King Annette: Address in ReplyText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKing Annette: Address in Reply[Sitting date: 21 October 2014. Volume:701;Page:12. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon ANNETTE KING (Acting Deputy Leader—Labour):I move That the following words be added to the Address: “and expects over the next 3 years to see every child grow up in a warm dry home; the number of affordable homes built increased; every New Zealander have access to affordable health care; wages for all rising faster than the cost of living; jobs created and unemployment back under 4 percent; exports increased as a percentage of GDP; the economy diversified towards value-added goods and services; economic and social inequality reduced; targets to measure and reduce child poverty; a cross-party approach to addressing domestic and sexual violence; real measures to target climate change and improve our sustainability; a plan for the recovery of Canterbury; and the Government to be guided in their work by the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi; because without these commitments and goals New Zealand will not grow or move forward to the future New Zealanders deserve.”Mr Speaker can I begin by congratulating you on your re-election as Speaker. It seems to me that you took on the role somewhat reluctantly initially but you have grown to enjoy the job and perhaps it is the liberation from the interminable National Party caucus meetings that has seen a spring in your step—Mr SPEAKER: I could not possibly comment.Hon ANNETTE KING: —and a twinkle in your eye. But the Opposition over the next 3 years has one expectation from you: relentless fairness. As Victor Hugo wrote: “Being good is easy what is difficult is being just.” We want both—good and just. I will be on hand to offer you unsolicited advice whether you need it or not and I am sure I will receive your standard response. Congratulations to Chester Borrows Deputy Speaker and to his two assistants Lindsay Tisch and Trevor Mallard. Trevor I have no doubt you will be just but the challenge is to be good.Congratulations to all the newly elected members of Parliament. It is a terrific honour to represent New Zealanders in this House and a great responsibility as well. And welcome back to all the returning members of Parliament from all sides of the House. It was a long hard-fought campaign but the reward is the privilege of serving our country as its elected representatives.I would like to particularly recognise the new and returning Māori members of Parliament. The silver lining for the Labour election was the return of six of the seven Māori seats to Labour. There has been a significant vote of trust in Labour by Māoridom and we will ensure that that trust is not misplaced by doing all we can to advance its aspirations. This is a good opportunity to acknowledge the National Party’s change of heart on the retention of the Māori seats. In the end National usually comes round to Labour’s policies. Nuclear-free New Zealand Working for Families interest-free student loans KiwiSaver the Cullen fund—I could go on.I would also like to congratulate the members of Parliament elected in Canterbury. There is a lot of work ahead for you and for the people of the region and I wish you the very best for your endeavours on their behalf. Be assured of Labour’s support over the years ahead.Finally congratulations to the Prime Minister on your party’s fine victory at the election. Securing a third term is not an easy feat but you have achieved it. Of course with it comes huge responsibility. In your seventh year in Government no longer when things go wrong can it be blamed on Helen Clark’s Government or even on poor old Mickey Joseph Savage. It is time for the Government to step up it is time to own its decisions and it is time to take responsibility.The result of the election from a Labour perspective was not what we had hoped for. Voters on board have given us a message and the measure of our party will be how we pick ourselves up take the advice of New Zealanders and return to represent them in a manner that reflects their aspiration and needs.We are pleased that we have won a seat on the United Nations Security Council. It is a significant result and builds on the great reputation we have in international relations. It reflects a decade of hard work started by Helen Clark and Phil Goff and concluded by John Key and Murray McCully. International relations have always been an area of policy that Labour strongly believes in. When the United Nations was first formed the then New Zealand Labour Prime Minister Peter Fraser said in San Francisco in 1945 that members of the organisation should undertake “to preserve protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms and in particular the rights of freedom from want freedom from fear freedom of speech” and I commend those words to this Government because they are just as relevant today as they were in 1945. It is significant to secure a seat on the Security Council but at the end of the day that was about numbers. Now it is about how we use that position and we must stand firmly on the commitment we gave when seeking that privilege and that is to be the voice of small nations.Like many New Zealanders we are concerned at the haste in which we are being led into conflict where we do not know what our involvement will be what the outcome will be and what the exit strategy is. Like many New Zealanders we do not feel that the case has yet been made to us to be involved in the conflict with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The Prime Minister’s response to serious questions from the public from the media and from the Opposition is too casual it is too evasive and it feels like we are being fitted out for a decision that is already made. Any decision must be considered and debated thoroughly not rushed through glibly in a climate of claims about domestic beheadings or security titbits dropped by the Prime Minister at media stand-ups. It is reprehensible to use fear as a weapon to persuade the public. It can lead to seeds of doubt in the trust that is placed in the Prime Minister unless that trust is backed up. And trust is lacking at this point and it is self-inflicted by the Prime Minister.