Clark David: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Clark David: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 01 August 2012. Volume:682;Page:4192. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Dr DAVID CLARK (Labour—Dunedin North) 
: 
 We have just heard from the member Paul Goldsmith some very rich rhetoric and I guess that is what we might expect from the member from Epsom. Unfortunately however the facts will get in the way of that good story. If we examine the Government’s record we will find that the growth he has spoken of has not eventuated. 
The Government’s record on growth is the worst record of a Government in 50 years—the worst economic growth record of a Government in 50 years. There are over a thousand people a week leaving for Australia for good reason. People are discontented with the growth or the talk of growth that this Government has offered. They want real growth. They do not want talk. We have had a 50 percent increase in unemployment. That member said that he was concerned about it and that the Government must do better. Well it must—it must do better. It needs to be providing jobs. Talking a big game does not achieve anything at all. If we actually look at the record on growth we can look at the GDP record of the last Labour Government which grew the economy in real terms—in real terms—by 25 percent. That made the pie one-quarter bigger and that contrasts starkly with this Government where real wages per capita are dropping. That is all about priorities. 
When it comes back to Vote Finance it is about where the money is being spent. Is it being spent to best effect to grow our economy to grow the policies within Treasury that will grow our best economy and to make sure that jobs are provided for New Zealanders who want them and who want to contribute to our country’s future? 
That raises a very important question which was covered in the estimates and related items for Vote Finance in the Finance and Expenditure Committee. We asked the Secretary to the Treasury about the Crown Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme and asked just what work Treasury was doing or indeed what work the Minister had asked for in respect of that scheme. We know that it is quite likely that hundreds of millions of dollars were lost as a result of the Government’s mishandling of that scheme. We know that its handling of the scheme could have lost more taxpayer money than INCIS did. This could be the greatest loss of taxpayer funds in New Zealand history. I want to know in the current financial year what Government resource will be allocated to finding out just how much money was unnecessarily lost in addition by Treasury’s poor handling of this scheme. I would like the Minister of Finance when he takes his call to tell us how much resource he will be devoting in his department toward quantifying this loss to the taxpayer—quite possibly the greatest loss to taxpayers in New Zealand history. 
A quick look at the estimates tells us that the Government’s priorities are not Labour’s priorities. We know that the asset sales programme will take this country back by $100 million a year. We know that because Treasury has quantified it. We know that it was a rushed process. We know that the Government is trying to rush it through because it is embarrassing—80 percent of New Zealanders are against it. We know that 99.4 percent of the submissions that we heard in the select committee were against it and we know that New Zealanders do not like it because it is a bad idea. But the Government continues to push ahead. It continues to push ahead with its plan to deprive us of revenue that the Crown could have to ensure that we pay off our debts faster and that we can invest in the assets that we all value as New Zealanders over the longer term rather than some kind of sweet sugary quick fix. We know that the sale of these assets will lead to future cuts in services for all New Zealanders. We are talking about hospitals and schools. Once the capital that is gained from any asset float has gone the revenue will dry up and we will all be worse off. 
This Government is refusing to take the big decisions. That is also clear from these estimates. We know that superannuation is one issue it is not prepared to tackle. It is saying it is not an issue until 2020. Well it is an issue. We all have to plan for our retirements. We need to know with certainty whether this Government intends to go on spending more money on New Zealand superannuation than it is spending on the entire education system or whether it is actually prepared to tackle these harder issues. 
We also want to know about the Government’s economic management. We know that this Government has borrowed more from overseas under John Key than any previous Government. This Government’s borrowing would make Muldoon blush. This Government’s borrowing record is shameful. We know that we need pro-growth tax policies we need research and development policies and we need proper savings policies.