Yates Dianne: General Debates 
Yates Dianne: General Debates 
[Volume:617;Page:12860] 
DIANNE YATES (Labour—Hamilton East) 
: 
 One of my Christmas presents was a calendar entitled “George W. Bushisms 2004 Day-to-Day Calendar”. 
Clayton Cosgrove 
: “Locky” the pin-up? 
DIANNE YATES 
: No it was not. There are no pictures in it. The calendar is very humorous featuring a laugh a day a gaffe a day from President Bush. Each day has a statement containing spoonerisms malapropisms contradictions strange and unrelated facts and misuse of words. The calendar is a litany of gaffes by the President of the United States. I now understand why Dr Brash wishes to visit the United States. It is to get his gaffes his “Brash-isms” published; or perhaps it is so that “Dithering Don”—which is what he is called on television—can get an honorary doctorate in indecision. There is at least a gaffe a day from Don Brash. 
I shall share some of those “Brash-isms” ditherings and dilly-dallying with members. The first one is on Iraq and states: “The Americans didn’t handle Iraq as well as might have been done.” When Don Brash was pressured over his stance on the war in Iraq he said: “I think I would have done what President Bush did.” and then: “I guess in hindsight it’s easy to see what might have been done differently.”—dilly-dallying Don Brash. There is a calendar here definitely. On nuclear policy he is reported to have told an American congressional delegation in January that if National became the Government the ban on nuclear ships would be “gone by lunchtime”. Now he claims not to remember what he said and I quote: “What I said to them precisely I simply do not recall. It’s more than 4 months ago.” This sounds very much like some of those “Bush-isms” but would members believe it they are “Brash-isms”. 
On the subject of schools Dr Brash said: “For my part I do not care who owns the schools.” Later he said: “Well we might be better off to look carefully at other models where the Government funds education but where most schools are privately owned or operated.” He was dilly-dallying once again not able to make up his mind. Then on health he said he wants user-pays: “Prices in a competitive market are usually a more reliable indicator of where resources should be allocated than political or bureaucratic edict. The problem area of health care can be solved through the price mechanism.” Goodness knows what happens when people are sick. Then Mr Brash said: “I am certainly not going to step into the political maelstrom which is the health-care debate at least in part because I simply do not know what to suggest or recommend.” Those comments were made by someone who thinks he might possibly one day be the leader of this country. He was dilly-dallying once again. 
On the question of equality Dr Brash has said—and he keeps reminding us—that his wife is from Singapore and he totally believes in equality. Then he said: “National is absolutely committed to returning more flexibility to New Zealand’s increasingly regulated labour market.” Next when he is asked whether he would hire a Pakeha over a Maori he said: “If I was an employer looking at two people who applied for a job with equal qualifications and I saw someone who was actively involved in a marae I clearly would have to be less inclined to hire that person.” Goodness knows what “actively involved in a marae” means but it certainly does not mean flexibility on Dr Brash’s behalf. It was another “Brash-ism”.  
Let us look at what he says about holidays: “My strong recommendation would be to leave workers to choose with their bosses how much leave they have and how much wages they have.” Then when asked whether he would repeal the 4 weeks’ holiday legislation he said: “Well that would be my recommendation to caucus yes.” —another matter of dilly-dallying another “Brash-ism”.