Ryall Tony: Budget Debate 
Ryall Tony: Budget Debate 
[Volume:647;Page:16383] 
Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay of Plenty) 
: 
 It is very clear from the speech of that Minister Lianne Dalziel that this Government has run out of steam. It lacks ambition for New Zealand. When one of the bright young things—apparently—from the Government comes to the House and reads out research unit notes as her contribution when she should be defending the Budget that Michael Cullen brought down that speaks volumes for that Minister’s commitment and abilities. It was not until the 9th minute that she said anything about what Labour stood for in this Budget; there was nothing until the 9th minute about what Labour stood for in this Budget. But she was very revealing in the first 8 or 9 minutes. It is clear that the Labour Government opposite is going to wage the dirtiest election campaign this country has ever seen. It intends to focus on the negative with a very personal and vindictive campaign against John Key. 
As I travel around the country more and more people are saying to me that they are changing from Labour to National. More and more people I meet are saying that they have not voted National for many years but they will vote National this time. We take that responsibility from those individuals very very seriously. We know that those people are feeling the fact that interest rates have doubled under this Labour Government. We know that those former Labour supporters are concerned that last year 78000 New Zealanders left our country permanently. And we know that many of those former long-time Labour supporters are worried that the tax take has more than doubled in the 9 years of this Labour Government and that only now are they being offered the promise of a few dollars through tax cuts—after 9 long years of Labour and the doubling of the tax take. 
During that time spending on the health sector has doubled. During those 9 years spending on the health sector has doubled yet fewer New Zealanders are having vitally needed elective surgery. Fewer New Zealanders are having surgery of any kind. Fewer New Zealanders are having appointments with hospital specialists. But I can tell members what there is a lot more of in our public hospitals and that is managers and administrators. As John Key pointed out in question time today the legacy of the Labour Government is that more managers and administrators are employed in our hospitals than doctors. There are more bureaucrats in the health sector and not enough doctors. That is what has happened. 
When I look at this Budget I ask what the most pressing issue in the health sector today is. The most pressing issue in the health sector today is the workforce. There are huge shortages right across the health sector. Grey Base Hospital is on its knees because it will no longer have any anaesthetist from the end of next month. Huge problems are happening at Waitemata’s North Shore Hospital and problems are happening at Canterbury’s hospital and all around the country. There are huge problems with the health workforce but what is the Government’s response in this Budget? Just 2 percent of this new Budget’s spend goes on workforce initiatives; only 2 percent of the extra $750 million in this Budget for the health sector goes on new workforce development initiatives. That is 2 percent for the most pressing issue in the health sector today—2 percent to deal with the workforce crisis. 
 Well it is little wonder that in the time I have been speaking to the House many doctors and nurses in this country have been thinking about going to Australia. They know what this Labour Government means for people in the health workforce. They know that they are so important to it that only 2 percent of the new health funding outlined in this Budget deals with the crisis in the health workforce. I know that the Nurses Organisation doctors’ organisations and the Public Service Association which represents many of our other health workers are disappointed that only 2 percent of the new funding has been directed at the most pressing issue in the health sector today—the workforce. 
Whatever the Government does with its funding I can tell the House that since Labour was elected on a population basis fewer New Zealanders are getting elective surgery fewer New Zealanders are getting surgery of any kind and fewer New Zealanders are getting to see a hospital specialist. 
Hon Lianne Dalziel 
: You’re making it up. 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: Lianne Dalziel says that is not true. She probably believes the press release that David Cunliffe—sorry “Mr Conloffe” as the Prime Minister calls him—put out to the public 2 weeks ago. He said that the number of people getting to see a hospital specialist had doubled. That is what he did; he put out a press release saying that the number of New Zealanders who got to see a hospital specialist had doubled. Well he had to withdraw that press statement when I pointed out that he was actually comparing 6-month figures from 2000 with annual figures from this year. He was comparing annual figures with 6-month figures and saying that the number had doubled. Well that is about the only thing that has doubled in the health sector—other than health spending—and he got it completely wrong. 
As I travel around the country meeting many people who have been long-time Labour supporters but who will not support Labour this time I find that those people are particularly concerned about a number of issues. They are concerned that the Government has no direction has no vision is lurching from crisis to crisis and is coming up with election gimmicks to try to deal with these issues. They say a number of things when we are talking about the 1990s. In the last week or so particularly when the report came out that beneficiaries are comparatively worse off under Labour than they were before many of these Labour supporters have been saying that Labour promised to restore the benefit cuts of 1990. That is what they have been saying—that Labour promised to restore the benefit cuts of 1990 and it did not. The second thing that older people often say to me is that Labour promised to abolish asset testing. Well Labour has not abolished asset testing. It has broken its word on that. The third thing many of these Labour supporters say is that the Government does not understand the pressure that New Zealand families are under. They say that the Government does not understand the effect of the rising cost of living and the rising cost of food on ordinary New Zealanders. 
In fact I saw Labour members mocking members on this side of the House when we talked about the fact that many families are now thinking twice about buying a family-size block of cheese and have stopped buying cheese. If we visit a school kids will talk about the decisions that mum is making in the supermarket because of the cost of living. But Labour does not appreciate that. I suppose that when those members are driving around in their BMW 7 Series— 
Dr Jonathan Coleman 
: Staying at the Tongariro Lodge. 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: —and staying at the Tongariro Lodge they lose touch with what is happening. But that is what people are saying. Government members do not understand the pressure that ordinary people are under because they have had 9 years of living a good life. They do not understand the effect that the cost of petrol is having on ordinary New Zealanders. The other thing that many of the Labour supporters who are considering changing to National say is that they held out so much hope that the Government would deal with the hardship of ordinary families. Is it not incredible that one in five New Zealand children find themselves in families that are not able to make ends meet? In fact child poverty is up under Labour— 
Hon Lianne Dalziel 
: Child poverty is down—well down. 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: Child poverty is up under Labour. I will tell Ms Dalziel why New Zealanders are sick of the Labour Government. They are sick of the Labour Government because it has squandered 9 years of good economic times when there should have been opportunities for more and more New Zealanders. It has squandered that opportunity and we now find ourselves in an economy that is slowing down rapidly and with a Government that does not have the ambition to deal with those problems and that spent most of its Budget speech talking about its place in history. If one starts talking about one’s place in history one is history. That is what more and more New Zealanders are saying. 
So over the next 4 or 5 months as people begin to firm up their views against this Labour Government I think the messages will be clear. Interest rates have doubled 78000 New Zealanders have left this country permanently and New Zealanders had to wait 9 years—9 long years—during which the tax burden doubled before this Government provided any opportunity for them. 
R Doug Woolerton 
: People want to know what National’s going to do. 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: They also want to know—do they not I ask Mr Woolerton—how the health budget can double yet there are more crises and problems in our hospitals than we have seen for many many years. Why can we not get the doctors and nurses necessary to maintain our provincial hospitals? Why are fewer people getting care? Why are our emergency departments clogged?