"\u003C!DOCTYPE html\u003E\u003Chtml xmlns:xlink=\u0022http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink\u0022 xmlns:xsi=\u0022http://www.w3.org/2007/XMLSchema-instance\u0022 xmlns:mml=\u0022http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Chead\u003E\n    \u003CMETA http-equiv=\u0022Content-Type\u0022 content=\u0022text/html; charset=utf-16\u0022\u003E\n    \u003Cmeta name=\u0022viewport\u0022 content=\u0022width=device-width, initial-scale=1\u0022\u003E\n  \u003C/head\u003E\n  \u003Cbody style=\u0022font-family:sans-serif; font-size:100%;\u0022\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002281e5c17a8b324eb38631a69333d84b45\u0022\u003ETuesday, 15 November 2005\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000003\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022595b1e54dcf145729b2b3008f1a8377c\u0022\u003ETuesday, 15 November 2005\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000002\u0022\u003EMadam Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000004\u0022\u003EPrayers.\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000005\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022acd415da9080491787b02c8bb0d13e67\u0022\u003EMembers Sworn\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000007\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ca3f9e622cd6460ea7e55116f2dd9807\u0022\u003EMembers Sworn\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000006\u0022\u003EPansy Wong was presented to the Speaker, made the affirmation required by law, and took her seat in the House.\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000008\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022e64b5fb8c09d4cda840acf87adb7f28f\u0022\u003EList Member Vacancy\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000010\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00224e9691c26197473d8d98016909c4b678\u0022\u003EList Member Vacancy\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022 data-id=\u00228a0d3b4115614e84811f469ef09fc1e2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000009\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228a0d3b4115614e84811f469ef09fc1e2\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I have been advised by the Chief Electoral Officer that pursuant to section 137 of the Electoral Act 1993, Nandor Steven Tanczos has been declared to be elected a member of the House of Representatives in place of Rod Donald.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000011\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022f557f37774844145aa74da8ad83a9851\u0022\u003EQuestions for Oral Answer\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000012\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00226329d122f18f4992b2ab87c281672f15\u0022\u003EQuestions to Ministers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000013\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00223c280f80f4b64e2eae345b00bad4f3d4\u0022\u003EMinisterial Responsibility\u2014Cabinet Manual\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000014\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aabeaae6cc0941c4bdfe079a3c7d185e\u0022\u003E1. Dr DON BRASH (Leader of the Opposition)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Has there been any amendment or addendum to the Cabinet Manual to accommodate the arrangement her Government has reached with New Zealand First and United Future allowing their leaders to be Ministers, but not fully bound by collective responsibility; if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022 data-id=\u0022f71d9768259d4b0c804c785d47217bac\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000015\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f71d9768259d4b0c804c785d47217bac\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E No, but it may be revised in future to reflect practice as it develops.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000016\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225db78c5c2f34437bb6e1cee620cec769\u0022\u003EDr Don Brash\u003C/span\u003E: How can she expect the public to understand her odd governmental arrangements that involve, according to the Cabinet Office, Winston Peters and Peter Dunne wearing at least three different hats, when she has not even made changes to the Cabinet Manual to clarify the bizarre situation of Ministers wanting to sit with the Opposition?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000017\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227a44868d574745829524e40f30137a02\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: I am sure the public would be guided by the same advice from the Cabinet Office, which is that the arrangements are entirely legally credible.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000018\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bb87ac95255d4c97b6427bbe3ea8be36\u0022\u003EDr Don Brash\u003C/span\u003E: Why would the international community believe that anyone but Phil Goff is the real Minister of Foreign Affairs, when her named Minister of Foreign Affairs does not even sit on the Cabinet external relations and defence committee, let alone chair it as in the past, and refuses to take any responsibility for the broader policies of the Government?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000019\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022498186ef8d114c2c93aaad5fb150d3b9\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: I would be very surprised if the international community took the slightest interest in who sits on a Cabinet committee in New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000020\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226f05704d4f6b40d8b4abcd3eb57e146a\u0022\u003EDr Don Brash\u003C/span\u003E: Why, when the Cabinet secretary advised that the complex arrangement she has come up with requires clarification at an early stage, has she not made any changes to the Cabinet Manual in the month she has had since the formation of the Government?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000021\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f1527b08cc2e41a0bce922d207afa16d\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: In terms of time, if the Cabinet Manual were revised in a month, that would be galactic speed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229db170291da645279899770ecca36e04\u0022\u003EDr Don Brash\u003C/span\u003E: Does she agree with the advice of the Secretary of the Cabinet that \u201Cthe foreign affairs portfolio stretches across the whole of Government business\u201D, and that the broad nature of the portfolios held by Mr Peters made this arrangement \u201Ccomplex to manage\u201D; if so, how does she believe that the Government can balance Mr Peters\u2019 strong views on issues with international dimensions, such as the proposed free-trade arrangement with China, with his role as the Government\u2019s representative to the world?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000023\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d970a26d6886413ea40e7a4c635e6991\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: In precisely the same way as I assume Dr Brash would have done, given that we have Mr Peters\u2019 word that Dr Brash offered him the Ministry of Foreign Affairs portfolio.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000024\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226c1d5df8-ac1d-4ce1-a778-202845cfc69f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002224ba63357d604a80b842e21826132d75\u0022\u003EHeather Roy\u003C/span\u003E: How can the Prime Minister have any confidence in Winston Peters as Minister of Foreign Affairs, when he does not even have the diplomacy skills to keep his six New Zealand First MPs in the tent, without the waka-jumping legislation to give her the votes to prop up her Government?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000025\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fbd15c45b19c4c75acc14ac0f82df310\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: There is huge irony in that question, given that ACT is the only party to have used that Act.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000026\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022baa9e73b206143ea8909945ec99385cc\u0022\u003EHousing\u2014Capital Gains Tax\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000027\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E2. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220f0ffc3ba9dd4fa2aac4f47781d4c238\u0022\u003ESHANE JONES (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: Has he received any reports of support being expressed by the Governor of the Reserve Bank for the introduction of capital gains tax on housing?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022 data-id=\u002219b055a947624c93bb6b33c3998a3851\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000028\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002219b055a947624c93bb6b33c3998a3851\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E I have seen a number of reports from the Governor of the Reserve Bank recommending a capital gains tax as an appropriate response to New Zealanders\u2019 \u201Cobsession with property\u201D, and a useful measure to \u201Ctake the steam out of the property market\u201D. I should of course make it clear, in all fairness, that those statements were made not by the current governor but by his predecessor, who is now the leader of the National Party.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000029\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b2c82a39e8f44904a7e0dd73a5ee701a\u0022\u003EShane Jones\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Government planning to introduce such a tax?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000030\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225d51ee5e5e324303bd1742a81835d43d\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: No. We take very little advice from the former Governor of the Reserve Bank who is now the leader of the National Party. I have asked for a report from Treasury and the Reserve Bank on possible instruments the bank could use to underpin the effectiveness of the interest rate mechanism. The terms of reference exclude consideration of such a tax. Of course, only one politician of note in the House has argued for such a tax, and that is Dr Brash.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000031\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222d686a24e2984d12af3392a8a714cc30\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister confirm that, far from ruling out the introduction of a capital gains tax, last week\u2019s terms of reference outlined by the Reserve Bank and Treasury simply delayed it \u201Cbeyond the scope of the present review\u201D; if this is the case, will he once and for all get up in the House and confirm that he does not intend to put in place a capital gains tax on property?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000032\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022de029485c04942ed97230b684a91883f\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: I can confirm it again, but Treasury and the Reserve Bank are independent bodies, and no doubt they foresee the possibility that at some stage in the long distant future, when Dr Brash is in his 80s, they may have to carry out a review at his request.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000033\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220c62df1f5e9a44be856be1dc0d0258be\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: Why, having preached that New Zealanders should buy shares, and having lamented that they have far too much invested in property and not enough invested in shares, is he now proposing to apply a capital gains tax on New Zealanders who own foreign-domiciled shares, including most of the banks that operate in New Zealand and many of the utilities?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000034\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002263009d06b8d84007adb074a1849c7224\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: What I have said in the past, and I think it is one area where Dr Brash actually agrees with me, is that too high a proportion of our savings is in housing, not because we have a love affair with housing\u2014I do not agree with that\u2014but because we do not save enough to save in anything else but our housing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000035\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00228ef39c6c538b46faa50893e1e860d998\u0022\u003EStudent Loans\u2014Treasury Forecast\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000036\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E3. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224f8c6f65565342f1beb6dbc2fa34b716\u0022\u003EDr DON BRASH (Leader of the Opposition)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her answer of 2 August 2005 to my question of whether she had asked Treasury to forecast the long-term fiscal impact of her Government\u0027s proposed interest-free student loan policy that: \u201CNo, this is a Labour Party policy, not a Government one.\u201D; if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022 data-id=\u0022f654b53986a44477aa1ed726893d993c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000037\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f654b53986a44477aa1ed726893d993c\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000038\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b5e41e7fdc434f9d8672ec5b8ed1d9bf\u0022\u003EDr Don Brash\u003C/span\u003E: Is it not correct that Treasury had been asked to forecast the long-term fiscal impact of her student loan policy, but that she and her Ministers did not find its advice politically palatable because it showed that, on realistic assumptions, the policy would increase student debt by over $5 billion and Government debt by $14 billion?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000039\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a567fd7e906b42969c7d0a9b8c1cbd7c\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: This matter was dealt with in the House back on 2 August with a question put to my colleague the Minister of Finance. It was made plain at that time that the student loan policy was Labour Party policy, and that Labour Party policy was not sent off to Treasury.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000040\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227d7d3c153d554c89bdb4de0f4eb196cc\u0022\u003EDr Don Brash\u003C/span\u003E: Does she stand by her statement: \u201CThe cost of this policy will grow through time to a maximum of around $300 million.\u201D, or was that just a politically convenient statement designed to deceive voters about the real financial impact of this irresponsible policy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000041\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dd5cb0d329f842638d9214118b7e5a90\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: Costings were given for the forecast horizon. This is a good policy, and it caught the Opposition napping.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000042\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002221cc5b7a282148e29474b62a6521c51e\u0022\u003EDr Don Brash\u003C/span\u003E: How does she reconcile her statement about the cost of the student loan policy with Treasury advice dated 22 June 2005 showing the policy would cost $390 million annually by its third year, rising to $500 million annually after 6 years and to almost $1 billion annually by 2019?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a7d1ac1dc961466fb9bc248bd8742ade\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: Treasury made it plain at the time of the release of its figures that it did not place a great deal of store on them itself, and I am happy to tell the member that its most recent costings are substantially revised down.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000044\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a7c1022e5bc04010b2eb917690a5f7a3\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: Has the Prime Minister asked Treasury to consider the real, long-term fiscal impact of a generation growing up in debt who cannot afford to buy a house or have a family, and who are forced to seek highly paid jobs rather than going into public services such as teaching and nursing, and is it not time that we stopped point-scoring and considered the real consequences of this $8 billion mortgage against our future?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000045\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022903a87baec594663ab272c4992d30ad9\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: It is entirely the real consequences of the student loan policy as introduced around 1991-92 that the Government is seeking to deal with, for the sorts of reasons to which the member has referred, and I thank her.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000046\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002202f3d5966ebc4c6cb8b96dfd6cdcb872\u0022\u003EDr Don Brash\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Prime Minister confirm that her Government\u2019s interest-free student loan policy will result in $2 billion being written off the Crown balance sheet, and if she can confirm that is the case, why was that fact not made known to New Zealand voters before the election?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000047\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f5261389105b46ea9c0868f52c47eff0\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: In answering questions from the member himself, I said that we were well aware it had balance sheet implications.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000048\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022f445524be6ac4559a4a5dba63a0ee563\u0022\u003EEmployment\u2014Statistics\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000049\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226f6e1ae1-8aa5-4f71-8e73-30bb378026c4\u0022\u003E4. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221c216c44b4304a9d8529aa23f3d15e2f\u0022\u003EGEORGINA BEYER (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What reports has he received about the numbers of New Zealanders in work?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022 data-id=\u00223ee33006195c4d61a6ebf8389d7ce20d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000050\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223ee33006195c4d61a6ebf8389d7ce20d\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Minister for Social Development and Employment):\u003C/span\u003E Statistics New Zealand\u2019s latest household labour force survey shows that there are now 2,093,000 New Zealanders in employment. That is more than 300,000 more New Zealanders in work today than were in work when the Labour-led Government came into office. That is approximately 150 additional New Zealanders in work every day since 1999, or 54,750 each year under Labour. That is a city the size of Nelson in extra jobs each year, every year, for the past 6 years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000051\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226f6e1ae1-8aa5-4f71-8e73-30bb378026c4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002215b726f5710a4981ba8081324a72879c\u0022\u003EGeorgina Beyer\u003C/span\u003E: Given this exceptional result, what reports has the Minister received about the number of New Zealanders not in work?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000052\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b3510959afb24b178c742023f52a0d88\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE\u003C/span\u003E: The same household labour force survey showed that unemployment had fallen in New Zealand to 3.4 percent\u2014the lowest rate in the 19-year history of that survey. This means that New Zealand has the lowest rate of unemployment in the OECD. This is considerably better than the result in Australia, where the unemployment rate increased in the latest quarter to 5.2 percent, making Australia, by comparison, in about 10th place in the OECD.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000053\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221fbf71d70e2c4552a219c4091c983484\u0022\u003EJudith Collins\u003C/span\u003E: Are any of the newly counted in-work New Zealanders working for the Otago District Health Board, where 55 staff have just recently been discovered to be receiving taxpayer-funded salaries while at the same time receiving taxpayer-funded benefits; and how many of these fraudsters have been prosecuted to date?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000054\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ead4a0b743df420492e42e300d7f2929\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE\u003C/span\u003E: The member can be assured that benefit fraud will not be tolerated\u2014[Interruption] I can tell that member that in October alone there was 97 percent clearance of prosecutions, and 12 prison sentences. As to whether, specifically, any of those members are in that figure, I am not able to provide her with that information at this time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000055\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d349168d60ef4c38b979aa1f0b8cb320\u0022\u003ERon Mark\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Minister concerned that the unemployment statistics he so proudly quotes come on the back of a low-wage economy delivering incomes to New Zealand workers that are 30 percent less than those of their Australian counterparts; and what impact will New Zealand First\u2019s post-election gain of a pledge to have a minimum wage of $12 per hour by the year 2008 have on the average wage of New Zealand workers?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000056\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022610f2cdb55ee4f7c95dbe7fcd053f054\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE\u003C/span\u003E: I am pleased about both the most significant movement in unemployment ever shown in the household labour force survey, and the employment statistics. I am sure that the workers in this economy are starting to see the gains flowing through, as we have seen in recent wage settlements. I must say that the overall figure is more positive than many believe, because the total number of working-age New Zealanders on benefits has reduced by 21 percent since 1999.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000057\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002273274aa0b82246dfacd6aa818ec6c456\u0022\u003EInflation\u2014Government Policy\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000058\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E5. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b9680ff12b014ab9b25ab95e2cda4234\u0022\u003EJOHN KEY (National\u2014Helensville)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: Is he concerned about domestic inflation demand; if so, what actions does he support to curb this?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022 data-id=\u002219695cb728ca4ee180a17ec8a2943733\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002219695cb728ca4ee180a17ec8a2943733\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E Yes. The primary contribution I can make is to maintain a strong fiscal stance, contrary to the fiscal profligacy advocated by National, and to ensure my messages are consistent with those of the Governor of the Reserve Bank.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000060\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226ba31256ba274801b5b382d6ad5f72ad\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: If intervening in bank lending rules are to be so successful, will he start with the Government-owned Kiwibank, which has led the mortgage wars in both fixed and floating loans with brochures like the one I have here that reads: \u201CNo matter what home-loan option you prefer, Kiwibank is lower.\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000061\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c81f3bc4e52543259ace0104ad578bae\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: It is certainly true that the New Zealand - owned Kiwibank, where all profits stay in this country, has provided cheaper services than the foreign-owned banks, which that party continued to support throughout the election campaign and continues to support today.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000062\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a10ddf667ad2437fa5234206baaca84f\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: If the House is to believe that the Government\u2019s earlier claims that one of the key benefits of Kiwibank is that it forced the other Australian banks into providing more competitive services, is it not a little ironic that the Minister now wants to regulate those very banks for following the course he has prescribed; if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000063\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e2fc5fb5eed04c32a56a2fda09316103\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: I will try to spell it out for the member again: I am simply asking for a report from Treasury and the Reserve Bank on what other instruments might be helpful in supporting the interest rate instrument, both on the upturn and the downturn. Unlike the member, I do not know what that report\u2014which has not even started to be written\u2014will say, and, unlike that member, I have an open mind about what needs to be done. What I do know is that promising $4 billion a year of tax cuts in an overheated economy is a level of adolescent silliness beyond even most of his fellow front-bench members. [Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000064\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002216d4f6356737422ebeae81563d55ad47\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: If they clap for that they will clap for anything.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000065\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022abbc5aa7f4b54464b02765509e87bca9\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000066\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b10ec0e181dd43d3b7ff04a3eac67bbb\u0022\u003EHon Bill English\u003C/span\u003E: They clapped because he stood up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000067\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220a93b76a917f452ea69a3d8119d91da3\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: Quite right, Mr English. Will housing programmes established by his Government and implemented by Kiwibank, such as the Kiwibank In Reach homeownership programme that allows first home buyers to access a 100-percent mortgage, be affected by the proposals that the Reserve Bank is suggesting, which would limit the amount banks could lend their customers; if they will, why did the Government bother fostering those programmes in the first place?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000068\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222391ba125a094fe08437c4fc5efb6b5a\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: Unlike Dr Brash, whom Mr Key is subtly attacking with his questions, this Government supports ordinary Kiwi families buying their own home. Unlike Dr Brash, we do not believe in a class of capitalist rentiers and New Zealanders being peasants in their own country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000069\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a67c79dc90cb43b387d596e3099eeba8\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: Does he agree with the Reserve Bank governor when he recently said that banks are putting homeowners at risk with loans they cannot afford; if so, does this include Kiwibank; if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000070\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cf8954d54a624ff3ba9259dd964e25be\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: The regulation of the banking sector is neutral on which bank it is. I note that the National Party is proposing that the rules for Kiwibank should be tougher than for foreign-owned banks. That is not the Government\u2019s policy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000071\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002252b78078686a4c8893156054b047949a\u0022\u003EAir New Zealand\u2014Engineering Outsourcing\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000072\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E6. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002281987a7eb49d4e0197040dcb36ee1e7a\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN (Deputy Leader\u2014NZ First)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: Does the Government have any plans to assist the 617 Air New Zealand heavy maintenance engineers in finding further employment in New Zealand if Air New Zealand proceeds with its plans to outsource its engineering work offshore; if so, what are those plans?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000073\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022826fa3ca3fb94fb8bd85bf54fcf909b3\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s a patsy question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022 data-id=\u0022c275f1db9c1545ceab8eafef140fb10e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000074\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c275f1db9c1545ceab8eafef140fb10e\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E It certainly is not a patsy question. The Government will assist where it can. As I said, in addition to any standard measures I am prepared to look at special retraining assistance if need be. But, of course, there is still some way to go in the discussions between the engineers union and the management and board of Air New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000075\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002278f78a47fd7140a494d5c96448e7ca3c\u0022\u003EPeter Brown\u003C/span\u003E: Noting that answer, does the Minister accept there is a major difference between making people redundant because there is not enough work and making them redundant because the work is being contracted out to an overseas contractor; if he does accept there is a difference, can he explain how as the majority owner of Air New Zealand he can allow work to be contracted out overseas, leaving 617 highly skilled New Zealanders jobless, after signing up two confidence and supply agreements that advocate Buy Kiwi Made initiatives aimed at promoting locally produced goods and services?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000076\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dae1f256613f40769139eeb2dc322e4e\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: I can make it clear, firstly, that the Government is not going to get into the position of subsidising on a large scale New Zealand employers\u2014they must make management decisions about how they arrange their businesses. Secondly, contrary to what has often been said in the public arena over the last couple of weeks, the fact that the Government is a majority shareholder\u2014but not by any means a 100 percent shareholder\u2014is a strong reason for not intervening in a case such as this, rather than a reason for intervening. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000077\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228a8c78dab7c844de892e3163d4e8e364\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: What are the differentiating factors that encouraged the Government to apply pressure to the board of TVNZ in relation to the contracts of Judy Bailey and Susan Wood but that do not encourage this Government to apply similar pressure to the board of Air New Zealand in relation to 617 employees?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000078\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002229376a67769d4ec99fd61ca62821fbb8\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: I do not accept the initial premise of that question. My understanding is that TVNZ was trying to negotiate a reduction in salary for the two people mentioned. I do not understand that what is actually being talked about is a reduction in salary for 600 airline staff; those staff will go down the road, according to the plan that Air New Zealand has announced. If the Opposition member wants to stick up for people who cry when they do not get $800,000 a year, then that says something about the National Party. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000079\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022044b6180c22247c9970939817c9b7441\u0022\u003EPeter Brown\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Minister aware that aircraft engineer is one of the occupations listed on the long-term skill shortage list for the New Zealand Immigration Service, and will he immediately seek to have aircraft engineer removed from that list if Air New Zealand goes through with its plans to sack the 617 engineers?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000080\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223760c471a6e34efab9765dbedf2f0c16\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: That is not in my portfolio area\u2014a number of other matters are\u2014but my understanding is that the lists are based on objective criteria. I would have thought that the department will be looking at those criteria in the light of the current circumstances.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000081\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f072d84c45bc42458421654b446239da\u0022\u003ESue Bradford\u003C/span\u003E: How can the Minister say that the Government does not massively subsidise New Zealand employers, when both Working for Families and the accommodation supplement are huge daily subsidies to employers; and is he aware that New Zealand Trade and Enterprise actually identified aircraft maintenance as a key specialised manufacturing sector for this Government?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000082\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d9da3cbdff5241d7ac05d85c458ea1f1\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: Regarding the last part of the question, that does not mean to say that the Government should subsidise jobs. We are not subsidising jobs with packages like Working for Families, any more than the previous Government did with similar moves. We are ensuring that people with family responsibilities can ensure that their children and families live in reasonable circumstances. It is a long time since people in New Zealand expected to be paid more for being married than for being unmarried\u2014that last occurred in about the 1960s, from memory. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000083\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002298d83fe256174ecf85171bd23e3da1f2\u0022\u003EPeter Brown\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table the intermediate skill shortage list from the New Zealand Immigration Service website, which states that there is a shortage of aircraft engineers in New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a7c28144dd684032b33b3daf508801c4\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is. It will not be tabled.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000085\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c16132903bd94dcf8c40b76629682a92\u0022\u003ETelevision New Zealand\u2014Confidence\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000086\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bd5aa67-2f2b-4a13-a2b4-21a392396f11\u0022\u003E7. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221772e7aa479c4254a790f07746749e30\u0022\u003EHon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Broadcasting: Does he have confidence in the board of Television New Zealand; if so, why?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022 data-id=\u00224b863c05699e4d83824273a95e849a2b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224b863c05699e4d83824273a95e849a2b\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Broadcasting):\u003C/span\u003E Yes; because they are hard-working and committed board members.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bd5aa67-2f2b-4a13-a2b4-21a392396f11\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225cd9f9db8c154a248bf94eac719de24f\u0022\u003EHon Georgina te Heuheu\u003C/span\u003E: Why does the Minister continue to have confidence in the board of Television New Zealand in light of the front-page scandals such as Ian Fraser\u2019s sudden resignation and $420,000 golden handshake, Susan Wood\u2019s highly public employment dispute, and falling advertising revenues, not to mention the Minister\u2019s own derisory comments about TVNZ\u2019s current affairs programming?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000089\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224bc9f5d8f9f849f583a0cc903e9ea2c8\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY\u003C/span\u003E: Shareholding Ministers continue to have confidence in the company because it is returning a dividend on the investment we make, it is moving towards providing a range of chartered programmes, which is what we expect it to do, and it is performing extremely well in the market. In fact, the member might like to note that in the last couple of weeks TV3 has been able to get only one programme into the top ratings\u2014all the rest have been on Television One or TV2. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000090\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002271f6f15da3fe4e62b6f7f3bf6e58f65f\u0022\u003EMaryan Street\u003C/span\u003E: What information has the Minister received on any other success of the public television broadcaster?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000091\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220cfecd64602c488a83022f313fe90943\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY\u003C/span\u003E: TVNZ is the most-watched television company in New Zealand. An average of 86 percent of New Zealanders watch TVNZ each week. In the last 4 weeks, TVNZ\u2019s share of the commercial demographic of 18 to 54-year-olds has risen to 56 percent, which is one share point higher than at the same time last year. In the last year, for all ages across the country, every top-ten programme every week has been on Television One or TV2. The ratings concerns commented on in the media, of course, are just a fact of life. Those are concerns; those are things that the company is focused on; they are a fact of life.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000092\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cba965bb-864f-4e06-99dc-6fcdfd007ad5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022af184883926847718778ffb5e0f93cb8\u0022\u003EPita Paraone\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Minister, in the interests of protecting our assets and the ongoing viability of public broadcasting, support NZ First\u2019s call for a full Finance and Expenditure Committee inquiry into the affairs of TVNZ?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000093\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cdc5d536237041a19aebce5dae6d2315\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY\u003C/span\u003E: As shareholding Ministers have pointed out, there is no need for an inquiry; there is an annual report. [Interruption] It is just worth advising people like Dr Nick Smith on the other side that there is an annual reporting process. That happens this week. That goes to select committees. Then there can be a discussion. That is what I am sure the committee will do.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000094\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225cee6a89-68e3-40fd-b2d8-d8adb0ba5da0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ff9ea0969c1647e2a37d17b2b756e502\u0022\u003EGordon Copeland\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Minister able to enlighten the House as to what the TVNZ Chief Executive Ian Fraser meant when he cited political interference as the reason for his abrupt resignation; if not, does his inability to do so not indicate the need for a parliamentary inquiry?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000095\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002222a89b589ff645ce94ea6682a84ee382\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY\u003C/span\u003E: The member will know that Mr Fraser withdrew those comments, so the answer to the first part of the question is no.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000096\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220b36f6bbb28a4ef6aacf8ed75541222b\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister explain to the public of New Zealand the three benefits that he sees from TVNZ being State-owned, particularly in light of his comments that privately owned TV3 is \u201Ca class act\u201D; why is this Government so ideologically opposed to private ownership?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000097\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220c8c2dd3067748a18429fe63c15d60a8\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY\u003C/span\u003E: The three top ones that I would argue are the return to the shareholder, public charter programming, and national identity.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000098\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bd5aa67-2f2b-4a13-a2b4-21a392396f11\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022798172c665e142ff8a3335fc157ec39f\u0022\u003EHon Georgina te Heuheu\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister confirm that the role of the Television New Zealand board is to protect the taxpayers\u2019 interest in Television New Zealand; if so, does he not consider that the board may have acted against those interests by allowing its dirty linen to be aired in public, knowing full well that it would erode the value of the taxpayers\u2019 asset?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022835901c959e04927b9e03e0291ff7a27\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY\u003C/span\u003E: I am glad the member asked that question, because of course the value of Television New Zealand has been very stable over the past 6 years, which is in stark contrast to the erosion of shareholder value during the 1990s, when the disastrous decision to sell Television New Zealand - Sky shares was taken, which eroded 25 percent of the value of this company under a National Government. Thanks for asking the question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000100\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bd5aa67-2f2b-4a13-a2b4-21a392396f11\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022706b0bc021ba4cabab6f0a410744a75e\u0022\u003EHon Georgina te Heuheu\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Minister not consider that he may very well have contributed to the erosion of the taxpayers\u2019 interest, when he glowingly said of the competition: \u201CTelevision 3 are a class act at the present time. They do very well. That is clearly a concern for Television New Zealand.\u201D; and does he continue to stand by those comments?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000101\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002279dd307ed552453c8a5d057bf0a87d0e\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY\u003C/span\u003E: No, I did not erode the share value, at all\u2014unlike her National Government. I am the Minister of Broadcasting, and therefore what I said about TV3 is clearly just an objective fact\u2014it is performing better in the Auckland market, in the 18 to 34 age group, at the present time. I am sure Television New Zealand is planning right now how to take that back.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000102\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bd5aa67-2f2b-4a13-a2b4-21a392396f11\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022442ac5ba80e44021986fbca7f8236ae6\u0022\u003EHon Georgina te Heuheu\u003C/span\u003E: Does he agree with the Prime Minister that \u201CWhen a news organisation becomes the news that\u2019s when you have a problem.\u201D, and as this appears to put him at odds with the Prime Minister, why does he not feel an obligation to ask the Television New Zealand board to resign, or to resign himself?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000103\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e2ea6b6aa9cb404f816b8874f3d9758d\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY\u003C/span\u003E: I am never at odds with the Prime Minister.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000104\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00225b38f8a862d743c3925e039bb0ea207e\u0022\u003EAir New Zealand\u2014Engineering Outsourcing\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000105\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003E8. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223d55c6eb5722434fb224d1c0df9cab0d\u0022\u003ESUE BRADFORD (Green)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with the statement in the Speech from the Throne that New Zealand\u2019s economic security will come from our firms being part of \u201Ca high skill, high productivity, and high wage economy.\u201D; if so, how does the loss of 600 high-wage, high-skill engineering jobs from Air New Zealand contribute to this goal?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022 data-id=\u002227cced5e26e442f4ae8a2cc13f14f615\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000106\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002227cced5e26e442f4ae8a2cc13f14f615\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E Yes, and, bluntly, not a great deal.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000107\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fab583be49e3460f8f10b4ebeebed228\u0022\u003ESue Bradford\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Minister agree with the Aviation Industry Association that New Zealand will lose specialist engineering intellectual property and human capital if Air New Zealand maintains its long-haul aircraft overseas; and why does the Government not put its money where its mouth is, take a smaller dividend, and demonstrate that it really does have a commitment to keeping highly skilled, high-wage jobs in New Zealand?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000108\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022db22133c626f48278fd498cb9c920d38\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: Firstly, of course, we have had only one dividend. Dividends are an unusual thing in the airline industry, so a promise to forgo a dividend would not have a great deal of effect. Secondly, we are not a 100-percent shareholder. There are minority shareholder interests to be considered, and those are very important to consider in this kind of situation. Thirdly, I do not want to sound overly cynical, but if the Government gets into the business of subsidising jobs in order to keep them when a company wants to restructure, I have a feeling there would be an awful lot of New Zealand companies lining up to restructure and pass on the wages of 600 jobs to the New Zealand Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000109\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a33c24125fc340aebc058193cc8b1f04\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: When did the Minister become aware of the fact that Air New Zealand was likely to lay off the 617 engineers, given the rumour that abounded that he was aware of this prior to the election?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000110\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002206638eb48c7845d8a0537fd57ed11aa2\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: I know of no such rumour. I know of attempts by the National Party to suggest it. I regard that as a slur upon the chair of the board. [Interruption] The answer\u2014if the member cares to wait\u2014is that it was 4 or 5 days before the public announcement was made, which was well after the election.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000111\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227b310f9144b74f36ba1da96694dc63fe\u0022\u003ESue Bradford\u003C/span\u003E: Has the Minister received any advice on what impact Air New Zealand\u2019s decision to sack skilled Kiwis and to buy offshore will have on customer loyalty, and hence on the value of the Government\u2019s fairly large investment in Air New Zealand?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000112\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b375464c1ddf4de2917ebf4869bd8006\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: I have no advice on that. I have no reason to believe there will be an impact on customer loyalty. Major international airlines are already outsourcing their maintenance of this sort without any apparent impact on customer loyalty.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000113\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00229fce3e9bb6654f39918c74db15459209\u0022\u003EResource Management Act\u2014Operation\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000114\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E9. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226611c94f7aed4a2abc7dd16151ea4eb8\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH (National\u2014Nelson)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for the Environment: Is he satisfied that his Government\u2019s changes to the Resource Management Act 1991 are working well?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022 data-id=\u00228c9c98ca48124a52a1b3acb2d27eb53b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000115\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228c9c98ca48124a52a1b3acb2d27eb53b\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Minister for the Environment):\u003C/span\u003E Yes. The Resource Management Act is about striking the appropriate balance between economic development and the protection of the environment. The improvements made through the recent amendments to the Act achieve this balance, and significantly strengthen local decision-making.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000116\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227ba4286f9f234251857740fe142c6336\u0022\u003EHon Dr Nick Smith\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Minister aware that a Whangarei man citing treaty arguments has appealed, under Labour\u2019s amendments, the Waitaki water plan, and that the effect of this appeal is that billions of dollars\u2019 worth of infrastructure developments, including a 250-megawatt power station and 40,000 hectares of irrigation, are halted, at an estimated cost to the South Island economy of $12 million per week; and does this indicate that the amendments, as he said, are working well?