"\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=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022d8337e51cdcd4f2ebb806ea87919b6f0\u0022\u003EThursday, 28 May 2009\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000003\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022baa30270735c4215ae1d459be928acb5\u0022\u003EThursday, 28 May 2009\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000002\u0022\u003EMr Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000004\u0022\u003EPrayers.\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=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000005\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00226dee4ac0bfda4102a2fb8c0712b9c782\u0022\u003EAppropriation (2008/09 Supplementary Estimates) Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000006\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022e090c3375f4a4f55aaa9436ac0b307eb\u0022\u003EProcedure\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u00225de942cbd0ad42c2acee93bc9328611e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000007\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225de942cbd0ad42c2acee93bc9328611e\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E I hereby present the Supplementary Estimates of Appropriations for the Government of New Zealand for the year ending 30 June 2009, and supporting information (B.7).\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000008\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022da7c66a9a1784dee8bd8c98acda9db8f\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That paper is published under the authority of the House.\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=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000009\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022150fc239759b49b48c4abd9c1e522d76\u0022\u003EAppropriation (2009/10 Estimates) Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000010\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00227558f0385b2540359ed7eb09ecea15c8\u0022\u003EProcedure\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u0022cf2dabf0cd594fb3b71c6eb9917a7fb0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000011\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cf2dabf0cd594fb3b71c6eb9917a7fb0\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E I hereby present the Budget 2009 Executive Summary, the Budget 2009 Speech, the Fiscal Strategy Report 2009, the Economic and Fiscal Update 2009 (B.2 and B.3), the Estimates of Appropriations for the Government of New Zealand for the year ending 30 June 2010 (B.5), the compilations of information supporting the Estimates of Appropriations for the Government of New Zealand for the year ending 30 June 2010 (B.5A, Volumes 1-10), and the departmental statements of intent.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000012\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228921259c7ccf4df297c869853d9b7d8a\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Those papers are published under the authority of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000013\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00220dfbb76c91c649b08366c467045e27a3\u0022\u003EFirst Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u00223d06958a7ccb4f308c9e3555b444cab4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000014\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223d06958a7ccb4f308c9e3555b444cab4\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the Appropriation (2009/10 Estimates) Bill be now read a first time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000015\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EBill read a first time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000016\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002203ce57c520cd49ec9a3ce62474010d2d\u0022\u003EBudget Statement\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000017\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c3a2dc0465a84fc8b53885a5fdf3ff37\u0022\u003EBudget Debate\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000019\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002213543b012d6149c2b3987887271492cc\u0022\u003EBudget Debate\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u0022125dd972f0b840d7ad34c3db1a00465d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000018\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022125dd972f0b840d7ad34c3db1a00465d\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the Appropriation (2009/10 Estimates) Bill be now read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000020\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003ESix months ago, this Government was elected on a platform of enterprise and growth. The National led Government is ambitious for New Zealand. We want New Zealanders to realise their aspirations through better opportunities in a prosperous, competitive and open economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000021\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EA domestic recession, followed by the worst global recession since the 1930s, makes these ambitions challenging. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government is determined to address these issues honestly and responsibly. Our partners in government, ACT, the M\u0101ori Party and United Future, share our commitment to the challenge of managing through the recession. Stable government is critical in a turbulent time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000023\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EBy taking firm, early and decisive action, the Government is managing the downturn to cushion the immediate impact on New Zealanders and to enhance future growth. The Government is determined that the economy will make the adjustments it needs and emerge in better shape once the recession ends. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000024\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe are particularly concerned that the economy creates new jobs. The burden of a recession falls most harshly on those who lose their jobs and on their communities. We owe them every effort to create the opportunity for a new job. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000025\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThis Budget fulfils many of our pre-election commitments. These, together with the agreements made with support parties, have been given first priority on available resources. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000026\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EProtecting the most vulnerable is a priority. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000027\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government will safeguard entitlements to income support. Low income and older New Zealanders need security when times are uncertain. That\u2019s why this Budget maintains New Zealand Superannuation, benefits, student support, and Working for Families. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000028\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government will increase funding for public services. Core Crown expenditure, excluding finance costs, in the year to June 2010, is projected to rise by $3.0 billion compared with the previous year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000029\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWithin this increased funding, less effective spending is redirected to higher priority areas. This Budget sets out the first steps in the Government\u2019s drive to deliver better, smarter public services. It will be an ongoing task as long as public needs grow and budget deficits persist. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000030\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThis Budget restricts the increase in public debt to manageable levels. Treasury\u2019s December forecasts showed a dramatic and indefinite rise in debt levels. This is unacceptable to this Government because we do not want to saddle future generations with the cost of short term policies. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000031\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EAnd the Budget outlines the first steps on the long road to raising productivity, lifting economic performance and closing the income gap with Australia. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000032\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThis Budget addresses the major economic issues facing New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000033\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWorld growth is at its weakest in three generations. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000034\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003ECountries buying our products are in recession. The euro area countries, the United States and the United Kingdom economies are all forecast to shrink by around 3 per cent or more during 2009. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000035\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe situation in Asia is even more severe. The major Asian economies, China excepted, are expected to contract by more than 5 per cent this year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000036\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EAustralia\u2019s economy is faring relatively better. Even so, our largest market will also contract this year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000037\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EOverall, the OECD forecasts that GDP in its member countries will drop by 4.3 per cent in 2009. This is the largest, most synchronised decline since the Second World War. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000038\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThese events have highlighted longer-term weaknesses in our own economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000039\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EBy the time of the election, New Zealand had been in recession for almost a year. It is likely that the economy is now experiencing its sixth successive quarter of contraction. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000040\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EImbalances in our economy have been laid bare by the global recession. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000041\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe first imbalance is in the government\u2019s books. What appeared to be permanent surpluses have rapidly swung to large deficits. The first signs of deficit emerged in the 2008 Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update. Now, 15 years of surpluses may be followed by a decade of deficits. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000042\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EIn addition, New Zealand continues to spend more than it earns and finance the difference by excessive borrowing. Household debt has increased 51 per cent since 2004. The cost to households of servicing this debt had almost doubled prior to the recent drop in interest rates. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThese trends are apparent in the nation\u2019s current account deficit. This has persisted at or near record levels of around 8 to 9 per cent of GDP over the past three years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000044\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003ENew Zealand\u2019s accumulated net debt to foreigners rose from $93 billion in 2000 to $168 billion today. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000045\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EFurther, New Zealand\u2019s productivity performance has been poor over the past decade. Ultimately, better productivity growth is the only way to create jobs and sustain high living standards. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000046\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe common elements to each of these imbalances are excessive growth of the domestic and consumption sectors of the economy. Meanwhile there has been insufficient growth and investment in those parts of the economy that either export or compete with foreign producers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000047\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EBetween 2004 and 2008, import volumes grew at around three times the rate of export volumes. Indeed export volumes have on average grown by less than 2 per cent annually over the past five years. It has been hard being an exporter in recent times. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000048\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe economic slowdown that started in early 2008 was the product of a decade when we spent more and borrowed more while we saved less. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000049\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EAn adjustment in the right direction is already underway. The New Zealand dollar has fallen by around 25 per cent. Household borrowing has slowed and the saving rate has increased. House prices have eased and consumption has slowed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000050\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe depth of the global recession means we will have to adjust faster to less borrowing and more productive investment. The adjustment will be harsher if it is forced on us by lenders reluctant to pay our bills. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000051\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003ESo the global recession has lent more urgency to a programme to lift productivity, build business confidence and investment and create jobs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000052\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government\u2019s stimulus measures will in the short term cushion the community against greater job losses and sharper declines in consumption. But in the long term New Zealand must balance its economy in favour of more investment and jobs in internationally competitive industries. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000053\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThat is the only way we will create new, sustainable and worthwhile jobs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000054\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EIn this Budget we will continue to support public services and help New Zealanders through the downturn. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000055\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe will initiate a programme to lift productivity, improve competitiveness and sharpen New Zealand\u2019s future economic performance. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000056\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe will consolidate the Government\u2019s fiscal position, keep debt under control and ensure that Crown finances are properly managed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000057\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government has been active in softening the sharp edges of this recession. The package of initiatives has been likened to a \u201Crolling maul\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000058\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government now guarantees deposits in New Zealand banks, and many building societies, credit unions and finance companies. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe have introduced temporary additional support through our ReStart Package for those worst hit by redundancy. ReStart is already helping around 1,400 families. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000060\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe have launched our Small Business Relief Package, which makes it simpler and less expensive for small businesses to manage cash flows and pay taxes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000061\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe are fast-tracking close to $500 million of infrastructure investment in school improvements, state housing upgrades, and roading projects. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000062\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe are developing the best ideas from the Prime Minister\u2019s Job Summit. These include the \u201Cnine-day working fortnight\u201D, increasing education options for young people, and the national cycleway. The Job Support scheme is already helping workers keep their jobs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000063\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EAbove all, we have maintained financial stability through turbulent times. This is the single most important thing that government can do to maintain existing jobs and to create new ones. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000064\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThis Government came into office with a plan to lift New Zealand\u2019s economic performance. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000065\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EOur productivity initiatives fall into three broad areas: improving the business environment and removing roadblocks to growth; investment in productive infrastructure; and improving the way government works. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000066\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe business environment will be improved by a thorough review of government regulation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000067\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe have started by streamlining and simplifying the Resource Management Act. We will also reform the Building Act. We will change the Overseas Investment Act and review telecommunications regulation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000068\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EA review of the electricity industry will begin reporting back next month. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000069\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe are reviewing a range of environmental legislation, including all aspects of water management. In each case, we will redesign the legislation to allow quick and efficient decisions for productive investment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000070\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe process of creating regulation will be considered by the Regulatory Responsibility Taskforce overseen by Hon Rodney Hide, as Minister for Regulatory Reform. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000071\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government will pick up the pace of infrastructure investment in order to clear the bottlenecks that hold back a growing economy. The next three years will see extensive investment in transport, housing and electricity transmission and generation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000072\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe have created the National Infrastructure Unit to provide a coherent framework for investment. This will be supported by an advisory board with strong private and public sector experience. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000073\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EBy the end of this year, we will have delivered the first national infrastructure plan. This will provide industry with some certainty about the future and assist government to prioritise its investment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000074\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe have also set out to lift public sector productivity. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000075\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe government conducts around a quarter of all economic activity. Public services must play their part in lifting national productivity by using taxpayers\u2019 money more effectively. Increased funding in this Budget allows public services time to plan for better performance over the next five years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000076\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EI move on to our plan to balance the Government\u2019s books. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000077\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EShortly after taking office, this Government received an updated set of fiscal projections showing ongoing operating deficits and sharply rising debt levels. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000078\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EAs we indicated last December, it is appropriate that the Government bears its share of the downturn through its own finances. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000079\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EHowever, it is clear that future deficits are far from temporary. The reason for this, alongside the recent downturn, is the fact that in recent years spending increases have got a long way out of line with growth in the economy and with growth in tax revenue. The fall in revenue caused by the global recession has made this trend obvious. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000080\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EIn the five years to June 2009, core Crown expenditure will have increased by 49 per cent. By contrast, the nominal economy has grown only 25 per cent and tax revenue by 25 per cent over the same period. No government, business or household can survive for long with expenditure growing at twice the rate of income. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000081\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe result is that public debt is rising rapidly. The current projections show debt would have reached 48 per cent of GDP by 2013 and 70 per cent by 2023, without any commensurate increase in Crown assets. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000082\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThat level of debt would be more than all the debt raised by government since the Second World War. It equates to just over $45,000 for every New Zealander. Put another way, it would represent $180,000 of government debt for every family of four \u2013 equivalent to a second mortgage on their home. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000083\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EProjected finance costs would, in time, have reached levels similar to spending on District Health Boards or on all sectors of education combined. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EAllowing debt to accumulate rapidly is the surest way to put those services in jeopardy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000085\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003ENew Zealanders know from recent experience the costs of paying for high debt and how difficult it is to bring it down to acceptable levels. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000086\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EPublic debt peaked in 1987 at 76 per cent of GDP. At that point, finance costs consumed some 20 per cent of all government spending. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EIt required a monumental effort to reduce debt to today\u2019s level. This required many measures government might have preferred to avoid, including often harsh spending restraint. Government finances also benefited from two decades of mostly favourable world growth. Even then, the debt reduction took 20 years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EQuite possibly, if New Zealand\u2019s debt was to rise again to 1980s proportions it would never be restored back to today\u2019s levels. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000089\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EClearly, we cannot allow debt to accumulate on this scale. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000090\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThis Budget will begin to restore the Crown balance sheet to its previous health. A relatively strong balance sheet has helped the economy ride out this shock. It has also allowed the Government to extend loan guarantees and to make considered and quality spending decisions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000091\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EAs the recession ends, the Government\u2019s priority will be to rebuild its finances so another generation can cope with future recessions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000092\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThis Budget starts the process of changing Government spending priorities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000093\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe first step was to carefully scrutinise existing spending. This involved considerable input from both my Cabinet colleagues and public sector chief executives. I commend both groups for their enthusiasm and integrity they have brought to this process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000094\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EBudget 2009 includes net new operating spending of $1.45 billion a year, which has been allocated first and foremost to meet the new Government\u2019s priorities. We have also allocated funding to meet emergency pressures. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000095\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe new $1.45 billion annual spending allowance is considerably less than in recent years. New spending in the past five years has averaged around $2.8 billion a year. It would have been imprudent to continue new spending at that rate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000096\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EIn addition, initial reviews of departmental spending have freed up considerable extra funding by reducing low priority spending. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000097\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThese reviews have saved about $500 million annually over the next four years, which have been used for higher priority activities. Many of the initiatives included in Budget 2009 would not have been possible without this reallocation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000098\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EIn December, the Government announced it would increase its allowance for new capital spending to $1.45 billion a year for the next four years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThis higher capital allowance will be targeted mainly at infrastructure spending. This is consistent with this Government\u2019s intention to build a more productive, higher-income economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000100\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government remains strongly committed to the public health system. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000101\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Budget provides for $750 million a year in new capital and operating spending within the health sector, or $3 billion from 2008/09 to 2012/13. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000102\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EJust over $2.1 billion extra over the next four years will go directly to District Health Boards for services to their local communities. This includes $139 million for subsidised medicines, $46 million to devolve some hospital services to primary care and $90 million to improve age care facilities and respite care for those being cared for at home. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000103\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Budget also provides $70 million for up to 800 additional health professionals to increase services for New Zealanders needing elective surgery. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000104\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe will create 60 new medical training places and 50 extra places for general practitioner training, at a combined cost of $43 million. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000105\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Budget provides an extra $103 million to meet increased maternity service needs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000106\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EElsewhere in health, we have allocated $245 million for capital infrastructure. This will be allocated across hospital developments, including the Government\u2019s plan to increase elective operating theatre capacity. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000107\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EEducation is also a priority. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000108\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EOver the current year and the following four years, the Budget includes more than $1.34 billion in new operating spending and $340 million in new capital spending to deliver on the Government\u2019s election commitments. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000109\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003ESchools funding will continue to increase to pay for increased teacher numbers and salaries, as well as providing for a larger operating grant. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000110\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe $523 million boost for the 21st century school building programme in this Budget will build new schools, modernise existing schools and expand capacity. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000111\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EA further $36 million has been provided to support improvements in numeracy and literacy standards and $51 million has been allocated so more students can access support from the Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Schemes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000112\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EEarly childhood education will receive nearly $70 million more over the next four years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000113\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EFrom July 2010, five year olds and children attending playcentres and k\u014Dhanga reo will be eligible for 20 hours per week of early childhood education. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000114\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EIn the year ahead the Government will begin to implement the Youth Guarantee with a particular focus on the fast growing numbers of young unemployed. Our education and welfare systems need to be adapted to ensure the next generation of workers lift their skill levels and stay connected to the world of work. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000115\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Budget includes funding for a significant initiative to upgrade home insulation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000116\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EMore than 180,000 homes built before 2000 will have access to grants for insulation and clean heating over the next four years. Most households will be eligible for grants of up to $1,800 and those with Community Cards will be eligible for additional funding. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000117\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E$323 million is set aside for this, including $244 million of new spending. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000118\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EIn addition, the stimulus to the building industry will provide green jobs to help cushion the effects of the recession. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000119\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EI particularly thank the Green Party for its role in developing this project as part of its Memorandum of Understanding with the National Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000120\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EBudget 2009 boosts M\u0101ori Affairs funding to support families vulnerable during the recession. Wh\u0101nau Social Assistance Services will receive $32 million and The M\u0101ori Economic Taskforce $10 million. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000121\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government is grateful to Hon Dr Pita Sharples and Hon Tariana Turia \u2013 and indeed to the broader M\u0101ori Party, for their contributions to these initiatives. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000122\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EScience and technology play important roles in the Government\u2019s vision of a better New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000123\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Budget includes new initiatives of $321 million for research, science and technology. This includes increased funding to the CRI Capability Fund, the Marsden Fund, Health Research and the introduction of $1 million for Prime Minister\u2019s Prizes for Science. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000124\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThis includes $190 million over the next four years for a new Primary Growth Partnership. When fully operating in 2012/13, the partnership will see the Government investing $70 million a year in primary sector innovation. It will be matched dollar for dollar by industry. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000125\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003ELaw and order is also a priority for this Government. In a number of areas, the need for extra resourcing was becoming urgent. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Budget provides more than $900 million in operating and capital funding over the next four years for initiatives across the justice sector. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000127\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EPolice will receive $183 million to provide 600 more Police by 2011. Half of them will be in Counties-Manukau, with the others spread across the rest of New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Budget also funds tougher anti-money laundering measures, so that New Zealand will meet its international commitments. Some funding will address more local problems, notably profits from cannabis and methamphetamine sales. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000129\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe need to address many downstream pressures within the Justice and Corrections systems. Community Probation and Psychological services will receive an additional $256 million to manage the increased number of offenders serving community sentences and improve the quality of parole and home detention management. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe also know that our prisons are under pressure. The Budget provides $3 million in 2008/09 and $385 million over the next four years for increased prison capacity and planning for further potential expansion. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000131\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThis Budget significantly increases operating funding and capital investment for public services, fulfilling National\u2019s election commitments and meeting the costs of growing demand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000132\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EHowever, the public sector must consider how it will adapt to tighter budgets and smaller or no increases in the future. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000133\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EPublic sector chief executives are already identifying how to deliver services more efficiently. Considered decisions now will avoid harsher decisions later. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000134\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EI have already referred to the task of providing New Zealand with the infrastructure needed for world class performance. This Budget contains funding to back our infrastructure plans. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000135\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government is increasing investment in the state highway network by about $1 billion over the next three years, through changes in the National Land Transport Fund. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000136\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThis is on top of the Crown investment in transport infrastructure of $142 million announced as part of the February fiscal stimulus package. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe have continued to invest in rail. Budget 2009 includes $115 million to fund Kiwirail\u2019s purchase of 20 new locomotives and to provide it with access to working capital. In Budget 2009 we are announcing an additional $90 million of operating support for KiwiRail. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000138\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government\u2019s plan to provide ultra-fast broadband to most New Zealanders is underway. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000139\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThis Budget provides an initial $290 million of funding for this project \u2013 including a $200 million capital allowance, $48 million for investment in rural broadband infrastructure and $34 million to make schools broadband-ready. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000140\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe measures I have outlined will form key elements of our strategy to ensure that New Zealand emerges from the downturn stronger than it entered it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government is determined that future taxpayers will not be burdened with higher debt which is unmatched by increases in productive assets. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000142\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003ETo achieve this, the Government has made some difficult decisions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000143\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThere will be ongoing restraint on future spending increases. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000144\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe new spending allowance in future Budgets will be reduced to $1.1 billion in Budget 2010. The new spending allowances will then be adjusted to grow at 2 per cent per year in future Budgets. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000145\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThis represents an appropriate balance between maintaining public services on the one hand and limiting debt on the other. We will continue scrutinising and reprioritising resources. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000146\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government believes that equal or better public services can be delivered from existing budgets with better management. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000147\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EFuture spending restraint will help keep debt manageable and contribute to renewed profitability of New Zealand\u2019s exporters. However, it is not enough. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000148\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government\u2019s commitment to maintaining New Zealand Superannuation entitlements is absolute. Entitlements will remain 66 per cent of the average wage after tax, paid from age 65. As with all public services and entitlements, sound public finances are the best, indeed the only way of ensuring future delivery. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government has reviewed all its substantial cash commitments and decided to suspend automatic contributions to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000150\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWhen it was set up, the idea of the Super Fund was to invest Budget surpluses. The Government was then in surplus and expected to remain so for the foreseeable future. Those Budget surpluses have disappeared. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000151\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EHad contributions continued at the previous rate, the Government would have had to borrow an additional $1.5 billion a year, rising to over $2 billion a year during the next decade. It makes little economic sense to burden future generations with debt incurred financing investments that were intended to reduce their need to borrow. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000152\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe will resume contributions when the operating balance is sufficient in terms of cash flow to meet contributions and other capital spending. On current projections this will be from 2020/21, and will continue for a decade until withdrawals from the Fund begin in around 2031. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000153\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government will make a contribution to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund of $250 million in 2009/10. This will assist the fund to find suitable investment opportunities in New Zealand, and will continue to support local capital markets during the downturn. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000154\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Guardians will actively consider New Zealand-based investments as part of their role of managing the Fund prudently and commercially. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000155\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EFuture contributions to the Fund will be considered annually. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000156\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government has also examined its revenue strategy. This Government believes in reducing tax rates. High marginal tax rates are a cost to the economy. They reduce incentives to work, to save, to invest and to take risk. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000157\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EHowever, the Government\u2019s revenue strategy must be re-evaluated in light of the contracting economy and growing debt we have inherited. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000158\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EAs a result, the Government has decided to defer the second and third tranches of the planned tax cuts in 2010 and 2011 until economic conditions improve. Taxes were reduced on 1 October 2008 and this Government has enacted tax cuts from 1 April this year. Those tax cuts will be maintained. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000159\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government will thus have delivered tax cuts worth over $1 billion to more than 1.5 million New Zealanders since being elected. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000160\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EA person on the average wage has in the past eight months benefited from tax cuts worth more than $30 a week. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000161\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe measures outlined this afternoon, the expenditure restraint shown by this Government, deferment of the tax cuts and deferment of Super Fund contributions, will keep the increase in public debt within acceptable levels. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000162\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe economic projections show that the economy will trough this year. In the current year to March 2010 output is expected to shrink by 1.7 per cent. As growth resumes the economy is expected to expand by 1.8 per cent, 2.9 per cent and 4 per cent respectively in the three years to March 2013. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000163\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWhile the economy picks up in the next few years, Budget deficits persist for the next nine years. The projected deficit in the year to June 2010 is $7.739 billion, or 4.4 per cent of GDP. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000164\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EGovernment net debt will peak at around 36 per cent of GDP by 2016/17. The debt to GDP ratio will steadily decline over subsequent years. Finance costs are not projected to exceed 3 per cent of GDP at any point. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000165\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EAs I discussed earlier, this compares with the pre-Budget outlook that would have seen debt continuously rising, accompanied by a rising financing cost. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000166\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003ENo increase in public debt is entirely satisfactory. In this case the world has moved very quickly from the best of times to the worst of times. It is appropriate that public finances be smoothed through these long-term cycles. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000167\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003ETo put the deterioration in perspective, at their peak projected debt levels will be comparable to those of the mid to late 1990s. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000168\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThis Budget will ensure New Zealand retains one of the lowest debt levels, and one of the strongest balance sheets, in the OECD. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThis is the first Budget on the road to recovery. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000170\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Prime Minister has made clear this Government\u2019s aspirations for an economy that values enterprise, rewards people for effort and encourages them to get ahead. Sustained growth and new jobs are about more than just Budgets. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000171\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003ESustained growth is about providing opportunities for New Zealanders to achieve their aspirations. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000172\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EIn the months to come, New Zealanders will be asked to make changes because the world has changed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000173\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWhile these changes will be challenging the Government is confident about New Zealand\u2019s prospects. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000174\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EOur confidence in recovery is confidence in the resilience of New Zealanders \u2013 in our collective ability to make practical changes that solve the problems we face, to channel our resources and our brainpower to where they are productive and create new jobs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000175\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EBudget 2009 marks a turning point for New Zealand. Ten years of economic growth and expansive appetites for debt and Government spending have ended. Today we have outlined the challenge to rebalance the economy from debt and consumption to investment and exports. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000176\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Budget will improve New Zealand\u2019s international competitiveness. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000177\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EIt will get our debt under control and turning down. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000178\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EIt starts to create a government sector that provides better services and delivers better value for taxpayers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000179\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EIt will help create new and sustainable jobs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000180\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EIt will begin to build a platform for a much more ambitious New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000181\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EMr Speaker, I commend this Budget to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022 data-id=\u002278abd59fa221407c8542be3570140b3e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000182\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002278abd59fa221407c8542be3570140b3e\u0022\u003EHon PHIL GOFF (Leader of the Opposition):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the words after \u201Cthat\u201D be omitted and the following substituted: \u201Cthis House have no confidence in the National Government led by John Key, because the 2009 Budget fails to provide an effective plan to address the growing number of jobs lost and the increasing numbers of New Zealanders worried about losing their livelihoods and their homes, fails to build a foundation on which New Zealand can emerge from the recession in a stronger position to take advantage of an economic upturn, and fails to deliver on the promises and personal guarantees made by John Key in the election campaign just 6 months ago.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000183\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThis is a dishonest Budget. It says one thing and it does just the opposite. In a nutshell, this is a Budget that is full of rhetoric but empty of substance and empty of any vision. The tax cuts personally guaranteed by John Key dishonestly to win an election are gone, but this Budget cannot even be honest in the words that it uses. It says \u201Cdefers\u201D. Bill English told the lock-up that the tax cuts were gone; they were gone for ever.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000184\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EBut the biggest dishonesty is to talk about entitlements for superannuation being guaranteed at the very time that the Budget guts the funding of superannuation, not for the 2 years that people might have been expecting but for more than a decade. That means that the Government will not face up to its responsibility for the future. It means that the baby-boomers over there are bound to be bludging off generations X and Y, because by the time that generations X and Y come to retire, there will be no funding to guarantee entitlements. The biggest lie of this Budget is that guarantees are made around entitlements. Without funding of superannuation, when one in five New Zealanders retires in the next two decades there will be no superannuation. This Government has unilaterally broken the political consensus on superannuation, and it has taken away the certainty that New Zealanders rely on for their entitlement. That, more than anything, will be the legacy of Bill English when this Budget is remembered in years to come.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000185\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003ETalk about dishonesty! The Budget talks about closing the income gap with Australia. At the same time, the Budget is entirely premised on New Zealanders having no increase in their real wages for 5 years\u2014no increase in real wages for 5 years. Yet the Minister of Finance comes into this House and says the Government is going to close the income gap with Australia.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000186\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThen the Budget dishonestly talks about productivity. What do we know about the keys to productivity? One of the keys to productivity is research and development. What does this Budget do? It reduces Labour\u2019s funding for research and development, through Fast Forward, by 75 percent. It reduces the funding for productivity, through research and development, by 75 percent.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000187\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EIt is a Budget that is designed to help those unfortunate enough to lose their jobs\u2014that is the biggest lie. What do we find that this Budget actually does in practice? It takes $5 million out of the employment assistance designed to assist people who have lost their jobs to move on to another job. That is what it does, in practical terms. Does it do anything for skill training? Not a thing! Does it do anything to keep young men and women in their apprenticeships? Not at all! At a time when 2,800 young apprentices in the building industry have lost their jobs and their ability to complete their skill training, this Budget does nothing to help those people, or the hundreds of other young people who will lose their jobs, lose their opportunity to acquire skills, and lose their hope. This Budget has the rhetoric; it has none of the substance.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000188\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003ELet us come back to what this Budget should have been about. It should have been a Budget for jobs; it is not. It is not a Budget for jobs. John Key said yesterday that his Government\u2019s primary focus in the Budget was to avoid a ratings downgrade, and within 5 minutes his loyal deputy and finance Minister had contradicted him\u2014for the fourth time in the last 6 months\u2014but in this case John Key was telling the truth. This Budget is designed to placate and grovel to Standard and Poor\u2019s. This Budget was given, in an unprecedented way, to a group of overseas people\u2014foreigners\u2014who work for Standard and Poor\u2019s, 3 or 4 days before any New Zealander got to know what was in it. I say to Mr English and Mr Key that the ratings agencies are not part of the solution to the problems the world is facing; they are part of the problem. Standard and Poor\u2019s and other rating agencies gave Enron a triple A rating right up to the weeks before it collapsed\u2014a triple A rating. Standard and Poor\u2019s and other agencies gave a triple A rating to the subprime mortgage agencies right up to the point that they collapsed, taking with them the American financial system. And John Key came into the House smugly yesterday and said that Standard and Poor\u2019s think we are doing a fine job. Well, I am glad that Mr Key takes satisfaction from that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000189\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EOrdinary New Zealanders have had a real gutsful of the fact that while the fat cats, the financial institutions, and others whose poor judgment and greed are responsible for the economic crisis we are facing emerge from this crisis with their personal assets intact and their bonuses increased, ordinary New Zealanders are paying the price through the loss of their jobs and the loss of their savings. Mr Key knows that; he knows that it is New Zealanders who are paying the price for this recession, and this Budget does nothing to help those who are its primary victims.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000190\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EOf course debt has to be taken seriously. Of course we have to make sure that in the longer term New Zealand lives within its means. But that does not mean that the best way of achieving that outcome is the slash-and-burn policies of this Government, which will literally throw tens of thousands of New Zealanders on the scrap heap of unemployment. Am I exaggerating about tens of thousands? Am I exaggerating? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000191\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022de0e834cf9cf4906bec79c1783ab714e\u0022\u003EHon David Carter\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, yes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a7d1d73635d443bcbb7d987483bb70a8\u0022\u003EHon PHIL GOFF\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Carter is so out of touch that he does not believe that figure, so let me tell him that for the first 3 months of this year the household labour force survey reported the loss of 24,000 jobs\u201424,000 jobs, which was 8,000 a month, 2,000 a week, and 300 a day. What is it about those statistics that Mr Carter and his colleagues do not understand?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EYesterday in the House I raised the point that in the last week the number of New Zealanders forced on to the dole had increased by more than 1,250. Just last week 1,250 extra New Zealanders were thrown on to reliance on the unemployment benefit. The National Government and Ms Bennett have suppressed that figure. Ms Bennett can tell the House whether that figure is true. In fact, the figure is higher than 1,250. That is the biggest increase in the number of people going on to the dole in any week since the 1990s, when a National Government last oversaw a recession in this country. It is the biggest increase.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000194\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EMs Bennett can tell the House the other statistic that she will be aware of: that most of those New Zealanders going on to the dole have never been unemployed before\u2014never been unemployed before. The document is sitting on the desk of every Government member; those members should have a look at it, because it shows that by the end of next month the number of people on the unemployment benefit in New Zealand will have doubled since National took office\u2014doubled since National took office. How does it help to maintain our credit ratings and to make sure our debt levels come down, when tens of thousands more New Zealanders are being thrown out of productive work and on to reliance on the unemployment benefit? They are unable to pay tax; breadwinners are unable to support their families; young people have no hope; and people in the M\u0101ori and Pasifika communities, as always, are bearing the brunt of that unemployment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000195\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThe focus of this Budget should have been on jobs: on ensuring growth and ensuring we can get our exports up, and on ensuring that people are kept in productive work. That has not happened. This Budget is bereft of imagination, of vision, and of any practical way to help people into jobs. I heard the rhetoric at the Job Summit. I heard the rhetoric about the 9-day working fortnight. Yes, 143 jobs have been saved over the last 4 months\u2014143! That is just over 10 percent of the number of people who went on the dole last week, and last week alone. So Mr English should not come into this House pretending that this is a Budget that worries about the battlers in New Zealand, that worries about the people thrown out of their jobs, and that worries about the people who have lost their lifetime savings because of the corruption of people in the financial sector\u2014which this Budget also does nothing to address.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000196\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThere were measures to get New Zealand\u2019s economy back on track. There was KiwiSaver, because we knew we needed to save more. What did this Government do? It gutted KiwiSaver; it took $3.5 billion out of KiwiSaver. That money would have done more than anything else to ensure that New Zealand got on top of its current account deficit. National scrapped the New Zealand Skills Strategy, it gutted the New Zealand Fast Forward Fund, and it removed the tax credits for research and development. Then Mr English comes into the House pretending that he is going to do something about the New Zealand economy. This Budget is a \u201CStandard\u201D but \u201CPoor\u201D National Government Budget. That is what it is. The Government took its instructions from people who saw one dimension of the New Zealand economy. It has done nothing in this Budget to get our country back on its feet and to get our people back into employment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000197\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EI would like Mr Key, when he gets to his feet, to tell this country what the projections are for unemployment by the end of the year. Will it be up by 70,000 more? Is that the figure that has been given to him by Treasury? I think it is. Will he get up and admit that, or will he sit in his seat smirking? This Budget will not stem the dramatic increase in joblessness that is occurring. This is a Budget of missed opportunities. This is a Budget of broken promises\u2014broken promises about tax cuts. You know, the average New Zealander will not be too upset about the scrapping of those tax cuts, because most of the money would have gone to those on higher incomes. They will not be too upset about that, but they will be angry about the absolute dishonesty and recklessness of Mr Key in making that promise in order to buy votes during the election campaign when he knew that it could not be delivered upon. That is what New Zealanders will be angry about.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000198\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThey will be angry about the fact that the certainty around their superannuation has gone. They will be angry about that, because the people who are now going into retirement know that the younger people are not going to pay tax now for something that they will not get when they retire. The other big part of the dishonesty around superannuation is the claim that to invest in it would be to lose money. The New Zealand Superannuation Fund last month made $1.75 billion! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000199\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b6fca6151e7c4785aeb37837f9ff8deb\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: Oh no!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000200\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229937fe221043484db60ad911d9a3d502\u0022\u003EHon PHIL GOFF\u003C/span\u003E: It made $1.75 billion. There is nobody in this House who does not understand that the best time to invest funds is when the market is at, or close to, the bottom. By the National Government\u2019s theory, New Zealand homeowners should be selling their house now and buying it back when the prices have risen! That is National\u2019s philosophy. Kiwis know that it makes no financial sense, so why cannot the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance see that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000201\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThe other great broken promise was that jobs in the public sector would only be capped, not cut. Mr Key should explain that to the 1,470 hard-working, decent, ordinary New Zealanders who worked in the public sector that his Government has sacked. It does not stack up. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000202\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThis Government inherited an economy that was in good shape. It inherited an economy where the level of net debt was zero. Mr Speaker, you might think it appropriate that those members are barracking to the point where you probably cannot hear the matter I am about to raise with you. The truth is that in the good times a Labour Government paid off the debt so that New Zealand\u2019s net debt was zero. That gave the incoming National Government the flexibility with which it could have protected jobs. Instead of giving tax cuts to the top 3 percent, it could have given the money to the decent, ordinary working families earning less than $40,000 who got nothing. Had they got something, there would have been jobs for them in that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000203\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThe truth of the matter is that the priorities of this Government are absolutely skewed and are wrong. The truth of the matter is that this is not a Budget for Kiwi battlers; it simply makes their struggle harder. This is not a Budget for employment; the National Government has clearly given up on employment. This is a Budget of missed opportunities. This is a Budget of broken promises, and no more so than in the area of superannuation. This Government will be remembered for having gutted a superannuation scheme that gave certainty to New Zealanders, equity to New Zealanders in retirement, and equity between generations. This Government, because it knows that it will not be there to be held accountable for its actions at a later date, has absolutely gutted the prospect of superannuation being maintained into the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000204\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EI want to finish by talking about my personal experiences last week when visiting a number of places in South Auckland to talk about how the recession was affecting people. I talked to the Salvation Army, to citizens advice bureaux, and to budget advisory services. The social cost that they reported to me from people suffering job losses was tragic. The demand for Salvation Army food parcels had risen by 44 percent in the last few months; for the Auckland City Mission, it had risen by 60 percent. The Auckland City Missioner said to Annette King and me that she had advertised a job for a cleaner; within 24 hours she had had 200 applications. This Budget does nothing to address the key issue worrying New Zealanders today.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022 data-id=\u002291ee87c793834fa3b314008fee26eb47\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002291ee87c793834fa3b314008fee26eb47\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Before I call the honourable Prime Minister, I remind members that this is a very robust debate, and that is healthy, but I urge members not to accuse members across the House of having done something, because that leads to disorder. I remind members of that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022 data-id=\u0022b7448b20ce5d49d4934925b6907dc9c7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000206\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b7448b20ce5d49d4934925b6907dc9c7\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E All I can say is that if Phil Goff thinks that this Government inherited an economy that was in good shape, he must have been asleep when the Labour members were reading the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update. You see, the truth is we inherited an economy that was in about as good a shape as the previous Labour Government was. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000207\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EIt is hard to say I learnt anything from Phil Goff\u2019s speech, but if I learnt one thing, it was this: the Labour Party knows how to do only one thing, and that is to spend money. That is all it knows how to do. You see\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000208\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002277ec6495-df45-43ac-aaa1-a03b5dd4c128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022308c836d713547c9ba41a41a97203e10\u0022\u003EJohn Boscawen\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am sorry to interrupt the Prime Minister, but I would like to hear the Prime Minister. At this end of the House we cannot hear the Prime Minister, and I think we are entitled to be able to hear what he is saying.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000209\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022537ad582bf344a488cfbea0c05377965\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Speaking to the point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000210\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f2fc2bf274d8410a97c57c61ec2dd04b\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, I do not need any assistance. There will be silence while I am on my feet. The honourable member may be concerned about the robustness of the interaction, but he will remember that while the Leader of the Opposition was speaking there was very robust interjection from the Government benches. I think members have to appreciate that this debate is robust, because it is about the very heart of Government. Where provocative statements are made, there will be reaction to them. If members want there to be silence, they should not make provocative statements. I ask members to please keep the noise at a reasonable level, but, in fairness, there was plenty of robust interjection during the speech made by the Leader of the Opposition.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000211\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002232337eaf0a4044d3816c9383cbdf89ab\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: What we learnt from the Labour Party is that it wants to spend more money. It is a credit card Opposition; that is what Labour is. Phil Goff has got a plan; it is called \u201CVisa-nomics\u201D\u2014that is what Phil\u2019s plan is. He does not want to defer tax cuts, and he does not want to chop any expense; he just wants to spend more money. Out there in New Zealand, after listening to Phil Goff, people are saying he is \u201CWhack-it-on-the-bill-Phil\u201D. That is what the theory is. The tragedy is that that is not going to cut it. You see, whether or not Mr Goff wants to accept the fact, the National Government has inherited the worst economic conditions since 1930. That is the truth of it. Our trading partners\u2019 income is collapsing, unemployment is soaring around the world, our economy will earn $50 billion less in the next 3 years, the tax we are able to get will be a whole lot less, and the Government needs to do something about it. Labour may be a credit card Opposition, it may want to try to spend our way out of it, and it may believe that \u201CVisa-nomics\u201D is the way to do it, but unfortunately it will not cut it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000212\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EThe best point in Phil Goff\u2019s speech was when he said we should not worry about the rating agencies. That is why Labour got voted out. When the rating agency said in the newspapers on Tuesday that a National Government knows how to manage the economy, it was saying by default that it knows that a Labour Government does not know how to manage the economy. And that is what Phil Goff proved. He said to hell with the rating agencies. Well, this is what that means. The Irish who go off to the pub to have a nice Guinness are paying 1.5 percent to 2 percent more in their interest rates. That is the economic prescription of a Labour Government\u20141.5 percent to 2 percent more in interest rates. Treasury has done some work on that. A ratings downgrade would mean New Zealanders paying $600 million more a year in interest rates. Well, I say thank goodness we have Bill English, who knows how to get us through this. \u201CWhack-it-on-the-bill-Phil\u201D would have seen New Zealand running up a quarter of a trillion dollars\u2019 worth of debt by 2023. The servicing cost of that debt would have been $13.8 billion more than the entire health spend today. That would have been the strategy under Labour. New Zealanders tonight will look at this National Government and say that it is a Government that has the right priorities.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000213\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EI want to make one final point in relation to Phil Goff\u2019s speech. It was not one of his best speeches, but I will let him off. One thing that I will say is that Michael Cullen understood the economics of superannuation. We saw from Phil Goff the worst sort of opposition. It was scaremongering opposition. Labour members know, like we know, that there will be no change to the age of eligibility for superannuation, and no change to the superannuation floor of 66 percent of the average wage\u2014not under a National Government, anyway. You see, pre-funding of the superannuation scheme already had a formula built into it that allowed the Government to defer those payments if it wanted. Does it make sense to borrow billions of dollars on the credit card to save for tomorrow? I do not think so. \u201CWhack-it-on-the-bill-Phil\u201D might think that that is the way to go, but on this side of the House we do not think so.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000214\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EThere is no getting away from the fact that these are difficult conditions for the Government, but we had three objectives for the Budget, and I believe we have met all three of them. The first of those objectives was to get through the recession and to take the rough edges off the recession. Let us talk about the entitlements that we are borrowing to preserve. No student in New Zealand tonight has to worry: the interest on his or her loan is zero percent. No family in New Zealand that is getting Working for Families has to worry: its entitlements are fully preserved. No one in New Zealand who relies on superannuation, relies on the unemployment benefit, or relies on the widows pension has to worry: those entitlements are preserved. Let us understand that for a second. We are in the worst economic conditions since 1930 and Bill English has preserved every entitlement for every New Zealander. I say that we are lucky to have Bill English; that is what I say.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000215\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003ELet us turn to the issue of jobs. Phil Goff said that no jobs were created. What about the 600 police we are adding? What about the 800 professionals in the health system? What about the hundreds and hundreds of people we are hiring around the economy on the back of this Budget?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000216\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EThis Government knew absolutely the areas that were critical, so let us turn to a couple of those. Let us start with the health system. We are in the worst economic conditions since 1930, yet this Government is putting $3 billion into health over the next 4 years. When the previous Government had all the money in the world, all it did\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000217\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022116b2cb1a17840e2b96ee38b4d635c0b\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: Big clap for no change!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000218\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222e0648b6b0724fd3804ee3e793154454\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Well, David, you happened to be the Minister of Health, and under your watch all you did\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000219\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022028c5ee0622e49eb87a734aa477d0ccd\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000220\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223d8aca8f236d40a1b6903734b924a1e2\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: All Mr Cunliffe did when he was the Minister of Health was to wander out to the airport and wave bye-bye to the nurses, the doctors, and the midwives. I will tell members what Tony Ryall has done. Tony Ryall has introduced voluntary bonding for nurses, doctors, and midwives, and they are signing on in their hundreds. Tony Ryall has had to deal with swine flu. Well, he has not made a pig\u2019s ear of it, which the previous Labour Government would have done. He has done something about it in the health system. While he is at it, he has put $103 million into maternity services\u2014$103 million. A National Government, in the worst economic conditions since 1930, rocks up with money so that there is more time for young mums to stay in hospital with their babies. Labour rocked up with a food voucher. For New Zealanders who want to have elective surgery, this Government has delivered 20 new elective surgery clinics under this Budget.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000221\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003ELet us talk for a moment about health and social outcomes. When I became Prime Minister 7 months ago, the first thing that the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet said when it wrote to my office was that if I wanted to make a difference to the social and health outcomes of New Zealanders, I should heat and insulate homes. That is what the department said\u2014that I should heat and insulate homes. The previous Labour Government waited 9 years, and did zero. It has happened in the first Budget under this National Government, thanks to the Greens. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000222\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EI thank Russel Norman and Jeanette Fitzsimons from the Green Party. They have worked very hard to get a very good plan: $323 million over 4 years, and 180,000 homes heated. They have delivered $1,800 to insulate and heat the home of any New Zealander who wants it whose house was built pre-2000, and nearly double that amount for low-income New Zealanders. That will make a difference to social and health outcomes. It is a great result for New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000223\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EThe Leader of the Opposition had the audacity to say that there was nothing in this Budget for M\u0101ori. Well, I want to thank the M\u0101ori Party for what it has done: standing up strongly and fighting for the rights of M\u0101ori New Zealanders\u2014for fighting hard.