Mark Ron; Tisch LindsayRON MARK (Deputy Leader—NZ First): Can I say a happy New Year to you Mr Assistant Speaker and to the other Speakers of the House. I rise to speak on behalf of New Zealand First. I have to say that I have returned to the House with a little bit of—well let us say some—reluctance because the Christmas break did give us an opportunity to reconnect with the communities put our ear back to the ground catch up with friends whānau and family and remind ourselves of what it is we are actually in this House for.I have to say from listening to some of the drivel that we have been subjected to the only enlightening moment in this House has been from the New Zealand First leader the Rt Hon Winston Peters who as always speaks straight from the heart straight from the shoulder. One of the things I admire is that he actually tells it as it is and increasingly New Zealanders are telling all of my caucus colleagues that they are tired of hearing some of the rhetoric that they have just been listening to over the last hour or so. They want to hear more parliamentarians more politicians saying it as it is speaking their language articulating what is really happening in the community and not falling back on a raft of statistics that are actually meaningless when you are sitting in your electorate office with someone in tears trying to help them. Those figures are wonderful!The speech from Bill English here today reminded me of something that I heard over the holiday period from someone who used to be a National Party supporter who said: The trouble with the National Party today is it has lost its way. In its endeavour to move to the centre it has moved left. It has gone left. Worse than that it has gone left left left to pander to and cater to the Māori Party and others like it who think that they will succeed in this country by emulating the Labour Party."It reminds me very much of a speech that I gave down in Southland—first in Gore and later at the conference—where we actually pointed out that National and Labour are the same. There is no difference. Pepsi and Coke—one in a red wrapper and one in a blue. Pour them both into a clear glass and try to tell the difference. One cannot. This was not me saying it over the holiday period; it was good staunch rural folk who used to be card-carrying members of the National Party who are now joining the New Zealand First Party and in actual fact joining our committees. Tracey Martin has seen this; Richard Prosser has seen it; Ria Bond has seen it; Clayton Mitchell has seen it.Sarah Dowie: Well those six would know.RON MARK: Oh Sarah Dowie. Is it not wonderful? I am so pleased that member chipped in because that member needs to go home stay home and listen to her people otherwise that person is actually going to lose her seat. There are people in Invercargill who are telling us that they have had a gutsful of their representation down there.I listened to Bill English's speech. I like Bill. He is a good guy. He is a nice guy. A lot of people would actually—you could not say that Mr Bill English the Prime Minister is an offensive chap. But he sounded like he was giving one of those Clinton speeches. You know: "It's about the economy stupid and because we're managing it brilliantly and because we're such a fine manager of the national economy and of business we deserve to be re-elected." Well hey newsflash. It is not about the economy any more. People are looking at it and saying: "Look at the gap between the stinking rich and the working-class poor." They are not just talking about the people living in poverty; they are talking about the people who have a job and cannot make it. These are people who have two jobs and cannot make it. These are families where dad comes home from work and mum goes out to work and they cannot make it. If this National Government does not get it stop and spend 5 minutes talking to the cleaners who clean this building. Listen to them. Spend some time with them. I only have to do one thing which I do regularly: pick up a hitchhiker. Pick up a hitchhiker and ask them their story. When you have a young man who is a shearer do not tell me he cannot work do not tell me he is lazy do not tell me that he is work-shy—this is a shearer. Got it? Half the National Party members used to work in shearing sheds woolsheds but they would not have a clue what the heck that is these days. I said: "Where are you going to bud?". He said: "I'm going to Carterton." I said: "I'll give you a ride. Whereabouts in Carterton?". He told me it was Moreton Road. I said: "Give me the number and I will drop you right there." He said: "Oh I need to stop at the Sallies." I asked: "What for?". He said: "Oh I've got a stove in this backpack and I need some money for the week. I reckon I might get 40 bucks for it." I said: "Forty bucks? What's happened?". He said: "I've been living in a caravan for months now but that last big storm—I had a tree come through and it crushed my caravan." He was broke but he was a shearer he was a seasonal worker and we all know that for seasonal workers part-time workers under this Government's administration