflect back on what Te Ururoa Flavell actually said. He said that matters were raised in the debate yesterday and that he wished to comment on the issues that were talked about yesterday during debate in this House. That cannot be anticipating debate for today because he was specifically referring to issues raised yesterday. Had he specifically said that he wanted to talk about—if I recollect correctly the Committee was on Part 1—issues in “Part whatever” which was still to come up in front of the Committee of the whole House then I think the member’s point of order would have been valid. So there is nothing wrong with his point of order at all; it is just that it is my assessment that the member was talking about issues that had been raised in debate yesterday. That cannot be anticipating debate especially when the particular legislation the Committee is focused on is a part by part debate in the Committee of the whole House and the member did not say that he wanted to talk about parts that are still to come up in the debate. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) 
: 
 I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Again this is without rancour and it is a “let us get the rules established” type of point of order. Still to come in the debate obviously is everything of substance other than Part 1 and we also have from my understanding a title clause and a commencement clause. I was listening to the member and relying on the translation but I could not identify anything he referred to that could not have been part of the bill. I accept that he was responding initially to the comments that Hone Harawira made yesterday but the points of substance he was making actually referred to details in the bill and the focus of the bill to which we have not yet got. I think this ruling is effectively a rule change. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I realise that the member wants to clarify the Standing Order in this area but I invite him to reflect on the whole development of the general debate and of the origins of this Standing Order. He being a longstanding member will reflect that the general debate is a relatively recent innovation and I think that around the general debate there is a lot of laxity if you like in terms of what members can address. But I think that the member speaking when he got to his feet said specifically that he wanted to cover issues address issues that had been raised in the debate yesterday and as Speaker I cannot determine which part of the legislation he is referring to. Some of these issues if they were covered yesterday one presumes may be related to the preamble and to Part 1 of that relevant legislation. Certainly nothing in Standing Order 109 prevents a member during this general debate from going over material that was covered yesterday. 
All I ask members is just to be mindful of the points that the Hon Trevor Mallard has made—that our Standing Orders do as a matter of principle preclude anticipating debate. Therefore were the member to have been focused particularly on issues still to come up in the Committee of the whole House then I would have had a serious concern about the matter. So I accept that the member’s point of order is well made and well founded but I think that under these particular circumstances it would have been unreasonable of me to rule Te Ururoa Flavell’s speech out of order when in his opinion he was specifically referring to issues that had been covered yesterday and therefore was not anticipating. Although I accept what the member is saying—that some of these issues may yet again come before the House during the third reading and the title and commencement debates etc.—I think it would be unreasonable for me to be too pedantic in that area. I think the general principle is important but I think that the member was reasonable in referring to issues covered yesterday. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) 
: 
 I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Just one further point. I think you referred to the general debate as a relatively recent innovation. I think I can remember it being here since 1986. It might in the time of Parliament be something that is relatively recent but I think that in our experience it is probably not really. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I have just been told by the Clerk of the House that it was 1984—forgive me; I obviously would rather think it was— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Oh so Parliament has been around for a long time so it is “relatively recently”. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I accept the honourable member’s correction there and I stand corrected. 
JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki) 
: 
 I want to begin by extending my thoughts and best wishes to the people of Japan who are enduring the worst calamity possible with the major earthquake followed by a tsunami and now a developing nuclear crisis. 
In our own country the aftershock in Christchurch on 22 February brought fresh sadness to the people of Canterbury. We got away with only property damage in the September earthquake but the February earthquake was indeed a tragedy for the families and friends of those people who died in New Zealand and throughout the world including some folk from Japan. Also there was a sadness for all of the rest of us throughout New Zealand and further afield. 
I want to pay tribute today to the Prime Minister John Key and his Ministers for their swift decisive effective thoughtful and compassionate response to this tragedy of ours. The job now is rebuilding Christchurch. Mayor Bob Parker and the Minister of Civil Defence John Carter have been absolutely tireless in their efforts to restore essential services to the people of Christchurch because once we begin to deal with the shock the grief and the horror of what has happened to people we then have to get down to the more mundane aspects of this tragedy and start thinking about and acting on the challenges of the practicalities of providing essential services. 
