Wilson Margaret: Budget Debate 
Wilson Margaret: Budget Debate 
[Volume:618;Page:13582] 
Hon MARGARET WILSON (Attorney-General) 
: 
 I first want to acknowledge the maiden speech of Mr Rodney Hide in his new role as leader of ACT and congratulate him. I was lulled momentarily by the calm dulcet tones of the new Mr Hide and began to wonder whether we now had a Dr Jekyll in our midst. However I was reassured that the old Mr Hide was still with us when he got through the pleasantries—ever so briefly—and moved very quickly to what passed for the substance of his speech. His voice rose to its familiar falsetto screech and we had a full-blown attack on the hard-working men and women of this country and the fact that they should benefit at all from what is I think acknowledged by all working New Zealanders as a Budget that is there to help them. 
At least Mr Hide has the virtue of consistency. He is representing the greedy and he has never resiled from that fact for a moment. It is “they” he assured us who will always have a voice in this House while he is leader. I was also relieved to hear him linking his policies with those of the National agenda because that was also a very clear indication that he considers that he should be influencing that party to ensure that they also remain consistent in voicing the concerns and interests of the greedy. 
What he was saying and what the member who preceded me confirmed was that the agenda of the 1990s is alive and well. Anyone who does not believe that only has to look at the statements that are coming forward from what passes for the Opposition. There are no new ideas there. It is quite simple—it is all about tax cuts. It is all about taking away benefits. It is all about getting rid of public services. It is all about user-pays. There is nothing new at all in that agenda. 
Which of course brings me to the purpose of this debate and that is the Budget because the Budget in effect is nothing new either. The Budget in contrast reflects the values of a Labour-Progressive Government. It is a Budget that consistently provides for predictable good management both economically and socially of this country. As the Minister of Finance said in his speech he has a long-term vision for this country—not the short-term greedy vision of those in the opposite benches but one that takes a responsible position on matters of managing the economy by knowing that if one does not manage that well then one cannot give the benefit to all those New Zealanders who work so hard to contribute to our society. 
This Budget is a Labour Budget and if anyone has any doubt of that one only has to hear the attacks from the Opposition. This is a Budget that reflects the values of those who represent working people in this country. It is a Budget that clearly states that one cannot have fairness and opportunity in a society unless one provides for one basic thing. That is that everyone has full employment and that that employment provides a decent income and conditions that then enable people not only to provide for their families but also to be able to contribute fully to the community they are part of. 
My colleagues on this side have gone through the various specific provisions in this Budget in great detail. They have emphasised how—in a very practical way not in a high rhetorical way—the Budget succeeds in addressing the very real needs of those in our community who struggle in seeking to provide for themselves and their families. It goes through quite clearly and puts the conditions that are necessary to get people into work. 
One of those areas is something that has been part of the Labour Party agenda for many years and that is ensuring that good quality childcare is available so that men and women can be assured that their children are well cared for if they wish to go back into the workforce. This policy in particular being one of many that could be highlighted demonstrates how the Labour-Progressive Government is attempting to lay down the conditions that in the long term will ensure that everyone can fully participate within our society. The early childhood education package is an investment of another $365 million over 4 years in the children of this country. 
If we go through the various specific provisions in the Budget it can be noted that it is focused on the next generation. It is an attempt to ensure that our children will have houses in which they can live without the fear of overcrowding and the diseases that result from that. They will have the security of knowing that they will be able to have a decent education at primary and secondary level and at tertiary level in whatever form that might well take. 
It was also a Budget that attempted and I say succeeded to address those real needs that people have but have been unable through the hard work and efforts of themselves to generate decent incomes and a decent life for their families. It is a Budget that also attempts to ensure and I would argue succeeds in providing for the social inclusion of every citizen in this country in contributing to our society. 
It does that in ways that might not be obvious but which will ensure that everyone has access to a health system that will address his or her needs. It is in that area in particular that many people are denied access to employment because they have been unable in the past through the policies of the 1990s that ran down our public health system to get themselves into a healthy position to be able to return to work and contribute both economically and socially to the community. 
It is a Budget that in its detail recognises the important work being done in so many areas including in my own area of responsibility for treaty negotiations and the settlement of historical grievances. It is a Budget that sensibly recognises the need for resources to ensure that we can contribute to the pace of change taking place there. 
The Opposition has made much of trying to say that little progress has been made on the settlement of historical grievances. Members opposite had a go at that. They thought it was all about money that a sum should be put on it that it should be divided up that the claimants should then go away and that is how grievances are settled. This Government has attempted to negotiate in a proper way to try to address both cultural and financial needs in order to ensure that grievances are settled in a way that is genuinely full and final. This Budget addresses that. A new negotiating team will be formed and there will be the resources we need to ensure that that happens. 
The Budget also addressed what is extraordinarily important from the point of view of the values of Labour and that is recognising that we cannot have a healthy community unless we have healthy and productive workplaces. Those provisions in the legislation—through acknowledgment of the working group on productivity—were overlooked by just about everyone. But one of those measures in the Budget ensures that we are thinking of the future and laying down the conditions that will produce real results and not what members of the Opposition are saying in their rhetoric. 
One of the Opposition members mentioned that this Budget was “a fizzer”. Well it probably was a fizzer for the people that member represents. It was a fizzer for those who have only their own interests at heart and not those of the community. For those who want to make a future for this country and to be part of that future this is the Budget that leads the way. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Before I call the next speaker I understand that United Future members have agreed to share their time. They will have 5 minutes each and I shall ring the bell at 4 minutes giving members 1 minute’s notice.