Auchinvole Chris: Budget Debate 
Auchinvole Chris: Budget Debate 
[Volume:673;Page:19162] 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE (National—West Coast - Tasman) 
: 
 In contrast to the member who has just spoken Iain Lees-Galloway who gave a spirited speech but such a sad one on 19 May the Hon Bill English delivered a Budget full of good news. It was good news for West Coast - Tasman particularly in relation to health services. It was a responsible Budget that clearly sets this Government apart from the previous one. The Hon Bill English gave us a rational National Budget. 
I am honoured to have the opportunity to speak in support of this Budget. I do not think I will ever lose the sense of privilege one has standing in this House of Representatives. I am standing here today on behalf of the people of West Coast - Tasman and I in company with my National colleagues work every day to represent the people who put us here. 
I have been particularly busy in West Coast - Tasman over the last 2 weeks and I can say that people there have universally welcomed this Budget. They were not looking for big election year handouts. Indeed they were extremely concerned over the situation the previous Government had left the country in. They were not looking for election bribes or spending priorities that place re-electing the Government first and the well-being of the country second. They have had enough of that. 
Dr Cam Calder 
: A distant second. 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE 
: I thank Dr Calder. It is a distant second indeed. They had enough of that in the three election-year Budgets delivered by Michael Cullen. I always felt there was a touch of: “Oh what a clever boy am I.” as he pulled a plum out of the pie. The reality was he was so proud of clearing Government debt he encouraged private debt which has gone through the roof. In fact one could almost say he forced private debt. 
In 2008 the people of West Coast - Tasman voted for a change. They voted for a National-led Government because they knew that when tough times hit we need sound economic management. That is exactly what people have got from this Government and they will continue to get it. They know that this is a responsible Budget—a Budget that will drive New Zealand forward encourage job creation and boost incomes. This is what I hear everywhere I go in the electorate. 
Dr Cam Calder 
: Prudent guardians. Prudent guardians of the public purse. 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE 
: Yes good guardians of the public purse. From the top of the electorate in Tasman where I visit horticulturalists down to people in South Westland that is what they are looking for: a firm Budget that gets things right. The residents of Tasman District—an area known sadly for its sunshine wages—know that the only way to increase wages is to grow the economy and to increase productivity. West Coasters know that the only way to create new jobs is to build faster economic growth as this Budget does and to encourage employers to take on staff. We have introduced several ways to facilitate that in this Budget and in other labour legislation. 
Budget 2011 clearly sets this Government apart from previous Governments. The previous Labour Government had 9 years managing this economy—9 years it could have spent preparing this country for tough times. It could have promoted national savings encouraged the private sector to grow jobs built a resilient economy and boosted export activity. That is where there has been a large absence. Instead at the end of its 9 years we had a nation that spent $1.10 for every $1 we earned. It is as simple as that. 
Louise Upston 
: Shocking! 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE 
: Louise Upston says she is shocked. I am sure she is. 
Dr Cam Calder 
: How much is that? 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE 
: It is $1.10 for every $1 we earned. We had job growth but it was public sector jobs that burgeoned. They were jobs supported not by private innovation or entrepreneurship and income but by hefty taxes on the job creators. We were left with an economy ill-prepared for global financial recession—so much so that we actually went into recession before the rest of the world. One does not want to be first in some things and that was one of them. 
Jo Goodhew 
: An indictment on Labour. 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE 
: Jo Goodhew says that it was an indictment on Labour— 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: That’s ridiculous. 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE 
: —and I guess the country agreed with that I say to Steve Chadwick. The country spoke at the election. 
A National-led Government has been left to sort out the mess and the Prime Minister and his Ministers have been working hard since day one just to do that. I think any member of the Government can testify just how hard our Ministers work. Have members ever seen a Minister spending surplus time in Copperfields? I have not. They work and they work hard. 
Where the Labour Government promoted spending and consumption and led by its own example the National-led Government in three successive Budgets has turned that situation round. We are now a nation of savers and are becoming ever more so. We now spend less that we earn and the Government has led the way by making value-for-money savings across public services and moving resources from the back office to the front line. This is a responsible Budget— 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: Tell your grandchildren to save more. 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE 
: —I say to Steve Chadwick who I know secretly agrees. It is a Budget for growth and a Budget that puts us on track to achieve surpluses by 2015. 
This is in stark contrast to the previous Government. It had no plan for the economy. Even now Labour’s policies are still to spend more on bureaucracy and tax the job creators. Labour members keep listing the reversal of upper level tax breaks as the way to correct the economy. They cannot use a dollar more than once but they keep using that as a solution for everything—everything. I have news for the new-look Labour Party: New Zealanders have longer memories than that. 
From conversations I have had recently I know that the people of the West Coast - Tasman electorate have longer memories than that. They remember a Labour Government that ran the economy into the ground increased bureaucracy and called it economic growth and took them into a recession months before the rest of the world. On the West Coast they remember a Labour Government that all but destroyed the West Coast timber industry—and thank goodness National has reasserted it—and called them nasty names when they complained about it. In Tasman they remember a Labour Government that promised them a Ruby Bay bypass road every election year—election after election—and changed its mind as soon as the promise had worked to get it re-elected. 
Budget 2011 shows just how different the National-led Government is. Phil Goff’s Labour Opposition has tried to distance itself from its legacy. Labour members know they need a change but a new logo is no substitute for new faces. They need new talent but one new face on the front bench will not cut it especially when he is straight from the previous leader’s office. Labour members know that they need new policy but if the best they can do is spend some more—“hit up the rich pricks for some cash and shaft the farmers while you’re at it”—the clear message New Zealanders are getting— 
Brendon Burns 
: —is I’ve run out of speech notes. 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE 
: Not really. One could say so much more I say to Brendon. In fact one has to restrict oneself when talking about what Labour did or did not do. But the message that New Zealand is sending to Labour is to think again and to try again. 
This Budget is not tax-and-spend; it is save and grow. It is responsible it looks to the future and it is balanced. It is a rational National Budget. With National rational and balanced is what we can expect and rational and balanced is what we get. 
I have already mentioned Labour and its tax-and-spend policies. But unlike parties to the right of us this Government will not slash and burn Government spending without regard for those who are the most vulnerable in our society who will be affected. One of the most endearing things that I have experienced in being in this Government was when the Prime Minister said at the beginning of the recession and our awareness of it that we would not be affecting the most vulnerable; we would protect them. We have gone ahead and done that. We have faced much criticism for borrowing to maintain the level of entitlements that people have been receiving. We know that the most vulnerable and the unemployed rely on Government support low-income families rely on Working for Families and we all benefit from strong public services. 
The National-led Government will not slash these programmes. This is why the Government has borrowed through the recession to ensure that we continue to support those who need it. That is why this Budget is a responsible Budget and a caring one. In short it is a National rational Budget. Not for the people a Labour Government with a proven record of economic mismanagement; not for them slash-and-burn policies that might give us quicker economic growth but leave people behind. For higher wages more jobs a stronger economy and continued support of our most vulnerable I give the House Budget 2011 a rational National Budget. Thank you.