Upston Louise: General Debate 
Upston Louise: General Debate 
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LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupo) 
: 
 I join my colleagues in the House in acknowledging the courage that Cantabrians have shown in this time of crisis. In a crisis like this people look for decisive action and certainty. They look for things that will give them the confidence to move forward in their rebuilding. Unfortunately in these times they do not need scaremongering and that is exactly what members opposite are trying to do when they talk about the tax cuts that come in on 1 October. 
I want to tell the House about the comments made by some of my constituents in the Taupo electorate when they were provided with some extremely misleading information from the Opposition. The Opposition is trying to say that National’s GST is 15 percent putting all of the cost of GST on us. Let us have a little lesson in history. GST was put in at 10 percent in 1986. Who put it in? Labour did. GST went up to 12.5 percent in 1989. Who put it up? Labour did. So it is false information to say that National’s GST is 15 percent. I object to the scaremongering in communities that are vulnerable right now. In particular I think it is despicable to talk about that in Canterbury at this time. It is extremely insensitive. 
Let us talk about 1 October because it is a time that my constituents are looking forward to. They are looking forward to having more money in their pocket on 1 October. The average family will be $25 a week better off. Labour members tend to say that seniors are not doing well under National. I will correct that. They will be $140 a fortnight better off under this Government. I think that members opposite must struggle with their maths if they cannot calculate the difference between 12.5 percent and 15 percent and if they cannot figure out that with seniors being $140 a fortnight better off they are way better off than they were under Labour. 
Let us look at some other examples. I am interested in the well-being of families in my electorate. Families tell me that they have been struggling and they have been struggling whether they are in Tokoroa Taupo or Turangi. I know they are struggling and that is why they are looking forward to having more money in their back pockets on 1 October. There will be $4 billion in tax cuts and GST will bring in only $2 billion. Again that shows us that members opposite do not know how to do the maths and figure out that New Zealanders will be better off on 1 October. New Zealand superannuation Working for Families and benefit payments also increase on 1 October. I tell the House what my constituents are telling me: 88 percent of them think that this Government is on the right track in what it is doing with tax changes and that is across the electorate. 
Hon Nanaia Mahuta 
: In Tokoroa? In Putaruru? 
LOUISE UPSTON 
: Absolutely in south Waikato Taupo and Cambridge. People are looking forward to 1 October because they know that this will be great for their families. 
We do recognise that people are having tough times and for the people of Canterbury the times are tougher for them right now. It is our job to ease that burden. This is a decisive Government that is doing well in a crisis and doing well to grow our economy. That is what New Zealanders want to see. Let us look at the tax changes. They are the most significant changes in 25 years. 
Phil Twyford 
: Show us your facts. 
LOUISE UPSTON 
: The member cannot figure it out. He is raising his hands in terms of how it works. It is about putting the incentives in the right place. If people earn more for working harder then that is called an incentive. It is an opportunity for people to earn more and have more money in their pocket for their family. That is great news and that is why this Government is proud that on 1 October the vast majority of New Zealanders will be better off.