General Debate

I move, That the House take note of miscellaneous business. There is nothing more frustrating than watching New Zealand families go backwards in terms of their ability to pay for the things that are essential in their lives, and that is what we are seeing in New Zealand now. Day in, day out, good, hard-working New Zealand families are going backwards, and the Government is standing on the sideline as if it were a spectator in a sport, saying “It is nothing to do with us.” I have watched in this House day in, day out, Ministers wringing their hands, absolving themselves of all responsibility. I do not know why they collect their salary. If they are spectators in the sport of people’s lives, then why do they take up ministerial portfolios and accept the salary that goes with them? Their job should be to support New Zealand families, support New Zealand businesses, and present a plan that we can rely on to move New Zealand forward. But instead we have no plan. We have New Zealand families going backwards and a Government that is completely out of touch with what is happening.

That was very sadly related on the weekend in a story in the Sunday Star-Times. There are often stories that make me feel unwell in the Sunday Star-Times, I must admit, but this particular story was about families that have so many people living in the house and that are so short of money that they put padlocks on their fridge so they can ration out the food amongst the people living in that house. Who in New Zealand has heard—other than perhaps in some members’ houses, where they do it for reasons other than poverty—of a family that is forced to ration its limited food by putting padlocks on a fridge? Those are not beneficiary families; they are families of low-wage earners. They are people who go to their job every day, do their best, and work hard, and they do not have enough money at the end of the week to adequately afford to feed their family. That is a disgrace. That is why the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister should be stepping up to the mark, instead of coming into this House and giving us smart alec and nasty answers to the good, serious questions that we are entitled to ask on behalf of New Zealand families.

We are now seeing more and more families, particularly in Auckland, living in overcrowded situations. We know what that means. We know that that will mean more Third World diseases of poverty becoming evident in our community, and tragically, we are seeing those outcomes already. Claire Mataira of the Hamilton Budgeting Advisory Trust was quoted in that article in the Sunday Star-Times. She said that with regard to the things that people have to have, like power, food, and petrol—not extras, not nice-to-haves, but the things that people have to have—the trust no longer has enough money to provide those essentials for their service.

We know that more and more of our New Zealand children are going without breakfast. The New Zealand Herald reported recently that 4,000 children every day are going to school without even having any breakfast and that maybe 85,000 to 87,000 children every day go to school without their lunch. It is not acceptable in our country to have families living in overcrowded situations that add huge risk to their health as well as additional stress and tension. That is where family violence becomes more and more obvious, that is where people’s stress levels get increased, and that is where their health is at risk. We have more and more families living in those situations and it is certainly not acceptable to have families who have so little money to share out to buy the essentials that they are forced to padlock their fridge in order to ration food.

One of the items that is really expensive for people to buy—and a lot of discussion has been generated about it in this House by Labour members—is milk. People in New Zealand cannot understand why we produce so much milk but it costs us so much to buy. I congratulate Labour leader Phil Goff and my colleague from Christchurch Lianne Dalziel on their sterling work in getting an inquiry into this essential item.

I must acknowledge the previous speaker, Ruth Dyson. I did not used to think she was a very good health spokesperson, until Grant Robertson got on the job. I think Labour should bring back Ruth Dyson, because by comparison she was hard-working, insightful, and she had something positive to offer. But now that the Labour Party is run by student politicians, as if it was a students association, we know that Ruth Dyson was pretty good.

I share the member’s concern for those families she mentioned. I wish the Labour Party was, because we have seen in this House that there is actually only one thing the Labour Party really cares about: voluntary student membership of student unions. We are used to the Opposition being unfocused, lacking in knowledge, being irrelevant to what is going on in the world generally, and making no impact, except on student union membership. When Labour members are focused, they are insightful, they have a strategy, and they are consistent—until it all falls over when they get it wrong, even on the one thing they care about. When there are riots in London, when our financial markets are all over the place, volatile and unpredictable, and when New Zealanders are working with the biggest natural disaster in the developed world compared with the size of our economy, Labour spent all election year filibustering over the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill. That was the only positive contribution Labour made, except for the one other thing it really cared about: how Phil Goff could get out of forgetting that he had been briefed about Israeli tourists. On that issue we saw passion, we saw persistence, and we saw a media strategy. It was all because Labour still wants to act like it is in Government.

The reason Labour is not relevant to the current debates going on in New Zealand or around the world is that it has not yet apologised for getting it so wrong when it was in Government. This is a political party that thinks Helen Clark will drop out of the sky back into the Prime Minister’s seat any day, when the New Zealand electorate wakes up and realises it made a big mistake putting Labour out of office. This is a political party that is still putting out press releases as if it is the Government—for example, the spokesman on finance calmly reassured the nation that in the face of market turmoil, his decisions would keep us on a steady road back to higher spending, more debt, bigger Government, lower incomes, and fewer exports.

