Clark David: KiwiSaver Budget Measures Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeClark David: KiwiSaver Budget Measures Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading[Sitting date: 21 May 2015. Volume:705;Page:3868. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Dr DAVID CLARK (Labour—Dunedin North):Well that member who just took his seat David Bennett was in a lather but he has overlooked a large number of relevant points. He really really has misunderstood this bill. I guess that is what we have come to expect from him.Kris Faafoi: He hasn’t read it.Dr DAVID CLARK: He may not have read it. He certainly has not read on any behavioural economics as he just admitted then in his speech. What that member is going to have to face when he goes back to his electorate office are questions from hard-working New Zealanders who are trying to get ahead. The effect of this bill is that over 1700 people per year—over 1700 people per year—in his electorate of Hamilton East will miss out on that $1000 kick-start contribution. I expect a whole lot—Hon Nanaia Mahuta: How many?Dr DAVID CLARK: Over 1700 per year will miss out on the kick-start contribution in his electorate. I expect a few of them will come and ask him some hard questions. They will say: “Mr Bennett how come you and your National MP colleagues have taken this $1000 and then stopped it for everybody else after you?”. That is what the people in Hamilton will be saying.They will be saying that around the country. They will be saying it in Clutha-Southland. If they can track Todd Barclay down they will be saying: “Todd Barclay how come you took that $1000 kick-starter payment and now you’re shutting it off for 1700 people from our electorate every year for ever more?”. That is what they will be asking. They will be asking Mark Mitchell in Rodney: “How come you Mark Mitchell took away that $1000 payment for ever more even though you took it for yourself?”. In Rodney 1700 people per year will miss out and it will be no different in any other electorate. It will add up to 7000 people in every electorate in this country over the next 4 years who will miss out on this payment because of this Government’s refusal to tackle the long-term savings problem of New Zealand.The Government is all about getting to some kind of sham surplus today because it has mismanaged the economy so badly—so badly. There is a $1 million—sorry I wish it was $1 million! There is a $1 billion black hole that has opened up between the last Budget and this Budget. That is the mismanagement of this Government. It is short on vision and has failed to achieve its central election campaign promise.What was the Government’s central election campaign promise? Well do we need any reminding? The Government members said they would bring the books back into surplus this year. They have failed again. For the seventh Budget in a row the National Government has failed to achieve a surplus despite making that its central campaign promise. This is a Government that is failing on its promises and losing the trust of New Zealanders.New Zealanders were being promised a wage rise as well. The Government said that their wages would go up by $7000 over time. In the Budget we heard Bill English kick that can down the road for another 3 years. There is always jam for tomorrow—another broken promise. It reminds us of the promise not to increase GST. John Key said they would not increase GST. After that election he put it up to 15 percent. New Zealanders are counting the broken promises from this Government.Here is another broken promise: we will increase exports to 40 percent of GDP. Well they are down below 30 percent now and dropping and projected to drop further next year. The Government members are not getting this economy back on the right foot. They are mismanaging the economy and they are taking from the pockets of children—taking from the pockets of children—to pay for their economic mistakes today. They are robbing the future of the children to pay for their economic mistakes today. This is a Government that is out of ideas. It is out of touch. Those members might as well resign actually and give us an election sooner because they have no new ideas. They are failing to deliver on their promises. This measure is reducing savings at a time when we actually need an increase in savings. This is a time when we need long-term thinking not the “short-termism” that this Government is putting forward.The Government has failed to support the regions. It has failed to diversify the economy. It has failed to address the Auckland housing bubble. It has failed to develop the skills of New Zealand workers. And it is failing our economy more and more over time. This is a Government out of ideas and this is its big idea in this Budget: a new tax. Let us not forget that National campaigned on no new taxes and we have got three in this Budget alone. This is a Government that is so so out of touch that it thinks it can break those promises and arrogantly carry on and then pass this legislation under urgency not allowing New Zealanders to have a say on it.We heard the Financial Services Council come out today and say that this bill is like robbing the kids’ piggy bank to go down to the pub for a beer—robbing the kids’ piggy bank to go down to the pub for a beer. That is the kind of vision we have from this Government. Why will it not stand up and be counted? New Zealand is suffering as a consequence. This Budget is the seventh deficit in a row after nine surpluses from the Labour Government. This is economic mismanagement like we have never seen before. Those members should hang their heads in shame and they are and rightly so.