Tolley Anne: Budget Debate 
Tolley Anne: Budget Debate 
[Volume:639;Page:9630] 
ANNE TOLLEY (National—East Coast) 
: 
 The biggest issues faced at this point in time in the area that I represent which is the East Coast—typical rural provincial New Zealand—are the high dollar high interest rates high taxation and high compliance costs. So when the Budget was delivered the majority of people in my area were interested in how the Budget would address those concerns which are very typical across rural provincial New Zealand. The answer of course is that none of the above were actually addressed in the Budget at all. Let us look at them one by one. 
The most important thing farmers are concerned about at the moment is the high dollar. What do we see in this Budget to address that high dollar? Absolutely nothing. There is no economic strategy and nothing in the Budget to give farmers any credence that this Government understands the difficulties they are facing and has a plan to get that dollar down. This year is supposed to be Export Year. Well it is a cruel joke on the East Coast because export earnings are going down not up. They are going down as a direct result of the actions of this Government. 
Forestry is a major industry on the East Coast. Forests are being cut down because of this Government’s actions. There is nothing in the Budget to address that issue at all. Forests have not been planted so investment has been halted and that has caused a loss of jobs on the East Coast. People have no confidence even as they come into this year’s planting season that the Government will give them carbon credits for any of the forests they have planned. So they are disappointed that this Government has again overlooked the sector that provides the economic backbone of this country—that is farming. 
I turn to high interest rates. Last week I received a letter from my bank telling me that the interest rate on my mortgage has now gone over 10 percent. I am one of many throughout New Zealand who would have received a similar letter. We are paying 10 percent interest on our mortgage. The cities I deal with such as Gisborne and Whakatane have lots of young families that are struggling to make ends meet. They are struggling because the cost of living has gone up the cost of power has gone up and the cost of food has gone up as have the costs of rates and petrol—and now their mortgage has gone up. Many of those young families are struggling to make ends meet. 
But Dr Cullen knows best and this Labour Government knows best. They say to those families that they are not saving enough. What is more the Government says that if it gave them a tax cut gave them any extra money it knows that they would fritter it away. The Government does not trust them not to spend any more of their money so it wants them to save. These young families are flocking into my office saying: “We do not have any spare money to save. We are struggling enough to make ends meet and raise our children.” A prudent investor would advise any of those families to pay off their home mortgage first before they lock money away into a savings account where they cannot get the funds out until the age of 65. 
What about high taxation? We know that that was not addressed in this Budget. Because of inflation more and more people are paying the top tax rate. When this Government came to power in 1999—it seems like a century ago—it said: “Do not worry. We are putting up the top tax rate but do not worry because only 5 percent of taxpayers will be paying that top tax rate.” Well 15 percent of taxpayers are now paying that rate. The Government promised a miserly adjustment to those tax rates in the year before last. It was worth the equivalent of the cost of a packet of chewing gum. But this year taxpayers have been denied even that by this Government. 
Finally we have high compliance costs. There is nothing in this Budget to help those businesses that are crying out under the weight of the paperwork this Government is forcing on them. Ratepayers are paying substantially higher rates as a direct result of the paperwork and compliance costs that this Government has forced upon them. Nothing in this Budget will help to improve productivity which has fallen to historically low levels. 
But I want to talk about an area that I have some particular interest in and I am pleased to see that the Minister Ruth Dyson has come to the Chamber after I was talking to her this morning at the Social Services Committee. I went to the committee’s Budget hearing as the Opposition spokesperson on Child Youth and Family. This department is a very important part of our Government services. It is responsible for taking care of ensuring that our children grow up in a safe and valued environment. When I look at the statement of intent for the Ministry of Social Development I see that one of Child Youth and Family’s major planks is to ensure that children and young people have permanent and stable care. These are some very nice words in this statement of intent: “The cornerstone of every child’s development and wellbeing is a lasting primary relationship with an adult who is nurturing and protective and who fosters security and trust through predictable responses …”. 
In other words in order for children to grow and develop they have to have a secure environment and they have to be able to develop a bond with the adult who is looking after them. Any parent knows that. We understand that. We even have a bill before the House at the moment that is looking at allowing women who are in prison to keep their newborn babies with them for a period of time in order to allow that bonding to take place. We understand the importance of that bonding for the development of those children. 
So it was with some horror that I received answers to a question to the Minister yesterday that showed that Child Youth and Family and this Government are failing the most vulnerable children in this country. They are failing them consistently and they are failing them knowingly. 
I have statistics from the year 2006 that show the worst cases from sites up and down New Zealand in relation to the number of times those vulnerable children have been moved from pillar to post. A 6-year-old boy from the Manawatu was moved 11 times in 1 year—11 moves. An 11-year-old girl in Papanui was moved 11 times in 1 year. A 2-year-old in Whenuapai was moved seven times. We have to ask ourselves what a 2-year-old can do that would necessitate moving that child seven times in 1 year—in 12 months. That is once every 1½ months that the child is put into a new environment with new smells and new surroundings and is left with a broken relationship. How on earth will that child ever prosper? We are supposed to be doing that in the best interests of that child. 
I know that there are times when we do not get it right the first time but I suggest to the Minister and her department that getting it wrong seven eight nine 10 and 11 times in 1 year is not good enough. The children in this country who are the most vulnerable because they are the most at risk deserve far more from this Minister and from this Government—and there is nothing in this Budget to address that. There are no extra finances or extra resources to deal with that situation.