Power Simon: General Debates 
Power Simon: General Debates 
[Volume:619;Page:14813] 
SIMON POWER (National—Rangitikei) 
: 
 National members came to the House this afternoon thinking there was going to be a scrap on. We thought there would be a decent debate and that the Government would be ready and firing on all cylinders. What a sad tired worn out bunch of front-benchers and Ministers they turned out to be! 
We were down here waiting for Michael Cullen to come out firing on all cylinders and what a sad tired old dinosaur that Minister has turned out to be. Steve Maharey the man desperately trying to look young with striped shirts and dotty ties comes down here firing on all cylinders and the National members are thinking there will be some very witty— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I think it might be wise for the tone of the debate to improve somewhat. If we are going to keep referring to the age of members I think we will start focusing on the Leader of the Opposition. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I have had enough. That was not a point of order. The member will start his speech again from now. That was just wasting time. 
SIMON POWER 
: We thought that the Government members would come down firing on all cylinders and what a tired old effort it has been. Michael Cullen reused old jokes that he used 18 months or 2 years ago. Steve Maharey is the big second hitter and he gave the same tired old speech. 
What worries us most on this side of the House is that the public are sick to death of the same tired old faces across the other side of the House. They are tired of seeing Annette King telling them that nothing is wrong in the health system. They are tired of seeing Steve Maharey saying that nothing is wrong in social development and that universities are doing well. They are tired of seeing Helen Clark carried around above red-blooded males’ heads and let us hope that when she returns to New Zealand we do not see a repeat of that. Let us hope we do not see her being carried by John Tamihere and Trevor Mallard as part of their punishment for their very poor slip-ups over recent days. Although today in question time Steve Maharey referred to them not as red-blooded but hot-blooded—a very strange description we on this side of the House thought. 
Meanwhile Dr Brash has had the courage to reshuffle the National caucus in a way that will spell the end for that Government. Let me just say that in the National Party finance team we have a former Governor of the Reserve Bank a former Minister of Finance in the shape of Bill English and a highly regarded international trader in the form of the very clever Mr John Key. What do we have on the Government side? Two teachers. So we are ready. Tony Ryall has single-handedly made George Hawkins’ life a misery for 18 months. He has destroyed Paul Swain’s credibility in the corrections and courts portfolios and Phil Goff has given up his vein-popping speeches in this House because Tony Ryall has it all over him when it comes to policy development and debate. But not only that the talented Judith Collins has taken out a second-row Minister in this Government and there is plenty more of that to come. 
This team is young energetic reinvigorated and filled with new ideas not tired old socialist doctrine from the late 1980s and we certainly will not be fronting up on television with people about whom the public say: “Oh it’s just them again the same tired old faces.” Jim Sutton would rather be overseas—and frankly who would blame him—than have to sit in that caucus room for another Tuesday and look at the same tired old faces. I say to the Government members that time is up. This reshuffle has shown energy determination and expertise and they should start looking for another job.