Key John: Customs and Excise (Motor Spirits) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Key John: Customs and Excise (Motor Spirits) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:623;Page:18610] 
JOHN KEY (National—Helensville) 
: 
 I want to follow on from the words of my colleague Mr Williamson who is quite correct. National does want to invest far more heavily in our infrastructure. But I want to draw the debate to Part 2 in a couple of ways. The first is to say without stating the obvious that there is a reason why the Labour members who are in the Chamber today are not hooting hollering and getting terribly excited in this debate. The very simple reason for that is that this is a deeply unpopular tax. I will tell the Committee why it is so deeply unpopular and why we know that to be so. There is something very sinister very deceitful and rather dishonest happening with regard to this legislation. 
The Hon Dr Michael Cullen the Minister of Finance was very happy to put this tax on when it was to happen well and truly before the election. He was very happy to do that except that one day late last year he toddled down to the Chamber and in the answer to a supplementary question asked by the honourable member Peter Brown he said he was suspending the introduction of this petrol tax on the basis of world oil prices. So I got to my feet and I asked Dr Cullen to tell us expressed in New Zealand dollars—because there is the oil price component in the exchange rate to consider—exactly what the rate was that he was targeting. Well he did not have an answer to that. The normally chipper chirpy Minister of Finance who gets a bit lippy in the Chamber did not have an answer to that one. He did not want a bar of it. When we went off to the officials and asked them what the answer was they said that they had given him lots of advice. That answer did not quite correlate with the written parliamentary question where I asked Michael Cullen to produce the advice and he said that he did not have any. 
There is a reason that the Government does not want the petrol tax to come in. It has nothing to do with economics the impact on the economy or whether oil prices are US$40 or US$45 a barrel. This Government is running the biggest surplus in New Zealand’s history while workers are going down the drain with higher mortgages and higher credit card bills. The Government does not have the guts to front up and— 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: To infer that anyone lacks courage is a personal reflection and is out of order. The member will desist from that. 
JOHN KEY 
: This Government absolutely lacks the fortitude to come to the Chamber and tell the people of New Zealand it is going to take another 5c per litre in petrol tax from them at a time when it is running a $7.4 billion surplus. It is not 5c per litre for the record. It is 5.6c per litre because there is GST to add on top of it. 
I want to add a second point. [ 
Interruption 
] No it never ends. Not only do Government members not want to front up but here is a very interesting point. Michael Cullen has spent the last 4 or 5 years trying to tell every journalist in the country that we do not understand accrual accounting. We are all idiots; we are looking at a $7.4 billion surplus. According to the very bright Michael Cullen we do not understand accrual accounting. There is a $7.4 billion surplus but we should be looking at available cash because that is the issue in accrual accounting in all the capital expenditure. So what is the Minister doing? Let us look at that. He is putting a $200 million petrol tax on at a time when he could go to his other capital expenditure and spend the same amount—$200 million—on roads every year and it would cost his surplus $12 million. That is the truth of it. 
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith 
: Really! 
JOHN KEY 
: Yes. It is $12 million because he has to pay it exactly right—the financing cost. 
So when it comes to suiting Michael Cullen we are all idiots and do not understand accrual accounting but when it comes to fronting up he is not happy to front up at all. 
National will build a lot more roads than this Government ever will. National will get Tauranga Auckland and many other parts of the country going again. 
Hon Judith Tizard 
: Will take credit for what we have done! 
JOHN KEY 
: Judith Tizard has nothing to be proud of with regard to what is happening in Auckland because very little is happening indeed. Every year we have spent the same amount of money—that is the great illusion and great myth from the Labour Government. It is not true. And National will do it at a time when every worker in New Zealand will have more from his or her taxes because we are not greedy and we know the difference between foolish and wise Government spending. This Government does not know that. 
This measure is a disgrace. That is why those members hang their heads in shame—and so they should.