Soper Lesley: General Debate 
Soper Lesley: General Debate 
[Volume:648;Page:17561] 
LESLEY SOPER (Labour) 
: 
 Getting away from the references to  
Alice in Wonderland 
 on the other side of the House I say I once stood against Mr Bill English in the seat of Clutha-Southland. Even true-blue National people in that seat are starting to say they do not know what National stands for any longer. They do not know how they can trust a National Party and a National leader who will say anything and do anything at all in order to be elected. On climate change Iraq the ownership of KiwiRail interest-free student loans New Zealand being nuclear-free KiwiSaver asset sales early childhood education and superannuation Mr Key has flip-flopped so often on them all that his own supporters see him as being slippery. They do not know where he stands. When the latest flip-flop came Mr Key said he would keep Working for Families the policy he had previously called “communism by stealth” and a “costly welfare monster” and had said National members would oppose with “every bone in our bodies.” Well the bones have become very rubbery indeed. The only hope for some of those poor National Party members is that if a person can change his or her mind as often as Mr John Key does that person can always change it back again. 
The message for every other New Zealander is that Mr Key cannot be trusted to stick to a policy now let alone after an election. Although Labour actually plans for the future with “change you can trust” with policies such as lower doctors’ fees and prescription charges future-proofed superannuation 20 hours’ free early childhood education KiwiSaver providing more hospitals building more roads buying back KiwiRail delivering fairer options for workers and providing tax cuts that are affordable—real things that people in Invercargill appreciate in their lives—slippery National raises questions about its hidden agenda with every quietly launched “policy-ette” it sidles out with. 
What is the count on National Party skeleton policies so far? There is one page on industrial relations. But let us wait; that includes the 90-day fire-at-will probation period and—I alert any workers who are listening to this—National wants a holiday and it is their fourth week of annual leave that it wants. That was one page. There are 1½ pages on broadcasting; Television New Zealand is for sale. And let us look at this; there is a two-pager on accident compensation. It is only 83 words but somehow National has put them on two pages. It includes the line from Mr Key “Ah um almost ah ah certainly likely privatised”. There is one page on early childhood education boldly eliminating “free” from “20 hours’ free early childhood education” and reducing quality staff by 50 percent. [ 
Interruption 
] Well well let us look; there is half a page on outdoor recreation. 
That seems to be six pages of policy but we have it on very good authority that there are about 30 pages behind each one of those policies. What is National hiding? Some of the media would like to know. Could it be something like Mr Ryall’s revelation that National will remove the cap on doctors’ fees and let the good old market rule again? Could it be something like Miss Wilkinson’s revelation that compulsory employer contributions to KiwiSaver are just not a National Party thing? “Tell Kiwis the real plan.” I say to Mr Key and the National Party. All of us would like to know. Funnily enough I have just read another little one-pager that says Mr Key is about to announce the adoption of yet another flagship Labour policy—yet another one—that of having a female leader. In a one-page policy briefing apparently Mr Key has stated—or he plans to state—that under a National Government he would undergo gender reassignment in order to have what it takes to lead the country.