Mackey Moana: General Debate 
Mackey Moana: General Debate 
[Volume:636;Page:6942] 
MOANA MACKEY (Labour) 
: 
 What an interesting general debate it has been. We have had National Party member after National Party member get up and complain about the fact that Labour has policies. Although I accept that this may be a foreign concept to the National Party—which can I point out again did not even have a health policy going into the last election—this Labour-led Government will not stop making changes in this country that will benefit all New Zealanders. 
A lot has been said today about the Nicky Hager book  
The Hollow Men 
. I have to say that although a lot of the revelations about the links with the Exclusive Brethren were very surprising in terms of their extent for my part it was the revelation of the disunity in the National Party caucus that really surprised me. It was the utter utter disdain with which National MPs hold each other particularly those along the front bench. I am not sure how things will work with Mr English as deputy leader after he said of his colleague Judith Collins that he thought her health presentation at caucus was awful she was pushed beyond her capacity and she had an unfortunately high estimation of her own competence. It is not just that Bill English thinks that but that he is willing to put it down on paper and send it to his leader. Mr English said that John Carter had been promoted beyond his capacity and we all know what he thinks about Murray McCully. Now of course Maurice Williamson has been promoted to the front bench and we all know that there is no love lost between Mr English and Mr Williamson. I do not know how strategic it is to put them within such close range of each other. 
The other very important thing that came out of the book was the utter disdain displayed by the National Party for the voting public of New Zealand at the last election. We heard about the superannuation policy whereby National thought it might need to put up the age of entitlement to 68. National members suggested that rather than just be honest about the fact that that was what they believed in and what they wanted to do perhaps they should just not tell the voting public that they wanted to do it. Dr Brash said he was even prepared to lie about it if necessary. I think that that is a very important revelation for many New Zealanders who let us be honest after 6 or 7 years of a Labour-led Government that has made promises before elections and kept those promises after elections have forgotten what it is like to have a Government that says one thing prior to an election and then does exactly the opposite afterwards. I suggest that with recent comments from Bill English on asset sales and on how the Government owns too many things we can look forward to more asset sales should National ever gain the Treasury benches. 
While the National Party was courting extreme support groups during the election its members were waxing lyrical about mainstream New Zealanders. Members said they knew hardship. One of the very interesting things that came out in the book was that Mr Bryan Sinclair suggested to National MP Sandra Goudie that she might want to find some assistance to meet “Don-specific” expenses. He was asking for her help in contacting rich donors so as to get some of Don Brash’s clothing expenses paid for because Dr Brash had gone down in salary by $250000 and was now on only $200000. 
Hon Paul Swain 
: Practically a pauper! 
MOANA MACKEY 
: It is difficult to buy clothes on $200000—Dr Brash was practically a pauper as my colleague Mr Swain said. How can a party that believes things like that actually claim to represent ordinary mainstream New Zealanders? 
That is why I suspect National has ushered in the age of the sensitive new-age Tory—the David Cameron wannabe the compassionate and conservative Mr John Key. His first speech was all kittens and cuddles. Was it not lucky that National got rid of the PC eradicator Wayne Mapp because his detector would have been going off all through that speech; it would have been going off the scale. Mr Key has proceeded to systematically endorse every single policy that Labour has put in place and he has turned his back on all the National policies that he campaigned strongly for at the last election. Mr Key is a man who trades on his State house past but he is now the leader of a party that would deny the same protections to New Zealand families and New Zealand children today that he had growing up. He is a man who thinks he has done well despite growing up in a State house. That underlines a fundamental difference between a John Key - led National Party and this Labour-led Government. John Key is a man so in touch with ordinary New Zealanders that he said it is a privilege to be a New Zealander because we have the world’s best oysters. 
I say to John Key that all the rhetoric all the nice words all the fluffy language in the world and all the going forward that he is going to do will not put food on people’s tables will not put a roof over their head and will not educate their children. His words will not ensure that every child in this country has the right to health and education if there is no policy behind them. We are looking forward to seeing that policy because around Mr Key are the same 47 people who were there when Don Brash was leader. I suggest to Mr Key that it might be easier if he just signed up to the Labour Party—I have brought a membership book down here. On this side of the House he might find it a bit easier to get his policies through.