A massive recovery operation is required and the declaration of the extension of the state of national emergency ensures that the maximum possible coordination and cooperation between central and local government and between central and local resources will be most effective in response to this disaster. Essential infrastructure throughout Christchurch was absolutely devastated. Power services reticulated water and sanitation ceased for many many people in Christchurch. 
Life changed immediately for the people of Christchurch who as well as being traumatised and fearful of what happened and of the aftershocks still to come were also coping maybe for the first time in their lives with having to deal with the very practical business of going about living drinking eating going to work and using essential services. So it is encouraging and it is to the credit of all those involved including those I have named that the services are well on the way to being restored. The job is not done obviously and a lot of work still needs to be done in the short medium and long term but there is a plan and many many gains have been made. 
Power has been restored to nearly 100 percent of customers and that has been done by the power companies working tirelessly 24 hours a day day and night on restoring that essential service to customers. 
Inside the central business district the area that has been absolutely devastated 50 percent of central business district customers have been reconnected. As we know those services are fragile and fluctuating and the system is still not secure. However it has certainly made many gains. Approximately 95 percent of households on a mains water supply have now been reconnected and I know that the lack of reticulated water—water still has to be boiled—has been of particular concern to people. They cannot cook they cannot bathe and they cannot wash their hands without water. I know that the connection of that service was the highest priority and 95 percent of that has been achieved. 
KEITH LOCKE (Green) 
: 
 It is heartbreaking to see people in north-east Japan who are reeling from the devastation of the earthquake and the tsunami now living in fear of nuclear radiation. Japan the only country to be attacked with nuclear bombs with a huge loss of life is now in the midst of another nuclear disaster. It puts in question the whole future of the nuclear industry. It may be the death knell of nuclear power not only in Japan but worldwide. 
For the Greens this latest tragic accident reinforces what we have long said: nuclear power is inherently dangerous. Nuclear technology is outside the limits of human safeguards. In a nuclear power plant there can be no guarantee that radiation will not be released as a result of a natural disaster or through human error. The danger of radiation release or a meltdown can be minimised but it cannot be eliminated. When an accident occurs the consequences can be monumental. 
There have been a series of nuclear accidents leakages and near misses in several countries since the big accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. In 1999 in Japan two workers at the Tokaimura plant died from high radiation doses when a nuclear chain reaction began after safety regulations were violated. In 2004 five workers were killed in a steam explosion at Japan’s Mihama reactor. There has long been controversy over nuclear safety issues at Britain’s Sellafield nuclear plant. 
Safety problems exist not only in nuclear power plants but also in the transport and storage of nuclear waste which amounts to about a quarter of a million tonnes a year. There is simply no way to store such waste safely so that it will not affect future generations as it leaches into waterways the sea or the atmosphere as a result of earth movement or earthquakes. There is no guarantee that future generations will even know where the waste is stored. 
Then we have the danger of the products of the nuclear industry enriched uranium and plutonium being used to make nuclear weapons or the radioactive material itself being used to make what are known as “dirty bombs”. The end of the nuclear power industry would enhance the possibilities for nuclear disarmament. 
In some countries politicians argue that they need nuclear power plants to produce enough electricity. However the truth is that nuclear power is an expensive and short-term alternative to renewable sources of energy. There is nowhere in the world where nuclear power plants are not subsidised by Governments collectively to the tune of billions of dollars. Nuclear power is a short-term energy solution. As the International Energy Agency said in 2008 if all the planned new reactors come on stream the known reserves of uranium 5.5 million tonnes will be gone by 2050—in less than 40 years. 
Instead of subsidising nuclear power plants Governments should be investing in research on renewables and allowing for subsidies for renewable energy as well as encouraging energy saving. That would be cost-effective sustainable and safe for people and the environment. 
The latest nuclear disaster in Japan makes me so glad that our country is nuclear-free and I pay tribute to the many thousands of New Zealanders whose active campaigning from 1960 to 1985 made us so. I pay particular tribute to the Campaign Half Million petitioners in the 1970s who knocked on the head plans to have a nuclear power plant in New Zealand. 
