Goodhew Jo: General Debate 
Goodhew Jo: General Debate 
[Volume:671;Page:17770] 
JO GOODHEW (National—Rangitata) 
: 
 So who will it be team? Will it be the Bulls or the Crusaders? At Alpine Energy Stadium on Saturday night I am sure the Crusaders will prevail. There will be a full crowd and I will be there cheering along the Crusaders who are not quite on their own home turf but not far from it. There certainly will be a very supportive team there behind the Crusaders on Saturday night. 
But who will lead the Labour team into the next election? I wonder. Phil Goff did not lead the general debate this afternoon so maybe he is resting up and getting ready. It could be Trevor Mallard David Cunliffe Shane Jones Grant Robertson David Parker or even Damien O’Connor. I bet that that is the first time someone has mentioned Damien as a potential leader this afternoon. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member must use the member’s full name or title. 
JO GOODHEW 
: My apologies Mr Assistant Speaker. That will be the first time that Damien O’Connor has been mentioned as a potential leader this afternoon I suspect. But that member should know that he got a vote in a Colmar Brunton poll. In an electorate close to mine on Sunday somebody voted for him to be Labour leader so there we go—well done! 
The headlines have said it all—dog tucker. When the media start asking the members of a caucus whether they support their leader it generally means the leader is dog tucker. John Armstrong said it more kindly when he said that Labour has no one else it can believe in. In the meantime all New Zealanders are watching every single one of the contenders dissecting every single move they make and the words they say. They are looking to see whether there is any disunity whether anybody is trying to undermine the other potential leaders or Phil Goff. I wonder who Helen Clark is voting for. It is a bit like picking a team at playtime where each of the wannabes lines up and gets his team to fall in behind him. I ask members to imagine the uncertainty of wondering how many people will get behind each leader and whether one leader’s line will be longer than the other’s. In the case of David Cunliffe he will think his line will be long even though it may not be. 
Hon Simon Power 
: Mirrors do that. 
JO GOODHEW 
: Yes that is true. There has also been the bizarre suggestion of a genetic remix which is a bit like Stars on 45 I think which was a group that sang a catchy mix of tunes. Anyway this remix is about Jacinda Ardern’s looks Trevor Mallard’s mongrel Shane Jones’ blokeyness David Cunliffe’s intellect and Louisa Wall’s sportiness although she is not here yet. Well I think they might get the genetic remix wrong. They might end up with Mallard’s boxing prowess Shane’s penchant for movie watching— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member is doing it again. You must use the members’ full names. 
JO GOODHEW 
: I will. There is also David Cunliffe’s disconnect instead of his intellect Jacinda Ardern’s ability to talk for ages and say nothing and as for David Parker well he used to be referred to in his electorate as “David Who” and that will make it pretty hard for people to pick him for Prime Minister. These are scary times in the Labour caucus but there is one thing I can tell members: Phil Goff has won the poll. What was that poll? His caucus has voted for him to lead Labour to defeat. No one else wants that job. 
In the meantime in my electorate of Rangitata people really care about the economy of this country and the economics of their own pockets. That really is No. 1 for them. In terms of the talk about South Canterbury Finance largely by the Opposition there is a different perspective so close to home and there are some facts that I need to get on the record today. Our Government has been quick to act on some fronts but it beggars belief to suggest that we were responsible for South Canterbury Finance going into the retail deposit guarantee scheme—that happened on the day we were sworn in. We cannot possibly have been that quick. 
In fact it became clear to this Government from mid-2009 that South Canterbury Finance was in trouble. The Government’s objectives were to create certainty for the 35000 investors around the country many of whom are in my electorate; to reduce wider disruption to the business community especially in the South Island; and to minimise the cost to the taxpayer—and minimising the cost to the taxpayer has always been a priority. The reality is far from the rhetoric we are hearing from the other side of the House. 
Mr Trevor Mallard has suggested that Treasury did not want to admit South Canterbury Finance but was pressured by the Government. What a load of codswallop! That is an incredible falsification even by Labour’s standards. The scheme was designed by Labour; it was announced at the opening of the 2008 election campaign. Labour wanted finance companies in. That is why it charged them no fees even when more creditworthy banks were paying. Total fees collected from the retail and wholesale guarantees have been around $500 million. 
The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.