Madam Speaker, the point I am trying to make is that all members of society are equally important. Why are we singling out a particular group as needing special help? All of us need to be treated fairly and impartially in this society, not just some of us. There is no reason to suggest that some of us are more entitled to fairness and impartiality than others. That is just not sensible.
We need to be concerned about each other. We need to help each other. Throughout the centuries the people of good ethics, solid citizens, the people who were respected were those who cared for the disadvantaged, the poor, the needy, those without a voice, those who were without anyone to fight for them. We must continue to do that.
The only point I am making is that kind of caring cannot be legislated. It must be done on an individual basis. It must be done by working with people. It is not done by creating some scheme where results are guaranteed, but where opportunities are fought for, where people are valued and where their achievements and aspirations can be freely met. It is a far different thing from meeting those aspirations for them. It gives them the opportunity to meet them.
We need to discuss the distinctions in this important area because it is a critical area. We have to care about each other and we do. What is the most caring thing, to give people gifts or to allow them the opportunity to get what they want in life through their own merits, their own struggles and their own efforts?
An illustration is often given of a butterfly that struggles and struggles out of the chrysalis. A chick tries to struggle out of an egg. Both are long and exhausting processes. However if you
tear open that chrysalis or that egg, the new creation that comes out of it is weak because it has not had to struggle.
We need to be there for each other. We need to care about each other's struggles. We need to make sure there is fairness and impartiality. We cannot deliver things to people that they can best benefit from by achieving them themselves. That is a very important point in this debate. I hope that satisfies my hon. friend about what I mean in that regard.