Brownlee Gerry: General Debate 
Brownlee Gerry: General Debate 
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GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam) 
: 
 That was an Associate Minister of Finance speaking in a general debate on the eve of his Government’s Budget. Could he speak in favour of one thing his Government is planning to do in the Budget—no not one. What did he do instead? He decided to step forward to explain himself— 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I point out to the Opposition member that one does not speak in anticipation of Budgets; one waits until they are announced. [ 
Interruption 
] 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: No I am on my feet Mr Brownlee. That was a frivolous interjection which will lead to disorder. The member’s time will start again. 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: That was an interesting little offering to the House from Clayton Cosgrove but I have to remind him of one thing: in politics explaining is losing. The little explanation from over there is an explanation of why the current Government is in such a huge amount of trouble. He came along here and said: “You guys have got to wake up; we’ve been a minority Government for 7 years.” There has not been one Budget that this Government has not been able to pass with a majority but tomorrow that is what will happen. There will be a minority of votes cast when the Budget debate finishes to pass the Budget only because Green Party members have decided they are not going to vote. 
I ask members to tell me who in a democracy has the right to sit in Parliament and choose not to vote. Apathy demonstrated like that is the road towards political oblivion. New Zealanders—who are fed up with this Government—will not tolerate a party that decides it will allow the Government to continue governing by choosing not to vote. That is unacceptable and the message will go to the Green Party on that. 
Let us have a look at the situation Labour is in. It held on by its claws after the last election and cobbled together a deal that saw it with 61 votes. Then there was the great St Valentine’s Day manoeuvre by Phillip Field that took the votes to 60. Today Gordon Copeland will announce that he is off and that takes them to 59. The Government is locked up in some sort of confidence and supply deal and is relying entirely on Green Party members saying they will not exercise their right to vote. That is not a recipe that gives anyone confidence that we have a Government in control a Government leading and a Government that knows where it is going. 
Worse than that on the day before the Budget an Associate Minister of Finance cannot even stand on the Government’s past record and tell New Zealanders that life will be better under Labour’s Government. I thought it was very interesting that the one thing Clayton Cosgrove did mention was the fact that the Government has done so much for families through Working for Families. 
I thought it was amazing yesterday that the Minister of Finance stood up to say that we cannot have tax cuts because they would be wildly inflationary. I ask Mr Cosgrove to tell me I ask Mr Cullen to tell me and I ask any one else on the Government side of the House to tell me why it is OK to give New Zealanders a benefit in cash but not allow them to keep the money they earn by having a tax reduction in the first place. Is it the same money? Why is it not inflationary if the Government does it but it is inflationary if an employer in the private sector pays people the money they have earned in the first place? Mr Cosgrove is sitting up the back there saying that there is an answer. He had 5 minutes this afternoon but he could not give one. 
We know now that as the days progress the Government’s ability to do anything will lessen. My colleague Bill English is right—Judy Turner will not stay with United Future. Peter Dunne will work out that the only way he has a chance of holding the Ohariu-Belmont seat is in fact to disconnect from the Government. Winston Peters has certainly got himself in a situation where the polling has him written off he does not have a seat and he does not want to go down with the current Government. So we are in for a period of very very unstable times. 
I hope that successive Labour speakers will be able to say one or two things that indicate they have a bit of a plan for New Zealanders. New Zealanders are sick and tired of going nowhere they are sick and tired of the sort of rhetoric that we got out of Clayton Cosgrove today and they are sick and tired of Dr Cullen smarmily telling them that it is OK to have the money in his pocket but not OK to have the money in their pockets. 
I think it is a fascinating situation—the Government says it is controlling inflation and allowing the economy to flourish by forcing up interest rates and making the very people who should have more disposable income pay for every little bit they get. Members should make no mistake that it is the Government’s decision to spend on the Working for Families package that has put up mortgage rates.