Adams Paul: Financial Review Debate 
Adams Paul: Financial Review Debate 
[Volume:607;Page:4152] 
PAUL ADAMS (United Future) 
: 
 No doubt many of us have heard of the “kiss” principle—“keep it simple stupid”. Yet in reality how often do we operate it? If we spend money without building people of principle we will ultimately fail. So let us look at one of life’s greatest challenges such as bringing up children and ask how the ”kiss” principle works here. Children are worth investing in. As United Future’s spokesperson on youth I have a passion to see a good return from our investment in this area. When a child is born do we not just love that gorgeous little bundle that we bring home? But we all know that babies grow and by the time they reach 2 years old they realise that yes indeed they do have a mind of their own and “mum and dad I’m going to start using it.” The interpretation of this is “yes you may have been nice to me up until now but I still declare war.” I have discovered that that war normally continues for at least 20 years! 
But let me help members here; they do not need to be concerned with the complex issues. Members should come back to the simple issues of life train the children in them and they will have great results. On the back of our toilet door we had a poster on which were listed the deeper areas of life—the complex and hard areas of life that are essential for children to learn if they are to succeed. Let me quote a few of them: “If you open the door shut the door. If you borrow something give it back. If you want people to be nice to you be nice to them.” Yes we may laugh at those quotes yet in reality as simple as they sound they are incredibly challenging to instil into our children yet instil them we must if we want great citizens. 
My point today as I speak on this bill is that it is very easy to make life far more complex than is necessary; for example by changing the meaning of a word. Who really wants to rewrite the dictionary every time we change a law? Let us keep life simple so that the average person can understand it. I come back to children. We often ask them exactly which part of “no” they are having trouble understanding. Another helpful hint in bringing up children is that parents need to say “no” to a lot more things that they are currently saying “yes” to. “Yes” may be easier on them in the short term but a few more noes are far more effective in the long term. 
So why all this talk of simplicity? Well personally many of us and especially politicians try to make life far more complex than it was ever intended to be and complexity normally costs far more. Look at our own childhood memories. What do members remember? I guarantee it is those simple things that cost little apart from time. Most people on their deathbed often wish they had spent more time on the simple things in life that are normally free. 
I want to close on one word that is very important to a healthy society a word that is imperative to the well-being of children and a word that is very important to me. Study shows also that it is vitally important to the growth of our economy. It is a word that is clearly defined in the  
Collins Concise Dictionary 
 and a word that does not require expansion or greater clarification. But it is a word that is currently under threat and a word that I will fight with all that I have within me to keep in its current context. What is this word? The word my friends is “marriage” which is defined in the dictionary as “The state or relationship of being husband and wife. The legal union or contract made by a man and a woman to live as husband and wife.” 
This word needs to be respected not pulled apart if we want a truly great society. Simplicity is the way forward and that is why United Future— 
Sue Bradford 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I wish to pick up on the same point of order as my colleague Dr Lockwood Smith. Laudable as the member’s sentiments may be I cannot find anything in his speech to do with the financial reviews of any Government department. 
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: I thank the member. I refer all members to Standing Order 332. Members need to relate their speeches to the performance and financial measures that the Government is taking. 
PAUL ADAMS 
: I will speak to Sue Bradford’s point. United Future stands for the family. The family is the greatest thing for the economy that there will ever be. And as we rebuild the family in this country and teach those principles members will find that indeed our financial expenditure in the nation will drop dramatically.