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000117\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225fb2c55a6cbc48028f272eca0145389e\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE\u003C/span\u003E: I am advised that the court has not accepted Mr Wilkie\u2019s appeal, on the basis of its procedural shortcomings. I am further advised that Mr Wilkie will need to seek leave from the court to lodge a late appeal, and to date this has not occurred. I would encourage the member to concentrate on facts and not on his fantasy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000118\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223a0e52c8-5bb1-4325-9870-21f4e3eb3702\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221cbfcb614332416db06415d4c925df62\u0022\u003EMartin Gallagher\u003C/span\u003E: What has been the attitude of Local Government New Zealand\u2014the organisation that represents every democratically elected local authority in New Zealand\u2014to the changes to the Resource Management Act 1991?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000119\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d2347b9dbb7644bc84a8c068afa5d0ff\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE\u003C/span\u003E: Local Government New Zealand has been strongly supportive of the Resource Management Act review process. Its national council member, David Walter, stated: \u201COn balance a great deal has been achieved in an exemplary collaborative exercise and we will continue to work through that process.\u201D He also said: \u201CAgain, I thank the Government for the high level of engagement in this reform process and commend the process undertaken.\u201D I am also mindful of the comments made by that well-known economist and political commentator Rod Oram, who while commenting on National\u2019s Resource Management Act proposal said: \u201CAll in all, National\u2019s RMA proposals fall short on some basic measures, such as being practical, wise and well-considered.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000120\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dcac7d471b6f49188bad79754d28cc41\u0022\u003EHon Dr Nick Smith\u003C/span\u003E: Does he think it is good resource management process when a farmer in North Otago applies for the renewal of his water right in 2000, when he makes a submission to his regional council in that year but it is overruled by Labour\u2019s ministerial call-in, on which he is asked to make submissions; when he then makes submissions to the select committee on the renewal of his water right, and when he then makes submissions to the special water board on the renewal of the water right, and he is now facing further delays because of the appeal, he is also facing a further round of submissions on the substantive application, and 4 years later, and after six lots of submissions, he is still 2 years away from having his water right renewal considered; is that, in the Minister\u2019s mind, good process?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000121\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221a74bdbc4ef54099bff13846835b7d00\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE\u003C/span\u003E: I am sure we would all agree that the process introduced by my predecessor, Minister Hobbs, has gone a long way to solving a lot of the sorts of problems that Dr Smith is detailing, and I would say that those problems were caused not by the legislation or by the acts of this Government, but, rather, by the failings of Environment Canterbury.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000122\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221b921516b0ec41cfb96238a78c980db8\u0022\u003EHon Dr Nick Smith\u003C/span\u003E: Could the Minister outline for me, given that answer, specifically how the Government\u2019s amendments have helped that farmer in trying to get the renewal of his water right, given that it was under his Government\u2019s legislation that they called in and overrode the resource consent process, and, after waiting 5 years, he still has at least another 2 years before his water right will be considered\u2014how has the Government helped that farmer?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000123\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225f45e4ebffaf45269225edd4e28e1b0e\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE\u003C/span\u003E: I am sure it does not escape Dr Smith that the amendments to the Act were passed in this year, and he is talking about historical difficulties.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000124\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002214beb8cfb8e143e6ad4c5d4c0d6c5c69\u0022\u003EHon Dr Nick Smith\u003C/span\u003E: Does it make sense, on a day when the Christchurch Press and other media lead with stories of power shortages, for the Waitaki River, which is our most important power resource, to be held up with further delays over a water plan that has now been 4 years in the making, and will he take responsibility for his mess in the Resource Management Act if the lights go out for tens of thousands of New Zealanders next winter?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000125\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222467e8faf8d74439a1b98c67a9a4f8aa\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE\u003C/span\u003E: I find a certain irony in that member speculating about the lights going out, but what I would say is that I have confidence in the courts to make appropriate decisions in this matter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022de1cb4630fd24202a0c9b8321b91a400\u0022\u003EHon Dr Nick Smith\u003C/span\u003E: I seek the leave of the House to table the appeal of Mr Bevan Wilkie of Whangarei, citing treaty reasons for his High Court appeal against the Waitaki water plan.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000127\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f2a60f1dbe814f6084eeb30da34c95cb\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00228fe180eab8334fea874b03c39d408b33\u0022\u003EUnited Nations\u2014Tangata Whenua Consultation\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000129\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003E10. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226afdf8c6f98642a1927526f2754080bb\u0022\u003ETE URUROA FLAVELL (M\u0101ori Party\u2014Waiariki)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: \u201C\u0100e r\u0101nei, k\u0101ore r\u0101nei, ka k\u014Drero mai te K\u0101wanatanga ki te tangata whenua m\u014D ng\u0101 kaupapa k\u014Drero i a ia e k\u014Drero ana ki te United Nations?\u201D.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EDoes the Government consult with tangata whenua on relevant issues when attending United Nations forums?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022 data-id=\u002234ef283e3a974694a13e45dc569db288\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000131\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002234ef283e3a974694a13e45dc569db288\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs):\u003C/span\u003E United Nations forums cover a vast range of issues. The Government has a policy\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000132\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fa53dcfd9f0e4e6fbba515654f57aa9e\u0022\u003EGerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I fully accept the right of the questioner to ask his question in his chosen language. Even though it is written on the speech the Standing Orders require that the question is read as written on the sheet. Many members in this House have been pulled up by the Speaker in the past for not complying with that Standing Order. I would have thought that at least the question should be repeated to us by a translator.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000133\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221e79537e8e774466b43aa102b935c705\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I thank the member for that point of order. In future the question should be read as it is on the Order Paper. If there is then to be a M\u0101ori translation at that point, it may be given.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000134\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226606da1c79564aa496df2afbcfdb9350\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I think that for the guidance of the M\u0101ori Party it should be clearer than that. It would be quite acceptable for the question to be written in M\u0101ori, and then it can be asked in M\u0101ori. The difficulty we have is that the question as it appears on the Order Paper is written in English. I think for the future guidance of the M\u0101ori Party the requirement should be that it be written in M\u0101ori, and then it can be asked in M\u0101ori in the first instance. For those of us who are still struggling with te reo maybe the Clerk or the M\u0101ori Party can arrange for an English version to be sent to us all in the morning.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000135\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b01024eef29e4f008b00e4ad55513a63\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: My ruling still remains. If the member wanted the question on the Order Paper to be in M\u0101ori then he should have lodged it in M\u0101ori. Maybe that will be the course in the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000136\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224aab1a1ae0594f20a035e5ea3f23b3b9\u0022\u003EGerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: The translation should be given.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022704de088da64483289d16727121ab561\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: It is already translated.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000138\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b091f68baadd4d92bdf10a9135ae5988\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: He did it himself. That was the point. He actually provided the translation, as he is perfectly entitled to. The legitimate part of the member\u2019s point of order was that he should have originally read the question as it was on the Order Paper. [Interruption] The member may well disagree, but I have ruled on that. I now ask the Hon Dr Michael Cullen to answer the question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000139\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f7a675c87c024ef8be28795429048dba\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: United Nations forums cover a vast range of issues. The Government has a policy of engaging, where appropriate, with M\u0101ori on issues that they have identified as being of interest to them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000140\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022781ce7997c7e4dcf966cf44fc644e444\u0022\u003ETe Ururoa Flavell\u003C/span\u003E: What consultation with M\u0101ori had occurred prior to the New Zealand delegates describing the draft declaration of the rights of indigenous peoples as \u201Cunworkable and unacceptable\u201D at the sixtieth General Assembly held in New York on 20 October?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227a09d0ee26f94b6696fe826a6aaf984e\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: I understand that there was a great deal of discussion. Of course, discussion and consultation do not lead to those with whom the discussions occurred having their views necessarily reflected in the submissions made elsewhere within the United Nations. The Government, whoever it may be, is free to arrive at its own conclusions, and present those conclusions in the appropriate forums.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000142\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220b58310f9a0344e599ecf41deec4ae2b\u0022\u003EHone Harawira\u003C/span\u003E: What was the rationale for New Zealand\u2019s statement at the sixtieth General Assembly that New Zealand could not agree to a document that suggested there were two standards of citizenship, or two classes of citizens, particularly in the context of the Prime Minister\u2019s statement that the Treaty of Waitangi was signed so that two peoples could coexist in one nation and we still have work to do in honouring the treaty?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000143\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022266722dd01ed4d3482a5cfc6d56088bf\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: Clearly, we do, but that does not lead to an assumption of two classes of citizenship or two sets of rules.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000144\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ea5d803ab54b47218cc8ec76d5927a06\u0022\u003ETe Ururoa Flavell\u003C/span\u003E: What events has the Government sponsored to recognise the second decade of the rights of the indigenous peoples, which started in January this year?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000145\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228f090381e14d409faa2fbf8581a56696\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: I do not have any particular information in front of me in that respect. Perhaps the member could put down another question and I will try to get that information for him.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000146\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aa9bc3727cab46d996ae9fb3b406d0de\u0022\u003EGerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Why did the Government invite Rodolfo Stavenhagen to New Zealand after ridiculing the UN report that accused the Labour Government of discriminating against the interests of M\u0101ori over the foreshore and seabed legislation?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000147\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227e1b21170f1749b7a36fa98d91b3c7c3\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: The UN Commission on Human Rights suggested that we issue a standing invitation for the thematic human rights special rapporteurs to visit here. At the beginning of 2004 we issued a standing invitation to the thematic human rights special rapporteurs, which I should emphasise is United Nations language, not New Zealand Government language.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000148\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002217c7d018422d4c7390edeca5f2555f3d\u0022\u003EGerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I asked why.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224917dad95725458991ff835d7f596db0\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: There was no special invitation to Mr Stavenhagen in this case. There is a standing invitation to the class of people of which Mr Stavenhagen is one.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000150\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002238d6a70f03dc4d9fbd3c7ece5c781171\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I thank the member for the clarification.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000151\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d4be5c7c42b34ff9a98efc1e2bfdca9f\u0022\u003EGerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Government prepared to change the Foreshore and Seabed Act on the potentially embarrassing recommendations of Professor Stavenhagen, or is the Government prepared to accept that the United Nations is not always right about every single issue?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000152\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d6b0df047c784ec8a2b1323df5152abb\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: We will listen carefully to any recommendations that Mr Stavenhagen makes. The United Nations is not infallible. Should Mr Stavenhagen, for example, recommend changes to the Cabinet Manual, I doubt that we would take too much notice of them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000153\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fdf15bb418534ec2a11a2ed0326323ac\u0022\u003EGerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. That may be an enormously humorous answer as far as Dr Cullen is concerned, but the simple question was: if he makes recommendations will the Government act on them? If the Minister would like me to rephrase the question so that he can give the House an answer then I am happy to so.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000154\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221cfc84a3b2b9417ca61567b2956d14d7\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: Listen to the answer. I said we will listen carefully to any recommendations that he makes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000155\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ca3eaed5f88c4508bbae5f16475b287a\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The Minister did address the question. It may not have been to the satisfaction of the member.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000156\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228033efb97f2148feb1caa78f1f8bcb2a\u0022\u003EGerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Will the Government change the foreshore and seabed legislation in order to comply with any recommendations from Professor Stavenhagen?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000157\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a5762ed47bf5496f894cc31c89e3332c\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: We will carefully consider any recommendations that Professor Stavenhagen makes. If the recommendations are consistent with Government policy we will certainly look at that possibility. If they are not it is most unlikely that we will do so\u2014unlike the National Party, which was prepared to give away every part of its M\u0101ori policy before the election to try to secure the votes of the M\u0101ori Party, but once that fell through it was back on scratching the old issues.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000158\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00227a960f64a3634472917b218720a0cc08\u0022\u003EBenefit Fraud\u2014Control\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000159\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E11. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002231126318c4f7466db65414f2f3547b6f\u0022\u003EJUDITH COLLINS (National\u2014Clevedon)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Is he satisfied that Work and Income is taking all steps to crack down on benefit fraud; if so, is he satisfied that only eligible persons receive taxpayer-funded benefits?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022 data-id=\u0022ef050cedad2c423f853b886619e80e63\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000160\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ef050cedad2c423f853b886619e80e63\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Minister for Social Development and Employment):\u003C/span\u003E This Government wants to make sure that everyone who is entitled to support gets it. Benefit abuse and fraud are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. All cases of deliberate fraud are prosecuted. It is a disappointing fact that some people attempt to defraud our system. Where debts are incurred they will be recovered. Currently, 96 percent of debtors on a benefit are repaying their debt. Prosecution rates in October, as I mentioned earlier, were 97 percent successful, with 12 sentences of imprisonment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000161\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f858a694424043ba99c618c2c2ca6f91\u0022\u003EJudith Collins\u003C/span\u003E: Is Work and Income investigating rescued yachties Bruce Cox and Heloise Kortekaas solely because each was receiving a single person\u2019s benefit while they were living together, and does the Minister agree that Work and Income should be asking why those two used any taxpayer funds to finance a yachting voyage?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000162\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223a9b60401c55491dbb9c1b0d57d62f7c\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE\u003C/span\u003E: I do not have any information about that particular case, and if I did I certainly would not be discussing it in the House. Work and Income is committed to ensuring that people get their correct entitlements\u2014no more, no less\u2014minimising debt, and identifying and eliminating fraud.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000163\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f05e396c7e7e4d31b910e51b2b2d3f19\u0022\u003EJudith Collins\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. Perhaps the Minister would like to revisit his answer, given that that particular story has been all over the New Zealand Herald and the Press\u2014Fairfax newspapers\u2014just last week.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000164\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cd9f81f5d95c45d19d26a2b8786d9a1e\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That is not a point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000165\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228ffa974ea5c144eb9fa27d77cb003413\u0022\u003EJudith Collins\u003C/span\u003E: Is it true that Work and Income has no idea\u2014as this Minister has just proven\u2014whether someone has skipped off on a yacht for a round-the-world voyage, unless that person ends up being rescued, makes the front page of every newspaper in the country, and confesses to being part of a couple?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000166\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022717fdffb9c774286a3ff5c550fdb2a3d\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE\u003C/span\u003E: It is certainly true that Work and Income does not have a camera in every bedroom.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000167\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c867c3cc00e1460daf731e19aa92c9a1\u0022\u003EJudith Collins\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I really do not think that that is any attempt to answer the question. The Minister has already shown that he does not know anything about his portfolio, he does not read the newspapers, he does not know what is going on\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000168\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226836f6cb649c4550b8e3cd4de2d58946\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That is not part of a point of order. Does the Minister wish to add to his answer? He does not.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002267e8800f76434d0182d9a4bfc5dbc8ed\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. It is not for the Speaker to ask whether the Minister wants to add to his answer; it is up to the Speaker to decide whether he has addressed the question adequately.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000170\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c0ea87be52574853a9485c46ed61c733\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I thank the member. I understand the point he is making. I judge and rule that the Minister did address the question. I now ask Judith Collins whether she wishes to ask a supplementary question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000171\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225be3c7bfbd0745588dbbb44a25a78407\u0022\u003EJudith Collins\u003C/span\u003E: How many of the other almost 300,000 working-age New Zealanders currently receiving a benefit are holidaying on yachts, gallivanting around the world, or simply choosing not to work for lifestyle reasons?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000172\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002206a8b4c78eb74f47b681e3b11104473b\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE\u003C/span\u003E: My apologies; clearly, it would be impossible to have that information. I am happy to give the member the undertaking that I will give her the outcome of the investigation of the party she refers to, and assure her that if she has particulars of any other people who raise matters of such concern, I would be pleased to investigate them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000173\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cfb3bf59760e486f83906ada08714877\u0022\u003EJudith Collins\u003C/span\u003E: As the Minister\u2014[Interruption] Are we going to have interruptions during questions?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000174\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222fda461054c647138b90a2af81e101b6\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: There was no interjection that I heard, but people do chatter through questions. If you want silence on every question, good luck. I would ask you to put your question, please.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000175\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220146af939b224cb4ae2f949ff55182f3\u0022\u003EJudith Collins\u003C/span\u003E: When Bruce Cox and Heloise Kortekaas were rescued, at a cost of nearly $1 million to the taxpayer, was either of them not available for work due to stress; if not, what other illnesses might have rendered them incapable of work but capable of taking a yacht on an intercountry voyage?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000176\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226f062cc26f9d40fb84551a3c9395016d\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE\u003C/span\u003E: I am happy to find that information out for the member, but I point out to her that the provision that stress is an appropriate and acceptable reason for benefit receipt was introduced by the National Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000177\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022dbbcccaddb954ed9a38a34d42c52ac5a\u0022\u003EResearch, Science and Technology\u2014Innovation\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000178\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002212f01718-dc1f-4307-b0b3-451098ab73df\u0022\u003E12. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fd5c2ef604bb44b2bdad4a6951045ade\u0022\u003EDr ASHRAF CHOUDHARY (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Research, Science and Technology: How is the Government fostering innovation in the New Zealand economy through research, science, and technology?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022 data-id=\u00227519b603c4d9455fafbcb17b98a8b6dd\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000179\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227519b603c4d9455fafbcb17b98a8b6dd\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Research, Science and Technology):\u003C/span\u003E Over the next 4 years this Government will invest just under $3 billion to foster innovation through research, science, and technology. That investment will ensure greater certainty around funding, support areas of national research excellence, and ensure faster commercialisation of research. That is 50 percent more than the previous Government chose to spend on innovation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000180\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002212f01718-dc1f-4307-b0b3-451098ab73df\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221c5aa5ef56d0417da9d98a1e16e27a3b\u0022\u003EDr Ashraf Choudhary\u003C/span\u003E: What is the Government doing to support scientists?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000181\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227258267ef67743aaa5860d3f3c508d90\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY\u003C/span\u003E: Over the next 4 years the Government will invest an extra $47.8 million into programmes directly aimed at supporting scientists, including $17.8 million to boost the capability of Crown research institutes, $17.1 million to expand the International Investment Opportunities Fund, $10 million to invest in the Marsden Fund, and $2.7 million to double the number of Fulbright scholarships. Under investments by the Labour-led Government the number of people working in research, science, and technology has increased by 32 percent.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000182\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002270a23f9f4f57485e83663fb89338d31f\u0022\u003EDr Paul Hutchison\u003C/span\u003E: How does the announcement made on 8 November by Industrial Research that it will axe 20 highly qualified scientists correlate with his innovation rhetoric and Labour\u2019s pre-election statement: \u201CWe need to provide more security for researchers.\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000183\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224f9a62152b484d44ab48a60969ae8642\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY\u003C/span\u003E: I repeat, for the benefit of the member\u2014and I thank him for the opportunity\u2014that we have had a 32 percent increase in the number of people working in the sector, and we are investing 50 percent more than National would have invested. But, of course, in the case of Industrial Research Ltd, the difficulties with two of its subsidiary companies have caused it to change what it is doing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000184\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022400374a4baf24bc2afad51b8d625ed9b\u0022\u003EDr Paul Hutchison\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table two articles. The first, dated 10 November 2005, is from the New Zealand Herald and is entitled \u201CIRL cutback a blow to research\u201D, and the second is an editorial from the New Zealand Herald of 14 November, entitled \u201CNo way to treat a scientist\u201D. That is the record of the Labour Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000185\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002275db298e10eb4a0bba1bc5a35865fac9\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Leave is sought to table those documents. Is there any objection? There is objection.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000186\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b12772b3b5eb463a9aae3b3be3ff7aae\u0022\u003EAddress in Reply\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000188\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00220b231001950e416abac11f808d64c88d\u0022\u003EAddress in Reply\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022 data-id=\u0022778ad00488c3441d9db640b730527938\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000187\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022778ad00488c3441d9db640b730527938\u0022\u003ESHANE JONES (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That a respectful Address be presented to Her Excellency the Governor-General in reply to Her Excellency\u2019s speech. Kua hakam\u0101rangaranga he kotahi te manu ka tau ki te tahuna, ka tau, ka tau, e tau katoa nei t\u0101tou. Mai i te t\u0101h\u016Bh\u016B o t\u014D t\u0101tou Whare ki ng\u0101 r\u0101kau k\u014Drero mai i ng\u0101 hau e wh\u0101, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou i te aroaro o ng\u0101 mokopuna me ng\u0101 uri hakatipu k\u0101ore an\u014D kia puta. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou i te \u0101t\u0101rangi o te hunga n\u0101 r\u0101tou t\u0113nei Whare i hakak\u014Drero i t\u014D r\u0101tou w\u0101. N\u0101 reira, t\u0113nei te mihi wh\u0101nui ki a koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, kia ora koutou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000189\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E[And so the flock soars upwards, to eventually alight as one on the beach, and settle; and here we are landed as one. From the ridgepole of our House to the representatives of the four winds, greetings to you collectively and indeed to all of us. Greetings to us in the presence of grandchildren and the generations yet to come. Greetings indeed to us in the shadow of those who in their time made this House talk. And so I extend this huge mihi to you collectively: greetings and good health to you all.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000190\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EMadam Speaker, I begin my maiden speech by offering congratulations on your re-election to the Chair. I also acknowledge the late Green Party co-leader Rod Donald. As we say in te reo M\u0101ori: kua hinga te t\u014Dtara o te wao nui a T\u0101ne.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000191\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E[the t\u014Dtara of the great forest of T\u0101ne has fallen.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EIn preparing this maiden speech, I sought counsel from members of this House, both former and current. I pestered others\u2014observers who have endured the speeches of their representatives. The clearest advice was to strive for authenticity. This, of course, suggests a time for reflection\u2014a time when a new parliamentarian lays down a touchstone that one returns to from time to time, or is dragged back to by disappointed supporters, cackling Opposition members, or foraging journalists!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EAuthenticity begins with an account of who you are, what you believe, and whether any of it has relevance to our future, an indivisible nationality, a legitimate State, and a plurality of cultures. I am a product of our history: a proud descendant of the Dalmatian gumdigger, the P\u0101keh\u0101 pioneer, and Te Aup\u014Duri, Ng\u0101ti Kahu, Ng\u0101i Takoto imposing tangata whenua women. Northland, or Tai Tokerau, is where I call home. It is a place where the currents of ancestry have co-mingled, and I am proud to claim all three streams as my heritage\u2014downstream, upstream, full-on mainstream!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000194\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003ETo this end I acknowledge with affection the presence of my parents this afternoon, Peter and Ruth Jones: one a farmer still milking cows and going on 73; the other a schoolteacher who, at the age of 66, is still at the chalkface. My wife, Ng\u0101reta, from the Hokianga Harbour, who, after the ebb and flow of many a tide, remains staunch and straightforward. Such simplicity is needed in the Jones wh\u0101nau, given our seven children: Keryn and Taimania on the proverbial OE; Tohe in the army, getting the discipline p\u0101p\u0101 never fully delivered on; and Penetaui, Hoer\u0101, and my two sweet peas, Haukura and Te Aumihi.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000195\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EI enjoyed the experience of standing for Labour in the seat of Northland, and I acknowledge the successful candidate, the sitting member, Mr John Carter. I wish him a speedy recovery.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000196\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EMillie Srhoj is the grand old man of the Labour Party in the far north, and I was privileged to be nominated by him. Our shared Dalmatian ancestry reminded me of our gumdigging forebears who fled the hardship of the Austrian empire for freedom and opportunity in a new land. Mi treba da se udrojimo\u2014look forward, together we will succeed. And I look forward to working constructively with other Northland-based MPs to improve the region\u2019s roads, essential services, schools, and other infrastructure.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000197\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003ENorthland enjoys iconic status in our historical sweep. Te Rerenga Wairua, Cape Reinga, is the meeting place of the Tasman Sea and the eastern Pacific currents, and the mythical point where the spirits of our ancestors journeyed back to Hawaiki. Waipoua Forest is where the lonely sentinel T\u0101ne Mahuta, the 2,000-year-old kauri tree, has kept watch over the landscape for longer than people have walked these islands. There is P\u0113whairangi, the Bay of Islands\u2014the site where our nation\u2019s founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi, was originally signed. This document, some would say, has grown legs in the last 20 years. Where is it taking us, or where are we taking it? Is it to a destination we do not want to move to, or to a place it was never designed to be?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000198\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EThe place and role of the treaty are among our most searching issues. The debate, however, is not about the literal words of this document; rather, it is about relationships. How do we honour the sentiments underlying this founding document? According to the Court of Appeal, it is a living document, although some members of this House are prone to dismiss it as a colonial artefact.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000199\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EMy own thoughts have changed over the years. The emphatic treaty activist of the 1980s became a M\u0101ori economic advocate in the 1990s. This decade, however, we must move on beyond historical angst. The future summons us to a relationship that transcends both Crown and tribe. To this end, it is pleasing to see that all parliamentarians are committed to the resolution of historical grievances. I favour expeditiousness, to clear the path so that our aspirations are not twisted by protracted disputes over acre, rood, and perch.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000200\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EP\u0101keh\u0101 and M\u0101ori do have a shared heritage. A sense of belonging is both affirmed and expressed through embracing M\u0101ori symbol and dance. When the haka rings out at Twickenham, we all swell with pride. This is the enduring image we should accentuate. The focus must be on confidence, pride, ingenuity, and independence. If we take this route now, future generations, our mokopuna, will reflect it in deed, hue, and spirit.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000201\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EIn the grand narrative of our nation\u2019s story, addressing historical grievances is but one chapter. Other chapters are materialising around us. Our communities are becoming more diverse. As the pace gathers by dint of birth rate, immigration, and international influences, the ethic of inclusiveness must be tended. Tangata Pacifica and Asian arrivals remind us that our islands are a part of the Pacific and nearer to Asia than Europe or the United States of America. Although the variety of faces and the babble of languages may confound us, all immigrants come looking for opportunity. Material comfort and security drive their numbers.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000202\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EThe right to our citizenship, however, carries the duty to uphold our traditions. Our democratic traditions rest on deep, abiding qualities that are the inheritance of all of us. We rise to the challenge, perhaps because of our historical isolation. We are adventurous, inventive, and adaptable. We pride ourselves on self-reliance, whilst at the same time being fair-minded. A love of the whenua, the land, the mountains, the p\u014Dhutukawa, and the surrounding seas is nationally enjoyed. The outstretched hand offers assistance at the end of the day, but we do expect the recipient to have made every possible endeavour to stand on his or her own two feet first. That is the Kiwi spirit I hope to strengthen and see continue.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000203\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EI come to this House with respect for pragmatism. I have had the privilege of chairing the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission\u2014an 11-member board debating how to split up $1 billion worth of assets amongst 50-plus tribes. Furthermore, I had the role of chairing Sealord\u2019s, a fishing company and multimillion-dollar enterprise owned by the M\u0101ori tribes and a Japanese multinational company, Nippon Suisan. This enterprise is a testament to our adaptability. M\u0101ori were able to safeguard their assets and attract foreign capital to expand a New Zealand resource base.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000204\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EThe importance of economic growth is a given for me. When we talk of productivity we must go beyond mere tax calculations. We know the range of international views on economic growth. But as an isolated trading nation with a modest domestic base, we need to derive our own solutions. We cannot, in some cavalier fashion, adopt and transplant holus-bolus from either Europe, Asia, or the Chicago School of Economics. However, borrowing those components that are relevant to the Kiwi way and adapting them with our ingenuity will accelerate growth and build exports.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EWe should encourage enterprises that invest in value-added propositions. We should celebrate the attitude of those who venture into investments that lie beyond the horizon of the rank and file. After all, nothing has more lasting value than human capital. As the famous M\u0101ori proverb says: \u201CHe tangata, he tangata.\u201D The uniqueness of the product and the competitiveness of the service all come back to the quality of the hands and minds that deliver the goods.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000206\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EThis quality has seen our primary industries grow, but more needs to be done. As more of our families are reared in metropolitan locations, we must remain vigilant and not overlook the interests of the regions. Milking the cows, setting the net, and milling the timber are a long way from this Chamber. Before we quaff at the Green Parrot or sip nectar at the Humming Bird, spare a thought for those who toil at sea and on the land.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000207\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EThe key point for me as a new parliamentarian is that we have a system worth celebrating. It prizes openness, it relentlessly tests the legitimacy of authority, and it is a bulwark against corruption. I come to this role, along with every other member, anxious to make a mark and contribute to the wealth and health of our society. Members will invariably not agree, but as my mentor the Rev. M\u0101ori Marsden told me and the new member for Te Tai Tokerau, in our youth, t\u0101 te rangatira kai, he k\u014Drero; speechmaking and debate are chiefly pursuits indeed. Once debated, settle the dispute and move on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000208\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EIn coming to this parliamentary role I arrived as the beneficiary of a fine education. It was gifted to me by the generosity of others, including a group of elderly Anglican parishioners from the Warkworth pastorate, who saved their pennies to send a small boy from Awanui, the backblocks of the far north, to St Stephen\u2019s School. There was also the M\u0101ori and Polynesian Scholarship that assisted me through Auckland University and Victoria University, and the Harkness Fellowship that took me to Harvard University. Without this educational background, I would never have had the opportunity to achieve in private enterprise as well as serve in the Ministry for the Environment, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and Te Ohu Kai Moana. Such an experience has been a precursor to my embarking on this career.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000209\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003ENot surprisingly, it is my fervent desire that all children in the nation, no matter how humble or disadvantaged their individual status, should have the opportunity to find their way to the forefront of society, in their chosen field, through access to quality education. To know the value of learning is a lifelong mission, and I look forward to promoting the importance of encouraging parents to elevate the ambitions of their children.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000210\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EIgnorance imperils our values. Learning is not simply an institutional matter, to be left to others during the working day. Education knows no generational barrier. It also respects no ethnic or cultural boundary. To become an educated people we must learn about each other, and we must ensure that our children have broad minds capable of opening the doors to the rest of the world. Given that we have to earn our keep amidst a diverse and crowded world market, learning will be a cradle-to-grave duty. This will reduce insecurity and tensions between sectors of our communities, and draw us together as one people but many faces. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000211\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E In conclusion, it is with great enthusiasm that I have moved the motion for the Address in Reply debate. The programme outlined in the Speech from the Throne focuses heavily on the values and aspirations that have drawn me to this vocation. Reverence for the natural environment, a zeal for economic growth and trade, and an awareness and acceptance, through knowledge, of our shared heritage are the values that will lead to a safe community, a diverse society, and a united and proud Aotearoa. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000212\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EWaiata\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022 data-id=\u002209c021fa32704a618c87f9cfc1dce53a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000213\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002209c021fa32704a618c87f9cfc1dce53a\u0022\u003ESUE MORONEY (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I second the motion that a respectful address be presented to Her Excellency\u2019s speech. In doing so, I record my respect for Her Excellency Dame Silvia Cartwright and her role in representing Queen Elizabeth II. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000214\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EMy congratulations to you, Madam Speaker, on your re-election. From one Waikato woman to another, I celebrate the dignified and fair but firm way you conduct business in this House. It is personally fulfilling for me to be able to deliver my maiden speech through you. I offer hearty congratulations to the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Helen Clark, on her historic third successive term as Prime Minister\u2014an awesome achievement for a truly awesome leader. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000215\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EI pay my respects to the member of Parliament for \u014Chinemuri from 1905 to 1925, Hugh Poland, who is the great-grandfather of my husband, Shane Vugler, and therefore the great-great-grandfather of our children, Quinn and Logan. In doing so, I acknowledge the involvement and support of Shane, Quinn, and Logan in everything that I do. I am so proud to have them here with me today, along with my parents, other members of my family, and friends. Welcome. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000216\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EI thank the people of the Cambridge branch of the New Zealand Labour Party for their hard work, their encouragement, and their support. After 31 years of chipping away in a part of New Zealand that has not always welcomed their views, that hardy bunch of visionaries now has a member of Parliament among their ranks, and I am privileged and humbled to carry that mantle. I thank the New Zealand trade union movement and my colleagues in the Waikato in particular for their mentorship and support. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000217\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EMy being a list member of Parliament allows me some latitude in deciding who my predecessor is. I choose to acknowledge former Labour list member Helen Duncan in this regard. Helen worked tirelessly in this House under the most difficult of circumstances with her health, to ensure that the voice of working women was heard here. In particular, I acknowledge her involvement in supporting the introduction and review of the Employment Relations Act 2000. I applaud her courage in deciding that the time was right to leave this House in order to focus on spending time with family and friends, and I wish her well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000218\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EIt pleases me to have contributed to this Parliament\u2019s returning a higher proportion of women members than ever before. Women now make up 32 percent of this House. However, given that women are 51 percent of this country\u2019s population, we have some way to go before this House can live up to its claim of being truly \u201Crepresentative\u201D. I note that the New Zealand Labour Party is doing better than most with 38 percent of its members being women, and I stress the importance of women being elected to Parliament who will stand up for the rights of women and children. The important contribution we make to this House is that we do bring a woman\u2019s perspective, and we must work to protect and enhance that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000219\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EThere are three key defining experiences in my life that form the foundation of my principles and beliefs. The first was not unusual for a New Zealand child; it was the experience of growing up in a small rural community. For me, that was the Waikato community of Walton, where I lived next door to two sets of cousins who, along with my four siblings, made up a fair chunk of the roll at Walton primary school. Like my colleague Lynne Pillay, our family never had Michael Joseph Savage on our wall, but we did have a very tasteful mural of a horse race over our fireplace. My mum and dad were dairy farmers, and the 80 acres provided our family of seven with the means to get by. Although it was not always easy for my parents to make ends meet, as children we enjoyed a carefree existence in a loving and supportive family. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000220\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EIt was in this setting that I learnt the importance of working together, of valuing each other\u2019s strengths, and of accommodating weaknesses, for in small communities neighbours draw on each other\u2019s resources all the time. That is how we get by. Nothing is more devastating for small communities than infighting and bickering. Energy spent on those destructive forces soon makes small communities dysfunctional. New Zealand, Aotearoa, is a small community. There is no doubt that we do best when we draw on each other\u2019s strengths and value diversity. We have witnessed just how successful this approach can be when it is taken, as it has been in the past 6 years. When we pull together, we are unbeatable. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000221\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EThat brings me to the second defining experience of my life, so far. Again, it is something that is not unusual for a New Zealander of my generation\u2014the big OE. I headed off overseas by myself a little earlier than most, at the tender age of 18. In my naivety, I packed an overnight bag to take away with me to see the world. Inside were two sets of clothes, a sleeping bag, and\u2014my most important cargo\u2014as many cassettes full of Kiwi music as the bag could handle. What I brought back with me 2 years later was a deep love and appreciation of New Zealand and its people, and a head full of what I now know to be political awakenings. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000222\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003ETwo things struck me in particular. Having spent much time travelling in Ireland, Britain, and the Middle East during the early 1980s, I saw the close connection between intolerance and oppression. Coming from New Zealand, it had never occurred to me that intolerance of others\u2019 religious or cultural beliefs would be used as an excuse for so much bloodshed, just so that one group could gain power over the other. It caused me to reflect on how vital it is for New Zealand to foster tolerance and understanding. We are a shining beacon of light in a world dimmed with hatred, suspicion, and fear. We must work hard to retain our stance on that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000223\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EMy other lasting impression from that defining experience is of the unique gift we have in our tangata whenua. The fact that M\u0101ori are our tangata whenua gives us a perspective on life that no other country has, yet, although my life is partly defined by that fact, I had never set foot on a marae until I was in my early 20s. In fact, I had been the editor of a community newspaper before I had engaged with M\u0101ori in their place, in that unique and thought-provoking way. When I look back, I find it disturbing that I was in the position whereby the newspaper I edited and partially wrote purported to be the voice of the community, without having a good understanding of M\u0101ori within that community. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000224\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EBut here is the good news. Our two sons, aged 6 and 7, have already been on to a marae because their State-funded kindergarten took them there. Because of what they hear and are taught at home and at school, they both have the most natural pronunciation of the beautiful M\u0101ori language. For them, it is already a part of being Kiwi, and they do not have to go overseas to find out about it. So that is progress, and it bodes well for our future. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000225\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EIf that is what I came back with, what did I leave behind? Well, all that great Kiwi music was left with overseas acquaintances, who got a head start on the rest of the world in appreciating our unique creativity. Th\u2019 Dudes, Dragon, Herbs, Split Enz, Sharon O\u2019Neill, and Hello Sailor were all great ambassadors. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000226\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EI speak now of my third defining experience. It was the one that drew on all my other experiences and put them into context\u2014my involvement over the past 18 years in the trade union movement. At this point, I wish to acknowledge the direct and lasting impact on my life of unionists James Ritchie, the Hon Mark Gosche, Carol Gosche, Dr Linda Sissons, Steph Breen, Stephanie Doyle, Linda Holt, Carol Beaumont, and a group of wise Waikato union women who are just too numerous to mention individually. It is the many experiences and discussions I have had with those people, union delegates and union members, whom I have worked with that gives me the strength of my convictions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EIt is through the trade union movement that I learnt once again the power of working together, the empowerment in valuing diversity, the futility of feeling threatened through ignorance, and the wisdom of collective decision-making. I learnt the art of advocacy, the importance of strategy, and the satisfaction of standing up for what one believes in. I learnt that we win some and we lose some, but that we never, ever give up\u2014we just regroup and develop a better plan. Another lesson from the farm was reinforced during my time in the trade union movement. It goes something like this: if one wants to know how best to get the job done, ask the people who do the job. It sounds simple enough, but time and time again I have seen bad management decisions made because the actual workers never had a say or were not listened to. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000228\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EThe health system of the 1990s was a particularly bad example of that, and the damaging effects remain with us today. I represented the predominantly women members of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation through the harsh industrial climate of the Employment Contracts Act. I learnt how quickly things can be torn apart, and how much longer it takes to rebuild them. National awards that had been negotiated by that union over decades were decimated within just 18 months of the Employment Contracts Act being enacted, because that legislation made it illegal for workers to strike for agreements that bound more than one employer. Even after Labour introduced the Employment Relations Act, which promotes collective bargaining and gives back to workers the right to strike over multi-employer collective agreements, it has still taken 5 years to get back a national agreement for nurses in the public sector. The disparity that took place over the 1990s for workers doing exactly the same job was so large that national consistency had to be put back together piece by painstaking piece. Most New Zealand workers are still nowhere near to getting back the types of agreements they lost under the Employment Contracts Act. It is much easier and faster to tear things apart than to rebuild them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000229\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EBecause of those three defining experiences, and all of life\u2019s other lessons in between, I am extremely proud to be a member of this fifth Labour Government. Anyone can rule the roost by using the tactics of divide and rule. The plan is to attack those who are most vulnerable or a little different, so that then the rest will want to be in \u201Cyour gang\u201D. We can witness that style of \u201Cleadership\u201D in any school yard. But what takes real skill, a high level of intelligence, and determination, and results in a better place for everyone to live in, is the ability to lead by inclusion, to involve everyone, and to harness the benefits of diversity. Those are the leadership qualities that I most admire in Helen Clark, and are the factors that have led to New Zealand\u2019s success in recent years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000230\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EUnderstanding the difference in the two leadership styles I have just outlined puts the political correctness debate into context. Some have struggled to define what political correctness is. It appears that anything not believed or accepted by the majority is politically correct, and therefore must be eradicated. However, I will stick with the literal meaning. Strictly speaking, the term \u201Cpolitical correctness\u201D means the correcting of power. Power is corrected when recognition and rights are given to those who previously did not have them. This has the effect of taking power out of the hands of the few and putting it into the hands of the many. Therefore, when I hear people complaining about something being politically correct, I know that they are worried that it will pass some power on to another group. It is called power sharing, and I am all for it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000231\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EFollowing the election, the media have focused on divisions within New Zealand. However, what I see are significant areas of consensus that create opportunities to keep moving forward. For example, during the election campaign, everyone agreed that wages are too low in New Zealand. Well, let us get on and get that sorted. Another area of general agreement was the need to build a sustainable future for New Zealand, including how we plan for our energy needs, how we invest in infrastructure, and how we invest in skills development. Those issues will not wait. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000232\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EI believe that the timing is right to improve the balance between people\u2019s lives and their paid employment. Surely the whole point of having growth in the economy is to improve our lifestyles. Why else would we strive for economic growth? Several pieces of research now point to us working some of the longest hours in the developed world. This does not make us more productive; on the contrary, it adversely affects our productivity as fatigue sets in and the risk of making a mistake or having an accident increases. It also has a significant social impact as families miss out on spending valuable time together. That is why I welcome a minimum of 4 weeks\u2019 annual leave for all workers from 2007. It is why I want to work on other initiatives that address those issues. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000233\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EAs a new member of Parliament, I feel I am about to have my fourth defining experience, and I expect it will build on my previous three. I have nearly completed my maiden speech and I have mentioned horse racing only once. But for those who appreciate the subtleties in life, please note that the light-blue silks, the black sleeves, and the red cap are very much in this House today. For those members who have no idea what I am talking about, it does not matter, because getting horses to run very fast is one thing\u2014and is very exciting\u2014but helping to improve people\u2019s lives, well, that is something else, and that is what I have come to Parliament to do. With the love and support of those who share this vision with me, I will do my very best to achieve that. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022 data-id=\u0022d1417f0ca80d4f45b3918fe1685222ab\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000234\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d1417f0ca80d4f45b3918fe1685222ab\u0022\u003EDr DON BRASH (Leader of the Opposition):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the following words be added to the address: and that it informs Her Excellency that this House has no confidence in the Labour - New Zealand First Government because it has no serious programme to secure rising incomes for all New Zealanders; because the Labour component of the Government has coasted over the last 6 years on the back of strong export prices and utterly failed to lay the foundations for reducing the gap between living standards on this side of the Tasman and those in Australia; because it fought a dishonest election campaign, one that ransacked the public purse for irresponsible party purposes; because during that campaign it suppressed vital information about the financial consequences of its policies; and because it has trampled over all previous constitutional conventions in cobbling together a bizarre set of coalition arrangements that put personal ambitions well ahead of the national interest.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000235\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E Last Tuesday Her Excellency was asked to read a profoundly uninspiring Speech from the Throne. The speech was full of good intentions and pious hopes. It tried to suggest that this \u201CLabour - New Zealand First\u201D Government actually cares about raising the living standards of all New Zealanders. There were lots of references to the importance of productivity and of transformation of the economy, and of giving particular attention to a wide range of issues. The speech tried to suggest that the \u201CLabour - New Zealand First\u201D Government would like to see the gap between our living standards and those in Australia reduced. But we all know that that is empty rhetoric. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000236\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EMany people in this House remember Helen Clark just 6 years ago as Leader of the Opposition deploring the exodus of Kiwis to more prosperous countries and vowing that she was \u201Cnot prepared to stand back and see the best and brightest of New Zealanders leave this country, taking their ideas and their businesses with them.\u201D Even more of us recall her stating in 2001 that her goal was to raise New Zealand\u2019s living standards to the top half of the OECD within 10 years. She abandoned that task, of course\u2014no doubt because she could see that she had no chance whatsoever of achieving it. But in 2003 she still told Parliament that she was committed to raising New Zealand\u2019s living standards to the top half of the OECD \u201Cover time\u201D. Yet again this year she has made another vacuous statement that suggests she is serious about raising living standards. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000237\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EI guess the best way of judging whether her Government is serious about this important goal is to see what Labour has actually achieved in the last 6 years. Over the last 6 years, as over the last 12 years, total economic growth has been better than it was over the previous decade. Indeed, over recent years total economic growth has even been slightly better than total economic growth in Australia. It sounds pretty good, but it is not nearly as good as it sounds. As umpteen people have pointed out to the Government, the reality is that this total economic growth was made up of a big increase in the employed labour force and some improvement in output per person, or productivity. The increase in the employed labour force was in turn made up of a reduction in unemployment\u2014which continues a trend that began in 1992\u2014and an enormous surge in net immigration, first in the mid-1990s and then again after September 11. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000238\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EI say to the Prime Minister that the worrying thing is that growth in output per person employed, while markedly better than before the reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, is still well below the OECD average. The Clark Government has done nothing to build on past productivity improvement. It has failed to fix the delays and obstacles in the Resource Management Act, with the result that we have less investment in almost every industry than would be desirable. It has failed to fix the growing problems in the road network, which results in hundreds more people dying and being injured on our roads than in countries with better roads, such as Australia and the UK, and hundreds of millions of dollars of additional cost arising from congestion.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000239\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E It has utterly failed to deal adequately with the prospect of \u201Cbrownouts\u201D and blackouts, despite the fact that the great bulk of the electricity generation sector and Transpower are owned by the Government itself. It has failed to take significant steps to ease the critical shortage of skilled workers, and indeed the Clark Government capped funding for apprenticeship training and provided more than nine times as much funding to Te W\u0101nanga o Aotearoa as to the entire Modern Apprenticeships scheme. Though the business sector has been under very considerable pressure from the appreciation of the New Zealand dollar in recent years, the Clark Government failed to ease the burden of compliance costs facing the business sector, and in fact did not hesitate to dump additional costs on employers\u2014thus further undermining their competitiveness\u2014through amendments to the Holidays Act and the Employment Relations Act. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000240\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EThough the Government\u2019s own advisers in Treasury have calculated, in a paper written a year ago, that a lower, flatter income-tax structure could add between a half and 1 percent to our per capita growth rate\u2014a phenomenally large gain that would see us begin to narrow the gap with Australia\u2014the Government has totally failed to take the slightest notice of that advice. Indeed, it has explicitly ruled out any change in personal taxation structures before a trivial adjustment in 2008. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000241\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EThe Clark Government has coasted along, enjoying the prosperity arising from excellent prices for meat and dairy exports on international markets, and the boost to the housing market provided by a strong inflow of immigrants. But the end result has been profoundly disappointing. Figures released by the Government Statistician just last week suggest that productivity has actually been falling recently, and is now at a 4-year low. In 1999 the gap between average after-tax wages in New Zealand and those in Australia was $5,000 per annum. Five years later the gap had virtually doubled to $10,000 a year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000242\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EIs it any wonder that the exodus of New Zealanders to greener pastures abroad, an exodus that Helen Clark pretended to be concerned about back in 1999 when she was in Opposition, has been accelerating lately? Is it any wonder that a recent OECD study pointed out that New Zealand had a higher proportion of its tertiary-educated people living abroad than any other developed country? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EAnd what about the future? Well, it would be nice to think that the pious hopes expressed in the Speech from the Throne would result in real action. But why should we expect that? Labour\u2019s famous pre-election pledge card was devoid of any policy commitment that might have been expected to produce higher living standards\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000244\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002247ab08eb9ba74809b9571163ea9b8508\u0022\u003EHon Maurice Williamson\u003C/span\u003E: Is that the one paid for by the taxpayer?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000245\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002246fd974ad4f5433e912ccc1e64cf1c9e\u0022\u003EDr DON BRASH\u003C/span\u003E: That is the one\u2014with a single, rather trivial exception of a commitment to fund just 5,000 additional Modern Apprenticeships. All the other commitments on that pledge card were about redistributing income, not about increasing it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000246\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EBut what about the infamous student loan bribe? Surely that might be regarded as a policy that might encourage growth and improve living standards\u2014at least, to the extent that it might encourage people with tertiary qualifications to stay in New Zealand; of course, that is the argument that the Government used in the election campaign\u2014but, sadly, no. That policy was a totally unprincipled election bribe, devoid of any policy justification whatsoever. Fewer than 6 percent of those with student loans live overseas, so the student loan bribe, which was given at enormous cost to the ordinary hard-working New Zealand worker, will have absolutely minimal impact on the number of graduates heading overseas. Michael Cullen confirmed just last week that the student loan bribe will require $2 billion to be written off the value of the existing student loan book, and Treasury estimates of the future cost of the scheme run up to $1 billion per year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000247\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EUnder the \u201CLabour - New Zealand First\u201D Government we will see no acceleration in our growth, no narrowing of the gap between living standards on this side of the Tasman and those in Australia, no attempt to remedy the fact that New Zealanders earning less than $100,000 a year pay more tax than do Australians in similar circumstances, and no slow-down in the exodus of Kiwis to greener pastures abroad. Indeed, if New Zealand incomes were to continue growing at the rate projected in the Government\u2019s own Budget, and if other OECD countries were to continue growing at their average rate over the last 20 years, New Zealand average incomes would continue to fall relative to average OECD incomes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000248\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EThe same is true when New Zealand is compared with Australia. Over the last 10 years, per capita incomes in New Zealand have grown more slowly than those in Australia, so that far from catching Australia, the gap between us has actually widened over the last decade. It would take a prodigious effort to match Australian incomes within 20 years, and there is not the slightest indication that the \u201CLabour - New Zealand First\u201D Government will make that effort. Indeed, every economic forecaster worth his or her salt is projecting at least 2 years of sub - 3 percent growth in the immediate future, with some predicting that growth will be below 1.5 percent. And Michael Cullen, far from trying to find ways to enable the economy to grow faster without inflation, is busy trying to find ways of slowing it down. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000249\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EWe cannot expect anything of value in a host of other areas of vital importance to New Zealanders, either. Over the last few weeks we have seen example after example of the police failing to provide people in the community with the protection they have every right to expect. There are cases where victims of crime have identified the offender and have found his or her address, only to be told that the police are too busy on other matters. We have had an admission that in the Auckland Police District one case in five is unassigned for investigation. We know, because the Education Review Office has finally told us, that far too many children leave school, barely able to read and write, or do basic arithmetic. But still the Government shows no sign of being willing to look hard at the way the current school system operates. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000250\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EWe have hard-working, dedicated teachers trapped in a highly centralised system, where far too much detailed control over school operations is exercised by the Wellington bureaucracy. At the other extreme, there is an extraordinary amount of waste and extravagance in the tertiary sector, exemplified most starkly by Te W\u0101nanga o Aotearoa. It is a situation that has seen Government funding for that institution explode from $5 million in 1999 to $239 million in 2004, with widespread rumours of nepotism and legally dubious shortcuts. Yet the Minister\u2019s only serious action so far has been to make a proposal to force the institution to reject a high proportion of its non-M\u0101ori students. Helen Clark has had to remove Steve Maharey from responsibility for tertiary education and ask Michael Cullen to fix the mess. But she has then given Mr Maharey the rest of the education sector to mess up. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000251\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EThe Labour Government enormously increased taxpayers\u2019 funding of the healthcare system\u2014but to what effect? Waiting lists are still appalling. Back in 1998 Annette King described as criminal having 96,000 people on waiting lists; now there are some 180,000 people either on a formal waiting list or waiting for assessment by a specialist. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000252\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EOn racial issues, there is not the slightest sign that the \u201CLabour - New Zealand First\u201D Government will deal with the urgent need to ensure that all New Zealanders are treated equally under the law. It is no wonder that so many New Zealanders are deciding to leave. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000253\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EThe sentiments expressed in the Speech from the Throne had a nice, comfortable ring about them, but it has been obvious for a long time that this Prime Minister, this Government, cannot be trusted. There is in fact a fundamental lack of integrity in the Government. Helen Clark was the person who confirmed a false accusation against her own police commissioner to a Sunday newspaper, then pretended she had refused all comment. She gave one account of events in a signed affidavit, then another in this House. Helen Clark was the person who signed a painting that she had no part in painting, then claimed she did not know her staff had had the offending art work destroyed before the police were able to see it. Helen Clark was the person who sped through South Canterbury at speeds of up to 150 kilometres an hour and professed not to notice. She is the person who dropped five police officers and her driver into an expensive and stressful court case when she could have avoided the whole drama, either by making it clear that she did not want her convoy to break the speed limit, or by accepting responsibility for the speeding, which she could have done without fear of prosecution, as she knows. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000254\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EHelen Clark is the person who pushed New Zealand into the Kyoto Protocol, on the grounds that it was a virtuous and, moreover, highly profitable thing to do, as New Zealand would enjoy more carbon credits than debits through the first commitment period\u2014indeed, a net surplus of 55 million tonnes of carbon credits. It was the same Helen Clark who supported Pete Hodgson when he dumped on private sector research suggesting that we might have not a surplus of 55 million tonnes, but a debit of 7 million tonnes. The cry was: \u201CRidiculous! Too pessimistic!\u201D. But, of course, as we now know, Helen Clark and Pete Hodgson were completely wrong: New Zealand does not have a surplus of 55 million tonnes, nor even a debit balance of 7 million tonnes, but, rather, a debit balance of an estimated 36 million tonnes. The difference will cost taxpayers in excess of $1 billion\u2014all because of Helen Clark\u2019s insistence that we become the only country in the southern hemisphere to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000255\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EWhat about the student loan bribe announced in the run-up to the election? Helen Clark and Trevor Mallard said that it would initially cost $100 million year, rising to a maximum of $300 million in due course. A bank economist suggested: \u201CGee, that sounds much too low. I think something closer to a billion-dollar cost is about right, with student debt rising by about $10 billion above what it would otherwise be over a period of years.\u201D Again, the poor man was ridiculed. Worse, when an economist from another bank came to his aid and suggested that he too thought the Government had substantially underestimated the cost of the student loan bribe, both men were attacked. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000256\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EOn 2 August this year I myself asked Helen Clark, in this Chamber, whether the Government had sought an estimate of the cost of the student loan bribe from Treasury. \u201CNo\u201D, she assured this House, and she said that the student loan scheme was a Labour Party policy, not a Government one. Then it emerged that Treasury had done an estimate of the cost but the Minister of Finance refused to release it. It was only when my colleague John Key asked the Ombudsman to insist that the Government release the report 2 days before the election that the Government reluctantly complied. A Treasury estimate had been done, despite Helen Clark assuring the House that no estimate had been sought, and it broadly confirmed the cost estimates made by the two bank economists. That was a disgraceful and dishonest performance on the part of Helen Clark. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000257\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EAnother disgraceful episode that was partially visible before the election, but which has become more clearly visible since the election, was the use of ministerial influence to secure entry for preferred immigrants. Would-be immigrants going through regular channels often have to wait and wait and wait. Quite frankly, many have to wait for an unacceptable period. But for those who know Taito Phillip Field, the wait can be miraculously shortened. I am not suggesting corruption here\u2014I simply have no evidence to suggest that\u2014but it surely creates a very unsavoury impression when Ministers get involved in expediting many hundreds of immigration applications, especially if they are for people with whom they have had business dealings. It is better by far to have an efficient Immigration Service, treating all applicants promptly and courteously on the basis of merit. So a fundamental lack of integrity characterises this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000258\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EIt is also a Government mired in contradiction. It depends on a confidence and supply agreement from New Zealand First, led by Winston Peters. New Zealand First is the party that Helen Clark once described as \u201Cthe coalition partner from hell, like a parasite which feeds on its host and in the end becomes indistinguishable from it\u201D.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000259\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223211809980c34a2fb026cd7c2b9ea752\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: Who wrote that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000260\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022465281fcaf3b40f69ecc88ace8b606c0\u0022\u003EDr DON BRASH\u003C/span\u003E: Helen Clark wrote that. Now she has made Winston Peters the Minister of Foreign Affairs. But despite the fact that the portfolio of foreign affairs impinges on many aspects of Government policy, Mr Peters is, of course, outside Cabinet and would prefer to sit with the Opposition in the House. He, in fact, sits as far away from Helen Clark as Jeanette Fitzsimons does from me. How utterly bizarre is that! When he is at the APEC meeting this week, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs he may be asked about his attitude to a free-trade deal with China. He will presumably have to say that while as leader of New Zealand First he is utterly opposed to such a deal, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs he supports it\u2014shades of Gilbert and Sullivan! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000261\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EOf course, we all know that just 2 months ago he pledged not to accept the perks and baubles of office at all. He has tried to pretend that he was forced to accept one bauble\u2014for himself, of course\u2014because the country would otherwise have been forced back to the polls. What utter nonsense! He could have chosen to support Labour with a confidence and supply agreement, without a ministerial portfolio. He chose to accept one bauble for himself. Indeed, according to some accounts, he actually asked for such a bauble. Now he is the Minister of Foreign Affairs\u2014a portfolio he is totally unsuited for. He has regularly insulted the citizens of many of the countries in our region, and although the leaders of those countries are far too polite to tell him so to his face, most of them doubtless regard him with disdain. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000262\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EAnyway, Winston Peters now sits with the Government, even though he reserves the right to attack the Government in many areas, and most of his parliamentary colleagues would no doubt also prefer to be sitting with the Opposition. They may well consider moving quickly before the party-hopping legislation is reinstated\u2014this time, I understand, with a new name: the \u201CWinston Peters Party Stabilisation Bill\u201D; although I have heard rumours that it may be renamed the \u201CSave Winston\u2019s Lack of Integrity (Baubles) Bill\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000263\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EIf we look further into the future, what can we see? There is no serious commitment to raising living standards; no sign of any attempt to restore incentives to ordinary New Zealanders to get ahead under their own steam; no sign of a serious attempt to improve the quality of our schools or the efficiency of our hospitals; and no sign of getting serious about crime prevention, or ensuring that all New Zealanders, regardless of race, are equal before the law. There is just lots of talk about productivity, about transformation, and about paying particular attention to issues that should have been dealt with over the last 6 years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000264\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EIn the last few weeks the \u201CLabour - New Zealand First\u201D Government has announced a razor gang to cut Government spending so that the Government can afford all the bribes dished out during the election campaign. Helen Clark and Michael Cullen suggested that had National won, we would have had to cut Government spending. Well, Labour won, narrowly, and what did we see? We saw Labour cut Government spending. Helen Clark and Michael Cullen also tried to frighten voters with the idea that had National won the election, interest rates on home mortgages would have gone up. Well, Labour won, narrowly, and what did we see? The Reserve Bank has already increased interest rates once since the election, and comments by Dr Bollard strongly suggest he will increase them again next month. Indeed, some observers believe that they may have to be increased substantially more, over the next 6 months, while Michael Cullen hints darkly that he is looking for other ways to discourage banks from lending, and people from spending. So once again, Labour is seen to have been thoroughly dishonest. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000265\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003EThe National Party\u2019s vision for New Zealand\u2019s future is of a country where living standards are not just improving in absolute terms but are also improving relative to those in Australia, and other countries to which New Zealanders can readily move. We would bring that about by removing the obstacles to people getting ahead under their own steam; by reducing tax rates so that people who earn money get to keep more of it; by restoring incentives; by ensuring a reliable and reasonably priced supply of energy; and by ensuring we have an adequate transport infrastructure wherever that is needed. But we also have a strong commitment to those things that have in the past made New Zealand a great country to grow up in, such as a good education system; a reliable health-care system; support for those who need support; a safe community; a country of clean air and clean water; a country where everybody is equal before the law, regardless of race; and a commitment to those values that made New Zealand a country worth living in; a country where families matter; where the Government believes that people know how to spend their money better than the Government does, and know how to live their lives better than the Government does. In a Parliament almost equally divided between the parties supporting the Government and those opposed to it, the National Party will be using every opportunity to advance those values, and the policies consistent with those values.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022 data-id=\u002206644900aa694221ab74db200015bb52\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000266\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002206644900aa694221ab74db200015bb52\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E That was a \u201Cgone by lunchtime\u201D speech. Indeed, as one\u2019s eyes roamed over despondent Opposition members, one saw the only one with a smile on his face all the time was John Key. The only clich\u00E9 missing from the vocabulary in that speech was \u201Cbaloney\u201D. We did not hear \u201Cbaloney\u201D. In the days leading up to this speech, spin-meister Gerry has been around the press gallery and he has been saying that the National Party would be coming back into Parliament, all guns blazing. That was until Don fired a series of blanks. We just heard the same old tired, recycled lines that lost the National Party the election. One might have thought that there would be a moment\u2019s reflection on what had gone wrong. No, it was the same desperate attempt to put a bad spin on New Zealand\u2019s success. I believe that what Kiwis reacted very, very badly to in that campaign was Dr Brash and the National Party always talking New Zealand down. I tell Dr Brash that that lack of vision and that lack of care for our country will never win an election for the National Party. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000267\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EI do congratulate the mover and the seconder of the Address in Reply debate. Both of them gave very powerful speeches. They gave the House real insights into what has motivated them to make a parliamentary career and a career with the Labour Party. I also repeat my congratulations to you, Madam Speaker, on your election, to the Deputy Speaker on his election, and to Ann Hartley and Ross Robertson on their election as Assistant Speakers. I acknowledge Her Excellency the Governor-General, who came for the State opening and delivered the Speech from the Throne, which sets out the Government\u2019s programme. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000268\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EI regard it as a great honour to be elected to this House, and I regard it as a very special honour to lead and form a Government. This is the ninth time I have been elected to this House and spoken in the Address in Reply debate, and it is the third time I have had the privilege of being sworn in as Prime Minister. I thank the many hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who cast their vote for the Labour Party to go back into Government. Indeed, not far short of a million New Zealanders voted for this party to lead the Government again. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000269\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EI also record my thanks to the other parties in this Parliament who were prepared to negotiate working relationships with Labour. I set out after this election to negotiate arrangements that would be stable and durable\u2014as they will be. I thank New Zealand First and United Future for the confidence and supply arrangement, and I thank the Green Party for the abstention and working relationship that we have with it. We worked hard over the course of a month to put those arrangements in place, and now it falls to us to provide the leadership and the good Government that will take New Zealand further ahead. I said from the time of election night that Labour did want to reach out across the Parliament to a range of small parties and to be as inclusive as possible in arrangements for Government. We have shown our willingness to share power and work collaboratively in the MMP environment, and that, I believe, is what New Zealanders want from our electoral system. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000270\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EEver since the infamous \u014Crewa speech, our opponents set out to gain power by dividing Kiwis against each other. Our route to power has been very different. Where others preach exclusion we preach inclusion, and we do see it as our historic duty to play a role in bringing New Zealanders together\u2014not driving them apart and splitting our society down the middle. We also see it as the historic duty of the Labour movement to see that every New Zealander gets a fair go and has opportunity and security, and that as our country grows and develops every single Kiwi has a chance to share the fruits of that progress. We are dedicating our third term in Government, as we dedicated the first two, to our work to strengthen our economy and to make sure that the fruits of that go to every household in the land\u2014as they do. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000271\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EWe also dedicate ourselves to building a strong and confident nation. We are proud of the cohesion in our society relative to that of many others. We are proud of the achievers New Zealand has in every field. We are proud of the unique cultures and heritage of our county, proud of the natural environment, and proud of the role our country plays in world affairs. There is no doubt that there will be challenges ahead in this term in Government. Of course, New Zealand has had 6 years, first with a Government of Labour and the Alliance, then of Labour and the Progressives, and now of Labour and the Progressives again, where there have been good growth rates and a fantastic fall in unemployment rates. We are proud of that. We are proud of being able to reinvest back into our public services and infrastructure, into areas like the arts and sport and the environment, into policing, into the justice, defence and security areas, and into getting better representation of New Zealand offshore. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000272\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EBut we know that we can never stand still in Government. As fast as our country grows and develops, and as fast as we lift the level of skill and innovation our country has, there are other nations that are striving to catch up with us, and others are keeping that critical margin ahead of us in the living-standards stakes.It will take very smart thinking and very smart strategies to stay positioned as an affluent nation in today\u2019s global economy. And we have to stay positioned as affluent; there are no prizes for failure. As we look around the world, we see China and India emerging as mega-economies. Each of them produces four million university graduates a year\u2014each of them as many graduates as our total population. We see them competing not just for the low-wage, low-skill jobs but for the high-tech, high-skill, high-value work as well. So we have a race on to keep our position as an affluent nation, and we cannot afford to waste the talent of a single New Zealander. We say that the New Zealand way in the 21st century has to be to mobilise all the skills, the talent, the ideas, and the passion of every New Zealander, so that our country can succeed. I believe New Zealanders want to accept that challenge. Our role in Government is to provide the leadership and the inspiration to lift our people\u2019s aspirations, so we can succeed in this century. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000273\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EI do see the immediate challenge before us as being to help facilitate the economy to move into a better balance between its export and its domestic sectors. Monetary policy, obviously, is tightening in order to head off domestic inflation, and the effect of the higher interest rates and the higher currency exchange rate has undoubtedly hurt our export sectors. In managing through this period we believe it is very important for the Government to continue to run a conservative fiscal policy, so that we do not put pressure on monetary policy. I want to say this: there is no doubt in my mind that the National Party\u2019s reckless tax cuts policy could only have led to very severe monetary policy or to radical cuts in public spending. It is with great appreciation that I record that enough New Zealanders were aware of that not to give National the chance to wreck the economy and public services as well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000274\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EAs a Government we have always looked far beyond any short-term fix that might have presented itself in economic issues to the medium and the longer-term strategies. As in the past 6 years, our emphasis will be on improving the foundations for long-term and sustainable growth. That means lifting our skills levels. It means lifting our savings levels. It means lifting productivity. It means lifting our capacity for innovation. It means lifting the capacity to export, and to produce goods and services of a higher value. It means modernising our infrastructure. We cannot ask New Zealanders to work any harder. Already our people are working many more hours every year than workers in other comparable countries, and record numbers of us are working as well\u2014the participation rate is extremely high. So our future to prosperity is about working smarter. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000275\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EOf course that will require commitment from the workforce and from business, but it is also helped by the Government\u2019s willingness to invest and to adjust policy settings so that we enable a continual move of our economy upmarket to occur. That is why, in our election programme, we set new targets for skills training. That is why we are moving more of our science and research spending into the longer-term funding arrangements. That is why we are reviewing corporate taxation to see what practical signals we can give to lift productivity. That is why we will do more to back the commercialisation of innovation. That is why creating opportunities for our exporters is central to our economic policy. We will be designating 2007 as export year, and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise will be expected to increase its focus on exporting. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EWe know, though, that the big export gains for New Zealand will be made in the breakthroughs we get in trade negotiations. We know our primary sectors would be huge winners from success in the World Trade Organization\u2019s Doha round, and those negotiations are, and must remain, our top trade priority. As well, of course, we will continue to follow bilateral and regional free-trade agreements such as those we are currently negotiating with China, Malaysia, and all of ASEAN. Our belief is that New Zealand will succeed as an open trading economy, and that we must be smart, creative, entrepreneurial, and innovative as well. We have policies aimed at positioning New Zealand with a competitive edge in the global economy. That is the route to prosperity. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000277\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EI believe what distinguishes Governments of the centre-left from those of the right is our determination to see the benefits from a growing economy reach households across the country. Our Government\u2019s policies have been exceptionally job rich, with more than 270,000 more people in work than there were when we came into Government in 1999. That has boosted household income. We have been able to invest heavily in public and social services. We have built up health and education. We have built up support for families and superannuitants, and we have built up the capacity of our police force. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000278\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EBut we have new goals and targets to meet in a third term. Before Christmas we will have passed legislation for two critical parts of Labour Party policy. The first is the extended tax relief for our families\u2014in total, around 77 percent of our families with dependent children will qualify for that. We can say that this is the biggest investment in families made by any Government for many decades, and it will have a dramatic effect on child poverty. It still excites me to know that the effect of Working for Families will be to drop child poverty rates in this country down to the level of those in the Netherlands, which we all look up to as being an advanced social democracy that delivers for its people. It is a proud day for us to be able to achieve that. Labour has said that the top priority for tax relief right now is our hard-working families. They do face the costs associated with raising children, and I think the well-being of the next generation is a vital concern to every New Zealander. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000279\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EThe second key initiative that will be legislated for before Christmas is getting rid of the interest on student loans\u2014getting rid of it. This is a very big investment in our young people and in our country. It gives a hand up to those graduates who are prepared to put their skills at the service of New Zealand. It gives fresh hope to young Kiwis who would otherwise have been saddled with very high debt. It means they can plan ahead with confidence, and it means that they will stay in New Zealand. That is good for our country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000280\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EI want to refer to the boost coming for superannuation on 1 April, because superannuitants are also going to get a greater share in the growing economy. The annual adjustment for superannuation next year will be set at 66 percent of the net average ordinary-time weekly wage rather than 65 percent, and I acknowledge that this was part of the arrangements entered into for confidence and supply with New Zealand First. As well, there will be many superannuitants who will benefit from the improved rates rebate scheme that is due for introduction next year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000281\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EWe also have very ambitious new policies right across education, health, and social development. In education, particularly in terms of the priority being given to the early years, from July 2007 we will see 3 and 4-year-old children in our licensed teacher-led early childhood centres being funded for 20 hours of free education a week. That will be an enormous help to our families. Over the next 3 years we will be implementing a 1:15 ratio in the new entrant classes in our schools. At the other end of the school system, the goal is to see all our young people move on from school into some form of further education, training, or work. We have many new initiatives coming on stream for youth transitions and, of course, the many thousands of new places for apprenticeships as well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EHealth ranks with education as a top priority for us, and is right at the top of the public\u2019s list of what it expects a Government to deliver.We do deliver, with many thousands more treatments at our public hospitals, with more affordable primary care, and with huge investments in mental health as well. We have new targets to meet for orthopaedic surgery and for cataract surgery, we have the roll-out of lower doctors\u2019 fees coming across all age groups of our community, and we have many new initiatives for child health as well. Among them are more funding for the well child checks of the kind done by Plunket, the free child health check before a child starts school in order to pick up any problems that might impact on the child\u2019s ability to learn, and, very important, the hearing check for newborn children. New Zealand has been picking up deafness in children far too late, because we have not had a systematic programme of testing, and that is about to change. We also have very big improvements planned for child and young persons\u2019 dental services. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000283\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EAs well, at the other end of the age scale, there are the many challenges in the aged-care sector. There will need to be more funding. The staff there are lowly paid, the numbers in care have been growing rapidly, and the truth is that when unemployment is low it is very hard for the aged-care sector to hang on to good staff. All of us have an interest in knowing that our older citizens in care are well looked after. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000284\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003ELooking to the future, the KiwiSaver scheme has benefits for the whole economy in helping to boost our savings rate. It has benefits for future generations saving for their first home, and it has benefits for future generations who can supplement their income in retirement. What we know is that generations of Kiwi families got their first home with Government support in the past. That all stopped when National sold the mortgage portfolio of Housing New Zealand in 1991, and the homeownership rates dropped off. Now it falls to Labour to put back in place schemes that will help people to get their first homes. We will do that through KiwiSaver, through the mortgage insurance underwrites, and through the new equity-sharing initiative to be developed this term. As well, of course, our policy of fair income-related rents, which the National Party has always totally opposed, will continue. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000285\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EWe have made huge changes in the social assistance area, to focus the system on getting people off a benefit and into work. Our very low unemployment rate is a product of both high economic growth and very proactive labour market policies, and we have to keep being proactive. We still have pockets of higher unemployment in some communities than others. For example, M\u0101ori unemployment, while half what it was, is still 2\u00BD times the national rate. When one looks very closely into those figures, one can see that about two-thirds of M\u0101ori on the unemployment benefit actually have no formal educational qualifications at all, as opposed to about half the other New Zealanders on the unemployment benefit. We also find that with the exception of Auckland, among four of the big northern regions for employment statistics, for M\u0101ori unemployed whose first job choice is labouring the number of vacancies is vastly fewer than the numbers looking for that kind of unskilled work. So that tells us that critical to lowering M\u0101ori unemployment further will be lifting skills levels. And that is not just for the young people coming through school and transitioning into a first job; it is for the people out there who would like to work but who did not get the opportunity to get the skills, the literacy, the numeracy, or the information technology skills at an earlier stage in their lives. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000286\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EI want to say that I am very optimistic about M\u0101ori development. I was at the Hui Taumata; I saw the huge momentum that M\u0101ori development has. I want to commit our Government again to working with M\u0101oridom not only to resolve historical grievances\u2014which we must do\u2014but also to see that M\u0101oridom, too, benefits from our country\u2019s growth and development. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000287\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E This Labour-led Government puts enormous emphasis on social solidarity and on building a strong nation in which everyone has an opportunity and a stake. In any nation where communities experience long-term marginalisation, disadvantage, or discrimination, the social breakdown that results can be traumatic for the whole society, not just for the marginalised group. Over the past 2\u00BD weeks we have watched with the rest of the world as parts of France have been set alight, just as in decades past we saw the riots in deprived areas of the United States and Britain. In New Zealand we worry about the gang warfare in some of our suburbs, and about how to get the young people caught up in that on to a better path ahead. Offshore, we see minority communities generating home-grown terrorism that involves second generation community members. The ripples of bombings offshore reach all the way to our families and cause heartbreak here. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000288\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EI think the challenge for us in New Zealand is to keep building in our small country the tolerance and mutual respect for each other that allow diverse peoples to live alongside each other in peace. Trying to enforce a monoculture that does not allow for diversity of culture, heritage, and belief would be a disaster for this country. Trying to force everyone into some kind of mythical mainstream would blow up in our face. In our nation-building in New Zealand the unifying concept has to be love for our country, whoever we are and whatever our backgrounds. I know that proud Kiwis can be people of any religion, any faith or belief, any ethnic or cultural background, and any gender or orientation. The New Zealand way has to be to build unity and diversity, to avoid the marginalisation of communities, to practise inclusion in the national interest, and to encourage all of those who want to be part of the building of New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000289\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EI illustrate that point with a practical example. Last week the Hon Marian Hobbs and I were privileged to be at the second award of the Sonja Davies peace prize. This year that award went to an association of young Muslim women in Auckland. Their project was to work on how they can contribute to better understanding and religious tolerance and better community relationships in our country. It was really inspiring to hear the CVs of the young women who came forward to get that prize. They were academic high-flyers\u2014absolute standouts in any crowd. I believe that our hopes for our future rest on encouraging young people like that to make investments in the relationships that have to bind each of us to each other in our country. I believe that our common future will be reinforced by seeing that fairness, opportunity, and security are the common experience of every community that chooses to make its home in New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000290\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EIt is well known that I see the arts and culture and heritage as central to the building of New Zealand identity. I have always believed that through New Zealand\u2019s creative people we express the essence and soul of what it is to be a New Zealander, and we express our perspectives. Through our creative people we define ourselves to the world as a uniquely creative nation. I believe our filmmakers, writers, poets, and visual and performing artists do us proud, alongside those of anywhere in the world. So do our sportspeople, whose many achievements keep New Zealand in the world headlines probably far more than for any other small country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000291\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EWe may be small, but we are never insignificant. I know that in world affairs New Zealand\u2019s voice is respected because it is reasoned, constructive, principled, and independent. I am proud of that. I am one who sees New Zealand\u2019s nuclear-free stand as an asset, not a liability. Nothing on earth would cause me to want to change that. I also believe that our refusal to participate in the war in Iraq because it lacked multilateral sanction from the UN Security Council laid down very important and principled markers for our country, and I would make the same decision again any day.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000292\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E Doing the right thing is not always easy. It is not easy to meet our Kyoto Protocol commitments, it is not easy to implement our trade agenda, and it is not easy to wrestle with the great pressures put on our oceans from damaging fishing practices. But wrestle with such pressures we must, as a concerned nation. Nor does our reputation as a peacemaker, and as a tolerant and an inclusive country, insulate us from the pressures of terrorism. Our people are affected when attacks occur on others, and we cannot and will not be a weak link in the chain. Over the past 4 years since September 11 we have strengthened our border security and our intelligence and policing capacity for counterterrorism, and we have passed new legislation to implement international conventions on terrorism. Like all nations, we are striving to get the balance right between individual rights and freedoms on the one hand and the right of the community to be protected on the other, and it is not always an easy balance to strike. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003EI go into this third term as Prime Minister full of optimism for New Zealand and our Government. Of course there are challenges\u2014there will always be challenges\u2014but I believe we are well positioned to meet them. I do expect to see\u2014as we have seen today\u2014a somewhat embittered and angry Opposition in the House, as it contemplates 3 more years in Opposition, which is very hard for those who once saw themselves as the natural party of Government. My message to them is that there is no natural party of Government. My message is that being in Government is a privilege bestowed on those who keep faith with the public, and whose policies and values are consistent with where most New Zealanders want to be. I say that our Government will work inclusively and collaboratively with everyone who shares our vision for a strong, proud, confident New Zealand, growing and developing and enabling all our people to share in the progress. That is the New Zealand way, and that is what we are dedicated to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022 data-id=\u0022838cae585d324a11914c97aef8b3f762\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000294\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022838cae585d324a11914c97aef8b3f762\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN (Deputy Leader\u2014NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E Outsiders who watched the events of the past few months unfold could have safely reached the conclusion that democracy can be a strange and an unwieldy beast. Indeed, if one were to take a quick look around this Chamber, one could only conclude that the gods of politics have either a strange sense of humour or a strong sense of irony. If there is a lesson in that\u2014and there always is\u2014it is to never underestimate just how astute the voting public actually is. The doomsayers were quick to write the smaller parties off as non-entities, but in doing so they failed to understand that New Zealanders will never accept single-party majority Government again. Under MMP that has gone, despite the best efforts of both the old, large parties. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000295\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002273e6cead567d4f70b1bad832a9e5624a\u0022\u003EHon Dr Nick Smith\u003C/span\u003E: Tell us about the baubles of office.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000296\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002206647c5629884c44b5fba8a8dbab5b1b\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: The member asks me about the baubles of office. In due course I will get there; he will just have to wait for that. The public has sent a strong signal to third parties that it expects more from them, but the public also sent an equally strong signal that it wants third parties to be here in the House. The public wants New Zealand First to be here, and, dare I say it, the public also wants the Greens to be here. The two old parties, along with political commentators, will just have to get used to that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000297\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EAs this new Parliament begins, I take this opportunity to publicly recognise and thank those of my New Zealand First colleagues from the previous Parliament who are no longer here. They were good guys and we were really hopeful that they would come back, but they did not. We appreciated the efforts they made whilst they were here, and I know they will continue to work for the New Zealand First cause. In essence, they were fine MPs who made a valuable contribution. From our point of view they will be missed, and, dare I say it, they will be missed in this Chamber. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000298\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EBut I cannot help thinking, as I look around this Chamber, that many people, including the media, must not be feeling very good at seeing New Zealand First back. It was patently obvious that many parties\u2019 campaigns were not just about getting votes for themselves but also about stopping New Zealand First from getting votes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000299\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ef79e73e0b02459594e3c4a26f7466fd\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s true.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000300\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002234724381ff1548a2b60452a1e4e9118a\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: Clearly, from the Greens and United Future through to\u2014I can hear him now as I speak\u2014the boisterous new leader of ACT, we were the enemy. Mr Hide went on Agenda and endeavoured to explain his \u201CStop Peters by action campaign\u201D, if I have it right.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000301\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002285b69860eb8c44e787512d65f4df6ac4\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: We got him in the seat; we just didn\u2019t get him out of Parliament\u2014next time!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000302\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c5ce0b9e485d4b899a4bc83756e6cfc1\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I say to Mr Hide that is a joke. He labelled New Zealand First as being everything under the sun during the campaign and even gave us half the space on many of his billboards. We were to feature in the advertising of other parties, as well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000303\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EAlthough we clearly took a dent and lost some quality parliamentarians as a result, the simple reality is that when the dust settled, we were back. We are back and more determined than ever to make our mark.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000304\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222835152f89f6424b8407a469ce2ae0eb\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: Not in Tauranga.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000305\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d4ec12f522da4be4be5cb5f2acaa66a2\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: Let me say that right now Tauranga has a temporary MP, and that will end. He will be the only MP who makes his valedictory at the same time as he makes his maiden speech. Despite learning some of the lessons of MMP, National, in particular, again displayed the ultimate arrogance of assuming it could get 50 percent of the vote on its own. National learnt the simple lesson of why the public voted for MMP in the first place, which was to ensure that neither of the two old parties could capture the political process on its own. In principle, that is the main reason that New Zealanders voted for MMP. There would always be a safeguard\u2014and in this Parliament New Zealand First will be, and is, the guardian\u2014against extremes. We are the guardian against extremes. We were taken on by Labour, which said our policies were not affordable, all because Labour had already over-promised. As the public has seen, our policies have now become affordable\u2014after the election. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000306\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EBut here is the thing, and the media of the country can go ahead and report this because it is the truth: the other parties all came knocking once the election was over. Everybody came knocking once the election was over. After the election Messrs Brash, Hide, Brownlee, and all those whom they could muster came to the New Zealand First caucus room in an effort to persuade us to join their cobbled-together team, claiming they could form a Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000307\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002282d60432cf6f4d478bebc86ffecc8f97\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: Yeah, right!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000308\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a0ec9b5a1a2b4397baf98af2d3e7e032\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: As the Tui ad says, \u201CYeah, right!\u201D. What this country wants is stability; what that cobbled-together bunch of misfits offered was to put petrol on open flames. The potential for a Mexican stand-off was one that could not be ignored, and it required action on our part. In reality, it was a question of which option offered the greatest stability and what the best way of securing it was. One of the options\u2014the option that involved Mr Hide\u2014failed to stand up to any real scrutiny, at all. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000309\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E The media of this country, if they want to do their job properly, must understand one simple thing. Each and every one of the main Opposition members, who will spend the next 3 years decrying New Zealand First, would have just as easily acquiesced to our requests if it had meant they could sit on the Government benches.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000310\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f7b746211dfe47afa44ad75c3eef3058\u0022\u003ERon Mark\u003C/span\u003E: They would have given their eye teeth.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000311\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022706716ab1f51420db9a45c9930894c65\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: They would have given their eye teeth, as my colleague reminds me, to get from where they are sitting now to where Labour members currently sit\u2014and I mean every one of them. There are no exceptions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000312\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003ELet me be frank. Prior to the election nobody foresaw a 57:57 split, with New Zealand First sitting in the middle. When we identified it, we were as surprised as anyone. We targeted two aims, and only two aims: policy outcomes, and speedy resolutions to the discussions.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000313\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224b417108c45d4b80971097b92be2574e\u0022\u003ER Doug Woolerton\u003C/span\u003E: God, we were good.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000314\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b06dd87f901e456dbba373877b025e7c\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: We are good. So we in New Zealand First will go through this next 3 years, knowing that it will be just like the election campaign\u2014everybody will be gunning for us. Well, we are ready. Members should fire their best shots. In fact, I can say that the New Zealand First caucus is looking forward to the next 3 years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000315\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227088fe6ef02e465aad61aac71aa7b1b9\u0022\u003EAnne Tolley\u003C/span\u003E: Enjoy it while it lasts.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000316\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c47ac527688548558129a32a827d3da2\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: We will enjoy it while it lasts, and we will be guaranteeing confidence and supply for 3 long years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000317\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228ed539c11a0547bc92c52b8226d6df0a\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019ve got the seat that Mr Brown wanted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000318\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002253b07208ccbc44bb9aaf8d04e4d7a408\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: I say to Mr Hide that he will have to sit there for 3 years, after which time he will permanently disappear. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000319\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EThis is an opportunity for New Zealand First to demonstrate that multiparty democracy works. We have ensured that there will be stable Government for 3 years. We have ensured that the Government will be able to govern, but will not be free to pursue extreme agendas. This is not a coalition arrangement, for one very simple reason: although we support confidence and supply measures, our support is not guaranteed for any other aspect of the Government\u2019s programme. We will vote on all other matters issue by issue, just as we said we would before the election. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000320\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227ad8fae014a84087bdb1ba8c5879a8d9\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: What happens if you\u2019re in Korea?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000321\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022261e75c0ea6a49d6b878cd1c81256ed1\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: I say to Mr Hide that we are seated on the cross benches, and we will vote accordingly. To those in the academic community, and to the various political commentators who have tried to force our political arrangement into one box or another, I can only say: \u201CShow some imagination and create a new box.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000322\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EWe intend to make this arrangement work. Members are about to witness the next step in New Zealand\u2019s democratic development: a multiparty democracy, in which divergence exists on some issues but the stability of the Government remains, because both the political will and the mechanisms are in place to resolve the differences. We will be making it work. This is a sign of democratic maturity, which I believe the voting public will welcome. The feedback thus far to New Zealand First is very, very positive. There will be no more political lapdogs subsumed by the larger party, but a mutually beneficial arrangement that serves the nation\u2019s interests. That is what we have signed up to. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EMany great policy developments will occur as a result of this arrangement. I tell members to listen carefully to me. For our senior citizens there will be increased superannuation, a golden age card, and a huge injection of funds into elder care. That would not have occurred but for New Zealand First. Those are significant improvements for our senior citizens, which as I have said, would never have occurred if New Zealand First had not entered into a confidence and supply agreement with Labour.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000324\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229fd167f39e534976b110fa4b95947d17\u0022\u003ER Doug Woolerton\u003C/span\u003E: Why didn\u2019t National do that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000325\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222cbf1f7a55e743dca214d3f07bfa0f3b\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: That is a question that is best left to National to answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000326\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022513e329acd364600876e062a88ddbe73\u0022\u003ER Doug Woolerton\u003C/span\u003E: Because they\u2019re losers.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000327\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022930cff6c78f9490bb2fecc23134fc1d7\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: That may well be the answer. It is true that the arrangement does not deliver on everything we wanted, but it is a significant start. It is a sizeable starting-point. To those members who condemn our party for supporting the plight of our senior citizens, I challenge them to do that and to condemn the increase in superannuation, in particular\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000328\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022be5ba554eecb48479b8b981b07b90aed\u0022\u003EHon Dr Michael Cullen\u003C/span\u003E: Don Brash will be the first person to get a golden age card.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000329\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002246843bafa8cc41c6a192ce13f24ec8c0\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: Well, there we are. Mr Brash will be the first one.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000330\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022345fc334a00e4175a3fe3e6cab737821\u0022\u003ER Doug Woolerton\u003C/span\u003E: Tell me what else we have done.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000331\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022749a6ab1b45f481c9fbdf4b28f858bc9\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: I say to my good friend that I am coming to it. I am trying to proceed with this speech. To those who are in doubt about the plight of the elderly, I suggest they spend the next winter coupled with an elderly person, just to see how hard it is. There are close to 500,000 senior citizens in this country\u2014people over the age of 65\u2014and many of them, if not most of them, are suffering. It is about time we in Parliament looked at their plight and helped them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000332\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003ESimilar cards to our golden age cards occur in other developed nations, yet we have neglected this sort of progress for far too long. This card, when it is fully implemented, will ensure that all public sector entitlements, as well as a range of commercial discounts, are able to be located in a single card.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000333\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002201de4d9c60be41aaa74f80bbc20f819a\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: What year?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000334\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f3b83a0129944ea4b820502c53dae604\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: It will make life simpler for our senior citizens, and it will also ensure that they get due recognition of their contribution to society. To answer Mr Hide\u2019s question, this will be addressed as a matter of urgency in the 2006 Budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000335\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EThe next move is close to the heart of New Zealand First\u2019s caucus. We will have 1,000 more sworn police officers in this country in the next 3 years. They will be coming on, on a regular basis, and by the time of this Government\u2019s third Budget there will be 1,000 more police officers. This is only the beginning. We are determined to get the police to population ratio closer to that of Australia. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000336\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003ELet me just tell Opposition members, because I think some of them may be interested in this, that currently we have 18 police officers per 10,000 members of the public. I ask members to say from their hearts whether that is enough. Those 10,000 members of the public want to have access to a police officer 24 hours a day. If they are working and they get in trouble, or if they are at home asleep and there is trouble, they want to have access to a police officer whenever that occurs. [Interruption] The member thinks this is a joke. I tell him that it is deadly serious. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000337\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EIf we allow those 18 police officers to have weekends off and to have holidays, we are down to about 4.2 police officers per 10,000 people at any one time, on an 8-hour shift. If we put them on shifts, then one of those 4.2 officers will be on traffic duties. We say, and have said consistently, that that is not enough. We want there to be more police officers.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000338\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ff9a42a98a0c4139bcc35d488193c974\u0022\u003ERon Mark\u003C/span\u003E: Front line.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221313 \u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c3656d730165474baad10d323b036c32\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: Front-line police officers; sworn police officers.As a result of that initiative, families will begin to feel more secure in their homes and on the streets. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000340\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221313 \u0022\u003ENow this may please the Opposition members from the National Party: during this Parliament we will see dramatic moves towards a high-wage economy. National members are always making noises about wanting wages to go up. They probably get enough, but we will be increasing the minimum wage to $12 by the end of this term of Parliament. We will be making company tax more competitive, and there will be a strong focus on a strategic export plan. New Zealand First is determined to ensure we shed the low-wage mentality that this country has. We will get rid of that and embrace the concept of a high-wage economy, underpinned by a well-performing export sector. And if the Opposition members who are now sitting here quietly want to know who will benefit from that, I will tell them: everybody will benefit under that scenario.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000341\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f7c4d5aa1a80428a92a42bf0fe5c4f46\u0022\u003ER Doug Woolerton\u003C/span\u003E: They\u2019re in awe of this, Peter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000342\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f370bacc808443e78873c1d9d1e38b04\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: They clearly are. We want to see New Zealand\u2019s company tax rate put on a competitive footing with that of Australia, and indeed with that of other developed nations. We will work with other parties to achieve that. I ask the National members, who seem to be taking this a little seriously, to get in behind us and help us, because we believe that this policy has wide parliamentary support. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000343\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EIn terms of Treaty issues, we will see significant progress in resolving historical Treaty claims. Those are a burden on our society, and the industry built up around grievance will be put on a pathway towards resolution. We aim to create harmony where there is division, as the past is laid to rest and the future is entered into as one people\u2014as New Zealanders proud of their nation and their intertwined histories. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000344\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EWe will ensure that our inadequate immigration laws are reformed. We place the security of our borders as being amongst our highest priorities. As events happening in Australia demonstrate, we must remain ever-vigilant in this country. This is a significant victory for New Zealand First. Those who were here in the previous term of Parliament know how hard we worked in order to get the Government, and whoever else, to recognise our concerns. Where once our views on immigration were vilified, now they have become very much\u2014to borrow a phrase frequently used by politicians\u2014mainstream. I will remind members of where New Zealand First stands on immigration. We believe that our immigration policy must be skills based. Immigrants must have good health. They must be crime free and remain so, and they must be prepared to integrate into our society. By that, I mean that they can keep their culture and their religion, but there must be an obvious commitment to this country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000345\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226cead5ed305e480385053cf75ac697e0\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000346\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a5156710bf68484eae2ab95ec932a15e\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: If Mr Hide doubts that, then I say to him that he is standing for division in this country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000347\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EThere will be no further strategic asset sales under our confidence and supply arrangement. [Interruption] I repeat to the member: there will be no further strategic asset sales. That means we will be keeping Meridian Energy, Mighty River Power, Genesis Power, Transpower, TVNZ, New Zealand Post, and Kiwibank. There will be no \u201Cfor sale\u201D notice on them. We will ensure that the carbon tax proposal in relation to the Kyoto Protocol is thoroughly reviewed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000348\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fea5f7ae0ad24244881148ef1727419f\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: Start the review. Somebody ought to start it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000349\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022776c624276a04cb088e2f04f62ba0b18\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: It will be thoroughly reviewed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000350\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EWe will ensure that free health-care for under-sixes is a targeted objective in health, and we will work to ensure there is access to adequate emergency health-care. We achieved that last time, but, to put it bluntly, it has been allowed to slip. We will tighten things up. Ultimately, we would like to extend free health-care to all primary school children. But that is in the next move. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000351\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EI will tell honourable members what is close to my heart, and I am delighted with this: the Tauranga Harbour Bridge will be toll free.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000352\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220cc3a4cba4bb47b9ba492fab15ae98b2\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Who said that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000353\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c7ec5b93d271476784b4b99be62280c9\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: New Zealand First did.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000354\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f4b5f3add4a747399b1f52781fec49b0\u0022\u003ER Doug Woolerton\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s amazing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000355\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022357a7ee4878f4452959a0f04c1261375\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: It is amazing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000356\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c1c227147d9a437d973fecb56dbca383\u0022\u003ERon Mark\u003C/span\u003E: \u201CBob the Builder\u201D reckoned he was going to do it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000357\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022474610ce61a4492388c893e65f4c866e\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: The National Party has claimed that it could do it, but with a Lego design. We will stick to the original design\u2014the design that has been approved and produced by professionals\u2014and it will be toll free. Over the course of a year that will save the public who use the bridge\u2014particularly Tauranga and Mt Maunganui people, but also others who use it regularly\u2014several thousand dollars, and over a lifetime a huge amount of money. They have paid for one bridge in Tauranga and we are determined that the second bridge, the Harbour Link project, will be toll free. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000358\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EWe will ensure that the neglected racing industry is placed on a fairer tax footing compared with other gaming industries, and that it can maximise its export potential. I know that the National Party pinched our policy on that, but we will deliver it. The National Party must be absolutely grateful to us, because we will deliver that policy. It is one that we devised and the National Party pinched it, so National must support it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000359\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022517caf60f5a54b80b8e85a24f2ac675d\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: Say it again.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000360\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226df0f753addc4c44a503ea389a64fa03\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: No, no, I have plenty to say. I will show members something\u2014a huge pile of documents.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000361\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225a596369e50a4de4ac4da92b9cb7bda5\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: He\u2019s been shopping.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000362\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eb6cf53f11204f5b9882ddb7bd261b8d\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: I have been shopping. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000363\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EThese are letters from individual physiotherapists outlining their concern about the way they are treated, about the way physiotherapists are accredited, about their funding, and about the endorsed provider network. They emanated from one discussion I had with some physiotherapists and from one press release. I do not know how many physiotherapists there are in this country, but I think the vast majority of them wrote to me. Also included are letters from supporters of physiotherapists and from people affected by the physiotherapy industry. We have in the supply and confidence agreement a clause\u2014for want of a better term\u2014saying that the problems of physiotherapy will be reviewed and looked at meaningfully. I will table these documents so that Government members will know just how serious\u2014[Interruption] Well, I will not table them, I say to Mr Hide; I will put them on the bench so that the Government can take stock of, and note, the importance of doing something positive for the physiotherapy industry. I am told that physiotherapists are leaving their industry in droves. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000364\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EThere is more. The agreement we have contains a lot more measures, but I do not have enough time to outline what they are. What I will say is that, as I have indicated, we have some baubles\u2014baubles that will create higher wages, that will lower company taxes, and that will help to grow our exports.Those are significant baubles. We have significant baubles that will give a better deal to the senior people in this country. We have the golden age card, and I cannot think of anything better than that as a significant, good bauble. There are many, many more. New Zealand First is quite happy to have signed the confidence and supply agreement, because we will deliver to New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000365\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EI conclude by offering a piece of advice to Don Brash and Gerry Brownlee. It is a quip made by David Lange, and I think it pertains pretty significantly to Don Brash and Gerry Brownlee. David Lange once said, when he was in trouble with his own caucus: \u201CThey are not trying to pull the rug from under me, but they most certainly are polishing the floors.\u201D We hear a rumour that Brian Connell is buying a lot of floor polish, so the honourable members had better watch out. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022 data-id=\u002290854c5dcc23429780e3b243b7bc742d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000366\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002290854c5dcc23429780e3b243b7bc742d\u0022\u003EJEANETTE FITZSIMONS (Co-Leader\u2014Green):\u003C/span\u003E Mr Deputy Speaker, on behalf of the Green Party I extend our congratulations to yourself and to your colleagues, Madam Speaker and the Assistant Speakers, on your election. I extend our greetings to all members of this new Parliament, especially those who are representing their communities here for the first time. In particular, I acknowledge a new party that has won the right to represent its people in the House. I welcome Pita Sharples, Hone Harawira, and Te Ururoa Flavell, who join Tariana Turia in representing the M\u0101ori Party. We look forward to the new flavour and perspective they will bring to debate here, and hope to work with them where we have common cause.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000367\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EWhat felt like the longest election campaign in history has come and gone, and, unlike in 1999, no one can stand here today and say: \u201CWe won. You lost. Eat that!\u201D. National has gained seats, but it is still in Opposition. All small parties, except for the M\u0101ori Party, have lost seats heavily. Among the small parties, only the Greens have retained even as many as two-thirds of their seats. The Prime Minister has her third term of Government, but this is surely not the kind of Government she planned to lead. It is certainly not the kind of Government her supporters wished her to lead\u2014one that is hostage to narrow-minded intolerance, Treaty bashing, environmental ignorance, and prejudice against immigrants, gays, and Muslims. It is the Government that we warned could be formed if people who supported the Greens gave their party vote to Labour instead, out of fear of National. It is a Government founded on expediency and political pragmatism, not on shared values and vision. It is designed to please a few businesses that oppose any form of environmental regulation, sustainable development, or justice for low-paid workers. That is why the Greens cannot give it our support on confidence and supply.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000368\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EThe Greens played a straight bat through the election and the negotiations. We made it clear that we would not support a National-led Government, and so ruled out playing off one side against the other for our own political advantage, as Winston Peters and Peter Dunne did. That gave Labour an advantage in the campaign, as it increased the certainty that it would be able to form a Government, although that was not our reason for doing it. We did it because we believed that the voters needed to know how their votes would be used in forming a Government. Going to the polling booth should not be the same as going to the TAB. We negotiated in good faith and put our cards on the table. We offered our skills and experience to help form a Government. We accepted that the cards the voters had dealt dictated that there would have to be a multiparty Government. We did not rule out working with any other party that Labour was talking to. We had a firm understanding that Labour\u2019s view of its support parties was that if everyone could not be in, everyone would be out.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000369\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003ELabour had a number of options that would have formed a stable Government, but it chose to take this one. It is an arrangement that has raised concerns among political commentators and constitutional experts. Two parties whose leaders hold ministerial warrants, who are part of the executive, claim not to be in coalition. They claim not to be part of the Government, yet they have Ministers in that Government. One of the parties even wanted to sit with the Opposition, and demanded that the Greens, who are not even supporting the Government on confidence and supply, should sit with the Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000370\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EIf this were the breaking down of the two-party system and the concept of \u201Cthe Opposition\u201D under first past the post, and if this were a move to a more inclusive parliamentary system, we would welcome it. There are many countries where multiparty Governments work well even though the parties do not agree on everything, and we support having room to disagree in a coalition. A system of shifting majorities on legislation takes us closest to what the people voted for, provided that parties vote in accordance with the policies they put to the electorate. However, on past experience, I say that that is a big if.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000371\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EBut I fear that this situation is not mainly about that. I fear it is a contrivance to pander to political positioning, in order to allow Ministers to have their cake and eat it\u2014to have the baubles of office without the responsibilities of executive positions. In 2\u00BD years, will Winston Peters and Peter Dunne again be making overtures to National from their positions in a Labour-led Government? How will the new Minister of Foreign Affairs draw the line between his portfolio, where he is bound to represent the views of the Government, and everything else, where he is not? Can he separate foreign policy from environment policy, when we are party to so many environmental treaties? Can he be a Minister of Foreign Affairs who opposes his Government\u2019s climate change policy under the Kyoto Protocol agreement that his Government helped to negotiate and is a party to? Can he separate foreign affairs from defence? Will he have to be mute in his overseas meetings on the dangers of a free-trade agreement with China, leaving it to the Greens to be the sole advocates of fairer trade? Can he separate foreign affairs from immigration, when immigration policy is often a reciprocal arrangement negotiated between countries?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000372\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003ELabour has been very clever with the fine print of the agreement with New Zealand First. Superannuation is to rise to 66 percent of the average ordinary-time wage, but only during this term of Government. Then inflation will be allowed to catch up with it again, reducing it to 65 percent. Labour knows that 66 percent is not affordable over the long term as the population ages, and that senior citizens, although absolutely deserving of security in their older years, generally are not in as desperate straits or as needy as our poorest children or the mentally ill, to use two examples. Let us take the agreement to raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour, which is a measure that the Greens argued for, too. New Zealand First and the Greens both received the same promise in our agreements\u2014that the rise would occur by 2008, if the economy allowed it. Well, that is a huge loophole when we know that the economy will slow over this term. There are no policy concessions in the foreign policy area, so Winston Peters will be the mouthpiece for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and for Labour in his major portfolio. What will he look back on in 3 years\u2019 time as his major achievements?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000373\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EThen there is the extraordinary situation of United Future. Its caucus has reduced from eight members to three, but it holds a ministerial warrant. That certainly does not have much to do with what the voters voted for. How will the new Minister of Revenue separate his portfolio from the whole fiscal and economic stance of the Government, which he is likely to disagree with? Will Labour capitulate to him over the carbon charge, leaving us with no economic incentive at all to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and so increasing the financial risk of a big Kyoto Protocol deficit? Will he be held responsible for that deficit? Is he required to support the whole health policy, or only the matters within his delegation? I see that the Minister of Health is having a little chuckle.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000374\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EIf it were not so serious, this term would be a very entertaining 3 years. But it is serious because the country is facing major economic threats, and this patched-together combination of parties is not well placed to address them. We have had 6 years of unprecedented economic growth. Despite what the parties on the right would have us believe, the average inflation-corrected economic growth rate over the last 6 years has been almost 4 percent.It is a very long time since New Zealand had a growth rate like that over any sustained period. That is a result Labour is very proud of. It has reduced unemployment to record low levels, raised incomes for those in well-paid employment, raised Government revenue, and enabled more spending. But this growth was pursued with no attention to whether it was sustainable\u2014and it is not. Not only can it not continue but, just as it slows, we must start to pay the enormous costs of that past growth, which are coming home to haunt us.