Henare Tau: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Henare Tau: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:631;Page:3426] 
10.  
Hon TAU HENARE (National) 
 to the  
Minister of Maori  
Affairs 
: Was he satisfied with the performance of Te Puni Kokiri at the Maori Affairs Committee yesterday? 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
: 
 Yes. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Does he stand by his comment in the House on 11 May 2006 that Leith Comer was carrying out Te Puni Kokiri’s statutory monitoring role well when Leith Comer himself told the Maori Affairs Committee that he had consciously moved resources out of the monitoring area and the committee’s financial review found that Te Puni Kokiri was failing to meet this fundamental legislative requirement? 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: The answer to the first part of the question is yes; in respect of the second part of the question the member is twisting what was found in that report. 
Dave Hereora 
: What achievements did the Minister tell the committee about yesterday? 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: I told the truth. I told the committee that more Maori are working than ever before. I told the committee that more Maori are participating in education at all levels. I told the committee that the Maori asset base is growing and is being well-used. I told the committee that Maori are making a strong contribution to this economy and that common-sense people are recognising this. I told the committee that Maori are celebrating success across sports arts and culture and there is an abundance of it. 
Hon Georgina te Heuheu 
: Did the Minister advocate for the cutting of funding for local level solutions for Maori in this year’s Budget or was this programme cut because as he himself has described in this House advocating for Maori is “tiresome” and he could not be bothered arguing for it? 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: Sometimes we do feel like that when working with our constituency. But they are great people. I also added that we loved them irrespective of how they made us feel. But we did allocate $14.8 million in 2005—and certainly outreached for 4 years. I do care about the Maori people and this Government has done the right thing—unlike the last time National was in Government. What did National do when it was last in Government? It stripped $1.3 billion—tax cuts—out of social services. When it sniffed the recession coming on it sold all the State houses and put Maori on the road. That was under Tau Henare’s watch. He did nothing! 
Gerry Brownlee 
: When he praised his ministry’s performance on the basis of the report of the Controller and Auditor-General which found that Te Puni Kokiri had not significantly breached any law did he mean that breaking the law was OK for Te Puni Kokiri provided the Auditor-General does not catch it? 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: I meant no such thing. 
Hon Georgina te Heuheu 
: Is Te Puni Kokiri’s inability to answer basic questions before the Maori Affairs Committee one of the high performance achievements of his ministry that he takes personal pride in or is his view closer to the way he described his ministry in its performance as being “tedious”? 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: When I came in as Minister the ministry had $55 million. It now has $156 million. We certainly had our ups and downs when I became the Minister when I was bullied and barraged by that member over there. But 6 years on our position is certainly one of wanting to move Maori from dependency to development. What is wrong with that? And this Government has achieved great things like a 70 percent decline in poverty—30 percent of that being Maori poverty—and attention to early childcare 27 percent of that being Maori. What is wrong with that? What is wrong with Maori getting into a better space? 
Hon Tau Henare 
: How can the Minister justify his claim— 
Hon Dover Samuels 
: Got the right paper Tau? 
Hon Tau Henare 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I have been booted out of this House for less than that. I do not want to regurgitate that but I honestly believe I have been hard-done-by—[ 
Interruption 
] And there we go again. That is the second time. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I will ask the Minister to leave the Chamber please for intervening on the member. 
Hon Dover Samuels withdrew from the Chamber. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I thought it was the Minister who actually made the comment. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: It was both of them. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: It was both of them. I think both Ministers should leave the Chamber. As the member said one has to be fair about this. 
Hon Parekura Horomia withdrew from the Chamber. 
Tariana Turia 
: I seek the leave of the House for the Minister Parekura Horomia to return and answer the next set of supplementary questions. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Well it is a bit of a dilemma. Normally— 
Tariana Turia 
: Point of order— 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I am addressing the question. The member will please be seated. I am addressing the member’s question. The normal practice is of course that if members are asked to leave and they are to ask a question or to answer it they will be asked to come back. I shall follow that practice. I do not need any help from the members. I think we had better ask for the Minister to be called back. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I ask that a messenger be asked to find the member concerned if there is a requirement for him to come back to the Chamber. Thank you. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: How can the Minister justify the claim he made yesterday that Budget appropriations should not be discussed by parliamentary select committees? 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: I did not say that. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: How can he justify the claim he made yesterday that Budget appropriations should not be discussed by parliamentary select committees and if he really believes that where does he believe Budget appropriations should be discussed—in the TAB? 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: I do not frequent the TAB—unlike that member opposite—and certainly the appropriate place is in select committees and in consultation with the Treasurer. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. That is an intriguing answer from the Minister. I wonder whether we might now have an indication from the Minister of Finance—I presume as opposed to the Treasurer. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: That is not a point of order as the member well knows but he can ask a supplementary question if he wants further clarification. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: No I do not want to waste a supplementary question on this matter. But I just wonder when the Minister of Finance might be available to come to the Maori Affairs Committee to discuss Vote Maori Affairs with the committee. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: That is not a point of order. 
Peter Brown 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I wonder whether you could clarify the situation. We had a question from the Hon Tau Henare and an answer from the Minister in which he denied making the statement that Tau Henare alleged he made then we had a second question based on the assumption that he did make the statement. I believe the Minister and I think as honourable members we are obliged to believe the Minister. He denied making the statement that Tau Henare said he made. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: There is nothing to prevent members from asking questions. Consistency is not required under the Standing Orders. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: I seek leave to table a report on the goings-on in the select committee yesterday which has a detailed verbatim description of what the Minister said in the select committee. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection.