Smith Nick: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Smith Nick: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 14 November 2012. Volume:685;Page:6592. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (National—Nelson) 
: 
 Sometimes it is the little things that happen around here in Parliament that tell us about what is really going down here and so it was last night when Government members grabbed a bite to eat in the members’ dining room. It was like watching the great Messiah gather with the disciples for that Last Supper. 
It begins with David Cunliffe confidently strolling in at 6.30 smiling like the Cheshire cat in search of his cabal of close colleagues. He realises he is in the wrong place but as one to never admit the errors of mere mortals makes quiet conversation and exits through the next door with conspiracy all over his face. Not a minute passes and in come Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins in search of Mr Cunliffe. We politely give them directions and advise them that we are signed-up members of the “Nats for Shearer” club. They guiltily slink off through the door. Next scurry in Darien Fenton and Phil Twyford. They are much more sheepish in seeking out their messiah but we again helpfully direct them to the correct room. Clare Curran Ross Robertson and Parekura Horomia are the next group of lost disciples although going by their looks I would be a little bit worried that one of them is indeed the Judas. 
So what are we to make of these goings on? The first is that Labour cannot even organise a proper coup without the help of National MPs. One would not trust those members to organise a booze-up in a brewery let alone a change of leadership. How can Labour members pretend they are capable of running the country when they cannot even run themselves? The second is that the end is nigh for Mr Shearer. The question now is only a matter of when not if. The third is that the battle for the soul of the Labour Party is between the “ABC” club—the old guard like David Parker and Trevor Mallard—and the new young disciples of David Cunliffe like Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins. The fourth is this: this weekend’s Labour conference is going to be all about just one thing: leadership or rather the lack of it. Why on earth would debating the constitutional changes over leadership be the key item on the agenda when your leader is languishing in the polls and hanging on by the end of his fingernails? 
But Labour’s problems are actually much deeper than leadership. It is just not credible for Labour to say it is all for jobs and then to oppose every realistic initiative for job creation whether it is  
The Hobbit 
 the International Convention Centre aquaculture mining or irrigation projects. It is not credible for Labour to shed crocodile tears about housing affordability and then promote monetary policy changes that will only drive up interest rates and the cost of housing. Nor is it credible for Labour to wail about export growth and then propose new taxes and new charges that will sock our export sector between the eyes. 
My advice to the disciples of both Mr Cunliffe and Mr Shearer is that before you pick your messiah you have got to get your gospel sorted out. The real challenge is for the Opposition to put up a united credible alternative plan. The problem for Labour members this weekend is that they are so focused on themselves and their internal squabbles that they have absolutely nothing to offer the people of New Zealand.