However we should not sit back. Our Government should be taking our nuclear-free message to the world campaigning at the UN and elsewhere for a phase-out of nuclear power plants and for the promotion of renewable forms of energy. We should join hands with the antinuclear campaigners in Japan who are using this opportunity not only to help those who are currently in danger and potentially dying but also to push for a transition away from nuclear power. The Greens Japan have inspired an Asia-Pacific Green Network statement calling for all countries in our region to “suspend all operations constructions and plans for nuclear plants” pending a regional hearing on the safety social environmental and economic issues involved. We owe it to those now suffering from nuclear radiation in Japan to take such protective steps. 
ALLAN PEACHEY (National—Tamaki) 
: 
 When New Zealanders have the chance to look back and reflect on the misfortune that struck Christchurch last month and think about the immediate event the rescue efforts the recovery efforts and now the beginning of the reconstruction they will take a lot of confidence and a lot of satisfaction from the way that their Government has responded—by that I mean government in the broadest possible sense. Obviously it has not been perfect in every instance; in a situation like that it never can be. But I think everybody will agree that it has been pretty jolly good and that large numbers of New Zealanders have got in behind the effort broken their backs and done everything they possibly can. That will continue. 
I want to devote the time I have in my short speech to talk about the education system in Christchurch its response and the challenges that lie before it. Right across the broad aspect of life people are having to adapt and it is no different for the children who go to school their parents and their teachers. But the way that everybody has moved to get the schooling system the education system generally back in operation has been impressive. I understand that by the end of this week 143 Christchurch schools will have been reopened which is 88 percent of schools and 234 early childhood education centres will have reopened which is 69 percent of all centres. Canterbury University is getting up and running. Imaginative exchange programmes have been put in place for students to study at five other New Zealand universities and some students have had the opportunity to go to Adelaide. Christchurch Polytechnic is getting under way as is Lincoln University and a large number of the private training establishments. 
Christchurch City in an education and schooling sense is getting under way and gradually getting back to normal. It will not be easy. One of the most impressive things happening is the sharing of school resources. That is going to be an interesting innovation. It may turn out to be quite an educational experiment from which we will learn a lot and it may have potential for other areas in New Zealand. I certainly will be watching the outcome of that sharing very very closely. There is the Papanui High School/Shirley Boys High School arrangement: Papanui High School operates in the morning; Shirley Boys High School operates in the afternoon. Shirley Boys High School of course was one of the most seriously damaged schools in the city and is a school that has a great record of service and of educating boys in that particular part of the town. 
I noted with interest a comment in the media this morning by the principal of Shirley Boys High School in which he said it would be unrealistic to expect most pupils would catch up on everything they had missed. I am not sure about that but I am confident every effort will be made to ensure the students in Christchurch schools who have lost education will be able to catch up. I am quite excited to hear some of the suggestions made about the possibilities of extra tutorials school during the holidays Saturday classes and bringing in volunteers and retired teachers to help. I have every confidence that where schools decide to go the extra mile for their youngsters whether it be Saturday classes evening classes or holiday classes teachers will step up and do the job because that is what schoolteachers do. As a former school principal and teacher myself I encourage Canterbury teachers to do that. Teachers belong to a profession with a long history of service and when needed—and Mr Davis opposite will concur I think with what I am saying—and when called upon they will step up. In anticipation of that I thank them for their effort. 
DARIEN FENTON (Labour) 
: 
 I join with the House in expressing my sadness and condolences for the people of Japan who have faced a horrific earthquake an unbelievable tsunami and now a nuclear threat the likes of which we have not seen since 1986 with Chernobyl. It is just unbelievable horror. All we can do is try to pass on our support to the Japanese people send whatever help we can fundraise for those people and give the Japanese families in New Zealand whatever support we can provide. 
Of course we have our own ongoing disaster to contend with in Christchurch. I acknowledge that life has not returned to normal for most people and that there is a way to go. As we said in the House last week when we were debating the Canterbury Earthquake Commemoration Day Bill which gives a day off on Friday Labour will stand with the Government and the people of Christchurch to help them get through this. 
