Moroney Sue: Motions — Family Support Tax Credit—Increase 
Moroney Sue: Motions — Family Support Tax Credit—Increase 
[Volume:638;Page:8346] 
SUE MORONEY (Labour) 
: 
 I think we have just heard excuse No. 500 as to why National made no investment in infrastructure in the whole decade it was in power. Maurice Williamson just told us that he did nothing while he was the Minister of Transport because he could not get his legislation on the Order Paper. That must be the best excuse I have heard yet as to why National did absolutely nothing about the state of our roads and our public transport in the whole decade it was in power. But now I know. 
Why does National not like this debate? Every single member of the National Party who has participated in this debate has said that he or she does not want to be debating this issue. The clear reason why those members do not want to debate this issue is that this debate gives a clear demonstration of which parties support families and which parties do not. Come election time everyone says they support families. When people want families to vote for them suddenly everyone is in support of families. But this is the debate that will really flush it out. Which parties actually vote for those types of policies that are of good practical use to families and which parties do not? I know that the National Party is not supporting this motion. I do not know what the National Party has against families but just as it will not support the 20 hours’ free childhood education policy it will not support this motion. What has the National Party got against families? 
 But to understand why we are debating this motion we need to go back a little bit because there is a context all around this. We could not be debating this motion at all if we did not have the successful economy that has been built around the term of this Labour Government. We do have that very successful economy and what we are debating now is the motion that says that some of that economic benefit will go to working families. 
I remind people in this House who may have forgotten because it may be some time since they have been involved in that period of time when they raised young children that all New Zealanders who have been involved in this process do know that raising a family is the time of most financial pressure in our lives. As we move through that whole age demographic raising a family has to place the most financial pressure on a person over the course of his or her lifetime. This measure will ensure that we can take that financial pressure off families because with the complexity of raising children these days families need as much pressure taken off them as possible. This measure actually reflects not just slogans and not just feel-good messages about families; it is good practical support that this Labour-led Government is bringing in for working families. 
The best thing about it is that the extension of the Working for Families package gives families options. Those members opposite who want to argue that somehow this Government is forcing issues upon families really have difficulty debating this particular motion because this measure gives families lots of options. It gives them the option to increase their income as working families. But if they wish to do so they could use this package to maintain their income and reduce their working hours and therefore spend more time with their children and that is good news for families. 
But it is not the only good news for families that is coming up on 1 April. Another initiative by this Government that will ensure that families can spend more time with their children is the 4 weeks’ paid annual leave as a protection for all workers. This is a great initiative for families. It means not only that workers will have more time for rest and recreation but that those families who do have young children or even older children can spend much more time during school holidays with their children—again another very family-friendly initiative from the Labour-led Government. 
Another time of financial pressure that springs to mind for me if we look over our lifespans—and again on 1 April this area will be further alleviated—is the period of time when people are in retirement and reliant on New Zealand superannuation for their income. On 1 April the rate of superannuation is increasing and that is good news for older families. 
The effect of these impacts—all these different initiatives—coming from yes a very busy Government despite what Maurice Williamson just tried to say in squaring off for his lack of performance when he was last in Government is bringing in an absolute wrap-around effect. It gives a combined effect that is a significant improvement to people’s lives. I want to tell members about a couple of real people—real-life instances I have come across recently that demonstrate this wrap-around effect that a number of different policies will have come 1 April. 
I want to tell members about a woman I talked to at a meeting in Cambridge last night. She talked to me about the effects of the policies that are coming in on 1 April from this Labour-led Government for her family. She said that her son and his family benefited greatly from the Working for Families package. The new initiative will make a real difference to the income of their family and therefore take significant financial pressure off. She then went on to tell me how she was a recipient of the rates rebate scheme brought in by the Labour-led Government. She then went on further to say how both her and her sister were going to also enjoy the increase in superannuation—again coming in on 1 April. 
So that is just one example of the combined wrap-around effect that Labour-led Government policies have in making a very real difference; it is not a bumper sticker slogan not shallow promises but good practical effects for people in their everyday lives. 
I give yet another example: just last week I was on a worksite in Matamata at a place called Metso Minerals which employs around 140 staff. For a town the size of Matamata that is a very large workplace indeed. When I met with the staff and talked to them about some of the initiatives coming up they thought it was almost too good to be true. They checked with me: “Is this really going to happen? Is this really what we’re going to get?”. I could give them in writing and verbally the information that confirmed it for them. The Working for Families package for those people was going to make a significant difference. 
I listened with interest to Dr Cullen speaking earlier today in this debate about a person with a spouse and two children. As at 1 April that person can now earn up to $40000 before paying any tax. Is that not a great thing? I was able to talk to the people at Metso Minerals about the fact that come 1 April they would through a Labour-led Government initiative get a 4th week of annual leave. They said: “But surely that can’t be paid leave?”. I said: “In fact it is. This is from the Government. Your employer will pay you for a 4th week of annual leave and that is even better for the time you can spend with your families.” They are of course looking forward to July because they were also very interested to hear about the KiwiSaver scheme that is coming up and that will have a real impact in that workplace. These are examples of the types of people who would suffer if National ever got a chance to run this country. 
I just want to refer back to Bill English’s speech earlier where he had the audacity the absolute audacity to take this Government to task about what caregivers in the health sector are paid. For goodness’ sake! By the time Bill English had finished as the Minister of Health the wages had gone backwards in the 1990s. Caregivers in the health sector had lost income. I know this because I was a union organiser in the aged-care sector at the time. I had to deal with the consequences of the Employment Contracts Act being enacted by the National Government and penal rates being stripped off those aged-care workers primarily middle-aged women working in the weekends having their incomes slashed. The audacity of Bill English to say that it is wrong for this Labour Government to keep increasing the minimum wage so that those wages can be increased! I am very pleased to stand up in support of this motion. Thank you.