English Bill: General Debates 
English Bill: General Debates 
[Volume:617;Page:13335] 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (National—Clutha-Southland) 
: 
 What we are seeing from this Government particularly as has been exemplified in this Chamber today is that it is losing its moral authority. There is now no doubt about that. It has happened at a speed that has surprised even me. But let us just go through the issues that have been dealt with today. Steve Maharey has spent 5 years on a tertiary education strategy. He has lost his credibility in the sector and now he is losing it in the House. That is because his strategy adds up to nothing. It consists of 14 reports over 5 years and a blowout of $18 million on the least strategic lowest-value courses the country has. We can imagine what the students will say to him about that when he turns up to meet them. He will not have moral authority. 
The Hon Phil Goff has spent years garnishing his credentials as a hard man on law and order only to be caught out in the worst possible situation: now being labelled in public as having a dangerously liberal attitude towards teenage sex. And then we found out today something that I am sure he told his colleagues and that they agreed with which is that it is now to become legal for foster parents to have sex with their foster children provided they do not use coercion—foster parents with State wards and the Government is going to sanction that! That is Phil Goff. He has lost his moral authority. 
Then there is the Prime Minister— 
Darren Hughes 
: Who’s obsessed about it? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
:I bet the ninth floor is. Speaking of the ninth floor how will the Prime Minister regain any moral authority on race issues? She will not. The only thing she could think of was to put Trevor Mallard in as Minister responsible for race relations. That tells us just how empty the bank account is. But how can she regain any moral authority on race relations? She has said nothing to New Zealand about those issues for 5 years. Which New Zealander would believe anything Helen Clark said about the most important issue our nation faces over the next 15 months? Not one—and she knows that which is why she is saying nothing. When a Government loses its moral authority it is worse than losing its policy credibility. 
One person stands above that and he is Dr Michael Cullen. On Dr Cullen’s broad shoulders rests the burden of rescuing this Government. But of course he has made a fundamental mistake: his Budget looks like the last Labour Budget not like one with four more Budgets to come after it. This is the pay-off. What happens after the pay-off? I can tell members that my voters in Southland have figured that out already. Labour saved up the money for this Budget. At least Labour did talk about having to earn it. Now that the Government has all the money it has saved it is going to give it away. What will happen next? Will Labour suddenly turn back into an enterprise Government? No. But Dr Cullen of course is not without his own ambition. 
 I am sure there are thoughts deep in his mind about why he has to work so hard to keep Helen Clark in office as Prime Minister of New Zealand because every problem the Government has he has to solve. 
Dr Wayne Mapp 
: That’s right. Mr Mallard too? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: No he has become part of the problem with school closures the NCEA and various problems like that. The education portfolio is out of control. So Michael Cullen is sitting there on the Government benches wondering why he has to do all that. Why was it that Dr Cullen gave the speech yesterday that had to be given by the Government attacking judges and judicial activism—which I agreed with? Why did Helen Clark not make that speech? Because no one would take any notice of her and she did not actually think of doing it in the first place. 
I thought that the speeches on Monday exemplified the growing gap at the top of this Government. Helen Clark has spun herself into a corner she cannot get out of. She has got on the wrong side of an issue that she cannot get on the right side of and no one is waiting around to see what she can say. It is now up to Dr Cullen to buy Labour’s way out. Unfortunately he has had Phil Goff make this the worst lead-up to a Budget a Government could ever want to have. 
The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.