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000375\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EEconomic growth has not been sustainable because it has been pursued with no whole-of-Government attempt to increase energy productivity. In fact, energy use and, in particular, fossil-fuel use have grown faster than the economy. This leaves us facing a half-billion-dollar projected deficit in meeting our Kyoto Protocol commitments, when we had the opportunity to have a surplus. We should be very clear that the costs the Kyoto Protocol may now impose on us are the fault not of the protocol but of our own refusal to take seriously enough the need to use energy more effectively.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000376\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EEconomic growth has not been sustainable because it has been driven by high immigration and a bullish property market. If our prosperity depends on pumping up activity in building and infrastructure just to meet the needs of more people, what happens when we decide New Zealand is full? Do we believe we can keep increasing our population forever? If not, relying on that for our prosperity is a short-term strategy. It has also resulted in homes becoming unaffordable for ordinary Kiwis.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000377\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EThe dairy industry and its exports have been the poster child of our growing economy. Fonterra has positioned itself well in international markets, and world prices have been kind. As a result, prices of farmland have risen, making it even harder than it always has been for young farmers to buy their own farms. The average age of farmers is now in the mid-50s, and that is not sustainable, either.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000378\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EThe growth of the dairy industry has been at the expense of our rivers, our aquifers, and our soils. It has raised demand for water to convert dry land to dairy farms, depleting rivers and aquifers. It has raised nitrogen inputs by 160 percent in just 6 years in order to intensify stocking rates. The rapid increase in runoff has led to seriously polluted rivers and streams\u2014Lake Ellesmere is biologically dead. It has increased energy demand for irrigation, with further pressure on rivers for hydro development, and water conflicts between farmers and energy companies. Further growth in the number of dairy cows and the inputs of nitrogen fertiliser is not sustainable.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000379\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003ESo where will our growth come from next? Our economic growth has not been sustainable because it has been led by a binge of consumer spending that has left us heavily in debt to the rest of the world. The gap between what we earn in the world and what we spend has never been higher. Borrowing for investment is one thing; borrowing for consumption is another, and there is little sign that the warnings of the Reserve Bank will be heeded. Once, if we wanted to borrow money, we went to the bank and pleaded for a loan. Now, the banks come to us in our living rooms every night, pleading with us to put our new car or holiday on the mortgage.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000380\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EOur economic growth has not been sustainable because the benefits have not been shared. Although the Government is to be commended for the record low rates of unemployment, they are not so low for M\u0101ori, and there are still literally hundreds of thousands of people who cannot obtain jobs at all, or who cannot get work doing what they want to do at pay rates high enough to sustain a reasonable quality of life. Tinkering at the edges of the benefit system is not going to solve this problem, nor is putting off for another 3 years raising the minimum wage to $12 an hour. It is a real pity that Labour will not take the brave step needed to increase the minimum wage to $12 an hour now, as advocated by the Green Party, the Council of Trade Unions, New Zealand First, and also, I believe, the M\u0101ori Party during the recent election campaign. Working for Families and the accommodation supplement are, between the two of them, a massive taxpayer subsidy to employers. It is time employers paid their fair share.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000381\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EAt the same time, high rates of child poverty continue. The Green Party is saddened that extensions to Working for Families will only increase discrimination against the children of beneficiaries, at a time when sole-parent families are disproportionately disadvantaged already. Labour and its partners seem determined to continue to intensify the income gap between working and non-working parents, which is something that only makes life harder for the children of beneficiaries, and leads to poor health, education, and employment outcomes for yet another generation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000382\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003ESo high growth has left us in a very vulnerable situation. On top of this comes rapidly rising oil prices. The Greens have warned of this since 2003, and, wearing various other hats, for the last 30 years in fact. It has been as plain as day for three decades that the day would come when oil supply could no longer increase at the same rate as demand, and all the evidence is that that is starting to happen this year. How long it will take before oil supply actually decreases and how fast it will decrease are still debatable, but the fact that we are at or close to the peak is much clearer than it was when the Greens first warned of it. I know from campaign meetings around the country that the people know it. Business knows it. Bush and Cheney have known it for a decade, which is why they are in Iraq. It seems that some members of this House may be the last ostriches to keep their heads in the sand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000383\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EFor decades successive New Zealand Governments have behaved as though cheap oil was inexhaustible. We have built more and more big roads, we have imported cars that use twice as much fuel as they need to\u2014we still do not even label them to help consumers\u2014and we have ignored public transport in the belief that no one will use it, yet as soon as another commuter train is put on in Auckland, it is full. High and rising oil prices, combined with a slowing economy and a big balance of payments deficit, will not make it an easy ride for this Government. If one thing is clear, it is that it cannot be \u201Cbusiness as usual\u201D in this term of Parliament. Even Labour, which, after the Greens, has the best grasp of this stuff, has failed totally to address the unsustainability of the growth it is so proud of. How much will Labour be able to do, now that it is saddled with its new partners?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000384\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003ESo where will the Greens be as our country struggles with those challenges? It appears the former member for Tauranga cannot keep his pre-election promises about abstention, so we will keep them for him and abstain on confidence and money supply. We will vote case by case on the issues. The difference, however, is that the Greens have made substantial policy gains and have some hands-on projects to run in the next 3 years. The urgency is such that we will grasp any chance to begin the transformation we need to a sustainable and fair economy. While others preen themselves around the cocktail circuit with titles and limousines, we will be working to make real change. My aim is, in 3 years\u2019 time, for New Zealanders to look at our work and say: \u201CThe Greens didn\u2019t get the baubles of office, they didn\u2019t get the resources and staff that Ministers have, but with only six MPs and a small staff they have made more positive difference to our lives and the future of our country than those who did.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000385\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EIn this term I have been given responsibility for improving New Zealand\u2019s energy efficiency under the legislation I brought to the House and had passed 6 years ago. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act has not yet fulfilled its promise. It has not led to a whole-of-Government approach. We still have no standards or consumer information on vehicle fuel consumption. The new building standard for homes is dragging its feet. We are insulating and damp-proofing some houses, but at the pace we are going it will take around 50 years to retrofit the 300,000 homes that have inadequate ceiling insulation alone. New plant is still being built that will cost its owners dearly in wasted energy over its lifetime. The Government commitment to solar energy has been derisory, with it providing only $400,000 a year for a loan scheme even though the industry has made great strides in that time. I have been inundated for years with letters from people who see the sense of using the sun to heat their water, and want to invest in it, but find that the price is too high. We will bring down the price of solar water heating only by building capacity in the industry, and with bulk purchase by competitive tender. That is what I want to organise, so that we can get half a million solar panels on Kiwi roofs over the next 5 years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000386\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EMy late colleague Rod Donald was to have been given responsibility for a Buy Kiwi Made campaign to identify New Zealand - made products and raise awareness that whenever we spend a dollar it is a political act. We can choose to spend it to support Kiwi businesses and Kiwi jobs, and reduce our balance of payments deficit, or we can use it to support jobs and profits in other countries and worsen our economic difficulties. The Greens are committed to undertaking that work, both in honour of Rod Donald and because we know its importance. We will be working with the Government to finalise who will drive this work.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000387\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei will be working closely with the Minister of Education to build capacity for environmental education, so that eventually the very good guidelines and strategies developed by the Government some years ago can be implemented in every school. If we are to face the challenges of the future, we must have citizens who are ecologically literate and understand cause and effect in our use of resources and our management of wastes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000388\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003ESue Kedgley will be working with the Minister of Health on a range of initiatives to improve the nutritional quality of the food New Zealand children eat, especially in schools. We know that one-third of New Zealand\u2019s children are overweight or obese. We know that many of them will get serious illnesses, like type 2 diabetes. We know that much of the food they eat offers huge doses of fat, sugar, and salt, but few of the nutrients they need to learn and to grow. We know that that will cost us millions of health dollars in the future, unless we act responsibly now. If we are serious about improving the well-being of our children and their readiness to learn, we must reduce the overwhelming commercial pressures on them to eat unhealthy food, and we must create environments that encourage healthy eating. That means starting with schools. We want all our schools to teach children basic nutrition, cooking, and gardening skills, and to encourage healthy eating.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000389\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EThe agreement between the Government and the Greens acknowledges the intention to increase support for public transport, to extend eligibility for student allowances, to increase the level of overseas development assistance, and to further reduce levels of child poverty. In addition, it commits to several new policies and Budget initiatives.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000390\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EThe Greens made it clear that although we would not insist on the reinstatement of a moratorium on the release of genetically modified organisms, we would expect some progress towards greater security around genetic engineering. The Government is committed to working with us to provide segregation throughout the production chain between any GE organism that might be grown in the future and other products. That will give producers greater security that they will continue to be able to provide the level of product purity for GE-free food that their markets demand. The Greens continue to believe that the release of any live GE organism would be an act of crazy self-destruction in the farming sector, but we still consider it worthwhile to improve the rules governing any such release that might occur in the future despite the wishes of the 70 percent of the people who do not want that release, as shown in successive polls.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000391\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003ESue Kedgley will also be working with the Minister of Agriculture on a Budget initiative to provide enhanced advisory services to the organic sector. New Zealand lags way behind Europe and other countries in organics, with less than 1 percent of our agricultural land in organic production, and we are missing out on the expanding international niche market for organic food. Our organic sector needs the sort of reliable political and institutional support that organic sectors in Europe receive. We hope to work closely with the Minister over the next few years so that we can encourage approximately 200 farmers to convert to organics each year, and can achieve the goal of organics becoming a billion-dollar industry by 2011.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000392\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EThe Green Party believes that the M\u0101ori seats should be entrenched in the same way that the number of South Island seats is entrenched. The Government has committed, in our agreement, at least to retain the M\u0101ori seats for as long as M\u0101ori wish to do so.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000393\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EWe have negotiated a conservation Budget initiative to provide intensive habitat management at additional sites in order to restore populations of endangered species, in cooperation with local communities. This combines two key issues for the Greens. We are still not turning the tide of extinctions of native species, and more effort is needed to protect the places where they live. But that cannot be done by only a Government department. We strongly believe that communities must be involved in conservation, and this is an opportunity for the Department of Conservation to work jointly with local people who care about their environment. We look forward to discussion with the Minister about where those additional sites will be.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000394\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EThe Greens are keen for New Zealand to carve out a role as peacemaker\u2014not war-maker\u2014in the world, and through our agreement with the Government we will be working closely together to enhance New Zealand\u2019s role in peacemaking. We will also be defending the traditional legal protections of citizens, and will argue against any new anti-terrorism legislation of the sort that has recently been introduced in Britain and Australia, and has been much criticised by civil libertarians.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000395\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003ETomorrow we welcome Nandor Tanczos back into our parliamentary team, not to fill the shoes of Rod Donald but to fill his own shoes again. He left a big gap in our caucus when we just failed to win enough votes for a seventh MP. Nandor Tanczos will be taking on the environment and justice portfolios, where I know his experience and interest in sustainable land management, waste management, permaculture, prison reform, and restorative justice will serve the Greens well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000396\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003ESo the Greens are ready for another parliamentary term. We are still grieving for the loss of Rod Donald, but we are encouraged by the mark his life made on so many people, and determined to honour his memory in the way he would most have wanted: by actively pursuing the causes of social and international justice, peace, ecological integrity, and democracy; by taking responsibility, wherever it is offered to us, to create the transformation this planet and its people need; and by holding the Government to account when it needs reminding where the public interest lies. We have a sense of urgency that there is not much time to make these changes. The planet\u2019s capacity to endure the effects of human greed is limited, but we also know that change, to be lasting, must be non-violent, evolutionary, understood, and broadly accepted. It is about states of mind, not just laws. That is where our challenge lies.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022 data-id=\u0022275d354bb72940948899f6a96363303f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000397\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022275d354bb72940948899f6a96363303f\u0022\u003ETARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader\u2014M\u0101ori Party):\u003C/span\u003E First of all, I want to acknowledge the Governor-General, and to congratulate the Hon Margaret Wilson, the Hon Clem Simich, Ross Robertson, and yourself, Madam Assistant Speaker, on being elected Speakers of this House. I also want to acknowledge the Prime Minister, all the leaders of political parties, and all our colleagues who are here in this Parliament. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000398\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EIt is my privilege to respond to the Speech from the Throne in this entirely new Parliament\u2014a Parliament that for the first time includes within its midst a party dedicated to the advancement of a strong and independent M\u0101ori voice and M\u0101ori people. The M\u0101ori Party is committed to making a positive contribution to Parliament, and to advancing our kaupapa in the best interests of the nation\u2014a nation in which \u201Cone law for all\u201D can truly be said to represent all within its brief. We have tested the concept of \u201Cone law for all\u2019 from our first utterances in this house, in swearing our oaths and affirmations. It was right and appropriate to swear allegiance to the Queen; it was also right and appropriate to swear allegiance to the Treaty of Waitangi. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000399\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003ESome members will recall a speech made by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on her 50th jubilee. Speaking about the resolution of Treaty issues, she said: \u201CThere still remains some way to go but I would like to express my respect for the courage of all those parties who have been working in good faith towards resolution. I am sure that a stronger nation will emerge from your efforts to address the past and move forward towards a shared future.\u201D Elizabeth, a direct descendant of Queen Victoria, understands the significance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as providing the constitutional framework for this nation. She recognises the Treaty as providing the context for all to live harmoniously in this land. It is the context that we sought to swear allegiance to, but were prevented from doing so by the laws of this house. We would suggest that the rational and informed dialogue on the role of the Treaty of Waitangi described in the Speech from the Throne would extend within this debating chamber in our first symbolic actions. It must also extend throughout domestic law. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000400\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EEighteen months ago many tangata whenua and other New Zealanders came to this Parliament, asking how a Government could legislate to confiscate the lands of tangata whenua and remove the rights of hap\u016B and iwi to due process before the courts. In 2 days\u2019 time, the world\u2019s gaze will extend to these shores with the arrival of Rodolfo Stavenhagen, the special rapporteur on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples. His visit here follows the findings of the United Nations that the foreshore and seabed legislation contained discriminatory aspects against the M\u0101ori, in particular in its extinguishment of the possibility of establishing M\u0101ori customary title over the foreshore and seabed. The M\u0101ori Party, as a priority, will be working on a member\u2019s bill for the repeal of the Foreshore and Seabed Act. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000401\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EMembers of this House may recall that the United Nations committee recommended that the Government resume dialogue with M\u0101ori regarding the legislation and take steps to minimise any negative effects. The Government responded by saying that the committee did not understand the complexity of the issue. It suggested that \u201Cdiscriminatory\u201D could not really be seen to be breaching the convention. It criticised the United Nations forum as \u201Ca committee that sits on the outer edge\u201D. This is the same Government that last month went to New York and criticised the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People as being \u201Cunworkable and unacceptable\u201D. This was after 10 years of Government delegates working through the 45 provisions gaining acceptance for the declaration. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000402\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EThroughout the globe, indigenous communities have signalled their disappointment at the actions taken by New Zealand in arguing against indigenous peoples. A treaty between two peoples at home is suddenly interpreted overseas as discriminating against other citizens, as suggesting two standards of citizenship or two classes of citizen. It is like being on a see-saw, except that since the signing in 1840 one side has progressively swung upwards and the other has hit the ground with a thump. Now, with the latest actions overseas, it appears that the Crown is willing to jump off and let the relationship agreement be dumped with it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000403\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EThere may be one law for all, but the question that needs to be asked is whether it is applied equally or whether people are treated differently. In order to make the difference, to see the changes we all desire in the best interests of the nation, we may need alternative strategies. It may mean we see a world of abundance, and not limits. Sometimes it is a simple matter of asking the right questions and looking at things differently\u2014strategies such as projects for youth, academies, and focus areas of sports, drama, culture, and the arts; academies that seek to develop students\u2019 special interest so that their learning is relevant and challenging. It is a national disgrace that the Education Review Office annual report describes a group at the bottom, perhaps as large as 20 percent, who are currently not succeeding in our education system. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000404\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EThe Speech from the Throne stated that it is time to not dwell on the past failures. Well, that is exactly right. We do need to celebrate success rather than fear success. We have had too many successful M\u0101ori providers coming to us in recent weeks concerned about what appears to be this minority Labour Government, through its institutions, undermining the successful delivery by M\u0101ori of both health and education programmes. We are all for celebrating success, but we also will not turn a blind eye to the present failure of the system to respond to the distinctive needs of this nation. We must start bringing balance back to the see-saw. We must enable the distinctive strengths of all peoples who call this land home to be truly understood and respected. That is why we have called for an inquiry into the application of tikanga, including the use of powhiri throughout the State sector. Last week we witnessed the ceremony of the carrying of the Mace and the knock-three-times procedure of Black Rod. Just as the House observes these conventions, the M\u0101ori Party wants to ensure that when others\u2019 cultural protocols are being adopted, respect for their significance must be upheld. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000405\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EBringing balance to the see-saw will also mean restoring a decent income for all New Zealanders. It was curious that the Speech from the Throne talked of a significant decline in poverty levels when we lack a clear poverty line from which to measure progress in the first place. We must set tangible goals if we are to achieve one law for all\u2014the right to a decent standard of life. Central to this is an agreement on a specific target date to reduce child poverty. The speech confirmed that the Working for Families package will be extended from next year. However, it is grossly misleading to say that there will be tax relief for every low and middle income family when 250,000 of the poorest children in this country will miss out. In 2 days\u2019 time when the special rapporteur observes the state of the nation, will he see a see-saw tipped in favour of one side? Who will explain away the inequalities, the disparities, and the variability in understandings of the Treaty of Waitangi. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000406\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EI will conclude by talking about the retention of the M\u0101ori seats. It is the intention of the M\u0101ori Party to ask this Parliament to entrench the M\u0101ori seats through a member\u2019s bill. We think back to the words of Chief Judge Durie, who said: \u201CLike the Treaty of Waitangi, the M\u0101ori parliamentary seats stand as an enduring symbol of their constitutional status, and historic statements of principles, like symbols, are essential tools in rebuilding a national identity.\u201D That will be a land where one law for all actually means something.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022 data-id=\u0022ddda8f387172484d9948c6d7d4fbc7c1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000407\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ddda8f387172484d9948c6d7d4fbc7c1\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE (Leader\u2014United Future):\u003C/span\u003E Madam Speaker, I begin by congratulating you and the other presiding officers on your election and assuring you of the support of the United Future members in this House for the difficult job you have ahead of you in presiding over this Parliament. I also pay our traditional respects to Her Excellency the Governor-General for the outstanding job that she does as our head of State and for the quiet dignity that she brings to that role. I note that this is the last time we will do this in respect of our current Governor-General, whose term will expire during the life of this Parliament. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000408\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EI also congratulate the mover and the seconder of this debate on their speeches and, in advance, congratulate all other speakers who will make their maiden speeches in the course of this debate. It has been said many times but it is worth repeating that this is probably the most important speech that any member of Parliament gives, because it is the speech in which they talk about themselves, their own aspirations, and the things that drive them to serve their communities. I share the view of others that these are speeches worth reflecting upon in years to come to see how far one has held true to the goals and aspirations that one sets out in that maiden speech. It can be an illuminating experience from time to time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000409\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EI acknowledge too the support of my constituents in Ohariu-Belmont. I am very humbled and grateful for the fact that for an eighth time they have reposed their confidence in me, and I will do all I can to repay that as their representative over the next 3 years. I acknowledge the efforts made in the previous Parliament by my colleagues who are no longer with me. We are somewhat reduced in numbers, but I place on record my acknowledgment of the contribution of that team of members of Parliament who served with us between 2002 and 2005. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000410\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EThis is a vastly different Parliament from that, and the challenges that will be upon us will consequently be different and greater. In that respect I acknowledge the previous speaker, Tariana Turia, for her contribution and for the dimension that her party brings to this Parliament. I think all of us who may not previously have given the issues that she speaks about the attention that they deserve will have to listen and be guided by the interpretation and the wisdom that her party brings. I look forward to the relationship that will develop between our parties as this Parliament goes on. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000411\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EOne of the key features of the election, its outcome, and the Government formation that has taken place is that for the first time since MMP was introduced we have a Parliament that now has the genuine prospect of decisions being made on the floor of this House, because the narrowness of the numbers means that there will be many occasions when amendments from one side of the Chamber or the other succeed. The days are gone when the automatic Government majority, however it is constructed, will be sufficient. That will impose a challenge on all of us to be constructive, to work in the best interests of our country, and to promote those policies we see as important, not just because it is about getting a headline but because, for the first time for many, there is a chance they may be able to succeed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000412\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E My party is one that is founded on the principles of respect for life, liberty, freedom, opportunity, and community. We see issues relating to families as very much at the core of delivering those virtues, because families are a foundational unit in our society. All of the things that we will be focusing on over the life of this Parliament take their inspiration from a statement made by Norman Kirk over 30 years ago in this place, when he said that it is the primary responsibility of any Government to do things\u2014and I am paraphrasing very loosely\u2014that are good for families and to reject things that are bad for families. That wisdom is as true today as it was when it was stated way back in 1973 or 1974. Consequently, the focus that United Future members will bring to this Chamber over the next 3 years is just that. The agreement that we have concluded with the Labour-led Government is in many areas about advancing the broad interests of New Zealand families. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000413\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EOne of the reasons we want to have a thorough review of our business tax system to make it more competitive in the first instance with Australia is not because of some arcane argument about relativities, but because, in reality, by having a competitive tax environment that fosters the growth and development of business opportunities in New Zealand we foster the development and growth of employment opportunities, wealth-creation opportunities, and prospects for our people here in New Zealand. The previous speaker spoke about so many who fall between the cracks. This is a practical step that we can take towards, firstly, minimising those cracks, and, secondly, making sure that people will not be slim enough to fit through them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000414\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EWhen we talk about the Families Commission taking an oversight role for programmes relating to relationships and parenting skills education, that is practical recognition of the fact that at the moment in New Zealand, by a conservative estimate, each year we spend between $30 million and $45 million in a very uncoordinated way on such programmes. People thirst for information, they call out for the opportunity, but we have no real way of ensuring that the information they get will be in any way beneficial to them, or have any value in terms of today\u2019s parents, their children, and the parents of the future, and that is a very practical point that we are focused upon. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000415\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EWhen we talk about the need to reduce the burden on parents and students, because of the way in which the means test applies to parental income for student loans, that is as much about reflecting household income and household opportunity as it is about reflecting the stresses and strains that are placed upon our students that actually create opportunities for them not to stay in New Zealand and benefit us from their education, but to flee off overseas to earn more money to pay off their debt. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000416\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EWhen we talk about having a national medicines policy based on the quality usage of pharmaceuticals, and looking at the role of agencies like Pharmac in relation to that, that is about ensuring that every New Zealander, whatever his or her circumstance, has the opportunity to get the best access to medicines that is possible, given the emerging conditions and given the emerging technologies. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000417\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EIt is all consistent with being part of an arrangement that means we govern in the interests of New Zealand families and provide the wherewithal for those New Zealand families to prosper, to have opportunity, and to launch the next generation positively on the journey of life. We are not a party that wants to prescribe rules and directions that shackle people\u2019s opportunity, but we do want to create the opportunity and see Government\u2019s role as working constructively towards that, so that our young people can have an opportunity to be part of a vibrant and new New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000418\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EThe challenges we face are profound. This country stands on the threshold of a bold new future. We are questioning our traditional identity. We are talking about the sort of direction we want for our country, a vision for the future, where we fit constitutionally, and where we fit in terms of our place in the world. All of those issues are ones that this Parliament has to take on board and start to address. With the diversity of numbers here, and if the goodwill that has been emphasised in recent days remains in even a small dose, we have the opportunity and the chance to do something constructive and make a positive step towards building the New Zealand of the future. I look forward to working with other parties in this House who share that vision\u2014on different matters, perhaps, from time to time, but none the less who are committed to New Zealand\u2019s future\u2014to see what we can collectively do to make the next 3 years ones that will be memorable for this country and positive for our citizens, and will create strong opportunity for our people to come in the future. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000419\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EMadam Speaker, I wish you and your colleagues well as you embark upon the role of overseeing us in the vigorous debates that will follow. I look forward to hearing the views, aspirations, hopes, and challenges of the many new members who will make their maiden speech during the course of this debate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022 data-id=\u0022bf46d0e37e2e4427aada6daa1e7b413b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000420\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022bf46d0e37e2e4427aada6daa1e7b413b\u0022\u003ERODNEY HIDE (Leader\u2014ACT):\u003C/span\u003E ACT is back. I begin by passing on our best respects to the Governor-General, to the Prime Minister, to you as Assistant Speaker, to Margaret Wilson, to Clem Simich, and to Ross Robertson. I also pass on my respects to the Green Party and our regret for its loss of Rod Donald. I take the opportunity here to welcome back Nandor Tanczos, who will be with us tomorrow. I also welcome the new party, the M\u0101ori Party\u2014the new kid on the block\u2014whose members are sitting beside me here today. I welcome all four of its members to our Parliament, and I say this: that the foreshore and seabed legislation passed by this House was a travesty of justice, and that if we are to mouth the words about wanting to live in a country that has one law for all New Zealanders, then that means that each and every New Zealander should be able to have his or her day in court. It is totally unacceptable when a Government finds the courts going against the outcome it would prefer that it rushes to this House to change the law and deny a people their opportunity to have their day in court.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000421\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002273d516bb89114ab9ae950adefc3bbcc4\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: A defender of the rule of law.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000422\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cdbaaa3050284621b6727b2ad6caac2d\u0022\u003ERODNEY HIDE\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, a defender of the rule of law, I tell Mr Cunliffe, and a defender of the principles of justice. It stands for that whether it is one New Zealander having his or her day in court or whether it is a group of New Zealanders having their day in court. I ask Mr Cunliffe: how awful is it that a Government would change the law against a race living here in New Zealand? Because we know what that means. The day that law was passed was a dark day in New Zealand\u2019s legislative history for each and every New Zealander. I wish the M\u0101ori Party every success in having that law overturned. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000423\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003EI pay my respects to the good people of Epsom who voted for me, who put their faith and trust in me, and who elected me as their member of Parliament and ensured that the ACT party would stay on in this Parliament. I also note, given that an inquiry may be coming up, the outrage of the Television New Zealand poll. It was a shonky, dishonest, and unprofessional poll that showed me as being 14 percentage points behind. It was clearly false the day it was done. The questions that were asked were wrong and the candidates in the race were not identified. That is how badly out that Colmar Brunton poll was. It had me coming behind by 14 percent, and I won by 9 percent. That poll was out by a whopping 25 percent. Of course, that had a devastating impact on the vote on election day, because the implication was that ACT was finished and that we could not win Epsom. I hold Television New Zealand and its poll responsible for the loss of some very, very good MPs in this House. I think that both Parliament and the country are the poorer for the loss of the ACT MPs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000424\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003EI welcome all the new MPs in the National Party. I wish them every success and I wish them well for their maiden speeches. I certainly wish Dr Don Brash well, because he ran an outstanding campaign and did very well in the election. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000425\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003EI think the problem I have with Helen Clark is that she has gone back to the idea that she knows best. The reason the Labour Party struggled in the campaign and struggled to get back into power\u2014having to resort to our colleagues in New Zealand First and United Future to hold up its numbers\u2014was that Helen Clark and the Labour team failed to listen to what the people in New Zealand were saying. They have lost touch. Sadly, it looks as though we will have another 3 years of that. Just take one issue: tax. New Zealanders are struggling to make ends meet, and we have a Government that is absolutely stuffed full with their money. It is spending it on all the crazy schemes that Michael Cullen, Helen Clark, and others can come up with, and still there is a large surplus. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000426\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003EWhat did people say during the election campaign? They said that they wanted to keep some of that money. Let us go around the House and see. United Future campaigned for big tax cuts. I remember the debates\u2014$2 billion or $3 billion, Peter Dunne said. New Zealand First campaigned for tax cuts\u2014large tax cuts, and, indeed, for some companies a top company tax rate of 20 percent. That was the campaign from New Zealand First. M\u0101ori Party members sit beside me. They too knew that New Zealanders were struggling to pay tax. They wanted large tax cuts and the company tax rate lowered to 30 percent. The National Party campaigned for large cuts, as did ACT. Even Mr Jim Anderton, sitting around the Cabinet table, campaigned for tax cuts. What does that equal? That equals 65 MPs in this House\u2014the overwhelming majority of this Parliament\u2014who campaigned during the election to reduce the burden of tax on New Zealanders. And what did Helen Clark say in the Speech from the Throne? \u201CNo tax cuts.\u201D It is that sort of arrogance New Zealanders are sick of from Helen Clark and her Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000427\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003EI tell Helen Clark and her Cabinet Ministers a simple thing: they should listen to what New Zealanders are saying. We need only to look around this Parliament to see that 65 MPs campaigned for tax cuts. I neglected to mention the Greens. They too campaigned for lower income tax. They suggested a shifting on to pollution taxes and the like, but they too campaigned for lower taxes on working New Zealanders. The Labour Party was the only party that campaigned during the election not to reduce the burden of tax on New Zealanders. Yet Helen Clark has the arrogance to stand up and deliver a speech here today and, through the Governor-General, deliver a Speech from the Throne, saying that there is no opportunity to have tax cuts. I tell United Future members and New Zealand First members to please go back and read their election promises to New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000428\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003EThe ACT party will be campaigning hard through the next 3 years. I will outline the issues we will campaign on. First, despite what Labour says, crime is out of control. The police are overwhelmed and demoralised. They get no support from this Government and have to listen to lies that somehow crime is down, when every New Zealander knows that it is up, that somehow when one rings the police they will arrive, when they do not, and that crime is somehow not a problem now in New Zealand because we have the Labour Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000429\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002293d8ad43ac9f4285a838a8951f29f004\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: It is down. The member is making it up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000430\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002237fdb0e48ca246e99421ca338d1ed807\u0022\u003ERODNEY HIDE\u003C/span\u003E: I can tell Mr Cunliffe that if he actually got out and talked to people in Auckland\u2014if he discussed this issue with people in Auckland and with people around New Zealand\u2014he would discover that the issue of crime is huge and that crime is out of control. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000431\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003EI also suggest that unemployment is a big issue. Yes, the unemployment rate is down, and that is a good thing. We have had a strong economy and more people are in work, but we are suffering in New Zealand from large-scale welfare abuse. People who could be working are actually getting a benefit. It is not good for them, it is not good for their families, and it is certainly not good for the taxpayers who are paying for it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000432\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003EHere is one other issue: transport. The problems we suffer from in this economy by the failure to be able to get around smoothly and efficiently on our roads will ruin our economy. I do not see any measure, any urgency, or any hurry from Helen Clark to deal with those issues\u2014issues that were raised at every meeting candidates went to. It was as though Helen Clark went through the whole campaign with her eyes shut and her ears covered. She failed to hear what New Zealanders were saying. Well, in this Parliament the ACT party will be standing on those issues, as I am sure the National Party will. The M\u0101ori Party, the Green Party, the New Zealand First Party, and United Future will also be standing on those issues. That is a majority in this Parliament. We will not all agree on all things, but I ask the Labour Party to lose some of its arrogance and to understand that there are parties here whose very existence is because of the Labour Party\u2019s arrogance. I ask the Labour Party to actually involve everyone in this Parliament in the decision making and to stop using the high-handed tactics we saw it use in the last 3 years. Maybe then people will truly get what they voted for.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000433\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003ESitting suspended from 5.57 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022 data-id=\u00223140cb4800d94382889af77b6475f748\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000434\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223140cb4800d94382889af77b6475f748\u0022\u003EHon JIM ANDERTON (Leader\u2014Progressive):\u003C/span\u003E I have no difficulty in supporting the Government motion. The coalition Government formed in December 1999 has demonstrably been the most successful and progressive Government that New Zealand has had in decades. [Interruption] New Zealand has experienced a sustained sequence of strong economic growth\u2014even the member who just interjected will have to accept that fact. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000435\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d3ee2dfc443a4c299cc54392225e5047\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: You\u2019re on your own.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000436\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002257cf6408b17d4bcb95c85e2bea6e6e45\u0022\u003EHon JIM ANDERTON\u003C/span\u003E: Well, in 2 years\u2019 time I will have been in Government for 9 years. How long has the member been in Government? Nil. If the member thinks that the National Party will sleepwalk to victory in the next 3 years, he has another think coming. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000437\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EUnemployment has fallen to the lowest level in the developed world, business conditions are sound, there is a renewed feeling of confidence and pride in New Zealand, and security and fairness are being restored in homes and in New Zealand hearts. The Government has been tested, as Governments are, and has been found to be stable, reliable, progressive, and sensible.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000438\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003ESo I pay tribute to the leadership of the Government. In being elected to a third term, Helen Clark will enter New Zealand\u2019s political history as one of Labour\u2019s great leaders and one of New Zealand\u2019s most successful prime ministers.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000439\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EThe policy programme outlined in the Speech from the Throne shows why this Government will enjoy a third term as successful as the 6 years we have already had. I welcome the support for the Government in its policy programme from a broad cross-section of parties in this House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000440\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EEach party inside the Government, or supporting it, brings its own perspective on the highest priorities for the term. For me and for the Progressive party, the priority for this term is to sheet-in New Zealand\u2019s economic and social progress and to make New Zealand a country which embraces, again, cooperation as the best way forward. New Zealand would never have become the nation it is without a strong culture of working cooperatively. We have made immense economic progress and, of course, we needed to. We have proved that we can create jobs and rising incomes without leaving behind tens of thousands of people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000441\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EThis is a more socially cohesive society than it was 6 years ago and it will be more cohesive still in another 3 years. There are places all over the world that abandon families and individuals when they fall on hard times. There are societies that let people get crushed by change, by market forces, or by the cruelty of one person for another. There are societies that we would not want to be part of. The first Labour Government of 1935 wanted an economic landscape where everyone could contribute, and where all could enjoy a decent life. In that landscape there was a place for everyone\u2014no one was deliberately left behind. That it is within our grasp that our country still has those values is something I think we can be proud of, and that has been brought closer by the last 6 years of a Labour-Progressive Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EI believe there are lessons for New Zealand from the election result, however. It was the last-chance election in my view\u2014not the first\u2014for the new right, which caused so much damage and pain in New Zealand in the 1980s and 1990s. If National could not win that election, with all the bribes that were going on, its members had better ask themselves whether they will ever win another one. Successive Governments abandoned New Zealanders when they could have helped. They let people be crushed by change and they showed that they were not caring Governments at all. They allowed great injustice when they should have been making New Zealand a fairer place. They diminished hope.