General Debate

I move, That the House take note of miscellaneous business.

Every day, New Zealanders see more and more examples of this Government taking New Zealand backwards. Whether it’s our health system descending further into chaos, today’s news that unemployment is continuing to increase, race relations deteriorating to the worst point it has been in over 40 years, or record numbers of New Zealanders leaving the country, New Zealanders need no further proof that we have a Government with no vision and no hope for the future of this country. This is a Government constantly making bad choices and bad decisions that is leading New Zealand backwards.

When everyday working Kiwis look at this Government, they do not see a Government that reflects their hopes and aspirations. They see a Government content to run down our health system; cut investment in public service; put tens of thousands of New Zealanders out of work during a very tough part of the economic cycle so that they can, among other things, fund $2.9 billion worth of tax cuts for landlords; and give over $200 million in tax cuts to Philip Morris, the country’s largest supplier of cigarettes.

And they’re doing that to fund what? They’re funding $1.5 billion worth of cuts to State house spending—that includes building and maintenance. They’ve cut things like the upgrade of the Interislander—watch this space, though, for Nicola Willis to come back to the House and say that she got it wrong and that maybe, actually, the ferry deal that she said was so bad wasn’t such a bad deal after all. They cut spending on school and hospital upgrades up and down the country; they cut free prescriptions that were helping to keep people healthy and keep them out of emergency departments; and they increased costs to our younger New Zealanders who use public transport every day.

I think that some of the worst things they did were the cuts to the disability sector. I think picking on some of our most vulnerable Kiwis at a time of an economic crisis was particularly mean-spirited, and the way they defamed and degraded the carers of those people with disabilities was particularly reprehensible. Then we’ve seen cuts to the support services that our most vulnerable families rely on, funded by Oranga Tamariki. Many of those providers working—some of them with our most vulnerable families—didn’t find out they were having their funding cut until after the funding had already stopped. I think that’s a terrible way for the Government to operate and it shows absolute contempt for some of our most vulnerable children.

They’ve cut almost all positive action on climate change. At a time when New Zealanders need no further convincing that climate change is here and it’s real, this Government have wound back the clock and are burying their heads in the sand once again.

Then, when it comes to the cost of living, the only thing they can point to is a fall in inflation and a fall in interest rates, which is almost exclusively because of the actions of the Reserve Bank and nothing to do with this Government. But they’ve taken what could have been a soft economic landing for the economy and turned it into a crash landing and left some of the most vulnerable New Zealanders absolutely exposed to the sharpest edges of the recession.

It gets worse than that, because if you look at the areas of pain for households: increasing rates—the Government have made it worse. Increasing insurance—they have done nothing. Increasing rents—they have made that problem worse. The electricity market failure, despite all of the hot air from people like Shane Jones—absolutely no action has been taken on the fact that we have seen electricity prices skyrocketing.

As for their hollow rhetoric about the situation they inherited, let’s remember this Government has borrowed more money in this year’s Budget than in any of the Budgets that we delivered, except for one, which was in 2020 when we were at the height of the global pandemic.

Despite their tough-on-crime rhetoric, we haven’t seen any real solutions there. All we’ve seen is the promise of weaker firearms regulations, making it easier for gang members to get access to guns.

This is a Government making it harder for New Zealanders. They are making it harder for New Zealanders who go out and work every day for a living. It is a Government that is taking New Zealand backwards.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. When the Prime Minister visited Dunedin a fortnight ago, he clearly didn’t want to front up to residents. The Prime Minister was spotted sneaking in through the back door of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery to avoid Dunedin people. Today, there’s no back door for the PM to duck out of and it’s time to front up for some real answers on the issues that matter to our people here in the House.

I want to tautoko our southern leaders here who have turned up today because they have travelled up with “Cliff the Ambulance” to be heard by this Government. We hear you. This Government seems to want to close their ears, but we say to this Government: don’t park an ambulance named Cliff at the bottom of one; fulfil your promises to our people and stop letting people fall; and don’t patronise us with the false ideas of overblown costs and bluster. If you don’t invest in people’s health, the evidence shows us that the costs we will pay are multiple times that. What will it take for this Government to do the basics of putting the health of people first?

This demolition Government is well known for its shiftiness. Perhaps the PM thought that protesters and their message didn’t fit with the narrative he was trying to sell when he snuck into Ōtepoti. But here’s the thing: we in the South aren’t interested in another empty sales pitch from a Government that fails to deliver. The very least the people of the South deserve is to be told straight; we don’t like weasel words. If this Government is prioritising tax cuts for landlords and tax cuts for big tobacco over the health of people in the South, at least have the guts to tell us straight.

Today, “Cliff the Ambulance” arrived at Parliament and delivered a petition. Cliff has been travelling the length of the South Island with massive support throughout the South. So is the Prime Minister going to have the courage to face up to our deep South community here today about his broken promise?

