Shirley Ken: Budget Debate 
Shirley Ken: Budget Debate 
[Volume:608;Page:5979] 
Hon KEN SHIRLEY (Deputy Leader—ACT NZ) 
: 
 The last speaker on the Government side in this debate was Damien O’Connor a Minister of the Crown. What people have to realise of course is that everyone has a job in this executive. There are I think only four people who have not got a special job. Let me tell members that it is the best way for any Prime Minister to keep control—give them all a job! Buy them off! We have the biggest executive ever I think. 
Ron Mark 
: In history. 
Hon KEN SHIRLEY 
: Yes the biggest executive in history. Every week there is a new executive position and a new assistant—someone else to carry the handbag. It just goes on and on. But I come back to Mr Damien O’Connor. I actually have a lot of respect for Mr O’Connor. He is a solid rural member. He comes from the West Coast. But let me just tell members what he actually said because it is very revealing. This comment came from a Minister in the Government—a Minister of the Crown. He was praising the rural sector in New Zealand and he said that his Government got the dollar down. He said that they settled the dollar. That is a very interesting concept is it not? It is true that when the Helen Clark Labour socialist Government was elected the dollar did take a dive. But it was actually driven down by the confidence of international investors. It had nothing whatsoever to do with— 
Hon Damien O'Connor 
: What about the targets? 
Hon KEN SHIRLEY 
: He is interjecting on me now. The other side—which he does not forget—is that in recent months the dollar has gone up. Did the member’s Government do that too? Is that part of the targets? Is that a deliberate policy? The nice little message the member is giving to the farmers is: “Hey we got the dollar down for you.” Is the member now saying that the Government put the dollar up for them? Which way is it I ask Mr O’Connor. Was the Government in control when it drove the dollar down or was that international markets? Or is the Government in control now and driving the dollar up? Or is that international markets? He cannot have it both ways. I ask him to nominate one or the other because it is a very curious position that he has adopted. He is caught both ways whichever way he looks at it. 
This Budget purported to have a $4 billion surplus. Michael Cullen and all the Ministers—all 27 of them I think it is—have been swanning around the country and saying: “We have delivered a Budget surplus. We can manage the economy. The surplus is $4 billion.” All of a sudden come Budget day—oh no! The Government’s constituents are saying: “Let’s have more welfare spending. Let’s spend more. Let’s have more for Maori television and all the rest of it.” Then all of a sudden it is not really a $4 billion surplus. It is actually only a $1.5 billion surplus. So when the Government actually comes to spend it it is only a $1.5 billion surplus. 
I have been doing some work and talking to some people who are very knowledgable on the subject. They are actually doing some further figures. They tell me that when we take the capital expenditure that is involved in this Budget and the financial investment for policy purposes which of course includes the ”Cullen fund’’ that great monster their assessment—and it is not final yet; I will be bringing it to the House—is that this Budget in international terms how all other countries assess it is actually a deficit. This is a deficit Budget. At a time of good fortune because of a low dollar very good climate conditions for our export crops record agricultural production because of the favourable climate conditions over the last 4 years and good international commodity prices—at a time when all those stars are in alignment—this Government is actually running a Budget deficit because of its wasteful spending. That is indeed a very worrying situation. What have we got? We have got $34 million being thrown out on the America’s Cup. Who actually believes that it is the role of the Government to be funding a sporting event for the international well-to-do? 
 Sure we ought to have pride in the America’s Cup but is it the role of the Government to throw money at it? Government members say: “Oh but it will encourage investment and earnings.” Well why not give $34 million to Fonterra? Why not give $34 million to Carter Holt Harvey which is owned by International Paper—or 51 percent is. 
Stephen Franks 
: Or EDS. 
Hon KEN SHIRLEY 
: The Government has given money to EDS. My colleague has reminded me of Jim Anderton and his “job machine”—this great ministry to create jobs and help regional development. We have had Sovereign Yachts and now it is the America’s Cup. The Government actually dished out hard-earned taxpayers’ money to EDS—a multinational corporate monster. I am not against multinational corporate monsters. I think they are great. But hell do they need to have their hand in the hip pocket of the poor struggling New Zealand taxpayer? I do not think so. But Jim Anderton and this Government thought it would be a good idea to give that company a special-projects grant to develop a particular market. I have spoken to some people at EDS and they are laughing. They think it is a joke. They have taken the Government’s money—I should say our money; the country’s money—but they despise the Government. They think the Government is a fool. The Government continues to go around the country dishing out money to groups like EDS. Telecom got a grant under Jim Anderton’s regional development scheme—it got a special-projects development grant under this Government’s scheme to create jobs. That is appalling mismanagement of the economy. 
I particularly want to turn to the energy sector because I think that this Government has failed there perhaps more than anywhere else. We know that the roading infrastructure is in chaos and that the Government has done nothing to address that but our basic electricity infrastructure in this country is in a woeful state. We can read the briefing papers to the incoming Ministers in 1999 and again in 2002. The Government commissioned a ministerial inquiry which reported in June 2000. Read the recommendations! The Government has ignored them and if it had acted it would have averted the crisis we are now facing. I notice that the Minister for State Owned Enterprises is in the Chamber tonight and I welcome him. We do not see him very often. He has a responsibility for the State-owned generators—[ 
Interruption 
] The Minister is chirping now; he is interjecting. Do people realise that 70 percent of our total generation is controlled by Government-owned enterprises that effectively now have regional monopolies? 
Stephen Franks 
: Strategic assets with no strategy. 
Hon KEN SHIRLEY 
: Very good; I could not have put it better myself. The Minister for State Owned Enterprises is here so let me put this to him. Genesis is a very important State-owned enterprise. It runs the Huntly power station our biggest generator of 1000 megawatts or potentially 1000 megawatts and a whole lot more. Of course it is not running at 1000 megawatts. Why? Because it does not have any coal. It is that Minister’s responsibility to ensure that it did have it. If we look at the stockpiles of coal that that station has had on 31 March every year since 1992 we will find that on average it was over 1 million tonnes because that is what it required. Since this Government has been in office and in particular this year on 31 March it has had less than 500 tonnes in stockpile. I ask the Minister whether that was his cunning strategy to—what could it possibly be for? I cannot think. Why did the Minister not address that issue? Any Minister for State Owned Enterprises who had that responsibility would have ensured that there was sufficient fuel for the Huntly power station. Now the Government is trying to sign up contracts to bring in 600000 tonnes of Indonesian coal to fuel that power station and the Government is talking about bringing it into the Port of Tauranga. Let me say to members that the Government will not be able to do it. There will be huge problems. The Government thought it was going to deliver the coal by rail but the railways are so run down that it cannot get it through. The Government is now talking about trucking it. I have the figures. There was going to be a coal truck every 20 seconds I think heading over the Kaimais. I do not think that would be a very popular move. 
I ask the Minister to please think about it: why were we caught out in respect of the coal stockpiles at Huntly which he—as the Minister for State Owned Enterprises; for Genesis—is responsible for? Why are New Zealanders being asked to have cold showers? Why are our export-earning industries cutting back and laying people off? Why are jobs production and export earnings being lost? It is because that Minister failed to ensure that there were adequate coal reserves. We know we have problems getting access to our own coal reserves because of Chris Carter the Minister of Conservation.