Dyson Ruth: General Debate 
Dyson Ruth: General Debate 
[Volume:653;Page:2544] 
Hon RUTH DYSON (Labour—Port Hills) 
: 
 What a totally hysterical totally ungracious and totally lacking in fact contribution to the House. In the past I would have expected better of Dr Mapp but I know of his near-miss of getting into Cabinet—because it was a very very close call—his low ranking and the portfolios that nobody else wanted so they thought they might as well be given to Dr Wayne Mapp. Since that time his total invisibility probably makes him a little bitter even though he should not be bitter in that position. For that member to be so ungracious in respect of the valedictory speech of the Rt Hon Helen Clark is I think appalling. Every other member in this House including his leader John Key and people like Rodney Hide who had no reason at all to be gracious to anybody in the Labour Party had the decency and common courtesy to offer her the respect that she most certainly deserves because she has earned it. For that member to come into this House and attack her and Phil Goff is just a disgrace. I think the member should learn his basic manners before he takes a call in the House again. At this time in New Zealand most New Zealanders are saying: “It’s the economy stupid!” and they are saying it with a lot of passion and a lot of feeling frankly to people like Dr Mapp. I know his colleagues certainly agree with the latter part of my comment because those comments are frequently made to members on this side of the House in regard to that member—“It’s the economy stupid!”. 
The single thing that we expect from the Government is leadership; we expect strong leadership on the economic issues that are confronting not just our nation but also other nations around the globe as well. But what we have had on these areas from the two leaders in National are completely conflicting statements—and I have to say that Phil Goff has highlighted this extraordinarily well over the last few days in questions in the House. John Key said one thing Bill English said another and neither of them look at each other any more. When we watch them from this side of the House their body language is just fabulous. Nathan Guy knows that because he sits right behind them and I am sure he is tempted to pour a glass of water over them so that he can cool the tension between them— 
Chris Hipkins 
: When he’s not coaching David Bennett. 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: That is right. In fact Nathan Guy has spent an awful lot of time in the House over the last little while coaching poor old David Bennett from Hamilton coaching Richard Worth and of recent times persuading Nick Smith to go out a different door so that Steven Joyce does not give him another bollocking that we can all see out in the lobby. But Steven Joyce has been too quick for him. On a number of occasions we have seen that Steven Joyce is much faster than he looks. He does not look like Chris Hipkins; he does not look like a young fit athletic person—the sort of person who would do a marathon. [ 
Interruption 
] I am not being insulting at all but he is not really really young and really really trim and fit. But by crikey he can move fast when he has a Minister in his sights. Maurice Williamson is looking a bit anxious. I have not heard yet that Mr Joyce has the Hon Maurice Williamson in his sights but I tell Mr Joyce to be wary. I think the Hon Maurice Williamson would be able to out-sprint him. He certainly knows more about transport than Steven Joyce will ever know. That is very obvious from his contributions in the House. 
 We have the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance completely at odds about the financial situation and where our economy is headed. On 22 March on  
Q+A 
 on the TV John Key said “I think by the end of 2009 early 2010 or this time next year we’ll be starting to come out of that [economic situation] and I think actually starting to come out of it reasonably aggressively.” I am not quite sure what all that language means but he was confident that we would come out of our recession reasonably aggressively by the end of this year or the beginning of next year. But just 2 weeks later on exactly the same programme Bill English said “I think one of the features of this recession is that we’re unlikely to aggressively grow out of it.” He was not just contradicting his leader but also in a considered and thoughtful way in my view deliberately using the Prime Minister’s own language to contradict him.