Peters WinstonRt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Deputy Prime Minister): Thank you Mr Speaker. First of all we had the courtesy to hear Simon Bridge's speech but he never had the courtesy to hear the Prime Minister's speech. It tells you a lot about some people—Hon Member: And took a point of order!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: And can I just say as well I didn't say anything that was contrary to the Standing Orders. The point's very clear. And then of course on Tuesday he released this document [Holds up document]. This is fake news. I want to ask Mr Chris Bishop: is it James Ballantyne out of your office that has accessed the Treasury website? Perhaps you could tell us before this debate goes much further.Can I also say that I've been here for some time and anyone that's been here for some time would have heard a lot of Budgets—good ones bad ones cruel ones. There was the mother of all Budgets" a "packet of cheese Budget" a "chewing gum Budget"—Budgets which have torn the social fabric of our very society asunder and they've taken generations to recover. Those members over there will recognise those Budgets because they largely were either responsible for them or they supported them even when they were in Opposition. Oh I can remember them giving Rogernomics 9 out of 10 inside of caucus and I was wondering "What on earth are these turkeys around me going to do if they ever get the job themselves?"! And they were—like it was "Oh we agree with the theory; only we can do it better ourselves" except that they can't run a university tuckshop in the main. Most of them have got no commercial experience at all—at all.Hon David Bennett: Like you—ha ha!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Oh yes I do. I make far more money in my business than you make with your five farms—with your five farms—and I never paid my staff Third World wages. Now we'll get over that because I've got the evidence to prove that and I don't want to spend too much time on your loss of civic contribution.Can I say today that there have been politically calculated Budgets cynical Budgets Budgets of neglect but today the Labour - New Zealand First coalition has delivered the Wellbeing Budget. It is from someone who should know the best Budget delivered to the people of this country in 40 years. The very first conclusion anybody can make about this Budget is that it would never have been written by today's National Party. It could never have been written by today's National Party. Perhaps very close with respect to Keith Holyoake and people like that but most definitely not by this disorganised rabble over there. They would never have had the vision they would never have had the foresight the planning or the will to produce such a Budget: a Budget for all the people in this country. History's going to judge this Budget and it will be judged as a defining moment in this country's political history. It will be judged as a Budget of delivery. It will be judged as a Budget from a coalition Government which has sought to invest in the people and the land—all parts of it.Hon Gerry Brownlee: What's in it?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Now you know this bombast and noise can go on there from someone whose record in business was five weeks as a director of an illegal casino in Christchurch. Five weeks before he got outed by somebody very close to me—oh namely yours truly actually. Five weeks as the director of an illegal casino and his bombast and noise and his lack of humility knows no bounds. He shouts out every day. This woodwork teacher from St Bede's all of a sudden is an expert on the economy—unbelievable. Jeez!I want to say that New Zealand First is in coalition with the Labour Party because we would not tolerate the patterns of the status quo the pattern of managed decline. We wanted change and today we saw from Mr Robertson's Budget that we are achieving it. We wanted change that would protect our people invest in our neglected provinces grow our economy enhance our environment and protect our national interests.The Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance and our coalition Government Cabinet members and parties can be commended because history will applaud today's Budget. They can laugh over there but history will applaud this Budget and future Governments dare I say it will seek to emulate it. It's a Budget of delivery. We seek to improve the wellbeing of New Zealanders and to tackle cycles of poverty and deprivation. We seek to invest in the infrastructure of our country after many years of neglect and to truly boost our economy.Look for example there they were these people on the other side. Many of them represent the provinces and they're laughing at a billion-dollar investment in rail—laughing at a billion-dollar investment in rail. Do you know that Vogel in the space of nine years in the 1880s built more rail in that one decade than the rest of us have built in the 139 years after it and they sit there and they laugh and jeer as though they know something. Well they don't. When I say that for too long rail was run down they were even going to go for diesel over electrification—thank heavens we stopped that.You know rail's in our national interest and as the Prime Minister said it makes our roads safer. It gets the massive leviathans going down the roads to be less frequently on the roads. It gives us a chance to have a balanced strategic transport policy of sea road and rail and I want to make it very clear that the announcement that was made pre-Budget today has got one summation: rail is back on track.You know when you look at it our colleagues have made it very clear that the Wellbeing Budget seeks to tackle—Tim van de Molen: Somebody point out where he is up to.