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000443\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225aa128a50b6a4388a4c391011ddc7488\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: Rubbish!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000444\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e7310a9f945b4bcc8fce37fe46af61d7\u0022\u003EHon JIM ANDERTON\u003C/span\u003E: If that member is as good at statistics and analysis as he would want people to believe, he should look at the gap between rich and poor that developed over the 1980s and 1990s when the party he is a member of was in Government in New Zealand for 9 years. The 2005 election was that party\u2019s last roll of the dice, in my considered view. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000445\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022597ca391ba1c4e64a135aa03c9dbaec4\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, yeah!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000446\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226feddfafb5e546cf8466aebd1ea1027f\u0022\u003EHon JIM ANDERTON\u003C/span\u003E: I will take one bet with the member. The current leader of the National Party will not be there leading the next election. Is the member prepared to have that one on? There is silence. Is that not amazing? We have come back to Parliament for practically the first day and the National Opposition is silent when I say that the leader who supposedly led them in great triumph will not be here at the next election. As sure as I know anything about politics, that is one stone-cold certainty. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000447\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003E This year was the National Party\u2019s last chance to turn back the clock and to have that \u201Clevel playing field\u201D whereby so many families and individuals suffered. That is not to underestimate the toll it took on the nation, as well. I believe the Opposition needs to learn from that. It is only a matter of time before Don Brash goes overboard\u2014that is clear. If National brings on new leadership in this term, I hope it will understand that New Zealand does not want to turn back the clock to the cruel, uncaring past.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000448\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EWe actually want a softer New Zealand, where cooperation, not competition, is the main game, and where partnerships work for people. The last 6 years have proved that we can transform New Zealand\u2019s economy at the same time as we care for and protect the well-being of all New Zealanders. It was a privilege for me to lead the economic development initiatives of the Government in the last 6 years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000449\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ede8a4f163514032b8e139b8f946bc06\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: They\u2019ve moved you on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000450\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022edf1f583a5d94bcebe0ed05e007871e0\u0022\u003EHon JIM ANDERTON\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, they have moved me on to preside over sectors of the economy that earn over half of our entire foreign exchange. What sector of the economy is that member in charge of in the next 3 years? He is in charge of the sector of rapping the Government over the knuckles with a wet press release.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000451\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EI look forward to concentrating my efforts in the primary production portfolios of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. Those are New Zealand\u2019s most economically crucial sectors. Has the National Party given up on them? It was interesting to get press releases fired at me from National Party members who represent the primary production sectors of forestry, fishing, and agriculture, but who range from number 10 to number 27 in the pecking order of the National Party. Gone is the day when the rural sectors of New Zealand can look to the National Party for any representation or leadership. I am happy to pledge to those important sectors of the New Zealand economy my efforts to maximise their potential, and to acknowledge the contributions they can make to New Zealand\u2019s prosperity.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000452\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003ECurrently, New Zealand is borrowing its way into an increasingly indebted future. We have been doing better in the last 6 years, but we need to do better still. We have to earn our way from exports in order to pay our way in the world. It is a truism, but it is nevertheless a stark fact. We have competitive advantages over many of our trading partners in primary sectors, and I intend to continue the partnership approach I took with other sectors when I was Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Industry and Regional Development. I want all parts of primary industry in Government to work together to identify barriers to growth and opportunities for development. The overwhelming majority of New Zealand\u2019s research and development takes place in the primary sectors, which is one of the reasons why we are so productive in terms of our output from our primary sector industries.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000453\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EI will also continue to work in the health sector on drugs and alcohol policy, and on suicide prevention. I am proud of the progress the Government has made in those areas over the last 6 years, and I am proud enough of New Zealand\u2019s performance to know that we have to, and will do, better. We need to do better at controlling the abuse of drugs and alcohol. We are winning the battle against P\u2014methamphetamine\u2014with far-sighted community partnerships, strong enforcement, education, and treatment. I have often heard it said that opposition to drug and alcohol abuse is a conservative position. That claim puzzles me. Reducing the harm caused by drugs and alcohol is about creating a more caring and softer New Zealand. There is nothing enlightened about standing by while lives, and even whole communities, get ruined by harms that we can avoid. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000454\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EI know that my Labour colleagues and our colleagues in the Green Party are committed to that kind of New Zealand. I look forward to working with them, and with United Future and New Zealand First, to move forward sensible policies that protect New Zealanders and maximise opportunities. In my view, the next 3 years will be another term of progress, and all those goals will be realised. I look forward to the success that I believe this new Government in its third term will undoubtedly achieve.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022 data-id=\u00228eeea2be21a74ba784b0fc034cd5b872\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000455\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228eeea2be21a74ba784b0fc034cd5b872\u0022\u003EHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Customs):\u003C/span\u003E I also support the Government motion. Madam Assistant Speaker, I congratulate yourself, Ross Robertson, Clem Simich, and Margaret Wilson on your appointments to the Chair to preside over matters in this House. I look forward to the opportunity to have robust debate, but also for the Government to continue to build on the agenda it set out in the Speech from the Throne. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000456\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThe Speech from the Throne underpinned a forward-looking New Zealand and a progressive Government agenda\u2014one that acknowledged strength and diversity, and the many challenges that presents. The Speech from the Throne set out an agenda that intends to build on the progress made over the past 6 years by this Labour-led Government\u2014progress that restores fairness, inspires excellence, fosters collaboration, and generally gives a hand up to those most in need in our society. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000457\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EI want to take a little time to talk in a very local way, from a M\u0101ori electorate perspective and that of my own electorate, Tainui, on the progress made over the last 6 years. Firstly, there was a huge investment\u2014led by the previous speaker, Mr Anderton\u2014in the last term of Government in regional development. But what did it mean locally? What did it mean for many of our communities? In Tainui, it meant that in regions such as the Waikato we were able to create a hub to attract investment into our region. We have created an aviation hub, and I think that both Dianne Yates and Martin Gallagher will attest to the opportunities that has provided in terms of regional development initiatives in Hamilton. In the Waikato region the Waikato Innovation Park, with investments in that area, has been created. We are attracting new investments into our region, which is good for the community, the local region, and regional development, and brings more jobs into my electorate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000458\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EIn the King Country area, for example, investment in regional development has meant that people are looking at tourism in a broader way to ensure that the tourism dollar does not stop in Rotorua but stays in the King Country a bit longer. That requires the commitment of local government to work collaboratively with tourism operators, local business, and central government to be able to create more opportunities in the region. That is what a regional development strategy under the Labour Government has delivered in the Tainui electorate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000459\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThat bodes well for the general theme of what the Government has tried to achieve over the last 6 years. It is about economic development, but is not driven from a centralist view. It is about getting back into the regions and communities, and attracting opportunities back to where it really matters, because we know that that is where employment for local people is actually created. So I certainly want to ensure that that continues to happen in our regions. Let me just put out this figure: the amount of investment in regional development stands close to $250 million. I am sure that many of my Government colleagues can attest to what that has meant in terms of stimulating growth and opportunity. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000460\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EMy next point relates to education, skills, and training. Once we have a prosperous economy, the issues become, of course, employment and making sure that we invest in the skills and talent of every individual in our community, so that people can get the jobs that are out there. In fact, we have a lot of employee shortages because the Government\u2019s strategy is doing so well. The Labour commitment to going back to apprenticeship training, and to investing in the skills and talents of our people, bodes well overall. There are 7,100 Modern Apprentices throughout the country, and we are on target to reach 9,000 Modern Apprentices by December next year. That is a good thing. Why? When we look at an electorate like Tainui, we see, for example, that Fairview Motors is attracting Modern Apprentices from Piopio. Who would have thought that kids who drop out of school and are told they do not have a future can get onto a pathway that enables greater investment in them, so that they can make a contribution and get a job? That is a really important thing, because it affects the lives of real people in our communities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000461\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThe Government has doubled the investment in industry training since 1999, and that is important, because we know that more than 150,000 New Zealanders are involved in industry training. That has stimulated a whole lot of other sectors to look at Modern Apprenticeships\u2014Genesis Energy, for example. I applaud its commitment to fund 60 Modern Apprentices in the electricity sector and to engage in local training initiatives to ensure local jobs for local people, especially in communities where there is a high contribution to servicing the national grid, such as Huntly\u2014fantastic! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000462\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThe commitment to education also bodes well, because the Government has said that it will commit to 20 hours of quality, free early childhood education for all 3 to 4-year-olds at teacher-led, community-based early childhood centres by 2007. We have put an extra 3,040 teachers into our classrooms so that the quality of the educational experience in the classroom is much better. We have increased operations funding. We have made progress in tertiary education, which is really important. When we talk about having a high-skilled workforce, investing in skills through tertiary education is an important part of achieving that. All the progress we have made in student loans is really good. In my electorate, in particular, more and more M\u0101ori students have gone on to post-graduate education than ever before, and that is a fantastic achievement. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000463\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EI want to talk about the support for Working for Families. I particularly want to talk about some of the local initiatives that are doing really well, like Family Start, which the Government has continued to build on and roll out into the Tainui electorate. That initiative is going very well because it supports young parents to be better parents. It helps them to network well into the community, secure the support they need just to get by, and explore the options that they have as young parents with regard to their own skills, training, and education needs. That has been done under a Labour Government. We certainly built on that success in the last term of Government, and we will continue to do so. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000464\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EWe have expanded the Social Workers in Schools programme. For a lot of schools that means that a lot of our kids have access to social workers so as to be able to deal with some very complex issues. I have met with people from a number of the schools in my electorate, and I know that that initiative works well, because the parents, who are part of a whole wraparound approach for some very difficult issues, are benefiting under it. So we have to support that, and I look forward to the continuance of that programme. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000465\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThe support being given in education is best seen when we go into schools and see what is happening there. A number of students are now doing the National Certificate of Educational Achievement, and a number of them say that it is a good initiative in terms of valuing their skills. In my time over the next term of Government I want to continue to build and invest in youth potential, because I know that young people are an important part of the type of New Zealand we are working towards\u2014the type of New Zealand that inspires excellence; the type of New Zealand that inspires people\u2019s ability to look forward and to build on the strengths they have. That is the type of New Zealand and the type of future we are creating\u2014where everybody has a role in this country. Some people might not think so, but I do, and I know that this Government does. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000466\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThe future under this Government will also include building on M\u0101ori development. The Government will accelerate initiatives to support M\u0101ori development. It will not do it for them, but will support M\u0101ori development where it can be best supported. The touchstone for that is the outcome that emerged from the Hui Taumata. People said that they did not want the Government to take a major role in defining or implementing development goals, but wanted support from the Government, and we will do that over the next 3 years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000467\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003ESo the type of New Zealand we are building is one where everybody belongs, where everybody has an opportunity to succeed, and where we value education, invest in skills training, and ensure that people are in a position to do things for themselves so that they can go forward. N\u014D reira, t\u0113na koutou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00223f670c71-9be5-4a7e-a197-0590da759280\u0022 data-id=\u0022545272f7418d4a079fb96ed45da3230a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223f670c71-9be5-4a7e-a197-0590da759280\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022545272f7418d4a079fb96ed45da3230a\u0022\u003ETIM GROSER (National):\u003C/span\u003E It is truly a privilege to be a member of this Parliament. I have been a public servant for over three decades, and any adviser, whether official or unofficial, obviously from time to time has some influence over policy, but I never doubted that the beginning of every major policy shift, whether good, bad, or indifferent has its roots in the great campaign for electoral support that this Parliament represents. I suppose in many cases members here have some misgivings about having put aside earlier career choices, but in my case perhaps it represents an extreme example of the clich\u00E9: \u201CIf you can\u2019t beat them, join them.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000469\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223f670c71-9be5-4a7e-a197-0590da759280\u0022\u003EIt is true that in the distant past I started on the left, as a student activist. As somebody who enjoys a paradox\u2014I may not be the only person in this room\u2014I rather enjoyed that part of the National Party application form that asks: \u201CHave you ever held any previous office?\u201D The only thing I could think of saying was that I had once been president of the Victoria University socialist society. This was, I should emphasise, before I came across Oscar Wilde\u2019s observation that the essential problem with socialism is that it does not leave the evenings free. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000470\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223f670c71-9be5-4a7e-a197-0590da759280\u0022\u003EIn my mid-twenties I moved away from those views. I began to embrace a view of politics that does not deny the importance of social change\u2014provided it is examined critically and not adopted like some transitory fashion item\u2014and seeks to put the primary, not the sole, emphasis for individual social and economic outcomes on the individual, and not transfer that responsibility to the State. So I got my waka-jumping in early and since then I spent most of my professional career, before coming to this Parliament, on one theme\u2014economic reform, both domestic and international. I believe, finally, that they are two sides of the same coin. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000471\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223f670c71-9be5-4a7e-a197-0590da759280\u0022\u003ELet me start with some observations about the domestic side of the reform equation. There is no doubt that we have made tremendous progress in this country over the last two decades or so in wrenching our formal trade policy, our fiscal policy, and our micro-economic policy structures into the modern era. We have made great progress, and I celebrate that. But I am already less optimistic, having heard some of the contributions made in my brief time in Parliament, that the New Zealand public and the New Zealand electorate really have some understanding as to why in this country, for example, we have almost doubled the growth rate of our per capita income over the last 15 years, compared with the 20 years between 1970 and 1990, and why it is that we are today concerned about inflation rising over 3 percent, when 20 or more years ago in my youth we were worried about double-digit inflation. I am much less confident that that message has got through. Finally, I believe it does matter that societies work out correctly what went wrong in the past and why things have gone right in the more recent past\u2014at what explains their relative successes and at what explains their relative failures. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000472\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223f670c71-9be5-4a7e-a197-0590da759280\u0022\u003EThe late Michael King said early on in his brilliant synthesis of New Zealand history that one of his reasons for writing that synthesis was \u201Cto identify the myths that have shaped New Zealand. Societies are conditioned not so much by events, as by group memories of events.\u201D Allow me to illustrate the point I think Michael King was making, by deliberately taking a non - New Zealand example. I will take a French example\u2014always popular with New Zealand audiences. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000473\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223f670c71-9be5-4a7e-a197-0590da759280\u0022\u003EWhat does not work well in France is the job market. The general unemployment rate is about 10 percent. It has not fallen below 8 percent for 20 years. If members think that is bad, they should spare a thought for the youth. The youth unemployment rate in France is a tad under 25 percent, and there are regions of France where it is above 50 percent. The Prime Minister today rightly drew attention to the riots, or near-riots, now tearing urban and parts of provincial France apart. She did not talk about the causes of them, and the causes are certainly deeper than youth unemployment, but those riots are inexplicable without reference to the pervasive lack of jobs facing young French people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000474\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223f670c71-9be5-4a7e-a197-0590da759280\u0022\u003EUnfortunately for France, there is a vast appetite for the continuation of policies that entrench the problem. Draconian legislation exists to protect those jobs in existence. The 35-hour week is intended to share around what work is available. The minimum wage is set at a very high proportion of the median wage for production workers. Collectively, these and other policies\u2014all introduced with the best of intentions\u2014vastly complicate the task of the non - State sector to employ additional workers, particularly young and low-skilled workers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000475\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223f670c71-9be5-4a7e-a197-0590da759280\u0022\u003EUnfortunately, France is no exception to Michael King\u2019s point about the potentially damaging nature of collective myths. The particular collective myth here is that all the real solutions to France\u2019s sclerotic labour market are immediately labelled by the French political elite as \u201Cultra-liberalism of the Anglo-Saxon type\u201D\u2014end of debate, end of discussion; we may have to wait another 20 years until the real problems are addressed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000476\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223f670c71-9be5-4a7e-a197-0590da759280\u0022\u003EI turn now to New Zealand. New Zealand, unquestionably, is performing at or a little better than the OECD average growth rate, but we are still below par in terms of productivity, as Dr Brash observed today. The reason why we are doing relatively better I think is obvious. It is because finally we did start to tackle economic fundamentals, and that is the message that needs to be repeated and repeated often. I believe that, in a democracy, if people believe that fundamental myths are responsible, it prepares the ground for bad solutions. It does not prepare the way for getting electoral support for sound policy frameworks that have given us a better future in this country. Misleading, and occasionally even malign, interpretations\u2014I will not quote the obvious example I have in my mind\u2014will mislead the public and provide the basis for complacency, and if they persist long enough, will lead, frankly, to political sclerosis of the type we saw in this country 25 to 30 years ago. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000477\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223f670c71-9be5-4a7e-a197-0590da759280\u0022\u003ELet me turn to the other side of the reform agenda: the international side. Unquestionably, there are great opportunities emerging for New Zealand from, for want of a better word, the globalisation process now under way. There are great opportunities, and it is up to us to put up our hands and take those opportunities. None is more important than the Doha round agriculture negotiations, which I had the privilege of chairing until recently. As with the Uruguay round before it, these negotiations have the potential to add significant new opportunities to New Zealand, and to add significantly to our long-run potential growth rate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000478\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223f670c71-9be5-4a7e-a197-0590da759280\u0022\u003EUnderstandably, I am following the round with more interest than most, and with some pretty serious concern right now. Things look very difficult. Those difficulties will be at the centre of the APEC meetings this week. We can certainly expect a strong and standardised\u2014one would almost say \u201Cboiler plate\u201D\u2014reaffirmation by APEC leaders of the absolute importance of concluding the round. And they should make that declaration, because the absence of such a declaration would send perverse signals to certain political markets right now and would be very damaging. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000479\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223f670c71-9be5-4a7e-a197-0590da759280\u0022\u003EThat in itself, however, will do nothing to fix the problem. To fix the problem we now need to identify some middle ground on market access that is consistent with the objectives of the negotiation. Sure, New Zealand is sitting comfortably and there are some others who have further ground to make up in that respect, but some serious discussion, I hope, will take place out of the public gaze, amongst the delegations, on putting something together in a few weeks\u2019 time in Hong Kong, because this country has more at stake in this negotiation than anyone else. Wishful thinking will not suffice at this late stage in the negotiation. A bold political declaration is essential, for the reasons I discussed, but will not address the substance of the problem, at all. I hope that our delegation will engage in those serious discussions away from the public gaze so we can look forward in Hong Kong to getting at least some elements agreed to carry this negotiation forward. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000480\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223f670c71-9be5-4a7e-a197-0590da759280\u0022\u003EI still believe\u2014and I have always said this\u2014it is highly likely that this negotiation will succeed. To some extent that is a straight extrapolation of the past. There have been eight rounds of multilateral trade negotiations since 1947. They have all been incredibly difficult. The last three have all gone over time. All the original game plans had to be redrawn, and new road maps had to be prepared. But, finally, they all succeeded, and I suppose it is less likely that this will be the first to fail. I suppose it will follow that pattern, but it will require some very tough work. Mistakes are made in international negotiations, and I hope New Zealand will be behind those negotiations, urging a reality check at this late stage. There will, of course, be another round, although armchair technicians will say, as they did last time, that there will not be. But there will be, after the political wounds of the last negotiation have healed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000481\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223f670c71-9be5-4a7e-a197-0590da759280\u0022\u003EInternational negotiations are many things, but they are also very human affairs. It takes time to implement them. It takes time for these wounds to heal. A breathing space is sometimes required internationally. Perhaps, to return to the domestic side of the equation, a breathing space is inevitable domestically, too. If that in the future is how observers come to see the political history of this country, from 2000 until\u2014well, who knows\u2014perhaps the next election, then so be it. But there is a political agenda for carrying this forward. It will not change much. It will not vary in its substance; it will vary in its detail. It is an agenda that New Zealand will embrace when and if the New Zealand electorate collectively decides that, improved though our lot has been, this is not good enough\u2014that this is not \u201Cas good as it gets\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000482\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223f670c71-9be5-4a7e-a197-0590da759280\u0022\u003EAnd that agenda is, unsurprisingly, an agenda about further tax reform\u2014lower taxes for all taxpayers and companies, which will re-incentivise middle-income New Zealand. It is an agenda\u2014and there is nothing surprising here\u2014that will impose real disciplines on Government expenditure, instead of masking it behind manipulation of data against a rise in GDP. It is an agenda that asks some tough questions about the explosion of social welfare beneficiaries in this country over the last 30 years, while fully understanding that many of our folk need permanent support from these arrangements. And it is an agenda that prioritises excellence, not mediocrity, in our schools. It is an agenda about removing some of the more obvious and ridiculous impediments that stand in the way of our workforce, our companies, our farmers, and our people, building the next phase of wealth creation to build on the success. Finally, I believe that this just comes down to a question of confidence\u2014a belief that New Zealanders have done it in the past and can do it in the future\u2014and strategic leadership behind it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022 data-id=\u00229482b226e0b14922a20df5469ee8ba6f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000483\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229482b226e0b14922a20df5469ee8ba6f\u0022\u003ER DOUG WOOLERTON (NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E Madam Assistant Speaker, I would like to begin by congratulating the Governor-General, the Prime Minister, Margaret Wilson, Clem Simich, yourself, and Ross Robertson, on the achievement of high office.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000484\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003EI would also like to congratulate my leader, the Rt Hon Winston Peters. Unfortunately, he cannot be here with us today because he has had to make a personal sacrifice and go to foreign shores, representing our country\u2014a country we all love dearly. We all understand that that is a tough job, but somebody has to do it. He had to make the sacrifice, and when he was asked to step up to the plate, he did that proudly. We are very proud of him for that, and I think he will do a marvellous job. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000485\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003ERibald and uncouth comment has been made about New Zealand First sitting on this side of the House\u2014a side of the House that I am most comfortable with, I might say, because it is nice to be freed from the people who neither respect nor understand the way MMP works. One would hope they would get a handle on it. In fact, when I was involved with the National Party the collective wisdom of the day was\u2014and I remember people like Tony Ryall, Nick Smith in his saner moments, and people like them, sitting in the seats of power in the National Party saying\u2014that National needed to go into Opposition for a while. That was mainly because the people in the benches in front of those members were giving them a pain in the neck and they thought it was time they took over. They said that 3 years in Opposition would rejuvenate the outfit and get rid of a few people, and that they would then be back in power. Oh dear, how sad! Never mind, those days have gone. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000486\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003EThe National Party is now entering its third term in Opposition. So help me, those members opposite could spend four terms in Opposition if all they can do is yell and act in an uncouth manner, as they have been doing since the beginning of this Parliament. It saddens me to see the party I was once a proud member of acting in that way. But I guess that the day I got out of that party and Tau Henare got in shows us where the job has got to since then.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000487\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003ELet me tell members about how I see this term, this Government, and this enhanced confidence and supply agreement that New Zealand First has with the Labour-led Government. It is OK for those members opposite to laugh at us and carry on, but that does not help senior citizens. The members who are laughing at us have not helped those people; New Zealand First has. We will gain for senior citizens a gold card, entitling them to receive subsidies or help in their old age, which National has talked about doing but has never done\u2014and it is the same with Labour, I might say. But New Zealand First is making sure it happens. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000488\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227be52aab48c44899b5d117b8f0c9b2b0\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: Who resigned?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000489\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cc43181d2e2c4ffcadfec46a88342403\u0022\u003ER DOUG WOOLERTON\u003C/span\u003E: That is the other thing I might say while they are interjecting on me, which is really rude. However much those members might try to put about some crude urban myth that New Zealand First is going to split apart, and that there will be disaffections and all sorts of mayhem, they can forget it; it simply is not going to happen.. We are tighter, stronger, and better than we have ever been before. I can assure members that anything they can throw at us will be deflected with ease.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000490\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003EOn top of what I have already read out, superannuation will be set at 66 percent of the average weekly wage, which is something that National was never able to do. In fact, people have suspected that both National and Labour would, first, raise the age of entitlement and, secondly, lower the rate of entitlement itself. New Zealand First is doing the opposite to that. We would have liked the rate to be higher\u2014there is no question about that\u2014but we could not get above that, so 66 percent it is.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000491\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227d237dc48fd74a29964c8d8743f38d55\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: When?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000492\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cd6e9b355a034e218b9fc7147fe6f3aa\u0022\u003ER DOUG WOOLERTON\u003C/span\u003E: Soon. That addresses the problem that superannuitants had when their income fell below the level of 65 percent of the net average income from time to time throughout the year. New Zealand First has fixed that problem in the enhanced confidence and supply agreement.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000493\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003ENew Zealand First has also ensured that another 1,000 front-line police will be out on the beat very soon. They will be out there doing the job. It is all very well for Labour, and especially for National and ACT, to rant on about these matters, but it is New Zealand First that will ensure that another 1,000 police are out there protecting our citizens, enhancing our way of life, and making New Zealand a better place. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000494\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003EIt does not end there. There is an understanding\u2014sure, it is not in hard copy\u2014about the land access issue. Gerrard Eckhoff raced around this country, and basically did a good job of telling people that the land access issue was such a terrible thing. God bless Gerry, wherever he is right now! The National Party agreed with ACT, and they were going gangbusters to scare people about that issue. But what happened to Gerry Eckhoff? He gave all the votes he garnered from farmers to the National Party, which actually does not deserve them. Gerry Eckhoff is out on his tail, and the National Party is here, cooing away and making uncouth noises at me. Which party has ensured that the land access issue will not proceed in the way it was going? New Zealand First has. So rather than taking the mickey, the National Party should be praising us. I am sure that National members are not prepared to admit it today, but behind the scenes I think they really are saying that we are doing a wonderful thing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003EThen we come to the reintroduction of the Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Bill, which New Zealand First is going to support. We will do that not for the benefit of New Zealand First. Before my leader went away in the service of his country he asked me what we could possibly do for that sad old party that we were once members of. I will tell members what we can do. The National Party will be in trouble, because it has all these talented new people here. They are wonderful; they have huge reputations. But they will sit on their backsides for 6 years yet, they will not get any part of the ministerial responsibilities\u2014they will not get anywhere near them\u2014and they will upset the so-called front bench. Winston Peters said to me that we need to get the electoral integrity legislation back into Parliament to protect those people in the National Party that its newbies will be looking to kick out. New Zealand First will do that, and I think that many people in the National Party will thank us for it, albeit behind closed doors. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022 data-id=\u0022e22d69ff6d514176aeba273def69b976\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000496\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e22d69ff6d514176aeba273def69b976\u0022\u003EJILL PETTIS (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I am very pleased to join the debate tonight. I wish all the new members well as they give their maiden speeches. A maiden speech is a very significant speech. We all remember how nervous we were when we gave ours, and I offer my best wishes to the new members who are giving their speeches. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000497\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003ETonight I also ask members of the National Party who are giving their maiden speeches to please not rewrite history. History is recorded very well in New Zealand, in many forms. I am sure that a number of National MPs will talk about when they were members of the Labour Party, and will then go through the throes of saying that they learnt the error of their ways, etc., etc. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000498\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022194d53dcdbba4819a358c2e664b36188\u0022\u003EHon Dr Michael Cullen\u003C/span\u003E: Trouble is they got richer. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000499\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002250a57ac7e3384a91a04f510a5220d19c\u0022\u003EJILL PETTIS\u003C/span\u003E: Absolutely! I am reminded of Michael Joseph Savage\u2019s comment that they walked to vote us in and they drove to vote us out. Under Labour Governments, people do get wealthier. Some people may like to read a bit of the social and political history of New Zealand and to remember exactly what happens. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000500\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003EI went to my first political meeting at the Hylton Hall in Aramoho when I was 8 years of age. My mother learnt to play cards and count when she was 4 years of age, because some of the people who became members of the first Labour Government used to come around to my grandfather\u2019s house to play cards and talk about politics. So I have done my apprenticeship, unlike some of the people who learnt about politics a couple of years ago and have just had some sort of road to Damascus conversion. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000501\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003EI encourage members to go back and read a bit of social history. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000502\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002219b076a374ce46659f70aff312d7f91f\u0022\u003EHon Dr Michael Cullen\u003C/span\u003E: It was a road to Washington.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226a64fcb004ef40f48ce717d23de9f0db\u0022\u003EJILL PETTIS\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, it was a road to Washington, but we will get on to that a bit later. Anybody who is interested in the social and political history of New Zealand will always say that the most interesting things in New Zealand history have happened under Labour Governments. What do National Governments ever do\u2014[Interruption] I tell those boys to settle down; it is very early in the term. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000504\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022618b7963ae53441ea4e9ffd08badc8f0\u0022\u003EHon Dr Michael Cullen\u003C/span\u003E: It is the old double waka-jumper over there. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000505\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227a89d2cc909844138ca102ba48b58752\u0022\u003EJILL PETTIS\u003C/span\u003E: No, he is \u201Cfour-party Tau\u201D\u2014\u201Cold Tau four-parties\u201D. Anyway, I digress. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000506\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002299c62d78e0274e1e8b2acfb1dfdd3013\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. It was three parties. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000507\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022806054f76b11445fba59964e00d2f806\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley)\u003C/span\u003E: That was not a point of order. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000508\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022153ebfa25ce545f58cb19c6c2f011288\u0022\u003EHon Dr Michael Cullen\u003C/span\u003E: Jill\u2019s projecting the future. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000509\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c1385e878ec740c4b774750d98a54c88\u0022\u003EJILL PETTIS\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, who knows? I am very relieved and proud that we now have a Labour-led Government in New Zealand, with the support of responsible people who have New Zealand\u2019s interests at heart in supporting it. I think that New Zealanders are quietly very grateful that National did not become the Government. They might have had a little flirtation and put a little tick in National\u2019s box, but I think that, on reflection, they are actually very grateful National is not in Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000510\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223adf7e81dc9443218731395f74e63fe4\u0022\u003EHon Dr Michael Cullen\u003C/span\u003E: Especially John Key.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000511\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220452f9a324a74151ae65406e1b2be491\u0022\u003EJILL PETTIS\u003C/span\u003E: Especially John Key, because, as I said about him last term, he should bide his time. The road to hell is littered with the bones of young men who were in a hurry. I tell John Key to bide his time. That young man\u2019s time will come, if he just waits. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000512\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003EA number of people in New Zealand are quietly relieved that Labour is in Government, because they have come to realise, in the quiet reflection of the post-election period, what some of the policies were that National was proposing. People were not aware of them in the tumultuous period during the election campaign. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000513\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225833ae8c228547338648f3b79b2c0161\u0022\u003EDianne Yates\u003C/span\u003E: There weren\u2019t many. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000514\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022af563ffaa72841b88410e2123907923e\u0022\u003EJILL PETTIS\u003C/span\u003E: My colleague Dianne Yates is quite right. There were not many policies, but those that there were, were bad enough. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000515\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003EThe Labour Government has saved people from market rents. Market rents are the biggest contributor to poverty in this country, and those Tories were going to re-implement market rents, which would have condemned Tau Henare\u2019s wh\u0101nau to poverty. I say to Mr Henare and his wh\u0101nau that they have been saved from poverty because of the Labour Government. It is ironic that in regard to such a key social policy as housing, Don Brash did not even know on the day National\u2019s housing policy was released that that was its policy. My opponent, at a Grey Power meeting in Wanganui, did not even know that the housing policy had been released that day and that it involved market rents. Those two men did not care less about the poverty-inducing aspects of the market rents policy, and that is absolutely shameful.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000516\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E There are many policies of the National Party that New Zealanders are grateful are not being implemented. As the mother of a son I am glad that we do not have a National Government, because the National Party and its secret supporters would have sent people like my son to Iraq, while their sons, with their scarf-wearing apparel, would have cowered behind a whole lot of secret beliefs and said: \u201CI can\u2019t go because I\u2019m too old.\u201D, although they would have sent young people. It is all right for some people, because of their age and rapid decline, to send young people to war while they are safely ensconced in their own homes. The member who is wagging his finger at me knows that I am correct. He knows that he would have sent young men to Iraq while he was safely ensconced in New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000517\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003EMany positive things are happening in this country. I am proud to be a New Zealander, and I am convinced that every person sitting in this Chamber is proud to be a New Zealander. We live in a great country, and when we travel overseas\u2014which we are privileged to do from time to time\u2014and come back home, I am sure that most of us silently say to ourselves when we sight New Zealand for the first time: \u201CThank goodness we were born here.\u201D [Interruption] Well, we may say: \u201CThank goodness we have permanent residency in New Zealand.\u201D Some fabulous things are happening in provincial New Zealand, in particular. The economy in provincial New Zealand is performing at an outstanding level. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003EJust today as I was passing a bookshop, I stopped to buy this publication\u2014I should not have bought it really, because that fellow from Wanganui contributes to it regularly, but never mind\u2014[Interruption] No, Michael Laws\u2014I am sure the member is with me on that. But, nevertheless, I succumbed and bought it because of the wonderful story on the front page about trades people, the new elite in New Zealand. One of the reasons why they are the new elite in New Zealand\u2014and God bless them, because we need them\u2014is that the building industry is performing at an outstanding level. Apprenticeships are at an all-time level, and it is far better to have our young people engaged in apprenticeships than to send them off to Iraq to be shot at. Over 7,100 Modern Apprentices are in training at the moment, and more are planned. Apprenticeships are an absolutely wonderful way for our young people to be engaged, and that is a Labour-led initiative, which was supported by New Zealand First when we first came into Government. I remember those speeches about the Modern Apprenticeships scheme very, very well. That scheme is paying dividends in literally thousands of ways. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000519\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003EThe provinces in New Zealand are a success story and that is because this Labour-led Government, as well as the previous Labour Government, has invested heavily in the provinces. Our unemployment rates are at the lowest level they have been at for more than two decades. It is absolutely inspiring to see the number of people who are actively engaged in positive employment, which not only makes life a lot easier for their families but also gives them a lift in their spirits. That also contributes in many, many ways to our local economy, and to our region\u2019s social structure as well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022 data-id=\u0022d22b0e7596074f4584a79a296136f19b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000520\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d22b0e7596074f4584a79a296136f19b\u0022\u003EJOHN KEY (National\u2014Helensville):\u003C/span\u003E It is no wonder the good people of Whanganui had the sense to fling Jill Pettis out on her ear\u2014and I welcome Chester Borrows to the House. I hear the Prime Minister has dispatched Jill Pettis from the chief whip\u2019s position so she can win Whanganui back. Well, God help the poor people of Whanganui if they have to put up with \u201CPaint Stripper\u201D there for 3 years, knocking on their doors. I can firmly confirm that Chester Borrows will have the largest majority in Parliament come the election in 2008. As for her comments on provincial New Zealand, I am not sure whether she has caught up with the news, but National took 10 seats off Labour in the election. They came from provincial New Zealand, and they are not going back. It is no wonder that the only thing going back is Russell Fairbrother. He is going back to Napier, because he did the almost impossible: he lost the seat that Labour had held since 1951. Even P\u0101nia did not believe that he would lose the seat of Napier. Even P\u0101nia had Russell Fairbrother winning that one, but away he went. