Ngaro Alfred: Debate on Prime Minister’s StatementText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeNgaro Alfred: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement[Sitting date: 12 February 2014. Volume:696;Page:15890. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ALFRED NGARO (National): I rise and take a call. Unlike the previous speaker Julie Anne Genter who has a dream I have a reality. I have four children and I have two grandchildren—my first grandson 4 months ago—so I join with you Mr Deputy Speaker and celebrate the aspect of having grandchildren. It is great because what it does remind us of is that rather than having dreams that sound like nightmares we have realities. We have responsibilities to the ones whom we love the ones whom we know the ones with whom we walk to school the ones whose parents evenings we go to andthe ones whose sports fields we go to and stand on the side of on Saturday mornings. We live in a world of reality and in a world of responsibility.I stand to speak of the confidence in the John Key National Government. I do that because of this: 3 weeks ago at the Trusts Stadium over in west Auckland the Prime Minister gave his state of the nation speech. When he did he got up and he gave a speech that was impassioned. He gave a sense of a vision and of some values that were important to this nation. What was important is that although you can have the speech the test of the pudding is to check to see what the reception of that speech was afterwards. There was a room with about 500 people. I went around and I asked people—particularly there was a group of about four or five women—what it was about the Prime Minister’s speech that they found interesting and what they felt about it. They said this: “One word: trust.” I said: “Trust. Well explain. Why ‘trust’ ”?.Here is the reason they said that. You see when the Prime Minister got up and spoke about this he told the story of how he was the son of a migrant mother who came over to New Zealand. At the age of 6 his father passed away. In that circumstance when they had had a business and they had had difficulty the accountant came and said this: “There is good news and there is bad news. The bad news is this: you have no more money. You are bankrupt. The good news is that I am a good accountant. In other words I could probably find a way to get you out of it—maybe pay 10c or 15c in the dollar—and somehow along the way you would still have enough for you and your family.” And here is the part of the story that was important to these women and to the people that were in that room. They said this. His mother turned round and said: “No. Make sure that everyone is paid out as much as possible because”—what do they say—“it is people before profits.” The story has been told about the Prime Minister and about the National Party that we are for the rich and not for the poor.This is a story about how we have a leader as a part of this nation as a part of this National Party the son of a migrant mother who knows what it means that when push comes to shove it is about people and that it is what we do for people that makes a difference. So I have confidence in the Prime Minister and in his party.I also want to acknowledge the part of that confidence that he has also bestowed upon Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga our first Pacific National Minister in Government. It is a great day to celebrate. In fact I think it is absolutely important for him and for our Pasifika community as well because he is not only competent and capable but also confident to be able to serve. However along the way I have had different people—in fact other people who were there from the Labour side—say: “Wouldn’t it be great for us to have a Pacific person in that position?”. The day that we did those very people who were in the Opposition began to attack and began to criticise that position. I am glad that the honourable member over there Su’a William Sio is here because he wrote a blog that said this. He turned round and said “Pacific people say National out of touch”. In other words he criticised the fact that Peseta had been given an Associate Minister portfolio and that the portfolio was outside Cabinet. But see the thing is that his memory fades because when Luamanuvao Winnie Laban was given and bestowed that title it was outside Cabinet. The Pacific community asked why that was. So he misses the point altogether: the importance of what has been given—the confidence in Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga and the message to our Pasifika community. We now have a Pasifika person a Kiwi of Pacific descent who is focused on the issues of Pacific communities as a designated position as well. That becomes absolutely important to us. So I think that it is a shame that that had to happen as well.Alongside that we will talk about some other things about the other side. There is something in particular that I want to talk about. Last Friday it was a proud day. We went over to Māngere and my honourable parliamentary colleague over there Su’aWilliam Sio was with me. We were there at The Rise UP Academy. What a great occasion. What a great occasion because here was the first primary partnership school that was established. Where was it? It was at 22 Rosella Road in Māngere. It was the only Pacific partnership school that was established and that was granted out of the five and there it was. It was a proud day. Sita Selupe was there. Sally Ikinofo and the board were there. What a great