When will this Government acknowledge the critical infrastructure deficit that they are creating? From refusing to fund hospitals in the regions to canning the Interislander ferry replacement, it doesn’t stop. We know this Government is wasting even more money by its mismanagement: $110,000 each and every day it refuses to take action on our southern hospital.

The Government has also announced two new tunnels for Wellington to make traffic and pollution worse. So how many more minutes will those new tunnels—costing somewhere between $3 billion or more—save us? About 10 minutes, we’re told. And how many lives will be lost if the Dunedin Hospital is reduced to a state where patients are left waiting in corridors, sterilisation of surgical equipment continues to be compromised, and floor space is cut back to a point where patients aren’t able to be moved between wards and theatres? How many lives lost if the facilities are not funded to deliver all the publicised cancer drugs? The accident victims and the stroke and heart attack victims are waiting in ambulances outside an inefficient and overcrowded hospital.

The piles are in the ground. They are waiting for an in-patients building, and yet this Government dithers and now claims that the delivery of the hospital is too costly. What is costly is every delay. Cutting one floor off the in-patients building will also mean cutting the psychogeriatric beds and, as Grey Power Otago president Jo Miller said, this is a hospital that services the whole of the southern region. As Aged Care Association chief executive Tracey Martin said, it’s the “stupidest idea” she’s heard.

The Government is happy to blow money on breaking a ferry contract—something like half a billion dollars with nothing in return, and there may be further costs. Now it’s refusing to get the southern hospital built. We won’t be played off against each other. We want to see the hospital built now. We want to see other health institutions being supported. We don’t see ourselves competing.

The member’s time has expired.

Well, thank you very much, Madam Speaker. It has been 12 months since this Government has been first elected and we have been very busy delivering on the core things that will make life better for New Zealanders: rebuilding our economy, restoring law and order, and delivering better public services.

As the Minister of Climate Change, I am responsible for delivering on our climate budgets and targets on behalf of the Government. But recently, I have become very concerned about the climate impacts of the amount of hot air coming from the other side of the House. I am proud to work with the Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, and I am pleased to be working alongside her to ensure that we get more money into the back pockets of hard-working Kiwi families. We know high housing costs, we know high food costs, childcare costs are making it tough for families out there across New Zealand. That is why we as a Government are easing the cost of living impact for those families, which was a pre-election commitment.

Today, over 30,000 households have received their first payment under the FamilyBoost childcare payment scheme, with Inland Revenue estimating that, from 1 October 2024 to 1 October 2025, 100,000 families will be eligible. Recently, the Opposition spokesperson for finance, Barbara Edmonds, appears to have done a complete 180 on FamilyBoost. She’s now saying there aren’t enough families getting it. Of course, this completely contrasts to her vote on FamilyBoost, which legislated when she voted for zero families in this country to receive it.

I would like to express my gratitude and thanks to Barbara Edmonds and the Labour Party for bringing more air to FamilyBoost. Your efforts mean that more families can hear about the great things that this Government is doing to support them getting more money into their back pockets and to support them with childcare costs. And, of course, to those people at home watching this—who may have tuned in maybe to this instead of the US election—well, go to the IRD website and see if you are eligible to make a claim.

Moving on to energy. This year, our country has seen heightened risks in regards to energy security because of the reckless decisions made by that last Government. Electrifying New Zealand, the economy is a key part of our plan to improve energy security, grow our economy, and to ensure we reduce emissions to meet our climate change targets. Our goal is to double New Zealand’s renewable energy by 2050, as we want to see more clean energy that is abundant and affordable so households can heat their homes with energy coming from renewable sources, people can charge their electric vehicles across New Zealand, and businesses have the confidence to ensure that energy security will allow them to grow their operations.

Recently, we’ve listed 22 energy projects with a combined capacity of 3 gigawatts to be fast tracked under legislation. This will help to ensure clean, reliable energy that is affordable to supply New Zealanders, and that will increase generation capacity by nearly 30 percent.

I spoke earlier about the hot air coming from the other side, and there is plenty coming from the members at the moment, as you can hear about their opposition to fast track. My advice to those members who oppose that legislation is if you really want more renewable energy, you want it to be abundant and affordable, well, you need to get behind this bill and vote it and put your money where your mouth is.

In all seriousness, New Zealanders are struggling at the moment. They know it’s tough. They’re dealing with the hangover from hell from the last Government. The good news is this Government is getting this country back on track. We’re rebuilding our economy, restoring law and order, and delivering better public services. It is an absolute pleasure to be part of a Government who truly understands what New Zealanders want and need and knows how to deliver them.

I’m just going to remind people that interjections are fine, but the House has been getting quite loud—although I must say, when a speaker is speaking at the top of their voice it is much more necessary to be loud over the top of them. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I also want to thank the previous member, Simon Watts, for that great hype boy energy for my speech.

This week marks the start of the NCEA exams across the country. First off, I want to say a huge congratulations to all the students for reaching this point. It’s no small feat to get here, especially with exams as challenging as NCEA. All your hard work, late nights, and perseverance are about to pay off, and we’re all backing you.

