Horomia Parekura: Taxation (Urgent Measures and Annual Rates) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Horomia Parekura: Taxation (Urgent Measures and Annual Rates) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:651;Page:263] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Labour—Ikaroa-Rawhiti) 
: 
 We have just witnessed one of the quite interesting assumptions dished out by the Minister of Finance. I think Dr Cullen’s chronological order on the framework that it is supposed to stimulate the economy is spot on—take away the 2 percent and make believe that the $1040 is still there but it is not against $26000; it is against $52000. Then we hear this preaching and leeching from people like Mr Bennett that this measure is about helping poor people. Roger Douglas stood up in this Chamber and said “Well as a start you forget about the beneficiaries.” 
Hon Annette King 
: And the old people. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: And the old people. That is what he was alluding to and that was parroted by the Minister of Finance in a very simple way. He has put out the assumption that at the end of the day our superannuation fund is too generous. So all this hinting is going on. It was not too different from the rough talk and the make believe in relation to accident compensation. It was a whole lot of hogwash. 
We have listened to Mr Bennett flick out the platitudes in relation to caring and sharing and wanting to help young people and Maori along the freeway to the future. Well the freeway to the future in this country has a hell of a lot of potholes in it—potholes brought about by mean-spirited people. We are heading towards Christmas a time when the mistletoe is glistening and the fellow with the red cap comes ripping through town. [ 
Interruption 
] What has Gerry Brownlee given to people? Big bags of nothing! It is a disgrace. Maori people are affected. Tena ano taku korero ki a koe e Hone. 
[ 
I have told you that before Hone 
.] 
Hon Gerry Brownlee 
: That won’t go down well at home. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: It might not go down well with you but our people will understand that. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: Order! 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: I am sorry Mr Chairperson. I should have said “Mr Brownlee”. It will go down well with our people because 73 percent of Maori who work miss out in this case. 
What a sad day for Maoridom! That the Maori Party was not told or that it was not explained clearly enough to them is not too dissimilar to what was not told to the public. A whole lot of porkies were told to the public and one does not have to be a rocket scientist to know that. Craig Foss huffs and puffs over there because he is a price-taker. He knows how to play the futures market; he knows how to let it slip. There are a whole lot of people with passionate theories about how to build up the price of the profit margin. That is why Merrill Lynch is down in the mud. That is why a lot of those big corporations driven by price-takers and the leader of this country have hurt people’s investments. That is why old people in this country are crying and worrying—it is because their superannuation has been taken away from them by bogus investors. Craig Foss knows about that. 
At the end of the day it seems quite peculiar that the Minister of Finance is saying that this was a prelude to changing the KiwiSaver programme to take over superannuation. He is lucky that the Cullen fund is there. Treasury has told the Minister that a strong platform has been left for the National Government to work off. National is lucky and it should be thankful that we have helped it along. But what does it do? On its first day in here it has come in and dealt to the poor people and to the Maoris. Those National people could not even run the House properly on the first day and that was a sad example. 
One does not have to be a rocket scientist to understand that when one stimulates business there are fundamentals in it—one understands where the market is one makes sure that the product is saleable and one makes sure that there is good research and development. This bill has been about stripping the general research and development which is something that the majority of businesses in this country asked for. What did the Government do? It closed research and development and shoved it down a ditch. Shame on it!