"\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=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00220547fc7612264ed3b6e1ca80512a401f\u0022\u003EWednesday, 24 May 2006\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000003\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022698d2e77171a46cc8ad72072d862458c\u0022\u003EWednesday, 24 May 2006\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000002\u0022\u003EMadam Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000004\u0022\u003EPrayers.\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000005\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002292466df557224ef5afb9f6e0dbece1d4\u0022\u003EQuestions for Oral Answer\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000006\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00220c360b56e8de4bf5b4670670e627b21b\u0022\u003EQuestions to Ministers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000007\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022adb30759d2cf4dcc9068c705360c503c\u0022\u003EBudget 2006\u2014Auckland Issues\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000008\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ef802ec91d8b403a9b59185af5fee4b8\u0022\u003E1. RODNEY HIDE (Leader\u2014ACT)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister with responsibility for Auckland Issues: What input, if any, did she have into the Budget, and what, if any, were her achievements?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022 data-id=\u00223c123bb919d140429fe37857226352a7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000009\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223c123bb919d140429fe37857226352a7\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH TIZARD (Minister with responsibility for Auckland Issues):\u003C/span\u003E As Minister with responsibility for Auckland Issues I had discussions with many Ministers across all of the three priority areas that the Government set, including the Minister of Finance, about funding the Government\u2019s priority areas to ensure that Auckland has the social, economic, and environmental infrastructure to make it internationally competitive and still a good place to live.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000010\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002240d52f4ea1e94d87943ad7f265762f7f\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: Could she explain to Aucklanders how many cars in 2011 will be able to use the \u201Csubstantially completed\u201D M\u0101ngere Bridge on an unfinished motorway, which is the only extra roading achievement announced for Auckland in the Budget, out of an extra $1.3 billion worth of spending?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000011\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222f4ed11369f740258f4831f2cfa53434\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH TIZARD\u003C/span\u003E: There is $13.4 billion over the next 5 years being spent on roading and other transport projects. There is a huge list of projects, which include the Auckland northern gateway; State Highway 1, northern busway; State Highway 1, Esmonde Road interchange; major changes around the central motorway junction, including $260 million worth of work being done\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000012\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002221aebf6194974484b8f18d178a6bd5f6\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s a no.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000013\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002221dae63eccf645efa2ecc8e39fd8d603\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH TIZARD\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table this list, because it is too long to read out.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000014\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003EDocument, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000015\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220c0d9e50ba2c4ef29f5e2b72d706f752\u0022\u003EAnn Hartley\u003C/span\u003E: What is the Government doing for passenger transport in Auckland?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000016\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002201718429d7d8469abb8a1b5bbaf25187\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH TIZARD\u003C/span\u003E: After the enormous increase in the first Budget presented by Dr Michael Cullen in the year 2000, which brought in kick-start funding that saw busways all across Auckland instituted, and the first movement on rail transport in more than 30 years, this latest Budget has put in a transport package that guarantees 5 years of funding for roads\u2014because buses actually need roads\u2014as well as major improvements including the double-tracking of the western line to provide more reliable, integrated public transport across Auckland. That, of course, will get many more cars off the road than building just roads.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000017\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d21515bb-0193-4167-a21d-982058b53604\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220d3770769d51443dbb05770dad8d5758\u0022\u003EDr Richard Worth\u003C/span\u003E: How does she explain the fact that in the year to November 2005, as Minister with responsibility for Auckland Issues, she was the fifth-highest-spending Minister on domestic air travel, at a total of $42,083\u2014more than the Minister of Finance\u2014or is there more than one commercial airport in Auckland?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000018\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ec13b40b111541bdb6f5d005292434ef\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH TIZARD\u003C/span\u003E: Part of my job as Minister with responsibility for Auckland Issues is talking to the rest of New Zealand about the fact\u2014[Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000019\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002234d074abbda742a5a0a104f358d89528\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The Minister is entitled to be heard.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000020\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002266e6bc4ca8f7451c8b3a8b79327c6c61\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH TIZARD\u003C/span\u003E: Part of my role as Minister with responsibility for Auckland Issues is to talk with the rest of New Zealand about the fact that without Auckland being an internationally competitive city, New Zealand\u2019s economy and society would suffer. I am also Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Associate Minister of Commerce, and Minister of Consumer Affairs, and I now have responsibility for the National Library and Archives New Zealand\u2014all of which are nationwide responsibilities. [Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000021\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a2f84d59fbfa4a00b364b870411d8df0\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Members know that in fact interjections are permitted. When barracking takes over and it is impossible to hear the Minister, that is not permitted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b8383f38-c78c-4e5d-8324-677d91e95c49\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002225ade78e3d814972bf3bdd4fbf4ddaf4\u0022\u003EKeith Locke\u003C/span\u003E: As Minister with responsibility for Auckland Issues, did she go beyond supporting currently funded projects, like the double-tracking of the western line she just referred to, and support in the Budget process the Auckland Regional Council\u2019s new priority rail measures, such as the extension of the Britomart line underground to connect with the western line, and the electrification needed to make that a success?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000023\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cdf20020daef41949adbd9c9014ff2df\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH TIZARD\u003C/span\u003E: I have worked for the last 7 years, and for many years before that, with the Auckland region and with local authorities within Auckland, to develop a regional land transport strategy and the regional passenger transport draft, which was produced by the Auckland Regional Transport Authority about 2 months ago. The Government continues to work with the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, the Auckland Regional Council, the territorial local authorities, business, and communities to see the implementation of all of this. However, the Government will not provide a blank cheque to Auckland; any work in Auckland has to be of benefit to the whole of New Zealand. I am very happy to say that I kept Auckland Central while the members who are asking these questions are mostly list MPs. I am very happy to be judged by the people of Auckland.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000024\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002249b9283ae9bf499f938b27b885fa6e2c\u0022\u003EPeter Brown\u003C/span\u003E: Is it true that the Minister made a bid in this year\u2019s Budget for the establishment of a dancing school in Epsom; if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000025\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225d3eec506a5347dab994c7ba48f7a14a\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: A short answer would be required.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000026\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f7f35af9541947a1b8bee09f4ce99e54\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH TIZARD\u003C/span\u003E: We put forward a number of arts proposals, but arts facilities are primarily a local responsibility. I understand that Auckland sees dancing in Epsom as a relatively low priority, as do the people of New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000027\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cb50bd7945c94e6c995a7fa2311e798e\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: Could the Minister\u2014[Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000028\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002213bf79fee109405d9fce7d6ff9c68cf7\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member is entitled to ask his question in silence.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000029\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002234f33c2e4c0042a1a630c7922d5c8dc7\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: Could the Minister explain to Aucklanders, in the 7 long years that she has been the Minister with responsibility for Auckland Issues, which Auckland issues she has identified, analysed, and solved, and does she believe that Auckland\u2019s traffic congestion has increased or decreased since she has been the Minister?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000030\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d4c01ba514d64f26afb574c8f4e05579\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH TIZARD\u003C/span\u003E: I have had an enormously rewarding time for the last 7 years because it is the first time that a Government has focused on Auckland\u2019s needs. We have produced a sustainable cities plan for action, a number of transport programmes, and the Auckland regional economic development strategy, and we will continue to work with Auckland on all of those strategies. I believe that congestion in Auckland has been kept to a reasonable level, considering the fact that every 5 years the population of a city the size of Wellington moves to Auckland.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000031\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002250cd4d0b10934da0b4a9258fdf8a8efa\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: Can she explain to the House her reasons for supporting the Auckland Regional Council in its efforts to take ownership of Watercare Services Ltd from the territorial councils so that its assets could be raided for transport?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000032\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223b1b5881-3b86-4894-ac77-72905f786141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224a0d979325b04d94b881de471200e467\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH TIZARD\u003C/span\u003E: The water issues were left out deliberately from the local government amendments in 2002. We have continued to work with all of the authorities in Auckland to make sure that Aucklanders have clean, affordable, plentiful water\u2014as we do across all other infrastructure issues\u2014and I will continue to work with them all.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000033\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223658f1175d004cf2bee3b6167e3fa0b5\u0022\u003ERodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. It is a bit tough with this Minister, because I notice that most of the time she never went near the question in terms of addressing it in her answer. But this is actually an important one, because the Minister has been pushing for the ownership of Watercare Services to be shifted. I asked her for her reasons, and she did not go near it. I suggest to you, Madam Speaker, that if question time is to be meaningful, then it is not enough when one asks a question about the ownership of Watercare Services that the Minister says water is important; she actually has to address the question about the ownership of Watercare Services.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000034\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228534177c10e945559f89931107652436\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The Minister did address the question relating to Watercare Services. If the member is not satisfied with the answer, then may I suggest he take up the offer I have made to all members in this House and put the matter before the Standing Orders Committee.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000035\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00227eee9487c00940c2a098ffe6367f1cd6\u0022\u003ECabinet Office Circular\u2014Publicly Listed Companies\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000036\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E2. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022243308f512564f258c7939d249e1bb23\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (National\u2014Clutha-Southland)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: What specific circumstances led the Cabinet Office to issue circular CO(02)14 Guidance for Dealing with Information Relating to Publicly Listed Companies?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022 data-id=\u0022b31bc012643c4039a972ab3ac35b2e1d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000037\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b31bc012643c4039a972ab3ac35b2e1d\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E A Cabinet minute authorising Treasury and the Cabinet Office to prepare such a circular.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000038\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222379e2dc657d41269bfebdbfd91f78c6\u0022\u003EHon Bill English\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Prime Minister confirm that it was her comments regarding Air New Zealand shares while the Government was trying to purchase Air New Zealand that gave rise to the Cabinet Office circular, and is her Minister of Communications, the Hon David Cunliffe, obliged to follow the guidance in that circular?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000039\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c5a387d9135247459d57a41e77e26d83\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: I can confirm that in the earlier Securities Commission report referred to by the member the Securities Commission expressed great surprise that there had been no guidelines available for Ministers, and that was why the guidelines were prepared. Of course, they are guidelines for Ministers; as I have said on different questions about Cabinet guidelines over many years, they are not laws\u2014they are guidelines.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000040\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224ea7dd5bfd7349f8a908ae9aa126c13e\u0022\u003EHon Bill English\u003C/span\u003E: Why does the Prime Minister continue to defend the public statements made by David Cunliffe, when he has clearly breached the Cabinet guidelines; and why would anyone take them seriously if she does not censure her Minister?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000041\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ced513d50691439b8914d291c80842a3\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: Because I do not consider he has clearly breached the guidelines.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000042\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002255624f224f7e47c3ac0a14b4f8f84a8e\u0022\u003EHon Bill English\u003C/span\u003E: Do the Cabinet guidelines say: \u201C\u2026 Ministers \u2026 should act cautiously when dealing with matters relating to a publicly listed company \u2026.\u201D, and: \u201CMarket participants may act on statements by Ministers, even if those statements are made without the benefit of confidential information.\u201D; and if the guidelines do not apply to David Cunliffe\u2019s statement on Telecom, whatever could they apply to?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f6035bb5746c43b6a6e99b4728a6a8be\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: The guidelines are indeed along the lines suggested by the member, but the Minister believes he was cautious.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000044\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a2b16e8d77854717bebd47e2f9f42fbb\u0022\u003EHon Bill English\u003C/span\u003E: If she believes that the Minister was cautious, does she approve of the climate he has created whereby the chief executive of Vodafone New Zealand Ltd yesterday felt compelled to write a grovelling letter to the Minister expressing regret that a court proceeding had resulted in unexpected criticism of him, and apologising for this very unfortunate situation?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000045\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c9999228362646eabf53c356e9e282ed\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: I understand that Vodafone first suggested writing that letter shortly after the court judgment referred to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000046\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b99a392dc04542dd8ad5d6adfefa3d99\u0022\u003EHon Bill English\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Prime Minister aware that the letter was written yesterday, not after the court proceeding, and does she consider that investors can trust and give credibility to the Minister of Communications, when he has made public statements that wiped hundreds of millions of dollars off the value of one telephone company, and encouraged another telecommunications company, which he is also responsible for regulating, to write a shamefully grovelling letter to make sure it is on the right side of the Minister in case he says something that affects it?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000047\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002292b191258b9c471f801bb480de31bf88\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: When I checked the share price before giving answers on this question yesterday, it was clear that at that time the shares were trading higher than they had been before the Minister\u2019s comments, which would not suggest that great value had been wiped off. [Interruption] The second point I make\u2014and I know the Opposition does not like the facts, but I will spell them out\u2014is that shortly after the court case referred to earlier, Vodafone itself had prepared the letter to send. The fact is it was finalised yesterday but had been in draft form for many, many months.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000048\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225b9fb59af4cb41b2a4116cfb82452b7d\u0022\u003EHon Bill English\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table the Cabinet Office circular warning Ministers to act cautiously.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000049\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EDocument, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000050\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b1da11f2436b4ca1a80fc6504d01c06e\u0022\u003EHon Bill English\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table a letter dated 23 May 2006 from Russell Stanners, Chief Executive of Vodafone, to the Minister of Communications, David Cunliffe, apologising for causing unexpected criticism of him by a High Court judge.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000051\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EDocument, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000052\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022823e9d939ed2478981a0c311efd77f95\u0022\u003EHon Bill English\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Prime Minister now telling companies that are in industries regulated by her Ministers, and investors in those companies, that any Minister can say anything he or she likes\u2014with any consequence\u2014that breaks her own Cabinet rules, and that is just fine with her because she did it herself?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000053\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022045480f47e1243498f60c012254537c5\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: Obviously not, and certainly I would not tolerate reckless statements of the kind made by Mr English on one matter after another, including his claiming only yesterday that no option of a boys school had been given in the Flat Bush area, when the facts are there was no community support whatsoever for that. Mr English has constantly made reckless comments and made things up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000054\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00227c5fb42577954f6c89e1075499dea475\u0022\u003EFiscal Approach\u2014Alternative\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000055\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E3. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cbf32da4bc03484c9031fc50f1e4bf8e\u0022\u003ESHANE JONES (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports, if any, has he received outlining an alternative fiscal approach?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022 data-id=\u00229326f95705bd4b34a0b7212901f1e4ba\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000056\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229326f95705bd4b34a0b7212901f1e4ba\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E I have seen reports calling for very large tax cuts, for increased spending on health and roads, and for the maintenance of spending on education, law and order, and other areas, signalling a return to a borrow-and-hope fiscal approach. I have also seen reports stating that substantial tax cuts are no longer affordable and that an alternative Government would spend less on health. Both these reports came from Dr Brash. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000057\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223df99734a1624418a4f1cfaef3cf28e9\u0022\u003EShane Jones\u003C/span\u003E: Has the Minister seen any reports suggesting how to fund such an alternative fiscal approach?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000058\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221ea59473daca4836be50f46d6aa5752f\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, indeed. I have seen an extraordinarily novel suggestion that is quite unusual in a modern democracy. It states: \u201CWe\u2019re not borrowing for tax cuts; we\u2019re getting the money from offshore.\u201D I repeat: \u201CWe\u2019re not borrowing for tax cuts; we\u2019re getting the money from offshore.\u201D This was said by Jacqui Dean in the pre-election campaign period. It is not clear who was providing\u2014[Interruption] They disown her. She is one of theirs, and she is being treated with contempt. She is not one of the boys on the front row, so she must be treated with contempt. Of course, Jacqui Dean never quite explained who offshore would provide this money that was not being borrowed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bca10e04a1f44fbc8f0820e189b8df6d\u0022\u003EShane Jones\u003C/span\u003E: Has the Minister received any reports of public reaction to alternative fiscal approaches based on large-scale tax cuts?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000060\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225436955a19f94736bbb545895060b5a4\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I have seen reports showing that in our neighbour country, Australia, consumer confidence has fallen, interest rates have risen, and support for the Government has fallen since the last Budget.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000061\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e6ed76db8ddc4beb8fa5aa6b2a230acf\u0022\u003ECraig Foss\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister confirm that the Government will borrow about $6 billion over the next 3 years to pay for items such as Working for Families, interest-free student loans, and 1,000 or so more front-line police, or does he criticise borrowing only when attacking the economic vision and ambitions for New Zealand of the National Party?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000062\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225f3411f6a25c4ceda060a84381fded76\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: I understand that there is a new form of eye surgery available, which may give the party opposite vision, but it is a big ask.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000063\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002270db4a62c31d468f8ede283bc0ecb974\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: If we are to believe the answers to previous questions that tax cuts are a really bad thing\u2014that they drive down the poll results, they are not good for a Government, and all the other implications he stated before\u2014why, 2 hours after reading a Budget that was his seventh Budget without tax cuts, did he scurry off to Campbell Live and suggest there might be tax cuts in a year or two?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000064\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221232f9aeb7a4499892b727a012d64694\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: Firstly, I did not scurry to Campbell Live; John Campbell came to my office. Secondly, I did not say that 2 hours after I delivered the Budget. I said it about 2 hours before I delivered the Budget\u2014in the Budget lock-up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000065\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002274dacadffd6d4925afca14221c787900\u0022\u003EWaikato River\u2014Government Negotiations with Tainui\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000066\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E4. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f16f34ab16d14c349dc86129a89cfbfb\u0022\u003EGERRY BROWNLEE (Deputy Leader\u2014National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: Do the Crown negotiations with Tainui over the Waikato River cover the area from Huka Falls to the mouth at Port Waikato, including its waters, banks, and beds (and all minerals under them), its streams, tributaries, lakes, aquatic fisheries, vegetation, and flood plains as well as its \u201Cmetaphysical being\u201D, as defined by Tainui?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002272e48ab0-e7ae-427f-bedc-793b7a91adba\u0022 data-id=\u0022658e876d58e04f07ac9d93ed7cfa1674\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000067\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002272e48ab0-e7ae-427f-bedc-793b7a91adba\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022658e876d58e04f07ac9d93ed7cfa1674\u0022\u003EHon MARK BURTON (Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): \u003C/span\u003EThe member appears to be referring to Waikato Tainui\u2019s definition of the river as recorded in the 1995 deed of settlement. The definition is repeated in the terms of negotiation\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000068\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022647b61b7893848e4ba3bfb2f020da21e\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Who signed that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000069\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002272e48ab0-e7ae-427f-bedc-793b7a91adba\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ace02817babe4ee8b6cbf367a162fdb3\u0022\u003EHon MARK BURTON\u003C/span\u003E: Doug Graham for the then National Government. That definition is repeated in the terms of negotiation signed just last December. It is the definition that Waikato Tainui have, and which they bring to the negotiating table.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000070\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228551320a34cf4c3ca23a0bb599d413d3\u0022\u003EGerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Does the area identified by Tainui include the ironsands at Maioro, and can he rule out New Zealand Steel having to pay a royalty for those sands to Tainui in excess of what they currently have agreed?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000071\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002272e48ab0-e7ae-427f-bedc-793b7a91adba\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d9566400b89546a1951946a37c3ff367\u0022\u003EHon MARK BURTON\u003C/span\u003E: As I have said to the member on numerous occasions, the content of any negotiation is not something I can talk about ahead of an agreement in principle. But, of course, once the agreement in principle is available the member will see what is in it and be able to discuss it as has always been the case, and as is appropriate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000072\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022508b6904e6f44bc28d98d197675ee04f\u0022\u003EGerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. Given that the Minister has accepted that the definition I read out at the start is, in fact, the basis on which these negotiations are being conducted, is it fair that he does, in the public interest, indicate whether the ironsands at Maioro are part of that particular claim? After all, that would be in the public interest, were he able to do that. He may not be able to answer the second part because, of course, he will not know how much Tainui want to charge, but at this stage he should indicate whether those sands\u2014those mineral resources\u2014are part of the claim.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000073\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002272e48ab0-e7ae-427f-bedc-793b7a91adba\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228269c93948794ff58ccff6a7eb7d4e44\u0022\u003EHon MARK BURTON\u003C/span\u003E: Speaking to the point of order, Madam Speaker, I say that the member should take care to listen carefully to the answer that I gave. I indicated Tainui\u2019s definition, and I can tell the member that the Crown respects that that is the preferred definition of Waikato Tainui.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000074\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022df353815691e466b9767962d617ce53b\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The Minister did address the question. I understand that it obviously did not satisfy the member who asked the question. But the Minister is entitled to address it in that way.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000075\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b63935ee-d78b-43a8-a3bc-996e7951fb9b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229c0a744c437440a3bc5e17e6e6ed01f7\u0022\u003ER Doug Woolerton\u003C/span\u003E: What assurances can the Minister give that no New Zealander will be faced with economic hardship, or reduced river access, as a result of the Tainui claim?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000076\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002272e48ab0-e7ae-427f-bedc-793b7a91adba\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022280b3e0524eb48f4bebf2c405f61d536\u0022\u003EHon MARK BURTON\u003C/span\u003E: As I indicated in the House yesterday, whilst I cannot comment on the detail of negotiation until an agreement in principle is released, the members can take complete reassurance from the public statement of a co-negotiator that no such claim has any part of Tainui\u2019s engagement in these negotiations. I am happy to reread it to the member.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000077\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002256ff6675202c40039e53f0eff3c3e5c3\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Read it to us then.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000078\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002272e48ab0-e7ae-427f-bedc-793b7a91adba\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e3f57e0601a74c9da72b70ffd6920639\u0022\u003EHon MARK BURTON\u003C/span\u003E: Indeed, I will do just that. \u201CPublic access, private and third party rights are completely and fully protected. It\u2019s always our view to ensure the rights of individuals, whether M\u0101ori or non-M\u0101ori, are never compromised in any shape or form, and we have always made it absolutely clear to the Crown that we have no intention of infringing, compromising, or obstructing any access\u2026\u201D. That is a statement made on Radio New Zealand yesterday by Tukoroirangi Morgan, a co-negotiator.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000079\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002295493e0f0118496ab6ef67603df0b4cb\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Minister agree with the comments of the Prime Minister when, in justifying her foreshore and seabed policy, she said: \u201CThese areas are important to all New Zealanders and everyone must be able to use and enjoy them now and in the future\u201D; if so, how does he reconcile that statement with his answer to the previous question defending the Tainui River and Te Arawa Lakes settlements, which prove that both title of such land to M\u0101ori and guaranteed public access to that waterway is available, possible, legal, ethical, and just?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000080\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002272e48ab0-e7ae-427f-bedc-793b7a91adba\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a27b9c38960b40ed8261e9175ed5e1aa\u0022\u003EHon MARK BURTON\u003C/span\u003E: I do not accept there is any inconsistency in the comments.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000081\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226ca15b356f4e4b079416ea9dfe63e105\u0022\u003EGerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister confirm that the negotiations between the Crown and Tainui have been stalled by issues raised by Environment Waikato; if so, what were those issues?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000082\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002272e48ab0-e7ae-427f-bedc-793b7a91adba\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a70225adf12d45e7b403ba842041d76d\u0022\u003EHon MARK BURTON\u003C/span\u003E: I cannot confirm that it is not the case.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000083\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dc3741aa9492409688ce6bb8bc10a7a3\u0022\u003EGerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: What role has Environment Waikato had in the discussions between the Government and Tainui so far; and has its opinion on matters relating to co-management of the river been sought by the Government negotiators?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002272e48ab0-e7ae-427f-bedc-793b7a91adba\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022de4bf334aad1455baf1dadcb3bee3a2e\u0022\u003EHon MARK BURTON\u003C/span\u003E: Whilst I cannot comment on the content of any current negotiation ahead of an agreement in principle, it is certainly the case that while the Crown negotiates with Tainui\u2014they are the two negotiating partners\u2014I have certainly engaged usefully and constructively with Environment Waikato and will continue to do so.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000085\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e1352cce2e8e424e85b2eb9da8beb2f9\u0022\u003EGerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Have Taniui approached these negotiations expecting recognition of their ownership and control of the rivers, water, and its minerals; and is the Government considering that particular aspect of the negotiation?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000086\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002272e48ab0-e7ae-427f-bedc-793b7a91adba\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002274e9104c6bfa4e06adcb8549d224a024\u0022\u003EHon MARK BURTON\u003C/span\u003E: Tainui have approached these negotiations, in my experience, in good faith and expecting good faith in return. That is why I cannot comment on the content\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222826340e7ceb40ba828a3925eaa39ec3\u0022\u003EGerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Why the secrets?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002272e48ab0-e7ae-427f-bedc-793b7a91adba\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226f12e225c13d49aa80545bf6d563a2b9\u0022\u003EHon MARK BURTON\u003C/span\u003E: Because that is the way all pre-agreement in principle negotiations have taken place since Doug Graham was the Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. It is absolutely true.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000089\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c7ab10583b214d089d59f4449be744e9\u0022\u003EAged Care\u2014Caregivers\u2019 Remuneration\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000090\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220d9640b0-d861-43d8-b321-e7ba56dbe362\u0022\u003E5. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f4ed5c78185f4d33b3810a2dc71611d2\u0022\u003EJUDY TURNER (Deputy Leader\u2014United Future)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Health: How has he responded to claims by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation that new funding to the aged-care sector, even if entirely spent on remuneration, will amount to a wage increase for caregivers of only 51c an hour on top of the present average rate of $10.85?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022 data-id=\u002205cf2a031fab4c6480f252c244dab420\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000091\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002205cf2a031fab4c6480f252c244dab420\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR (Acting Minister of Health):\u003C/span\u003E Budget 2006 provided $126 million over 4 years, on top of a single-year boost of $39 million, for the aged-care sector to cover inflation and demographic pressures.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000092\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220d9640b0-d861-43d8-b321-e7ba56dbe362\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223406f574e96e4c3c9329d6aeab7b6369\u0022\u003EJudy Turner\u003C/span\u003E: In light of the impending crisis in aged care, which will in the not too distant future be contributed to by many members of this House, will the Minister be actively encouraging district health boards to pass all their additional funding on to sector providers; if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000093\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002258deda17e4964f25b99f94a9766cc67f\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: This Government has increased the money spent in this area by 45 percent since 1999. The money is paid to the district health boards, and we hope that they will pass this on to providers, but ultimately the issue of wage rates is between the providers, the employers, and the unions themselves.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000094\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220daaf9fb-1a1f-4d31-848a-fd13cb1a2c5a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f3ebfd432302465a9d2090b6a362c74d\u0022\u003EBarbara Stewart\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Minister aware that district health boards are now trying to bundle in with the current A21 review of age-related residential care funding, the ongoing A23 claim, which arose from the successful New Zealand Nurses Organisation\u2019s claim in respect of the multi-employer collective agreement, which the district health boards have refused to discuss with industry groups for over a year; and will that type of blackmail be the basis for passing this Budget money on to the sector?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000095\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a98e276f5d7e47a7b1ac23b460f02853\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: We are very aware of the pressures in this area. That is why we have increased the funding. We would not expect any district health boards to use blackmail techniques, and we would expect them to negotiate in good faith with the providers in this area.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000096\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227e6339f934a34e77a765bbb5ed74e367\u0022\u003ESue Bradford\u003C/span\u003E: Why is the Government refusing to proceed with regulations to cover minimum staffing levels for aged residential care when the sector is clearly in crisis and when outcome-focused certification and contractual regimes simply will not guarantee minimum standards?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000097\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fbe4f173129b4d0d83d812660cc88587\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: We have put in place measures to ensure that there are quality assurances in the area of aged care. We have moved, in fact, on some providers that have not met those standards, and we will continue to do that. We do not believe there is a crisis, but we do accept there are pressures in this area. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000098\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220d9640b0-d861-43d8-b321-e7ba56dbe362\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227066b0b7a94546ceb83136f1d8acbc90\u0022\u003EJudy Turner\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Minister have any estimate of the increase in the number of aged-care workers required to meet sector demand by 2020; and how does he expect to meet that requirement in light of the present wage-related workforce crisis?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221dc84fa3a82543f78ca3f63b87dcb137\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: As with everywhere and with every part of the economy, there is an ageing workforce. We are aware of the increasing pressures in this area, and we trust that, collectively, we will be able to work through these matters and make sure we have enough people to do the jobs when needed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000100\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220141447f850e4c7fa6ae575dfe70cf7e\u0022\u003EJo Goodhew\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister confirm that he has seen the nurses union\u2019s statement on aged-care funding headlined: \u201CBudget leaves aged care out in the cold\u201D; and has he discussed the importance of caucus unity with Maryan Street, after her speech to a union rally outside Parliament yesterday, where she indicated that the funding is inadequate by saying that more needed to be done to increase wages?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000101\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c8ad33a05f9b469dba283b89cea4c9c8\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: There is no contradiction there, at all. Ultimately, wage rates are to be negotiated between the providers and the workers themselves. We have put $126 million into this area in this Budget\u2014that is not ignoring the aged-care sector. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000102\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220d9640b0-d861-43d8-b321-e7ba56dbe362\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aaccb23a5652422b8098dd2411591353\u0022\u003EJudy Turner\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister explain why Maryan Street, in the speech she made to the nurses yesterday, reassured nurses by reminding them of the fact that under Labour the minimum wage had gone up several times; and does he think it is acceptable that caregivers in this sector are paid the minimum wage?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000103\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a1b899d69052468ba3be408f9440673c\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: That member who spoke yesterday is part of a caring Government. We have moved to increase the minimum wage, and to protect workers in every industry. Again, we would like to reiterate the fact that we would love to see wages go up in every area, and we are working to ensure that that happens. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000104\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e432d624b03045b8aa2e85992bd025a9\u0022\u003ESue Bradford\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Minister feel quite comfortable with the fact that an ever-increasing amount of these extra dollars for the sector is going into private, profit-taking providers, and does the Government ever give consideration to the fact that a better use of Government money might be to take some of that sector back into the public domain?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000105\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227d9bef2bdafa4d0b8593a9557d9b88b1\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: I think there will be, for the most part, private providers in this area, but I do notice that they have been announcing increasing profits and that they are continuing to participate in the market. That would indicate that there are healthy providers, and an opportunity, perhaps, for wages to go up. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000106\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00225357544aadcc48f1a99280f0f5bc5b1b\u0022\u003EFiscal Strategy Report\u2014Accuracy\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000107\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E6. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c35babcd61e9494bbd972b62d208b276\u0022\u003EJOHN KEY (National\u2014Helensville)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: Does the Fiscal Strategy Report released last week accurately report the Government\u2019s fiscal intentions?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022 data-id=\u00222aadf764bde8430380c44f604584b191\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000108\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222aadf764bde8430380c44f604584b191\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E Yes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000109\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223ee8a287ccfb492d9afb48cec87f7a05\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Minister recall page 48 of the Fiscal Strategy Report, where he says that the Government\u2019s revenue projections have been influenced by \u201COur decision to inflation-index personal income tax rates\u201D; can we now assume that the decision has been made, post his announcement in Budget 2005, actually to roll out indexation of personal tax cuts in 2008?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000110\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022347284a95367402f8d853b6bcab07a06\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: That indexation is still built into the forward fiscal forecast.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000111\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022263be082-dd01-4ef1-9c19-d546d0174793\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002266fa0404f1a84306b1a1bae171269543\u0022\u003EHon Mark Gosche\u003C/span\u003E: Has he seen any reports of a coherent alternative fiscal strategy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000112\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227fca3317d3d94f6aaa9bafae7b29dc48\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: I have certainly seen a report that confirms a fiscal strategy based around $11 billion in tax cuts, funded by significant borrowing or funds coming from offshore\u2014it is now not clear which it would be\u2014is still being pursued. Another report states that figure was quite wrong. A third suggests large tax cuts may not be affordable, and a fourth suggests they would have been implemented by a mini-Budget after the election. The first was from John Key, the second was from Gerry Brownlee, and the third and fourth were from Dr Brash. None of them look very coherent to me. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000113\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228930836bb38540369da5ffe252ad52e5\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: Could he do the country a favour and clarify his position, given that in Budget 2005 he stated unequivocally tax cuts would be rolled out in 2008 with personal indexation, then spent the rest of 2005, and the early part of 2006, telling the country that those indexation changes could now be in jeopardy, but now in Budget 2006 has reaffirmed that they are on; could he answer this simple question: are tax cuts going to be rolled out and indexed in 2008, as he declared in Budget 2005?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000114\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229d8b65794ec2450ba6d7fd860bcb000e\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: But I do not do simple answers. What happens in 2008 will depend very substantially on what happens in terms of revenue over the next year or two. We have a business tax review. But may I read to the member the latest OECD Economic Outlook report from the chief economist. [Interruption] I would love to read it\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000115\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d91d91edcd6b4909a3d926ae47dc54f1\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I cannot hear the Minister. Would you please start again.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000116\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c1ca41b79ce24fad970a6dbad931282f\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: I would like to read to the member the latest OECD Economic Outlook dated May 2006 from the chief economist of the OECD: \u201CIt is important that temporary revenue gains in economic upswings not be used as a pretext for permanent tax cuts and spending increases that exacerbate inflationary pressures and create a legacy of high structural Budget deficits that only become apparent during subsequent downswings.\u201D And he wrote that without knowing John Key!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000117\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f1cfb49d5f2a416ca9af909b3903062a\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I remind both those who ask questions and those who answer them, they should be brief. I also note, given the interjections during that answer, that members cannot expect yes or no answers to their questions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000118\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022263be082-dd01-4ef1-9c19-d546d0174793\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002208e41856adb54526a386ede51ba8bcd9\u0022\u003EHon Mark Gosche\u003C/span\u003E: What projections does the Fiscal Strategy Report make about the Crown\u2019s financial position?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000119\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e18f45dd5ed547b1a2e40e92336f2ef6\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: The report shows we have moved to a net financial asset position. Including the Superannuation Fund, the Crown\u2019s financial asset position is predicted to be positive by 5 percent of GDP by 2010. Through prudent fiscal management, this Government has finally paid off National\u2019s \u201Cthink big\u201D debt and made provision for the future. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000120\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f8fbc4e878154d00bec0139d1b2412ef\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: Does he stand by Budget 2005 where it unequivocally states that tax cuts will be indexed and rolled out in 2008?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000121\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227616d97443a44168bd1a3f60e93268f7\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: As I said, we will have that included in the current fiscal forecast. We are also working on a taxation review with the business sector. That may have implications for tax thresholds. We are also working on another set of matters. The member will have to wait. I am sure he is desperately waiting for the tax cut he so needs in order to keep himself in the lifestyle to which he is accustomed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000122\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022255f9583baab4cd898d068f7ec65b260\u0022\u003EPeter Brown\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Minister recall making this statement in his Budget speech: \u201Cover this period the Government will be prepared to issue up to $1.0 billion in infrastructure bonds.