You see, that is what New Zealand remembers about the tail end of that Government: it was mired in controversy and scandal. It left office mired in controversy and scandal. Nothing has changed about the attitudes that gave rise to those scandals and nothing has changed about the policy. It is the 2007 Budget all over again, as if nothing has changed. The same stuff is wheeled out in the same way by the same kind of politician who does not know much about what is going on in the real world.

That is why the public supports the John Key - led Government. There is no alternative, for a start, but, actually, it is much more positive than that. Through all of that time, National has focused on the issues that matter, not the voluntary student membership bill—and for the 5 minutes we did, we tripped up Labour. The Government has delivered considered and consistent decisions that protect the vulnerable through tough times and lay the building blocks for reversing the economic decline that that party, when in Government, pushed New Zealand into. The Government is reversing the excesses of rapid credit growth, wasteful Government, and a shrinking export sector. That is why New Zealand supports the John Key Government

This cartoon of Bill English and John Key looking at the New Zealand taxpayer on the tax cut blood drip as the bloodsucking cost-of-living mosquito sucks it straight out says it all. That is exactly what is going on for New Zealanders. The National Government had a choice in last year’s Budget to proceed with tax cuts that benefit the highest-paid New Zealanders and increase GST, which hits hardest those on the lowest incomes, or to accept that that would inflict too much pain on too many hard-working families and develop an economic plan to grow the economy for the benefit of the many rather than the few. But, actually, National has failed to deliver a plan, even a skerrick of a plan, since it became the Government. There is a Prime Minister who says he is all prepared to kick the tyres, but he is not prepared to switch on the ignition. We think it is time that this economy was put into power drive—overdrive—and that will happen only if there is a change of Government.

The cartoon has Bill English saying to John Key: “Apart from the initial discomfort—it all looks tickety-boo to me …” It all looks tickety-boo to him, because the bloodsucking cost-of-living mosquito is not sitting on the back of the taxpayers who got the lion’s share of the tax cuts under this Government. That is why it looks tickety-boo to Mr English and why it looks tickety-boo to Mr Key. They have no compunction. Mr English had no compunction in claiming over $40,000 a year to have his Wellington home cleaned. There are people in this country living on less than $40,000 a year as their family income. The reality is that John Key and Bill English are both completely and utterly out of touch with the real lives of people who are on a modest wage or a fixed income. They are completely and utterly out of touch.

It is not tickety-boo for the carers providing home-based support to older people to enable them to stay in their own homes—those people are on $14 to $15 an hour, if they are lucky. It is not tickety-boo for families who are struggling to feed their families when they feel the pain at the pump and the pain when they go to the supermarket till to pay. I know there are people who take items from the till and put them back on the shelves because there is not enough money in their wallet to pay the full amount.

The announcement this week that the Government will allow the National members of the Commerce Committee to vote for an inquiry into the price of milk has brought a sense of relief, but it must not be buried. We know we have only a very few weeks before the House adjourns before the general election. Our committee is up to the task. We are a very good and very efficient committee. I want the National members of the committee to commit alongside all other members of the committee to getting a report back to Parliament before it adjourns for the general election. We know it will be too late for the Government to respond, but at least the inquiry will be a debating point for the general election. I believe that people are entitled to have that. The public want the scrutiny. We are prepared to deliver that, and I hope the Government is, as well. We will not put up with a con job to just sweep the real concerns of New Zealanders under the carpet.

John Key prides himself on his financial background, but there is something about that background that is conveniently overlooked by everyone. Currency traders do not create wealth; they amass wealth. They do not create wealth; they amass wealth. They do not make anything of value. Individual traders have become millionaires without risking a cent of their own money. They speculate on sovereign currencies, and they never mind the impact that has on a nation’s economy. So is it surprising that someone with that background wants to sell our country’s assets? The price we pay, though, is much worse and much more far-reaching than speculating on the New Zealand dollar; it is the income that generation after generation after generation of New Zealanders will be deprived of when the Government sells off our State assets. This election is about a second referendum that is being conducted: a referendum on asset sales.

💬 Paul Quinn: That’s right.

The National Government says—and the member Paul Quinn says that that is right—there will be asset sales if National is re-elected. There is a commitment to no asset sales if Labour is elected. That is what this election will be all about.

Remind me to tell the member Lianne Dalziel that cartoons are not real. I think that is important. If she spends half her speech on cartoons, then I think she has a wee problem with being in touch with reality. That is a little bit the issue with the New Zealand Labour Party. We had the “Comical Ali” of the New Zealand Labour Party, Stuart Nash, up here earlier this afternoon criticising the Government and asking how things have changed financially in the last 3 years and how we let that happen. Well, there was a thing called the global financial crisis, but the “Comical Ali” of the Labour Party does not know that it occurred. He sits in Napier in splendid isolation and says it did not occur. New Zealanders know that these are very challenging times around the world. There is no doubt that New Zealanders know that. Nightly on TV last week we saw the Budget stand-off in the USA—the mightiest economy in the world—and the huge debt mountain it is trying to deal with. We see the shaky finances of many European countries and friends that we know are struggling under mountains of debt. We have seen the riots of London over the last 3 nights, and we see the very turbulent nature of the world’s stock markets. We know that it is a very challenging and difficult time in the world.

