Brownlee Gerry: General Debates 
Brownlee Gerry: General Debates 
[Volume:615;Page:11097] 
GERRY BROWNLEE (Deputy Leader—National) 
: 
 That speech continues the theme of the current Labour Government as it has been for the last 5 years. It was a speech telling New Zealanders what they can think what they can say what they can do where their children can go to school whether they are married whether they can take a particular job in a particular area and come up with some benefits whether they can have a cigarette in a hotel and any number of other things that this Government has done. It is a Government coming to an end. It is a Government that knows that New Zealanders are sick and tired of being told what to do when to do it and how to do it. 
If there is one thing that has come through in the last couple of weeks since Dr Brash’s Orewa speech it is that New Zealanders suddenly feel empowered to talk about important issues in their country. 
 Labour does not like that because it does not listen. To show Labour how much trouble it is in let us look at the Prime Minister’s speeches and comments made over the last couple of weeks about Dr Brash’s speech. She started out saying it was racist and that New Zealanders would reject it. Then in over the next week or so up to 10 February she repeated that his speech was racist and divisive. On 10 February in the House she rejoiced in Maori television and any other number of separatist initiatives taken by the Government in favour of Maori. Then came the television poll! The day after the Prime Minister took once again another position on that issue and started saying that Labour did not fund on race it funded on need. 
That is exactly the issue that Dr Brash is raising. Those Labour Party members over there—13 of whom have already gone and 13 who should get some boxes into their office and start packing their mementos because they are gone and there are more to come I tell Mrs Pettis who is trying to interject—need to understand that they cannot take the sort of position they are proposing on the seabed and foreshore and expect New Zealanders to believe that the Government is acting in their best interests. 
Let us look at the issue. Today the Deputy Prime Minister said there will be a system of dual title—public domain on the one hand and customary title on the other hand. When National probed a little bit we found that the dominant title—that is the pre-eminent title; the one that will have the greatest effect on the usage of land adjacent to seabed and foreshore—is customary title. 
Dr Wayne Mapp 
: Special consultation. 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Special consultation for that group special rights of veto for that group and in the case of Europeans—non-Maori New Zealanders—a message that they are excluded. They are almost completely excluded from the management of the seabed and foreshore around this country. 
I have a question to ask. What future does a sixth generation New Zealander have without some whakapapa into Maoridom. Why will the Government not answer that question? Why can the Government not answer that question? The fact is that the legislation proposed on the seabed and foreshore is the first step towards disenfranchising non-Maori New Zealanders in this country. That is why people are upset. That is why overwhelming numbers of New Zealanders are asking the Government to rethink the position. That is why there was such a huge swing in the polls last week. National does not say that that number will be cemented in but if the Government does not listen to what New Zealanders are telling it then it will not continue to govern. 
I am proud to say that Dr Brash has opened up a debate in New Zealand and shown himself to be a leader and well capable of being the Prime Minister of this country. I believe that that will happen beyond 2005.