Woolerton R Doug: Address in Reply 
Woolerton R Doug: Address in Reply 
[Volume:628;Page:142] 
R DOUG WOOLERTON (NZ First) 
: 
 Madam Assistant Speaker I would like to begin by congratulating the Governor-General the Prime Minister Margaret Wilson Clem Simich yourself and Ross Robertson on the achievement of high office. 
I would also like to congratulate my leader the Rt Hon Winston Peters. Unfortunately he cannot be here with us today because he has had to make a personal sacrifice and go to foreign shores representing our country—a country we all love dearly. We all understand that that is a tough job but somebody has to do it. He had to make the sacrifice and when he was asked to step up to the plate he did that proudly. We are very proud of him for that and I think he will do a marvellous job. 
Ribald and uncouth comment has been made about New Zealand First sitting on this side of the House—a side of the House that I am most comfortable with I might say because it is nice to be freed from the people who neither respect nor understand the way MMP works. One would hope they would get a handle on it. In fact when I was involved with the National Party the collective wisdom of the day was—and I remember people like Tony Ryall Nick Smith in his saner moments and people like them sitting in the seats of power in the National Party saying—that National needed to go into Opposition for a while. That was mainly because the people in the benches in front of those members were giving them a pain in the neck and they thought it was time they took over. They said that 3 years in Opposition would rejuvenate the outfit and get rid of a few people and that they would then be back in power. Oh dear how sad! Never mind those days have gone. 
The National Party is now entering its third term in Opposition. So help me those members opposite could spend four terms in Opposition if all they can do is yell and act in an uncouth manner as they have been doing since the beginning of this Parliament. It saddens me to see the party I was once a proud member of acting in that way. But I guess that the day I got out of that party and Tau Henare got in shows us where the job has got to since then. 
Let me tell members about how I see this term this Government and this enhanced confidence and supply agreement that New Zealand First has with the Labour-led Government. It is OK for those members opposite to laugh at us and carry on but that does not help senior citizens. The members who are laughing at us have not helped those people; New Zealand First has. We will gain for senior citizens a gold card entitling them to receive subsidies or help in their old age which National has talked about doing but has never done—and it is the same with Labour I might say. But New Zealand First is making sure it happens. 
Rodney Hide 
: Who resigned? 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: That is the other thing I might say while they are interjecting on me which is really rude. However much those members might try to put about some crude urban myth that New Zealand First is going to split apart and that there will be disaffections and all sorts of mayhem they can forget it; it simply is not going to happen.. We are tighter stronger and better than we have ever been before. I can assure members that anything they can throw at us will be deflected with ease. 
On top of what I have already read out superannuation will be set at 66 percent of the average weekly wage which is something that National was never able to do. In fact people have suspected that both National and Labour would first raise the age of entitlement and secondly lower the rate of entitlement itself. New Zealand First is doing the opposite to that. We would have liked the rate to be higher—there is no question about that—but we could not get above that so 66 percent it is. 
Hon Members 
: When? 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: Soon. That addresses the problem that superannuitants had when their income fell below the level of 65 percent of the net average income from time to time throughout the year. New Zealand First has fixed that problem in the enhanced confidence and supply agreement. 
New Zealand First has also ensured that another 1000 front-line police will be out on the beat very soon. They will be out there doing the job. It is all very well for Labour and especially for National and ACT to rant on about these matters but it is New Zealand First that will ensure that another 1000 police are out there protecting our citizens enhancing our way of life and making New Zealand a better place. 
It does not end there. There is an understanding—sure it is not in hard copy—about the land access issue. Gerrard Eckhoff raced around this country and basically did a good job of telling people that the land access issue was such a terrible thing. God bless Gerry wherever he is right now! The National Party agreed with ACT and they were going gangbusters to scare people about that issue. But what happened to Gerry Eckhoff? He gave all the votes he garnered from farmers to the National Party which actually does not deserve them. Gerry Eckhoff is out on his tail and the National Party is here cooing away and making uncouth noises at me. Which party has ensured that the land access issue will not proceed in the way it was going? New Zealand First has. So rather than taking the mickey the National Party should be praising us. I am sure that National members are not prepared to admit it today but behind the scenes I think they really are saying that we are doing a wonderful thing. 
Then we come to the reintroduction of the Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Bill which New Zealand First is going to support. We will do that not for the benefit of New Zealand First. Before my leader went away in the service of his country he asked me what we could possibly do for that sad old party that we were once members of. I will tell members what we can do. The National Party will be in trouble because it has all these talented new people here. They are wonderful; they have huge reputations. But they will sit on their backsides for 6 years yet they will not get any part of the ministerial responsibilities—they will not get anywhere near them—and they will upset the so-called front bench. Winston Peters said to me that we need to get the electoral integrity legislation back into Parliament to protect those people in the National Party that its newbies will be looking to kick out. New Zealand First will do that and I think that many people in the National Party will thank us for it albeit behind closed doors.