\u201D; given that there is minimal reference to that in the Fiscal Strategy Report, when will he be in a position to outline the full details?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000123\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022757b9b2e76434f1ba56d15a23a3fae4c\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: It will be some little time before the details are finalised. In the interim that will be managed through the normal Treasury bond issuing system. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000124\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225fb98bae86324ab4b8af63d5cf8ec75e\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Minister recall telling the Finance and Expenditure Committee: \u201CPeople who think there should be tax cuts on the back of big surpluses should be taken out and quietly drowned.\u201D; if so, does he also recall telling Mr Campbell on Campbell Live just last week, 2 hours prior to the Budget: \u201CYes, there might be tax cuts in a year or two, depending on whether we have got big enough surpluses.\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000125\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223530c3b111eb4a65a435157a102f3404\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: The first comment was a reference to the continued process of disinformation waged by that member\u2014and, to be fair, I think by my count, three members of the press gallery\u2014that an operating surplus is available for spending on current expenditure. That is precisely what the OECD is referring to. However, because of our splendid fiscal management, if the Inland Revenue Department forecasts are correct, there will be room for changes in business taxation, which will be the priority in the 2008 tax year.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002261e84dd4f32e4465a6a4a4a366cb23e5\u0022\u003EJohn Key\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister confirm, in relation to the answer he gave 2 seconds ago, that when he went on Campbell Live and said there may be tax cuts in a year or two, depending on the size of the surplus, he was referring to business tax cuts, not personal tax cuts?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000127\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f43e287941504aa38bb86e99c06ae737\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: No. I was primarily referring to business taxation cuts, but they may have some implications for personal taxation. The member will simply have to wait with trembling excitement to see how much he will get, on top of his current $50 million of personal wealth, in a tax cut provided by a Labour-led Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022fbc9c30423ce4720a11e20967b262344\u0022\u003ESchools\u2014Auckland Region\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000129\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E7. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d85315a7baa14f9a94cc6499e22d331c\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Education: What reports has he received on the provision of new schools to meet the needs of growth in the Auckland region?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022 data-id=\u00226dc7674071ed43ccb47f8f87da39ac10\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226dc7674071ed43ccb47f8f87da39ac10\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Education):\u003C/span\u003E I announced yesterday that this Government will invest $237 million over the next 10 years to build seven new schools in Flat Bush, Manukau City. Those schools are part of the strategy to build approximately 40 new schools in the Auckland area over the next 15 years. This is a fantastic opportunity for a community that is projected to include more than 8,500 school-age children by the year 2020.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000131\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022852167d622584c4ea5a55c0e2592bdeb\u0022\u003EMoana Mackey\u003C/span\u003E: What else is the Government doing to provide a world-class learning environment for New Zealand students?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000132\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ec80304e1d304e5e9948db758075aacd\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY\u003C/span\u003E: The Government has announced in this year\u2019s Budget a further capital funding increase for schools of $148.9 million, taking the expenditure to $527.8 million in this financial year. Nationwide, that means eight new schools are to be opened in 2007-08, and 250 new classrooms are to be built for schools with roll growth. Penrose High School and Porirua College will be virtually rebuilt. The planning and big investment we have made in property since 1999 means schools can now use funding to continue modernising their buildings and creating the kinds of environments that we need for learning.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000133\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a59d3ae-788b-4b19-b7dd-7d0e29a626fc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dfa19ae15c574bd383646f9a2614ff35\u0022\u003EHon Brian Donnelly\u003C/span\u003E: What, in educational parlance, is the difference between a middle school and a junior high school, and, noting that difference, are the years 7 to 10 schools planned for Flat Bush to be middle schools or junior high schools?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000134\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229e6f38ce35b54a09937f6ce34ff09edc\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY\u003C/span\u003E: Probably the term \u201Cmiddle school\u201D is the one that best fits the kind of education that will take place in the new schools in Flat Bush. Of course, that will depend a little on the principals and boards of trustees that are put in place. But that is the vision for the Flat Bush area. A school very close to the area, in Albany, also uses the name \u201Cjunior high\u201D, and it would identify itself as using a middle school approach to teaching and learning.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000135\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002297b5e34e8e9e484a858a65ec9412ce3e\u0022\u003EMoana Mackey\u003C/span\u003E: Why are there no single-sex schools in the Flat Bush announcement?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000136\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f6e958391ec64617970830304eed40af\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY\u003C/span\u003E: I looked through all 37 submissions yesterday, went back through all of the consultation, and talked to everybody I could possibly get in touch with, to ask why that had not occurred. I found only one person who had asked for it, and he was Bill English.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00222f1d0af1752b4ce8b29877e991c5cde7\u0022\u003EHealth Providers\u2014M\u0101ori Health\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000138\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E8. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b92a7e7a52f04f1187ec058b747534c7\u0022\u003EHon TONY RYALL (National\u2014Bay of Plenty)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Health: Is it Government policy that all contracted health providers should meet minimum requirements for M\u0101ori health based on the Treaty of Waitangi; if so, what are those minimum requirements?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022 data-id=\u0022afb60f96d6f8412e9861c5e795d523db\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000139\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022afb60f96d6f8412e9861c5e795d523db\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR (Acting Minister of Health):\u003C/span\u003E No. The Labour-led Government is committed to the provision of health services on the basis of need. This will continue to mean a focus on the needs of M\u0101ori, who still trail behind New Zealand averages on most health indicators. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000140\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224a38559fd8a34039ad457ffe01436f64\u0022\u003EHon Tony Ryall\u003C/span\u003E: Why did the Minister and his colleague Mr Mallard, after the review of race-based policies, decide to keep the numerous Treaty clauses in health contracts with dentists?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002259a21da45b374083ab39bf49b9ca0e45\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: The needs of M\u0101ori in dental health care are pressing. The facts are that M\u0101ori 5-year-olds are twice as likely to have decayed, missing, or filled teeth than the New Zealand average. That ongoing disparity must be addressed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000142\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b7707a8abe9f440f81868bb78e17f4db\u0022\u003EHon Tony Ryall\u003C/span\u003E: Why did the Minister and his colleague Mr Mallard, after the review of race-based policies, decide to keep the numerous Treaty clauses in health contracts with optometrists?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000143\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022927ef77c64d5468499c7d2206c847280\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: There are many contracts in place that were negotiated by the previous National Government. Those contracts, when they come up for renegotiation, will have the clauses addressed. There are still huge disparities between the health needs of M\u0101ori and non-M\u0101ori in this country, and we will go on to address those.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000144\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a52737d49f0b420d8febbb454f6e739c\u0022\u003EHon Tony Ryall\u003C/span\u003E: What does the Government expect optometrists to do differently for M\u0101ori on the basis of the Treaty clauses that the Labour Government inserted?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000145\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226754c2aecedb4e3f98fcd374294a5db3\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: I hope they will provide them with more vision than the current National Party has. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000146\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022facfdfd3297149658a8c1ba9b82d6f8b\u0022\u003EDr Jonathan Coleman\u003C/span\u003E: Why do radiologists and lab technicians require Treaty clauses in their employment contracts; how does reading an X-ray or analysing a blood sample vary by the race of the patient?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000147\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002297780dcec02a4d62af5c61d0a6667f5b\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: As I have said, there are a number of contracts in place where those clauses will be addressed when they come up for renegotiation. I remind the House that there are huge disparities between the health needs of M\u0101ori and non-M\u0101ori. We will focus in this area, but those contracts will have those clauses addressed when we renegotiate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000148\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002204b3996295de46c7a4a5dd8f8478b689\u0022\u003EHon Tony Ryall\u003C/span\u003E: Is this not all another example of the Treaty politically correct mumbo-jumbo that has infested this Labour Government\u2019s health system; would it not be better to stop all this waste and provide care for New Zealand children on the basis of need, not race?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e781083bb2494007bca3752c95e3a0b2\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: This Government is providing health care on the basis of need, not on the basis of wealth as the National Party would have it. I have a quotation that states that the Government would recognise the Treaty by ensuring that \u201Cpublic health and disability support services are responsive to M\u0101ori and by continuing to enable greater M\u0101ori participation in the purchase and delivery of health and social services\u201D. That was said by a National health Minister in the late 1990s. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000150\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022039026fb4877466887ad65d004ffb686\u0022\u003EHon Tony Ryall\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table three documents. The first is a recently renewed dental contract that requires a dentist to have separate approaches for M\u0101ori over all others.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000151\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003EDocument not tabled.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000152\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022963b44fe814c40a4a56416303cae1008\u0022\u003EHon Tony Ryall\u003C/span\u003E: The second is a recently renewed contract with optometrists that requires them to have special policies and procedures for M\u0101ori.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000153\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003EDocument not tabled.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000154\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ab9dfee253ef4d41be9257a86758e9e4\u0022\u003EHon Tony Ryall\u003C/span\u003E: The third is the Government\u2019s own document, which says most of the disparity is socio-economic - related, not ethnic.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000155\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222e2cc2b7b2d04518844e07c2fb29a9c9\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? Yes, there is objection to that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000156\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c2150d517866452ea41253d8a517e812\u0022\u003ECabinet Documents\u2014State Services Commissioner Inquiry\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000157\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a59d3ae-788b-4b19-b7dd-7d0e29a626fc\u0022\u003E9. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f1847ea6e6304e09a64018170b362eee\u0022\u003EHon BRIAN DONNELLY (NZ First)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of State Services: Is she confident that the State Services Commissioner, Dr Mark Prebble, was correct when he stated, in relation to his investigation into the leak of a Cabinet paper to Telecom: \u201CI consider that neither the Telecom employee nor Telecom has any fault in the acquisition of the document.\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022 data-id=\u0022d71b52ddd51b478594e697a27cf13cf2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000158\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d71b52ddd51b478594e697a27cf13cf2\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Leader of the House)\u003C/span\u003E on behalf of the Minister of State Services: Yes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000159\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a59d3ae-788b-4b19-b7dd-7d0e29a626fc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224c5831941c45492eaa1ddadd024a219d\u0022\u003EHon Brian Donnelly\u003C/span\u003E: Does she retain that confidence in the wake of the revelation that Peter Garty was heavily criticised by the Securities Commission over his auditing of BNZ\u2019s accounts in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and is she certain that the commissioner took Mr Garty\u2019s history of what the Securities Commission called \u201Ccreative accounting\u201D into consideration when reaching his conclusions?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000160\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227f8c14fb-b919-46ef-866b-8db68cfa4cf0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022603c0f121e7e40d8a833da9432e03d39\u0022\u003EHon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN\u003C/span\u003E: I have no information as to whether the State Services Commissioner took those matters into account, but I doubt they were relevant to the actual matter that Dr Prebble determined about the acquisition of the document.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000161\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a59d3ae-788b-4b19-b7dd-7d0e29a626fc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229889c96334b3403baa1c0956f34e6c8a\u0022\u003EHon Brian Donnelly\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table the article from the recent Independent that outlines the Securities Commission\u2019s findings on Mr Garty\u2019s use of creative accounting.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000162\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a59d3ae-788b-4b19-b7dd-7d0e29a626fc\u0022\u003EDocument, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000163\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00229ee61c1a6cad47bd838e1ebe005332c6\u0022\u003ECorrections, Department\u2014Confidence\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000164\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E10. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022241bcfce6c6645999168ba3f3e8ed890\u0022\u003ESIMON POWER (National\u2014Rangitikei)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Corrections: Does he have confidence in his department; if so, why?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022 data-id=\u002201625773905f4a188884216c361100b4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000165\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002201625773905f4a188884216c361100b4\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR (Minister of Corrections):\u003C/span\u003E Yes, but there is always room for improvement.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000166\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223fb3320d33af4ba3a43b5988ed6a5ad0\u0022\u003ESimon Power\u003C/span\u003E: How can he have confidence in his department, when its own report into the Auckland Central Remand Prison acknowledged that private management had been so effective that the department had adopted some of its improvements, such as more education programmes, staff dedicated to behavioural assessment, physical training, sentence planning, and crime prevention, and why did not any of these innovations ever emerge from the public sector?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000167\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b04e5b7ce32e45beb614f07d0a336235\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: Many of those initiatives have been taken on board. That facility was for just remand prisoners. It was a new facility. There were opportunities there that are not always available in old facilities. This Government has committed a billion dollars to new prisons throughout this country that will be able to provide these courses and better rehabilitate and reintegrate prisoners into society.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000168\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ba6776308aa1419b8022f1dd16084793\u0022\u003ESimon Power\u003C/span\u003E: Why should prisons be run only by his department, when in taking over Auckland Central Remand Prison from private management it has added another layer of management, doubled the number of custodial managers, doubled the staff-inmate ratio to keep the unions happy, cut 24-hour health services, and halved the number of visits that inmates are allowed?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b81c32575b884afeac902953fd7a0ea5\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: The cost of running that facility is exactly the same as it was then. The number of visits has remained the same. We have taken on board the useful initiatives, and we will continue to improve the prison service throughout the whole country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000170\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285712e72-b25f-4850-b4d9-90035064fde3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002292b0b42461f945cf9febbe0539e776c0\u0022\u003ENandor Tanczos\u003C/span\u003E: Is it not the case that Australasian Correctional Management ran the Auckland Central Remand Prison as a sales brochure for private prisons, and can he confirm that that same company has been subject to numerous allegations of abuse relating to its operations in Australia since it no longer needs to run a sales job in that country?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000171\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c9c218de8b8d485bb97a29c43a9847d3\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: I am aware of some of those claims, and I am also aware that the previous National Government was driven by ideology and was attempting to privatise every single part of Government responsibility.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000172\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e09b41f4ccfe4550b2a1f94e33a63ccb\u0022\u003ESimon Power\u003C/span\u003E: How does he respond to the comments today of John Whitty, National Director, Prisoners Aid and Rehabilitation Society: \u201CHaving visited privately run prisons in the UK and Auckland, it seems obvious that these prisons provide services and programmes that were superior to those in the public sector because public sector managed prisons are large bureaucracies where new initiatives struggle to survive.\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000173\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221c2eb9b398b8460d84955d35f53ab767\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: That member is referring to just a remand centre, not a prison that deals with a wide range of challenges. John Whitty has his opinions and, unfortunately, we do have to have large institutions. We are working very hard to reduce the size of, and the need for, large institutions.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000174\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ec2e2aeecaa447c4aa6f9392e83ab0a2\u0022\u003EDr Pita Sharples\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Minister aware that Te Kaunihera Kaum\u0101tua o Te Whanganui-a-Tara, after contact with the Department of Corrections head, Barry Matthews, to discuss M\u0101ori protocols, has taken the drastic step of recommending that M\u0101ori, including M\u0101ori staff, boycott p\u014Dwhiri or whakatau created by the department without consultation with M\u0101ori, and what does he intend to do about that situtation?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000175\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221bb204026e0842d5b1a2334a09e323f9\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: I am not aware of the claim to boycott all proceedings, but I know that we are working through a process to ensure that people understand what the M\u0101ori protocol is around prisons.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000176\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224c57f9a016b04b6e912795c8cf9c21ea\u0022\u003ESimon Power\u003C/span\u003E: Does he agree with the findings of his department that private management of Auckland Central Remand Prison successfully instilled a culture of professionalism, teamwork, and pride in performance amongst staff because it did not have \u201Cthe necessary constraints of a Government organisation\u201D and were, therefore, able to \u201Cwalk the talk\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000177\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225ed985ce3e7a4c2cb81062b85258951d\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: I think the level of service provided by Department of Corrections officers and prison officers in the public sector is outstanding, given the challenge they have in a very difficult environment. There will always be an ability to improve that service, and we will continue to work on that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000178\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002222c2e982045a41399bb27c6c7d1f0763\u0022\u003ESimon Power\u003C/span\u003E: Can he confirm that the department was initially seeking another $3 million to cover the costs of the transition from private to public management of Auckland Central Remand Prison, and can he tell the House how much was actually spent\u2014all for the sake of his Government\u2019s ideological objection to running prisons more effectively?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000179\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aa67db780a9e4d3e9e48f130a3046baa\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: I have not been advised that there were any additional costs. I have been advised that the cost of running that facility is about the same as it was when the prison was under private management.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000180\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222a8260cfc5c142dfbc61e8268f472bfe\u0022\u003ERon Mark\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister confirm that New Zealand First has been engaged in discussions with him regarding the many managerial and policy failures of the Department of Corrections\u2014[Interruption] Is the member going to leave, Madam Speaker?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000181\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a2a72f08aa644511a607f4fbd7f951cc\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No. He did not interject; he laughed. If I threw out everyone who laughed inappropriately, there would be no one left, but I would ask the member to restrain himself.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000182\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c4d518684d994840b08b5712fa02c09e\u0022\u003ESimon Power\u003C/span\u003E: I apologise.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000183\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022022cfe6b-bae4-4028-b68a-ccffb4269442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229b567a8be942497783ba4e3f996dd0d8\u0022\u003EMadam SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you. The member has apologised.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000184\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c0c9cfb72d654abda239eeebd721d41a\u0022\u003ERon Mark\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister confirm that New Zealand First has been engaged in discussions with him regarding the many managerial and policy failures of the Department of Corrections, and when will he announce his acceptance of New Zealand First\u2019s request that the time has come for a complete review of the department\u2019s head office in order to ensure that its functions are appropriately positioned and structured for it to better meet its organisational demands\u2014something it has clearly been struggling to do?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000185\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a2418829d65a4be880cac0c058faee80\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: I will acknowledge that we have had many useful conversations on those issues. I have taken on board many of the recommendations and views of that member, and we are currently in consideration of a number of them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000186\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e850becbe1c94343a5a1eca3dc24a784\u0022\u003ESimon Power\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table four documents from the Department of Corrections that acknowledge that the private management of Auckland Central Remand Prison was very effective indeed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000187\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003EDocuments, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000188\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b175245cab514fadaa45470020e354b4\u0022\u003EDr Pita Sharples\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table a document from Te Kaunihera Kaum\u0101tua o Te Whanganui-a-Tara outlining its policy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000189\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EDocument, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000190\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002226a633ea6ce4484a9cb2a7bf129ca49c\u0022\u003EPaid Parental Leave\u2014Uptake\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000191\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E11. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226f3d36eb91c640b1810cc43fe1caa81b\u0022\u003ESUE MORONEY (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Labour: What reports, if any, has she received on the uptake of paid parental leave?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022 data-id=\u00223ddb731f2797499fb95f70a38cb630d2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223ddb731f2797499fb95f70a38cb630d2\u0022\u003EHon RUTH DYSON (Minister of Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I have seen a report detailing that, in this March quarter, $22.6 million has been paid to 4,500 recipients. This brings the total paid parental leave payments to $263 million and the total number of recipients to 75,500, since the Labour-led Government introduced the scheme in July 2002.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d1ea9ee99cf44ddb8fa25712640b830c\u0022\u003ESue Moroney\u003C/span\u003E: What other recent reports has the Minister seen concerning paid parental leave?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000194\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002254d04bd41f5145028b6728b961a749b8\u0022\u003EHon RUTH DYSON\u003C/span\u003E: Disappointingly, I have seen a report that suggests we abandon paid parental leave. That suggestion was made by Dr Brash. But I have to admit that, after long opposition to paid parental leave, Dr Brash has performed yet another flaky flip-flop and now fears he supports this great scheme. It may be, though, that it is just another thing on the long list of things that Dr Brash plans to axe in order to pay for the extravagant tax cuts that he advocates.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000195\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00221142649f6c6c4babb74d3f4e8e2babd2\u0022\u003ETaito Phillip Field\u2014Conflicts of Interest Report\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000196\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E12. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226e10e1abbc1a4574ac964d451ea17011\u0022\u003EDr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH (National\u2014Rodney)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Why was the deadline for the inquiry into alleged conflicts of interest involving Taito Phillip Field set for 13 days, and what changed to allow this inquiry to take over 8 months with no confirmed date for reporting back?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022 data-id=\u002268e38f51a24e47788d0b47a7034cd814\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000197\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002268e38f51a24e47788d0b47a7034cd814\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Advice received in setting up the inquiry was that that was the appropriate time frame. Obviously, that subsequently proved not to be the case.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000198\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221ddbd1d120374d7f8beb1895f6f9a53d\u0022\u003EDr the Hon Lockwood Smith\u003C/span\u003E: Who in her office has Maarten Wevers briefed on the progress of the Ingram inquiry in the last 4 weeks, given her statement to Parliament 2 weeks ago that he had inquired about the progress of the inquiry from time to time?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000199\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002279c527d7961b4414bea749fa9f949a6a\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: My understanding is that Mr Wevers indeed rang the QC\u2019s chamber, after the report appeared in the paper, to say that the report should be coming to the Prime Minister in due course\u2014not progress reports being given to the Dominion Post.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000200\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022219c071c9c7c44e0b09ec5f32948cc02\u0022\u003EDr the Hon Lockwood Smith\u003C/span\u003E: My question to the Prime Minister asked who in her office the head of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has briefed on the progress of the Ingram inquiry, when she has acknowledged to this House that he has inquired as to the progress of the inquiry\u2014that is my question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000201\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d466301a399742d88570ff8f2082bfda\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: I have just told the member that seeing the report in the paper, the head of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet phoned Mr Ingram\u2019s chambers to say that comment on the report should come with the report to the Prime Minister. I have spoken personally with Mr Wevers about this.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000202\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226cde3e8ea0a44940bacbbb8f83b1e639\u0022\u003EDr the Hon Lockwood Smith\u003C/span\u003E: Why did the Prime Minister tell this Parliament only a few weeks ago that Mr Wevers had inquired as to progress on the inquiry in order that the Prime Minister could answer questions about the inquiry\u2014a matter she now seems to want to deny today?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000203\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b130fec6e7774748b4171486d734f0e0\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: Over a long period of time\u2014some 8 months, as the Opposition keeps complaining\u2014questions have been asked in this House about the inquiry, and from time to time the head of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has inquired as to when it is likely to arrive. That advice is then fed in, if it is available, for me to answer questions in this House. I repeat: I do not want progress reports on substance and on what is being considered; I am awaiting a final report. I note that Opposition members initially complained that Mr Ingram did not have long enough and now they are complaining he has had too long. They should make up their minds.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000204\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220ef9304f1f334329b8188809e25be3ca\u0022\u003EDr the Hon Lockwood Smith\u003C/span\u003E: Why, when on 27 March the Prime Minister stated she \u201Cwould certainly be expecting it in the course of this recess\u201D has she not received the report from Noel Ingram almost 2 months later; and, when will we see this report, or is she just hoping that the passage of time will bury it?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228ff55f5e-9237-45e2-8e15-24228a10320e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220a841d3ad2fa43b5a4e02d9bcc207e4f\u0022\u003ERt Hon HELEN CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: No, when that question was answered, indeed the advice I had was that that was the time frame, and that has proved not to be correct.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000206\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022e372a2478d08458ab0d034d3dd0aecae\u0022\u003EBudget Debate\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000207\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00226ee70bd2d04c483a8b47baca4a60ac6b\u0022\u003EAppropriation (2006/07 Estimates) Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000208\u0022\u003EDebate resumed from 23 May on the .\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022 data-id=\u002229e8e7d0dfe840f8a7da69909ff50eea\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000209\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002229e8e7d0dfe840f8a7da69909ff50eea\u0022\u003ESIMON POWER (National\u2014Rangitikei):\u003C/span\u003E Dr Don Brash has moved a motion of no confidence in this Government. One of the reasons behind that, as we saw on the front page of the Sunday Star-Times last Sunday, is that this Government has no confidence in a number of its own back-benchers. We are starting to see the emergence of the managed-exit list, and we are starting to see the likes of Jill Pettis, Dianne Yates, Russell Fairbrother, Jim Sutton, Paul Swain, and Dover Samuels being shown the door\u2014a back door, by the way. Not only that, but after the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee meeting today we will see the end of Parekura Horomia, by the sounds of things. No doubt television and other media outlets will have plenty to say about that later on. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000210\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003EAfter listening to question time today, I would say that the House will see the end of Judith Tizard. She gave a hopeless performance. She described her own job over the last 7 years as being hugely rewarding. For whom? It certainly has not been hugely rewarding for the people of Auckland. After the Telecom leak we will see the managed exit of David Cunliffe, and after the sad little Budget we saw last week\u2014I see Trevor Mallard has his hand up to be the next Minister of Finance\u2014we will see the managed exit of Dr Michael Cullen. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000211\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003EThere are some serious issues, though, relating to my areas of corrections, police, and, more particularly, prison forecasts. In recent days, documents released under the Official Information Act have shown that the number of limitations to the current prison forecasts are in serious danger, because no allowance, according to these documents, has been made for the additional 1,000 police staff agreed to as part of the confidence and supply agreement.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000212\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E That tells members on this side of the House something quite simple. It tell us that Cabinet members sat around and made the decision to approve the 1,000 extra police\u2014and we will wait and see whether that actually eventuates\u2014purely and simply on the basis of keeping Winston Peters quiet. They did not worry about the downstream effects. They did not worry about the policy problems it will cause in corrections, in justice, or in the court system. They just wanted to keep Winston Peters quiet. I see Brian Donnelly is sitting there with a smirk on his face. He knows, as everybody in this Parliament does, that Peter Brown\u2019s days as the deputy leader of New Zealand First are just about over. The plotters are out. Barbara Stewart is smiling. She will put her name in the ballot. She might as well; everybody else will. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000213\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003EIt seems to me that the Economic and Fiscal Update raises very serious questions around corrections and police. When we look at the Statement of Fiscal Risks, we see this statement about the corrections department: \u201CThe Department of Corrections has estimated that a further total of $209 million capital and $25 million operating funding may be required . . . The Minister of Finance has yet to fully consider the quantum of this risk.\u201D In other words, the cost of building those prisons will not stop at $890 million. That is a major headache for the Minister of Corrections, who has turned his back on the private sector coming in and effectively managing prisons in New Zealand for no other reason than he cannot move himself out of his ideological ditch and he refuses to look outside the policy square. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000214\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003EIn the justice area\u2014the area of the heavyweight new Minister of Justice, Mark Burton\u2014we have seen, in terms of the specific fiscal risks, that the associated flow-on cost of those 1,000 extra police has yet to be quantified. We see that: \u201CThe Minister of Finance has yet to fully consider the quantum of this risk.\u201D That tells members on this side of the House that there were no fiscal discussions with Dr Cullen about the downstream effects of 1,000 new police. A dirty little deal was done to keep Winston Peters and New Zealand First happy in their confidence and supply agreement, with no serious policy considerations being given to the flow-on\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000215\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002212ea6b539c694a6daf6d312f1c541ad4\u0022\u003EJill Pettis\u003C/span\u003E: What about Alamein?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000216\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224b67404d9e994b6d83368182e825b35e\u0022\u003ESIMON POWER\u003C/span\u003E: There goes Jill Pettis! I say to Mrs Pettis that she should speak up while she can, because time is running out. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000217\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003EThere are real problems around police, as well. The Budget documents find real fiscal risks. The Minister of Finance has yet to fully consider the quantum of the risk in just adding 1,000 front-line police. So not only do we have risks in Vote Police but we also have them in Vote Corrections, Vote Justice, and Vote Courts. All of us in this Chamber know what a shambles the court system is in when judges are forced into the position of having to remit $56,000 worth of fines at a time in relation to an individual who appears in the District Courts in the lower half of the South Island. We have seen that reparation payments are not met and cannot be pursued or tracked down because the court system is in crisis. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000218\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003ENone of these issues was given serious policy consideration during the Budget rounds. The only thing this Government was interested in was stitching up a messy little deal with New Zealand First in an attempt to tie it down for the next 12 months. That is bad government and it is appalling financial management. It is one of the many reasons why Dr Michael Cullen has just read his last Budget. Nothing happens by accident in the Labour Party. Anybody who thinks the front-page story in the Sunday Star-Times was not fully authorised by a silent nod from the ninth floor is very naive indeed. The usual kite-flying exercise went on. The usual back-door negotiations are under way for the dignified exit of a number of back-bench MPs who, in select committees today, are getting rattier, testier, and more brassed off by the minute. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000219\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003EMembers on this side of the House will not give an inch. We will be making sure, at every select committee, in every legislative debate, and during every question time that this Government is put to the test. The cracks that are starting to appear will quickly turn into large, large ditches, and it will be very interesting to see how the Government manages to hold on. Although the members of the front bench may have sat and smiled through gritted teeth while Judith Tizard did her best to stumble through question No. 1 today, they have only to swivel their heads to the Labour back bench to get a reading on what is really going on. They are not happy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000220\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d8447aba487a4de8891f5bae5fae5a98\u0022\u003EHon Bill English\u003C/span\u003E: Why are they keeping Judith? Why isn\u2019t she on the managed-exit list?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000221\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225cb7d2215b954bc28c6766b91a4e977b\u0022\u003ESIMON POWER\u003C/span\u003E: Mr English raises a good question. There has to be a good reason in all of this as to why Judith Tizard\u2019s name has never appeared on the managed-exit list. Why is that? One would have to imagine\u2014[Interruption] Well, it cannot be because of workload.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000222\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fd2ccf2ee1d74608a720400765aa3887\u0022\u003EHon Bill English\u003C/span\u003E: Because she\u2019s a rising star?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000223\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222ca9e6a7b53043ceb37726f44dee740a\u0022\u003ESIMON POWER\u003C/span\u003E: She cannot be a rising star, because she has not moved from her seat in 6\u00BD years. The real question is why the Prime Minister does not just come out and tell those members that they are gone. Why does she not just do the decent, upfront thing, cull them out, and bring in such stars as the woman from Southland\u2014whose name I cannot remember\u2014who was here for a quarter of an hour in the last Parliament? She will make a huge difference to the way in which this House runs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000224\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003EMembers on this side of the House have no confidence in the Budget, no confidence in this Government, and no confidence in this Prime Minister. Their time is nearly up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022 data-id=\u002289b04727b4574ab2887966ff625036a8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000225\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002289b04727b4574ab2887966ff625036a8\u0022\u003EHon JIM ANDERTON (Leader\u2014Progressive):\u003C/span\u003E Why does the National Party not tell Don Brash to go now? If it is so interested in telling everyone else what they should do, it should tell Don what the honest thing to do would be. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000226\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003ELet us think about a child who was born in this country 20 years ago. What future does the National Opposition offer that young adult today? Does National offer more investment in education and skills training? No, because it voted against every single dollar in skills training and investment in education in the last seven Budgets. Does National offer a growing economy with first-class infrastructure, telecommunications, and connections to the world? No, because it voted against every Budget that included those priorities in the last 7 years. National even said it was opposed to making telecommunications in New Zealand more competitive\u2014and it did nothing about that issue in the 9 years it was in office during the 1990s. When this Government invested billions of dollars into transforming the economy of New Zealand for the benefit of the people of New Zealand, the National Party voted against every single clause in every single bill that opened up regional development, industry development, and economic development. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003ENational, the same party that, when in Government, gutted this country in the early 1980s and all through the 1990s, dares to compare New Zealand with Australia now. Before that 20-year-old adult whom I was talking about was born, New Zealand had income levels comparable with Australia\u2019s. That is true. But we fell behind in the 1980s, and who cheered that along? Dr Brash, when he was Governor of the Reserve Bank. We fell further behind when that young person was a teenager in the 1990s. National was responsible for those policies. When the people of New Zealand chose a new direction at the dawn of this century, we started to catch up with Australia again. But, of course, the National Party has not caught up with that, either. Now the same party that sabotaged New Zealand while it was in Government in those times compares us with Australia. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000228\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EIt seems to me National Opposition members would do us all a favour if they headed to Australia themselves, as Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen did. Dr Brash, in my view, is the modern Sir Joh. He runs down this country. Dr Brash seems to be ashamed of New Zealand, and he offers nothing but the vision of a banana republic. Every single day the National Party talks about doing more for this, that, and the other thing, and the only prescription it has for doing so is to lower tax and revenue so that it cannot be done. That is simply ludicrous. Dr Brash should take his policies and cringing about New Zealand to Queensland, as Sir Joh did. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000229\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EUnemployment in New Zealand is under 4 percent, for the first time since the mid-1980s. Dr Brash used to write forecasts, which I used to rail against, that suggested unemployment in New Zealand should be steady at 7 percent, and that that should be the level of unemployment forever. That is what Dr Brash\u2019s policies were. Now unemployment is at half that rate, and what does he say to that? He says we should all go to Australia, where, of course, unemployment is higher than it is here! Now that unemployment is at half the rate we had under National, he dares to question the competence of this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000230\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EDr Brash wants to take away the jobs of young New Zealanders and to give tax cuts to affluent, elderly, middle-aged people like himself and me. Well, how does that work? That is the National Party\u2019s entire economic policy. I could hear the panic this afternoon from John Key at the only policy the National Party actually has, which is tax cuts. What will happen if the Government actually gives some tax cuts, sooner or later? What will happen to National\u2019s policy then? It does not have any other policy. There is no other vision for New Zealand except for tax cuts, and what happens if it loses that policy? It will be interesting to watch as National\u2019s panic increases. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000231\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EDo National Party members speak with any pride about our culture and uniqueness? We never hear them do so. We heard a question in the House today about the spiritual qualities of the tangata whenua in New Zealand. I sat over there in the House while Doug Graham introduced the Treaty settlements for Tainui. He was in tears about the role of the tangata whenua in this country. Now the National Party continually sneers at that. I suggest to National members that they should get their priorities and their values right. They run down, deride, and belittle New Zealand in every speech they make. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000232\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EA week before the election Dr Brash, the leader of the National Party, said the haka is just a half-naked person jumping up and down. Is that the kind of spiritual dimension the National Party brings to our multiracial community? Dr Brash is a walking example of cultural cringe. He is ashamed of New Zealand, and his colleagues are becoming ashamed of him. I am just waiting for the next election day, with all the support we are getting, to see what will happen. That is why National members are already saying they will dump Dr Brash later this year. They know they need someone better than him to offer to young New Zealanders, and they know going back to the failed policies of the past offers those young New Zealanders nothing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000233\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EWhat does Don Brash actually offer New Zealanders? He offers them a ticket to Australia; he says they should go to Australia. Well, let us look at some of the elements of Australia. Do we want race riots like those that occurred in Cronulla to happen in New Zealand? Do we want the kind of treatment that Australian Aboriginals have had over the years to be dealt out to our tangata whenua? We should be very proud of what we have established in New Zealand, not cringe about how good the Australians are, no matter how good they may be in some of their more successful areas of activity. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000234\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EThe Progressive party supports this Budget because it continues to lead us along a path to a better, fairer, and stronger New Zealand. We want to see a vital and thriving small nation here that is proud to stand as a leader in international forums\u2014as we do\u2014and punch miles above our weight all over the world. Everyone knows we do that, and we should say it more often. I remember that last year, when a World Bank survey stated New Zealand was the best place in the world to do business in, there was sneering from the Opposition. If one said that in the Australian Parliament there would be cheering, because Australians support their own country. This Budget, of course, continues to transform our economy. It invests in our priorities, skills, and infrastructure. It invests in our own identity as New Zealanders. Those are the ingredients that will create a future where young New Zealanders can realise their potential. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000235\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EI have been talking at primary industry sector conferences throughout New Zealand, and everywhere I go there is confidence and optimism about the future. People are creative and innovative. They are not whingeing, moaning, and cringing about how good Australia is; they are getting on with developing their opportunities in this country. We should be supporting that and talking those opportunities up, because New Zealand has great opportunities for its young people. The National Party, which claims to have support from the primary industries and rural New Zealand, should be telling our best and brightest young people to join in as scientists, managers, marketers, and so on in the primary sector industries, which, of course, are the engine room of this economy. All that those young people are told by the leader of the National Party is to get a ticket to Australia. