Hutchison Paul: General Debates 
Hutchison Paul: General Debates 
[Volume:611;Page:8130] 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON (NZ National—Port Waikato) 
: 
 It is patently obvious why no one noticed Mr Peck at the last flatulence tax meeting. With that sort of unmitigated conglomeration one can understand the situation. But he was a member of a party that 4 years ago brought out a credit card that said: “no new taxes”. I have here a little bit of paper that demonstrates that this Government— 
Mark Peck 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I seek leave of the House to table an email showing that the National Party is holding a meeting in Edgecumbe for which it is charging $10 a head for people to attend. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: It is not good form in this debate. 
Mark Peck 
: Point of order! I am seeking to table a document. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: It is not common courtesy— 
Mark Peck 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am seeking to table a document. I have sought leave to do that. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member has put the case. I will now ask: is there any objection to that course of action being taken? There is. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I think that Mr Peck has been around long enough—though I cannot be certain how long he will remain from hereon in—to know full well that if a member wants to table a document it is done at the end of the member’s own speech or at the end of the next speaker’s speech—but one does not interrupt that speaker. It is patently unfair ill mannered and unbecoming of him. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I thank the honourable member for his contribution; he is perfectly right. I know that the planet Mars is close to Earth today and that Mars is the god of war but that should not mar our proceedings in this House. I ask for courtesy and for an understanding of the Standing Orders. 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON 
: The Rt Hon Winston Peters is absolutely right. Mr Peck is unfair ill mannered and inappropriate in the point of order he made. That is typical of his party which 4 years ago came out with a credit card that said: “no new taxes”. I have here a piece of paper that describes Labour’s 18 new taxes and over and above those seven proposed new taxes. One of them of course just happens to be that absolutely utterly inane flatulence tax. What did that party say about that flatulence tax several years ago? Let us have a look at what the Hon Pete Hodgson said about that tax on 16 November 2001. He said: “I can offer you a personal viewpoint which is that to tax cattle and sheep in that way is a remarkably stupid thing to do. It’s precisely the wrong policy approach.” Well on that particular instance we agree with the Hon Pete Hodgson. But what did he then say on 30 April 2002? He said: “Today the Government announced that there will be no tax or levy on farming emissions of nitrous oxide or methane. We have completely rejected that option.” Was the Hon Pete Hodgson telling the truth when he said that Labour had completely rejected that option? It is just the same as the situation with Labour’s credit card. What did his mate the Hon Damien O’Connor say? On 14 September 2002 he said: “The Government’s decision to exempt the agricultural sector from emissions charges is a clear signal that we have the well-being of our farmers and citizens at heart.” 
The Government might say that it has the well-being of our farmers and citizens at heart but let us have a look at what the ministry’s own website has to say about the well-being of the citizens of New Zealand. According to the Labour Government’s climate change website tax revenue will be collected from individual New Zealanders through—from 2007—6 percent petrol price increases 12 percent diesel price increases 9 percent electricity price increases 8 percent gas price increases and to top it all off 19 percent coal price increases. That is what this Labour Government is perpetrating on ordinary New Zealanders. What does the National Bank estimate? It estimates that by initiating greenhouse taxes and exposing New Zealand to world trade with countries not hobbled by similar restrictions the Government has committed the country to a decrease in economic growth by as much as 1 percent a year. So here we have Damien O’Connor gaily saying that Labour has the well-being of our farmers and citizens at heart. Can we believe that? We obviously cannot. 
The Hon Pete Hodgson may say that signing up to the Kyoto Protocol is a no-brainer given the carbon credits but what is unique about the way that this Labour Government signed up? The Labour Government is the only Government in the world that has said it will nationalise carbon credits. The Labour Government is the only Government in the southern hemisphere whose country will be significantly adversely affected by ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. The National Bank on the Government’s own website has estimated a 1 percent effect on economic growth. The Labour Government is the only Government of the only country in the history of personkind if not the universe to introduce this inane tax.