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000521\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EMadam Assistant Speaker, I congratulate you on your reappointment along with Margaret Wilson, Clem Simich, and Ross Robinson.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000522\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002292a9268e7a284f3dbe40a2de07c31e6d\u0022\u003EHon Dr Michael Cullen\u003C/span\u003E: Robertson.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000523\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223e699d8ba3f44c4f8086d0439485c0ca\u0022\u003EJOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, \u201CSpot\u201D. Last week when we were in Parliament Bill English made the comment that the Clark-Peters Government was a sad combination of the untalented and the unwilling. He was spot on, and that is exactly why it will produce the unremarkable. We have had 6 years of the golden weather under Labour and it has squandered the lot. It has nothing to show for it. That is why it is in an electoral quagmire. It will be an absolutely do-nothing Government. Helen Clark and Winston Peters will be arm in arm in the quagmire\u2014the more they try to do, the faster they will sink together. The tragedy of that \u201Cheads they lose, tails they lose\u201D scenario is that the country will be on hold for the next 3 years until National regains the Treasury benches and takes this country forward. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000524\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EHere is a prediction: the only remarkable thing that will come out of this Government is that Labour actually managed to form one with New Zealand First. That is the only remarkable thing that it has done. New Zealand First has done something quite incredible in this Parliament. It has managed to do something unique for a party. It has a leader who is firmly and proudly in the Government, while it has an entire caucus that is firmly and proudly in the Opposition. It has done that all in one Parliament. Sadly for Mr Peters, not only is his dwindling caucus in opposition to the Government but also it is in opposition to Mr Peters\u2014that is the sad news while he is off overseas. [Interruption] I say to Pita Paraone that I went up and down the country looking at the New Zealand First billboards and I could not work out what Winston Peters was looking at over his shoulder. The rumour was that he was looking at his backside. Actually, he was looking at where the knives were coming from. I have a message for New Zealand First members to take back to Winston Peters in Korea: one bauble does not a happy caucus make. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000525\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EWe on this side of the House had very, very low expectations indeed of this Government, and very low expectations of the Speech from the Throne. But even we were disappointed; it was subterranean. We have a country that faces some real challenges. We have a country that is sailing into very poor economic conditions. We have a current account deficit of 8 percent of GDP. Almost every economist in the country now says it will go to 9 percent of GDP; several economists are saying it will be 10 percent of GDP. They are under the numbers that Paul Keating said described a banana republic. That is what our country faces: a current account deficit that is in crisis. We have business confidence in free fall. Every single business confidence survey now says that the country is heading in the wrong direction by a significant margin\u2014including the Bank of New Zealand today, with minus 65 percent. We have interest rates that have gone up eight times\u2014they went up just last week\u2014and we have net migration that is virtually collapsing. Those are the economic conditions that this country is facing, and they should not have been met with the kind of Speech from the Throne that we heard. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000526\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EWhat will happen when they write the history books about this Clark-Cullen-Peters Government? They will say that for the first 6 years in Government Labour rode an economic wave that it inherited and did absolutely nothing to create, and when it crashed on the beach the Government was found to be hopelessly wanting. It will be seen as a \u201CDad\u2019s army\u201D sort of Government. It will be seen as a fair-weather Government. Why? Because everyone has lost faith in the Minister of Finance. The Prime Minister has lost faith in him, the tea lady has lost faith in him, everyone has lost faith in him. He was persona non grata with his own caucus. He is the man whose next most significant speech will be his valedictory, and we will hear it in this Parliament. That is his message. Heather Simpson is actually upstairs now, jotting a few notes down that she would like to hear him say. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000527\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EMichael Cullen is the man who single-handedly nearly lost the unlosable election for Labour with Budget 2005. That was a document that cost Labour 10 seats in this Parliament\u2014he knows it\u2014and that cost him the faith and confidence of the Prime Minister. She now has had to turn on her own caucus; members like Jill Pettis have been dispatched into the holding queue. Even someone like Jim \u201CAm I really going 170 kilometres an hour?\u201D Sutton has gone; he is in the waiting queue. There is a whole number of them who are very, very unhappy indeed. They are in the holding pen, waiting to be dispatched to the dole queue, all because Michael Cullen delivered Budget 2005, the equivalent of a Titanic sort of Budget for Labour. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000528\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EWell, the only thing that saved Labour was not the Minister of Finance, I can tell the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000529\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ff073adedf08431d83e180d8dbc2d5b0\u0022\u003EJill Pettis\u003C/span\u003E: National saved Labour.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000530\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002263b697673fe449118b7cf791ff4b8455\u0022\u003EJOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: No, it was not National that saved Labour; it was Helen Clark hitting the panic button and being prepared to write, buy, say, and do anything. It did not matter what it took, it did not matter what she had said, and it certainly did not matter what it cost to get things going. Does anyone seriously believe that Michael Cullen believes in Labour\u2019s student loan policy? I ask the member whether he believes in Labour\u2019s reckless student loan policy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000531\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ed0f00a6a7c04512b07798d2a995f084\u0022\u003EHon Dr Michael Cullen\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I do.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000532\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022120c368bc7a24896b23723be43071978\u0022\u003EJOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I do not think so. You see, I have a pretty simple question about this; I am a pretty simple fellow. Why does anybody think that Michael Cullen asked Treasury to go and do the numbers on the student loan policy document? It was not because he could not work it out\u2014he has a masters degree in maths. I worked it out in my office in about 15 minutes; it did not take a long time. Michael Cullen asked Treasury to put together the numbers because he wanted to stop Helen Clark. He knew the policy was bad policy, and he knew it was taking the country in the wrong direction. He knew it was going to feed the young New Zealanders of this country a diet of debt. But Helen Clark, who for years had banged on about student loans and the problems they were causing, threw all that out the window just to get into power. We on this side of the House say that that is wrong\u2014that is totally wrong. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000533\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EBut we found out this week what Michael Cullen does believe in, because he has re-emerged as the new left\u2019s Rob Muldoon. He is a man who stands up for intervention. He is not prepared to control his own Government spending. He does not mind the fact that he is driving up interest rates. There have been eight interest rate\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000534\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229f86470087734197b1ea357eecf41afe\u0022\u003EJill Pettis\u003C/span\u003E: What does the old man say about this?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000535\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fb427cdc658a40ff8c55173f849ee340\u0022\u003EJOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I tell Jill Pettis that she should not believe me; she should believe the OECD. Its officials said that the reason interest rates were going up was that this Government was spending too much, and this week Michael Cullen went out and said that he is not prepared to get his own House in order, he is not prepared to cope with his own Government\u2019s spending, he is not prepared to look in the mirror, but he wants to decimate the price of every other New Zealander\u2019s house\u2014and that is wrong, as well. He has Alan Bollard out there, working on a plan that Alan Bollard does not believe in\u2014[Interruption] Oh no, he does not. The member should go and look at his 2004 speech to the Canterbury Employers\u2019 Chamber of Commerce, and he will see that it is completely, diametrically opposite to the speech Mr Bollard gave on Thursday. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000536\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EThis country deserves a lot more. This country deserves a bright future; this country deserves opportunity. Most of all this country deserves a chance for New Zealanders to get ahead, not a Government that believes solely in itself and is prepared to do and say whatever it takes. The people of New Zealand were robbed of a great Government in 2005, but their chance will come at the next election, mark my words.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022 data-id=\u0022cb75649ac46b4984ab9e546eadccd6fc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000537\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cb75649ac46b4984ab9e546eadccd6fc\u0022\u003EHon PETE HODGSON (Minister of Health):\u003C/span\u003E When I heard the first speaker for the National Opposition, the Leader of the Opposition, lead off the debate this afternoon, in what was one of the \u201Cless-lustre\u201D speeches I have heard even from that member, I thought the interjection from the leader of the Progressive Party was really spot on. He asked the member whether he had worked out why National had not won yet. I think the answer to that question is no, the National Party has not worked it out. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000538\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003EThe concluding remarks from the member who has just resumed his seat, Mr Key, that New Zealand has missed out on a great Government is pretty much testimony, because there is still the view amongst National Party members that the normal resting position of this country is that they are in Government\u2014that the default position is that they are in Government, and that the natural party of Government is the National Party. That party points to its very proud past to give evidence for that, and indeed it has a very proud past. But the National Parties that existed during the 1950s, the 1960s, and the 1970s are not the National Party in front of us now. In that time there was New Zealand\u2019s version of the post-war consensus, where we did not attack people for being different or for having different proclivities. Their ideas, religion, sexuality, or indeed ethnicity were embraced and deemed to be OK. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000539\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003EI have just come through an election in which my party happened to come home first, but I found that election a difficult one because I found some things about that election that were ugly. I did not like the idea of the word \u201Cmainstream\u201D being a code for excluding and sidelining those people who are not white, Anglo-Saxon Protestants\u2014and heterosexual. I did not like that. I did not like the idea that we could have an election campaign in this century in which the race card was played so repeatedly and with so obvious an attempt at sophistication\u2014and so obvious failure. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003EI did not enjoy that, and I did not enjoy the subtext that went through emails and people\u2019s speeches, or the most ugly subtext that came out in the pamphlets that were put out, we now know, by the Exclusive Brethren. How did we know? We knew because the Green Party outed those people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000541\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003EThen we had the spectre of the then\u2014and still\u2014Leader of the Opposition saying: \u201CI know nothing!\u201D, like some sort of Sergeant Schultz. The deputy leader of the National Party said that he knew nothing, and the difference between those two utterances was that the first was not true and the second was true, because the Leader of the Opposition had not told the deputy leader of the National Party what the Leader of the Opposition knew. He did not tell his own deputy. Instead, we had a progressive unfolding of the truth as the Leader of the Opposition was put to the sword, day after day, by media that knew they were on to something\u2014as indeed they were. [Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000542\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002227ad81b041124ad8bb14cfd7eac8b3be\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley)\u003C/span\u003E: We have a point of order, and I just remind members that points of order will be heard in silence.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000543\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223bc448c33ed74275920306f62928659f\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I think the last time I was in this House the word \u201Cliar\u201D was not allowed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000544\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221670af0bbaf74a8592af4d8dcc6172d0\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley)\u003C/span\u003E: Did a member\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000545\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222fc34bc3c8e743a5ac9218482824027c\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: It is quite clear that no one can accuse someone of lying in this House; a member can accuse someone of lying outside the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000546\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224bc4a54869e04ece84bdc12e6b85a892\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000547\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221e3e94590f5b4e6a86105e130e69be72\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley)\u003C/span\u003E: The member will please be seated; I am on my feet. I remind members again that there will be silence during the dealing of points of order. A member cannot accuse a member of being a liar, inside or outside the House. If a member\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000548\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224fb140bd88f74c8089263e1db8cef9da\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: I want to make it clear that I did, Madam Speaker, and I apologise. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000549\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d52267aca617491d8b1a2bd733e69d6b\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley)\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000550\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224c2efc982d6a4faeb9fa93d6d223559c\u0022\u003EHon PETE HODGSON\u003C/span\u003E: And I think at this stage, I should withdraw and apologise, should I not? I will, anyway. I would say, none the less, that whether or not the Leader of the Opposition\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000551\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229e75c8904e6a450db1e2fc4db2e3e440\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Whether or not he lied to Gerry Brownlee.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000552\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b17fc61f08a74687a18276ecc0ec93ce\u0022\u003EHon PETE HODGSON\u003C/span\u003E: Right\u2014lied to Gerry Brownlee, he certainly went to the public and said he was sorry. But that was days afterwards. That was after we had learnt that the Leader of the Opposition had met with the Exclusive Brethren on one occasion, and on the following day we learnt that the Leader of the Opposition had met with the Exclusive Brethren on two occasions. And a day or two after that we learnt that the Leader of the Opposition had met with the Exclusive Brethren \u201Con a number of occasions\u201D.This was the man who said he had no knowledge of those pamphlets. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000553\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003EI believed Gerry Brownlee when he came on television opposite me and said: \u201CI have no idea.\u201D I believe Gerry Brownlee because the Leader of the Opposition runs a very tight ship. It was so tight that he did not even tell his deputy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000554\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003EThis same Leader of the Opposition then went to the w\u0101nanga and, famously, gave two speeches\u2014the inside speech and the outside speech. The real problem with that was that there was a journalist or two on the inside. The Leader of the Opposition thought he would get away with it because that is how inexperienced he is. He gave two speeches, thinking he could get away with it, but he got caught. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000555\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003EWe had an election in which the Leader of the Opposition was standing up, giving away $4 million per annum in tax cuts that this country does not have to give away, and saying that the country does have that sort of money to give away. The Leader of the Opposition did not win the election, despite the size of that bribe, because he could not lie straight in bed and tell two stories 2 days in a row. He could not do it. The Leader of the Opposition found himself at variance with the truth too often in those 4 weeks. Too often the Leader of the Opposition found he was \u201Cnuancing\u201D himself into the swamp again and again and again. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000556\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003EThe Leader of the Opposition cannot work out how to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Those are the three criteria. The first and the third will not do. If one tells the truth and nothing but the truth but does not tell the whole truth, that will not do. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000557\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003ESo the Leader of the Opposition managed to blow the campaign. He pretty much bribed people with their own money, he would have wrecked an economy he spent the 1990s trying to fix from his then job, then he pretty much managed to make enough nuanced remarks to get caught day in, day out, every week. We just could not believe it. We said: \u201CMy God, that was amazing. Next week will be better for them.\u201D But on Monday there would be another stuff-up, always from the Leader of the Opposition\u2014unless it was from the member for Rakaia about logging, which was the only non - Leader of the Opposition cock-up in the whole campaign. The rest of the party performed pretty well. But the Leader of the Opposition was a liability to himself and finally to his party, and he came in second, despite a bribe that was bigger than any I have seen in my political career. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000558\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003EThat man scratched every itch. He approached every\u2014[Interruption] Dr Cullen should not be telling members that today, it is for tomorrow. Dr Cullen has just leaked something but everyone was shouting so members did not hear it, and I certainly will not repeat it. It is for tomorrow. The Leader of the Opposition scratched every itch, he appealed to every prejudice, and he reached in for the biggest bribe I have ever seen, and he lost!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000559\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c41a500816f143189f1aba2b416c52f6\u0022\u003EDr Don Brash\u003C/span\u003E: No, no, no.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000560\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002224a8f60e670e40f2b50a2f5ed13348b3\u0022\u003EHon PETE HODGSON\u003C/span\u003E: The member should not say: \u201CNo, no, no.\u201D What happened was that $3.9 billion a year turned out to be not enough. It was an extraordinary bribe and it turned out not to be enough. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000561\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003EI just cannot believe that a guy who preached fiscal restraint for all the 1990s would turn round and, in order to get himself a name, would then bribe the economy with $3.9 billion. I think the Leader of the Opposition has to be satisfied that his epitaph in history is to have signed each $5 note in this country, and that is about it. He will not fight another election. It is not going to happen. He is not, as a 68-year-old, going to fight another election. It will not be feasible for him to stand in an election for a term of office that, when concluded, will see him aged 71 years. It will not happen. The member will in due course take his leave from Parliament, give what I hope is a gracious speech, and I hope he will enjoy a well-earned retirement, but he will not be Prime Minister. He will not be Prime Minister because he could not keep a straight story. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000562\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003EIt was a very interesting and, for me, very revealing campaign. It was the most difficult campaign I have been in because there was a certain ugliness about it that I have not experienced since the 1981 tour. Even that tour had a certain friendliness about it that I thought was very sweetly recalled by Mr Brownlee in his comments regarding Rod Donald last week. I have not been in a campaign that had a thread of ugliness running through it as deep, as rich, and as damaging to me as in the last campaign. I found it very difficult, indeed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000563\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003EI am very pleased that in this country, when one brings together racism, homophobia, bribery, and dishonesty, one cannot win. I am very pleased that that is the case, and I urge the National Party to find a new strategy next time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022 data-id=\u00228ba8ed6a109a4965b0ef0e7e9f4a05f3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000564\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228ba8ed6a109a4965b0ef0e7e9f4a05f3\u0022\u003EDIANNE YATES (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E First, I congratulate the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, and the Assistant Speakers on their election\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000565\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222233aa06a5cd4baea9ddd6c08ab02a1e\u0022\u003EHon Dr Michael Cullen\u003C/span\u003E: And the caucus secretary!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000566\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022480cf4dc2a764343925ab01864a8c143\u0022\u003EDIANNE YATES\u003C/span\u003E: Yes\u2014and the caucus secretary, and the Governor-General for her Speech from the Throne. I congratulate all the new members of the House on winning their seats and becoming members of Parliament. I look forward to further maiden speeches of the quality we have had today.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000567\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003EAs my colleague Jill Pettis has said, the National Party went into the election with only one policy and, as Pete Hodgson has already said, it was a bribe. I recently talked to an American in New Zealand. He was a very highly qualified American, who said that he was proud of the people of New Zealand. He said that in America if people had been offered that sort of bribe they would have fallen for it, but that in New Zealand people were much more intelligent, more community-minded, and they did not fall for that bribe. The people of New Zealand have greater intelligence and a much greater sense of community\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000568\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d48244fc-ceef-4ef5-9cee-851e4d439468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002205fb91847e0a4cfdb02391dc196be4cd\u0022\u003EDr Don Brash\u003C/span\u003E: You said they were bribed with their own money!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000569\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002291dfe5c800bf4b80b8587f7ed20c25c5\u0022\u003EDIANNE YATES\u003C/span\u003E: It was Dr Brash who said they were bribed with their own money. [Interruption] I did not say that; he said it. [Interruption] I am not going to argue with Dr Brash because in 10 minutes he will change his mind. Dr Brash is constantly \u201CMr Flip-flop\u201D. He is constantly an embarrassment. He constantly did not know his policy on housing. One minute it was one policy but the next minute it was the other. He wanted to be Prime Minister but he could not remember his own policy at election time. He wanted to be Prime Minister but he did not know what his policy on forestry was, and then he did not know what Brian Connell was saying. Flip-flop, flip-flop\u2014it is a very apt term. Dr Brash was going to borrow, then he was not going to borrow, then he was going to borrow, then he was not going to borrow\u2014flip-flop, flip-flop all over the place. He said that no, no, he would not sell any State assets\u2014[Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003EDr Brash has had his opportunity to speak today and he muffed it. There were members of his own party who got much more applause and much more attention that he did. Why should he yell at me? He has had his opportunity to make a speech. As the leader of a party he muffed his own speech today. He cannot even make a decent speech in this House, let alone to the people of New Zealand. [Interruption] I cannot say what Dr Brash is the member for, because he did not even have the guts to stand for a seat. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000571\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229a946f701c7544edab71465a725417b1\u0022\u003EHon Lianne Dalziel\u003C/span\u003E: He\u2019s the caretaker Leader of the Opposition.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000572\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002204eae71d6a7e4b9cbd055d794b18e490\u0022\u003EDIANNE YATES\u003C/span\u003E: He is the caretaker Leader of the Opposition. How many times has he stood for a seat and lost? Goodness me. He does not know his own policy on assets. Will he or will he not sell Kiwibank? Does he know where he is from one day to another? The member does not know where he is on any policy. He has only one policy\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000573\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e1400c1384c249a8a6254dd1163c3742\u0022\u003EGerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. We are in a bit of a difficult situation, because the member\u2019s own caucus is heckling her in an effort to get her back on to the topic. It is a wide-ranging debate on the statement that the Prime Minister prepared for the Governor-General to read, which is therefore called the Speech from the Throne. From that speech it is evident that Labour does not want New Zealanders who are hard-working to get more money\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000574\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ed9ad81-05c1-4171-80c6-24fa02cade42\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226a9897bf94d340f59ebda78714235769\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: What is the point of order?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000575\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002268e3ed9508204b5da01e038b0db51b6c\u0022\u003EGerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: They do not want New Zealanders who are ill to be treated in our public health system. They do not want to fix all the problems in the education system. So why does that member not talk about why they do not want those things?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000576\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ed9ad81-05c1-4171-80c6-24fa02cade42\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d66e31870938480684d49957f4828709\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Brownlee.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000577\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c7989946e6c7486597fc59c4db187be0\u0022\u003EDIANNE YATES\u003C/span\u003E: I thank Mr Gerry Brownlee for his interjection. He was the man who insulted the Governor-General, and then dared to say what I have said about the Governor-General. I find that extremely rich coming from him. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000578\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003EThen we had Dr Brash say how much he would spend on roading\u2014and what did that sum end up as in my electorate? It was exactly the same as Labour was going to spend, so that was really amazing. Then he did not know what he thought on the nuclear issue. He was going to be pro-nuclear, then he was going to be antinuclear, then he was pro-nuclear and then antinuclear. That man wiggled all over the place.[Interruption] I know that the member opposite who is shouting would not have done that. He would have been much clearer and probably would have make a very good bid for Leader of the Opposition.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000579\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003EI have listened to Dr Brash, and as a Kiwi I have been ashamed of what he has said. Quite honestly, I do not think that Dr Brash has read much about New Zealand, or lived in New Zealand since about 1953. The sort of rubbish and divisiveness he has come out with was fashionable around 1953. I want the member to tell me what he has read about race issues, gender issues, or any social issues in this country in the last 50 years. I do not think that having a wife who comes from Singapore will substitute for some decent hard work on where we are, what the social issues are, what New Zealanders think, and what our country is.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000580\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ba7dcacc419043f49c95eeaee7b48017\u0022\u003ELindsay Tisch\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The member is\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000581\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ed9ad81-05c1-4171-80c6-24fa02cade42\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220d09bc1b2f4744bc9d45216ad4a034e5\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000582\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228174a394bbdc4c30a0216307078e3bb0\u0022\u003ELindsay Tisch\u003C/span\u003E: Do you want me to say what my point of order is?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000583\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ed9ad81-05c1-4171-80c6-24fa02cade42\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ea17c18264ce4c119da69d9803953173\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, I understand what your point of order is. I would ask the member who is speaking not to bring members\u2019 families into it, at all.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000584\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227c3521e706fd4a0f90ad26f5b14305db\u0022\u003EDIANNE YATES\u003C/span\u003E: I withdraw and apologise.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003EI refer members to the Speech from the Throne. I am proud that New Zealand has such a low unemployment rate. As my colleagues have said, we have more New Zealanders\u2014[Interruption] I hear Mr Brownlee saying that we do not want New Zealanders working hard. We have more New Zealanders working hard than his Government has ever had, or that we have had in this country for years and years. We have more people in training than we have had for years and years. We have promised another 5,000 apprenticeships. The National Party ran down the apprenticeship scheme and trade training. I thank Jill Pettis for mentioning trade training, because we have had people complain about a shortage of trade training. We have had a leaky buildings problem and we can blame George Chapman for that one\u2014not the Labour Government. We can blame George Chapman and deregulation for bringing that about. I know that, because I sat on the inquiry, and so did Shane Ardern. He knows that deregulation brought about that huge problem concerning Kiwi homes. He knows all too well that it brought that problem about. The lack of apprenticeships is just one of those problems.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000586\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003EWe are putting huge amounts of money into tertiary education and I thank Michael Cullen for taking over that portfolio and for looking seriously into the whole issue. We have put more money, and we are putting more money, into early childhood education.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000587\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228a9e7d000e9d4404a597667e50b6947e\u0022\u003EJill Pettis\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am sorry to interrupt my own colleague, and I know that Mr Speaker was distracted, but there has been an absolute barrage. This is the start of the new term and it is already very obvious that the misogynous behaviour\u2014[Interruption] I am in a point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000588\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ed9ad81-05c1-4171-80c6-24fa02cade42\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223b8e152222b7420cb90df82a6d32573e\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Quiet please. I think I have grasped the member\u2019s point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000589\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022100c980ecf8a4e4fbfabcdbd59a687e6\u0022\u003EJill Pettis\u003C/span\u003E: Hang on\u2014nobody minds a fair go. However, I am just asking members on the other side of the House to give the member who is currently on her feet a fair go during this debate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000590\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bf5bbd4138144585a71037f985efb4c9\u0022\u003ESimon Power\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000591\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ed9ad81-05c1-4171-80c6-24fa02cade42\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ba66538372bf4fae8b1e7702698fed86\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, I do not need any more information, or any other comments.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000592\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022efdaaaa3c9b74e848344f2deefbc242b\u0022\u003ESimon Power\u003C/span\u003E: We have to listen to her dulcet tones.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000593\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ed9ad81-05c1-4171-80c6-24fa02cade42\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c1b62faaf0d549d4b19a57b7449b5272\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I understand the position, and the member was talking about too much noise, basically. I think it was coming from all around the House, but I ask members to give the member speaking a fair go, please.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000594\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002237ae4328aa0c4ecb885c39d1bf321cea\u0022\u003EDIANNE YATES\u003C/span\u003E: I do not mind. I imagine that Opposition members are like dogs behind a farm gate that sort of go: \u201CWoo, woo, woo!\u201D, and all I can respond is: \u201CDown, down, down!\u201D There they go again, all barking at once, which is just fine. It is a lovely image; I can just see them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000595\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aff6e7292ac149acba994cafae9d2570\u0022\u003EHon Dr Michael Cullen\u003C/span\u003E: Very excited by sheep.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000596\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002243a6ec714d0f48c29a1f06aab4c6971f\u0022\u003EDIANNE YATES\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, they are. They are very, very excited by sheep!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000597\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003EWe have raised the minimum wage every year since coming to Government and we will continue to raise that minimum wage. We thank New Zealand First for its input into that. We are also lifting the rate of New Zealand superannuation. Primary health is another area where Labour is proud of its record, and it will continue. It will continue on with school checks, and it will continue to check babies\u2019 hearing and improve the health of New Zealanders\u2014even Dr Brash\u2019s health when he is over 65. [Interruption] We will increase the number\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000598\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ed9ad81-05c1-4171-80c6-24fa02cade42\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002293d7008b529d4d99a43ffe210fcdac07\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The issue of too much noise was raised by way of a point of order just a few minutes ago. I think that the level of interjection is becoming not intolerable but undesirable.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000599\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b3f894a321454650914b041c0f0aff1a\u0022\u003ELindsay Tisch\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. My colleague here was wondering how \u201CWoo, woo, woo!\u201D will be reported by Hansard and what the spelling of it might be. That is really what my colleague was asking about, and I think that it is a fair question. I am trying to help the Hansard reporters on how they would actually spell \u201CWoo, woo, woo!\u201D.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000600\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ed9ad81-05c1-4171-80c6-24fa02cade42\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e1e50018c1ad412783766644fc7392e6\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That is what he was asking across the floor. The member chose not to answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000601\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226c7a74623b4d4d1c9094fe47c26cb18b\u0022\u003EDIANNE YATES\u003C/span\u003E I certainly consider that rather canine noises are coming from the other side of the House. [Interruption] I will certainly check my Hansard and check the spelling.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000602\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003EI am proud to be a Kiwi, but I am absolutely ashamed that Dr Brash actually said in a television interview that members of the Labour Party were not \u201Cmainstream\u201D. Does that mean that Michael Joseph Savage, David Lange, Norman Kirk, and Geoffrey Palmer were, or are, not mainstream New Zealanders? Does that mean that Dr Brash, until he turned about 35, was not a mainstream New Zealander, or Tim Groser, or anybody else who suddenly had a magic conversion to some kind of economic theory that put New Zealand back 20, 30, 40, or 50 years? I ask Gerry Brownlee whether that means that the good people of New Zealand who work hard every day are not mainstream New Zealanders. I found that \u201CWoo, woo, woo\u201D very offensive. That is the sort of noise that comes out of that member, and that canine attitude is what is not mainstream New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000603\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003EMainstream New Zealanders are the Mabel Howards of this world. Mainstream New Zealanders are the people who fought for this country, for their values, and for a united and not a divided New Zealand\u2014which is the image that has been portrayed by people on the other side during this last election, and which has made me ashamed of them. Some of the people on the other side need to look very closely at their values. If those members are silly enough to laugh now, they are silly enough not to call themselves mainstream New Zealanders. I think that that is absolutely appalling.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000604\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749a724d-1ef9-49cb-9ba2-2610403653ea\u0022\u003EI look forward to a Labour-led Government, and to an inclusive and very valuable New Zealand society that will grow\u2014a society that we will be proud of\u2014and a Prime Minister who will go down in history as one of the greatest Prime Ministers this country has ever seen.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022 data-id=\u0022a1a2fd0dd5b349c483ae688fd1aba42f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000605\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a1a2fd0dd5b349c483ae688fd1aba42f\u0022\u003EMARK BLUMSKY (National):\u003C/span\u003E I just want to say to my daughter, Kendra, that I hope the next 15 minutes of good behaviour are the 15 minutes she remembers of the New Zealand Parliament. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Hon Margaret Wilson on being appointed Speaker, and you, Mr Deputy Speaker, on your appointment. I am honoured that you are in the Chair tonight. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000606\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003EPoet James K Baxter once famously called Wellington the \u201Csterile whore of a thousand bureaucrats\u201D. His rather unflattering description, while it may have been accurate at the time, is clearly dated. Wellington has truly changed as a city, and it is anything but sterile today. It has also been a very long time since Wellington had just a thousand bureaucrats. I am extremely proud to have played a part in the transformation of Wellington from sterile to vibrant, from a sea of grey to a field of colour. It was a transformation that started with pride and a shift in attitude; the physical changes actually came later. I want to see similar changes in New Zealand as a nation. I want to be part of making that change happen. Today I want to lay out my vision for the future of New Zealand and my role as a member of Parliament for the National Party. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000607\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003EBut I first want to thank the people who got me into this House where I have the opportunity to make a difference. I start by acknowledging the love and support of my family, who are here tonight, without whom I literally would not be here today. Not many people know that my dad, John Blumsky, stood for National in 1972. Our campaigns had a lot in common. We both ran against sitting Labour MPs\u2014Tom McGuigan in his case\u2014and unfortunately we both lost. Dad went on to carve out a stellar career in broadcasting, and, as for me, I have entered the House\u2014just not quite through the door of my choice. As a result I can assure members now that I am a huge fan of MMP, and I hope to take this chance to carve out a career in politics that will make my dad proud. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000608\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003EI also take some time to publicly thank my wife, Corinne. I met Corinne Denis\u2014as she was then\u2014when she was 16 years old and had just left school with School Certificate English and typing. She started in a law firm as the boss\u2019s secretary typing his letters and papers. She actually became interested in what she was typing and started her legal education from there. Seventeen years and many, many exams later, she is now a fully-fledged partner in that same law firm, having been the Mayoress of Wellington and the mother of our daughter, Kendra, as well. I am in awe of her and what she has done. She is a role model and an inspiration for me and many, many others. I am very proud of her, and I do not tell her often enough. So thank you. I am delighted my daughter, Kendra, is here tonight. I will talk a little bit more about her later on. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000609\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003EI want to thank Don Brash and Judy Kirk for welcoming me to the National Party. I want to thank the members of Parliament from the National Party, old and new, who have given me advice and support throughout the campaign and since the election. I would like to record my thanks to the many people who gave their time, effort, and support to my campaign. In particular I would like to thank Patricia Morrison, David Farrar, and the team, who worked bloody hard to help me. It is nice to see so many of them here tonight. I also want to thank my executive assistant, Susan Palmer, who has my office running so smoothly that I fear it will take me months to catch up with it. Finally I must also thank the National Party delegates who gave me the decent list ranking, which was just as well, as it turned out. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000610\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003EI stand in this House proud to be a member of Parliament, and proud to be a Wellingtonian. When I say I want to be a voice for Wellington in the Chamber, I mean it. This is not just the city where I live; this is a city I do deeply love. To me it is the best place to live, work, love, and play anywhere in the world. It is a city that is absolutely positively thriving. Every day I stand on one of my balconies and look out over the inner city of Wellington\u2014the heart of Wellington. I can almost feel the pulse of the city. I feel like I can almost touch the spirit of the city. People live everywhere in the city now\u2014in buildings old and new. They live in little developments that even long-term Wellingtonians have never heard of or are unaware of. They do make the city what it is. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000611\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003EHowever, it is important to recognise that Wellington is not just a city of James K Baxter\u2019s public servants. Wellington cannot be seen as just a Government town\u2014Wellington needs new business, too. Start-up companies and new businesses are what will keep Wellington growing. But one main constraint facing businesses is the cost and availability of office space. Demand from the public sector is making space in the city increasingly difficult to obtain. I actually found that out myself. During the campaign I was actually forced to move from my campaign office because the building I was in had just been leased by a Government department. That was almost a little too ironic, even for me.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000612\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003EReservations about the size of the public service are nothing new. At one stage in our nation\u2019s history, the entire public service was housed in the old Government Buildings, just down the road. In the course of preparing my speech, as many have done before me, I read the maiden statements of a wide variety of parliamentarians. One quote on this subject particularly struck me. It read: \u201C\u2026 many of us express anxiety about the growth of the public sector \u2026 which we must control, and even reduce.\u201D I suspect\u2014and the new razor gang may even agree\u2014that those words are as true today as when they were spoken in 1979 by the Rt Hon Winston Peters. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000613\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003EI firmly believe that life is a series of learnings. At every stage in our lives\u2014at work, with our families, in our community, or at home\u2014there are lessons to be learnt if only we are open to those learnings. Over the years I have worked in a wide variety of industries with a huge array of talented and dedicated people. From the shoe industry, Hannah\u2019s and Mischief, I learnt the importance of customer satisfaction, and how to put myself in the other person\u2019s shoes when trying to find a solution to a specific problem. As Mayor of Wellington I learnt the importance of leadership, and the power of pride and attitude in making a change. From my work at the high-growth start-up incubator, Creative HQ, I saw and understood the power of inspiration and entrepreneurship. From my community work with the Wellington Free Ambulance and the Mary Potter Hospice, I learnt so much about the strength of people and the strength of families in times of need, and the impact and importance of volunteers. All those learnings will help shape my decision making in Parliament. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000614\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003EThe challenge in Parliament is to speak in terms of vision\u2014what caused me to stand for Parliament. I want to set out my vision of New Zealand\u2019s future, and, in doing so, I can assure members that I am acutely aware of my place as a back-bench Opposition MP, and part of a very large and very talented National Party class of 2005. I recognise my situation, but I am here to make a difference. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000615\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003EI am a naturally positive person, but I am concerned at the way New Zealand is drifting. It is more of a drift than a conscious move, but the trend is serious. As I look at New Zealand I do worry about our national attitude. When faced with a challenge too many Kiwis are saying \u201CNo\u201D too early and too often. We need to be saying: \u201CI think I can. Let me just think a little bit as to how.\u201D Why are we now looking at things so negatively? We need to start teaching and talking with a positive attitude. We cannot be accepting of mediocrity or hostile to success. We seem to be lacking pride, but accumulating cynicism. We seem to be moving away from self-reliance to an attitude that the world owes us a living. Young people are the future of this country, yet too often their aspiration is replaced by apathy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000616\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003ETo an extent I saw many of those traits in Wellington when I became mayor. I made it my priority to change that attitude. I promoted positivity, pride, big ideas, innovation, creativity, and fun\u2014and it worked, too. Once the attitude changed the city could change. We could redevelop and grow and, as a result, Wellington has changed. We have Wellingtonians who are proud of their city acting as ambassadors to the rest of the country and the rest of the world. It is not actually a naturally Kiwi trait to be overtly proud of one\u2019s city, but somehow we made it work. I want to know why we cannot take that attitude nationally. We prove every day that our bands, films, food, software, wine, fashion, sport, books, beer, and drama are world-class. Yet at home we seem to lack a national aspiration\u2014a national attitude.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000617\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003E We need to wake up as a country and stand tall. Right now we have an education system that discourages kids from striving to excel. Right now we have a welfare system that discourages parents from working too hard to get ahead. Right now we are institutionalising the attitude that we should not stretch or strive to succeed, and that we should do only what is absolutely necessary to get by. Right now we are telling ourselves and the world that this truly is as good as it gets. That is what John Key eloquently called the \u201CPoverty of expectation and ambition\u201D in his maiden speech, just 3 years ago. We need to develop a national attitude that celebrates success, supports hard work, encourages excellence, and demonstrates positivity and pride. I am becoming increasingly convinced that a new flag will be needed to reflect this new attitude\u2014it may well be just the catalyst we need. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000618\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003EI stood for the National Party because I believe that it has a mix of policies and leadership most likely to make the necessary changes to our attitude as a country. National is the party most likely to make New Zealand the place I want for my daughter\u2014for the next generation. I stand for a New Zealand that has less government, more business, lower taxes, and a better attitude. We, as politicians, should provide the environment where people and families, and companies and cities, can thrive. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000619\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003EIn this term I intend to work hard for the people of Wellington in order to earn their support at the next election in under 3 years\u2019 time. I will be a voice for Wellington in Wellington. There are a number of Wellington issues that I wish to advance on behalf of Wellingtonians. We need to see progress on Transmission Gully. We need to see it now; it is necessary. Wellington needs more police. As part of the many agreements in place to cobble together a Government, there is a promise of a 1,000 new police in 3 years\u2019 time. Be under no illusion, Wellington needs its share. Out at the airport, it is vital that the new generation Boeing 787 jets are able to land in Wellington. These planes represent the future of travel, and Wellington simply cannot afford to be left out of that loop. Another reality is that there are simply too many councils in the Wellington region. It is hopeless. As an example, I am not convinced that the needs of Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt are so different that they need completely different councils. We need to look seriously at some level of local government amalgamation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000620\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003EFinally, I am convinced that we need to find some innovative ways of protecting Wellington from disruptive and abusive vagrants. It is simply not good enough for staff and customers at a Wellington cafe at 8.30 on a Tuesday morning to be abused by a vagrant who is high on drugs, alcohol, or methylated spirits. As a Wellington MP, I will lead a response to this problem. Businesses are hurting. We need to solve the problem now. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000621\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003EIn conclusion, my vision is a Wellington and a New Zealand that our children want to live in. Like 61,640 other Kiwis, Mark Blumsky, Shane Jones, Don Brash, Jo Goodhew, Damien O\u2019Connor, and Heather Roy all have children around 12 or 13 years of age\u2014going on 18, if they are like Kendra. Most of us do what we do in Parliament for our children. MPs, contrary to popular belief, are not usually in it for themselves. I have entered politics to make a difference for my girl Kendra. I want her to learn and live and love. I want her to travel the world. I want her to want to come back home to New Zealand\u2014to a good job, to choices, to safety, to a clean environment, and to a good education system that has marks. Ronald Reagan was at his best when he said: \u201CEach generation sees farther than the generation that preceded it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You\u2019re going to have opportunities beyond anything that we\u2019ve ever known.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000622\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224ff3e092-9caa-44d9-9171-5c8fca280d96\u0022\u003EI want Kendra to have those opportunities. I want all young New Zealanders to have those opportunities, because they deserve them. They deserve a New Zealand that does not force them to stay. They deserve a New Zealand that does not bribe them to stay. They deserve a New Zealand they want to live in. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022 data-id=\u0022736e30368ca748eab6bd1c70e41345ff\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000623\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022736e30368ca748eab6bd1c70e41345ff\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH TIZARD (Minister of Consumer Affairs):\u003C/span\u003E Mr Deputy Speaker, I want to start this Address in Reply speech by congratulating you on your appointment as Deputy Speaker and Madam Speaker on her election. I have great confidence that this House will be well-led and well-organised, and I am sure that as we all gather to make this respectful Address in Reply to the Governor-General on the occasion of the Speech from the Throne, New Zealanders will get some taste of what the next 3 years will include. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000624\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003EWe had a very positive Speech from the Throne, in which this Government set out what it intends to achieve in the next 3 years to consolidate the major work it has done over the last 6 years. We also recognise that there are major challenges ahead. Indeed, we have to bring New Zealand back together in a way that we have not been challenged to do since the 1980s. I found the last election campaign to be nastier and more divisive than any I have participated in. After seeing the level of personal abuse of candidates through the campaign\u2014often from anonymous sources\u2014and after seeing the level of aggravation in the House in the last couple of days, I think we are in for a pretty rough ride as New Zealanders. As the mover of this debate Shane Jones said, at the centre of this Government we have a passionate belief in mainstream New Zealanders, and in the decency and the values that hold us together in our families, in our communities, and as a nation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000625\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003EI am delighted to say that in Auckland Central 45.2 percent of the people who voted\u2014and over 5,000 more people voted in this election than in the last one\u2014voted for Labour. That was a huge vote of confidence in the direction offered to Auckland by a Labour Government\u2014and Auckland is New Zealand\u2019s major international city. As I often say around New Zealand, if Auckland is not moving well and effectively for the whole of New Zealand, then our children and grandchildren will have to look for jobs in cities in Australia, Asia, North America, South America, or Europe. Auckland must work well for New Zealanders, and I am proud to say that we received a huge vote of confidence in Auckland for this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003EI want to congratulate the other parties, and I say to the member who has just sat down that I am not sure which party he was most recently in\u2014whether it was the National Party or United Future. But I am delighted to be working in a confidence and supply arrangement with United Future, New Zealand First, and Jim Anderton\u2019s Progressive, and in association with the Greens. I believe that this Government does represent the broad range of values of mainstream New Zealanders, and I acknowledge the disappointment, which many people in my electorate have expressed, that the Greens are not part of that arrangement. But, as Rod Donald said when I spoke with him: \u201CWe didn\u2019t get enough votes.\u201D This Government is profoundly democratic and we have formed a Government that will work for New Zealanders and represent mainstream concerns. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000627\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003EI want to talk a little about what this Government has done in Auckland and what the Speech from the Throne has foreshadowed. Our major work over the last 6 years has been around transport, around a sustainable city\u2019s work, to develop sustainable public transport and good roading networks that work in with each other and connect up with public transport, and around an environment where we have clean air and quality water available, as well as energy. We are looking at the major infrastructure issues, but we are also considering the people who live in Auckland. There are major programmes that are looking at youth development, training, and opportunities for young people to get the trades so as to get the technical capacities as well as to get the broader education they need. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000628\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003EWe have done a huge amount of work in economic development in Auckland, and I am delighted to see the recent Treasury report that says that Auckland is indeed pulling its weight on an economic basis. It could work better. It could work in a more productive way, but in terms of the hours worked, Aucklanders are working extremely hard for Auckland and New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000629\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003EI also want to spend some time on what the Government has done in the creative industries, because that is a vital part of what we are doing in Auckland. I first of all congratulate the member from the National Party who preceded me in this debate on his words about film. I want to give some credit to this Government, which put $22 million into film 5\u00BD years ago. We have since seen the best films that have ever been made in New Zealand, and I am quite blas\u00E9 about putting out an ad: if people have not seen The World\u2019s Fastest Indian, they should go and see it. It is a fabulous New Zealand film of a fabulous New Zealand story. It is told by a New Zealander who has come back to New Zealand after being away for 30 years. There are thousands of people like Roger Donaldson who have something important to contribute to this country, and under this Government they are having the opportunity to do that. I am delighted to say that the Film Commission in its latest report tells me that from that $22 million investment, we have already seen $75 million of clear return. That is investment in jobs, in opportunities, and\u2014as people in the tourism industry all around New Zealand say\u2014in advertising and branding for New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003EI am delighted to see what this Government has been able to do, not just in film but also in music. We have doubled the amount of New Zealand music being broadcast, which means we have doubled the income of New Zealand musicians, over the last 6 years. Toi M\u0101ori Aotearoa took a M\u0101ori visual arts exhibition to San Francisco, to rave reviews. We saw the tourism potential in doing that, but we are also seeing real jobs for New Zealanders across the communities of New Zealand and in our cities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000631\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003EThis Government has foreshadowed that we will be looking at artists\u2019 resale rights and a number of other efforts to protect and improve the incomes of artists in dance, kapahaka, drama, and the performing arts generally. I am proud and excited to see what we have done in building infrastructure around New Zealand museums and galleries, which, again, provide real jobs in tourism and in communities. These are real jobs with good incomes that this Government is delivering. I am excited to see what is happening in schools with the arts curriculum and with the development of training in all of those arts and creative industries, which is where the jobs of the future will be. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000632\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003EI am proud to say that this Government is working in this area under the leadership of the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, the Rt Hon Helen Clark, for many reasons, but I want to explain to Parliament that we are doing this because it is about our children\u2019s stories and our grandparents\u2019 stories. It is about who we are and how we describe our nation. It is about a multicultural country built on a bicultural base, examining the issues around identity and culture. It is about how we have that debate across families, communities, and generations, and about how we represent ourselves internationally. It is also about jobs and exports. It is about tourism and about economic return. I went to an exhibition last night, Exposure, by Massey University\u2019s transport design school in Auckland. It is proposing to transform the car industry and the boatbuilding industry, and those people recognise that the work that this Government has done in those design task forces, in that economic area, was given credit by many people out there. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000633\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003EI am proud to be part of a Government that was elected by a country that rejected the biggest bribe that we have seen since Rob Muldoon. The bribe of $3.9 billion was not enough to buy New Zealand, because people did not trust the National Party led by Don Brash. The racism, bribery, homophobia, nasty personal attacks, and intolerance that I saw in this election campaign should make the other side ashamed. That bribery nearly worked, until Don Brash described Helen Clark as not being mainstream. That is when Auckland completely turned off having a National Government. Unless one knows one\u2019s own policy and one\u2019s own people\u2014and unless one is proud to stand up for New Zealand\u2019s economy, community, and people\u2014now and for the future, the National Party will never be the Government. I am very proud to be part of the third term of a Labour-led Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b8383f38-c78c-4e5d-8324-677d91e95c49\u0022 data-id=\u0022ec76ac80c5e8497cacfd70fcea563fa3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000634\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b8383f38-c78c-4e5d-8324-677d91e95c49\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ec76ac80c5e8497cacfd70fcea563fa3\u0022\u003EKEITH LOCKE (Green):\u003C/span\u003E This afternoon I joined New Zealand unionists outside the Australian High Commission to express the solidarity of the Green Party with those in Australia resisting the repressive anti-union legislation being pushed through by the Howard Government. The attack on union rights in Australia is part of a more general attack on human rights in that country, with much-criticised anti-terror legislation also going through the Australian Parliament. The Green Party this parliamentary term will continue to be an internationalist party, working with Green parties overseas to deal with global problems and expressing our support for those who are suffering\u2014from Zimbabwe to West Papua, from Tibet to Australia. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000635\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b8383f38-c78c-4e5d-8324-677d91e95c49\u0022\u003EToday we are standing alongside the Australian people, including our fellow Australian Greens, against legislation that takes away long-held union rights, and against anti-terror legislation that betrays the centuries-old right of habeas corpus. Under John Howard\u2019s anti-terror legislation people can be subject to house arrest or electronically tagged for up to a year without any charges being laid. Police will be able to impose shorter periods of preventive detention for terror suspects. Of course, John Howard tries to sell that legislation as being necessary to confront a terrorist threat, and, with exquisite timing for Mr Howard, some terror suspects have now been arrested. However, the proposed new laws were not necessary to arrest those people, and the introduction of this legislation is counterproductive. As an Australian Islamic community leader Keyser Trad said last month: \u201CIt\u2019s just going to cause greater antagonism amongst Muslims and, ironically, could be used to justify a terror act.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000636\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b8383f38-c78c-4e5d-8324-677d91e95c49\u0022\u003EMuslims in Australia feel under siege today, and we do not want to see that happen here. We have a much more tolerant climate in New Zealand. Tomorrow there will be a celebration in Parliament marking the end of Ramadan\u2014a month of prayer and positive reflection; one of whose themes is peace. However, we cannot rest on our laurels. Prejudice towards Muslims is a by-product of the so-called war on terror spearheaded by the Bush administration and implemented in a repressive legislative form by George Bush\u2019s allies, particularly John Howard and Tony Blair.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000637\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b8383f38-c78c-4e5d-8324-677d91e95c49\u0022\u003E We have some bad legislation of our own, such as the Terrorism Suppression Act of 2002 that is now being reviewed by this Parliament. One of the goals of the Green Party this term will be to prevent us from following the British and Australian lead in introducing even more draconian anti-terror legislation. We hope the Government will resist the pressure of some hard-line officials like Assistant Police Commissioner Jon White, who said in the New Zealand Herald on 19 August that he was watching the new Australian legislation and was worried that \u201CNew Zealand was a little way behind.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000638\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b8383f38-c78c-4e5d-8324-677d91e95c49\u0022\u003EA second and related goal of the Green Party will be to promote racial and religious tolerance, particularly towards Muslim people whose religion has been so negatively portrayed by such people as the leader of New Zealand First, Winston Peters. Associated with this, we will be trying to get people to understand the roots of small group terrorism of the al-Qaeda type. That has nothing to do with religion itself, but very unfortunately it draws adherents out of the political, social, and economic crisis and injustice suffered by many people in the Islamic world, particularly in places like Palestine. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000639\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b8383f38-c78c-4e5d-8324-677d91e95c49\u0022\u003EThirdly, we will try to get New Zealand to play a greater part in addressing these political, social, and economic problems. In the Middle East an essential ingredient in any such solutions is the withdrawal of the foreign occupying troops from Palestine and Iraq. We want New Zealand to be a peacemaker in the world, beyond what we have already done in places like the Solomons and Bougainville in the Pacific. Under the Green-Labour post-election agreement, we will be working out ways to progress this. To be successful we need to be seen to be pulling our weight in overseas development assistance, and we are pleased that the Green-Labour agreement also prescribes an increase in New Zealand\u2019s overseas aid. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000640\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b8383f38-c78c-4e5d-8324-677d91e95c49\u0022\u003ENew Zealanders can crow about the economic boom that this country has seen in recent years, but much of the world is in bad shape. This morning the New Zealand Herald reported that the number of rich, non-Western countries had fallen, from 19 in 1960 to nine today. It reported that overall, downward mobility of countries was more common than upward mobility. It stated further that the market reforms may drive growth, but that this tends to favour those already blessed with access to capital and other advantages\u2014namely, the already rich countries. The Greens, as internationalists, aim to get New Zealand and this Parliament to address such critical problems.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022 data-id=\u0022d10b5081064c431db75de499b874552d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000641\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d10b5081064c431db75de499b874552d\u0022\u003EMETIRIA TUREI (Green):\u003C/span\u003E First of all I want to say thank you to all those members of the public who voted for the Green Party at the last election. It was a very difficult election for our communities, and we sincerely appreciate the support. We will continue to do the work that we were originally elected to Parliament to do, and have continued for a number of years now. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000642\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EI am very proud of the Greens and the negotiations that were conducted after the election. We played a very straight and fair game. We were one of the few political parties\u2014indeed, perhaps the only political party\u2014that truly played a transparent, straight, and fair game. I am very proud that we did so. Although the results for us and for large numbers of New Zealanders who voted both for the Labour Party and for the Green Party were very disappointing, nonetheless the Greens have obtained a good-quality agreement that has enabled us, and will enable us, to get real policy initiatives through. That is, after all, the point of our being here. I am very proud of us, for what we managed to achieve under those circumstances. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000643\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EFor me, it is a real privilege to be responsible for the environmental education part of our agreement with the Labour Government, and to be responsible for that project as a whole from the Green Party perspective. Environmental education is truly a transformative issue. This has been recognised in our country by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment in his report See Change: Learning and education for sustainability, and also by the United Nations. This year is, in fact, the first year of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Therefore, we are part of a global, international movement to build environmental education truly into the curriculum and the activities of our young people so that we will have a real environmental sustainable future. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000644\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EThat part of the agreement builds on a previous Green Budget bid that enables resource people in teachers\u2019 colleges and colleges of education. It builds on not just the money that we achieved those few years ago but also the community volunteers who have a massive environmental passion for environmental education, and local government support to provide support for schools to develop environmental education in their curriculum and with their children. Certainly, the Enviroschools Programme, which was established by the Enviroschools Foundation, is enormously successful, with many tens of schools involved in Enviroschools, and increasingly, kura kaupapa is being a part of that project as well. It is an enormously fantastic development and it goes to show that communities really can make real change. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000645\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EThe Green Party wants to see in that project much greater and more secure support for schools, teachers, and children, making sure that they have access to the financial resources to promote and support environmental education in schools. There needs to be much better coordination of the logistics and policy support for environmental education across the curriculum, across schools, so that all schools and all children can have access to quality resources. In particular, a personal passion of mine is the development of reo support so that more kura, k\u014Dhanga reo, and w\u0101nanga are able to be part of the Enviroschools Programme, to develop resources for them for environmental education that truly recognise and reflect kaitiakitanga\u2014the tikanga of M\u0101ori, the indigenous people of this country\u2014in environmental education, and for that to flow on into the mainstream schools as well, so that those values are part of our environmental understanding. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000646\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EChildren need information and skills if they are to grow into responsible, caring adults who recognise the limitations on our planet. Environmental education is the No. 1 key way of making sure that happens. It is about building strong personal responsibility in every young person, to make sure they understand their personal connection to the world around them. It is about them recognising the power of collective action\u2014that together with their personal responsibility and that of others they can make a real difference to the world around them. Finally, it is about instilling in them the deepest respect for the limits of our environment to provide for us so that they are able to ensure that our environment will continue to provide for us all, well into the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022fd427be0-7196-4605-b39e-d665553240b0\u0022 data-id=\u0022d4fbea399d1c4656aeb245dd828917c7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000647\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fd427be0-7196-4605-b39e-d665553240b0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d4fbea399d1c4656aeb245dd828917c7\u0022\u003ELYNNE PILLAY (Labour\u2014Waitakere):\u003C/span\u003E The first thing I want to do tonight is to acknowledge the two previous speakers, the great things they said, and their commitment not only to the environment but to workers\u2019 rights\u2014to all the things that the Labour Party holds dear. I think it is really important that we stand and acknowledge the things that are happening. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000648\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fd427be0-7196-4605-b39e-d665553240b0\u0022\u003EI also want to acknowledge our previous speakers from the Labour Party\u2014Shane Jones and Sue Moroney\u2014who I think did us proud in the House tonight. They stood and spoke about the things that they hold dear, the things that made them want to stand for Parliament, and the things that they want to represent their people on. I felt a real pride when I heard what they talked about today. I cannot go past acknowledging Sue Moroney, who comes from a racing background like myself. I see my friend over there in the Opposition, Lindsay Tisch; he is probably not quite from the same area. The Moroneys train horses, and I think Lindsay Tisch and I have more to do with the riding side of things. We are a little bit disadvantaged in the height stakes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000649\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fd427be0-7196-4605-b39e-d665553240b0\u0022\u003EBut I also know that they acknowledged Helen Duncan in their speeches. I think that was a wonderful thing that Sue Moroney did. I want to take a little time to acknowledge all that Helen Duncan did. She was here to represent workers, to represent families, and to represent all the things that she holds dear. It was really wonderful for us on this side of the House to hear her recognised in such a wonderful way today. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000650\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fd427be0-7196-4605-b39e-d665553240b0\u0022\u003EIt is time now to reflect on my first term, because I am coming into my second term as the MP for Waitakere. I was really happy to win that seat again. It is time to reflect on what our Government has achieved in that time. There have been many achievements, but I want to talk about the things that are special to me. We know that under this Government we have had the best job prospects in decades. We have the lowest unemployment rate we have had for years. We see training in skills. Our initiatives are really coming to fruition. If we look at other countries, or if we look at Paris at the moment, we see young people who do not have those opportunities. They are dispossessed. We can compare that with the opportunities and the success stories that we see with our young people.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000651\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fd427be0-7196-4605-b39e-d665553240b0\u0022\u003E Very recently I attended the Gateway programme in Waitakere, and I was very disappointed not to see any members of the Opposition there. John Key did not manage to get there. However, it was really great for me, as one of the local members, to represent my colleagues David Cunliffe and Chris Carter, and my former colleague John Tamihere, and to see the success of those young people in getting into training and skills. The uptake was the biggest ever from the Gateway programme, and the reason that it has been a major success is not just the result of what the Government has put in but also because of the way that people\u2014the stakeholders, the employers, the schools, the parents, and the young people\u2014have embraced it and are moving forward with it. There have been major successes in that area. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000652\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fd427be0-7196-4605-b39e-d665553240b0\u0022\u003EThen I went to the prize-giving at Massey High School. Again, John Key could not make it. I do not know what he was doing that night, but it was wonderful to see that celebration of success\u2014a multicultural plethora of young people going forward and succeeding. Those are things we can celebrate. They represent a real future for our young people. I have talked before about apprenticeships. We are looking at there being no interest on student loans, not only while young people are training and studying but also when they graduate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000653\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fd427be0-7196-4605-b39e-d665553240b0\u0022\u003ENow we are looking towards the future. Homeownership is not a dream but a reality with our savings incentive of $1,000 upfront to encourage saving. We encourage that. After 5 years of saving towards a deposit for a home, the Government will give people $1,000 for every year they have saved. That is absolutely wonderful. It equates to $10,000 per couple after 5 years of saving. That is good news for young people and it is good news for New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000654\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fd427be0-7196-4605-b39e-d665553240b0\u0022\u003ELet us look at early childhood education. There will be 20 free hours of quality early childhood education for every 3 and 4-year-old in New Zealand by 2007. There is a bit of self-interest here: I just may be a grandmother in a few years\u2019 time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000655\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022757f889ed2b14e29b6bf012e4491f428\u0022\u003ELindsay Tisch\u003C/span\u003E: Go on!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000656\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fd427be0-7196-4605-b39e-d665553240b0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cb6e296dec2e4f2a92b8ab7ed7d0d12b\u0022\u003ELYNNE PILLAY\u003C/span\u003E: I know that Lindsay Tisch probably is a grandad, and Wayne Mapp too. They certainly look as though they are. But I know we will all be celebrating for our young children, because we know that early childhood education gives a real basis to achieving later in life. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000657\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fd427be0-7196-4605-b39e-d665553240b0\u0022\u003EWe have talked about the support for Working for Families. The Working for Families package will put much more money into the pockets of families with children. Families who earn from $45,000 up to $70,000 a year will benefit from that package. We know that if we invest in families our country will thrive and do well in the future. We know that we stand really proud on the world stage. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000658\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fd427be0-7196-4605-b39e-d665553240b0\u0022\u003EI can see members of the Opposition looking kind of desperate. They are hanging their heads in shame. What I see when I look at them is New Zealand\u2019s own answer to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Is that how I say his name? Members know the guy I mean\u2014the one with rippling muscles. We have our own PC eradicator. Intellectually, Wayne Mapp is exactly\u2014perhaps he is not quite up to scratch\u2014at about the same level as Arnold, but the rippling muscles have yet to come. He does not look like an eradicator. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000659\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002242a080759b4241a4801db805ef180a11\u0022\u003EHon Clayton Cosgrove\u003C/span\u003E: He looks like a plonker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000660\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fd427be0-7196-4605-b39e-d665553240b0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223ee18c4fc9d14db787a22613ba280b2c\u0022\u003ELYNNE PILLAY\u003C/span\u003E: A member is saying that he looks like a plonker. I would not be as rude as that. At the moment Wayne Mapp does not\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000661\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fa3b3985aa8f48878f2769cbee7bc3b5\u0022\u003ELindsay Tisch\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The word the member used is, I think, unparliamentary. Maybe the member could explain what she actually meant by using that word in referring to the good Dr Wayne Mapp. We know he is the eradicator, but the word the member used is, I think, unparliamentary. Maybe she could use a different word.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000662\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022272217dd685d473693257c498a0b3043\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: If we are to start saying that this word or that word is unparliamentary, then it is getting a bit precious, is it not? The word \u201Cplonker\u201D is not unparliamentary; it has not been ruled out as being unparliamentary.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000663\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ed9ad81-05c1-4171-80c6-24fa02cade42\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225acb147f5b424ce6aa7e02e16b5ef3a9\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The issue has been raised. We will move on. Thank you for raising it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000664\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022218218 \u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221e57da06b81b4104bcc7364668168abf\u0022\u003ELYNNE PILLAY\u003C/span\u003E: I will try to refrain from being too robust; the member is obviously a little sensitive. As I said, intellectually Dr Mapp may not be quite there. I think he is almost at the same level as Arnold intellectually.I have big hopes for Wayne Mapp\u2019s future in terms of the rippling muscle department\u2014if the member would stand up, I would not see it as an interruption\u2014but we know that the member is not quite there yet. There have been rumours that he has been pumping down at the gym. We support that. Already we are seeing the buttons on that shirt just slightly straining\u2014I am not talking about around the abdomen; I am talking about those biceps and chest muscles. We are looking forward to seeing that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000665\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022218218 \u0022\u003EBut seriously, what does eradicating political correctness really mean? It really means getting rid of the things that we hold dear and that we see as progress. The same thing happened under the Employment Contracts Act\u2014suddenly, \u201Cunion\u201D became a dirty word. That is what is happening with regard to political correctness now. I ask members what we have if we do not have political correctness. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000666\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d21515bb-0193-4167-a21d-982058b53604\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f3f5a6869f114ae9b22ce12ff3648da5\u0022\u003EDr Richard Worth\u003C/span\u003E: Common sense.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000667\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fd427be0-7196-4605-b39e-d665553240b0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223fedf839f42b45edb62cb75084b7156b\u0022\u003ELYNNE PILLAY\u003C/span\u003E: That is quite novel. I look back to the time when I was brought up. I know that kids, adults, and families were made to feel less than whole because of something that was perceived as being different about them. It might have been that they were M\u0101ori or of a different ethnicity\u2014they might have been Indian or Chinese. It might have been that they came from a single-parent family. It might have been that they were gay. It might have been that they were elderly. It might have been that they belonged to a union. It might have been that they were low-income earners, etc., etc. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000668\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fd427be0-7196-4605-b39e-d665553240b0\u0022\u003EI do not know whether Dr Mapp has taken a call yet, but I ask him to really explain what is so wrong about being inclusive in a society. I ask him what is so sexy about making anyone who does not fit in with the National view of the world, or of the mainstream, so wrong. It is a cheap shot, and I know it has now become a slight embarrassment to the National Party.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000669\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221fb8d8db-3e96-49c7-ab1c-b7916a50e30e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f7b007781492433dab6f2fa5cd0fa9ba\u0022\u003ESteve Chadwick\u003C/span\u003E: A huge embarrassment!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000670\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fd427be0-7196-4605-b39e-d665553240b0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002261a4d805bfc1466fb932c77670445116\u0022\u003ELYNNE PILLAY\u003C/span\u003E: A huge embarrassment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022 data-id=\u0022cbf3a86b805d4b818318df216184b937\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000671\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cbf3a86b805d4b818318df216184b937\u0022\u003EMARIAN HOBBS (Labour\u2014Wellington Central):\u003C/span\u003E Mr Deputy Speaker, it is very good to see you back in the Chair\u2014in fact, it is very good to see that particular team back in the Chair, working with us to make an effective Parliament. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000672\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EThe most recent election was an honest debate, in some ways\u2014probably the most honest election we have had in years. Once we cleared the decks of racism, mainstreaming, and other illiberal sideshows, and once we exposed the strange behaviour of Dr Brash and the secretive support by the Exclusive Brethren, we got down to the kernel of what determines the differences between the two main political approaches\u2014thank you, Greens\u2014in New Zealand politics. It goes like this: how much do we gather into the community pool, and how much do we leave to individuals to pay for themselves? The debate very clearly came down to that\u2014it certainly did in Wellington Central. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000673\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EIn simple terms, when we come to this Chamber we do two to three tasks: we make laws for the community, so that we can get some order in our lives, we raise taxes, and we decide how those taxes are spent. In New Zealand we are mostly agreed that the community, not the individual, pays for much of our education, health care, safety and security, and infrastructure\u2014roads, rail, power generation, and power transmission. In respect of education, in New Zealand it is generally accepted\u2014in compulsory schooling, anyway\u2014that the State provides the basics. Even in tertiary education the State still provides, I think, about 70 percent of the cost of tertiary provision. Less than 3 percent of our students are in private schools; we can compare that with Australia\u2019s 30 percent. Again, in terms of health, we expect the State or the community to help to pay for our secondary and tertiary health care. In infrastructure, individuals do not pay for the rail-track or the roads\u2014the community does. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000674\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EYet the National Party advocated, during the election, that there was money sloshing around in those basic areas. National members argued\u2014and this is really strange\u2014that as there was money sloshing around, we should send it back out to the individual in tax returns. Yet their friends send children to private schools, and they wanted that 3 percent to be supported with more money from the community than the current Government provides. So they argued for support for the 3 percent of students in private schools. At the same time, they ignored the 3,000 extra teachers above roll growth who went into classrooms. National called that, at times, \u201Cfalse\u201D and \u201Can expanding public service\u201D. National ignored the fact that that public service consisted of more teachers, more and better-paid nurses, and more people working on the border\u2014better border security. Instead, National said that it was an amorphous, expanding public service. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000675\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EWhile National MPs talk of excellence as against mediocrity\u2014and I would have to say to Mr Groser that I did not expect to hear clich\u00E9s from him\u2014they ignore the increase in early childhood education, which leads to a reduction in illiteracy, to more productivity, and to a better start for all children. We in Labour will remove the barriers to early childhood education. We will provide 20 hours\u2019 free early childhood education a week. While the National members may talk of excellence, that was not the tertiary model that the previous National Government left us; it left us a model of quantity, of \u201Cbums on seats\u201D, and of those equivalent full-time students generating the income\u2014a market model. It was not a model of quality. It was not a model of differentiation. It was not a model of excellence. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003ENational left us without apprenticeships, which is an excellent example. It said that it was up to the individual plumber to train the next generation\u2014a very difficult job to do. The Labour Government had to come in and create Modern Apprenticeships, and to work with the industry training organisations so that the community responded to the glaring gap in skills training. That is the difference: to individualise\u2014to leave it to individual plumbers to replace themselves\u2014or to work as a community. That is what the last election was about. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000677\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EBut it is very easy to tell the voters that there is money sloshing around in public community funds, and that it is there to be individualised by reducing taxes. That shows a basic misunderstanding of the business demographics of New Zealand. It is to apply a model gleaned from societies with large businesses and corporations, rather than from New Zealand\u2019s very high percentage of small businesses that employ less than five or 10 people. A large company with hundreds of thousands of employees can pay for research. A large company can mount overseas trade delegations. A large company can punt and explore in the international market place. But the small local business in Upper Hutt or P\u0113tone cannot do that. Those businesses have to do it either very cleverly or with community support. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000678\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003ESmall enterprises depend on community financial support to move from small to medium size. Small enterprises need efficient, effective roads, they need an energy supply, they need international airlines\u2014that is why we stepped in\u2014and they need a skilled and healthy workforce. In the past, small enterprises in New Zealand have shown us that they work together. That is the basis of the dairy co-ops. By working together, they built up research and markets. It was not done by an individual farmer taking his or her round of cheese over to England all by himself or herself.That was cooperation. And New Zealanders, thank God, understood that. They rejected the bribe. They rejected individualisation and plumped for communal support for each other. But they do have an eagle eye for waste, and they do want improvement. And they do want protection, be it in biosecurity\u2014for example, protection from bird flu\u2014or protection from violence or from terrorism, and Labour will deliver that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000679\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EI did not enter Parliament for individual power, and think that is quite obvious from my standing aside from a Cabinet position. I entered Parliament in order to keep building a healthier, more thoughtful, and more peaceful society. I wanted to work with others to do that. I come from the heritage in New Zealand that values people working together to achieve that. The reality of those on the Opposition side of the House may be one that says: \u201CYou believe you can do it; we believe that we can do it all on our own.\u201D They believe that they do not need their colleagues. That is why it is always so exciting in the National caucus. Those members believe that they alone have all the insights and all the solutions, and that they can pay for all they need outside of the community pot\u2014private schooling, private health-care, private rubbish removal, private research, and private marketing. But our social make-up in this small society says that we do better when we cooperate\u2014when we collaborate. We are competitive, but not against each other in this small society. We are a competitive force in the world. We support our sports, our arts, our products, and our designs, and we want them to be the best in the world. To do that, we need to work together. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000680\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EDuring the last election, Dr Brash wanted to complete the individualisation that was begun by Roger Douglas and Ruth Richardson, and I heard mention of that again tonight from Tim Groser. New Zealanders rejected it\u2014even with a tax cut bribe. That was what made me so happy on election night. I felt I was a part of the community, particularly in the 69 percent red/green Wellington. That is a city where citizens work together. It is a city where there is much private philanthropy, particularly in the arts, but it is also a city where individuals contribute many, many small amounts in order to create a large community good. An example of that is the Karori sanctuary, or the frigate Wellington, which has just been sunk. That frigate was financed in the beginning by the community\u2019s taxes\u2014at both ends of its life. The project to sink the frigate was led by a vibrant and an exhausting Marco Zeeman, but he did not do it alone. He built a team, and he won the support of volunteers, of local government, and of central government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000681\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EI am very proud to be part of that approach to our society, and that is what we will continue to build over the next 3 years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000682\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EDebate interrupted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000683\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EThe House adjourned at 9.58 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20051115a5ac76e95f414f5b94c96feaa2b2888a000684\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n  \u003C/body\u003E\n\u003C/html\u003E"