Maharey Steve: General Debate 
Maharey Steve: General Debate 
[Volume:621;Page:16805] 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
: 
 Members have probably heard of “The Sound of Silence”; that was Gerry Brownlee the sound of irrelevance speaking just then. As members know we are coming to the end of the year—it is prize giving season. We are now trotting off to our various schools. I went to the Palmerston North Girls High School prize giving on Monday evening and watched talented energetic young New Zealanders walk across the stage to take prizes then go off to celebrate with their friends. 
As I sat there watching those talented energetic young New Zealanders I could not help thinking of Dr Brash. Somehow they brought him to mind. One year into his term I wondered whether Dr Brash would have been on the stage that night if he had been at Palmerston North Girls High School. If we roll back a year we would say that at the beginning of the year he began with high expectations. He said: “I want us to attack the Government with urgency with vigour with rigour.” Actually he would not have said it like that—he would have said it a lot more quietly and a lot less energetically but he would have said that. Secondly he said: “We are going to develop policy. We are going to say what it is.” Thirdly he said: “I do not want us to be afraid of the electorate and to water down our message.” 
He began with such promise. The country watched and thought that at the end of year prize giving he would be there. But by mid-year the hope had faded if not died. We found then the “er ah” flip-flops of the Dr Brash brand of politics. He said that he was not sure whether he could deliver on policy any more. He said that he had five speeches he was definitely going to do but that now he definitely was not going to do them and that he would definitely leave them until next year or that maybe he would not. By the time he got through that nobody knew what Dr Brash stood for at all. 
We have come to the end of the year and we are asking why he finds it so difficult. Heading towards the end of the year he would have to say that he has no policy. We are told that the policy process in the National Party has now completely collapsed. He has no talent. The best sort of talent he seems to have is Gerry Brownlee who stood up before and gave us the sound of irrelevance. Dr Brash himself has said: “I guess what surprised me is the sheer enormity of the workload. I knew it would be tough but I did not realise how demanding it was going to be.” It is not a pretty picture. 
Meanwhile this weekend a unified well-led confident Labour Party will assemble on the North Shore of Auckland. Its members will be going to the annual conference of the great Labour Party the oldest party in the country. The country is run currently by a Labour-Progressive coalition. Those eager people at that conference will be celebrating under the following theme: Labour with New Zealand celebrating the achievements of New Zealanders. 
Those members have only from Friday until Sunday to celebrate. I alone have to talk about the Bio Commerce Centre at Massey the record drop in unemployment in the Manawatu the heroes who assisted in the floods in the Rangitikei and Manawatu the apprentices who graduated this year the successes of the Universal College of Learning the high-tech businesses that are working in defence and the Army and Navy which are doing things all over the world. By the time I am finished we will all have to go home. Mrs King will not have a chance to speak of all the things that can be celebrated in her electorate. Mr Swain will be angry with me for taking all the time. Ms Chadwick will be demanding another day to celebrate Rotorua. That will be the mood of the great Labour Party at its conference on the North Shore of Auckland. This year it will celebrate the achievements of New Zealanders. 
In that context I return to Dr Don Brash and ask whether he would get a prize. In my view the only prize he would get is that of the pupil least likely to succeed. Looking at Lynda Scott’s glum face across the House I can see that she agrees. She is ready to return and take over the reins of leader when he goes away.