I note also that yesterday 220 workers lost their jobs at Canterbury Spinners. Sadly that is in addition to some job losses that have happened already. There will be more. There is a call out today for the Government to provide a clearer direction about what support redundant workers are entitled to and I ask the Minister of Labour to look at that— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: They’re employed by an international firm. 
DARIEN FENTON 
: They are employed by a national firm that is still operating so there is some lack of clarity about—[ 
Interruption 
] They are Australian owned—is that right? There is definitely a lack of clarity and the workers are very concerned about signing up for individual entitlement because they may have to pay it back if it is incorrectly allocated to them. 
Today I will talk about another group of people who are not doing so well in our country. Although it is important that we give our attention to Christchurch a large group of people in our country rely on the State to set their wages: workers on the minimum wage. They are the poorest paid workers in the country and they are struggling because the Government has put the interests of big business ahead of those people and their families. In a couple of weeks’ time on 1 April their pay will go up by 25c an hour. The Minister was told by her own department that a 25c an hour increase was not an increase in real terms. Under her miserly 25c an hour 53000 workers will get an increase of—actually—nothing. 
We want to see the minimum wage increase to $15 an hour at the earliest opportunity. If that had been the increase this year half a billion dollars could have been put into the economy this year. That has to be good for everyone. However we do not have high expectations for this Government because when it comes to minimum wage workers it is so out of touch with ordinary Kiwi families who are struggling to make ends meet. I do not think it knows how to consider their needs. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Are you going to pay for it? Who’s going to pay for it? Shane Jones? I don’t think so. 
DARIEN FENTON 
: There was an alternative that goes past the arguments that the Hon Tau Henare is yelling out across the House. The Minister could have opted for another 50c an hour taking the minimum wage to $13.50 an hour. Her own department’s advice was that this increase would put $76 million in the pockets of 108000 workers and would have had negligible impact on total employment. Her own department’s advice showed that increasing the minimum wage to $13.50 an hour would have a negligible impact on employment; in fact no jobs would be lost and there would be a marginal reduction in the number of newly available positions in the labour market. 
That $76 million would have been pumped into the economy because we all know that minimum wage workers and low-paid workers spend whatever they earn. That $76 million would have helped them cope with rising petrol costs and increases in rent and food prices. They would have had that money to take their kids to the general practitioner. That little bit of extra money might have helped them deal with the increasing costs in early childhood education. Maybe it would have been enough to cover the increases in car registration this year help pay the power bill or perhaps help pay the phone bill next month rather than just be cut off. These families would have had a little bit extra to cope with but the truth is that the increase to the weekly minimum wage will not pay for even a block of cheese or a litre of milk. 
LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupo) 
: 
 On Friday night I was listening to the news as I drove home and I heard the devastation in Japan unfolding. I must say that when I went to bed it was with dread as I wondered what on earth we would wake up to. The magnitude 9 earthquake off north-eastern Japan and the resulting tsunami and now the nuclear threat have caused widespread devastation with thousands of Japanese having lost their lives and many more thousands missing. Three Fridays ago I was in Auckland and met with some of the Japanese urban search and rescue team who had come to assist us in Christchurch. So it is hard to believe that by this Friday it will be our New Zealand urban search and rescue team that will be assisting Japan and returning their favour. 
But I want to focus just on Christchurch. It is fair to say that this crisis has united the nation. Rebuilding Christchurch will clearly be this Government’s main focus this year which it quite rightly should be. I am particularly proud of the leadership that John Key our Prime Minister has demonstrated in supporting those who are in such desperate need. It will be a long and complex task. It will not be a simple process. It will be about rebuilding Christchurch literally brick by brick. 
This is a Government that has responded very rapidly and very fully to the needs of those in Christchurch so I am somewhat staggered that an Opposition speaker took this opportunity to talk about the minimum wage when there are people in Christchurch who are desperate for housing and for social infrastructure. Those members are talking about $76 million. Where do they think it will come from? Does it grow on trees in their world? Well in Christchurch we are more interested in rebuilding and getting people’s lives back to basics. 
