Mapp Wayne: General Debates 
Mapp Wayne: General Debates 
[Volume:608;Page:5194] 
Dr WAYNE MAPP (NZ National—North Shore) 
: 
 Is it not extraordinary that we have had three speeches from Labour that have been all about the Opposition—and why is that? It is because Labour knows it is in deep trouble. Who should we be feeling sorry for? It is Chris Carter George Hawkins and Marian Hobbs. They are in deep deep trouble and the economy will get worse and worse. I was listening to the speech from the junior Labour whip when she talked about trading partners and it was remarkable was it not? 
Just 3 weeks ago in this Chamber we saw the excruciating situation in which the Prime Minister of this nation was not able to apologise. She apologised only for the offence that was taken not for what had been said. Why did members on the Government side of the House not read today’s  
Wall Street Journal 
? If they had they would know the seriousness of New Zealand’s difficulties right at the moment. Things will get worse from here because the  
Wall Street Journal  
specifically picked out New Zealand as a country that has to watch itself. Why is that? It is because the Prime Minister insults people whom we have traditionally regarded as friends. 
New Zealand has a clear choice: do we stand by the countries we have always stood with—Britain Australia and the United States—or do we go down a new path and stand with France Germany and the People’s Republic of China? To quote the Prime Minister we have “good links through to the Chinese”. That is the path she would follow. The Prime Minister has no doubts; she is with Jacques Chirac all the way. We saw the kisses the champagne and the fancy lunches and I tell the House that it will end in tears because this is the sharpest foreign policy choice this country has had in decades. 
The Prime Minister’s balancing act right through February and March broke down at the first hint of a slow-down during the war in Iraq. Her legendary discipline broke down completely. She could not resist making jibes against the coalition and when we saw that we knew that apologies would have to take place. Yet she has not given an apology at all. For 3 days in this House we had a Prime Minister who was unwilling to admit her error. When the  
Wall Street Journal 
—which is probably the most respected financial journal in the world—picks that up in a lead item this country has to be worried. 
And things could get worse because the Prime Minister then decided to attack Australia suggesting that it was part of the coalition only so as to get a free-trade deal. She had met Prime Minister Howard just a few weeks before and this is what she had to say: “this Government doesn’t trade the lives of young New Zealanders for a war it doesn’t believe in in order to secure some material advantage.” That would have to be the most gratuitous insult that our country has given to Australia in the history of this country. So it is not surprising that things will get worse for our country. 
It should be clear to everyone that as long as Helen Clark is the Prime Minister of New Zealand our foreign relations will be a disaster zone. No amount of desperate diplomacy will patch that up because we have turned our back on the countries we have our deepest economic links with. Australia takes the highest percentage of our manufactured exports. I have heard Dr Cullen say that he anticipates that the United States will become our most important trading partner yet we would turn our backs on that country. I tell members this: as long as Helen Clark is the Prime Minister there is no chance of a free-trade agreement with the United States. I do not care how much work Minister Sutton Dr Cullen or the Prime Minister does there will be no free-trade agreement. One cannot abuse traditional allegiances in the way that the Government has and expect that to be— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Get on top of the facts Wayne boy. 
Dr WAYNE MAPP 
: That is exactly the point.