Mark Ron: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Mark Ron: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:646;Page:15004] 
RON MARK (NZ First) 
: 
 That about sums it up does it not? The National Party has 48 members in the House and a leader who claims to be the Leader of the Opposition and who collects $100000 a year plus a limousine—more than other leaders in the House—and those members cannot put up a speaker on what they so often tell people is a very important issue to their party. The reason I said “that about sums it up” is that when it comes to defence matters it is New Zealand First that the public is listening to on these matters—not Mr Mapp or any of those other members. 
What is even more appalling is that New Zealand First enjoys a proxy seat on the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee but with no voting rights no ability to sit on the committee on anything other than defence and no ability to contribute to discussion that might require deliberation. That was vetoed of course by Mr Murray McCully and Mr Wayne Mapp at the Business Committee. But then I guess we do not have to turn up to that meeting to get the oil because we know what is going on in defence. 
I want to raise a couple of issues. When going through the report from the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee I see that a number of issues were canvassed such as housing for defence force personnel and some comments were made on Project Protector helicopters personnel and remuneration. The personnel remuneration and housing issues have concerned New Zealand First for many many years. I ask the Committee to cast its mind back to when Jenny Shipley was the Prime Minister. New Zealand First lobbied strongly for a pay rise for defence force personnel. Her answer was “But Ron they get free dental care.” That about summed it up from the National Party. 
We continued to lobby the new Labour Government and eventually after 12 months it moved and gave four pay rises in small increments over a 5-year period. We said it was not enough. We have consistently said that we need to stem the outflow of highly trained competent personnel in a very tight and competitive labour market. They need a substantive pay rise. We have consistently fought for that for the 12 years that I have been in this House. I ask the Minister whether he would care to make a few comments as to where we stand on that issue because as we know from the reports in the newspapers we are losing naval personnel—particularly marine engineers who are very important to the navy. In fact our ability to put to sea is restricted if we do not have the numbers and I understand that currently only a third of those offered the lump-sum payment to sign on again took up the option. 
We in New Zealand First are worried. We have consistently asked for and called for a pay rise for defence force personnel. We worry not only about the lives of everyday service personnel and their ability to meet the needs of their families in a very tight labour market and a very tight economic situation where the cost of living for average households is consistently going up—look at the petrol prices look at the grocery bills look at getting a house in the New Zealand market—we worry also about their morale and we worry about how they see themselves. We need to understand that defence force personnel do not like being treated as beneficiaries. They joined to serve their nation not to dip into social development funding like some sort of a beneficiary and to be told that they should be happy that they can get the accommodation supplement the emergency benefit or draw down on the social services that are available to all other New Zealanders. They actually have a greater degree of pride than that. 
One of the disappointing comments that came out of the Shipley-led National Government at the time was when it said that they can go to Work and Income for assistance. Defence personnel are not beneficiaries and they should not be treated as such. They should receive a pay and salary remuneration package equivalent to that of the police and nurses and we in New Zealand First are watching what is happening with the primary teachers because we understand they are going to get a very good settlement as well. [ 
Interruption 
] I am sorry the primary teachers already have that. We understand that the New Zealand Educational Institute is about to get a very good settlement. 
That brings us right back to the point New Zealand First has been making for years. Defence force personnel are in a unique situation that disadvantages them severely. They do not have a union; they have a Chief of Defence Force who is meant to advocate for them but he is constrained by the Act to take into consideration the interests of the taxpayer and that handicaps his ability to lobby for his troops.