Ardern Shane: General Debate 
Ardern Shane: General Debate 
[Volume:653;Page:2713] 
SHANE ARDERN (National—Taranaki - King Country) 
: 
 After 9 years of watching the Labour Party in Government and after a couple of months of watching the Labour Party in Opposition I have come to the conclusion that Labour is much better at Opposition that it ever was at Government—and it is not much good at Opposition I can tell members. So far today we have seen three leadership bids from members on the other side and the number is still rising. The latest one of course is from another Harvard graduate who is sitting next to the other one who has a leadership bid running and who has just resumed his seat. 
I heard the previous speaker Shane Jones talk about taxation without representation but the most offensive thing about the last 9 years of Labour Government was the fact that our primary production sector—the engine room of the economy—was being heavily taxed the whole time with no representation in central government. Members opposite are crying out about the form of Auckland local government but that is an issue for Aucklanders to sort out amongst themselves. As far as representing New Zealand is concerned the National Government has put the country on a track that can lead only to recovery after what has been described as one of the worst depressions or economic downturns we have seen in a number of years. Let us talk about some of the positive things that have taken place so far under the National Government. We have a lot of extra police coming on stream. Law and order was a major election item and this Government has delivered. We have reduced taxation. It was interesting that the previous speaker spent so much time on the issue of taxation without representation but one of the very first things the Government did was to reduce taxation. 
Later on today we will listen to the valedictory of the Hon Dr Michael Cullen and I will not discredit him at this stage because that would be ungenerous but I will say he was a very good manager of the House. He was superb at it and he was also quite truthful to his principles. He believed that one could tax and tax and tax and the economy would grow as a result. The evidence is that he was wrong. He will go from this place as someone who served the area he represented originally and the country well in his own view. There is no question about that and he will leave a big hole in the Labour Party. In my view on most of his economic management policy in regard to the lost opportunity from some of the best opportunity we saw in a lifetime he was wrong. The mistakes will be well recorded when the final analysis is done. It will probably be Dr Michael Cullen himself who does it because he is quite skilled in studying history but is not good at predicting the future. I say to the Labour Opposition it will have to do a lot better. 
On 8 November 2008 New Zealand made a decision to change direction substantially from where it was heading. It made that decision clearly because as a nation we were not going ahead; we were going backwards. Look at what has happened since the Government has changed. Look at what is happening in some of the agricultural indicators. The very figures that Dr Cullen should have studied but instead got Jim Anderton to study have changed. We are seeing growth year on year; despite the economic circumstances we are still seeing growth. Why would we not create a policy framework that allows those who have the entrepreneurial spirit—the entrepreneurial get up and go—to flourish and do well? The Government has come out with a number of initiatives in that area. We are coming out with policies that will help small and medium sized businesses. We are coming out with policies that will reward people who show entrepreneurial skills. We will reward people and show them how they can get ahead and do well. We are looking at investing heavily in science particularly in the sector that has the ability to help the economy. We are investing in infrastructure. 
Labour talked about investment for 9 years but did not do it. When we look at the figures in actual fact investment went backwards; percentage-wise investment went backwards and not forwards. The Labour Opposition’s response is typical; it is the same as it was when it was in Government: there must be a way forward and the way forward must be more taxation. Labour was wrong then and it is wrong now.