Goldsmith PaulHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National): Thank you Madam Speaker. Look I'll start off with what we agree on and I think everybody in this House would agree that house prices in New Zealand have been going up too far and ultimately New Zealanders are being forced to spend too much of their wealth and their income on housing. When we talk about our standard of living we're all about trying to improve the standard of living of New Zealanders. Well that's been weighed down by the enormous amount of money that people are having to put into housing whether it's to buy a house or to rent a house. So we're all in favour of making progress on the affordability of housing.But then the agreement seems to dissipate because when I look at the situation I look and see what the two real drivers of the housing problems that we're facing are. One is the shortage of supply. There's not enough housing and that's putting up the price either to buy or to rent. So increasing the supply of houses is a critical focus and it amazes me that four years into this Government—more than—we still haven't got anywhere on the Resource Management Act reform. There's lots of talk lots of announcements lots of fiddling around. We're still miles off making any progress on that in order to make it easier for New Zealanders to build houses and to get going. So there's been lots of hot air lots of talk and lots of announcements. We've had Phil Twyford walking up and down the country. Phil Twyford was going to fix the housing crisis. Jacinda Ardern was going to fix the housing crisis when she came in. It was the biggest focus of everything they did. And four years on they've made no progress really on increasing supply apart from a handful of houses. They stopped more houses being built at Ihumātao than the whole of the KiwiBuild saga has generated.The other thing pushing prices up of course is the incredibly low interest rates and massive quantitative easing programme going on in New Zealand and all around the world. It's not just house prices that are going up; it's art prices it's any single asset that you can look at. The prices are going through the roof because money is being poured into the system; it has to go somewhere. So they are the two things that are really driving up house prices.But this Government comes along and it turns to tax because it always wanted to. I stood in this House many times last year looking across to Grant Robertson and saying People of New Zealand you cannot trust Labour on tax." Grant Robertson says "No no no we're not making any changes to the tax system beyond putting up the top income tax rate for wealthy New Zealanders and secondly maybe some petrol taxes. But beyond that we're not doing anything." And I would say "You can't trust Labour on taxes." Then all the journalists would say "Why do you keep asking about this? Grant Robertson has made it clear they're not doing any more taxes." So that whole thing was shut down during the election campaign. "We're not going to put up taxes. We're not going to have any extra taxes. We're not going to extend the brightline test. We're not going to put up taxes." So what happens? I'm afraid he was telling fibs. He had no intention—DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The member's been here for a considerable length of time to know not to use that to term. He will withdraw and apologise.Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: Withdraw and apologise. The Minister of Finance wasn't telling the truth. He stood up in the House many times and said that—DEPUTY SPEAKER: Using the name or the descriptor are equally incorrect and out of order. Final warning Mr Goldsmith. Get to the bill or I will terminate your speech. He will withdraw and apologise for the second infringement.Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: I withdraw and apologise. But the Minister of Finance stood up in this House and said "I am not going to increase taxes." and after the election he increases taxes. So you can say whether or not he's being economical with the truth or not being clear and consistent. The line that he used is—what is the funny line that he was using? "I was too definitive on the topic." Well it may well turn out when you get to the Budget next month that he was too definitive on saying that he wouldn't come up with death duties or gift duties or any other—land taxes—increases to the income taxes because he might have been too definitive during the election campaign. The thing about that is in New Zealand in this country over the last few decades after the horrors of the Muldoon and fourth Labour Government year when Governments came in and broke a lot of promises we have had a tradition in this country where New Zealanders—DEPUTY SPEAKER: This is not a general debate. He should come back this afternoon if he wants a general debate. I've listened—in the last couple of minutes you haven't even spoken to the bill. He should do that immediately. Final warning. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: Well thank you Mr Speaker. I'm grateful for your guidance on that issue. But at the very heart of this bill that has been changed at the last moment for a Supplementary Order Paper to bring in changes to the tax system in direct contradiction of what this Government said during the campaign—I think it is highly relevant to what we're talking about in this bill. So they've broken their promises and secondly having rushed this through under urgency I make a prophecy right here right now that we will all be back in this House fixing this legislation in the next few months because they will have mucked it up—DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member's time has expired."