Parker DavidHon DAVID PARKER (Labour): Both National Party speakers so far seem to have lost track of time. They have certainly missed the last week—not one reference to the local body elections. We know in history that Tories particularly in the UK—actually many a Tory loves a good thrashing just not in public. But last weekend they were thrashed publicly by voters across New Zealand. And I think it is true that National has been truly humiliated—humiliated publicly—and those members hate it. Their arrogant response particularly on Sunday and Monday just showed how much scorn they have for the voters who voted them out and their opponents in. National lost badly in the big cities. It lost badly in the regions. It lost in the South in Dunedin and Christchurch. It lost in the North in Wairarapa in Wellington in Whanganui and in Rotorua. And in Auckland John Key's home town National was truly humiliated. It was so bad that John Key heartlessly on Monday denied the parentage of Auckland Future. Did anyone else hear him on national radio? It was shocking. He cut off his Auckland arm. He denied he knew about it. This is the man who was there present—by video link—at the launch. His Ministers were behind the push at Auckland Future. It is run by the National Party's former president Michelle Boag and what happened? Humiliated. The only person elected for Auckland Future was a retread rebranded existing councillor. They had the ambition of winning the mayoralty and taking a majority of the council. They got slammed by Phil Goff and they went backwards on the council. So what was their response? Well having lost numbers what did they do? They turned around and they effectively criticised the voters and told them they got it wrong and told Phil Goff to adopt their policies to cure the housing crisis in Auckland—which they deny—and gridlock. Why would any politician with half a brain follow the National Government to the dead-end of the million-dollar house crisis people living in cars pensioners in camping grounds and gridlock in Auckland? But that has been their message to Auckland voters and councillors since the election. The arrogance of this is that it is not just the voters telling them that; it is the CEOs and the mood of the boardroom. They say they have got a housing crisis in Auckland and it is adversely affecting their business and so is gridlock. We have had Michael Stiassny a very senior director saying that in Vector they are losing staff. When teachers and nurses cannot afford to live in Auckland then the city is going backwards and it is unsustainable. Still the National Government members—8 years into their Government—make excuses deny that it has caused the crisis which it has deny responsibility for the crisis which it has and deny that there is a crisis which is still their line. The truth is that some of those commentators following the local authority elections quite rightly say that these are not national Government elections—I agree. They are not. They are not a predictor of the outcome of the next election. But they are not good news for the Government. Some of them seem to have swallowed the snake oil parleyed by the National Government that being humiliated in local elections is somehow good news and a harbinger of better things to come. The truth is that National is around 45 percent in the polls. Look at the polls and that is where it is. Some polls have it as low as 40 percent. Some of the polls have it at 47 percent. The Greens and Labour together are around 45 percent.Hon Nicky Wagner: How much is Labour?Hon DAVID PARKER: We are around 33 percent—33 percent. The Greens are around 12 percent. Even you should be able to add that up—33 plus 12 equals 45. New Zealand First and Winston are on the rise and they are already at about 10 percent. That is why National is panicking. That is why having being humiliated in Auckland their own organisation has been treated like a gangrene-ridden festering pustule and has been cut off. I think that is a rather tough treatment of Michelle Boag but others might disagree.