New Zealanders know that. They know that it is important to have strong, conservative leadership in these times. They are aware of it; it is just a pity that the New Zealand Labour Party is not. The problem for the Labour Party is that it has no understanding of the challenges out there in the world today. The Government is very active in dealing with those challenges. The most important thing any Government can do is to get its Budget under control so it can keep interest rates lower over the cycle. We talk about the cost of living, and the cost of living is crucially important. The biggest element for most people is the cost of interest on their mortgages. That is a huge issue for New Zealanders, and making sure that Governments control their debt and keep their credit ratings as high as they possibly can is crucial to controlling the cost of living. That is what this Government is doing.

The second thing this Government is doing is that it is doing it without adding taxes. Have members noticed how often members on the other side have an idea for adding taxes? They have ideas all the time about throwing another tax on the bonfire of taxation. That means they do not understand yet another thing. They do not understand that if New Zealand is to turn itself round and if we are to pay people better, then we have to be more competitive in the world. We do not get to be more competitive in the world if we put more handbrakes on people and stop them from achieving things and competing out there in the world. The Labour Party does not understand that that is crucially important if we are going to grow New Zealand stronger in the future. We have to be more competitive. We also have to be more into savings. This Government has helped the New Zealand—

💬 Brendon Burns: You cut KiwiSaver.

No, we have helped the New Zealand people by setting up a better environment for savings, and we are seeing the savings rate grow. What is more, if the public endorse a mixed-ownership model, they will have something else to invest in besides finance companies, which is pretty much what happened under the previous Government. Labour members quite like to conveniently forget that the previous Government was in charge of the biggest meltdown of financial companies in New Zealand’s history. But that is what happened and that is why New Zealanders do not trust Labour.

We have been dealing with waste, and we are putting in huge efforts. We had the Minister for Social Development and Employment getting up yesterday and saying that testing people on the unemployment benefit after 12 months to see whether they are still entitled is saving taxpayers considerable money. Then we have the situation in industry training. I do not want to give the Leader of the Opposition political advice, but he really should let that one go. Thousands upon thousands—100,000-odd—of phantom trainees in the failing years of the Labour Government, in 2008, were not achieving anything. They were not achieving anything. They were not getting any credits. Labour was just doling out the money, flat out, and there was no accountability. Mr Goff should get off that one, because this year, 2011, we have increased the number of credits that people are achieving through industry training, by spending less taxpayers’ money on it. It is called accountability.

Here we have it. Labour members oppose all spending cuts during National’s time in Government. They oppose all attempts to get better value for money. They criticised the Government—lest we forget—for failing to spend more money during the global financial crisis, and now all the countries that did are having to save money and repay debt. They are out of touch; they are out of reality.

If I were to ask the previous speaker, Steven Joyce, how much it costs to buy a 2-litre bottle of milk, I doubt that he would have any idea. If I asked him how much it costs to buy a block of cheese, to buy a loaf of bread, to buy a school uniform, or to send a young child to an early childhood education centre, he would have no idea whatsoever.

Every time National is in Government we always get cuts to social spending, high debt, high unemployment, high cost of living, and tax cuts for the rich. Who ends up paying for that? It is the working-class population of New Zealand. Low to middle income families that are struggling to make ends meet suffer as a consequence of the failure of that Government to get this economy moving, to create jobs, and to get people to earn high incomes. The failure of that Government is the reason why many, many people in this country are struggling to make ends meet. It is the sad experience of Pacific communities up and down this country, and of working-class communities in Māngere. Every time there is a National Government, our communities end up suffering the most.

High unemployment is what we get from this Government. When Labour was in Government we had a minimal unemployment rate of 3 percent. What is it now? It went to 6 percent in 2009 and 7 percent in 2010, and it is now hovering at 6.5 percent. What is the cost of living? The cost of milk has gone up 21 percent, petrol prices have risen 20 percent, the cost of living has gone up by 5.3 percent, and the cost of food by 7.5 percent. It all happened under National’s watch. All we get is empty promises that things will be better around the corner. Well, they will not be better around the corner, because the Government is again promising failed right-wing economic policies. Somehow, by selling off four of our asset companies and selling off Air New Zealand, the rest of us will be better off! Two weeks ago the Government released a rich list of New Zealanders. How many workers from my community were on that rich list? None. At a time when this economy is suffering under this Government, when people are hard up, rich people make quite a bit of money.

How much did the working-class community get? It got a 1.9 percent increase in overall wages. People earning the minimum wage got 25c. That is this Government’s gift. That is the only thing the Government has been able to achieve for them: a 25c wage increase. What did the rich and wealthy receive? They received the bulk of the tax cuts. Over 42 percent went to the 10 percent who are the highest income earners. People who are supporting this Government, people who have worked behind the scenes campaigning, its rich mates—those are the people who will benefit from any policy that this Government has to offer.

