McClay Todd: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
McClay Todd: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Advance Copy - Subject to minor change before inclusion in Bound Volume.] 
TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) 
: 
 What a pleasure it is to rise this evening in this Chamber and speak after Mr David Bennett the member of Parliament from Hamilton East. That was one of the best speeches I have heard from that member in quite some time. Can I say to members opposite that that did not seem like a long 5 minutes to us on this side of the Chamber. I could imagine if one was not enjoying it on the other side then it would have seemed like a long period of time. But Mr Bennett who is well known for drinking very large glasses of clean Waikato River water was in full flight talking about the wonderful things that his Government has done and the important things New Zealanders have asked us to do.  
What have we heard from the other side of the Chamber so far in the debate? We have heard the politics of envy. We have heard from those members that everything is wrong in New Zealand that they are depressed that nothing is going right for them but actually after a lot of puff there was not a single good idea between them: a few things they spoke about back in 2008 regurgitated to the electorate in 2011. What happened in 2008? The largest single vote under MMP for any party.  
What happened in 2011 when they said everything had gone so wrong? Again the largest vote for any party under MMP. Was it for the Labour Party? Was it for the Green Party? It was for John Key’s National Party and it was for John Key’s National Party because New Zealanders resoundingly wanted a brighter future—not the slogan that was stolen by members opposite but a brighter future. They wanted direction they actually wanted hope they wanted to recognise the good things that happen in this country and they wanted to do more for themselves for their family members and for others.  
I heard members opposite say earlier when Mr Bennett was speaking that it was 4 years ago when we went into recession a recession that was the steepest New Zealand had faced in 60 years. The world’s economy was failing. But when we came into Government we inherited books that had debt growing and a forecast of debt into the future that was spiralling. The members opposite say: “That is the past. Why are we talking about that?”.  
If you do not know where you have come from as a country it is hard to know where you have gone to and what I have got to say is that over the last 3 years the National-led Government has provided the reasonable economic management that New Zealand was in such need of after 9 years of Labour mismanagement of this economy. I can see why they do not want to talk about those 9 years but it is a reality. It is a fact. New Zealanders cast their judgment on that not only in one election but also in two elections. I can understand why those members would not want to look at that.  
When we took the reins of office and the financial crisis had reached its peak in the New Zealand economy in that year the economy had shrunk by 3 percent topping off 5 years of historically low growth. I can remember back then reading newspapers about the wonderful things the Opposition had said were happening in the economy. But the important part of our economy the part of our economy that produces things the productive economy—the businesses that invest their own money and that produce things to sell them export reinvest that money and employ New Zealanders—had been in a recession long before the rest of New Zealand’s economy got there long before the rest of the world and it was going backwards.  
We were losing competitiveness and thank goodness that New Zealanders woke up and said they wanted a change. They wanted new direction with John Key. They wanted a finance Minister Mr English who would get Government spending under control who would move New Zealand in a more productive direction and who would say to our ministries that they must deliver more for New Zealanders with the resource that they are given the taxpayer resource—not more money but more hard work for that.  
Every day New Zealanders work hard for their money. Why should not the Government and our ministries do the same thing? Well on this side of the Chamber that is important to us and you know to New Zealanders it is important as well. They told us that in the last 3 years when they went to vote.  
Can I say to you that we have done a number of things—a raft of things—that helped New Zealand become more competitive and more productive. We have looked at the tax system and we have changed it to encourage work and savings. That is very important to New Zealanders. Over 9 years we did not hear about that. All we heard about were handouts and borrowing—handouts and borrowing.  
You know it does not matter whether it is you in your home in a business in your local government or in your Government if you spend more than you earn every single— 
The CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch) 
: Order! 
TODD McCLAY 
: If one spends more than they earn every single year then sooner or later you have got to pay the piper. Well in this case Governments do not have to do that. Governments just keep putting up tax keep taking your money and keep spending it or at least that is what New Zealanders saw over 9 years of a Labour Government. Well we came into Government and we made one of the most important—