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Rubbish!Hon ANNETTE KING: His comment Mr Brownlee on the meeting in Washington last week that it was just a regular routine meeting was demonstrably untrue. It was at odds with international reports. It was at odds with defence personnel. It was at odds even with President Obama. In fact the meeting has been described as a gathering of coalition members to plan a strategy against ISIS in Iraq. And some of us do remember the gung-ho approach of John Key in 2003 and his insistence that we send troops to Iraq. That was something the Labour Government refused to do without a UN mandate which never came. The Prime Minister keeps hinting of action including troops on the ground which is something he said before the election would not happen.He has also stated that a decision on New Zealand’s involvement is weeks away. If a decision is weeks away Prime Minister it gives us plenty of time for that decision to be made by this Parliament and not by the executive. This House must be provided with the same briefings that Cabinet receives. Any decision that involves New Zealanders and puts them or this country in harm’s way must be done in an open and transparent way and Labour is determined to take the debate to the Government on this and all other fronts. We have to do that because we believe that this Government has already shown that it needs to be held to account.Since being re-elected John Key has made some big promises and he made them again today. He said that he will tackle child poverty that he will address the housing crisis and that he will improve wages create more jobs and create more health services and access to education. These are all laudable goals they are admirable sentiments and they need to be backed up by a real plan of action.Let us take housing. For almost 6 years the National Government ignored the growing housing crisis—particularly in Auckland and somewhat in Christchurch—denigrating those who raised the issue in this House and outside. A year out from the election the Government’s polling told it that housing was a real issue for New Zealanders and a series of sticking plaster solutions were slapped in place. To date the result Dr Smith has been five new houses built in Auckland in the so-called Auckland Housing Accord zones. We have heard plenty from the Government on addressing this issue—plenty of talk and no action. And splitting responsibility for housing between three portfolios and three Ministers is not doing something; it is spreading the blame for doing nothing. It is a housing policy by committee.The Kiwi dream of homeownership is fast disappearing under this Government. And while the crisis creeps further and further into the housing market driving up rents and mortgages what does this Government decide to do? It decides to sell off billions of dollars of State houses with no guarantee that the resources will go back into social housing. In many cases they will end up simply as expensive private rentals or be sold to agencies that will struggle to meet the cost of managing them. The Salvation Army is held up as an example of such an agency but it has already said that it is not ready to take on a large number of State houses so Bill English changed tack. He said they will sell houses to anybody not just to social agencies. They can sell them to banks they can sell them to investors they can sell them to speculators. He said: “We can sell to anybody.” That is the mantra of this Government. It is a recipe for doing more harm to those who are at the bottom of the housing market. I have to tell the Government that its latest announcement on housing to privatise tens of thousands of State homes has no mandate. The Government members have no mandate. They never campaigned on it. They never gave a hint they were going to do this.But some things like the well-being of our kids and the ability to afford a roof over their heads are not “nice-to-haves”; they are part of a decent and a compassionate society. We will reach across this House and back policies that actually deal with these issues properly because it is time for real solutions. At the next election New Zealanders will judge this Government on the result of these policies.The hallmark of this Government’s response has been to shift the blame on everyone else the doozy of them all being Bill English claiming that local housing planning laws are responsible for poverty. With a claim as stupid as this it is hard to take the Prime Minister seriously when he says he wishes to address child poverty—something that he and his Government denied existed for the last 6 years. Call it anything else; just do not call it child poverty. But he knows that New Zealanders care about child poverty. In July MMResearch found 80 percent of people agreed child poverty is a problem in New Zealand and just 19 percent thought the Government was doing enough to address it.None the less I am an optimist on the well-being of our most vulnerable children—I just have to be—so I am going to offer the