Maipi-Clarke Hana-Rawhiti; Pugh MaureenHANA-RAWHITI MAIPI-CLARKE (Te Pāti Māori—Hauraki-Waikato): Tēnā koe e te Pīka otirā tēnā tātou e te Whare. E tū ana ahau ki te waha i ngā kōrero mō Te Pāti Māori mō tēnei pire. [Thank you Madam Speaker and I acknowledge those in this House. I rise to speak on behalf of Te Pāti Māori on this bill.]I rise on behalf of Te Pāti Māori to speak on this taxation bill in its third reading. We did support it to the first and second readings. However we very much now oppose this after the recent amendments and changes. We were in support in particular of the section on increasing the trustee tax rate from 33 percent to 39 percent for trustee income over $10000. This is actually a small part of what Te Pāti Māori's tax policy was in terms of addressing the injustice within our tax system. I want to break this down properly for all our whānau—and in particular rangatahi—on this kaupapa around tax and acknowledging that as soon as the T" word comes up we scrunch our faces. Tax is definitely not a topic of conversation at the dinner table. So let's break down the whakapapa of tax in Aotearoa and how it continues to suppress and oppress Māori but not just Māori but the rest of the country—to be exact 98 percent of people in Aotearoa. It is unacceptable that over 2 million people in Aotearoa earn less than $30000 per year while the rich have the use of trusts to illegally avoid paying their taxes. We have a broken tax system in this country which has fuelled extreme wealth and inequality that is only getting worse. Our tax policy is very simple. Quick maths: 98 percent of people in Aotearoa pay an average of 20.2 percent in tax while the other 2 percent—the wealthiest people in Aotearoa—own 50 percent of the country's wealth. This 2 percent makes an average of $26 million—average—per year and only pay 9.4 percent in tax. They pay only 9.4 percent while the kaiako the nurses the front-line workers the Public Service 70 percent of Māori and 98 percent of people in Aotearoa pay 20.2 to 33 percent. This is a huge inequity and injustice. The wealthier or richer you are the less tax you have to pay. We in Te Pāti Māori advocate and encourage growth and wealth. Our Māori economy is currently sitting at $70 billion. This isn't about bringing down the wealthy or bringing down the rich; it is clearly making sure they pay their fair share. This is about creating a tax system with an even playing field. I was truly saddened that our GST off kai policy last week wasn't supported by anyone. Our whānau couldn't wait another meal. Even if it was $20 or $40 saved a week it goes a long way. The GST off kai bill was a bill that ensured our whānau could get more kai on their table especially with the current state of the cost of living crisis or as I call it the cost of surviving the crisis especially during a recession. Whānau need answers now and solutions. The reason I bring this into the conversation on this particular bill is because this bill intends to bring $2.9 billion worth of tax cuts to the landlords particularly in the section where it says it is restoring interest deductibility for residential investment property. GST on kai rolls in $3.4 billion on average per year to the Government so it looks like the cost to eat is rolling straight to the landlords. Parties opposite have continuously campaigned on wasteful spending and it is bizarre to see that this Government says that wasteful spending is spending on something like the use of my own language or even school lunches. School lunches I was able to receive at my kura. I have been recently inspired by Kirikowhai Mikaere a mātanga i roto i te ao tatauranga—an ultimate expert in data sovereignty. In my recent research I have found that 20 percent of the people in my rohe of Hauraki-Waikato that earn over $50k in income contribute $190 million of our tax to the system. This is only 20 percent so imagine the other 80 percent. This isn't even touching on how much we contribute to the overall country's economy within our own iwi. This clearly shows that we over-contribute to the system—the system that continues to suppress us even after the fact that everything we've ever known has been taxed and axed from us: our natural resources land water language and culture. So my question to this Government and the Minister—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): The member's time has expired."