O'Connor Damien: Address in Reply 
O'Connor Damien: Address in Reply 
[Volume:628;Page:417] 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Minister of Corrections) 
: 
 It is always an honour to rise at the start of a parliamentary session and make a speech. It is always an honour to be here. I would like firstly to acknowledge you Mr Assistant Speaker and fellow Speakers and congratulate you on your re-election. I would like to acknowledge all the new members in the House. Every one of us comes here to start our career and has great ambitions and great hopes and for the most part makes a very positive contribution to Parliament. I would also like to acknowledge Rod Donald’s death. I suppose it was a very sad reminder for each and every one of us of the effect that Parliament has on one’s family life. I think that we were reminded through the different ceremonies that occurred up and down this country that the effect on Rod Donald’s family was the most significant given the fact that he had been away from them for so long during his parliamentary career. 
It is an honour indeed to be re-elected as the West Coast - Tasman MP. It is an area of proud history. It is a very special area—perhaps the most spectacular in the country—and one that borders on eight national parks. I do not think there would be a constituency in the world that could lay claim to that. I would also like to note that at the very furthest most north-eastern tip of my electorate is a farm owned by our family and it is where my ancestors came to in 1846. While my electorate is very big and the boundaries change it is quite an honour to have that back under I suppose my representation. The electorate goes all the way to Jackson Bay right at the bottom of the West Coast and again it is an area founded by pioneers—tough people—and by Maori. An unfortunate debate is going on at the moment over the ownership and control of pounamu and I just hope that that is resolved fairly and amicably between Ngai Tahu who are now the rightful owners and those people who helped to discover and utilise that wonderful stone. 
What makes me the most proud though is to be re-elected as part of a Labour Government. As a Labour Party we have done much for this country over the years. Even in the last 6 years we have done much to transform this country from one that after 9 years of a selfish National Government was inward-looking. We have turned the economy around to one that is positive and vibrant and is looking ahead. It is indeed an honour to be part of that. 
The most significant thing of course that we did at the election was to keep from power a party that would have dragged us back into the 1990s and I would like to remind people what that meant. 
Jill Pettis 
: 1890s! 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: Well it might very well have been the 1890s as well because the first thing National did when it came into power was to cut benefits. Some very good speeches have been made by incoming members about looking after people and giving opportunities to everyone. National Party members should realise that their party is about cutting benefits and selling assets—[ 
Interruption 
]—yes it is and it is about changing employment law to make it difficult if not impossible for many employees to get a fair deal. Well I am proud to be part of a party that has formed a Government in partnership with other sensible parties and has kept from power that bunch of Tories who would have sold assets and cut taxes particularly for those who are wealthy and who would have once again carried on in their ideological way. 
The thing that saddened me about the campaign is that Don Brash John Key and Gerry Brownlee were trying to turn Kiwi into “Ki-me”. They do not realise that Kiwi— 
Dr Don Brash 
: How long did it take you to come up with that? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: Listen Don. You might learn something! 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member must use the full name of the member or his or her title. 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I say to Dr Don Brash that Kiwi is about us collectively. “Ki-me” what you were promoting— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: No the member is now bringing me into debate. 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: What Don Brash and his party were promoting was the selfish self-interested politics of racial division of selling assets to mates of coming down on those workers who need decent wages and conditions and of cutting back on beneficiaries. Well Mr Brash might now give us an assurance. Was the National Party going to sell State assets to pay for tax cuts? He cannot answer that. Yes it was. Mr Brash should not be confused about that. He was confused during the campaign not only on the issue of State asset sales but also on whether to go to Iraq—whether he would have taken young New Zealanders to fight a war that was not ours. People have to be reminded about this because that was the alternative and that will be the alternative in 3 years’ time because nothing has changed. 
The National Party represents self-interest selling State assets to mates and going to war for a regime that looks after its mates. It is a party that cannot make up its mind on whether it should cut down West Coast forests. The National Party could not make up its mind on that issue during the campaign. It could not work out whether the Brethren were supporting them. It did not know whether a National Government would sell State houses again—previously it sold 13000 State houses. [ 
Interruption 
] David Carter indicates that it would. I thank him for that. Would National have sold Landcorp? 
Hon David Carter 
: We would have sold Landcorp. 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: Yes it would have sold Landcorp. Mr Brash says it was just a few farms. Well I think they should get that sorted out. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I seek leave of the House to table documents showing that as we sit here the Labour Government has Landcorp farms for sale and further documents showing that the Labour Government has sold State houses in recent times and I believe has some for sale now. 
Documents not tabled. 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: It is absolutely essential that this country knows quite clearly what it was voting for because it was unclear during the election. There is no doubt about that. Don Brash could not make up his mind what policies the National Party supported. Every time he was asked he was not quite sure or he did a flip-flop on policy. What this party stands for is not just any old schools as the previous speaker referred to; they have to be schools that deliver quality education regardless of where students live. It is not acceptable just to have a local rural school that is not delivering quality education. That is what this Government is about. No matter where students live they are entitled to quality education. No matter where people live they are entitled to quality public health-care. The National Party was going to deliver to New Zealand a privatised health system that simply would never deliver to people in rural areas because the economies of scale and the return on investment were simply never there. Those were the policies of the 1990s. Those were the policies that the National Party would have returned to. As Mr Carter quite rightly and honestly points out National would have returned to the sale of State assets and the privatisation of health. 
I am proud to be part of a party that has led this country forward through the previous century at different times and will lead this country forward into the next century. We will not privatise roads and we will not privatise the health system. We will ensure there is infrastructure to allow this economy to grow and in the same way that we have seen economic growth in this country in the last 6 years which was never seen before we will guide that forward into the future. I am proud to be here as the West Coast - Tasman Labour MP in a Labour Government.