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: —a range of areas—what's that? What's that? Did you say something about yourself? Does anybody know where he's from? Does anybody know where that chap over there is from? No. He's "Mr Anonymous". He makes his speeches by way of interjections but they never ever put him up. Guess why? Even with their lack of talent they've got better than that. Unbelievable—unbelievable.The fact is we are a Government prepared to deal with massive mental health concerns and I want to say to the National Party and its financial backers that mental health can be a concern in any family. It knows no economic barriers and there but for the grace of God can go you and I. This Government understands that. We don't turn a blind eye to it. In fact it's up front and central to our future considerations.We support Māori and Pasifika. We support for example having a foreign policy that is a step up. It's a real refresh. It's a refit for the circumstances and challenges that we face. But all we hear from these people there is the despicable comment about the need for money to be spent in our country and nothing spent abroad at all as though we haven't got a neighbourhood and as though people don't look over our shoulders and say "So you're New Zealand. Who's with you?"Our commitment gets the response where we are a highly respected nation internationally growing at tremendous speed now our potential and concern and cooperation with countries like Japan and Indonesia the biggest Islamic country in the world. That's what smart policy does. But it begins with our neighbourhood and it begins with the place where our DNA has been there for a thousand years—just in case some of those ones who arrived later haven't got that clearly through their minds.Can I say also you know that the transformation of New Zealand's forestry sector—Tim van de Molen: Lost again.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: —or the one billion trees is a magnificent—no no I'm just abbreviating it. I'm abbreviating it because I took some time out to deal with you.SPEAKER: Order! Order!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I know that was a mistake but nobody else would—nobody else would. Hon Member: Wake up Winston.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Oh the other fellow—that fellow from Helensville again. John Key's successor—unbelievable. He's a real beaut that fellow. I know that he's most likely to be the one that sheers off to form a conservative or a Christian party. I'm not so sure about the Christian side of it because I think these guys are all in the Old Testament. They don't know about the New Testament and forgiveness and love. They don't realise that that is the shape of future politics not their Old Testament eye for an eye behaviour and he will be one of your classic guys who are going to do that and perhaps the guy from Pakuranga. Those two guys are the fly-by-nighters who will shoot through.But back to the billion trees. Not only are we ahead of our programme on a billion trees but we've put in a further $58 million to ensure that the case and preparation of this tree-planting goes on and that Forestry New Zealand or Te Uru Rākau increases its regional presence to ensure ongoing close work with foresters and landowners.Now did you hear this comment on Tuesday about tanks being supported instead of teeth—tanks being supported instead of teeth? As my friend James Shaw pointed out in the question time there aren't any tanks in this Budget. Well there's—Hon Kris Faafoi: There's one tank over there. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: There are some people tanking—that's true—but there's not one tank with respect to this Budget. But here's the point: every time there's a crisis in Samoa or a tornado or cyclone in for example countries like Tonga or dare I say it all the way to Indonesia and our support is needed and we put our planes in the air and we show what a responsible country we are and we get there hours and days before anybody else that's what our defence force does as they did in the Kaikōura earthquake and everything else. So here comes the National Party which have had their support all these years and they've spent all their time dumbing down on expenditure that makes us a responsible First World country.I'm going to make sure that every defence guy out there knows this and that every defence woman knows as every policeman and policewoman knows that they're being called bullies by people like Chris Bishop. We need to have these farmers out there know what double-talk emanates from their so-called representatives in this Parliament. There will be no letting up on exposing hypocrisy.Now we've devoted over $700 million for the SuperGold card becoming a super-SuperGold card. We're going to make sure—now you make sure you tell grandma that won't you and grandad that a new card's coming. If they get on a plane and go down to Dunedin or go way down to Gore or some place like that they can step off and open their card up and know exactly what service is within five metres 500 metres or 500 kilometres. It's going to be a great new card where your doctor will tell you on your phone "Look your appointment's three weeks from now." and then on the day beforehand—just to make sure we don't have wasted capital here—they'll remind you that you're in tomorrow and tomorrow morning they'll tell you at 8 o'clock "Be there on time." This is the kind of thing that's coming. We're going to have a super-SuperGold card because under the National Party they did nothing about it whatsoever. [Interruption] Oh yes well what they did was they put a cap on the transport component. They didn't mind about 90000 people coming in here getting full super after 10 years whether they qualified or not or paid any taxes actually no. No they didn't give a rat's derrière about that but then they attacked every old person in this country with respect to the travel concession and very shortly I'm certain I'm going to be able to persuade my Finance Minister colleague of the correctness of giving a bit more help there. But first of all we're going to get the card right and it should be going and operative by the end of this year.Now look we had a visit from St John