General Debate

I move, That the House take note of miscellaneous business. Yesterday the Labour-led Government delivered for New Zealanders, and we delivered for the New Zealand economy. Yesterday, while the Government delivered, the National Party did nothing but dither and slither, living up to its reputation for slipperiness. Indeed, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Key, sat in this House all the way through question time, his shoulders slumped, the bags under his eyes growing, doing and saying not a thing—not asking a simple question in this House as the Leader of the Opposition. We lifted the minimum wage for the ninth time in 8 years. We delivered for low-income workers. We increased the rate of superannuation and veterans pensions to give nearly $35 a week more for a married couple than what the amount would have been under the National Party policy we inherited when we became the Government.

💬 Hon Dr Nick Smith: Rubbish!

The member opposite has forgotten that National lowered the floor rate of New Zealand superannuation to 60 percent—“Rubbish!”, he said. Well, I would get a rebate on those pills, if I were him, and I would get something different.

Yesterday we introduced employer contributions for KiwiSavers and the tax credits to support them. Over 500,000 New Zealanders are now in KiwiSaver; that is nearly twice as many as we thought we would get in the first full year. Yesterday we cut the company tax rate to 30c in the dollar and we introduced new research and development tax credits—the biggest single move to support private sector research and development in New Zealand’s history. We delivered for business. Yesterday began the year in which people and businesses can claim a rebate for all their charitable deductions, for the first time in New Zealand’s history. We are rising to the challenges of a difficult economic situation and delivering for New Zealanders.

But what of the Opposition? We know that National members do not support increasing the minimum wage. They did it once, grudgingly, when they were in Government, and only because New Zealand First demanded they increase the minimum wage. We have increased it nine times in 8 years. We know that Mr Key likes to talk about being a great supporter of business, but he voted against cutting the company tax rate and he voted against introducing research and development tax credits. Indeed, National never promised to cut the company tax rate in 2005 when in Opposition. Now, of course, Mr Key is all over the place on everything. He always thought that KiwiSaver would be successful, he said. But he always thought that it would fail, he said, when it was introduced.

💬 Hon Dr Nick Smith: It’s a bribe.

Oh, the member says that it is a fraud. “KiwiSaver is a fraud”, says Dr Nick Smith, who is helpful yet again today. I think that the Opposition will have to put tape around his mouth before he comes into the House. He keeps giving us lines for election advertisements: “KiwiSaver is a fraud”, says Dr Nick Smith, on the front bench of the National Party. I say “Thank you” to Dr Smith—

💬 Hon Dr Nick Smith: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The member Dr Cullen claimed that I said that KiwiSaver was a fraud. I did not say that.

The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): That is a debatable issue.

💬 Hon Dr Nick Smith: I definitely did not say that, as the Hansard record—

The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): I am on my feet; I say to the member that that is a frivolous point of order.

We did not know until Sunday night that Mr Key is now promising to review whether there will be annual adjustments to benefits and superannuation if his party ever becomes the Government.

💬 Hon Member: Stop making it up.

No, we are not making it up. He said: “We will be reviewing those situations.” Why would one review something that is automatic at the present time? I would ask why one would review that, except, of course, that National members did exactly that when in Government. They cut benefits, and for 3 years out of 9 they froze the increase in New Zealand superannuation. For 3 years out of 9, superannuitants got no increase in the 1990s. When we saw that, of course, we started to remember what Sir Roger Douglas tends to stand for in these areas, and we reminded ourselves that Stephen Franks, who actually makes Roger Douglas look like a raving leftie, is now the National Party candidate for Wellington Central.

We could argue that Mr Key does not know how we adjust benefits and that he was simply being ignorant yet again. We know that he thought that the Kyoto Protocol was a hoax and that climate change was a hoax, but now he is a climate warrior who believes in climate change and always has, according to him. We know that Lockwood Smith thinks that the planet is getting cooler, not warmer. All that tells us is that as one gets older one should not be wearing budgie smugglers too much, because one starts to think that the planet is getting cooler, not warmer. And on that issue I ask how anybody could possibly believe that this planet is getting cooler at the present time. Mr Williamson is not sure. He does not want to say, but he thinks that if warming is occurring, then it is caused by a big orange ball in the sky. Those are the people who would like to be senior Ministers in a National Government.

Debate interrupted.