Brash Don: General Debate 
Brash Don: General Debate 
[Volume:629;Page:1373] 
Dr DON BRASH (Leader of the Opposition) 
: 
 I move  
That the House take note of miscellaneous business 
. Last week I spoke of the fundamental lack of integrity that is at the core of the Labour-led Government. I spoke about “paintergate” about “corngate” about “Doone-gate” and about Helen Clark’s refusal to take responsibility for speeding through South Canterbury at 160 kilometres an hour. I spoke about the shambles of Kyoto. I spoke about the structure that created a mickey-mouse Government in which two Ministers on the one hand claim to be part of the Government and on the other hand claim to be part of the Opposition even though they behave like Government poodles. 
Now we have “pledge card - gate”. The Prime Minister signed a card—with her photograph on it and with her commitments written on it—for which somehow she is no longer responsible. We saw her this week in the House playing funny procedural games to deny responsibility for her action of flagrantly breaching the Electoral Act. 
Hon Phil Goff 
: What double standards from that member who’s got his face all over this pamphlet—paid for by the taxpayer! 
Dr DON BRASH 
: Mr Goff is quite wrong. The Government has flagrantly breached its electoral cap by half a million dollars and moreover has used taxpayers’ money to do so. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I do not want to interrupt Dr Brash at all. But there is too much noise from members particularly over there. [ 
Interruption 
] This is a point of order; the member cannot say “Shut up”. [ 
Interruption 
] I am sorry; I thought she said it but never mind. Dr Brash was speaking and we could not hear him down this end of the House and I suspect the public could not either. I know the public like a good joke so I want them to hear it. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: Please be seated. The member is quite right—in the general debate there is always a level of interjection but it was actually very very difficult to hear. I also say that that was the final warning for people who interrupt during points of order. There were a number of interruptions then. Points of order will be heard in silence. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. Are you effectively ruling that the final comment made by Winston Peters is acceptable because we have put up with those comments all afternoon and we are sick of it. The Chair does need to send him a strong message and he should get his marching orders. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: The first part of Mr Peters’ point of order was legitimate. The second part contained a comment that was similar to comments that have indeed been made by members on all sides of the House especially during general debates. I ask the member to continue. 
Dr DON BRASH 
: I am talking about the fundamental lack of integrity in this Government. I am talking about “pledge card - gate”. I am talking about the card that the Prime Minister signed that bears her photograph has her commitments written on it and was issued in flagrant breach of the Electoral Act cap. She also used $446000 of taxpayers’ money in clear breach of the Parliamentary Service rules. The reality is that the Government has a fundamental lack of integrity at its core. Some people would turn a blind eye to that lack of integrity. I would not do so but some people would turn a blind eye to what is clearly a flagrant breach of the law and a flagrant breach of the Parliamentary Service rules. 
One might have turned a blind eye to it if the Government were competent. But we have seen in the last 3 to 4 hours that the Government is not even competent. My colleague Maurice Williamson highlighted the fact that in June last year Transit issued a document that had to be changed after it was printed. Two months later it was changed again and just 6 months later a new document was issued at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars by an organisation whose board is full of Labour Party appointees—including the Labour Party president Mike Williams. Less than 1 hour after the document was released for consultation the Associate Minister of Finance said: “Disregard the document. It’s got no meaning.” Maurice Williamson highlighted the fact that the document is clearly flagging totally different dates. 
My colleague talked about the Kopu Bridge project which one document said could start in 2008-09 but with the funding shortfall it will not actually begin until 2014-2015. Another project is the Newmarket viaduct replacement. This big fat document talks about it starting in 2007-08 just 18 months or 2 years away. But with the funding shortfall it will not be started until 2 years later in 2009-10. I remind members that that means the bridge will not be finished by the time the Rugby World Cup takes place in Auckland. There will be a bombsite in the centre of Auckland with that viaduct half-built. Then there is the main highway Ellerslie which the big document states could start in 2006-07. But the document issued to Auckland states that it will not start before 2014-15 or maybe after then—“2014-15” written with a little plus sign beside it means it will probably be beyond that 10 years.