Cosgrove Clayton: General Debate 
Cosgrove Clayton: General Debate 
[Volume:647;Page:16152] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Minister of Immigration) 
: 
 We now know some interesting facts and I am gratified for that somewhat light but entertaining and jocular speech. I was wondering but I now know partly why the price of cheese has gone up. It is of course because of international commodity prices and the international situation but Gerry Brownlee gave us an astounding fact today. He said that the price of cheese has gone up because he eats a heck of a lot of it. He also told us—and I take him at his word—that he visits a supermarket very very regularly. But we also know this: Gerry Brownlee talked about various teams and all the sort of fictitious stuff that he goes on about but we know a couple of facts about the National Party and one is that there is no Gerry Brownlee team. There is no Gerry Brownlee team for anything. 
Secondly we know that Gerry Brownlee will never be in line for anything. No I stand corrected—I am advised that he was in line for the tuck shop at St Bede’s on many occasions. There is no Gerry Brownlee team. We know all about the succession planning that goes on over there and the myriad of five leaders they have had and whom Helen Clark has disposed of. 
Let us look at this thing called tax that my colleague Annette King talked about. We now have another revelation from Mr Key. He says everyone not just the top end and not just the bottom end will get a $50 a week tax cut. That is a lot of blocks of cheese including the big 1 kilogram jumbo size for our friend Gerry Brownlee. According to John Key everybody will get a tax break from National of a minimum of 50 bucks - plus a week. If we do the sums—and I know that is a bit difficult for Gerry Brownlee but he could use all his fingers and toes—we have to ask how that will be paid for. Then we have to ask ourselves what will happen to inflation especially given that the IMF has come out today and said there needs to be a measured approach to economic management and the issue of taxation. But the old “50 bucks - plus” wonders over there are promising that amount to New Zealanders. 
The question is what will happen to inflation and interest rates. What will bank managers do to the mum and dad battlers out there in the mortgage belt once they get on one hand 50 bucks - plus per week and then the bank manager will be on the phone and saying to them: “Hey your interest rates are going up. Let’s take a lot more than that back from you per week.” I can see that Mr Brownlee is having palpitations as he tries to get to grips with the facts. 
Then we should talk about Mr Key’s flip-flops. I want to read a quote from Tracy Watkins in the blog Inside the Beltway 
of 20 May: “Key”—that is Mr Key—“suggested his north of $50 comment was in response to me”—that is Ms Watkins—“asking him about our poll questions … Actually we hadn’t got on to those poll questions at that point in the interview.” The quote goes on: “I’ve spoken to Key”—that is Mr Key—“about this and he says there may have been some confusion as he had been aware from an earlier discussion in the week that we were polling on this question and thought that was what I was asking about.” 
So hang on Mr Key is confused. It is a bit like how Mr Key seems to be confused about everything. On 5 March he said about asset sales: “We wouldn’t have changed the rules as they have to preserve New Zealand’s strategic assets.” Then in April this year he said: “In the first term of the National Government there will be no State assets that will be sold.” 
We have to ask because people are not silly how National would pay for such massive promises as every New Zealander—every mum and dad every pensioner and everybody else—getting a tax break of in excess of $50 a week. Would it sell assets? Possibly. Would it cut expenditure? Possibly. Would it borrow? Possibly. If National is not prepared to say that it would do one two or all three of those things then I ask those members with their high intellectual capacity in economics to tell the New Zealand people how they will pay for a tax cut of north of $50 per week per head. If National members are not prepared to sell assets—not in the first 3 years for these boys—if they are not prepared to borrow even though they said they would borrow half of it last time although not for schools not for hospitals not for roads but for tax cuts and if they are not going to cut any expenditure then it is voodoo economics and they know it.