Brownlee Gerry: Taxation (Personal Tax Cuts Annual Rates and Remedial Matters) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Brownlee Gerry: Taxation (Personal Tax Cuts Annual Rates and Remedial Matters) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:647;Page:16301] 
GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam) 
: 
 How many people in the Chamber heard the news commentators this morning talking about some of the email traffic they have had through their wires concerning the Budget? Some of the questions raised in those emails may well be answered if Dr Cullen can answer some questions about Part 1. 
The email that struck me most poignantly was the one from some fellow who said: “Thanks mum. You’ve abused me for 9 years and now when I’m just about to leave home you want to give me a lollipop.” That encapsulates the whole deal does it not? We seem to be in some sort of parallel universe this morning where everything is somehow for Labour at least switching round the other way. After 9 years of Dr Cullen not being able to give tax relief to working New Zealanders suddenly he is challenging the National Party as to why we do not want to give them bigger tax cuts. He has got it all wrong. We do. That is exactly why we are voting for his legislation today. New Zealanders should consider it a down payment. It is just a start. At a later point in the year in our time not in his time and not in anyone else’s time we will make our intention exactly clear. 
I think it is extraordinary that Labour after spending years and years talking about the social wage if you like the Working for Families programme—how it was a great benefit from the Government that topped up the needs of New Zealand families—is suddenly repackaging it as years and years of tax cuts. I say to Dr Cullen that it does not work like that because people know that only those with families are affected by that package; many many people are not. Although we do want families in this country to do better to have more in their pockets National sees another reason to vote for this legislation. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: You’re against it but for it. 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Dr Cullen says: “So you were against it before.” The interesting thing is that in 9 years we have never seen a bill like this on the floor of the House—not once. [ 
Interruption 
] They are at it again. The paint strippers in the back row are screaming out “What about Working for Families?”. Well Working for Families is not a tax cut. That those members have the kind of mentality that allows them to scream out “What about Working for Families? It’s a tax cut.” shows how far out of touch the current Government is with working New Zealanders. The No. 1 point is that all the money that the Government dishes out belongs to the people. Those members have gone quiet. This is a revelation. All that the Government is actually doing with this tax cut is saying: “We’re not going to stick our hand as far into your pocket as we would like.” [ 
Interruption 
] Listen to them! Tax money apparently grows on trees. I cannot believe that sort of mentality. All the money the Government gets belongs to the people. The only thing we can say about these tax cuts is that the Government is going to take less of their money. Somehow Labour members are saying that that is a virtuous thing that the Government is marvellous. There have been 9 years of their going deep in there 9 years of their feathering all sorts of programmes that have had little effect on New Zealanders’ lives and they are suddenly saying they are going to take a little bit less and are wondering why people are not more grateful. That is the subtext of it all. 
It has to be cruel luck that a Government after 9 years in office offers tax cuts that New Zealanders have been wanting for all of that time and suddenly it is knocked off the first 15 minutes of the news by the complete failure of our system to protect children in this country. I do not think New Zealanders will miss the point. All they want to say about Working for Families is that a lot of families are under stress and that is why—[ 
Interruption 
] It is all connected. The fact is that in 2007 there was an extraordinary number of child murders and last night we saw the effect from families that do not have a lot of purpose. One of the interesting things is that this Budget has not lifted the spirits of New Zealanders one little bit.