Cunliffe David: General Debate 
Cunliffe David: General Debate 
[Volume:635;Page:6306] 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Minister of Immigration) 
: 
 Bill English is a smart enough politician to know where the action is. That is why he is going where the action is rather than staying here. Bill English knows that the National Party caucus is having a meeting but that meeting is not there it is not here and he is not invited to it. That is why his heart was not in his speech today. That speech had to be the worst general debate speech from that member that I have ever heard. 
It was not so long ago that Bill and Mary English were on the front cover of the  
New Zealand Woman’s Weekly 
 with the title “Up and coming politician”. But nobody says that about Bill any more; Bill knows that his time is up. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member knows he cannot use just one name; he must use the member’s full name. 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: Mr English knows that his time has come and gone. After years of hard work he is here to prove the truism that a soufflé never rises twice. 
Where is Murray McCully? Where is the “Prince of Darkness” at the moment? What coup is he about to run? 
Jill Pettis 
: He’s counting. 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: We have just had Halloween. The clanking of chains around the National Party is not the sound of Murray McCully; it is the ghost of Brian Neeson. Do members remember Brian Neeson? He was the hard-working member from Massey West. He was the honest butcher who met a worse butcher the wicked witch of the east Michelle Boag. She came in the dead of night slew him and made room for the barrow boy from the money markets John Key who is so passionately committed to Waitakere that he moved to Parnell. It is said that John Key can read a map but he has no compass. But he can now find his way to Henderson as long as he has a chauffeur in the car with him. But what does he stand for? What do we know about this man? Seriously the only thing we know about John Key’s vision is tax cuts. 
John Key is a man whose early years were blighted by tragedy. He is a man whose young life depended on the resources of the State for housing and education. There is nothing wrong with that. We believe that all people deserve a hand up when they need it. But what does he stand for now? We know—to the extent that we know at all—that he stands for reducing the resources of the State to provide the same chance for the next generation of John Keys or “Rangi Keys” or whoever. That is what he stands for—and that is a word starting with the letter “h”. He is so narrow that he makes economists look sexy. He has that beady-eyed glint of the rapacious foreign exchange trader who is to throw away his own heritage for a profit. 
 So what can one call it but the belief that money solves all one’s problems? If a members wants to stand in Helensville and live in Parnell there is no problem. He needs only to buy a house in Helensville and pretend to live in it. If a member wants to have street cred in Waitakere but wants to drive a Beemer or a Merc during the week there is no problem. He needs only to buy a Commodore put his face on it and get someone else to drive it around Waitakere. If a member wants to fit in out west and be seen in his electorate but is too busy running around the country plotting against the guy who mentored him into Parliament there is no problem. He needs only to buy a few more billboards or buildings and stick his face on them or in the window and people might think he lives there. None of this is illegal none of it is wrong but nor is any of it true. 
Therefore who is the real John Key? What does he stand for? Where would he lead the National Party and God forbid if he ever got the chance where would he lead New Zealand? The truth is that nobody knows because John Key does not take stands; he takes positions. He tries to judge where the market trend is in the short term and he will long it or he will short it. Members can take the example of climate change. He simply said: “the Climate Change Response Amendment Bill is a load of rubbish and the National Party will not be supporting it for very very good reasons indeed.” Well guess what? National now supports the bill. John Key apparently supports the bill also but one cannot really tell because he will not tell people what he stands for. He does not take stands; he just takes positions. He is good at reading maps but he has no compass. He is good at manoeuvring but he has no vision. If the National Party makes the same mistake it will remain on the Opposition benches.