O'Rourke Denis: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeO'Rourke Denis: General Debate[Sitting date: 18 September 2013. Volume:693;Page:13479. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DENIS O’ROURKE (NZ First): I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate David Cunliffe on his election to the Labour Party leadership. He has his work cut out because most New Zealanders do not support Labour and he appears to seek to turn Labour more to the left but of course in doing so risks it moving away from the centre. National on the other hand is becoming more and more right wing with its asset sales programme charter schools anti-worker and anti-unions legislation pro - big business policies laissez-faire immigration policy and conservative economic policy. Neither party has a genuine plan to take New Zealand forward in the 21st century. New Zealand has underperformed over the last 30 years and more compared with similar countries because of a succession of underperforming National and Labour Governments.As the political pendulum has swung from left to right many times so too have New Zealand’s fortunes and progress has been blunted rather than enhanced. Only when New Zealand First has been present has there been anything done to stop the rot.We have seen National’s Think Big era under which the National Development Act was to be the Think Big saviour. In fact it was used only once and in fact Think Big was never really implemented at all. So much for its strategic approach to things—just another National Party election stunt. It has no genuine strategy other than to slash services sell assets and rely on the windfall of the Christchurch rebuild.We have also seen a Labour Government’s massive multimillion-dollar sell-off of public strategic assets some of which a later Labour Government had to buy back including New Zealand Rail and Air New Zealand. Labour implicitly acknowledges the mistake and now opposes more asset sales—for now. National wants to repeat themistake with another round of shonky strategic asset sales which will lose money for investors as share prices fail to meet expectations.This is typical of the short-term non-strategic thinking by both major parties. There are so many areas of poor governance by both parties that I would need several speeches to do justice to them all. Neither party seems able to formulate a strategic plan for New Zealand’s development in the 21st century. With National retreating to the right in its desperation to retain the Treasury benches and with Labour moving in the opposite direction I think there is no real hope that New Zealand will see the magnitude of positive change that it now needs as proposed by New Zealand First. This change is in social development with special reference to education; in economic development with special reference to regional development; and in sustainable development so that we can turn round the disgraceful rate of degradation of our environment and learn to live and live well in the New Zealand that we should see as our heritage and not just as a place to plunder and flog off natural resources to mates overseas.It is time New Zealanders took a long hard look at the country we now are and also took a long hard look at whether the two main parties are really capable of delivering what New Zealand needs. Their past records do not bode well for the future. Posing posturing party leaders are not a good enough reason to choose either National or Labour. This is not the “John and Dave Show” and it is not about doing deals in foreign boardrooms or trades halls.New Zealanders need to look elsewhere to get the positive change they need. We are the only party that stands by the virtue of a society in which everyone gets a fair go. Ordinary people look at this place and shudder. They wonder who is actually on their side. Every day jobs go. Every day more land is sold to foreign buyers. House prices rocket. People wonder what they will be hit with next. People want some good news. We are the only party that can bring it.The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.