I remember sitting my exams—gosh, it was called School Certificate, 25-odd years ago, I don’t want to show my age. I think it went on to sixth form certificate, and, correct me if I’m wrong, seventh form, which I think was bursary, which is now year 13. I actually enjoyed exam time. I enjoyed cramming everything in. We used to stay up late on Diet Coke, because we didn’t have the same amount of energy drinks that we have nowadays. But I knew that summer was just around the corner, like I could smell that beach vibe. Anyone from Canterbury would know that we were heading off to Kaiteriteri beach, most of us, to spend that time with our friends. Know that you are at the end of the line, you’re about to have summer, you can go off, you can enjoy that break with your relatives, with your friends, and not worry about your results until at least January.

Back to the present—let’s talk about NCEA itself. It’s fair to say that, while the system aims to assess a range of skills and knowledge, it isn’t perfect. Ideally, NCEA should empower students to chart their own paths, but many find it more challenging than supportive. I regularly hear from teachers struggling to adapt to curriculum changes, especially those introduced in 2020 without the support that they felt they needed.

One area that stands out is Digital Technologies NCEA level 1. I want to share an email I received from a teacher, regarding this new curriculum. The teacher, a Christian, expressed concern about being required to incorporate Māori spirituality into computer science topics, focused on usability heuristics—usability heuristics, I don’t even know what that is; I hope someone else knows what it is. While they appreciate New Zealand culture, they felt it was inappropriate to insert Māori principles into this specific subject area, especially as it crosses secular professional lines for them. Originally, teachers could choose to teach either computer interaction or they could teach mātauranga Māori—the Māori principles—but after receiving feedback, it was decided, without further consultation by the ministry, that both would now be mandatory. We’re hearing that teachers are struggling to deliver this. I ask: how does this curriculum equip our students for professional careers? How does it serve them if even the teachers feel unheard?

We’ve also seen a steady drop in NCEA achievement over the past six years. For instance, level 1 pass rates have declined from 75 percent in 2017 to just 61.7 percent in 2023. This brings up critical questions. Does NCEA allow students to show their strengths? Does it provide the skills for further studies or jobs in trades?

But there is some good news. This Government is focused on improving achievement. The Hon Erica Stanford has announced the “Make It Count” for high school kids, and also an intensive catch-up programme for years 7 and 8 in mathematics, preparing them for success in high school. I’m actually really excited for this because I have a child going into year 7 next year, and so this is really important. As a parent, we want to make sure that our kids do well and that they’re ready and prepared for year 9. Quite a few year 9 teachers are telling us that the kids are just not ready and prepared, especially with numeracy skills.

We know that low attendance is a significant issue. I’m proud of the Hon David Seymour and this Government for tackling to get kids back into the classroom. But we also need an education system that motivates students to want to show up, that engages them, and that offers them a reason to stay. Unfortunately, some students fall through the cracks, especially those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, where the challenges feel more like canyons. That’s just not acceptable.

That’s why the ACT Party is advocating for a more flexible education system that opens doors for everyone. We believe success shouldn’t hinge on a one-size-fits-all model. Whilst fixing our State schools is essential, we also have charter schools available. Now, I know charter schools have been misrepresented, so let’s just clarify: charter schools are publicly funded like traditional schools but they have the flexibility to innovate and meet students’ unique needs. They can focus on practical skills, smaller classes, and tailored teachers and learners. I’m really excited for those students who feel unseen and unsupported in the current system.

So, as you go off this week into your exams, remember that these exams don’t define you. They don’t measure your full potential or everything you’ve learnt; they’re just one step in your journey. Regardless of the outcome, they are pathways for you to achieve amazing things.

New Zealand’s small to medium sized enterprises are often called the backbone of our economy, and yesterday they would have felt this Government heard their voices. Yesterday, we announced some new rules for Government agencies. When I say that Government agency rules have actually changed, why would businesses celebrate? That is because these changes will make them pay their suppliers—meaning the businesses—faster, improving cash flow for businesses. And cash flow is the lifeblood, is the lifeline, for many, many companies who have been struggling under the previous Government. Having invoices paid on time can make a huge difference. It could mean the difference between them continuing with their business, or folding. Cash flow is king.

Government agencies should lead by example. That is why I’ve changed the Government procurement rules to put these requirements in place. From 1 January next year—2025—135 central Government agencies must pay 90 percent of invoices within 10 business days. This increases to 95 percent from the start of 2026. But wait for it: from 1 January 2026, agencies that send or receive more than 2,000 invoices—eInvoicing—will need to pay eInvoices within five working days. That will make a humungous difference to businesses.

Government procurement is worth $51.5 billion—not million; billion—every year, and that is nearly a fifth of New Zealand’s GDP. I want Government procurement to play a big part in growing our economy, making sure that we deliver for New Zealanders, who have been asking to get New Zealand back on track.

Hon Members: Back on track.