day of celebration. There is something I cannot quite figure out though and here is where the conflict and the tension will come for Su’a and for the Labour Party. Sally Ikinofo as the chairperson stood up and said this: “Today I take off my political hat and instead I put on my community hat and I say this: may it not be a political debate a decision that turns away because we need this.” As a community the Māngere Pasifika community said: “We need this.”But here is the challenge that Sally the chairperson of Su’a William Sio’s electoral community is going to find. Old Chris Hipkins wrote on 21 November 2013 “Charter school applicants put on notice”. That is what he said: “Labour stands firmly opposed to the National Government’s agenda of carving up and privatising our excellent public education system.” And here is the part that is going to hurt: “Anyone seeking to establish a charter school will be doing so in the knowledge that charter schools have no future under Labour.”—have no future under Labour. So what is going to happen here? There is going to be tension in the House. There is going to be difficulty. Why? Because in those members’ very ranks in the grassroots in the place where it hurts the most while they are out there doing all the hard work promoting all the things that are absolutely important there is going to be tension in the House. Why? Because here we have the people of that community saying: “We want this. We need this. Give this to us.” but really we are going to have to say this: “It has been taken away. It has been taken away.”You know it just sort of confuses me a little bit. When I look on the Labour Party website I read the Labour Party principles. This is what it says is principle No. 1 of the Labour Party: “All political authority comes from the people by democratic means …”. Guess what? Where is the democracy here with regard to the very people who are part of your party—the very people who are saying: “We need this.”? Where is their democratic right going to be? Are they going to be able to say: “Hey we want this we need this.” but guess what? Your party has already said that you will not support this happening.But look let us talk about the things that are really important—about education. You see in that state of the nation speech the Prime Minister talked about National’s education changes to raise achievement—to absolutely raise achievement—and right across the board we started seeing the support that was coming. We are seeing executive principals—250 executive principals. That will be rolled out right up and down the country. The key principals the executive principals will be top principals around the country with proven track records. In what? In raising achievement. Expert teachers—1000 expert teachers right up and down the country. Expert teachers will have a proven track record in raising achievement. Lead teachers—5000 lead teachers. We want the best teachers to be recognised for improving student achievement. Change principals with a proven track record in improving student achievement. This is great because you know it is like some of the great leaders of old. Sir Peter Blake when we were winning the America’s Cup simply said this: “Will it make the boat go faster?”. So if you want to measure what education is doing and what National is doing in education you simply have to say this. We have set out our clear vision. We have set out a clear benchmark on which you want to measure raising achievement. Well here is the pragmatism of it. Here are the principles that truly do make a difference.I just want to finish my comments on this. We had the state of the nation report that was released by the Salvation Army. One thing that I think is really important is that Labour Party members do not often read. Jacinda Ardern tried to put a motion that we should have an urgent debate on this particular topic because those members felt that this was something that they could use as a footstool to talk about the things that they could hold the Government to account on. But if they had read what the report actually says they would see that it clearly says this. It says that this is not “a comprehensive and complete assessment of all relevant indicators. [It is] a procession of glimpses into a number of areas of public interest …”. But the part that I want to talk about is where Major Campbell Roberts said that the “State of the Nation report should not necessarily be seen as a condemnation or acclamation of our present government but rather as a condemnation or acclamation of all of us as New Zealanders.” We heard the honourable Minister Paula Bennett get up and say that this issue of poverty this issue that we are facing as a country and as a nation is not something to be blamed on the Government yet all we keep hearing from the other side is that it blames the Government.I want to just finish with a couple of final comments and they come from this. We talked about the Child Poverty Action Group which has gone around and talked about our communities which are raising this issue of holding the Government to account. Dr Airini down in Hastings was there with a community meeting. A number of old Cook Island mamas stood up and said this: “You tell those people to stop using us. Stop using us as their statistics to make them feel good. They do not need people to make them feel good but instead we want to have aspiration and inspiration for our children. We feed our children and we clothe them. We have the best intention for our kids. Stop using”—