MEDIA STATEMENT
Te Ururoa Flavell
MP for Waiariki
Wednesday 29th May 2013

It Takes a Village to Feed Our Kids

Māori Party Whip Te Ururoa Flavell is disappointed in the antics of Hone Harawira, over the extension of the Kickstart Breakfast programme.

“Hone delayed his ‘Feed the Kids’ Bill so he could travel overseas, defend himself in court and campaign in the by-election,” said Te Ururoa Flavell. “I suspect he regrets that decision now – but it’s no excuse for bad manners.”

“It’s obvious Hone is upset his Bill has been made redundant. The fact is, he prioritised his overseas trips over the Bill and it is the Māori Party in Government that has done the work to feed our kids.”

“Spitting at the combined efforts of KidsCan, Fonterra, Sanitarium and the Government doesn’t make sense – what matters is that our children are getting fed, not who signs the cheque and who gets recognition,” said Te Ururoa. “It’s about the whole village pulling together, not one lone MP seeking a platform.”

“Breakfast in schools is only one part of the puzzle – there are so many other things we must all do if we are to support our tamariki to have the future that they all deserve.”

“When the Māori Party forged our relationship agreement with the Government we were clear that we wanted to make progress on addressing the scourge of poverty on our families. We have fought to make a better life for our whānau – with warmer homes through insulation investment; tackling rheumatic fever through a community prevention approach; jobs through the $47m investment in trade training and cadetships; micro-financing to help our whānau manage finances; and now the tangible support for children in schools – it’s all about helping our mokopuna to be ready to learn.”

“There’s still a lot more to do but we are pleased that yesterday’s announcement was about results – jobs, warm homes, full puku, healthy kids. Today it’s back to business. ”

ENDS

© Scoop Media