Hon MELISSA LEE: That’s right—getting New Zealand back on track. Right now, I’m reviewing the Government procurement rules so we can do just that: get New Zealand back on track. And you can watch this space for more announcements soon.

I’d like to now talk about the ethnic communities portfolio—because I’m very passionate about the ethnic communities, obviously. Because I also have the economic development portfolio, I am looking at the synergies that these two portfolios can actually produce. A couple of weeks ago, I hosted an Ethnic Xchange Symposium which was actually completely sold out. More than 300 businesses got together to discuss how they can contribute better. The reason why I actually mention that is that, in 2021, the ethnic communities contributed $64 billion to New Zealand’s economy, and our population—our ethnic communities’ population—is growing; they are numbering bigger. In Auckland, one-in-three Aucklanders comes from Asia. It is a huge diversity that we actually have.

I’d like to thank my ministerial colleagues Nicola Willis, David Seymour, and Judith Collins, who actually participated in the forum at the Ethnic Xchange Symposium. I’d also like to thank the trade Minister, the Hon Todd McClay—

Hon Simeon Brown: He’s in China right now.

Hon MELISSA LEE: —given global trade was one of the key themes that was actually discussed at the Ethnic Xchange Symposium. As my colleague says, he’s been travelling around the world, he’s been, you know, globetrotting, signing trade agreements left, right, and centre. I am particularly proud of what he actually did, securing with the Gulf region a high-quality trade deal for our exporters to make sure that they can contribute to New Zealand’s economy as well.

Diwali has been celebrated up and down the country. We held a Diwali celebration on Monday in Parliament. Yesterday, I was actually in central Wellington celebrating another Diwali event. I just want to say thanks to all of my colleagues, right across the House, who have attended Diwali celebrations. Isn’t it fantastic that most of us, in fact, own saris and salwar kameez and actually know how to say “shubh Diwali” as well, and that our ethnic cultures and celebrations are becoming part and parcel of New Zealand’s everyday life and we actually celebrate and honour our ethnic community celebrations, whether it’s New Year or a religious event—that we actually honour them and celebrate and they contribute hugely to New Zealand. On that occasion, I’d like to say shubh Diwali to all our Indian community.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am back here in the House once again in the general debate to speak to some very concerning developments in the children’s portfolio. This Government has got its priorities wrong. It is taking us backwards. They are treating our most vulnerable children and families wrong. Yesterday, we learnt that the Government is proposing, has made decisions, to introduce the use of force through third-party providers in their boot camps.

Now, this is a concern for a number of reasons. The only reason the Government has made this decision and is considering extending something which is only currently available to enforcement officers who are properly trained is because they are hell-bent on introducing and continuing to run their military-style academy boot camps. If those experiments did not exist, this decision, this dangerous decision, would not have to have been made, but they have decided that the boot camp is their answer to youth justice issues, and in order to be able to deliver their boot camps, they are extending the powers to use force on children to third-party providers who could be running their boot camps.

It is dangerous and it is concerning that the Prime Minister did not recall having any conversation about this matter, yet it was a Cabinet decision approved in June—and he chairs Cabinet. Then we have a Minister for Children absolutely defending this decision and the giving of this power to third parties, even though the advice from her officials is very clear that there is a risk that abuse could occur, that harm could be done to young people.

The Prime Minister yesterday said how important having safeguards would be. Well, if the Prime Minister had read the Cabinet paper and paid attention in the conversation and discussion they were having in Cabinet, the Prime Minister would know that the Minister for Children noted that there would be no safeguards in primary legislation and that because of the time frames, they would not be able to complete those in time for the introduction of the bill and that it would be relegated to regulations to be worked out after the introduction of this bill to the House.

Now, this is deeply concerning because we have a report from the royal commission of inquiry into the abuse in State care that finds very clearly that abuse was able to happen in boot camps and other care and protection facilities because of the lack of safeguards. How can this Government make a decision at Cabinet to extend the use of force to third parties without any safeguards—no safeguards in place, no safeguards in the primary legislation; to be worked out through a regulation process after the fact.

I will note that the regulatory impact statement says there have been constrained time frames. This is being rushed for political expediency, not what is in the best interests of children and young people. It concerns me that the Minister for Children did not consult the Chief Children’s Commissioner, the main advocate for our young people—did not even bother to consult, even when the Children’s Commissioner has made it very clear, on any policy to do with youth justice, she would like to be consulted. The Minister for Children is absolutely ignoring the chief advocate for our children.

I am deeply concerned this Government has got its priorities wrong and is taking us backwards.

Kia ora, Madam Speaker. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. Following my colleague Willow-Jean Prime, I’m glad we’re on the topic of boot camps because this has been a major focus of attention this week because of the document that I received from somebody who was so deeply concerned about what these boot camps are going to look like when they’re set up. That’s what I want to talk about today: I want to talk about some of the lines that the Minister for Children has talked about this week, justifying why the boot camp experiment that she’s trialling right now is any different to the boot camps of the past.

