Fairbrother Russell: General Debates 
Fairbrother Russell: General Debates 
[Volume:609;Page:6577] 
RUSSELL FAIRBROTHER (NZ Labour—Napier) 
: 
 The last member described the Maori interests in this country as a focus group. He picked up this morning’s paper which reports on one of the most seminal decisions from our Court of Appeal in recent years did not bother to read it but pointed to photographs in the paper of MPs in the Maori caucus who promoted the debate and described them as a focus group. If that party listened to focus groups then it would not be in the position of having a disappearing membership in this House. When that member asks where the Maori members are I ask him where are those in his own party? The one Maori member stays out of this Parliament when that member discusses his focus group alias Maori members of this party Government and population. That is a most important decision. 
What is the National Party’s position on that? It is easy to snipe. It is easy to interpret open discussion that is the feature of this Government and say that there is division when what we are discussing is a most serious issue with sniping ridicule racist attitudes and not one positive assertion of what the National Party or its acolyte New Zealand First would do if they had to make the decision. 
If the National Party listened to focus groups it would not have released its welfare dependency programme of several months ago. On top of that was its failed work-for-the-dole scheme that it experimented with in 1998 which was a dismal failure. 
Who are the people on the dole in this country? They are people on the domestic purposes benefit and who are they? The typical domestic purposes benefit client is a woman in her 30s with one or two children. She has been through a relationship breakdown and is likely to stay on the domestic purposes benefit for a year or two before moving off the benefit. Why kick people in that position? Why attack them for being bludgers when they are providing the upbringing of our young people who are the future of this country? 
Then they attack that next hoary shibboleth—teenage sole parents. But what are the facts about teenage sole parents? They make up a very small percentage of all our domestic purpose beneficiaries. Fewer than 3 percent are under 20. Where were the teenage parent education centres which are now blossoming under our Minister of Education and this Government during the National Government? They were nowhere to be seen. This Government is already well down the road to creating a welfare system that actively lifts people’s capacity to live and get a sustainable job in an increasingly demanding world. 
In opening this debate my colleague Rick Barker mentioned that from June 1999 under a National Government to 30 May figures for this year there was a 55000 decrease in the number of unemployed. That is no fluke. That reflects 3 years nearly 4 years of sound Government and a Government that provides work training opportunity and makes work pay; provides more assistance to youth mature and migrant unemployed; provides more active case management; provides more assistance for sickness beneficiaries to recover and return to work; and ensures that invalid beneficiaries are assisted to work where possible. However a statistic that that fails to mention is that in mid-1999 under a National Government the economic forecast of the unemployed was $900 million over the forecast now for this year. Nine-hundred million dollars has been saved by fine administration. So the public of New Zealand now has a very clear choice on welfare.