Sharples Pita: Budget Statement — Budget Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sharples Pita: Budget Statement — Budget Debate 
[Sitting date: 24 May 2012. Volume:680;Page:2415. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker. Tu atu au ki te korero ki te Tahua Putea nei mo te Pati Maori. Tuatahi kua oti ke ta matau mohio ki te take he tahua putea korekore ai i tenei wa. Na reira kare matau e ngau tuara ki te ru whenua ki Otautahi a ki te hekenga o te ohanga o te ao me te whakapaunga o nga putea e nga iwi o Aotearoa ki te hoko whare me era atu ahuatanga. Na reira na tena kei te mohio matau he tahua putea korekore tenei na reira kei te kimi matau i etahi hua mo to tatau iwi. 
Engari tuatahi hari koa matau i whawhai kia pupuri tonu kia pupuri tonu ki te kotahi rau ono tekau ma wha miriona taara mo te Whanau Ora na te mea ko te Whanau Ora he kaupapa matua ehara mo te Pati Maori anake engari mo Aotearoa. Na reira tena te mea nui ki ahau i tenei wa ahakoa he tahua putea korekore kua mau tonu ki tena putea.  
Te take i tae mai te Pati Maori ki te Paremata kia noho matau i te tepu ahakoa ko wai te kawana. Na te aha? Kia riro mai etahi hua mo to tatau iwi me te manaaki tiaki i te hunga i kiia nei ko te hunga rawakore. Na reira koina taku e ki atu ki a koe kei te noho tata matau me te Kawanatanga i tenei wa ki te whiwhi i enei taonga mo to tatau iwi.  
[ 
Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. I rise to speak to this Budget on behalf of the Maori Party. Firstly we knew beforehand why this was going to be a zero Budget at this point in time. As a consequence we will not be doing any backbiting about the Christchurch earthquake the global recession or how the people of New Zealand spent money purchasing houses and other things. And because of that we knew that this would be a zero Budget and we looked for ways that would create benefits for our people.  
But first of all we were pleased that we fought to hang on to the $164 million for Whanau Ora because it is a major initiative not just for the Maori Party but for New Zealand. That is the most important thing for me at this moment even though this is a zero Budget. We have retained that funding.  
As to the reason why the Maori Party came to Parliament it was so that we could sit at the table regardless of who the Government was. Why? To enable our people to receive benefits and to enable those without to receive care and protection. So I say to you that we are working closely with the Government at this point in time to receive these precious essentials for our people. 
] 
So it is with the knowledge of the state of the country’s economy that we come to speak to this Budget and to tell you that we are pleased that we have been able to make some headway i.e. in getting some assets for Maori at this troubled time—for example our fight against rheumatic fever. It has taken a few years to double the amount of funding. Instead of $12 million we have got $24 million now going out because Maori are 23 times more likely to get rheumatic fever and Pacific Islanders are 50 times more likely than other ethnic groups. The impacts of this disease are really serious and long term. Approximately 145 people die each year from that disease. Worse still it is a disease of the Third World of developing countries so it should not even be here. 
Clare Curran 
: Improve the housing. 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: Housing is a very important thing and that is why we have supported the social housing fund. 
Clare Curran 
: Not enough. 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: True; it is not enough. It is a start at least. We have turned towards that and we are hoping that we will have a say or our people will have a say in the development of housing. But not only that there is the Warm Up New Zealand programme. We have had a significant effect on the Warm Up New Zealand programme. I know that we have now reached 150000 houses that have been warmed up and we have added 20000 of those houses to that programme the Maori Party has so we are pretty pleased that that has happened.  
Two nights ago I launched a cadetship programme whereby 50 trainees and they are actually in work have the desire to go on to pursue a career and a degree in the electricity supply industry. We had companies like Contact Energy InfraTrain Mighty River Power Northpower Transpower Vector and so on who took on Maori trainees with a view to guiding them into the industry. That was the end result of 150 cadetships that we have launched. And today I announced another 250 Maori cadetships for Maori to begin this training in various occupations. That will get 1000 into those positions over 4 years. Hopefully in a year’s time we can match that with another $10 million to get another 1000. These are the kinds of things that the Maori Party has been working on.  
As one who has spent a lot of time on rehabilitation programmes in prisons I am really pleased that we have been able to find $65 million to go towards rehabilitation programmes which include drug programmes job training education programmes and actually getting people into work. It is not going to be an easy programme because when you do things behind the wire there is a prison culture which makes it very difficult. But at least it is a big change from the path that the Government has taken in recent times of the hard line on imprisonment. So that has got to be a good thing that has happened there for us.  
I would like to talk about the tobacco measures. This work has been led by our party ever since we got into Parliament. We believe that we should have a drive to cease smoking in this country on the grounds of what smoking contributes to ill health and the related diseases that it accentuates. We are proud to say over each of the next 4 years there is going to be an increase in tobacco prices of 10 percent. So I am telling smokers now to just get ready to pay more and more and more—it is cumulative. We are also proud of the $20 million that the Government has put forward for a new innovation called Pathway to Smoke-Free in 2025. This is a good thing. It is interesting that an Otago University study showed that even smokers recognise that these moves to make tobacco sales tougher including plain packaging which the Maori Party supports have got to be a good move for New Zealand.  
There will be $132 million for the disabilities programme. Tariana Turia is the Minister for Disability Issues. We all know that this will help with their way of life. It is quite a lot of money but it is a need that has to be met.  
There will be $7.6 million for Enviroschools. We have championed the funding of Enviroschools Kura Taiao right from their beginning. As far as I can tell we are the only party that has done that until now when the National Government has come in behind us and with us as partners to float this programme for another 4 years and allow the programme to grow. What is good about Kura Taiao is that it teaches children respect for Papatuanuku and Rangi Sky Father and it also teaches them to grow food whakatupu kai and to learn about the environment and preservation. It is an excellent programme. It is a very good one. 
Catherine Delahunty 
: Yes it is. We started it. 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: Well I have been going around the schools now for 5 years and this is my thing. So this is it and we launched this programme out at a kura just last week. So these are good programmes that we have launched despite it being a zero Budget and a hard time for us.  
In education there are many benefits that have come through this Budget. Although it is reorganised money nevertheless this is what is going out for Maori: $90 million to improve Maori-medium early childhood services; for kohanga reo and te puna reo another $8.5 million in resources to support that learning; $50 million in equity funding especially with te reo and tikanga Maori; and $33 million to lift Maori achievement in mainstream schools. I might just talk about that because we have instigated a programme called Reading Together and we trialled it in two areas. It was so good in bringing mothers and parents into the school to help their children with reading that now with this Government we have put it into every—and I mean every—decile 1 2 and 3 school in New Zealand. This has got to make a major change in the reading ability and therefore the comprehension and learning growth of our children in schools.  
There are other things but I see you waving at me Mr Speaker so thanks very much for the opportunity to talk on the Budget. Although again these are hard times and it is a zero Budget there are benefits in there for people recognising the situation that we are in. Kia ora.