Lees-Galloway Iain: Taxation (Budget Measures) Bill Student Loan Scheme (Budget Measures) Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Lees-Galloway Iain: Taxation (Budget Measures) Bill Student Loan Scheme (Budget Measures) Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
[Sitting date: 24 May 2012. Volume:680;Page:2494. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Labour—Palmerston North) 
: 
 Frankly I did not think that I would see the day when I would agree with Maggie Barry but I do now. She said that this legislation repeals “mad old legislation”. It repeals mad old legislation brought into place 2 or 3 years ago by that National Government over there to try to encourage students to pay off their loans faster. What an absolute failure of legislation it has been. It was a bad idea at the time everybody knew that it was a bad idea at the time and finally—it has taken only 3 years—the Government has figured out that its legislation was mad old legislation in the words of Maggie Barry. The National Government has finally figured out that it needs to repeal those changes that it made just 3 years ago.  
 The Taxation (Budget Measures) Bill and the Student Loan Scheme (Budget Measure) Amendment Bill are an absolute admission of failure by this Government. They are an absolute admission of failure. The Government has failed to grow the economy. It has introduced a zero Budget with zero hope zero ideas zero ambition and zero growth for this country. These bills are an admission that that zero Budget is an absolute failure for this country. The Government has been so poor at growing the economy that it now has to go hunting down the back of the couch. It has to tip the poor paper boys and paper girls on their heads and squeeze every last cent out of their pockets. It has to go and chase down the students. 
And not only is it repealing its mad old legislation for the students but also of course what we are seeing is that it is going to take away the student allowance for postgraduate students. Not 2 weeks after the Government announced that all teachers were going to have to have postgraduate qualifications it is now announcing that if you want to do a postgraduate qualification you have to do it without a student allowance. My goodness National hates teachers. This Government hates teachers. It has told them that they are not high quality and now it is telling them that if they want to get their qualification they are on their own. They are on their own. The Government is not going to support them. In fact the Government is actively discouraging people from going into the teaching profession with that cut to the student allowance. 
What are we talking about with this bill? Well we are going to see the paper boys and paper girls taxed. Actually Andrew Williams called this Budget the “Fagin Budget”. You can just see the poor paper boy going to Mr Bill English and saying: “Please sir may I have some more?”. It is poor old paper boy Oliver Twist. In fact there are a few other Dickens novels that I think are appropriate for this Government and this Budget such as  
Hard Times. 
 That is a Dickens novel that I think sums up the situation in New Zealand as well. Another is  
Great Expectations 
. How about  
Great Expectations 
? Every year the Prime Minister told us that the economy was going to grow that there were going to be 170000 more jobs; now it is 154000 more jobs. It is shrinking—it is shrinking. But the Government still has these great expectations that somehow by magic—by magic—everything is going to turn round. 
Dr Megan Woods 
:  
A Tale of Two Cities 
? 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
:  
A Tale of Two Cities 
—well indeed. From where I come from Palmerston North we think it is pretty much a tale of one city in this country: it is all about Auckland and roads of national significance. I am sorry but it is all about roads of national significance. You are completely overlooked in the provinces—no roads no rail. The Government is not interested in what is happening in provinces like the Manawatu and it has run out of ideas. 
 The best it can come up with is this penny-pinching legislation which hammers the poor old paper boys and paper girls. They are copping it for the Government’s failure. The Government is taking away a few housekeeping rebates. It is taking away childcare rebates as well. Gosh has not the Government chosen some delightful people to pick on? Has it not gone after— 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: Middle New Zealand.  
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: Yes middle New Zealand is getting absolutely hammered by this Government because it has just failed year after year after year to meet any of the promises that the Prime Minister made absolutely empty promises not based on any facts. We told it so at the time. We told it so. It refused to believe us but this legislation the Taxation (Budget Measures) Bill and the Student Loan Scheme (Budget Measures) Amendment Bill is an absolute admission of failure from this zero National Government.