Paraone Pita: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Paraone Pita: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:637;Page:7478] 
PITA PARAONE (NZ First) 
: 
 I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. Are you aware that New Zealand First will be splitting its speech time? 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: I will give you a bell at 1 minute. 
PITA PARAONE 
: A engari e tika ana ko te mea tuatahi e mihi kau ana ki a tatou e hui tahi i te wiki nei ahakoa ko tenei te wiki tuarua. Engari e tika ana kia mihi atu ki a koutou mo te tau hou. 
[ 
It is apt that the first thing to do is to extend greetings to us as we meet together this week even though it is the second one. This aside greetings for the New Year to you. 
] 
As was outlined in my leader’s speech last Tuesday New Zealand First believes in climate change—namely economic and social. That is what we are asking this Parliament in 2007 to begin and to deliver. The Prime Minister in her statement leading off this debate outlined to the House that the Government has a challenge to sustain family and community living standards. We in New Zealand First believe that the challenge facing this Parliament is not to merely sustain family and community living standards but to dramatically improve those standards. One of the areas by which New Zealand’s community living standards can be measured is the standard of housing available to its people especially the availability of housing for the people who can least afford it. Although the State housing stock is slowly being restored after being slashed by the Government during the 1990s the percentage of the stock being made available to New Zealanders is declining and although some refugee and migrant families are worthy recipients of State housing the fact that the scales continue to slip away from New Zealanders is of great concern to New Zealand First. 
Beyond the State housing stock we need to move to increase the stock of affordable housing. As our leader alluded to in his speech the appalling rate of savings in this country is the key driver of sky rocketing interest rates and house prices. If our savings rates were higher interest rates would be lower and many more people would be able to afford to buy houses. New Zealand First has made no secret of its desire for a compulsory savings scheme. Many will recall that our support for the New Zealand superannuation legislation—now commonly known as the Cullen fund—was dependent on the inclusion of a clause to enable accounts to be individualised as a step towards enabling it to be made compulsory in the future. We will continue to campaign for compulsory savings and to hope that some cross-party consensus is reached sooner rather than later for the betterment of this country. 
New Zealand First secured an independent inquiry on rates last year that will look at the factors driving the steep rates increases that have been of such concern to superannuitants and others on fixed and modest incomes. 
I want to include in my short contribution to this debate the area of Maori affairs. I mentioned earlier the need to improve family and community living standards. I acknowledge that in the area of Maori affairs improvements have occurred in employment and education. But there is still a terrible need to improve in these areas as Maori still feature at the bottom of the social indices of our country. The recent reports on Maori male school-leaver underachievement do not paint a pretty picture for the future of Maoridom. 
I want to take this opportunity to support recent comments made by the principal of that fine Maori boys’ boarding school in Feilding Hato Paora College Mr Tihirau Shepherd who stated that parents—and indeed families—needed to take more responsibility for their children’s education rather than opposing the present system. And while I am talking about Maori boarding schools given their immense contribution to Maori educational achievement one can only wonder why no support is given to the boarding facilities of these schools. 
During the sitting period the first reading of my member’s bill entitled the Treaty of Waitangi (Removal of Conflict of Interest) Amendment Bill will be debated. I hope that during the debate members of this House will hear the pros and cons of it and support it going to a select committee.