Let us look at this Government which is clearly in touch with what the people in Christchurch need and at the wraparound social assistance package we have provided. It has provided for both employees and employers—both sides of the puzzle. The Christchurch Earthquake Employment Support Package has paid out more than $72 million to businesses sole traders and employees. Earthquake support subsidy payments have been made to nearly 8000 employers covering over 41000 staff and over 9000 sole traders. Job loss cover has been provided to 4900 individuals. Then there is the $12 million that has been distributed through civil defence emergency payments to cover things like food clothing and housing. We have eight recovery assistance centres open and some of them are in the very hardest-hit suburbs. These centres provide a one-stop shop where people can sort out all sorts of emergency payments issues with housing get counselling or simply stop for a chat. There are also six mobile Work and Income vans supporting individuals who are in need in Christchurch. 
If we look at businesses we are pleased to see that some of them have already opted out of the Government’s earthquake support package. They received the desperate support they needed for a short time and now that they are back on their feet they are able to continue. We have provided employers with much-needed certainty during this very uncertain time by supporting them in paying their employees’ wages. There will be further support which will be announced shortly. 
It is fair to say that the Christchurch earthquake was this country’s darkest day but it was followed by some of our very finest moments. Every day heroes emerged whether they were the Student Volunteer Army the Farmy Army or people in our electorates up and down New Zealand. It will of course be a sombre day on Friday when the national memorial service is held in Christchurch but it will give the country an opportunity to mourn the great loss of life. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi: “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” We have seen this indomitable will in Christchurch and in Japan. 
CAROL BEAUMONT (Labour) 
: 
 Like other members in this House my heart goes out to the people of Japan and also to our own people in Canterbury. I think that everybody in this House has done their bit to try to assist them and I particularly acknowledge the Christchurch MPs from all parties who have been working so hard. 
I do however find it somewhat distasteful that the last speaker thinks it is not OK for members of this House to comment on other important social matters that affect our country. We cannot have that. We are a House of Representatives. It does not mean that we do not care about those issues if we raise other issues of concern. 
I add my voice and say that I believe we are going backwards. New Zealand is becoming a more unfair society. Inequality is growing. It is becoming a worse place to bring up our children. That is not the New Zealand I want and I do not think it is the New Zealand that most New Zealanders want. The Government is out of touch with the reality facing most New Zealanders particularly low and middle income New Zealanders. That reality sees New Zealanders facing petrol price rises and rental increases. Especially in Auckland where I work the rental increases are just phenomenal. They are also facing power price increases increases in early childhood education fees significant increases in the cost of food increases in ACC levies—the list goes on and on. People are facing ever-rising costs and it is hurting them; it is hurting them very badly. I think members opposite are completely out of touch with that. They obviously are not talking to low and middle income New Zealanders who really are struggling. We can see it in people’s faces when they talk to us about what the latest petrol price rise means for them for example. The reality of the increasing cost of living is very serious. 
When we look at the other side of the ledger the income side we see that prices are rising far faster than wages. Real wages went backwards by 3.4 percent in the year to June 2010 and 100000 more people are now living on benefits which was not made as a lifestyle choice. The 25c per hour increase in the minimum wage is pathetic and insulting as my colleague Darien Fenton said. It will just not cut it for people who are reliant on the minimum wage. That is $10 gross per week for a worker who works 40 hours a week in terms of extra income. That is not enough to buy an extra litre of milk per day or a block of cheese per week for their families. For those who are interested the article by Michael Parker in today’s  
New Zealand Herald 
 headlined “Stop kowtowing to unfair prices” on the issue of milk prices is very interesting. 
But the issue is about more than figures; it is about people who are struggling. What we have seen in this country is more money for a very few people and a lot less money for many others. That puts pressure on families on women who are trying to balance the family budget and on children who are living in poverty in this country. For those members who have not bothered to read the Salvation Army report  
Stalled 
 one in five children in New Zealand is living in poverty. That is not the country I want to live in. Schools are having to provide lunches and they are having to provide breakfasts. More and more families low and middle income families have to seek food parcels. People do so with a sense of shame. They do not do it as a lifestyle choice like the Prime Minister suggested. By November 2010 the Salvation Army had encountered 19000 new households seeking help. In the Maungakiekie electorate that I work in my electorate office has seen an increasing number of cases where the cost of living is severely impacting on families and that is having a negative effect on children. This is an issue for the present and for the future. 