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000236\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EThe last decade has been one of productivity for New Zealand, and this Government has been right at the centre of doing something about it. We are pouring money into protecting the biodiversity and biosecurity of New Zealand\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000237\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c1bc86091f214f99ab94aec68ee93451\u0022\u003EHon Dr Nick Smith\u003C/span\u003E: It was cut.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000238\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e4256b96c86d4346a6e04f9e4f6ace84\u0022\u003EHon JIM ANDERTON\u003C/span\u003E: I was waiting for someone on the Opposition side of the House, which is illiterate in terms of its understanding of New Zealand Government and departmental budgets, to say something like that. That was Mr Ardern\u2019s statement, but he does not have a clue. The baselines for biosecurity have gone up by 89 percent since this Government came in. What Mr Ardern discovers is that occasionally we do not spend the money on one-off incursions, because we have fixed the problem. We have spent $80 million on eradicating the painted apple moth, so I say to Dr Smith that we do not have to spend money on it again. We can spend less on incursions because we have eradicated the painted apple moth. Mr Ardern cannot count, but I would have thought that Dr Smith would be a little bit better than him. Dr Smith has been a Minister of the Crown, so members might think he would understand Government accounts a little better than that. I notice Dr Smith is silent now. He should check out the facts and engage his brain before he engages his tongue. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000239\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EWe should celebrate the country we live in. None of us should fail to be proud to be New Zealanders. None of us should fail to be proud of the way our country conducts itself in world and international affairs. We have magnificent achievements in this country. We have a lot to be proud of, and I wish the National members in Opposition would stop cringing in front of our Australian cousins and start celebrating the country that they aspire to lead one day. One does not lead a country by running it down.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022 data-id=\u002241ec81519f284e1d94b7ce93ecadd14f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000240\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002241ec81519f284e1d94b7ce93ecadd14f\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH (National\u2014Nelson):\u003C/span\u003E The tragedy of this Budget is it has no vision for New Zealand and gives no prospect of growth. It is from a Government that has run out of steam and ideas, and all we have is another dose of cringing political correctness, another dose of big government, and more waste of hard-working taxpayers\u2019 money. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000241\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EThere is a famous old saying that the last bastion of a rogue is patriotism, and an appeal to patriotism is what we heard from Jim Anderton. If we on this side of the House make any comparison with Australia\u2014where people are receiving tax cuts and increased take home pay, and where higher economic growth is projected\u2014then Labour\u2019s only claim is that somehow we are being unpatriotic. We are not; we are proud of this country and want it to do better. That is what we will be consistently arguing for in this Budget debate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000242\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EWe have just heard from\u2014can members believe it\u2014the Minister of Agriculture. I was hoping to hear what this Budget might do for the export sector, the most important part of our economy. I waited for 10 minutes and I heard absolutely nothing. It is interesting that the Minister of Agriculture had slot No. 49 in Labour\u2019s Budget debate. What does that say about Labour\u2019s level of commitment to agriculture? It is no wonder members of the Nelson branch of Federated Farmers told me yesterday that they were embarrassed that Jim Anderton was representing the Government. They are looking forward to some of the capable people on National\u2019s side of the House looking after the agriculture portfolio. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022322b7aa02ee14406a531ffb0b51bca8e\u0022\u003EHon Jim Anderton\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, really? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000244\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022808aa132d6564471aa5d1138596765d3\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: That is what they said. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000245\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022da0f9677319c4a029957709230376bdb\u0022\u003EHon Jim Anderton\u003C/span\u003E: Yeah, right!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000246\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224db5438a2e814e2db2367f0638c16490\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: Let us go through it. They asked Jim Anderton what he thought about dog microchipping. Do members know what he told them? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000247\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022af556631956342a3a01f3c8f8f211a7f\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: And he\u2019s No. 3!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000248\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220614914c280242a6b1d7689177702111\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: He is No. 3. The farmers said that Jim Anderton had let them down. They asked him about biosecurity, because we have just had another breach of biosecurity in my region. A weevil has come into the region and is threatening our economy to the tune of millions of dollars, and what did the Minister for Biosecurity say? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000249\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bb74d8e3e4f0437bbe382851f52246b3\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: He\u2019s No. 3.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000250\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b14bab85b5e1447aa1f3315cd0568ec3\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: He is No. 3. He said absolutely nothing. Our own council has said that such are the failings of Jim Anderton and Biosecurity New Zealand that the ratepayers of Nelson will have to pick up the bill. Such is the failing of the Government in that regard. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000251\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003ENow we come to the big issue of this Budget. Labour has increased taxes from $37 billion, when it came into office, to $51 billion in this Budget. That is a 50 percent increase in the tax take. What differentiates National members on the Opposition benches from those on the Government benches is that Labour members think that money is theirs. They think that money belongs to them, and that running an $8.5 billion surplus and taking all that money from New Zealanders is OK. National members say it is not; we say those hard-working New Zealanders deserve a tax break. That is what divides this House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000252\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EIt was interesting that, during the election campaign, Mr Anderton stated that the best thing we could do for business would be to give it a tax cut. I wondered whether we could trust Mr Anderton and whether we might see, with him at No. 3 in Cabinet, some tax relief for business. I wondered whether we would have recognition that it would be better for the farmers and businesses of New Zealand to be able to keep more of their money and invest it. But the arrogance of Mr Anderton\u2014and of Mr Maharey sitting next to him\u2014is that they believe they can spend the money of businesses better than those businesses can. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000253\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EI will now talk about some of the specifics of where the Government has got things so awfully wrong. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000254\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229047329fb20343f6beb7980437607366\u0022\u003EHon Jim Anderton\u003C/span\u003E: When were you in business?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000255\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228f3ef27a3f5d4aadb92edb679bcf8552\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: I was proud to be in Government for 9 years, during which we took this country out of the red and into the black. I am very proud that in every one of those years we saw a drop in unemployment and huge economic growth. It is sad that\u2014far from seeing New Zealand\u2019s economic circumstances improve\u2014we now have a Budget that projects a pathetic growth of just 1 percent in the next year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000256\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003ELet me talk about some of the waste in this Budget. This Budget provides for an increase in the budget for one of the areas I am interested in\u2014that is, energy. The Government is to give another $5 million to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. Well, how is that authority doing? This Government has given it $100 million, but its own review shows that energy efficiency has become worse. So why would a Government reward with more money an agency that has actually produced a worse result? It is bizarre\u2014only a Labour administration could do that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000257\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EThen we have the big hit of the Budget\u2014the key export industry of New Zealand: agriculture. Do members know how much extra money is going into research and development in agriculture in order to transform the New Zealand economy? The Government is putting $3.2 million extra into the area of agricultural exports. Well, it is interesting: that is less than half the amount we should allow for inflation over the period of that agricultural research budget. So I would ask the next Labour speaker to please explain how we are to transform the New Zealand economy with an increase in money for agricultural research of less than what it takes simply to account for inflation. It is interesting that we are to spend $3 million on agricultural research\u2014and $13 million on a feel-good, \u201Ctouchy-feely\u201D Green campaign to buy New Zealand goods that we all know will not do one iota for the New Zealand economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000258\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EI want to hear, from the next Labour speaker, when the Government will provide hard-working New Zealanders with a tax break. We know Labour has put taxes up by an extra $7,000 per household since it has been in Government. Why will Labour not give those hard-working New Zealanders a tax break? Why does it insist on closeting money away so that in this country we now have \u201Crich Government; poor people\u201D? And National makes no bones about saying that the direction of the economic strategy of the Government in Australia\u2014a country with higher growth and less tax\u2014is where New Zealand should be going. Is it not interesting?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000259\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EOne of the things I would have liked to see in this Budget was some reform of the Resource Management Act. Was there any mention of that in Dr Cullen\u2019s speech? There was none, at all. Yet, in the report that came out last week from the world economic study on competitiveness, do members know where New Zealand was ranked in terms of the quality of our environmental regulation? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000260\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221f50cd3a9ea04592b265a0ad1b6fdd5e\u0022\u003ELindsay Tisch\u003C/span\u003E: Wouldn\u2019t have a clue.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000261\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226b0f71aeddb84ef1ba059b3dea28488a\u0022\u003EChris Tremain\u003C/span\u003E: Tell us.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000262\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220b48729a99d448c7b90e90a2e0c555fe\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: There were 68 countries, and New Zealand ranked No. 68\u2014the absolute bottom of the pops. I would have thought that members opposite would say we needed to address that ranking and improve it. But where in this Budget do we see any mention of the desperate need to reform the Resource Management Act? If Jim Anderton had bothered yesterday to listen to the members of Federated Farmers in my community of Nelson, he would have heard that their No. 1 priority was reform of the Resource Management Act.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000263\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022027a8550be8a435ba68b6dcbac03a056\u0022\u003EHon Jim Anderton\u003C/span\u003E: They didn\u2019t say that at my meeting\u2014never got a question on it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000264\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022322a7b11acbd4d77848ed1fe441287ac\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: They did say that at their meeting. In fact, they even had a competition, where all the members of Federated Farmers could list their bad experiences with the Resource Management Act. I ask the Minister of Agriculture whether he supports the Resource Management Act.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000265\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224fe316b5fbbc462183b8a865ee1d7193\u0022\u003ELindsay Tisch\u003C/span\u003E: Silence!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000266\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c98d1a26b1614129b1aad8d607179fbd\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: There is absolute silence. He has no idea, because the Minister is as connected with the farming community on that issue as he is in respect of the issues of microchipping dogs and biosecurity. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000267\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EThis Budget is a huge disappointment for New Zealand. It will go down in history, probably, as the \u201Ccolander Budget\u201D\u2014the Budget that leaked heaps. That will be the only thing for which this Budget has any notoriety, and it will see New Zealand living standards fall further behind the standards of those countries we need to compete with. I want to hear, from the next Labour speaker, about how we will stop New Zealand\u2019s economic growth from wallowing down in the lower levels of the OECD. We are falling further and further behind countries like Australia and others in the OECD. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000268\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EI want to hear a Labour member tell us where the strategy is for economic transformation. This Budget is a recipe for economic stagnation; that is why this Government should go. Its members are tired and decrepit, so they should give up the ghost now. Let us have a Government that can produce some growth, give some tax cuts, and put in place some of the economic reforms that will give this great country of ours a go.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022 data-id=\u0022a323ab79c45b4d03abd45638a2b7d5ae\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000269\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a323ab79c45b4d03abd45638a2b7d5ae\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Education):\u003C/span\u003E It is a pleasure to follow the 50th speaker in this debate\u2014a man who came from nowhere and, after 2 days as deputy leader, went straight back. I have to say to Dr Smith, I notice that if anyone is tired in the House, it must be him, because his memory is, I think, a little faulty. The 1990s, I say for that member\u2019s edification, were 9 long years of absolute and utter decline in this country. That member sat on this side of the House for the first 3 years, he will remember, and then for the next 6 years, basically, like most National members, he begged to be shot. That is how bad it was to be a National member in this House during that period of time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000270\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003EThose members should think about the health system, and about the fact that National drove the unemployment rate to 11.9 percent. They should think about the fact that every single region in this country was shrinking, and people were wondering who would be left to turn the lights off, after National was finished with them. In the end, the only thing that saved National from utter destruction was that it was defeated by this Government, and its members were able to go off and lick their wounds and start to think about what they would do in the future. I tell Dr Smith that the 1990s will be remembered as an utter disaster\u2014a shame\u2014for National, and that is why its members are still sitting on the Opposition benches listening to Dr Michael Cullen deliver his\u2014not first, not second, not third, not fourth, not fifth, not sixth, but\u2014seventh Budget in a row. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000271\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003EThat is why Dr Smith is sitting over on the other side listening to the seventh Budget\u2014a Budget that has delivered on the commitments made in the last election. We do it because we say we will do it, and we have delivered in this Budget. It was a Labour Budget that illustrated our values. Ordinary New Zealand families are actually getting back more from tax than they paid. No one could give them a tax cut bigger than the one they are getting from Working for Families now. They are getting back more than they are paying, now, from Working for Families, yet the rocket scientist, Dr Nick Smith, comes in here and asks why we do not give a tax cut. People are already getting back more from tax than they are paying. The Budget is one that New Zealand can have only by having a progressive Government comprising Progressive, Labour, New Zealand First, and Greens\u2014these people here who believe in investing in this country. They are not prepared to allow a deficit to build up around issues like health and education; they want to see a continuing high level of investment in the things New Zealanders voted for at the last election. I know it hurts Dr Smith to hear that, but that is what they voted for. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000272\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003EBut from the other side, what do we get? It is a predictable reaction: \u201CLets cut taxes.\u201D, they say. National has only one policy\u2014that is all it can say. It says for people not to invest, but to cash up all the gains\u2014but gains gained when? Were they gained under National in the 1990s? Did we have money in the bank when National was in Government? Were we, as Dr Smith said, in the black? No! We got into the black after 6 hard years of work by members now on this side of the House\u2014the parties that made up the Labour-led Government during those 6 years\u2014but the National Party wants to cash it up. That is the kind of mentality that National has: \u201CLet us not invest; let us cash it up. We have some money after 6 years of the other side doing some work.\u201D\u2014so National wants to go and spend it on tax cuts. That is what it wants to do. Then, because National cannot do that\u2014being on the other side of the House\u2014it says that New Zealanders should go to Australia. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000273\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003EI want people to think about that line for a second. Can anybody imagine an Australian politician\u2014no matter what the provocation; no matter how good it is in Tonga, New Zealand, Hong Kong, or America\u2014campaigning on the theme of their people going to another country? Can anyone imagine Labor, the Democrats, the Greens, the Nationals, or the Liberals campaigning for Australians to go somewhere else? That is why New Zealanders are looking at the National Party right now and saying that patriotism is not part of the value set of that party. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000274\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E The National Party does not stand for New Zealand. It is a little like saying we do not think the All Blacks are doing very well, so they all should go and play for the Wallabies. They lost in Paris and that is no good, so they should all go and play for the Wallabies. because somehow they have a better trainer, or whatever. An Australian politician would never do that. An Australian politician would rather eat a dingo than recommend another country to live in. Frankly, I would rather eat a tuatara than recommend a New Zealander go and live somewhere else. But National members do not believe that. They are now running a campaign, with billboards, about people on this side of the Tasman leaving the country and going over there. Well, I have to say those members have just turned themselves into what we always knew\u2014that is, the biggest joke possible. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000275\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003EThe second thing is they tell people to go across the Tasman because they will pay a lower tax rate. But the top tax rate in Australia is 45 percent. It is 39 percent in this country. The company tax rate is 33 percent in Australia, and 30 percent in New Zealand. GST is 12.5 percent here, and 10 percent over there. Do we pay stamp duty when we sell a house? No, we do not, but those who go to Australia can enjoy paying 2.5 percent in Sydney, for example. Do we pay a Medicare levy in this country? No, we do not. But across the Tasman they pay 1.5 percent of income. Does any employer in this country pay a payroll tax? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002200ba029495314eb381df94fb09384f65\u0022\u003EHon Dr Nick Smith\u003C/span\u003E: Not yet, but Minister Cullen is working on it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000277\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227062d15528c24fbca2c25e2680781c57\u0022\u003EHon STEVE MAHAREY\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Smith would know, because he knows a lot about business. He has been in business, I understand. Employers here do not pay a payroll tax, but in Australia they pay 3.6 to 6.8 percent. For accident compensation we pay 1 percent on average, or less than 1 percent, but they pay 2.47 percent. Paid parental leave in this country is 14 weeks, but have a guess how many weeks\u2014how many days, how many minutes even\u2014they get in Australia. They do not get any\u2014none at all. Tertiary fees on average are $3,736, but in Australia one can enjoy paying just under $5,000. In terms of superannuation could a well-paid man like Dr Smith retire and look forward to superannuation, and Bondi Beach\u2014which he used to think was something done in the bedroom, until last week, but now he knows that Bondi Beach exists? What he now knows is that if he goes across there, as a well-off person he will not get any superannuation, because it is asset tested. In this country superannuation is universal. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000278\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003EThe National Party does not tell people that. It tells them simplistically to compare something that advantages the National Party because it wants all New Zealanders to love Australia and not their own country. So it tells them things that are not true. It makes comparisons that are false. It pulls the wool over New Zealanders\u2019 eyes and says: \u201CWhy don\u2019t you go across to Australia and get a lower tax rate?\u201D\u2014whereas they will not. That is the bottom line. That is what is wrong with the whole National Party argument. Instead of coming clean and saying that the real choice for New Zealanders, 6 years after they have begun to grow their economy again and get some real expenditure on the kinds of things that might make a real difference\u2014like health, education, research and development, roads, and all the things that will make this country strong\u2014and instead of arguing how to make the pie bigger, how to make us richer, how to make us stronger in this century so we may well pull ahead of other countries all over the world, as we are beginning to do, National wants to cash up the gains we have already made. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000279\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022605133aa-6c88-4150-82dd-7d9fcf1824b4\u0022\u003EThat is not a strategy for investment. That is not a strategy for saying that we know what the real drivers of growth are\u2014education, investment in health, infrastructure, strong investment in the environment, making sure our kids have the skills, making sure our firms are globally competitive. That money does not come from putting individual tax cuts back into the pockets of people, when we need the money to invest. That is the simple choice. Right now in Australia the same debate is going on. The business sector is saying they did not want those kinds of tax cuts, because the drivers of growth come from public investment in roads, health, education, and infrastructure. We know that is where the drivers of growth come from. That is what our Government is doing. That is why this country has grown, year on year, for 6 years. That is why as we go into an economic cycle we are going to ride this through, because we have invested in making the country stronger. New Zealanders know that. They believe in their country. They believe in the Government. That is why they put us here, and that is why we are paying them back in spades\u2014with an outstanding Budget by Michael Cullen.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022 data-id=\u0022e5d6f387e2764b3db46507cf7e2734e0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000280\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e5d6f387e2764b3db46507cf7e2734e0\u0022\u003EDr PAUL HUTCHISON (National\u2014Port Waikato):\u003C/span\u003E It indeed is a sorry, sorry assault on listeners\u2019 ears to hear so much gibberish coming from Minister Maharey, the retired sociologist who has reinvented the language; the man who says that spending on welfare dependency is an investment, whereas, as John Tamihere says: \u201CMinister Maharey just can\u2019t call a spade a spade.\u201D Spending is spending, and when it is spending on welfare dependency, Mr Maharey is just in absolute denial.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000281\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003EDr Cullen\u2019s Budget 2006 has just cemented in two of the biggest election bribes\u2014the largest expenditure bribes\u2014in the history of New Zealand. The first is the $1 billion interest-free student loan scheme. The second is the $1.5 billion Working for Families bribe.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002203527b23f4074ddfafcdac5314a77875\u0022\u003EHon David Benson-Pope\u003C/span\u003E: What about the billion dollar National Party lie?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000283\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022189ab17260cb4c1ead960872f59cc8ae\u0022\u003EDr PAUL HUTCHISON\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Benson-Pope of all people, like Minister Maharey, has encouraged that expenditure, as something that will move New Zealand forward\u2014whereas it will do the very opposite.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000284\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002222945cf55ef74aa0880bc3393f815aa9\u0022\u003EHon David Benson-Pope\u003C/span\u003E: Be careful, you nasty little man.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000285\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e7a1b600442f4b2db803a123682fd95b\u0022\u003EDr PAUL HUTCHISON\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Deputy Speaker, I wonder whether you could get Mr Benson-Pope to just repeat what he said.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000286\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002272e48ab0-e7ae-427f-bedc-793b7a91adba\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229696ff506b6e43dab3b8dc63fc5bda44\u0022\u003EHon Mark Burton\u003C/span\u003E: He said you were a nasty little man. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000287\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002273f171892c2b4574827af2ad0ade23c9\u0022\u003EDr PAUL HUTCHISON\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, did he? Well, coming from a 5-foot gnome, that is not bad. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000288\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003EAnyway, I would like to ask whether we could get Dr Cullen to come up to Port Waikato and speak to some of the young women and men sharemilkers in the electorate who have just paid for their last herds with commercial loans, because it is such young people who are the backbone of the New Zealand economy. They get up at 4 a.m. During the winter they work in particularly difficult conditions and they often go to bed very late at night. They work extremely hard, and they pay big taxes. To cap it, those taxes go to subsidise the interest-free student loans that Dr Cullen has perpetrated on New Zealand. If we are ever going to move forward, that is not the sort of incentive we should be giving our young people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000289\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003EOf course, the Working for Families package is just a form of rechurning by this Labour Government. Labour just cannot believe what people right around the world know\u2014and it is quite simple\u2014people want to have clear incentives like tax cuts. Labour cannot believe that, and it is in denial of the fact that over 600 New Zealanders are leaving permanently for Australia, on a weekly basis.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000290\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003EI want to spend some time today talking about an area that this House often does not debate\u2014that is, the area of research, science, and technology. I think that most commentators around the world regard it as an extremely significant driver of growth. Yet we have the trio\u2014Prime Minister Helen Clark, Minister Maharey, and Dr Cullen\u2014all talking it up but doing very, very little about it. They did nothing about the 2002 Knowledge Wave Trust recommendations. In fact, as with tax, they are in denial over those very significant recommendations. What did Helen Clark say in the Speech from the Throne on 8 November 2005? She said: \u201CMy Government believes that science and innovation are critical to driving our prosperity.\u201D But what are the facts? Under this Labour Government over the last 7 years, the investment in science and technology as a percentage of GDP has actually gone down. It was 0.59 percent in 1997, and now it wallows at 0.54, after 7 years of a Labour Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000291\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003E What does the Minister of Finance, Michael Cullen, say about Budget 2006? He has the gall to say: \u201CEconomic transformation lies at the heart of this Labour-led Government\u2019s ambitions for the future.\u201D He went on to say that \u201CBudget 2006 was a Budget for the long term.\u201D Well, what do we know? When that tawdry Labour Government came in, in the last quarter of 1999, growth was at an unprecedented rate of 4.9 percent. But what was the growth rate in the quarter when Dr Cullen gave his Budget speech? It was 0 percent, and it is predicted to grow at a rate no greater than 1 percent in the next year. How do we compare that with what is happening across the ditch in Australia? Here in New Zealand, the Labour Government\u2019s growth rate is predicted to be less than 1 percent over the next year, while Australia will charge on at a rate of about 3.6 percent. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000292\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003EWhat do the commentators say about Dr Cullen\u2019s so-called transformation Budget? Rod Oram, one of the Labour Party\u2019s friends, simply said that Cullen\u2019s transformation Budget would not change much. Colin James wrote in the Business Herald: \u201CAnd \u2018economic transformation\u2019 is at best slow-acting. Tepid injections into the research science and technology \u2026 budget underline that.\u201D He also notes that Dr Cullen put a target of 0.68 percent of GDP on public investment into science, research, and development, but that he put no date on it. It is just like the Labour Party when it first came into office and said it would get New Zealand up into the top half of the OECD by 2010. Where are we? We are wallowing down at about No. 17 or 18, and there is no prospect whatsoever of that position improving. So that is the sort of commitment that this Labour Government has for the vital area of research, science, and technology.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003ELet us look at the figures for that area. The biggest spending amount was $626 million in 2005-06, which will rise to $647 million in 2006-07. The Government is planning to spend $100 million over the next 4 years. I applaud the fact that the Government is putting anything into that area. The Government aims to put $250 million into the Performance-based Research Fund by 2010. This time, the amount will go up again by about another $20 million. Indeed, that fund is a very important part of the research effort. But the point is that the Government says that science and innovation are critical to driving our prosperity. There has been the billion-dollar bribe of interest-free student loans, and $1.5 billion has been put into social welfare dependency, yet in the context of what really drives our economy\u2014areas like science, research, and development\u2014the amount put in is approximately 5 percent of what the Government is putting into the social areas, and that will result only in further welfare dependency.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000294\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003EI also say that the Government has surrounded this spending with language such as \u201Cinvestment\u201D. It has changed \u201Cspending\u201D on welfare dependency to \u201Cinvestment\u201D, and it has totally forgotten the fact that the spending it has carried out will act only negatively in driving New Zealand\u2019s economy into the future. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000295\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003EI want to make two further points about the science and technology area. The first is that the amount of the most prestigious fund\u2014the Marsden Fund\u2014has stayed the same this year as it was last year. That relates to one of the areas of basic research, where there is market failure and where there is a place for the Government to invest. It is an area where only 15 percent of internationally regarded, peer-reviewed, high-quality applications are put in and funded, but the Government does not recognise it. Instead, the Government has said it will put another $100 million into the Venture Investment Fund, which is an area it started 3 years ago. Only $60 million has so far been invested; there is $40 million to go. The Government has done no assessment as to how effective the fund is, but it has said it will put another $100 million into it. So here we have a Labour Government that is totally ignoring the most relevant part of science, in terms of basic research, by making no change, but instead is sprinkling another $100 million into the Venture Investment Fund. Labour\u2019s tinkering around with science, research, and development will not grow New Zealand\u2019s economy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221a59d3ae-788b-4b19-b7dd-7d0e29a626fc\u0022 data-id=\u0022d9ea2025238045439c65ee0bbe1d3f0d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000296\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a59d3ae-788b-4b19-b7dd-7d0e29a626fc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d9ea2025238045439c65ee0bbe1d3f0d\u0022\u003EHon BRIAN DONNELLY (NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E In his stirring speech last Thursday, the Rt Hon Winston Peters referred to this Budget as an \u201CMMP Budget\u201D. But I ask when\u2014since 1998, at least\u2014a Budget has been as influenced by a support party as Budget 2006 has been influenced by New Zealand First. It cannot be said that the Alliance, the Greens, the Progressive party, or United Future ever had an impact on any Budget, from 2000 onwards, that came anywhere near the impact that New Zealand First has had on this Budget. What impact, for example, did ACT have on the 1999 Budget? It had no impact whatsoever, yet National was dependent on ACT\u2019s vote for confidence and supply, in the same way as Labour is dependent now on New Zealand First.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000297\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a59d3ae-788b-4b19-b7dd-7d0e29a626fc\u0022\u003EWhat this Budget shows is how key election pledges can be delivered by a support party, even when it has only seven members, if it is determined, true to its word, prepared to put its money where its mouth is, and puts the interests of the people of New Zealand ahead of the political ambitions of its caucus members. New Zealand First has shown how a party with a few members can punch way above its weight.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000298\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a59d3ae-788b-4b19-b7dd-7d0e29a626fc\u0022\u003EWhat did ACT deliver for the few people who voted for it? It delivered a dancing bear and the highest-paid territorial soldier in the country. What did National deliver for those who voted for it? It delivered a leadership bun fight. What did New Zealand First deliver for those who voted for it? I will tell members what New Zealand First delivered through this Budget for the 130,115 wise people who voted for it. First and foremost, this Budget delivered the first tranche of the additional 1,000 frontline police and 250 additional support staff. That first tranche came at a cost of $164.3 million in operating expenses, and $52.3 million in capital expenses. When the total package is finally played out, it will be worth more than $500 million. Those who voted for New Zealand First can justifiably say: \u201CWe did that. We did that for all New Zealanders, to provide greater security and to reduce crime.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000299\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a59d3ae-788b-4b19-b7dd-7d0e29a626fc\u0022\u003EThe racing industry was in dire straits. For years the industry, which is important to the economy of the country, had bemoaned the uneven playing field it faced. An industry that employs 20,000 people was in jeopardy, because for years politicians turned a deaf ear to the industry\u2019s pleas for help\u2014National, Labour, the lot. Who came riding in on his black and white charger for the industry\u2019s protection? It was no one else but Winston Peters and his band of merry men and women. The rescue package that was recently announced will reduce Government income by $136.5 million over 4 years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000300\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022adaa792146714f6d923a45609a111d12\u0022\u003ELindsay Tisch\u003C/span\u003E: It was National\u2019s policy, word for word. The industry knows it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000301\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a59d3ae-788b-4b19-b7dd-7d0e29a626fc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220422063cd8dc43e6b341d5a51579c3aa\u0022\u003EHon BRIAN DONNELLY\u003C/span\u003E: National pinched the policy off New Zealand First in the first place. Lindsay Tisch should go back and have a look at his 2002 manifesto\u2014there is nothing in there. I say to Mr Tisch that we know what thieves in the night they are. Some would argue that the Government had no right to have that money in the first place, but if it had not been for the 130,000 people who voted for New Zealand First, the Government would have continued to rip off the industry.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000302\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a59d3ae-788b-4b19-b7dd-7d0e29a626fc\u0022\u003EWhat about the additional $126 million funding boost for aged care in the Budget? If members look at the confidence and supply agreement they will see it there. What about the additional $64.2 million increase in market development assistance, and the $63.7 million increase over 4 years for Tourism New Zealand to promote New Zealand? Members should look at the confidence and supply agreement and see that Labour has agreed to prioritise measures to significantly grow our export sector, and it has nominated 2007 as an export year. What about the announcement that the Tauranga Harbour Bridge will no longer be tolled? Did Bob Clarkson negotiate that? He did not. It is in the confidence and supply agreement between Labour and New Zealand First. While Bob Clarkson was scratching his nether regions, Winston Peters was negotiating on behalf of the people of Tauranga. That was magnanimous behaviour\u2014the mark of a statesman.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000303\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a59d3ae-788b-4b19-b7dd-7d0e29a626fc\u0022\u003EThere is also the mark of a statesman in the funding for Official Development Assistance. The funding for that has been increased by $84 million, with the first target area being bilateral aid in western Pacific countries, and the second being maintenance of viable communities in those countries\u2014Niue, Tokelau, and the Cook Islands\u2014in free association with New Zealand. Once again New Zealand First can put up its hands and say that it has stuck to its manifesto and long-term policies, and that it has delivered as a result of the confidence and supply negotiations.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000304\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a59d3ae-788b-4b19-b7dd-7d0e29a626fc\u0022\u003EI make one more comment about the hallmark of New Zealand First, which is embedded in this Budget. New Zealand First has long had a policy that all petrol and road-user charges should be used on transport-related expenditure. We battled with National, when we were in Government with National, because it opposed that policy, but now we have seen an announcement that means we have won our case.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220daaf9fb-1a1f-4d31-848a-fd13cb1a2c5a\u0022 data-id=\u0022765d35bedc7d403b89a019d3ff55b7b5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000305\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220daaf9fb-1a1f-4d31-848a-fd13cb1a2c5a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022765d35bedc7d403b89a019d3ff55b7b5\u0022\u003EBARBARA STEWART (NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E As my colleague has said, this is a genuine MMP Budget\u2014one that honours the supply and confidence agreement New Zealand First has with the Government. If we look at the Budget, we see that it involves five of the eight parties here in this Parliament. We in New Zealand First are really pleased to see that the policy platforms we took to the country at the last election will actually make a difference to the lives of all New Zealanders\u2014and that is basically what being in politics is all about. The difference between this Government and the National Party is that the Government knows how to operate in an MMP environment, and it also gives parties some credit when it implements their policies. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000306\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220daaf9fb-1a1f-4d31-848a-fd13cb1a2c5a\u0022\u003EHow let-down those National voters must be feeling, given that the Bondi Beach brigade, in the form of Dr Brash and others, is advocating that everyone should go across the Tasman and get a tax cut. There were no constructive policies and there was no constructive debate; it just ran down New Zealand and put up billboards to advocate that everyone should go across to Australia. I hazard a guess that not one of the National Party team will resign during this parliamentary term to go and live in Australia. Neither will any member resign at the end of the term in order to live across the Tasman. That is rather ironical, I believe, although I must say that the leader of the Bondi Beach brigade, Dr Brash, may have the opportunity to go there sooner rather than later. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000307\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220daaf9fb-1a1f-4d31-848a-fd13cb1a2c5a\u0022\u003ENew Zealand First fought a lone crusade at the last election to address the plight of our seniors. Other parties were very happy to pay lip-service to senior citizens but they did not decide on any specific actions to help seniors. New Zealand First said that too many of our seniors were struggling, and that we were serious about improving their lot in life. Our seniors are entitled to live with dignity in their golden years, and this goes hand in hand with lifting the base rate for superannuation to 66 percent of the net average wage. This is the first step for New Zealand First. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000308\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220daaf9fb-1a1f-4d31-848a-fd13cb1a2c5a\u0022\u003EThe sum of $126 million went into the aged-care sector. The sector has been neglected for years, and this additional sum is a small step towards assisting the sector. We know it is an extremely important sector, which will grow in importance along with an ageing population. It is absolutely essential, however, that the increase flows through to the aged-care sector. Higher wages for the service providers of care to the elderly are absolutely essential. Those of us who went down to the demonstration yesterday know that an extra 51c an hour\u2014the equivalent of one pack of peanuts\u2014is not enough for the workers in this sector. The separate nurses\u2019 claim must be resolved totally independently of this new money. District health boards have already been funded for the Nurses Organisation multi-employer collective agreement, and they should pass that money on to those nurses in the aged residential care sector, as well as to the district health board nurses. New Zealand First wants better outcomes for our seniors. Of course, our golden age card emphasises our concerns for that group, and we will be waiting to see that coming through in the next Budget and implemented in the next year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000309\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220daaf9fb-1a1f-4d31-848a-fd13cb1a2c5a\u0022\u003EWe in New Zealand First were very pleased to see an additional $40.8 million allocated to the oral health of New Zealand primary school children. The school dental service is in dire need of this funding and it is very concerning indeed to find that less than 40 percent of eligible preschoolers are enrolled in the service. That is an appalling statistic, and one the M\u0101ori Party, no doubt, is absolutely horrified by. However, when one actually does the maths for the allocation, one finds it is less than $2 million per district health board, and I know that district health boards need far more money than that to rectify the situation. Some district health boards have planned for projects that require four times that amount. Those projects will obviously have to be downsized. I hope they will actually be implemented, and we will be following that through very closely. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000310\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220daaf9fb-1a1f-4d31-848a-fd13cb1a2c5a\u0022\u003ESo New Zealand First celebrates the parts of the Budget our confidence and supply agreement has delivered on. We are very pleased with those, because we value investment in New Zealanders and we want to put New Zealanders first.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022 data-id=\u00224f44ae533e5a40c385d9368f9858a317\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000311\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224f44ae533e5a40c385d9368f9858a317\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Minister for Social Development and Employment):\u003C/span\u003E I begin by thanking the two preceding speakers for those very positive comments. I am sure most people in this country would acknowledge that this Budget is a clear demonstration of the results of collaboration and working positively for the future of New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000312\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003EAnyone who has taken the trouble to read the Budget will acknowledge that Budget 2006 continues some very strong progress made by the Labour-led Government in investing in our country and our people. We are focused on transforming New Zealand\u2019s economy into the dynamic, knowledge-based, innovative society and economy that we need to have, and we will do that by improving the quality of life of Kiwi families young and old and by building pride in New Zealand\u2019s unique national identity. This country has a proud history of social innovation. Over the past century, in particular, we have created a society that is about fairness, inclusion, and ensuring everyone gets a fair go. That is the Kiwi way. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000313\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003EIn the past 6 years the Labour-led Government has reinforced the relationship between social and economic development. We have put a much stronger emphasis on the well-being of families. We have taken a much more active approach to social assistance, with case managers increasingly focused on supporting people into sustainable work rather than simply processing support. The results show that that approach is working, and working very well. Currently, 2.1 million New Zealanders are in work. Our labour force participation rate is the highest ever, at 68.5 percent, and we have the second-lowest unemployment rate in the OECD, at 3.9 percent. The number of New Zealanders receiving an unemployment benefit has fallen by an extraordinary 72.4 percent since 1999, when National left to us the appalling legacy of 161,000 New Zealanders unemployed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000314\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022399a744f8fa54861841d93480c0d826c\u0022\u003EJill Pettis\u003C/span\u003E: How many?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000315\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a5ab7b866aed4434a1694e50d0a3776d\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE\u003C/span\u003E: I tell Jill Pettis that 161,000 New Zealanders were unemployed. The figure is now at 44,500, and is continuing to improve. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000316\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d4506109-be18-4b9d-9a79-1e15e2e2cd41\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c7a7afff72d141db95025d0f78747f41\u0022\u003EHon Chris Carter\u003C/span\u003E: What is it now?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000317\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f66dc73044db4888b9736defbc939bf7\u0022\u003EHon DAVID BENSON-POPE\u003C/span\u003E: The figure now is 44,500, and it is continuing to improve. Indeed, the total number of beneficiaries has fallen by nearly 30 percent over the same period, and the number of children living in benefit-dependent households has dropped by 20 percent. That is very good news indeed for our young people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000318\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003EEconomic and employment growth gives us more resources to invest in social development, parents, children and young people, workers, students, job seekers, people with ill health or disabilities, older people, and communities\u2014to invest, that is, in families, young and old. Labour invests in New Zealand\u2019s future, while Dr Brash is busy investing in Australia\u2019s. National Party billboards may be a big thumbs up for Australia, but they offer no vision for New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000319\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003EIt is vital that all our families enjoy more opportunity and security, and share in the progress that New Zealand is making. Budget 2006 confirms that the Labour-led Government has the policies to deliver those goals. Over the next 4 years the Government will invest an additional $5.8 billion of operating expenditure and an additional $460 million of capital expenditure in families young and old. A strong family is, of course, a secure family. A strong family enjoys the economic independence of paid work whenever possible, and has security and protection for family members who, for whatever reason, are unable to work. The purpose for our social assistance system is very clear: we must support everyone who can work to get into work, and to stay in work, and we must provide protection for those who cannot work. For families to thrive they must have access to work, and that work must be financially worth it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000320\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003EBudget 2006 fulfils the Government\u2019s pre-election promise to extend tax relief to working families through the Working for Families package. From 1 April this year 85,000 families have been entitled to extra support through extended eligibility to and reduced abatement for family assistance. This involves new spending of $360 million in 2006-07 and $1.8 billion over the next 4 years. By 2007-08 the total Working for Families package will be $1.6 billion every year. Around 350,000 Kiwi families will be gaining from the advantages of this tax relief and associated support. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000321\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003ELet us be clear. An average New Zealand family with two children will have the lowest tax burden in the OECD, thanks to the Working for Families package. OECD data confirms that in terms of a single-earner family with two children, on average earnings, Working for Families tax credits have taken New Zealand from having the eighth-lowest tax take to having the fifth-lowest tax take in the OECD. In the process New Zealand has overtaken Australia, which is lying in sixth place. The 1 April extension to Working for Families will further reduce that overall tax take. If other countries remain unchanged, New Zealand will then be ranked the lowest in the OECD for tax take. For families with children, Working for Families has made a huge difference. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000322\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003EOf course, these are not facts that National Party members want to share with New Zealanders as they continuously talk up Australia and talk down their own country and their own countrymen and women. The National Party has confirmed that it would borrow billions of dollars and need to cut health and education spending in order to deliver its misguided and poorly targeted tax cuts. What National has not given us is a serious alternative approach to targeted tax relief that would tell New Zealand families whether they would lose the tax relief they are currently getting under Working for Families to pay for tax cuts for high-income earners and National\u2019s mates. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003ELet us look at the response of ordinary Australians to their Budget. According to a poll conducted for the respected Melbourne Age, two-thirds of Aussies would have preferred more spending on services, ahead of tax cuts. That is just what we have delivered in New Zealand\u2014an investment in the future of all New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000324\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003EThe OECD also confirms that for an average person the overall tax take, taking into account all Government contributions, transfers, and tax credits, as a proportion of gross earnings is already lower in New Zealand than in Australia. Even after Australia\u2019s recent Budget, Treasury has advised that New Zealand\u2019s tax wedge for the average family will remain lower than Australia\u2019s\u2014Australia\u2019s tax cuts being targeted, of course, at the higher tax thresholds. National keeps claiming that the grass is always greener in Australia. Ordinary New Zealanders need to know that the OECD, for one, does not see it that way. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000325\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003EBudget 2006 further invests in the future of New Zealanders. Quality affordable housing is, as we know, fundamental to the health and well-being of families and communities. Housing has a really strong impact on a family\u2019s health, education, and employment opportunities, and on a community\u2019s safety and cohesion. In the 1990s National sold 13,000 State houses, despite mounting demand and poverty. On taking office Labour immediately began rebuilding that asset, adding 496 houses into the network in 2000 alone. This coming financial year we will add another 815 houses, and by 2009 we will have added a total of more than 7,200 extra homes since 2000. Budget 2006 adds $62 million of capital, over the next 3 years, to the $597 million already earmarked to continue that programme. In addition to the provision of extra homes, Budget 2006 also sees further spending on modernising old State houses, community renewal projects, healthy housing projects, and energy efficiency. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000326\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003EThe Budget is investing $9 million over the next 4 years to strengthen and expand family violence prevention and support services. This is an important first step in our programme to improve family violence prevention. A safe community respects the rights of everyone living in that community. A safe community is one where everyone can access the services they need. A safe community has high levels of trust and support among its members. A safe community is also free of crime. Removing crime from our communities is not just important for its own sake, it is also vital in order for us to achieve the other qualities of a safer community. That is why Budget 2006 furthers our work towards safer communities, in a number of areas. It provides $164.3 million in operating costs and $52.3 million in capital over the next 4 years for the first slice of the 1,000 front-line sworn police and 250 non-sworn police promised under the confidence and supply agreement with New Zealand First. More than $10.8 million over the next 4 years has been allocated to Victim Support for it to continue its restructuring, and that funding will enable Victim Support to hire more practice specialists and other key staff, adding to its core volunteer workforce. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000327\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022330c030b-99be-4461-8aaa-9a10ee5bd889\u0022\u003EWe are investing for the future through investments in transport, the superannuation fund, and more teachers, through lowering the costs of doctors\u2019 visits, and through helping with access to job training. Budget 2006 builds on progress made in creating a dynamic, innovative economy that will raise the living standards of all New Zealanders. As the economy slows we are continuing the wise fiscal management we have demonstrated. We have paid off the mortgage. Our total financial assets exceed our total liabilities for the first time in this country\u2019s history.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225192f6d3-dca6-43c8-a55e-381e1d7c1225\u0022 data-id=\u00220675f0042ab3429190ff478172001c67\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000328\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225192f6d3-dca6-43c8-a55e-381e1d7c1225\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220675f0042ab3429190ff478172001c67\u0022\u003EHon MURRAY McCULLY (National\u2014East Coast Bays):\u003C/span\u003E I thought that during the time I have been in this House I have heard pretty much every loopy idea available to mankind, but today I have learnt something new. From listening to members of the Government, I have heard that somehow it is patriotic for members of this House to sit back and do nothing as our nearest neighbour and largest trading partner strips this country of its capital, strips this country of its skill base, and sees our nation sink into oblivion. Somehow it is unpatriotic to point to the blindingly obvious fact that the Australian Budget brought down a couple of weeks ago is a huge wake-up call for all New Zealanders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000329\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225192f6d3-dca6-43c8-a55e-381e1d7c1225\u0022\u003EI say to the members opposite who have loyally read out the research notes that have been distributed by the ninth floor of the Beehive that New Zealanders have passed judgment already on this Budget. New Zealanders, from one end of the country to the other, know that this Government has no answer at all to the big challenges confronting New Zealand in 2006. [Interruption] I tell Mr Carter to enjoy his time, as it is coming to an end. My colleague the Leader of the Opposition rightly referred to this Budget as the \u201CBondi Budget\u201D. He correctly drew attention to the fact that in the last 6 years we have seen the gap between average after-tax income in Australia and average net income in New Zealand, which was previously 20 percent, move up to 33 percent\u2014that is the advantage that Australia has over New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000330\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225192f6d3-dca6-43c8-a55e-381e1d7c1225\u0022\u003ELet us look at a few simple facts. New Zealand is currently struggling to achieve growth of 1 percent, and Australia\u2019s growth is 3 percent and is probably headed for 4 percent this year. Australia has a free-trade deal with the United States that is now into the back end of its second year, and New Zealand has none. If we look at those facts, we can see that by the time we end up with a National Government in this country\u2014in 2 years\u2019 time\u2014that gap could be well over 40 percent. That will present a real challenge to this country in terms of retaining its capital base and its skill base.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000331\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225192f6d3-dca6-43c8-a55e-381e1d7c1225\u0022\u003EI want to spend a few minutes of my time today talking about foreign affairs and defence, because there are some interesting developments under way in this area\u2014developments in which my colleagues and I have had some modest part to play. First of all, I have taken the view, since being appointed to take responsibility for these areas for the National Party, that New Zealand is too small, too geographically remote, and too dependent upon international trade for its livelihood for us to afford the luxury of political bickering where the national interest is at stake. I have made it clear to members opposite, to the Ministers who carry those responsibilities, that this side of the House will work with them wherever possible to try to achieve the important goals that lie ahead for this country. Some Ministers have reciprocated that offer in very material ways. I see Mr Sutton is in the Chamber; I acknowledge that he is one of those Ministers, as is his colleague Mr Goff.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000332\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225192f6d3-dca6-43c8-a55e-381e1d7c1225\u0022\u003EOne of the most important foreign affairs objectives that New Zealand must seek to achieve in the next few years is the improvement of our relationship with the United States of America, our second-largest trading partner. There is little point in dwelling on some of the detail of that relationship in the last decade or two. Much of it has been suboptimal, and I think there is little value to be gained in focusing on that detail today. Suffice it to say that I think we have reached a point where there is an understanding and a growing realisation on both sides of the relationship that we need to do something quickly to improve the relationship, and that both parties have to work harder at it than has been the case in the past. I believe there is growing appreciation\u2014again, on both sides\u2014of the absurdity of two countries that share so much history and so many values finding it difficult to find points of agreement in many aspects of the relationship.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000333\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225192f6d3-dca6-43c8-a55e-381e1d7c1225\u0022\u003EIndeed, in relation to the trading arrangements at the moment, I am sure that some commentators on the international stage must shake their heads in wonderment as nations that have brought little to the table in terms of international affairs, and nothing in particular to their relationship with the US, are favoured with free-trade agreements with that country, to their considerable advantage, while New Zealand sits outside any such arrangement. That, to me, highlights in very stark terms the need for us to make some progress and to lose no time in seeking to make that progress.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000334\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225192f6d3-dca6-43c8-a55e-381e1d7c1225\u0022\u003EI emphasise that this is not a short-term project for this country, and I think that Government Ministers will acknowledge that this project will take years, not months. This project will not be completed within the term of this current Government, which makes it important that there should be a degree of bipartisanship in terms of the way in which we move forward, as far as it is possible to achieve that. That is why the National Party has made a commitment to work with the Government in a bipartisan way to move the New Zealand - US relationship ahead over time. That is why the leader of the National Party, Dr Brash, my colleague Mr Groser, and I accompanied Ministers Goff and Cunliffe, along with a group of very high-powered business leaders, to the recent business partnership forum in Washington. We wanted to make it clear to the US administration and to the American people that the objective of improving the relationship is shared by both the Government in office in this country and the alternative Government of this country. I was delighted to be a part of that approach, and\u2014led by Dr Brash\u2014to play the National Party\u2019s role in that important mission.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000335\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225192f6d3-dca6-43c8-a55e-381e1d7c1225\u0022\u003EToday I want to reflect on just two or three specific areas of the relationship where I believe it is timely for us to move forward and where I see some glimmer of hope. First, it is important that New Zealand should secure some relaxation of the current restrictions that apply to New Zealand servicemen training with their US counterparts. That matter was raised by Mr Goff when we were in Washington\u2014and it is a point that has also been raised by the Leader of the Opposition\u2014because the current arrangements simply do not reflect the quality of the relationship in some of the more difficult parts of the world. Sure, there is provision for waivers of the presidential directive that was brought down 20 years ago, and, sure, such waivers are given. But when we reflect on the fact that we are expected to fight alongside each other in the trouble spots of the world, it seems silly that we are not able to train together more freely. I believe that in that respect the point made by Mr Goff and Dr Brash in Washington had some resonance, and, indeed, I see that at least some goodwill is being brought to further consideration on that matter in Washington.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000336\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225192f6d3-dca6-43c8-a55e-381e1d7c1225\u0022\u003ESecond, we need to see the current restrictions on US technology and intelligence, in terms of access for New Zealand forces\u2014also a product of the presidential directive of 20 years ago\u2014given some sort of review. The fact that the purchases of equipment that we make at the moment take place on a commercial basis rather than the advantageous terms of 20 years ago is a cost to this country, but, more important, New Zealand needs to move as far as possible down the path of interoperability with the forces of Australia. That will be difficult\u2014indeed, some would say impossible\u2014unless we can see further leeway through the removal of the restrictions that apply to our access to US technology and, indeed, US intelligence.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000337\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225192f6d3-dca6-43c8-a55e-381e1d7c1225\u0022\u003EIt is also important that we should make further progress on the completion of a free-trade deal with the US. Every New Zealander will be richer as a consequence of our achieving that objective. I personally believe that it is a medium-term project, not a short-term project, but it is one on which we cannot afford to miss any opportunity. There is always the very long shot that some unfortunate developments in the US might result in that country seeing some advantage in picking up at short notice a New Zealand offer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224029b198-a7b2-4eea-867c-79ef46cafeb9\u0022 data-id=\u0022cea1ae70e0604ae383742572f99997f7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000338\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224029b198-a7b2-4eea-867c-79ef46cafeb9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cea1ae70e0604ae383742572f99997f7\u0022\u003EHon DOVER SAMUELS (Minister of State):\u003C/span\u003E I have listened over the years to a number of Budgets being announced in this House and I have found it very, very interesting, especially when one is in Government and the Budget is being delivered, to hear the responses of those on the Opposition benches. Things really have not changed very much at all, except for the responses made by Opposition members, and specifically the National Party, to this Budget, which have been very predictable\u2014unusual, but predictable. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224029b198-a7b2-4eea-867c-79ef46cafeb9\u0022\u003EThe strands of Opposition members and their contribution to the debate has been twofold. Two threads of deliberation and contribution have been made by the National Party to this Budget. One is the mantra we heard before the election about tax cuts and how they would benefit our people. The other one is unusual. It is unusual because it is the first time I have ever heard a member of this House encouraging people to go to Australia. So those are the two threads I want to talk about\u2014the mantra of tax cuts and how they will benefit our people, and the new one, whereby Don Brash wants to emigrate to Australia. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000340\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224029b198-a7b2-4eea-867c-79ef46cafeb9\u0022\u003EI will pick up on the second one by way of a letter to the editor of the New Zealand Herald yesterday. It was sent by a New Zealander who has family who live in Australia. It states: \u201CDon Brash and patriotism. As a loyal National voter I have one message for Don Brash\u2014shut up. I am unimpressed by the anti-New Zealand rhetoric and offensive tax-rate billboard campaign. Let me give Dr Brash some perspective. I have family in Sydney.\u201D This is not from somebody who is just claptrapping here, from this Parliament; he has a family in Sydney. \u201CThe husband left a $45,000 job in Auckland for a $70,000 job in Sydney, yet the family is saving next to no more than it was in New Zealand. The reason is simply a myriad of user-pays fees, expensive sports club fees for the children, huge stamp duty on house buying, hugely expensive insurances and so on. The result? Five more New Zealanders will be coming home sooner rather than later. National\u2019s tax-rate campaign is disingenuous at best, dishonest at worst. Are you actually trying to make us feel bad for staying in this great country on purpose?\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000341\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224029b198-a7b2-4eea-867c-79ef46cafeb9\u0022\u003E That letter to the editor certainly was not canvassed by the Labour Party. It was from a member of the National Party. I have listened to all this, and it makes one wonder. Could one imagine Don Brash and Gerry Brownlee in their speedos, lying on a towel on Bondi Beach? Could one imagine them in their bikinis, under the sunshine at Bondi? I would say that the best policy would be to repatriate every New Zealander, not just in Bondi or Sydney but from all around Australia. If we want New Zealanders to come back to this country, then just get them to picture Don Brash and Gerry Brownlee in their bikinis, lying in the sun on Bondi Beach! God help the Australians! That was in the New Zealand Herald. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000342\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224029b198-a7b2-4eea-867c-79ef46cafeb9\u0022\u003EI was interested to hear the comments made by my colleagues in the M\u0101ori Party. They said that this Budget has nothing in it for M\u0101ori. Certainly, I acknowledge that the Budget does not mention the word \u201CM\u0101ori\u201D many times, but I say to those members on the other side of the House\u2014a group of people who I would say are \u201CNg\u0101ti knockers\u201D\u2014that if they look very carefully at the Budget documents they will see in them a lot of goodies for M\u0101ori. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000343\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224029b198-a7b2-4eea-867c-79ef46cafeb9\u0022\u003EI will talk about the Budget in terms of housing, health, tourism, and education. But, first, I will talk about the health budget. The sum of $10.6 million is going to the health sector this coming year\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000344\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b95ed6eede6c48ef9e728305321b99c1\u0022\u003EJill Pettis\u003C/span\u003E: Extra.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000345\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224029b198-a7b2-4eea-867c-79ef46cafeb9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022be5c1f51612a4450bc74cbeca1e30165\u0022\u003EHon DOVER SAMUELS\u003C/span\u003E: There will be $931 million extra this year. Do M\u0101ori go to the hospital? Of course they do. When we go to our hospitals we see a lot of M\u0101ori patients being looked after? Do M\u0101ori belong to primary health organisations? Of course they do. Do M\u0101ori women have babies in our maternity wards in our hospitals? Of course they do. Do M\u0101ori have access to primary health care? Of course they do. Does the Labour Government provide funds for health, hauora, and M\u0101ori providers? Yes, it does. Do M\u0101ori Party members understand what Budgets are all about? No, they do not. I do not blame them\u2014I can understand that\u2014because instead of looking at the detail of the Budget and at what is provided in it for our people, they are looking for the word \u201CM\u0101ori\u201D. If I were a member of the M\u0101ori Party I would certainly be looking for the word \u201CM\u0101ori\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000346\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224029b198-a7b2-4eea-867c-79ef46cafeb9\u0022\u003EBut I want to tell my colleagues that there is more good news. There is better news for us in housing. That is an area that is close to my heart and to the heart of my colleague the member for Te Tai Tokerau. Labour is investing $659 million in the building of an extra 7,200 State houses. I say to members of the M\u0101ori Party\u2014to the \u201CNg\u0101ti-knockers Party\u201D\u2014that the majority of State house tenants, 39 percent of them, are M\u0101ori . About 13,000 State houses were flogged off by the National Party\u2014and I can see my colleague across the other side of the House is looking very disappointed. He cannot believe this. When National was last in Government it sold off 13,000 State houses. This is the reality. This is not just claptrap talk about the Budget and all the high-flying phrases used. How many families do members believe were displaced? Labour will build an extra 7,200 State houses by 2009. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000347\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224029b198-a7b2-4eea-867c-79ef46cafeb9\u0022\u003EWhat is in it for M\u0101ori? Let me tell this House, and the M\u0101ori Party in particular, that 21,139 State house tenants are M\u0101ori. I ask whether they can beat that. Never mind about the k\u014Drero\u2014the claptrap is easy. This Government delivers. I am proud to be a member of a Government that delivers for our people, and I am proud to be a member of a M\u0101ori caucus that does not go around the radio stations talking a lot of humbug or writing claptrap in letters to the editors of newspapers. In fact, we deliver for our people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000348\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224029b198-a7b2-4eea-867c-79ef46cafeb9\u0022\u003EIn education we are spending an extra $361 million, with a budget per year of $4 billion. Do our M\u0101ori kids benefit in k\u014Dhanga reo? Do our M\u0101ori kids benefit in their primary education? Those members should think about it. Do our M\u0101ori kids benefit in their secondary education? Of course they do. So where is all this claptrap coming from\u2014claptrap that says: \u201COh, poor M\u0101ori. We have to have the handouts identified with the label \u2018M\u0101ori\u2019 on them.\u201D? Well, I say to this House that the majority of M\u0101ori are intelligent people. We accept the challenges that are set down by the community. We do not want something for nothing. We do not want handouts. We are as good as anybody else, and we want to be treated just like anybody else. We want to be treated equally, with equity and dignity, in this country. This Budget actually does that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000349\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224029b198-a7b2-4eea-867c-79ef46cafeb9\u0022\u003EI challenge anybody who is really serious about saying what is good for the M\u0101ori community to stand up and counteract some of the facts I have put before the House to consider, especially my colleagues in the M\u0101ori Party who almost every day bleat about how M\u0101oridom is hard-done-by. We are spending $1.3 billion on roads, and part of that expenditure is going up north to Te Tai Tokerau, to tarseal the road to Cape Reinga. Has any other party in Government done that? Some months ago members of the National Party were gnashing their teeth and frothing at the mouth about the underspending on our roads. They should look at the situation now. They were ambushed, outclassed, and outflanked by Michael Cullen. I say to those people who talk a lot of humbug and who want to knock the contributions to M\u0101oridom that have been made by this Government that they had better think again. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou. Have a nice day.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022d21515bb-0193-4167-a21d-982058b53604\u0022 data-id=\u002209ed7203692d4bbdbd8f30328efe286f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000350\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d21515bb-0193-4167-a21d-982058b53604\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002209ed7203692d4bbdbd8f30328efe286f\u0022\u003EDr RICHARD WORTH (National):\u003C/span\u003E On 14 February 2006, the beginning of this parliamentary year, the Prime Minister made her statement, and in the context of a very political speech, she said: \u201CAn economic transformation has always been central to this Government\u2019s economic policy.\u201D Well, the quintessence of transformation is a concept of sudden and dramatic change, and presumably the Prime Minister had it in mind that such an economic transformation would be beneficial to the country, would be worthwhile, and would bring benefits. The Minister of Finance, however, would not see economic transformation as containing any element of dramatic change. He has made it clear that for him the most effective way to bring about economic transformation is by what could be called \u201Cglacial incrementalism\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000351\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d21515bb-0193-4167-a21d-982058b53604\u0022\u003EThe Budget of 2006, despite the rhetoric of the previous speaker, hardly showed courage or imagination. If economic transformation was to be its watchword, then it failed utterly. Looking back at the period of the Labour Government, it is no wonder so many people feel only a sense of dismay. Let me take three examples, in the short time I have available, through the time frame of this Government that demonstrate in a clear way incompetence, loss, and poor judgment. The first example is the proposal by Singapore Airlines to take a 49 percent share in Air New Zealand. That proposal required Cabinet approval. Running an airline is a very fraught business. It is well illustrated by the fact that all the major United States airlines, with the possible exception of Southwest Airlines, are in chapter 11. It is a state of managed bankruptcy, under American law. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000352\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d21515bb-0193-4167-a21d-982058b53604\u0022\u003EThe New Zealand Cabinet was then, and is now, a Cabinet wholly lacking in business skills and experience. In fact, the only person in the current Cabinet with business skill and experience is Mr Sutton, a farmer. Its members simply could not assess the merits of the proposal. They could not see the business case, so, of course, they rejected it. We as taxpayers fronted up with $885 million in October 2001. We invested a further $150 million in 2004 as part of a rights issue, and significantly more money will be required if the Government remains determined to compete on the international aviation stage in a business environment that is very hard and very ruthless. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000353\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d21515bb-0193-4167-a21d-982058b53604\u0022\u003ELet us take a second example. This Government has been extraordinarily lucky, and I believe that its luck is about to run out. The speed at which New Zealand is being transformed into a branch office of Australia is truly frightening. One commentator has said: \u201CIf we are not to become a nation of store persons and shop assistants, sales managers and tourist guides, then we need to get a much firmer grip on our economic destiny.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000354\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d21515bb-0193-4167-a21d-982058b53604\u0022\u003EI am not sure whether members opposite know this, but 600 people each week leave New Zealand to settle permanently in Australia. That is a staggering loss of resource for many of those people who are our best and brightest\u2014tradesmen, tradeswomen, and professional people. We can ill afford to lose them, yet the Government seems to be complacent about that loss. As we all know, and as we are constantly reminded, the gap between Australian and New Zealand incomes continues to widen dramatically. Why is it that when Dover Samuels retires from Parliament he is going to go we know where\u2014Australia? We are simply not prepared to confront the challenges of an ageing and diminishing skills base. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000355\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d21515bb-0193-4167-a21d-982058b53604\u0022\u003EI believe that the ideological differences between National and Labour are stark, as this Budget has demonstrated. The world competitiveness scoreboard for 2006, which was released earlier this month on 11 May, has New Zealand\u2019s placing falling from 16th to 22nd. Meanwhile, Australia has risen from ninth place to sixth place. The scoreboard itself ranks the competitiveness of 61 national and regional economies based on 312 criteria. The section on New Zealand lists the challenges facing the country as including these things: encouraging skilled migrants; ensuring secure and affordable energy and water; improving workplace productivity, management, and business capability; and reducing compliance costs. What does the Budget do about that? Sadly, not very much at all. National believes that the strong fiscal surpluses provide the basis for significant tax cuts, and that the ideology of the Labour Government is enabling Australia\u2014our biggest competitor for skills and capital\u2014to charge further ahead. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000356\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d21515bb-0193-4167-a21d-982058b53604\u0022\u003EAt the moment members may be aware that the Government is carrying out a review of the Immigration Act. That is great, but sadly it seems very reluctant to critically consider changes to the migrant categories. There is a requirement that those in the business investor category have a sound knowledge of English, generally to the standard of the old University Entrance qualification. I am not arguing the case that skilled migrants do not require good English, but in this category\u2014the business-investor category\u2014that is quite different. A well-designed business investor programme would bring significant capital flows to New Zealand, and business investors are, of course, well able to afford staff to assist them in their daily lives in New Zealand. Let us just remember for a moment that Samuel Goldwyn, who emigrated from Poland to New York and went on to create the fabulous film studio MGM, knew nothing of English when he left Poland. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000357\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d21515bb-0193-4167-a21d-982058b53604\u0022\u003EI conclude with a final example. In the last few days we have seen the disgraceful illustration of the Minister of Communications commenting about the prospects of Telecom and saying that that company might have to cut its dividend payout to fund increased investment. That statement was instrumental in wiping $157 million off Telecom\u2019s market capitalisation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000358\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b8ec23d62685426588e95e2559b3a874\u0022\u003EJill Pettis\u003C/span\u003E: Telecom shares have gone up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000359\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d21515bb-0193-4167-a21d-982058b53604\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c2477368cd4349acb0082636c837adac\u0022\u003EDr RICHARD WORTH\u003C/span\u003E: Jill Pettis responds by saying that the share price has gone up. That naively is similarly what the Prime Minister said yesterday. It may be that the share price of Telecom is trading at higher levels now than it was before the comments were made, but what Jill Pettis overlooks is that for those who sold because the Minister made those comments, their losses have been truly significant. It is no wonder that a stench is forming around this Government. It is such a tragedy that when there was the opportunity to do good in this Budget, the Government has done bad.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022 data-id=\u002258d6fc2e33394ca4b601826c9a815edb\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000360\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002258d6fc2e33394ca4b601826c9a815edb\u0022\u003EJILL PETTIS (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E That speech was made by the honorary consul for Monaco, Richard Worth. An extraordinary revelation was made this week and I think it is important to debate it further, because it has not received much coverage. I refer to the release of the email from the Exclusive Brethren to David Henry, the Chief Electoral Officer. This issue has nothing to do with David Henry. He was quite properly and professionally responding to questions that the Exclusive Brethren put to him. Those questions were around statements such as: \u201CWe, a group of Christian businessmen, have put together an election programme with a budget of $1.2 million, with the goal of getting party votes for National.\u201D We had thought that the amount was $500,000 but the email now reveals that it was $1.2 million. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000361\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003EThe Brethren church asked the Chief Electoral Officer questions such as: \u201C1. Does it compromise National\u2019s position if we communicate to MPs and candidates our strategy? 2. Does it compromise National\u2019s position if we show them draft publications before they are published? 3. Is there any legality prohibiting us printing \u2018Vote National, Vote Brash\u2019 and including a photo of Dr Brash on the pamphlets? Can this be done without compromising National\u2019s funding position? 4. To what extent can we legally advise, direct, assist, communicate with other National MPs and candidates?\u201D. It is very, very clear that the Brethren have been dishonest and the National Party has been dishonest. It is no wonder they are such good friends. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000362\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003EI have been actively involved in politics all my life, really, but more actively involved as an adult, since 1972. I have never ever seen Brethren members at a political meeting in my life until the last election campaign, and I would have been to more party political meetings than any of those five Tories sitting together in Opposition. I have been going to political meetings since I was aged 8, in the Hylton Hall, Somme Parade, Aramoho, in Wanganui. Chester Borrows said, at the Grey Power meeting in H\u0101wera two Mondays ago, that some new National MPs have never been to a political meeting in their lives, and that when they came into Parliament it was the first time they had ever been in such an intense political environment. That comment was made by one of National\u2019s own MPs at a public meeting. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000363\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003EThe Brethren were involved donkey deep in the last election campaign. They were involved in telephone polling. They were leaflet-dropping as late as 6 p.m. on the Friday night before the election. We have always played by the rules in our electorate. In the electorate of Whanganui, the old National Party always played by the rules and we had a very good gentlemen\u2019s and ladies\u2019 agreement whereby we stuck to the rules. But the Brethren were delivering leaflets as late as 6 p.m. on the Friday night before the election. That had not been seen or done before. When will those National MPs who are washing their hands like Pontius Pilate and saying it was not them, because they do not know any Brethren, come clean about that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000364\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E At National Party election night functions, when those MPs had to concede defeat, we looked around the rooms and saw the same old National Party faces\u2014the same old National Party tried and true supporters who have turned out year after year and done the donkey work, which is not particularly glamorous. No Brethren were to be seen at those National Party functions, at all\u2014not a Brethren in sight. All of the hard work, the pamphlet deliveries, the telephone polling, and the megabucks of dollars that were poured into the National Party campaign came from the Brethren. It did not come from the usual loyal National Party supporters. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000365\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003EIt is time that the National Party and the Brethren came clean, because we know what this issue is all about. It is about a $4.5 million return to the Brethren over 3 years in education funding\u2014a $4.5 million return over 3 years. That is a 450 percent return, which is better than the return on Telecom shares. The Brethren are no slugs. They know that getting $4.5 million from National is far better than the return available from Telecom any day of the week. The Brethren are not slugs when it comes to managing money. They get $1.5 million already for their 12 Westmount Schools. National said it would double the funding of private education, so that is $3 million per year for the Brethren\u2014$4.5 million of extra funding over 3 years. There is not a word of denial from those Tories over there, because the new ones know that they would not be here without the Brethren. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000366\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003EIt is time the Brethren and the Tories came clean. The Brethren tried to say they were motivated by moral issues, and did not like the Civil Union Bill. Well, what about some of the members who sit along National\u2019s front bench, if we are talking about moral issues and voting history? The Brethren were not concerned about moral issues at all; they were just concerned about power, influence, and money. We were not born yesterday and the Tories can try to convince us as much as they like that their mates, the Brethren, were not involved in the campaign. We know they were involved, because we saw them at meetings and we had never seen them before. They did not open their mouths, of course, but they were there, and some of them turned up to the polling booth. You can bet your bottom dollar they turned up to the polling booth! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000367\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003EThe National Party is not only dishonest about its association with the Brethren but is disloyal to New Zealand. The National members run New Zealand down for political gain. They should be honest and tell us how many of their children or siblings have gone overseas in the past. It is a good thing that New Zealanders go overseas and gain overseas experience. In fact, John Key bragged about his overseas experience and the success he had in the finance sector there. I do not think it was a bad thing that John Key went overseas; I actually think it was a good thing that he went overseas and gained some experience. He came back at a time when taxes were the same as they are now, so I ask the National members not to hand me that rubbish about National being concerned about matters of taxation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000368\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003EThe other totally dishonest thing about National is its position on race relations and race-based issues. The National Party members would love a Cronulla Beach - type riot. It would be absolutely right up their alley, and they would salivate should something like that take place in New Zealand\u2014not that I think for a moment it ever will, because most New Zealanders are very fair-minded. I am just amazed and surprised at the friends that the National Party has. I remind the M\u0101ori Party of the old adage: \u201CYou\u2019ve got to have a long spoon if you want to sup with the devil.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000369\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003EOur Labour Government is delivering for New Zealanders in ways that have not been delivered before. The transport component of the Budget was particularly exciting for those MPs who live in provincial New Zealand. I am thrilled at the roading works that have been accelerated in the South Taranaki - Whanganui area, and in Taranaki itself. The Bell Block bypass, the Rugby Road underpass, the Normanby bridge realignment, the Tangahoe bridge widening, and several Wanganui projects moved up the list quite considerably. I am delighted that $58 million will go into industry training and the Modern Apprenticeship scheme. There are 8,000 apprentices currently in training in New Zealand. Apprenticeships are a brilliant scheme, but were abolished by National in 1991. One of the first things that Bill Birch did when he became Minister of Finance in 1991 was to help to get rid of the former apprenticeship scheme. That was a shame and a disgrace. The National Party talks about training but forgets to mention that by the way, the National Government abolished it. The other exciting expenditure is on tourism. New Zealand is a country that has a lot to show off to the rest of the world, and I commend the people involved in winning the silver award at the Chelsea Flower Show. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000370\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003EWe are proud of this country, and Labour is prepared to back it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002295ac7206-f497-429d-bf58-715224d5160f\u0022 data-id=\u00229020f6b47cb64c0aadc64ff6541b639d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000371\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002295ac7206-f497-429d-bf58-715224d5160f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229020f6b47cb64c0aadc64ff6541b639d\u0022\u003EKATHERINE RICH (National):\u003C/span\u003E She is bitter all right, she is bitter! For those listeners who have just tuned in that was the valedictory speech of Jill Pettis. Anybody who has read the Sunday Star-Times will see that she is on Helen Clark\u2019s hit list. No doubt some backroom deals are going on, but I doubt whether Jill Pettis has been offered anything other than being Ambassador to Namibia right now. The Ambassador to Namibia is all that is on offer for Jill Pettis. Was it not rather telling that that member started to talk about the Budget in only the last minute of her speech? That bitter and twisted diatribe about all and sundry had nothing to do with the Budget we heard delivered last Thursday. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000372\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002295ac7206-f497-429d-bf58-715224d5160f\u0022\u003EIn last Thursday\u2019s Budget there was nothing for business\u2014not one sausage, not one skerrick that will make any difference to business here in New Zealand. All the Government did with last Thursday\u2019s announcement was confirm a total lack of understanding about business, and what it takes to create an economic environment that will make it easier to do business in this country, not harder. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000373\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002295ac7206-f497-429d-bf58-715224d5160f\u0022\u003EOf course, there has been the endless self-congratulation about Lianne Dalziel\u2019s review into business regulation and compliance costs. I say there is something quite wrong with a Government that thinks announcing another business review is something to celebrate. There is nothing to celebrate in announcing a review. It might be newsworthy, but it is not exciting. Actually doing something as a result of a review is exciting, and that is what this Government has no track record in doing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000374\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002295ac7206-f497-429d-bf58-715224d5160f\u0022\u003ELeading up to Monday\u2019s announcement there was that predictable release to the local papers telling reporters what Lianne Dalziel would announce. She launched her new image\u2014with some nice pictures, I have to say\u2014and the idea that she was looking across the ditch to Australia to get some new ideas about looking at regulatory reform here in New Zealand. She was drawing on the work of Gary Banks who has recently written a paper called Rethinking Regulation. The build-up to the announcement got many business people thinking that something would be done\u2014the expectation was built that there would be something in the review for them, perhaps a tax cut, perhaps some announcement into the area of employment law reform, or perhaps changes to the Holidays Act. Businesses rightly had their expectation raised, but there was none of that. What was the announcement? Another review. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000375\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002295ac7206-f497-429d-bf58-715224d5160f\u0022\u003EWell, the response from business was understandably cynical because they had seen it all before. The rhetoric surrounding this review was exactly the same as it was in all the previous reviews that had been announced. Members who have been here a while will remember the Ministerial Panel on Business Compliance Costs in 2000 launched by Paul Swain, the then Minister for Small Business. Paul Swain said that he would be the Minister who would \u201Cwage war on red tape\u201D. The objectives of his review were pretty interesting. I will read them: \u201CThe objective of the Panel will be to provide advice to the Government on ways to reduce unnecessary and over-burdensome compliance costs to business arising from central and local Government regulation (excluding tax legislation).\u201D\u2014of course\u2014\u201CThis may lead to either the amendment or repeal of existing regulation, or to changing administration procedures.\u201D That was written 6 years ago. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000376\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002295ac7206-f497-429d-bf58-715224d5160f\u0022\u003EWhat Lianne Dalziel announced had some business people quite rightly feeling a sense of d\u00E9j\u00E0 vu. Certainly, their complaints have not stopped and business has not seen any result of that compliance cost review. That is why business people are suitably cynical about what Lianne Dalziel has announced. Ministers Tamihere, Hodgson, and Barker\u2014who were also Ministers for Small Business\u2014announced similar kinds of initiatives\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000377\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225ddb4180fa734fdeb45d81e8b31c3f4e\u0022\u003ESimon Power\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s a powerful line-up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000378\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002295ac7206-f497-429d-bf58-715224d5160f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ba32deec6adc4a0ca3754191a1252801\u0022\u003EKATHERINE RICH\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, absolutely. Although Lianne Dalziel likes to pride her Government on having a Minister for Small Business, there have been so many of them that I wonder why she thinks it is something to celebrate. There have been so many business-oriented reviews, strategy papers, and blueprints, it is no wonder yet another review has drawn an audible groan from business people asking whether they have to go through one again. I ask members about the reports from the Small Business Advisory Group.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000379\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022df788c48-b9be-42fd-b8f2-76629a5572b8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002290471b77a80f4d3ebca208f6da32f322\u0022\u003EDr Wayne Mapp\u003C/span\u003E: In the bin.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000380\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002295ac7206-f497-429d-bf58-715224d5160f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022102f4cecdf364cfe93a41b7c73f0816f\u0022\u003EKATHERINE RICH\u003C/span\u003E: The first report went in the bin; the second report is obviously in the bin. If I was sitting on the Small Business Advisory Group, I would be wondering why I was wasting my time. Time and time again, business people put forward their recommendations to this Government and they amount to absolutely zip. This Government continues to commission advice and reviews, then does nothing about the advice when it is received. That is because the Government\u2019s approach is all wrong. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000381\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002295ac7206-f497-429d-bf58-715224d5160f\u0022\u003EOn Monday we saw the Government congratulating itself and saying how great it was because it had commissioned a review. I think that is more indicative of this Government and what it thinks should be celebrated than of anything else. There have been so many reviews in the business area that it is not funny. There was the McLeod Tax Review, and there have been reviews done on the Holidays Act, the Employment Relations Act, and in other areas of business compliance costs. Lianne Dalziel has all the information there; she need only dust off her own copy of the report of the Ministerial Panel on Business Compliance Costs. It is all there, but she chooses not to follow it and commissions yet another review. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000382\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002295ac7206-f497-429d-bf58-715224d5160f\u0022\u003EThe funny thing about Lianne Dalziel\u2019s review panel is that it is all made up of bureaucrats. At least Paul Swain\u2019s panel was made up of business people.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000383\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222b4e9d83a2dc46abba314718dd2668dd\u0022\u003ESimon Power\u003C/span\u003E: Good old \u201CSwainy\u201D!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000384\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002295ac7206-f497-429d-bf58-715224d5160f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022228a233f13df4565819917dd4c391a8d\u0022\u003EKATHERINE RICH\u003C/span\u003E: At least good old \u201CSwainy\u201D had a few clues. The panel that will be set up by Lianne Dalziel is stocked full of bureaucrats. Will they really find the answers to problems troubling New Zealand businesses? I do not think so, particularly when this Government has said that it does not want any recommendations to do with tax, employment law, the Holidays Act, or the Health and Safety in Employment Act. The Government has its ideological blinkers on and somehow thinks that a silver bullet solution will come from some other area and not from the big areas business is currently troubled by. That is one concern. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000385\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002295ac7206-f497-429d-bf58-715224d5160f\u0022\u003EWe also need to look at economic development. This magical $64 million was announced that would go towards new business grant programmes, but the very, very small print stated that this was not new money; it was reallocated funding. So there was not even new money to help businesses go to trade fairs and do all the other things that will make a big difference.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000386\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222a849ed4-a817-45a7-8b86-dbc9dd210193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e683ba7522f544408d10a36212077de3\u0022\u003EJill Pettis\u003C/span\u003E: Ten minutes and not one policy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000387\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002295ac7206-f497-429d-bf58-715224d5160f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c4ebf243854f42f698cab507363cbbe9\u0022\u003EKATHERINE RICH\u003C/span\u003E: Jill Pettis says I should be talking about policy. I would think a member who had been here long enough would know that this is actually a speech on the Budget. Members are supposed to be talking about the Budget. It is fine coming from someone who spent only the last 60 seconds of her speech actually talking about it. She managed to totally ignore the Budget in her speech, but, because she knows so little about what we are doing here in the House today, she does not know that what I have been just discussing is totally about what is in the Budget\u2014in fact, my speech has been solely on the Budget. I think she needs to go back to her office and fill out her CV, and perhaps raise her sights above being the Ambassador for Namibia\u2014a good place to send Jill Pettis\u2014and take things from there. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000388\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002295ac7206-f497-429d-bf58-715224d5160f\u0022\u003ENational would have liked to see in this Budget something tangible for business\u2014something that would really have made a difference to all those businesses out there currently struggling under a poultice of regulation. When Helen Clark stood in this House at the beginning of the year and said she would take a fresh look at regulation, most people thought that would mean less regulation, not more. Although this Government continues to spout out the rhetoric of being business-friendly, it has not made one significant difference for business that will make it easier\u2014not harder\u2014to do business in this country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022 data-id=\u00224120c88c219f498996ddc57578c58f56\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000389\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224120c88c219f498996ddc57578c58f56\u0022\u003EHon MARIAN HOBBS (Labour\u2014Wellington Central):\u003C/span\u003E I rise with justifiable pride to support this Budget. Labour has delivered on its commitments, many of which it made during the election campaign. Over the seven Budgets that have been made since Labour formed a Government, New Zealanders have learnt that Labour delivers on its promises. One of the reasons the country moved to Labour and away from National was the memory of National\u2019s broken promises to older people\u2014to Grey Power, and to any number of people in society it promised much and then whipped away what it had promised. Labour has not done that; it has delivered on its promises. It extended Working for Families to approximately 85,000 more families and removed the interest on student loans. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000390\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EA young student was in my office the other day\u2014a young Wellingtonian\u2014who owes $100,000 in loans. She is a medical student in her sixth year. She will go overseas after about 5 years, but she now wants to spend time in New Zealand practising and learning on the job and setting up networks, because she knows now that she can afford to do so. She knows that probably she can break over half of that loan and pay it back within 3 or 4 years. Labour has kept that promise and will deliver to New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000391\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EAs the member for Wellington Central, I am particularly happy with aspects of this Budget. We have transport woes\u2014maybe not as great as Auckland\u2019s\u2014and the transport package delivered to us. Before the Greens say that it was all about Transmission Gully, I say that it is also about railways, railway stock, the purchase of Wellington Railway Station, and those sorts of issues. In education, Labour\u2019s work in Modern Apprenticeships is having a real effect on industries here in Wellington. I heard the speaker before me, Katherine Rich\u2014who has just left the House\u2014say there was not a skerrick in this Budget for business. How on earth does business get goods to market except on roads and rail? I would have thought transport, infrastructure, and things to do with telecommunications and broadband had an awful lot to do with business. I do not know where National is, but if that is not a skerrick for business, then it must have a very big skerrick to give out at some time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000392\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003ELabour is also on about supporting firms and finding markets. Of course, for Wellington, there is huge input in the Budget for driving innovation through science. [Interruption] Now Wellington\u2014the member who speaks such an awful lot and so many times may not know this\u2014has more scientists per head of population than anywhere else in New Zealand. It has all the Crown research institutes, most of them centred in here.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000393\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220b07e9d678e84d2d834dfd3920b020f5\u0022\u003EDavid Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: No it hasn\u2019t.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000394\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eb9e15af3ddf40138825cb26d1e69ad2\u0022\u003EHon MARIAN HOBBS\u003C/span\u003E: Hamilton has one, but Wellington has about four others. Wellington also has the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, and a number of other institutes and tertiary science. The commercialisation of science that is coming from this is really superb. So as a Wellingtonian, I am very happy with this Budget. But as a member of the human family, I am most delighted. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000395\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EI wonder whether members could stop, because there is something pretty serious here. We are in here because we care about people; at least I am. We want to lead lives enhanced by love, and enjoyment of our families. This Budget gives us the leg-up to be able to do that. Poor health can put great stress on family relationships, particularly in relation to the responsibility we feel for the older generation. So we have put $126 million into this Budget to improve residential care and home-based support services for older New Zealanders. I see members over there shaking their heads. How can National even think of putting anything close to $126 million into helping older people, when at the same time its members want to give tax cuts to John Key? It does not make sense; it does not add up. That is why we won, and that is why I won Wellington Central\u2014just on the argument alone, that it does not make sense. The civil servants in here understand that. People can promise tax cuts, but then they cannot deliver health care to the elderly. They cannot go out there and extend the primary health care strategy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000396\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EA man in Karori stopped me one day and told me he had a heart condition. He was aged 54, and he said that going to the doctor was extraordinarily costly. Going to the pharmacist was extraordinarily costly, so he asked when we were going to do something about delivering on that. We have delivered on that\u2014and is that not good news? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000397\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003ENow I come to something fairly personal, which is about being overweight, and about the Healthy Eating - Healthy Action plan. I am going to make a pledge here: by the time this session ends in 2008, I will be 20 kilograms lighter. I have already reduced weight by 17 kilograms, because I believe that this is about walking the talk. Now we are no longer regarding the weight problem as something frivolous out there; it is something very real, and the Government has put money in, to back it up. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000398\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EWe have talked about the elderly, we have talked about people of my age, but we also have the school medi-checks for kids. Kids cannot learn if they are not well. Kids cannot learn if they have hearing difficulties, and the work we have done on that with the universal screening programme is particularly important. This is about families, this is about the value of life; this is about health; this is about education. Those are the important things in the development of a healthy society. So I come again to education, and look at the money we are putting in there, because we happen to believe, and to know through research, that early childhood education is the means by which we will reduce the deficit of illiteracy. We are doing the work about literacy, and about illiteracy in the workforce, because of the years and years of neglect for certain sectors of the population. But getting into early childhood education, and ensuring we have 20 hours there for people, is very important. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000399\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EAs well, a considerable amount of money has been put into the Budget for children who are disruptive. Children who are disruptive in classrooms damage not only themselves but the other learners in their rooms. That is a real problem for many people. In the past way of life, the practice was always to expel those kids and to drop them out into the community. But then we had the cost of prisons and everything else that goes with that. This work with disruptive children is not about throwing kids out on the heap; it is about working with the children, their families, and their teachers so that we do not lose those children. When I was a principal, I thought I was a failure if I ever had to expel a child. I probably removed more teachers from the payroll than I did students from my school\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000400\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222ac48415d8e747dbb346848392be290f\u0022\u003EDavid Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, you were hard.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000401\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b14e1267d1824649a0455298d2befddc\u0022\u003EHon MARIAN HOBBS\u003C/span\u003E: I worked extremely hard to make sure that kids were able to learn. I walked the talk, I tell that member\u2014I do not just talk. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000402\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003ENow we come to the matter of being safe. Actually, part of being healthy, and being able to love and enjoy our families, is to feel safe at home, to know that our older parents are safe at home, and to know that our young kids will be able to come back through Cuba Mall, get on a bus, come home at night to Karori, and feel OK. We are going to increase police numbers. We have made that commitment\u2014it is out there. We are doing it, in no uncertain terms, with the help of New Zealand First, just as I have had the help of that member there to get the funding for Transmission Gully. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000403\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EWe are also doing the work on something we are deeply ashamed about in this country\u2014that is, the issue of violence in our families. That is something we have huge shame about and, again, we have to walk the talk. Again, we have to find some solutions to that problem. Part of the solution, I think, has been\u2014I have always hoped\u2014for people to be employed, to have jobs, to have their self-esteem rising, and to go forward with that. But it is obviously not enough. We have generations of neglect that we have to fix, so we have to move on in this way. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000404\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221583b5cb-f4e0-4981-97ba-193c338ff404\u0022\u003EThen, there is housing\u20142,000 extra houses. New Zealand is home to all of us in this Chamber. We love it, or we would not live the lives we do, fighting to make it a better place. Unfortunately for us, we know New Zealand probably better than most people do. If we run clinics, we know it, warts and all. We know the problems in our society. There is much we can do as a community to make society even better. I would never stand here and say that we have reached the perfect nirvana in New Zealand; we have not. We have problems in our families; we have problems with the health of our elderly; we have problems with our young people. But this Budget, just like the preceding six, lays the steps down for moving forward, so we move forward inch by inch on behalf of the whole community. Progress is not about individual tax breaks; it is for the whole community. That is the only way we can be safe; that is the only way we can move forward; that is the only way we can ensure that we have a community that excels in love, peace, looking after each other, and caring for each other. National members may sneer at that, and they may want to go down the selfish road, but I believe\u2014and the people on this side believe\u2014that the community is the strength of Aotearoa New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220bd5aa67-2f2b-4a13-a2b4-21a392396f11\u0022 data-id=\u0022fa36a95e507040c78b5c2312394a2feb\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000405\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bd5aa67-2f2b-4a13-a2b4-21a392396f11\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fa36a95e507040c78b5c2312394a2feb\u0022\u003EHon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU (National):\u003C/span\u003E I note that the member, although she talked a lot about the health of New Zealanders, made not one mention of the long-term cost of people being culled from waiting lists\u2014of New Zealanders being culled from waiting lists, in their thousands. There is not one word about those waiting lists in this Budget but, then, this is the Budget of an arrogant Government\u2014the same as last year\u2014that thinks it knows best how to spend the hard-earned taxes of ordinary New Zealanders up and down the country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000406\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bd5aa67-2f2b-4a13-a2b4-21a392396f11\u0022\u003EThose of us on the M\u0101ori Affairs Committee this morning witnessed the height of arrogance and ignorance in the Budget planning process. We were told by the Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs\u2014after he was forced in the end to confirm it\u2014that he, as Minister, had not made one bid in the current Budget round for new funding. He had not put in a bid for new funding in the Budget process. That has to be a first\u2014a Minister of the Crown not making a bid for new funding. I doubt whether there has ever been a Minister who has not done that. This is a Minister who says his mission is to realise M\u0101ori potential, but who did not make a bid in the Budget round for new funding. Shame on him! It will be the first time ever. He is probably the first Minister ever to behave in that way. He should resign. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000407\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bd5aa67-2f2b-4a13-a2b4-21a392396f11\u0022\u003EI come now to the broadcasting portfolio, and say I am not surprised that the Hon Steve Maharey is not going to talk about his contribution to the Budget round in respect of broadcasting. As we see, he has managed to get a measly $24 million over the next 4 years, most of which is going to NZ On Air for more local programming. No doubt, New Zealanders will welcome that, but we would have thought that this Government and Minister Maharey might have had the brains to work out, since they talk so much about unbundling and how they are going to move New Zealand forward\u2014we will wait and see what happens there\u2014that an ideal way to \u201Csex up\u201D their Budget would be to tell us what they are doing about the introduction of the digital platform. But do we see anything at all in the Budget that refers to the introduction of the digital platform? No\u2014absolutely not! I would have thought that Minister Maharey might have had more going for him, and that he might have grabbed the opportunity to say: \u201CRight, there was a big balls-upon the great leak, the Telecom leak. There\u2019s a great hole in this Budget, so why don\u2019t we tell the public, in this Budget, about the appropriations we are making\u201D\u2014if, indeed, there are some to be made\u2014\u201Cand that we are going to have the digital platform, with TVNZ on digital, within months.\u201D But, no, he is too smarmy. He sat there all last year, which was a disastrous year in broadcasting in terms of TVNZ. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000408\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bd5aa67-2f2b-4a13-a2b4-21a392396f11\u0022\u003ELet us look at what happened to the company last year. It experienced a sharply reduced dividend; falling ratings; viewers deserting to TV3 and other channels; viewers signing up in droves to Sky television, because that is where the digital is but there is none in the offing from the Government; high-profile presenters departing under dubious circumstances; and a culture of extravagance that was still alive and well when we came into the new year. Worst of all, that organisation of the State had a finding of contempt made against it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000409\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bd5aa67-2f2b-4a13-a2b4-21a392396f11\u0022\u003EIt was a disastrous year for television broadcasting under Minister Maharey. He sat on his hands and literally did nothing to curb the disastrous year for TVNZ. Now, he still seems to be doing nothing to reassure New Zealanders that, indeed, we are going to be brought into the age of digital TV. There was not one mention about that in the Budget. As I say, it was his opportunity to sex this Budget up. He missed it. It is a wonder nobody else did. Maybe the Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs should have seen the opportunity. Given that he struggled over the questions that were put to him this morning in the select committee, where he did not seem to know what the Budget process was all about anyway, I do not think we can look to him to sex any Budget up. But I would have thought that Steve Maharey, given his looks and the fact that the Speaker at one stage, I think, indicated that she thought he was quite pretty, would have the nous to do something exciting in the broadcasting area. He could have told us what all the months of consultation, the work of the free-to-air broadcasters with their digital group, and others, had achieved. The Minister himself has been making regular statements saying: \u201CWe\u2019ll have digital on the way.\u201D, but there was not one mention of it in the Budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000410\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bd5aa67-2f2b-4a13-a2b4-21a392396f11\u0022\u003EThat is an indictment on the Minister, who presided over a disastrous year\u2014indeed, years\u2014for TVNZ, and we now watch while New Zealanders leave in their droves and sign up to Sky television. Whether the new board is going to reverse the situation, who knows. Unless the Minister is able to somehow give us some indication soon of when the digital platform is to be introduced, there will be no viewers left. He has sat on his hands for all of the last 2 years with a group out there supposedly working on it\u2014such as, Jo Tyndall, seconded from New Zealand On Air to the ministry. No doubt she is busy, busy working on something, although we do not know what, we have not been able to get any information out of the Minister on how far advanced the digital platform is. What are they doing? What does the Minister intend to do? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000411\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bd5aa67-2f2b-4a13-a2b4-21a392396f11\u0022\u003EBroadband may or may not come. It suffered a huge set-back with the great \u201Cleaker\u201D from the Prime Minister\u2019s office. That left a big hole in the Budget. Nothing has been put there to fill that hole, and that is an indication of an arrogant Government that daily is putting more and more New Zealanders on benefits, as a cynical vote-gathering exercise, because that is all it is. In the meantime New Zealand slides down the ladder of economic prosperity, productivity, and economic growth. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000412\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bd5aa67-2f2b-4a13-a2b4-21a392396f11\u0022\u003EWe have a Minister who had absolutely nothing in the Budget in the broadcasting arena, other than a bit more funding for New Zealand On Air, but nothing about the biggest challenge facing television broadcasting\u2014that is, the introduction of a digital platform. I am talking about the missing-in-action digital strategy, a whole lot of work going on for years, a whole lot of people who have busied themselves on this, and still absolutely nothing in the Budget. The Minister should fold his hands, pack his bag, and give the thing to someone else. Unfortunately, so many on the Government side are on notice. Who would he give it to? Mr Cunliffe, the great hope in the techno area, goodness me, the poor thing, he had to see his flower of the Budget leaked to the public, with Telecom losing millions off its share price. So he could not give it to Mr Cunliffe. So many of the Government members seem to be on notice, who could he give broadcasting to? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000413\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bd5aa67-2f2b-4a13-a2b4-21a392396f11\u0022\u003EBroadcasting received approximately $24 million but there was not a whisper, not one word about the introduction of the digital platform. Do we live in the digital age or not? The Government seems to think we do not.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u002235d7979e0dfc478986ce70a55a7bdf48\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000414\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002235d7979e0dfc478986ce70a55a7bdf48\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Minister of Energy):\u003C/span\u003E I have listened to this debate for 3 days. For 3 days we have heard one of the most important debates of the year, and it concerns the Budget. The debate has shown what National stands for and what it believes in, and it is a very narrow vision, indeed. It shows that National believes in tax cuts. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000415\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EWhat else does National believe in? Tax cuts. What else does National believe in? Tax cuts. When the Government cuts taxes moderately, how does National respond? National members say: \u201CMore tax cuts.\u201D Tax cuts are its religion; its article of faith. National says taxes are bad and must be cut. Tax cuts are the meaning of life for National. It has no other message. It is a one-policy party\u2014tax cuts. If we ask the National members what the meaning of life is, they will not say: \u201CA fair and egalitarian society.\u201D They do not talk above love. They do not talk about health or education services. They do not even give us the number 41. For them the answer to everything is tax cuts. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000416\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EWell, tax cuts are not the only thing, and most voters, of course, disagree with National. They do not think that the future of New Zealand lies in tax cuts, tax cuts, and more tax cuts. Most voters agree with the Labour position\u2014that, essentially, taxes are good. I am happy to have this debate because I am sure that most New Zealanders agree with Labour that taxes are good. Tax is the glue that holds society together. It is the cornerstone of civilised Western society. Tax is good. Tax is crucial to social cohesion and low crime. Tax is essential if every New Zealander is to get the chance to succeed, no matter how rich or poor the family he or she is born into. Taxes in New Zealand are low by international standards. They are not high\u2014and that is an issue I will return to. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000417\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EIn contrast, National says tax cuts are necessary and that $11 billion worth of them are overdue. What an extreme position! It is obvious that National\u2019s tax cuts would cut basic services like health, education, and superannuation. But perhaps even more important to me is the fact that National\u2019s tax cuts would threaten the core egalitarian values that I, and most New Zealanders, hold dear. Tax cuts under National would lead to where we know its heart is. Its heart is in the right-wing vision where we would have increasing divisions between those who have and those who do not have, between those who are born into wealth and those who are not. It would increase the gap between the wealthy and the less well-off. We would see more crime. We would see poorer health and education services for most people. Of course, outside of the tax arena we would also see international policies like the disastrous war in Iraq. Under National, we would have been part of that war. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000418\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003ENational\u2019s assertion that we can afford grandiose tax cuts is based on an assertion that New Zealand is over-taxed. Well, the OECD keeps statistics on taxation, and it shows that for a one-earner couple with two children New Zealand is the fifth-lowest taxed country in the OECD. That is, fifth-lowest out of 29. In respect of a single person without children, we do even better. We are the third-lowest taxed in the OECD. On both measures we are better than Australia. So how responsible would $11 billion worth of tax cuts be at this point in the business cycle? A recent OECD report states: \u201CIt is important that temporary revenue gains and economic upswings not be used as pretext for permanent tax cuts that exacerbate inflationary pressures and create a legacy of high structural Budget deficits that only become apparent during subsequent downswings.\u201D That is exactly what National is proposing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000419\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EOn the subject of tax cuts, I have to say that some are appropriate. That is why the Government, this year and next, is funding $1.6 billion of tax cuts for families with children, which is an average of $88 per week in tax relief. A family with three children on $60,000 gets $130 a week. That is affordable and prudent. Members should not be swayed by the notion that tax is bad. Tax is good.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022 data-id=\u0022afaa89d2036b4b1098b396b47444e20f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000420\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022afaa89d2036b4b1098b396b47444e20f\u0022\u003EHONE HARAWIRA (M\u0101ori Party\u2014Te Tai Tokerau):\u003C/span\u003E At home, the news of the week was not about the Budget, because most of my relatives are intelligent and cynical enough not to expect anything from a Government that seems dedicated to the downgrading of all things M\u0101ori. No, the news was about the real money, the big deal\u2014the $18 million Lotto pay-out that some lucky bugger up in Kae\u014D won. I am happy for that person in Kae\u014D, and real happy for his or her wh\u0101nau that they got the big break but, for all of that, I still feel a sense of gloom, because it seems that the only way a lot of my whanaunga will be able to break out of the poverty cycle is through a game of chance, a wild gamble.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000421\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003ELast week, Dr Cullen did nothing to change that with his 2006 Budget. Wh\u0101nau development is gone, local level solutions are gone, direct resourcing is gone, capacity building is gone, capacity assessment is gone, manaaki tauira is gone, M\u0101ori and Pacific scholarships are gone, and there is no new money for the Ministry of M\u0101ori Affairs. Members should not get me wrong; I am not saying M\u0101ori were not targeted\u2014we were. Unfortunately, though, targeting for M\u0101ori in 2006 involves the same failed, racist policies of assimilation that Governments pursued back in the 1800s, when M\u0101ori kids were allowed to speak only English, and the only good M\u0101ori was a quiet M\u0101ori.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000422\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003EWell, it comes as no surprise, at all, to anyone with a modicum of intelligence that assimilation just does not work. It did not work back in the 1800s, and it did not work in the 1900s. In fact, assimilation was supposed to have ended with the Hunn report in 1960. So it is a worrying trend when those same racist policies are dredged up in this new millennium. Of course, they are dressed up in new words, but there has been no consultation with M\u0101ori nor, I suspect, with even the Government\u2019s own M\u0101ori MPs. Surely they could not possibly be supporting the rubbish being foisted upon their own people in 2006 by that crowd.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000423\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003EThe one-size-fits-all theory simply does not work\u2014it never did. As the only party dedicated to defending M\u0101ori rights and advancing M\u0101ori interests, the M\u0101ori Party has an obligation to highlight the hypocrisy of this Government\u2019s financial programme. There is no new money for M\u0101ori\u2014that is a fact. The Government has given funding two flash new names\u2014reallocation and reprioritisation\u2014but the facts remain the same. Even with a $9 billion surplus, there is no new money for M\u0101ori. In fact, the real story of Budget 2006 for M\u0101ori is about what was not in it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000424\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003EI congratulate the Minister of Finance on announcing a key focus on our families, young and old, but what about the 60,000 M\u0101ori families who will not get anything from the Working for Families package? Although it is lovely to hear the Prime Minister reading out fan-mail from people who do get the package, members can believe me when I say that those words are absolutely meaningless to the nearly 100,000 M\u0101ori kids who do not even know they have been denied by this programme.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000425\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003EThe Government was also right to target health as a Budget priority, and we congratulate it on that. But we remind it again that a one-size-fits-all health Budget will not alleviate the massive health problems faced by M\u0101ori people throughout the country; neither will it ease the fears of the people in the far north who stand to lose their hospital and their doctors, because there is no money to encourage them to stay.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000426\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003ESo when my people ask me what they got in the Budget, I get really sad when I have to tell them they have got nothing new. When they ask me why not, I have to say I just do not know\u2014I do not know why there is nothing there for them; I do not know why the M\u0101ori MPs in Labour did not fight for them; I do not know why those MPs are so quiet about that; I just do not know what they are thinking.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000427\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003ELast month, Labour\u2019s M\u0101ori caucus was told to host a press conference to promote the Working for Families package, but when asked by the media what the benefits of that policy were for M\u0101ori, none of them could answer. They were dumbfounded and struck mute when they had to defend a discriminatory policy they did not understand\u2014and, with no cue cards provided, even I was embarrassed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000428\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003EThe 2005 Budget was notable for 1 hour\u2019s worth of talk and no mention of the word \u201CM\u0101ori\u201D at all. The 2006 Budget is even more sinister because it mentions M\u0101ori as in the sense of: no consultation with M\u0101ori, no new money for M\u0101ori, assimilation for M\u0101ori, and \u201CNo, M\u0101ori, we ain\u2019t listening.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000429\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003EI normally like to finish my k\u014Drero with a M\u0101ori saying but, seeing that this Budget gives M\u0101ori nothing, I turn instead to my P\u0101keh\u0101 side. Although I am no great fan of Shakespearian tragedy, I cannot help but think of a line from Macbeth to describe this Budget: \u201CIt is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, and signifying nothing.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022 data-id=\u00224dea55071cdb44f39363700dcefdd168\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000430\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224dea55071cdb44f39363700dcefdd168\u0022\u003EHon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs):\u003C/span\u003E There is also a quote from Shakespeare about a pound of flesh\u2014people tend to think that it is always about a pound of flesh. The focus on money by these other parties in the first instance, is outrageous. There is no doubt that M\u0101ori are a unique people. The contribution made by M\u0101ori to New Zealand is etched on the country at this stage. M\u0101ori culture reinforces the dynamic identity of Aotearoa New Zealand in a globalised society. I am thankful that Hone Harawira recognises his P\u0101keh\u0101 side, because I have worked with M\u0101ori over the years who used to deny it\u2014for example, Tau Henare. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000431\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003EEverything we do now must be measured for the contribution it makes to the future of our people. The groundwork has been done, the scene has been set, and this Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs has been part of it\u2014not like the prattle of ancient and past Ministers of M\u0101ori Affairs, especially the one sitting in this House. [Interruption] How so? It is simple. Our growing asset base, falling unemployment rates, and rising participation rates in education and enterprise are what M\u0101ori are doing today, and that is what they are trying to establish in their growing population. All of these present opportunities have been imbued, developed, and strengthened by this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000432\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003EThis Budget provides for M\u0101ori, and I am glad that my friend Hone Harawira is sorry that, as he said, he does not understand. That is dead right; he does not understand. But I will help him learn it as he goes along. This Budget provides for M\u0101ori. It is about moving people from dependency to development. The M\u0101ori Party does not like this approach; it prefers our people to be trapped in the dungeons of doom and gloom. Well, I tell those doom merchants that the best way out of poverty\u2014in fact, the only way out of poverty and dependency\u2014is through work. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000433\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003EM\u0101ori Party members are concerned about beneficiary entitlement. They are arguing that beneficiaries should receive the in-work support payment. Without a doubt, beneficiaries are better off under this Government than they have ever been. But I want to make clear to this House that, with this Government\u2019s approach, work always pays. If we are serious about moving our people from dependency to development, work must always pay. This Government has made significant inroads into supporting beneficiaries and their families. Child poverty has reduced by 70 percent under this Government. But, most important, this Government has given beneficiaries work. Research and experience shows that this Government has got 100,000 people off the dole and into work. Of those, 30,000 are M\u0101ori. They are off the dole and into work. That is simple logic. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000434\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003EDr Sharples, as we have just heard Hone say, would tell the House to give all the money to Vote M\u0101ori Affairs. Then, in turn, it could all be given to M\u0101ori, and we would wait and see what happens. In 1999-2000, when this Government came into power, Vote M\u0101ori Affairs had $55 million. This year it had a 200 percent increase to $156 million\u2014well-spent and well-managed money to help M\u0101ori development. The National Party, with its \u201Cmother of all Budgets\u201D, slashed $1.3 billion in 1 day. It put the economy into a spin. And to resurrect the recession that was put on the people\u2014members heard what Dr Cullen said this morning\u2014National sold the State houses. That is what National did. That is National\u2019s economic mentality. Those members marginalised people by thinking big with little minds and unkempt practices that do not have platforms of the macro and the micro. Dr Cullen will be remembered as the best finance Minister in Parliament\u2019s history. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000435\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003ENational sold the State houses, it put the economy into recession, it slashed $1.3 billion, and it is trying to do it again through John Key. That is supporting the greedy, not the needy. That is the right agenda. National members like John Carter know that. Hone Harawira knows that. Members should look at those two Hones sitting together. That is why they are together, because they support it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000436\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c4322e1ea1084c07aca77a0759edf77a\u0022\u003EHone Harawira\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I understand that it is improper for the Minister to refer to me just by my first name. I would also like to point out that when he said that I said I did not understand, in fact what I said was that I do not know why the M\u0101ori MPs in Labour did not fight for M\u0101ori, not that I did not understand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000437\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022327cb16cd43b45ce80f25471c98f8f8a\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley)\u003C/span\u003E: The second part is not a point of order. The first part of it was, and the member needs to refer to the member by his proper name. While I am on my feet, I will just say that there is far too much of a barrage. It is a constant barrage. Interjections are OK; a barrage is not.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000438\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002284b23b51f2a945169d2a8af1bc94cc90\u0022\u003EHon PAREKURA HOROMIA\u003C/span\u003E: I turn to benefits for M\u0101ori in this Budget. Without a doubt the 2006 Budget improves the opportunities and the social and economic well-being of M\u0101ori. People do not want to understand that. The Government is continuing to deliver for M\u0101ori through the strengthening of core services in all areas. The Budget has expanded targeted tax relief to 85,000 more families. What is wrong with that? By next year 350,000 families will be getting $1.6 billion every year, the sum of the single-day wipe-off that those members\u2019 financial policies created. That is tax relief of $88 a week. [Interruption] That is right, I tell Mr Brownlee. That means more money in pockets and more incentives to get into work. Working for Families will deliver more to working M\u0101ori. Cutting the student loan interest will deliver to M\u0101ori. That will make up for all this humbug about the Government not caring about M\u0101ori. In terms of beneficiaries, 251,000 New Zealanders were receiving an accommodation supplement, and 69,000 of those were M\u0101ori. The new in-work payment came into effect on 1 April. The in-work payment will support our people, because they need it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000439\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bdb2f2041dea4ab28528c7a0fccedbb8\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: What\u2019s Te Puni K\u014Dkiri doing?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000440\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aa62f3e115264df1b41dfbc5aedfcbf5\u0022\u003EHon PAREKURA HOROMIA\u003C/span\u003E: Te Puni K\u014Dkiri is doing a lot more than when that bloke was Minister\u2014when he had those commissioners, and Fay Richwhite represented the M\u0101ori affairs policy in the National Government at that time. He knows that, because they used to go fishing with him on Thursday nights. That is how he tried to get the leaks out of the public servants. He knows that. Shame on him! There are expected decreases in child poverty. Those members know that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000441\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003EIn education, M\u0101ori will benefit from investment across the education sector. We are not talking about $5 million. We are talking about $166.4 million targeted towards tertiary education. The number of Modern Apprenticeships is up to 14,000. Additional funding for early childhood education and schooling is $28.2 million for a standard 20 hours a week of free early childhood care. I know that that member does not understand, but he will learn as time goes on. He should come over to this side. That is important. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003EFunding for more effectively managing disruptive behaviour in schools comes to $9.5 million. We should put some money into Parliament to control the disruptive behaviour on the other side of the Chamber. There is $89.3 million to provide an extra 455 full-time teachers. That is a great thing. It is no good having a great language strategy or a great M\u0101ori broadcasting strategy if we do not have people to teach it. Both Te Whakaruruhau and the M\u0101ori Televison Service have come in on time. There is $95.6 million to increase operational funding for schools. The total is $322.6 million. If people want to talk about money for the people, or support for M\u0101oridom, it is all there. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000443\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003EThe provision of interest-free loans is also there. Funding for Te Kotahitanga, a professional development programme to help teacher better engage M\u0101ori, has been extended to $10.9 million, which is actually more than manaaki tauira. Much has been said about axing that, but it is make-believe and mystery that is put upon our people by default. It is disgraceful. The M\u0101ori people know, along with Koro W\u0113tere, that this is a great Budget for M\u0101ori.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022 data-id=\u0022d16d476cb54a43b5ab4c6e7ed89d3541\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000444\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d16d476cb54a43b5ab4c6e7ed89d3541\u0022\u003EGERRY BROWNLEE (Deputy Leader\u2014National):\u003C/span\u003E We now know why Labour members had to get linguistics expert Clare Curran to come and give them a lecture on how to talk to people. I understand that remedial classes are being organised, as we speak, for the Hon Parekura Horomia in order that he might be able to more clearly follow the Labour line. The Labour line says that National has grabbed the agenda. National led the agenda right throughout the election and, bar some explosion inside National, it will be the next Government in this country. That is the internal Labour document that is supposed to have encouraged Ministers like Parekura Horomia to, for example, tell the truth. Well, that would be novel for a Labour Minister. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000445\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EThe same Clare Curran had a huge effect on the Budget itself, referring to the tax take as \u201Can investment in the future\u201D and to burgeoning numbers of beneficiaries as investing in people\u2019s futures, and suggesting that the best thing Labour could do now is apologise for the way it has run the country for the last 6 years. That is the Clare Curran document. What is worse, do members know where all this \u201Cspecial information\u201D that was given to Labour came from? It came from the United States. That is right. A US linguist is quoted liberally throughout the programme. A US thinktank known as the The Rockridge Institute is apparently where all this comes from; and the Center for American Progress also contributed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000446\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224029b198-a7b2-4eea-867c-79ef46cafeb9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fd22fa11334a4f6e8f32cc64f1072cc1\u0022\u003EHon Dover Samuels\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. Is there a doctor in the House? I am very worried about our colleague across the other side of the Chamber. He seems to be hanging on to his heart. He might have a heart attack.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000447\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cf016ca3fd714a53a63ede1d26e45c49\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley)\u003C/span\u003E: The member knows that that is not a point of order. He should not interrupt the member\u2019s speech.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000448\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d3475ebe651b4658a1e9c4a4ee83dc9c\u0022\u003EGERRY BROWNLEE\u003C/span\u003E: I tell members that all of the points of order in the world will not stop Dover Samuels from being on the Labour managed-exit list. He is joined there today by his colleague the Hon Parekura Horomia. He is a man who is on the way out. I ask members to imagine this. This man is a Minister. We have already been told by Helen Clark that he is not a very good Minister, and they pay him a bit less than the other Ministers. None the less, he sits up there in his plush office. He turns up in the mornings, wonders what to do after he has done the colouring-in on the kids\u2019 page in the newspaper, and then one of his departmental officials comes in. He says: \u201CWhat\u2019s going on?\u201D. The official says: \u201CDon\u2019t worry. It\u2019s all under control.\u201D He says: \u201CThank you. That\u2019ll do me.\u201D And that is his day. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000449\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EThen he goes to Cabinet and hears that a Budget coming up. He hears that Ministers bid for the funds they need to run their departments. So he goes back to the office and calls in the departmental head, and says: \u201CWhat are we going to do about this?\u201D. The departmental head has a look at it, shakes like a leaf, thinks \u201COh my God, if they find out what we\u2019re doing, we\u2019re dead.\u201D, and says: \u201CLook, tell you what Minister, don\u2019t put in a bid. Don\u2019t ask for anything. In fact, offer to give some back, because we can\u2019t use it. We\u2019re so sloshing round in cash, we don\u2019t need any more money, and besides that, there\u2019s only so many hangis and huis we can have in one year, anyway.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000450\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003ESo then what happens? Parekura turns up, after the Budget has been read, finds out that he has made a huge mistake, and he is deeply embarrassed. He has turned up here today, wanting to say that everything is rosy. Well, the Minister, with all the help that a US linguist can give him, all the help from a US thinktank, all the help from the Center for American Progress, has not convinced anybody that he knows what is going on in his own portfolio. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000451\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EThe reality is that this is a hopeless outfit that is doing very little for M\u0101ori. How can he sit there this afternoon and say how marvellous Labour has been for M\u0101ori, when he knows that 60,000 M\u0101ori families do not get a cent out of Working for Families? They are simply the new poor of this country. They have been cast on the scrap heap and told by a Minister who has no care for them that that is the best they can ever expect. The only consolation Parekura Horomia can take from this Budget is that about 159,000 M\u0101ori did get a tax cut. They are the 159,000 M\u0101ori who are living in Australia. They are the iwi from across the ditch who have been lost to us. He sits there, telling us that this Budget was about investment in people\u2019s lives; this was a Budget crowing about how well the Labour Party has done. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000452\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EI will ask the Minister the same question I asked him at the select committee this morning, and I am still waiting for an answer. What does Te Puni K\u014Dkiri do? One would expect, after 7 years as the Minister, that he might know. In an hour and a half this morning the Minister failed to answer that question. Do members know why? Because he does not know\u2014that is why. When he woke up in Cabinet, when he was disturbed from his slumber at the Cabinet table, and heard that there was a Budget on, he wondered what the heck he had to do about it. I do not think he even knows who his departmental head is. It did not look to me like they talk very much, when they came to the select committee this morning. The only good news they could tell us was that they get $156 billion of funding a year, and the one thing they could tell us is that they have set up a second-hand computers in homes programme in Wairoa. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000453\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EThe rest of it, with all due respect to the Minister, was a great long list of huis and hangis for the great and the good, like Mr Jones who sits next to the Minister. He is Parliament\u2019s greatest and most insidious double-dipper. He is the great white hope of the Labour Party\u2014the great brown hope of the Labour Party\u2014who is quite unable to survive on the minimal existence of a back-bencher\u2019s salary. He has to go double-dipping, through Te Ohu Kai Moana. I cannot help thinking that Te Ohu Kai Moana is almost a metaphor for how Labour likes to treat M\u0101ori. The fisheries arrangements are a metaphor for how Labour likes to treat M\u0101ori. Give them a little bit, sort of, but do not let them touch it; do not let them decide what to do with it. Leave it to clever people, like Mr Jones, to work out what goes on, so that those 60,000 M\u0101ori families that are supposed to have an interest in the fishing rights around this country get nothing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000454\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EMr Jones is sitting over there, saying how much he has done for the M\u0101ori people. He has done a lot more for himself than he has done for any M\u0101ori, I can say that much. There is the man who has golden pockets. We saw him up there, prancing up and down in front of the M\u0101ori Queen, in his pinstripe suit\u2014a Bond Street M\u0101ori, if ever I saw one\u2014with the hat on, looking like, well I do not know how it could be described. I am lost for words again. He leaves me like that most of the time. But what it really points to is the entirely cosmetic way in which Labour is trying to relate to M\u0101ori in this country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000455\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EThere are some real issues; there are some serious issues. They are about the future of this country. One of the things that should worry anybody is the way in which the demographics are starting to point to the new population in this country. When we consider that, what we can see very clearly is that for future generations, when M\u0101ori will be more significant in the economy of this country, far too many will come from a legacy of welfare dependence, even in their middle class, because the Labour Government does not believe in allowing people to keep more of the dollars they earn in their pockets. I support the motion moved by Don Brash, leader of the National Party. This is an inadequate Budget, and we have no confidence in this Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220d9640b0-d861-43d8-b321-e7ba56dbe362\u0022 data-id=\u002242ba83e81bb749168d16b0a52f7882a1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000456\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220d9640b0-d861-43d8-b321-e7ba56dbe362\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002242ba83e81bb749168d16b0a52f7882a1\u0022\u003EJUDY TURNER (Deputy Leader\u2014United Future):\u003C/span\u003E I want to talk about the $126 million that has been budgeted over the next 4 years to go into the aged-care sector. I believe that $58 million has been targeted towards home-based support and $68 million towards residential support. When we first heard the news, those of us with real concerns about what is going on in this sector were hugely pleased. However, as the days have ticked on since the Hon Michael Cullen delivered the Budget, some disturbing evidence has come to light. When the sums have been done we realise that this big amount of money is falling into an even bigger hole. As we have suffered for years in roading, we are facing a crisis of momentous proportions in the aged-care sector. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000457\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220d9640b0-d861-43d8-b321-e7ba56dbe362\u0022\u003EThe demographics are clear. We know how many elderly people we will have. We know the types of care that will be needed in the future. But what we are not completely sure about is what this Government or the major Opposition party are planning to do about it. As yet, nobody has come up with a long-term plan that older citizens can rely on. Even the generation represented in this House cannot, with certainty, plan towards their senior years when they will require additional support. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000458\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220d9640b0-d861-43d8-b321-e7ba56dbe362\u0022\u003EThe crisis in this sector is twofold. First of all, we have a lack of futures planning, as I have just said. The second point is that our current delivery is in serious need of improvement. Although we welcome every morsel that can be thrown in its direction, we have to understand that we are not making ends meet. This sector is reliant on three groups. We are reliant on two sets of providers\u2014those who are for profit, and those who are part of the not-for-profit sector who just want to stay afloat and be able to maintain their buildings and develop their services further. The other side of it is the staff, and it is the staff whom I want to focus on for the remaining time. Staff are currently paid the most appalling wages. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000459\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220d9640b0-d861-43d8-b321-e7ba56dbe362\u0022\u003EI want to reflect on the case of the nurses who protested outside Parliament yesterday morning. The reassurance they were given from Government speakers was appalling. They said: \u201CYou are so lucky that this Government has improved the minimum wage so many times in the last 6 years. Be reassured, the minimum wage will continue to be something that we will attend to.\u201D However, most of us said: \u201CThese people shouldn\u2019t be on the minimum wage.\u201D The photographs that have caused so much controversy in a recent publication\u2014and I do suggest that they were inappropriately used\u2014reminded us of the very sensitive work concerning people\u2019s dignity, which many of us may need to rely on in the future, that is done by an amazing workforce of people, and we pay them the most appalling wages. In my area, they leave the aged-care sector seasonally to go into the kiwifruit orchards to pick kiwifruit.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000460\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220d9640b0-d861-43d8-b321-e7ba56dbe362\u0022\u003ESitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225cee6a89-68e3-40fd-b2d8-d8adb0ba5da0\u0022 data-id=\u00225ca26aa932a940c5bb32277a4eb52e52\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000461\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225cee6a89-68e3-40fd-b2d8-d8adb0ba5da0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225ca26aa932a940c5bb32277a4eb52e52\u0022\u003EGORDON COPELAND (United Future):\u003C/span\u003E In the brief time I have this evening I will not be able to comment extensively on the Budget, so I want to just pick out one or two things that are near and dear to my own heart and to that of my party, and comment on those. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000462\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225cee6a89-68e3-40fd-b2d8-d8adb0ba5da0\u0022\u003EThe first thing is that United Future is fully supportive of the Working for Families package. I do not care too much about what it is called; I think we should say that there is a mixture of targeted tax relief in it, and to the extent that some people receive more back from the Government than they pay in tax, there is also an element of what is technically called negative taxation in the package. But the really important thing is that the package is making a real difference to life on the ground for families with dependent children. My wife and I happen to be privileged enough to know quite a number of young families with dependent children, and I tell the House that those families are absolutely delighted with the additional amounts coming into their households each week through the Working for Families package. People are saying to me that it is good and that, at last, they can send their children to school adequately clothed and buy them some decent presents at birthdays and Christmas, and they feel like they are back in mainstream society. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000463\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225cee6a89-68e3-40fd-b2d8-d8adb0ba5da0\u0022\u003EI think it has to be admitted that when people leave the workforce, get married, or move into a relationship and have children, they feel a very real sense of having moved out of mainstream New Zealand. Other people are still going ahead, buying new cars and taking overseas holidays, and suddenly these people are in a different situation where they face the hard task, day in and day out, of making ends meet for their families. For those people the Working for Families package has undoubtedly made a huge difference. United Future is very proud not only to have had input into the design of the package but also to have supported it through the parliamentary process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000464\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225cee6a89-68e3-40fd-b2d8-d8adb0ba5da0\u0022\u003EHaving given credit where it is due, I say that United Future differs from the Labour-led Government when it comes to tax thresholds adjustments for personal taxation. In our view those thresholds should have been adjusted in last year\u2019s Budget for the movement that has occurred in the rate of inflation since 1 April 2000 when the present tax rates, including the top rate of 39c in the dollar, came into being under the stewardship of Dr Michael Cullen. The Government, I believe, in failing to do that has created some real problems and real difficulties within New Zealand society. Dr Cullen\u2019s inaction in that regard last year means that many thousands of taxpayers have moved up from the 19.5c band, which goes up to $38,000, and are now paying 33c in the dollar, and many more taxpayers have gone from the 33c band, which goes up to $60,000, and are now paying 39c in the dollar, purely because of inflation and the increase in the cost of living. To put that another way, because the cost of living has moved significantly since 1 April 2000\u2014by around 14 percent\u2014in real terms many hundreds of thousands of taxpayers are now paying more personal tax than they did in the year 2000. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000465\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225cee6a89-68e3-40fd-b2d8-d8adb0ba5da0\u0022\u003EDr Cullen, in doing nothing about personal taxes, has allowed that to happen for the thousands of ordinary New Zealanders who are working people\u2014the very people who, in the past, the Labour Party has traditionally sought to look after. So United Future and I are baffled at the way in which that group of people has been ignored by the Government after 7 years in office. For example, in 2000, average full-time workers in New Zealand were earning less than $38,000 a year and were, therefore, paying tax at 19.5c in the dollar. Now, according to the information released with the Budget, average individual wage earners earn $43,756 a year, and those people pay tax at 33c in the dollar\u2014an increase of 13.5c in the dollar at the top end. In real terms they are, therefore, in some cases earning very little more than they were in 2000. Wages have gone up, but, as people shift through the brackets, at that top end taxes have gone up quite disproportionately and those people are now no better off. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000466\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225cee6a89-68e3-40fd-b2d8-d8adb0ba5da0\u0022\u003EThe result is that we have created a dichotomy in New Zealand society. On the one hand we have people getting tax relief from Working for Families, while on the other hand we have all the other people who do not have dependent children and who have seen no shift in their tax position since this Government came into power. I think that that is fundamentally wrong and fundamentally unjust, and it is also fundamentally unnecessary. Dr Cullen has hinted today that, as part of the business taxation review, he may be able to also look at doing something about personal tax rates for those people who have seen no change in their position. I, for one, urge him to do so, because I think it should be done. It will make our society more inclusive and will send a positive signal to all New Zealand working people that, regardless of whether they have dependent children, whether they are single, or whether their children are now off their hands and they are back to the \u201CDarby and Joan\u201D type of situation, they will also benefit under this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000467\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225cee6a89-68e3-40fd-b2d8-d8adb0ba5da0\u0022\u003EThe other example I will talk about briefly is the quality of spending. I have been critical of the fact that the Government is spending too much, but there is also the question of quality. I will give a couple of examples. The Budget proposes $8.9 million to tackle bullying in our schools. I could tell people how to fix that problem much more cheaply than that. We could hire Ian McKinnon, the former principal of Scots College, and he could run seminars right throughout this country for secondary and primary school principals and teach them how to eliminate bullying from their schools. The point I am making is that we need to make sure that we are using real people to do real things that have real outcomes\u2014that we are not just engaged in window dressing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225cee6a89-68e3-40fd-b2d8-d8adb0ba5da0\u0022\u003EAnother example I would mention is the $64.2 million that has been set aside to help exporters, or people who want to go into export markets, develop their overseas markets. I thoroughly applaud the intention behind that measure, but again I would ask the Government to think very carefully about what the delivery mechanism is, whether it will work, and whether it will actually produce real results in real time for real people.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226984d661-9f65-4ed6-b29c-3285b598582d\u0022 data-id=\u002222fb6d0e680a42e492261e37daf45d13\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000469\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226984d661-9f65-4ed6-b29c-3285b598582d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002222fb6d0e680a42e492261e37daf45d13\u0022\u003EJOHN CARTER (National\u2014Northland):\u003C/span\u003E I listened with interest to the member who has just resumed his seat, and the one thing I would say about the Working for Families package is this. I am aware of the case of a young business person who, because of the way in which that business operates, is able to dictate the level of personal income to be declared. Of course, since Helen Clark and the Labour Government brought in the Working for Families package, that person has decided that the personal income is too high. That person will now reduce the level of income so, as a consequence, that person will now attract a payment under Working for Families. That person will now receive from the Government in excess of $12,000 that he or she would not otherwise have been eligible for. Quite honestly, if this Government thinks that the system will not be manipulated, ripped off, and misused, then it is deluding itself. That will happen time and time again, as it does with all benefits. The best thing this Government could have done, if it wanted to help New Zealanders, would have been to take people out of the welfare trap rather than entrapping them in it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000470\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226984d661-9f65-4ed6-b29c-3285b598582d\u0022\u003EI also want to reflect on some recent stories. We always know when a Government is on its way out\u2014it is when we read stories about the fact that the leader of the Government is starting to say that this person or that person should go. Rather than let those people make that choice for themselves, the leader starts directing who should and who should not be here. I have to say that people like Russell Fairbrother, whom I have just spent a week overseas with, actually is not a bad sort of chap. He deserves the right to make a choice and to not be dictated to by Helen Clark as to whether he\u2014or Dianne Yates, or Jill Pettis, or Dover Samuels, my old mate from up north\u2014should stay here. What is wrong with the contribution Dover Samuels makes? It may not be good enough for Helen Clark but it has been good enough for Northlanders for a number of years. Members opposite know that when they reach the stage of starting to push people out of their party, they are in trouble. National went through it between 1999 and 2002, and I have to say it was a shambles. I can tell this Government that if it is getting to that stage, then it is definitely on its last legs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000471\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226984d661-9f65-4ed6-b29c-3285b598582d\u0022\u003EI want to talk a little about local government. In 2002 this Labour Government passed the thing called \u201Cpower of general competence\u201D to local government. Local government thought that was great and that at last it had a Government that trusted it\u2014a Government that was going to let it do things it felt it should do for its communities. Local government thought it would be able to do the things its communities wanted it to do and that it was uninhibited at last. It thought that was marvellous. Since then, this Government has passed 78 pieces of legislation that restrict, direct, inhibit, and manipulate what local government can do; that cause more cost; and that add costs to ratepayers. The legislation restricts, binds, and dictates to local government what it should do, to the extent now that local government has suddenly woken up and realised that the power of general competence is actually meaningless and does not stand for anything other than this Government manipulating and dictating what should happen, through local government, to ratepayers by a socialist Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000472\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226984d661-9f65-4ed6-b29c-3285b598582d\u0022\u003EThere is also this thing called the Local Government Forum, where the Prime Minister and senior Cabinet Ministers meet with local government leaders three times a year. It is a forum in which they can talk about the wonderful, powerful things that should happen in local government, and in which the Government can ask how it can assist and what it can do to make things better. Boy, it is fantastic! Local government people thought it was great that at last they would have the ear of the Government. Well, that is the only thing they do get\u2014and, quite honestly, who the hell would want an ear of this Government? It is all they get. It is just a talkfest. Nothing comes of it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000473\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226984d661-9f65-4ed6-b29c-3285b598582d\u0022\u003EBack in 2002 the Government started a review of the financial area of local government to see how it could better fund local government. The review was to come out in 6 months\u2019 time, sometime before the end of the 2002 financial year. But then it was postponed, but that was OK because in only another 12 months the Government would have the report. Then, in 2005, when the report had not arrived, the Government decided that perhaps a time frame should be set. It did that, and the date was set for January of this year. That has since been postponed until November of this year. I suspect that local government is starting to realise that, actually, this Government is just pulling the wool over its eyes\u2014that it is not delivering much at all. To be fair, a couple of things have happened. This Government has allowed for some subsidies for small rural areas that are troubled by the ability to install sewage schemes in tourist areas, and that is commendable. But that is about the only positive stuff. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000474\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226984d661-9f65-4ed6-b29c-3285b598582d\u0022\u003EWhat about things like our roading, for instance, which is an area of huge, huge cost in, for example, Auckland? What about roading in our rural areas, or in our other metropolitan centres, or in our provincial cities? What has happened with that? Are those areas getting more money? Is that problem being sorted out? Can we drive straight through Auckland in the way we can drive through Melbourne now? Not on your Nelly! Not with this Government. This Government has actually done less for roading. It is interesting that it is now forecast that over the next 10 years local government in Auckland will spend $11 billion just to be as effective in 10 years\u2019 time as it is today. In other words, no progress will be made at all, because this Government is not doing anything to fix the problems and to assist local government with the problems of roading. Quite honestly, it is an absolute disgrace. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000475\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226984d661-9f65-4ed6-b29c-3285b598582d\u0022\u003EIn the short time I have left, I turn my attention to an area that New Zealanders are suddenly starting to become more aware of\u2014civil defence. I am pleased to see that the Minister of Civil Defence is sitting in his old seat, the whip\u2019s chair, because, quite honestly, given what he has done for civil defence, it would be a good place for him to go back to. About 2 months ago I put out a press release after discussing some issues with people involved in civil defence in New Zealand. They told me that it was a joke, that nothing happens, that there is no system, communication, or structure, and that there is no cohesion, at all. So I put out the press release saying that, to my knowledge\u2014because I was still finding out what was going on\u2014things were not as tidy as they should be and that things were not quite right. I said that we actually had a civil disaster in New Zealand and that it was called \u201Cthe Minister\u201D. But I got a statement back saying that I did not know what I was talking about and that my head was in the clouds. I was told that I did not know what civil defence was about, that everything was fine, and that it was good. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000476\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226984d661-9f65-4ed6-b29c-3285b598582d\u0022\u003ESince then, I have been doing some more work\u2014in fact, the good thing is that in lots of ways I have not had to, because the Minister has been presenting it on a plate. What happened with the tsunami warning we had recently? We were meant to have a system that allowed us to know what was happening, but people had to listen to the BBC to find out what was going on. The Minister said there had been a bit of a hiccup. After another trial it has been found that the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management does not actually connect with local government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000477\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226984d661-9f65-4ed6-b29c-3285b598582d\u0022\u003EEven more important, I put down some questions to the Minister to find out what the structure was like. I wanted to find out what regional councils, local government, and the voluntary base were doing, and I thought the person who would know all those things was the Minister. So I asked him: \u201CHow many staff are currently employed for civil defence purposes in each territorial local authority?\u201D. Most members would think that the Minister would be able to give me some facts and figures. Well, here is the answer, folks: \u201CI am advised that the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management is not responsible for keeping records of the number of territorial local authority civil defence staff. You would need to approach each authority to get complete records of the information you require.\u201D Well, bless my soul! He did not know about that, but I thought he may know about volunteers, because there is meant to be a volunteer structure. So I asked him how many volunteers there were. I got the same sort of answer\u2014that he was advised that the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management was not responsible for keeping the records of who are volunteers. If the Minister does not know, who does? This Minister is incompetent in the portfolio of civil defence, and the best thing he could do for this Government in terms of civil defence is to go back to being a whip.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022 data-id=\u0022cbb94c770be54b76a13ff61be303d9ca\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000478\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cbb94c770be54b76a13ff61be303d9ca\u0022\u003EMARYAN STREET (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I am pleased to contribute to the Budget debate for 2006. I begin with something I have given before in this House\u2014a tribute to Michael Cullen as Minister of Finance. Michael Cullen is one of the most principled, able, and compassionate men I know. This Budget is a Labour Budget, and we are proud of it. Only a Labour-led Government could produce a Budget that invests so much in New Zealand\u2019s future and assists where necessary. I am delighted, as I have said before, that we have a social historian by training who is applying himself to the country\u2019s books. That way, we get a clever head and real investment in the country through Government appropriations. We also get the right amount of heart. We get relief for families where it is needed most, acknowledging that paid work is the best way out of poverty but giving some assistance where it is most required, at times when it is most required. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000479\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EThis Budget delivers. It delivers on promises that we made in the election. It delivers on interest-free student loans. It will keep at home our investment in our young people and will improve our skills base. It delivers on Working for Families. Another 85,000 families will be eligible for tax relief as a result of this Budget, which will bring the total number of eligible families to 350,000 by the end of the roll-out. It delivers on promises we have made to our support parties, and our increasing of police numbers is but one example of that. It delivers on promises to families by lowering the cost of doctors\u2019 visits, funding more teachers so there can be smaller classes, giving more operational funding to schools, and helping more people access job training. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000480\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EThis Budget also invests\u2014most famously in transport, with $13.4 billion over the next 5 years. That is all of the revenue by way of petrol excise, road-user charges, and motor vehicle registration fees, plus another $300 million. This means that in the area north of the Auckland Harbour Bridge, which is an area that I have the privilege of working in, the troublesome intersections at both ends of Warkworth on State Highway 1 will be addressed; both Hill Street and Woodcocks Road will be fixed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000481\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EIt also means improvements in another part of the country in which I have great interest\u2014I refer to State Highway 3 at the Awakino Gorge. This will mean a great deal to the people of Taranaki - King Country. Business interests have repeatedly stressed to me, as a Government MP with a watching brief for Taranaki - King Country, the need to improve freight access to key export hubs such as Auckland and Tauranga. That will now happen through the investment by this Budget in transport, not only in the northern Taranaki, lower King Country area around the Awakino Gorge but also in terms of the huge investment going into roading and transportation in the Waikato. So those are particularly important items for me in seeing how the application of this 2006 Budget will roll out. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000482\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EI also want to talk about health. There will be $40.8 million over 4 years for strengthened child and adolescent oral health services. That includes the rebuilding and re-equipping of the school dental service through additional capital expenditure. Today in the House the Hon Tony Ryall asked a question about the provision of health services to M\u0101ori, and he emphasised oral health services. The implication was that services were being provided on the basis of ethnicity, not need, and he cited oral health services as an example. He flourished a Government report stating that socio-economic status was a stronger indicator of health status than ethnicity. I cannot work out where that member\u2019s missing synapse is that he cannot make the link between socio-economic status, need, and M\u0101ori. The facts are that the oral health needs of M\u0101ori are very pressing. The facts are that M\u0101ori 5-year-olds are twice as likely to have decayed, missing, or filled teeth as the New Zealand average. By 12 years of age the picture improves only slightly for M\u0101ori children, with nearly two-thirds of them having decayed, missing, or filled teeth. Why is it so hard for the Hon Tony Ryall to join the dots? Why is it so hard for him to make the connections and see that socio-economic status and need decide who gets services? If that means we deliver services to M\u0101ori, then we will stand up and say so. There should not be any imputation from the Opposition that that is a negative. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000483\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EIn fact, another Opposition member, Dr Jonathan Coleman, went on to ask a question about contracts\u2014I think he actually said employment contracts\u2014for radiologists, laboratory technicians, and technologists, or laboratory workers in general. He asked why special processes were built into those contracts for dealing with M\u0101ori. I have a story from the past. My mother used to take blood, as a phlebotomist, or a laboratory worker, in the laboratory in New Plymouth. In those days\u2014it was a very long time ago\u2014she learnt M\u0101ori phrases in order to ease the way with M\u0101ori patients. I still have the dictionary she used, and I still have her sentences written in her handwriting at the back of it. She had to learn to say things like: \u201CThis will hurt a little.\u201D, \u201CI need to take some blood.\u201D, and \u201CAre you in pain?\u201D. Even then\u2014and this was in the 1950s\u2014there was a recognition of a need for a specific approach, even if it was about speaking the language. Now, an understanding about how the taking and processing of bodily specimens is viewed by M\u0101ori is more widely understood. Having such provisions in contracts is simply about respect, and respecting difference. The National Opposition would have us delete anything that represented respect and understanding in contractual arrangements. National members would shut their eyes to the reality of where needs are disproportionately found and bleat on as if dealing with M\u0101ori oral health needs were a crime. So I celebrate the fact that we have allocated specific moneys to children and young people\u2019s oral health in this Budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000484\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EWe are working to build and promote our national identity as New Zealanders in this Budget. It is not about resurrecting No. 8 wire and buzzy bees, however important they have been and whatever nostalgia we have for those things. A new national identity is being built these days in New Zealand through young musicians, writers, artists, sculptors, and all the cultural strands that make up this country. Arts, culture, and heritage are central to building a national identity. The Government is helping to create a vibrant cultural sector, and we are proud that New Zealanders are seeing more of themselves reflected in a modern way on websites, in print, and on the stage. We have increased baseline funding for Creative New Zealand in this Budget by $10 million, ensuring that the level of support made possible by one-off funding last year can be maintained over the next 4 years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000485\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EPart of national identity is also coming to terms with our past and righting wrongs. I celebrate also the additional funding in this Budget to assist in arriving at Treaty settlements that will see historical Treaty claims lodged by 2008 and settled by 2020. That will go a long way to forging a new national identity.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022 data-id=\u0022b475a5aa37014ccdbcfee33407eb7eff\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000486\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b475a5aa37014ccdbcfee33407eb7eff\u0022\u003ESHANE ARDERN (National\u2014Taranaki-King Country):\u003C/span\u003E Last Thursday in this Parliament, Dr Don Brash moved in his Budget speech a motion of no confidence in this Government. I have to say tonight that that was the only sensible thing he could have done. The reason is that the Government has lost direction, has no vision, and has put nothing in this Budget that will benefit anybody in this country. In fact, this Budget is the biggest step backwards we have seen in years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000487\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003ENowhere has that been epitomised more than with the Minister for Biosecurity, the Hon Jim Anderton. I want to share with members tonight what the Minister for Biosecurity said before the Budget. Before the Budget he announced that there would be a $33.2 million increase in biosecurity spending. I thought that sounded great. Numerous reports had identified the problems with biosecurity, and suddenly the Minister was announcing extra money. Then came the appropriation for 2006, and if we look at the details we find that funding for biosecurity has actually been cut by $5.9 million\u2014not increased, but cut. It has been cut!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000488\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003E Let us look at the details, and at what they state: funding for biosecurity enforcement will decrease; funding for biosecurity policy will decrease; funding for biosecurity standards will decrease; funding for biosecurity surveillance and incursions response will decrease; funding for policy advice\u2014this is an area that the Minister clearly should have spent a bit of money on, based on the mistakes he has made so far\u2014will decrease; funding for specific pest and disease response will decrease; and funding for the control of TB vector will decrease. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000489\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003EWhat funding has been granted in this Budget for the control of didymo? None, nothing, not a cent. So what do we do about that? Treasury estimates that it will cost New Zealand $285 million if didymo reaches the North Island\u2014and, believe this, under this Minister it will, there is no doubt about that. Papers I have received under the Official Information Act show that the lack of funding was a big problem. In desperation, Biosecurity New Zealand was borrowing money from the moth fund. It was letting Cabinet make long, convoluted decisions, and it was left waiting with nothing happening to control the procedures or the issues. All this information was finally made available\u2014some time after the incursion\u2014so what would one expect in the Budget? Would one not expect that this Budget would now come up with something to control that? What did we get in the Budget? Not a cent. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000490\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003EThe Minister talks about team effort, particularly when he is talking about marine farmers and the recent sea squirt invasion. What he means is: \u201CYou are on your own, mate.\u201D This is not a team Government. The Minister means that if people want to control or protect their industry, they should come up with the dough and do it themselves. They should not wait for this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000491\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003EOver the past 5 years there have been 229 incursions into New Zealand. In 2004-05 the following were found on aircraft passengers: 15.8 tonnes of fruit fly material\u2014that is a big truckload to be found on persons in 1 year\u2014and 8.243 tonnes of meat products. The list goes on: seeds, grains, dairy products, and cut flowers. So what do we do about it? We have an instant fine mechanism. In 2004, 8,810 people were issued with an instant fine. Now, a $200 fine sounds pretty good. But when we look at the fact that 6,237 of those people were non - New Zealand visitors, we see clearly that the fine system is not working. What evidence do we need if that is not enough? What should the Labour Government do? What should this tired, visionless Minister do? He should adopt National\u2019s policy, which is to stick those people on the same plane out of New Zealand that they came here on. People who come into this country and flout our biosecurity laws should be sent straight out, and the instant fine should be increased. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000492\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003EMost incursions, however, enter our borders through sea containers. The Auditor-General has just released a report, tabled in this Parliament today. The report is called Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry: Managing Biosecurity Risks Associated with High-risk Sea Containers. It follows on from the Auditor-General\u2019s report of 2002. It clearly demonstrates that no lessons have been learnt by this Labour-led Government\u2014none at all. This Government lacks substance to deal with the problems. Half a million sea containers enter New Zealand each year. All of them have the potential to bring in a biosecurity risk that could devastate our economy. The report states that high-risk containers receive special attention\u2014but do they? They should, but do they? The Auditor-General sought, but could not find, reassurance on that matter. The paperwork is there and the rules are there, but the action is missing. More important, there is no accountability. Here is another interesting comment from the report: \u201CIn our view it would help if the Quarantine Service and Biosecurity NZ worked together when they involved industry groups in strategic policy matters.\u201D The Auditor-General actually had to say that. It is not happening. How dumb is that? It does not get worse. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000493\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003EThis report has 15 recommendations, all of them vital for protecting our borders, but none more so than the recommendation that the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry needs to: \u201Cenforce the requirement of the Import Health Standard for Sea Containers from All Countries \u2026\u201D. That is particularly interesting, given that the Minister and his department are about to announce the importation of honey. In other words, the Minister is opening up our borders to the possibility of European foul brood. Do we know what officials say regarding the concerns of the pastoral industry and other industries that have raised concerns? They say it is OK and not to worry because there will be an import health standard. Importers will clearly have to come under the import health standard, but the Auditor-General says that the import health standard is not working. I ask the House tonight how raw pork meat came into New Zealand if it did not come through the import health standard. The list goes on and it makes appalling reading. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000494\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003EThe Government assures us that we have the best biosecurity in the world. I knew it was a false declaration when I heard it. It is just like a lot of the declarations made by people coming in from overseas\u2014they are as false, obviously, as the sea container documentation that we have to believe in. But even I did not think that the Minister had allowed biosecurity to sink so low. Our biggest incursion threat is from sea containers, and basically we are just window dressing. The Auditor-General said in his report that systems are not being used, the training of staff is inadequate, containers are not being checked or fumigated properly, import health standards are not being upheld, and there is no incentive for importers to follow our rules\u2014the worst punishment they ever get is a letter saying they got it wrong. Ironically, all this seems to be on top of the Minister\u2019s being pleased about the trade values we have gained by New Zealand being declared bovine spongiform encephalopathy - free by the World Organization for Animal Health. I agree that that is good news, but it is just good luck, certainly not good management. What Biosecurity New Zealand needs is team work. It needs a new Minister. It needs a new Government. Clearly, it will not get that leadership from this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003EThis leads on to the forestry industry. The Minister of Forestry is the same Minister, the Hon Jim Anderton. How can we have faith in a Minister who attacks and threatens the very industry he is supposed to represent? If an industry dares to suggest that the Minister\u2019s policies are wrong, he says that the industry could expect obstinate treatment from the Government. This is a group that used to be on good terms with the Government\u2014it was set up to work with the Government. The Minister further threatened the industry by saying that it could not expect assistance from this Government. Well, we know that, and certainly the forestry industry knows that. The industry needs a new Government. It needs a new Minister. We can not let this Minister do to the forestry industry what he did to the small business and regional development portfolio. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000496\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003EIt is time for a new Government. I endorse the motion of Dr Don Brash. Let us have a vote of no confidence in this Government, have an election, and get somebody who can do something for this country in biosecurity and forestry.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022 data-id=\u0022621540d8017147679af640f9f3b4cc53\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000497\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022621540d8017147679af640f9f3b4cc53\u0022\u003EHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Customs):\u003C/span\u003E In rising to speak to this Budget debate I want to iterate that this Budget is about investing in an Aotearoa New Zealand way of life. It is a Labour Budget and it reinvests back into health and education. If it were a National Budget, in order to fund National\u2019s proposed tax cuts it would have made cuts to health and education. It would not have done one thing at all to support low-income families in New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000498\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThis is a Labour Budget and it reinvests where it matters most. It is a Budget that values families, young and old, a Budget that resolves to assist in the transforming of our economy to one that strives to add value to what we do and how we do it, and a Budget that harnesses the strength and diversity that are the face of Aotearoa New Zealand today. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000499\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThere have been several contributions to this debate from the Opposition members. Those speeches may have stirred their blood, but there was not one bit of imagination in them. Instead, what did they do? They pointed to Australia. I will make a brief contribution on this matter of Australia. Many M\u0101ori go to Australia for work, and for a new life and a new experience. But anyone who talked to those same wh\u0101nau members who were over there, and who returned about 2 or 5 years later, would hear that their decision to come home was based on quality of life. Quality of life was the measure, rather than money. We know that people in New Zealand value the way of life we have here. It is a great place to live and bring up kids. It is a pity the Opposition does not recognise that, because, here in New Zealand, we are reinvesting back into what we think is a great country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000500\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EOn the one hand, the Opposition members have spent quite a lot of time scoffing at the Government\u2019s Working for Families package, which provides tax relief to families in work; on the other hand, they criticise the lack of assistance to families on a benefit. This is all under fake concern for the many M\u0101ori families who currently receive a benefit. Do National members ever say a benefit should be increased? No, they do not. Do National members ever say that women on the domestic purposes benefit should get more money? No, they do not. So National members criticise the Government\u2019s Working for Families package, but they have no solution, and certainly not one iota of support, for families on a benefit. If at any point a smidgeon more money were given to families on a benefit, National members would be the first to cry foul. In my neck of the woods, one calls a spade a spade; in this case, it is a shovel, and National just keeps digging. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000501\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003ENow, more than ever before, M\u0101ori families are well aware that it is better to be in work than not. The Working for Families package provides support and assistance for that to be a reality. The biggest disincentive to families who have been receiving a benefit and who want to go into work is the difference in their take-home amount of money. If one gets more money in the pocket from being on a benefit than from being in work, the maths is not hard and the choice is quite clear. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000502\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EWith the child tax credit, in-work payment, accommodation supplement, and assistance with childcare costs, there is now a range of options for those people choosing to go into either part-time work or full-time employment. There are now more opportunities for families on a low-middle income who are currently in work. Working for Families sends the right message to M\u0101ori families who want to break the dependency mentality and get out and make a go of it. There are a lot of M\u0101ori families like that. For families who are still on a benefit, the incentives and support should be the same. It is better to be in work than not. If we really are concerned about M\u0101ori in this country, then we should make sure they succeed in education, continue to take up Modern Apprenticeships if they want to, aspire to tertiary education, and are supported into business ventures. The potential of M\u0101ori is severely limited by doublespeak like that from the Opposition, and I do not think it is a solution at all; it is a fake guise of concern. Do National members have a solution or any answers? No, they do not. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EA number of areas that are signalled in this Budget will, I believe, make a difference to the lives of many families. Let us take the election platform on which this Government was elected. Talking to a number of young M\u0101ori, I know that one thing they were excited about was the removal of interest on student loans. That is great for them, especially if they are currently at university and thinking about how they will pay back the compounding interest. Another area that is beneficial to a number of students is the signal that Labour will raise the threshold of parental income for students to receive student allowances. That is fantastic. Student allowances have been extended to include PhD students, and that will benefit a number of M\u0101ori who are now pushing through the ceiling\u2014exceeding the expectations of Opposition members\u2014so that they can get ahead in life, not just for themselves but for their wh\u0101nau. That is the kind of platform that Labour was elected to deliver on, and it will do that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000504\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThere are areas in the Budget that will be helpful to M\u0101ori. This Budget provides around $33.5 million over the next 4 years towards improving literacy, numeracy, and language skills within the workforce. Some 330,000 New Zealanders have very low literacy and numeracy skills. Many of those are M\u0101ori and Pacific Island people. At the core of a successful workforce and economy are literacy and numeracy skills, which are fundamental. Now, more than ever before, the Government is investing to make a difference to current and future workforce development. Many of those in the workforce will be M\u0101ori and Pacific Island people. Funding will go towards working with industry training organisations to improve the foundation skills of people who are employed at the low skills end of the workforce. This will make a great contribution to many employee circumstances. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000505\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThe funding will be available from 1 July this year, and there is a number of areas in which it will help. It will help to improve workplace practices so that more employees and workers can access suitable training. About $7.5 million has been made available over the next few years for this. The number of professional development clusters for training providers and tutors in the Learning for Living exploratory projects will be expanded. A lot of those providers are M\u0101ori based. There will be funding for 200 additional study grants to increase the number of fully qualified adult literacy tutors. Again, a number of those are M\u0101ori. There will be further integration of literacy, numeracy, and language training with industry training. There will be around $15 million available over 4 years for this. The quality of training will be increased by supporting about 220 providers to meet the foundation learning quality assurance requirements. Some of those providers are M\u0101ori. So there are ways in which the Government is contributing to improving skills within the workforce. These initiatives underline the Government\u2019s commitment to building a skilled and productive workforce that includes M\u0101ori, and that can contribute to the social and economic development of Aotearoa New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000506\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EHow else is the Government supporting families? We are lowering the cost of visiting doctors, and one can see that this is really important when one gets out into the community. The Government Minister who spoke before me, Maryan Street, talked a lot about oral health. If members were to go to my electorate, they would see a mobile bus unit that takes dental health services around the area. That is fantastic. In Pukekohe\u2014where the mobile bus unit visits\u2014many of the children using it are M\u0101ori, and they benefit from access to oral health services. An additional $750 million health funding will be made available to families. In particular, I am most excited about the child health package that will provide new tools for primary health care, more well child checks, and a new universal newborn hearing screening programme. It will also allow for major improvements in oral health services, as I have already spoken about, for those aged under 18. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000507\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220e7e8da2-a6a1-41bb-aeb0-a49be255a293\u0022\u003EThe Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs has already made his contribution to this debate, and he highlighted that $23.9 million has been reallocated into three new investment areas. Simply put, refocusing investment in areas with the potential to offer greater opportunity for M\u0101ori is really important. By doing that, M\u0101ori can better utilise their existing human, intellectual, and resource capital to get ahead. Times are changing, and the collective asset wealth of M\u0101ori can act as significant leverage to enhance and drive development aspirations. That is as it should be. Other ministries are best placed to deal with health, education, and welfare, but Te Puni K\u014Dkiri should clearly work in the new M\u0101ori potential framework set out by the Minister. In time, this emphasis will lead to measurable gains that are a far better indicator for M\u0101ori than the disparity analysis that the previous National Government seemed fixated on. M\u0101ori do not want to be like P\u0101keh\u0101; they want to continue to be M\u0101ori in a dynamic and changing world. The M\u0101ori potential framework is better placed to assist this objective, and so is Budget 2006.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022 data-id=\u00220d58ebe05b5e49bcbbb4ee8e82111a08\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000508\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220d58ebe05b5e49bcbbb4ee8e82111a08\u0022\u003ETE URUROA FLAVELL (M\u0101ori Party\u2014Waiariki):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. Te hunga \u0101konga t\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa. Last week, in a pre-Budget speech, Dr Cullen admitted: \u201CAt the best of times, Budgets are a juggling act. But this year it seems it is not just a matter of keeping balls in the air, but also managing a few flaming torches and tomahawks,\u201D. The M\u0101ori Party tonight is consumed with the anger and grief of M\u0101ori communities as they respond to the flaming torches and tomahawks that have attacked M\u0101ori again, as they did last century, and the sustained attacks on our dreams and aspirations for education. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000509\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EThe flaming torch of colonisation is an image strongly associated with William Fox, who regarded colonisation as one of the great adventures of the 19th century. Fox believed that the M\u0101ori population was declining and that M\u0101ori people would be exterminated within his lifetime. Fox was convinced of the inferiority of M\u0101ori technology and culture when compared with that of the European and that the best way forward was by integrating M\u0101ori and Europeans into one economy and one workforce. On this basis, he believed that the Government should proceed as rapidly as possible with the purchase of M\u0101ori land. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000510\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003E In June 1869, when Fox became Premier, he sought to rule with the directive that the time had come to rekindle the sacred fire of colonisation that had almost flickered out. The M\u0101ori Party has been revisiting those words as we listen to the debate about one law for all, and about the reallocation of existing initiatives, and in the light of the Government\u2019s failure to support amendments we proposed to the Education Amendment Bill. Our amendments would have protected the special character of kura kaupapa M\u0101ori, would have protected the diversity of early childhood centres like k\u014Dhanga reo, and would have offered land back to M\u0101ori owners\u2014land that M\u0101ori owners had gifted to the Crown last century for educational purposes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000511\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EWe thought about the fire of colonisation as we heard Labour MP Shane Jones defend the lack of any funding for M\u0101ori, and we feel let down that the current Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs did not even bid for funding in the Budget. Interestingly, even Labour\u2019s former friend and Cabinet Minister John Tamihere has spoken out and called the Government\u2019s treatment of Te W\u0101nanga o Aotearoa a big wake-up call for M\u0101ori in relation to how Labour regards M\u0101ori education. Mr Tamihere\u2019s assessment of the Budget was that it failed to meet M\u0101ori needs in providing fair funding in order for M\u0101ori to run health, education, and justice programmes, and that that would drive M\u0101ori voters towards the mighty M\u0101ori Party. