Dean Jacqui: Taxation (Annual Rates and Urgent Measures) Bill — In Committee 
Dean Jacqui: Taxation (Annual Rates and Urgent Measures) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:628;Page:783] 
JACQUI DEAN (National—Otago) 
: 
 I rise to speak to the Taxation (Annual Rates and Urgent Measures) Bill which is quite a surprising title because it seems to me that the bill is all about middle-class welfare and student loans and I do not actually see that mentioned in the title of the bill. However I will continue. 
This bill encapsulates just some of the things that are wrong with this Labour Government. It will entrench middle-class welfare; it says to the people of New Zealand: “It’s OK. You don’t have to strive because we will top up your wages—that is as long as you have children.” The bill says: “It’s OK. We may be overtaxing you but we know better than you how to spend your hard-earned wages. So now under this piece of legislation you can stand in a line. You can stand in a line mum with all your children. You can stand in a line and fill out forms. How exciting! You can fill out forms so that some young office worker can scrutinise your private affairs. After that you may be eligible for a benefit.” 
I ask members to picture how good this will be for a young mother who has say three children under 3 years old. Let us say she has twins of 5 months old and a 2-year-old. Heaven forbid but it does happen. I ask members to imagine the process that this young mother will have to go through in order to access the Working for Families package. I remember that when my children were little it used to take me a long time to get them dressed get them clean get them ready to go out then to walk along the road and have to stand in line to fill out forms. 
But tonight I want to focus on the uncosted interest-free loans which is Part 3 of the Taxation (Annual Rates and Urgent Measures) Bill. I wonder what message we are sending to our young people and students. I suggest that under this Labour Government the message is: “It’s OK because under a Labour Government you get a free ride.” I go back in time a wee bit to when the interest-free student loans policy was announced by the Government during the campaign—that uncosted election promise that we had. I was on the road at the time. We had a fabulous tax policy that we were on the road with. I went out and started talking to people. They were very interested in this interest-free loan of Labour’s. 
In Palmerston which is a wonderful part of the Otago electorate I talked to a pensioner. This elderly gentleman had fought in the war and he had paid tax all his life because he had worked all his life. Borrowing was the last thing that this elderly gentleman would contemplate doing because when he was growing up one actually paid for what one wanted. So it was really hard to explain to him—and he could not understand—why this generation should get a free ride. Then on another occasion because I was a particularly hard-working candidate I was in Cromwell— 
Lindsay Tisch 
: That’s why you won. 
JACQUI DEAN 
: Thank you Mr Whip. I was talking to a worker in Cromwell who had a student loan. He had been to university had got a degree and he had a student loan. It was really interesting because I thought: “Here we go here’s a guy who’s going to say: ‘Yay! Interest-free student loans!’ ”. But he did not. He said—and I think he is absolutely right—that from his point of view this policy sends all the wrong messages to the people of New Zealand. He said: “Everyone else has to pay interest on loans when they go borrowing from the bank so why shouldn’t students?”.