Robson Matt: Appropriation (2003/04 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
Robson Matt: Appropriation (2003/04 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
[Volume:610;Page:7683] 
Hon MATT ROBSON (Deputy Leader—Progressive) 
: 
 It is very good to follow a speaker from a responsible party in this Parliament that differs often with the Government but supports the Government on matters of confidence and supply. It is in stark contrast to the raggedy old National Party and the right-wing upstart on the block ACT to whom Mr McCully has recently had to go as a Greek bearing gifts. He should beware see the end of that tale and see what happens. But that is OK because in this Parliament we have a working relationship around principle and issues and United Future should be commended. It is also good to commend it for standing up to the silly taunts of the permanent Opposition who want to make sure that the Government does not have the support of the parties in this House who actually want to get things done. 
When we campaign for votes we do so with a commitment that if we are elected we will do our best to deliver the policies and programmes we campaigned on to improve lives and to make our community safer more prosperous and more harmonious. That is why the Progressive party supports this bill. The Labour-Progressive coalition a minority in this House regularly comes to Parliament to seek approval to raise the money it needs in order to invest in New Zealand’s future. Non-Government parties have to consider carefully whether to approve or not to approve that request for the funds we need to invest in our communities. At various times in the past 4 years we have relied on the support and cooperation alternatively of United Future New Zealand First and the Greens on matters of confidence and supply. A key political challenge to our centre-left coalition is to continue to hold the confidence of parliamentary majorities for many years to come. 
I believe that we have experienced the confidence of Parliament in these past 4 years not only because we have a coalition that is not afraid to tackle challenging issues head-on but because we put those particularly challenging issues to the test of what is the best for the people of New Zealand. We have a coalition that is tackling the social and capital investment deficit of the past 15 years or so. That is a deficit that ACT by its selfish policies wants to continue with and to go back to—in particular by pushing programmes that say if one is rich one does not have to pay for any of the social investment in New Zealand. 
In recent days we have heard of Kiwibank’s pilot programme to offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for low and modest-income earners to have their own homes. The response to Kiwibank’s initiative has been overwhelmingly positive. Also in recent days the coalition has unveiled a $105 million jobs package to assist more New Zealanders into employment. The coalition has showed that it is prepared to face up to its responsibilities to address household and business concerns about the lack of security of supply in electricity provision. 
I believe that a political factor that will assist the Labour-Progressive coalition to continue to maintain the support of a majority in Parliament for many years to come is the decision by the National Party earlier this year to adopt all of ACT’s key values and policies. For that we heartily thank them. Those two parties have settled on ACT’s policy prescription—a prescription that has ensured that the ACT party has been an Opposition party since its inception. For half a century until Jim Bolger’s departure from National’s leadership the National Party dominated New Zealand’s parliamentary politics. Under the first-past-the-post system that was often easy to do. A party did not need a majority of votes at all but it could have enough seats to have a majority in Parliament. 
Since the coup against Mr Bolger National and ACT have turned further inward looking. They are now stuck in the rut of all ideologically motivated parties. They are big on philosophical purity and grand theories but out of touch with the vast majority of the community and unable to participate in implementing practical solutions to real challenges. Everyone agrees that the challenge to all parties is to get good things done for people. The question of confidence that needs to be decided is this: would a National-ACT administration do a better job than the Labour-Progressive coalition? That is the question that confronted New Zealand First and the Greens in the 1999-2002 Parliament and that confronts those parties as well as United Future in this Parliament. 
The people of New Zealand have resoundingly answered “No” to the question I posed. [ 
Interruption 
] It seems that in this Parliament there are two members of Parliament for the fading and failing Opposition parties who say “Yes”. Those three parties—that is New Zealand First the Greens and United Future—constantly have to weigh up whether what the Labour-Progressive administration is doing is better for people than what would be happening if we had that National-ACT Government. The political challenge to the Labour-Progressive coalition over this and coming years is to continue to hold the confidence of a majority in Parliament and to continue to inspire the kind of support and respect that I believe the National-ACT bloc is so many many years away from achieving.