Prime Minister some advice and I hope that he takes it. If he is really serious about tackling child poverty if he really believes that making sure all of our children have the food they need to grow and learn if he really understands that it is not acceptable for families trying to raise three children on $5 a week after their rent if he truly wants to make sure that every single child growing up in New Zealand has a chance to succeed like chances that he himself had—if he really believes all that he will walk the walk and he will talk the talk. He will take his aspirational statements and he will commit them to a firm target and a firm measure and that means making reducing child poverty a public service target. Right now there are 10 such targets. They are admirable targets like increasing participation in early childhood education increasing immunisation and so on but there is no target for reducing child poverty. That needs to change because that is what a Government that actually cares about our kids would do. It would set targets and it would take responsibility for meeting them. Make no mistake: child poverty is a shame on this Government and on this nation and Labour will hold John Key’s Government to account for it.We will vigorously oppose policies that make things worse for New Zealanders. We will oppose the removal of New Zealanders’ rights at work. This legislation is a tragedy for every single worker who is treated unjustly and who has no legal recourse. It is a pathway to making employment even more precarious for thousands of men and women especially our young people in our communities. It is a tragedy for the tens of thousands who will find their incomes dropping further and further behind the cost of living and society becoming less and less fair.New Zealanders have been told that wage increases need to come from productivity gains. I have heard Mr Joyce say this many times. I have got a question for him today that I would like him to answer: how do we get more productivity out of 45000 home-care workers who earn close to the minimum wage? Do they hang out only half the washing of the old people when they call in? Do they clean only the toilet bowl and not the seat when they go to clean their houses? How do you get more productivity out of them? Why does the Government not face the fact that pay increases are needed now for people carrying out work that most of us would not want to do?We will oppose the weakening of environmental protections in New Zealand. Last term we offered to come to an agreement on the more benign parts of the proposed Resource Management Act changes but the Government made it clear that it wants wholesale change. We will not support wholesale change. The Resource Management Act is the way in which New Zealanders have a say in what happens where they live how their environment is treated—Hon Dr Nick Smith: What about some houses?Hon ANNETTE KING: —and what the future of their communities will look like Dr Smith. I am told that the Prime Minister has instructed his Ministers to put a green tinge over their portfolios. I have to say that that has to be seen as a cynical political ploy rather than a genuine commitment to our environment.“Undemocratic” is a word that I think we are going to hear a lot about over the next 3 years. Certainly we will hear that word as the Government continues to pervert the use of the Official Information Act. I have to say that I was astounded to hear the Prime Minister admit just last week to gaming the system. I was not astounded that it happened—you have only to look at how many complaints are now being made to the Ombudsman—but by how many are as a result of Ministers and departments not complying with the law. I am astounded that Mr Key—the Houdini when it comes to avoiding taking blame—should admit to it. Compare that with his claim when he first came into Government. Maybe he has forgotten it so I will remind him. He said: “My style is to be open and transparent and take people with me.” I have to say that open and transparent is not how I would describe his Government’s response to Official Information Act requests.A good example was a report on child poverty Prime Minister. Did the Prime Minister know that that report was held back for 17 months—17 months? It took multiple complaints to the Ombudsman and it got released—finally got released—after the election. It was withheld not because there were top secrets in it but because it was politically embarrassing. When the Chief Ombudsman herself says that she is very concerned then this abuse of the Official Information Act has to stop and this House has to censure such behaviour.I think we will hear the word “undemocratic” again and again as more dirty politics are unravelled over the coming months and the attacks of institutions and individuals who act in the public good are revealed.