Cosgrove Clayton: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCosgrove Clayton: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply Debate[Sitting date: 26 June 2013. Volume:691;Page:11331. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Supplementary EstimatesHon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour):I have got to say that after that speech—well I will not even dwell on that speech. The speech I want to dwell on is that of John Archibald Banks the Hon John Archibald Banks. He is the man who already has one conviction to his name from some years ago and now he is up for a second crack. He supported the three-strikes legislation and he is on his way to No. 2 and there will be a No. 3.This man used the word “shakedown”. I have got to say that if anybody knows about a shakedown it is John Archibald Banks. This guy is like a Chicago gangster. The only thing that is missing is the trench coat the felt hat and the violin case. But he has got the brown bag of course and it was full of cash. For that man to stand up inept as he is and talk about a shakedown is incredible. I have got to say this guy has got a chin a glass jaw but he has got a chin a mile long and he leads with it. If anybody would know about a shakedown having already experienced the long arm of the law with a conviction it would be John Archibald Banks. What a cracker—old “Brown Bag” himself. If anybody would know about putting his hand out dipping it in the honey jar—Hon John Banks: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I heard you loud and clear recently saying to another member that members must be referred to as honourable members and no name-calling by the “goosesters” opposite.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): No well that is just—Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE: Speaking to the point of order—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): No no. Sit down. That does not help. You brought up a point of order that was one that had some merit and then you added on to it and defused the whole argument.Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I just say that as far as I am aware Mr Banks is the honourable—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): No no. I am inviting you to carry on with your speech.Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE: OK. Well I will use his correct title the Hon John Archibald Banks because that was the name I think that the police hung around his neck when they photographed him and booked him before he was convicted. The Hon John Archibald Banks—booked charged and convicted. He loves the court system. He was the police Minister at one point was he not? I think he was. He used to keep certain photographs on his desk I am told and talk to his mate Emmet Sharkey over the radio transmitter as he drove in in the ministerial limousine. I remember. It was: “Breaker breaker 91. I am in the artillery vehicle. Come in. Are you there?” He loves the court system so much that he is going back for another crack. You know the revolving door. Well I say to Mr Banks: think about your words very carefully. If anybody would know about a shakedown that boy certainly would.But I want to say this as we address the legislation before us. I am also mindful of another contribution that was made tonight by the Hon Chris Finlayson. He interjected on Mr Twyford a couple of times as the Greens played “one lollipop for you and two lollipops for us” in terms of who led the charge on transport and housing. I just say to the Greens: here is the go. We collectively managed to change the minds of these geniuses over there and the big engine that could not Gerry Brownlee is now the big engine that could. He was decoupled and is now recoupled to the Auckland City Rail Link. So rather than playing competitive silly childish politics let us actually celebrate that we actually managed to change the minds of these geniuses over there. But Chris Finlayson summed it up. He interjected on Mr Twyford by saying: “It’s our ideanow.”—“It’s our idea now.” I have got to say Mr Finlayson good on you for telling the truth because they opposed it they railed against it—excuse the pun—and Gerry Brownlee went out there utterly utterly opposed to it.You ask some of the manufacturers and some of the business associations up there and they wonder who Gerry Brownlee is as Minister of Transport. They say they have never seen him—which I find reasonably hard to believe but anyway—he is elsewhere. There is no transport strategy. So they have dipped into their big pockets and suddenly a road to Damascus experience has occurred and this side of the House has managed to talk some sense into them and they have changed their minds. So I agree Mr Finlayson it is your idea now or the National Party’s idea now as its members go around Auckland and try to explain why they have had the biggest U-turn—from the biggest member—in our history and actually backed Auckland City. But I say that this legislation and these appropriations are very interesting.Hon John Banks: Oh now we’re on to it.Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE: Well again Mr Banks would know about appropriations. He appropriates a lot to himself. He just cannot remember whether he signs the cheque or not or who gave it to him. So I say to Mr Banks cool your heels.Maggie Barry got up and talked about what National inherited as a Government. Well I have got to say that there are porkies porkies and then there is what Maggie Barry talks about. That is a different level of porkies. Here is the deal—here is the deal from the noxious weed. When that Government came into power it inherited 9 years of surpluses—9 years of surpluses from this Government and zero Crown debt zero Crown debt. Maggie Barry might have been a bit too close to the compost heap or the Roundup I do not know or the fertiliser whatever it is but her memory of history—Hon Trevor Mallard: 1080.Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE: —or 1080. Her memory of history has left her and is bereft because the truth is the facts are that there were 9 years of surpluses under a Labour Government and zero Crown debt. That is not spin that is not public relations—Hon John Banks: Yes it is.Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE: No old “Shakedown” over there. That is actually historic fact. It was Bill English I think who actually conceded that on coming to Government. If we look at this economy there has been a lot of talk about how great this economy is—Hon John Banks: Because it is.Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE: Well as for the good people of Epsom I do not know whether they are coming up with any brown bags of cheques Mr Banks. I do not know. You might be able to remember their name.Here is the problem with this economy: it is a two-speed economy. You go into the regions and they are withering. You go to any region in this country and they are doing it hard. The people are doing it hard and the unemployment is up. We have 90000 young people not in education and not in training.I say this as a Cantabrian: the biggest opportunity to build something out of the tragedy that was and is the earthquake was the ability to train those young people get them off the dole and use the dole as we proposed as a help to the boss and the employer to take them on and train them as apprentices. Mr Brownlee got up here 3 years ago and said we were going to need 30000 or 40000 people to rebuild Christchurch. Fact? True. The opportunity was—because an apprenticeship takes around 3 years—that we could have had 40000 young people unemployed young people off the dole paying tax earning a wage swinging a hammer and having a superb qualification and contributing to the rebuild had Mr Brownlee and Mr Banks that rotten pile that holds the house of National up actually said they would do that andback those young people rather than provide the gateways pathways caves roads to nowhere and cycleways that have generated very few jobs.They could have done that—a practical thing. They say we could not afford it. We said: “Use the dole. Use the unemployment benefit. Give that to the boss the building firm. Let him use that as a bit of help to get that person off the dole to train them and to give them a bit of help because the cost of training a young person in year 1 when you have got to supervise and before they can add value is quite substantial. It does not cost the taxpayer any more than the cost of allowing 90000 young people to languish on the dole. But these geniuses over here did nothing. So now what are we doing? We are importing our Irish Filipino and other friends and brothers and sisters from overseas to fill those jobs because the businesses that are going to reconstruct the houses and the plumbers the carpenters and the sparkies cannot wait 3 years nor can the earthquake victims to have their lives and their houses restored.It is a two-speed economy when you look at it age-wise. Younger New Zealanders are locked out of first home ownership. Again these geniuses after substantial policy about housing was produced by this side suddenly realised—Crosby/Textor got a poll up—there is a housing problem. That is except Mr Brownlee in Christchurch because there is no manufacturing crisis in New Zealand no housing crisis in Canterbury; it does not exist. But 5 years into their term they decide they are going to do something about it.Then we had the other economic speeds of course where exporters and manufacturers struggle while the speculators flourish. I asked these geniuses in the debate last session whether they think it is equitable that the top 10 percent in this land got 40 percent of the tax cuts. I give them the opportunity again to say yes that is equitable. Oh no. The old “Tumbleweed” at the back does not say anything. No silence because they know that there is no credibility in trying to say that the top 10 percent getting 40 percent of the tax cuts is equitable while manufacturers and young people and others and the unemployed and those on fixed incomes and benefits get nothing very little and struggle away as prices go up. It is a two-speed economy.Take Auckland. Growth is rampant in house prices but not in production and not in jobs of course. If you want to sell a house you are on the upside. If you want to buy a house especially if you are young and you cannot get the deposit you are locked out. You are—they are locked out Mr Assistant Speaker. No you are never locked out; you are always in.It is two-speed of course in regard to fairness. We talked about the tax cuts. We talked about the tax cuts. What do the elderly people say when they get their first or second winter power bill at the moment? John Key says of course that they are not paying too much for power. They should be grateful Mr Key says. The people should be grateful. Simon Bridges says the same thing. They say the people are not paying too much for power. But if you ask them at what point people will be paying too much they cannot answer. I say these people over here have a lot to answer for but they will not answer this question. They will not answer the question as to whether their policies are equitable fair and whether they are helping—