Cosgrove Clayton: General Debate 
Cosgrove Clayton: General Debate 
[Volume:635;Page:6513] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Minister for Building Issues) 
: 
 This is one of those occasions when we start to think of contrasts. In this cup week I can think of a number of analogies that I will come to in a minute but one starts to think of the contrast with regard to the divide between the parties. On the one hand we have a Government that has announced a whole range of measures whether they be energy efficiency in housing climate change initiatives national energy strategies ideas visions and a whole series of climate change and environmental initiatives such as the solar water-heating programmes. My colleague Jeanette Fitzsimons is working on star rating systems. The ideas are oozing out of members on this side of the House who are in Government. 
Then we look across the House and see the contrast with that. We see the effort made by National’s leader Don Brash. He staggered through—he talked about Bob Clarkson; I think he meant a bob each way—a sort of dissertation about a stadium idea or policy that he may have. He did make Gerry Brownlee’s speech look good. Then we had a contribution from Murray McCully which was actually rather sound in some ways. He has the spokespersonship on that whole deal for the National side of the House. He was the third speaker off the rank. I will tell the House about the National Party—here is the contrast with the Government which is pumping out ideas. I think somebody in America called it the vision thing. We have a group of people opposite us who are absolutely paralysed. They are dominated by plotting scheming and paralysis. They are trying to work out which horse they should jump on. 
It is cup week I am a Cantabrian and we did host the New Zealand Cup. I am reminded of a few horse analogies—as the crazy horse walks out the door— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: No the member will withdraw and apologise. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I withdraw and apologise. I am reminded of a couple of horse analogies. We have on the Opposition side of the House one or two thoroughbreds so those members say. One is nicknamed “National Velvet” according to  
North and South 
 and he is the front runner—that being John Key. Of course the problem with regard to John Key and the leadership is that he ain’t got the bottle or the steel to move. He does not know what to do. He would love to have a go at it but he is absolutely indecisive. And he purports to want to be the Prime Minister one day! That guy was once a sort of junk bond - trader in foreign exchange in New York. He traded in junk bonds up and down the country. Was he decisive in that? He cannot make up his mind as the thoroughbred of the National Party whether he will run. 
Then there is the draught horse over there Gerry Brownlee who would love to have a go at leading National. He is itching to have a go. He cannot believe his luck that he got to the deputy’s seat which he has and he knows that the only way he will survive—as he gets up every day in this Chamber with a bit of bluff and bluster—is if John Key rolls Don. 
But the problem is of course that the National Party is absolutely paralysed. It does not know which way to go. What did it roll out? Don Brash made a very interesting speech. He talked about the stadium costings and the need for a GST component to be included in them. He is the man who in the 1980s chaired the committee that designed GST. Suddenly in the Chamber today he rekindled his wonderful eloquent knowledge and expertise on GST. 
The problem is of course that as Don Brash pontificated on high about the GST in respect of the stadium costings he did not mention the $112000 that National owes in its GST overspend which it will not pay back. Given the muck that National members threw around this House week after week and I will not use the word but I think everybody knows what the first letter is—it is the “h” word— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: No the use of that letter is an imputation. Members cannot get around the rules. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I withdraw. The member threw the muck around yet he had a dose of amnesia when it came to his party’s GST and whether it would pay it back. I remind people who are listening to this debate that National went so far in not moving on its own payments that the taxpayer-funded Television New Zealand had to pay part of the GST for National. It had to pay its bit back to the broadcasters. 
We can look at the National members staggering around over there in Opposition. Don Brash made a speech that would I suspect make paint dry. Don Brash stood there with no vision and no ideas but was backed up with a bit of smoke and mirrors and bluster from Gerry Brownlee. Then of course there is Bill English. John Key’s other problem is that he is being undermined by Bill English. Bill English would love to go there but he is a sort of old nag that is off to the glue factory. Bill English would love to get there but he ain’t going to make it. 
National members should get some vision they should get some ideas and they should actually tell us what their policy is on the stadium.