Ambulance. This is a service that is now the repository of the National Party's claims that it should be fully funded. Hardly out of here what 18 months and they're shouting out that it should be fully funded. When they left them it was only funded 71 percent. Their arrogance knows no bounds. Oh no it's fully funded now and I know that St John only asked for 95 percent funding because the charity and other componentry will be a check against fiscal certainty and fiscal responsibility. So 95 percent we'll get there one day. But there's a huge change since we put in the $21 million and also the rest that is going to be funded for the next four years that was already agreed by the previous Government. Here's the point: we did it. They talked but New Zealand First and the Government has done it.Can I just say that you'll remember back on 19 October 2017 when we announced why we were going with the New Zealand Labour Party. I think the Prime Minister remembers. I remember the photographs that I've seen of that day. We said we were going to go with the Labour Party because capitalism needed to regain its human face. We did not want a modified status quo where the wrongness of fiscal economic and social policy just persisted; no we wanted a real change which had in mind all the people of this country which was founded on sound economics and which was founded on turning around exports. Look at the dramatic lift in exports. It was going that way under the National Party and we've only been in 18 months and there's been a tremendous turn-around of over 10 percent. Now guess what that means? It means if we can keep that going then far more enterprises will be offshore earning money to bring home for the family in New Zealand and we'll be able to fund our social policies. But the first thing you've got to do is make the money—which is a very very key part and componentry of this Government; and New Zealand First understands with great simplicity—and that's why exporting had to be turned around.Now there are rural members over there who were sitting in an administration where the dollar was bouncing around—the most volatile dollar in the whole world—and it was heading to 80 percent sometimes and it got past 80 percent; and they never raised a murmur. Oh no King Country—not a word. Ōāmaru Timaru—not a word. While the country was run for their downtown big-end banking mates and farming was in serious strife they wouldn't raise a finger. In comes a new Government; where's the country now? It's around about 65. That is a massive improvement in the wealth of farmers and every exporter. Do we hear them cheering from the rafters and saying "By heaven why didn't we do that when we're in Government?"Hon Gerry Brownlee: That is straight out impoverishment.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Then we've got Gerry over there—Hon Gerry Brownlee: That is impoverishment. What a silly understanding of currency.SPEAKER: Order!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Well you know he's got some idea Mr Speaker that all you've got to do in this House is open your mouth and let the wind blow your tongue around. It requires a whole lot more effort than that—a whole lot more effort than that.Hon Gerry Brownlee: The member should sit down.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Oh no no no. Oh I'm not sitting down—no no. Oh no. There are hundreds of thousands out there wanting me to stay right here and make sure he doesn't get this job. They write to me every day. By the way I'm sick of hearing from the National Party with letters and correspondence saying "Winston please come back. All is forgiven. We need a leader." I get that from all sorts of people all of the time; walking around the streets I can't fight them off. It's not easy—it's not easy being me.Could I say I'm also proud of the fact that against all the advice we increased the minimum wage again. Between 2005 and 2008 we took it from $9 to $12—in three years in fact which is an all-time record. We're doing the same again. Guess what? The same naysayers came out with the same arguments and said it would cost jobs. Well if that's true how come unemployment's at 4.2 percent? They never stand up for the worker they never stand up for fairness and somehow they've got no understanding that out there in New Zealand without this Government putting the support that we are putting in it would be serious Struggle Street for hundreds and thousands of families. That's what we're trying to do in this economy and that's what we're trying to do in this Budget. That's why Grant Robertson deserves all the congratulations because as the Prime Minister pointed out—I didn't realise we worked on this project for so long but it is a gear change; a serious one.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Every social statistic will look worse this time next year.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Can I just say here's the evidence Mr Brownlee and it's this: the IMF says that New Zealand's going to perform far better than every country in the eurozone—indeed they say we're going to do far better than China the USA Australia the UK; that we're going to outperform them all. All those forecasts are very disappointing for the National Party because as we warned on 19 October 2017 there were a series of storm clouds gathering on the horizon. We said so that night. We said that we were going to confront difficult times but if we went with the right Government the right party and the right policy we would better protect the people of New Zealand. That's what we've done today.So in my closing seconds I want to say to those beltway commentators and neo-liberal partisans—most of whom can't understand what the word "philosophy" is or they've got some conditions that are very difficult to pronounce—that this has been a magnificent Budget today and in the history that we are forming for the future it'll be long remembered. I want to say one thing to the National Party: all these lessons are being given to you for free."