Ministerial statement - in relation to Swine Flu: Tariana Turia

Ministerial Statement: SWINE FLU
Hon Tariana Turia; Co-leader of the Maori Party
Tuesday 28 April 2009; 2.15pm

Mr Speaker, the Maori Party wants to express our concern for those who have been affected by influenza A; and for those affected by swine flu.

Long before our lifetime – but in the legacy left from the generation of our parents and grandparents – was a period of time referred to as Black November.

That was the period where some 8573 New Zealanders lost their life to the 1918 influenza epidemic.

So we need to be cautious and careful.

I know this history because in our rohe, at Parewanui, it hits me every time I walk through our urupa and see the tragic shape of coffins that carried children to their final resting place.

However we must not alarm the general population unnecessarily but we should be cautious.

I think a critical factor in our response will be having good access to information and I believe the Ministry is providing that.
The two biggest factors of course for vulnerability to swine flu are from having recently visited Mexico and from exposure to someone with swine flu.
But there is the added concern around the similarity between the symptoms and effects of swine flu with those of the traditional flu that hits hard every winter.
We must be careful, we must be vigilant, and all of us must execute caution.
The announcement of the precautions being taken by students and staff who returned from Mexico in the weekend was one that could have provoked undue alarm.
And I want to really recognise the important role that being prepared for pandemic planning has played in New Zealand’s response.
The fact that we had a plan already in place meant that action was immediately able to take place – as announced earlier by the Minister.
We are not out of the woods by any means – but if there is one message that we take from this situation, is the vital importance of being prepared.
I just want to finish by saying this is too significant an issue - we should not play politics about or use it as an opportunity to play politics with.