Gosche Mark: General Debate 
Gosche Mark: General Debate 
[Volume:620;Page:16108] 
Hon MARK GOSCHE (Labour—Maungakiekie) 
: 
 It is interesting to speak here today. We have had the very strange sight that was like some weird version of  
Men in Black 
 whereby people in black suits were wandering around a lake in Rotorua. We would have expected perhaps the great shot fired by Dr Brash to be the subject of the debate today. But no what happened? One of the icons of New Zealand Sir Howard Morrison put him in his place and National members shut up rapidly. They figured out: “Whoops we bombed that one again. We had better flip and flop all over the place about the local body elections.” But they have not talked about the results. 
Let us have a look at Auckland. I am very proud to say that in my electorate six out of six members of the community board were Labour candidates. Three out of four of the city councillors in the electorate the boundaries of which I share with Mr Simich were Labour candidates. Four of the six members of the licensing trust were Labour candidates. What is the score for the ACT – National coalition that masquerades in Auckland as Citizen and Ratepayers Now? Zip zilch gone! Dead in the water! Some of the candidates abandoned ship beforehand. 
Of course ACT members had to come here today and bring out the old Maori bashing technique again. ACT is polling down at 1 percent and disappearing. If those members want to talk about integrity let us hear about that fella called Brian Nicholle. What a wonderful campaign manager he proved to be. Let him run the campaign for National and ACT next time. They will not be worrying about 24 percent or 20 percent; they will be worrying about minus 24 percent. 
What have we heard about here today? We have heard about how the votes did not get counted. Opposition members do not want to talk about where the votes did get counted. No they were judged good and proper by the people who said that they do not like people who sell pensioner housing. Up in Maungaturoto where the invisible leader of the Opposition was last week drumming up votes—it is a great place; I bet if we asked most New Zealanders they could not tell us where it is but it is a great place and I have been there—what did residents say to the great leader? They asked him why he wants to sell Kiwibank. The area is heartland National territory. The people there say that they like Kiwibank that it is the only bank left in their area and that the Government did a good job by putting it into place. But we have not heard about that in this general debate. Dr Nick Smith is the great hit man the one with the huge success rate. Do members remember the carpets and all those wonderful stories we heard from him—“Mr Reliable” somebody whose every word we could believe? 
Hon Pete Hodgson 
: The rug doctor. 
Hon MARK GOSCHE 
: The rug doctor yes. They have him lined up. I want to know why Bill English is not speaking today. He is the only effective member of the Opposition. At least he gets it right half the time. All the rest of them are flipping and flopping and going all over the place. Mr Key says one thing and Mr Brash says the other Dr Hutchison has one view and Judith Collins has a different one and next week somebody else will poke his or her oar in. Yes I agree that Katherine Rich wrote the best policy paper the National Party has produced. It is the only one but nobody is allowed to see it because Dr Brash’s strategy has changed. There are no big hits on the Government any more. Let us to Maungaturoto and answer the big questions: “Why are you taking away Kiwibank?” the people up there asked. What a shambles this Opposition is in worrying about the fact that some computers did not work and the votes were not counted. There will still be a district health board next week. 
Sandra Goudie 
: Is the hospital still open? 
Hon MARK GOSCHE 
: The hospital is still there. And yes it is damned annoying for those people who cast their votes and those candidates who are waiting but it is equally damned annoying for the National Party and ACT people who got turfed out of their positions all over Auckland City because the Auckland population said: “We hate that style of politics. We don’t want it any more. We don’t want local government selling pensioner housing Kiwibanks and anything else they can lay their hands on.” That is what the National Party and ACT need to think about—a sound and utter rejection by the people of Auckland of their politics. That is the historical thing Mr Carter was talking about in this local body election. The people did not get fooled by a label that read “Citizen and Ratepayers Now”. They knew what they were being asked to vote for and they said: “It stinks. We don’t like it. We’re not going near it.” 
Mr Simich knows all about it because in the area we share an interest in—our two electorates bound each other—the people resoundingly voted Labour. The person who ran Mr Simich very close last time is now the youngest Auckland city councillor ever as far as I am aware. She was a very good candidate and will make a great city councillor.