Henare Tau: Taxation (Annual Rates and Budget Measures) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Henare Tau: Taxation (Annual Rates and Budget Measures) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:672;Page:19021] 
Hon TAU HENARE (National) 
: 
 The Taxation (Annual Rates and Budget Measures) Bill gives effect to some of the changes set out in the Budget yesterday. We heard a lot of noise from Labour. What we did not hear was an alternative plan. There was not a word not a whisper of an alternative plan. There was nothing—naught zilch—in any of those speeches right from when the Hon Clayton Cosgrove came in here with his bully-boy tactics. He stood up and tried to stand over everybody but no it did not work. [ 
Interruption 
] It did not work. 
The Prime Minister the other day laid out for everybody what the plan is. Come 26 November we will see who supports the plan and we will see who supports Labour’s plan—apparently Labour’s support is only 27.3 percent. The taxation measures set out in this bill are about one thing and one thing only: back in black by 2014. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: Ha ha! 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: I know the member for one of the areas in Canterbury thinks that “back in black” is an AC/DC song—and it is a good song—but this is about being back in the black by 2014. As Amy Adams said that will be an absolutely remarkable turn-round. 
I will tell members across the way a funny thing. Back in 1993 I was a young lad with four children. I had a mortgage. I was paid before tax $28900. I did not get Working for Families and I did not get the accommodation supplement. I am damn proud of the fact that I was able to work my way to having a home and a family without the help of the Government. 
Here is the other thing: I am also glad that a person on $100000 today should not get any assistance whatsoever. That is my personal belief. When we put into perspective what this Budget has done we see that Amy Adams was absolutely right. Amy Adams was absolutely right that there are families that do not need Working for Families or the accommodation supplement. But yes on the other hand some families do need assistance through the accommodation supplement Working for Families and tax credits. 
I absolutely commend this bill to the House. It is a step in the right direction. It is the only thing that we can do. Opposition members hold up the front page of the  
Dominion Post  
with a big zero on it. I am proud that in an election year the Minister of Finance and the Government have brought to this House a Budget that will see us back in the black by 2014. 
The other thing that I must say I really love about this Budget is that we are not putting this measure in place for the next 3 years. We are saying to the electorate that on 26 November people have a choice: go with a Government that is a good manager of the economy or pick the other guys who squandered away billions and billions of dollars— 
Shane Ardern 
: In the best times. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
:—in the best times that this country has ever seen. They did not put anything away for a rainy day. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: Yes we did. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Oh no they did not. It was all gone. It was all gone by the time we got here. That is the real story of this Budget and the real story of the economy. 
How did we end up where we are? I can tell members that we ended up where we are because of the likes of Parekura Horomia David Cunliffe Phil Goff and Annette King. They have been around for too long in the days where we had the best of times and they squandered the surplus every year. That is where they left us. 
In the debate on this bill Opposition members have also had a go at Sir Roger Douglas. I bring the honourable member into the debate because I want to say that if it had not been for Sir Roger Douglas and the Labour Government of the mid and late 1980s we would have been in the you-know-where. That Government’s programme was kept by the National Government of the 1990s. I have something to say to the Labour members who get up and rail against selling State assets. I had a look at the old register the other day and out of the 27 State assets that this country owned half of them were sold by those who say that they do not like the sale of State assets. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: We learnt; you didn’t. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Oh that is all right! Now they say that they are opposed to any State asset sales. I am proud of the fact that our Prime Minister and our Minister of Finance have both said that we will put up for sale 49 percent of certain State assets. We will see a return on that. 
Hon Rick Barker 
: How about the member’s house? 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: How about my house? Why would the member want my nice little weatherboard house up in Te Atatu? Why would he want to do that? I tell him that what we should do is sell the assets of Stuart Nash. That would get us quite a few dollars. But I digress. This bill is about putting in place some measures so that we can get back in the black by 2014. That will be the catchcry of the election this year: “Back in black by 2014.”