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000224\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022478826ba48574ba282401d84051a9f35\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: Where are the M\u0101ori seats in Auckland? What are you going to do in Auckland, Mr Key? Where\u2019s the koha for the brothers?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000225\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022714e934eb78943578a519a1e5b3b4467\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Well, that debate is not over. I tell Mr Cunliffe that we will sort out Auckland; that is another thing that Labour sat around for 9 years and did not resolve. Tens of millions of dollars are going into wh\u0101nau ora services for M\u0101ori, education for M\u0101ori New Zealanders, the extension of k\u014Dhanga reo, and early childhood education. The M\u0101ori Party has come into this House, joined in a partnership with National, and delivered for M\u0101ori New Zealanders. I thank and congratulate the M\u0101ori Party members on what they have done. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000226\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EOne of the big aims of this Budget was to grow productivity. What did we hear from the Minister of Finance? This Budget provides for $7.5 billion worth of additional capital in the next 4 years. That is $7.5 billion for building the productivity capacity of this economy. That is something that has been going backwards over the last 9 years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EWe saw $1 billion a year allocated to State highways. The debate over the Waterview extension has brought it all to a head, has it not? [Interruption] Mr Twyford does not care much, because he was drop kicked by his leader from having a chance in the Mt Albert electorate. The people of Mt Albert understand what I am talking about, because\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000228\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a8ff650459a64f8fa0aa9eadffaa7922\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: Melissa\u2019s back.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000229\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dcf880c9e92a4562a32bbd8bcef7d3e6\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I actually back my caucus, but that is a different story. [Interruption] Opposition members want to make a lot of noise, because they do not want anyone to hear this. If they were to quieten down for a second, we could run through it. If they want to debate the facts, I am more than happy to have that debate. Here are the facts\u2014no imagination. Labour allocated $650 million to State highways; we have allocated $1 billion. Labour had $650 million; we have $1 billion. We will build the Waterview extension\u201460 percent of it underground\u2014for $1.4 billion. Labour promised a mythical tunnel, which would have cost $3.2 billion\u20145 years\u2019 worth of everything it had available for State highways. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000230\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222335f3c94299412b98089e2eba5a9930\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: 10 years, no super!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000231\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228a6de143a9ed48fb9b93d6d28fdee56c\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Cunliffe does not understand economics, which is quite worrying for Labour, given that he is its finance spokesperson. The interesting thing is that if Labour is to be believed, it would have spent every State highway dollar for the next 5 years on the Waterview extension, and zero on every other State highway across New Zealand. There would have been no Transmission Gully road, but we do not hear anything from Darren Hughes now. There would have been nothing for the South Island, and nothing for anywhere else.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000232\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EI want to thank the members of the ACT Party for what they have done. I thank them for the great work they did in helping with the line by line reviews. This Government has saved $2 billion. That has allowed us to spend on other areas of greater importance and greater productivity to the economy. And those members have played an important role in the development of Auckland. I thank ACT for what it has done.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000233\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003ESafety and security has always been a priority for this Government. We have delivered 600 extra police, and 300 of them will go to South Auckland. I say well done to Judith Collins for getting those extra police officers, as well as 246 probation officers, 26 psychologists, and hundreds of millions of dollars for extra beds in prisons. That is a great result.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000234\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EI would be remiss if I did not mention the cycleway for a moment. So much joy for $50 million\u2014so much joy! The Minister of Finance tried to give me $100 million, but I said I must not be greedy and $50 million would be enough. We will build that cycleway across New Zealand, and it will provide great opportunities. Tourists will flock from overseas to enjoy it, New Zealanders will bike on it, and jobs will be created. It will make New Zealand a wonderful country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000235\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EThis Budget has been put together in difficult conditions. It has been put together against the backdrop of rising unemployment around the world. But when one looks at the Budget, one realises that in the worse scenario gross debt would top out at around 43 percent of GDP in about 2016 or 2017. We can compare that with the situation in the United Kingdom or in the United States, where debt will be 100 percent of GDP by 2012, or in Japan, where debt will be 220 percent of GDP. Unemployment in the United States is at 8.5 percent, and even in Australia it is at 5.7 percent. When one looks at all of those factors and considers\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000236\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cfefd2e335ca45e1b844f2acd1fd2ca7\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: What does your mate Jeremy Baker say?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000237\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b888f334adf14ed2a8afc8bf903cbd5c\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Gosh, it is duck-shooting season again, so someone should deal with that member; he is on the lake of despair and hope over there!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000238\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EWe are not in the easiest of conditions, but when I look at the billions of dollars going to health and education and to preserve entitlements, at the balancing of the Budget, and at the sending of a strong message that we are a Government that absolutely supports enterprise, ambition, and hope, all I can say is although New Zealanders will go to bed tonight knowing that the conditions are not easy, they will also be saying thank goodness for that little town of Dipton and the young man it produced all those 47 years ago, Bill English.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022 data-id=\u002288e3deb602624696acac20f015011270\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000239\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002288e3deb602624696acac20f015011270\u0022\u003EDr RUSSEL NORMAN (Co-Leader\u2014Green):\u003C/span\u003E The Green Party remains disappointed with the lack of vision in this Budget. It is a lack of vision for moving Aotearoa New Zealand towards sustainability with fairness. The Prime Minister likes to compare himself to US President Barack Obama, but this is not an Obama Budget; this is an \u201COh, bummer\u201D Budget. As so many other countries take seriously the need to grapple with our economic and environmental crises at the same time, this Budget will go down in history as not even standard and mostly just poor. This is, in fact, the \u201Cstandard is poor\u201D Budget. The Government got this Budget signed off by Standard and Poor\u2019s before it presented it to Parliament and the people of New Zealand. What have we come to when the Government of the day goes grovelling for approval to a failed international rating agency like Standard and Poor\u2019s before it comes to the people of New Zealand? Let us remember that Standard and Poor\u2019s is the agency that helped to cause the current global financial meltdown by giving triple A ratings to dodgy subprime mortgages. It gave Enron a triple A rating a few weeks before that corrupt corporation collapsed. It is shameful to watch the Minister of Finance grovel before the failed \u201Cstandard is poor\u201D rating agency. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000240\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EThe standard of this Budget is poor also because there is no real strategy to get us out of debt\u2014debt that means the Minister has to kowtow to an international rating agency. This Budget locks in our dependence on imported oil, which added nearly $8 billion to our overseas debt last year. This Budget does not do enough to invest in the innovation and research that would see us climbing out of debt. This Budget does nothing to protect New Zealand companies from foreign ownership that results in billions of dollars in dividends flowing to overseas owners every year; in fact, this Budget will make it worse by weakening the Overseas Investment Act. This Budget does nothing to change the tax incentives around investment properties. Those incentives encourage New Zealanders to borrow money from overseas to buy property for capital gains. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000241\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022874a8f7944884efcac9a63b3b55ec36c\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I apologise to the honourable member for interrupting his speech. Although I do not mind interjections that relate to a speech where provocative statements might be made, I object to the rudeness to this House of members standing up and conducting loud conversations all around the Chamber. If members want to have conversations that do not relate to the speech that is being made, they should go out into the lobbies to do so. It is most discourteous to the member who is speaking. I apologise to Dr Norman for interrupting his speech and for the noise being so loud when he was speaking.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000242\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e4c6b9379fe64bc5b344854021ccb377\u0022\u003EDr RUSSEL NORMAN\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Minister of Finance talked more about creating new prisons than he did about protecting our precious natural assets or lifting our children out of poverty. His focus is on reforming environmental law to make it easier for developers to further exploit our already overallocated natural resources. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EA Government\u2019s first Budget is a time to show the nation what its vision looks like in action. As New Zealand faces a recession, this Budget was an opportunity for the National Government to show the people of Aotearoa what values it stands for when times are tough. Do Government members stand up for those who are hit the hardest, insisting that we all tighten our belts a little to help our neighbours? Or will some continue to see the good times roll while others go hungry? Does the Government uphold every Kiwi kid\u2019s right to a fair go? Does it uphold every Kiwi\u2019s right to decent health care, a warm home, a good school, a clean river, and a safe climate? Or does it leave our most vulnerable citizens to slip through the ever-widening holes in what was once a cradle-to-grave safety net? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000244\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EThe benchmark for a Budget delivered in hard times is the first Budget of Michael Joseph Savage, who came into office when times were tougher for New Zealanders than they are now. Savage was elected in the middle of the Great Depression, when there was very high unemployment and great pressure on the Government\u2019s accounts. At its first meeting, his Cabinet agreed to pay a Christmas bonus to the unemployed, and a week later it approved 7 days\u2019 annual holiday for relief workers. The first Budget of the Savage Government raised allowances for the unemployed and increased the wages of young workers. It began the construction of State housing, regulated mortgages for farmers, and much more. In the middle of the Great Depression, Savage\u2019s Government put the people first. It was a Government that said that all New Zealanders are worthy of dignity and respect, and it put its money where its heart was. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000245\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EIn our current times an equivalent Budget to that of Savage\u2019s means rolling back the 1991 benefit cuts introduced by National and never overturned during 9 long years of a Labour Government. That is what a truly responsible Government would do. A caring Government certainly would not axe the pay and employment gender equity commitments to women working in the Public Service. In current times a Michael Joseph Savage Budget would extend the Working for Families tax credit to beneficiaries. Labour introduced Working for Families with the express purpose of discriminating against those who were out of work, something that many Kiwi families are just discovering as they lose their jobs and their Working for Families tax credits at the same time. Labour\u2019s scheme left the poorest families in our society the worst off, and a truly caring Government would overturn that discriminatory policy and give a break to those who are falling out of work in this recession. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000246\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EWill this Government show its heart and live up to the Savage standard? The times are different from Savage\u2019s era in at least one very important respect: our awareness of the ecological crisis we face. We have to deal with both the economic and the ecological crises at the same time. This year we in the Green Party put our heads together and devised our own green stimulus package. We figured out how many jobs we could create by growing parts of the economy that need to grow\u2014jobs doing desperately needed work. The Minister of Finance has failed to say how many jobs his Budget will create. Our package of initiatives is a first step towards what we and others call a green new deal. It aims to save the economy and the environment at the same time. Lots of countries around the world are busy adopting green new deal plans. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000247\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EOur billion-dollar stimulus package includes \u201Cshovel-ready\u201D projects that create jobs and stimulate the economy in a way that responds to pressing environmental problems, including climate change. The proposed package covers energy efficiency, transport efficiency, protecting waterways, building more homes, and community sector initiatives. The stimulus spending over the next 3 years amounts to just over $1 billion per year\u2014approximately the same amount the National-led Government has spent to combat the recession so far, and less than most other countries have spent. Our Green MPs have been on a listening tour, taking our ideas around the country and adding to them the ideas of hundreds of New Zealanders, because we think building a sustainable and fair economy is a topic on which every Kiwi deserves to have a say. New Zealanders have plenty of ideas. They know that the country has finite space and resources, and we cannot have infinite growth in resource use. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000248\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003ESo how does this Government\u2019s first Budget measure up? Is it a Budget to protect those who are hardest hit, or a Budget to protect the balance sheets of the wealthy? Is it a Budget for those who have the reins of power now, or is it a Budget for the future and for those born today and tomorrow who will one day sit in this House and wonder how we could have left them with such an almighty mess? It is time to build an economy as if we were still going to be here in 2015, or maybe even 2050. Can this Government budget for the future? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000249\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EThere is at least one point of light for which the Government deserves credit and congratulations. In last year\u2019s Budget the Green Party negotiated enough money to insulate all State homes. A little later, we negotiated a billion-dollar fund to help get private homes insulated via the emissions trading scheme. Although the Government has put that scheme on hold, it has worked with my colleague Jeanette Fitzsimons on a fund to make private homes warm, healthy, and safer for the climate. In what may be some kind of parliamentary record, the Green Party has successfully negotiated with two separate Governments in less than 1 year to provide a massive funding increase to improve Kiwi homes. The Greens have campaigned for this over many years, and it is good to see that we have multiparty support and money committed to making it happen. Warm, dry, and healthy homes make sense economically, socially, and environmentally. I thank the National-led Government for embracing this sensible solution. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000250\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EThe Greens estimate that the $323 million of new money for insulation in this Budget can create 2,700 new jobs and preserve the jobs that already exist within the EnergyWise home insulation scheme. This is great for our economy during a time of economic crisis, and it will continue to pay us back for generations. It will also help us to tackle the environmental crisis. This is what a green new deal looks like in action. The Greens expect to continue working closely with the Government to ensure that the insulation programme runs smoothly and effectively. It is important to remember that almost 900,000 Kiwi families live in damp, cold, and unhealthy homes, and it will take time to make that right. Critics may argue that there is enough money in the Budget for only the first 4 years of the scheme, but that is how the Budget process works. Members will see that out-years beyond year 4 are specifically referred to in the Appropriation (2009/10 Estimates) Bill. The Greens have an expectation that this programme will continue regardless of who is sitting on the Treasury benches, and we will push to ensure that further years are funded. We will not rest until every one of those 900,000 Kiwi homes is warm and healthy; it is not good enough for kids in this country to get sick from their own homes. I am proud that the Greens have been able to do something about that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000251\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EBeyond this bright spot, things get a little grim. The Green Party believes that a strong Public Service is essential for providing a fair deal for all New Zealanders. All Kiwis are entitled to a good education, high-quality health care, and employment opportunities. The Budget does not provide enough of this. It does not provide opportunity or fairness for everyday New Zealanders. In these dark times, it does not offer hope. The National Government has not kept its promise to just cap the Public Service; it has cut into the Public Service, and this will inevitably lead to cuts in the services that Kiwis receive. Already we have seen an estimated 1,400 jobs lost, and an effective wage freeze in the public sector. This is not a cap; it is a sinking lid. The wide-ranging cuts we are seeing across the public sector\u2014in the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Social Development, the Department of Labour, the Accident Compensation Corporation, the Ministry for the Environment, and the Tertiary Education Commission\u2014will keep coming. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000252\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EWe see no evidence of the Government\u2019s rhetoric of moving office staff to the front line\u2014perhaps it has discovered that the person booking the surgical appointment is not always qualified to operate the scalpel. The Government is straight-out cutting jobs; it is not moving them. Cutting the number of backroom staff sounds good in theory, but in practice it means there will be no staff in hospitals to make sure records are kept current\u2014so who will do this work? Do we want it to be pushed on to doctors and nurses? Do we want doctors filling out forms, or do we want them treating patients? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000253\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EI am worried about how this Budget will affect the most vulnerable. The statistics for M\u0101ori in terms of wealth and health give a clear message that the articles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi are yet to be honoured by the Government, and this Budget\u2019s failure to fully address that is truly a shame. The measure of a society is how it provides support and opportunity for those in danger of being left behind. That is the measure. This is even truer in a recession, and I fail to see how this Budget will help those who need help the most. We have already seen staffing cuts at the Ministry of Social Development and the undermining of non-governmental organisation funding for those who work with the needy, and we look destined to return to the failed competitive tendering models of the past. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000254\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EThe economy is not the only thing in recession. Our environment is also groaning under the weight of human pressure. We are taking resources at a rate beyond what can be replenished, pumping out pollution and waste at a rate that the planet cannot absorb, and losing the wild and natural places and species that we Kiwis love so dearly. National recognised our deteriorating environment in its blue-green policy, but I ask members whether the Government has backed it up with action in this Budget. Sadly, just as this Budget fails to address the economic recession, it also fails to assist the environment. In fact, it worsens a dire situation by cutting funding to our two key environmental agencies, the Ministry for the Environment and the Department of Conservation. Conservation funding has been slashed by 6 percent, with the Department of Conservation\u2019s budget cut by 9 percent. Fifty-four million dollars that were desperately needed to keep our iconic kiwi from extinction have been stolen from our natural heritage. The Bluegreens of the National Party will be hanging their heads in shame. Vote Environment has also been shaved to the scalp. Despite an additional $4.4 million to implement the Greens\u2019 Waste Minimisation Act and develop policy to protect our lakes and streams, the Ministry for the Environment\u2019s operational budget has been cut, and despite the fact that our global climate crisis is only getting worse, the climate change operational budget is down. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000255\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003ENine million dollars have been set aside for the reform of the Resource Management Act. The purpose of this reform, as the Minister of Finance told us, is to enable business to make more money. This Government cares so little about our natural heritage that even the environment budget has been pilfered to benefit developers. Fisheries compliance, including observer programmes, has been cut by 6 percent, and biosecurity surveillance has been cut by 11 percent. That is outrageous. Those services are essential to protect our ecosystems and export economy from exploitation and contamination. Biosecurity is fundamental to the New Zealand economy. By contrast, a green new deal Budget would invest in protecting our waterways, whereby a $600 million investment over 3 years would create 4,500 jobs, restoring our lakes and streams in order to allow swimming, and protecting our all-important \u201Cclean, green\u201D brand. The premium value of that brand to our dairy and tourism industries has been calculated at over $1 billion per year in export earnings. There are good economic and environmental reasons for the Government to invest in protecting our land, water, and wildlife, yet this Budget cuts protection to those areas. It is environmental and economic illiteracy to ignore the environmental recession, and to make investment decisions and funding cuts that deepen it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000256\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EIn health, an ounce of prevention is ignored by the current Government in favour of a pound of sugar. Money to fight child obesity has been canned, while earlier this year junk food was let back into schools. Is it politically expedient to sacrifice kids\u2019 health? When kids develop type 2 diabetes and their teeth are rotting, will this be a great win for the politically incorrect out there? Who will foot the bill for the extra dialysis machines, the extra medication, and the extra doctors and nurses we will need to keep an unhealthy population alive? It will be, of course, the taxpayer. This is the ultimate in short-sighted thinking. Today\u2019s Budget initiatives to retain doctors and train new ones will be essential, given that this Government has launched an attack on illness prevention. Members should make no mistake: these are ideological cuts from an ideological administration. Canning the Obesity Action Coalition\u2019s funding will not lead to economic prosperity. It is not the vision of hope New Zealand needs; it is just petty. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000257\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003ENowhere is the distinction between our current economic trajectory and a more sustainable one more obvious than in transport. The amount we collectively spend on transport is at least $10 billion for the term of this Government. Most of that $10 billion is spent on roads, and the Government is actually very proud of that. In fact, for every dollar spent on sustainable modes of transport\u2014buses, trains, walking, and cycling\u2014National will spend $7 on roads. Why do we place all of our bets on roads, when we are vulnerable to the price of oil? Why would this Government place all its bets on roads, when the carbon dioxide produced by traffic destroys our climate? Why would we place all our bets on roads as a measure to relieve congestion, when all the local and international experience shows that it does not work? I cannot tell members why, because we do not yet understand the mind of the problem gambler. When the Minister of Transport announced earlier this year his intention to build seven roads of national significance, he did so without any kind of economic analysis as to the benefits or costs of his proposal. It is a case of build first, justify later.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000258\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EOur recommendation for transport in our Green stimulus package is fiscally neutral. In the short term, we would shift $1 billion of State highway spending into more sustainable, more productive, higher-quality alternatives, taking pressure off existing roads. Our measures would create 40 percent more jobs and, at the same time, would make our transport network more resilient to the inevitable oil price shocks. That is a real jobs package, and that is what a green new deal looks like. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000259\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EAs far as education is concerned, this Budget is like a bad student party where the theme is retro. I ask Mr English, if he is going to take us back in time, to please avoid the 1990s. The majority of those who put this Budget together got the very best the New Zealand education system had to offer, but they are happy to leave the current crop of tertiary, secondary, primary, and preschool students with a little, empty chip packet. Many of us in this House went to university when the concept of a loan was likely to involve the university library, rather than tens of thousands of dollars of debt. This Budget wages an intergenerational war on those who want an education now and in the future. It takes money away from early childhood education. How can that make sense? It is good that in education the Government is concentrating on infrastructure, but if this comes at the expense of teachers, then it is a false economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000260\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EOn the matter of housing, we see that the number of building consents is sinking rapidly and builders are laying off staff. Surely, there could be no better way to support the building sector than building new housing stock. One of the central ideas of the green new deal package is investing in thousands more State houses over the next few years, to keep people in jobs, to keep roofs over people\u2019s heads, and to keep the economy moving. Building 6,000 State houses would only begin to meet the need out there, and it would make more sense than demolishing hundreds of homes so that we can spend $1 billion to plough a motorway through the Mount Albert area. Will people be living out on the streets this winter because of this kind of thinking? Last year Mr Heatley railed against Labour over the disgraceful situation of those who are poor, sick, and unwell living in rat-infested boarding houses. Mr Heatley pointed out, quite rightly, that this situation was the result of a housing supply shortage. It seems that this Budget has an ideas shortage. We have an ideas deficit over how to solve the housing crisis and create work for our building sector. The Green Party does not want people to sleep rough, we do not want Kiwi families living in squalid boarding houses, and we are very happy to help the Government with ideas. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000261\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003EIn conclusion, I say that although we are pleased that we are on the way to getting all New Zealand families into warm, dry, healthy homes, overall this Budget worries me. I am worried for the families who will suffer because of a stingy, ideologically blinkered Government. I am worried for the children who will grow up without a fair go.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022 data-id=\u0022babed1174d924a3283aba41817c2a3d7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000262\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022babed1174d924a3283aba41817c2a3d7\u0022\u003EHon Sir ROGER DOUGLAS (ACT):\u003C/span\u003E This is a Budget of deficits: a deficit of spending, a deficit of current account, a deficit of courage, and, most important, a deficit of imagination. Why do I say a deficit of imagination? Because the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have taken the soft option: they have decided to borrow and hope. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000263\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003EThe best thing I can say about this Budget is that it is as good as any of the nine Budgets Labour\u2019s Michael Cullen delivered. Then again, that is hardly the standard one should hold oneself to. After all, during Cullen\u2019s time as Minister of Finance, total Government spending increased in real terms by $5,500 per person\u2014that is $22,000 per annum for a family of four, or over $400 per week. I ask the Labour members to consider what the lives of those families would be like if they still had that $400. What did families get from Cullen\u2019s spending? Much of it was wasted on the bureaucratic empires of health, education, and welfare, without any increase in productivity. This Budget continues that trend. Some of the money was taken from us and then used to turn most New Zealand families into welfare beneficiaries under Working for Families. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000264\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003EIn these circumstances, what happened to the Government\u2019s line-by-line review, which was meant to cut waste? The Government managed to find $301 million. Let us put that in context.: it is 0.4 percent of Government spending. Really? Was that seriously all it was able to find after Cullen had increased Government spending by $18 billion over and above inflation? In my view, National has missed the opportunity to cut Government waste by scrapping some Government functions and Government departments. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000265\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003EWhat was Labour\u2019s response in this House to those modest cut-backs? It was outrage. To Labour, every area of Government is underfunded. Having spent up large for 9 years, it believes it can always find new projects to waste money on. I worry that Labour might be right. When it says it will not cut spending, it is really saying that it wants to have higher taxes. Over 9 years Labour tried to tax this nation to prosperity. The only effect was to slash productivity growth, helping us to slip further down the OECD ladder. Our productivity under Labour was one-third of what it was between 1984 and 2000. The difference to average New Zealanders is that today they receive 25 percent lower wages than they would have received if productivity growth had been maintained. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000266\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003EAfter 9 years of tax abuse, is National much better? The reality is that National did not have to go down the debt path. In fact, National had choices. One choice was to do what National has always done\u2014that is, to take all Labour\u2019s policies as a given, tinker with them around the edges, and hope to manage the system somewhat better. It could be the conservative party it always\u2014with the possible exception of the National Government of 1991 and 1992\u2014has been. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000267\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003EThe other choice was to look to the future. The party that looks to the future always sets the real political agenda. When Labour looks to the future, it sees a large State, higher taxes, and more control for meddling politicians in Wellington, and that is what we have ended up with. When National looks to the future, it sees administering Labour\u2019s programme more efficiently. It is, by this Budget, bereft of vision. National suffers from a deficit of courage and imagination. If National wanted a vision, it could have looked towards a future of low taxes, personal responsibility, personal freedom, and prosperity. Instead, it has chosen high taxes, expenditure as a percentage of GDP going up by 4 percent over the 5 years to 2013, Government ownership and delivery of social services, and more power for politicians and bureaucrats. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000268\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003ENational has continued the trend for Governments since 1993 to take soft options, deciding once again to borrow and hope. National promised that it would not touch health, education, and welfare, but those areas make up 66 percent of the Government Budget. Saying it will not even look at ways to open these areas up to competition and other reforms is to give up on fiscal prudence and to sentence New Zealand to low productivity growth. We cannot have 66 percent of the Budget\u201430 percent of GDP\u2014in areas that just take more and more money. In this Budget, when underlying inflation is at 1 percent, we are increasing health care costs by 6 percent. Cullen had 5 percent underlying inflation and increased health care costs by 10 percent. It is simply madness. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000269\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003EMaking cuts to Government spending does not mean denying anyone access to health, education, and welfare; all it does is change the way we go about offering help to those who need it. One way to help is to shovel money into the bureaucracy, as Labour and National do, and hope like hell that it will eventually reach people in the form of decent education, quality health care, and welfare that helps rather than harms the poor. But, as we have seen through Labour\u2019s health spending, not all the money goes to those who need it. There has been a 15 percent decline in doctor productivity and an 11 percent decline in nurse productivity. That will continue. In fact, the only increase in hospital productivity has been for orderlies and cleaning staff, who have been outsourced to the private sector. I wonder why there was an increase there? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000270\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003EThe other way to help is to give money back to those who earned it, and encourage them to purchase their own education, their own health coverage, and their own insurance against risks like job loss, accident, and sickness. The most obvious difference between the two systems is who has the power. In the status quo run by Labour and National, the bureaucrat is all-powerful. The bureaucracy decides where our children get educated, it decides whether our medical treatment will go ahead, and it decides what level of income assistance is required. The recipients of handouts\u2014be they parents, patients, or welfare recipients\u2014are treated like children, to be managed by a bureaucrat who knows very little about them and cares even less. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000271\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003EIs it surprising in these circumstances that within this environment more money does not deliver better outcomes? The only way yet discovered of improving outcomes while keeping costs down is to restore control to the individual. Ultimately, for all of us\u2014unfortunately, for all of us\u2014in terms of this Budget, National is soft. It suffers from the tyranny of the status quo. The only thing National seems to know is how to spend. If spending means borrowing, then National, unfortunately, will borrow and hope.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022 data-id=\u00227ee5af39df9449608339091dc9b893e1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000272\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227ee5af39df9449608339091dc9b893e1\u0022\u003EHon TARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader\u2014M\u0101ori Party):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Speaker. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. This is a significant day for the M\u0101ori Party, as we consider the opportunities for tangata w\u2019enua that emerge from this Budget. None of us were under any illusion that the economic and fiscal outlook would sustain a generous spending programme to meet every need. All of the forecasts warn us that we are heading into a deeper and more prolonged slow-down, with unemployment likely to peak in the middle of next year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000273\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EThe reality of recession is felt particularly by M\u0101ori w\u2019\u0101nau. Frankly, I mihi to their resilience, their ability to be collective, and the way in which they support each other. In its most basic form, although the M\u0101ori employment participation rate increased in the last year, the rise in employment was similar to the overall employment growth, and we are talking about growth of between 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent. But for unemployment, the contrast is stark. We are currently sitting on unemployment rates for M\u0101ori of 9.2 percent, which is over twice the annual rate for all persons of 4.5 percent. We are particularly alert to the needs of our young M\u0101ori people aged between 18 and 24 years\u2014a group that has suffered disproportionately and consistently, not just in this year 2009, but in the 10 years leading up to it. These are grim times, and we must prepare for the certainty that the pressure on households will intensify. We are talking about families who have already had to adjust to a 70 percent increase in electricity costs over the last 10 years and, even more staggering, a 91 percent increase in petrol costs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000274\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EThis, then, was the setting into which the M\u0101ori Party sought to negotiate to support our people to support themselves. Our motivation was clear. We wanted to soften the hard edges of recession for M\u0101ori, to protect those who would be most vulnerable to the weakness of the global market. But we wanted also to position our strategy around the wider economic development, to prepare the ground for w\u2019\u0101nau to be positioned to be part of the acceleration once the economy recovers. When our kaikaranga prepare themselves to p\u014Dw\u2019iri, they will stand strong, summoning all their wits about them for the solemn responsibility of their role. Me hangai to titiro ki te mahi. Kei w\u2019ati!: Keep your focus firmly fixed on the job, in case you may break or become diverted from the task. This is how we have approached 2009. We were determined to hold the line: to stay strongly attuned to the hopes and aspirations of our people to do for themselves. So we are proud that we have succeeded in safeguarding some important policies and programmes, while at the same time achieving gains that will help to lay a strong foundation for the times to come. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000275\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EThis Budget is a careful Budget. For the M\u0101ori Party, protecting the vulnerable was an important priority in our negotiations. In the area of social services, we sought to ensure that the people would benefit from accessing their full and correct entitlements, while at the same time recognising our collective responsibility to keep the economy moving, to keep people in jobs, and to create opportunities to generate hope. We welcome the allocation of up to $40 million for community responses to the recession. In our journeys across Aotearoa we come across amazing stories about everyday entrepreneurs who are designing solutions for their own local issues. The Community Response Fund is an opportunity to support the people to devise their own answers to the needs that will inevitably flow as a result of the economic downturn. The investment in infrastructure is another open door for our people. The $7.5 billion is a create-work scheme on a massive scale. It is a scheme that will result in the construction of major projects, and in the longer term will contribute to the lifting of economic growth. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EOur approach to Budget 2009 was also developed around holding the line on w\u2019\u0101nau ora. There is nothing of more importance than thinking of the families who inspire us to build this nation in a way that takes their well-being into account. We celebrate the Healthy Homes approach that has been achieved. We are delighted that the Warm Homes standard has been demonstrated, with $323 million allocated to insulate and heat homes built before 2000. We will ensure that our people benefit from that. We are proud of the commitments made in allocating $12 million over the next 2 years for the Rural Housing programme, as well as the investment opportunities signalled in the Housing Innovation Fund. These are two areas where Labour failed our people miserably. This morning I met with a small but devoted group of women who have pioneered the Ng\u0101i Tai housing project alongside of the Torere and Districts Families Credit Union. Their approach was purely and simply that by working together and sharing the load, they were able to build their homes, one w\u2019\u0101nau at a time. Twenty-one homes later, they are now able not only to claim a shelter for their community, but to share the success stories of 18 of their families enjoying full-time employment and the pathway to further education. That is a real celebration. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000277\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EThis is exactly what we mean by self-determination: creating the destiny that we aspire towards. Within this Budget we are also really pleased that almost $70 million has enabled our k\u014D\u2019anga reo and playcentres to benefit from the expansion of the 20 hours\u2019 free early childhood education initiative. Our policy priority has always been to boost participation in early childhood education for M\u0101ori, who have traditionally had low participation rates, so this is a big gain for us. Then we have the $20 million to extend the kotahitanga programme in schools, to ensure that teachers are equipped with the skills and strategies to ensure M\u0101ori reach their full potential. Holding the line is also about creating the best economic framework, to plan for M\u0101ori prosperity across cultural and tribal assets. We are really pleased with the additional $4.5 million that will enable w\u2019\u0101nau M\u0101ori every opportunity to access te reo M\u0101ori in their own homes. We are glad that there is p\u016Btea put aside to support iwi radio in meeting its operational costs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000278\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EThis Budget brings with it some $22 million devoted to speeding up the process and reducing the time it takes to settle Treaty claims. We know that streamlining the process is a clear mechanism to achieve the enduring reconciliation between iwi, hap\u016B, and the Crown that our t\u016Bpuna believed was possible when they signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We acknowledge the close working relationship we have enjoyed with the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, and we are especially positive about the opportunities for involving independent facilitators and the support for promoting chief-to-chief negotiations\u2014both policies that we brought into the relationship with the National Government. That relationship has been one that has been the road least travelled, but a road, nevertheless, on which we have been able to walk together in a way that has respected the concept of a mana-enhancing relationship. We have always maintained that every issue is a M\u0101ori issue. We know that if the Budget does not work for M\u0101ori, then it is not a good Budget for New Zealand; and, conversely, initiatives that may appear to promote tangata w\u2019enua interests are also about promoting the unique and distinctive identity of Aotearoa. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000279\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003ESo in this 2009 Budget we can see the influence of the M\u0101ori Party right across the Government, including gains achieved in our ministerial positions. The M\u0101ori affairs appropriation has managed to survive largely intact, despite the rigours of close scrutiny for savings. In my portfolios I am pleased that more than $11 million has been set aside to support those unsung heroes in our community\u2014the informal carers\u2014the people who support an ill, disabled, or frail aged family member. I am proud too of the support that will enable stronger engagement amongst local communities. This is what it is all about\u2014he tangata, he tangata, he tangata.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022 data-id=\u00227ef2bb98b4bc44ba8e752676c3609e5b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000280\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227ef2bb98b4bc44ba8e752676c3609e5b\u0022\u003EHon JIM ANDERTON (Leader\u2014Progressive):\u003C/span\u003E This is a Budget that has all the competence one would expect from the people responsible for Melissa Lee\u2019s Mt Albert by-election campaign. The good news is that inflation is no longer a problem. We finally have the low-inflation economy that the National Party always said would deliver us its dream economy. However, how is that working out? National has produced a lacklustre Budget that Bill Birch would have been proud of. In troubled times when the economy is rocking on the waves of global economic storms, the Government has responded weakly, not with a vision for the future and not with the bold steps that would lead New Zealand on a developmental path, but with a weak, uncertain, sitting-on-its-hands response. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000281\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EGovernments around the world are investing in the future; this Government has slashed the future. This is the broken-promise Budget. The total value of primary sector science investment falls from $2 billion under the New Zealand Fast Forward programme of the last Government to as little as $1.2 billion now. The Government is cutting nearly as much out of the science and research budget in the primary sector as it is investing in infrastructure. Government spending on science and research on a like-for-like basis falls from around $1 billion in the New Zealand Fast Forward fund to $610 million in National\u2019s replacement programme. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EWith matching private sector funding, the total investment in primary sector research and development actually falls by $800 million, or about 0.4 percent of GDP. In addition, the Government has not replaced a cent of the cancelled research and development tax credit. This is a huge cut in scientific research and development. It is, in fact, a disaster for the future of New Zealand\u2019s economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000283\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EOther developed countries are preparing themselves to come out of this recession stronger than when they went into it. New Zealand is preparing by switching from science and research to poltergeists and UFOs. The Government promised the private sector that it would spend more on scientific research and development. That is what David Carter said last week. He promised that it would spend more and that its Budget for scientific research and development would be bigger than the Labour-led Government\u2019s. Farmers in the agricultural business community will be looking that up, and they will not find increases; they will find cuts. The Government has broken that promise as surely as it has broken its promise on personal tax cuts. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000284\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EI want to turn to some other features of this disappointing Budget and to draw the House\u2019s attention to the table on page 55 of the Fiscal Strategy Report. In that report the Government points to its expected increases in nominal average wages over the next 4 years. If we deduct these from the cost of living index, there will be no increase in real wages for 4 years. Boy, if John Key thought that people left New Zealand for Australia in droves under the Labour-led Government, he should just wait until they figure out what 4 years of no real wage increases mean for them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000285\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EThis is the curious branch of economics that says the way to make New Zealand better off is to make everyone else worse off. The people who will be the worst off will be the people whom Tariana Turia represents, but what will she do about this Budget? She will vote for it. Well, over the next 2\u00BD years I will be waiting for the outcome of that for the M\u0101ori people of New Zealand, and I will hold her accountable for that. Not since the 1980s have we had an economy that did not increase real wages for 4 consecutive years. It is hardly conducive to keeping working New Zealanders here. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000286\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EThere was a time when National would have said that the way to fix things is to spend on tax cuts. We have to give John Key and Bill English credit for one thing\u2014they have now accepted that tax cuts do not always stimulate the economy. But they promised New Zealanders tax cuts. They now say they cannot afford them, and that is fair enough as, in truth, we cannot. Back then, though, when they wanted New Zealanders to vote for them they told them that they would reduce taxes. Mr Key said that National has structured this economic package to take account of the changing international climate. So National members knew what was coming and they promised tax cuts, but now they say: \u201COh, shock, horror, things aren\u2019t as good as we expected even though we did expect them to be bad, and we\u2019re cutting taxes even though we promised we wouldn\u2019t.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000287\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003ESo when the National members said their tax-cut programme would not require any additional borrowing, that was actually true because they did not intend to make any tax cuts, so they would not have to borrow any money, and that is exactly what has happened. Last year John Key said his tax policy was \u201Cappropriate for the current conditions and would require no additional borrowing\u201D. Well, now we know what the truth of that is. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000288\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EI was here in 1991 when the \u201Cmother of all Budgets\u201D was presented. Initially there was a sort of \u201CShock, horror, we are in difficult times, we had better accept all of this.\u201D reaction, but, boy, over time did that come back to haunt the National Government. National was actually down to 19 percent in the polls in that period from 1991-93. We will just wait and see how this Budget works out; I do not think it will be any different. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000289\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EJohn Key owes New Zealand an apology for getting himself elected on a promise that he knew he could never keep. Did he know before the election that the economic situation was deteriorating, or did he find out only when Treasury told him? He is the smart money dealer; he is the smart market dealer; he knows everything about the markets, so he must have known, but he promised that there would be tax cuts. That is deceitful. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000290\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EIn the time that I have left I want to turn to the cuts in the Superannuation Fund. This is pretty sneaky politics. Cutting the Superannuation Fund now reduces the ability of any Government in the future to provide for superannuation at anything like existing rates or retirement age.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000291\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022522ef8e9329f43e0ba57636be27fe4f8\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: Rubbish!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000292\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b40a9aa78db04f8c8f2b686bf5e2b2c3\u0022\u003EHon JIM ANDERTON\u003C/span\u003E: Someone said \u201CRubbish!\u201D. The member\u2019s mind must be rubbish if the member does not believe that. Bill English is pushing out by 10 years the hard decisions about the huge tax increases or cuts to superannuation that will be needed to make superannuation affordable. I was on the superannuation task force and I know what is required to make superannuation fundable by 2040, and that is a doubling of the equivalent tax rates for superannuation by 2040. The only way we could get there without having to do that was to put aside the funds we were putting aside. But, no, the National Government will run this economy in such a way that nothing will happen until 2021. Somehow, between then and 2040, some mug Government will have to come along and fix it. It clearly will not be that of Bill English; he knows full well that he will not be here. I would say he will not be here after the next 3 years, either, so we may have a chance of fixing it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EBill English has delivered an enormous burden for future taxpayers. The affordability of superannuation in the future must decline, because we are no longer putting aside something now to pay for some of it in the future. In my view, that means that the age of eligibility for superannuation will be increased. When we had the superannuation task force, Treasury wanted the retirement age to be increased to 72; well, it may well get its wish under this Government if we are not very careful. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000294\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EThe Greens must be really pleased with the memorandum of understanding they have made with the Government, but there is not a word in that speech today about climate change\u2014not one single word. I mean, it is the monumental problem facing the world, but we have not had one single word about it. The Greens got $244 million of new spending for their home insulation scheme, but when we look at the infrastructure spend, we can see that the Government is shifting $258 million of spending on rail on to the roads. I thought that that was what the Greens did not want. So what has happened is that the Greens have lost $14 million net, as spending has gone from the rail system to the roading system, and they have got even less than that for their insulation scheme. The Greens have actually lost money. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000295\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228415e962-886d-47b9-9356-3fdce746891f\u0022\u003EThen, as I said in relation to the M\u0101ori Party, the people who will be hardest hit by this recession are M\u0101ori and Pacific Island people. National is not doing anything for new jobs; the M\u0101ori Party is voting for that. At least Pita Sharples can wave at the unemployed as he drives past them in his new car\u2014that might make him pleased.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022 data-id=\u0022ace7712f43a044a6ac4d635575bbacdf\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000296\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ace7712f43a044a6ac4d635575bbacdf\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE (Leader\u2014United Future):\u003C/span\u003E This Budget was prepared against a backdrop of a most extraordinary set of circumstances. At the time of last year\u2019s Budget, the then Minister of Finance warned that existing increases in expenditure\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000297\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e05abf33eaeb4f2a957392e562bcd746\u0022\u003EHon Tariana Turia\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I would like Ruth Dyson to withdraw and apologise for calling us sell-outs.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000298\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fe00eb42aaf64792ab86a02b19fc778f\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I have to say to the member that this is a robust place for robust comments. It would be difficult to convince the Chair that calling someone a sell-out crossed the line and was offensive. But if the member feels that she wants a withdrawal and apology, she may ask for it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000299\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dc8adcfefd1b4acaac860cef9ba56572\u0022\u003EHon Tariana Turia\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you. I would like her to withdraw and apologise. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000300\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002206b82faf7164470089754ad152047d7c\u0022\u003EHon Clayton Cosgrove\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I ask you where, in any of the Speakers\u2019 precedents about unparliamentary language, the word \u201Csell-out\u201D is put forward. You will know that in the last Parliament, when Labour was in Government, all sorts of extremely unparliamentary language was used regarding the Electoral Finance Bill by the now Leader of the House and others over on that side. Many of those terms were not ruled out by presiding officers; they were allowed. If we are to rule out \u201Csell-out\u201D, what is left? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000301\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220cea1c8858954ccdb135892d6bf75d26\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: I think the point is that it is not the choice of words but the tone and the intention\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000302\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022328869ea8ec140f3a1f61dc4108e57f0\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: Oh!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000303\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bd1351748d70438dbd55485d42544a80\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Is this a point of order, or not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000304\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a8699ab42d824053b7fa9b0c3bf2ea9a\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: I tell members that points of order will be heard in silence. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000305\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224068f57ed89e4eaf9b113584711e3c42\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: I have listened to numerous comments from across the House to me, about me, etc., and I accept that they are just throwaway remarks, but in this case a particularly offensive remark was made. Because people exercise their political judgment in a particular way does not mean that they have sold out. \u201CSold out\u201D, in the context that it was said across the House, is an exceptionally derogatory term, and I do not think that it would hurt for the remark to be withdrawn. I understand what the expression was meant to say\u2014that this was not what the M\u0101ori Party had intended to do, or something else\u2014but to use a term that was so derisory in the circumstance in which it was delivered is, I think, offensive. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000306\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d959f14fea394fd6bdd472ff707a8b6a\u0022\u003EHon Clayton Cosgrove\u003C/span\u003E: I would argue that in the history of this Parliament the terms \u201Csold out\u201D or \u201Csell-out\u201D have sometimes been thrown around by members about others within their own political party, because their colleagues have chosen to vote in a different way, or because they said things before an election, then did things differently afterwards. If we are now, as the Leader of the House contends, going to rule out words based on the tone that somebody has used\u2014and he is a baritone, perhaps\u2014then I would argue that that is completely absurd. We had interjections throughout the Budget speeches today where people used similar language with a similar implication. I put it to you, Mr Assistant Speaker, what is next if \u201Csell-out\u201D or the tone used is ruled out? I cannot find a Standing Order that deals with the tone of one\u2019s voice. I think that would be absurd.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000307\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221d095cf0bd7d4674b8ee5da5cffa4f02\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, members. I have heard good contributions on this. I come back to the point that one of the things that this House is about is free speech. People have to be able to say what they will. There are some constraints on it\u2014of course there are. But there has to be a high threshold. This is a robust debating chamber. It is a debating chamber, and it is about robust debate. In my opinion, the term \u201Csell-out\u201D, although it might cause offence to a person, does not go beyond the line.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000308\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022079e01fdd61244e19b69ba3fd0df8641\u0022\u003ETe Ururoa Flavell\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I ask you to consider not just the wording in this case. If a member takes offence at a particular term, whatever that term might be, and asks for the member who said it to stand and apologise, is that not the benchmark that is used to assess whether the term is in order?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000309\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fb2207d5f19e489f949e0a94d3bfef05\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: Well, if we were to take it that if a member took offence there would be an automatic requirement that the comment be withdrawn and apologised for, then the members of this House would set the tone, not the Speaker. It would be entirely up to members; if they said \u201CI take offence at that.\u201D, there would be a withdrawal and an apology, and gradually, piece by piece, the standard would be eroded, and this House would not be a House of robust debate. This House is a House of robust debate. People do have reputations and they do have feelings, and I acknowledge that, but this is a debating chamber, and I put my point again: it is a robust debating chamber, and it is about free speech.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000310\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002286f1e9a5248e4ffca46cfca22abcc31c\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: As I was saying, this Budget has been prepared against an extraordinary combination of circumstances: a declining New Zealand economy during 2008, warnings from the then Minister of Finance that the current levels of expenditure increases were unlikely to be sustained in the future, and, added to that, a rapidly declining international situation during 2008. Members will recall the extraordinary week in October last year when on the Sunday\u2014New Zealand time\u2014the Irish Government, much to the consternation and surprise of the rest of the world, announced that it was going to guarantee bank deposits. By the end of that very week, every country of that type was doing likewise. That was how quickly things were moving. We have seen a rapidly increasing debt track in New Zealand, and we have seen a rapidly declining revenue profile as the consequences of the international slow-down have started to bite.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000311\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003ESo when it came to putting together this Budget, the Government had a number of options. It could have reverted to slash-and-burn policies of the type we saw in the early 1990s. We still live with the social consequences of those cutbacks, so that was not an option. It could have adopted the agenda that was being promoted by the ACT members to my right a little earlier on this afternoon, but that was clearly not an option. What the Government has taken is essentially, I think, a prudent middle way. There has been a significant increase in spending\u2014and the Minister of Finance made it clear this afternoon that that spending track will slow over the years ahead\u2014there has been a commitment to reducing long-term debt, and the Government has taken the view that some of the things it might like to do today need to be set aside for tomorrow in order to enable it to maintain some of its core commitments.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000312\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EI regret as much as anyone else the fact that tax cuts are being deferred, but when we do not have the money to pay for those cuts it is irresponsible to continue with them at this time. What that does is to give fresh urgency to the work that is under way to align our corporate tax and trust top rates, and to see how the broad based - low rate policy that has been a consistent thread of our tax policy in this country for at least the last 20 years can be enhanced and we can bring it to fruition. That will be one of the big challenges over the next little while.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000313\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EWhere we stand at the moment, in terms of New Zealand, is simply this. The international economy may well start to recover later this year or early next year\u2014there are already some incipient signs of a recovery under way\u2014but the New Zealand economy will be on a longer recovery track. The message that needs to be got through to New Zealanders is that this is not just about an international recovery; there will be some benefit to us from that, but a long, hard road lies ahead in terms of restoring our economy. The challenge that the Government faces is how to balance the need for restoration with the need to retain critical social services. I think this Budget has been a prudent balance of those often competing objectives.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000314\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EThere are some things in this Budget on which I think the Government could have gone further. For example, I welcome the increase in public health expenditure, but I think the day is not far off when that level of increase cannot be sustained, and we will need to look to much greater private-public partnerships for the delivery of services, particularly elective surgery services. One of the things we will need to start to think about in terms of how we encourage that shift is moving, in the first instance, to a tax rebate for those over the age of 65 who contribute to health insurance programmes, so that we encourage them to retain their health insurance programmes and therefore to stay outside the ambit of the public system, thus reducing a critical amount of the pressure on it. But that, of itself, can be only a first step. We need to take the example of our accident compensation scheme and our KiwiSaver scheme much further, and to develop a comprehensive national health insurance scheme whereby the premia paid by taxpayers are offset against their marginal tax rate so that the net effect is self-balancing, but the competitive power of the insurance fund can be used to drive down prices in both the public and the private sectors, deliver greater capacity, and ensure that New Zealanders have access to the quality health-care\u2014particularly for surgery\u2014that they require. That is the way that most countries of our type around the world have been forced to go in recent years, and I do not think New Zealand, at this end of the world, will be immune from that challenge in any shape or form. So we need to start now to think about the steps we have to take to get to that point.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000315\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EI welcome the commitment contained in the Budget to continue a level of community engagement, and I appreciate the work of my colleague sitting to my left Tariana Turia in that regard. The community and voluntary sector in this country is, in many senses, the lifeblood of social service provision. Often those agencies do a far better job than Government agencies, because they bring a much greater level of dedication, commitment, and expertise to that role, and a much closer identification with the communities that they service. The whole purpose of the charitable donations policy that we have been implementing over the last 2 or 3 years has been both to create a greater culture of giving in New Zealand and to recognise a greater role for philanthropy in the provision of those types of services, so that we can utilise those skills far more effectively to benefit New Zealanders as a whole, and thus free up critical areas of Government spending for the more vulnerable people and situations that often escape the net at the moment in terms of the service that they require. That is the challenge that this Budget seeks to address. I think it is a step along the way, but it is a starting step none the less.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000316\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EThe question that has excited a lot of attention is that of the home insulation fund, and I go back to the advice that the Prime Minister referred to in his speech\u2014to the prudent, preventive advice that if people\u2019s homes have good heating and good insulation, the chances of their health status being improved are very high. The modest per capita investment that this scheme requires is a prudent step in the right direction, but I make this point: it is all very well to set up a scheme of that type, but its delivery and its implementation will be critical. I am not confident, based on constituency cases that I have dealt with, that the infrastructure that is there at the moment, through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority and other agencies, is sufficient to ensure that people can actually have insulation fitted as quickly as they require it. I know of people who made bookings in the summertime and are still to have their insulation put in place in time for the winter that is now upon us. That is clearly absurd, and if that sort of approach is maintained, it will detract from the credibility of this policy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000317\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EA lot has been said over this Budget and previous Budgets about infrastructure investment, and this Budget specifies a couple of important strands in that regard, building on the work announced recently by the Minister of Transport in terms of the seven roads of national significance. It is important to put some of those things into perspective. Although I do not want to get involved in the Waterview project debate because I am from Wellington, not Auckland, the reality is that the Waterview project as originally proposed was so expensive that a number of projects close to my heart, like the Transmission Gully road, for instance, could have been funded three times over for the cost of it. The rebalancing that is occurring will serve the needs of the people of Mount Albert effectively, but also will free up resources for other areas of New Zealand to get their roading priorities funded by the Crown\u2014because that is an important part of the policy announcement that was made a little while ago\u2014and that is a welcome step and in the interests of all New Zealanders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000318\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EThis Budget will excite the usual round of criticism, the usual round of people feeling they have not got what they expected from it, but in the circumstances of the times\u2014unprecedented, according to some commentators, since 1930, and far more extensive in their scope since the entire cost of World War II\u2014this Budget is an appropriate response for New Zealand. This Budget helps to set this country forward with confidence. It creates the circumstances for growth but it also sends out some challenges. I say to the Minister of Finance that the next two Budgets will be the critical ones, as the consequences of this Budget start to come through, the consequences of the international recovery\u2014hopefully, it will be under way\u2014start to come through, and the big challenges out there in terms of where this economy heads are also on the table. So balancing expectations in 2010 and 2011 will be as critical as managing the process of bringing about the transition that this Budget heralds. It is a useful step forward and it is a good start, but, as with all of these things, much more needs to be done yet. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022 data-id=\u00227b3c71a5153e406ea39b579b98bd613f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000319\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227b3c71a5153e406ea39b579b98bd613f\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE (Leader of the House):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That this debate be now adjourned.