Pillay Lynne: General Debate 
Pillay Lynne: General Debate 
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LYNNE PILLAY (Labour—Waitakere) 
: 
 I am pleased to stand as the final speaker in the general debate today to celebrate our Government’s achievements and success. It is a good stable Government and we have a good stable economy. It is a Government that has shown and continues to show leadership and one that tackles the hard issues. This Government is absolutely committed to improving the health and wealth of ordinary New Zealanders and it is working. We know that it is working. Compare this with the Opposition. Judith Collins and Simon Power are sitting there looking so glum and forlorn as they wallow in the demise of their party. What an Opposition members might say and they would be right. 
Don Brash is the doom and gloom merchant. He sees and we all see that National is now languishing in the polls. Its only possible coalition partner—its members are also gloomy wherever they are—is polling so low that it is not worth a mention. It is actually polling below the margin of error. What a mess. 
I missed a very big event last night. Don Brash spoke and I was very sad to have missed it. I understand that he named a few unionists in the Labour Party including “Mr Red Flag” himself—David Cunliffe the man who put the “fizz” into fiscal management—and our young “whippersnapper” Darren Hughes. It is his first job but who is he according to Mr Brash? He is the extremist from the Public Service Association. We acknowledge that they are certainly to the left of Mr Brash but there is an awful lot of room to the left of Mr Brash. We all know that Mr Brash has no time whatsoever for unions or workers. 
Let us look back at some of his memorable quotes and I would say that these are genuine quotes. Firstly he said: “Could we for example drop all benefits to the able-bodied and scrap the statutory minimum wage so that pay rates could fall to the point where the labour market fully clears …?”. Our answer to Mr Brash is that we now have unemployment at 4 percent and it was achieved by raising the minimum wage; not by dropping it. He then wants to gradually raise the age at which people become eligible for New Zealand superannuation. For his part he does not care who owns the schools in our country. National would repeal the 4 weeks’ annual leave provision. The most appalling of all his quotes is: “Legal requirements that provide safe workplaces are a barrier to growth.” That is a genuine quote. Can you believe that? 
Simon Power 
: Stop saying “you”. 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: Can anybody believe that? I thank Mr Power. Can anybody believe that anyone in his or her right mind would say that legal requirements that provide safe workplaces are a barrier to growth? 
National and Don Brash have now cottoned on. Every time Mr Brash opens his mouth he puts his foot in it but National members have a very very clever strategy now. They know exactly how to deal with this. They have the answer. They will say nothing they will go nowhere and they will lay low. 
I wonder whether members remember that brave new dynamic leader. 
Darren Hughes 
: Who? 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: Mr Brash that is who. I know we have not seen or heard much of him over the last few months but we remember when he planned to give a major speech on each of the five main priorities: race relations education welfare dependency security and the economy. He roared in stirred up race relations and falsely claimed that Maori get more bereavement leave than anyone else. He thought that he was on to a winner so he moved on to law and order next. That was a bad move. Crime statistics are now at a 15-year low so that was a fizzer. We have not seen or heard anything more of Mr Brash since. 
The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.