Brown Peter: Appropriation (2003/04 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
Brown Peter: Appropriation (2003/04 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
[Volume:610;Page:7672] 
PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 A few moments ago Dr Cullen laughed at the theory that cutting taxes would advance the economy. I do not subscribe to that theory but I can recall the day when Dr Cullen did and I can recall the day when the Labour Party sitting over there committed everything to reducing taxation to advance the economy. Dr Cullen now thinks it is a joke and says that it is laughable. There is some merit in reduced taxation. For a start I will go on record as saying that I would like to see taxation reduced for the low paid in particular. [ 
Interruption 
] I did not catch the Minister’s point. I will go on record as saying I believe that we should encourage exporters by giving them a favourable tax regime. 
Dr Cullen went on to say that he now realises that the asset sales problems were nothing more than a failure. When Labour was in Government between 1984 and 1990 it sold just about everything it could get its hands on. Labour members point across to Richard Prebble but Richard Prebble was not alone there. He cannot take total responsibility. He was in there up to his neck selling whatever he could but the Labour Party was the Government and it wanted to sell everything. As I recall it sold $11 billion worth of assets and now Dr Cullen can make a joke of it. We have had to buy back Air New Zealand and we are now in the throes of trying to solve the Tranz Rail problems. 
This country is now getting by on its immigration policy. We are living on the backs of immigrants. The time will come—if it has not come already—when members will realise that that policy is just as flawed as the asset sales programme that Labour embarked on a few years back. [ 
Interruption 
] I travel on a New Zealand passport. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: I am very pleased to hear it. 
PETER BROWN 
: I am very pleased and very proud to travel on it and I have absolutely no intention of getting anything else. 
Immigration policy is basically population policy. [ 
Interruption 
] Who is meant to be giving this speech? That member over there who never speaks or me? 
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: The member is entitled to a fair go. There is too much cross-interjection. 
PETER BROWN 
: Immigration policy is population policy. I understand that United Future is on record as saying that it wants to see 5 million people in this country within the next 10 years. That is a net gain of 100000 per year. If United Future is the common-sense party then that is the equivalent of 2½ Rotorua’s every year in terms of poll population. If United Future is the common-sense party then I have to say that its members should start thinking a bit more sensibly. 
We should be addressing the immigration question ourselves. I think the Minister of Immigration—and I want to be a little bit charitable here—has somewhat suddenly got the message probably under the influence of my leader the Rt Hon Winston Peters. She has probably taken something on board of some of the statements he has been making. We should be talking about how many people to allow into this country when we want to achieve this level of population—and not ridiculously so as United Future apparently is advocating—where they should live and whether the population should be more evenly distributed. They are reasonable questions. Who should we allow in? Should we be selective; if so whom should we restrict? They are reasonable questions. [ 
Interruption 
] It is too late for me. 
Clayton Cosgrove 
: Never too late. 
PETER BROWN 
: I got through the net but the net was pretty darn tight when I came here. 
Let me be quite clear. New Zealand First advocates that we should reduce the annual number of immigrants into this country and keep it at a controllable reasonable level. We should be careful about who we allow in. [ 
Interruption 
] I think the member is making references to myself but I want to be honest. There would be no great advantage to this country if 100000 of me came in at one time. Over a prolonged period there might be some merit but I would not want to see 100000 of me in one input coming into this country. 
Clayton Cosgrove 
: I agree with the member on that. 
PETER BROWN 
: I am trying to be a little bit charitable here but the member over there keeps heckling. 
I believe that the Minister of Immigration has suddenly taken things on board. We believe that everybody coming here should have a job. She has moved from a points-based system to a job skills-based system. That is in the immigration legislation that is coming in right now and there is merit in it. We believe that everybody coming here should be able to speak English. That seems to be common sense. English is the language of this country— 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: What sort of accent? 
PETER BROWN 
: We are quite relaxed about the accent but we want people to be able to string words together. My accent is no worse than the member’s. We believe that everybody coming into this country should have good health. Let the member tell me that he does not believe in that. We believe that everybody coming in here should have a clean criminal record. We believe that we should have an incentive for immigrants to live outside of Auckland. 
The Minister has recognised many of those points in her bill and she is moving in the right direction but she has no control whatsoever over the numbers. In fact I think she is advocating 45000-plus and we think that is far too many. We believe that there should be a probationary period for anybody coming into this country on a permanent basis. If they offend or are involved in crime within that stipulated time frame then out they go. We must never allow immigration to remove us from the responsibility to train and educate our own people. 
We must also remember that mass immigration as we have been experiencing in the past few years leads to inflation and can put a drain on our health education and welfare and our physical infrastructure such as the roads as it has in places like Auckland. We cannot afford to live on the backs of immigrants for ever. We must recognise that this country does benefit from a positive immigration policy but the one we have right now is too wide—it opens the door far too wide. 
In my last few moments I would like to talk about tax for exporters. If we do not start recognising shortly that exporters are the key to a sound economy it might well be too late. We should be using our tax system to encourage exporters to export more. We should be using our tax system to encourage exporters and manufacturers to set up residence in regional areas rather than all congregating in Auckland. This country will be faced with some tough questions in the not too distant future. We should think about them long and hard in order to do the best for all New Zealanders. 
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: I call the Hon Richard Prebble