Moroney Sue: Budget Debate 
Moroney Sue: Budget Debate 
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SUE MORONEY (Labour) 
: 
 For those watching that contribution was a blow-by-blow account from Maurice Williamson of how the National Government knew it could not afford these tax cuts before it put them through under urgency in December. Maurice Williamson gave us the perfect blow-by-blow account of how the Government had before it in December the documentation that showed the economy was rapidly going downhill. Why did the Government have us here in the House in December? It had the House sitting under urgency to put through those tax cuts the very same tax cuts for which we sat through under urgency last week to change. 
I ask this question again because I have not had an answer from anyone in the National Government: what is John Key’s signature worth these days? It is completely worthless. We know that even though as Maurice Williamson just outlined for us John Key knew how rapidly the economy was declining and Bill English knew as well they went ahead with those tax cuts when they knew they could not afford them. Worse than that they went to an election on the back of those tax cut promises. They knew that they would not be able to afford those tax cuts but they went ahead with them anyway. They thought that the good people of New Zealand would not know any better or any different and that New Zealanders would trust and believe National because John Key gave a cast-iron guarantee. He put his signature on that guarantee and gave a personal commitment and I will talk a little bit later about what John Key’s commitment is now worth in this House. 
Budgets are all about priorities and Budget 2009 tells us all about this National Government’s priorities. Even in difficult economic times Governments have priorities and I think this Budget describes this Government’s priorities perfectly well. Here is a list of the things that the National Government says we can have in tough economic times and the first is tax cuts for the rich. On 1 April 2009—that is right this year—long after it had the information that Maurice Williamson detailed so carefully for us the National Government went ahead with tax cuts so that a third of the cuts would go to the top 3 percent of earners in this country. Clearly that is on the list of things that we can have under a National Government in tough economic times. We can give tax cuts for the rich. That is what the Government did on 1 April proving that that is on its list of priorities. Here is another thing that we can have in tough economic times: we can increase funding for private schools. That is right; private schools where the students come from families wealthy enough to pay fees for their education. That is on the list of things that a National Government can afford to increase. What else is on the list? I have a personal interest in looking at the racing portfolio. Putting aside all personal interests of course I had a look to see what had gone on there. Not one dollar was cut from the money put aside for people like me who can afford to own racehorses. That is another thing on the list that this National Government says we can have. 
Paul Quinn 
: Should you be on this side of the House? 
SUE MORONEY 
: No I say to Paul Quinn. No this is on Paul Quinn’s list of things that can be afforded in tough economic times: stakes money for people who are wealthy enough to afford to own racehorses. That is on the list of things a National Government says can be afforded in tough economic times. 
Let us have a look at the things that are low priorities for the Government. This is the list of things that New Zealanders have to go without in tough economic times even though the top 3 percent of earners can have tax cuts racehorse-owners can keep their stakes money in place and private schools can have increases in their funding. New Zealanders have to go without the security of their future superannuation payments. New Zealanders have to go without any skills training for the future professional development for educators to improve the future for our children and future investment in research and development. 
Paul Quinn 
: Get it out come on. 
SUE MORONEY 
: That is what they have to go without I say to Paul Quinn. Community organisations that look after the most vulnerable in our country also have to go without in these tough economic times. The money that the previous Labour Government had put aside for those organisations has been cut by this National Government. Job creation has not been a priority in this Budget at all. That is the list of things that the National Government does not value as opposed to the list of things it does value. 
In the area of New Zealand I live in the Waikato the Budget has had a particular impact. The Waikato economy is in a great deal of trouble. Just prior to the National Government’s Budget 2009 there was an announcement of a significant downgrade in the Fonterra payment to dairy farmers. That is a big hit on the entire economy of New Zealand but it has particular issues for the Waikato economy. I know that the people of the Waikato were really looking forward to and desperately needed something in this Budget that could get the economy going in the Waikato. What did they find? They found cuts to research and development funding for the food and pastoral sector. This Government took the knife to the very thing that could have stimulated the Waikato economy and cut funding to that area. There is no joy for the Waikato economy and there are no ideas for job creation for the Waikato in Budget 2009. 
I turn my attention to the superannuation issue because I think this is the most cynical part of the National Government’s Budget. 
Paul Quinn 
: Which seat did you stand in Sue? Come on I can’t hear. 
SUE MORONEY 
: I know that Paul Quinn does not want to hear about superannuation because he has been sold the lie on this issue by his leadership. It is really interesting to look at the backbenchers like Paul Quinn in the National Government at the moment because they are all looking a bit sick. They went out in the last election campaign and said that Labour was scaremongering by saying National would tamper with superannuation and that it was wrong. How did those candidates know we were wrong? They went out to the electorate and said that John Key had given his personal commitment that he would resign if National tampered with superannuation in Government. That is what all National candidates were forced to go out and say on the election campaign trail. 
Paul Quinn 
: No no. He didn’t say that. 
SUE MORONEY 
: They deny it now. Now they are saying they never said that but I was in those election campaign forums when exactly that was said. National candidates said that if National tampered with superannuation in Government their leader would resign. Now they are all feeling a bit sick because they know that John Key’s signature is not worth the paper it is written on. They know that now and they are all starting to look a bit sick because they have all put their personal credibility on the line. They have all gone out there and said: “We will not be tampering with superannuation. Don’t listen to Labour. They are scaremongering.” That is what they said just 6 months ago. Here they are saying it again today accusing Labour of scaremongering when quite clearly the Government has a plan to take $37 billion out of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund to ensure that hole will be left there in that fund. 
Somehow the Government thinks the New Zealand public is stupid enough to get the line it is spinning that the Government can under-fund the Superannuation Fund by $37 billion but do not worry folks as it will not make a difference. No one believes that. The public knows that the $37 billion not going into that fund will make a difference. It does not make sense to say otherwise. The National Government backbenchers are looking pretty sick; they know John Key is selling them a line. He is telling them to just say that $37 billion does not make a difference and to just trust him on this one. But they are starting to waver a bit because they trusted John on this one. They trusted him when he put his signature down for those tax cuts they have now reneged on and they have learnt a very sad lesson in their first 6 months in Government. They have learnt that they cannot trust their leader to stick to his word. Now they are being asked to go around the electorate and tell people that not putting $37 billion into the Superannuation Fund will not make any difference to the future funding of superannuation. Those backbenchers all know that cannot possibly be true yet they will be forced to go out and say it is true. 
I can tell that they are starting to wobble on this one because they have already had to do a couple of big flip-flops. They had to do a flip-flop after David Bennett stood up in this House only about 3 months ago and said that tax cuts were the whole reason for the National Government’s being. It has reneged on that already and it has sold out on superannuation. This is not the brighter future that the National Party promised the country; it is a bleaker future.