Beaumont Carol: General Debate 
Beaumont Carol: General Debate 
[Volume:674;Page:20485] 
CAROL BEAUMONT (Labour) 
: 
 I was very disappointed in the last speech. Generally the Labour side thinks that the member Mr Borrows has integrity. But Mr Borrows was very selective in the figures he was quoting. I particularly note on the record that although he was talking about the $10-a-week extra income in terms of the first $5000 of income being tax-free under the policy that Labour has announced there will also be another $10 a week in extra income under our policy to remove GST from fruit and vegetables. That will help families. As well there will be another $80 a week for those on the minimum wage. So let us make sure in this House that when we are talking about what other parties are doing we are accurate in explaining their policies. Labour’s policy is for $100 a week more for those on minimum wages and immediately above the minimum wage. 
I also want to talk about New Zealand going backwards a point that a couple of my colleagues have mentioned. However the last speaker Chester Borrows talked about the country going forwards. Maybe this is really about a person’s perspective because from our perspective the only things that seem to be going forwards or growing are poverty the gap between rich and poor and prices. These things we would have to say are growing and we can prove it. Certainly the New Zealand economy is not growing. The economy is stagnant. Jobs are not growing and 77000 young people are not in education in training or in jobs. The Prime Minister seemed to think that was laughable in question time today. I think that is outrageous—it is absolutely outrageous. To have young people languishing on the scrap heap is something that will cost us very very dearly socially and economically. Jobs are not growing and investment in skills certainly is not. It is all very well for the Government to say that tertiary education funding is increasing as was the case in question time today. That was about funding for the university sector which is important but what about investing in apprenticeships? What about investing in traineeships? We are going backwards in those areas. 
Wages are not growing. The 25c per hour increase in the minimum wage was absolutely disgraceful. People on the streets in Auckland know that it is impossible to live on the minimum wage. I have yet to find somebody who will say to me that it is possible to live in Auckland on the minimum wage. Certainly 25c per hour more in the face of rising prices was just a complete and utter slap in the face for those people who are struggling to make ends meet. So Labour’s policy if elected to lift the minimum wage immediately to $15 an hour is an important one and one that is recognised and supported by people irrespective of their own incomes. It is supported not just by people on the minimum wage not just by people who earn a little above the minimum wage but by many middle and high income people because if they are honest they know it is impossible to live in Auckland—and I am sure elsewhere in New Zealand—on the minimum wage. 
People are struggling to make ends meet and the Government actually had a choice about this. It did not just happen in a sort of evolutionary way. The Government acted. It chose to make it worse. It chose to give big tax cuts to those on the highest income and at the same time it lifted GST. Obviously that put pressure on those people who were already struggling and it led to price rises throughout our economy. That is exactly what has happened. 
Let us talk about some real people. In the area I am working in in the Maungakiekie electorate I have recently had an optometrist contact my office saying that a middle-aged man had come in trying to sell his glasses back because he needed some income. He was trying to sell his glasses back. I think that is a sad story. Recently when I relaunched the Stop Loan Sharks campaign in Onehunga we had a number of people there including the Salvation Army. We heard a story of a family of five trying to feed themselves on $80 a week—$80 a week on food for a family of five. This is just not going to happen. What is happening as a result of this? We see increasing dependence on loan sharks and increasing indebtedness. The Government is cynically now acting on this issue because it knows there is public concern.