Chadwick Steve: General Debate 
Chadwick Steve: General Debate 
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STEVE CHADWICK (Labour—Rotorua) 
: 
 What a shame to see the member for the Opposition with such a single tunnel-vision focus—and without a policy I might add on what the Opposition is going to do about climate change. 
I wonder whether the Opposition actually woke up on 1 April this year because it was a pretty exciting day. It was a red-letter day for families young and old in New Zealand and did they not know it! 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: April Fool’s Day. 
STEVE CHADWICK 
: It was no joke and this Government was not fooling. I was at City Focus in Rotorua with my little laptop showing families what they will get with targeted tax relief. I can tell the members opposite that those families were absolutely thrilled. I had people coming up to me. I would whistle them over and say: “Do you realise that your family may be entitled to some family tax relief from 1 April?”. We would go through the programme and they could not believe it. They qualified for in-work support. 
My family of three children not only had interest taken off their student loans but they got some targeted tax relief. What a difference it will make to them! They are in that emerging group of the so-called middle class. That is what the Opposition calls them. They are children who have come back from the United Kingdom prepared to face their student debt and also to contribute to New Zealand’s identity. What will they get? With two children on $60000—middle class as they would say over on those benches—and with a mortgage they will get $120 a week from their in-work payment and it will make a huge difference to their lives. It will actually put food on their table. 
And there was Mrs Tangohau in Rotorua. She said: “If you don’t have the strength in your families your children are going to be in trouble.” She is a wonderful woman; a solo parent with four children on $25000 year. She came up to me and she did not know about the package. She is going to get in-work payment keep family assistance and get some accommodation supplement. She was thrilled. She is one of three out of every four New Zealand families who will have some more bread on the table. It was a red-letter day. It was a day when I as a Labour member of Parliament in this House felt so proud to be going out there amongst our community 
I also went to a hui at a primary school where 80 Maori parents turned up to learn about their children’s education and discuss education issues. One woman came up to me and said: “I have had three part-time jobs. With this family assistance through Working for Families I am going to stop part-time work and I’m going to be home with my children. Thank you for that because it’s going to help me keep my children on track with their learning and be able to make sure they get good food get their homework done and get into bed.” For us as Labour members in this House that package is about building strong families and those families are going to contribute to the economic benefits of this country in the future. I am really proud to be a Labour member who actually brings that about for families young and old. 
Superannuitants were also absolutely delighted. In my electorate alone 43000 superannuitants are going to benefit by having up to $420 a year in increased assistance and that is a lot for old people on a fixed income. That may be something that Mr Brash would be interested in because his position on Working for Families keeps changing. It flip-flops all over the place. He said at first: “I don’t think of Working for Families as a welfare programme. Then he expressed position two: “You have to apply for it; it is sort of a glorified welfare system.” And he had position three: “Most of that Working for Families programme will certainly remain.” Does that member of the Opposition like it or does he not really understand what it is all about? Position four came from Mr Key who said: “National doesn’t support the current Working for Families package.” Is there ever a frisson of friction in the Opposition when Mr Key does not support it and Mr Brash does!