Smith Nick: Budget Debate 
Smith Nick: Budget Debate 
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Back in the 1980s and 1990s we saw a large number of reforms. Working families—the real New Zealanders—bore the brunt of that. Family people with a fixed job who were locked into a mortgage and who were under pressure from reforms around them such as the Employment Contracts Act had nowhere to go. For the best part of 15 years the working families in this country saw their lifestyles decline and their opportunities and those for their children go backwards because this country was driven by ideology and run by a bunch of Tories who thought the trickledown theory would deliver to each and every New Zealander. It does not and this Government has finally got to the position where it can pay back to those working families that which they deserve. 
It was quite interesting to hear John Key say that this is a load of rubbish. I would like to remind him that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Thankfully for most New Zealanders this Budget is a treasure. This Budget is a treasure for the low and middle income New Zealanders who have been battered around by a bunch of self-serving Tories who have delivered tax cuts ideology and cheap State assets into the hands of their mates for years so that they can reap the rewards while— 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Name one. 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: The railways. Does Nick Smith remember that? Air New Zealand was sold to National’s mates Brierley’s. We are finally in a position where we can say thank you to the working families in this country. As I said it is payback time. When we first came into Government we were in a pretty difficult situation. Beneficiaries were being squeezed; we gave them sure income and lifted the level of benefits so that they could have some dignity in their lives. Superannuitants had seen their incomes dropped back by the Tory Government. 
 We guaranteed their level of income lifted it to 65 percent of the average working wage in this country and said it would remain at that rate so that people would have security of income into the future. We did that for beneficiaries we did that for superannuitants and we lifted the minimum wage for those people who had been screwed by the Employment Contracts Act. Then we worked through to nurture our economy to the point where we have one of the strongest-growing economies in the Western World. We are now starting to reap the rewards of that and thanks to Michael Cullen’s management and the support of all his Cabinet colleagues we do have a wonderful Budget surplus. 
We have said we will give that back—not in one big hit because that would be irresponsible but over time as we can afford it—to working families up and down this country. But what does that miserable bunch of Tories say? They say: “Oh cut taxes. Yes. You’ve got to give more money to our mates.” [ 
Interruption 
] Yes because Don Brash wants 600 bucks a week back! And what would he give to someone on $30000 $40000 or $55000 a year? Well—$20. That is sufficient apparently because the Tories think that the way production is driven at the top end has incentivised people with high incomes and incentives and that the way to drive production at the bottom end for low-paid people and beneficiaries is to threaten them with a stick or with insecurity so they are fearful—fearful of stopping to take a breath and work out where they are going or who they should be voting for. Well this Budget is payback time. We are putting some power and some money back into the hands of the hard-working people up and down this country. 
The reality is that even in the short 4 years we have been in Government we have not been able to turn around some of the core problems and challenges in this economy. Do members know that half of all children aged 10 years and younger live in households on a taxable income of less than $45000 a year? Those are the ones who will gain most from our package. The Tories do not know what it is like to live on $45000 a year. In fact some of us over here on the Government benches if we are not careful might also forget. Thankfully we have a whole lot of loyal supporters—Labour Party people for the most part—who keep reminding us that the $45000 a year that supports half the children in this country is not sufficient. We have to do better and we have done better. 
We have not brought it in in one big rush. We will spend $220 million over the next year and $664 million in the year after that and finally reach about $1 billion in benefits to the working families of this country. Business people have said: “Well what about us?” so I ask members where they think those hard-working families spend every one of those dollars. They do not save them or spend them on trips to Monaco. No they spend them on living on trying to pay school fees and on trying to give their kids a better opportunity. Every one of those dollars will go back into the economy and that is where we will continue to see economic growth in this country. 
We have done a number of things for working families in New Zealand and the basic— 
Ron Mark 
: They don’t go skiing in Switzerland. 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: No they do not but there would be quite a few members over that side of the House who do. I am sure Mr Mark is not one of them and neither is Mr Donnelly but we know where members in the ACT party the “flat earth flat tax” party there led by Mr Hide will be spending it. I ask that member whether they will be not be taking trips to Fiji for conferences. He will probably make it compulsory now for all his party members to go to a conference in Fiji learn about fiscal management and tell people how to get ripped off. Well we will not be giving them the money for that because we will be giving it to hard-working honest families. That is whom we will be giving to. We are trying to make sure that people who are in work will be better off for their efforts. That is why incentives are there and payments will be there for families in work. 
We will also tell people about the benefits in the Budget. There has been much criticism of the money that will be spent to tell people about the things we are going to do over the next 3 years to help them out. It is important not just for those at the top income level I tell Mr Hide but also for those at the bottom level to have a vision—to know where they are heading and to know that the Government will support them. 
I could go back and use the wise words of a previous National Party leader who acknowledged in 1996 that many New Zealanders were missing out on health. That was the wise James Bolger—Jim Bolger a very learned man. He and his mate Bill Birch acknowledged that many of the things they had introduced to help out people in this country were not taken up because people did not know that those opportunities and benefits had been laid out before them. I think Bill Birch released figures that showed that only 28000 out of an estimated 150000 eligible families entitled to benefits had taken up those opportunities. 
Well we are not going to allow that to happen. We are not going to run a Budget based on the fact that a large percentage of people will not take up the benefits we have laid out for them. We are saying that we shall spend the money to inform them and that they should take up their entitlements. Do members know why? Because those people have worked hard for those benefits. They have been the ones who were pressured by ideology from the National Party supported by ACT. They have been the ones who were squeezed by the Employment Contracts Act through the early 1990s—and now it is payback time. I am proud to be part of a Labour-led Government that has delivered this Budget for working families in this country.