Hereora Dave: Budget Debate 
Hereora Dave: Budget Debate 
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DAVE HEREORA (Labour) 
: 
 I take pleasure in taking a call in the Budget debate tonight. This is a very very good Budget. It is a Budget that only a Labour-led Government could deliver. 
Before I get into that I want to comment on a point raised by the previous speaker in relation to the 90-day probationary period bill introduced by Dr Wayne Mapp. I cannot figure out how that bill will help young workers. What I can figure out is that that bill will allow the boss to sack workers at will before 90 days are up. I think the real intention of that bill is to allow employers to add another definition to the workplace. We already have casual part-time and full-time workers. If this bill proceeds we will have a definition for workers who last fewer than 90 days at work. I cannot understand or imagine why the previous speaker welcomes that for our young workers. 
I want to get back to the Budget because it delivers on our promises. It not only delivers on the promises of this term it also fleshes out the promises that have been set in place since 1999. They are policies that the Labour-led Government initiated in 1999. I recall the feeling of Opposition members about how inadequate Labour would be in determining and managing the finances of our nation. Do members recall that? I recall that very clearly. Well that has been proved wrong has it not? This is our seventh Budget and the economy is booming. The economy is booming under the strong stewardship of Dr Michael Cullen. He will be around for a long time yet I can assure members. 
Some of those policies that we had in 1999 have given us the opportunity now to manifest a position that allows us to use this 2006 Budget as an investment—an investment into our future. That opportunity does not just fall out of the sky; it has come about through prudent management of our economy—responsible management by again our Dr Cullen. I want to congratulate Dr Cullen on delivering this Budget because it does have the vision it does have the foresight and it does look towards the three things that we are aiming at ensuring we get on with. 
The first thing is families young and old. We recall the State housing stock being depleted prior to 1999 by 13000 homes. I wonder who did that. Nobody wants to own up but that is a fact. Pre-1999 13000 State houses were sold. Since 1999 we have increased that stock to 60000. With the latest release of this 2006 Budget we are intent on increasing that stock even further to over 70000. That is what we heard at the select committee today. We are increasing that stock to 70000 so we will improve the opportunity for families to get into houses. But we did not leave it there. No we did not. We also introduced a policy to make State housing affordable. Do members recall that? We introduced a policy to make State houses affordable. How did we do that? Can members recall how we did that? We did that by introducing a policy surrounding income-related rents. That brought the rent down for some housing tenants by 106 percent. Now that is huge. In effect that meant State house tenants had another $1800 per year in their pockets to spend on their families. That is a Labour-led Government policy. That was fleshed out in the Budget that we are promoting and that is about families young and old. But it does not stop there. We have provided more houses and we have made them affordable and we are going to make sure that we keep that stock in line with the growing population. We are committed to ensuring that families are housed in the future. 
The other area that I have heard has been of some concern to Opposition members is the question of what is in the Budget for Maori. Is there anything at all in the Budget for Maori? I will describe what is in it for members because it is very specific about where the allocated funding for Maori is targeted. The Budget has relocated $23.9 million from existing spending to three investment areas. The first under the heading “Rawa” better positions Maori to build a leverage of their collective financial and natural resources. Under another heading “Matauranga” which I am sure members have seen before comes traditional and contemporary knowledge. The third area is skills and leadership capacity and that comes under the heading of “Whakamana”. 
That is about targeted investment in building knowledge growing skills and talents and generating innovation and creativity. That is what Matauranga is. These investments will build greater financial literacy in Maori communities. They will link the opportunities to portray Maori culture on an international stage which we currently do with economic development opportunities and will transfer capability to future generations. That is about a vision of the future. It is an investment in strengthening leadership and decision making. It is about recognising that Maori success relies on their capability to lead influence and make positive and confident decisions that result in benefits for themselves and others. These investments will revive community pride and link Maori to key economic and social transformation processes within our society. 
It is an investment to assist Maori to use develop and retain their own assets under “Rawa” for collective and individual benefit. These investments will use available resources as a tool for greater participation in businesses and enterprise and will strengthen whanau and hapu links to assist community development. We are confident these new steps will make immeasurable gains in improving the quality of life for Maori and for the development of new knowledge skills and expertise. 
The Budget will also allocate new funding to help achieve the Labour-led Government’s target for all historical Treaty claims to be lodged by 2008 and settled by 2020. Treaty negotiations have been funded by an extra $5.2 million over the next 4 years to provide the Office of Treaty Settlements with additional staff and resources to further progress Treaty negotiations. Increasing the capacity of the Office of Treaty Settlements will build on the momentum generated to date and ensure that we are able to settle all historical Treaty claims in a fair final and timely manner. 
Before finishing I reiterate how good this Budget is. It is a Budget that only a Labour-led Government could deliver. I must say I am proud to be a part of our team and I look forward to an ongoing relationship with our team as a Government.