Prasad Rajen: General Debate 
Prasad Rajen: General Debate 
[Volume:669;Page:15750] 
Dr RAJEN PRASAD (Labour) 
: 
 Like the previous speakers Jonathan Young and others in this House and elsewhere I also acknowledge the pain and distress of the miners in Greymouth and also their families their community and those who are working on the rescue. We pray for them and hope all will turn out well. 
I turn my attention to another matter which is simply to express what a special privilege it is to be a member of a minority ethnic group and also to be those people’s representative in Parliament—to be here representing their interests. In that capacity we all know the expectations that our communities make on us and how often those expectations are quite unreal. Our communities follow our actions they meet us regularly and they get quite upset when we cannot manage their expectations be in two places at the same time or let them down by taking a position that is different to the one they might have taken. Whenever that happens we are required to front up to explain and to be accountable for what we have done or not done. 
So I have some understanding of what Pansy Wong might be going through at this time and what her thoughts might be. But I am also certain that she wants to front up because she wants to meet the expectations of her communities and she wants to explain and do what is right because that is what our communities have socialised us to do. I believe it would not take much for Pansy Wong to know how many trips she had and for what purpose she undertook them. She will know on which trips her partner went along with her which ones were private and which were not and which ones were paid for and the way they were paid for. If she is in any doubt then she can stop and consult her husband her diary her chequebook her bank statement etc. Within a matter of hours I imagine—a day at most—it is a fair expectation that she would then understand exactly where she had gone wrong and could have breached the rules and then she would be able to front up. So it is a fair question to ask why she is not here to explain what that might be. 
It is time really for Pansy Wong to front up and explain because in that way she could meet the expectations of her community as well. But the only explanation we have is that she is not being allowed to do so. She has been asked not to do that by the Prime Minister and one has to wonder why that might be. Clearly the Prime Minister has asked Pansy to go to ground not to make any statements at all and not to explain. Indeed in advising her to take that position the Prime Minister has actually made matters worse for Pansy Wong and that is doing more damage to a member of an ethnic minority group who is held in high regard by her own people. Matters are being made worse. 
The Prime Minister also shows a glaring lack of understanding of minority ethnic groups—ones he visits from time to time—and their cultural expectations and cultural practices. So we are left to wonder why that might be so. Is the Prime Minister playing for time? When the matter was first raised he ridiculed Pete Hodgson for raising it and then asked for a report. Now he is questioning the rules and I wonder what will be the next series of prevarications he might take. This is not leadership; it is not a demonstration of a set of principles by which the country should be run and by which the Prime Minister and members opposite would like to operate. He is seeking to justify and soften up the public—certainly soften up what the public feels. There is some kind of softening up of the public going on in his saying that she has paid a heavy price already and saying that it is not his problem has a ring of repetition from the past as does talk of high standards being let down. 
Pansy Wong should be here explaining not just her own actions in this particular case but her lack of defence for the position of the Office of Ethnic Affairs and an explanation of why the Office of Ethnic Affairs is being downgraded. Why has she not raised that with the many communities she has been visiting week in and week out? It is their view that this is a downgrade and that the Minister for Ethnic Affairs has not fronted up. Her communities are left feeling that it is OK for her to front up just to sing the praises of these communities. But when she needs to take their interests further and it is their expectation that she will do that she has not. So this is a disappointment. Thank you. 
The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.