8. Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti) Link to this
to the Minister of Maori Affairs
What advice, if any, has he received this week from Te Puni Kōkiri on issues crucial to Māori?
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU (Associate Minister of Māori Affairs) Link to this
Te Puni Kōkiri advises the Minister on a wide range of issues crucial to Māori every week.
Mr SPEAKERI say to the honourable Associate Minister that the question has been on notice, and it asked what advice, if any, the Minister has received this week. The Associate Minister, in replying, has said that the Minister receives a wide range of advice on an ongoing basis. I think a little more specificity to the question asked, given that it has been on notice, would be appreciated by the House.
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU Link to this
Te Puni Kōkiri has advised the Minister on a wide range of issues crucial to Māori this week.
Hon Parekura Horomia Link to this
What advice did he receive from Te Puni Kōkiri on the definition of the Whānau Ora programme and the proposal to have a separate Whānau Ora Minister and a Whānau Ora trust, which is to hold the $1 billion worth of funding it has been promised, with minimal accountability for what it spends the $1 billion on?
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU Link to this
All of those matters that the member mentioned are speculation at this point. The report from the Whānau Ora task force was handed over today. Te Puni Kōkiri has advised the Minister that it is a constructive and useful report. The Minister continues to be very enthusiastic about the movement that is occurring to develop Whānau Ora as a new approach to the delivery of social services—something that that member did not do when he was a Minister in Government. Discussions among Ministers continue, the outcome of which will form part of Budget 2010, at which time that member will know, along with everybody else.
Hon Parekura Horomia Link to this
Does he, as the Minister of Māori Affairs, support the Māori Party’s member’s bill to remove GST from food; if so, how does he reconcile the conflict with his Government’s plan to increase GST across the board?
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU Link to this
As indicated yesterday on a similar question, the Minister is part of wide-ranging discussions with other Ministers on the total economic package. The Minister is very well aware that the issues that he has raised need to be considered in line with other issues that are also part of the package.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It is a relatively simple point of order. The Associate Minister is answering on behalf of the Minister of Māori Affairs. She should be answering, I think, in the first person at least, and giving his perspective on it rather than a National Party perspective on it.
I do not think there is any need for me to hear further. The point of order raised by the Hon Trevor Mallard is quite correct. When a Minister is answering on behalf of another Minister, he or she is answering as that Minister. The Minister should not be saying that he—referring to the other Minister—is going to be doing something, because the Minister is answering on his behalf. The point raised by the Hon Trevor Mallard is correct. I did not want to intervene unless members were finding it unacceptable. A member has drawn attention to it as being unacceptable, and I would ask the Associate Minister to be mindful of that in answering any further questions.
Hon Shane JonesWhat advice has the Minister received from Te Puni Kōkiri on what option he should take if given an ultimatum between repealing the Foreshore and Seabed Act or stopping the increase in GST?
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU Link to this
Again, the Minister of Māori Affairs receives advice on a weekly basis on a lot of matters, including the foreshore and seabed matter. Along with a team of other Ministers, he is considering all of the issues that are involved in this matter. At a stage appropriate, that member and everyone else will be advised.
In that slew of advice, what will she or he say to the 244,000 Māori who earn less than $30,000 a year—[ Interruption] Obviously, there is a candidate for Whānau Ora over there—
I apologise for interrupting. It is not very acceptable to have a member asking a question and other members yelling continual interjections. We saw that it led to disorder. I ask the Hon Shane Jones to be a wee bit more moderate in asking his question.
What advice will the Minister give the 240,000 Māori who earn less than $30,000 a year as to why GST increases will be good for them?
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU Link to this
The member will have to wait and see what advice, in the end, the Minister will give. As was stated earlier, he is considering all of these matters as part of a total package of economic reform, which as a partner in a coalition he knows he should do, given that he works very well with National.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I could probably just say “ibid” from the last one.
The member is perfectly correct. I remind Ministers that when they are answering on behalf of another Minister they are speaking as if they are that Minister. Ministers should be mindful of that, and when they are answering on behalf of they should not refer to what another Minister might be doing. They are answering as if they are that Minister.
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It would be good if there were some consistency in this, because answers were given yesterday on behalf of the Minister of Māori Affairs, but the statement “on behalf of the Minister” was not made. That member did not seem to object yesterday. [ Interruption]
No, we will not waste House time on this. The Standing Orders are fairly clear on this matter, and the Hon Trevor Mallard is quite correct. I do not want to intervene, and it is not as if it is a huge issue, but the reason it is quite important is that Ministers answering on behalf of another Minister cannot evade a question by saying that some other Minister may or may not do something, because they are answering as if they are that Minister. That is why the Standing Order is drawn that way.