Cunliffe David: General Debate 
Cunliffe David: General Debate 
[Volume:662;Page:10758] 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour—New Lynn) 
: 
 We have heard from the “Minister for Faster Cheaper Broadband” but not one inch has been laid on his watch. What is happening? Ordinary Kiwis are watching “Cruiser Collins” sucking off the teat of the taxpayer—100 bucks a week in petrol—at the same time that she gets a chauffeur-driven limousine. Bill English was double-dipping on the taxpayer and is still pretending he lives in Dipton while drawing an accommodation supplement in Wellington. John Key stands up a trade mission in the Middle East whose members paid $20000 each to go with him while he does flak-jacket photo opportunities in Afghanistan. Gerry Brownlee is the only one to get a run on the board this week for that Government. He managed to draw the biggest crowd in Auckland history and unite them against the Government. It was the biggest crowd in Auckland history for Gerry Brownlee. 
While all of that is happening what are ordinary Kiwis saying? I will read out a heartfelt plea from an ordinary Kiwi that I saw on a website: “Every time National gets in it costs me directly in the pocket being an average Kiwi. Last time they were in there were calls ‘We need to tighten our belts’. Then things did get better under Labour but again National are cutting things and costing me and mine in the pocket using the same catchcry ‘Tighten the belts for the betterment of the country’. I suppose they mean things will get better for middle and lower Kiwis when Labour are back again.” 
Things just go from bad to worse for Bill English. Two weeks out from the Budget the Government should be rolling in a string of positive press from its own pre-Budget announcements but instead it is rolling in the muck of its own making. Things go from bad to worse. “Families paying more for their groceries” “Wages stall” “A third of young New Zealanders out of work” and today we hear that the cycleway which was the No. 1 job scheme has created not one single job—zero nada zip nothing. There was not one job from the No. 1 initiative of the Job Summit. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: That was the big deal. 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: That was the big deal. 
What about the 9-day fortnight the great job scheme? It was so bad that only 30 companies used it and the Government cancelled it in the middle of the recession. What about ordinary Kiwis who are worrying about paying the bills? They received about 1 percent in wage growth in the last year—1 percent—and that was before inflation. They are going backwards and they know it. They are worrying about paying the mortgage worrying about putting food on the table and worrying about their power prices going up. Meanwhile “Cruiser Collins” is looking for a gas station. It just is not right. 
The tipping point has come because New Zealanders now believe that this Government is more worried about its own popularity than about doing what is right for New Zealand and about having New Zealanders’ interests at heart putting food on their table and protecting their jobs. Here is the truth here is the bottom line: this Government does not have a plan for the job of “Joe Average”. 
The Government does not have a plan to grow this economy. It says that four things will do it—the four solutions. More jobs it says but that does not work because the gap with Australia is widening and our unemployment is now at a record high for the past 10 years. It would reform the tax system but that means the “Joe Averages” will pay more for GST on everything they buy and the rich few will get a whopping big tax cut. That does not work. 
The Government says there will be better delivery of public services. Well we have not talked too much about that so let us just go through a few broken promises. National promised that it would not cut services. What part of that promise has it broken so far? It has taken $49 million from road policing there has been a 25 percent cut in teachers’ professional development and it has taken $130 million over 4 years from adult education. 
There are 250000 Kiwis who have lost their night classes to save about $13 million a year which is about one-third of the extra subsidy that those Tories gave to private schools. Quarter of a million ordinary Kiwis are missing out so that the Government can give a bonus to private schools and that is wrong. Ordinary Kiwis know it is wrong. They think it stinks and that is why the tipping point has come. The Government has taken $25 million over 4 years from curriculum development and school programmes in State schools and $28 million from the training incentive allowance.