The Minister for Children was asked about this at question time yesterday and this was her response. She said: “The boot camps of the past I was referring to were around decades ago with untrained staff, no proper oversight, and in an isolated setting of appalling conditions.” Now, that might be true, but if you look at this document and the Cabinet minute around these boot camps being set up, you can see how the conditions that the Minister for Children talked about yesterday are very close to being met.

Let’s start with the first one: untrained staff. This Government is setting up a structure whereby third-party providers, whoever that is—that could literally be anybody; you could start a business or a company and be a third-party provider—are going to provide these boot camps. How are we supposed to know what level of training they’re going to get? Well, we don’t know that—at all. So, there: No. 1, untrained staff—check.

Next one: no proper oversight. There has been no safeguarding of the rights of children in this legislation. First, the Government has decided that they will allow for the use of force without even an afterthought around those safeguards. The Prime Minister got on TV and talked about the safeguarding in children’s rights—safeguarding is so important—yet I would ask him to name one single safeguard in that legislation. That’s because it wasn’t there, because there is no safeguarding, because they chose force first and then those safeguards are an afterthought. This was the exact thing that was highlighted in the royal commission inquiry into abuse in State care report, where it said that the conditions of abuse were created when there wasn’t sufficient oversight and safeguards for those children. There we go: second box—check.

The third thing that the Minister talked about is an isolated setting and that the boot camps of the past—the major example is the Te Whakapakari one that was on Great Barrier Island, which was an isolated setting. But the kids that are in that boot camp right now are also in an isolated setting because they’re not from Palmerston North, they’re from South Auckland. A majority of them are from South Auckland. They have been moved out of their communities and taken to the other side of the country where they’re expected to undergo this military boot camp.

The three conditions that the Minister uses to justify why her boot camps are any different from the ones of the past have all failed. What does that tell us? That the boot camps that are happening right now are no different to the ones that happened in the past. And what happened in the boot camps of the past? Well, at best, they failed. The boot camps that the John Key National Government started were a failure because a significant majority of those young people went on to reoffend later in life. At best they were a complete failure, but at worst you look at the 1970s boot camps that were on Great Barrier Island where children endured horrendous abuse at the hands of people who were supposed to be protecting them.

I don’t want to hear this nonsense that the boot camps now are any different to the boot camps of the past, because the public can see it for what it is. That’s what caused the flurry yesterday: that every little straw that the Minister tries to grasp at to say that these are different is slowly slipping away. That is why we are calling this Government to end their boot camp experiment. Put an end to it, because what we can clearly see is that the environments of abuse are being set up. The potential risks for abuse of children are being set up and are right in front of us.

That’s why yesterday we launched our petition calling on the Government to end their boot camp experiment. I invite anybody who shares this concern to sign our petition and join the voice of the people to tell this Government: stop experimenting with our tamariki; put their rights and their protection and their safety first. Kia ora.

What’s the most important thing for our future?

Tim Costley: Getting us back on track.

KATIE NIMON: Absolutely, Tim Costley.

Suze Redmayne: Education.

KATIE NIMON: Education—thank you very much. I have 62 schools in my electorate and I always take the opportunity to say that the Napier electorate is not just Napier City; it goes all the way up to Gisborne. Some of the fine young children in schools like Matawai School and Waerenga-O-Kuri, Wairoa schools—we’ve got multiple of them. Those children all deserve a bright future. It does not matter where you go to school; it is what you are learning and it’s the opportunities you have. That is why I am so proud of what our Government is doing to streamline what kids are learning, to give them equal opportunity no matter where they go to school. The structured literacy and the structured numeracy approach that we are providing is something that is going to level the playing field, and boy, I am excited.

Now, I get out and about and I go and visit a lot of schools. Some of the schools that I’ve visited recently have told me that they’ve actually already been using structured literacy. They’ve already been using structured numeracy. Not only are they looking forward to the different providers that they can utilise and they are excited by that opportunity; they’re also really excited to see other schools get on board, because they have seen results. Some have been doing this for three years and seeing such remarkable growth in every single student. My niece is one of them—reading at three years above the age that she is, which is incredible. I just want to say that it’s not just what we are doing now; it is how we are going to make sure that every single school gets this, and I think it’s really important to draw the public’s attention to this.

While we had structured literacy and structured numeracy available to teach in schools, it was not mandated, it was not funded, and schools had to fund it out of their own operating budget. Schools had to make that decision as to whether they could afford that or do all the rest of the stuff that they needed to do, and not every school has that same opportunity.

Just last week I went up to two country schools, Kotemaori School, which is a fine school that has just had their two classrooms rebuilt by this Government after mould and dampness and holes in the ceiling that have prevented these kids from being able to go to school. They actually had to move to Putorino School, which I also went to visit. Both schools are thriving now that they’re back in their place, because, of course, their sense of place is really important to them. Those two communities are not the same, but both of these schools are very excited. One has already been doing structured numeracy for a while and one is about to start and they are learning from each other and they are doing such great things.

