Prebble Richard: Future Directions (Working for Families) Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Procedure 
Prebble Richard: Future Directions (Working for Families) Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Procedure 
[Volume:617;Page:13476] 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE (Leader—ACT) 
: 
 I am happy to take up the challenges given to us by the Minister of Finance but first I want to put it on the record that I regard it as unparliamentary and bad lawmaking that a bill of this sort that should be going through the normal procedure to a select committee is not doing so. The only reason a bill would not be sent to a select committee would be if it were genuinely urgent. But as has been pointed out and as the public has worked out the first of the changes does not arrive until October and the significant changes arrive in April next year. Those changes are all for welfare beneficiaries. The workers whom Mr Cullen said he was in favour of and was giving incentives to do not receive anything for 2 years. We can understand why the Government does not want to send that to a select committee. That would be the first submission it would receive. 
We have an interesting situation. Treasury says there is a $6 billion surplus but the Minister of Finance apparently has lost most of the money. But Treasury keeps writing down $6 billion and I am sticking to that. We have the largest surplus ever yet the Government states that it cannot do anything for 2 years and then challenges us to say whether we would wait 2 years as it is doing. The answer is no we would not. While I do not like this package I will support New Zealand First’s sensible amendment that if this is so urgent we should bring it on. 
I also say to Dr Cullen that if he is so keen to have an election let us have one. I say to him that I know which of the proposals will win—the proposal of the ACT party to have a prosperity-creating tax cut versus these payments for social welfare beneficiaries. Is the first clause of Part 1 in this bill all about workers? No. Clause 3 is headed: “Social Security Act 1964 called principal Act in this part”. Of course it is. This is a welfare Budget. It is not a Budget for workers. It is in black and white—the principal Act is the Social Welfare Act. Why is that? 
When one looks at the numbers who will be getting the money? The money will be going to beneficiaries. When one looks at what families will get the majority of working families with dependants will get nothing from this Budget. If one looks at the whole of New Zealand four out of five New Zealanders will get nothing from this Budget. We will not support Dr Cullen in that unfairness. We ought to be returning the money to the people it belongs to. 
Dr Cullen and the Labour Party should think back. People are saying that this is the first Labour Budget for 30 years. I remember Charles Waldegrave and his misery industry saying in 1989—after Roger Douglas had been sacked David Caygill was put in and he put up a Budget of this sort—what a wonderful Labour Budget it was. 
Opposition Member 
: Did he? 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: Yes. Did it work? No it did not and I will tell members why. First the majority of working people did not get anything. Next welfare beneficiaries were not grateful either and why was that? The majority of people on welfare do not plan to stay there. When they are told to vote Labour and in 2 years’ time they will get more money they will say: “That’s not me. I’m going to be off welfare.” If members opposite think that this is a popular Budget they should look back at David Caygill’s giveaway Budget in 1989. It went down like a rock and so will this Budget. 
The Government has also made this mistake: Government members have gone around the country for a month saying—as we read in the  
New Zealand Herald— 
that families that earn up to $80000 a year will benefit. People thought that would be so and no doubt the Labour Party did recover. I would like the Government to produce this $80000-a-year working family that will benefit from this Budget. In 3 years’ time that family might benefit providing it has nine kids. There will be about three families in the whole of New Zealand that will benefit from this Budget.