Cunliffe David: General Debate 
Cunliffe David: General Debate 
[Volume:620;Page:16106] 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour—New Lynn) 
: 
 To dream the impossible dream to fight the impossible fight—an octogenarian first-term MP becomes National’s leader and sinks without trace. What is now obvious to everybody is what the  
Daily News 
 recently remarked upon. At 18 percent and falling Dr Brash is at levels that Bill English was at when National dumped him a year ago. A year ago National was struggling in the polls. A year ago the National caucus was dispirited and dejected. A year ago the National Party had no policy to speak of. What has changed? Nothing has changed. It is still struggling it is still leaderless and it is still a policy dead-zone. Don Brash was supposed to be the answer—now they cannot even remember what the question was. 
How has National’s new line-up responded? The  
Dominion Post  
called the front bench “missing in action”. The Christchurch  
Press  
lamented the paucity of talent in the National caucus. About the only National member doing any visible work according to the conservative columnist Matthew Hooten was Bill English. Let us look at the competition he has for being the soufflé that rises twice. Katherine Rich had a welfare policy and Roger Sowry called it the best policy paper ever written by a sitting MP. What did Don Brash do? He canned it. Simon Power had a real job once. What did Don Brash do? He canned it. Gerry Brownlee who is proving about as useful on the foreshore as any other beached whale is not happy. He criticised the iwi ownership of the Arawa lake beds but he supported it for the Taupo lake beds. Judith Collins wants to force children in potentially abusive situations to tell their parents that they are having abortions. Her caucus canned that so she is not happy. Georgina te Heuheu is still there. That is a mark of great courage and some mana but one has only to look at her to know that she is not happy. 
John Key wants to keep the Superannuation Fund and give back taxes. Don Brash does not nor does Standard and Poor’s so John is not happy. Nick Smith is still recovering from his judicial discovery of the separation of powers. He is not happy. Roger and Lynda are going. Mr Speaker is not standing in his seat. Shane has stayed off the tractor. None of them are happy. Paul Hutchison knows more about health than Judith Collins but she got the job so Paul is not happy. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Clem Simich) 
: The member will use members’ full names. 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: The good Dr Hutchison the member for Port Waikato told a general practitioners meeting in Queenstown that there were too many district health boards and primary health organisations and that they needed rationalisation. Judith Collins said that that was not National Party policy and that she was not happy. 
So where is all this leading? Don Brash’s polling is back down to the margin of error and he faces a potential early retirement. The Nats have the gruelling decision whether to dump him now and lose the next election or to lose the election first and then dump him. John Banks potentially has a new future in the National caucus. Simon Power has a glimmer of hope. John Key Katherine Rich and the other policy wonks have a chance to make policy. But they are not happy. 
Meanwhile Labour is delivering. Under Labour we have a Budget that is good news for Kiwi kids. We have a strong growing economy with the best growth in a decade and the lowest unemployment in two decades. We have a secure retirement with a protected superannuation fund. We have State assets proudly owned by New Zealanders like Kiwibank that are paying their way. We have a future for our young people with more resources by far for education and training Gateway programmes and apprenticeships. To wrap up Don Brash is failing and his caucus is not happy; he will be gone by lunchtime. Labour will govern for another 3 years and the public will be happy.