Cullen Michael: General Debates 
Cullen Michael: General Debates 
[Volume:608;Page:5190] 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Deputy Prime Minister) 
: 
 If the ACT member Deborah Coddington were not swanning off to England for 3 months to get some kind of qualification at the taxpayers’ expense we might be able to do a bit more for the police. 
I would like to turn to the National Party. I notice that Simon Power has already made it to the deputy leadership of the National Party—the coup must have occurred. They are now locked into the most extraordinary ongoing drama day by day week by week—especially Tuesday morning by Tuesday morning. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Who knocked that? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Dr Smith of course whinges away on radio—whinge whinge whinge. But that will not cover up the incompetence of the National Party that we see at present. They have a dead man walking as leader. Increasingly he is walking alone. He is on to his fourth chief of staff since 2002. When somebody leaves the National Party to go and join Tranz Rail as their publicity officer did we know that the National Party must be in deep trouble. 
The latest episode of this ongoing saga is that Roger Sowry’s head was offered on a platter to Don Brash. Don Brash made it clear that he was not interested in being No. 2; he only wants to be No. 1. Meanwhile Mr English staggers on treated as irrelevant by almost everybody in politics in New Zealand. 
But the basic issues about Mr English remain: his indecision his lack of self-confidence and his inability to communicate. Who saw him on Pam Corkery’s programme sitting there like a rabbit? Who was desperate to find a searchlight and rifle to put him out of his misery? That is what he was like on Pam Corkery’s show. 
Then we have had Iraq. What a fiasco Iraq turned out to be for the National Party. First of all they did not have a position at all; they said they would think about their position. Then their position was to support the Americans. When asked whether they would send troops they said they would think about sending troops. When the war was over Dr Mapp said “We’ll send some troops.” Then Dr Mapp started saying: “Whatever the Americans do we will follow to the point.” But if they had been there they would have marched on Syria before the Americans once they were given a signal from the White House that Syria was next on the list. That is the way the National Party seems to have gone. 
But now we have this peculiar position of the ongoing leadership struggle. By now Mr English should be starring in  
Six Feet Under 
 as one of the corpses. Most of his colleagues want him there but they are like a bunch of mice. They can see a bit of cheese but there is a big fat old tabby sitting by the piece of cheese. None of the mice actually wants to get out there and try to grab hold of it. The hungriest mice are either older than the present incumbent or they look far too well-fed to need a piece of cheese in any case. 
If Dr Brash is the answer what on earth was the question that the National Party was asking itself? Every time Dr Brash asked me a question I wondered why the tabby cat had turned into the mouse. I feel quite sad about the way in which we have questions from Dr Brash in the Chamber. He is the new decisive potential leader! What was his position on Iraq? When he was asked his position he was “deeply troubled”—that was the potential National Party leader’s position on Iraq. 
He does not know whether he wants corporate tax cuts. He does not know whether he wants a common currency with Australia and he certainly cannot be there to make a move for the centre given his views on super the dole selling education selling schools and all the rest of it. 
So the National Party has a leader in place who has alienated the Auckland business community—he is regarded as a joke in Auckland by the business community. He is regarded as a ‘hick from the sticks’ who should stay down in Southland and never get further than the Clutha River let alone going up to Auckland. Those in the business community are holding back their chequebooks in Auckland unwilling to give their money to the National Party. We have a challenger who has already blown it. He turned up for the challenge and found that it was not actually going on. 
So what is the drama that they are playing out here? It is not the 
 Young and the Restless 
 any more—it cannot be with Don Brash challenging for the leadership. I think it is clear where they are heading. I found the programme on Prime Television: it is called  
Party of Five 
. That is where they are going.