Mark Ron: Budget Debate 
Mark Ron: Budget Debate 
[Volume:631;Page:3237] 
RON MARK (NZ First) 
: 
 I want to start my speech with an observation which I hope the National Party might note. It is an observation that was first made by a professor of law at the University of Canterbury Professor Philip Joseph in an article on the Auckland District Law Society’s website. Professor Joseph noted: “This election the realisation has finally dawned that under MMP we no longer directly elect governments. We elect parties and they form governments. No one party wins or loses elections.” He went on to say that when the National Party leader Don Brash formally conceded the election in the wake of the counting of special votes he used first-past-the-post language not MMP language and that this was an indication that the process of completely understanding MMP was an ongoing one. The message clearly was that National still had not got it. 
The article goes on to say that the fact that voters delegate to party leaders the task of forming Governments reinforced the weighty responsibility on political leaders to try to arrive at accommodations. This is the message. The article continues: “Professor Joseph said media references to a ‘mandate to govern’ were First-Past-the-Post language. ‘We no longer elect a government. There is no longer a mandate to govern.’ ” He said that “the 2005 government arrangements involved an entirely new framework”. I suggest they also involve a new way of thinking that clearly the current Government understands and the lady-in-waiting is still yet to even realise. 
This Budget is I believe a truly MMP Budget. This Budget demonstrates an ability to work together in the best interests of all New Zealanders. It exemplifies an acceptance of the public expectation that politicians work together. It recognises the diversity of New Zealanders’ views and opinions that are reflected in the make-up of the House of Representatives. This Budget recognises the common goal shared by the parties that make up this House—or at least those who wish to participate—that are committed to stable governance security and prosperity. The Budget is an MMP Budget that I believe respects honours and delivers on the commitments and the contracts signed between Labour Jim Anderton’s Progressive party United Future the New Zealand First Party and yes the Green Party. 
I offer my congratulations to United Future—to Mr Peter Dunne and his little team—on the concessions they have won in terms of recognition for family and business. I look forward to seeing the final report on the review of business taxation and the consequential cuts that may come from that. I offer my congratulations to the Green Party on the work it has done its Buy Kiwi Made policies and the other concessions it is still working on with the Labour Party. 
I am immensely proud of the work New Zealand First has done and the concessions policies and parts of the Budget that specifically enable New Zealand First policies that were campaigned for to now be delivered on. Let me just remind a few people that we campaigned for senior citizens’ policies. There were five key issues. We have always supported the senior citizens. I remind the National Party about saying: “no ifs no buts no maybes; the surcharge will go”. Well National members were right but it certainly did not go during their nigh on 7-year tenure in Government. It went only when New Zealand First got to the Government benches and forced it to happen. Here we see contained in the Budget today $126 million over 4 years for elder care something we campaigned on and we have delivered. 
I have to say that New Zealand First campaigned strongly on immigration issues and I ask members to look at the result. I ask members to look at the review and look at the direction we are now going in as a country. We have delivered. We campaigned strongly on the issue of the Treaty of Waitangi gravy train and strongly on the fact that we should have an end date—a terminal date—for claims and that is in progress now. 
We campaigned strongly for an export-led economy. I heard Rod Donald campaigning on the same thing and sometimes I thought he was singing directly off a New Zealand First song sheet. The fact is that some parties are working constructively towards an export-led economy and the Rt Hon Winston Peters is working towards that. The nation will see the results and the benefits of that which will empower New Zealanders and improve their prosperity and that is certainly not something that will come from Mr Key baying at the moon and screaming for more and more tax cuts. 
New Zealand First campaigned strongly on law and order and we have attacked the Government vigorously over the previous 6 years. We highlighted the deficiencies and the failings in the Department of Corrections’ home detention the failings of the 111 system the failure of the police to respond and the increasing loss of confidence New Zealanders had in the police. Have we delivered? By crikey we have. Have we fixed it? Yes we have. We now have in this Budget historically the biggest increase for law and order—for the police—that this nation has ever seen in one fell swoop. There is a 12.5 percent increase in staffing. It is in the Budget the commitment is there and it is more than we got from the National Party behind-the-scenes people who actively sought to undermine the coalition and tip it upside down. 
Here is the point. New Zealand First is providing supply and confidence but for us to do that we must have confidence that Ministers will live up to their obligations as per the supply and confidence agreement. That is happening and is reflected in this Budget. Look at the law and order policy announcements some of which may have escaped some people. There is $10.8 million over 4 years for a restructure of Victim Support. We applaud that. I went to the Prison Fellowship seminar on Sunday and I heard the word “victim” used three times. I heard the words “Mongrel Mob” used so many times that I lost count. New Zealand First has stood strongly for victims and $10.8 million may not be a lot but it is a move in the right direction and we will continue to advocate for them. 
There is $11.5 million over 4 years for a community prevention campaign to reinforce the unacceptability of family violence and to change attitudes towards violence and abusive behaviour. We all know that for many of these offenders violence starts in the home. New Zealand First gets lambasted by some people who do not like my Young Offenders (Serious Crimes) Bill because it seeks to lower the age of criminal responsibility. They continue to harp on at me and say: “Oh you’ve got to deal with violence in the home.” We know that! We are working on that. We do not work on just one issue like the myopic idiots that I sometimes run into on the streets and debate with. We work across a range of areas. 
The money allocated towards curbing truancy towards following up on these kids and identifying which kids are not at school is all part of a law and order policy. We in New Zealand First know that truancy is the precursor to juvenile delinquency which is a precursor to youth crime which is a precursor to adult crime. If we want to stop adults ending up in jail we have to stop kids wagging school. We applaud that initiative. 
I have to say that $500 million injected over and above to give us 1250 police—1000 uniformed staff and 250 non-sworn staff—is pretty good. From New Zealand First’s perspective I say we have fought long and hard for law and order and for our men and women who face the daily grind of enforcing the law on the streets of our communities and making our streets safer. We have delivered and we will continue delivering over the next 3 years because our final goal in 2010 is to have police-citizen ratios in New Zealand equivalent to those of Australia. The Government has pledged that it will work with us to achieve that. This is a blue-ribbon day for the police force and I applaud this Budget. I am exceedingly happy. New Zealand First has delivered.