Coleman Jonathan: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Coleman Jonathan: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 14 November 2012. Volume:685;Page:6590. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Defence) 
: 
 Only three sleeps to go until the Labour Party conference and I do not know who is more excited—us or the Labour Party caucus—because on that day we are going to find out what is really going to be the future for the Labour Party and I predict it is going to be very very dismal. But these people are like kids waiting for Christmas. David Cunliffe cannot wait to unwrap the Christmas presents Grant Robertson is already nibbling on the cake in the fridge and of course once again Clayton Cosgrove is not going to get the present he wants because he is the one person who is not being named in the leadership speculation. I do not think it is any surprise that their party is saying that they are going to have to get their caucus to swear an oath of allegiance during leadership competitions. But I do not think there is a single oath that could bind David Cunliffe because he is to loyalty what Taito Phillip Field was to honesty. So quite frankly I think these guys are in massive trouble. It is going to be a very interesting weekend. 
But another very interesting factor this weekend is going to be the debate around the policy remits that the Labour Party is putting forward. We have heard a lot from these people today about job creation and their great laments about what they think is going on in the economy but when David Parker spoke the only idea we heard was a capital gains tax. That is their prescription for getting the New Zealand economy back on track. So they are focusing all their efforts on tearing each other apart in a fruitless thankless leadership competition. 
The guy I feel sorry for frankly is David Shearer because David Shearer is a decent man. He is too good for these guys quite frankly. He is a person who is doing his level best but these guys just quite frankly do not appreciate a quality leader when they see him. 
Eleven of these people were meeting with David Cunliffe last night. They were wandering around the members and guests’ dining room looking for a place to plot. They very rarely go up there so they did not actually know where they could find a private room. There they all were all the lefties. They were just there from the meeting with Helen Clark. Jacinda Ardern was there Parekura Horomia was there Clayton Cosgrove was not invited because he is not in the Cunliffe camp Sue Moroney was there Ruth Dyson was there and they were doing the numbers. They were circling around working out how they were going to install the man whom they cannot stand as the leader of the Labour Party. 
If you want to know the reality of it you want to read the  
New Zealand Herald  
editorial today because it says that David Shearer is a very decent man and that he has actually got a personality that appeals to New Zealanders unlike some of the other leadership contenders. So these guys are really in a cleft stick there because they have got a leader whom they do not support who is fundamentally a decent man and a decent bloke. The only alternative for them is a guy they cannot stand. And who are they going to put in? 
The fact is I do not think anyone over there has got the guts to stand up and take the leadership when it is on offer. I predict what will happen is that David Shearer will ride this through and continue as the leader of the Labour Party because none of those people are going to seize their chance. That is what you have got to do in politics. Grant is all talk but it will not happen. 
If you are really worried you should be because when you read this list of Labour Party remits it is all about banning stuff and stopping jobs. So here we go. What are they going to do? They are going to nationalise any partially sold assets. That is going to be up for debate so it will be interesting to see how they go on that. They are going to ban seabed mining for minerals oil and gas. They want to ban fracking. They are going to ban all coalmining. These are the basic ideas from the Labour Party base. 
But there are some good things here according to their base. They want a SuperGold card for transport for under-21s and at the same time they are going to lower the voting age to 16 and make Te Reo compulsory for everyone under 15. They are also going to bring back so-called healthy food in schools. They are going to ban companies that do not pay a so-called living wage from winning Government contracts. Well that is going to be something that Clayton Cosgrove is really going to struggle to understand. So when you look at what we have got here—oh what else have they got? Direct KiwiRail as to who must win its tenders and raise the age of superannuation to 67 for everyone except Maori. 
So if those are the ideas that are coming out of the Labour Party base— 
Hon Member 
: No they’re coming from your research unit. 
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN 
: —do you really think when you mix that together with the Green prescription for printing money that that is going to be a path for getting the New Zealand economy going? More important— 
Hon Member 
: Show us the bit of paper you’re reading from Jonathan. I bet it’s not a Labour Party document. 
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN 
: No that is not from the National Party research unit. These are your policy remits for debate and decision. There is not one idea in here for getting the economy going. If you look at the facts National has got the economy going in the right direction—halve the deficit back into surplus by 2014-15.