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000512\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EAlthough we commend Mr Tamihere for his guts in telling it how it is, the great tragedy remains in the aftermath of the savage blows dealt to M\u0101ori by this Budget and, in particular, to education. Education, kawa, tikanga, whakapapa, whanaungatanga, and m\u0101tauranga, have always been important to tangata whenua. In 1822 the Rev Samuel Marsden observed rangatira children as young as 4 years old attending important hui and asking questions, and their elders answering as fully as possible. In contemporary times that passion for learning has been given further shape by the increased access to whare w\u0101nanga, and to tertiary education in general. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000513\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EBut last Thursday that passion was rewarded with the cruelty of cuts to the manaaki tauira programme in M\u0101ori and Pacific scholarships. Every year over 9,000 students have benefited from that scheme. Manaaki tauira is a needs-based initiative, with eligibility based on income criteria, so that those students in financial need are supported. Each student receives between 10 and 30 percent of his or her tuition fees, which translates to about $400 to $650 per year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000514\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EThe Maori Education Trust Board receives $4.3 million for manaaki tauira, and $0.5 million for M\u0101ori and Polynesian scholarships for higher education. The grants are administered by the trust board, a successor to the M\u0101ori Education Foundation, a statutory body set up in 1961 to promote and encourage the better education of M\u0101ori, and to provide financial assistance for that purpose. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000515\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EThe Auditor-General described the purpose of the manaaki tauira scheme as being: \u201Cto ensure that participation by M\u0101ori in tertiary education was not adversely affected when significant increases in tertiary fees were introduced in the early 1990s\u201D. Introduced in 1991, the purpose of the manaaki tauira grant, therefore, was to provide financial assistance to M\u0101ori in tertiary education\u2014based on financial need. Members should note that the emphasis is on \u201Cneed\u201D, not \u201Crace\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000516\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003ELast Friday Te Mana \u0100konga and other M\u0101ori student groups around the country met together in an emergency hui. One of the pressing questions arising from the Budget cuts may possibly have been whether M\u0101ori students are participating in tertiary education. The M\u0101ori Party is aware of the deliberate process set up to control the unprecedented growth in the M\u0101ori tertiary education market. Recent changes in the policy framework for the tertiary sector would preclude a return to the period of high growth in student numbers experienced between 2000 and 2003. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000517\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EAs this House is well aware, the existence of the three w\u0101nanga has achieved what successive Governments promised decades ago, and right up until now, but failed to deliver. M\u0101ori participation rates in formal tertiary education grew from having just under 30,000 students in 1994 to having three times that number\u201494,474 students\u2014enrolled in 2004. Notwithstanding the latest change in policy, however, enrolments are still healthy at Te W\u0101nanga o Aotearoa, which is forecasting that it will enrol between 18,000 and 21,500 equivalent full-time students in this academic year. So we have not been wiped out yet. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EA second question may well have been whether M\u0101ori students are no longer facing financial difficulty. Last week a full-time student and mother of three reflected on the impact of the axing of the manaaki tauira scheme, and said: \u201CMy wh\u0101nau shifted away from our papak\u0101inga so that I could study. Manaaki tauira helps with the books and the course costs. The manaaki tauira is an important incentive to keep going. It relieves the pressure. It is not just students who give a sigh of relief when manaaki tauira rolls out but, most important, it is the whole wh\u0101nau.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000519\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003ESo often the rhetoric attached to any initiatives focused on M\u0101ori says that the Government is interested in need, not race. How will the Government front up to those 9,000 M\u0101ori students who will now face increased financial strife in order to buy textbooks, learning resources, and study materials, and to pay their fees? What rationale will be provided to justify Dr Cullen\u2019s tomahawk slashing of their educational future before they have even had a chance? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000520\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EA third question to be considered could be whether there were problems with the management of the grant. To get rid of something, to exterminate, or to terminate, one would think there had to be some sort of problem. Well, we are aware that in 2000 the Tertiary Education Commission had raised concerns about the quality of the M\u0101ori Education Trust Board\u2019s financial management and the Ministry of Education\u2019s monitoring. In response, the Auditor-General established an inquiry. The serious concerns raised by the commission were, however, not substantiated, but the Auditor-General did find that the ministry\u2019s contract management and the monitoring of its contract with the trust had been variable, with specific concerns about policy and process, including variable levels of follow-up inquiry. In fact, the bulk of the inquiry\u2019s recommendations dealt with the ministry\u2019s mismanagement. So let us get it right\u2014it was not the management by the trust board or, indeed, the M\u0101ori students that were at fault. If we are to believe the Auditor-General\u2019s findings, it was the State\u2014the Ministry of Education\u2014that was at fault. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000521\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EFinally, we can ask whether student fees are any longer a problem. The prediction from the New Zealand University Students Association is that although the Government has increased the threshold for fee maxima by 2.5 percent and institutional funding has increased by 2.5 percent, it is likely that there will be a funding shortfall in institutions, therefore resulting in yet more fee increases. Given that the \u201Cno interest on students loans\u201D policy will cost $600 million less than previously forecast, the real question is whether the Government had sufficient opportunity to deal with the drivers of student debt, such as rising student fees. We have to ask Parekura Horomia, in pursuit of advancement in education and M\u0101ori Affairs, why it has not. What happened at the Cabinet table to allow this latest eradication to take place? The Government has taken away interest on student loans with one hand, but it has slapped Maori students\u2014and only Maori students\u2014with the other.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000522\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003E In Vote Research, Science and Technology for the third year running there has been no increase, thus there are cuts in real terms for M\u0101ori knowledge, development, and social research. The Government boasts that it is supporting families, yet it is slashing manaaki tauira. So M\u0101ori families bear the brunt. In closing, I say that the removal of the manaaki tauira and other higher educational scholarships repeats that pattern of treating the unique qualities of M\u0101ori education with disdain and contempt. We have to ask where the flaming torch will next take light and where the tomahawk will sever and destroy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022 data-id=\u002272adc2bee68e42a3b720c9d61636cebc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000523\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002272adc2bee68e42a3b720c9d61636cebc\u0022\u003ENATHAN GUY (National):\u003C/span\u003E I am privileged to follow on from Te Ururoa Flavell. I feel that in terms of the Budget, M\u0101ori people have been robbed, just like rural New Zealand. I was interested in his comments that 9,000 M\u0101ori students are now going to struggle to fund their textbooks and tertiary fees\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000524\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224029b198-a7b2-4eea-867c-79ef46cafeb9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226751b765607549268c856a2a87f568f3\u0022\u003EHon Dover Samuels\u003C/span\u003E: What\u2019s National going to deliver to them?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000525\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220869fa71812f41fa840980bc096f42dc\u0022\u003ENATHAN GUY\u003C/span\u003E: Do not worry about that. We will sort it out. Leave it to a National Government, not a tired old Labour Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000526\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224029b198-a7b2-4eea-867c-79ef46cafeb9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002297005bd5be1f4e5e83632d92d2683fb0\u0022\u003EHon Dover Samuels\u003C/span\u003E: You want to get rid of the Treaty of Waitangi.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000527\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002264cea894ace64482a7790a6df37554bc\u0022\u003ENATHAN GUY\u003C/span\u003E: Was the member\u2019s name in the Sunday newspaper\u2014getting ready for the drafting gate? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000528\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a1996a1269234ed0887083a8ff121912\u0022\u003EHon David Carter\u003C/span\u003E: He\u2019s the greatest \u201Cleaker\u201D they\u2019ve got.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000529\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227d764f8aae634c2eb02a9f0b7a8c906b\u0022\u003ENATHAN GUY\u003C/span\u003E: That is right\u2014leaks like a sieve. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000530\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003EWe know that Budget 2006 will be the last one from Dr Cullen. I liken it to a \u201Cdoughnut Budget\u201D, because the centrepiece fell out a couple of weeks ago. Then we saw the spectacular Cunliffe gaffe, which caused the sale of $79 million of Telecom shares. I am concerned about what that announcement means for rural New Zealand\u2014for people living up in the valleys and in the gullies of provincial New Zealand. I quote from a Cabinet paper, although I am not sure whether it is the leaked one. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000531\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002273301b267e594028bbdb1b054c0ff5a8\u0022\u003EJo Goodhew\u003C/span\u003E: It might be.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000532\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c30a3041f05f4a4d8be954b47b904609\u0022\u003ENATHAN GUY\u003C/span\u003E: It could well be. They fly around all over the place, up on the ninth floor of the Beehive. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000533\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003EI quote: \u201CA risk\u2014Telecom slows investment in rural areas\u201D; and at another point: \u201CIncreased competition should create pressures in urban areas.\u201D And, hello, hello: \u201CPrices in rural areas may increase.\u201D So let us wait and see whether rural New Zealand is going to be better off with the Budget and the telecommunications announcement. Right now, the telecommunications service that rural New Zealand gets from Telecom is absolutely shocking. When people ring Telecom they are told they might come this week, but more than likely next week. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000534\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003EThe Budget talks about economic transformation. Well, people out in the provinces, up in the valleys and in the gullies, struggle to get dial-up access. So we will wait and see whether that announcement will actually benefit rural New Zealand\u2014whether the copper wire network up in the valleys and in the gullies of provincial New Zealand will be maintained, or will we be forgotten? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000535\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003EThe Budget is all about robbing Peter to pay Paul. Peter will always prop up Paul. We have heard a lot from members opposite about Labour\u2019s package of welfare for families, and how reliant those people will be on the State. It is a real concern to me that so many people are now dependent on the State, at a time when we look to drive the productivity of this country forward. People who were earning a good income, with a lot of children, are now relying on the Government to prop them up. What about actually driving productivity in this country? The Government has a huge surplus\u2014something like $9 billion.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000536\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d94c9cce24684f4285ddb82660295bb6\u0022\u003EHon David Carter\u003C/span\u003E: Something over $8 billion.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000537\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002202594e91a1044c9aa83b23748ef77265\u0022\u003ENATHAN GUY\u003C/span\u003E: I thought $9 billion, but when we get to those numbers what the hell does it matter! But we have an arrogant, tired Government that thinks it knows what is best for hard-working taxpayers. It decides where the money goes. It does not care about tax reductions for people without kids. It thinks it knows best. It just whacks them around with high taxes. People earning over $60,000 are paying 39 percent tax. We have called it the \u201CBondi Budget\u201D, because New Zealanders are getting on planes and heading across the Tasman to Australia\u2014gone, never to come back. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000538\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003EThe Budget is silent on several things. [Interruption] I say to Mr Barker, who was trying to interject, that if I was him I would be up in Tukituki trying to look for those lost votes. The Budget is silent on some of the biggest issues facing the country. What about environment and energy? What about more hydro investment? The Budget is silent. What about the big issues that we face as a country going forward with our environment? What about actually doing something and planting some trees? It is interesting that tree plantings in the country have dropped from 70,000 hectares down to 9 hectares. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000539\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e914ee53f04242de8dc41a74b943f391\u0022\u003ELindsay Tisch\u003C/span\u003E: How many?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bb9a258994d5404ea3348933210bf7c0\u0022\u003ENATHAN GUY\u003C/span\u003E: 70,000 hectares down to 9. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000541\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f376f3b20c114b34b9d93cb1f3435d7b\u0022\u003EHon Damien O\u0027Connor\u003C/span\u003E: Do you want the Government to do that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000542\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229591b66611d1415ba3b2c7a46060b4e4\u0022\u003ENATHAN GUY\u003C/span\u003E: There might be a few over on the West Coast still planting, but that is what that member\u2019s Government has done. It has been mucking around with a silly Kyoto Protocol, with a carbon tax, and it is now trying to take the credits from forestry owners. It is great to see Roger Dickie leading a pan-organisation that is trying to sort out all the disasters in forestry. He is at a stand-off with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. So nothing will happen there. But, once again, a real issue for rural New Zealand is the planting of more trees. The Budget talks about sustainability of those erosion-prone areas in rural New Zealand, yet the whole industry is topsy-turvy as to whether it should plant trees. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000543\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003EWe also have real concerns about the walking access issue. I am looking forward to heading along tomorrow night to a consultation meeting on walking access. Last year it was land access\u2014where the Government was wanting to grab a 5-metre wide strip from rural New Zealand farmers, which was a blatant abuse of property rights, to trundle through their properties to get down to a lake or a riverbed. We know that the Prime Minister\u2019s pet project is the right to roam willy-nilly all over farmers\u2019 properties. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000544\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003EIn our particular situation in the Horowhenua, where we have 3 kilometres of formed tracks down to the Manawat\u016B River, what has worked well for three generations is that people pick up the phone, they ring, and they ask, and we are able to tell them to look out for the 3-year-old bulls, look out for the stags that are roaring down in the back paddock. That has worked well. A courtesy call has worked well\u2014for decades in our situation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000545\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221b0e13bdf6d94fc5b4f5d77e05e48b9f\u0022\u003EHon David Carter\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s just good manners.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000546\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022905d442c9e9a4b4688f2e32a08b79c7f\u0022\u003ENATHAN GUY\u003C/span\u003E: Exactly. I will be interested in going along to hear, tomorrow night in Wellington, the Government\u2019s proposition about walking access, and just what that will mean for farmers throughout New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000547\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003EI want to touch on local government, because I am still on the council in Horowhenua. Every bit of legislation that comes through the House affects ratepayers, but there is no cheque, following through from the House, to the ratepayers of New Zealand. Every bill tends to wallop ratepayers around their wallets. Look at the Building Act. People now need to have an inspector looking over their shoulder when they are doing a bit of DIY on their house. Look at the hazardous substances and new organisms legislation. In terms of drinking water standards the crossbar has been raised on the goalpost. Now rural communities are going to have to fork out. Look at the whole auditing process around the glossy long-term council community plan. It was interesting before, because I was hoping that Ms Mahuta might still be in the House as right now we have this jolly microchipping of dogs\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000548\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022df4e8874ede749c5a5c49e22ef1e1914\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: It is a convention of the House that members do not refer to the absence of members. All members at one time or another need to leave the Chamber.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000549\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226f96876795c646eca7b6bac073701f04\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000550\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222951ed62b9fe46e48b84e50d79620f97\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: I have made a ruling on that, Mr Henare.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000551\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fc687cfcce804fc7847d42a022ac43a5\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I do not think there was any need whatsoever for that intervention by you. It was a small, minor infraction and I think you need to take that on board. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000552\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221f8c4d08975d46f7aba48cd56465baf6\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Henare. I have made a decision. It is a convention in this House that the absence of members is not to be referred to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000553\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dc2335a7bcaf4f25b3c9b00eb367eec2\u0022\u003EHon Rick Barker\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. During your ruling, you were constantly being interjected on by the member who last spoke. He then went on\u2014contrary to your exhortation\u2014to challenge your ruling. That is a challenge against the Chair and it will bring disorder to this House. I think you should remind the member of that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000554\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fb5315929cdf4f71be24d08834d83e4f\u0022\u003EBrian Connell\u003C/span\u003E: You have already ruled on this matter. I do not think it is necessary for that Minister to carry it on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000555\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a603d91ba7784d3c99444f1bd2ab1492\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you. I ask members to desist.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000556\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d8c7c89c18644b4d89e0827cdc2f1522\u0022\u003ENATHAN GUY\u003C/span\u003E: I was talking about microchipping and the implications of what it means for dog owners in this country, which is $3 million to $7 million. This is a Government that has lost contact with New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000557\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003EThe microchipping legislation that will come into effect on 1 July for every dog will cost between $70 and $100 per dog. It is now one rule for all dogs. National is saying we should get rid of this, except for dangerous and menacing dogs. It is atrocious legislation. There are dog rallies happening throughout the country where urban and rural dog owners are saying that the Government should not wallop the good dog owners, but target the owners of the dogs that are not registered. They are saying that the dog rangers should have more power, as they are the people who are out there trying to do their work. The Government should give them more power. We all know that the bad, menacing dogs are those that are not registered. Their owners are the ones who should be targeted, not the good dog owners, the responsible dog owners. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000558\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003ETo close, I want to touch on a couple of things happening in my electorate, in my patch. It is interesting to hear that $80 million has gone into Transmission Gully. Will it be another 5-year-long report where we will not see the bulldozers operating? It is also interesting to hear that it is costing $200,000 a year to fund the two people who are spotting traffic in the T2 lane between Paremata and Plimmerton.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000559\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022da5eba7661e2487eabc0c4316ee43028\u0022\u003EHon David Carter\u003C/span\u003E: How many tickets have they got?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000560\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c543c2b4c8b344ab8de94edb9c7b2e8c\u0022\u003ENATHAN GUY\u003C/span\u003E: There have been no tickets, just a few warning letters sent out. To sum up, this Budget is boring. It is Michael Cullen\u2019s last Budget. It does nothing for rural, provincial New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022 data-id=\u0022e8830219e2a44fa3b28437e04740ec56\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000561\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e8830219e2a44fa3b28437e04740ec56\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR (Minister of Corrections):\u003C/span\u003E If there is one time in the year when we can sort out the Tories from the rest, it is Budget time. It is the one time in the year when in terms of philosophy we can sort out those who live for money from those who think that money should be for living. National members think that we have to live for money, that self-interest will drive every behaviour of every individual in this country, and that tax is nothing but a cost on the individual. Well, Labour thinks that money should be for living. Money should drive society and support the individuals in it. Labour believes that tax is not a cost on the individual but an opportunity for individuals to invest collectively in the future. That is exactly what Labour has provided in the Budget.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000562\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003ENational members speak of a surplus, but I will explain the situation to them. If they were to run a household budget they would have some income, there would be a cost of living\u2014they would pay for their food and petrol\u2014and there might be some money left over. The Tories would call that a surplus, but Labour says that is money to be necessarily invested in the future. People might have to fix their fences, paint their houses, and even invest in their retirement years, and that is exactly what this Government has enabled through the Budget. Yes, there is a surplus, because this Government has managed the economy well. Yes, the Government will invest in the future, because it has a responsibility as a responsible Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000563\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003EThat is not like the Tories. What would they have done? They would have offered massive, unaffordable tax cuts and not invested in the future\u2014not painted the house, not fixed the fence, and not put any money in for retirement. Those are the kinds of irresponsible policies that we saw through the 1990s, and National would continue with them if\u2014God help us\u2014it ever got its hands on the reins again.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000564\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003EI am proud of this Budget. Labour has a few objectives for this country. It wants to transform this economy, because it believes it can improve productivity. I have never been able to understand the other Tory philosophy that says to increase productivity, more money has to be paid to CEOs and less money to workers. I tell National members that wherever people come from, and whatever their political philosophy, human beings have the same basic drivers\u2014that is, incentives to improve their lives. Productivity will not be increased by driving down wages and by paying CEOs huge salaries.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000565\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003EThis Government has invested in infrastructure through this Budget, because it knows it has to transform this economy and lift productivity, to take us into the future. Members may ask what for. It is basically to improve the quality of life for Kiwi families, young and old, rich and poor\u2014not just for those who are privileged enough to be able to grab the tax cuts that would have been put on the table by that Tory party over there\u2014tax cuts that were rejected. National members have not yet realised that. Labour was voted in on the basis that it would take taxes, spend them wisely, and invest in the future\u2014and that is exactly what this Budget has done.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000566\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003EThe third thing Labour is doing is investing in building the pride of this country. If members had wanted to hear the difference between the National Party\u2019s approach to building pride and the Labour Party\u2019s approach, they should have listened to Don Brash\u2019s speech on Budget day. What did he do? He talked up Australians and talked down New Zealanders. In my view, that is treacherous behaviour in this House and it undermines the confidence of every young New Zealander who wants to get on with his or her life.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000567\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003EAustralians, though, are not that dumb. I say that because less than a week after the Australians\u2019 own Budget, which gave them billions of dollars of tax cuts, a poll stated that two-thirds of them would rather have had the increased spending and investment in their economy than the $10 a week they got in that blind, simple little political bribe offered by John Howard. The Australians are not that dumb; they saw through bribery. In fact, New Zealanders saw through it at the last election when they voted Labour into Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000568\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003ELabour has done a huge amount to invest in the future of this country through this Budget\u2014not in a Tory way and driven by self-interest, but on the basis that all New Zealanders want to build a better life for their children and grandchildren, and to secure their retirement. That is why the Government has invested in roads, hospitals, education, and ongoing training in the workplace. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000569\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003EWould National have done that with its $11 billion worth of tax cuts? It would not, because it would not have been able to afford to do it. How would it have paid for those tax cuts? It would have cut services, for a start, and it would have sold off\u2014flogged\u2014State assets, as it did in the 1990s. That scandalous behaviour must be stopped at all costs. I fear for the time the National Party ever gets into power in this country\u2014although I do not think it will, thank God, because, like Australians, New Zealanders understand the value in investing in the future through their taxes, rather than frittering away money hard-earned through the tax system in tax cuts.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003EIf there is a place for tax relief, then that relief should be given to working families rather than to wealthy people like Mr Bob Clarkson or the millionaires around the country\u2014which is what the National Party would have done. I say that it should be given to hard-working Kiwi families. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000571\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003EDo members know what? That is exactly what we did. Using the Working for Families package, I will give members an example of what will happen. We have been able, through wise management of the economy, to give 350,000 families in this country tax relief of about $1.6 billion. On average, it is about $88 per week. We did not insult people with a $10-a-week bribe, as the Australians tried to do. We did not insult them with something that would have been insignificant. No, the Australian tax cuts, in fact, gave $52 a week to someone on $100,000. With Working for Families, on the other hand, in order to help good, hard-working Kiwi families, this Government is giving to a family on $51,000, with one child, an extra $70 a week. If families have more children, they will get more money, often up to $150 a week. That is what we want to do. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000572\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003EThe Tories say we are robbing Peter to pay Paul. Well, yes, to some extent tax is taking from those people who can afford it and giving to those who cannot afford it. There is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with having a country that has equality of opportunity, a fair justice system, and good infrastructure and roading\u2014because that makes for a country where people want to live. That is why people want to live in New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000573\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022909c825c-6cf3-49bd-9c74-6df837480631\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a64c0b23a39645eaa5ea4f69f03caffa\u0022\u003EBob Clarkson\u003C/span\u003E: Why are they going to Aussie? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000574\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a8a68349ff224589b874b8a4d8f5eda5\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u0027CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: People have always gone to Australia. I lived there for 5 years myself, and I came back to try to work in this country and build on that for my children and their children. If that member wants to fritter away tax cuts and go to Australia, then he should go. He, Don Brash, and all the others can go to Australia, and let us get on with managing this economy and looking after those people who are loyal and patriotic. The Australians are not as stupid as that member. They have seen through tax cuts. They know that people cannot be fooled by cheap tax cuts and that we need investment in the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000575\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003EThis Budget has done exactly that for this country. Labour has invested in transforming the economy, in protecting families young and old, and in building pride in our identity. We will continue to do that as long as we are in Government, and I hope that that is for a very, very long time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022 data-id=\u00229913f1fd6aed43fcaeb3a56b25fb4080\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000576\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229913f1fd6aed43fcaeb3a56b25fb4080\u0022\u003EBRIAN CONNELL (National\u2014Rakaia):\u003C/span\u003E Does Damien O\u2019Connor, a Minister of the current Government, have such a short memory that he has forgotten about the \u201Cchewing gum Budget\u201D with its \u201Cchewing gum\u201D tax cuts? The Government offered hard-working Kiwis the equivalent of half a packet of chewing gum less than 2 years ago. When the people of New Zealand resoundingly rejected that, Dr Cullen put his hand in his pocket and created a lolly scramble. Damien O\u2019Connor might forget who his mates are, but the National Party will not forget. We will not forget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000577\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003EIt has been over 20 years since the last time the Christchurch Press did not lead with the Budget as its main item of business the day after the announcement of a Budget. When a socialist rag like the Christchurch Press does not support this Government, we know that the Government is on the slippery slope off the Treasury benches. The article of business that bumped the Budget off the lead story was serious, but the Budget was nowhere near being of the national importance that a Budget should be.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000578\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002216eda8415e3144669f146ab42a1b62d2\u0022\u003ESimon Power\u003C/span\u003E: Wasn\u2019t it on the front page?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000579\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227362011504304c83a4515989e4d7af2c\u0022\u003EBRIAN CONNELL\u003C/span\u003E: It was on the front page, but it was not the lead story, for the first time in over 20 years. Do members know why that was? It was because the editor, in his judgment, said it had no public appeal. A Budget from the Minister of Finance was rated by the editor of one of the largest dailies in the country as having no public appeal. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000580\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003EDocuments being leaked to Telecom are not the only thing this Government needs to be concerned about. I will be in receipt of a document any day soon that has a whole list of names on it, which I am told in advance will include these people: Pettis, Mackey, Hawkins, Yates, Fairbrother, Swain, and Sutton. Unless I miss my guess, there will be one other name on it\u2014I think that will be Cullen, because\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000581\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f55830ff96cc4697b45cc903b16e6504\u0022\u003ESimon Power\u003C/span\u003E: Ah!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000582\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002263b4b27219dc4b6eacf62a8fd58269b8\u0022\u003EBRIAN CONNELL\u003C/span\u003E: I will give the member my logic. The Minister mucked up once with a Budget, and the Prime Minister came out and denounced him. Can he do it twice and escape the hatchet?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000583\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b1f2da2c15414affa977418e7ae68522\u0022\u003ERussell Fairbrother\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. The member should give my full name, as he should with Dr Cullen. I would like that list of names to be read out loud again, including my proper name. I do not think we should have that sort of insult.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000584\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002294a7de95eb474c10980d781db44e1687\u0022\u003EBRIAN CONNELL\u003C/span\u003E: Speaking to the point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002253ad4688b0394ff28204df43e92e7953\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley)\u003C/span\u003E: Just a minute. The member\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000586\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224021425a125f435e8801ccdaf337fae7\u0022\u003EBRIAN CONNELL\u003C/span\u003E: Speaking to the point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000587\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225082028eec5f47c5b4b28815f66c7e4d\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley)\u003C/span\u003E: Just a minute. I am ruling on the point of order. Members should always use members\u2019 names properly.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000588\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224e14182f95b24b299a8a01e5559e0f9a\u0022\u003EBRIAN CONNELL\u003C/span\u003E: Speaking to the point of order. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000589\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bb8548725ada40319a2325ec686d3b84\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley)\u003C/span\u003E: No, I have ruled on it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000590\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002255dcf17ea6094704927780f9e814b7ab\u0022\u003EBRIAN CONNELL\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000591\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002282e1d28909f148caaea9118ec37e0a0e\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley)\u003C/span\u003E: I have ruled on it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000592\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d5a86561de9b4d3dac7db3c9ffb3c45b\u0022\u003EBRIAN CONNELL\u003C/span\u003E: It is a new point of order. I was clearly referring to a list that was to be presented to me, which I was told in advance would have those names on it. I was not referring to members. I was referring to the list. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000593\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228964534a68a14712bd32120b47ec6d5d\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley)\u003C/span\u003E: It does not matter what context it is taken out of, if you are referring to members of Parliament, as you have, you must refer to them by their proper names.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000594\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d2503d93b8e344bd983dd7f7de58c009\u0022\u003ESimon Power\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. It is worth making the point at this stage in the debate that it has been a free-flowing and reasonably robust debate. In fact, the last speaker, the Hon Damien O\u2019Connor, brought you into the debate on at least 13 occasions that I counted. At no point did you or any other member in the Chamber deem it appropriate to intervene on that particular speech. I ask you to take into account the fact that members are trying to conduct their speeches within the 10 minutes offered, and if it is a rule that we are allowed to disrupt the debate because of an alleged breach of Standing Orders, then that should be applied to both sides of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000595\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022232d2f083b5741859ed397d15581a30f\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley)\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Power, you are quite right. People have been bringing the Speaker into debate in, I would say, nine out of 10 speeches on both sides of the House. I have spoken to the whips to suggest that they might talk to their members. Members are consistently bringing the Speaker into the debate, all the time. It still does not matter, though. The point, in this respect, is that it does not alter the fact that a member must always be referred to by his or her correct name. We do have a lot of points of order on that, as I am sure the member knows. All the member needs to do is refer to people by their correct names.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000596\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dd18ad2ff949437d85315ba3ef3b9a32\u0022\u003EBRIAN CONNELL\u003C/span\u003E: Can I have an assurance that that time has not come off my speaking slot?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000597\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002254c8c77a929e41de8ab901778dc371e4\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley)\u003C/span\u003E: No.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000598\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d4d8f29312ce4e60a6dcbdaecea7afbb\u0022\u003EBRIAN CONNELL\u003C/span\u003E: No? Well, I had better move along quickly then. The question that needs to be asked of Dr Cullen, and which is being asked right around the country, is this. When the country has a surplus of $8.5 billion, at what point does the country qualify for a tax reduction? If we follow Dr Cullen\u2019s logic with regard to fiscal management, that time will never arrive. But the sceptic in me says that come 2008, he will throw away his principles of good fiscal management and out will come huge bribes. Clearly, raw politics will take over. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000599\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003EThe members of Government are mounting\u2014or spouting\u2014an argument that this is a Budget around investment. I can tick roading, but I have a question mark over its funding. When we have such a huge surplus and a good balance sheet, is it not prudent to borrow money for infrastructure development, particularly roading, when the value of that will take 50 or 60 years to be realised? That is the first thing I ask the House. It is not fair, nor reasonable, for one generation to be expected to pay for infrastructure and then for it to go without. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000600\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003EThe other area of concern is that one of the largest tranches of money that will go into the roading fund will come from Meridian Energy\u2019s asset sales in Australia. The irony that that investment was in Australia\u2014the very place the Government is thumbing its nose at\u2014is not lost on me. It is good enough for Meridian Energy to go across there and earn its bucks and bring the money back, but it is not fair if anyone else does it. It is only the Government that can do that. The key point is that $800 million that should be going into energy generation is now going into roading. Not one red cent is going into energy generation, when that industry is looking down the barrel of a crisis. The chief executive of Meridian Energy, in concert with other industry chief executives, has warned that by 2010 the demand for electricity will outstrip supply. That is 3\u00BD years from now, and Michael Cullen did not even mention it in this Budget, except to give one assurance\u2014that the Green Party is working up a plan to solve our energy crisis. With that knowledge, we on this side of the House feel much better for now. When the lights go out in New Zealand\u2014and they will, the way this Government is going\u2014the damage to New Zealand as an investment destination will be huge. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000601\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003EI want to provide an example. The forestry industry, which is our third-biggest export earner and our fourth-biggest employer, is in free fall. What do we expect when we have an advocate like Jim Anderton? It would have to be in free fall. The salvation of that industry is in processing, which is very energy hungry, but it is not getting investment. Our third-biggest export earner and fourth-biggest employer is not attracting investment because there is no certainty around energy generation. That is an appalling set of circumstances. When we ask investors and industry leaders in that industry why people will not invest, they say it is because the current Government did not have the vision, the capacity, or the inner fortitude to fix up the Resource Management Act. It is not about the cost of energy\u2014that is secondary. What is keeping people away is a lack of certainty. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000602\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003EWe have been told that this is a visionary Budget\u2014one for investment. I say to members of the House that if they want to share wealth, they first have to create it. I looked to see what was on offer for rural Canterbury. I looked for vision and momentum around things like water infrastructure for irrigation. That was not mentioned once, yet Dr Cullen says he is serious about growth. There is an industry that, if properly funded, would produce two America\u2019s Cups in terms of revenue, back to back, every year, ad infinitum. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000603\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003EDr Cullen tells us that he is serious about growth, but he simply cannot be. He tells us that he is investing more money in health. It might come as a surprise to Dr Cullen, but we simply do not need more money in health. What we need is smarter thinking. At the moment we have direct to indirect labour ratios of one to two. Let me make that clear for members opposite. That ratio deals with the number of direct labour units with administrators. At the moment, for every doctor or nurse there are two administrators, and we wonder why our hospital boards cannot balance their books. It is not the amount of money; it is how it is being spent. Best practice in banking, way back in 1992 when I was examining it, was 10 to one, and in 2006 it is two to one. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000604\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c598ffd3-4771-4027-a15f-5d1f643631e0\u0022\u003EThe issue I conclude on is that Michael Cullen simply cannot be serious about growth when in this Budget he ignored our biggest export-earning industry. Seventy-two percent of our export income comes from farming, but farming was not mentioned in the Budget\u2014with one exception, which related to the slashing of the sustainable farming fund from $18 million down to $9 million. Yet Dr Cullen has the temerity to tell the country that he is serious about investing. We in the National Party simply have no confidence in this Budget.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022 data-id=\u0022c1a5933c929048beb27f3e5d7d82ac2f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000605\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c1a5933c929048beb27f3e5d7d82ac2f\u0022\u003ERUSSELL FAIRBROTHER (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I asked for a speaking slot in this Budget debate because I wanted to speak about the Gateway programme, which will receive $8.1 million over the next 4 years. As I listened to the debate I noticed that nobody picked up on that and bothered to address it. The Gateway programme is an important one, and it should not be overlooked. But having listened to the last speaker I am forced to move away from my speech notes on the Gateway programme in order to answer his questions as to who does not want a tax cut. He should look to his own caucus.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000606\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d11c4361a45f43408c769a9bd050f888\u0022\u003EHon Lianne Dalziel\u003C/span\u003E: I don\u2019t.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000607\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002289c2998848fc4c809848ca0908b304bc\u0022\u003ERUSSELL FAIRBROTHER\u003C/span\u003E: I tell the member not to worry about that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000608\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003EI had sent to me today, by a bemused and somewhat interested person in Napier, a misery column written for Mr Chris Tremain. This is what he says about the Budget: \u201CWe are an amazing country\u201D\u2014well, we agree with that; we are an amazing country\u2014\u201Cand our education system produces some of the best talent in the world.\u201D Too right it does! There have been 7 years of a good Labour Government and we have produced some of the best talent in the world. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000609\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003EHe does not want a tax cut. He wants more money in education. Hear, hear! No wonder he has not taken a call in this debate, because he would have to stand apart from those other confused individuals on the other side of the Chamber. He would have to admit to Mr Allan Peachey, his teacher in education, that his previous philosophies of slash-and-burn education will not work, because \u201Cour education system produces some of the best talent in the world.\u201D Hear, hear! There have been 7 years of a Labour Government, and the interim member for Napier, Mr Chris Tremain, a National Party caucus member, says that our education system produces some of the best talent in the world. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000610\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003EBut there is more. Under this Government, he adds, \u201CI also believe that most Kiwis grow up with a strong work ethic, generally wanting to improve their lot for themselves and their families.\u201D So much for the trip to Bondi! Of course, by now we are talking about 7 years of a Labour Government\u2014half the life of a child who is growing up\u2014and the member for Napier recognises that most Kiwis want to stay in this country and develop a good work ethic. They want to work hard for their future. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000611\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003ENo wonder the member has not stood up to speak in this debate, because he would have to stand apart from those miseries among his caucus. What a lonely position the member for Napier must be in. That is perhaps why the talk around Napier is that this was a young man who promised much, as a real estate agent standing for office, and has delivered nothing\u2014so much so, in fact, that I have had to increase my constituency work because constituents are discovering there is a difference between talk and delivery. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000612\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003EBut let us go on with what the member for Napier said: \u201CThe Government policy must continue to offer incentives to these people.\u201D Well, of course it does. The growth and innovation network, the jobs training skills network, more money into education\u2014these are the incentives that the member for Napier recognises and celebrates. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000613\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003EIn answer to the last speaker, I say that there was one member in his caucus who was too scared to speak in this debate\u2014because one does not want to stand out against the rest of the caucus. That member failed to see the value of this Budget\u2014the seventh Budget from a far-sighted Government that is spending money to correct the infrastructure that was run down over the years. I say to Mr Foss that we will provide a hearing aid for the hard of hearing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000614\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003ESo after receiving this misery column, which\u2014quite grudgingly, I may say\u2014has to allow that in the last 7 years this Government has done well for education and has done well for young people growing up, I thought I would go back to Mr Tremain\u2019s speech of 22 March. Of course, that speech is further proof as to why he will not come and speak in this debate. On 22 March he stated: \u201CThis tax depreciation legislation is good legislation\u201D\u2014this is Government legislation\u2014\u201Cbut we need more of this. So this tax legislation is long overdue, but it is one part of the recipe needed to put the economy back on the path towards higher achievement. We need investment in transmission and energy.