Chadwick Steve: General Debates 
Chadwick Steve: General Debates 
[Volume:610;Page:7241] 
STEVE CHADWICK (NZ Labour—Rotorua) 
: 
 I want to speak about one standard of citizenship for all New Zealanders. It is becoming very apparent to us in this very united party on this side of the House that it is fine for all of those people in the National Party who sit outside their caucus because they believe in one standard of citizenship for New Zealanders but within their own caucus they do not. What do you do with the one person who is prepared to challenge you and the dominant view? You sort him out and send him out. You cannot stand to be challenged. You have to have a dominant view and you do not want to listen to minority views from those outside the caucus. 
Phil Heatley 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The member used the term “you” I think four times. Colleagues on this side of the House have kindly pointed that out to her directly. She used it another four times— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Clem Simich) 
: Thank you for that. 
Phil Heatley 
: I am concerned for you Mr Speaker. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Clem Simich) 
: I accept that. The member will desist from using “you”. 
STEVE CHADWICK 
: Let us look back at what the Leader of the Opposition believes that one standard of citizenship actually means. When they were polled 60 percent of New Zealanders did not even know what it meant. It is a slogan; it is all about the rhetoric that the Opposition stands for. 
I say that we are a party that will sort out those issues. We are prepared to front the difficult issues of access customary rights seabed ownership and the Supreme Court. When I see our Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations walking out with the Minister of Maori Affairs to hui in this country—two people walking together to build a nation that gives my children hope for the future—I am glad that we are in Government. The Opposition simply stands for divisiveness and destruction of nationhood. That is an Opposition that cannot stand minority or other points of view. 
Why on earth have National Party members shot themselves in the foot trying to wrench a loaded gun off Maurice Williamson? Even two senior MPs in the National Party have said that Mr English showed really poor political skills and a lack of a political nose in allowing that entire debacle to overshadow the conference. That conference was to be the flagship of new policies and new radical change. Where on earth will that come from in that wretched Opposition? It will certainly not come from Nick Smith who was out paddling his waka on our lakes. He comes up there every now and then when he needs to get away from the heat in his own mates’ kitchen and wants to boost National Party membership. I want to read the House a letter from someone who wrote: “To see the Opposition spokesman on the environment paddling on Lake Rotoiti with a face mask on Sunday made our blood boil. I guess he did not think what the downstream effect of his grandstanding would do for our business and other small businesses who use Lake Rotoiti and other lakes in our region.” 
It is strange how a few years in Opposition dims some memories. What did his Government do about the water quality in our lakes when it was in power? Absolutely nothing! Nothing will be coming from Nick Smith while he is paddling in our waters. I am very proud that he got access to our lakes and he will always be guaranteed access while we are in Government. We will ensure that that continues for all New Zealanders and we will do that by consultation between two peoples—tatou tatou we together. We will sort out the waters of our taonga in our region and it will be a joint approach with the oversight of authorities local government and Government. 
That Opposition spokesperson then invited someone quite close to him the Commissioner for the Environment to oversee our lakes and sort out water quality. We have sorted it out. Before he even invited the commissioner we had set up a joint committee to look at water quality and oversee the two authorities that have an action plan and are getting on and doing it with some contribution from the Crown. 
Where else will those new ideas come from? We heard appalling comments in the Chamber last night from both ACT and National about race-based funding in health and we are sick of it.