The significant issues are firstly the price of housing and secondly the constantly escalating food prices. I refer to the mother of three who lost her job and received no redundancy but she had a medium level of debt. She was reduced to seeking handouts of food in order to get by. She fed her children before she had anything to eat. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Before I call the next honourable member I take this opportunity to remind all members in the House that members can use certain descriptors but they cannot claim to be an electorate member when they are a list member. I alert members to that. It is becoming an increasing problem that I am having to deal with and I will have to deal with it. Members cannot refer to themselves as being a member for an electorate when they are not. 
MELISSA LEE (National) 
: 
 The first I heard about the Japanese earthquake was when I was sitting with a group of young professional Koreans at our monthly gathering in Auckland. As people do when we get together we were talking about everyday life and on that particular occasion we were discussing the experiences of some of the young people who had travelled to Christchurch and seen the devastation there. 
It was via the social network of Twitter that I heard there was an earthquake in Japan. I did not take much notice as I know that Japan has regular tremors. Then my son rang me to say that there was a disaster in Japan. He said he was recording it and there was slight panic in his voice. I had no idea of the enormity of the disaster. When I got home I sat in front of the television my eyes glued to the screen and mouth wide open in utter disbelief at the sheer force and speed of the magnitude 9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that had struck Japan. The imagery of cars stuck on roofs and boats on top of houses and factories will remain with me for a long long time. My heart goes out to the people of Japan. I take this opportunity to pay my respects to the people the victims and the families in Japanese: Konkai no oujishin ya outsunami de kaimetsuteki na higai ni awareta nihon no katagata ni kokoro yori okuyami o moushiagetai tou omoimasu. Ka tangi ahau. 
The Japanese disaster does not in any way diminish the effects of our own earthquake in Christchurch. We have all been affected. Most of us have family or friends who have lost loved ones in Christchurch. I personally have friends on the missing list from the CTV site. I have a girlfriend who ran a Japanese restaurant in the middle of the Christchurch central business district who was trapped and had to be rescued. I also have friends whose house was as they said completely munted. It was days before we could get hold of them. It was frustrating not being able to call them. We did not know whether they were alive or dead whether they were hurt. That kind of grief and that kind of anxiety we all have felt. It is a devastating time for all but particularly for the people in Christchurch and the wider Canterbury area who have lived through the disaster and the rescue efforts and now are living through the recovery the clean-up and the rebuild of the Garden City. 
I was in Christchurch a week after the earthquake as our senior whip was cleaning up. I was very very impressed that he had driven his ute down to Christchurch to put his muscles to work. I too headed out to lend a hand in New Brighton and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Christchurch Korean community headed by the president of its society Kevin Park for their hard work. On the day I was in New Brighton at least 50 to 60 Korean young men and women had rolled up their sleeves to go and help in the areas most affected. Their own homes were cracked were affected by the earthquake yet they were out there cleaning up the silt. Korean churches were providing lunches for these volunteers. I found out today that as Chris said in the area where he was working other Korean young men and women were volunteering their time and their energy to help people. It did not matter whether they were Koreans; they were out there helping others. 
One of the things I will most remember about this earthquake is that on the day I was using my very limited muscle strength to shovel silt I was going to help a Korean father who had lost two children a 24-year-old and a 21-year-old who had been studying at the CTV building. As I was walking out to the car park I saw an elderly gentleman probably in his 80s who was devastated and frustrated that someone had driven past his house at more than 5 kilometres an hour. He had made up a sign saying 5 kilometres; it was the only thing he could control in his life. All I could do was ask “Can I please give you a hug?” and he cried. I felt I had done something good. 
To all the workers who have done the job in Christchurch I pay my respects. I thank the Prime Minister for the leadership that he has shown throughout this disaster which has been one of the biggest this country has faced. 
CAROL BEAUMONT (Labour) 
: 
 I seek leave to make a personal explanation to correct my speech. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought for the member to make a personal explanation. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
CAROL BEAUMONT 
: I said in my speech that I work in the Maungakiekie electorate. I then went on to refer to an electorate office. I should have said my out-of-Parliament office. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: With that personal explanation the matter must rest there. 
The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.