Coleman Jonathan: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Coleman Jonathan: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 27 March 2013. Volume:688;Page:8990. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Defence) 
: 
 What an absolutely shocking day for the Labour Party! In the House today Labour members completely lost it and blew it. What you saw bubbling to the surface was the manifestation of all the frustration all the tensions and everything that is wrong with the Labour Party. What you saw was its chief whip and his buddy Trevor Mallard trying to lure the Prime Minister into a point of order contest and they lost. They thought they had set the trap; they blew it completely. 
Trevor Mallard showed that he has not got the mental toughness for politics. Chris Hipkins showed that he is not up to it. It was disgraceful to see the chief Labour Party whip swearing with the most profane language at the Speaker as he left the Chamber and I hope that that is going to be followed up. Meanwhile the lack of discipline is showing as Labour members are tweeting abuse about the Speaker. I reckon that is a breach of privilege. You could see how angry those members were by the way they left the Chamber. Maryan Street completely lost it. David Shearer was absolutely furious because he has lost control of his— 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! We have a point of order. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I know this member is new to the House but you cannot refer to people leaving the Chamber and not being here. It is the oldest rule in the book—it is the oldest in the book. You cannot do that. 
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN 
: No you know that is wrong. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: No I know it is right. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! The member cannot—[ 
Interruption 
] No I do not need any assistance. The member cannot refer to other members who have left the Chamber. But equally it is a very dangerous precedent to be bringing the Speaker into this debate. Would the member please continue. 
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN 
: Well Mr Speaker I think the House gets the drift: Labour has imploded. I saw Mr Shearer at 6 o’clock this morning running half-naked in a singlet and shorts down The Terrace. I am not sure whether he was running from the right the left or the careerist left—he was running faster than the last person who got invited up for a coffee by Mrs King’s boarder—but he looked like a man who was frightened. I can tell you that when you are in trouble you generally go back to your support base for succour. Well I can tell you that the Labour Party cannot do that. 
If you read The Standard you will read a post by someone called Eddie a lady who used to work in Michael Cullen’s office and she clearly lays out what is happening in the Labour Party at the moment. You have got the right you have got the left and you have got the careerist left—and you have got a few who are getting run over in the middle. This shows that that is the party that really does not know where it is going. 
I can tell you where Labour is going. It is going nowhere because Mr Shearer cannot remember a thing. How are we ever going to trust him to run the economy when he does not even know where his own personal surplus is? How can we trust a man whose brain fades are so bad that he cannot remember that Labour campaigned in 2011 that it was going to get rid of GST on fruit and vegetables? In fact David Shearer himself said that GST has to be repealed. Now he is saying: “Oh I don’t actually know.” When you ask him about the Mighty River Power buy-back he cannot commit. He cannot tell you whether they are going to buy those shares back or not—he cannot commit. When he was asked by his union base whether he would support unions in the Ports of Auckland dispute what did he say? He said: “I’m sorry I can’t commit.” David Shearer is Bill Rowling for the 21st century writ large and it is a disaster for the Labour Party. It would be a disaster for New Zealand and Kiwis will not put up with it. 
Meanwhile we have got John Key a man with a great career background a man who has led us through very difficult financial times to a point where the only country in the OECD with higher growth is the Australians by 0.1 percent. We had better economic growth last year than the US Europe Canada and Japan. We are on the right track. We have got a plan. Read the Business Growth Agenda. It shows where the country is going. It shows the 300-plus initiatives that we put in place. Why are people going to pick someone as shambolic as Shearer and his three factions over John Key who is leading a united National Party? I can tell you what. Labour members can say all they want but they know it is the truth. We are on the right track to lead New Zealand into a great future. 
I ask New Zealanders to look at where the country is going look at our record over the past 4½ years look at how John Key has taken us through the toughest of times look at the path ahead and look at the decisions we have made around education infrastructure law and order and the courts. The only thing that Labour members have said that they might do is take GST off fruit and vegetables. They lost it in the House today. It was an absolute disgrace. Frankly it reflected very very poorly on Parliament. I think it shames us all as parliamentarians. I rest my case.