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u002269e933e5835b4e539b899190da582972\u0022 name=\u0022division\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EA party vote was called for on the question, That the motion be agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 69\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 58; ACT New Zealand 5; M\u0101ori Party 5; United Future 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 52\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 42; Green Party 9; Progressive 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000320\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022602950da4da64bca86bfe1df12eda115\u0022\u003EUrgency\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000322\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00228c240abb4978491b9e7ce8f851cef47b\u0022\u003EUrgency\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022 data-id=\u002215d61ce819eb4ace829f4fa8aed9778a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000321\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002215d61ce819eb4ace829f4fa8aed9778a\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE (Leader of the House):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That urgency be accorded the introduction and passing of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill. Earlier this afternoon when the Budget was delivered the Hon Bill English indicated there would be a postponement or deferral of the tax cuts previously anticipated, due to the difficult economic circumstances that the country finds itself in. Further, it has been signalled on a number of occasions, and, indeed, today again in the Budget, that there will be some changes to KiwiSaver, most particularly the removal of the provision for mortgage deferrals. It is worth noting that very few people have opted for that opportunity. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022fbd5a0f2f09e4a85bf770f22ead64785\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fbd5a0f2f09e4a85bf770f22ead64785\u0022\u003EHon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour\u2014Hutt South):\u003C/span\u003E I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It is usual, and I think it is a requirement of the Standing Orders, that when an urgency motion has been moved, a reason is given for why urgency is required. The Minister did not give any of those. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022 data-id=\u00223665e284bc4e4778b57b5ef03e369bf3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000324\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223665e284bc4e4778b57b5ef03e369bf3\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE (Leader of the House):\u003C/span\u003E The extraordinary pedantic nature of the Opposition sees me back on my feet. Can I just say that anyone in this House\u2014 \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000325\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229542dc56bebc4be191ff931e5b7acbcb\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: Points of order are heard in silence. The member took a point of order and the Minister is responding to the point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000326\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002214f366f02e09417cbb44e3ff2fb7498e\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE\u003C/span\u003E: The matter was notified to the Business Committee on Tuesday. It was notified to the Business Committee that we would be taking urgency to give effect to budgetary matters. I just outlined what those budgetary matters were. The fact that Mr Mallard and his colleagues might have no memory from Tuesday to Thursday is not my concern. I have now given the House the reason: it is to give effect to budgetary matters. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000327\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002210b2dc8c959147cc90b2a265bc9ab63c\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: If he had done that the first time, we would have been fine.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000328\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002226e48a89eacb42ee9a41b6c59b0b092b\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: Excuse me. No, the member only has to give reasons for the urgency. He does not have to say why it is urgent; he just has to give reasons. That is all. The member alluded to the fact that it was in the Budget. He was compliant, in my opinion, from the beginning.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022248d531427ad4d63b704d6be47279bda\u0022 name=\u0022division\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EA party vote was called for on the question, That urgency be accorded.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 69\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 58; ACT New Zealand 5; M\u0101ori Party 5; United Future 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 52\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 42; Green Party 9; Progressive 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022 data-id=\u0022c906d2367d2d47bcb18850f0ffa2d4b7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000329\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c906d2367d2d47bcb18850f0ffa2d4b7\u0022\u003EDr KENNEDY GRAHAM (Green):\u003C/span\u003E I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Forgive my innocence of the knowledge on this, but is there a required advance notice for a bill before urgency\u2014that it should be tabled a certain number of hours in advance?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000330\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225fbaf18127234c209373aed6a15addbf\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: That is not a point of order, and innocence is not a matter this House considers very often. I say to the member that a bill put on notice is required to be on the Table for 3 days. If it is moved under urgency it is tabled immediately after the urgency motion. National has complied exactly with the Standing Orders.\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=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000331\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002241a0cb3b845342068f7428f796d4a5ea\u0022\u003ETaxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000332\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022a2bd07e5b1384a94aca42ac2421c5f88\u0022\u003EFirst Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022 data-id=\u0022f67cceca176948729e5099447c393106\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000333\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f67cceca176948729e5099447c393106\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE (Minister of Revenue)\u003C/span\u003E on behalf of the Minister of Finance: I move, That the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill be now read a first time. As announced in today\u2019s Budget, the second and third stages of the personal tax cuts that were to have taken effect on 1 April 2010 and 1 April 2011 respectively are being deferred to prevent further increases in Government debt. Large Budget deficits are already being forecast for 2010 and 2011 and these will clearly have an effect on gross debt that Treasury projects could have increased to above 70 percent of GDP by 2023 in the absence of any policy changes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000334\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EThe current and projected fiscal position therefore constrains policy choices and places greater emphasis on maintaining revenue flows. As Minister of Revenue I am acutely aware of the need to ensure that our tax revenue remains sufficient to finance Government spending on the essential services that New Zealanders expect\u2014a point I was making in an earlier address a moment or two ago. By delaying the second and third tranches of personal tax cuts, the Government estimates it will save around $900 million a year from 2011-12 and that has to be seen as prudent fiscal management for difficult times. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000335\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003ELet me turn for a moment to the language of the bill. As drafted, the bill speaks of \u201Crepealing\u201D the further tax cuts rather than \u201Cdelaying\u201D them. That is merely because the date when these tax cuts can be reinstated is not yet known. If an undated delay were legislated for, it would combine the repeal with a provision to allow the dates of the cuts to be restored by Order in Council, which is not the most appropriate way to set tax rates. Tax rates are the province of Parliament, and Parliaments historically in this country and elsewhere have fought quite properly to retain the right to set tax rates and have always resisted deferring those to an Order in Council or other mechanism outside the parliamentary process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000336\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EThis delay should not be interpreted as the end of further tax cuts. The Budget states clearly that the Government is committed to further reducing income tax rates as the economic and fiscal conditions allow and it clearly identifies further tax cuts as a fiscal risk, meaning that the Government\u2019s future reinstatement of the tax cuts has been explicitly taken into account. We have already made clear our medium-term commitment to aligning the top personal, company, and trust rates at 30c in a manner consistent with the broad-based low-rate approach. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000337\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EThis bill also cancels the associated increase of $5 a week in the independent earner tax credit, which was to take effect from 1 April 2010. At present that credit puts an extra $10 a week in the pockets of those earning between $24,000 and $44,000 a year who do not receive a benefit, Working for Families tax credits, or New Zealand superannuation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000338\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EThe second part of this bill relates to the KiwiSaver mortgage diversion facility, which allows KiwiSaver members to divert up to half of their contributions to their mortgage repayments. That facility is to be closed to new applicants from 1 June 2009, although it will remain available to existing participants so long as their providers and their banks continue to offer it. Not all banks currently offer mortgage diversion and it appears that only about 600 people out of a KiwiSaver membership of more than 1 million have actually taken advantage of it. Now, I acknowledge that this was the initiative of a former member of United Future\u2014one whose name I dare not speak because it has become a byword for treachery\u2014but in practice it has been demonstrated that this policy has not worked, that any benefits of the facility are completely outweighed by its many disadvantages, and I frankly see little reason to continue with it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EMortgage diversion imposes additional and unnecessary compliance costs on KiwiSaver providers and on the banks, and these costs have been generally passed on to members who use it through increased fees. A further problem that has arisen with mortgage diversion from a policy perspective is that it goes against a basic principle of KiwiSaver, which is to lock in savers\u2019 funds until they are 65, thus helping them to save for their retirement. With mortgage diversion, on the other hand, it becomes possible to sell the house in question before the member is 65 and thus for the member to gain access to his or her funds. There is no easy way of preventing members from gaining early access to those funds through mortgage diversion so it is much simpler to close the facility altogether to help reduce the costs of running the KiwiSaver scheme and to leave things pretty much as they are for those who might currently be in the scheme. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000340\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003ELet me conclude by saying this bill is a response to the difficult challenges that face the country today. It gives effect to measures that were announced in the Budget a couple of hours ago, and I therefore commend it to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022 data-id=\u00220b8715618d0d40d38cf4b4c56bab591d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000341\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220b8715618d0d40d38cf4b4c56bab591d\u0022\u003EHon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour\u2014Waimakariri):\u003C/span\u003E I say from the outset that Labour will be supporting the passage of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill to cancel the tax cuts, and we do so for a number of reasons. Firstly, we have been consistent in our view that these tax cuts were unaffordable, inequitable, and wrong. That is why we will be voting to cancel them. But the great crime in this House today is not actually the fact that these tax cuts are going to be cancelled; it is the great deception created by a Government that before the election bribed the people of this country by saying over and over and over again that they would get their full tranche of tax cuts. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000342\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EI point to an article by Brian Rudman. The great alibi that Mr Dunne and the National Party have put forward is that times have changed, and the economic environment has changed. They say that when they walked through the door of the Cabinet room for the first time, the veil fell from their eyes, and they realised that the world was in a global economic meltdown. They said they knew about that, effectively, only when they got into Government. Mr Rudman made some very interesting points in his article in the New Zealand Herald on 27 May. He said: \u201CIt seems we\u2019re drifting back to those bad old days. Earlier this month, Prime Minister John Key signalled to an audience of his friends at a Business New Zealand meeting the promised tax cuts would be delayed to some unspecific time in the future. He said New Zealand could not afford \u2018a runaway balance sheet\u2019.\u201D Yet, Mr Rudman goes on to say that on 30 September last year, Bill English criticised Michael Cullen, saying: \u201CDr Cullen cannot be trusted to deliver on any future tax promises.\u201D, and that he criticised Dr Cullen for being cautious. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000343\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EThe alibi that National put up was a bribe. It won an election largely based on a bribe that said that everybody would get tax cuts.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000344\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223626550293ec4daab26ee23c75818c02\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Except the poor!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000345\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dcbf959a631e41a7a2646a4f24d50520\u0022\u003EHon CLAYTON COSGROVE\u003C/span\u003E: Except the poor. It put the first tranche of the tax cuts through. We know now that National\u2019s version of economic stimulus was to give the top 3 percent of income earners in this country one-third of the tax cut package. Families earning $40,000 or less a year\u2014I know this will not affect Mr Boscawen, of course\u2014got absolutely nothing. That was National\u2019s version of stimulating the economy. Who did President Obama pitch his tax cuts to? He pitched them at low-income earners. Who did Prime Minister Rudd pitch his tax cuts and his stimulus package to? He pitched them to low and middle income earners. Why? Because low and middle income earners will spend the money. Those at the top, who have discretionary income, will either retire debt or save, and that is not stimulatory. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000346\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229b7125d20d3b48ec90f1078445a8073e\u0022\u003EIain Lees-Galloway\u003C/span\u003E: Or take an overseas trip.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000347\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228d1ac80bab5446dbbbb5f7c890baf967\u0022\u003EHon CLAYTON COSGROVE\u003C/span\u003E: My colleague is probably referring to somebody on the opposite side of the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000348\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EThen National tried to do what it has always done throughout its history. It came into Government and said it had not known about the economic conditions. It said that the rules had changed and the environment had changed, and it said to the New Zealand people that it must pass this legislation to be responsible. I tell members that if the National members did not know back in October and September that the world was in an international and economic meltdown, then they must have been the only people on the globe who did not know that. The Nats knew all right\u2014I ask members to listen to more of Brian Rudman\u2019s article: \u201CThe International Monetary Fund\u2019s October 8, 2008 World Economic Outlook \u2026 said the world economy is \u2018entering a major downturn\u2019 in the face of \u2018the most dangerous shock\u2019 to rich-country financial markets since the 1930s.\u201D That is what the IMF said in October last year. Mr Rudman goes on to say: \u201CThat was about the time Mr Key was unveiling his \u2018responsible\u2019 and \u2018appropriate for the current conditions\u2019 catalogue of tax-cut bribes.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000349\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EIt is not good enough for Mr English and Mr Dunne, who walks with National now, to say that the world has changed, and that that is why National must go back on its word. It is ironic that Mr Dunne got up to quote from Part 2, because, as he said himself, part of this bill expunges a part of United Future policy. How embarrassing is that? It is not good enough for National members to come down to this House and say, in the traditional Tory slap-happy way, that they are sorry, but they have to go back on their word. Those members could not read what the rest of the world read in The Economist, in Time, and in material from the International Monetary Fund. The OECD said in October and September last year\u2014well before the election\u2014that we as a globe were heading into an economic hole. Yet what did National members do? They announced, to use the same words, a \u201Cresponsible\u201D, \u201Cappropriate for the current conditions\u201D tax package. They knew all along that these tax cuts were unaffordable. They knew all along that these tax cuts were inequitable, but they announced them anyway. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000350\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EI like this part of the article. Mr Rudman referred to the Budget and Mr English. He said: \u201CTomorrow, the albatross comes home to roost on Mr English\u2019s shoulder. We can\u2019t sue our politicians for breaking their word. But we can at least enjoy seeing them squirm.\u201D I tell members that the people who are squirming out there are the poor battling New Zealanders for whom this Budget did nothing, and whom my leader, Phil Goff, talked about. Mr English squirms in this House because he broke his word. Mr Joyce broke his word. In fact, all those members over there broke their word.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000351\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a002aedcfba24a25b25f2ae8f74b59c8\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Joyce likes seeing Mr English squirm, though.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000352\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a2cc0cf736e149bfb79b1ed214ba5634\u0022\u003EHon CLAYTON COSGROVE\u003C/span\u003E: Well, that may be so. But the truth is\u2014and history will show it\u2014that those members told the country that it would get tax cuts. They accused Labour of being mean. They criticised us for being cautious. They told us not to worry, as it was a cast-iron guarantee. It was one of the guarantees that John Key signed. It was another case of \u201Cno ifs, no buts, no maybes\u201D. I can hear the ghost of Christmas Past; I can hear Jim Bolger\u2019s words emanating into the Chamber. National members did the old Tory trick. The lied to the people of New Zealand. They lied to them before an election. They said they would give people tax cuts come hell or high water. They read the IMF report and they still went on promising tax cuts, even though the IMF said this is the worst shock we have had in a generation, and possibly in our history economically.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000353\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227883c85e-a5bb-4a12-9962-80df55af0ecd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022777df6939b554d7f8c6e5d1ac61f8548\u0022\u003EHone Harawira\u003C/span\u003E: Hold it up again!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000354\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a809fe562ebc4983941143a388f3e41d\u0022\u003EHon CLAYTON COSGROVE\u003C/span\u003E: Do you want to make a speech, or do you want to sit down? The M\u0101ori Party might like to consider that, because, of course, it voted for the first tranche of tax cuts\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000355\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022187e4099-cc16-4bb8-8379-82c881af1724\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002281d0f2e9a5ae418aa51c358f6c4907b5\u0022\u003EDavid Garrett\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It is about the use of the word \u201Cyou\u201D again.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000356\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c7dc77617eae4bd89c12b3fd341882f9\u0022\u003EHon CLAYTON COSGROVE\u003C/span\u003E: Speaking to the point of order\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000357\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d0c089ff859048f8b4da856063f55e63\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: No, we do not need to debate this. The member makes a point. Technically, the member was using the word \u201Cyou\u201D. The word \u201Cyou\u201D is not ruled out on every occasion. I think that, on occasion, members just hear the word \u201Cyou\u201D and automatically think there has been an infraction of the rules. There has not. For the rules to be broken, the member must be directing the comments at the Speaker; I did not take the member\u2019s comments to be directed at me. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000358\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220304d7379b204d859a592a125c7d842e\u0022\u003EHon CLAYTON COSGROVE\u003C/span\u003E: Is that is the best he can do over there, as he shrivels up behind his desk? I say to that member of the ACT Party and that member of the M\u0101ori Party that every one of their constituents who earn under $40,000 a year got nothing out of the first tranche of tax cuts. Yet those members line up in the stalls\u2014like a bunch of sheep led by the nose\u2014to vote for the National Party every time. I invite Mr Harawira\u2014there is no point in talking to Mr Garrett, because we know what his constituency is like\u2014to stand up and finally explain to us why his party voted for a tax package in which 70, 80, or 90 percent of their constituency get nothing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000359\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220b508c11deb048a8b5e1bf4c2fe06ed8\u0022\u003EHon Steven Joyce\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Assistant Speaker Barker\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000360\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002295a1540e46d64ab6ac9d451d31e46233\u0022\u003EHon CLAYTON COSGROVE\u003C/span\u003E: No, it was a false start, so the member should sit down. He will get his chance, because in the words of the famous Paul Keating, \u201CI want to do you slowly.\u201D\u2014I do not mean you, Mr Assistant Speaker Barker; I mean that member. I say to the M\u0101ori Party that maybe the M\u0101ori Party members can get up, instead of being lambs led by the nose lining up in the stalls to vote for that lot, and tell us why they sold out\u2014and they did sell out\u2014every member of their constituency. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000361\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EWe will vote to get rid of these tax cuts. Our position has been vindicated; our position has been consistent. We knew they were unaffordable, the IMF knew they were unaffordable, and the OECD knew they were unaffordable, yet Mr Key tried to treat people like idiots, and said that the first he knew that there was an economic crisis and that his package of tax cuts would be unaffordable was when he whipped up to the tea-making machine in the Cabinet room and realised that there was an economic crisis and a meltdown. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000362\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EI say to Mr Joyce, who will get up next\u2014with all the spin of his radio network background, and with his hair parted in the middle\u2014that he will have to put his best spin on this situation for New Zealanders. I say to Mr Joyce that New Zealanders are not silly: they know a bribe when they see it, they know dishonesty when they hear it, and they knew there was a recession. But they got sucked in. They got bribed, sadly, because on and on Mr Joyce and his ilk promised the unpromisable, promised the inequitable, and promised the biggest tranche of tax cuts we have seen for many years, knowing, of course, that they would have to pull the pin, and knowing they would try to win an election and then go back on their word a couple of months after.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022 data-id=\u00227e8ab3b8b99947eca50dacb8add7e200\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000363\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227e8ab3b8b99947eca50dacb8add7e200\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister of Transport):\u003C/span\u003E One certainly knows it is a tough day in Opposition when one is down to quoting Brian Rudman in the first speech. Brian Rudman is that noted economist and right-wing Roger Douglas supporter. This Budget\u2014I just need to comb my hair before I start\u2014is a responsible Budget for difficult times. It has been titled a \u201CRoad to Recovery\u201D, which I think is an excellent name for it. I would probably prefer a \u201CMultifunctional, Multi-modal, Low Benefit-cost Ratio Transport Corridor to Recovery\u201D, but I will settle for a \u201CRoad to Recovery\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000364\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003EThis Budget makes some tough decisions, and one of those decisions is on tax reductions. The National Party is the party that understands that paying too much tax stifles initiative and removes incentives to work hard and get ahead. We understand that one of the big reasons we have had record migration out of New Zealand over the last 9 years has been high marginal tax rates. That is why we campaigned on reducing taxes, and we have done that. First we shamed Michael Cullen into doing it, and then we did it ourselves at an average of $30 a week per full-time worker in an 8-month period. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000365\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003EHowever, we are a party of realists. That is not something we could accuse the Labour Party of being. So as the world economy continues to accelerate in the wrong direction, we have made the tough call of postponing future tax cuts. Mr Cosgrove stood up before and said we knew the situation before the election. I need to acquaint him with some facts. The Budget 2008 forecast a surplus of GDP for 2009-10 as 0.5 percent of GDP. Prior to the election it was a deficit of 0.9 percent. The December forecast was a deficit of 2.2 percent. The Budget 2009 forecasts a deficit of 4.4 percent. The world economy fell off a cliff, and Clayton Cosgrove\u2014surprisingly enough\u2014did not predict that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000366\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003EPostponing future tax cuts was not an easy decision to make. We work hard to keep our promises; we have kept nearly all of them. Tax reduction is important to grow the economy, but we also cannot have New Zealanders burdened by higher than necessary interest rates because the Government cannot balance its books. I am pleased to report that, this afternoon, Moody\u2019s upgraded New Zealand\u2019s credit watch from negative to stable after the Budget was released today. The Labour Party thinks that is not important, but I tell members that everybody who pays interest in this country thinks it is important. We made the right call. We fronted up and said we could not have tax cuts. But members should rest assured; reducing taxes will remain top of mind. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000367\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003EThere is only one party in this House that can keep tax rates under control and control spending, and it is certainly not the party of the member for Waimakariri. It is certainly not that lot over there: the \u201CNever-Never Land Party\u201D, which believes in the financial fairies at the bottom of the garden. It is a party that is now doing a very passable impression of the old Social Credit Political League. All that those Labour members need is the old Skodas and the crimplene suits. They say we should not cancel any spending. They do not want to control any costs. They do not want to run the ruler over expenditure. They do not want to suspend payments to the Superannuation Fund, despite their own architect of the Superannuation Fund saying it is exactly what he would do if there were no surpluses. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000368\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003EBack in 2000 Michael Cullen said any contributions had to be paid for out of a cash surplus into the fund. He also said back in 2000 that \u201CThe government will make contributions to the Fund from available surpluses. Where these are insufficient for making the required contribution a reduced contribution would be made.\u201D That is what Labour\u2019s architect of the Superannuation Fund said back in 2000. Not only do Labour members not want to stop spending but also they want spending increases. If they were allowed to be in Government today, they would be proceeding with something called the deep tunnels for the Waterview Connection. They would have no changes to the Government policy statement on roading. They would have either $2.8 billion or $3.2 billion being spent, depending on whether there would be two or three-lane tunnels. That would take the deficit this year from $7.7 billion up to $10.5 billion or $10.9 billion, which is getting up towards 7 percent of GDP\u2014just like that. They are not responsible. They are basically saying they do not believe in taking any responsibility for governance in this country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000369\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003EWe need a responsible Government; a Government that preserves people\u2019s entitlements, gives people confidence, and encourages jobs. What we do not need is a Government that guts the economy. I am sorry but I cannot agree with Sir Roger. The best accolade that could, and has, come out for the Budget today is that it is pretty boring and predictable. In New Zealand right now we do not need wild-eyed spending ideas from the current Labour Party. We also do not need the radical cuts to social expenditure that others propose. We need a steady, conservative hand on the tiller, and we have that with John Key and Bill English. New Zealand will be thankful for that tonight.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022 data-id=\u00220bd6b3cf793f4960983bc178012a32e1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000370\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220bd6b3cf793f4960983bc178012a32e1\u0022\u003EHon LIANNE DALZIEL (Labour\u2014Christchurch East):\u003C/span\u003E I am pleased to take a call on the first reading of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill, which is being passed through all stages under urgency. I think the bill is wrongly named and has been brought to the House rather quickly today. National was able to table it only after the urgency motion was moved. I think what National meant to call the bill was the \u201CPre-election Promises (Post-election Breach of Faith) Bill\u201D. That is what the bill should have been called, because that is precisely what it is. We had pre-election promises that we were told would not be put on the chopping-block, no matter what happened. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000371\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003EI ask a question of the Prime Minister of New Zealand. I ask John Key what he means by the words \u201Cpersonal guarantee\u201D. Is it not interesting that the words \u201Cpersonal guarantee\u201D, when one thinks about what they are intended to mean, mean that a person will stand behind his or her assurance and personally guarantee the result of the outcome? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000372\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003ELet us have a look at what John Key actually said in the letter he sent to every single household before the previous election. I am told that the covering note sent with the pledge card stated: \u201CWell, unlike Labour I\u2019m going to be straight-up about my priorities. That\u2019s why I\u2019m sending a card to all of you. It\u2019s called \u2018My key commitments to you\u2019 and it will be delivered to every household in New Zealand over the next 10 days.\u201D I will read out the introductory clause and first key commitment on the card that John Key sent: \u201CIf National is elected to lead the next Government, I personally guarantee that we will\u2014strengthen the economy, increase after-tax incomes and ensure Kiwis can get ahead under their own steam by reducing personal taxes on 1 April 2009, 1 April 2010 and 1 April 2011.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000373\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003ENot only did John Key say that but he signed his personal guarantee as \u201CNational Party Leader\u201D. That first commitment has a red cross through it. It is not the Red Cross Society, as in who might save us in an emergency situation; it is a red cross for a failure to deliver on the personal guarantee. I think that is where Brian Rudman\u2019s comments come into play. I do not really care what Steven Joyce, the previous speaker, thinks about Brian Rudman\u2019s comments. Brian Rudman was simply making the point\u2014and quite reasonably so\u2014that people were very clear in September last year. I will quote from the article: \u201CYet back on September 30 last year, Mr English was mocking then Finance Minister Michael Cullen for being over-cautious on the issue. He said: \u2018Dr Cullen cannot be trusted to deliver on any future tax promises.\u2019 \u201D He compared that with National, which will\u2014and I quote from Mr English\u2014\u201Chave an ongoing programme of personal tax cuts. It will be a responsible programme and a transparent programme.\u201D Mr English said he would treat Labour\u2019s tax cuts, which came into force the next day, as the \u201Cfirst tranche in our tax-cut programme. That will be followed by another tranche of tax reductions on April 1, 2009, and further tranches in 2010 and 2011.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000374\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003EI want to know whether Mr English advised John Key to sign a personal guarantee, knowing full well that we were heading into a major economic recession. I suspect, given the huge smile and the laughter on the lips of the Minister of Finance when he was reading out the announcement on the cycleway budget, that there was not a personal commitment to that particular policy from the Minister of Finance. I wonder whether the Minister of Finance has set up the Prime Minister of New Zealand with this personal guarantee, because it will come back to haunt him over and over again. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000375\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003ENational members have proved that they were really prepared to say anything to get elected, and then act surprised as if they had not noticed that there was an impending financial crisis. That is the issue I am deeply concerned about. I will comment further about what Mr Key went on to say about the tax cuts. He was contrasting what he believed to be the position the Labour Government would take if we had been re-elected at the previous election. He went on to say: \u201Cunlike Labour we won\u2019t cancel our tax cuts\u201D. Is there any leeway on that? Let me just read that statement, and let us just see whether anyone can read any words of doubt into it. He said: \u201Cunlike Labour we won\u2019t cancel our tax cuts\u201D. I think that is pretty clear-cut. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000376\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003EHe went on further in his Budget speech last year and said that New Zealanders really could rely on, and trust, the National Party\u2019s tax cuts. He said: \u201CMost of all, New Zealanders will be able to believe our tax cuts, they will be able to trust our tax cuts \u2026 You see, we believe in tax cuts, we believe in the power of tax cuts, and we will deliver them. What is more, we can afford to do it.\u201D Well, I am afraid that every single statement that John Key has made and his personal guarantee have proved to be completely and utterly out of sync with the legislation we are now debating in this House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000377\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003EThe Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill undoes the second and third series of tax cuts scheduled for 1 April 2010 and 1 April 2011. We knew that the tax cuts National was promising were unaffordable, and we said so. We took a responsible approach with our policies. We pulled back on policies that we wished to announce as part of Labour\u2019s election campaign, as we decided that we did not want to misrepresent the situation to the people of New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000378\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003EAs my colleague Clayton Cosgrove said, we will be supporting this bill because we never believed that National\u2019s tax cuts were going to proceed. We knew they were unaffordable. More important, we always knew that National\u2019s tax cuts were inequitable. I remind the people of New Zealand\u2014most of whom are probably tuned in as we speak, listening to this important debate\u2014that 30 percent of the last round of tax cuts on 1 April this year went to 3 percent of the top income earners.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000379\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ee5056d8fd254c17850642d0b5abf2a3\u0022\u003EStuart Nash\u003C/span\u003E: Disgraceful!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000380\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227a4d7c0c3d864112a16f61dcab0ca6d0\u0022\u003EHon LIANNE DALZIEL\u003C/span\u003E: That is disgraceful. I totally agree with my colleague behind me who intervened; they are utterly and completely unaffordable.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000381\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220b2ce4e9e19341f6a247efda34f14b0b\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: What\u2019s his name?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000382\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002293f59dc6064c48f0a285d066b0ebe0bb\u0022\u003EHon LIANNE DALZIEL\u003C/span\u003E: That member knows perfectly well who he is.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000383\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228845a5f4be734c798d3ab7705153de4c\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: No we don\u2019t, nor does New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000384\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022806b04ae44a44861b99636f17b312f37\u0022\u003EHon LIANNE DALZIEL\u003C/span\u003E: Well, if that member would like me to give Mr Nash a complete free hit here, then that is fine. Clayton Cosgrove was making the point that it is shameful the National Party\u2019s focus was always on delivering tax cuts to high earners, but that would have the least impact on stimulating the economy, something that National promised. We all know that it would be much better to focus those tax cuts at the bottom end, where people are spending every cent they have. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000385\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003EThe other thing that is mentioned in this legislation is the reminder we have of the major changes that the previous Government made to our investment and savings environment with the Cullen superannuation fund and KiwiSaver. There is an absolute reneging on those, and it is a reminder that the crucial research and development tax credits we had in place for investing in export industries have been completely gutted by this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000386\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003EIt is really hard to give this Budget a name. One of the bloggers today came up with \u201CDark Grey Budget\u201D. It is not really a \u201CBlack Budget\u201D, but it has not got very far.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000387\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f6129b48c02c4635a20221d31b2cf104\u0022\u003EIain Lees-Galloway\u003C/span\u003E: Looming.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000388\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002234f0994f20504d429bfe08e2f8dfb363\u0022\u003EHon LIANNE DALZIEL\u003C/span\u003E: The \u201CLooming Clouds Budget\u201D\u2014but there ain\u2019t no silver lining in this Budget, and that is one of the problems. I personally think that this is a Budget that represents a complete waste of opportunity, and this particular measure we are debating proves that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002277ec6495-df45-43ac-aaa1-a03b5dd4c128\u0022 data-id=\u0022cdbb4c32ab34476ba6b68e77185b78af\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000389\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002277ec6495-df45-43ac-aaa1-a03b5dd4c128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cdbb4c32ab34476ba6b68e77185b78af\u0022\u003EJOHN BOSCAWEN (ACT):\u003C/span\u003E The ACT Party will be supporting the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill, but we are supporting it with a great deal of reluctance. In essence, this is a bill to delay tax cuts. We heard from the Labour Opposition this afternoon that the National Party went out and campaigned on a programme of tax cuts, and it has reneged. Yes, we find the country in difficult circumstances and there are a number of reasons for that. One reason is the last 9 years of financial mismanagement that saw Government spending, in real terms, increase by $5,500 per person in this country. That is $22,000 for a family of four. Allowing for the effects of inflation, the previous Labour Government went out on a spending spree over the last 9 years and took $22,000 on average, in real terms, out of the income of an average family of four. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000390\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002277ec6495-df45-43ac-aaa1-a03b5dd4c128\u0022\u003ERather than face up to the issues or the need to go through and review Government expenditure, National has taken the easy option. It is proposing to postpone tax cuts. It is interesting that the Minister of Revenue said earlier this afternoon that the date of the tax cuts is unknown. We cannot say when the tax cuts are going to take place. We are looking at tax cuts that next year would have cost the taxpayer $1 billion. Let us put that in context. That $1 billion is out of total Government expenditure of $65 billion, which is $18 billion more in real terms than what it was 9 years ago. If Government expenditure had kept pace with inflation over the last 9 years, we might have expected Government expenditure to be $47 billion. But, no, it is $65 billion. It is $18 billion higher as the result of 9 years of financial mismanagement. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000391\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002277ec6495-df45-43ac-aaa1-a03b5dd4c128\u0022\u003EIt was interesting to hear the Minister of Finance talk about what makes this country a richer country, and how we raise our living standards. How do we raise the income of New Zealand vis-\u00E0-vis our nearest neighbour, Australia? The reality is that incomes in New Zealand are some 20 to 25 percent lower than those in Australia. Our citizens are leaving for Australia and they are not coming back Our young people are going overseas and in years gone by they would come back to New Zealand, but in increasing numbers they are not. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000392\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002277ec6495-df45-43ac-aaa1-a03b5dd4c128\u0022\u003EOne of the issues this country has to address is our productivity and our need to raise it. I will come back to productivity very shortly, but there is a second thing: we also need to get right the incentives to work. We just heard the Hon Lianne Dalziel talking about people on lower incomes. Well, it was the Labour Government that put in the Working for Families package. That was a badly designed scheme because it effectively puts the recipients of Working for Families support on a marginal tax rate of 54c to 59c. Where is the incentive to go out, work hard, get promotion, work longer hours, and work overtime to try to raise the living standards and income of one\u2019s family, when one knows that some 59c in the dollar is being taken away? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000393\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002277ec6495-df45-43ac-aaa1-a03b5dd4c128\u0022\u003EAnother key issue is productivity. We have to raise our productivity. Both the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister spoke on that this afternoon, and I commend them for it. We absolutely have to raise our productivity. The Minister of Finance referred to infrastructure. It is a theme that Mr Key came back to. I struggled to hear what Mr Key was saying; I literally could not hear him. The banter backwards and forwards between Labour and National members meant I could not hear what Mr Key was saying. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000394\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002277ec6495-df45-43ac-aaa1-a03b5dd4c128\u0022\u003EI commend National for the decision to proceed with the Waterview Connection. Labour could have built that connection when it was in Government for 9 years. It was able to build a 4.5-kilometre motorway from Hillsborough to Mount Roskill. There was nothing to stop it from building from Mount Roskill to Waterview, but it chose not to because its option of building a $3 billion tunnel was totally unrealistic. It was an expense and a folly. Rather than front up and complete the job, as this National Government is proposing to do, it did not; it postponed it. National is now required to deal with that issue. That project will cost $1.4 billion, and I heard the Prime Minister say that 60 percent, or just under two-thirds, of that tunnel will be underground. People would not realise that on listening to the speech by Mr Norman this afternoon. Mr Norman, the chief doom master, talked about the bulldozers cutting a swath through Mount Albert. Of that motorway, 1.5 kilometres is on the surface. It follows the railway designation, and that is the same designation that Mr Norman would like to put a train set on. It is not a motorway that cuts through Mount Albert in the way that Mr Norman, the chief doom merchant, said.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000395\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002277ec6495-df45-43ac-aaa1-a03b5dd4c128\u0022\u003EWe need to raise our living standards and we need to raise our productivity, but, first and foremost, we need to reduce waste. We need to provide an incentive for New Zealanders to go out and work and to contribute to this economy. We need to provide rewards. We need to provide incentives. Over the last 9 years we have had financial mismanagement on a scale that has never been seen before in this country. It has taken 100 years to get Government expenditure to $13,500 per family\u2014over 100 years. In 9 years the Labour Government was able to increase it from $13,500 per family to just under $19,000 per family. For a family of four\u2014two parents and two children\u2014that is $22,000 taken out of the family budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000396\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002277ec6495-df45-43ac-aaa1-a03b5dd4c128\u0022\u003EThe ACT Party will be voting for this legislation. It will be doing this with disappointment, and it will be doing this as part of ACT\u2019s agreement to support the National Government on confidence and supply. Yes, ACT members will be voting for the deferral of these tax cuts, but we do so reluctantly. We only wish National had the courage to fulfil the promise it made to the electorate last year to provide those incentives and to create the environment where people want to go out to work and contribute to the economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022 data-id=\u0022f17fa469a6fe4e64b4cd6ea868a65e75\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000397\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f17fa469a6fe4e64b4cd6ea868a65e75\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader\u2014M\u0101ori Party):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa e hui nei i t\u0113nei ahiahi. The first seven words of the explanatory note of the bill tell us all we need to know about Budget 2009. This day will for ever be recognised as a response to a \u201Cdifficult fiscal climate\u201D. The Minister of Finance has described this Budget as sitting within the context of a global economy that is experiencing the deepest, most synchronised recession since the 1930s. What does this mean for us at home? We know that just in the last few weeks employers throughout the nation have had to lay off workers in the timber, manufacturing, telecommunications, and textiles sectors. Just how dire this situation is can be seen in the numbers of unemployed benefit recipients. There are now 44,000 New Zealanders actively seeking work, with 14,000 of these being M\u0101ori, and with close to one-third of M\u0101ori job seekers in the 18-24 year age group. It is that group of some 5,000 young people that has been on our minds as we have embarked on the road to recovery articulated in Budget 2009. These were not the lucky New Zealanders who benefited from the $1 billion allocated from the Government\u2019s first round of tax cuts. These are New Zealanders, all the same, who deserve every opportunity\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000398\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221a44069672f14718827d4f04ae765f2f\u0022\u003EHon Shane Jones\u003C/span\u003E: Welcome home!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000399\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002239a158f5a8764431bd9e661197b5c785\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES\u003C/span\u003E: I did not bring the member a Happy Meal! But these are New Zealanders\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000400\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222bcefcdb83e54b5d87b3e060c930452e\u0022\u003EHon Shane Jones\u003C/span\u003E: Hoki mai ki te k\u0101inga!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000401\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002289e49d9c907944949c645e4a4a86b9eb\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES\u003C/span\u003E: Hoki ki a McDonald\u2019s! But these are New Zealanders, all the same, who deserve every opportunity for the light to shine in their eyes. They are New Zealanders who may well take up leadership positions in the future. They will be our scientists, our entrepreneurs, our teachers, our sportspeople, our tribal leaders, and our parents. This Budget recognises that every New Zealander is entitled to enjoy the basic rights of citizenship, to benefit from quality public services, and to maintain a standard of living that we can defend despite the rigours of a global financial crisis. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000402\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EThe M\u0101ori Party will support the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill on behalf of the young people and those to follow. We celebrate the fact that despite worsening economic and fiscal conditions, the M\u0101ori affairs portfolio has been maintained intact. We believe that the decision to defer the second and third tranches of the personal tax cuts is a sign of responsible management, thinking of the collective well-being of all New Zealanders, and balancing the Budget in a way that will protect people from the sharpest edges of the recession. The M\u0101ori affairs budget has been rigorously scrutinised to ensure a careful yet secure footing from which wh\u0101nau M\u0101ori can emerge from the recession. In many ways it mirrors the type of budgeting that we may see in M\u0101ori homes around the motu. [Interruption] E, k\u0101re koe i te whakarongo. It reflects a conservative approach to ensure bread and butter on the table, while also enabling wh\u0101nau to be opportunity-driven. We have given priority to wh\u0101nau as the social structure that best provides protection and resilience during times of stress. Investing in wh\u0101nau is not about what we will do to them; investing in wh\u0101nau is about what they will do for each other. As Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs I have heard the call from wh\u0101nau: \u201CLet us create our own solutions.\u201D So in early July I will be looking to announce a network of wh\u0101nau advocates who can work closely with our\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000403\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002210b613a5cfde4c61a705d46f131faf92\u0022\u003EHon Clayton Cosgrove\u003C/span\u003E: Eighty percent of your constituents got nothing out of the tax cuts.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000404\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ceda325c0353427582bb0a7811dd89f9\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES\u003C/span\u003E: If you listen, you might get educated. I will be looking to announce a network\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000405\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220e0037c075494a70ab7ba6c4fd489492\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member is bringing the Chair into the debate; he cannot do that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000406\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022067700df88fe4a30af9b32a4cdaf7c4c\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES\u003C/span\u003E: I think another member did that the other day, but never mind. This reflects the conservative approach to ensure that there is bread and butter on the table. We have given priority to wh\u0101nau, because it is the social structure that is best provided to protect resilience during stressed times. Investing in wh\u0101nau is not about what we will do for them; it is about what they will do for each other. As Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs, I have heard their call, and on 1 July I will announce a network of wh\u0101nau advocates who can work closely with our wh\u0101nau to ensure they have all the assistance they need to be strong. Resilient wh\u0101nau are those who can ride out the storm, because they are supported to be the best they can be. Resilient wh\u0101nau need jobs. They need a spirit of optimism. They need education. They need healthy homes. They need a strong economic base to build their future on. This Budget will help to make that happen.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000407\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EThe fact that our wh\u0101nau who are earning under $40,000 a year will now not have to cope with extra taxation\u2014up to something like an extra $8 a week\u2014is something that we welcome. The previous approaches to taxation were based on a trickle-down economic theory, which says that boosting the incomes of middle to high income earners through tax cuts will create economic benefits that will trickle down to the lower-income earners from the spending that creates jobs, demand for services, and the like.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000408\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f93bf7cba14d480383d9131decdaf529\u0022\u003EHon Clayton Cosgrove\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s why you voted for it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000409\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e6b3dc124f5846cc9e57b7d4123606af\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES\u003C/span\u003E: That is exactly right. If the member listens, he might learn something. But we always had concerns that those who are already vulnerable might never gain from the trickle-down effect.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000410\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022397fe9c183474ce685bc964e6251f46c\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Who wrote this rubbish?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000411\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e88e903362504f6a8166d46d7091f938\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES\u003C/span\u003E: If members only listened until I finish, they might get educated. The already vulnerable might never actually gain from the trickle-down effect, because instead they will be watching the trickle-up effect, which contributes to the growing income inequality, with the well-off becoming wealthier, and the lower-income families in their wake. Deferring tax cuts will instead save around $900 million a year, which can be used to sustain\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000412\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e5b1823bcefb44caa94df95a41541d38\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: 836!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000413\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002220e952b99bd74963831569b69a9d7230\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014the member should check his figures\u2014and support New Zealanders in the times ahead. We must look forward in order to ensure that when the recovery begins, our people are ready to respond quickly. So one of my first priorities as Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs was to establish the M\u0101ori economic development task force, to develop a M\u0101ori-led response to the recession. The task of that r\u014Dp\u016B is to advise me on how to protect existing jobs and businesses, but also to think about the long-term vision, a vision in which our young will benefit from increased education and training, and investment will be made to maintain and build a skilled workforce, ready to go, when the economy is recovered. It would be great if the task force were able to directly create jobs, but my challenge to it is to take a longer-term view of M\u0101ori economic development opportunities and look at systemic change across its own areas of expertise, to ensure that M\u0101ori and M\u0101ori assets can take a role in leading Aotearoa out of the recession. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000414\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EAlso encompassed by the journey towards economic self-determination is the commitment I have taken up to strengthen the M\u0101ori economy by establishing the M\u0101ori Trustee as a strong, independent, accountable, and sustainable trustee for M\u0101ori landowners and beneficiaries. I remind the House that that was the first bill put through this Parliament by the independent M\u0101ori voice of Parliament, the M\u0101ori Party. That is another important legacy of this time, and members should not forget that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000415\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ef642c58b6e440128334bf05333afc65\u0022\u003EHon Clayton Cosgrove\u003C/span\u003E: The sell-out party!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000416\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022afeccfb6f1d743bd8ef2bd3cb6595507\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, get a life! I want to point out just one more highlight in respect of the M\u0101ori affairs budget, and that is the investment in wh\u0101nau language development.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000417\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EThis Budget initiates $4.5 million over 3 years for the retention and revitalisation of te reo M\u0101ori, using te \u0101taarangi kei roto i ng\u0101 whare [the Cuisenaire rods method in homes], and there is $1.2 million allocated to iwi M\u0101ori radio operating funding. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000418\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EAll of these initiatives are ideas that are about creating opportunities for our people, and for establishing a stable platform for growth to occur. But there are other opportunities right throughout the appropriations, which I would like to point out in my closing remarks. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000419\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003EIn making the decision to defer further tax cuts, the Government has acted responsibly. Such an approach is also reflected in the $22 million allocated to speeding up Treaty settlements. Settling past injustices is an important part of any future constitution reform for New Zealand, as is restoring an economic base for iwi. I acknowledge my colleague Chris Finlayson for the constructive working relationship we enjoy. Similarly, I am proud to have signed, alongside my colleague Phil Heatley, the fishing aquaculture settlement, to which the Budget allocates $15.9 million for aquaculture. Kia ora r\u0101, Mr Deputy Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022 data-id=\u00229582809dae7643029b00d25150dcf55b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000420\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229582809dae7643029b00d25150dcf55b\u0022\u003EJEANETTE FITZSIMONS (Co-Leader\u2014Green):\u003C/span\u003E The one time that urgency is often seen to be justified is when on Budget day urgent financial legislation needs to be passed overnight, so that people cannot take advantage of knowing the change is coming before it is law. This is not such an occasion. In this urgent legislation, we are cancelling tax cuts that take effect in April next year.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000421\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226763e2a84d9f46778e1ff30868851b03\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: And the year after.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000422\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227ad9e9fddb124628bd46b82aa6334290\u0022\u003EJEANETTE FITZSIMONS\u003C/span\u003E: And the year after. It is very hard to see why anybody could claim that this legislation was urgent enough to bring Parliament together into the night on Thursday and again on Friday morning. The Green Party did not vote for the urgency motion. We believe urgency ought to be used quite cautiously, if there is to be support across the House for urgency when it is actually justified. There are times when it is justified, but this is not one of them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000423\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EWe will, however, vote for the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill. We are not voting for the Government\u2019s Budget\u2014we are not voting for this Government on confidence and supply\u2014but we will vote for this bill because the obviously sensible thing to do in a recession is to cancel two rounds of tax cuts for which we would have to borrow billions of dollars. We are glad that the Government has chosen to do the sensible thing in that case. The Greens never supported the tax cuts in the first place. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000424\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EI have to say that when the Government took urgency to rush through tax cut legislation in December last year\u2014some of which is already in force from 1 April this year and which is not being cancelled\u2014it was already obvious that New Zealand was in a recession. It was already obvious in December that the tax cuts would put the Government into serious debt. But because National campaigned around the country on tax cuts, I suppose National members felt obliged to put them into practice. Now National is coping with the consequences of a Budget that is very, very hard to balance because so much was given in tax cuts. Tax cuts are something that we do when the economy is in surplus, when we are having the good times, and when we know that it is a structural surplus, and that we will be able to keep on doing it. In December last year we were not in that situation economically, and we are even less in that situation now. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000425\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EHowever, it is better late than never, and we are glad to support the common-sense approach of cancelling the next two slices of tax cuts. If the first slice had not gone ahead in April this year, and if that December bill had not been passed, the savings to the Government Budget would have funded our entire Green New Deal stimulus package, which would create 43,000 new jobs. Yes, people like having $30 a week more in their pocket from their pay packet, but I bet that if we asked most New Zealanders whether they would rather have a tax cut of $30 a week or 43,000 more jobs in the economy, they would choose the latter. They would know that their neighbours, their kids, and their friends would have employment and that there would be spin-off effects in the economy. They would know they would see all the other benefits of the Green New Deal package, such as clean rivers, better export returns from New Zealand being clean and green, warm, insulated homes, better public transport, more community development, and 6,000 new State houses to tackle homelessness. I bet that most Kiwis, if they had been asked whether they wanted $30 a week or a better society for themselves and their children, would opt for the Green New Deal package and all the benefits that it would bring. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000426\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EI will quote Jane Clifton, whose comments in the Listener I always enjoy. Back in April, she had this to say: \u201CBut so much has changed since we first hankered after tax cuts, that it\u2019s all the most depressing let-down.\u201D This was April, when the tax cuts first came in. She continued: \u201COnce again, we can see the extra money will not compensate us for dairy product, petrol, power, school-fee, and mortgage-interest hikes. It will not supply a nest-egg for any redundancies set to hit our households.\u201D She knew those would happen. \u201CIt will simply be sucked into the maw of our existing financial struggles, and grateful as we are for it,\u201D\u2014this is the interesting bit\u2014\u201Cour central existential problems will continue unabated.\u201D She is saying that tax cuts are not a recipe for happiness and greater well-being, and that there are better ways that that money could have been spent. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000427\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EThe part of this bill that we struggle to understand is the closure of the mortgage diversion facility in KiwiSaver. Apparently only 600 people so far have used the opportunity to divert savings from KiwiSaver to their mortgage payments. Those 600 people may well have faced mortgage foreclosures if they did not have that facility, and it is very important that they were able to do that. It does not sound as if, with 600 people participating, this was a huge compliance cost for KiwiSaver. It is very hard to see where the problem is that this is trying to fix. So I look forward to hearing the Government explain that measure a little bit further. The Greens may well, therefore, not vote for Part 2 of the bill. However, we will vote for Part 1 and we will vote for the bill overall. We are glad the Government has finally seen sense and realised that making tax cuts when the country is in a recession does not make sense. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022 data-id=\u002255f6e22f88d44702af33de6e414006f9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000428\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002255f6e22f88d44702af33de6e414006f9\u0022\u003ECRAIG FOSS (National\u2014Tukituki):\u003C/span\u003E First of all, I take this opportunity to congratulate our Minister of Finance, the Hon Bill English, on an absolutely fantastic Budget for these strained times. It is a Budget for the future. It is a Budget that builds the platform for a much more aspirational, realistic, transparent New Zealand. It is not a Budget for the next headline. It is not a political Budget. It is realistic, it is transparent, it is robust, and it is fair. Some may even call it a boring Budget, but I say to members opposite that this Budget should probably have been in place about 4 years ago. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000429\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EThis is the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill. It is part of the \u201Croad to recovery Budget\u201D. I just note this point after hearing the Hon Phil Goff\u2019s Budget speech. Is Labour not missing the Rt Hon Helen Clark and the Hon Dr Michael Cullen? We know that Labour members are missing them, because Phil Goff\u2019s speech was a total shocker. It was as if he had turned up and could not deliver the speech he had written earlier. I think he had talked himself into thinking that entitlements would be cut, that superannuation would be cut\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000430\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002222f83807d1204f65b22a1eef574a11fc\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: It was.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000431\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220b2d7619b81d42eda36769c615591d47\u0022\u003ECRAIG FOSS\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014and that Working for Families would be cut. To that I say no, no, and no. I could pose the question to anybody as to how much his or her superannuation was changed by this Budget. How much? Actually, the answer is it was changed by zero. Superannuation is unchanged, and it is committed to. All entitlements are unchanged and the commitments that were made were held, because so many New Zealanders need to have some certainty to get through these unfortunate times, this one-in-60-year event. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000432\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EI would like just to take issue with the foresight that Mr Cosgrove has suddenly developed. He told us that apparently, 2 years or so ago, when the IMF issued a report\u2014I think I remember the one the member was talking about\u2014that the current global economic conditions were all known. He alleges that Mr Key and Mr English should have foreseen these conditions. I will turn that question round. Did Mr Cullen, the finance Minister at that time, foresee it? I recall a quote from Mr Cullen, talking about how the subprime crisis in the US would not hit the shores of New Zealand. I think that was said in about April last year, 2 or 3 months before his 2008 Budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000433\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EI point out that so far this National Government has delivered over $1 billion in tax cuts, which will assist over 1.5 million New Zealanders. That is in addition to the $500 million or more of tax compliance improvements that we have made for small businesses. I come back to the foresight that Mr Cosgrove developed. I will point out some figures. In the operating balance before gains and losses in Budget 2008\u2014we remember that New Zealand went into the recession under the previous Government about a year before the rest of the world\u2014a 0.5 percent surplus was forecast. In the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update, on 6 October 2008\u2014members will remember that, prior to the election\u2014a 0.9 percent, almost 1 percent, deficit was forecast. Remember that that is when we started to get into the decade of deficits, which was basically if the policies of the previous administration had continued in their current shape and form, we would be in awful shape, worse than today, because this Budget is starting to put us on the road back to recovery. In the December Economic and Fiscal Update, on 18 December 2008, the surplus was minus 2.2 percent. We can see that the numbers have shown a marked deterioration until this point today. In Budget 2009 we are at negative 4.4 percent. That is unfortunate, and none of us like to be in that position, but I am so pleased that a National Government is in place to start to bring some accountability, some transparency, some robustness, and some prioritisation into the Government\u2019s accounts. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000434\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EI will go back to Mr Goff\u2019s speech. He seemed to totally ignore the fact that $50 billion less will be coming in revenue to the Crown over the next 3 years. That is $50 billion less to allocate to entitlements, or whatever. He has totally ignored that point. Mr Goff, Mr Cunliffe, and Mr Cosgrove have all been talking about what a great time it is to buy assets. That implies the question: why did they buy so many in the last 5 years? They are saying assets are now cheap. I say to these financial gurus of forecasting, which they have suddenly turned into, that actually hindsight is a great thing. But I say to them not to go down that track, because they will be caught out\u2014somewhat tragically for their personal standing. Thank you, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022 data-id=\u0022d1899c655c3248b2aacdcfed5ec3112a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000435\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d1899c655c3248b2aacdcfed5ec3112a\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I find myself in the unique situation of standing to support the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill under urgency, after standing to oppose the original bill, the Taxation (Urgent Measures and Annual Rates) Bill, under urgency less than 6 months ago. It is a strange situation, which anyone with half an eye on the global economic situation could have predicted 8 months ago. But, first of all, I say to Dr Pita Sharples that 80 percent of his constituents got nothing out of the tax cuts. Pita Sharples sold his people out. Is that fair? No, not at all. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000436\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EI would like to talk about one thing in my 10 minutes\u2019 speaking time: the fact that Mr Key and Mr English knew of the impending economic crisis and its potential impact upon the New Zealand economy, yet they never pulled back from their tax cut package during the last days of the election campaign. This is not right, and it is simply not fair. I think it is quite interesting to note that today ANZ and the National Bank upped their interest rates, on the day that we were given a jobs Budget. Will those two major banks upping their interest rates help the ordinary Kiwi bloke? Of course it will not. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000437\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EI know that Mr Key and Mr English are smart men. Let us give credit where credit is due.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000438\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229a0bf258bb914f9185b774bccbe775f0\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Why?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000439\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221d152892d6a245948ef97efcf925d1e9\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: I will tell the member. Someone like Mr Key, who made significant money in international finance, knows about risk management and the fundamentals behind assessing financial risk. Mr Key knows how to read economic forecasts and future financial trends probably better than anyone in this House, except for David Cunliffe, Mr Mallard, and Mr Horomia. That is how our Prime Minister made his fortune\u2014by trading. It is all about assessing risk, then putting in place strategies to mitigate and beat the odds. A lot of it is about bluff and big balls, because if they get it wrong it can go spectacularly wrong, and many in this game do not succeed. We have ample evidence of this in the collapse of Mr Key\u2019s old firm, Merrill Lynch. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000440\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EThe fact that Mr Key made so much money analysing and then beating the odds means he was probably pretty good at it\u2014in fact, pretty damn good at it. Good on him! He was a good money market trader. He knew how to play the odds. But did he play us? Were the voters of New Zealand simply lines of data on a spreadsheet, to be manipulated in the same way that was used in an attempt to manipulate data on the international currency movements? Were the voters of New Zealand who ticked National on election day taken for a ride on the promise of tax cuts? That is an interesting question, and now it appears we have our answer. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000441\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003ELet us look at Mr English. Sure, he is as machiavellian as they come. He would have to be to become leader of the National Party, after previously being the Minister of Finance in charge when fiscal management mistakes were made over the handling of the last recession suffered by this country, in the late 1990s. Luckily that recession was cyclical and not structural, which basically means that our export markets held up and we could trade our way out of it. This recession is structural, which basically means that the fundamental way we do business, both in New Zealand and globally, has changed. It has to change. But Mr English was not quite machiavellian enough. He got rolled for the leadership by the right-wing ideologue Ruth Richardson masquerading as Don Brash, after being trounced in the 2002 election by a Prime Minister who knew the country wanted substance and vision. Mr English could provide neither, nor can he today. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EWhen Don Brash\u2019s time was up, Mr English got rolled again, by another very smart odds and numbers man in John Key. That must have hurt. [Interruption] I ask Dr Coleman what we, the people of New Zealand, have ended up with today. We have a money market trader who understands risk management, and therefore is an expert manipulator, as Prime Minister, and a machiavellian man who has not quite the grasp of political or economic philosophy, or numbers, as Minister of Finance. Let us face it. If he knew the numbers he would be Prime Minister now, and he would not have been rolled by Brash and then passed over by his colleagues for Key. Ouch!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000443\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022673509afedc44f7c88d0103b789c9f03\u0022\u003EHon Dr Jonathan Coleman\u003C/span\u003E: He\u2019s just read the Budget today. I think it\u2019s a lot more fun than the Opposition.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000444\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022945ddecf65b14f8dad2785c31e526a79\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: In October of last year, when Dr Coleman was out there telling his constituents that under National they would get tax cuts, these two puppet masters\u2014let us call them \u201CM and M\u201D: the manipulator and the machiavellian, the then Leader of the Opposition and the then deputy leader of the National Party\u2014were reading The Economist magazine. It was commenting at the time on the state of the global and the New Zealand economy. \u201CM and M\u201D would have, no doubt, read the following from The Economist. On 29 October last year, a little over a week before New Zealand\u2019s general election, it stated: \u201CAfter the most eventful and creative six weeks in the history of central banking, a half-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday October 29th was almost anti-climactic. Nonetheless, it was an important strike at the deepening recessionary forces surrounding the American economy \u2026 Within America the financial crisis is showing signs of easing, but the economic crisis is only just starting, as the Fed broadly acknowledged. \u2018The pace of economic activity appears to have slowed markedly \u2026 Moreover, the intensification of financial market turmoil is likely to exert additional restraint.\u2019 \u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000445\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003ELet us go over that again: \u201Cthe economic crisis is only just starting,\u201D \u201CThe pace of economic activity appears to have slowed markedly\u201D, and \u201Cthe intensification of financial market turmoil is likely to exert additional restraint.\u201D This is all in the world\u2019s largest economy\u2014the global engine room. I can picture how this went. \u201CM and M\u201D would have sat down over a coffee in the manipulator\u2019s office. Key says to English: \u201CThis is bad, Bill. The world is going to hell in a handbasket and we are promising tax cuts that will be totally unaffordable. I have done the numbers, and it won\u2019t work.\u201D English says to Key: \u201CFor God\u2019s sake, John. It\u2019s about winning this election at all costs. Let\u2019s promise them the world, and when we get in we can tell them whatever we want. Key then says to English: \u201CSo, if we fool them all, can I become Prime Minister, Bill?\u201D. English says to Key: \u201CIn name, yes, John. Now go out there and tell the people what they want to hear. And that stuff about the ides of March is just a story; we all love you, John.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000446\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EI tell members that \u201CThe M and M Show\u201D knew exactly what it was doing, and rushing the original tax bill through Parliament was all part of the plan. In my humble but educated opinion the voters of New Zealand were hoodwinked in a way that only the National leadership can do. I say to Dr Coleman that National would do anything to get elected. It is cynical politics. The people of New Zealand need to know this, and today they have found it out. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000447\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EI am rapt about this bill because it means that Napier will return to Labour. I am sorry for Mr Tremain, but there is nothing wrong with being a list MP. This bill is not what the people of New Zealand voted for.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000448\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226a6a05703ad0456a99c6bdc71ab5307b\u0022\u003ECraig Foss\u003C/span\u003E: Come on, what odds?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000449\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002226df31b078654a48ab8b5fb55955be20\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: If I win Napier, I will give Mr Foss my tax cut next year and the year after. Oh, hold on a second, they have just been cancelled! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000450\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EI remember sitting opposite Mr English at the Finance and Expenditure Committee and asking him whether, in light of the fast-deteriorating global economic crisis, National was still going to push through its tax cut legislation. Mr English\u2019s response was that it would, because it is what the voters voted for. Well, Mr English has now taken away what the voters voted for, and hence has taken away the reason he thinks National won. What will he tell the people of New Zealand who put him there on the promise of a tax cut? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000451\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u201CM and M\u201D\u2014the manipulator and the machiavellian\u2014are now in a spot of bother. They are in a catch-22 as they are shown to be either the master manipulator and the machiavellian who misled the majority of the masses, or slightly slow. What would they rather be\u2014sneaky or simple, standard or poor? It is not for me to decide, but I can tell members that my mates have called me and texted me about this situation and they are not particularly happy. When I said to them that they knew this was going to happen and that tax cuts were not affordable, most said that they knew that, but they did not really think\u2014they trusted Key. But no more. They say that the honeymoon is over and the love is gone. To \u201CThe M and M Show\u201D I say that 2011 cannot come quick enough to get rid of the show of broken promises. The people of New Zealand know that this is simply not fair. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022 data-id=\u00222858eee2704f49bcb939e5024c85c545\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000452\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222858eee2704f49bcb939e5024c85c545\u0022\u003ECHRIS TREMAIN (National\u2014Napier):\u003C/span\u003E On one of the most important days for New Zealand this year we hear a fictional play written by Mr Stuart Nash. If he thinks he will win back Napier he can dream on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000453\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EWe should be focusing on the facts, and I want to tell members about a fact that will appear in the headlines tonight in the Television One and TV3 news. It is the Standard and Poor\u2019s announcement: \u201CInternational credit rating agency Standard and Poor\u2019s has cast a favourable verdict\u201D\u2014not a negative verdict, but a favourable verdict\u2014\u201Con the Budget, upgrading New Zealand\u2019s outlook from negative to [positive].\u201D That is a fact. Standard and Poor\u2019s, one of the most important credit rating agencies in the world, has said that it is putting a positive outlook on our Budget as a result of what was delivered today. There is nothing fictional about that. No fictional playwriting is going on in that regard. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000454\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225950cdd843fe45599ce41235e2ab170a\u0022\u003ECraig Foss\u003C/span\u003E: It was negative when Labour was in; it\u2019s positive now.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000455\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002249dedaaeb1344c8e8313780a90da2eed\u0022\u003ECHRIS TREMAIN\u003C/span\u003E: Exactly. When Labour was in office we had a negative outlook. Now that National is in office we have a positive outlook, and that has to be good for New Zealand. What does it mean? Let me make just a couple of quick points. It means $600 million in savings on interest rates alone. As a result of that improvement in our rating, we have delivered $600 million into the back pockets of Kiwis through not having increased interest rates. That is a fantastic outcome. What is even better, though, if we put that aside for a moment, is that it will allow the arteries of finance to stay open. The veins of finance will continue\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000456\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002229eda7259efc4a03aedda145cc2e3665\u0022\u003EStuart Nash\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. On Mr Tremain\u2019s facts, he knows that 75 percent of people in Napier earn under\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000457\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002249ff9e6b698b44cda5c1e24ef1c5652a\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member will sit down. That is not a point of order; it is a debating point. The member cannot bring in that sort of material on a point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000458\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022630a779430fc4f81b2ef034556f9b803\u0022\u003ECHRIS TREMAIN\u003C/span\u003E: It will keep the arteries of finance open and it will allow businesses to stay operational. They will be able to continue to borrow and we will be able to get on the path to recovery. That is what has happened.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000459\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EAnother fact from Standard and Poor\u2019s will end up on the news tonight. It said today that the Budget delivered a sound outlook. That is high praise. Just a few minutes after Bill English had delivered his Budget, we received the following high praise from Standard and Poor\u2019s: \u201CThe change in the outlook on the \u2026 rating reflects our view that the measures announced in today\u2019s budget will support stabilisation in the government\u2019s fiscal position over the medium term.\u201D If that is not positive, I do not know what is. Here we are in one of the biggest recessions of the last 60 years, and the Government has delivered a Budget that has put us on a pathway to a strong recovery. It is absolutely fantastic.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000460\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EWhat did we see from the Opposition today, apart from the fictional play that we had before? We saw \u201CVisa-nomics\u201D. We saw Mr Phil Goff\u2014\u201CWhack-it-on-the-bill-Phil\u201D\u2014recklessly say in the House today that we should keep on spending. He said that we should keep on increasing our debt and putting ourselves in a position whereby our kids will have to pick up that debt down the track. It was absolutely crazy. Delivering that sort of Budget would burden Kiwis with an immediate downgrade. But it is not that we heard anything of any note from Phil Goff, apart from increasing expenditure. Did we hear anything about what he would change in order to deliver that? No, we did not. He just talked about more debt\u2014\u201CWhack-it-on-the-bill-Phil\u201D. It was all about putting more on the Visa card and burdening Kiwis with more debt.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000461\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EWhat we heard from National was a reflection of where the real economy is. The really important thing is that out there in New Zealand businesses are doing it tough. They are going through their profit and loss statements line by line, looking to see how they can take expenses out of their budget so that they can remain in business. It is not so that they can make a profit; many businesses out there are trying to keep afloat, and they are going through their budgets line by line to do that. There are people out there who have recently lost their jobs, or who are facing the prospect of losing their jobs. They are not faced with a situation where they can be fiscally prudent; they have to be tough and go through their budgets line by line. That is what this Government has done. It has gone through the Budget line by line and taken out as many expenses as it can. It has provided a Budget that will take us forward, which is fantastic.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000462\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EOn the other hand, \u201CWhack-it-on-the-bill-Phil\u201D thinks we can just keep on spending and racking up debt\u2014spend, spend, spend, and the debt grows. National members understand the position the economy is in and we have had to make some tough calls. Whether or not members opposite like it, when New Zealand is in a situation like this the Government has to make tough calls, and we have done that. At the time of the election, when we made our initial call about tax cuts, we made some tough calls in order to afford tax cuts, based on the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update delivered to us at that point in time. At that time we made some calls about research and development tax credits and KiwiSaver. Once again, in this Budget we have made some tough calls about what we have to do, and one of those tough calls has been to stop the second and third tranches of the tax cuts. That is something we have to do in this economic environment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000463\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EMr Ross Robertson asked us before about what the future was under this Budget. It has given us a debt track that is rising but will then go down. It has given our kids a strong outlook for the future. Today we are in the position of having to hit the tax cuts on the nose with this tax bill so that we can go forward, and Standard and Poor\u2019s has delivered us a fantastic result because of it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022 data-id=\u00228c420440810a423c8e9b211dee1d9aaa\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000464\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228c420440810a423c8e9b211dee1d9aaa\u0022\u003EIAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Labour\u2014Palmerston North):\u003C/span\u003E Before Christmas we were in this House late at night, day after day, ramming through tax-cut legislation under urgency. National could not get it done fast enough. Why? It was because the Government wanted to stick to Mr Joyce\u2019s mantra: \u201CFind out what they want; give them what they want; then tell them that you\u2019ve given it to them.\u201D The Government wanted to be able to say before Christmas \u201CWe\u2019ve given it to you.\u201D It wanted to put on the fa\u00E7ade of a hard-working Government that was getting on with it, but it was all smoke and mirrors. National knew before the election that those tax cuts were completely unaffordable. Now, a mere 6 months later\u2014not even that\u2014we find ourselves under urgency with the Government running as fast as it can away from the broken promises that it knew it could not keep. The Government knew full well that there was not a chance that these tax cuts would go ahead\u2014not this year, not next year, not the year after. Bill English was not talking about the tax cuts when he used those words, but he may as well have been. There is no doubt that this Government cannot be trusted on anything. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000465\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003ESitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000466\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022276885b264b543d4869b3624cdb04198\u0022\u003EIAIN LEES-GALLOWAY\u003C/span\u003E: Before we headed off for the dinner break I was reflecting on the bizarre symmetry that has been created by this situation. Before Christmas there was a need for urgency to rush through some incredibly important policies that the Government needed passed by Christmas so that it would look like it was doing something. We forced through tax cuts under urgency, yet tonight we find the Government, under urgency, running as far away as it can get from those tax cuts. The Government has done a handbrake turn so sudden and so violent that its members should have their cars crushed. It is just incredible how quickly the Government has turned around on this policy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000467\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003EWhen Bill English talked about not this year, not next year, not the year after, he was talking about the cycleway, but John Key crushed him on that, did he not? Mr English was actually talking about the tax cuts\u2014they will not happen next year or the year after. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003EBefore the election, when all these promises were being made, John Key liked to compare himself to Barack Obama. He knew that Barack Obama was on to a winner so he thought he would try to ride that wave and compare himself to Barack Obama. One could write a thesis on the differences between John Key and Barack Obama, but I would like to focus on one difference in particular. Obama\u2019s campaign phrase was: \u201CChange You Can Believe In\u201D. He was upfront, he was honest, and he delivered the tax cuts that he said he would deliver. He costed them out, made his pledge, and delivered on every single one of his promises. He promised to cut taxes for low and middle-income earners. Why? Because it was fair and it was the best way to stimulate the American economy. That is unlike what we have seen in this country, where tax cuts have been delivered to the rich, who will save them or spend them on overseas trips, and where poor, low-income families have been shafted by the Government and have received absolutely nothing. Obama delivered, but this Government we cannot believe in. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000469\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003EThe one thing that this Government has not done a U-turn on is research and development tax credits. They were gone before Christmas, and they are still gone. In my hometown, Palmerston North, research and development tax credits\u2014Mr Power knows this\u2014were welcomed with open arms. Palmerston North is an innovative city, and so much of its economy is based on research, innovation, and scientific development. Those credits were something that this country could have seen as a way out of this recession. Recently, Moana Mackey came up to Palmerston North, and we spoke to the science sector there. Those people said that they wanted to be taken seriously as a sector that can lead New Zealand out of the recession. But what has this Government done? It has slashed those research and development tax credits and taken the Fast Forward Fund with them. What have we seen today? We have seen an attempt at an about-turn, but it is not even half of what the Fast Forward Fund had and not even half of what Labour pledged. It has nothing like the security that that innovation fund offered to the science and research community. Those in the science sector want to know that their funding is secure, and this Government cannot deliver them that level of security. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000470\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003EHow can we move towards being a high-wage, high-earner economy? How can we catch up with Australia, as this Government keeps insisting we can? Government members said over and over again when they were in Opposition that we were far behind Australia, and they pledged that our wages would catch up to Australia\u2019s. But how will we do that if we insist on focusing on being a low-wage, no-innovation, dumb economy with moves like scrapping research and development tax credits and the Fast Forward Fund? The talk is all about productivity. Well, research and development is all about productivity. John Boscowen from the ACT Party said earlier on in this debate that it is all about developing productivity. But then he got into what he really wanted to talk about\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000471\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002227f2a0909f7247dc9e4c806fc770eeac\u0022\u003EHon Darren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: Himself!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000472\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002203e320e9421b456189a7451ab802a002\u0022\u003EIAIN LEES-GALLOWAY\u003C/span\u003E: No, no, there was not a lamington in sight. What he really wanted to talk about was how awful Working for Families was. He absolutely slated it. In fact, he was in good company, because John Key called it \u201Ccommunism by stealth\u201D. But not today! John Key was crowing today about the fact that the Government was able to maintain Working for Families and interest-free student loans. He even crowed about the tax credits that were delivered on 1 October. I know that John Key wanted to lead a Labour Government\u2014he said so himself\u2014but he is taking the flattery just a little bit too far. He should watch out for Bill English. The knives will be out, and he will be in trouble soon if he keeps flattering the Labour Party with that sort of rhetoric. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000473\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003EBut the dark, grey clouds are looming. There are ominous references throughout these Budget documents, and they say that New Zealanders have to prepare for changes. There will be shifts in funding from low-priority, unproductive areas to more productive areas. We know what they on the other side of the House do not like. We know what dead rats they had to swallow: Working for Families, interest-free student loans, universal superannuation\u2014which is in a whole world of trouble now, and will not be around by the time I retire, that is for sure\u2014and KiwiSaver. The Government has already put a dent in KiwiSaver, and, I tell you what, it is lining it up. KiwiSaver is even referred to in this bill, in the provision allowing mortgage diversion. I understand\u2014although I was not in the House at the time\u2014that that policy came from United Future. But that is OK, it does not matter, it does not mean anything to Peter Dunne. He has jumped ship before and he will do so again. He has jumped ship on the provision to allow mortgage diversion. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000474\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003EThe Government members are having a drag race to see who can get the furthest from tax cuts. They want to try to position themselves far away from the promise they made before the election. They want to get as far away from it as possible. The promise that John Key made at the National Party campaign launch was: \u201CWe all know what will be the first to go under Labour, whether they want to admit it or not, and that is the rest of their tax-cut package. Well, unlike Labour I\u2019m going to be straight-up about my priorities. That\u2019s why I\u2019m sending a card to all of you. It\u2019s called My Key Commitments to You and it will be delivered to every household in New Zealand over the next 10 days.\u201D His very first commitment read: \u201Cstrengthen the economy, increase after-tax incomes, and ensure Kiwis can get ahead under their own steam by reducing personal taxes on 1 April 2009, 1 April 2010 and 1 April 2011.\u201D In other words, next year, the year after, and the year after that. Mr Key went on to say: \u201CAnd unlike Labour, we won\u2019t cancel our tax cuts.\u201D He also said: \u201CMost of all, New Zealanders will be able to believe our tax cuts, they will be able to trust our tax cuts, \u2026 What is more, we can afford to do it.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000475\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003EThis bill is dastardly, deceptive, and dishonest. That is how this Budget has been, and that is how this one-term National Government will be remembered. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022 data-id=\u0022a64b5219a8e8472fae400c4901196e2c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000476\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a64b5219a8e8472fae400c4901196e2c\u0022\u003ENATHAN GUY (National\u2014\u014Ctaki):\u003C/span\u003E The previous speaker was Iain Lees-Galloway from Palmerston North. He failed to tell the people of Palmerston North that he will be voting for the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill. He has been whipped into line and will support this bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000477\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003EI need to make a few introductory remarks. The Labour caucus is all over the place on this bill. Tonight on Close Up I heard the Labour leader, the Hon Phil Goff, say that we should have more tax cuts, yet in the House tonight Labour is supporting this bill. I also heard the Hon Phil Goff say this afternoon that the National Government was lucky enough to inherit an economy that was in good shape. Well, what a misnomer that is! How could Phil Goff possibly stand up in the House today and say that with any credibility, when the books were open at the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update, and there was a decade of red ink and deficit? That member is an absolute embarrassment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000478\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003EHe also said that this Budget was a Budget of missed opportunities. I need to bring to the House\u2019s attention that this is a very tough economy. It is the toughest since 1930, and, indeed, we are in our sixth quarter of negative growth. A member who has recently departed the House\u2014Michael Cullen, the former Minister of Finance\u2014said on 20 March 2008 that a recession was unlikely. The following day he said that he expected a technical recession. He squandered the good years\u2014the magnificent years\u2014that we had, which were nothing to do with what the former Labour Government did. All those years were squandered. We came into Government, opened up the cupboard, and found that\u2014whoopsie\u2014the cupboard was bare. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000479\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003EIf we want to set the record straight, I say that the now dumped president of the Labour Party, Mike Williams, said there was a deep dark secret in the 2005 Budget. Wait for it! Then in 2005 the Minister of Finance said that Labour was moving the income thresholds, and that the average worker would benefit by 68c\u2014just half the cost of a packet of chewing gum. Then, lo and behold, the Labour Government had to cancel the tax cut. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000480\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003EThis Government is going about its job in particularly difficult times. We have already rolled out our tax package\u2014$13 a week to the average hard worker\u2014and we are actually moving on and supporting entitlements. All the constituents in the \u014Ctaki electorate, particularly those over 65, will be pleased to know that we are supporting them in superannuation. Those who are reliant on Working for Families in particularly hard times will be very pleased to hear that we are supporting their entitlements. This bill has the support, I believe, of those members across the other side of the House, as well, which is surprising because when we hear their speeches, we wonder whether they are supporting it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000481\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003EI think Labour members owe it to the public of New Zealand to give them a bit of an indication on this two-part bill, which is only a couple of pages long, as to whether they will filibuster this bill like they did with the Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill to the tune of 8,000 amendments in this House. The next speaker from the Opposition should stand up in the second reading and say where Labour stands in terms of the Committee stage, and whether it will support this bill in its current form. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000482\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003EBill read a first time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000483\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00225c34b38ef8bd4fc88b039a8e2c6270fb\u0022\u003ESecond Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022 data-id=\u0022194d45aa197949729341eab9d50a1eaa\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000484\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022194d45aa197949729341eab9d50a1eaa\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE (Minister of Revenue)\u003C/span\u003E on behalf of the Minister of Finance: I move, That the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill be now read a second time. As I said in the previous debate, this bill is necessary to ensure the Government can deliver its explicit medium tax policy goal of a broad based - low rate system that raises revenue in the most efficient manner to support the objective of aligning the top personal, the trust, and the corporate rates at 30c in the dollar. It is something that I have long advocated. I think it is a necessary solution to the problems we currently have within the system of people using companies and trusts to shelter personal income, because the current misalignment of the rates provides scope for people to use those entities to structure their affairs in a way that benefits and reduces their liabilities.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000485\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224e0e118de56045b292482b57759471f5\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: Just stop progress to that end.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000486\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c3d1293e0b1142849ba9300ba70159f9\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: I should say to the member that we have in place the tax policy work group under the aegis of Victoria University, and it will be putting forward a wide range of options for public debate in an open environment over the next few months. The Government will then make some calls early next year on where it wants to go in terms of those options and the pursuit of that objective. One of the things that we have lacked in this country for a long time\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000487\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221c3737277b204dc7957ba174799cacc0\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: You can\u2019t make money out of thin air.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000488\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c3a789b791c24926a7556cf81915719f\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: I would have thought that the member opposite would be keen to have an open, wide-ranging debate about tax policy and about the future structure of tax policy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000489\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002251832c72bf594910a594b1d0b3a93934\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: We\u2019ll be there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000490\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226d7ee287130348c4910fc2ad8533b048\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: The member says that they will be there. I welcome that. I look forward to his input, and I look forward to the outcome being one that will see us better placed to achieve the objective that I have just stated. Let me come back to the bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000491\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226484a61cd6034f7e8213523651fd3ab4\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: Roger Douglas wants 20c.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000492\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002232b3a035854641e28ffa2ecab2915185\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I am not Roger Douglas.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000493\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a2c9f5e20b16404c8b9127e5d68fdc27\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: But you are heading in that direction day by day. You should be very afraid!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000494\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222bb0ee6cae914c47a3525292c0f9ceb4\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: Let me say to the member that he might like to speculate upon many things, but I think both Sir Roger and I would be horrified if we ever ended up in common company.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226c524e26b5564f57989cb9b447bc5c50\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: You both used to be in the Labour Party.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000496\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c5908ec38c434c7798da64a6f23d3e4c\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: The Labour Party was a very\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000497\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228268c713244c4f70a098121ba5d09ee7\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: It was a very broad church in those days.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000498\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228766bfa3ee304f1eb50eccec771fb8bd\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: That is dead right. In fact, I do not think there are many people in New Zealand who were not in the Labour Party at some stage; the trouble is that most of them grow up. Let me move on. When the Government\u2019s tax cuts in April this year\u2014[Interruption] Well, there is one over there. The problem with the Labour Party is that it is a great launching ground for political careers; most people, however, grow up and move on to other things.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000499\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003ELet me come back to the bill. Delivery of the first round of personal tax cuts in April this year was a critical part of this Government\u2019s policy. It followed on from the legislation introduced before Christmas, and it put an extra billion dollars into the pockets of about 1.5 million New Zealand workers. That round of tax cuts and the tax cuts introduced by the previous Government in October last year were affordable. The April tax cuts this year were funded by concurrent changes to the KiwiSaver programme, the abolition of the research and development tax credit, and the replacement of the out-stages of the previous Government\u2019s tax cuts. So those changes currently in place are not affected by the bill before the House today, but the future tax cuts for 2010 and 2011 have become unaffordable in the meantime, for the reasons outlined in the Budget. If we look at the Budget tables, we see a revenue decline that shows that the 2008 revenue levels are unlikely to be reached for another 3 or 4 years. There is a question of how one pays for those costs.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000500\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003ETo go ahead with tax cuts in this environment would simply add to Government debt at a time when we are already in deficit, and when we need to reduce the debt burden not just on the Government and the economy but on households, which bear the burden.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000501\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022748066c58b5f4936aa0705e27807f3da\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s right.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000502\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fa15d1c85e1c4354b94898518e3110cd\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: I am glad the member opposite agrees.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022177120dff6d54d77a02f75cc2c61ef08\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: You knew before the election. You did.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000504\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002297b3723c7c95419aa0c32be0b935d28f\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: At the time of the election a lot of things were going on in the international economy, and they were changing day by day. To suggest that there was a crystal ball out there that made all of what has happened this year, and all of the changes that the Americans, the Australians, and the British have had to cope with, predictable in October or earlier last year, is simply fanciful. No one actually knows what the depth of the international recession is, except, perhaps, for Mr Cunliffe, who is now sharing his knowledge with us. I think it is wonderful to have his omniscient presence in our midst, and I am sure that when he does speak he will share some more wisdom with us about the state of the international economy, when New Zealand will recover, and all of the things that we need to be doing by way of economic policy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000505\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EIn the meantime, let me come back to a bill that has to be passed now to put on hold those tax cuts for the future, to make clear to New Zealanders where they stand, and also to give some certainty and direction, which has already been positively welcomed by the rating agencies since this Budget was brought down.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000506\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EPart 2 has effect more urgently. It closes off the KiwiSaver mortgage diversion option. The member who spoke at the end of the first reading debate, Nathan Guy, said it was a United Future initiative, and he was absolutely right. It was put forward by a former colleague of mine; it has not worked. I was the Minister who recommended it\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000507\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f1b9e7a830914355a3b6ee826010c227\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: There are a lot of those.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000508\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226b3da2f5f76b4932a8a200ac8ac12081\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, of his particular initiatives. I dare not mention his name, because it causes me grief\u2014the member will know why. But the fact of the matter is that it was my proposal to get rid of it, because it is simply not working. We have more than 1 million people in KiwiSaver, but fewer than 600 have taken up the mortgage diversion arrangement, which is spread over a number of funds, and in a number of cases there probably are fewer than 100 people per fund. It is simply unworkable. We therefore are saying that those people who are currently in the system can stay in it as long as their fund providers wish to retain the option, but for new entrants we are closing it off with effect from 1 June this year. It was potentially a good idea, but it has not worked. I am sure the member opposite who is nodding his head would agree with me that if there are good ideas that do not work, we should get rid of them. This is one of those, and I do not think anyone will greatly mourn its passing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000509\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EWith those few comments I am very happy to commend the second reading of this bill to the House this evening.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022 data-id=\u002229f98e352ae848c79f0e74da2dc89516\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000510\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002229f98e352ae848c79f0e74da2dc89516\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour\u2014New Lynn):\u003C/span\u003E Before the election, the only thing National was going to cut was taxes. After the election, that is about the only thing it is not going to cut. Today is Budget day. The kimono has been opened, and we find that there is not a lot there. This bill makes a liar of the Prime Minister. The man who signed the personal guarantee to say that there would be tax cuts\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000511\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226a4a49949c444dee95e97bc5e06d6e19\u0022\u003EChris Tremain\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000512\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d8139d53da604c7da90588b9576ecacf\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: I do not think you need to explain what your point of order is. All members are honourable members. I think the way in which the member phrased that was beyond\u2014I will ask him to withdraw the comment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000513\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225226e03037f64fbc89773a653f3cccd2\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE\u003C/span\u003E: Speaking to the point of order\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000514\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dc96b572443d4e3eba90b33e837b9c4d\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: No, I have ruled that the member will withdraw the comment. That is all I require.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000515\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fac5445f0aec4dfcb90654b2500e5fcf\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE\u003C/span\u003E: I withdraw the comment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000516\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EI raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Respecting your wisdom in this matter, it none the less leaves me on the horns of a rather uncomfortable dilemma. As you will see from the speech that follows, I can find no other explanation for the course of events than that the leader of the National Party knew before the 2008 general election\u2014or should have known\u2014that these tax cuts could never be affordable.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000517\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228b689ea9e2934b9699c9956c853ee3c1\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: I have the gist of what the member is saying, and that argument has been tried many times in the House. There is no way that the member can imply that about a member or use the word that he did. All members are honourable members. The member has to exercise his brain to express himself in another way. The member will continue.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c19bc4f8e9204da58cb311bde3dd7a9e\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE\u003C/span\u003E: The key point here is that the Hon John Key knew before the election that these tax cuts could never be afforded. There are only two logical possibilities: either he knew, or he should have known. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000519\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EAs a matter of evidence, let us look at the historical record. The International Monetary Fund issued a warning in October 2008 in its World Economic Outlook. It said: \u201CThe financial turmoil that began in the summer of 2007 has mutated into a full-blown crisis,\u201D.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000520\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dd90026fcd2c4b649e47cc894de1a39b\u0022\u003ECraig Foss\u003C/span\u003E: What did you do at that time, when you knew that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000521\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223b4520b9945a4353a88f89e4410cf8c3\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE\u003C/span\u003E: I am coming to that, if the member will just wait patiently. On 14 September 2008 Mr Key\u2019s old firm, Merrill Lynch, was gobbled up by the Bank of America. On the next day, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt\u2014nearly 8 weeks before the election. Mr Key likes to remind us that he was a member of the foreign exchange committee of the Federal Reserve Board of New York\u2014a very august body. He would have been patently unqualified for that role if he had been unable to take the hint that two major investment banks on Wall Street had bitten the dust and there was a tad of trouble. One cannot have it both ways. One cannot be qualified to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of New York, yet miss the hint\u2014Lehman Brothers hitting the wall is a bit of a giveaway, right? If he knew, yet promised to continue with tax cuts, the Assistant Speaker has better wisdom than me of how one might describe that. The word I wanted to use, I cannot use, but I cannot think of another. There was a deception, an untruth, a very long stretch of the imagination. But either way, the public of New Zealand were conned. They were conned that they could have everything that they had liked under Labour\u2014they could have Working for Families, smaller class sizes, and cheaper doctors\u2019 visits\u2014and they could have 3 years of tax cuts as well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000522\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EYou know, the tax cuts were always economic lunacy. The first one took three-quarters of a billion dollars from people below the average wage who really needed the help and would have spent it straight away, and, by the Minister\u2019s own admission, transferred it to upper income earners. But worse than that, it gave 30 percent of it\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000523\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f74667f6398544ec8856533ec55fc41b\u0022\u003EHon Simon Power\u003C/span\u003E: Just keep walking.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000524\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223e26a499281e40d299ec5cd9a6f9203d\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Power may laugh, but Mr Power unfortunately will not be in the top group that got one-third of the money. Three percent of income earners got 30 percent of those tax cuts\u20143 percent of income earners. I do not know who would call that fair, but certainly not the taxi drivers I have been using. They are gobsmacked by that; they talk to everybody. So let us assume that ordinary New Zealanders think that was a rort. It was a political payback to the people who bankrolled the National Party to deliver for them\u2014and it did. That was the 1 April tax cut. We are all good-humoured in this House, but sometimes one just has to call it like one sees it. It seemed to me to be political payback. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000525\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EThe key point\u2014and it is a Key point\u2014is that the Prime Minister, then the Leader of the Opposition, must have known before the election that this tax cut could not be afforded. Before Christmas, this House was thrown into urgency to pass the tax bills in the dead of the weekend to get them through. And here we are, in the dead of the night, un-passing them, because the penny has finally dropped in the National Party that they were ridiculous. I ask colleagues to contrast that with the responsible actions of the New Zealand Labour Party, which canned a whole lot of election campaign promises\u2014I did in health, and there were whole portfolio manifestos we did not even release\u2014because we did not want to promise more than we could afford. We did not want to promise more than we could afford, because the public of New Zealand have had a gutsful of being conned. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000526\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EToday is Budget day. Today is the day National cannot hide any more. It has to open the books, and the public has to see. It is no surprise, therefore, that on Budget day the charade was finally dropped. The argument in this House is not whether the tax cuts were a good idea\u2014finally National has come round to our way of thinking, which is that they were always bollocks. Now that National is voting them down, we are happy to support that. There is no confusion in the Labour position, because it has not changed. The senior whip on the Government side should be reminded that it is his party that has done the U-turn. It passed the tax cuts, and it is repealing them, and good on them for having finally mustered the courage and the wisdom to do so.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000527\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002223de6bd3-0482-495d-88f4-7cc3f75d8442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223c93fefc6126483bb9a32ca493233756\u0022\u003ENathan Guy\u003C/span\u003E: You\u2019re voting for it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000528\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220898936c51bc4b45a1500e61360a2e6e\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE\u003C/span\u003E: We are for it\u2014that is what I am saying. You did not used to be; you have changed your mind\u2014not you, Mr Assistant Speaker Roy. He changed his mind. You, Mr Assistant Speaker, are known for your consistency and wisdom. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000529\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222b4b7e8fe3fa4053a13fe6ca097f36ad\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: Oh!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000530\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c5de40a7877c476eb68598822e83fb5c\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE\u003C/span\u003E: Look, a man has to take his chances when he can get them. He is such a good Assistant Speaker, is he not? Labour today stands alongside the hundreds, probably thousands, of decent, hard-working New Zealanders who will be joining the unemployment lines. We are disappointed and we are angry that certain decisions have been taken that mean that some of them actually need not be there. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000531\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EOn Budget day, we are faced with a Budget that is remarkable for what it does not do. As, I think, Vernon Small from the Dominion Post said, it does nothing for the short term. There is no new stimulus. There is some reprioritisation of old money and dressing up of old programmes. There is no new stimulus, and these tax cuts remove part of the stimulus that was there\u2014it was not a very good stimulus. Those unemployment lines will grow. And it does nothing for the long term. There is no plan. There is no growth strategy. Heck, there is not even an Economic Development vote of much meaning left. There is no research and development to give tax cuts for. There is no Foundation for Research, Science and Technology to speak of; there is no Fast Forward. There is no Skills Strategy. There is a doughnut with a gaping great hole in the middle that is New Zealanders\u2019 future. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000532\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EThe punchline of this Budget has been the decade of deficits in superannuation. It is one thing to suspend contributions for a year; it is another thing to suspend them for 10 years. Our children will have to pay $30 billion out of their taxes because this Government did not have the fortitude to buy assets when assets where cheap, and maintain the consistency of that purchasing fund. Not only that but if that Government really had to take a holiday, what would have been wrong with doing that for a year or two, and then telling the people of New Zealand how it was going to catch up again? But, no, those members could not do that; they had to have a 10-year holiday. It is like people not going to the gym for a decade and then thinking they will still be fit. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000533\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EMaybe Mr Key does not mind his second great con\u2014the con that he would personally guarantee to maintain superannuation\u2014because he knows that he will not be the Prime Minister when those chickens come home to roost. So his personal guarantee is as useful on superannuation as it was on tax cuts: \u201CI personally guarantee 3 years of tax cuts\u2014this year, next year, the year after\u2014oh, sorry, is that what Lehman Brothers going bankrupt really means? You mean there is no growth? There is a deficit? We can\u2019t afford them, after all? Sorry we put you into urgency before Christmas. Sorry I told you in the House that these could be afforded. I guess I was wrong. Gee, whizz, how silly of me; I\u2019ve been saying that for 6 months. I know I was a merchant banker, I know I should have known, I guess I just got it wrong.\u201D Nobody believes that. The taxi driver does not believe it, ordinary New Zealanders do not believe it, and they will have their returns in 2011 when we win the next general election and restore integrity in New Zealand politics.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022 data-id=\u0022b7e8943e8b0b43958de55658fc8a5a3e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000534\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b7e8943e8b0b43958de55658fc8a5a3e\u0022\u003EHon SIMON POWER (Minister of Justice):\u003C/span\u003E That was David Cunliffe, the man who cannot decide whether he is an attack dog, a statesman, a policy wonk, a poet, an orator, or a leader-in-waiting. You see, the strange thing about his contribution is that while sitting through the Budget and watching closely the reactions of members on the front bench of Labour I picked up three interesting facts: the majority of those members had their heads down and did not look up during the entire speech given by the Hon Phil Goff; Trevor Mallard, at the conclusion of the speech, clapped between six and nine times and sat down before anybody else\u2014a long period before anybody else\u2014and the only other person who strayed from either of those models was the Hon David Cunliffe. There was a grin on his face as broad as a picket fence. He was pleased with how badly the Hon Phil Goff did, because his numbers person, Moana Mackey, was back there with the clipboard, doing the numbers, working out that she alone had the key to his popularity, and tipping him on the numbers required to shift him across one seat. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000535\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003EWe could see in David Cunliffe\u2019s contribution to this second reading debate how he was edging towards Phil Goff\u2019s seat as he was speaking. He was positioning himself just at the point where he could comfortably drop into the seat, knowing that Ms Mackey was quietly ticking away there in the background. She has been beavering away with Ruth Dyson and Darren Hughes to get the numbers together for David Cunliffe in order to make sure he has sufficient numbers to get him over the line. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000536\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003EI came down to the Chamber for the end of the first reading, thinking to myself that this second reading debate could be interesting. I came down to listen carefully to some of the contributions being made, and my colleague from the Manawat\u016B Iain Lees-Galloway gave a spirited contribution. I sat and waited, the vote was taken, but the only sound I heard was that of a tumbleweed. There was no vote. After all the protestations from the other side, and all the clicking of pens from Moana Mackey as she did the numbers for the Hon David Cunliffe, what did we get? There was not one vote opposed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000537\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003EThe interesting thing about all of this is that when I came to Parliament in 1999\u2014and this is my tenth Budget\u2014I learnt that\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000538\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002242747eb9edcd44c9b97e8dc06e90499d\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: What is the point of this?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000539\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b555fac83e004385bc027451e44bc047\u0022\u003EHon SIMON POWER\u003C/span\u003E: This is the point: the first lesson of Opposition is to oppose. We have come down to the Chamber for the new Government\u2019s first Budget and for the first bill under urgency after the first Budget to find that Opposition members are for it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003EWhat an unusual arrangement we have here. I would not have picked Moana Mackey as David Cunliffe\u2019s numbers person, and I would not have picked that for the first bill under urgency after the Budget, when we are down here ready for a spirited fight, we would have a big pause, the sound of tumbleweed, and a vote that Labour members are for the bill. That is unbelievable. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000541\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003EWe heard today that fiscal conditions have changed dramatically in recent months. The Hon Bill English gave a speech this country can be proud of. He delivered a Budget this country can be proud of. What is more, the first bill to come to this House after the Budget has the unanimous support of every party here. That has not happened before in my 10 years here. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000542\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003EI also say that we learnt very soon after the delivery of the Budget that Standard and Poor\u2019s has removed the negative outlook from New Zealand\u2019s AA\u002B foreign currency rating. Moody\u2019s Investors Service says that New Zealand\u2019s triple A rating, which is on a stable outlook, is not immediately affected. Not only did we maintain entitlements, and not only have we set the course for a difficult but achievable task ahead, but the ratings agencies have backed the Budget today. For the first bill in urgency after the Budget has been delivered, they are not the only ones backing this Budget; that party across the Chamber is voting for the first bill following the Budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000543\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003ELet us just cut to the chase here: nobody in this House believes that this bill is anything but sensible, necessary legislation to keep this country on course on what we know is a crucial path to ensuring productivity and improvement to this economy and our way of life. That member opposite, David Cunliffe, talked about the children of future generations. If it were not for this legislation and this Budget, their plight would be far more difficult. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000544\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003EToday we are seeing a Government prepared to make the hard decisions. They are not easy decisions to make, but they have to be made to ensure that this economy has the capacity to drive growth in the way that is necessary\u2014that is, a credible and balanced approach to dealing with a major recession. Those Labour members opposite left few choices\u2014aside from those that were unfunded\u2014for the new Government to come in and deal with. So I say to Labour members that if they are serious about contributing to this debate on this bill and on this Budget, then they should come up with some alternatives and get on with it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022 data-id=\u0022667048d729ec4581bf4d63584c727314\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000545\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022667048d729ec4581bf4d63584c727314\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E It is always nice to see Mr Power in the House, dealing out his own special brand of fantasy in the way that only he can do. He said that it was amazing that Labour was supporting this first piece of Budget legislation, but that is because the legislation is repealing National policy. The first piece of Budget legislation we have in this House is repealing National\u2019s election promises. That is why Labour is supporting this bill, so for National members to claim that they find it surprising that we would do that, just shows that they have no idea what it means to be consistent. Labour has been consistent on this issue. We said during the election campaign that National\u2019s tax promises were unaffordable. National members told us that we were scaremongering. When we went through urgency just before Christmas\u2014and the legislation was rushed through with no select committee process\u2014we said that the tax cuts could not be afforded, and National said that that was scaremongering. Well, less than half a year later, members should look at where we are. We have a bill repealing the very tax cuts that we said were unaffordable\u2014the very tax cuts that those members said could be afforded\u2014yet they are calling us inconsistent for supporting this legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000546\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EI have one prediction: even though Labour is supporting this legislation, so that it has widespread support across the House, Gerry Brownlee will still stuff up the management of the House. Even though Labour is supporting the bill, Gerry Brownlee will still struggle to get it through under urgency. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000547\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EMr Simon Power went on to talk about Standard and Poor\u2019s and the fantastic announcement that we had today. Well, of course Standard and Poor\u2019s would say that, because that agency effectively wrote this Budget. Standard and Poor\u2019s got to see the Budget before the National caucus saw it. It got to see it before the people of New Zealand did. National stands up and acts surprised that Standard and Poor\u2019s liked it, but when they were the only people who were allowed to see it before it was delivered, that should hardly be surprising. Mr Key said it was great that the Budget got such a high rating from Standard and Poor\u2019s, and that is not a bad thing, of course. But so did Enron, as Mr Goff pointed out in his speech. So what we have from Standard and Poor\u2019s is a triple A rating for Enron, for subprime mortgages, and for Budget 2009. I can see why Mr Power would be very, very excited about that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000548\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EHere we are; it is d\u00E9j\u00E0 vu in this House. I remember the 1990 election. I was at high school. I went out delivering pamphlets locally. I remember the election promises made by the National Party at that time, and all the things it was going to do. Basically, it adopted Labour Party policy, and then added a whole lot of stuff on, just like it did in 2008. Then National got into power and it claimed that it never saw the recession that everyone else saw coming. National members said they never knew it was going to be as bad as this, and they used that as an excuse to back down on their election promises. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000549\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EWhen it comes to Tory Governments, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Here we are again. Mr Key was either the only person in the entire world who did not see the global recession, the financial crisis, that was coming, which would be unusual given his background, or\u2014and this is the more likely scenario\u2014he did see it coming, and knew how bad it was going to be, but he made those election promises anyway because he wanted to buy the election, just like National did in 1990. It has done so again in 2008. When we in Labour stood up on the campaign trail to point this out and said we would have to shelve a whole lot of election promises that we were going to make, because we knew that we were not likely to be able to afford them\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000550\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220b99d98b3a4440a4a49d95967f18d58d\u0022\u003ECraig Foss\u003C/span\u003E: You didn\u2019t say that!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000551\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fba88fde9c394449b85328959351fb70\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: I say to Mr Foss that we did. We also said that we would do a mini-Budget before Christmas. Because things were changing so quickly, we needed to introduce a stimulus package. National told us that we were wrong. National chose to coast and wait until May this year, as was its prerogative. It did not have to do a Budget before Christmas. Now National expects the people of New Zealand to seriously believe that it did not know that its tax cuts were unaffordable when it promised them. Labour knew that this legislation was coming. We knew that it was coming when we were forced under urgency before Christmas to pass those tax cuts\u2014a full third of which, by the way, went to the top 3 percent of income earners.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000552\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002200abc2c248e2406e9ea50d23ebfa9586\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: What?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000553\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b47903550eb1493d95a970a2fa5f40d3\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: A full third went to the top 3 percent of income earners. How is that a stimulus for our economy? How is that a stimulus? Not only does it not help the low and middle income New Zealanders who need that extra money right now, but those earners were the people who were going to go out and spend it. They were the people who were going to spend that money and stimulate our economy. But no, National members had some favours to repay from the election campaign, so they rejigged the tax cuts that Labour gave to low and middle income New Zealanders and gave them to the top 3 percent of income earners. Then for the rest of New Zealanders, we are here now debating this legislation, just like Labour said during the election campaign we would be doing, and just as Labour said when National was passing its tax cuts under urgency before Christmas. National called it scaremongering, but the truth has been shown here today. This legislation repeals National\u2019s tax cuts. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000554\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EWhat did John Key say about this when he was desperate to get elected? He said that his very first commitment\u2014his personal guarantee\u2014was to strengthen the economy, increase after-tax incomes, and ensure that Kiwis could get ahead under their own steam by reducing personal taxes on 1 April 2009, 1 April 2010, and 1 April 2011. He then went on to say that, unlike Labour, National would not cancel its tax cuts. So what is this from the party that stood up on the election campaign trail and said that it would not cancel tax cuts, unlike Labour? Let us remember that Labour gave significant tax cuts during our term in Government. We are the only party that ever gives business tax cuts, ironically. We have given tax cuts for research and development, and we have given tax rebates for families through the Working for Families package. What has National done, when the rubber hits the road, what is it doing in its first Budget? It is cutting the tax cuts. Labour is supporting this legislation, because we are consistent. We said that it should not be done, when the legislation was passed before Christmas. We opposed the legislation for the tax cuts that we are now repealing. So not even 6 months later, after rushing through tax cuts under urgency, here we are in urgency again, cancelling those tax cuts. How efficient! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000555\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EGiven John Key\u2019s position on the election trail, perhaps instead of being called the Prime Minister he could now be called the \u201CPrime Misleader\u201D. He knew very well that we would be here today. He is a nice guy, he smiles a lot, and yesterday he quoted \u201COn the Good Ship Lollipop\u201D. As Bill English said, he bounces from cloud to cloud. I think he thought his personality would pull him through this. The fact is that this is a rort; this is an absolute rort. The people of New Zealand were absolutely conned at the last election, again\u2014just like they were in 1990. It is really tragic because we should be here tonight discussing legislation that creates jobs. We should be here\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000556\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224ebd2105edc64cfd8e030bf7981054e0\u0022\u003EAmy Adams\u003C/span\u003E: We are!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000557\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002245495a6d3eb247fea76faff8afbe9882\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: Cancelling tax cuts that were lied about during the election campaign does not create jobs. I am sorry; it does not. We should be here passing a package that creates jobs and supports jobs. We should be here passing legislation that will increase wages, not decrease wages. We should be here reinstating the research and development tax credits that National foolishly cancelled last year. These are tax credits that help our most innovative companies, tax credits that will help our exporters, and tax credits that everyone in New Zealand agreed with, apart from the National Party. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000558\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ab8df346cf6b493db39aadea92878b13\u0022\u003EDavid Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: How can you afford tax cuts? Tell us how you\u2019re going to pay for them!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000559\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022643849967a794251afc24fdd3d587238\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: Those are the policies that will grow this economy, I say to Mr Bennett. Mr Bennett went out on the campaign trail and said that his party\u2019s policy on the Fast Forward Fund Ltd was stupid, and that the Fast Forward Fund Ltd should stay, and he was right in that respect. The Fast Forward Fund Ltd has been replaced by a sickly and insipid replacement. This is from the party that said that the replacement would be as good as, or better than, Labour\u2019s. That was another con; another broken promise. This is a shameful, shameful night for the National Party, and a very sad night for New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022 data-id=\u0022e9de9cc7f51a4ade9fb7cbebea961d5b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000560\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e9de9cc7f51a4ade9fb7cbebea961d5b\u0022\u003EKEVIN HAGUE (Green):\u003C/span\u003E My colleague Jeanette Fitzsimons spoke in the first reading debate of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill. She indicated that the Green Party intended to support it, but that we had not yet made up our minds about Part 2 of the bill. That is still the case: I rise to support the bill, but to express reservations on Part 2. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000561\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003EIt is a pleasure to be able to support this bill in an environment where apparently everyone in the House, including our colleagues from the ACT Party, are now opposed to these future tax cuts and will be voting in favour of the bill. I intend to speak not to beat up the Government for changing its mind, but to praise the Government for changing its mind. It takes a certain amount of maturity and bravery to indicate that one was wrong in the first place, so I think the Government deserves the House\u2019s praise for saying that it was wrong to introduce the legislation to provide for the tax cuts, the Taxation (Urgent Measures and Annual Rates) Bill, and that is why it is repealing them today. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000562\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003EThis legislation is not the only area in which the Government has shown bravery in its performance today. In the House, prior to Christmas, one of the lines of questioning that the Green Party had for the Minister of Finance was in relation to the number of green-collar jobs that the rolling maul of measures to deal with the recession would create. I think it is fair to say that the response we had indicated a fair amount of ridicule towards the idea of green-collar jobs. There was a sense that they did not really matter, because a job was a job, and a green-collar job was no better than any other kind of job. It was with a sense of pleasure that I heard the Minister of Finance in his Budget speech today refer to green jobs being created by one of the Budget measures.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000563\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003EThe third area the Government has today fessed up to having been wrong on prior to Christmas is the Green Homes Fund. The Green Homes Fund was a $1 billion fund over 15 years that had been created through the Green Party liaising with the then Labour Government. One of the first actions of this National Government was to scrap the Green Homes Fund. We said at the time that that was the wrong thing to do, and it is with an enormous sense of pride that I am able to stand here today and acknowledge the particular contribution of the outgoing co-leader of the Green Party, Jeanette Fitzsimons, who has championed the issue of home insulation and energy efficiency over more than a decade in this House. She has the single greatest responsibility for having wrought the multilateral consensus that home insulation and energy efficiency are sensible and prudent measures for any New Zealand Government to take. I salute Jeanette Fitzsimons and I also thank the Government. I thank the Government for admitting that it was wrong to scrap the measure before Christmas, and I thank the Government for having the courage to come back to the measure and to reinstate home insulation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000564\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003EThat particular new policy has been brought about through the Green Party\u2019s memorandum of understanding with National. I note that our two parties will be working together on further areas of energy efficiency in the future. I look forward to further gains we can make, because all of this learning the Government has done over the past several months, moving on from decisions made before Christmas that turned out to be wrong, has the potential to be transferred to other areas. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000565\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003EI have just returned from the Green New Deal listening tour, on which I spoke at five public meetings over the last week about the Green Party\u2019s Green Stimulus Package. Home insulation is certainly one of the measures we advocated. We were saying it is possible to address simultaneously the economic crisis facing this country and the environmental crisis that also besets us. If it is possible to address both crises simultaneously, then why on earth would we not do so? We advocated measures not only in home insulation and energy efficiency but also in transport efficiency. It is possible to create 40 percent more jobs by investing in public transport, walking and cycling initiatives, and traffic demand management than by investing in motorways, which is this Government\u2019s choice. We advocated measures to protect waterways in rural areas and thereby protect New Zealand\u2019s \u201Cclean, green\u201D, \u201C100% Pure New Zealand\u201D brand, which is at severe risk, but has huge economic benefit to this country. We advocated building 6,000 State houses to a high energy-efficiency standard. We also advocated a variety of community-based employment opportunities, including more housing and waste minimisation schemes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000566\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003EAll those schemes would have created assets and jobs for New Zealand. It is $3.3 billion worth of spending, and at least 43,000 green-collar jobs. The Green Party\u2019s fervent hope is that it will be possible for us to take the learning the Government has done over these three measures\u2014repealing the tax measures, understanding the importance of green-collar jobs, and the Government\u2019s new commitment to home insulation and energy efficiency\u2014and transfer it to some of those other areas. This is the kind of green new deal that New Zealand so desperately needs. It is a green new deal that solves our economic problems and addresses our environmental problems at the same time. The Green New Deal should include taking some effective action on climate change. I look forward to the day when it is possible for all members of this House to support effective measures on climate change, just as we are all supporting the repeal of these taxation measures today. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000567\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003EI also note that one of the other causes we have been championing on the Green New Deal listening tour is innovation. The answer to New Zealand\u2019s need to increase productivity is not everyone working harder; it is actually using innovation and thinking about how to do things in different ways\u2014changing the goalposts and changing the ways we reach them. This Government can also do some learning around innovation. Research and development tax credits have been scrapped. The Fast Forward fund has been scrapped and replaced by an anaemic copy. I spent a day this week with the Sustainable Business Network. It is a fantastic organisation that actually has the answers to improving New Zealand\u2019s productivity, and has just had its funding slashed by this Government. So there is an awful lot of potential for transfer of learning. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000568\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003EI will conclude with a couple of comments about urgency. When the Government took urgency for its 2 weeks of shock and awe before Christmas, the Green Party objected to urgency at that time. We said it was not necessary and would lead to bad decision-making. We were right on both counts. As Jeanette Fitzsimons said in her first reading speech today, we are also right in saying that urgency is not required at this time. Urgency has been taken today because the Government is embarrassed about changing its mind. We say that the Government does not need to be embarrassed, because it is doing the right thing and it should be proud of the fact that it is prepared to learn from its mistakes. In respect of Part 2 of the bill we see the exact reason why urgency is a bad idea. We have yet to hear an argument in favour of Part 2 of the bill. If the bill had been referred to a select committee, then maybe we would have heard an argument in favour of Part 2 and we would be able to vote for it. We will support the bill but oppose Part 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022 data-id=\u002282f53ce0b599439a89e674307afed057\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000569\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002282f53ce0b599439a89e674307afed057\u0022\u003EHon Sir ROGER DOUGLAS (ACT):\u003C/span\u003E I was interested in Kevin Hague\u2019s comments about green initiatives. The Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill includes a major green initiative, which the member referred to\u2014home insulation. But the thing that distinguishes my approach from the approach of the member, who believes that only the Government can do these things, is that I believe that we need to think about the issue in other ways. Can we get a market mechanism to do this so that the Government does not have to spend this sort of money? The decision to spend the $323 billion is based on research that is quite suspect. I will not go into that, but I will make one suggestion of what we might have done to achieve the same thing. For example, we could have made it compulsory to state on a land information memorandum whether a home was insulated. Currently, a land information memorandum report does not have to state whether a house bears insulation. If it is stated on the report, then people who are about to buy a house would haggle on the price and there would be a done deal. Similarly, if a rental property is advertised as being uninsulated and the rent drops, landlords then receive an incentive to insulate it. Sometimes one can do these things in ways that do not involve a huge Government expenditure. But that is not really what I stood up to talk about. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003ELet us understand what this bill does, why the Government believes that it is necessary, and what are the consequences of the bill, along with other measures that are being taken by both Labour and National. This bill defers\u2014if we believe that\u2014or gets rid of the tax cuts for 2010 and 2011. Those tax cuts would have reduced Government revenue by somewhere between $900 million and $1,000 million in a full year. National had a choice. Let us understand that. National had a choice of whether to cut expenditure by $1,000 million, to not introduce new initiatives of $1,000 million and have the tax cuts, or to refuse to cut expenditure and refuse to defer new expenditure initiatives. National decided to get rid of the tax reductions, breaking\u2014as Labour members have pointed out\u2014its election promise. I think that choice has the support of virtually everyone in this House. If the expenditure reduction is not made, then the tax reduction cannot happen. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000571\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003EMy personal preference would have been to reduce expenditure and, as a result of that, have the tax cuts. I say this because we are in a recession and this country will have to make an adjustment. This House is deciding who will feel the pain. People will feel the pain of adjustment, and this House is deciding that the people in the private sector will feel the pain. The farmers and their workers that National represents will feel the pain. The unionists on the Labour side and their members in the private sector will lose their jobs and feel the pain. There is a choice, and there is no free lunch. Let us understand that. For example, an across-the-board 2 percent cut in Government expenditure\u2014and it is a blunt instrument\u2014would have enabled us to have these tax cuts. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000572\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003ELet us look at what has happened. If we go to the core Crown expense tables on page 176 of the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update, we see that from 2008 to 2010 core Crown expenses as a percentage of GDP have increased by 5.5 percent. We need to understand what that means. That 5.5 percent increase in core Crown expenditure is equivalent to $10 billion. So in this bill and in other ways we are taking $10 billion out of the private sector and giving it to the public sector. That period includes 1 year of Labour and 1 year of National Government. We are making a deliberate decision in this House that all the costs of adjustment, all the pain, and all the unemployment will be out there in the private sector. When there are jobs lost in members\u2019 constituencies, members should remember that they decided that that is what they wanted and what they voted for. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000573\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003EWe really are saying that the public sector is immune to a downturn; we will just lift the percentage of expenditure to GDP to make it immune. Worse than that, we are saying that the Government will expand it during a downturn. That means that ordinary people in the private sector will have to make the adjustment. They will have to absorb the shock. The collective decrease in GDP over 2 years will be around 5 percent, but if the public sector does not shrink, then it means the private sector\u201460 percent of our economy\u2014is forced to bear the full effects of that reduction in GDP. In other words, the private sector has to contract or reduce by $10 billion. That is what we are deciding. There is no free lunch. There is opportunity cost. We can kid ourselves, but that is the reality. We have decided that we will put a lot of people in the private sector out of work. Unless that $10 billion is spent as effectively in the public sector as it would be in the private sector, we will lose by a lot more as well. When the local restaurant closes down, when the local petrol station closes down, or when 100 people are laid off from a plant, remember that it was a result of these sorts of decisions we made in this House. Per week, $200 million will be taken out of spending in the private sector and unemployment is likely to increase as well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000574\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003EThe only way that we can get through this and for this country to prosper is to start to increase productivity. If we as a nation continue to throw money at health as we did under Labour, and see the productivity of doctors continue to decline by 15 percent and that of nurses by 11 percent, we are going nowhere. When we look at the health sector, we see that the only part of that sector where productivity increased was where the work was contracted out\u2014for cleaning staff and orderlies. We had better learn. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000575\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022923091645860493f813dc560ea5bb7b1\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: Where they pay low wages.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000576\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022172d266b992f44f6b1907189f4b29621\u0022\u003EHon Sir ROGER DOUGLAS\u003C/span\u003E: It is not about wages.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022 data-id=\u0022a64bfd9de60c4a7983e6ee6f38fd751b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000577\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a64bfd9de60c4a7983e6ee6f38fd751b\u0022\u003ECRAIG FOSS (National\u2014Tukituki):\u003C/span\u003E It is a shame that the previous Minister of Finance, the Hon Dr Michael Cullen, was not here during the Budget speech to listen and read\u2014second-hand, of course\u2014the Budget that had to be put in place to repair the damage from the last 9 years, and in particular from the last 3 years of the previous Government. I will point to some of the numbers in a moment, but I am sure he has picked it up on the radio wherever he might be. The last 3 years were something of a travesty for the New Zealand economy, and we are paying the price right now. I commend the new Minister of Finance for making the hard call. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000578\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EI again note that so far under this National Government over $1 billion has been put back into the pockets of over 1.5 million New Zealanders. They are enjoying over $1 billion due to tax cuts that were marked in October last year and came into effect on 1 April this year. That is in addition to the $500 million in the pockets of small businesses around the country\u2014the engine room of the economy\u2014given by the Taxation (Business Tax Measures) Bill, which was passed in February this year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000579\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EPart 1 of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill is about delaying changes in tax cuts that were previously flagged. There are no secrets about that; we have been quite upfront. The key is why it is necessary that this happen. Part of the consideration, which I alluded to, is the last 3 years of the last Labour Government. One reason why the accounts of the New Zealand Government that we inherited are in such an appalling state\u2014contrary to the opinion of the Hon Phil Goff, who thought we inherited a great set of accounts; perhaps he was looking at them upside down through the wrong end of a telescope or something\u2014is that in the last 3 years there was an ongoing, compounding, 50 percent structural increase in spending. OK, some might like that\u2014the Keynesians over there might like that\u2014but the problem with it was there was only a 25-odd percent average structural increase in revenue. Hopefully someone sees the problem there. When expenses go up 50 percent and revenue goes up only 25 percent\u2014half of the increase in expenses\u2014there is a major problem. It is a compounding problem.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000580\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EThe impact of the shambles of economic management we had in the last 3 years is nowhere better demonstrated than on page 1 of the Minister\u2019s Executive Summary at the front of the Budget. The graph shows \u201CGross debt with and without Budget 2009 policy changes\u201D. Quite simply, that could also read \u201CGross debt track with a National Government or without a National Government\u201D. This graph shows us that without any changes, gross debt was going to peak at something like 70 percent of GDP. However, with the changes the Minister of Finance has made, the courage and leadership he has shown, and the Budget that we have before us tonight, the gross debt will peak at just over 40 percent, then track down to an average of about 37 or 36.5 percent. The reason that graph is so important is that it represents New Zealand\u2019s future. If the gap were not addressed, and the blue line\u2014the line showing gross debt without the Budget 2009 policy changes\u2014kept going up, that would mean our youngest leaving for brighter shores and a further slide down the OECD rankings. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000581\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EI heard previous speakers from the Opposition talking about what a wonderful thing it was that they had delivered on their commitments, or something like that. I seem to recall that one of Labour\u2019s commitments was to have New Zealand in the top half of the OECD within 10 years. I recall that that promise was made in 2001 at the Knowledge Wave conference; I have not heard about that promise in a while. We are almost in 2011, and I ask members whether we heard anything from Mr Goff or Mr Cunliffe about getting New Zealand up to the top half of the OECD. In fact, I think we were No. 22 and sliding when Labour left office. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000582\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EWhy is this legislation necessary? International conditions that have been unheard of and unseen since the Depression years of the 1930s are forcing some very hard decisions on this Government, but it is prepared to make them. This Government is prepared to do what is right for New Zealand, for New Zealand\u2019s future, for our children, and for our great country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000583\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EI note that Opposition speakers\u2014and I will come back to this point in a minute\u2014seemed to imply that they knew everything was coming, and they knew that global economic conditions were going to be where they are today. Labour knew that the subprime mortgage situation was going to go all the way and wash on to these shores. They knew all these things! Actually, as I noted in a first reading speech, Dr Cullen, the previous finance Minister, is on record as denying that. It is very interesting. I do not quite know the angle that the Opposition is trying to go for. It keeps on alluding to an IMF report from midway through last year. As I said, I recall that report, and it begs the question: given that Labour knew in July last year, when it was in Government, the conditions that were going to be thrust upon us now, what did it do about it? In July last year, according to Mr Cosgrove and Dr Cullen, the Labour Government knew. They are accusing Mr Key of not doing enough about it in Opposition, but Labour was in Government in July last year\u2014with all the knowledge of being in Government, with all the forecasts, and with the information\u2014and it did nothing. The accusation that members opposite have been making is somewhat misleading, and very, very generous with the truth. It is perhaps revisionist of their final months in office. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000584\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EMr Cunliffe keeps talking about the Superannuation Fund, and what a great time it is to buy assets. If he knows that, and if he knew the market was going down, why did Mr Cunliffe not sell assets when he was in Government, when the assets were priced higher? Why did the previous Government buy so many assets when they were so expensive? Why did it not sell them? Mr Cunliffe knew that we were going have these incredible conditions that have not been seen since the 1930s\u2014according to his speech, it was obvious! Well, the central bankers did not know. Heads wiser than many in this room did not know. Treasuries around the world did not know. President Obama did not know. The Bank of England did not know. The General Motors Corporation did not know. Prime Minister Brown in the UK did not know. But the members opposite\u2014Mr Cosgrove, Mr Cunliffe, and the Hon Phil Goff\u2014did. They somehow knew! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003ESince then, about a trillion dollars worth of assets across the globe have been wiped out. The Labour members say they knew, but they cannot have it both ways. If they knew about the recession back then, what did they do about it? They did nothing. They alluded to a mini-Budget, but they were not going to tell us about it. I recall that when Dr Cullen was asked about it, he was a bit smug. It was more of a one-off comment of his, I think. Labour did nothing. I ask Labour to show us the information and to show us what it was going to do, because if those members say that they were not going to tell us, then they went to the electorate under some kind of untruth. The Labour Government was going to have a mini-Budget because it knew, with its lovely IMF report, what the economic conditions were and the fact that things were going to deteriorate somewhat badly. Yet back then Labour did not do anything, even though it had a mini-Budget that was going to solve it all, but which it is not going to tell us anything about. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000586\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EI think we need to hear a bit more from the members opposite. I note the sagacity of these people; I keep asking them what the Lotto numbers will be next week, given that they know everything else. I will give members a quote, because we will be hearing about the Superannuation Fund: superannuation entitlements are exactly the same now\u2014today and tomorrow\u2014as they were yesterday. They are exactly the same. The entitlements are \u201C66 at 65\u201D. The entitlements were \u201C65 at 65\u201D, but with the agreement of the Rt Hon Winston Peters they went up to 66 percent. National has taken those rates up. I recall an offhand comment that, I believe, Dr Cullen made about the Superannuation Fund. His words were along the lines of: \u201CWell, we\u2019re going to have these surpluses. I\u2019ve got to stash away $2 billion a year, because I can\u2019t let those nutters get hold of them.\u201D I bet he was talking about his colleagues. To be fair, that was a somewhat off-the-cuff comment from Dr Cullen. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000587\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EI will round up by talking about Part 2 of the bill, which makes changes to the mortgage diversion facility. I acknowledge the Hon Mr Dunne for his confession, if you like, that it was a policy brought in by United Future. I recall one of his party\u2019s members speaking at the time about the nuttiness of the Government trying to have the KiwiSaver savings scheme at the same time as it was trying to encourage debt. Lo and behold, the policy has not worked. Only about 600 people out of over a million have taken it up. I look forward to working with this bill as it goes through the House. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002267aa5137-7503-4a8f-bde1-1811615598e2\u0022 data-id=\u0022d799f86716ca49288c8aba8017c9fea9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000588\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267aa5137-7503-4a8f-bde1-1811615598e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d799f86716ca49288c8aba8017c9fea9\u0022\u003EBRENDON BURNS (Labour\u2014Christchurch Central):\u003C/span\u003E I am very pleased to follow the thrusting and hands-on chair of the Finance and Expenditure Committee, Craig Foss, who is marked for better things in this Government. Yet\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000589\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022945203637263400b97e84d5bb05fa3a5\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: No, he\u2019s not.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000590\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267aa5137-7503-4a8f-bde1-1811615598e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002267eef2b29eec41fb8baa51d97983fe41\u0022\u003EBRENDON BURNS\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014supposedly\u2014he has the temerity to say to the House that the previous Labour Government in its Budget of last year should have known what was coming. He is part of a Government that introduced the tax measures that this Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill is repealing tonight, and he stood up to defend that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000591\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267aa5137-7503-4a8f-bde1-1811615598e2\u0022\u003EThere were to be three rounds of tax cuts and none of them were affordable or fair. Here we are on a Budget night under urgency. It is not unusual to have urgency on Budget night, but normally it has something to do with a compelling initiative or change that introduces important and relevant measures. That is not the case tonight from this Government and this Minister of Finance. After the \u201Cdoughnut\u201D Budget\u2014all hole and missed opportunities with just a bit of recycled dough\u2014the Government introduces this bill. It is not a bill that truly requires urgency. Its main provision does not take effect for another 10 months, and the rest 1 year after that. I say to members that, yes, this Labour Opposition supports the bill. We acknowledge that we are in a recession. We knew that last September-October when we as a party revised our pledges to the electorate in the face of what we knew was a gathering storm. But the National Party, the then Leader of the Opposition, and the then Opposition spokesperson on finance did not. They maintained the facade, as the Crosby/Textor manual requires, and told people that they could have their cake and eat it too. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000592\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267aa5137-7503-4a8f-bde1-1811615598e2\u0022\u003EThat facade told people that they could have most of what the Labour Government had given to them, including Working for Families, secure superannuation\u2014although we know that that is now under some question\u2014interest-free student loans, and the whole package, and that they could also have three rounds of tax cuts as well. That facade was maintained throughout September, throughout October, throughout the election campaign, and throughout the introduction in this House of those tax cuts in legislation, which was debated under urgency last December. We knew it was dubious, we knew the fundamentals were simply not there to support it, and now that is being acknowledged with this bill tonight. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000593\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267aa5137-7503-4a8f-bde1-1811615598e2\u0022\u003EThose promises were made, so the Government had to construct an escape route. It had to soften up the voters and tell them that the economic conditions, known to most people by the end of last year, were such that the second and third round of tax cuts could not now be afforded. Yet the Government still proceeded with round one of the tax cuts, and it introduced those tax cuts in a way that gave a third of the money to just 3 percent of taxpayers. Those tax cuts ignored people who were on below the minimum wage. The Government refused to acknowledge that the first fundamental imperative of a recession is the need to put the money where it is most needed, and to put it in the direction of people on the average wage or below who will spend every dollar they get\u2014people who will not save it, or use it to go on overseas holidays, or to pay debt. That is why Labour accepts the need for this bill and why we support it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000594\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267aa5137-7503-4a8f-bde1-1811615598e2\u0022\u003EWe knew that those tax cuts were a false premise and a false promise. We knew that last September, last October, and last December. The Minister of Finance knew that in December with Treasury\u2019s financial update. He knew it in February when he spoke to the departmental chief executives and said there would be no new money. This bill now before the House is no surprise to anyone. It is part of a \u201Ccut and hope\u201D Budget, a Budget that took a line from Dickens\u2019 A Tale of Two Cities. It was described as a \u201Cworst of times\u201D Budget. It could have also been, to quote Dickens, a \u201Cbest of times\u201D Budget that projected to the future and provided some investment for training. It could have done that, but there is barely a word about training and investment in this Budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000595\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267aa5137-7503-4a8f-bde1-1811615598e2\u0022\u003EIt is also a Budget that had only one reference to the environment. That was in the context of water management and the need to allow for quick and efficient decisions for productive investment. I acknowledge the funding for insulation in the Budget, an issue I have long championed; it has not been an exclusive issue for the Greens. We want to ensure, as we look through the detail of the announcement on insulation, that the legislation will extend to rented properties, where many of the poor housing stock exists. One suspects that the Government\u2019s motivation in respect of this issue is that this initiative will deliver quick results, and that is great for people who live in cold, uninsulated homes. There are 900,000 homes across New Zealand that either do not have proper insulation or lack any insulation at all. But in terms of where the Government is coming from, one suspects that it is part of that equation that asks whether there will be a quick return in the electoral cycle. We have seen that in the area of health. We have seen that with money spent on hospitals rather than on primary or public health initiatives, which do not deliver the quick returns. We have seen it in transport, where roading infrastructure gets funded but not rail or cycling. So much of the Budget is built around getting those sorts of early results.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000596\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267aa5137-7503-4a8f-bde1-1811615598e2\u0022\u003EI will comment briefly on the Budget\u2019s supposed focus on productivity and export-led growth, which is an issue that some members opposite have touched on. I note comments tonight from the Manufacturers and Exporters Association saying that this Budget contains little in terms of changes to support any real economic development. It says that although some attempt at\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000597\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225383ffb45101496b87e879b39d693890\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: What did Business New Zealand say?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000598\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267aa5137-7503-4a8f-bde1-1811615598e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022459a27bb757a482788172a447a1ac117\u0022\u003EBRENDON BURNS\u003C/span\u003E: I say to Mr Quinn that the Manufacturers and Exporters Association represents the productive sector of this economy. The association said that incentives to invest in research and development of productive assets, such as equipment and machinery, are lacking. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000599\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267aa5137-7503-4a8f-bde1-1811615598e2\u0022\u003EThe research and development tax credit was cancelled to fund tax cuts elsewhere. Here we are with a bill in front of us that wipes the second and third tranche of tax cuts, in part funded by the abolition of the 15 percent tax credit for research and development. What a travesty! This bill takes away the incentive for productive New Zealand, for manufacturers, and exporters to do well and grow the economy. To give it away in tax cuts, of which one-third was taken by the top 3 percent of income earners, is trickle-down economics if ever we saw it. It is an absolute travesty. Here we are, axing rounds two and three. It is no real surprise. Most hard-working New Zealanders will be very disappointed by this Budget. They know they have been diddled. They know that this Budget should have focused on jobs, but it did not. It is not a Budget that delivers for them. There is no mention of investment in training or of creating jobs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000600\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267aa5137-7503-4a8f-bde1-1811615598e2\u0022\u003EThis is a Budget that had its focus on having an eye on the 2011 election. Those members opposite should be shamefaced. Two weeks ago we were in this House debating other legislation, and members opposite were crying down at every opportunity the use of urgency to defend the rights of Aucklanders to have a say in the future of their city. Members opposite cried down that use of urgency, but at least it was appropriate. It had a strong connection to a relevant issue. Here we are tonight under urgency debating a bill that takes effect in 10 months\u2019 time and then 1 year on from that. It is not a matter that truly deserves urgency. We should be debating real initiatives to help New Zealanders to create jobs and to take the nation forward, and not simply be debating a tax measure that was a failure in its inception\u2014which should have been known, and was known certainly by members opposite. It was pledged to this nation and now the National Government is backtracking, using urgency to do so. Shame on it!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022 data-id=\u0022e54e7b137a28401f8c588845926ef71b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000601\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e54e7b137a28401f8c588845926ef71b\u0022\u003EDAVID BENNETT (National\u2014Hamilton East):\u003C/span\u003E Today is a fine day for the leader of the National Government, John Key; it is a fine day for the Minister of Finance, Bill English; and it is a fine day for the National Party. It is a fine day for our colleagues in the M\u0101ori Party, United Future, the ACT Party, and the Green Party, and it is a fine day for New Zealanders. They have got a Government that has listened to what is needed and has delivered what is required. This Budget will go down in history as one of the most successful Budgets, because if I ask members to show me anyone out there who is against this Budget, there is no one\u2014there is no one. All the emails we have been getting all afternoon have said that this is a great Budget, a perfect Budget, and the best Budget that can be made in these situations. That is what political commentators have been saying, that is what interested parties have been saying, that is what even political parties have been saying, and that is what the people of New Zealand have been saying.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000602\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003ENew Zealanders are out there struggling, and they know how difficult the times are. They know what it is to have the possibility of losing their job on Monday. They know what it means to have a high mortgage on which they do not want to see interest rates go up on Monday. They know what it is to struggle out there, so they have wanted a Government that has commitment, that has decency, and that has made the right decisions. And they have got it\u2014they have got it today. They have a Government that is showing leadership, direction, and smart ability to deal with the situation. That is what the National Government has delivered, and that is what we will deliver for many years to come, in this Parliament. The voters out there understand the dilemma of this world, this economy, and this country. They have wanted one thing: they have wanted a steady ship. In these uncertain times they have wanted certainty, and that is what they have got. They have got leadership that has delivered a certain future for New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000603\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EAnd what did people have within an hour of that leadership being shown? They had international commentators, people who determine the cost of credit for this country, saying that it was a great Budget and one that would turn us round and put us on the right path. That is the support we had from the international community within an hour of this Budget\u2019s announcement. It took only an hour and we delivered what the international community had not seen.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000604\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EThe other parties that are supporting us today have had big paybacks in the areas where they were looking for them. The M\u0101ori Party has done exceptionally well in this Budget, and the Green Party has done well in this Budget. Let us look at the Opposition. Labour members have sat in Government for 9 years, but what did they give the Green Party or the M\u0101ori Party? What did they give those small parties in 9 years\u20149 long, hard years? They gave them what?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000605\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224a33b0d46fe74c24a6bc9635f0fc668c\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: Nothing!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000606\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d999cf8a769e46b1a3692767753af249\u0022\u003EDAVID BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: They gave them nothing. The National Government has given them something. It has given them pride, it has given them respect, and it has given them a role in this Parliament. That is what we have given to New Zealanders today. We have given them a role, pride, respect, direction, and leadership. That leadership has been given the big tick, and that tick will go down in history as the first one for many successful Budgets for this country and this Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022 data-id=\u00222786018d5ed4414ca5e51b76be007d27\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000607\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222786018d5ed4414ca5e51b76be007d27\u0022\u003ESU\u2019A WILLIAM SIO (Labour\u2014M\u0101ngere):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you for the opportunity to take a call on the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill. Mr Bennett said that this is a fine day for National and for the Government. I say it should have been a fine day, but it was not. It was a disappointing day. Many of the people who have been listening to this debate are now looking towards a long, dark, and cold winter. This Budget was about broken promises, about no jobs whatsoever, and about continuing unemployment for many hard-working communities throughout New Zealand. This Budget means that a lot of ordinary families will be reduced to receiving lower incomes for the next 5 years. That is what has been forecast in the Budget by this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000608\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EEarlier I listened to the Hon Roger Douglas conveying his philosophy to this House. I felt that it was a cruel philosophy. It is a philosophy based on the law of the jungle, whereby the strong survive. That is not the kind of New Zealand that I am prepared to create. At least one thing is that I can appreciate that the Hon Roger Douglas was making things clear for the rest of the nation about that kind of philosophy. It is not the kind of philosophy that I support, but at least he has been up front about it. But I cannot say that about the National Government and Mr Key. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000609\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EThe bill that we are debating repeals the National Government\u2019s tax cut promises. This Government made promises at the beginning of its becoming Government and rammed through legislation to give tax cuts to 3 percent of the population. National members campaigned hard that a National Government would give tax cuts, and now we are having to debate this matter again, under urgency, to repeal it. Yes, the Labour Party is supporting the bill, because tax cuts was the wrong thing to promise in the first place, and it continues to be wrong. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000610\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EEarlier today we heard from the Prime Minister. He cracked a few jokes at the expense of the Labour Party, and all the National MPs laughed and took great joy and relish in making fun of us. As usual, the public would have been watching that and would have noted that Mr Key uses jokes and laughter to hide the truth. What is the truth? I will quote it. John Key, in his speech at the National Party election campaign launch on 12 October 2008, stated: \u201CIn laying out our economic plan, National has been very clear about our priorities. We all know what will be the first to go under Labour, whether they want to admit it or not, and that is the rest of their tax-cut package. Well, unlike Labour, I\u2019m going to be straight-up about my priorities. That\u2019s why I\u2019m sending a card to all of you. It\u2019s called My Key commitments to You and it will be delivered to every household in New Zealand over the next 10 days. In it are 11 commitments that I make to you.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000611\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EThe very first commitment on \u201CMy key commitments to you\u201D reads: \u201CStrengthen the economy, increase after-tax incomes, and ensure Kiwis can get ahead under their own steam by reducing personal taxes on 1 April 2009, 1 April 2010 and 1 April 2011.\u201D Mr Key then stated \u201Cunlike Labour, we won\u2019t cancel our tax cuts.\u201D What does this bill do? It proposes that the final two tranches of personal tax cuts in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 income years be repealed. That is what this bill is about. The tax cuts are being repealed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000612\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EThis is a Budget of broken promises. Mr Key promised the nation that he would give tax cuts, he was laughing about it, making fun of it, and now we are having to repeal them in urgency. Mr Key and the National Party should never have promised to have tax cuts. They knew it was wrong. They were warned. The Labour Party protested about them. The Government should never have implemented the tax cuts, particularly when they favoured higher-income earners. What about the ordinary New Zealanders who not only are working day and night to make their families better off and trying to support their families but also are moving the engine of New Zealand ahead? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000613\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EWhen the tax cuts were introduced, they created greed and individualism amongst many people who probably would not have ever considered tax cuts. It was probably the wrong thing to do, because in these times, and in the circumstances that we find ourselves in, we should be working together. We should be helping the weak, those who need help the most. But the Government did not give tax cuts to that group of people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000614\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EJohn Key, in my view, owes New Zealanders across this nation an apology for the Government\u2019s turn-round. We know, because before the election he made those promises, and to now renege on them is wrong. It should never have happened. I call on Mr Key to be up front and go out to the public and apologise. He should not smile about it. He should be serious. These are serious times, and people want real solutions that will help them to overcome the recession that we are currently in. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000615\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EIt is a shame that the bill makes a liar of the Prime Minister, and voids his personal signed guarantee to the people of New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000616\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a6918a7414a54906bcb49efcad6702bf\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member cannot use that term. He should withdraw that comment and carry on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000617\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ca044e2cf67a454c809e025c80d1c9cf\u0022\u003ESU\u2019A WILLIAM SIO\u003C/span\u003E: I withdraw that comment. The bill shows up the Prime Minister as somebody who did not tell the truth. He gave a personal guarantee to the people of New Zealand that they would receive personal tax cuts for each of the next 3 years. People would have made plans based on that statement, and now what happens? What will happen to those plans? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000618\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EThe only way that tax cuts were ever going to provide an economic stimulus was if the people receiving the tax cuts spent them, and the only way the tax cuts were ever going to provide any meaningful relief to New Zealanders in an economic downturn was if they were directed at those who need them the most. National\u2019s tax cut promise was completely misguided on both of those counts. Either John Key was oblivious to the catastrophic recession when he promised tax cuts, or he did know and chose to continue anyway. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000619\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EThat is why I say that the Prime Minister, Mr Key, was not telling the truth. There are harsher words that ought to be used, but I know that you, Mr Deputy Speaker, would pull me up again and ask that I withdraw them. The Prime Minister did not tell the truth. He knew that what he was doing would not eventuate. He went ahead anyway, rushed things through this Parliament in the beginning, and now we are having to rush through a bill to repeal the tax cuts. He is using, I believe, the recession to be able to repeal them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000620\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EListen to what Colin Espiner said about the Budget in his blog today. He stated \u201Cthere\u2019s no real vision or big new ideas.\u201D The Government has already raided KiwiSaver, and now it has stopped contributions to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. How will the more than $20 million lost to the Superannuation Fund be paid back sometime in the future? Mr Colin Espiner asked what we got for this recklessness. We got nothing; not even new training, not even new investment to ensure that this economy will grow. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000621\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EA lot of fancy words are being used when I listen to this debate, but they are all hollow words. There has been no substance. I know that families out there who are listening to this debate will see the hollowness of this Government\u2019s words.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022 data-id=\u00228d25a953b54d44f496e2f3545b8b5701\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000622\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228d25a953b54d44f496e2f3545b8b5701\u0022\u003EAMY ADAMS (National\u2014Selwyn):\u003C/span\u003E Today I am so proud to be a member of this National Government. I am so proud to be a member of this Government, because today we have seen the Minister of Finance deliver a Budget that is solid, that is sensible, that is prudent, that is responsible, and that is what this country needs right now. This Budget is putting us on the road to recovery. It is the first Budget that will take New Zealand through these hard times, and it will bring us out of them the stronger for it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000623\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003EThis is the worst recession in more than 70 years. Business as usual is not an option. We cannot carry on as though the recession does not exist. Today the Hon Bill English had some very difficult choices to make. He could have followed along in the mode of the previous Labour Government; he could have followed Michael Cullen\u2019s lead and carried on the massive explosion in Crown expenditure and not worried about burdening every single New Zealander with $45,000 worth of debt. The Labour Party would have every man, woman, and child carry $45,000 in debt, not to mention another 1.5 percent being added on to the interest rate on every mortgage of every family in this country. We could have carried on in that way, as Labour would have done, but we were not prepared to see debt blow out to 70 percent of GDP. That is not acceptable to us. National was not going to sit back and cripple future generations so that it could buy its way back on to the Treasury benches.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000624\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003EBill English has not only stopped that path to destruction; he has done it while protecting the entitlements of all New Zealanders. He has protected superannuation, he has protected Working for Families, he has protected interest-free student loans, and he has not cut any entitlements. He has protected New Zealanders. But in order to do that, hard decisions had to be made. We cannot achieve the wonderful outcomes that our Minister of Finance has achieved, without making some choices.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000625\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003EToday the Labour Party has demonstrated why it is incapable of managing an economy in times like this. It does not understand the seriousness of the debt situation. Labour members clearly have no grasp of the impact of credit downgrades. They do not understand that without our protecting that position, this country would be spending more on debt servicing than it does on health. A Labour Government would have spent more on debt servicing than it did on health. Labour members want us to know that they saw the recession coming. I find that hard to believe when they could not even see the billion-dollar hole in the accident compensation scheme books. Labour members are financially illiterate. They want us to borrow another $2 billion. They want us to rack up an extra $2 billion in debt every year, to pay 5 percent interest on that money, and to put it into the Superannuation Fund, which has lost 4 percent a month over the last 10 months. In the time that the Superannuation Fund has been going it has achieved half of what one could have got from putting the money in Government bonds. But Labour says that we should not let that stop us, that we should rack up another $2 million of debt on the credit card and chuck it into a poor-performing investment. That is great business!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003EIt is no wonder the people said that they do not want that crowd leading them through the recession, and that they want John Key and Bill English.\u201D Today they have delivered a Budget that I am proud of and that New Zealand needs. I congratulate them on it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000627\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003EBill read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000628\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022adf27f4506d1487883c747391ba6dec2\u0022\u003EIn Committee\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000629\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002264f1147636464922b81105e6562afb15\u0022\u003EPart 1  Personal tax cuts and independent earner tax credits: repeal of later years\u2019 changes\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022 data-id=\u0022b0c55ad7732941cc99fda1db5e822612\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b0c55ad7732941cc99fda1db5e822612\u0022\u003ECHRIS HIPKINS (Labour\u2014Rimutaka):\u003C/span\u003E It was a slightly surreal feeling to sit through the first and second readings of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill under urgency and hear National members rant and rave about how important it is to cancel the tax cuts that they passed under urgency just 5 months ago. How things have changed in 5 months! I thought it might be quite good fun to go back to the Hansard of 9 December 2008 and hear what National members had to say about why tax cuts were so vitally important. I go back to the speech made by David Bennett, who spoke not long before me tonight. I have a very good quotation from him from 9 December 2008, and I think it is quite a reliable one: \u201COne cannot say yes to tax cuts before an election and then say no to them after an election,\u201D. I have here the National Party\u2019s pledge card from before the election, in which it promises tax cuts every year\u2014in 2009, 2010, and 2011\u2014yet here we are sitting under urgency and National is taking those tax cuts away only 5 months after dishing them out. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000631\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThere is even better stuff from David Bennett. He said: \u201CThe National Government, with its coalition partners, will deliver a tax cut programme. We will not just talk about it; we will not just put legislation out that is about some time in the future. We will actually deliver that tax cut programme, and that is what we as a Government are about.\u201D In December 2008, that is what National was all about. It was the core part of what National came here to do, but 5 months later it is already backing down and going back on its key election promises. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000632\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EJohn Hayes talked about it not being a 1-year programme. Here is the really honest thing he said: \u201CMr English has been extremely ingenious in constructing this tax cut package.\u201D It turns out he was a lot more ingenious than National members realised at the time, because he never intended to go through with it; he was going to abolish the tax cuts anyway. John Hayes talked about the fact that it would be a pattern every year. Yet here we are, not even a year in, we are only 5 months in, and National members are doing away with tax cuts already. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000633\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EBill English talked about his tax cuts being prudent and responsible, but, he said, they would give New Zealanders the kind of hand-up they need when they face the most challenging economic outlook in a generation. The economic outlook has become more and more challenging, yet somehow we now do not need the tax cuts any more, so they will be taken away. Clearly the Minister of Finance, Bill English, can have no credibility when it comes to any promises that National made prior to the election. We know that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000634\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EChris Tremain is sitting there. He talked about building trust. He said the National Government was delivering on its promises and it would continue to build that trust. I ask Mr Tremain to stand up and say how cancelling the tax cuts only 5 months after the Government legislated for them is building trust with New Zealanders. National members have not lived up to the trust they were given by New Zealanders on 8 November 2008. Helen Clark and Michael Cullen were dead right when they said that the National Party could not be trusted to deliver on its promises. Five months later John Key and Bill English are already backing down on the core centrepiece of their entire election manifesto. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000635\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EI notice that National members have suddenly gone very quiet. They are very embarrassed about being hauled up on their pre-election rhetoric. Every New Zealander will now know that the pledge card that National put out before the election is not worth the paper it was written on, because there are 11 promises on it and the big red crosses here show that three of them have already been broken. We are not surprised about that, because this is the party that promises whatever it needs to in order to get elected, then does whatever it wants to once it gets into Government. If we look back to 1990 and the superannuation surcharge, we remember it was going to go, \u201Cno ifs, no buts, no maybes\u201D, but National increased it. At the last election National promised that it would deliver tax cuts every single year. National members said that unlike Michael Cullen\u2019s tax cuts, they would actually deliver them. It took them 5 months to break that promise. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000636\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EI go back to the book The Hollow Men, and to the advice those men received from a former Minister of Finance, the Hon Ruth Richardson, who said one must say whatever is required to get elected because, in her own words, \u201Cbeing in Government is everything.\u201D Members can then do whatever they like to the people who voted to put them there, and they do not have to worry about keeping any of their promises. Ruth Richardson said that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000637\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EToday has been Crosby/Textor\u2019s day, has it not? Crosby/Textor practically could have written the Budget speech today\u2014it probably did write the Budget speech today. It just goes to show that this Government has no principles. It had no intention of keeping its pre-election promises; it was always going to do whatever it felt like, once it got into Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000638\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003ENational\u2019s tax cuts were never affordable, and Labour said that prior to the election. Yet John Key and Bill English ran up and down the country saying we were scaremongering when we said tax cuts were not affordable. They were going around the country telling everyone that they could have all the things they had under Labour, but with tax cuts as the cherry on top. They said that everything would go on, hunky-dory, despite the fact that we were already in recession prior to the election. The world financial crisis had already started prior to the election. In fact, let us go back and read the Hansard\u2014I have it here in front of me. We can see from the Hansard that the National Government used the world financial crisis as the justification for its tax cuts when it passed them on 8 December last year, only 5 months ago. Yet, suddenly, here we are, back under urgency, repealing them again. National members\u2019 arguments have gone completely full circle. They are now saying the world financial crisis is the reason for not delivering tax cuts. Five months ago it was the reason for delivering tax cuts, and 5 months later it is the reason for taking the tax cuts away again. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000639\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThis Government has absolutely no credibility when it comes to keeping its promises. Effectively, the last general election can be summed up in three words: the Key con. That is what it was; that is what all of the National Party\u2019s manifesto promises amounted to. They were nothing more than a con that the National Party had absolutely no intention of sticking to. It was an absolute fraud on the New Zealand people. The National Party had no intention of keeping any of its promises, and the tax cut situation absolutely sums that up. New Zealanders were promised tax cuts each year. As Darren Hughes said, the pledge card with John Key\u2019s name on the front and his signature underlining his commitments to the people went to every letterbox in the country. The pledge card said: \u201CIf National is elected to lead the next Government, I personally guarantee that we will:\u201D\u2014pledge No. 1\u2014\u201CStrengthen the economy, increase after-tax incomes and ensure Kiwis can get ahead under their own steam by reducing personal taxes on 1 April 2009, 1 April 2010, and 1 April 2011.\u201D Yet the tax cuts are gone; National has delivered on only one-third of that promise, and the rest of it is gone. It just goes to show that none of the National Party\u2019s pledges are worth the paper they are written on. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000640\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe Hollow Men theory prevailed during the election campaign, with National members promising whatever they liked. I am reminded of one of the emails I read about in The Hollow Men. It was from one of Don Brash\u2019s advisers, and it talked about splashing the cash around before the election. It said that he had to throw some cash around to get people to vote for him. He would not need to worry about keeping promises after the election, because by then he would be firmly ensconced on the Treasury benches. He would be able to do whatever he liked to Kiwis, and they would not be able to do anything about it. It has taken only 5 months, and boy oh boy, are those members looking smug and arrogant already! It has been done in record short time. They are laughing about the fact that they are taking away the centrepiece of their pre-election manifesto\u2014the centrepiece of their promises to New Zealanders\u2014which was to give tax cuts every year under a National Government. John Key signed his name to that and said he personally guaranteed it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000641\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a7e8497b768b475f83958eddf4f5bdcf\u0022\u003EHon Lianne Dalziel\u003C/span\u003E: I think Bill English told him to do that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000642\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220692c6a1934e4069acc12ed8b68355a5\u0022\u003ECHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, Bill English probably told him to do that, because he is the one who is pulling all of the strings here. Maybe Steven Joyce is pulling a few of the strings, as well. It is a battle royal between Steven Joyce and Bill English as to who should be the Minister of Finance. They do not want John Key to have any credibility. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022 data-id=\u00226c877a3efaac400089a5f73ff357b3bc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000643\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226c877a3efaac400089a5f73ff357b3bc\u0022\u003EHEKIA PARATA (National):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe e te Heamana. Huri noa i te Whare, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. I rise to support the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill. I do so along with my colleague the member for Selwyn, who spoke so fluidly and flawlessly about the pride we each have in supporting this Government. The Opposition has spent the last couple of hours haranguing this Government about all the values and principles it lacks itself. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000644\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003EWe recognise that these are difficult times. We have all been made aware that this is the most difficult time in two or possibly three generations. So it takes courage, leadership, fortitude, and realism to know that the mix of requirements at this time has to be different in order to meet what confronts us now. We do not blindly fling ourselves at the wall of ideology as our opponents do. We take the measure of what is required for this country, and we are prepared to take the hard decisions. That is why so many New Zealanders have put their faith in us, and we honour that faith. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000645\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003ETonight we are debating this bill because it is necessary, in the mix of ingredients required to get this country back on the road to recovery, to make savings. We must not burden all New Zealanders today and into the future with debt that will cripple them. We are realistic about what is possible. We understand that it is not possible to deliver the tax measures for 2010\u2014this is where Labour members will start singing\u2014and 2011, because they will add too much to the burden of debt. Instead, we are able to save New Zealanders $900 million in the out-years of 2011 and 2012. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000646\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003EThe Government remains committed to lowering personal income taxes. It has deferred, not cancelled, the second and third tranches of tax cuts that were due to take effect in 2010 and 2011, respectively. It has been a difficult decision, but making difficult decisions is what good Governments are put in charge to do. We make the hard calls. This Government is prepared to do that, and all we get are vituperative attacks from scaremongering opponents at a time when the citizens of this country are entitled to expect good leadership from the top. They are certainly getting good leadership from this side of the Committee, and it would be appropriate at this time for those opposite to question the tactics they are employing at a time of deep concern and challenge for many New Zealanders around this country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000647\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003EIt would be a failure of leadership not to recognise when change is required. It would be a failure of leadership not to be prepared to take the direction that circumstances call for. Those on this side of the Committee are not prepared to fail that leadership challenge. We go forward with New Zealand\u2019s support, recognising that we have to soften the hard edges of this recession and that we have to make decisions\u2014for the short, medium, and long term\u2014to ensure that this country is in the best possible position to emerge into a recovery. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000648\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003EThat is what New Zealanders are looking for from this Government, and that is what the Budget today has delivered to each and every one of them. It is a Budget that is committed to recognising the need for sustainable, long-term recovery of this country. We care about that recovery. The Government is not made up of expedient, cynical, and scaremongering people\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000649\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002226cf3078252f4db9a20a08b5dfec71bc\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, you are.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000650\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e99e0b3626f24ac3aac0c4149b263802\u0022\u003EHEKIA PARATA\u003C/span\u003E: No, members opposite misunderstand the English language if they do not understand that making courageous leadership decisions about what is and is not possible is a test of leadership that this Government has fronted up to. On the basis of commentary, including our rating, we are passing that leadership test\u2014and we are passing that test with the support of New Zealanders. Members opposite can wave their pieces of paper around and feel good as they do it, but we are not here to see comedy acts; we are here to help New Zealanders face the challenges that confront them and to help lead the way to the recovery that this country deserves. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000651\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003EThe mix of ingredients in this Budget consists of the kinds of things New Zealanders want to see held up to them. The Budget is a mix of very sensible measures and of what is possible. We need to balance both the spending and the burden of debt that this country is encountering, and as part of that we are prepared to make the very difficult decision to defer tax cuts. I am proud to be a part of this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022 data-id=\u002246a562a50bc54d6493614674e0d8c743\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000652\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002246a562a50bc54d6493614674e0d8c743\u0022\u003EHon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour\u2014Waimakariri):\u003C/span\u003E I have to say that the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill is based on one premise: a lie. It is an absolute lie. In fact, we could rename this bill the \u201CTaxation (Lie) Bill\u201D. It is based on a deception\u2014and it does not matter how high Mrs Parata raises her voice.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000653\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EShe said this Government is not expedient. [Interruption] I know that the Cheshire cat sitting in the Government\u2019s front row might want to grin about her Budget bid. Members opposite say this Government is not expedient. An International Monetary Fund report that came out on 8 October said that the world economy was entering a major downturn in the face of \u201Cthe most dangerous shock\u201D to rich-country financial markets since the 1930s. It came out at the same time as John Key came out with what Brian Rudman called a \u201Ccatalogue of tax-cut bribes\u201D; on 8 October John Key said he was unveiling a tax package that was \u201Cresponsible\u201D and \u201Cappropriate for the current conditions\u201D. That was how he characterised his tax package, although he knew about that International Monetary Fund report. We had only to turn on the radio or the TV to work out that the world was imploding in a financial crisis.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000654\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EAnd Mrs Parata says National is not expedient. She says that it shows courage and leadership. Well, what shows courage and leadership? To say one thing before an election, knowing that that member and her Government cannot deliver on it? She characterises that as some sort of standard of courage, some sort of standard of leadership. We now have a new definition of leadership and courage in this Parliament, and that definition is to deceive. That is what National members did and that is why they are hoist with their own petard.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000655\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EI say to Mr Dunne, whom I differentiate slightly from National members as being a more honourable person, that I suspect that in the deepest dark of the night he squirms a little at the thought of having to front this bill. Mrs Parata puffs her chest out, raises her voice, and tries to convince the New Zealand people that she did not deceive them, when as she and her ilk climbed and clawed their way up the political greasy pole of the National Party list to get to where they are. They said anything that they could; they were the archetypal definition of expedience before an election. I invite her to go out on the stump, to go to the constituency she purports to represent, and try to convince people.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000656\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003ENational was ambitious for New Zealand. National said if people voted for it, it would deliver tax cuts. National members criticised Michael Cullen because Michael Cullen was cautious. They said it was an outrage that he was cautious, it was an outrage that he squirreled away the surpluses. I say to Mrs Parata that she has raised to a new height the standard of gall in this House. She stood up and tried to persuade us that National had shown leadership by deceiving\u2014knowingly, not by accident\u2014every member of the New Zealand public. Does that member really think it is credible for her to tell the New Zealand people that, miraculously, when she and her ilk entered the Cabinet room somebody passed a note to the Prime Minister that said, by the way, there is a global recession\u2014in fact, the worst we have seen in the history of the globe\u2014and, by the way, his tax cuts probably will not work? Does anybody think the New Zealand people are so stupid that they would accept that thesis from that member? Even that member, Crosby/Textor, Mr Joyce, and the myriad spin doctors that National has over there cannot now deceive the New Zealand people, because they know that they were deceived knowingly and with intent.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000657\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EIt should not surprise us, because it is a typical Tory trick. National has done it for decades. It goes to the people and says that, shock, horror, it has opened the books, everything is terrible, and it has to break its promises.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000658\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022700ad0ab63c34ca49b0d069a61ced522\u0022\u003EHon Darren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: No ifs, no buts, no maybes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000659\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002259423ab7664f4e1ea1c1d1cd9b583b94\u0022\u003EHon CLAYTON COSGROVE\u003C/span\u003E: Exactly. What all of them have done\u2014and old \u201CSooty\u201D in the front row in the pink shirt ought to remember, because he\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022 data-id=\u0022d4a40415311148c5825fe4d758527860\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000660\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d4a40415311148c5825fe4d758527860\u0022\u003ETODD McCLAY (National\u2014Rotorua):\u003C/span\u003E After the previous speaker, all I can say is \u201CThank goodness for platform shoes.\u201D My mother could see that member speaking from where she was, but without his shoes she would not have seen him. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000661\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EThis is a great debate on the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill in the Committee stage. I have been sitting here quietly listening to the debate, and I say to the members opposite that they are whingers, whiners, and woolly left-wing liberals. They are socialists dressed up and pretending to be liberals. They are excuse makers, they are complainers, and they are better off over there on the other side of this Chamber. They are like a group of 4-year-old girls who are crying and looking for their comforters, because they are not big enough to handle the deepest recession New Zealand has faced in 60 years. New Zealand is better off because those members are over there. They were a fair-weather Government, and now the storm is here they are sadly absent. They have no ideas; they are all excuses. New Zealanders are glad to see the back of them, and, absolutely, so is this Parliament. The pretence that those members are worried about New Zealanders has been too little, too late. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000662\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EThis Government is about delivering for New Zealanders, and today, with Bill English, a great Minister of Finance, we have delivered 600 more police and at least 200 more correction officers to make New Zealand and New Zealanders safer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000663\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225efa47ee4ca74c27b3e64b16f48b9a1a\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: Part 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000664\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d5a9c964fa2245bcb802e987ac4d5b3b\u0022\u003ETODD McCLAY\u003C/span\u003E: This is all about Part 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000665\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ff48025147d142e9b21372a92a743d6a\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: Part 1 is about tax cuts.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000666\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022797b2b058d874b2d8691be62bc9b398e\u0022\u003EHon Darren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Chairman, how do you know what he\u2019s saying?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000667\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d62ed955b4e34e65901ebfbf459acbc2\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you for that comment. Look, I invite the member to concentrate. This debate is limited to parts, and this part is about personal tax cuts. I ask the member to continue in that vein. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000668\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228a49516b6d1d419d8d5e7028d527a215\u0022\u003ETODD McCLAY\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you very much, Mr Chairperson. I still have time left, so I am happy to speak more slowly for the sake of my great friend, the former member for \u014Ctaki\u2014the defeated and failed member for \u014Ctaki. I thank the former Minister.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000669\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EThis bill is about tax cuts. In a very difficult economic time, why have we not been able to deliver tax cuts in following years? It is so that we can deliver 600 more police for New Zealanders, and more than 200 corrections staff to make New Zealand safer. It is so that our police can have Tasers on the streets\u2014again, to make New Zealand safer. These are all funded promises that have been delivered today. That is why this bill is saying tax cuts in the coming years will be more difficult.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000670\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EWhat about health\u2014doctors, nurses, operations, and aged-care services? There will be $3 billion extra over the next 4 years to deliver for front-line health service in New Zealand. Where is that piece of paper members had before? I ask members to hold it up for me again; I want to see it. It has gone now. Oh, there it is. Could the member move that a little further to the left, as the voice of that member is too much\u2014at least, the people of New Zealand watching TV will not then see the member\u2019s face, as the voice and the face together are far too much.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000671\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002258a0cd3a30fb4a338cb44ca31da7fdea\u0022\u003EHon Damien O\u2019Connor\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. Sorry, but as the newest member in the Chamber I would just like a clarification of the Standing Orders. I was of the understanding that there is a Standing Order relating to the reading of speeches in the Chamber. I would just like to check that that member is not reading.