when it comes to looking after those working poor they do not qualify. They end up in a queue. They end up going through the hoops and the loops and putting up with bureaucrats to get an extra dollar. So what did he do? He takes the portable stove out of his crushed caravan and takes it to the Sallies to try to cash it in to get 40 bucks to get by for the rest of the week.That is real New Zealand and that is what this election is going to be about—about who represents real New Zealand. It will be people like Tracey Martin who represents the real New Zealand when it comes to talking education; it will be people like Clayton Cosgrove—Clayton Mitchell. Ah caught me out. It will be people like Clayton Mitchell who represents real business people. We have heard all the stuff over here. Hon Member: That's a scoop.RON MARK: Clayton is gone just like half of the National Government caucus OK?I hear this Government talking about how it represents business. Well I do not know where the members in rural provincial New Zealand are whom the heck they are listening to—probably their donors; that is probably all. But go and talk to people who own commercial properties in Waipukurau and Waipawa and Woodville and Carterton and Martinborough about the earthquake legislation. Go and talk to them about the occupational health and safety legislation. [Interruption] Mr Hudson—he is wincing right now. He is getting really monkey with me. He does not like what I am saying because he is hearing the same things. They think this Government is demented. They think they have gone from nanny State Labour to "ninny State" National. These people are implementing and passing laws that are costing them an arm and a leg in compliance costs the likes of which they never ever imagined they were going to get from a National Government.So listen up National: we are so pleased over here on these benches that the National Government has called this election and we now have a firm date. We are so pleased because we have been working hard and building hard. We are actually so pleased the media has not been attending our meetings. I mean why would they want to report on a packed-out meeting in Morrinsville with Winston Peters stacking 300 people in? They were overflowing out the door. Why would they want to report on a meeting in Dannevirke—Dannevirke in the middle of the week middle of the day 350 people? Why would they want to report that?The media are going to learn exactly what they learnt in the United States exactly what they learnt in Britain exactly what they learnt in Australia exactly what they learnt in Canada and what they are going to learn in France in Germany and all over the world: people have had enough. They have had enough of being preached to by politically correct idiots who would shut them down and mute them because they dare say things that are politically incorrect. Well I am sorry—this is a democratic country. These battle honours on the walls of the Chamber all around us were paid for with the blood of New Zealanders which guarantees people the right to speak freely and speak their minds without fear. But no between two parties they have been muted.Well they will not be muted in the ballot box let me assure this House. They will not be chastised or frowned at or sneered at by some politically correct person who thinks that they should not say what they are saying on immigration and on security. They will just tick it and flick it. So get ready. And I know that the National members are wincing and squirming in their seats because their polling has told them—their polling has told them—what we already know.There will be more New Zealand First people speaking as this debate goes on and they will cover off trade but the one person I am going to give some congratulations to in my last few minutes is my erstwhile colleague Mahesh Bindra who has been appointed by the World Hindu Democratic Forum to host and organise a forum here in New Zealand which will take place in Auckland and in Wellington and to which 90 MPs from 20 countries will be invited. There will be 22 speakers all speaking about strengthening democracy.That is going to be at the heart of this next election: democracy. Real democracy—listening to the people not preaching down to them from on high and telling them that they do not understand. Not telling them that their opinion does not matter because it is politically incorrect to say such things. Not telling them that their concerns about security and certain ethnic groups and certain people who come into this country are wrong. Not preaching to them and telling them that you have got to allow all of these foreign students into the country who are defrauding the system and cheating to get in here and then subsequently being abused. Raising those issues is legitimate and it needs to be. The only reason we are in the mess we are in right now is because people on those benches over there are too scared and too shy—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Sorry to interrupt the honourable member but his time has expired. The next call is a split call. Matt Doocey—5 minutes."