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Oh stop talking about your leadership campaign.Hon ANNETTE KING: I look forward Gerry to seeing what comes out in the dirty washing. I am sure there are going to be some rather large items there. I think political motives are going to be laid bare. The worst of it is not about politicians being attacked—after all we are a pretty tough breed in here—but as Rod Oram noted in the Sunday Star-Times recently—Hon Maurice Williamson: Oh!Hon ANNETTE KING: I hear the old grunter up the back there Maurice Williamson laughing at the name of Rod Oram. Can I say that he said something that so many New Zealanders believe and maybe—just maybe—if you listen you might actually agree.Hon Todd McClay: Who cares what he said?Hon ANNETTE KING: Well I believe it and I care. He said that many people—scientists academics health professionals concerned citizens—have been smeared and abused by people working on behalf of the National Party. That is reprehensible. It is reprehensible and some of it has come out of Ministers’ offices and unbelievably some of it even out of the Prime Minister’s own office. As Rod Oram says they are destroying some good people and good society. They are harming our good name as New Zealanders and our reputation and undermining our values and our principles.In this term of Parliament the consequences of this Government’s past actions will come home to roost and that includes the young Minister now sitting in the front row Simon Bridges. Some of his decisions will come home to roost particularly the decisions about the much-heralded economic boom because that economic boom is turning into an endless stream of bad news about dairy prices and manufacturing lay-offs. You know the National Party members always laugh when we talk about manufacturing lay-offs and job losses. You see they do not believe it.I have to say that the years of health cuts are starting to show through. When you have senior doctors and senior members of the medical community upping and leaving because there is not enough money in health you have got a problem. I have to say to the new Minister of Health—and congratulations new Minister—you have got to smarten up your attire. It is really not up to scratch. You need some brighter ties and so on. But can I say to the new Minister of Health that I want an assurance from him that this country is ready for Ebola. I want this Minister to assure New Zealanders that we are ready for Ebola. We have made huge cuts in public health funding Minister. You will find that is correct. We have made cuts in hospital funding. As the Minister will know better than most disease does not honour country borders and just saying that we can hide behind the fact that Africa is many miles away will not protect New Zealanders.Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: Ring up. I’ll give you a briefing on it.Hon ANNETTE KING: Minister do not interject—take a call and assure New Zealanders of the readiness to deal with this potentially deadly disease. It is not a laughing issue. I was the Minister of Health who had to deal with bird flu and with severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and I know we have a ministry that is capable of putting together extremely good processes. So I am saying Minister that you should inform this country of exactly what is in place. The Prime Minister said this week: “Ebola is hard to contract. You have to get it.” Well I am not sure exactly what that means. But I have to say that it is an issue that is going to face the world. As the Secretary-General of the World Health Organization has said it is a problem across the world not just in Africa.Hon Hekia Parata: Open up nominations again.Hon ANNETTE KING: Well now I will get on to you Hekia—do not worry. We are told that the expansion of charter schools is about to proceed at a pace. National has given a party that got fewer than 17000 votes the role of driving through its charter school programme. This programme is costing five times as much per student as public schooling and it is not delivering to our children. So here is the challenge Minister: fund every other school child to that level. Instead of cutting funding in real terms see how our fine public education system will run when it gets equal treatment. So Minister that is the challenge to you. That is what we want to see over the next 3 years.I have said that this Government will have to account for its actions. It has got a mandate from the public to carry out some of its policies—as we know some of them they did not know about—but it will be held accountable for its actions. We will lead an Opposition that will not allow this Government to slide out from under the problems that it creates we will hold the Government accountable and we will fight for the right of New Zealanders to have a fair go. We ran our election campaign on three themes: on work on home and on family.Hon Member: How did it go?Hon ANNETTE KING: Well of course that is very interesting because we have just heard from the Government that it sneers and scoffs at issues of work home and family. Are we surprised? Are we surprised? We will now review our policies. That is the only sensible thing to do. But I can assure this House that we will not lose sight of our values or our vision because that is why we are Labour. This country needs a strong Opposition and we are determined to rebuild this party and to provide opposition to this Government. I am sure as Bill English sits there today with his head buried in his hands that he will recall so well 2002. In 2002—Hon Bill English: And you’re doing it all wrong.Hon ANNETTE KING: —the National Party got 20 percent of the vote. And look where Bill English is now—he has got the limo he has got the big salary he has got the allowance for the house—Hon Member: Jealous.Hon ANNETTE KING: No not at all—I have had it before. What I am saying is that this party on this side of the House can look across at the 2002 election result and say that ours is 25 percent and we can build on that because that is a good base for this party to build on. We remain committed to working alongside all New Zealanders to ensure that everyone who wants a job can have one and that work is secure safe and pays fairly and we will continue to champion the living wage which this Government scorns. We will take seriously the concerns of New Zealanders and be ready to lead an alternative Government in 2017. Thank you.