Foss Craig: General Debate 
Foss Craig: General Debate 
[Volume:663;Page:10975] 
CRAIG FOSS (National—Tukituki) 
: 
 I move  
That the House take note of miscellaneous business 
. The National Government led by Prime Minister John Key and Minister of Finance Bill English is focusing on the things that matter. The Opposition finance spokesman is focused on the mirror. The Opposition leader is focused on the Opposition finance spokesman who is focused on the mirror. The Opposition leader is focused on his back. Tomorrow’s Budget is a step-up and a step change for New Zealand. It is a step towards real growth real incentives and a sustainable on-growing and brighter future for the New Zealanders whom Labour punished so badly for so long. Labour hurt so many and sent so many overseas looking for a brighter future. There were 9 long years of punishment for all from the “rich pricks” to the poorest but the game is up. It is over; fairness and equity are coming back. Economic leadership and economic confidence for New Zealanders are coming back and that will be evidenced in the Budget tomorrow. 
As the Reserve Bank noted this morning in its  
Financial Stability Report 
 New Zealand’s economy is so much less vulnerable now than it was just 2 years ago. We are in such better straits and such better form than we were just 2 years ago and we know in a global context with threats all around the globe the importance of prudent fiscal management and the management of our debt in encouraging New Zealanders to move away from bricks and mortar investment to financial assets. National’s solid economic credentials are stronger and it is a responsible economic manager with a growth plan and improved tax system which will be outlined tomorrow. There will be a tax system that removes the distortions the imbalances the shenanigans and the shambles that were created—and in fact encouraged—then ignored by the previous administration. 
New Zealand is borrowing $250 million per week simply to keep the economy turning over and the lights on—$250 million in the current situation. We have no room for any more borrowing whatsoever. There is a pretty long queue out there. We all know what is going on in Europe and that situation is also stressing our system. We have already brought spending under control. After crazy shambolic spending over many years we are bringing spending under control. We have a $1.1 billion cap on operational new spend and a $1.4 billion cap on capital investment. That is quite a change a focused change from the spend of the previous administration. 
We inherited a shambles. Over a year before the global crisis hit the previous Labour Government took New Zealand into recession. In fact the private sector of the New Zealand economy was in recession in 2004. That is the sector that creates jobs and feeds families but it was in recession for 4 or 5 years under the previous administration. What an oil tanker we are having to turn round but we will do it. Can anyone remember Export Year? It was a joke. We inherited a decade of deficits—10 years forecast borrowings to fund the promises the commitments and the unsustainable spending that that previous administration had put in place but did nothing about. We will be fixing the tax system under which anyone earning more than $50000 was deemed a “rich prick” by the previous administration. Well I remind members opposite that those supposedly rich pricks included the engine room of the New Zealand economy such as doctors teachers scientists police and even journalists. 
The previous administration created massive holes in our income tax rates trust tax rates corporate tax rates and portfolio investment entity tax rates and in the treatment of investment property. Labour members talked about that issue quite a lot to be fair to them but they did nothing about it other than perpetuate it and try to put band-aids on it. The tax system is about to be fixed. This Government is about fairness and equity and this Budget is about delivering fairness and equity to New Zealand. This Budget will deliver a historic rebalance of the New Zealand economy; fairness and equity are coming back. We have even pulled a decade of deficits back to about 6 years. After only 18 months the decade of forecasted deficits is down to about 6 years and in the current global environment that is very very good indeed. The New Zealand economy is already in so much better shape than it was just 2 years ago.