Brownlee Gerry: General Debate 
Brownlee Gerry: General Debate 
[Volume:640;Page:10253] 
GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam) 
: 
 That speech was one of the saddest things one will ever see in Parliament because it was made by a senior Minister—someone who has given 12 years of ministerial service to successive Labour Governments—who is fighting to get off the managed exit list. That Minister Annette King was hauled in by the Prime Minister and given the bad news yesterday. Along with numerous others she was told that she was on her way. Did any members here notice that her comments were that Bill English was the Deputy Prime Minister in waiting that John Key was the Prime Minister in waiting and that National is the Government-in-waiting? We thank her for that admission. 
Who else is on the managed exit list? 
Chris Auchinvole 
: Who else? 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Well it is a long one: Di Yates Russell Fairbrother Ann Hartley Rick Barker Dover Samuels Jill Pettis—no Jill Pettis is not on it. That is the surprise for the Cabinet reshuffle. We know about it; we have heard. The list continues: Mita Ririnui Lesley Soper Darien Fenton Dave Hereora Moana Mackey and one Judith Tizard. I had to read the list because I have never met most of them. We now know that yesterday the Prime Minister hauled a few people in and gave them the bad news then last night at a swanky Wellington restaurant they sat down to have what might be called the last supper for that group. 
How does a Government that goes out with a cornerstone of its election promise—20 hours’ free early childhood education—and says: “Here is something for free.” get itself into so much trouble trying to give something away? It is pretty simple; it is because it is not free. New Zealanders are sick and tired of the diet of garbage they are being fed by the current Government. If everybody were to take a good look at the situation they would see no political parallel anywhere in the world. The Government says it is 20 hours’ free and no one wants to believe it. That is why it is in trouble. 
Then of course Government members are out there saying: “We can do better for you in a range of areas. We can tell you all sorts of things that you must do—you have to do—and when you should do them. You can’t eat pies at the school tuck shop but by the way you can vote.” They talk about all that sort of stuff. It is total control. In the meantime Government spending is wildly out of control. Wasteful spending is wildly out of control. And who pays? It is the mortgage-holders of this country the people who are trying to get a roof over their head for their families and the young people who are trying to get into homeownership. They pay because this Government does not trust New Zealanders to do more for themselves. This Government is hell-bent on control at any particular point. 
When we see the Government in a tight spot what does it do? It reverts to kind by going out and saying there will be more legislation that is about the Government poking itself into people’s lives. That is where the free early childhood education policy has got the Government into so much trouble. People who are making a choice are saying: “Yes we’d like to have a subsidy. We’d like to have some assistance. We’d like to have some tax rebate. But we don’t want to be told: ‘That’s the place you go because they’re the ones that have the tick. That’s the place you go because Steve Maharey has decided that’s the early childhood education you should have for your child.’ It’s all about control.” That is why this Government is in trouble. That is why a sad Minister like Annette King has had to come down to the House today to make a speech that supposedly gets her off the managed exit list. It is why Mike Williams says there are 10 others to go very very shortly. I acknowledge the contribution made by Annette King and that is the reason why John Key is the Prime Minister in waiting and National is the Government-in-waiting.