All that communities such as ours have heard is empty promises. We heard promises before the election in 2008 that GST would not go up to 15 percent. We got more than just GST going to 15 percent. We got a 21 percent increase on petrol, and a 21 percent increase on our fresh fruit and vegetables. That is why the only party that stands for low to middle income families throughout this country is the Labour Party.

We will increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour. That will address the issues that are facing families. We will remove GST from fresh fruit and vegetables, and that will help families to get quality food. We will not tax the first $5,000 of income. Those are the kinds of policies that resonate with communities such as ours. Every time we have National in Government, it is working communities such as ours that suffer. All we have had from this Government is smiles, waves, and empty promises. We will let it know on 26 November who should be governing this country.

There are riots in London, the financial markets are volatile, but Labour has been distracted for a very long period of time. The facts are that Trevor Mallard is doing cycle races, and Phil Goff is more concerned with remembering which notes he had at a meeting and attacking senior public servants than helping the people of New Zealand.

The reality is that this Government has implemented a strong plan of economic reform. We can talk about the cost of living, but the fact is that under Labour the price of milk rose higher than it has under National. The price of a 2-litre bottle of milk is $4.15. The best thing we can do for New Zealanders to ensure that they have a lower cost of living is to create a competitive economy, to ensure there are better jobs, and to ensure that we have lower interest rates. Under our Government we have had a strong programme of economic reform. We have had the largest tax reform in 25 years, and we have ensured that we have reduced regulations, in terms of the reform of both the Resource Management Act and the Building Act.

In my city of Auckland we have undertaken the largest reform of local government ever. I was very proud to be standing on the waterfront with the Prime Minister and Len Brown to see the Wynyard Quarter opened. Anyone on the other side of the House who claims that people are not seeing the extraordinary changes that our Government is making in order to reform and to reduce bureaucracy was not at the Wynyard Quarter last Saturday afternoon. Thousands of people flocked to our waterfront. They flocked to our waterfront because they are seeing a transformation in Auckland. They are seeing a transformation in terms of our infrastructure, and that transformation is not just down at the waterfront.

They are also seeing a transformation in terms of transport. We have invested $340 million in the Victoria Park tunnel project. That project will open early. It will reduce congestion in Auckland. It will take thousands of cars off our roads. In a couple of weeks’ time we will achieve something quite extraordinary in our city: finally, with one mayor and one plan, we will have a spatial plan for Auckland that will enable us to deliver from a cultural, social, environmental, and—more important—economic perspective right across our city. We will finally be able to deliver the transport system that Aucklanders want, but we will do it in a fiscally responsible way.

Looking across the world, we can see that in Europe, for instance, 21 out of 27 countries have centre-right administrations, because people are realising that the world has changed. The reality is that countries, Governments, and individuals that spend more than they earn cannot survive in the new world. That is why we are seeing riots in London. That is why New Zealanders understand that our plan for economic reform and the programme we have been implementing are working. They are working because we are seeing that unemployment is dropping, even if the figure is modest and dropping only slightly. We are seeing progress in major areas of infrastructure, as in Auckland. The feeling that I get on the doorstep is that people understand that we are making the hard changes because they are making them themselves in their own personal circumstances.

The alternative is very clear; the alternative is to return to the party on the opposite side of the House that is continuing to promote policies that are high-debt and that involve taxing people more. In my view that party would take the country backwards. I can tell members that when I have been doorknocking on the streets of Auckland Central, people understand that. People do not want to return to a party that will see us in debt with a decade of deficits. They want a Government that is responsible, and that ensures reduced regulation and a smart tax system that rewards those small businesses that create wealth in this country. I can tell members that people are saying on the doorstep that they do not want to return to the party now in Opposition that is distracted not by what matters for many individuals in New Zealand but by what is happening internally with themselves. People contrast that with a leader who has courage, who has undertaken significant reform, and who has ensured that we have invested in our infrastructure. I tell members that on 26 November I look forward to seeing Prime Minister John Key hopefully leading our country towards the future.

If the previous speech was a bid to retain Auckland Central all I would say to Nikki Kaye is that she has absolutely lost it. The member started her speech by commenting on the riots in London. Underpinning that issue, all political commentators, all media commentators have said that it was caused by issues of racism. Underpinning the greater tensions over there in the UK is inequality; rising unemployment, and greater inequality in that country. All media commentators have made statements on that, and political commentators have, as well. So it is very interesting that the member started her speech with that issue.

