Little Andrew: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLittle Andrew: General Debate[Sitting date: 09 September 2015. Volume:708;Page:6437. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition): I move That the House take note of miscellaneous business. What we have seen in the House this afternoon is the shabby entrails of the last vestiges of an underperforming Government. It has lost control. It has lost track. It has got nothing to offer New Zealand in its time of greatest need. It sits there with nothing to offer New Zealand. It sits on the sidelines doing very little.The Government claims no responsibility for the things that it can control. It claims the credit for things that are completely out of its control. It blames a Government of 8 years ago for things that go wrong on its watch. That is the New Zealand Government today. That is the New Zealand National Government that we have got presiding over us for the next 2 years. Then of course it will change.On this Government’s watch this is a Government that has had its back turned on the best interests of New Zealand and under our noses New Zealand has been undergoing profound change. Let us just think about what has been happening.The Government is doing its level best to sell absolutely everything. It is not pleased enough with selling our employment laws to Warner Bros. It is not pleased with selling our thousands of State houses when people are queueing up trying to get into good houses trying to get into safe warm houses—the very least expectation we have for our most vulnerable. The Government is not content with selling our State businesses our power generation businesses. It is not content with trying to sell off our Pharmac purchasing model to overseas interests. It is not content with putting our lawmaking capacity on the block under the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It is not content with selling off our gambling laws to Skycity and others.It does not stop. The integrity of the Government has been sold to a Saudi businessman and that is now under investigation. There is the whole shabby line-up—Minister after Minister issue after issue. This is the National Government 2008 to 2017 and then it will come to an end. But in the meantime the damage is being done—in the meantime the damage is being done.This Government is also presiding over an ever-growing sale of our productive base our productive land assets and our productive industries—selling them overseas. It is the Government’s inattention this Government’s inattention and so many New Zealanders are feeling it now—not just those in Taranaki not just the rising number of unemployed in Taranaki not just the rising number of businesses that are struggling to get ahead because of this Government’s inattention.We have a slowing economy. Seven regions are now reporting shrinkage in their economic growth and let us just see what happens in the next quarter. We have out-of-control house prices in Auckland and a Government that will just do nothing—just do nothing—about it. Thousands of Aucklanders are shut out of the opportunity to own their own home. The one thing that we promise New Zealanders—those who are newly arrived here and those who will grow up here—is that if they work hard if they save hard they will have a chance to own their own home. Well that is out of touch because of this Government’s inattention and lackadaisical approach.There is a growing number of jobless people across New Zealand. There is growing poverty in New Zealand. The Government says that $25 a week from 1 April next year to a selected few is going to make the difference. It will not. The Government does not care. It treats a growing number of New Zealanders as if they just do not matter and we have a growing number of businesses that just want to get ahead but they cannot do so. There is more red tape imposed by this Government. There are more hurdles to leap. It just does not care.If this Government stands for one thing it is a failure to stand up for the future—a future that New Zealanders are desperate to hear about and know about and hope for. Well the Government is not delivering and it cannot deliver because this is a sideline Government. It stands on the sidelines and hopes for the best—it stands on the sidelines and hopes for the best.But what is worse is that a new characteristic has emerged from this Government and it is so far adrift of the New Zealand characteristic. This Government no longer represents a sense of compassion a sense of conscience a sense of moral responsibility. It has lost its way. It has no values no moral compass no nothing to offer hope to New Zealanders.Well it has to be better and it can be better. We need a Government and we will get a Government that truly represents the New Zealand character; a Government interested in investing in the real future in infrastructure in research and development and in real diversification—stuff that will make a difference. But most of all we need a sense of hope and conscientiousness and compassion for all New Zealanders and for our reputation abroad. New Zealanders deserve nothing less.