Flavell Te Ururoa: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFlavell Te Ururoa: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply Debate[Sitting date: 24 June 2014. Volume:699;Page:18800. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]TE URUROA FLAVELL (Co-Leader—Māori Party):Tēnā koe Mr Deputy Speaker. Kia ora tātou katoa. About a month ago there was a fair bit of excitement in the debating chamber that was indirectly associated with an event of actually national significance. It may well have been reported upon by Al Jazeera because her grand auntie is a reporter at Al Jazeera and I suppose I need to tell the House that Te Hare Makarini Te Ōhaere Flavell Fox on 31 May at 1.15 a.m. came into the world. Can you give me a clap please Mr Deputy Speaker. I think it is absolutely awesome that I am a koro now—I am a koro now. You have probably had a few shots—10? Oh my gosh! Well I am happy to have just one right now. So I just want to report to the House that that’s what has happened. Congratulations to me—thank you very much. You are probably asking the question: what the hang has the Appropriation (2013/14 Supplementary Estimates) Bill got to do with the birth of my moko my No. 1 moko my beautiful moko? Well I will hopefully be able to tell you about that over the next 10 minutes or so. It is linked because I suppose in the end like any koro you want the very best for your mokopuna for your children and that I suppose is basically what I want to talk about for the next 9½ minutes or so.As the House will know this legislation seeks authorisation of the individual appropriations and changes contained in the supplementary estimates for the year ending 30 June 2014. Encompassed in the volumes is the landscape for the world that I hope Te Hare my beautiful mokopuna will inherit. I am not thinking just about her about my mokopuna as stunning as she is. The truth is that according to a report done by Statistics New Zealand our nation is blessed with far younger populations in Māori electorates than in the general population. In figures released today the 2013 census revealed that although the median age for the Māori population in Māori electorates was 24.4 years old the average age in general electorates is much older at 38 years of age. So in the priorities in policy Budgets and legislation that the Māori Party has always followed we have unashamedly been focused upon our mokopuna our rangatahi and the central role of whānau of families. It makes sense. These young majorities are the foundation of our future workforce.We really need to get that part right and not wait for the latest political party gimmicks or try to bedazzle the young as vote-catchers. The Māori Party has heard from many many young leaders who resent the implication that their vote can be bought by a costly social media campaign or glitzy marketing. They have told us that they want the difference to be about whānau now and about health education employment training warm housing opportunities for innovation and for inspiration to flourish.So let me take a look at the world we have committed to for my beautiful moko Te Hare to grow up in. At this point in time her health and well-being are our primary concern. As a result of negotiations the Māori Party entered into with National she will now benefit from free visits to the general practitioner and free prescriptions until she is a thriving teenager of 13 years. Thank goodness Koro does not have to pay.Te Hare has been born into a nation in which rheumatic fever was not identified by Governments in the past as the health crisis it has now become. Addressing rheumatic fever is a recommendation from the Ministerial Committee on Poverty which was negotiated in the relationship accord between the Māori Party and the National Government. Just a month ago Budget 2014 invested an extra $20 million to combat New Zealand’s high rate of rheumatic fever bringing the Government’s total investment to more than $65.3 million over 6 years. When the free clinics open up later this year over 200000 children and young people in high-risk areas will have access to prompt care and treatment for sore throats and it is about time too. For too many years previous administrations neglected the health of our most vulnerable children and I for one am proud that the Māori Party has stood up and pointed out the obvious—that health matters.Another priority for us has been to focus on the close relationship between health and housing. As a result again of the pressure brought to bear by even having a Ministerial Committee on Poverty the Government has now agreed to expand healthy homes initiatives in Northland Waikato the lakes area where I am from Bay of Plenty Tairāwhiti Hawke’s Bay Capital and Coast and Hutt Valley district health boards.Another aspect of health for our mokopuna is of course her niho—her teeth. During Budget 2014 Tariana Turia announced $10 million was being invested into supporting whānau ensuring they are enrolled for the free local dental service and given lots of support to maintain great oral hygiene. The Māori Party is going to go even further though and we are encouraging all of our whānau—indeed all of the nation—to eliminate sugary beverages from their diets in the interests of a healthy lifestyle.What is really exciting about that is that in Budget 2014 we also provide ourselves with an opportunity to launch an initiative that will definitely help shape the world of our mokopuna and that is Moving the Māori Nation. This is an approach that will support whānau to take a collective approach to health and well-being by participation in sporting recreational and cultural activities. One only has to look at the amazing number of families that are involved and getting into things through waka ama Iron Māori Tri-Māori ki-o-rahi and tribal cultural activities like pā wars to see the whole new level of energy amongst our communities.That energy was given further steam through Budget 2014 by the focus that we have given to innovation entrepreneurship and investment. The burgeoning Māori economy was given an injection of goodwill through an extra $8 million fund to support innovation and investment readiness as well as $6 million for building the capability and branding and leveraging of Māori tourism and trade.In order for Te Hare to take advantage of all these opportunities firstly she needs a top-quality education for her knowledge and then her attitudes to be refined with a full range of training skills to open the door really wide. In the weekend I had the privilege of attending the Te Ranga battle site service and ceremony at Pyes Pā in Tauranga. In particular I was moved by “Ngā Roimata O Te Ranga” a recounting of the events of 21 June 1864 in haka and song. It made me appreciate just how significant the announcement by my colleague Dr Pita Sharples of a new educational initiative to support and strengthen the teaching of Māori history in years 1 to 13 in schools and kura is going to be. We need our stories and our knowledge to be valued and that is where the new investment in establishing a Māori centre of research excellence takes that concept even further.Bringing the debate back to my beautiful magical little mokopuna once she has flourished in her insulated home and benefited from a quality and culturally competent education system she will be strong and well and of course a champion in every sporting event and then we will need to look at what employment and training avenues are in front of her. And there is a wonderful surprise ahead of her. The Māori Party in collaboration with the Government has invested $43 million in the Māori and Pasifika Trades Training Initiative to help younger people develop skills in trades that are needed right now and in the longer term. That is 3000 places by 2015 to encourage young Māori and Pasifika people to gain qualifications New Zealand Apprenticeships and employment.The Māori Party is proudly whanau-centred—every day of our political term and in every aspect of our lives. Whānau ora is a way of being. It is not a line in a manifesto or a substance of a press release. It is a transformation of whanau which results in long-term vision determined by the whānau themselves by the family members themselves. Our basic approach to Budget 2014 and indeed to our portfolios right across parliamentary and ministerial responsibilities is underpinned by the knowledge that if we do not transform our families we will not see the difference that we really want to see. The system in every sector serves to fragment families to put them in silos and to segregate them. It puts them in compartments and individual components while all of the time there is a steady focus group of nannies aunties mums and dads who are all watching keenly on every sphere. In closing the Māori Party is distinguished by our focus on whānau our determination to take a collective approach. We are proud that our party has delivered on our commitment to create a world that is going to be fit for my beautiful beautiful moko Te Hare.