Talking about a programme of economic reform by the National Government, if that is the case then why has it not led to job growth? Why have we seen Māori and Pacific unemployment increase? Why have we seen unemployment increase under this Government’s programme of economic reform? We have simply not seen any jobs generated whatsoever, and unemployment is increasing. Although I am lowering the decibels in the House with my contribution, it is a very serious issue that we are bringing to the table in terms of the issues of the cost of living and how we need to address it. In my electorate 73 percent of people earn $40,000 or less a year. None of them and very few other people have received any benefit whatsoever from the tax cuts delivered by National. Every one of those earners in Hauraki-Waikato pay tax on every dollar they earn and they are not getting a fair shot at it from the National Government. They simply are not. There are no new jobs, and people are paying more at the checkout counter because of GST. When we see people going to the supermarket and looking at the reduced-to-clear section, we know very well that people are feeling the pressure. When we go to the markets and see those families juggling what they are going to buy with the minimal amount of money they have at the markets, we know that people are feeling the pressure. When we go to community houses and they are telling us simply that more and more families are opting to join the vege co-op because they simply cannot afford to stretch the limited amount of dollars that they have, they are feeling the pinch. National is closing its eyes to the reality that families in my electorate feel every day, which is the pressures of juggling what they can do with their dollar.

I went to a school in Paeroa. The staff told me that half of the kids in their school could afford to pay the stationery costs; the other half had to get a grant from Work and Income, which their parents paid back over time, to afford stationery for their kids to be at school. Do members know how much they were getting a grant for? It was for $30. That is a middle-of-the-road school in Paeroa—unbelievable.

The principal herself said that more and more kids are coming to school hungry. I went to the Methodist City Action community in Hamilton. They said their food banks were bare. They are making calls out to the community to pledge to donate to their food bank every week, because, quite simply, as soon as the food comes in it goes out. I visited the Anglican Action trust in Hamilton. They tell us time and time again that cost of living pressures are simply far too great. This Government needs to open its eyes and address the real issues that affect struggling families. We are talking not just about low-income families but about modest-income families and families who are working. The problem has simply shifted. Unless National understands that fact, then all the rhetoric its members say about a great savings strategy and things like that is not heard. If they talked to a family that is working, then that family would say that they simply do not have enough income to even think about saving, let alone listen to what National has to say. That is in their words; not mine. The cost of living pressures on families that have modest earners or are on low incomes are very real and should not be underestimated.

It is Labour’s intention to restore greater equality in our society, greater redistribution of wealth through a fairer taxation system, and greater effort and emphasis on investing in our kids. That will make a huge difference and it will resonate largely in the electorate. I think the speaker before me would do well to look at the issue of homelessness in Auckland City. We cannot on the one hand say that things are so great without looking on the other side of the street and saying that more must be done.

This Government simply has not opened its eyes to the real debate happening in each home and each community about the pressures of the cost of living.

It gives me pleasure to be able to stand in this general debate and draw some distinctions. There was a little comment just a few weeks ago by the Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Phil Goff, that underlined for me the difference between Labour and National.

💬 Chris Auchinvole: What was that?

What it was is this: when National put up the minimum wage to $13, with an extra 25c an hour, the Hon Phil Goff said that that was only 10 bucks a week and that that was pathetic—that was pathetic. All those people on the other side of the House said, yes, that was pathetic. Yet a few weeks ago, what did they announce? They announced a new policy that says the first $5,000 of income will be tax-free for all wage earners. It will give wage earners an extra $10 a week—$10 a week. Well, $10 a week is pathetic when we say it, but it is a great innovation when they say it, and they never—never—explain.

Just a few Thursdays ago when Labour members announced the new capital gains tax, and what a huge innovation that was going to be, and how absolutely wonderful it was, what did they announce then? They announced then, but did not explain, that right up until the Wednesday night a rich person in this country, according to the Labour definition, was someone who earned $60,000 a year. That was because Labour supported a tax rate of 39c in the dollar for everybody earning over $60,000 a year. But they woke up on Thursday morning, and what had happened? All our rich mates were suddenly those earning $150,000, and so they were going to be on the top tax rate of 39c in the dollar. There was no explanation about that whatsoever. There was no explanation, but they had changed their minds. Phil Goff, David Cunliffe, and David Parker had gone to sleep on Wednesday night knowing that everyone earning over $60,000 was a “rich prick”—in Labour parlance. But they woke up on Thursday morning and found that the rich were those earning over double that—over double that—with no explanation whatsoever.

We had my friend from Māngere, Su’a William Sio, explain about the price of milk. He said it had gone up 21 percent under this Government. That was not a lie because I cannot say it was a lie, but it was factually incorrect, because we know that under the last 2 years of the Labour Government milk went up 23 percent—23 percent—and that under the last 2½ years of this Government it has gone up 9 percent. There is no explanation of that. We never hear an explanation of that. Labour did not care enough to do anything about the price of milk when in Government, but right now, of course, the price of milk is the most terrible thing.

Su’a William Sio also said that the price of petrol had gone through the roof, but failed to announce, of course, that the price of petrol is actually coming down this week. Who knows where it will be next week, because it is fluctuating.

