Key John: General Debate 
Key John: General Debate 
[Volume:620;Page:15679] 
JOHN KEY (National—Helensville) 
: 
 That was one of the more remarkable contributions to the general debate that I have heard in my brief 2 years here. I put it down as the single biggest waste of 5 minutes that I have ever heard in my life. I know that the Labour Party members take their general debate slots on rotation. I know that the Minister of Education was cringing when the senior Government whip got up to make that contribution. I know that many other members of the House were embarrassed to have the senior Government whip on her feet speaking such a load of drivel. It was a complete and utter waste of time. Even under the National Certificate of Educational Achievement that speech would not have got a pass. What a load of drivel it was from the soon to be former member for Whanganui! My advice to the member for Whanganui is to get out the situations vacant part of the newspaper because if that was her contribution to the general debate she will need it. 
The Government has introduced a proposed amendment to the Employment Relations Act. What is it? It is a nationwide recruitment drive for union members. That is what that bill is all about—a nationwide recruitment drive for union members. It is so blatant that it is up there with the $21 million that the Government decided to spend on promoting the Budget which even the Auditor-General found offensive. That is how blatant it is. That amendment is simply one thing and one thing alone: payback time for the unions—those flaky unions that that party wants to come to the House and represent. The Council of Trade Unions is getting its payback. 
Who is right? Let us ask the obvious question. Is it this arrogant “We know best.” Government which is going on a crusade for its union mates? Is it right? Or is it the hundreds of submitters who came before the select committee and said that the bill is bad and is sending New Zealand in the wrong direction? I see Mr Benson-Pope shaking his head in agreement and I want to thank him; he does not have the guts verbally to agree with me but at least in spirit he agrees with me that the bill is bad. 
What is the Government trying to do? I know: it is trying to force the 1.7 million New Zealanders who are not currently in a union to join one—to convince them somehow that it is a really good idea. A proposition that those people have spent years deciding is not a good idea is somehow going to become a great idea because the Labour Party Government has decided to go into cahoots with its mates and force those people to join a union. 
Darren Hughes 
: Give us a policy. 
JOHN KEY 
: Oh the member should not worry; we have plenty of policies. [ 
Interruption 
] When we do it will not be 42-all in the polls; mark my words a number of members over there will be looking for a job. 
One of the useful things that members of the Labour Party could do is to have a look at the growth rates of Germany and Japan—two of the most inflexible labour markets in the world. After 20 years Japan’s rate is still not recovering because it has inflexible labour markets. Members should see whether they can find a Virgin megastore in Frankfurt. The answer is they cannot. Why? Because Germany is the only country in the world where Richard Branson could not run a megastore. Do members know why? Because it has the most inflexible labour market in the world. That is where this Government wants to take us. 
 It is all very well for the Prime Minister in the foreword of various documents to tell the country that by 2011 we will be in the top half of the OECD— 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: Is that what she said? 
JOHN KEY 
: That is what she said—mark my words. Members can put a ring around it: she said that in 2011 we will be up there in the top half of the OECD. I say we will not be there if we have the proposed amendments to the Employment Relations Act—if we have the sort of drivel that is going down. 
What sorts of things do we see in that bill in terms of the way in which a business can be bought and sold? I would describe the bill as the “goodwill gobbler”. That is what it will do to any business out there. Even the Minister for Small Business in his heart of hearts knows exactly what I am talking about. The hundreds of thousands of small-business people in New Zealand who work hard to build up goodwill will have their wealth destroyed with a flash of a pen. They may be nodding and agreeing out there but when it comes to polling day they will not want a bar of that very very bad legislation. That legislation will put employer-employee relationships back to where they were in the days of the 1951 waterfront strike. That is the sort of stuff the Government is trying to do. Employers will not be able even to have an honest conversation with their employees for fear of being seen to point them in what is not the right direction—to give them advice that might lead to their not being part of a collective agreement.