\u201D What do we have in the Budget? We have investment in the infrastructure for transmission and energy. We have a very competent Minister of Energy, who has long-term plans, and there will be no power cuts this year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000615\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003EWhat is Mr Tremain\u2019s next item? It is \u201CTransport infrastructure. We need investment in transport infrastructure.\u201D What do we have here? If those members do not understand the figures, they should have picked up the New Zealand Herald on the day after the Budget was announced. The headline on the front page was: \u201CRoads, roads, roads\u201D. Do those members understand that? \u201CRoads, roads, roads\u201D\u2014there is no more to the headline. So Mr Tremain refuses to come down to the Chamber tonight, because two of the four items on his wish list have been delivered on. Transmission and energy\u2014yes. Infrastructure and transport investment\u2014yes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000616\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003EWhat else did he say? There were four things on his list. The third one is: \u201CWe need to invest in research and development.\u201D Have we invested in research and development? There has been a tremendous investment in research and development in this Budget. Of course that is what we need. That means that Mr Tremain could not come down here to argue against this Budget. We have delivered three out of four of his wishes. We are delivering transmission and energy investment, transport infrastructure, and research and development. Yes, it is a strong Labour electorate, and Mr Tremain knows how to pull his vote. There was an intervention by the Exclusive Brethren at one point to the tune of $1.2 million during the election, but that electorate will revert to Labour because Mr Tremain knows it is a Labour electorate and he is speaking about Labour values. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000617\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003EMr Tremain\u2019s fourth item stated: \u201CWe need employment flexibility.\u201D Well, what that tells us is that he approves of the change from the Employment Contracts Act to our Employment Relations Act, because he said that we need a probationary period. But we have a probationary period in the Employment Relations Act. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000618\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003EMr Tremain wants more things, and from this Budget and this Government he gets them\u2014transport spending, infrastructure on energy and transmission, research and development, and employment flexibility. They are all the things he said he wanted. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000619\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003EThen he praised the Government\u2019s education policy. Boy, I bet his benchmate Mr Peachey has not had a discussion with him about education recently. If this is proof that we can slash-and-burn education and get good scholars, it is not proving the case very well, is it?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000620\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002296b141316c4442cab0d254563a43b029\u0022\u003ECraig Foss\u003C/span\u003E: Who wrote this?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000621\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dfdcc3e0847f4eacbb29d6e4ac4bd885\u0022\u003EHon Lianne Dalziel\u003C/span\u003E: Chris Tremain wrote this speech.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000622\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022934bcd97f8bf43c49c4e930e17b55885\u0022\u003ERUSSELL FAIRBROTHER\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, he wrote this speech, because he knows Napier is good Labour territory. He is trembling in his boots as the next election looms. He will have to come to my place this time and concede defeat. He will be offered a beer when he comes around, rather than the stunned silence I received when I went to his patch to tell him he had won the seat temporarily, but that I would look after that seat. I will be back and I think he knows that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000623\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003EMind you, I have to say I am worried. I was listening to the radio today and I heard John Carter\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000624\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b2b12056d1df4529bad3117bce16fef4\u0022\u003EDarren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: Who?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000625\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225fb01f3a4f524bc5ac6812ed46782a45\u0022\u003ERUSSELL FAIRBROTHER\u003C/span\u003E: I tell the member that it was John Carter. [Interruption] Oh no, John Carter is still awake. He and I spent some time in Nairobi. Then when I tried to patch up the damage with the Sunday Star-Times, I asked the Prime Minister to save me. She said I was doing OK\u2014I might be OK\u2014and now John Carter has come down to the Chamber and said: \u201CThat Russell Fairbrother is a pretty good bloke.\u201D Well, the ninth floor rose even higher and the steam came out from the gunwales, because I had been told when I was first elected: \u201CLook at those Nats. Do not get too friendly with them.\u201D When I first walked into the House I thought: \u201CThat won\u2019t be too hard to do.\u201D, then I met one or two of them. I met John Carter. He buys a good whisky, he pours a good wine, he tells a very good story\u2014and some of the members opposite would not want to hear those stories\u2014and I thought he was a good chap, too. But I thought that what happened in Nairobi stayed in Nairobi, and that he would not come down to the House and shaft me, as he has, with that comment. I hope John is listening. He owes me one, but I will be back next term for it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003ESo I say to the writer of the Sunday Star-Times article that if she wants to make predictions, she should get her authorities right. I am told that the man who was said to be the Beehive source has not worked in the Prime Minister\u2019s office since Mike Moore\u2019s day. Mike who? \u201CTen-week Mike Moore\u201D\u2014he has not been seen around this place since then, I hear, and if the National Party wants to make that the basis of its arguments, I say \u201CBring it on!\u201D. I am ready for it, because I cannot wait for the next election. I am having trouble handling the constituency work in Napier because of the lack of success of the member for Napier. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000627\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223ad166899b554b628649a49bfa02d9a1\u0022\u003ECraig Foss\u003C/span\u003E: You haven\u2019t got an office.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000628\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022acbe51e71a4149c697e74d3e15a9743a\u0022\u003ERUSSELL FAIRBROTHER\u003C/span\u003E: I could give members details of that work now if I could have another 5-minute call. If Mr Foss wants to give me 5 minutes of his time I will go into what the work from Napier entails. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000629\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003EI have had a good response to this Budget from Napier. I have heard self-employed people saying that this is the Budget they have been looking for\u2014a Budget that is building infrastructure, making investment, and inspiring confidence in this country. It is the Budget they have been waiting for. People in Nairobi said to me that I would have seen the effect of a Don Brash Government. If we had 10 years of a Don Brash Government, we would have roads like the roads in Nairobi. They have not seen a tarseal machine for 25 years in that country because the infrastructure has been run down. Children in Nairobi cannot go to school and cannot go to hospital because of the user-pays system. That is what we get with tax cuts\u2014a neglect for infrastructure. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003EJohn Carter will confirm that fact for National members. He rode on those roads, and he knows what infrastructure neglect does. He knows that this is a good Budget. He knows that I am a good chap, because I am in a very good party, and I will be here after the next election and urging National members to defect, because the party-hopping bill will allow them to change at the time of the next election.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000631\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003EThis Budget is a very good Budget. It is a Budget about investment and about what we are as New Zealanders, and it is a Budget for the young, for the old, and for our families. It is a very good Budget from a very good Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022 data-id=\u002249339d07579645d7b3289bae6ca51690\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000632\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002249339d07579645d7b3289bae6ca51690\u0022\u003ESUE BRADFORD (Green):\u003C/span\u003E First of all, I would like to take a moment to address the vexed matter of the tax cuts that are being promoted so vigorously by National and its friends. Since Thursday we have had the right, inside and outside the House, baying for tax cuts, on the basis that they will stop workers going to Australia and will increase capital investment. The reason workers are going to Australia just happens to be that wages are much higher there than they are here. Even if the thousands of New Zealanders who are on $11 or $12 an hour were to pay no tax at all here, they would still be earning more in Australia. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000633\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003EMany New Zealand employers stubbornly refuse to compete in the international labour market, and that has nothing to do with taxes. Would our corporates invest in capital expenditure and higher wages if they received a tax cut? If the past is anything to go by, they would be unlikely to do so, in most cases. The trickledown theory exists only in mythology. Increased profits in recent years have not been spent in that way. If Mr Key had his way, I suspect we would simply see increased dividends being paid out to overseas shareholders, and hear calls for even higher tax cuts in the next year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000634\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003EThe calls for tax cuts seemed to be very coordinated. It reminded me of the 1980s, when right-wing thinktanks around the world promulgated ideas of deregulation and asset sales, which somehow suddenly became a sociocultural norm. In New Zealand we had an unfortunate cabal that actually put those radical ideas into practice. The result was massive public debt, thousands of jobs being lost, and a huge transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich. We have slowly recovered from that, but the looters and pillagers are back. The same voices are calling for tax cuts now, and they are doing it for the same reasons as they did then. Luckily for ordinary New Zealanders, Dr Cullen has the intelligence to see through their arguments to the underlying truth. Luckily he has had the fortitude so far to resist them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000635\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003EI now turn to the area that I have been most involved in with regard to this Budget. I am, of course, delighted that it includes $11.5 million over the next 3 years for the Buy Kiwi Made programme, for which I am responsible as Government spokesperson. Since I have taken over the programme following the death of Green co-leader Rod Donald, I have been working hard with my own adviser; with the Minister for Economic Development, Trevor Mallard; with his office; and with officials from the Ministry of Economic Development to turn the dreams that Rod had for the programme into reality. Key to that work has been consultation with businesses, unions, sustainability organisations, M\u0101ori organisations, and local government and central government agencies. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000636\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003EI have met with a large number of individual firms, and have been very impressed with the determination of both owners and workers to continue production in this country, even against what at times are severe odds. Although the owners of those companies have had plenty of opportunity to express criticism, I have heard very little criticism from them of my bill to remove age discrimination from the minimum wage. I have heard no demands for tax cuts nor complaints about compliance costs. If there was any criticism of the Government, it was in areas of trade policy and came from firms that felt they were not being given a fair go with regard to Government procurement. Many firms seem to feel unloved, unvalued, and unacknowledged by the Government and by the general public. The fact that the small-scale Buy Kiwi Made project values those firms and their workers is appreciated by many of them. I am, of course, hopeful that the programme will achieve much more than that. None the less, it is important that we respect and not take for granted the people who produce the goods and services we all use every day\u2014that we do not acknowledge only the smart suits and the moneyed men and women who just play with the wealth created through the production process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000637\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003EI was pleased to make the announcement of the funding for Buy Kiwi Made at the iconic Swazi Apparel factory in Levin last week, together with local MP Darren Hughes, who was representing Trevor Mallard. The launch was attended by representatives from the local council, Business New Zealand, Textiles New Zealand, the National Distribution Union, the Clothing, Laundry, and Footwear Workers Union, and the Buy New Zealand Made campaign. Since that launch, I have been inundated with emails from firms and ordinary citizens, congratulating the Government and the Green Party on the Buy Kiwi Made initiative. Just today the Trade Liberalisation Network, not a traditional ally of ours, issued a media release expressing support for it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000638\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003EI have seen only one negative comment regarding the Buy Kiwi Made campaign since its funding was announced. That comment came from one of ACT\u2019s two part-time MPs, Rodney Hide, who took a few minutes out from Dancing with the Stars on State television to complain about the use of taxpayers\u2019 money for Buy Kiwi Made. That was in stark contrast to the previous deputy leader of the ACT party, Ken Shirley, who has just taken up the position of executive director of Organics Aotearoa New Zealand. That organisation has been a recipient of taxpayers\u2019 money through another Government - Green Party Budget initiative. Mr Shirley is quoted as saying that his new organisation received a much-appreciated $1.5 million in Government funding for the next 3 years, as part of the overall $2.2 million package. It seems there is not one law for all in the ACT party\u2014or perhaps Ken Shirley, like hundreds of other ACT members, has left the party to join reality. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000639\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003ETurning to other aspects of the Budget, I would like to commend the Government for some of the better features contained within it. For example, the ongoing extension of Working for Families and the removal of interest payments on student loans for graduates who remain in New Zealand are both supported by the Green Party, apart from our serious reservations about the fact that Working for Families continues to entrench discrimination against beneficiary families and their children. We welcome the increased funding for the SKIP: Strategies with Kids\u2014Information for Parents programme, and more help to deal with bullying in schools and for family violence prevention. However, I do not quite understand how the extra $9 million over 4 years allocated to a range of crisis support services will actually go anywhere near to meeting the real costs placed on some 400 organisations that are struggling to survive at a time of increased demand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000640\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003EI am particularly concerned about the impact of ongoing inadequate funding on groups like Women\u2019s Refuge that are absolutely at the front line and are receiving ever-increasing numbers of referrals from State agencies. That situation highlights a number of problematic issues at the juncture of the relationship between the Government and the community sector that Labour still fails to adequately address, despite years of task forces, consultations, and other such attempts at mutual understanding. For example, organisations like Women\u2019s Refuge, which provide critical services, should receive adequate funding on an ongoing basis, as a matter of course. As the Government sends more and more referrals to them, so the funding should increase. And why does the Government continue in some cases to prioritise giving money to itself in order to increase its own capacity, when, if the money was given to groups that provide front-line services instead, a lot more could be achieved? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000641\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003ESimilarly, the Budget fails to deal with the crisis in residential aged-care. Although of course I am glad that an extra $68 million over the next 4 years is heading that way, the average 51c an hour per worker it will add to wages across the board, if it actually gets to all the staff, will do very little to alleviate the bitterly low wages and stressful working conditions that afflict large parts of the sector. The Government should be making sure that all the additional money goes into boosting wages, and it should also be guaranteeing minimum staffing standards through regulation, for the sake of all concerned. I believe that Labour should seriously reconsider its overall strategy. Does it really want to go on endlessly sinking taxpayer dollars into for-profit aged-care, rather than consider steps to move it back to a mix of public and not-for-profit provision? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000642\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003EIn the housing arena, the Greens welcome the ongoing funding for some State house acquisition in the $16 million - plus allocated for third sector housing. But that is nowhere near enough, while we have around 11,000 people still on Housing New Zealand Corporation waiting lists and the potential of community-based housing providers still remains largely untapped. The number of people who are living homeless remains a concern and continues to rise. The Government should take a lot more responsibility for assisting voluntary groups to provide safe, affordable accommodation to our most vulnerable citizens, as well as work across departments to ensure that health, housing, income, and employment needs are met for those who are the most vulnerable. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000643\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003EFinally, I cannot help but conclude by joining my fellow Green MPs in expressing sheer amazement at the wilful blindness of the Government in spending $1.3 billion on roading in this Budget. What price do all the MPs who scoff at us think oil will be at in 5 or 10 years\u2019 time? The Government continues to pour billions of dollars into roads that will end up being nearly empty, at a time when we should be racing against the clock to get our rail, sea, and bus infrastructure into place as fast as possible, before petrol and diesel hit $5 a litre, or more. We would also do well to invest some of the apparent roading largesse into doing more to help our most vulnerable citizens and the community-based organisations that serve them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022 data-id=\u00227201996045284e3ba2c7edb3da1f771e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000644\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221a705910-5320-43bf-aa82-027a761519f6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227201996045284e3ba2c7edb3da1f771e\u0022\u003ERUSSELL FAIRBROTHER (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I seek leave to table a newspaper article dated Monday, 5 September 2005, from a South Island newspaper that confirms what was said today about the National Government borrowing offshore to fund infrastructure, which was \u201Ccommon in practice\u201D, said Jacqui Dean.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000645\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002208a62f0cb89f41eea9c8f787695dd941\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley)\u003C/span\u003E: Leave is sought to table that article. Is there any objection? There is. It will not be tabled.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022 data-id=\u00229c24d2a9c4d647c4b32032f50f42cfcf\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000646\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229c24d2a9c4d647c4b32032f50f42cfcf\u0022\u003EJACQUI DEAN (National\u2014Otago):\u003C/span\u003E My voice might be a funny this evening, for which I apologise, but I am afraid the content of this speech is not funny. This is a Budget in which agriculture does not rate a mention, except, of course, to slash the sustainable farming fund. Shame on the Government! I represent plenty of farmers and I can tell members that they are not impressed, either. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000647\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EI was thinking about those 300 people who leave New Zealand each and every week\u2014people who are lured over the ditch\u2014as the wage gap between Australia and New Zealand becomes a gaping chasm, and I thought that for the socialist city-dwellers who sit opposite, the Labour MPs, 300 people might not mean too much. After all, in cities people are everywhere, right? People are on every street. They are clogging all the roads with their cars, they are filling the malls, and they are filling the rugby stadiums. People are spilling out of schools and out of supermarkets. So 300 people probably does not seem so much to our socialist friends. This head-in-the-sand Government is probably not noticing this mass exodus of people, because clearly it has absolutely no idea what to do about it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000648\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EIt is interesting that in question time in the House whenever the heat goes on Government members and they are called to account for their actions, they blame us. It is always National\u2019s fault. It is so easy, is it not, to blame somebody else? But hang on, they have had 7 years in Government. Have they learnt nothing about how to govern a country? Can they not yet grasp the business of Government? Why do they not take responsibility for those 300 people who leave New Zealand each and every week? The reason is that they do not particularly care. There are plenty more people where they come from, in their cities. But, much more tellingly, they do not have the slightest idea of what to do about it. They simply do not have a plan.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000649\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E Well, I care about losing those 300 people. This is what it means to me in heartland New Zealand to lose 300 people every week. If Queenstown were to lose 300 people per week, it would empty out in 40 weeks. That is 10 months. Every 10 months we lose the population of Queenstown, or, if we put it another way, every 17 weeks of net loss we lose the population of W\u0101naka. Every 4 months of net population loss is W\u0101naka gone. A few people here and there leaving the cities does not leave too much of a gap. We still see people in supermarkets and queuing up for their middle-class welfare. But I can tell members opposite\u2014and they would not know this\u2014that losing our brightest youngters, losing our tradespeople, and losing our professionals overseas is hurting provincial New Zealand. What is the Government\u2019s answer? What is the vision in the Budget? I cannot find one.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000650\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a34faaf4f3fc4765a8839bc85cce0a53\u0022\u003EJo Goodhew\u003C/span\u003E: There isn\u2019t one.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000651\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022072fde4d23e64d219c936d956d6f4940\u0022\u003EJACQUI DEAN\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I have looked and I cannot find one. Government members talk the talk about transforming New Zealand, but in the time it took to deliver the Budget speech a couple of planeloads of Kiwis headed off to Australia to take advantage of higher wages and lower taxes. Why would people in small businesses not want to go somewhere else? They are squeezed by compliance costs; they are squeezed by accident compensation levies; they are squeezed by Holidays Act provisions; and they are squeezed by the Employment Relations Act. What is Minister Lianne Dalziel\u2019s vision? It is a review! She is going to do a review\u2014big, fat deal! Do members know what would really benefit small businesses in New Zealand? The introduction of a 90-day probation period for new employees. A while ago a young guy phoned me\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000652\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022909c825c-6cf3-49bd-9c74-6df837480631\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b771075a078b4db2a5fddaa985883c62\u0022\u003EBob Clarkson\u003C/span\u003E: A young guy phoned you, did he?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000653\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221ba149655b6945bf978101eda27eef2e\u0022\u003EJACQUI DEAN\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I know, it was good. He phoned me to talk about his business. Normally it is just an old guy called my husband, but it was a young guy who wanted to talk about his business. He and his wife run a rural agricultural contracting business around W\u0101naka. The demand from farmers\u2014the farmers that this Government does not care a jot about, but I do\u2014is there to expand their business. But, because of the Holidays Act, because of occupational safety and health regulations, because of accident compensation levies, because of the price of diesel, and because of the risk of employing someone under the Employment Relations Act, they decided it was just too hard to take on any workers, so the business will have to remain just him and his wife, and he really regrets that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000654\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003ENational MP Wayne Mapp\u2019s member\u2019s bill to introduce a 90-day no-fault probation period between employers and employees would achieve so much. It would encourage small employers to have a go, to give somebody a chance, to grow their business, and, more important, it would give young people, who may have been unemployed for a long time, a chance. Is that not a whole lot more constructive than a review? National\u2019s policy is a whole lot more visionary. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000655\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EI have had a few phone calls from people in my electorate who got a little bit excited about the increase of $1.3 billion in the State highway roading programme. I will tell the House why they got excited. The Kawarau Bridge just out of Queenstown is a little single-lane bridge that serves the needs of locals and tourists. That bridge fails to meet the needs of the fastest growing region in New Zealand. I have to tell members that Queenstown\u2019s roading problems are not the same as Auckland\u2019s, they are not the same as Hamilton\u2019s, and they are not the same as Wellington\u2019s, but they do need to be addressed if Queenstown is to continue to make a significant contribution to New Zealand\u2019s economy through tourism. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000656\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EQueenstown people were hugely disappointed to learn that in Transit\u2019s draft 10-year plan put out in April the Kawarau Bridge replacement project was not even in the planning stage. But they said: \u201CNever mind, it will be OK. The Minister of Transport said we should just wait for the Budget. A couple of years ago, in his submission to Transit, the then MP for Otago, David Parker, said that unless something was done about the Kawarau Bridge soon, Queenstown would be a complete shambles. He should eat his words. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000657\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EAs members can imagine, there is a high level of expectation that some of that extra $1.3 billion will be put towards Queenstown\u2019s roading problem. So in the Minister of Transport\u2019s release in the Budget, under appendix A \u201CProjects to be advanced due to today\u0027s $1.3 billion funding package\u201D, right down at the very bottom, I find this: \u201CIn addition: Transit NZ is also investigating a number of other improvement projects.\u201D Right down at the very bottom of that small list is State Highway 66A, Queenstown. Well, whoop-de-doo, that is exactly where Transit was in its draft plan. I say to the Government that I love the idea but I am waiting, and I want to see it deliver for Queenstown. This Budget is boring. It does nothing for hard-working New Zealanders, for the wealth creators of Otago and New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002225c22a83-ff2c-474c-a092-883be2dd63d3\u0022 data-id=\u0022440ba024cf5d4b6d95607e380de6c974\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000658\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002225c22a83-ff2c-474c-a092-883be2dd63d3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022440ba024cf5d4b6d95607e380de6c974\u0022\u003EDAVE HEREORA (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I take pleasure in taking a call in the Budget debate tonight. This is a very, very good Budget. It is a Budget that only a Labour-led Government could deliver. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000659\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002225c22a83-ff2c-474c-a092-883be2dd63d3\u0022\u003EBefore I get into that I want to comment on a point raised by the previous speaker in relation to the 90-day probationary period bill introduced by Dr Wayne Mapp. I cannot figure out how that bill will help young workers. What I can figure out is that that bill will allow the boss to sack workers at will before 90 days are up. I think the real intention of that bill is to allow employers to add another definition to the workplace. We already have casual, part-time, and full-time workers. If this bill proceeds we will have a definition for workers who last fewer than 90 days at work. I cannot understand or imagine why the previous speaker welcomes that for our young workers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000660\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002225c22a83-ff2c-474c-a092-883be2dd63d3\u0022\u003EI want to get back to the Budget, because it delivers on our promises. It not only delivers on the promises of this term, it also fleshes out the promises that have been set in place since 1999. They are policies that the Labour-led Government initiated in 1999. I recall the feeling of Opposition members about how inadequate Labour would be in determining and managing the finances of our nation. Do members recall that? I recall that very clearly. Well, that has been proved wrong, has it not? This is our seventh Budget and the economy is booming. The economy is booming under the strong stewardship of Dr Michael Cullen. He will be around for a long time yet, I can assure members. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000661\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002225c22a83-ff2c-474c-a092-883be2dd63d3\u0022\u003ESome of those policies that we had in 1999 have given us the opportunity now to manifest a position that allows us to use this 2006 Budget as an investment\u2014an investment into our future. That opportunity does not just fall out of the sky; it has come about through prudent management of our economy\u2014responsible management by, again, our Dr Cullen. I want to congratulate Dr Cullen on delivering this Budget because it does have the vision, it does have the foresight, and it does look towards the three things that we are aiming at ensuring we get on with. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000662\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002225c22a83-ff2c-474c-a092-883be2dd63d3\u0022\u003EThe first thing is families young and old. We recall the State housing stock being depleted prior to 1999 by 13,000 homes. I wonder who did that. Nobody wants to own up, but that is a fact. Pre-1999, 13,000 State houses were sold. Since 1999 we have increased that stock to 60,000. With the latest release of this 2006 Budget we are intent on increasing that stock even further, to over 70,000. That is what we heard at the select committee today. We are increasing that stock to 70,000, so we will improve the opportunity for families to get into houses. But we did not leave it there. No, we did not. We also introduced a policy to make State housing affordable. Do members recall that? We introduced a policy to make State houses affordable. How did we do that? Can members recall how we did that? We did that by introducing a policy surrounding income-related rents. That brought the rent down for some housing tenants by 106 percent. Now, that is huge. In effect, that meant State house tenants had another $1,800 per year in their pockets to spend on their families. That is a Labour-led Government policy. That was fleshed out in the Budget that we are promoting, and that is about families young and old. But it does not stop there. We have provided more houses and we have made them affordable, and we are going to make sure that we keep that stock in line with the growing population. We are committed to ensuring that families are housed in the future. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000663\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002225c22a83-ff2c-474c-a092-883be2dd63d3\u0022\u003EThe other area that, I have heard, has been of some concern to Opposition members is the question of what is in the Budget for M\u0101ori. Is there anything at all in the Budget for M\u0101ori? I will describe what is in it for members because it is very specific about where the allocated funding for M\u0101ori is targeted. The Budget has relocated $23.9 million from existing spending to three investment areas. The first, under the heading \u201CRawa\u201D, better positions M\u0101ori to build a leverage of their collective financial and natural resources. Under another heading, \u201CM\u0101tauranga\u201D, which I am sure members have seen before, comes traditional and contemporary knowledge. The third area is skills and leadership capacity, and that comes under the heading of \u201CWhakamana\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000664\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002225c22a83-ff2c-474c-a092-883be2dd63d3\u0022\u003EThat is about targeted investment in building knowledge, growing skills and talents, and generating innovation and creativity. That is what M\u0101tauranga is. These investments will build greater financial literacy in M\u0101ori communities. They will link the opportunities to portray M\u0101ori culture on an international stage, which we currently do, with economic development opportunities, and will transfer capability to future generations. That is about a vision of the future. It is an investment in strengthening leadership and decision making. It is about recognising that M\u0101ori success relies on their capability to lead, influence, and make positive and confident decisions that result in benefits for themselves and others. These investments will revive community pride and link M\u0101ori to key economic and social transformation processes within our society. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000665\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002225c22a83-ff2c-474c-a092-883be2dd63d3\u0022\u003EIt is an investment to assist M\u0101ori to use, develop, and retain their own assets, under \u201CRawa\u201D, for collective and individual benefit. These investments will use available resources as a tool for greater participation in businesses and enterprise, and will strengthen wh\u0101nau and hap\u016B links to assist community development. We are confident these new steps will make immeasurable gains in improving the quality of life for M\u0101ori, and for the development of new knowledge, skills, and expertise. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000666\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002225c22a83-ff2c-474c-a092-883be2dd63d3\u0022\u003EThe Budget will also allocate new funding to help achieve the Labour-led Government\u2019s target for all historical Treaty claims to be lodged by 2008 and settled by 2020. Treaty negotiations have been funded by an extra $5.2 million over the next 4 years to provide the Office of Treaty Settlements with additional staff and resources to further progress Treaty negotiations. Increasing the capacity of the Office of Treaty Settlements will build on the momentum generated to date and ensure that we are able to settle all historical Treaty claims in a fair, final, and timely manner. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000667\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002225c22a83-ff2c-474c-a092-883be2dd63d3\u0022\u003EBefore finishing, I reiterate how good this Budget is. It is a Budget that only a Labour-led Government could deliver. I must say I am proud to be a part of our team and I look forward to an ongoing relationship with our team as a Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022 data-id=\u0022005e2fe7c66d45db9e21c2ac0e04273a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000668\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022005e2fe7c66d45db9e21c2ac0e04273a\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN (Deputy Leader\u2014NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E The \u201CNational Front of Australia\u201D is sitting over there. I have heard speech after speech in this Budget debate from National Party members telling us how marvellous Australia is. I invite National Party members\u2014if they think it is so marvellous\u2014to go there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000669\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220bd0a01906ce4ef6b50d60f98b672f23\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Where did you come from, anyway?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000670\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e1cc3fad663b40a9bac20c81b0f6c7ac\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: I think the member is touching on my background. I tell the honourable member that I am a New Zealander by choice. I came here, and I was picked. I was not inflicted on this country like the member over there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000671\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aa75702849b1466886054a5a7268a9e2\u0022\u003EDarren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: An accident of nature.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000672\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227b7f83c961504b43b85dc4b2c43d9703\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: The member says it was an accident of nature. I say it was a disaster. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000673\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EI was so intrigued by the National Party members\u2019 assertions about tax levels in Australia and how they compare with New Zealand\u2019s that I did some research and checked the figures. I will not bore the House with the figures\u2014because there is quite a number of them\u2014but is fair to say that lower to middle income people earn more in Australia when tax levels are taken into account. But that is more than compensated for by the New Zealand Government\u2019s Working for Families legislation, which New Zealand First is delighted to support. Having said that, I do not want to leave members over there in any doubt whatsoever that we have a few reservations. The legislation might be a little too generous at the top end, but it does serve a very, very important need by helping hard-working families get a start in life, and we applaud the Government for that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000674\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EIn terms of Australia and higher pay, if one looks at the tax levels one can see that higher-paid people are better off in New Zealand. But if one compares apples with apples\u2014and members over there know what an apple is\u2014that is, if one compares Australian wage rates with those in New Zealand, one can see that Australian wages are significantly higher than those in New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000675\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d97b38c68bc6437ab70698763cec3313\u0022\u003EDarren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: Why is that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002247b6856068074ce990fae9030259f00c\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: That is a good question; it is one I ask myself. It is because legislation was brought into this House in the 1990s and passed. That legislation was the Employment Contracts Act. That legislation drove down wages. I do not know a country in the Western World where wages actually went down.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000677\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002223ff180d7ea541a6adcd2e156ba6a92e\u0022\u003EDavid Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: Did you vote for it?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000678\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022203af64dd0ee41f59d2a7b01e41f7216\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: No, I did not vote for it. I was not in the House, but when I came here I did my level best to get the Minister of Labour at that time, Max Bradford, to modify the legislation. Had he modified it, National would probably be in a stronger political position than it is right now. New Zealand First never voted for the Employment Contracts Act. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000679\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EOn top of that legislation that drove down wages, National opened the door to unlimited, uncontrolled immigration. It let anybody come in to New Zealand to compete for jobs at the lower levels.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000680\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002232380566c61d46d19f9aa9c6e9b8a0f0\u0022\u003EAnne Tolley\u003C/span\u003E: Show us the evidence.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000681\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224b214a2d3ac74d5c84a716746feb181d\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: If National members do not believe me, they should go and check the figures themselves. It is something they should be totally ashamed of. I saw that happen in the UK many, many years ago, and the National Party used the same tactics here. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000682\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003ENew Zealand First is delighted with aspects of this Budget, and no more so than with the funding that is going into roading. We are the only political party that has said for many a year\u2014since our inception in 1993\u2014that all the money taken from road users, vehicles, or whatever, should go into roading. I know the Government has not tagged the methodology of what is taken for roading, but, according to this Budget, it is putting in fractionally more than it will take.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000683\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ec467f9c6818460f8b284522ed6a547c\u0022\u003EDavid Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: National was going to do that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000684\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ce87fd0faaee44c0a7b5a20dfee82017\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: The honourable member tells me that National will do that. Let me tell members what National did in 1995. I am glad the member raised the subject. In 1995 there was a member\u2019s bill entitled the Road Transport Revenues Fund Bill. It was brought to this House by the Rt Hon Winston Peters, and the Minister of Transport at the time, the Hon Maurice Williamson\u2014the Minister in the National Government\u2014said: \u201CThe first thing is, there would not be enough roading projects out there to do, or enough contractors to do them.\u201D Now, Maurice Williamson says we need to put money urgently into roading. But it started in 1995. That is when National could have started to address the roading problems of this country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000685\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EIt had a second opportunity. In 1998 the Treasurer, the Rt Hon Winston Peters, started\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000686\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225db29fde18ce46299993fee141bbc34a\u0022\u003EDavid Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, rubbish!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000687\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aad6397e514c4b23b1957712fa5441e7\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: The member does not believe me, but he can check his facts. The Rt Hon Winston Peters started transferring money from the Crown\u2019s consolidated account into the roading account at the rate of 2.1c per litre per year. Had that process continued, a further $2.5 billion would have been in the roading account by now, and it would have advanced our roading and public transport at costs current in the 1990s rather than costs in 2006. This year, the cost of bitumen is 30 percent higher than in recent times, the cost of oil products has gone up, and the cost of concrete has gone up. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000688\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003ENational had a second bite at addressing the roading problem, in 1998. In 1999, after New Zealand First was dispensed with and put out of the coalition, National\u2014[Interruption]\u2014oh, I can see that the truth hurts\u2014reneged on that. And last year, in 2005, when Don Brash announced the National Party\u2019s voting policy at the Automobile Association convention, he had the audacity to stand and say that Labour had closed the door on the transfer and had cancelled it. But Labour did not do that. What Don Brash told the Automobile Association was a blatant distortion of the truth. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000689\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e7e008876e404d04a8b99d042706f441\u0022\u003EDavid Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: Oh no!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000690\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022af557a527576400fa2256b1c9d92c7ad\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: The member was not there; he does not know what he is talking about. I say to those Opposition members that if that money had been continuously transferring across, there would still be money in the Crown account that Treasury could have. But let me ask them three questions, because I can see they are taking this seriously. If that had occurred, would the country be economically better off? That member opposite is screaming for roads in Hamilton. That would have been done a long time ago. Would the country be socially better off? The answer to both those questions is yes. Would there be people alive today who have died on our roads because they are not up to pace? The answer to that, too, regrettably, is yes. Those members should not brag about what they have done for roading or transport in this country. They should be hanging their heads in shame, because New Zealand First is the only party that, from the very beginning, from its inception, has said that all the money taken from roading and vehicles should go into roading. At long last, the Government has listened to us. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000691\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003EI do not think anybody wants to take a call after this speech, and the members over there are learning quite a lot, so I seek leave to continue until the House rises in another 3 or 4 minutes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000692\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fae7af0d-c48d-4dd4-88f3-928ccaa3a984\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224d6ca655aa5d4a1dba6cb0666db6c0e5\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley)\u003C/span\u003E: Leave is sought to extend the speech by 3 minutes. Is there any objection? There is.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000693\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c43a6649b12c482594e9a47f645846ec\u0022\u003EPETER BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: Yes and no. They are not united even in that respect. They cannot make up their minds on a simple thing like that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000694\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e3dc3d88-a571-4ed7-a4b4-b66dedd6134b\u0022\u003ENew Zealand First has fought hard to get 1,000 extra police. We tried it with the previous National Government. When we were in coalition with National we had an agreement for a few more police, but it wanted cardboard cut-outs and a computer to address the law and order system in this country. I ask myself time and time again what has happened to the National Party, which was once led by such distinguished people as Robert Muldoon, Jim Bolger, Jim McLay, and Don McKinnon.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022 data-id=\u0022594e4fb597544a8da2985ad98e6c0b25\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000695\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022594e4fb597544a8da2985ad98e6c0b25\u0022\u003EHon RICK BARKER (Minister of Internal Affairs):\u003C/span\u003E The Budget is a glorious example of why Labour will win the next election and again be in Government with United Future, New Zealand First, and the Greens. It is a wonderful example of how the Helen Clark - led Labour Government is able to knit together the necessary majority in the House and persuade the public to support sensible policies. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000696\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003EThe National Party went out there at the last election on three policies: tax, race, and Brash. It went out there and said it would slash Government spending, but would also keep up investment. No one believed it. National was going to slash Government spending, whereas the Labour Party went out there with its coalition partners and said it wanted to invest in New Zealand. It said it wanted to invest in families, to give tax credits for working families, to put more police on the beat and more money into roads, hospitals, and health. The New Zealand public supported Labour at the polls. That is why we are still in Government and why we will be in Government after the next election and into the future. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000697\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003EThe point is that the National Party can cry as much as it wants, but it has no vision. I say that, because there are scales on the eyes of National members. They cannot see the investment in New Zealand. They think that if they bash New Zealand and say things are better in Australia, that will win them votes. I have never seen a proud Kiwi who will stand up and say that Aussies are better than Kiwis, that Australia does things better. The National Government drove more New Zealanders to Australia than any other Government, when in the 1990s it slashed benefits, cut wages, cut penalty rates, and smashed in the workers\u2019 conditions. It did everything it could to drive New Zealanders to any country in the world but here. New Zealand went down the tubes under National in the 1990s. The New Zealand public understand and know that. The last time a National Government gave out tax cuts, it cut superannuation for our superannuitants. That is what National did. That is its record\u2014cut, destroy, slash, and burn.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000698\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003EDebate interrupted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20060524b2ff1a89e7844ec09363278b50c2decd000699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003EThe House adjourned at 10 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n  \u003C/body\u003E\n\u003C/html\u003E"