Labour hates it when things start moving positively. The crime rate has gone down, and they hate it. We have more young people accessing apprenticeship schemes now, and they hate that as well. They want to say that National has not got a plan, yet our plan, articulated in the Budget and spoken to by our members of Parliament, constantly outlines where this Government is going. This Government is going in a forward direction; it is not going to look backwards. It is going to be careful with the way it spends taxpayers’ money, because there is no such thing as Government money, in spite of Labour policy when Labour members hold the Treasury benches, and when all the money is theirs and they are happy to spend it on their mates. The previous Labour Government took up 13 hectares of public office space in this city over its period in Government. But that is all fine; that is job creation. It has nothing to do with productivity. It is job creation, and that is innovation. Labour members hate it when a Government comes in and says that it is going to be careful how it spends taxpayers’ dollars.

They hate it when we say we are going to target money towards those people who have nothing. The previous speaker, the Hon Nanaia Mahuta, talked about the 40,000 in her electorate who have a low income, and who have received, apparently, nothing from this Government. What about those people living on the pension? Those people living on the pension are earning $160 a week in the hand—more than they got when that lot was in office.

I was very disappointed in the last speech. Generally, the Labour side thinks that the member Mr Borrows has integrity. But Mr Borrows was very selective in the figures he was quoting. I particularly note on the record that although he was talking about the $10-a-week extra income in terms of the first $5,000 of income being tax-free under the policy that Labour has announced, there will also be another $10 a week in extra income under our policy to remove GST from fruit and vegetables. That will help families. As well, there will be another $80 a week for those on the minimum wage. So let us make sure in this House that when we are talking about what other parties are doing, we are accurate in explaining their policies. Labour’s policy is for $100 a week more for those on minimum wages and immediately above the minimum wage.

I also want to talk about New Zealand going backwards, a point that a couple of my colleagues have mentioned. However, the last speaker Chester Borrows talked about the country going forwards. Maybe this is really about a person’s perspective, because from our perspective the only things that seem to be going forwards, or growing, are poverty, the gap between rich and poor, and prices. These things, we would have to say, are growing, and we can prove it. Certainly, the New Zealand economy is not growing. The economy is stagnant. Jobs are not growing, and 77,000 young people are not in education, in training, or in jobs. The Prime Minister seemed to think that was laughable in question time today. I think that is outrageous—it is absolutely outrageous. To have young people languishing on the scrap heap is something that will cost us very, very dearly socially and economically. Jobs are not growing, and investment in skills certainly is not. It is all very well for the Government to say that tertiary education funding is increasing, as was the case in question time today. That was about funding for the university sector, which is important, but what about investing in apprenticeships? What about investing in traineeships? We are going backwards in those areas.

Wages are not growing. The 25c per hour increase in the minimum wage was absolutely disgraceful. People on the streets in Auckland know that it is impossible to live on the minimum wage. I have yet to find somebody who will say to me that it is possible to live in Auckland on the minimum wage. Certainly, 25c per hour more in the face of rising prices was just a complete and utter slap in the face for those people who are struggling to make ends meet. So Labour’s policy, if elected, to lift the minimum wage immediately to $15 an hour is an important one and one that is recognised and supported by people, irrespective of their own incomes. It is supported not just by people on the minimum wage, not just by people who earn a little above the minimum wage, but by many middle and high income people, because, if they are honest, they know it is impossible to live in Auckland—and I am sure, elsewhere in New Zealand—on the minimum wage.

People are struggling to make ends meet, and the Government actually had a choice about this. It did not just happen in a sort of evolutionary way. The Government acted. It chose to make it worse. It chose to give big tax cuts to those on the highest income, and at the same time it lifted GST. Obviously, that put pressure on those people who were already struggling, and it led to price rises throughout our economy. That is exactly what has happened.

Let us talk about some real people. In the area I am working in, in the Maungakiekie electorate, I have recently had an optometrist contact my office saying that a middle-aged man had come in, trying to sell his glasses back because he needed some income. He was trying to sell his glasses back. I think that is a sad story. Recently, when I relaunched the Stop Loan Sharks campaign in Onehunga, we had a number of people there, including the Salvation Army. We heard a story of a family of five trying to feed themselves on $80 a week—$80 a week on food for a family of five. This is just not going to happen. What is happening as a result of this? We see increasing dependence on loan sharks and increasing indebtedness. The Government is cynically now acting on this issue because it knows there is public concern.

Two of my political heroes when I was a boy were “Gentleman Jack” Marshall and Brian Talboys. What great statesmen they were, and how well they served this country. I watched the way both men acquitted themselves in their demanding roles and the dignity they brought to this House, and I felt inspired to set myself the goal of trying to follow in their footsteps one day. It is in the context of the leadership they brought to New Zealand’s trade negotiations that I mention them in today’s debate. How well older New Zealanders remember the huge impact of Britain’s entry into the European common market nearly 40 years ago. Almost overnight we went from a position whereby the British took nearly all of our primary production that we could send them to having to fight for access in a crowded market against a range of fairly hostile nations applying protectionist policies to shut out New Zealand’s goods. Marshall and Talboys did a wonderful job for this country to secure that access and guide us through the transition. They were difficult days for our primary sector and for successive Governments, and it took us many years to adapt and adjust.