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000672\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e359a5b51eed4a17895dab8060df8b90\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: No, there is no such Standing Order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000673\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a993cc346b774bc9b4a87923b7d74220\u0022\u003ETODD McCLAY\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. The member is right, in that I am one of the members on this side of the Chamber who, compared with members on that side, can actually read. But I was not reading\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000674\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225cf8f7ad1c5e45898a0a3a8d3e76392c\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: No, no, that is not a point of order. The member will continue; he has 1 minute and 35 seconds to go.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000675\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222ae4471916864c188d5fc949ff4d81f8\u0022\u003ETODD McCLAY\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Chairman. As I have a few moments left, I confirm that, yes, on this side of the Chamber we can read; I am sure that on the other side members cannot.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EI will come to a conclusion\u2014well, I do not have to, but I will, none the less. This is the deepest recession in 60 years. That is why tax cuts are not going ahead. This is a Budget to get New Zealand through a downturn. That is why tax cuts cannot go ahead. It is about improving growth and productivity. That is why those tax cuts cannot go ahead. The Budget is to keep New Zealand on the front foot. Standard and Poor\u2019s recognised that today. New Zealand recognised it today. I say to members opposite that they should wake up, give up, get ready for more tomorrow, and recognise it today, as well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022 data-id=\u0022562e3ce12aad461ca992864c550a1f82\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000677\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022562e3ce12aad461ca992864c550a1f82\u0022\u003EHon PETE HODGSON (Labour\u2014Dunedin North):\u003C/span\u003E This story began last year when National members went on to the hustings and said we do not have a debt problem but we have a growth problem, and therefore we have to have some tax cuts. As the election campaign unfolded and as the clouds of economic gloom gathered, they said that we do not have a debt problem. They maintained that mantra right up until 8 November; we did not. We said, in the course of the election campaign, there would be no more spending promises. We said we did not believe that there was an opportunity for large expenditure, be it in the form of tax cuts or in the form of new Government programmes. And that is how both parties went into the election. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000678\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003EBut wait! There is more! After 8 November, all of a sudden the advice to Michael Cullen and therefore to the Labour side stopped, and the advice to Bill English and therefore to the National Government started. That advice grew gloomier by the day. Even after the election, the news got worse. By the time we came to the second week of December, these Government members, having been in receipt of 6 full weeks of Treasury advice, said we could still afford tax cuts. They said they were part of the Government\u2019s 100 days of action. I guess we are now in 100 days of U-turns. They said we could afford those tax cuts, so they went ahead. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000679\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003EWe opposed the tax cuts, which I presume means we have to support this legislation today. But we will do more than say \u201CWe told you so.\u201D We will say \u201CYou misled us.\u201D That was never better explained than yesterday in Brian Rudman\u2019s article in the New Zealand Herald, where he talked about the need for the National Government to squirm. He pointed out in words of one syllable that by the second week of December the National Government knew very well the circumstances that this little country was in. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000680\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003EDo members know what happened yesterday? The Prime Minister of this land rang the editor of the largest newspaper in this land and tore a strip off him for running that article. What is prime ministerial about that? Why did John Key say to the editor of the New Zealand Herald he did not want to see that sort of stuff run in his newspaper? Who does the Prime Minister think he is? Does he think somehow that we have a democracy in which the Government should not be challenged for breaking promises? Does he think somehow that this Government is able to get away with broken promises without there being some sort of public spat? The Prime Minister has a habit of doing this. Remember when he did it to that Northland agency before he became the Prime Minister? The nice man appears to\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000681\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e1203d4a6892428d9aa973b363f56666\u0022\u003ECraig Foss\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. We are in the Committee stage. We have had about 2\u00BD or 3 minutes of this gentleman\u2019s speech and we are yet to hear anything about what is in the bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000682\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c8f4f78a904e4f11bf674524b1fd1e7c\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: I do not need any help. I ask the member to continue. We are on Part 1. I know that some of your comments have strayed a bit.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000683\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d25599d8c9154531bbce9844538952d8\u0022\u003EHon PETE HODGSON\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Chairperson, my speech has been entirely about tax cuts\u2014their passage under urgency, their reversal under urgency, and now the Prime Minister getting up and ripping into the editor of the New Zealand Herald because he did not like a bit of criticism. You see, Brian Rudman made the mistake, apparently, of pointing out that in the second week of December the Government must have known the circumstances the country was in. That is what he said. In other words, the urgency before Christmas was known to be a fake, and that is an outrage.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000684\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003EGovernment members were so full of themselves, so big on their 100 days of action, and so triumphalist that they were prepared to fool themselves and the rest of the nation with legislation, and that was only 5 months ago. They have made a U-turn in 5 months: from tax cuts to no tax cuts. When someone gets up and says that is a broken promise and the National Government had better get ready to squirm, which is what Mr Rudman said, the Prime Minister rings up the editor of the New Zealand Herald and does his nana. He cannot take the criticism. He is happy to break the promise, happy to do the U-turn, happy to do the deceit, and happy to fool everyone that in December the tax cuts were real\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022 data-id=\u0022b4337773986f497886055b7942b9c5eb\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000685\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b4337773986f497886055b7942b9c5eb\u0022\u003EPAUL QUINN (National):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you\u2014[Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000686\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002296d543e0da944d6fa83a3f843a0cd7e3\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: The member has not even started to speak, and there is a barrage of noise from the cross benches.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000687\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d183ecc4e859417ba02533a82ade264b\u0022\u003EHon Clayton Cosgrove\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. I accept that, but you should know that we were just so pleased you had called him to speak.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000688\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221ab62264a4a5421b823609d6cbcbc64a\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: I thank the member. Well, I am calling him again.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000689\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022df31caf0f992473387e1342d4b47560b\u0022\u003EPAUL QUINN\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Chairman, and I do intend to address Part 1 in my short stint. But in so doing, I want to comment on the rather gutless performance of the previous Labour speaker, Pete Hodgson, who lambasted a high-quality M\u0101ori leader\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000690\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d6aaba96553e4c2c84e93af47441eb86\u0022\u003EHon Clayton Cosgrove\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. I think you can anticipate my point of order. That was totally unparliamentary language. That was offensive, and it has been ruled out many times. We cannot say that of other members of Parliament. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000691\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222d221012e9d54879bc71e5efc353e41f\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: I ask the member to desist from making those sorts of comments\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000692\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228ff578fb6a3e484d92188e38f7d3e377\u0022\u003EHon Clayton Cosgrove\u003C/span\u003E: He should withdraw and apologise.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000693\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220f391288e71749288ca66ab3f3457bac\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014withdraw that comment, and then continue.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000694\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002203770dd76a0048c78d1b192c933ed8bc\u0022\u003EPAUL QUINN\u003C/span\u003E: I withdraw the comment, and I say that that member\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000695\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226bbbc4f5328c4ff1a9f78b8d67b0d01b\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: No, the member cannot qualify the ruling I have made. I am asking him to just continue with his speech.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000696\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228c67d3e74df64d798897abab4f820bda\u0022\u003EPAUL QUINN\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Chairman. Can I say, then, that the member lacked the intestinal fortitude to face that woman, one of New Zealand\u2019s leading M\u0101ori women, and look her in the eye while he lambasted her. He spent the whole time with his back to her, looking at the monkeys behind him and looking for applause. He did not have the fortitude to look her in the eye and front up to her. That is the sort of person we have in Opposition. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000697\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279f87abf-aaab-44ff-96db-2e33d763670a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b283d285077d4054bf563a4d3e3c9f97\u0022\u003EHon Luamanuvao Winnie Laban\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. I would like you to ask the member to withdraw and apologise. I really feel truly insulted that we have all been identified as monkeys. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000698\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022feb8a1f0a8584bbd9d2b0244c7df4610\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: The member has taken exception to the comments the member has made. I ask him to withdraw and apologise for those comments, because a member has taken exception. That ruling is under Standing Order 116. I ask the member to withdraw and apologise for those comments and to then continue. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002284dba0e3fd234523b93917a9b094807f\u0022\u003EPAUL QUINN\u003C/span\u003E: I withdraw and apologise. Now, having said all that, I will refer to Part 1, which relates to personal tax cuts. [Interruption] Of course, I see the so-called Opposition Leader of the House, who cannot decide whether he is a young Trevor Mallard or an older Chris Hipkins, because he does not have the ability to stand up against Trevor Mallard every time he gets up. He does not know how to act as the Opposition Leader of the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000700\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003ETurning to Part 1, I say in terms of these tax cuts that this Government has changed its mind\u2014right? I see that Darren Hughes got three black marks in school today. Oh, the teacher has given him three bad marks on the chart he is holding up\u2014not very good. Anyway, we are prepared to front up, which is a lot more than the members of the previous Government, now on the Opposition benches, were prepared to do in the pre-election fiscal update. They hid the accident compensation figures from the public, and when the true costs were known, they ran a mile. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000701\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f1d7069ab4664f189d1fb4bb9b518688\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: We have under 2\u00BD minutes left. I would actually like to hear a little about the words \u201Ctax cuts\u201D under Part 1, because the heading states: \u201CPersonal tax cuts and independent earner tax credits:\u201D. So I ask the member\u2014[Interruption]\u2014I am on my feet. I ask the member to seriously consider Part 1; otherwise I will terminate the speech. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000702\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eb47511f61264e37a5098684ce957e75\u0022\u003EPAUL QUINN\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Chairman, I can explain: my speech is focused on why we are prepared to front up to reverse these tax changes. It is because we have to meet a heavy burden of Government expenditure: a decade of deficits, left behind by the previous Government. It would not front up to the truth, which came out only after the election. That is why we are prepared to front up, unlike the Labour Opposition. When Labour was in Government it hid everything to try to get another term in office. But National fronts up because we are honest and we have integrity, and when the situation changes we are prepared to accept it and be honest with the public. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000703\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003EWe are not prepared to have a level of Government expenditure of $1 billion a week. If that level of spending was left unchanged, it would leave a structural deficit in this country of $135 billion by the year 2023. The interest alone on that figure is $13.8 billion. We are not prepared to do that, because $13.8 billion could go towards supporting hospitals. That is why we have changed the tax cuts. We are realists, and we front up to the situation as it presents to us. As part of that process we will examine Government expenditure, line item by line item, so that the time before those tax cut changes are reversed can be kept to a minimum. We get rid of things like hip-hop tours. We get rid of wasteful expenditure in order to deal with the fact that the tax cuts are, for the moment, not as much. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000704\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222cfbd09a5d1c4a4c91ce2f6e1f15342a\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: I ask for some decorum from Moana Mackey.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022 data-id=\u0022d48c77cc424d471cb1fe6d61b82be12e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000705\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d48c77cc424d471cb1fe6d61b82be12e\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E What you will get, Mr Chair, is a speech that is about the bill, for a start. I say to \u201CLady Parata\u201D that we are very, very sorry if we have offended \u201Cyour royal highness\u201D in any way.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000706\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f6c268d63e0f44c1a3080bc72f7a01a5\u0022\u003EHekia Parata\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. I do not have a title other than Ms Parata or Hekia Parata. I would prefer that I was addressed respectfully in those terms. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000707\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002234c720d2189f46148112456aa8065106\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: I ask the member to respect that request.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000708\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225356821d55cc40c29bbb9666b5d38cce\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: I withdraw and apologise, if that is what happened. But I say to Mr Paul Quinn that he does not need to patronise Hekia Parata\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000709\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ef72e33b8d9d4d67b28b9dfcc82da44d\u0022\u003ECraig Foss\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. That was not a withdrawal and an apology. The member said \u201Cif that is what happened\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000710\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022050306c5f6c84376938f8c9a1de15d84\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: She withdrew and apologised. [Interruption] The member took exception; I will ask her to clarify.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000711\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225c33a9a27f664bae80ee0045823c75da\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: I withdraw and apologise.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000712\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221a3127e60df94a4fa2cbbc2a9ec7a832\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: I ask the member to please continue.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000713\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e9996ea6ff2a46eaa584133478cc7fc9\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: Paul Quinn does not need to jump up and protect Hekia Parata. She is perfectly capable of defending herself in the Chamber. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000714\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EWhat an extraordinary contribution from Mr Paul Quinn. He did not speak at all about Part 1, because he is ashamed of what National has done here\u2014if, indeed, he understands what it has done. What has struck me about National members\u2019 speeches is that those members have all jumped up to say how proud they are of the fact that they are now reneging on their election promises, how brave they are that they have broken the promises that they made during the election campaign, and how much courage it takes to deceive the people of New Zealand and then stand up and cancel the tax cuts that won National the election.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000715\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a0629d5fd9994016bd1887ca7611729d\u0022\u003EHon Darren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s so tiring!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000716\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220fb7f81cb4d34297856c063124796087\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: Democracy is very tiring, as we found out during the last sitting week with the super-city legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000717\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EPart 1 cancels the personal tax cuts that National promised during the election campaign\u2014it was National\u2019s No. 1 promise. John Key said there would be tax cuts on 1 April 2009, 1 April 2010, and 1 April 2011. He said, unlike Labour, National would not cancel its tax cuts. That deceit has been shown up for what it is in today\u2019s Budget. It is galling in the extreme that Government members have been getting up and acting as though they are really proud of what they are doing here, having deceived the people of New Zealand during the election campaign, and as though they are proud of the fact that they bought an election with promises that they knew they could not afford. It is galling in the extreme. Apparently, they expect us to believe that John Key and Bill English were the only people in the world who did not see the financial crisis coming.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000718\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a7740d813f304aa9ac0640c44dda8059\u0022\u003EHon Darren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: And Paul Quinn.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000719\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022498dde694b7449bbbd0072bd0cead5df\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: I can believe that Paul Quinn did not see it coming. He probably thought Lehman Brothers just had a little run of bad luck. He probably thought that Enron just did not dot the i\u2019s and cross the t\u2019s. I can understand that Mr Quinn might not have seen the financial crisis coming, but for John Key to seriously expect the people of New Zealand to believe he did not know he could not afford to keep the promises he was making, when everyone was telling him that things were getting worse, and when Labour members stopped making campaign pledges because we knew we would not be able to afford them, is utterly ridiculous. John Key did know.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000720\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220ca00c1c5e8a48159b75b74a99bf2662\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. I was interrupted at least three times, I think, in respect of staying within the ambit of the part\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000721\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c7bc7542a606462c9700ce6bb6d4c0c4\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: That is not a point of order. I will decide. It is not a point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000722\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a403d6471ab943b7854f6c5db22b053e\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: Now I understand Paul Quinn\u2019s speech. He does not realise that Part 1 cancels the tax cuts. He thought it did something completely different from that. Now I understand why he did not refer to the bill at all in his speech; it is because he does not know what it does. I will tell Mr Quinn what Part 1 does. Part 1 cancels the tax cuts and breaks the election promise\u2014the No. 1 election promise\u2014that National made during the election campaign. Part 1 shows up the con of the National Party at the last election. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000723\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EI said in my second reading speech that maybe instead of calling John Key the Prime Minister, from now on we should call him the \u201CPrime Misleader\u201D, because that is what he is. He is the \u201CPrime Misleader\u201D because he knew during the election campaign that the tax cuts could not be afforded. We said they could not be afforded, and National said we were scaremongering. Six weeks after the election\u2014after National had had all the Government books and had seen the state of the finances\u2014the House took urgency to ram through these tax cuts. Labour, in that debate, said the tax cuts could not be afforded, and National said we were scaremongering. Less than 5 months later we are repealing, under urgency, the tax cuts we passed under urgency. Why? Because we cannot afford them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000724\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EThe only thing that is consistent about the National Government is its inconsistency. Labour said before Christmas that the tax cuts could not be afforded. We voted against the tax cuts. But we are voting for this bill because it repeals the tax cuts that we said could not be afforded\u2014and we were right. National would have us believe that no one could possibly have foreseen the economic conditions worsening.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022 data-id=\u002222b2bbdcc1fc4d71bb22b6900638e909\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000725\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002222b2bbdcc1fc4d71bb22b6900638e909\u0022\u003EAMY ADAMS (National\u2014Selwyn):\u003C/span\u003E Finally, we might get some sense in this debate. The previous speech was another five wasted minutes of droning, moaning, hand-wringing, and histrionics based on a whole lot of nothing. Today is about this document in my hand. Today is about a Budget that will put this country on the road to recovery.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000726\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e4f0ef06493f4a95943ca566360edc02\u0022\u003EIain Lees-Galloway\u003C/span\u003E: No, it\u2019s about this.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000727\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228f63c342b945411292f141118e881d26\u0022\u003EAMY ADAMS\u003C/span\u003E: I know about that. Mr Lees-Galloway should not worry about it. Today is about making the hard decisions that it will take for this country to undo 9 years of disastrous Labour leadership from a Government that would not have known how to manage its way through a recession if its life depended on it. Unfortunately, the Labour Government\u2019s life did depend on it. Labour can spend money, but it does not know how to manage in a recession, which is why New Zealand voted out Labour, and why those members are over there, and why New Zealand put its faith in this National Government. Part 1 of the Taxation (Business Tax Measures) Bill defers the tax cuts\u2014[Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000728\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a96f4bdda16a4fbf999f5f28076b34e7\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: There is not much time to go. I ask members to give the member speaking a fair go.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000729\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022337b6f0e6e78428c9c6aebacee31164e\u0022\u003EAMY ADAMS\u003C/span\u003E: Part 1 defers the tax cuts, because we understand and we know that right now it is more important to New Zealand families for them not to have to pay another 1.5 percent on their mortgages. New Zealanders do not want to be paying that. They do not want to be saddled with a second mortgage for every family of four because that party on the other side of the Chamber could not contain its Government spending and does not know how to manage anything. This Government is making the decisions that need to be made. It is looking after the people of New Zealand. Right now, at this time, in this climate, and with the information in front of us today, we know that what is important is getting our debt under control, looking after New Zealanders, protecting their entitlements, and getting this country ready for recovery.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000730\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003EDebate interrupted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090528ac19e4d4eacc4044ab6664e0b7a1c12b000731\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003ESitting suspended from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. (Friday)\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00226b8d8d0fd7b84b7789794c69c50b41b8\u0022\u003EThursday, 28 May 2009\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000002\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022f39ebadfa6ef40168f8041f1b371e295\u0022\u003E(continued on Friday, 29 May 2009)\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=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000003\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00229638359b7dc24ec1b5bc36c5c5056b38\u0022\u003ETaxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000004\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00224c014d008bbd4424a02cab275f2f836b\u0022\u003EIn Committee\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000005\u0022\u003EDebate resumed.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000006\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00220d891d672a934936ba321c9b7b3498f2\u0022\u003EPart 1  Personal tax cuts and independent earner tax credits: repeal of later years\u2019 changes (continued)\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022 data-id=\u0022d8f6134d44df494a8f40cec887629565\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000007\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d8f6134d44df494a8f40cec887629565\u0022\u003EAMY ADAMS (National\u2014Selwyn):\u003C/span\u003E This morning we are discussing Part 1 of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill, as we were last night. Part 1 provides for the deferral of the tax cuts planned for 2010 and 2011. This Government does not want to have to do that, but we understand that when one makes decisions in Government, one has to make decisions\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000008\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c724c75c9601425c9b097c089eb516a8\u0022\u003EHon Darren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: When you started this speech last night you were proud!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000009\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227d4e5b9ef6914188921128f56f4de368\u0022\u003EAMY ADAMS\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014I am proud\u2014based on what is best for New Zealand here and now. Let me tell members that right now New Zealanders need two things: security and a strong economy. This Budget gives them the beginnings of that. I can tell members that right now, if the choice is to have the tax cuts or to build our economy for a strong recovery, to create growth, to create jobs, to look to the future, and to keep an extra 1.5 percent off interest rates, the New Zealanders I have spoken to since the Budget was presented are all of the same view, and that view is that it would be irresponsible to give the tax cuts now, and irresponsible to let our debt balloon to 70 percent of GDP, which Labour would have us do, so that every family of four would have effectively a second mortgage of debt around their neck of $180,000 per family. That is what that party wants; that party wants New Zealand to have $180,000 of debt per family so that it can keep spending\u2014never mind the consequences, chuck it on the plastic, and do not worry about the long term!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000010\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003EThat party does not care about stability; it would not know how to build a strong economy. That is why in November last year the New Zealand public made its choice and chose John Key and Bill English to lead us through these hard times. The New Zealand public did that because they knew that Labour was incapable of getting New Zealand through this recession. They knew that it was very good at spending money\u2014that is not hard\u2014but when it came to making hard decisions in turbulent, ever-changing times, they put their faith in a National Government. Yesterday, with Bill English\u2019s first Budget, and with the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill giving effect to the first part of that, we can see exactly why New Zealanders made that choice. We are not going to let debt cripple future generations of New Zealanders. I do not want my children growing up with a debt burden around their neck that is so massive that they have no chance of getting ahead and no chance of building a strong economy. This economy needs to have a minimum amount of debt.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022 data-id=\u00225023f0dd2d9c48ea9e45bfb0a10ffceb\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000011\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225023f0dd2d9c48ea9e45bfb0a10ffceb\u0022\u003EGRANT ROBERTSON (Labour\u2014Wellington Central):\u003C/span\u003E On 8 October 2008 John Key delivered a speech. In that speech he said the following: \u201CI am very conscious of the worsening international situation, which is evolving on a daily basis. Together with my colleagues, I have been closely monitoring the build-up in problems in the financial markets over the past several months, and particularly in recent weeks,\u201D. This is the same speech in which Mr Key went on to say the following: \u201CI will now turn to National\u2019s tax plans in more detail. Following on from the tax cuts of 1 October 2008, National will be making further tax reductions on 1 April 2009, 1 April 2010 and 1 April 2011.\u201D On 8 October 2008, the day the IMF released a report telling the world about the depth of the recession, John Key went to the New Zealand public and promised those tax cuts.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000012\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b0fcd3dbabad4bc485c2e798d795238f\u0022\u003EHon Dr Nick Smith\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s got worse since then.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000013\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227cb4649675c640abb1724376cfdff463\u0022\u003EGRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I say to Dr Smith, it did get worse. On 9 December we stood in this House under urgency\u2014when I made one of my first speeches in this House\u2014to put in place those tax cuts for 1 April 2010 and 1 April 2011. We listened to Chris Tremain, the junior Government whip, who told us that Kiwis knew National had a big agenda and were proud to see a Government standing up and delivering on that agenda. That is what happened on 9 December. Dr Smith is right that more information then came to light: the recession was deeper and worse. So what was the reaction of John Key and the National Government? It was to continue down the path of the tax cuts that we are now repealing in Part 1. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000014\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003ELabour, at that time, said those tax cuts were unaffordable and irresponsible. Our position has been consistent. We can support this legislation, because we are being consistent. The inconsistency comes from the other side of the House. Members opposite knew, when they put in place those tax cuts on 9 December, that they were irresponsible and unaffordable. In the end, going right back from 8 October to 9 December this was a cynical election bribe from the National Party. It knew it had to up the ante on tax cuts; it knew it had to raise the bar to try to convince the public of New Zealand to vote for them. It was a cynical election bribe. John Key knew the state of the world economy; he had the IMF report. But on 9 December National still wanted to get its 100-day agenda in, and it did not care what the real state of the economy was. This is a cynical election bribe. Here we are today repealing what we did under urgency in the first place. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000015\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EWhen we debated the legislation on 9 December we heard David Bennett tell us that this bill was the first part of delivering a growth economy, and that through personal tax cuts the bill would give the impetus needed for the New Zealand economy to grow and be successful. Let us bear in mind that this was meant to be the stimulus package. This was meant to stimulate the economy. David Bennett went on to say that the package was about giving some stimulation to the economy\u2014well, clearly not any more! Yesterday\u2019s Budget gives about as much stimulus to the economy as a decaffeinated latte. That is the stimulus package we saw yesterday from the National Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000016\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EWe also need to remember that Mr Key, in his speech on 8 October, was very clear that these tax cuts could be paid for through changes to KiwiSaver and changes to research and development tax credits. Mr Key said: \u201CTaken together, the removal of the R\u0026amp;D tax credits and the changes to KiwiSaver mean National will not have to borrow or cut public services to fund our personal tax cuts.\u201D Well, what we have discovered today is that National is not doing the tax cuts, but it is cutting public services and it is borrowing. So there we go\u2014it is a triple whammy: the public of New Zealand not only are not getting the tax cuts but also are getting cuts to public services and we are seeing potential cuts to superannuation. And we have it here: there are cuts everywhere, but not on taxes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000017\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EThis is a Budget of broken promises, and this is the biggest broken promise of them all. This is not a stimulus Budget. This Budget could have been about creating jobs, this Budget could have been about protecting New Zealanders in work. But, instead, it is a return for National on the fact that it made a cynical election bribe.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022 data-id=\u002290cf85f90884417fbbfdd47dffbcd87f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000018\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002290cf85f90884417fbbfdd47dffbcd87f\u0022\u003ETIM MACINDOE (National\u2014Hamilton West):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022 data-id=\u0022987090be32ad49de96180032cd52edee\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000019\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022987090be32ad49de96180032cd52edee\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E It is with pleasure that I stand and speak in the Committee stage on the first part of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill, and I do support this bill. I support it because it removes a great inequity in New Zealand society. I am sure the people of Rotorua understand what the hell this Budget is about and what the tax cuts would have meant for them\u2014absolutely nothing, for 75 percent of them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000020\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EI would like to talk about two things: clauses 3 and 4, which repeal National\u2019s flagship tax policy, and broken promises. I keep hearing that this Budget is about what is best for New Zealand. But this bill is not about the Budget; this bill is about repealing a promise, I tell Ms Adams. Part 1 is about personal tax cuts and independent earner tax credits. We all know that these were the wonder measures that were going to stimulate the economy, and that swept National to victory in 2008. Tax cuts had been the National Party\u2019s mantra since 2005, and were so in 2008 when, under urgency, National passed legislation to cut taxes, and held itself up as the Government of integrity. \u201CTrust me\u201D, said Mr Key: \u201CI promise. I promise. I promise.\u201D But I say \u201CRubbish! Rubbish! Rubbish!\u201D. What has happened after delivering on the first promise? Under urgency we have received another bill, straight after Mr English\u2019s Budget, that\u2014wait for it\u2014repeals the first promise. The shining light of the National Government\u2019s legislative programme, which all New Zealanders have waited so long for, will be gone before Queen\u2019s Birthday. What a great holiday present for the working Kiwis of this country!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000021\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EIt is actually quite religious. Tax cuts were here by Christmas, but like a bunch of turkeys New Zealanders have been tricked: they have found that their precious tax cuts delivered by wonderful \u201CSanta Claus\u201D Key have been stolen by the \u201CGrinch\u201D, Mr English, not 6 months later. Is that fair, I ask the Committee? Is that fair, I ask Mr Tremain? What do the 75 percent of the constituents of Napier who earn under $40,000 a year think? Considering they got nothing under National\u2019s original tax cuts policy anyway, I think they probably feel pretty aggrieved, full stop. Not only has National alienated the 75 percent of people who got nothing under the tax cut in the original legislation but it has also probably annoyed the top 3 percent of earners who got 30 percent of the original tax cuts, anyway. No friends will be made with this legislation, I tell Mr Foss. I hate to think what the wonderful people of Tukituki are thinking right now. Actually, I do know what they are thinking. They are thinking that this is not what they voted for. This is not what they voted for, at all.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022beab9b8cfc9545e3897e67780a814a64\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: At least he got in.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000023\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002219fdac2d53e94082b2c0b41ffd2d9a6f\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: And they certainly did not vote for Mr Paul Quinn. Actually, we want Louisa Wall back; we want a real rugby player back. Labour delivered, Helen Clark and Michael Cullen delivered, and Phil Goff will deliver once again, because he is not a man who says one thing, gets elected, and then does not deliver to the people of New Zealand. Phil Goff is a man of principle. The vast majority of New Zealanders now say that they voted for tax cuts, but National has taken those tax cuts away, so they are asking how they can trust Mr Key. They know they can trust Mr Goff, because he has always delivered for New Zealanders, so it will be: \u201CDear John; goodbye.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000024\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EThis bill repeals National\u2019s flagship election promise. This bill represents\u2014no, it epitomises\u2014National\u2019s broken promises. What am I talking about? Members know what I am talking about: the pledges made by Mr Key. What was one of those pledges? He said that by reducing personal tax cuts on 1 April 2009, 1 April 2010, and 1 April 2011, he would ensure that New Zealanders could get ahead on their own steam. I ask Amy Adams whether that is right. It was a nice tune, but now National members are singing out of key. It was a good tune, but now the Government is out of key. National promised and promised, but they delivered the bill that I am speaking to. Part 1 consists solely of the repeal of 18 sections of the Taxation (Urgent Measures and Annual Rates) Act 2008 and the repeal of three sections of the Taxation (Business Tax Measures) Act. There is nothing positive, nothing inspirational, and nothing at all except repeal, repeal, another repeal, and another repeal. Do members know what Part 1 repeals? It repeals all the tax cuts and the independent tax earner credits promised to the people of New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022 data-id=\u00224751ab6abf7b4565ae0993aceefa1e2a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000025\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224751ab6abf7b4565ae0993aceefa1e2a\u0022\u003EDr RAJEN PRASAD (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I am pleased to take a call. It is interesting how we reflect in this Chamber the things we have been taught growing up. Certainly I was taught when growing up that when one makes a promise, when one gives an undertaking, one works really hard to deliver on it. If something happens and the promise cannot be kept, then there is a particular way in which one can go about putting that right. I ask why members opposite cannot be gracious in admitting their mistake on tax cuts. They cannot be gracious in saying that they were wrong and that they made a promise, but that something happened and they needed to change it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000026\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003ELabour supports this part of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill. But that is not the question; the question is what lies behind the bill. One can only think that it must have been a well-thought-out election campaign. One must think about the kinds of things people want, think about the promises one wants to make, and think about the things that one considers important. Then one must construct that into an election strategy and go to the people and promise them that when in Government one will deliver on those promises. That is fair enough. That is a reasonable way to go. But then what happens? More information becomes available during the currency of that set of ideas. While those promises were being made day by day on the election campaign, the world economic meltdown was occurring. The then Prime Minister was responsible, and Labour wound back many of the promises and began to talk responsibly about the things that would need to be done. But during the campaign, the National Party continued to make its promises. National continued to say, day by day and night after night\u2014and it gave a cast-iron guarantee\u2014what it would do. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000027\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003ENew Zealanders are fair people. They actually fell for it. They understood that National would deliver on that promise when in Government. In its first sitting weeks, under urgency, National put its tax cuts in place. Now with its first Budget it has its first real chance to deliver. And what do we get? We get what we have seen from National on many, many occasions. Members opposite might care to reflect on some of those things. We remember very well what happened with superannuation. The link between that and what is happening here in Part 1 of this bill is that National has again changed its mind. Under trying conditions, people use those conditions as a smokescreen to push through their real agenda and their particular ideology. In this case the ideology is that brand of conservatism that comes from members opposite. Under the cloud of changed circumstances they are taking the licence to push their hidden agenda. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000028\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003EWhat do we see in this particular Budget? What do we see being unveiled for us now? There is no real overall plan. The commentators have said since the Budget was announced that there is no real passion, no real direction, no real overall plan, no investment in the future, no investment in skills or any of those kinds of things, and no investment in jobs.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000029\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224b9fdd27d3804108801e65ad93ca93d5\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: This is repetition.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000030\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b978fba612c046a293ce3b62d9ea4359\u0022\u003EDr RAJEN PRASAD\u003C/span\u003E: Members might care to follow this\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000031\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223a322dc350f84b0baaed1059504f8b53\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s true.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000032\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c73bbec491384e56b895bebbfb5fa10c\u0022\u003EDr RAJEN PRASAD\u003C/span\u003E: It is true. But what we do see is the one thing that National has always done: destroy the good things that Labour has put in place. Muldoon wrecked the superannuation scheme. Your then Prime Minister wrecked the superannuation scheme, and you are doing it again. You are doing it now.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000033\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e81fc04a9cdc460f9eb3fbbdd98684df\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000034\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022803e10b3cf464d7a954e757d64f04a6f\u0022\u003EDr RAJEN PRASAD\u003C/span\u003E: My apologies, Mr Chairman; thank you. I say to members opposite that their party wrecked it, and they are doing it again. They are taking away the promises given. They are taking out 10 years of contributions and really destroying the Cullen fund. That is what the commentators are saying. I come back to the point I started with. We would have expected those members to say sorry. They should say very clearly and unequivocally that they made a mistake, do it without the shouting that we have heard, and do it honourably.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022 data-id=\u00224a1c4060aa0d4503ba95ee605207dd9c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000035\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224a1c4060aa0d4503ba95ee605207dd9c\u0022\u003EMICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022 data-id=\u0022c971968a710c45d48404d97d30a9574d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000036\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c971968a710c45d48404d97d30a9574d\u0022\u003EHon DARREN HUGHES (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Of all the lies in the Budget, Part 1 of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill contains the biggest one, because Part 1 sets the tax rates for the forward period.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000037\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022baf748db83e546d585c7d4c195f6363a\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: How come they\u2019re not taking points of order?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000038\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a245e4bb3c1a43d493d719fce6262bed\u0022\u003EHon DARREN HUGHES\u003C/span\u003E: Because members opposite know exactly the extent to which the Budget contains a lie. It is made most clear in Part 1. Part 1 actually increases taxes for working people in New Zealand. Part 1 increases taxes from what they would be if Part 1 was not here. That is the essence of this part. It puts taxes up for people; it does not put taxes down. Members opposite ought to reflect on that. I ask how many of them went campaigning around New Zealand saying that within 6 months of getting into Parliament they would be supporting a bill in Parliament to raise taxes, because that is what they are doing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000039\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003EMembers opposite should also realise that Labour has maintained a consistent position on taxes. We maintained that position before the election, when we told National members that what they were promising could not be afforded. We said they would have to borrow for the tax cuts, but they said that they would not borrow for them, and that they would find a way of paying for them because they are so important to them. They went through the election campaign saying that. They got elected, and said in the Speech from the Throne that they would introduce tax cuts. They brought in a bill in December, ironically under urgency, without the Opposition having seen the bill before it was debated\u2014exactly like this bill. We did not see this bill until we started to debate Part 1, just a few calls ago. Once again National members asserted that tax cuts were affordable. But here they are today, raising taxes for New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000040\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003EIn particular, I want to focus on the independent earner tax credit, because that is covered in Part 1, as well. It increases the tax burden for working New Zealanders who do not receive Working for Families. We were told during the election campaign that tens of thousands of workers had missed out on assistance from the Labour Government, and that they needed a National Government in order to get a new category of relief called the independent earner tax credit. But the changes to it are being abolished in Part 1. Those working people will continue to miss out because of what National is doing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000041\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003EI want to take up a point that Simon Power raised last night. He said that the Opposition should be opposing this bill simply because we are the Opposition. He said that we needed to learn a lesson about how to be an Opposition. Well, I think we have taught the Leader of the House many, many lessons about how to be an Opposition. I signal today that there are many, many more tutorials to come for that member in the 2\u00BD years ahead.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000042\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225cfe03f08f084d17bcdc4d812d6f9c17\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. I think it is worth noting that those members are still in Opposition.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002277ae45a908a5465da2bf69c0b0274e0a\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: That is not a point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000044\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002214c8c58da58146e0b0fbcb4c367aa100\u0022\u003EHon DARREN HUGHES\u003C/span\u003E: I do not want to comment on the point of order, but it is a wonderful segue into my very next point.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000045\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e0fb3bdab5264b418d8ae741a7aacb9f\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: The member will not comment on the point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000046\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022adc7e56c864d4807adb8bc85dfd2d03b\u0022\u003EHon DARREN HUGHES\u003C/span\u003E: Gerry Brownlee\u2019s comment is exactly the kind of arrogance from the Government that will cause those members so much trouble. If Simon Power wants to tell us about being an Opposition, let us teach those members a lesson about being a Government. They should tell the truth. They should campaign on something, and then deliver on what they campaign on. That is the lesson of being a Government. They cannot deliver a Budget that contains a lie, like Part 1 does. It contains a direct lie to the people of New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000047\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003EI know that the brat pack runs this Government, and I know that they wanted to be so different from the last National Government, which broke all its promises within 6 weeks of taking office. So with the strategic genius of Gerry Brownlee, they have decided to wait 6 months before they break their promises to the people of this country! They campaigned on the decade of deficits, saying how terrible the books were under Labour, that there was a decade of deficits, and that\u2014hint, hint, boys\u2014things might not have been so good. But they still budgeted for their tax cuts, which have now been replaced with a decade of deferrals by way of contribution to the Cullen fund, which we will come to in Part 2. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000048\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003EPart 1 lifts taxes for working people. It takes away the independent earner tax credit that we were told just 6 months ago, under urgency, was such an important new feature of the tax system. They knew that this was the situation, and they campaigned on something they knew could not be delivered. What a surprise to see the media headlines this morning about the tax cuts! All those hundreds of thousands of people who switched their votes between 2002, when National did not offer tax cuts, and 2008, when it did offer them, have been ripped off badly. The New Zealand Herald has got it right. It writes about the IOU from Bill English, the man who campaigned on tax reductions but who now brings a bill before the Parliament that, in Part 1, lifts taxes for people in this country. That is the effect that this bill has. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000049\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003EThe one thing I have always admired about the National Party is the ability of its members to stick to the party line. Whatever line they are given, whatever line they are fed, they use religiously. During the election campaign they said that tax cuts were needed. After the election they said they would stick to their word, but today they have broken their promise. Members opposite so smugly and arrogantly ask to be rewarded for the fact that the No. 1 promise on their pledge card has now been broken. It is a disgrace.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022 data-id=\u0022d26066788632463f808ba0f0b311c9d5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000050\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d26066788632463f808ba0f0b311c9d5\u0022\u003EDAVID BENNETT (National\u2014Hamilton East):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022a166c2b03f144ff2b9625068b46b6fc0\u0022 name=\u0022division\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EA party vote was called for on the question, That the question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 64\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 58; ACT New Zealand 5; United Future 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 49\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 42; Green Party 6; Progressive 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000051\u0022\u003EPart 1 agreed to.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000052\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002205aa770309a745d28b6483065301bda3\u0022\u003EPart 2  KiwiSaver: closing mortgage diversion facility participation\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022e9f1429d387a4adfb11616bf36be9ec7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000053\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e9f1429d387a4adfb11616bf36be9ec7\u0022\u003EHon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour\u2014Hutt South):\u003C/span\u003E This is the part of the bill about closing the mortgage diversion facility for KiwiSaver, and I ask members opposite which ones of them campaigned on that provision. Which ones of those members went around the electorates last year, saying: \u201CHere is an opportunity, and we\u2019re going to close it.\u201D? There is not a whisper, not a murmur, not a word from members opposite. What they did on this provision, as on the rest of the legislation, was go around the electorates telling lies. They made absolute promises to leave KiwiSaver alone\u2014apart from a couple of minor changes, they said. They were very detailed in their promises on KiwiSaver. Did they promise this? No, they did not. It is just like the rest of it. Those members say one thing in the electorate, and when they come into the House they do something else.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000054\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002203445d28dcd547288b021460433ec5be\u0022\u003EHon Darren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: After the election.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000055\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b5d3f9c4855744d79d837c71cf31216f\u0022\u003EHon TREVOR MALLARD\u003C/span\u003E: They did it after the election, with no notice, and under urgency. What the hell is urgent about this? What is urgent about closing off this scheme? Oh, a couple of hundred people might buy a house. It will take a month or two, and a couple of hundred people might buy a house. What a terrible thing to happen. And we are here. The calendar in the Chamber says that today is Thursday, but it is Friday morning. We were here until late last night, and we are back here this morning to do something that is supposedly urgent. We know that it is not urgent at all. It is doubtful whether it should happen. Frankly, in the end, if there was a proper debate, if the bill went to a select committee, the Labour Party could have come to the point of view that it is a good thing. I think it is fair to say that I agree with the Minister in the chair, the Hon Peter Dunne, that it was not a core part of KiwiSaver. It was a bit of an add-on to an add-on, if he will excuse the relationship with the member.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000056\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229b5beca3c7d64dc78b3f0312c9d9f7af\u0022\u003EHon Peter Dunne\u003C/span\u003E: There\u2019s a long story to be told at some point.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000057\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022daa53624365e45299162c0eb17644177\u0022\u003EHon TREVOR MALLARD\u003C/span\u003E: There is a long story to be told, and it would have been good if the bill had gone to a select committee. The member is one who has defended, generally, the processes of this Parliament and generally opposed urgency on important matters, so it is somewhat incongruous that he is the person who is sitting in the chair on behalf of the Government. I do not feel too sorry for him. If we sup with the devil, we end up with this sort of thing. But that is the position that he is in. [Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000058\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003EThere is a member over there who keeps on chipping in. I came down to the Chamber after watching her on television, to try to work out whether what she was saying would make any more sense when I was here. And it does not. At that point, after listening to that member, I was tempted to move the closure myself. It was such a poor contribution. [Interruption] Hang on! We have both members going at once. We have the one who knows how to beat Peters, and the one who was beaten by Peters.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223a86a3fc0e2f4daead833ffcccda63f5\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: We are debating Part 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000060\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fb546533ecdd4cf5b925b2f11a253888\u0022\u003EHon TREVOR MALLARD\u003C/span\u003E: The member was beaten by both of them. In Part 1 he was beaten by me, and in Part 2 he was beaten by Peters. He should get advice from \u201CCougar Bait\u201D about how to beat Peters.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000061\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bfb0d6c91fce4493a3a69683b2e3ab12\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: There are several points I think I should I reacquaint the Committee with. The first is the use of appropriate titles and names in the Chamber; that is one. The second one is that Part 2 is quite a tight debate. Members who stray from the debate and want to bring in extraneous matters may be tempting the Chair to take an early closure. The member has about a minute to go, but this is a timely warning. This is quite a precise and tight debate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000062\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223490f349908d40829733e16cf4ccbc04\u0022\u003EHon TREVOR MALLARD\u003C/span\u003E: It is, and I am sorry I was diverted. It was such an opportunity to have the two members interjecting at once. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000063\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003EThis is a very narrow debate. It is one that I would not put as one of the most important debates the House will have this year. But it is certainly a debate that should not be held under urgency. Because this bill is not going to a select committee, it needs the full attention of the House over an extended period in order to make sure that we all fully understand both this part and the implications of it, especially for people who are trying to buy their first house. The urgency process will stop that from happening.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022 data-id=\u00224beff7a1024d4d89ad2d2e2e0672de8e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000064\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224beff7a1024d4d89ad2d2e2e0672de8e\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE (Minister of Revenue):\u003C/span\u003E I am delighted to take a call in response to the very searing speech made by the member who has just resumed his seat, and to put on record some of the history behind this issue.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000065\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a54370dbaf9a4a3ca0c304951fe0409d\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: Take your time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000066\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220870365fc5994f47bcd3d3c44628d42c\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: I may well. When the KiwiSaver scheme was first being put through Parliament, the issue of mortgage diversion was raised. Then it was withdrawn. Then it came through again, very late, in the bill, at the insistence of someone whose name temporarily\u2014hopefully, permanently\u2014escapes me, and it found its way into the legislation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000067\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d0c8c365a579417fadee801f56faec9c\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: I hope he\u2019s escaped here too, permanently.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000068\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c917b4c55dab4b5db25879b6fe4cb321\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: I have not heard from him and, frankly, I have no desire to. Be that as it may, it was promoted as being a way in which people who were getting into their first home could set aside some of their KiwiSaver contributions as a contribution towards the payment of their mortgage. In fact, what transpired once the scheme was put in place was that a number of the banks took the view that any diversion had to be over and above the original mortgage repayments. In other words, the notion that lay behind the original concept of diversion was overtaken already. To some extent, that counted against the intent of the original policy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000069\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EI looked at this issue again earlier this year because I was curious to know what the uptake had been, and in the light of the changes to KiwiSaver that were made last December, I thought it was timely to look at just where this particular proposal stood. In fact, we discovered that fewer than 600 people had taken up the advantage. That was at a time when KiwiSaver membership had soared to 1 million. I say to members opposite\u2014it is worth reminding them when they talk about KiwiSaver being gutted\u2014that, in fact, what has happened is that this year, when membership of KiwiSaver passed 1 million, we surpassed our 2015 target. We got there about 6 years earlier. It is hardly a suggestion that KiwiSaver is being run down. So 600 people, max, out of about 1 million - plus members suggests that this is not a particularly prudent investment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000070\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EI say to the Green members, who last night voiced some concern about this proposal during the second reading debate, that the reason why we are closing off this scheme is simply that the numbers do not justify its retention. We are saying to the people who are currently in the scheme that their entitlement will remain and it will be a matter for their particular fund provider to determine whether it wishes to offer the facility. But for new entrants we needed to make a closure date, and we selected 1 June as being the most convenient in order to give certainty to people and to give some sense of clarity. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000071\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EThe member who spoke before me questioned why this is being done at this time when a maximum of 200 people\u2014that was his figure\u2014may be adversely affected. I suspect that that is an optimistically high figure, actually. The number of people expressing interest in this scheme continues to diminish.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000072\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228636120bccf145bfa4d6f2e8f900244c\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: It depends on whether it went to a select committee for a proper period.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000073\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002205511d2e97434928b20b3978c17dca40\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: Well, frankly, I do not think the outcome would have been much different. This is a comparatively small measure. It affects very few people in New Zealand. No one will lose from it\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000074\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229e394f08eeee48aebf8b6a4ae896dd7c\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: You can\u2019t say you know how many.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000075\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f32f50ee6181483785c6307f3ca1a4ab\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: I know how many are in the scheme at the moment. There is no great evidence of a huge well of people expressing interest in mortgage diversion. I would make the point that one\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000076\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002200dd8a17941e473aa0f085191fd9459f\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: But if someone was just about to go into the scheme in the next few days\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000077\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226f0b93ef9a574bdc92fe1da5338ef3e9\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: Hang on; I think the member is\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000078\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220ce8a400c178421b941ec08e8af2043d\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: Is this a conversation or a debate?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000079\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221b0db580355b426cb6cea3e487215d2b\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s the Committee stage. Grow up and learn how it works.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000080\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bf94a660fc274413b5c0831a7b173bf8\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: If the Hutt South battle could go somewhere else, I will answer the member\u2019s question. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000081\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EThe point that Mr Mallard makes is actually the core of this issue, and I want to, if I may, take a moment to go through it. What he is saying, in effect, is that there will be people out there at the moment, potentially, considering the purchase of their first home and worrying about whether the absence of this diversion will affect that purchase. The point I am making is that when the scheme was originally conceived, the notion was that people would be able to divert their KiwiSaver contributions to their mortgage repayments. What has transpired subsequently is that the financial institutions have said: \u201CNo, not quite. What we will do is take your normal mortgage repayment and then treat any KiwiSaver diversion over and above that. In other words, you can\u2019t do it first up. You have to be meeting your primary set of responsibilities, and then we\u2019ll look at any additional payments being diverted.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000082\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EIn other words, the new-home buyer who is wondering at the moment whether he or she is being disadvantaged is not being disadvantaged because he or she would still have to meet the primary mortgage repayments before he or she would\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000083\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022380e7b2d78204841962bfe04f1ff6bfd\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Because the banks didn\u2019t trust Governments on KiwiSaver.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002232296ade4aa44d7aa4d90bbbf7514670\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: That, of course, was during the time of the previous Government. The member may not want to go too far down that path. But that is the background to why this provision is being removed. It was a good idea, but it has not worked.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022 data-id=\u00226c15deaa529c46cd9be88d37de60a101\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000085\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226c15deaa529c46cd9be88d37de60a101\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I am happy to stand to take a call on Part 2, and I thank the Minister in the chair, Peter Dunne, for taking a call to explain why this measure is happening. It is unusual to have a Minister in the chair who is happy to answer questions from the Opposition. It is quite a breath of fresh air. Long may it continue!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000086\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003ELabour members believe that this part should have been referred to a select committee. It may well not impact on many people right now, but the fact is there are people already in the scheme; there are people who have taken up this option. And there may well be people who want to take it up, especially as times get tougher and they are facing saving for their retirement, which has become all the more urgent now that superannuation will not be fully funded in the future, given that the Budget stops the Government\u2019s contributions to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. In that respect, KiwiSaver becomes even more important as a tool for saving for one\u2019s retirement. It is a shame that KiwiSaver itself was gutted right before Christmas. I had hoped that in this Budget we would see a reversal of that, given that we will not be able to afford New Zealand superannuation in the future, and given that many of us on this side of the Chamber will pay taxes\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002285e05d2191444620b7291e5a7285d500\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: Please speak to Part 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ad42905d6aec4905b8eddc78b928622f\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: I am talking about Part 2, which is about KiwiSaver. It is a very broad area, Mr Chairman. It is very important, because a number of people who at this time might be looking to keep up their retirement savings would also have a mortgage. At a select committee we would have been able to tease that out. At a select committee we would have been able to discuss whether the balance is right and what impact it will have. As times get tougher, was there likely to be more uptake of this measure? If so, and if there were administrative problems with how it was run, how could we fix them? Labour members think that this change is significant enough to go to a select committee, and it should have. It does not have to be made right now. It does not need to be done today under urgency. Given that New Zealand superannuation is not guaranteed in the future, and given that we do not know how it will be paid for, it is a fact that\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000089\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221783240a59664dd9bcc5f226ebbe6651\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: Didn\u2019t John Key give a personal guarantee?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000090\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224a322484ee364c41857a601cf5925587\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: He did give a personal guarantee, but it is all very well to say that New Zealand superannuation will be there, and then cut the funding for it. He cannot have it both ways. Last time Bill English was the Minister of Finance he cut New Zealand superannuation. This time he has found a sneakier way of doing it, coming round the back and saying it will be fine.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000091\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e102a685e691489dbbf76e9b78cda275\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: I did preface this debate by saying it is narrow. It is about mortgage diversion. Members can make references to other matters but they cannot base their speeches on KiwiSaver per se. This debate is about mortgage diversion.