Cosgrove Clayton: Debate on Budget Policy Statement 
Cosgrove Clayton: Debate on Budget Policy Statement 
[Volume:623;Page:18882] 
CLAYTON COSGROVE (Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee) 
: 
 I move  
That the House take note of the Budget Policy Statement 2005 and the report on it of the Finance and Expenditure Committee 
. The debate on the Budget Policy Statement today is an important debate—even more so because this year is an election year. This debate will centre on leadership: economic leadership social leadership community leadership and ultimately of course the most important thing the New Zealand people look to in this election and that is political leadership.  
The Budget Policy Statement sets out the overarching fiscal parameters that will guide Budget 2005. As a Government our fiscal strategy is unchanged from last year. That strategy is to enable the Government to continue long-term fiscal objectives of maintaining prudent debt levels tapering down by 2015 to 20 percent of GDP. Also our objective centres on maintaining operating surpluses sufficient to both satisfy our capital pressures and priorities and maintain the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. This Budget Policy Statement debate is also about a review of the Government’s achievements and the critical state of our economy and our nation as compared with a different state—that of the Opposition. 
I want to start by looking at the economic facts as we see them today. Economic growth is strong and is being maintained at 4.6 percent in the 2003-04 year. The rate of unemployment is the lowest in the OECD at 3.8 percent. In fact if we look at the 5-plus years of achievements of this Government we see that over 264000 jobs have been created by this Government since it took office. If we look at the cash surplus we see that for the first 6 months of the financial year to December it stands at $100 million. We have an operating balance excluding revaluations and accounting changes of in excess of $4 billion for the same period. Once we take into account capital investments which are essential for economic and future growth and investments in the New Zealand Superannuation Fund which are all essential for fiscal stability the cash surplus is a more realistic interpretation of the current fiscal state of this Government. 
Of course National claims that a $5.8 billion tax cut can be afforded by this country but we know that to do that—if we want to keep the Superannuation Fund; and Dr Brash says he does—we would have to increase overseas borrowings and it is likely that under National we would face the same sorts of deep dividing and horrendous cuts in expenditure that we had in the 1990s. National wants to cut public expenditure. Labour of course wants to boost savings rates build infrastructure and build investment in our economy. 
I say to the people of New Zealand that we should look at what independent people say about the state of our economy. From my own area of Christchurch the  
Press 
 of 11 January notes under the heading “Economy humming” that: “South Island regions are proving their worth to the national economy securing four of the top five places in a regional growth report.” If we look at the  
Waikato Times 
 of 30 October we see a headline: “Businesses predict good yields”. The article quotes the ANZ National Bank chief economist John McDermott: “It’s been a fantastic business cycle business has been expanding for five years …”. They are facts; they are facts that are undisputed; they are facts that independent commentators of course have endorsed. 
Let us now look at the areas of achievement in health and at the health dollars. We have a health spokesperson over there on the Opposition benches. I think it is Judith Collins who of course crows about what National will do. The problem is that she provides no detail. Let us look at health. Health spending has gone up by 40 percent in the past 5 years. That is a fact; that is undisputed. Around 3.7 million people now belong to primary health organisations and 2 million of them already get cheaper doctors’ visits and subsidised prescriptions. I will stack that fact up against Judith Collins and her health policy any day—because she does not have one. Already under-18s and over-65s enrolled in our primary health organisations are benefiting. This year 18 to 24-year-olds come into the scheme and next year 45 to 64-year-olds. In 2007 25 to 44-year-olds will enter the scheme so by 2007 people enrolled in primary health organisations will get cheaper care across the board. There has been $200 million invested in fighting meningococcal meningitis. That is a fact and that is happening. Over 1.15 million young New Zealanders in this country will be immunised. We have doubled the public funding for knee and hip replacement operations. Every member of Parliament knows the number of constituents who have knocked on our doors with knee and hip problems and now they are being helped. We are investing in mental health. 
I want also to focus for a moment on law and order. There was $39 million put in in the 2004 Budget to fight the P problem. There are more New Zealand police on the streets than at any other time but the last National contribution to New Zealand’s police force was a Bill English proposal to gut the New Zealand Police. 
Those are achievements and this is about economic social community and political leadership as exhibited by this Government and this Prime Minister compared with a lacklustre crew over there with no performance no policy and a leader I have to say who has lost the plot. Members should not believe me for saying that. The reference point I take for the Leader of the Opposition losing the plot is an authorised biography—for those who do not know “authorised” means the author reads it ticks it off checks it for factual accuracy and approves it before it hits the presses—written by his mate a National candidate which gives the reader a wonderful insight into the character and nature of that Leader of the Opposition. 
I say that I will be amongst the people who buy the most copies of that book. I will distribute it in my electorate and I encourage every Kiwi to read it—it is a cracker! I say that it is a thrilling read a gripping read. I thought Evil Knievel was an adventurer; but he is nothing on Don Brash—not a thing. The biography is a gripping read and I say that people should read it. In fact I say that we should go to Peter Jackson after reading it and tell him to forget  
King Kong 
 because we want a movie on Dr Brash. I refer to political leadership when our record on the Budget Policy Statement is compared with that of National’s. I read the review of the biography which talked about Dr Brash getting so stressed working on the 1998 Budget that he went to work with mismatched shoes. I want to know whether he tied the shoelaces of both shoes together. If he got so stressed out by helping with the 1998 Budget I have no idea how he would cope as Prime Minister. We have a word for somebody who would go to work in Waimakariri in mismatched shoes: it begins with “p” and it is a plonker. 
There is another anecdote that gives a very interesting insight into the leadership capabilities of “the man who would be king”. As chief executive officer of the Kiwifruit Authority he would go through the drive-through at KFC and live off KFC food. As Mr Brash is a decisive fellow of course he would look at the menu and think: original or hot and spicy? He might have taken hot and spicy but as we know he would have tended to feel slightly uncomfortable about that choice the next morning. 
This book gives a great insight and I would welcome Dr Brash to get up in this Budget Policy Statement debate and talk about the achievements over the last 5 years of a National Party that he has failed. The biography gives a wonderful insight. This Budget Policy Statement gives an insight into our Prime Minister and into the achievements of this Government. But the only counter to this Budget Policy Statement and the Budgets of 2004 2005 2006—and on they will go—is an authorised biography that shows the make-up of the man. I recall one quote in the biography that puts Dr Brash in touch with the real world. In fact the author said that after a good feed of frozen corned beef and peas “in a sense Dr Brash entered the real world.” 
Well I say that this Budget Policy Statement is the real world and along with the Budget it delivers to every New Zealander through health law and order employment—right across the board. What is the manifesto released by the National Party? It is the Brash biography. I have never seen Gerry Brownlee and the National Party look so depressed—but particularly Gerry Brownlee apart from the time he arrived 5 minutes late at Pizza Hut to get the “all you can eat” pizza deal. I challenge National Party members to get up and tell us what they are going to put in front of the people of New Zealand to counter the Budget and to counter the Budget Policy Statement. Let us have a fight over that!