English Bill: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
English Bill: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Advance Copy - Subject to minor change before inclusion in Bound Volume.] 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 It has been interesting listening because the one thing we should have heard and still have not heard is Labour apologising for the damage it did to the New Zealand economy. These estimates cover just the cost of another year of this National-led Government trying to undo the wreckage disentangle the wreckage of an economy that used to be a proud exporting economy. But here is one simple fact for those who profess to care about jobs: in 2009 there were no more jobs in exporting than there had been 10 years earlier—10 years earlier. So after 10 years of the great moderation of a global economic boom with unfortunately a Labour Government in charge there were no new jobs in the New Zealand export sector—none. Our capacity to earn had not increased in 10 years. 
But what about our capacity to spend? Well there were jobs everywhere jobs everywhere—public servants real estate agents finance companies. That is what went so wrong with the economy and that is why the Labour Party should apologise. Until Labour apologises the public is not going to listen to it on the economy. The public rightly thinks it is still the same old nasty big government taxing spending Labour Party. 
Changing the leader does not make any difference. There is no change of heart. There is no discussion tonight about respecting the people who invest take risks and create jobs the people who show up to work every day and do not want to be taxed out of their pocket so that they cannot pay their bills. No there is no indication from the Labour Party that anything has changed from “Helen-omics”. At least when Michael Cullen was running economic policy it was reasonably sound. But in about 2004 that stopped. The left took over. It blew the Budget wrecked the economy and it is still in charge. That is why the New Zealand public—well the New Zealand public hope that if Grant Robertson is the leader he will apologise. Phil Goff certainly would not. David whatever-his-name-is thinks he—well I do not know if he thinks he should or not because he does not really say much. I was hopeful. I was hopeful. I thought David Shearer might get up clear the decks and say: “We’re sorry we made a mess. We understand why our vote keeps going down.”—and it went down again in the last election—“We are sorry.” But no he cannot bring himself to do it. But Grant Robertson probably can because I think he might have the ruthless streak. And the rest of the caucus just have to get used to the idea that when he becomes the leader he will apologise. I do not think he believes he should; I just think he believes that is probably what you need to do if you become the next leader of the Labour Party and you want to get the public’s vote and win. 
 That is one of the reasons why the Government is able to continue with a credible economic programme that sets out to achieve some pretty straightforward objectives: to get back to surplus and to rebalance this economy. By that I mean to get people and capital back into the income-earning side of the economy. We will not be able to borrow our wealth in the next 10 years like we did in the last 10 years; we will actually have to earn it. That is what these estimates cover: the continued considered and consistent economic strategy that the Government is following. It is taking the public along making significant change where it is warranted careful change where that is what is required and dealing with the unexpected events like the earthquakes—not complaining about them; just getting on with it. That is why the programme of the Government is starting to earn the respect of entities like the IMF as being a sensible programme.