In one of these schools, there are 14 kids there and what I was so inspired by is the aspiration of these children. Now, this is a very interesting school demographic-wise—50:50 split, Fijian and Māori, and that is because of the country make-up of some farmers, some forestry, and the children and whānau that live there. Out of these 14 kids we had a future doctor, a future vet, a future police officer, two rugby players, we had a professional netballer—

Cameron Brewer: Future MP.

KATIE NIMON: —we had—oh, we had one. We had one kid that wanted to be a politician, actually, Cameron Brewer. These children believe that the sky was the limit for them and nothing was going to hold them back because of the Government and the education system and the Minister believing in them. The feedback I have got from the principals and the teachers of these schools is that they are so happy with the direction the Government is going in, the scaffolding that is being provided for them to be able to deliver what it is that they are there to do.

I just want to say, country and urban schools, no matter where you are, the opportunities are the same. Single cell or open plan: an example between Onekawa School and between Port Ahuriri School—two different schools, very different styles, equal opportunity. In fact, actually, the changes that were made by the last Government to make Port Ahuriri an open plan school, the school is working to try and bring some flexibility back into the way that they divide their classrooms up, because they want to own that.

Look, I’m really excited about how they’re taking the lead. One thing that I thought was really brilliant was some feedback that I got from these schools that those that are already out there using structured literacy—and not necessarily all of the same programmes that we’re providing, because there are four. Let me tell you, maths, no problem—Prime, Numicon, and the Oxford University Press are great options for different ways of providing that information for children.

These schools are supporting each other and that is what is so fantastic to see. Those that have been out there and trialled different types, whether it’s Prime, whether it’s Numicon, they’re able to provide that context to each other and say, “These ones are fantastic.” or “This is really good if you’ve got children with this learning style.” or “If you’ve already been learning this or teaching this way, this one’s going to be very good for you.” To principals and schools out in New Zealand at the moment: if you haven’t made your order for your structured numeracy workbooks, now is the time, and if you want to get out there and ask your comrades, your counterparts, your friends what they’re doing, please do that now. Thank you.

Kia ora. Thank you, Madam Chair. I’m going to talk about something that’s actually quite sad, and it’s the Treaty principles bill. I want to speak particularly to the National Party, who actually have a long and honourable tradition in upholding the principles of Te Tiriti and making really good progress. I think to the work that Jim Bolger and Doug Graham did, and I think to the work that Christopher Finlayson did, and I think how sad it must be for them to see the National Party undermining decades—and, in fact, hundreds of years—of work in mending Treaty breaches. The Treaty of Waitangi is our founding constitutional document. The National Party is standing by while one of its coalition partners brings a wrecking ball to that relationship—sends it back 100 years or more. As we see the bill introduced tomorrow, snuck in while many will be distracted by international events, snuck in so that the hīkoi so carefully planned won’t be there when it’s introduced, it undermines our very democratic process.

I have heard David Seymour criticising again the Waitangi Tribunal, which is doing a fantastic job. What they say hits home, it’s accurate, and I can imagine it’s hard to hear, because they’ve said, for example, just yesterday, the Crown, in bringing this bill to this House, has breached the principle of good government in its pursuit of a policy that’s not evidence-based, has not been adequately tested, has not been consulted upon, and fails regulatory standards. That’s not even talking about the harm and the violence that it’s doing to our constitution. The Waitangi Tribunal went on to say, “This bill proposes to destroy all of the promises and guarantees that the Crown gave to Māori in 1840 or suspend them for the lifetime of this bill, if enacted. It’s not surprising”—they said—“that Māori people are angry.”

I’m angry too, because I’m a partner to that contract. That party is standing by whilst its principles are utterly undermined. The suggestion that it’s some kind of trivial contract that can be revisited at a whim is wrong. It’s a partnership. It was a solemn partnership, a sacred partnership that two people entered into, and one of those people, the Crown, promised to protect and promote the rights of Māori and they didn’t. What we need to do now is to honour that promise and to recognise that since 1840 we have worked on what that relationship is and what that Treaty means. Out of that has come some scholarship, some thinking, some philosophy, and some principles, and one of those is the duty to protect. This Government is doing the opposite. It is actively harming, not only with this bill but we’ve heard about boot camps, we’ve heard about Oranga Tamariki, and much, much more.

Hon Rachel Brooking: The environment.

Hon Dr DUNCAN WEBB: The environment—the Resource Management Act being gutted; not consulting iwi partners on what we do with our environment.

To suggest that the Treaty is frozen in time, that it’s not a living document that develops, that we can build upon, that like any document of treaty between two people evolved with that relationship, is an absolute flaw. Probably the real flaw is that in some way the Treaty means unequal treatment. There has been unequal treatment for 180 years. What we need is to address that, and in addressing that, we need to recognise the rights of Māori, both at customary law, which is being gutted by the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act, but also under the Treaty. My National Party colleagues, you don’t even believe the bill that you’re putting before the House—your Prime Minister has said that. Why can’t you stand up, make a choice for New Zealand that isn’t harmful to our relationships, that takes us forwards, not backwards. Do what’s right. Do what’s good.