The work that our modern trade negotiators, such as our excellent Minister of Trade, Tim Groser, are doing is just as important, as their efforts will have, and are having, a huge impact on our economic growth. It helps that there is considerable demand for our production once more. We have diversified our trading base, with Australia now being our largest market and China at No. 2. But, as other speakers on this side of the House have noted this afternoon, New Zealand is far from immune to what is currently happening around the world. As a trading nation we are always vulnerable to global downturns, and it is hard to imagine more challenging circumstances than those we have faced during the nearly 3 years since the National-led Government took office.

It certainly did not help us that the Clark Government squandered the favourable conditions of the previous decade, irresponsibly escalating Government spending while the tradable side of our economy shrank in each of the last 5 years of that Government’s time in office. Those factors helped to push this country into recession in the first quarter of 2008, 9 months before the global recession hit us, and left Michael Cullen telling New Zealanders that we faced a decade of deficits and rapidly escalating debt. It was appalling economic mismanagement, yet nothing that the current Labour Opposition members have said since demonstrates that they have acknowledged the folly of their policies or the huge damage they did to our country.

On the contrary, this year Labour is going to the polls promising more tax, more Government spending, and more borrowing. It is an astonishing prescription, and it is clear from the fact that none of the backbenchers opposite ever talk about it—especially outside this House—that they know how irresponsible it is. The last thing New Zealanders need right now is another tax. No wonder Trevor Mallard told Labour’s dwindling band of activists to not get dragged down in the detail of their tax package. He is reported to have said that the public do not care and that Labour speakers look and sound boring when they go down that path. Well, I can assure Mr Mallard that the public do care, and they are not so much bored as gobsmacked that Labour has learnt nothing from the mistakes that saw it so unceremoniously thrown out of office. Those who fail to learn the mistakes of history, we are told, are bound to repeat them. That is why we on this side of the House are working so hard in this election campaign to ensure that Labour will not get that opportunity.

Labour’s track record and commitment is to spend money we do not have. Have those members not noticed what is happening in Europe, America, and elsewhere at the present time? Do the phrases “debt crisis” and “credit downgrade” mean nothing to them? New Zealanders have paid dearly for the fact that under the last Labour Government, baseline Budget spending increased by 45 percent between 2005 and Labour’s eviction from office just 3 years later—45 percent. That is why the incoming National-led Government had no option but to rein in Government spending. That is why the only fiscally responsible option this year was to implement a zero Budget. New Zealanders have applauded us for this approach, even though it is always difficult and uncomfortable to cut back. The evidence that this Government’s economic management is working is increasingly apparent. Under National the after-tax average wage has increased by 7.4 percent over the previous year, compared with inflation of 5.3 percent. That is a real increase of 2 percent. As a result of our efforts over the past 3 years, New Zealand is better placed than many countries.

Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. On Saturday, 6 August 2011 the Mana movement held its inaugural AGM in Waitakere. We were privileged to host people from all around the country, including Māori, Pasifika, Pākehā, Asians, and Europeans, all with the desire to be part of a new political movement for change in this country. We had workers, we had teachers, we had mothers, we had sons, we had musicians, we had truck drivers, we had lawyers, and we had beneficiaries. We even had MPs from four different political parties, and we had a number of long-time party organisers who had walked away from Labour’s decision to abandon the poor and the working class in favour of a scrabble for the votes of middle New Zealand. On top of all that, we also had a level of energy, goodwill, and fun that we just do not normally associate with political party AGMs. It was a great day, and now we are rolling on to the general election in November as a party dedicated to being a voice for Māori, for workers, and for the poor.

Mana will represent a newer, more honest, and more principled way of doing politics. We will promote policies that highlight the Treaty as the foundation of our nation, the basis by which we can provide immediate relief to those in need, and highlight the long-term change that will take the power out of the hands of the rich and return it to ordinary New Zealanders. We will not compromise on principle, and neither will we sit politely by while Governments of either persuasion sell our assets to foreign asset-stripping thieves and price our people into poverty and starvation. We will promote candidates chosen for their unremitting fight for justice, their track record in advocating for Māori issues, and their leadership in the struggle for human rights.

Mana will contest all seven Māori seats, because Māori want us to. They have deserted the Māori Party for selling out to the parties of the rich, and they are flocking to the strong and independent leadership that Mana represents. Mana will contest the general seats, especially those in communities savaged by cuts in spending on health, education, and benefits, because even the poor deserve to have a champion in Parliament. We have already fielded calls from our Pacific cousins, beneficiary advocates, and people known and respected in their communities. We intend investing serious time and energy into pushing our policies in low-decile communities. Mana will also target the party vote through policies aimed at reducing prices, creating jobs, sharing the tax burden, increasing Government spending on health and education, and keeping the people’s assets in the people’s hands.

