Brownlee Gerry: Adjournment — Sittings of the House 
Brownlee Gerry: Adjournment — Sittings of the House 
[Volume:614;Page:10777] 
GERRY BROWNLEE (Deputy Leader—National) 
: 
 I rise to support the amendment to the motion moved by Dr Don Brash. I understand that I could well be the last speaker in the debate tonight although there is potential for one more and I would expect that that speaker will be Helen Clark herself—the woman who has had a fantastic year as Prime Minister; the woman who has had some fantastic experiences in leading the country. How do I know this? Because she told us. The Prime Ministerhas told us that she is the victim of her own success. Well when did we ever have a leader of this country who described himself or herself as a victim of success? I think that is borne of the fact that she is terrified every time she goes through the door of the Labour caucus because she does not know what Tariana Turia is going to be doing she does not know what Dover Samuels is up to she does not know what Steve Maharey is up to she has no idea whether Ms Mahuta is even going to turn up and at all times there is this huge reliance on the United Future party. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: Where is the Maori caucus? 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Mr Prebble asks an interesting question. He asks why members of the Maori caucus are not in the House talking tonight. Well there is a free function on! Does that answer the question? It must be terribly worrying for the Prime Minister to have to rely on United Future. I heard Peter Dunne before giving one of his famously sanctimonious speeches about how sensible his party is how proud it is to have supported this Government and how long it has continued in coalition. Well last Friday I was at a public meeting with one of his members who described the Labour Government as the most hopeless most irresponsible and most reckless in New Zealand’s history and he looked forward to the day it was out. So there is the sensible United Future party being represented— 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: Who was that? 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: —at a public meeting by Mr Alexander. He is the only decent member in that party. We just heard from Mr Anderton who is suddenly being a doyen of right-wing politics and of right-wing economies. He is the man who stands basking himself in the successes of the Labour Government throughout the 1990s—a man famed throughout the country for turning up with a $2000 cheque and $20000 worth of photography gear to make sure the picture gets into the newspaper. I ask Mr Anderton this: if he is so opposed to Winston Peters and his immigration policy—and I certainly do not think the National Party agrees with it—why is it that he has spent so many years in Opposition fighting foreign investment in this country fighting the scourge of foreign ownership in this country? Now suddenly feeling a bit of success he is a doyen of those policies and is out there telling New Zealand how good they are for them. No wonder his party fell apart. 
The big issue that needs to be talked about in this debate is the seabed and foreshore. I have heard other speakers talk about it tonight but I know that there are New Zealanders who tonight are wondering whether their camping site their little slice of New Zealand is going to be available to them for perhaps the last time this Christmas. They are the sorts of people who work hard and save all year to be able to put their gear in a caravan or pack up the trailer go to the beach and have a couple of weeks enjoying the sun and enjoying some of the best things this country can offer and this Government has put that under threat. It will not matter what is announced tomorrow. There will be no comfort for any New Zealander over the coming months. I bet that because this Government has been so recalcitrant in dealing with this issue there will be some protest groups up and down this country that do some stupid things that simply set race relations in this country back by decades. The fault for that will lie directly at the door of Helen Clark. 
The National Party does want to be back here on Thursday because we want to be heard on the seabed and foreshore issue. We have no confidence that Helen Clark is going to come up with a solution. We know that that solution will be grossly tempered by the extreme views of Tariana Turia. We know that even though the Minister of Conservation sits there laughing he must be terrified about what that decision will mean for the coastline in this country in the conservation estate. If anyone thinks that is not a big problem here is the quantity: 8700 kilometres is currently being claimed by Maori with claims lodged in the Maori Land Court. How long is the New Zealand coastline? About 19000 kilometres. So we have the thick end of 40 or more percent of our coastline now being claimed by Maori and the Labour Party is saying that it will set up the Mickey Mouse system of—what are they called—cultural-use titles and allow hapu iwi and everyone else to put their annotations on those titles. That will send shivers up the spine of New Zealanders. Talking about spine I see the member for Otaki Darren Hughes—the great white hope—laughing at the prospect that New Zealanders will lose their right to go to the beach. 
Opposition Member 
: “Helen’s handbag”! 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Yes “Helen’s handbag” as he is often called; a young man with a big future. All I can say is that if it were not for his varicose veins he would be completely translucent. 
The issue of 4 weeks’ holiday also came up in the debate tonight. What sort of a Government tells workers in this country that it has a surplus in excess of $7 billion—we know it did some tricky numbers around the accident compensation long-term liability figure—but that it will make them wait 4 years for an extra week’s holiday? Every worker will pay for that with a wage cap for each one of those 4 years. I have to say that the National Party will be on the hustings next year and in 2005 mopping up votes because New Zealanders are just not that silly. When they see a Government that is more interested in telling them how to think than in encouraging them to think for themselves they will reject it—and the list is very long now. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: It is OK Mr Speaker; it is only Russell Fairbrother. He is only a short-term member. He is leaving shortly. Everyone knows that. He came into the party with a huge reputation. He has sat in the back corner all year and has been able to ask only three questions in the House since the House began early in the year. That is sad. The Labour Party does not like clever thinkers. The Labour Party does not like free thinkers and it hates hard workers. The Labour Party cannot stand hard workers. [ 
Interruption 
] I say to Mr Hughes that our country has the proud boast of having a $17-an-hour economy. That is the average earnings per hour in this country. If we add in Helen Clark’s huge salary and add in the huge salaries from the private sector and the excessive salaries in the public sector we end up with an average of only $17 an hour. That tells me that there are people in Mr Hughes’ electorate who cannot afford Christmas this year. We see that member sitting there and smiling as the Government quietly takes from people the opportunity to go to a beach freely and enjoy a bit of the great indoors. He sits there and smiles while the Government cynically tells people that if they behave themselves and do not have a wage round for 4 years it will give them another week’s holiday. What will they do with that? They cannot afford what they have now. 
This Government does not have its eye on the best interests of New Zealanders. How can a Government skite about a $7 billion - plus surplus and not want to have New Zealanders’ incomes rising? Even in safe seats like Otaki the tide will run out and it will run out fast. Let me tell members about the Wanganui seat. It will be gone—it will be gone for all money. I know of a small clothing firm in Wanganui that employs 45 women mainly Maori women. This year that clothing company went to Mr Anderton and said that it could expand its business significantly if it went to the United States and was able to sell its product to the likes of Brook Brothers and various other stores. Mr Anderton’s officials said: “That’s looks good but we’d rather you went to a trade fair because then we can come too.” They are known of course as “Club MED” because of the extensive travel undertaken by officials in that department. When we got down to it no money was available. That member will be out after the next election.