King Annette: Appropriation (2004/05 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
King Annette: Appropriation (2004/05 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
[Volume:619;Page:14967] 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Health) 
: 
 Is this not a debate of contrasts? On the one hand we have the gloom and doom merchants who all day have been predicting that the end is nigh. I saw an extremely good cartoon in the Saturday  
New Zealand Herald 
; it had Don Brash walking around with a sign saying “The end is nigh.” There has been a repeat of that in the House today: one would think there is nothing good going on in New Zealand there are no good people there are no good policies there is no hope and there is nothing happening if one were to listen to the National Party and the ACT party. On the other hand there is a Government that has policies and purpose. We are here today defending our policies and telling people what we are doing for New Zealand and where we are heading. 
I want to contrast that with the approach of Don Brash of the Opposition. He said New Zealand is racing towards oblivion. He went to Australia to an Australian audience to say that. I think there is a word for that; it means something like a lack of internal fortitude. But the only person who is racing to oblivion is Don Brash himself. Let us look at the latest polls which say it all. I will take just one—the  
National Business Review  
poll. It had Labour on 42.3 percent up five points and National on 37.1 percent down three points. That is an eight-point change. I think Mark Sainsbury from TVNZ got it right when he said: “National is heading in the wrong direction this month. In some ways he has run out of steam. Don’t forget Orewa gave him a fantastic platform and we have seen the numbers gradually creeping down since then.” Don Brash does not have the same platform. Unless a politician has an issue to keep him or her in the news that politician will just drift away from the public’s mind. I agree with Mark Sainsbury because Don Brash is drifting away all right. Some of his caucus are saying he not only has drifted away but has lost the plot—completely lost the plot. 
One has to ask oneself why he went to Australia to bag New Zealand and New Zealanders. Why did he go to Australia to slag off New Zealand’s efforts and New Zealand families? Why did he go to Australia to suck up to Australian business people? Why did he make a speech talking New Zealand down and by comparison talking Australia up? Was it disloyalty was it desperation or was it just plain dopey? No I think it was probably a combination of the whole three. Don Brash asked in his speech in this House today how more holidays more regulation and more taxation can lead to economic growth. Well the irony of that question is that he went to Australia and praised what was being done in Australia. He said: “We want to be more like Australia. They have more holidays more regulation and more taxation.” I do not know where he gets his facts and figures from. There seems to be a little gap somewhere in his memory or in the way that it works. I believe that he has lost the plot. 
I tell New Zealanders that he also has double standards because he wants their holiday. He wants the extra holiday that this Government has promised to New Zealanders—1 week’s extra holiday. Four weeks’ holiday is something that Australia has had for 30 years and that we will have after the next election with the return of a Labour-led Government. Don Brash wants to take away that extra week. He does not want New Zealanders to have 4 weeks’ holiday. He wants to take it from New Zealanders and New Zealanders would not get 4 weeks’ holiday under a Brash Government. But the irony and double standard of that is Don Brash himself had 4 weeks’ holiday when he was Governor of the Reserve Bank. Is there not a word for that? Is it not a word that starts with a big “h”? I mean he can earn half a million dollars as Governor of the Reserve Bank and get 4 weeks’ holiday but he does not want to let good hard-working New Zealanders have 4 weeks’ holiday. No he says: “When we become the Government they will not get that holiday. Mind you I will have it if I can.” Certainly I am sure he will make sure that he can have 4 weeks’ holiday but not our good hard-working New Zealanders. 
Darren Hughes 
: He only works 2 days a week in this job. 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: If we add those 2 days a week his holidays and his pay we find what he would deny New Zealanders. Well I think John Armstrong got it right when he said: “Don Brash’s assertion that New Zealand risks becoming ‘just another Pacific Island state’ not only borders on the ridiculous but was silly politics to boot.” He put out a statement that I thought was really really good. I love the headline: “Bumbling Brash loses the plot”—and he is absolutely right. What we really wanted today from “Bumbling Brash” who has lost the plot was one policy—just a little policy just a wee policy just a wee glimpse of a policy— 
Hon Harry Duynhoven 
: Just a sentence or two. 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: —or just a sentence or two of a policy. What did we get? We did not get a policy; we got the “Brash bumbling” versus the “Key confusion”. We have no idea what the National Party stands for or what it would do if it got into Government other than take away New Zealanders’ holiday or sell off the family silver or sharpen the pencil to make cuts to the assistance that people receive. Those are the policies that the National Party has. Apart from them it has no policy and those members could not give us a policy. 
I wondered what Dr Brash knew about health. This is a very important part of social policy. Well I now realise that he knows very little about health at all. He pretended he knew a lot. He pretended that he was very knowledgable about health. He talked about primary health organisations in his now infamous Orewa speech. He said that primary health organisations were an example of race-based policy. He said that very knowledgably as if he knew all about health and primary health organisations. But when he was approached by a reporter from  
New Zealand Doctor 
 he said he did not know what a primary health organisation was. He did not have a clue what a primary health organisation was. The editor of the  
New Zealand Doctor 
 wrote that she was astounded and astonished at his ignorance. Frankly I am not at all astonished at the ignorance of Don Brash. As per the quote from  
The Castle 
 Don Brash is not an ideas man. He is not one of our ideas men. He can certainly sharpen pencils and he can certainly cut slash and burn but he is not an ideas man. 
I want to tell the House what New Zealanders think about this Budget in terms of health and I could not do better than to quote a doctor from Auckland who sent me this letter. He wrote: “Dear Mrs King congratulations on your efforts to fund primary health care. Since you introduced the increased funding for 65-year-olds and over”—as members know that came out in this Budget—“it has been a great relief to me to be able to provide more affordable health care to my elderly patients. Clearly you are making general practice more financially viable. You have done something very positive to reverse the dissatisfaction and low morale in primary health care.” 
Darren Hughes 
: Signed by Dr Don Brash? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: No it was signed by a doctor who makes people well not one who makes people sick. I could not do better than to quote from a person who is at the front line of the health system and who can see what the Government has done in this Budget to improve New Zealanders’ health. We have now committed almost $10 billion per year to the New Zealand health system to make it the best we can within the constraints of our economy and our resources. We have a very fine health system. Members should just ask Mr Donnelly who is sitting there with his leg in plaster after playing a courageous game of rugby on behalf of the parliamentary team. He received from the New Zealand health system the best treatment that he could possibly get—starting with the Minister of Health telling him he had a broken bone. He got the diagnosis right from the top and he got the treatment and it was provided for in this extremely good Budget. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Just before I call the next speaker I tell the House that the Green Party and the Progressive Party will share this 10-minute slot. For the benefit of members I will ring the bell at 4 minutes with 1 minute remaining.