Cosgrove Clayton: Taxation (Annual Rates and Budget Measures) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Cosgrove Clayton: Taxation (Annual Rates and Budget Measures) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:672;Page:19004] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) 
: 
 I noted that speech from Craig Foss with interest and I took a number of things out of it. The member concluded by giving us a lecture on parliamentary democracy. He gave us a lecture and said members on this side of the House are somehow against democracy. Then he paraded an argument that basically said those members trust the people and the judgment will be on 26 November. 
I make this point to the member: if he has so much faith respect and trust in the people of New Zealand then why today do we sit in urgency without the bill going to a select committee? The people who are smart whom he takes for granted could come before a select committee and give us a view on how they see this bill. They could tell us whether they are in favour of “integrity in savings” which was the other phrase that that member used. “Integrity in savings” is an interesting phrase. That must have whipped out of the National public relations unit because it is an interesting phrase. At the same time as that member talked about integrity in savings his Government’s legislation before us cuts KiwiSaver—a family with two KiwiSavers loses $20 a week in cuts. Is that integrity in savings? Hang on the empty tin has not rattled; there is no sound. 
I ask the member again whether that is integrity in savings. No; I suggest he crawls under the desk. I ask that member whether he believes we should have a select committee hearing so that—to use his words—we can trust the people treat the people with respect and ask them their view. Oh he is mute or deaf; his tongue has gone—somebody has cut it out. I say to that member that there is a word for the speech he gave. On the one hand the member preened and preached to us about democracy but he does not show the intestinal fortitude in this place to say we should have a select committee hearing. I ask him again whether he believes people should have the right to come to this Parliament before an election and test this legislation with a select committee hearing. Silence! 
The silence is deafening. What a plonker I say. The people will see that member for what he is standing up a lion in this Chamber—an absolute lion. But he does not have the intestinal fortitude to call a Finance and Expenditure Committee meeting and ask the people in the gallery and throughout our towns and cities to come forward and make submissions and listen to their opinions because he does not want the answer. He knows what the answer would be. He knows that many of the 200000 people affected by the cut in Working for Families would rock up to the select committee and say they did not vote in a National Government for this. He knows that many many thousands of people whom he respects—so he says—would rock up to the select committee and say: “Didn’t John Key say he would not touch KiwiSaver?”. Did John Key say that? Yes he did. Has John Key broken his word? Yes he has. Those are the responses Mr Foss and his ilk and Mr Henare do not want people to have the opportunity to come in and express. 
People would come to a select committee if there was one and they would say: “By the way we do not want our assets sold. By the way we the people of New Zealand already own those assets.” So why is the Government pretending it is so benevolent in offering those assets back to the people of New Zealand offering them the opportunity to buy them given that they already own them? 
People might also come to a select committee and say that we as a community are not awash with cash to be first in the queue which the Government cannot guarantee to purchase back assets that we already own. They would say to Mr Foss chair of the Finance and Expenditure Committee that we as a community do not have the money because of the cost of living because of the great tax switch that gave those on the bottom of the heap—72 percent of my electorate earn under 40 grand a year—very very little. But it gave his leader a thousand bucks a week. That is what those people might say if they were given the respect and the opportunity to come before a select committee and express their view. But that has been denied to them and that member had the audacity to get up and preach to this House and say he respects the views of his community. 
If the member has that much guts—and I am sure he has—he will stand up and say or the next speaker will take a call and say: “Hang on. Taihoa. Let’s seek leave to have a Finance and Expenditure Committee and give the people their say.” There is no reason we would not. The member himself said these measures will come in after an election. Therefore we have months to deal with this legislation. But oh no he sits there looking into his fictitious papers pretending not willing to look up at anybody with a guilty look on his face because he knows he has just put his foot in his mouth in respect of that last speech. It is easy to get up here in the Chamber be very lofty and high and mighty say one respects democracy and lecture every other MP. But he has the power as the chairman of the Finance and Expenditure Committee to call people in and show some real respect. But no he keeps staring at the crossword or whatever it is down there because he cannot look people on this side of the Chamber in the eye he cannot look the Speaker in the eye and he will not be able to look his constituents in the eye and explain to them on Saturday or Sunday when he has his clinic why he denied them their democratic right to have a go and have their view heard in the select committee. 
When we look at the historic record of the last Government members opposite talk about the decade of deficits. That member wanted some facts. I suggest maybe he rolls up these facts and chews on a few of them in the next couple of days. I will give members a quote from Bill English that I have used in every speech. Of course those members do not like it when we quote their own finance Minister. They are all very quiet now. That member keeps doing his crossword or whatever it is he is doing down there. He will not look us in the eye; we know it is difficult. Here is what Bill English said on 19 December 2008 about the legacy of the last Government. This is a cracker and I take Bill English at his word. He said this: “I want to stress”— 
Hon Tau Henare 
: You keep going mate. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: That member is under a bit of stress by the sound of it. He said: “I want to stress that New Zealand starts from a reasonable position in dealing with the uncertainty of our economic outlook.” That is what he said within days of taking office. That was his economic assessment of the legacy of the Labour Government that had preceded him. However much shellac they put on their line over there no matter how much whitewash they try to spin through this place they cannot alter history. 
Let us have a look at history. I will read out a couple of other facts for that member who shows a tonne of intestinal fortitude when he is on his feet. I will say this. We had 9 years of surpluses—9 long years of surpluses—beginning in 2000 with $594 million. In 2001 there was a surplus of $1.4 billion in 2002 there was $2.4 billion in 2003 there was $5.5 billion in 2005 there was $7 billion in 2006 there was $7 billion in 2007 there was $5.8 billion in 2008 there was $5.6 billion worth of surpluses— 
Shane Ardern 
: And the best times we had in a generation! 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: They were the best times absolutely as that member said. That member’s finance spokesperson at the time Bill English day after day month after month challenged criticised and berated the then Labour Government saying it should flog the lot—spend the lot. National for the historical record was criticising a Labour Government for not spending the surplus and for squirreling it away for the rainy day. The rainy day came when this Government took over and even Bill English was generous enough on 19 December to admit that the legacy the previous Government had left was in good shape. 
What we have in this legislation what is served up to the public is a cut in KiwiSaver and a cut in Working for Families. The only plan—if we can call it that—is to flog off the family silver which does not actually solve the debt problem because if we look at the debt track we see that it goes up. Then the Government uses the earthquake as an alibi even though it knows in terms of accumulated deficit that the earthquake in Canterbury contributes only 10 percent. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Remember David Lange? He sold the Crown jewels. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I think the member is going to blow Mr Assistant Speaker Roy. You might want to call the men in white coats or those with the stretchers. I think he is going to blow something. It could get messy in here I say to colleagues. 
I say to Mr Foss that the people of New Zealand are not silly. His constituents deserve respect. They are intelligent and they will unpick the hem of this Budget inch by inch and they will render a verdict on him. I look forward to the next Government speaker being totally respectful to the people and telling us that they are going to have a select committee. I suggest that if there is any medication available or cold water we direct it over to that side of the House real quick.