SpeechHARETE HIPANGO (National): Thank you Mr Speaker. As I take my mask off I'm conscious that under the protection of parliamentary privilege there's much theatre that occurs in this House and there's much that gets—some slug shots—passed and fired across the bow. So today is Wednesday 27 October and in four days' time Sunday the 31st is Halloween. That's not something that's so big here in New Zealand but it is building and picking up momentum. I talk about Halloween because it's a time for people who think that it's fantasy and it's fiction but it's very much based on a Celtic custom that dates back 2000 years Halloween being a holiday that's celebrated on 31 October. It's a time when there's a Celtic festival. People light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts and evil spirits. So here we are in these COVID-stricken times. I removed a mask. I talked about the theatre in Parliament. In the masquerade of Halloween—in the masking the theatre the dress-ups the dressing downs and the costumery that goes with it—the reality is that COVID-19 is not a fantasy or a fiction. For many particularly those who have been in Auckland for 10 weeks nigh in lockdown it's a living nightmare. It's a living nightmare because it's impacting on people's livelihoods but it's also affecting people's lives. Mental health is an issue that is going to roll out in time more and more probably a bit more quickly than the vaccination roll-out and uptake that is a necessity and a requirement. I come back to the theme of Halloween. Drawing on my Celtic ancestry that is shared with many members of the House and also New Zealanders we heard in the House several weeks ago the importance and significance of Matariki as a public holiday. So Halloween—just dressing down and coming back to the cultural relevance and significance of it. The 1st of November is the celebration of a new year and with that new year it marks the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark cold winter a time of year that was often associated with human death.Halloween and the fear that is amongst our living community a living nightmare for Aucklanders is COVID-19. I questioned the Associate Minister of Health for Māori health and Whānau Ora earlier this week about the timeliness of the Government's response to vaccinate our most vulnerable our communities that suffer inequities our Māori communities. This country went into lockdown on 24 March 2020. The Minister responded and tried to conflate and confuse by saying that I got it wrong. I didn't get it wrong. To New Zealanders out there we know that living in this COVID time lockdown occurred on 24 March 2020. Why is it that the accelerated funding for Māori vaccination uptake was only announced on Friday 22 October 2021—19 months later? I was not wrong Minister. This has been a slow recognition. This has been a slow uptake by the Government to realise the significance and importance of treating and dealing with our living.I come to Halloween also in terms of the theatre. Under the protection of parliamentary privilege we had in the House when there was a question posed it was chipped in—a chipping in—by a Minister to divert and distract from the real issue the living issue and the living nightmare for New Zealanders. Why is it that Māori are having the finger pointed at them and being blamed for the slow vaccine uptake? There were a few shots from no lame duck in this House directed towards an old Pem Bird—there was a bit of foul play that went in there. And speaking under the protection of parliamentary privilege there was a bit of rucking going on and the slug shots were inappropriate. It's right that our people question. It's right that our people say we still have a choice. But it's also right to promote the importance of vaccination and protecting our people. So under the protection of parliamentary privilege I say let's lessen the slug shots and the firing across the bow; focus on the important things—less the theatre within this House; and the reality of the impact on New Zealanders' lives.