This Government is working hard to get the New Zealand economy back on track. Families across New Zealand are benefiting from tax relief, falling interest rates, and childcare tax rebates thanks to our FamilyBoost policy. I would also like to recognise the significant effort that our trade team, led by the Hon Minister Todd McClay, have been delivering for New Zealanders, internationally. That means demand for the best of our exports, including high-quality beef and lamb, dairy products, kiwifruit, apples, etc. With one in four Kiwi jobs tied to trade, signing international trade agreements, including with the EU, the United Arab Emirates, and the six nations Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC, means more opportunities and more money in the back pockets of hard-working New Zealanders. But we believe that there is more to do.

Yesterday was a great day for all New Zealanders, especially all the musicians and music lovers. Yesterday, I was thrilled to launch my member’s bill to guarantee major stadiums—those actually capable of holding at least 25,000 fans, including Eden Park—the ability to hold at least 15 concerts per year. To my colleagues across the House, I would use this opportunity to ask for your support of this bill. Hosting more concerts will make a massive contribution to our economic growth by increasing consumer spending. It also makes a massive difference to other key industries, including tourism and hospitality. This creates more job opportunities and drives us closer to get our country back on track.

Let me give you some examples. Pink’s recent concert in Dunedin alone—37,000 fans generated $16 million for the Dunedin economy, and she played smash hits like “Just Like a Pill”, “Raise Your Glass”, “Try”, and, you know, one of my favourites during my university time, “Get the Party Started”. But, unfortunately, not every single time we have a love story with a good ending. Early this year, New Zealand missed out on Taylor Swift—who I’ve been told by my staff also goes by the name “Tay Tay”—for one reason: the resource consent for Eden Park is only limited to six concerts per year. Missing out on Tay Tay was a lay lay for our economies and the estimated $70 million of economic activities we lost, and it’s time for us to “Shake it Off”, the red tail.

Beside the economic benefits, local musicians and bands benefit directly from live performance. They gain exposure and experience, build their fan base and earn income. Last week, we had some major events in Eden Park and I have chatted to a few Uber drivers. They are telling me that whenever there is a concert in Eden Park, their business is doing well; they get more rides. That has made a huge difference for some of our hard-working people in Auckland, and New Zealanders. I also to want to spend some time to acknowledge all the Uber drivers, many of whom call New Zealand home. My bill will mean more international artists coming both to New Zealand but also to a stadium near you and your electorate. In Auckland, this means Eden Park and Mt Smart; in Wellington, it means Sky Stadium; in Christchurch, it means One New Zealand Stadium; and in Dunedin, it means Forsyth Barr Stadium. This is why I’m asking for the support of this House to fast track more artists to the major stadiums near you, because it brings economic benefit to your own electorate; because nothing says we are back on track like Taylor Swift dropping some tracks.

The people of New Zealand deserve more. We deserve more international artists playing in New Zealand. We deserve the economic revenues and, most of all, we deserve the memories. The memories are priceless. I’m looking forward to bringing my daughter to more concerts and sharing more moments with her. Thank you.

What I just heard was the title of an album: Blank Space by Taylor Swift herself. And that’s all I heard, blank space. Well, well, well—well, well, well—we have a Government that is fearful. We have a Government that is afraid as our people activate and consolidate and unite as we prepare for the biggest hīkoi that this country will ever see—bigger than any other hīkoi in history. This is what this Government is fearful of. They are fearful of that.

I want to go back to a National MP—and a Māori MP at that—Sir Apirana Ngata. He talked about the price of citizenship—he talked about the price of citizenship—and that Māori participation in the great wars—in the great wars—would earn the respect of Pākehā. I want to mention an interview with the last surviving member of the Māori Battalion, Sir Bom Gillies. He said, “had I known as much as I know now, I would have stayed home.” Moana Maniapoto, the interviewer, said, “Is that because of what [you] went … [through] over there?” Tā Bom Gillies said, “No, not only that, it’s the way they keep treating us. We lost those fellas for nothing. We’re no better off. We’re still fighting for a place in our own country.” This is the situation we have right now with the Treaty principles bill.

E te iwi, we have marched for our reo, we have marched for our whenua, we have marched for our moana, and now you have made us march for our very existence. How long do our people have to march for? How many more marches will it take? How many more tangata whenua, tangata Tiriti, and tangata moana need to rise up to make sure we have the Aotearoa our mokopuna deserve to inherit. I’m telling you now, we are rising like a good rēwana bread. I know the heat is too much for you, but the more heat you put on a rēwana bread, the more it rises.

