Cullen Michael: Appropriation (2008/09 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
Cullen Michael: Appropriation (2008/09 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
[Volume:649;Page:17787] 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 I move  
That the Appropriation (2008/09 Estimates) Bill be now read a third time and the Imprest Supply (Second for 2008/09) Bill be now read a second time 
. It was a former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson who once famously said that “a week is a long time in politics” and this week is proving a very long time in politics for the New Zealand National Party. Its members went out to their conference all beautifully orchestrated and with not a hair out of place. Everything was perfect; every blow-wave was perfect on every National Party MP—not counting its president actually in that particular case—and then what happened? Suddenly the wheels fell off—summarised today by Mr English walking down the travelator pushing and shoving with the media having a shouting match with the media trying to protect Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith and hide him away from the media because suddenly it had all gone wrong. And of course what was the answer? National puts up a paranoid conspiracy theory about the Labour Party! Unfortunately for National two of its MPs had already told us their view as to who it was who was recorded in the conversation. One told us he was a National Party activist and the other told us he was a person who held a joint ACT - National Party membership. I find the latter actually very credible in terms of the nature of the questions being asked. 
Those theories were the dirty tricks of a party that in 2005 had the Exclusive Brethren running a front campaign of a couple of million dollars on its behalf and that had the Exclusive Brethren and other funny types having private detectives following around the Prime Minister myself and various other people trying to find out an interesting life that could be exposed in the media. These were dirty tricks of a party that was very happy to use an illicit recording from the Labour Party conference for weeks on end. Mr English feasted off that with question after question every day. These were dirty tricks from a party that has 36 people working for Mr Key on the public tit sucking away and working on behalf of a National Party hoping to be elected as Government. These were dirty tricks from a party that engages in any form of attack upon the incumbent Government—Mr McCully with his disgraceful little blog and its remarks about the Prime Minister and indeed any other woman within the Labour Party. Dirty tricks from us? What compared with that? What is it all about? Well what it is all about Alfie is that National members have been caught out telling the truth which is the one thing the National Party can never forgive of its membership in the build-up to an election campaign. “Never be caught telling the truth” is the National Party slogan because we know what the strategy has been. 
Despite what we have just heard from one of the retiring members from the National Party—or he should be—the public like the major policies that this Government has put in place. They love KiwiSaver. They loved buying back KiwiRail. They love the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. They love Working for Families. They love the fact that we have the biggest investment in infrastructure that we have seen for 30 years within New Zealand. The public love all of that so the National Party policy has been: “We’ll do all that. We believe in all of that. We believe in the Labour Party policies just like we believe in tax cuts.” That is the new holy writ from the National Party. But we will add a bit more. What Mr English calls the “Labour-plus voters” the people who love Labour in terms of the policies say: “I want a bit extra in my pocket.” and that is what Mr Key promises them but no of course he would never borrow. He is borrowing for everything else but he would not borrow for tax cuts even though he said that they had spent all the money in next year’s Budget. I have never been able to add that up. If National has spent all the money in next year’s Budget how can we have tax cuts without borrowing for them on top when in fact we do not have cash surpluses any longer in this country? 
We found out that the National Party does have beliefs and it got caught out. One of its own activists engaged in conversation and said: “Why aren’t we saying National Party things Bill? Why aren’t we standing up and saying ‘I’m proudly National Party and here’s National Party policy.’ instead of saying ‘I’m proudly National Party and here’s Labour Party policy.’?” which is a pretty strange thing to be saying really when one thinks about it. If I went around saying “I’m proudly Labour and I support the National Party policies.” my colleagues would think I had gone stark raving bonkers. They would decide it is finally time to put the old stallion out to pasture and hope he could still enjoy life in his retirement in that particular respect. But no Mr English was caught saying that yes he wants to sell Kiwibank eventually. Then he said: “I mis-spoke” which I think is a loose interpretation of saying “I didn’t use my words carefully.” Well either one believes in selling Kiwibank or one does not and Mr English believes in selling Kiwibank. He thinks Kiwibank— 
Hon Member 
: He agrees with it. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: No he does not. He totally opposed it. He said it was stupid to have— 
Hon Bill English 
: It’s not worth anything. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Oh it is not worth anything so we should not sell it. Well if it is not worth anything then why would not one get rid of it? After all they got rid of Brian Connell. If that is the reason for not getting rid of people why did Brian Connell have to get out of the caucus in that particular way? No; Mr English believes that the State should not be owning Kiwibank. He believes that the State should not be owning KiwiRail. He believes that the State should not be supporting private savings through KiwiSaver. But when he was caught saying it he had to suddenly pretend: “I don’t believe this.” He had to do a humble apology. His face was like an entire series of dairy cows in Southland running around in little circles not knowing what to do. It was in such confusion. I mean talk about body English; that was facial English. That particular one was the most extraordinary picture of a man sitting there looking like a little boy in the dock saying: “I didn’t use my words very carefully when I said I thought Kiwibank should be sold eventually. I don’t think it should be sold.” If anybody believes that then they really must be joking. 
Bill English also said that National will sort out Working for Families eventually when it gets the chance. National promised to touch it not at all but to sort it out at some point down the track because when all the money has been blown on tax cuts and it has run out of options it would have to start finding some other things to do. That is when just like Mr English in 1998-99 those members opposite will discover they have to do some things—like cutting New Zealand superannuation which they did in 1998-99 because Mr English has said that retirement income provision in New Zealand is too generous. Mr Key has said that the age of eligibility should be raised. Mr English and Mr Key have both attacked KiwiSaver. They should not tell us that they have had some sudden conversion. They have to go on the road to Damascus before they can have the conversion and in this case neither of them has bothered to actually travel that road. They think all they need to do is to hire a publicity agent to draw a map of a road to Damascus and that is sufficient to announce a conversion on that basis. Nobody believes in that rubbish. 
People believe that Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith PhD and Bar did actually say that he thought they would want to adopt policies that were National Party policies. They know that in 1990 Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith promised to abolish the student tertiary fees and he promised he would resign if they were not abolished. He promised to remove that toll gate on knowledge and he built it higher and higher every year. They also know that National promised to remove the superannuation surcharge—“No ifs no buts no maybes; the surcharge will go.”—and National increased the New Zealand superannuation surcharge at the earliest opportunity. National promised to look after health care and tried to privatise it unsuccessfully. It promised not to touch beneficiaries and it cut benefits. It promised not to cut wages and the Employment Contracts Act cut wages and conditions for many New Zealanders in 1991-92. National promised and promised and promised and it broke and broke and broke those promises the last time that it ran from Opposition and became the Government. And if National ever got into Government again it would break those promises again and revert to type because it is in the National Party DNA. 
Mr Key’s motto is: “Whatever it takes.” and whatever it takes is any promise. Mr English thought he was writing the policy. He thought Mr Key was just a smiling front man. What he has now found out is that Mr Key is starting to get a bit worried about all those plans. It has all gone wrong. The wheels are falling off. Mr English is fighting the media in the corridors Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith is being hidden away to gaze at his own photos of himself for next year’s calendar and Mr English appears in front of the public to make some kind of Stalinist show trial confession about his errors. What a pitiful few days this has been for the National Party.