Luxon ChristopherGENERAL DEBATECHRISTOPHER LUXON (Leader of the Opposition): I move That the House take note of miscellaneous business. Can I just say pretty soon this Parliament is going to come to an end. But more importantly this Government is going to come to an end. I have to say that this place has already got a bit of the endofschool year feel about it hasn't it? Because we've got a Labour class on the other side and they lost their proper teacher a few months ago and they've got a substitute teacher at the moment and the kids in the class are trying hard to make that teacher cry. They're trying to make them quit. They're doing everything they possibly can to get a new leader and a new teacher in place and the new substitute teacher is trying to put a brave face on it. He's trying really hard so the rest of the school doesn't see how hard it is. But I want you to know we hear it because we can see it. We know that this Labour class is really struggling. And the substitute teacher managed to get rid of a few of the rowdy kids early. He got rid of Michael Wood and Kiri Allan and Stuart Nash and they left the classroom and they were put in time out. And then some of you might remember he did a roll call and he said Meka are you here? Meka are you here?" and no Meka had shot through. She wasn't coming back either.Hon Dr Duncan Webb: Point of order Mr Speaker. I understand it's appropriate to refer to members by their full name.SPEAKER: That's correct and it's my role to call that out. While I'm on my feet there have been a number of things. I'm going to put it down to we're so close to an election that members think anything goes. I think it's pretty bad form though Dr Webb to interrupt someone in a general debate. In a general debate we debate all kinds and all manner of things and that's what's going to happen. I will give however a general—because it is becoming more prevalent where nicknames not full names and honorifics come in or go out depending on which one it is. And so in this case seeing there was an interruption I'm going to give the member some extra time to make up for it.CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Thank you Mr Speaker. I really appreciate that because there's so much I want to say. But the problem is this. It's that the substitute teacher Chris Hipkins can't actually run the class and now he's making up the curriculum each and every day. And here's what happened. He actually took a group of his top students and he said to them "Can you work on some economics projects for me?" And they were really enthusiastic about this school project because the school project was something called a wealth tax. Two of the smartest kids—two of the smartest kids Grant Robertson and David Parker—they partnered up and they said "This is our chance. We're going to work really hard. We're really excited about this school project." And they put extra time into it and they did everything. And one of them diligent David—diligent David—he went off and he went beyond the recommended reading and he went off and he actually discovered a guy called Thomas Piketty. Now he read all 696 pages of Thomas Piketty and he came back and him and Grant were working very excitedly on the new project and it was exciting. But you know what happened? Chris Hipkins then thought about it and he thought about them presenting the project to the whole school and he said "No no we've got to stop that. We're not doing that any more." And so he pulled it out from his top team. That's exactly what happened. And so diligent David Parker said "Look I find it untenable. It's totally untenable. I cannot be the revenue monitor any more. But I'm not so untenable that I won't stay on the school council." That's basically what he did. He said "I'll stay on." And I'd say that a confident teacher would actually say "Now listen here David you can't disagree with me in front of the whole school." But David Parker gets to do whatever David Parker wants to do because the substitute teacher has lost authority in the classroom is what has happened there. And then there was the finance Minister Grant Robertson. He was the partner of David Parker. And he said in front of the school assembly he'd been humiliated. And do you know why? Because someone stood up in the school assembly—it was actually Nicola Willis—and she announced Chris Hipkins' GST policy that Grant Robertson then opposes. And I guess poor Grant Robertson is getting used to this because if you go back through the record it's quite profound. He wanted that fuel subsidy to end but actually Chris Hipkins said "No no we're going to carry that on." He liked his wealth tax his little project that he was doing with David Parker and that got nixed at the last minute after being led on. And now it's the GST that's got knocked on the head as well. The question you've got to ask yourselves is: how much more humiliation will Grant Robertson put up with you know? He's already moved to the list. He's got one door sort of outside the classroom one foot inside the classroom and I don't think it's going to take much more for him to actually move on either. Now I've got to say Chris Hipkins is looking desperate. He's looking like he's out of control or he's not in control and he's making this curriculum now up on the fly. And the problem is that he said there'd be a reset but actually nothing ever follows from it afterwards. There's no alternatives that are put in place. And he's just chucking stuff out there each and every day and the kids aren't keeping up and there's no alternatives happening.He actually doesn't know what he stands for. And if you think about it—Let's Get Wellington Moving. Now he doesn't apparently want that as part of the curriculum any more but the class don't know what they're supposed to be doing instead as a result. He doesn't want Auckland light rail to be part of the curriculum any more. But the problem is they've spent their whole time all the years they've had at school working on Auckland light rail and they've got nothing else to do as a result. So I've got to tell you it's no wonder that that Labour class is incredibly restive it's incredibly miserable and all you can say to them is that "Look the term is coming to an end; your term is coming to an end." And all I'd say on behalf of New Zealanders is that it can't come sooner because the sooner the better. I do want people to know that a National Government in a new school term is going to get things done. I'm telling you that's what we're going to do. That's why we've actually been at work. We've announced 30 different policies that are actually here to improve New Zealanders' lives about actually common-sense practical pragmatic solutions to the things that they're wrestling with. And that's what will get New Zealand back on track isn't it? And I'm telling you now a National Government's going to rebuild the economy we're going to make sure we restore law and order we're going to make sure we deliver better health and education and we're going to make sure that this is a place that if you're prepared to work hard you can get ahead and you can do well for yourself. Mr Speaker I have to tell you: the substitute teacher has done his time. He knows it his class knows it and New Zealand knows it. They want a change. They want a National Government that will get New Zealand back on track and that's what they're going to get on 14 October. Thank you very much Mr Speaker."