Mackey Moana: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Mackey Moana: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 21 February 2007. Volume:637;Page:7564. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
MOANA MACKEY (Labour) 
: 
 And—scene! What a fine theatrical performance from Paula Bennett—another one. I ask Paula Bennett whether National will abolish the 20 free hours policy. 
Paula Bennett 
: It’s not our policy. 
MOANA MACKEY 
: No I ask Paula Bennett to answer the question. Will National abolish the 20 free hours policy which will be in place at the time of the next election? Oh we hear nothing. What a big surprise! The National Party finds it very easy to point out the problems but I have listened to a week’s worth of responses to the Prime Minister’s statement and I have listened to the general debate and I have not heard a single alternative policy from National members—not one. I ask National members to please give us one policy that will make a difference for this country. We had the food in schools policy which has now been dropped because the schools do not want it. 
I heard today that apparently John Key has confirmed that National’s policy on State house rentals is market rents. That is the one policy we have from this National Opposition. Today John Key is in Gisborne. I hope he will be honest with the people of Gisborne—but I doubt it—and tell them while he is going around cuddling all the poor disadvantaged kids and giving them a ride in his limousine that their families will face a rent increase of possibly 140 percent like they did last time National was in Government when it introduced market rentals. National members have gone quiet now. As we know the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services said that the impact on Housing New Zealand tenants of market rentals was the single biggest thing that contributed to poverty when National was last in Government. The council’s report on market rents stated: “The move to market rents has had a serious impact on HNZ tenants as they had to pay significantly more for their accommodation than under income-related rents. According to the latest census median weekly rentals increased by 135 percent…” for the poorest families in this country whom Mr Key is now trying to cuddle up to. It will take far more than a politically correct T-shirt some nice slogans and saying things nicely to explain to those families that they will not be able to afford to put food on the table or indeed a roof over their heads when National gets back into Government. It was very interesting. 
John Key got on the plane to Gisborne today saw a young Maori guy bowled over to him and started talking to him saying: “Hey I’m John Key. I’m your man. I’m the iPod generation. Look at me. I’m cool. Do you like my tiki T-shirt?”. Then John Key started talking to him about what he could do to help him without realising that it was Parekura Horomia’s son. His son got some information out of Mr Key and found it all very amusing. 
I get sick of National members coming into Gisborne and telling us how bad we have it—I am sure Dr Smith knows. National members came in the middle of the tourist season which has seen Gisborne rebound and on TV basically told people not to go to Gisborne because there were gangs drugs and violence there. Well I say thank you very much to the National Party because one of the single biggest things that held Gisborne back when National was in Government was the reputation Gisborne had around the country of being the economic and social yoke around the country’s neck. We have fought hard to get rid of that reputation. I will read a passage from a letter that our mayor MengFoon sent to the Prime Minister: “I write to convey my appreciation of all your Government’s policies and funding support you have given our region over the past few years. Your Government’s support has certainly given us economic transformation.” That was from the Mayor of Gisborne and I could not put it any better myself. That letter was from just last month—January. We know we still have problems in Gisborne but I say to Dr Smith that we do not need outsiders coming in telling us how bad we have it then swanning off back to Parnell when they have not made any effort to actually talk to people on the ground in Gisborne. 
Let us be clear as to why John Key is back in Gisborne today. He decided to announce the fact that he was going to abolish the Maori seats and the seat of Ikaroa-Rawhiti. That did not go down well so he is now on a “Maori fact-finding mission” which means: “Please tell me any facts about Maori because I do not know anything.” He is there trying to suck up and saying: “Let me say it nicely…”. Even Don Brash was going to consult with Maori about the abolition of the Maori seats. I say to those Maori who were National Party supporters who fled the party under Don Brash’s leadership that the John Key and Bill English co-leadership is far more extreme than the Brash leadership ever was. Mr Key and Mr English will not even consult with Maori on one of the single biggest issues of our time.