For every 100-day plan this Government makes, they forget we are people with hundreds of years of resistance and we will rise. If history has taught this Government anything, it’s that colonisation has never broken us and we have never backed down from a fight. To our people: this Toitū Te Tiriti movement is tīpuna-inspired, Tiriti-led, mana motuhake - driven, and mokopuna-focused. We are a movement that does not bend the knee to any colonial sovereign—never have; never will. Our kaupapa is bigger than us. Ka haere tonu te mahi, ka haere tonu te hīkoi mō te Tiriti. [The work will continue, the march for the Treaty will continue.]

We need you. We need all of you to hīkoi. This isn’t just our fight, this fight belongs to all of us. It is a fight for the Aotearoa our mokopuna deserves to inherit—all of our mokopuna. Our memoir to our tamariki mokopuna: we will continue the fight. Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed by our tīpuna. Te Tiriti holds our rights as tangata whenua—it’s nobody else’s right to debate. Our tīpuna marched long before us. We are fighting for you to one day not have a fight for your existence on your whenua that you walk on. You are good enough, because our tīpuna made it so.

Ignorance is the oppressor; vigilance is the liberator. Know the scent of your enemy, know the scent of your vision, so that you may achieve liberation. Ka whawhai tonu mātou āke, āke, āke. Ka whawhai tonu mātou āke, āke, āke. [We will fight on for ever and ever. We will fight on for ever and ever.]

We don’t have the luxury of fighting on one front. We have to fight on all fronts. This hīkoi wasn’t built on one catalyst event like the Treaty principles bill; it is a whole lot of events and violent offences that this Government continues to inflict on to iwi Māori, and we will not stand for it. E te iwi, we will continue to prepare ourselves, and this House needs to prepare itself as our people organise, as our people unite, as our people prepare to march on these streets of Wellington and to the doorstep of the very House that continues to inflict violence. If this is the price of citizenship, you should hang your heads in shame. Toitū Te Tiriti.

Thank you. Now, talking of hīkoi and marches—and a 35,000-person one in Dunedin: build it once, build it right, build it now. That is what the people of Dunedin have been saying over and over and over again, and the “it” I’m referring to is, of course, the Dunedin Hospital—the tertiary hospital for the regions of Otago and Southland.

Now, I want to acknowledge that there are a lot of members of different councils—there have been mayors who made a petition to Parliament today and they were outside saying, “Build it once, build it right, build it now.” The nurses’ union presented me with a petition of 34,000 signatures. The person who’s organised this petition is Linda Smillie and she’s a strong advocate for the building of this new hospital in Dunedin. There’s four components to that that I want to talk about—this “it” and the “Build it once, build it right, build it now”—that it’s an in-patient building, that it’s a tertiary hospital, that it’s a teaching hospital, and that there’s a number of beds and theatres that were promised by National during the election campaign. I’m going to step through those issues.

Before I do, as I’ve noted, we had mayors and councillors out the front today on the steps of Parliament, and those mayors were from a range of councils. We had Dunedin, Invercargill, and Waitaki, and we had many councillors from the Dunedin City Council. During the election campaign there was a lot of talk of localism and the importance of councils and that local voice. This is a great demonstration of local voice in action, because many of those councillors—and some of them are here and I’m sure they won’t mind me saying—don’t always agree with each other and they will vote for very different political parties. But, on this matter, they are aligned and in full agreement about building this new hospital—this tertiary hospital, this in-patient hospital, this teaching hospital.

Now, the first issue I want to talk about is that it’s the in-patient building. I have here a photo—I was recently in the mayor’s office and he has a similar view; I think this was probably taken from the next door Otago Daily Times building—and you can see the out-patients building here. This is a new building. It’s not open yet; it’s under construction. You can see there, very clearly, a very large building that has had a lot of construction work on it. The old hospital is just behind it—you can’t see it. There’s some university buildings around here and over here. But here, Madam Speaker, you’ll see there’s a large piece of land and it’s got piles on it, and this is ready for the in-patients building that, of course, will work together with the out-patients building. You’ll see this is a big piece of flat land in the middle of the city. That land has been acquired. The consents are there for the in-patients building. The land has been remediated, it has been strengthened, and there are piles in the ground ready for the building. But, instead, we’ve got estimates that about $10 million a quarter is being wasted while this project is suddenly paused—despite all election promises, it’s paused.

It needs to be a tertiary hospital. That is, it does all the tricky stuff for people throughout Otago and Southland. It needs to be a teaching hospital. We have a wonderful university, the University of Otago, that teaches not only doctors—and it can teach more doctors, that’s an easy thing for it to do, much cheaper than Waikato—it teaches nurses, it teaches physios, it teaches dentists. And they use this hospital as well as using the units in Wellington and Christchurch. We had the National Party campaign on delivering this hospital but now they’ve come and said, “Oh, maybe we’ll go back into the old building”—that is leaky. When we have floods, it leaks. All that is happening is this Government is taking us backwards. They need to build it once, right, and now.

The debate having concluded, the motion lapsed.

I declare the House in committee for consideration of the Citizenship (Western Samoa) (Restoration) Amendment Bill.