Ardern Shane: General Debates 
Ardern Shane: General Debates 
[Volume:613;Page:10161] 
SHANE ARDERN (National—Taranaki-King Country) 
: 
Is it not interesting to listen to the Government members rabbiting on about strong leadership strong direction strong Ministers and strong this and strong that when the very foundation of leadership in their Government is built on spin deceit double standards and total untruths? When I think about the various debates we have listened to today and the chorus of criticism on the new leadership of the National Party I note that the “Business Herald” states that New National leader Don Brash is head and shoulders above anybody else when it comes to understanding business in New Zealand. Is that not interesting? Five-hundred senior business people surveyed in Auckland said that was the case about Don Brash. I congratulate Gerry Brownlee—somebody from the South Island who actually knows what it is like out there on the street in New Zealand at the moment—on his recent elevation to the position of deputy leader of the National Party.  
The Labour Party has a Christmas present for the working-class people of New Zealand. It is called a wage freeze. There is no other way to describe it. The Government is going to introduce 4 weeks’ leave—in 1200 sleeps as my honourable colleague in the front bench mentioned earlier on—and that will mean that wages will be frozen in this country until that legislation is introduced and Government members do not understand that. I am reminded of the comments of Colin Meads a famous constituent of mine about the recent All Blacks’ loss: “No passion no pride no brains no leadership wrong tactics wrong options. I’m”—beep because I cannot use the word—“gutted.” He could have been talking about the Government of New Zealand and I am sure that he probably was because that is exactly the same problem we have with the Government of New Zealand at the moment. It has no brains no leadership wrong tactics wrong options—and we are gutted. That is exactly where we are at with this Government at this point in time.  
On the one hand the Minister of Education has for some time gone up and down the country and has talked about the need for a good education but on the other hand he is closing 300 schools across rural New Zealand—right in the place that the economy driving the figures that Dr Cullen talks about so passionately comes from. That is the reason why the National Party has placed so much emphasis back on rural New Zealand and on agriculture and it is to be congratulated on doing that. I wonder whether the Government will ever wake up and realise that rural New Zealand is the engine room and the wherewithal that drives this economy. I suspect that the answer is: “Absolutely not!” and rural New Zealand as all recent polls are saying now knows that and rural people will demonstrate that at the next election. Some of those members opposite who are sitting in marginal rural seats or marginal provincial seats should really start to worry because their number is up. I am looking around the Chamber and thinking: “That member is gone she is gone he has gone and he has definitely gone.” A few Government members over there have very limited time left in this Parliament and they are about to experience that at the next election. The member who is interjecting is certainly on shaky ground; he is gone.  
The Government has run out of options and it is demonstrating that over and over again. The Government is now placing $20 million of extra costs on exporters—agricultural exporters primarily but not entirely—for security. That is the latest tax in a long list. There have been 18 new taxes and this is No. 19. A $20 million security cost has been imposed on exporters because a foreign nation has said we need to beef up our security. A foreign nation has said to New Zealand: “Try this on for size; you need to beef up your security in this area.” and the Government has said: “We agree. We’ll just get the industries of New Zealand and the exporters of New Zealand to pay for it.”—security costs that have always been paid by the taxpayer.