I am humbled by the number of very talented people who have offered their support to Mana, and declared their willingness to be candidates for Mana in both Māori and general seats. But we have accepted the request that our electorates be given more time to complete the process by which they choose their candidates in order to ensure that Mana goes into the election with the best possible team. But this I know: Mana’s list will reflect the people we represent. Some will be high-profile, and as a collective they will give Mana a real chance of attracting a good percentage of the party vote.

Mana’s message will be a simple one: party vote for Mana for real change, and party vote for Mana for an independent voice for Māori, for workers, and for the poor. We have affirmed our constitution, we have posted our draft policies on the net, and we have reaffirmed our national leadership. I am proud to say that Matt McCarten has agreed to continue in his role as party president, and that John Minto and Annette Sykes have taken on the roles of co - vice presidents and senior spokespeople for Mana.

These last few months might have been difficult ones for me, but I continue to be overwhelmed by a huge level of support from right across the country for the only party willing to openly champion Māori rights, workers’ rights, and the rights of the biggest tribe that this country has ever seen: the poor. Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Tēnā tātou katoa.

I think we have just heard from the tail that will be wagging the next Labour Government dog, if a miracle is pulled off at the end of the year. If that miracle is pulled off at the end of the year and Labour is in Government, then the member we have just heard from, Hone Harawira, will be the tail that is wagging the dog. It will be a very sick dog, because from what we know of the last Labour Government, as New Zealanders we will be in trouble.

Let me remind members how sick the last Labour Government dog was. We had a decade of deficits left for this Government when we came into Government. A decade of deficits was left for us. Power prices had increased by 72 percent in 9 years. We were left with an emissions trading scheme that would have doubled costs to households by about an extra $330 a year.

Floating mortgage rates peaked at 11 percent in 2008. I remember those mortgage rates. That was when I bought my first house and we took one of those higher mortgage rates that the last Labour Government left us with. The official cash rate peaked at 8.25 percent, and food prices were up 21 percent. That was a worrying time for New Zealanders. Unfortunately for members on the other side, I tell them that they have no hope of getting across the line, because New Zealanders just do not believe they will get far.

The Labour campaign manager, Trevor Mallard, is sitting over there. Let me remind members what the Labour campaign manager has spent the last week doing. He has spent it filibustering in this Chamber, trying to fight voluntary student membership. It has been an appalling display, with point of order after point of order being raised. Then there is Phil Goff. Labour has spent the last week trying to work out how to remember whether Phil Goff had a meeting with the SIS. The third thing the Labour campaign manager has spent the last week doing——and you will love this, Mr Williamson—

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It is a grievous insult to you, Mr Speaker, to suggest that you are Mr Williamson. I am sure you are offended; we are offended on your behalf.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: I am very grateful for the member’s concern, but he should not interrupt another member’s speech.

I know that Trevor Mallard is enjoying this very much, because the third thing I am going to mention that the Labour campaign manager has been doing in the past week is cycling around Pakuranga. The big thing in the Labour Party campaign strategy is a cycle race in Pakuranga. That is what Trevor Mallard has been doing. We saw him on Saturday cycling around Pakuranga. That is what those members are focused on.

The Labour campaign plan gets even better. It has three points to it: more tax, more debt, and higher spending. If a miracle is pulled off at the end of the year and Labour gets in as the next Government, we will have to look forward to more tax, more spending, and more debt, with Hone Harawira as the tail wagging the Labour Government dog.

I feel sorry for the Labour candidate in Botany, because we have a good story to tell and I am looking forward to telling it. I am looking forward to telling the people of Botany that we have spent $2.5 million upgrading and modernising eight schools in Botany. We have 300 police officers on the streets of Counties-Manukau, which is helping to lower crime in my electorate. Crime has dropped by 9.5 percent—

💬 Hon Member: 9.5?

—9.5 percent—since this Government has been in place, because we have put more police on the streets of Counties-Manukau. All Labour members want to do is cycle around the streets of Pakuranga, yet we are putting more police on the streets of Botany. I am also looking forward to telling the people of Botany about the more than 3,000 extra elective surgeries coming through the Counties Manukau District Health Board. I will be looking forward to telling them about the extra funding for early childhood education—$1.4 billion, which is the highest amount that has ever been spent on early childhood education. I will be talking to them about the 87 percent of 2-year-olds in Counties-Manukau who are now fully immunised, with dedicated staff working towards getting that percentage up to 90 percent.

Those are the good news stories that we can tell. Those are the good news stories that National candidates around the country will be telling the voters in their electorates. All that the Labour Party has to talk about is more tax, more spending, and higher debt—and that will be a worry. I am pleased to have spoken in my first general debate. I say to Trevor Mallard that I am looking forward to the cycle race, and let us look forward to the next Hone - Labour Government.

The debate having concluded, the motion lapsed.