Bennett David: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Bennett David: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:670;Page:16540] 
DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) 
: 
 Just before I start I think the public of New Zealand need an explanation of the tactics that Labour and Green Party members have been using today. It is a very common tactic which those parties use when they are in this House: they try to build on the fear factor. They try to take advantage of people in a time of weakness and they try to have a submissive country of people who will just listen and be told what should be done by the Government or political party that those members attempt to be. They use personal stories about people who are in trouble and about their family members and all that. They are really saying that a person has been in a situation but that it is the system’s fault. It is the system’s fault that that person has been in that situation it is the system’s fault that that person has not had help and it is the system’s fault that that is the situation we have as a country when there is actually a bigger and deeper reason for a lot of those situations. 
People have choices in life and in life people do make some choices. But Labour members stand there and use fear tactics on people. They go out there and say that this is the big bad system that is against people but that Labour members are there trying to save people from the system. But the reality is that Labour wants people to be under that system so that it can control them and control that system. 
Labour and Green members today have not wanted people to think for themselves; they have wanted them to be told what will be done because people can trust them. That is their motto—people can trust those parties to deliver what is needed in their lives. These guys are so good; they can deliver all of that to people. That is just not reality. It is not life it is not how it works and it is not how the Government works. 
The Government is there to provide services when it can. The Government is not there to make your life a better place necessarily. One has some choices in how one does that; one has some choices in the education one gets the job one takes and the career one makes. It is not all about the Government and the people in this room deciding that. People need to look at that. They understand that and that is the fundamental problem that Labour has at the moment—they do not trust New Zealanders. They do not trust the instinct of New Zealanders to recognise that New Zealanders can build their own future and they want a Government that gives them the tools to build their own future. They do not want the Government to give them that future but to give them the right to build that future for themselves. There is a big difference there and it is a difference the public understands and the public wants. They do not want us in this room to tell them or to make their lives. But they want us in this room to let them live their lives and build those futures. 
That is what National has done in the last 3 years and that is what we will continue to do. We will continue to give people the tools to build a better future for themselves. That is the guts of why people will vote for National at this election because they know that and instinctively that is what they want. That is human nature and that is what National stands for. 
Labour said they left this economy in good shape. Let us have a look at this. This country was in recession before the rest of the world. Labour put this country in recession before the rest of the world. Before we had the world meltdown in financial markets Labour had put New Zealand into recession. 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: The Government inherited the books in a wonderful state. 
DAVID BENNETT 
: Oh the wonderful start! We were in recession when we came into power because Labour had put us there. They had put us there and in the best of times. Those were the best of times—those times were the golden years that people were talking about in the House earlier today. Labour managed to squander those golden years and put this country into recession. Then we had a world recession on top of that. If we had had Labour in power when we had that situation it would have worsened. We would not be dealing with the unemployment rates we have to deal with we would be dealing with the unemployment rates the US and England have to deal with. That would be the legacy of Labour if they had their power. 
But the reality is that National came in. We actually delivered a situation and a system that will enable New Zealanders to go through this recession and to deal with it in the best manner they can so that there is the least impact on our lives and on our country’s finances while at the same time setting up the structures and the vision for a stronger country. That is what John Key was talking about over the last year or so when he talked about infrastructure when he talked about those changes in the tax system and when he talked about using outside capital and investing in Government enterprises. 
It is about building a new system a system that will enable New Zealanders to take advantage of their opportunities—for example when we look at the tax switch where we have taken away from consumption and given people a return for their income. It is about sending a signal to New Zealanders that they do not have to spend to have the lifestyle they want; they can invest and get the lifestyle they want. If they earn money from having a good job and a good education that can lead to prosperity in the future for themselves and their country rather than going for the consumption debt-driven approach that Labour has been portraying. 
That fundamental difference has been portrayed when talking about investment in Government assets. It is about giving New Zealanders the ability to invest in things for their retirement and it is about giving them the opportunity to put money into constructive growing enterprises that deliver real goods real services and real jobs for New Zealanders. It is about building a stronger country so we do not have the Government of the day going in there nicking those assets and taking the cash out of them when they desire to pay for petty election promises. That has happened in previous administrations. It is about building a new culture a new attitude to investment and a new attitude to how we approach the way we deal with our economic and personal lives. That is something that was very strong in what the Prime Minister has been going through and that is a message that is coming together. 
New Zealanders are seeing that message they understand what it means and they understand that they have been given that opportunity by the Government. They have been given a chance to take advantage of their circumstances. They will do so because we are backing them and New Zealanders are fundamentally going to take advantage of those opportunities. 
When we look at the economy at the moment we see that we are getting good prices overseas for our commodities. That will continue; that is part of where we live in this world. We have those Asian economies doing so well and we truly need to take advantage of that. But we cannot take advantage of that if we do not have the infrastructure in our country to enable those industries to actually provide those products at the best possible quality and at the lowest possible cost. We also need to provide the infrastructure so that other industries can develop and grow around our fundamental core industries. 
National has been doing that and I would like to pay tribute to the Hon Wayne Mapp in the science and innovation field. He has done a tremendous job in that area and it will be a shame to see him leave Parliament. His contribution to that area is very important because it delivers those industries that will actually build on our fundamental core industries and give New Zealanders a lot of opportunity and direction going forward. 
We live in very difficult times but these difficult times have been navigated by this Government as best as was possible. We have not only navigated those very difficult times but we have set up a vision for New Zealanders that they can share and be part of. It is not a vision based on fear or on submissive tactics of saying that somebody has something and other people should have it even though they have not earned it. Our vision is not that the world is some kind of fearful place or that everything just drops down from the sky—we are not saying that. We are saying that people have the chance to go out there and make the most of their opportunities in this country and in this world. It is our job to provide the infrastructure and the ability for New Zealanders to do that. That is what we are doing. 
We are not providing people with the solution in their hands so they can eat it then and there; we are giving people the seeds so they can go out there and make their own solutions and their own visions and directions in life. That is a big difference; New Zealanders want that and New Zealanders will vote for that at the end of the year because they understand that that is a fundamentally more important thing for them to have than for them to be given. They want to earn it not be given it.