King Colin: General Debate 
King Colin: General Debate 
[Volume:668;Page:15182] 
COLIN KING (National—Kaikoura) 
: 
 I guess it is up to the Government member for the electorate of Kaikoura to have the last word and I have to say that the Rugby World Cup 2011 (Empowering) Bill was the winner on the day. When we stop to look at it we see that it truly paints Labour in the colours that it stands for. It is red-faced it is all over the show and it is not presenting a unified face. At a time when it should be unified and focused on the challenges ahead it is divided into factions and it is dysfunctional. When we stop to look at Labour in that light we see its true colours. 
Let us have a look at Labour when it was in Government. It is very good to see what actually happened in the dying days of that reckless overspending Labour Government. One of its leading bills was the Electoral Finance Bill. What was its aim? It was to divide and rule. It was to control. When we look at the way it was responded to we see that it really wound up the people of New Zealand. What did the foreshore and seabed legislation do? It divided New Zealand. Again Labour was going to divide and rule. What we are seeing today around the Rugby World Cup bill is no different from what we saw in the dying days of that Labour administration. 
So what are we seeing today? We are seeing exactly the same thing. Let us reflect on it. Earlier in the year we had that bus driving around the country. It was painted red and had the words “Axe the Tax” on it. What was Labour going to do? 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: The blunderbuss! 
COLIN KING 
: Yes it blew up in Labour members’ faces. They are now in a cleft stick in the sense that within their own numbers they cannot actually make a policy decision. Again they are divided. 
A couple of weeks back we had the unbelievable audacity of Labour doing the work of the unions. It was doing the bidding of the unions and working against the economic best interests of New Zealand. It backed the unions and backed the Australian initiative to create chaos and mayhem in our remarkable film industry. When we look at the track record we see nothing but chaos and confusion around Labour. I believe that that is a strategy Phil Goff is employing to maintain the leadership. Obviously the state of confusion is the key to his leadership and his survival. 
So what conclusion do we come to? When there is a lack of leadership there is confusion. I and other members on this side of the House in Government say that New Zealand deserves better. Two years ago the people of New Zealand made the best choice of their lives and that was between two very stark contrasts: a focused grounded National Government and a confused and dysfunctional split Labour Opposition. 
Let us talk about the positive things that the Government is doing. I may run out of time in doing so. We are building a brighter future for all New Zealanders which is very important. We are rebalancing the economy with 75 percent of New Zealanders paying 17.5 percent tax. The Budget will deliver over 4 years 170000 jobs and an increase in wages of $7000. In health we are transferring as much as is possible of taxpayers’ dollars to the front line to deliver better medical outcomes for New Zealand. And of course the main policy in education is improving plain-language reporting to parents in order to improve achievement in literacy writing and numeracy for our children which are musts in a modern economy. 
Then we have the incredible efforts and strategy in infrastructure. The wisdom of this Government to put commissioners into Environment Canterbury will show a very good dividend for this country’s economy going forward. The Canterbury Water Management Strategy is an amazing strategy. It took backbone courage and clarity of leadership. In the research and development field the 2010 Budget provided science and innovation grants and vouchers that will certainly help our businesses to compete globally. Our free-trade agreements are working very well and we are looking forward to the Trans-Pacific Partnership coming to fruition. Of course there are modifications to the Resource Management Act and business compliance to make sure that businesses can survive. 
New Zealanders can have confidence that they are in good hands. The Government is doing a fantastic job. We are aware today that Labour is totally dysfunctional. 
The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.