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000092\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228ec3fab6eb4d492e82ef313f5b8378fc\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Chair. I think I was misled by the mention of the word \u201CKiwiSaver\u201D in this part, but I will keep my comments to mortgage diversion. However, it is not possible to talk about the mortgage diversion part of KiwiSaver without making reference to superannuation and KiwiSaver. I guess I was also responding to interjections about superannuation from the other side of the Chamber. I believe that it is within the Standing Orders for me to do so. I was not responding to those from Mr McClay, because I could not understand what he was saying, but certainly those from Mr Woodhouse.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000093\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002274587340794f48b79aa544e97cf1bb80\u0022\u003EHon Dr Jonathan Coleman\u003C/span\u003E: You\u2019re getting personal and nasty.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000094\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220f3de3ca92cd4862a1b368ee50451a84\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Coleman should calm down. I am not getting personal and nasty. Jonathan Coleman accusing me of being personal and nasty is like Jack the Ripper criticising domestic violence, as Bill English likes to say. This part of the bill should have been referred to a select committee, because a mortgage diversion process\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000095\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bd9f306199c8488899daab15823e3d21\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. I am reluctant to do it, especially when no Government member does\u2014 \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000096\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222d89778bb4e74ca792539571e8bde9ed\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: Points of order will be heard in silence. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000097\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222c2e7828657f429cb79b223f5ea49a07\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: I have been here a long time, and I think that doing\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000098\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221b738e1a9d434943a39a75570d7685e1\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Too long!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f617f2c5294941d097a616226d85f0a4\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Are you going to deal with him, or\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000100\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002266c0862b7ce843e3bf7e8e154751b292\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: I will hear your point first.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000101\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220f9d5ff413c94320a19027fd824390d6\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: OK. Comparing a member with Jack the Ripper and his relationship to domestic violence goes beyond a line. Although I do not want the member to apologise, I think the remark should be withdrawn. Even I do not think we should go as far as that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000102\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022025183e6f3824ec2936f9b71ba925700\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: I did not actually hear the comment; there was too much noise. Has the member to whom it was made taken offence? Because I missed it, I am not even sure whom it referred to. If the member did take offence, it should be withdrawn. The member could perhaps facilitate things by withdrawing\u2014I do not know. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000103\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b66799d056d24427895335079c6a3e59\u0022\u003EHon Dr Jonathan Coleman\u003C/span\u003E: I would like to speak to the point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000104\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a77e3c2df8314ec5a9310479c355c40a\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I guess I have opened it up by saying that I could not hear it. I will hear only the member.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000105\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229c3a1a454f3e40c4b9d2e66fa8c14462\u0022\u003EHon Dr Jonathan Coleman\u003C/span\u003E: The fact is that we have just conferred on this side of the Chamber, and no member here, to our knowledge, made any such comment. Trevor Mallard is being deliberately malicious by inventing comments\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000106\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e3c765ac79544eb28ba6be0309278dc5\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: Look, when we raise points of order we should not cast aspersions upon the character of individuals. A point of order should refer precisely to the Committee. That is a general warning. I did not hear the comment; the member does not seem to have taken offence. Let us just park it. The second thing is that the Committee seems to be in a particularly fractious mood this morning. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000107\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221fb8d8db-3e96-49c7-ab1c-b7916a50e30e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022660bdc612aab4cc9a1b39277ed94576d\u0022\u003EHon Steve Chadwick\u003C/span\u003E: I wonder why.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000108\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002276ec9cec316c437982e391c3dd18188f\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: Look, here I am about to chastise someone on the Government side\u2014do members see what I mean? I am trying to do my best here. Let us just continue.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000109\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c64c448723a94e8588c490001e92c265\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. I want to make it clear to members opposite that I was not suggesting\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000110\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022efa8059902e64c20b25ba0d7ac9a82b1\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000111\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f2696d022d144491bf42af6c59023f22\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: No, it is important. My colleague made the comment; no member opposite did. I just make it clear that I was not accusing any of the members opposite of making the comment. It was a comment made by my colleague about Jonathan Coleman that I heard\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000112\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002222c2b58c1cad43b1a7873b9c713ab4d8\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: Enough, enough.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000113\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022de765b9fc33c4a9681b5389ee58301c5\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014and thought was offensive.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000114\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228cf3c8fd64834a998ede7834ac98273a\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: Stop! Halt! Moana Mackey has about a minute to go on mortgage diversion. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000115\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ca4f2a0d047443e88205418997dedf18\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Chair. It is really hard to make the jokes work when the National members just do not get them. In any case, I thank my colleague\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000116\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cf5cf71de0274159a56c7e46091406c4\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: They are the jokes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000117\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002264b29efe84a3458894f5756f7e32b6be\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014that is right\u2014Trevor Mallard. I am so pleased that he is my moral compass in this Chamber. I have completely lost my train of thought, now!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000118\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EPart 2 is about mortgage diversion, and it should have gone to a select committee. I look forward to a National member taking a call to explain why it could not have gone to a select committee. Those members may say that it is unimportant. Well, it might be unimportant for them, but it is probably not unimportant for the people already in the scheme, and it is probably not unimportant for the people who are looking at their bank balances and at last night\u2019s Budget, realising there is nothing in the Budget for them, and asking themselves how they are going to save for their retirement, which they now have to do, as well as make mortgage repayments. The mortgage diversion scheme may well have been an answer for them. But we will never know how many people are in that position, because we do not have the opportunity to ask the public what they think. That has become a little bit of a hallmark of this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022 data-id=\u0022404d0d443bf3428da6bcd644c805772c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000119\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022404d0d443bf3428da6bcd644c805772c\u0022\u003EHon LIANNE DALZIEL (Labour\u2014Christchurch East):\u003C/span\u003E As one of the original signatories to the default providers on the KiwiSaver scheme, along with my former colleague the Hon Dr Michael Cullen, and as co-signatory to thousands of Cabinet papers that came through our offices, along with the then Minister of Revenue\u2014who is also the current Minister of Revenue\u2014and Dr Michael Cullen, we went through quite a number of iterations of the KiwiSaver scheme, leading up to what I believe was a significant turning point in this country\u2019s history. I think we should all take some pride in what we have achieved with KiwiSaver, and the fact that a million people are enrolled\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000120\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b8941d8f1d824717b25bbb99ce8289aa\u0022\u003EHon Peter Dunne\u003C/span\u003E: Over a million.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000121\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224e6415a1ca794e5f8629e8080a893d96\u0022\u003EHon LIANNE DALZIEL\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014over a million people are enrolled\u2014is a fantastic achievement. It shows that the right decision was taken at the outset, which was to try to turn round the lack of a savings culture in this country. We specifically designed KiwiSaver with the Kiwi saver in mind\u2014that is, to use the inertia that would inevitably exist from having compulsory enrolment, by not having a provision for people to remain compulsorily within the scheme. It would not apply across the board. People would automatically be enrolled in the scheme, and they would have to take steps to pull themselves out of the scheme, which I think is a very sensible way to go. It took advantage of that good old Kiwi mentality of inertia: \u201CI can\u2019t be bothered to do anything about it.\u201D Anyway, it has been a fantastic success in that regard. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000122\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cfed55963bd94c509bdb9c66a53b3a04\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: Why aren\u2019t you in it?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000123\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002200e218f813c84736b3907308ea44d803\u0022\u003EHon LIANNE DALZIEL\u003C/span\u003E: The reason I am not in it is that, unlike a lot of New Zealanders, I exercised my right to pull out of the scheme when I was automatically enrolled in it, because I am covered by the parliamentary superannuation scheme that existed at the time I became\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000124\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022068d69adb16641a59ca035040c5e9cae\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: Oh\u2014so, free! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000125\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a1996886178e4088817633c6d170553f\u0022\u003EHon LIANNE DALZIEL\u003C/span\u003E: That is right; I am one of the very lucky people who belongs to that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227f78152e15524aff8710aab0e77eff60\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: Greater perks! Free chits!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000127\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229fb8f00b7f9546108a7cfa32c9956b3e\u0022\u003EHon LIANNE DALZIEL\u003C/span\u003E: To be honest, and given that the members have chipped me because somehow they think that this is a lack of faith in KiwiSaver, I tell them that it is quite the contrary. I thought it was immoral to take money from the public purse, for the contribution that I already have, for my superannuation scheme. Actually, very few MPs in this Parliament are covered by the superannuation scheme that I have the privilege to belong to. I know that Trevor is not in it, either, because\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002253588eda88a346159905e617e159c31c\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: Proper names.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000129\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226be25c004dae4e06aa4ec040edd7fcab\u0022\u003EHon LIANNE DALZIEL\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014sorry\u2014the Hon Trevor Mallard was out of Parliament between 1990 and 1993, when a wonderful Minister of the Crown, a guy called the Rt Hon Bill Birch, destroyed the very, very good scheme that was in place at the time. So, there you go! I was chipped by members opposite, but I believe that my decision not to be in KiwiSaver, merely to get the $1,000 contribution, was an honourable position to take. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003EI was not aware that this provision covering mortgage diversion was to be repealed, so my issue is about process. As I have said, we went through a number of iterations before we arrived at the KiwiSaver proposal. It was interesting to listen to the Minister talk about a man\u2014whose name is apparently not going to be mentioned in this debate\u2014who sat on the select committee. I think it was Gordon Copeland; I will hazard a guess there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000131\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221b08a9da43c642cf8e854e29e7aadda2\u0022\u003EHon Peter Dunne\u003C/span\u003E: I am suddenly feeling unwell.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000132\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a52e7120b88a4a2cae700a7077ca4660\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: He dare not speak the name.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000133\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002281b708fdfa9b4c45a2702f7618f188be\u0022\u003EHon LIANNE DALZIEL\u003C/span\u003E: He dare not speak the name\u2014that is right. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000134\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225b6aa5d9dfbd49a39068c5b05dfbce11\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: He was \u201CGC\u201D, but he thought he was \u201CJC\u201D.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000135\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022619d63164cd54fa7abe98ca9ea736020\u0022\u003EHon LIANNE DALZIEL\u003C/span\u003E: Well, that is right; I think his direct line of communication outside this place was somewhat greater than others of us might experience. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000136\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003EBut leaving all that aside, the point is that I was very interested to hear the Minister say that in fact the banks had responded to the introduction of this provision in what I think is quite a sensible way\u2014by saying that it is not a mortgage diversion facility available for people\u2019s ordinary KiwiSaver contributions; it is actually a mortgage diversion facility available for people who want to pay off their mortgage a little bit more quickly. When we think of the intention of KiwiSaver, and of people improving their equity in their homes, we know that that is the way most New Zealanders have saved over many generations. I think that a lot of people have taken the approach of paying off their mortgage in order to ensure their future, so it is a similar process to KiwiSaver in that regard. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003EGiven that banks have adopted this process of not taking it off the actual contribution to people\u2019s normal mortgage repayments, I am left asking the question: why are we repealing this? It seems as though the banks have adopted a relatively sensible approach to it and, if that is the case, why then does it need to be repealed? As the Minister said, a relatively small number of people are affected. If that is the only reason, is that a good enough reason? That is why I would have preferred this part of the bill to go to a select committee.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000138\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003EThe debate on Part 1 was pretty cut and dried; it was black and white. But I am wondering whether the debate on Part 2 will be so cut and dried, and whether this is the right thing to do. Was it the banks that came to the Government to ask it to repeal this provision, or is this simply Gordon Copeland payback? Now that he has gone, we can get rid of it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000139\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267aa5137-7503-4a8f-bde1-1811615598e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227ff49dcfdce740beb2fd235def60303d\u0022\u003EBrendon Burns\u003C/span\u003E: Divine retribution!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000140\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022367fdfc07f204e948347a1f9896c2da9\u0022\u003EHon LIANNE DALZIEL\u003C/span\u003E: As that member has said, it could be divine retribution. I think these are the issues that we could explore. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c186d0a2-99f4-408b-9b4d-d484cf19724d\u0022\u003EI probably would have felt totally comfortable about this provision if it was a straight mortgage diversion for the ordinary mortgage payments. But the fact that the banks and the other KiwiSaver providers have not interpreted it in that way, and have actually applied it in a way that I think is quite sensible, makes me wonder why we should take this out. It seems to be quite a useful alternative that is available to those who want to increase their equity in their own homes, rather than making a contribution to KiwiSaver at a particular time. I, personally, think that the legislation as it was finally drafted in that regard, in relation to the very powerful advocacy of one Gordon Copeland, was intended by him to be a mortgage diversion, so one could pay off one\u2019s ordinary mortgage rates. It sounds from what the Minister has said that the banks and others have responded in a way that, in my way of thinking, is more in keeping with the original design of the scheme than perhaps an open mortgage diversion facility would be. I am quite keen to hear a little bit more about it; I think we should tease the debate out. It has not gone to select committee, and I would be grateful if the Minister could respond to those issues.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022 data-id=\u002250bb8a9d180f46039c428451327b1c51\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000142\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002250bb8a9d180f46039c428451327b1c51\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE (Minister of Revenue):\u003C/span\u003E Let me take a couple of minutes to respond to the quite useful contribution from the member who has just preceded me. I am aware that as I do so, a bolt of lightning may well strike me. Be that as it may, the member\u2019s analysis of what has happened is quite correct in terms of the way in which the banks have proceeded. As I said earlier, the net uptake is somewhat fewer than 600, across the entire scheme. If that is taken across the number of registered providers, we are down to a handful of numbers per provider, and in some cases probably fewer than 100 per provider. So the economics of those providers\u2019 provision of this particular facility start to mitigate against it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000143\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EThe second point that I make, which I should have made earlier, concerns my reference to the fact that I looked at this in the light of the changes that were made to KiwiSaver late last year. As the previous speaker said, when mortgage diversion was provisionally proposed, I think that the original concept was that people could divert money directly from their KiwiSaver payment to their existing mortgage payment. In fact, we know now that that has not been the way it has worked in practice. It was seen as an advantage for first or new homeowners, for couples with young families, and presumably for those at the lower end of the income scale, etc. One of the consequences of the shift to the \u201C2 plus 2\u201D contributions last year has been that the maximum net benefit obtained from mortgage diversion has been applied to people earning $104,000 and above, per year. Clearly, then, the social consequences of mortgage diversion\u2014even if the scheme is working as designed\u2014have been changed by the change to that contributions regime.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000144\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EWe have the most perverse of outcomes now\u2014and let us forget for a moment the total numbers of people who might have taken up mortgage diversion. We have in place a mortgage diversion scheme that was conceived to allow people to divert their KiwiSaver payments to pay off their mortgages, but that has in fact ended up being a mortgage diversion scheme that means that people must meet their primary mortgage requirements and then they can use diversion for any additional payments. But, really, they have to be earning over $100,000 for that to be worthwhile. I will make a partly political point: when members opposite talk about 3 percent of taxpayers getting 30 percent of the benefit from the tax cut package\u2014we can debate that separately; and we will\u2014the reality is that this would be exactly that type of instance. The number of people earning over $100,000 in New Zealand is not great, and the number of people earning over $100,000 who are taking advantage of mortgage diversion is minimal. Frankly, to address the provision seemed to be not worth the candle, hence the decision simply to can it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022 data-id=\u0022d729f101c9224e2d958fb0aaffd4a45b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000145\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d729f101c9224e2d958fb0aaffd4a45b\u0022\u003EGRANT ROBERTSON (Labour\u2014Wellington Central):\u003C/span\u003E I want to address Part 2 of the bill, which closes the KiwiSaver mortgage diversion facility. In particular, I want to talk about the extent to which the public of New Zealand were aware of the fact that Part 2 would be coming before the House in this term.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000146\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EWe can refer to what the National Party said about KiwiSaver in this interesting document that I hold in my hand, which some members may be familiar with. This document lists the personal commitments of John Key to the public. We have already heard about the signed tax cut commitments. So what was said about KiwiSaver? I am checking whether closing the mortgage diversion facility was included within these commitments. The document states: \u201CEncourage people to save for their retirement, while making it fairer and more affordable for everyone in these tighter economic times, by retaining KiwiSaver, with contributions at the 2% plus 2% level.\u201D Well, leaving aside the generous interpretation of what the commitment states National would actually do with KiwiSaver\u2014because it did not indicate that National would gut it, would cut it in half, which was what was done under urgency before Christmas\u2014it does not talk about closing mortgage diversion. It does not talk about what is in Part 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000147\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EIt would be interesting to know\u2014perhaps from the Minister in the chair, Peter Dunne, or from a member on the other side of the Chamber\u2014what promotion was done of the mortgage diversion scheme. We can see that it was not in one of John Key\u2019s personal commitments. I have not seen a great deal of promotion of the mortgage diversion part of the KiwiSaver scheme. I acknowledge that it was brought in under our Government, but I think members opposite may want to consider that and take a call to tell us how they thought the New Zealand public would find out about it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000148\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EI think it is important to set mortgage diversion in the wider context of KiwiSaver. KiwiSaver is, as the Minister in the chair noted, a very popular scheme. It is a scheme that many New Zealanders have wanted to be part of. They have joined up, and over a million New Zealanders belong to the scheme now, and that is a good thing. But what are New Zealanders to make of what will happen to them in their retirement? Part 2 takes out mortgage diversion, and, overall, there is the delay in Government contributions to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. That is part of the context of mortgage diversion of KiwiSaver. New Zealanders need to know what they will be entitled to in the future in terms of remuneration in their retirement.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EOn Budget day yesterday, we saw New Zealanders provided with an enormous amount of uncertainty about the future. The Government contributions will now be delayed for up to 11 years. What will happen then? The baby boomers will have retired. What will happen to the next generation of people? What kind of money is being put aside to ensure that future generations in New Zealand will have a secure retirement? KiwiSaver is an important part of that, and both sides of the House now acknowledge that. The previous Labour Government was proud to bring KiwiSaver in, and the Minister in the chair, being part of that Government, was part of that. The mortgage diversion scheme was an aspect of it. Perhaps now, from the arguments we have heard here, there is some justification for what is being done in Part 2, but there is no justification for removing the Government contributions to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, because that fundamentally undermines the security of retirement of New Zealanders. We know that the New Zealand public have once again been misled by the National Party.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000150\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EIn respect of Part 2, we are not sure whether closing mortgage diversion was put before the public previously. Certainly, in none of the pre-election meetings I was at did I hear about mortgage diversion. It was not even mentioned. I heard a lot about tax cuts. I heard a lot about the fact that taxes would be cut in 2010 and in 2011. I even heard about KiwiSaver generally and the fact that it would be reduced, because that was going to pay for the tax cuts. Unfortunately, that is not happening today. KiwiSaver has been cut in half, public services have been cut, and the tax cuts have gone. It is the triple whammy. Closing the mortgage diversion element probably is the right thing to do, on balance, given what we have heard from Mr Dunne today, but I am extremely sure that the public of New Zealand did not know about it, and that the National Party did not put it before the country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000151\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EHere we are sitting in urgency, once again, going through changes that the National Government feels need to be done\u2014undoing what it has already done, in urgency. In December we, along with the entire planet, were aware of the extent of the global recession, and the National Government put in place tax cuts that it knew were unaffordable. It knew they were unaffordable, it knew they were an election bribe, yet it put them in front of the country, in urgency. We are sitting again in urgency, repealing what was put in place in urgency, and removing the mortgage diversion scheme without actually going to the public about it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022 data-id=\u0022e4b429d2f53e4120af37cf4535d96d3f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000152\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e4b429d2f53e4120af37cf4535d96d3f\u0022\u003EIAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Labour\u2014Palmerston North):\u003C/span\u003E Part 2 of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill refers to the closing of mortgage diversion for KiwiSaver. When mortgage diversion was first mooted, by the man whose name we dare not speak, it was couched in terms of trying to encourage people into KiwiSaver. For people with mortgages, especially young people looking at buying their first homes, mortgage diversion was to encourage them to get involved in KiwiSaver when they were weighing up their saving options against having to pay off a substantial mortgage over a number of years. Mortgage diversion was an option to try to get them into KiwiSaver and encourage that savings habit; Lianne Dalziel talked about the inertia that many young Kiwis feel when thinking about their retirement savings. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000153\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003EWithin those terms of encouraging people to get into KiwiSaver, Bill English tried to sell the gutting of KiwiSaver when we were in urgency before Christmas. Bill English said that the Government had made some changes to KiwiSaver that preserved the incentives that are paid into the savers\u2019 accounts, and a number of other changes, such as the abolition of the employer tax credit and the member fee subsidy. He said that the main change had been to reduce the member contribution to 2 percent, and that the Government believed that change would allow a good deal more New Zealanders to stay in the scheme when times are tough, and for many others to enter the scheme at a lower contribution rate. None of that indicated any suggestion that the mortgage diversion facility was going to be cut. There was absolutely no indication during the election campaign or in the urgency before Christmas that this change was on the agenda. We are supposed to be repealing tax cuts. This provision has been slipped in for some reason\u2014because of retribution or utu; I do not know what the reason is.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000154\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ce712cbe82ad452ab9d057459d2c6643\u0022\u003EHon Peter Dunne\u003C/span\u003E: All of the above.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000155\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002256e2c1c12ed440e7acd0c5ee3514b075\u0022\u003EIAIN LEES-GALLOWAY\u003C/span\u003E: There we go; we finally get to the heart of it. The system works and it is about retribution! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000156\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003EWe heard a lot from the other side of the Chamber about Labour not being prepared to deliver tax credits. But through KiwiSaver, those tax credits were delivered and they were targeted. It was just like the research and development tax credits. It was about targeting them to where they were most valuable and where they would serve the best purpose, unlike this broad-brush, blunt-instrument approach to personal tax credits that the Government is so fixated with. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000157\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003EJust before Bill English started trying to sell the cuts to KiwiSaver, he said: \u201CThe reality is that over the next 5 years or so, the fiscal capacity of the Government will be significantly less.\u201D The Minister of Finance was able to predict the constraints that the Government would come under when it came to slashing and burning KiwiSaver, but for some reason back in December he was not able to predict that the fiscal situation the Government was facing would mean that tax cuts would not be delivered. He has told us time and time again that things are worse since December and that the decision on tax cuts was made in a different environment, yet he was able to predict the cut and burn to KiwiSaver. I wonder why he was not able to predict the lack of tax cuts back then. That is a very good question; it is just another flip-flop. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000158\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003EKiwiSaver is about giving people certainty in their retirement. The reason it is not compulsory is so that there is a capacity to maintain universal superannuation. As good as KiwiSaver is, the amount that people can save for their retirement is still entirely dependent on their income throughout their lives. We need to maintain a universal level of superannuation to make sure that there is a baseline level of superannuation that will take care of our elderly. When people have worked hard all their lives, we need to take care of them. This Government is tweaking KiwiSaver, cutting it back, and mucking around with it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022fbe3f87c-849c-4eee-84cc-119edeb1a681\u0022 data-id=\u0022741bab557a0447fcb77132e6e36d58b3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000159\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fbe3f87c-849c-4eee-84cc-119edeb1a681\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022741bab557a0447fcb77132e6e36d58b3\u0022\u003EAARON GILMORE (National):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022 data-id=\u0022608446210f28440787a5c96a87804f89\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000160\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022608446210f28440787a5c96a87804f89\u0022\u003EHon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Labour\u2014Ikaroa-R\u0101whiti):\u003C/span\u003E It was very interesting listening to Mr Dunne\u2019s analysis in relation to KiwiSaver\u2019s mortgage diversion facility. My learned friend the co-leader of the M\u0101ori Party Pita Sharples said that I would be lost for words when I saw the Budget come out; I am lost all right, because there was nothing in there for M\u0101ori. I want to talk about the diversion facility. If members understood what M\u0101ori people have been through for the last 150 years, they would understand that there has never really been a time, apart from when a Labour Government was in office, when M\u0101ori were able to take up mortgages to ensure a better lot for their families.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000161\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003EIt is interesting that National members could knock out the 2 percent contribution. They perceived that, going forward, it would impinge on the financial pressures of this country, and they removed it. We get to this stage and the only separate thing that is being rushed through, that is being tailed on to this tax bill the day after the Budget, is getting rid of mortgage diversion. I appreciate that only 600 out of 1 million people have taken it up, but M\u0101ori people are now tracking up in the unemployment stakes\u201437,000 people\u2014and they are losing everything. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000162\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022227f387066454613aff133890e09f8d6\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: In what way?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000163\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224af520ebecd64ab79d59a588a146e67e\u0022\u003EHon PAREKURA HOROMIA\u003C/span\u003E: There is a new thing going on that is relevant: it is not only the manual labourers but also people like Mr Quinn who are losing their employment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000164\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003EThe last time that M\u0101ori had an opportunity to ensure that they could get mortgages and extend mortgages was when the Labour Government put through benefit capitalisation. This facility was another chance. Michael Cullen said we should not have tax cuts, because they would not work, and the Labour Government was consistent about that. National has done the biggest flip-flop ever. One minute National was saying tax cuts had to be put through under urgency, and now it is taking them away. Taking out mortgage diversion is the same thing. You see, KiwiSaver gave M\u0101ori workers hope. For once they could start to save, like a lot of working P\u0101keh\u0101s and Asians in this country. It gave them hope. Then we said we would have a bit of a rest, and we pulled the 2 percent contribution.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000165\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003EA lot of what is going on, like the M\u0101ori distribution, is projected out 10 years, or out to 2020. But it is not; it is a purposeful removal to stymie. When 18 jobs are lost in Pah\u012Batua and mortgages are affected, this measure certainly affects those people. I appreciated the Minister\u2019s analysis. He said the maximum benefit has been gained by people earning more than $104,000. Let me tell him how the Indians bought all the dairies in this country. They clustered together, they put their mortgages together, and they ensured that they looked after the wh\u0101nau. What is wrong with that? Why does that not beat the $104,000 benchmark? This is about helping people who have, and putting aside the M\u0101ori people.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000166\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221fe9ae1c803649d3bb64692025a9070a\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: Another \u201CParekura-ism\u201D.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000167\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002236281eef84654ce8b929178ed88542d2\u0022\u003EHon PAREKURA HOROMIA\u003C/span\u003E: No, it is not another \u201CParekura-ism\u201D. This is about Mr Quinn\u2019s people, the people he does not care about. He should sit there and be quiet. He makes believe that this was a M\u0101ori Budget, but it gave them nothing. We settled Mr Quinn\u2019s Treaty claim, He was greasing up in our office. We restructured his trust. We made sure that he could go off and do that. He knows that a lot of his Whakat\u014Dhea people are being put at a wicked disadvantage.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000168\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228e3e0bd5ac7e49d987dcd433637b166d\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: Up a bit\u2014T\u016Bhoe.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002289f93163d971458f9ef7d2b496cc0ab9\u0022\u003EHon PAREKURA HOROMIA\u003C/span\u003E: T\u016Bhoe, or wherever. Mr Quinn, who sits there smugly with his mates, knows as well as I do that the Budget has broken a lot of promises. In terms of KiwiSaver and mortgage diversion, I plead with Mr Dunne that when this bill goes to a select committee\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000170\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002219d2d7e242fa434691b028f940648f7c\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: If it does.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000171\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002266d1225dee04426da4c57ecf754f4175\u0022\u003EHon PAREKURA HOROMIA\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014if it does\u2014he flip-flops back the other way. A lot of M\u0101ori are relying on him. The thing that is missing from Mr Dunne\u2019s analysis is that these things have to be given time. What would happen in 5 or 6 years\u2019 time, when people have built up their KiwiSaver funds?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022 data-id=\u00224345014503b641a6b0ecba0ad9a73b9a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000172\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224345014503b641a6b0ecba0ad9a73b9a\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: Before I take the next call I say to members that the Chair is not part of the debate: \u201Cyou did this\u201D, \u201Cyou did that\u201D, \u201Cwhat did you do\u201D\u2014[Interruption] Excuse me, I am on my feet. I say to members that the Chair is not part of the debate. [Interruption] Are we listening here? The Chair is not part of the debate and I want members to desist from constant barrages of \u201Cyou\u201D. I want members who are speaking to address the Chair as \u201Cthe Chair\u201D and not \u201Cyou\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000173\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002240a2d2343b364257a6b1d8eae0dc3f55\u0022\u003ECharles Chauvel\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Chairperson\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000174\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224c035f4d2c0e4665a957383a6fecfb60\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order, Charles Chauvel.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000175\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022109fe0eb374c45a3afb4498774072516\u0022\u003EH V Ross Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. While\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000176\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227711bc8aca0c45abb178e9de1746964b\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: Excuse me, a point of order was called by Charles Chauvel.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000177\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225fd8474d253d416ebeca009372038a74\u0022\u003ECharles Chauvel\u003C/span\u003E: I am sorry, Mr Chair; I was seeking a call and then Mr Robertson was\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000178\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221d51dd927d684ee093d530a0ecfe1b87\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: I call Ross Robertson for a point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022 data-id=\u0022e011391f566e457784c2b8429664e757\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000179\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e011391f566e457784c2b8429664e757\u0022\u003EH V ROSS ROBERTSON (Labour\u2014Manukau East):\u003C/span\u003E I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. While we are on the subject, members might like to look at Speakers\u2019 rulings 63/3 and 63/1. They will note that it is incorrect to move to facilitate interjection. A number of members on the Government side of the Chamber are not sitting in their seats and are using their position to interject on members who are speaking. That is out of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022 data-id=\u00225a1eea9d1ed944c795b703d70078da7e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000180\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225a1eea9d1ed944c795b703d70078da7e\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: I do not need any assistance with this. The member is quite right: it is well ruled and it is well informed. I have been quite liberal about this rule because if everybody was required to sit in their seats the group would be scattered around the Chamber. I am quite tolerant of people moving forward so that this part of the Chamber is engaged when we are having a debate, because I want it to be a debate. But having said that, to sit in a position directly opposite the speaker and make a constant barrage of interjections that are not humorous or witty\u2014and lack a whole range of things\u2014stymies things. We are always open to humour and wit, and a cutting remark adds to the flavour of the debate, but the point that Mr Robertson has made is absolutely correct. I am not going to enforce the rule vigorously or rigorously if people do not take advantage of it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022 data-id=\u002253bd0fa365f6418cb47160abe9300b8d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000181\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d52e59e3-2195-4c95-a654-665c11b39b63\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002253bd0fa365f6418cb47160abe9300b8d\u0022\u003EHon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Labour\u2014Ikaroa-R\u0101whiti):\u003C/span\u003E I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. I feel really wounded by those callous remarks from the member directly across the Chamber. I demand that he apologise. I have never taken so much insult since I have been in this House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000182\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229ccae072eb3f4def9ababd904c459f73\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: I say to the member that I am not going to require that. If the member felt that, he should have made a point of order at the time; he did not. I think this is a draw.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u00220c05379cb41d44a59fa9dbea71c734ac\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000183\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220c05379cb41d44a59fa9dbea71c734ac\u0022\u003EHon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour\u2014Hutt South):\u003C/span\u003E I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. Consequent to your ruling about appropriate interjections, is it in order for a member to come into a battle of wits unarmed, as Mr Quinn has?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000184\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f332a5b6fef04de7b4d65a1b3905d786\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: That is not a point of order; that is an abuse of the process.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022 data-id=\u0022c06b981fc66845ad94de2be6ddf654fa\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000185\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c06b981fc66845ad94de2be6ddf654fa\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour\u2014New Lynn):\u003C/span\u003E I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. This is a serious debate, and coming as it does\u2014[Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000186\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e97bd5092f7d4150ac364393f4456576\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: Members, can we just get to the gist of the point of order without prevaricating.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000187\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022966d346e97604baaba2ca98a92872701\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE\u003C/span\u003E: I am speaking in support of your ruling. [Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000188\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022345f613fefcc41bc8639d352c0bcb89b\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: The next person who interjects on this point of order will leave the Chamber, OK? This is a team warning.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000189\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225153ac519fdd41ffaa23ecd25ef26b78\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE\u003C/span\u003E: I am speaking in support of your ruling. I suspect that for people who are watching and listening this morning, members are not doing credit to themselves or the subject matter. As you have said, it is one thing to make witty, and sometimes robust, interjections\u2014and I do so myself\u2014but it is another for us to just drone on and drown out speakers. I think we have crossed the line this morning as a Committee.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000190\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b27e464a0ed84da59a8627ffa20f01ff\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: With respect to the member, I have dealt with that matter. I have done so already in respect of points of order. That was not a point of order; you were relitigating the point that I had raised. If you had wanted to reaffirm it, you should have said so, but it is not a point of order. I have dealt with the matter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022 data-id=\u00228bbe0162c65347e7814ee0f080a85831\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000191\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228bbe0162c65347e7814ee0f080a85831\u0022\u003ECHARLES CHAUVEL (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I think the reflection that has just been made by the Hon David Cunliffe is a good one: we need to remember what this debate is about. This particular part of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill, Part 2, is about housing affordability. I see Mr Heatley is in the Chamber. I remember that back in 2007 when he was the Opposition spokesperson on housing he welcomed the fact that a select committee of this Parliament, the Commerce Committee, was conducting an inquiry into housing affordability in New Zealand, because it is a real problem for ordinary people in this country. The reason that the mortgage diversion mechanism was originally set was to try to create yet another weapon in the armoury; it was one of the arrows to be used to deal with the problem of housing affordability in this country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003EHousing affordability is an issue that has not got any better. If members look at the 5th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey they will see that 60 severely unaffordable housing markets are listed in that survey. The 23rd most unaffordable is in Tauranga, the 26th in Auckland, the 30th in Christchurch, the 34th in Wellington, the 47th in Dunedin, and the 55th equally in Hamilton and in Napier and Hastings. Members in this Chamber ought to be very concerned about any measures that diminish housing affordability and ought to be debating this issue very seriously. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003EI take the point that was made by the Minister of Revenue in response to the Hon Lianne Dalziel earlier that because of the changes to the KiwiSaver scheme, there is an issue about accessing the mortgage diversion scheme: it has become accessible only to a particular earning demographic. But surely that is not a reason to cut the mechanism off at the knees and do away with it completely; surely it is a reason to refer a proposal to modify the mortgage diversion scheme to a select committee, have proper submissions on it, and talk openly about how it can be improved so that we actually have yet another way of dealing with the serious problem of being able to afford a house in this country. Instead, what do we have? We are debating under urgency this proposal to cut off the mortgage diversion scheme because of the reason that was enunciated earlier by the Minister in the chair. I make a plea to the Minister and to the Government: for goodness\u2019 sake, this is a serious social problem. Just because only 600 people are accessing the mortgage diversion scheme at the moment is not a reason to destroy it; it is a reason to look at how it could be modified to make it open to more New Zealanders so they can use the scheme properly and afford to buy a house. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000194\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003EOn the subject of process, I note that the Minister has been the Minister of Revenue now for two terms of Parliament. Too much revenue-related legislation simply gets put through under urgency\u2014I think the Minister would agree with that proposition. There is not enough scrutiny of revenue-related legislation. I would remind him of his own words just 2 weeks ago at the Institute of Chartered Accountants conference, where he made some observations about how legislation ought to be amended in this area. He said: \u201CThe correct process\u201D\u2014in respect of tax legislation\u2014\u201Cis for the select committee that is considering the bill to make recommendations to Parliament about changes it believes should be made, and Parliament then decides.\u201D Then he talked about some actions that he took in respect of the bill that was being discussed at the conference. That is the right way to do things. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000195\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003ETax legislation can be complex. This bill is not particularly complex as far as the merits of the proposal are concerned, but, as I said, it is an important issue. Why on earth is this legislation being rushed through under urgency? Why on earth is it not getting select committee scrutiny? Why on earth are the public not having the opportunity to come along and tell a select committee some of the things that they think could be done to make the mortgage diversion scheme a better scheme, to make it more broadly accessible to the public, and to make it truly one of the tools that can be used to allow ordinary Kiwis to be able to buy a house and enter into house ownership\u2014something that we have always encouraged in this country? We have not really had a proper answer to that question, and I encourage the Minister to tell us why we cannot have an inquiry into this matter, why the mortgage diversion scheme cannot be improved, and why the Finance and Expenditure Committee\u2014or another competent select committee\u2014cannot consider that matter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022 data-id=\u002255c67b3d40e946288a38dd254f8c70ba\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000196\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002255c67b3d40e946288a38dd254f8c70ba\u0022\u003EJO GOODHEW (National\u2014Rangitata):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022 data-id=\u00224eb38fa3e4394980b40d5fd552db15c6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000197\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224eb38fa3e4394980b40d5fd552db15c6\u0022\u003EJEANETTE FITZSIMONS (Co-Leader\u2014Green):\u003C/span\u003E I have been listening carefully, but I still have not heard anything\u2014from the Minister of Revenue or anybody else\u2014to explain why Part 2 of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill is necessary and justifiable. I was on the Finance and Expenditure Committee, which put through the KiwiSaver legislation, and it had a lot of debate about the mortgage diversion facility. I was a strong supporter of this measure going into the legislation in the first place. Given that we have not heard convincing reasons this morning or last night not to let this bill go to a select committee to have some proper scrutiny and discussion, it seems obvious that we should do so. There is absolutely nothing urgent about this bill. There is absolutely no reason why 31 May should see the end of this provision rather than 2 months down the track, just as there is no urgency for Part 1, either. Only 600 people\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000198\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d9d6ea020f284feeacdb90eec544f6d7\u0022\u003ESimon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: We\u2019ve got a lot of bills coming up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000199\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f30126ec9b33479dae8f7f34c9d06697\u0022\u003EJEANETTE FITZSIMONS\u003C/span\u003E: Well, it is a very active Government. The Government had a lot of bills coming up before Christmas. It put those bills through under urgency, then it found that they were wrong. We have now used a lot of Parliament\u2019s time repealing those bills with this legislation. Maybe a bit less haste and more speed would be a good idea. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000200\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EThe argument seems to be that only 600 people are using mortgage diversion at the moment. That may well be because mortgage rates have dropped over the last year but the worst of the economic recession has not yet hit people. I foresee a time when cancelling this provision would lead to more people losing their homes because they cannot afford mortgage payments. Let us imagine a situation whereby one partner in a couple loses his or her job, and the other partner is still working and paying into KiwiSaver. They desperately need that money to keep up their mortgage payments, and that is where mortgage diversion can stop people from losing their homes. Maybe there is an argument against that. Maybe I have got something wrong, but how would we know when we are debating a bill that came into the House just as the first reading started, and there has been no proper explanation and no proper scrutiny? That is why the bill needs to be thrashed out properly in a select committee. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000201\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EThe question of housing affordability is a crucial one as more and more families suffer from the recession. That is why the Green New Deal package that the Greens have been proposing builds 6,000 more State houses over the next 3 years\u20142,000 a year\u2014for families who cannot afford mortgages and cannot even afford private rentals. The housing market generally will be eased if we have more homes\u2014if we have more houses. Government members seem to be extremely exercised and loud about this issue, because they know that they are wrong; they know that it is not a sensible thing to do. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000202\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EThe Greens support Part 1. We will support the bill overall, but we strongly urge the Government to rethink Part 2. Part 2 is not necessary, it is not urgent, and it could leave a number of families in serious strife when the recession bites further. Treasury tells us that unemployment will be 8 percent next year. That is a huge number of extra families in serious strife. There will be a lot of stress and hardship in our society. We need provisions like the mortgage diversion facility to help ease people through. After all, if it is OK for the Government to stop contributing for a while to the Superannuation Fund because it would have to borrow to do so\u2014and we support that pause at this stage; we do not think it is sensible to borrow to do so\u2014why does it not pay for ordinary individuals to stop their saving for a while in order to keep their homes and pay their mortgages? I strongly urge everybody to vote against Part 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022 data-id=\u0022d124eba4ec2e4baf8d435c557ac78ef7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000203\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d124eba4ec2e4baf8d435c557ac78ef7\u0022\u003ESUE MORONEY (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I take this opportunity to speak on Part 2 of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill. Labour supports this bill, but we do so with a great sense of irony. Part 2 is especially ironic because it is another attack on KiwiSaver. Closing down the mortgage diversion facility, and the ability for new participants in KiwiSaver to participate in the mortgage diversion process, is another way in which this National Government, having already gutted KiwiSaver late last year, is trying to attack KiwiSaver and water it down even more. It is just another attack on the ability of New Zealanders to save. We saw in the Budget that was issued yesterday that the Government is saying to people that it does not care about saving for the future, so it is going to stop the payments for superannuation. The Government\u2019s attack on savings for the future of this country is relentless. It continues, and Part 2 is just another example of that attack. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000204\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EOf course, National members are grinning from ear to ear, and why might that be? They should not have any sense of pride at all in going back on the promises they were elected on, which are at the heart of the bill we are debating this morning. National members know that they have got away with a heist. The 1 April tax cuts are the ones that have delivered to National\u2019s people. A third of the taxpayer money from the 1 April tax cuts went back into the pockets of the top 3 percent of earners in this country\u2014the top 3 percent got a third of that money. So in yesterday\u2019s Budget, when Bill English was crying his crocodile tears, on the inside he was smiling from ear to ear. He knows that the money that should be going into our social services, and into those community and voluntary organisations that have been stripped of their partnership funding money, is already in the back pockets of the top 3 percent of earners in this country. National has already done the damage with the 1 April tax cuts and it does not need to go any further. So guess what? The tax cuts for the rest of New Zealand\u2014the tax cuts that might have made a difference for ordinary New Zealanders\u2014have been canned. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EI wonder what John Key\u2019s signature is worth these days. I feel really sorry for those people who out of the goodness of their heart have bought at charity auctions things signed by John Key. That signature is now completely worthless because it is on the bottom of a document in which he promised tax cuts that this bill is now putting to rest. His signature is not worth the paper it is written on\u2014that is now very clear. He has not been able to deliver on his personal commitment. His signature on the bottom of the document that says he gives his personal commitment that tax cuts will go ahead in 2010 and 2011 is completely and utterly worthless, and that is what we are debating here. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000206\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EThe National Government is going back on its promises and it is putting our country in a very bad position going forward because of the way in which it has attacked personal savings. Part 2 is yet another attack on the ability of ordinary, hard-working, everyday New Zealanders to commit to personal savings. Government members are launching yet another attack on KiwiSaver. It is clear that in their hearts they felt that they could not ditch KiwiSaver, because they knew it would be unpalatable to the electorate. They went into the election saying that they would not ditch KiwiSaver, but they are making it as ineffective as they possibly can. This is plan B: when it is unpalatable to ditch the things that they really wanted to ditch\u2014like KiwiSaver, Working for Families, and the Ministry of Women\u2019s Affairs\u2014plan B is to make those things as ineffective as possible, to completely undermine them, and to gut them so that they do not work. Part 2 is yet another example of that approach. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000207\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EIn Part 2 the Government is attacking New Zealanders who are finding it difficult to make ends meet and to keep up their mortgage payments. How many New Zealanders are in that position today? Has the Government looked to see how many people that will affect in the future?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000208\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022132efeabef86433a86b33b9232efe13c\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: 600.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000209\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ccca4bc9bca64490bbfd5bddc5faec3b\u0022\u003ESUE MORONEY\u003C/span\u003E: Clearly Paul Quinn does not care about those 600 people. He does not understand that those 600 people have families and that people rely on them. So those 600 people multiply out and out again. And what about the people who might want to use the mortgage diversion facility going forward?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022 data-id=\u0022f16671aa1f2e409e8e817ef1e3a9b1e1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000210\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f16671aa1f2e409e8e817ef1e3a9b1e1\u0022\u003EDr PAUL HUTCHISON (National\u2014Hunua):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000211\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bd170fccbc72483f800e950dc9bfeac5\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: The previous Chairperson, Eric Roy, wanted the debate to be relevant and to the point. We are getting very close to being off the subject. I will take one more speech, from Mr Hipkins, and I hope that he is on target.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022 data-id=\u00228778825c29354c458f27adf3aa21e57e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000212\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228778825c29354c458f27adf3aa21e57e\u0022\u003ECHRIS HIPKINS (Labour\u2014Rimutaka):\u003C/span\u003E I intend to talk about the cancellation of the mortgage diversion component of the KiwiSaver scheme, which is what Part 2 does. I think it is relevant to consider why Kiwis are not taking up mortgage diversion, because it has been the key justification for Part 2. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000213\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224a796183d37742b9a12f6e021d7650a8\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: Go and check his Twitter site. He admits no one comes to his office to see him.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000214\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002244a158f7cf4e4de7a35a79e8f9824d72\u0022\u003ECHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: I say to Paul Quinn that sometimes it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one\u2019s mouth and remove all doubt. Perhaps he might like to learn from that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000215\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EComing back to the mortgage diversion scheme, I want to take up a couple of reasons that the Minister of Revenue, Peter Dunne, gave as to why people have not taken up the mortgage diversion scheme. The first one he talked about was the shift in contribution from 4 percent to 2 percent. He said that was one of the key justifications for people not taking up the mortgage diversion component of the KiwiSaver scheme. Of course, that shift was something that Labour opposed; we opposed the cutting in half of the KiwiSaver scheme. We see KiwiSaver as being part of New Zealand\u2019s long-term savings future, and as helping to address some of the significant financial issues that this country has, particularly our savings problem. National said that it would be fine, that cutting the contribution down to 2 percent would not have a detrimental impact, yet we are now debating an amendment that has been caused in part, according to the Minister\u2019s own words, by the KiwiSaver scheme being cut in half.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000216\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe other thing I want to talk about is that part of the justification for mortgage diversion of KiwiSaver in the first place was that it gave people some certainty when they entered the KiwiSaver scheme that if they found themselves in financial hardship at some point, they might be able to divert their KiwiSaver payments to repay their mortgages. The fact that not many people have taken it up is a good sign, because it probably means that not many people in KiwiSaver are facing financial hardship. But we are now going into some very tough economic times; in fact, they are getting tougher. We have been going through tough times. Why take away mortgage diversion at a time when people may be reaching the point where they want to take it up?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000217\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229448b96253bd40688828fe9efebc7068\u0022\u003ESue Moroney\u003C/span\u003E: What\u2019s the harm?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000218\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229e763156f7174e9aaecc457075e37955\u0022\u003ECHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: What is the harm in leaving it there? What is the real harm?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000219\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EWe would have been able to debate these issues quite robustly if the bill had been sent to a select committee, but because it was not sent to a select committee, the only opportunity we have to discuss it is in the Committee stage. So, yes, there has been a certain amount of wide-ranging contributions on this particular change, but that is because this debate is the only opportunity we get to debate it. The public of New Zealand have not had a chance to have their say. Nobody has had a chance to come to a select committee and say he or she would have taken up the mortgage repayment option but for whatever his or her reason was. Rather than giving people an opportunity to have their say, the Government is pushing this bill through the House under urgency. We would think that it would have learnt from its tax cuts experience that pushing things through under urgency generally tends to create problems. It means that it gets things wrong. Five months after National had pushed tax cuts through the House under urgency, it took urgency again to take them away. So urgency is clearly not the optimal way to pass legislation, and it is not the optimal way to deal with this particular issue of mortgage diversion.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000220\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EAnother reason why people are not taking up the mortgage diversion scheme is that they want to maximise their retirement savings. They want as much money as possible to go into their actual retirement savings rather than into their mortgage, because they know\u2014particularly young New Zealanders\u2014that there is no guarantee that by the time they retire National would have made any provision to help with their retirement. The National Government has suspended the Government\u2019s contribution to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund for the next decade. So in 15 years\u2019 time, when the next generation goes to the cupboard to see what is there for its retirement savings, the cupboard will be bare. John Key\u2019s promise that he will resign if superannuation is cut will be very hollow by then, because John Key will have been long gone. So that could well be one of the reasons why New Zealanders are not taking up the mortgage diversion scheme; they want their savings to go into KiwiSaver, because they know they will need their retirement savings when they get to the age of 65, or 67, or 68, which may well be the retirement age by the time the National Government is done, because it is not committed to putting aside money now to meet the significant costs of superannuation in the future. It is more short-term thinking from National.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000221\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe Budget is all about broken promises and hidden agendas. This measure was not in the National Party\u2019s election manifesto. It was not on its pledge card. National made specific commitments about KiwiSaver on its pledge card. This was not one of them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022 data-id=\u00229166c56529d84974b1fbd2dfaa5120bf\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000222\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229166c56529d84974b1fbd2dfaa5120bf\u0022\u003ESIMON BRIDGES (National\u2014Tauranga):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000223\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000224\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022549232fef6db4925958254289e363c71\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: The question is that Part 2 stand\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000225\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224ae1f58b408a4777b3db29f4b7f717a4\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Noes have it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000226\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022817cd97232e649989048789b9b628c40\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: I have declared the result. I am now on to the next question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002271f0626dc5504a0aa3a66720ce529d86\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: No. You said the Ayes have it, and I said the Noes have it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000228\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ce6a18e2180f4e66bc7d21731b40692c\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: With all due respect, the question had been put, the vote had been cast, and I had declared the result. There was no challenge to the question being agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u00221b21c7f534ec4184b97625d35a984581\u0022 name=\u0022division\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EA party vote was called for on the question, That Part 2 be agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 112\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 58; New Zealand Labour 42; ACT New Zealand 5; M\u0101ori Party 5; Progressive 1; United Future 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 6\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EGreen Party 6.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EPart 2 agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000229\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ce7d7053ae0543aab1ef295c747cab9a\u0022\u003EClauses 1 and 2 agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000230\u0022\u003EBill reported without amendment.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000231\u0022\u003EReport adopted.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000232\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022d28f81f9ae58462eba68b3ea081f978c\u0022\u003EThird Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022 data-id=\u002269535b6b0fdd499f8368ce86cfd94b15\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000233\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002269535b6b0fdd499f8368ce86cfd94b15\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE (Minister of Revenue)\u003C/span\u003E on behalf of the Minister of Finance: I move, That the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill be now read a third time. This bill has two prime components. Part 1 changes the Government\u2019s tax reduction plans in light of the Budget announcement yesterday, and introduces the deferral of those plans until economic conditions improve. The debate during the Committee stage focused on the state of the New Zealand economy, whether those cuts were affordable in the current context, and what the alternatives might be. The reality is that the Committee of the whole House overwhelmingly\u2014in fact, I think, unanimously\u2014endorsed the proposition that these tax cuts should be deferred at this time, even though a number of members made it clear that this was not their preferred course of action, but that it was an inevitable response to the current global economic crisis. Most members noted that in the current framework, where the Government is facing significant additional fiscal pressures, it would have been fiscally irresponsible to proceed with the tax cuts at this time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000234\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EPart 2 deals with a very specific issue, which is the closing off of the current mortgage diversion scheme within KiwiSaver. The reasons that were advanced for that change were quite simple. First, the uptake of the scheme has been particularly slow. In fact, somewhat less than 600 people out of over a million KiwiSavers have availed themselves of the mortgage diversion facility. One of the largest fund managers in New Zealand, BT Funds Management, which acts as the agent for Westpac, says it has fewer than 30 members enrolled in its particular scheme to give effect to this facility. The consequence of the facility is that the complexities it gives rise to are causing pressures amongst fund providers on continuing to offer the option. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000235\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EThe second point is that changes to KiwiSaver, particularly the introduction of the \u201C2 plus 2\u201D percent contribution regime, meant that the maximum income where benefit starts to accrue from mortgage diversion is $104,000. That is because of the additional 2 percent being retained in earners\u2019 own pockets, and also because of the way in which the mortgage diversion scheme has worked\u2014it has, essentially, become a top-up over and above the basic mortgage repayments. So for those reasons, it was the Government\u2019s view that the scheme had not worked and ought to be repealed. There was a good discussion in the Committee of the whole House about whether the scheme ought to be repealed, but the conclusion of virtually all parties, bar one, at the end of the day was that repealing it was probably the correct course of action to take. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000236\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EAt this stage I simply thank members who have contributed to the various debates as this bill has proceeded. I acknowledge the work of the officials who have attended throughout and, as usual, have proffered their advice, as appropriate, from time to time, but who have sat here in wonderment watching the ensuing debate. On that basis, I am happy to commend this bill to the consideration of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022 data-id=\u0022a8f094a67d624229941ae4549e2ead67\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000237\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a8f094a67d624229941ae4549e2ead67\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour\u2014New Lynn):\u003C/span\u003E The third reading debate is traditionally an opportunity to take stock of where the debate has come to, and we should use it to see the measures contained in the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill in the context of the Budget in which they were brought down. I am reminded of the taxi driver test, which is to ask what ordinary New Zealanders talk about when sitting in a cab. There are two clear messages around these tax cuts. The first reflects the previous speaker, Peter Dunne: there is pretty much unanimous agreement in the community and in this House that these tax cuts should be repealed, and that they were never good economic sense or good equity sense. Everybody agrees that to proceed with them now would be fiscally irresponsible. The House is divided on what the taxi drivers know and what their fares are telling them: that these tax cuts were always unaffordable, and that therefore their repeal makes transparent what was always the case, which is that this was one of the great electoral cons of New Zealand\u2019s political history. The Government got elected on an untruth, which was that New Zealanders could have everything they valued from the previous era\u2014KiwiSaver, smaller class sizes, good primary health care, wh\u0101nau development, and a future with high-tech, new skills\u2014and 3 years of tax cuts in 2009, 2010, and 2011. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000238\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EJohn Key knew the tax cuts could not happen. That is the point from this side of the House. The evidence on that point has been traversed in the second reading debate, and it is pretty incontrovertible. The Prime Minister used to sit on the Federal Reserve Board of New York, which is a pretty august body. He would not have got there if he could not read the markets\u2014and good on him. Someone cannot be on the Federal Reserve Board of New York and not notice that Lehman Brothers\u2014probably Wall Street\u2019s leading merchant bank\u2014has hit the wall and gone bankrupt, nor that John Key\u2019s old firm, Merrill Lynch, had been broken up and sold for scrap to the Bank of America. That happened 2 months before our general election. That is the proof, if anybody needed proof, that John Key knew that those tax cuts would not and could not ever happen. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000239\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EThe world economy was freezing. We had to issue overnight wholesale and retail bank guarantees. There was real uncertainty as to whether global credit would move at all. Interbank lending margins ballooned from 30 points to 230 points almost overnight. People around the world were worried about financing existing loans. That is the backdrop to this bill. We are not arguing about whether tax cuts should be cancelled, because everybody knows they should be. The Labour Party and the Green Party have been absolutely consistent right throughout, saying these tax cuts should never and could never have happened. What is more is that National knew that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000240\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EThe context matters here. This is our opportunity to reflect on the part these tax cuts have played in the overall Budget strategy. What strategy? As Peter Conway of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions said this morning, this is the \u201CRoad to Nowhere Budget\u201D. I would say it is the \u201CSwap One Great Con for Another Con Budget\u201D. The other con is that payments to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund can be suspended for 10 years, yet one can still put a prime ministerial guarantee on the payout levels and the age of entitlement. What is that guarantee worth now, when the Prime Minister\u2019s signature was on the piece of paper that has been ripped up in this debate? It is worth exactly what it seems to be worth: nothing. It is worth nothing to the baby boomers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000241\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EI woke up this morning feeling like I had a hangover, not because I had anything to drink last night, but because I was starting to worry about my family. What am I going to do when I turn 65? My parliamentary superannuation is worth half what it was a year ago, and that was not much anyway. But ordinary New Zealanders are far worse off than I am; I am on a good wicket. What about the people on $50,000, $40,000, $35,000, or even $90,000, who if they are 40 or 50 cannot count any more on 65 percent of the average wage when they are 65? Do members know why they cannot? Because as of yesterday there is a $30 billion hole. At the moment, one retired person\u2014a superannuitant\u2014is supported by five taxpayers. By the time these guys start paying back into the scheme that will be down to three taxpayers. Has anybody calculated the cost to those three taxpayers supporting the retired person if they have to make up the difference of 10 years of no contributions? No. The Budget is a great swindle. It is a huge con. Superannuation is dead. It is dead, and our old people will be shivering in cold, dark flats, wondering how to pay for the roast beef they will now never see. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000242\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EMembers opposite may laugh. They have taken a politically expedient step because they do not want to cut into today\u2019s spending, and they do not want to put down markers for a pathway to growth. The chairman of the Finance and Expenditure Committee might be having a wee laugh, but where were his bright ideas? When I read the Budget documents in the lock-up and got to the end of the Executive Summary I thought I must have missed something. Here is this bright, shiny, new Government. It has Graham Scott and the purchase advisers working from home on $2,000 a day to come up with earth-shattering bright ideas. Where are they? Where are the bright ideas in this Budget? Let us think about it like this: let us imagine\u2014[Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EI raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I usually enjoy interjections, but there is hubbub that is not even related to members interjecting on the speaker. I think this matter is too important to New Zealanders to have that at this time. I ask that members be quiet. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000244\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cf6d24aa794948b99412651d00e80a37\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy)\u003C/span\u003E: Members, that is a fair point. The noise level was getting up and there was a lot of side talk. If people want to have discussions, there is a door on either side of the Chamber and at the back for members to go out of in order for them to conduct those conversations.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000245\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022803f999078d64fe5b8b6ee2cfd8e0d71\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE\u003C/span\u003E: Let us imagine the analogy of a doctor\u2019s surgery. Let us imagine Bill English is a doctor and he has said that the patient is critical and on life support. The New Zealand economy is in a critical condition. Let us see what the diagnosis was and the solution\u2014the medicine\u2014that has been proposed. One rating agency said we had a short-term debt management issue, but that the fundamental issue was that we did not have enough innovation. If that was the disease, what was the cure? It was cutting Fast Forward, cutting the research and development tax credits, and cutting tertiary education spending. Let us take the classic example of Fisher and Paykel Appliances Ltd\u2014that iconic company that Bill English overruled John Key on when John Key wanted to bail it out. The company is very intensive on research and development. It might not have had to go cap in hand to China if the Government had not canned those research and development tax credits. That is the truth of the matter. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000246\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EThis Budget is selling us short: it is not just a road to nowhere; it is a road to serfdom. Too much of our economy is owned by other people. That is why we have the second problem, which is the current account deficit. The biggest part of that deficit is the outflow of invisibles\u2014that is, the rent we pay to the foreign investors, who own too much of our economy. If that is the disease, what is the cure? I will take 2 minutes to sum up the situation, and it is a biggie. If the disease is the invisibles deficit and the savings gap, the cure was KiwiSaver. KiwiSaver filled in that gap, yet the Government gutted it by half as part of this Budget. Absolute shame on the Government. This Budget is a road to nowhere. It is a road to serfdom. It is a \u201CRoad to Nowhere Budget\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000247\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EThe third thing was that the Minister of Finance said\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000248\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fb5c64428bf2456a85caf30f030ea588\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: What was the current account deficit under the last Government?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000249\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b2cd875bccab4402bf95ae87786640dc\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE\u003C/span\u003E: That member would do better at a time like this to contribute some positive ideas to the future of this country, rather than heckle. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000250\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EIf the disease was a lack of growth, the solution should have been to build growth with an economic development strategy, not to gut the ability of our small farm to develop new industries and new markets by taking the stuffing out of the Ministry of Economic Development and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. That was the wrong cure for the wrong disease. That means that ordinary, decent, hard-working New Zealanders will be on the dole queue when they do not need to be. Hundreds of thousands of baby boomers out there will be worrying about their superannuation and their retirement\u2014quite rightly, as they know they have been conned. They know that the National Party has swapped one great lie for another great lie. The lie was that we could afford tax cuts, when it knew we could not. Today\u2019s legislation nails that coffin shut, and the new lie is that the few remaining taxpayers will be able to make up the difference in the Superannuation Fund.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022 data-id=\u00220c9a8a9d1a404089908acd5da0745fa6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000251\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220c9a8a9d1a404089908acd5da0745fa6\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Police):\u003C/span\u003E I will take just a few moments to reply to some of the most outrageous comments from the member opposite David Cunliffe. It is amazing to hear him talk about lies and cons, because he is a member of a party that offered us the infamous \u201Cchewing gum tax cuts\u201D in 2005, but, straight after that election, what happened to those tax cuts? The Labour Government of the day said they were unaffordable. And at that time that Government had the biggest surpluses this country had ever seen!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000252\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EThis country is going through the toughest economic times that the world has seen in 70 years. Bill English has pulled together a magnificent Budget. The previous speaker, who is now leaving the Chamber, has never once told us what he would cut. Would he have cut the entitlements of the most vulnerable New Zealanders? Would he have done that? The answer is yes. That is exactly what he wanted us to do, but we will not do that. We do not think it is fair to punish the most vulnerable New Zealanders for being the most vulnerable New Zealanders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000253\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EThe previous Labour Government took 9 years to deliver one personal tax cut, after all the surpluses and all the opportunities. And it left the books in an utter mess. They have been rescued by this Budget. The Labour Party would rather we had borrowed on the credit card, and invested the money in the bank at 5 percent interest. That is the sort of \u201CVisa-nomics\u201D being displayed by the Labour Party. That is why members opposite are so angry. They have no answers. That is why they were voted out, and I hope they will continue to be voted out, because that is what they deserve. It is an utter disgrace.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022 data-id=\u0022445491b0721b437180456ad89c2d4bb3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000254\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022445491b0721b437180456ad89c2d4bb3\u0022\u003EHon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour\u2014Waimakariri):\u003C/span\u003E That speech was from the member Judith Collins, who thinks she has a monopoly on sympathy and empathy with vulnerable people. She appears to be a very generous member who oozes sincerity and sympathy for the downtrodden\u2014yeah, right! That will be the next Tui billboard.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000255\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EI say to that member that during her speech my colleague Maryan Street interjected a number of times that the difference between us and them is that we did not promise the unaffordable. We did not promise the inequitable. That member says that in 9 years we did not deliver any money back to the folks in the street; well, she conveniently forgets about the tax credit for Working for Families. As she slopes off now, back to the crypt where she belongs, she conveniently forgets about that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000256\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EThe great crime in this debate today is not the cancelling of the tax cuts; the great crime is the grand deception that every member on the other side of the House perpetrated against the New Zealand people. It comes down to a simple word: \u201Clies\u201D. Those people opposite went into the election saying that there would be tax cuts. John Key signed a pledge card saying that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000257\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EIt was even said by the ghost-like figure sitting in the Government front row at the moment, Kate Wilkinson, who stood against me at the election. On the stump, she attacked me and called me a liar when I said that National would not deliver the tax cuts. And I was called a liar by that member, on the stump in Waimakariri, when I said that National would hack into superannuation. Today it has done that. I ask who the liar is. Whom will the people of Waimakariri see as a liar? That member and her ilk pledged, almost in blood, that the tax cuts would go ahead.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000258\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003ENational members\u2019 only alibi now is to perpetrate the typical Tory trick that those folk have perpetrated yea unto the generations, and that is to say every time they come into office: \u201COh, we didn\u2019t know.\u201D They say that they did not know what the economic conditions were, and that they inherited a global meltdown. Well, I say to the ghost-like figure in the front row, who pops up in Waimakariri and who purports to be a lawyer and someone of intelligence, that she should have known of the conditions. Could she not read Time magazine? Could she not read The Economist? Could she not read the IMF report of September last year that Brian Rudman referred to? Did she not know that the previous Labour Government and our Australian counterpart had instituted bank guarantees before our respective elections because the global economic climate was very rough, and we wanted to ensure that there was not a run on the banks and that depositors\u2019 funds in Australasia were not put in jeopardy? Did John Key, that self-made man who worships his creator\u2014a great saying; it is not my saying\u2014not know that, even though he was a foreign exchange dealer? Did Bill English not know that? Could he not read those international reports? Maurice Williamson, that loyal member of the National Party, is trying to interject; could he not read the newspapers, either domestic or international? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000259\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EIt is not credible for that crew in Government to say that after they had been sworn in they suddenly realised, at that point, that their tax cuts were unaffordable. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000260\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022409b7c5de4dd4835bf5eb442e76da621\u0022\u003ECraig Foss\u003C/span\u003E: That member is the only man in the world who knew the conditions!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000261\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022476f42ffb3964dedb408c56075121885\u0022\u003EHon CLAYTON COSGROVE\u003C/span\u003E: Even that alibi is not credible, because a month after they had been elected, after they had opened the books\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000262\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fbe3f87c-849c-4eee-84cc-119edeb1a681\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227fe5959b6c3d45da8554958758f6d927\u0022\u003EAaron Gilmore\u003C/span\u003E: The only one who knew was that member.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000263\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223db5cf78eb274769bd8a679a84459909\u0022\u003EHon CLAYTON COSGROVE\u003C/span\u003E: That genius in the back row interjects on me, as does that other member, the chair of the Finance and Expenditure Committee. He knows about tax; he knows about personal tax returns, of course, but we will not go there. If he would like us to work him over on the barbecue spit, we will have a go.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000264\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EEven a month after National members had been elected, even a month after they had opened the books and had cruised through them line by line, they still said that the tax cuts were cast in stone. The great lie, the great crime, is not the cancelling of the tax cuts; it is the deception. Labour supports cancelling them. We consistently said they were unaffordable and were inequitable. The proof of that is in the first tranche of tax cuts that those great empathisers with the community delivered, whereby the top 3 percent of income earners in this country got a tax cut of a third, and families on $40,000 a year or less in Waimakariri, in every M\u0101ori seat, in every seat in this country, got nothing! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000265\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002287078f629eba4a118867ca843fa53482\u0022\u003EHon Darren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: Is that fair?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000266\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f10457215b1a4ae69c4d6674807a7605\u0022\u003EHon CLAYTON COSGROVE\u003C/span\u003E: I do not think it was fair. My colleague knows that it was not fair. We knew that it was not fair. That is why we did not support that tax cut. And we have been consistent.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000267\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EThen we come, of course, to superannuation. Well, I say that National has pulled it off again. The ironic thing is that when that crew were in Government last time, Mr English cut the pension three times. When I kept reminding the ghost-like figure in the front row of that in the election campaign, she called me a liar. When I said to her that she would do what her Government had done last time\u2014tinker with superannuation\u2014she said I was a liar. Well, we are racking them up; the notches are being racked up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000268\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EMembers opposite come into the House almost in a self-congratulatory mood, demanding that the people congratulate them on holding the pension at the same level of entitlement. They believe they deserve congratulations from Grey Power and Age Concern. Well, yes, they have held the pension at the same level of entitlement, but the great debate that we thought had been put to bed, and that Grey Power thought there was consensus on, has now re-erupted. It goes like this: if this Government suspends payments to the Cullen fund for 10 years, I predict that if National is still in office at the next election, its members will say: \u201CLook, after 3 years of deferred payments, in order to put that huge amount of money\u2014billions of dollars\u2014back into the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, we have to raise your taxes.\u201D National will try to sell it to people in that way.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000269\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EPeople in their 50s now will remember the spectre of Don Brash. It was said that this would never happen. More specifically, people who have 15 years to go before retirement will now be in the situation they were in before Labour became the Government in 1999. They will be uncertain, they will be worried about their superannuation, they will not know what they should do about their retirement, and, worse still, they will have only 15 years in which to recalibrate their arrangements. We know that that is not enough time for a mum or a dad who, at 50 years of age, has paid the mortgage off, done all the right things, and looked after the family. The Government told those people what the rules would be, told them what the entitlement would be, and, by the way, it said it would guarantee it because it had put money aside. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000270\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EThat is what all Kiwis do when they do their household budget. When they know they have a big expense coming up, they put money aside, because they are smart people. We know when everybody is going to retire, we know when that will happen, and there is absolute certainty about that\u2014we know the age of everybody. We know what the bill is going to be henceforth. So what did Dr Cullen do? He was as smart as New Zealanders are every day in respect of their household budgets. He put money aside. The great betrayal will not occur today; the great betrayal will happen tomorrow as we go forward, because every New Zealander now is worried and does not know whether he or she will have a superannuation entitlement.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000271\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EI will be 40 this year. Maybe I have time on my side\u2014I am sure I have. Someone in his or her 40s has a few more years to go and is able to recalibrate his or her arrangements. But people in their 50s will not have time to do that. They have set their course, they have set their savings, and they have set their plan for their retirement, and now the spectre of uncertainty comes forth. As my colleague has said, when it gets really tough in a few years\u2019 time, in 10 years\u2019 time when the money will have been carved out of the Superannuation Fund, if ever the Tories are in Government again they will say: \u201COh well, maybe we have to move on the age of entitlement\u201D\u2014as they did before\u2014\u201Cor maybe we have to cut the rate of superannuation.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000272\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EWhat National has done is the typical Tory trick that the ghost in the front row was adamant would never happen under a National Government. But National has not only tinkered with superannuation; it has taken an axe to it. Six months ago, when Labour was in office, people were certain of the retirement age, certain of the entitlement, and certain that when they retired they would get superannuation that they could live on, because Labour had said we would put money aside for it. As one of my colleagues said, an economic downturn, when shares and investments go down, is the time when we can use our money to buy good-quality investments on the cheap\u2014we can do it on the cheap\u2014so that we can gain from them when they appreciate. We know that the Superannuation Fund actually made money last month, as one of my colleagues alluded to. I look forward to the genius in the back row opposite going to the constituents, going to the Grey Power meetings, and telling them why National has pulled the rug out from under them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000273\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f9c512a8-d532-4ef9-ad51-0fe8d752a893\u0022\u003EThis measure is a traditional National trick; it did it 20 years ago, it is doing it today, and it will pay a price for it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022 data-id=\u0022079300d4709f4e9f912c1d298caf907f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000274\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022079300d4709f4e9f912c1d298caf907f\u0022\u003ECATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker Barker The Green Party is voting for the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill because Part 1 is obviously necessary. Part 2 is highly dubious, and both parts should have been debated in a select committee. It is very peculiar that the Green Party was the only party to vote against Part 2. I do not actually understand that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000275\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EAs our co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons stated clearly in the Committee stage, less haste and more speed would have been a good idea in respect of both parts of this bill. But, at the risk of being almost repetitive\u2014as some of the speeches in the Committee stage were\u2014I say that we do not accept the need for urgency, as used by this Government. As a new member of this House I am amazed and bewildered by the use of urgency as a tool. The definitions of \u201Curgency\u201D include one that says it means \u201Cpressing necessity\u201D. Every single bill forced through this House under urgency since I have been here has not met that test, and now some of them are being repealed. Each one may have been seen as a pressing necessity by the Government, but I am not sure whether anyone else feels that way, either in this House or on the planet. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EThe Green Party is very surprised that United Future, which has campaigned on transparency and common sense, agreed to Part 2 without the bill going to a select committee, and without the issues about the mortgage diversion scheme being properly debated, particularly as the recession bites. We urge the Government to take serious stock of Part 2 and to abandon it. After all, just because only 600 people were supposedly involved so far is not a good reason to close the mortgage diversion facility. If 600 people are on a heart surgery list, we do not abandon the heart surgery team. It is short-sighted thinking. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000277\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EUrgency is also a bad idea in that it seems to make people even more petty, fractious, righteous, and abusive\u2014at the same time\u2014than Parliament normally is, and that is quite an achievement. It does absolutely nothing for our reputation with the public of Aotearoa New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000278\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EThe absolute worst thing about this bill is not the bill as it looks; it is the context of it. The cynical populism that characterised an election campaign based on tax cuts has led us to this highly predictable moment. Numerous extremely conservative economic commentators have been predicting a serious downturn in the global economy for the last year, if not for 5 years. No one can tell the Green Party that it was news to the Minister of Finance. On that cynical basis the election was won, and now the promise is being broken. The voters have a great opportunity to reflect on questions of honesty in politics and questions of what is fiscally responsible economic policy in terms of tax. The repeal of the tax cuts is necessary, but tax cuts were always the peddling of an unhealthy and irresistible fast-food solution to this failing economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000279\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EWhat amazes me about this House is that we hear all about who ate McDonald\u2019s on Monday, but we do not have any acknowledgment that the Government has just banned the healthy food scheme in schools. So it has no leg to stand on, on either issue. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000280\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003ETo go back to the issue of tax cuts, I say they are irresistible to people, but they are a failed solution. The really sad thing\u2014and I want to finish on this point, because the Green Party is realistic about what is happening and the inevitability of getting rid of the tax cuts\u2014about the Budget yesterday and the bill today is that they ignore the substantive economic and ecological crisis that is facing this country and the world. Lester Brown said that economy is what we borrow from each other, and ecology is what we steal from future generations. But anyone sitting in this House would not think that the Government had ever heard of such concepts as ecology or future generations. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000281\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EAlthough Green members will vote for the bill, we do so with a sad realisation that we are in a situation that will probably continue throughout this term, and it does this House no good at all. Let us be really, really clear: we cannot have tax cuts, National never should have offered them, it was always a dumb idea, and now we have to tidy up the mess. Kia ora koutou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022187e4099-cc16-4bb8-8379-82c881af1724\u0022 data-id=\u00225520d0cadf1a47848df9ef1f8baf90e6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022187e4099-cc16-4bb8-8379-82c881af1724\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225520d0cadf1a47848df9ef1f8baf90e6\u0022\u003EDAVID GARRETT (ACT):\u003C/span\u003E I rise to support the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill in accordance with ACT\u2019s confidence and supply agreement with the National Party. The tax cuts should not have been cancelled, but it is certainly correct that to borrow to pay for them would be an even worse idea. Our major criticism of this Budget is not the cancellation of the tax cuts, but the failure to fund tax cuts by a reduction in Government spending. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000283\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022187e4099-cc16-4bb8-8379-82c881af1724\u0022\u003EThe Government has missed the opportunity to cut Government waste by scrapping some Government departments altogether and by scrapping some Government functions. I do not think this speech will be very popular in some quarters, but I ask why we need a Ministry of Women\u2019s Affairs. We have a female Chief Justice and we have thus far had not one but two female Prime Ministers. We recently saw the back of the first female Speaker. The \u201CGirls Can Do Anything\u201D campaign\u2014by its very language, it shows just how long ago it was\u2014was a resounding success. At the end of the Second World War the Special Operations Executive\u2014those chaps we saw dropping into France in movies\u2014was disbanded because the war had been won. So why do we need a Ministry of Women\u2019s Affairs in 2009?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000284\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227a1b7d2c186749e3889bcbf4bd5feacb\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I think there might be a little bit of confusion in the House. Yesterday afternoon we adjourned the Budget debate and we are now on the third reading of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill, which is quite a narrow tax bill. I think the member might have his notes for the two debates mixed up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000285\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229916cbb4a6df429eb27196ab488ccf09\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I ask the member to\u2014[Interruption]\u2014I am on my feet. We are debating a bill that is quite small in its content. The member must bring the factors he is mentioning into the bill that we are talking about. I ask the member to continue.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000286\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022187e4099-cc16-4bb8-8379-82c881af1724\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225b61d87b77c64771a74ef4eeba6a5534\u0022\u003EDAVID GARRETT\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Speaker. As I said, the tax cuts should have gone ahead. They could have been funded in a different way. Having said all that, the ACT Party will support this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e2e2ee61-b3b9-4a89-bcc3-5b7be76c5825\u0022 data-id=\u00229895623557604d0e9bcc58d4d8aa9106\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000287\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e2e2ee61-b3b9-4a89-bcc3-5b7be76c5825\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229895623557604d0e9bcc58d4d8aa9106\u0022\u003ERAHUI KATENE (M\u0101ori Party\u2014Te Tai Tonga):\u003C/span\u003E In the hustle of post-Budget commentary, the comments of a humble crane operator from Porirua probably summed up for many the reaction to this Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill. Koro Moon told local papers: \u201CI was hoping for more money but I\u2019m not surprised there were no tax cuts. I am not affected by the recession. It doesn\u2019t bother me, because we\u2019ve just got to live the way it is. I mean, what more can we do?\u201D What can we do? Exactly. We face the worst economic downturn in 30 years. It was always expected that we would all need to tighten the belt and nail down the hatches if we are to get through this time unhindered. I suspect that the nonchalance and, possibly, fatalism expressed by Koro Moon would not be too different from the response of many New Zealanders as the Budget hit the bookshelves and the analysts plotted their storyline. Quite frankly, the repeal of the personal tax cuts and independent earner tax credit will not register with many of our constituents, who are far more focused on ensuring that the wh\u0101nau survives the tough times. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000288\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e2e2ee61-b3b9-4a89-bcc3-5b7be76c5825\u0022\u003EI bring another angle to this debate. Yesterday, as our Budget hit the news-stands, the United Nations released a statement warning that \u201CEconomic development activities, whether government infrastructure projects or mineral extractions by corporations, must not infringe on the rights of indigenous peoples,\u201D. The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues stated that these issues are extremely complex, because, so often, we understand the need to make economies survive\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000289\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022711c02ae37004d48a824a2fea121e8f1\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000290\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022562730c33be44b1ca9449ae29877717b\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I know what the point of order is. We are debating a tax bill that relates to doing away with tax cuts and to KiwiSaver. The member must confine her comments to that. We are dealing with pretty narrow content in the third reading, not with other peripheral issues that may be of interest, but certainly do not relate to this bill. I ask the member to continue.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000291\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e2e2ee61-b3b9-4a89-bcc3-5b7be76c5825\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ba83584f5cf143a0819013261b349733\u0022\u003ERAHUI KATENE\u003C/span\u003E: Certainly. If the member had waited, I would have pulled the matters together for him. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000292\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e2e2ee61-b3b9-4a89-bcc3-5b7be76c5825\u0022\u003EAs we looked through this bill we have been weighing up in our minds whether the decision to kill the tax cuts comes at the expense of the lives of indigenous peoples. I have to say that the balance is favourable. As Koro Moon pointed out, tax cuts never meant a great deal in comparison with some of the other issues affecting indigenous peoples. There has been a lot of rhetoric in this debate around broken promises. All I can say is that for tangata whenua a fairly significant promise weighs heavy in our collective soul\u2014that is, around Te Tiriti o Waitangi. So we should get a bit of perspective here. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e2e2ee61-b3b9-4a89-bcc3-5b7be76c5825\u0022\u003EThe evidence provided to us has told us that tax cuts to middle to high income earners contribute to growing income inequality. They do not create the economic benefits that will trickle down to lower-income earners. Indeed, the latest OECD report on income distribution, Growing unequal? Income Distribution and Poverty in OECD Countries, shows this as a particular and perverse effect of globalisation. It is well known that the M\u0101ori Party was a reluctant signatory to the first tranche of tax cuts. We were always nervous that the new tax regime had created new and unnecessary layers of complexity. It was our thinking in the M\u0101ori Party that low-income earners would be better served by blanket tax cuts, as had been provided to higher-income earners, and by raising the minimum wage. Administrative simplicity is one of the benefits of a broad based - low rate tax framework. Yet the cuts introduced last December failed to provide this benefit. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000294\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e2e2ee61-b3b9-4a89-bcc3-5b7be76c5825\u0022\u003EWe are pleased to support this new bill to cancel further tax cuts in the context of ongoing spending restraint. This is the time for a fresh look. No additional tax relief has been provided for the nation\u2019s most vulnerable families in this time of global economic recession. This tax relief must be an urgent priority for us. In this bill, with its effective freeze on tax cuts, we hope that the M\u0101ori Party will have another opportunity to influence further tax policy. We are pleased that people earning under $40,000 a year and who received no tax cuts on 1 April 2009 will no longer be subjected to the higher taxes that were due to come in on 1 April 2010 and 1 April 2011\u2014up to $8.65 per week for some low-income earners. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000295\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e2e2ee61-b3b9-4a89-bcc3-5b7be76c5825\u0022\u003EThe positive in all of this is that the increase in the inequality in disposable income is somewhat halted because of this bill today. But now we must turn to the task at hand. We must think about creating ways to provide tax relief to low-income earners and families, such as through tax cuts, through taking GST off food, and through an increase in the minimum wage. In line with that vision we will support this bill as an opportunity to move forward. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022 data-id=\u0022f837cafd26fd4d7cac8624580364fbed\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000296\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f837cafd26fd4d7cac8624580364fbed\u0022\u003ECRAIG FOSS (National\u2014Tukituki):\u003C/span\u003E I rise quickly in the third reading of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill. This is a bill that comes from necessity, from the Budget yesterday that came from necessity itself. That necessity is driven by the ongoing increase in spending of the previous administration, which was increasing by 50 percent per annum, yet its revenue was increasing by only 25 percent per annum. There is a fairly obvious hole that even those members opposite, with their various master\u2019s degrees in business, should comprehend. That is a disaster waiting to happen, that is why this bill comes out of necessity, and that is why it is so urgent that this legislation comes into place as soon as possible. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000297\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EMembers around the Chamber talked about the mortgage diversion provision. It is very interesting to hear members opposite questioning that, because I was on the Finance and Expenditure Committee when the mortgage diversion was pulled into the KiwiSaver Bill at the last minute as a bit of a trade-off. The Labour members on the committee, the Hon Paul Swain and company, were not in favour of it at all, and the discussion and debate revolved around the points that the Hon Peter Dunne has made in this House. So for members opposite to say that it should go back to a select committee for some reason does not make sense, particularly in light of the fact that only 600-odd people have picked it up. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000298\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EI will make a couple of other points. One thing is that everyone talks about tax. This Budget and this Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill is actually avoiding a tax\u2014that is, the tax of a lower credit rating for New Zealand. That tax would be about 1.5 percent on everyone\u2019s mortgage and credit card, and that is if we still maintained the ability to raise funds. We are an indebted nation, unfortunately. We owe $130 billion - odd. Our debt increased massively, to the tune of about $40 billion to $50 billion, under the previous administration. The measures we are taking in the Budget and in this bill, which is part of that Budget, will save New Zealand an incredibly large amount. For the life of me I cannot understand the scoffing we heard from the Hon Phil Goff about the importance of a credit rating to New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000299\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EIt may seem distant to the taxi driver; that is fair enough. But there is an implication on New Zealand. For those who have to borrow to survive, who have been struggling through the last 9 years\u2014and particularly through the last 3 years, when spending was out of control\u2014this is their reward. It will save them an extra margin on their borrowing costs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000300\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EI will make just one further point. I cannot go without mentioning the incredible foresight that Mr Cosgrove has discovered in hindsight. Mr Cunliffe has the same disease. I notice that other members and colleagues, who have perhaps more business nous than they do, tell us that now is the time to buy anything. It raises the question as to why things were bought back when they were more expensive. Again, I ask why, then, those members did not sell things back in June 2008, when the IMF report they keep alluding to came out. Why did they not sell some superannuation assets? Because their value has lost 30 percent. They moan on about the Superannuation Fund, but under their governance that fund lost 40 percent of its value. I cannot for the life of me understand the revisionist theory that those members suddenly have, and I really do not think that they believe it themselves. They are just trying to look for some headlines, because they are trying to find their way through this Budget and there is very, very little for them to criticise. Interestingly, on top of all those members\u2019 speeches, they are voting for the bill. On that note, I commend the bill to the House. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002248d9e7fe-3603-456c-bd32-c8d6177395fb\u0022 data-id=\u002249d87c21f538468aa1b865eb9e7b4f77\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000301\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248d9e7fe-3603-456c-bd32-c8d6177395fb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002249d87c21f538468aa1b865eb9e7b4f77\u0022\u003ERAYMOND HUO (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E On the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which fell yesterday, Budget day, Chinese people worldwide celebrated the Duanwu Festival, or dragon boat festival. The dragon boat festival was also celebrated in Japan, Viet Nam, Korea, and other east Asian nations.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000302\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002246d834d59b5343e4bc7cc7ded1ecf6a5\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: We have brought up other colleagues for straying well off the track. I ask the member to bring his comments back to the content of this very narrow bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000303\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248d9e7fe-3603-456c-bd32-c8d6177395fb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228d7d20357e3a46f2916f0d8ad2dc7389\u0022\u003ERAYMOND HUO\u003C/span\u003E: The reason why I cited the dragon boat festival is that it is very relevant to the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill. According to legend, in 278 BC the Chinese statesman and great poet Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Miluo River to protest against the corrupt regime of the Chu Dynasty, whose king had constantly broken his promises. To save the legendary statesman, who had thrown himself in the river\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000304\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d82a419b16c640f0a7c9ec02f6421819\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I have asked the member to come back to the bill. We are on a current bill. History is quite fine, and I learn a lot from it, but I ask the member to come back to the bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000305\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bc42c5768f634b05b0477e8b53bf87bc\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I think the point that the member had just come to was that this was an ancient and very important case of breach of promise, as this bill is.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000306\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002242f0d39336254fc8938bbb3df1146873\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I thank the member for the history lesson. We have had a minute and a half so far of his speech, and, as I said, we are on a very narrow debate on the content of the bill. I would ask the member to continue in that vein.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000307\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248d9e7fe-3603-456c-bd32-c8d6177395fb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002205e550f8ccb2457890b929ecc577a9cc\u0022\u003ERAYMOND HUO\u003C/span\u003E: I will come back to the bill. I had two interviews yesterday afternoon, with the Auckland-based World TV network and Chinese Voice Broadcasting, before heading to the Finance and Expenditure Committee meeting\u2014[Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000308\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248d9e7fe-3603-456c-bd32-c8d6177395fb\u0022\u003EI raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. As a new member I am starting to enjoy the interjections, but if Mr Paul Quinn\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000309\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022648b00ba591c4916bc91059ac63a6838\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That is not a point of order. Interjections are allowed. I ask the member to continue. That is not a point of order. Could he please carry on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000310\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248d9e7fe-3603-456c-bd32-c8d6177395fb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002266148e4fcacf40a888e5b9e6c0e6b373\u0022\u003ERAYMOND HUO\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. This is a new point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000311\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002279c693ed55a6467ea3b854a81409548e\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I hope the member is not trifling with the Chair.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000312\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248d9e7fe-3603-456c-bd32-c8d6177395fb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002239044219517645b2a0cbf56a0b32e98f\u0022\u003ERAYMOND HUO\u003C/span\u003E: If Mr Paul Quinn wants to exercise his opera-singing skills, he should return to his own seat.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000313\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cb90da95a977425ba88ca4e9eec74214\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That is not a point of order. I ask the member to continue his speech. That is not a point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000314\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cde2cd58bb2e4bf0a322cf58fe478a8c\u0022\u003EHon Darren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. This is a new point of order. You might have missed what my colleague was saying. He was saying that if the member opposite is going to interject on him in the way that he has been doing, he should resume his own seat. That was the point Mr Huo just made.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000315\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022888fc42e23f548d681a1297784594b21\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I do not need any help. The slate is clean. We will start again. The member has 8 minutes left.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000316\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248d9e7fe-3603-456c-bd32-c8d6177395fb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fcf82b3e5d7f48f19fe6c2dce4256cb5\u0022\u003ERAYMOND HUO\u003C/span\u003E: Before heading to the Finance and Expenditure Committee meeting to discuss the allocation of the 2009-10 estimates, I had interviews with the Auckland-based World TV network and with Chinese Voice Broadcasting. Inevitably, we talked about the dragon boat festival, its origins, and yesterday\u2019s Budget. According to legend, local fishermen raced out in their boats to save the legendary statesman, but it was too late. To prevent his body from being eaten by fish, they beat their paddles furiously on the water and threw zong-zi, which are large rice wrappers, as a sacrifice to his spirit. One viewer called me during the dinner break last night and said he felt he was eating humble rice wraps. He meant to say he was eating humble pie, because he had voted for National because of its tax cuts promises, and he now felt let down and regretted doing that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000317\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248d9e7fe-3603-456c-bd32-c8d6177395fb\u0022\u003EIn terms of the tax cuts, for which National\u2019s leader, Mr John Key, signed his personal guarantee, we, the members, remember that in December this honourable House was rushed into urgency in order to have the tax cuts put into law. [Interruption] I thank members for that. Now, nearly 6 months later, this honourable House has been rushed into urgency again for the introduction and passing of this bill, which has the effect of cancelling those tax cuts. It was a key election promise\u2014$4 billion of personal tax cuts over a 3-year programme. The Dominion Post correctly predicted before Budget day \u201CBudget to break election promise\u201D, and today\u2019s Dominion Post has correctly described the Budget as giving \u201CCuts everywhere but not on taxes\u201D. Gone are the tax cuts that National promised to deliver in 2010 and 2011.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000318\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248d9e7fe-3603-456c-bd32-c8d6177395fb\u0022\u003EGone, too, are the automatic Government contributions to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund established by the Hon Dr Michael Cullen. I feel sorry for the baby boomers. I feel sorry for ordinary New Zealanders. Ongoing Government contributions to the Superannuation Fund are essential to guarantee future superannuation payments to New Zealanders. New Zealand\u2019s baby boomer generation should be very afraid of what retirement holds for them. The future of superannuation has been thrown into doubt by Mr English\u2019s 10-year freeze on New Zealand Superannuation Fund contributions. Brian Rudman said in the New Zealand Herald: \u201CIn the commercial world, such an obvious breach of promise would be actionable in the courts. Unsurprisingly, the legislators that draw up the laws to protect us from the business wide-boys carefully exempt themselves from similar sanctions.\u201D Actionable in the courts? Probably not. Sanctions? Yes. We will see in 2\u00BD years\u2019 time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000319\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248d9e7fe-3603-456c-bd32-c8d6177395fb\u0022\u003EThe biggest challenge facing New Zealand\u2019s economy is worsening unemployment. Last week more than 1,250 Kiwis joined the dole queues. National\u2019s Budget will not stem the dramatic increases in job losses happening right now in New Zealand cities and towns. This Budget does not set out a coherent plan to keep Kiwis in work. It fails to take action for vulnerable New Zealanders who are on the brink of losing their jobs. It fails to adequately invest in skills training and investment to create new jobs, and it fails to set out a clear path that will lift New Zealand out of the current economic downturn.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000320\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248d9e7fe-3603-456c-bd32-c8d6177395fb\u0022\u003ELabour\u2019s finance spokesperson, the Hon David Cunliffe, wrote in yesterday morning\u2019s Dominion Post that \u201Cunemployment is a scourge that destroys people\u2019s livelihoods, homes and families. The real human cost of another 60,000 Kiwis on the dole is appalling. \u2026 The fiscal cost is also huge. The unemployment benefit for 7 per cent of the workforce costs $800 million per year; for 9 per cent it is over $1 billion per year \u2026\u201D. A total of 24,000 jobs have been lost in the last quarter, but this Budget will not stem the dramatic increase in job losses that is happening right now in New Zealand. This is not a Budget for Kiwi battlers. It simply makes their struggle harder.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000321\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248d9e7fe-3603-456c-bd32-c8d6177395fb\u0022\u003EOn this occasion, when the dragon boat festival is being celebrated, another broken promise of the National-led Government is remembered. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022950c8694af0445bb90bfd426f117bb7b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000322\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022950c8694af0445bb90bfd426f117bb7b\u0022\u003EHon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour\u2014Hutt South):\u003C/span\u003E I seek the leave of the House to move the members\u2019 motion in the name of Lindsay Tisch forthwith.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220de8d242fb4749369097d82b72156a1e\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Leave has been sought for that purpose. Is there any objection? There is objection.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000324\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a729f832c1b24e95b5d62ea3f6c3940f\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: What!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000325\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022486943e4304545f4922da60e57f58316\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: If members look at the Order Paper, they will see that I congratulated the Chiefs on their win.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022 data-id=\u0022910d45f893b143d49195b1e27cb4f62d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000326\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022910d45f893b143d49195b1e27cb4f62d\u0022\u003ECHRIS TREMAIN (National\u2014Napier):\u003C/span\u003E I am looking forward to Hawke\u2019s Bay climbing the ladder once again and getting to the top of the Air New Zealand Cup competition. I know that is something that Mr Nash on the other side of the House will take on, and we will be in that top four. I am looking forward to that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000327\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EThe pervious speech from Raymond Huo was a leadership bid in the making. We learnt that Mr Huo had two interviews about the Budget, and that is probably two more than the Leader of the Opposition had on the Budget. No, it was an excellent speech and we are all a lot further forward than we otherwise would be.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000328\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EI want to get to the essence of this debate and keep it very simple. First, I want to take out the hyperbole, the hysterics, and the crocodile tears that the Opposition has laid out before us over the last few hours. The fact of the matter is quite simple: we are in the worst recession in 60 years. The impact of that recession has become hugely more relevant as we have got further down the track; nothing is simpler. My second point concerns the period before last election when we lined up on the stump\u2014and the Labour Party members have created a lot of hyperbole about this. If we look at the Budget promises at that point in time, we see that they are almost identical. In fact, the National Party\u2019s total tax cut package, after we had made the tough decisions on KiwiSaver and the research and development tax credits, was $200 million less than the Labour Party\u2019s. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000329\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003ESo here we stand with those facts before us. There have been crocodile tears and hyperbole, but in respect of the tough decisions in this bill I ask members which decisions a Labour Government would have made. I would love to stand here and say, yes, let us roll out the research and development tax credits and expand KiwiSaver to be as wonderful as it can be. I would love to say we were rolling out the tax cut package we talked about before the election. The reality is that we cannot do it. We are in a recessionary environment that does not allow it to happen. We have had to make some tough calls. We have had to cut our cloth to the state of the economy right now. Taxpayers, our children, and our mokopuna will thank us in years to come, as our debt track starts to come down. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000330\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003EBy making these tough calls, we have been able to deliver a whole lot of other things. There would be many, many more problems if we had not delivered them. The entitlements to our superannuitants, ensuring that 66 percent of the average wage would be delivered to them, are being delivered. Ensuring that Working for Families stays in place is something we have delivered on. There is a raft of other things we have been able to deliver on, including an insulation package. There is a raft of things we are doing as a Government and they are absolutely excellent. I stand today to acknowledge the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill and to commend it to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022 data-id=\u00227376a5c3ae22435d96a6d85a5688ea34\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000331\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227376a5c3ae22435d96a6d85a5688ea34\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I stand in support of this Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill. I support it because it removes an insidious promise, which was hawked to the people of New Zealand, that the Nats always knew they could never implement. I contend that there was so much information in the market before the election that Mr Key, Mr English, Mr Tremain, Mr Foss, Mr Williamson, and anyone who read the newspaper knew exactly what they were doing when those members promised tax cuts to their electorates and the people of New Zealand. The unsuspecting people of New Zealand did not know that this was one big lie, but they know now. Mr Foss asked who knew that this was the state of the economy. Well, I knew. I read the newspaper, I watched the television, and I read The Economist. We all knew that the economy was going to hell in a handbasket, but those members stood up and promised tax cuts. All the members on that side of the House promised tax cuts. All the newspapers were full of news of the recession\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000332\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229ad7416af4ca4e7ca18cfedb1af58d93\u0022\u003EHon Maurice Williamson\u003C/span\u003E: Michael Cullen said the worst of the recession was over.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000333\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002250ddab225c694fafa06ced943bbb5490\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: That member was fully aware that the recession was not over at all. If National members did not know that before the election, then certainly they would have known when they convened after the election and rammed legislation through the House under urgency. The National Government would have known when the tax cuts were rammed through the House under urgency before Christmas that they were totally unaffordable. I ask Mr Foss what that was about. It was about a facade of hard work in the first 100 days. What happened? It was a fraud. It took National 100 days to put them there, and 150 days to get rid of them. That is real action, but it is not what was promised. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000334\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EWhat did National promise? Let me tell members what Mr Key said to the people of New Zealand. He said: \u201Cunlike Labour I\u2019m going to be straight-up about my priorities. That\u2019s why I\u2019m sending a card to all of you. It\u2019s called My Key Commitments to You and it will be delivered to every household in New Zealand \u2026 In it are 11 commitments that I make to you.\u201D Those commitments were to \u201Cstrengthen the economy, increase after-tax incomes, and ensure Kiwis can get ahead under their own steam by reducing personal taxes on 1 April 2009, 1 April 2010 and 1 April 2011.\u201D The unfortunate thing was that it was music to the ears of New Zealanders, but now National is singing out of tune. The tune has changed, the song is tired, and it is off key. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000335\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002250c99bafc68d476f966ffd7bd7af10d5\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: More opera! Move on from the opera!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000336\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022987f903eddcb4dea94bb508964d5de94\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Quinn might like his opera, but goodness me, this message is tired, old, and sad, and it was a lie. Mr Key went on to say: \u201Cunlike Labour we won\u2019t cancel our tax cuts.\u201D Is that clear\u2014\u201Cunlike Labour we won\u2019t cancel our tax cuts.\u201D? What are we debating at the moment? We are debating the repeal of the tax cuts that were put in place by last Christmas. National members gave New Zealanders a Christmas present, and they took it away by Queen\u2019s Birthday. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000337\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003ELet us look at our Labour leader, Phil Goff. He has been delivering for the working people of New Zealand for over 20 years. Mr Goff knows what New Zealanders want, because he has been out there talking to ordinary New Zealanders out in the markets. He knows what they want, because he has been out there on the streets. What has Mr Key been doing? While Mr Goff was talking to ordinary New Zealanders, Mr Key was manipulating the money markets of the global world. He was making honey from the New Zealand currency. Mr Goff negotiated the New Zealand free-trade agreement with China, which, as businesses big and small understand, was the most important measure of growth strategy ever negotiated in New Zealand\u2019s history. Mr Goff is a man of his word. When Mr Goff says there will be tax cuts, he will deliver on them. He never promises New Zealanders something that Labour cannot deliver. Mr Goff is a man of integrity and honesty, and he has never engaged in the politics of cynicism and deceit. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000338\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EThat is the difference between Mr Key\u2014\u201CMr I-will-not-cancel-tax-cuts\u201D\u2014and Mr Goff. We have just heard what Mr Key promised and then reneged on within 150 days. Let me tell members what Mr Goff said: \u201COne of the things about the fifth Labour Government of which I am the most proud is that we honoured the promises on which we were elected. We not only honoured those promises but we in fact, after each election, over-delivered on the promises that were made. We under-promised and over-delivered. The challenge to this new National Government is to do likewise.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EMr Goff threw out that challenge to the Government. It has taken only 250 days for it to fail miserably. In fact, the people of New Zealand issued that challenge. \u201CI say to Mr Key\u201D\u2014and these are Phil Goff\u2019s words\u2014\u201Cthat he will be judged on his ability to do that.\u201D Mr Key and Mr English, with this bill, have been judged and found guilty of deceiving the people of New Zealand. As a member of the jury, which also consists of every single New Zealand voter, I say that the sentence is to have a one-term Government only. That will be the verdict of ordinary New Zealanders, up and down this country, once they understand that the promises of tax cuts were nothing but empty rhetoric designed to deceive. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000340\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EThe politics of cynicism and negativity\u2014I hate that, and according to my e-mails and texts, so do the people of Napier, the businessmen and businesswomen of New Zealand, and the Kiwis all around the country who are struggling to survive and to make ends meet. This bill removes one of the biggest deceits imposed upon New Zealand since Muldoon cut the New Zealand superannuation scheme set up by the Kirk Government. Can members imagine the Budget and the state of the economy now if Mr Muldoon had not axed that superannuation scheme? But, wait a minute\u2014Bill English has also cut payments to the Superannuation Fund, and the Government has said that it will not be starting them up again. Well, it will start them up, but not until Mr Tremain turns 65\u2014great! This bill is about cancelling the tax cuts. It is about cancelling a promise to New Zealanders. As it has been debated, I have looked across at the Government benches and seen some pretty angry people. I saw John Hayes\u2014it is pretty hard to miss him, actually\u2014and he looked as if he was about to explode. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000341\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002238d2c866e5aa41319664ee645612161a\u0022\u003EHon Darren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: Or fall asleep\u2014it\u2019s hard to tell.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000342\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c3d8e686608e49739116371a7d5764e7\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: Ha, ha! He was an angry man; he was a very angry man. But it was only because he knows that by cancelling those tax cuts, the seat of Wairarapa will be coming back to Labour\u2014as will the seat of Napier. Mr Hayes knows it. He went out to the people of Masterton, and promised them tax cuts for 3 years in a row. So the people voted for him, but they voted for a lie. Not only did he do that, but when Mr Hayes realised that the tax cuts were not going to be delivered, he turned as white as a cream puff. Why? He knew that 75 percent of the people of Wairarapa earn under $40,000 a year. Therefore, they would get nothing. That is right: they got nothing out of the promised tax cuts. Then, he probably thought that he could get away with that\u2014that the Government had cancelled the tax cuts, but that he could get away with that because the Government would deliver them in 2010-11. But this bill has taken away even that. It has taken away any promise on which he could go back to the people of Wairarapa and say \u201CWe delivered for you.\u201D; this bill just takes away that ability to deliver. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000343\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002297e40d9fbd5143289c5e9825cf646b55\u0022\u003ECarol Beaumont\u003C/span\u003E: Tax cuts for the rich only.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000344\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022164c04cf6dbb4f9e9fd9189b183eba8d\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: Tax cuts for the rich! But that is the story throughout the country. Mr Tremain wrote in the paper in Napier that tax cuts would help the hard-working people of Napier. But I ask him how that will work. How will that work, when over 75 percent of the people in Napier earn under $40,000 a year? Therefore they will receive nothing. How much will they receive?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000345\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022189588489a884168aa67d3696eae5c3d\u0022\u003ECarol Beaumont\u003C/span\u003E: Zero.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000346\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f15f7d1d3cd848a3a6f8f0e7a006d6f4\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: Zero\u201475 percent of the people in Napier will receive nothing, and that member has just cancelled any hope they might have had that at least they might receive something in the next couple of years. Paul Quinn was almost in tears when the member realised that this bill was forever removing tax cuts and forever consigning him to Opposition in the future. He was angry\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000347\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022266b41e147b5489c90b88bad14de6a64\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: What?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000348\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bc5b137d9dc142d7a6f45452d6582abb\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: I tell the member that he was an angry man, and I was worried. I was pleased to see Mr Coleman in the Chamber, because I thought that he was going to have to administer CPR. This bill is not about the Budget; this bill is about broken promises to the people of New Zealand\u2014the people of Wairarapa, the people of Napier, and the people of Tukituki. But that is not what politics is about. It is no wonder that people are cynical when the Prime Minister stands up and starts promising things. Mr Goff understands that the promised tax cuts\u2014now gone\u2014were not and never would be stimulatory, because 30 percent of the original tax cuts went to only 3 percent of the people of New Zealand. What is that about? Is that stimulatory? Absolutely not! If members knew anything about first-grade economics, they would know that that was economic vandalism\u2014absolutely.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022 data-id=\u00225049c4fddd58476f85b9573f7540f310\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000349\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225049c4fddd58476f85b9573f7540f310\u0022\u003EKATRINA SHANKS (National):\u003C/span\u003E It is my pleasure to speak on the third reading of the Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill this morning. It has been very interesting listening to the debate on this taxation bill over the last couple of days. It is not very often that we see most of the House voting the same way on a bill, and that is what we are seeing today in the support of this bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000350\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003ENational is very, very committed to reducing personal income taxes; over time we want to see them come down to 30 percent. But the time has to be right. The time is not right when we are in the middle of a recession, when debt is increasing, and when there are no surpluses. That is not the time to borrow money to give tax cuts. This Government has recognised that. We have had 9 long years of a Labour Government, when we were in surplus and it was the ideal time to give many tax cuts to many New Zealanders to help keep them in New Zealand, and to stimulate our economy. But the Labour Government did not take advantage of that. Now we are faced with a recession, which we have known about for, most probably, a year. A recession is not a time to give personal tax cuts and it is not a time to borrow to do so; it is a time to be a responsible Government and make responsible decisions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000351\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003EThe major pressures around some of these decisions on our debt were about New Zealand\u2019s credit rating. As everybody knows, it is important to keep a good, solid credit rating if we want to keep our interest rates low. That is what this Government has been committed to doing. In fact, we have saved New Zealanders nearly $600 million by keeping our credit rating at its current rate. It has been a hard decision for this Government to make, but it has made it based on prioritising, safeguarding entitlements, improving public services, and reducing our debt. That is how we have come to this decision. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000352\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003EThe Government believes in making the right decisions, even though it may be hard to do it. We do not believe in \u201CVisa-nomics\u201D. We do not believe in putting it on the bill, like \u201CWhack-it-on-the-bill-Phil\u201D does. We are a responsible Government that is making responsible decisions for all New Zealanders, and we are trying to make the best out of the situation that we are in now. It is my pleasure to stand here and support this bill today. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000353\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003EBill read a third time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000354\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003EThe House adjourned at 11.47 a.m. (Friday)\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id200905288a9886ddbf9645c3bbc7904dfa37140c000355\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n  \u003C/body\u003E\n\u003C/html\u003E"