Borrows Chester: Budget Debate 
Borrows Chester: Budget Debate 
[Volume:663;Page:11346] 
CHESTER BORROWS (National—Whanganui) 
: 
 What a wonderful week it has been to be in Government! It is wonderful to feel the euphoria after a fantastic Budget has been released to the public and it is wonderful to see the way in which it has been received around the country. It is great to walk down the street and have people come up and say: “Gee you know John Key is doing a wonderful job. He is doing a fantastic job.” We have heard that phrase right across the country from people who have worked for years and years without any show of understanding of the pressures on them in making ends meet. They have worked hard backed themselves and made a success of themselves and they never received the time of day from the previous Government. I am so pleased to be part of a Government that recognises that people across the board need some sort of tax relief. 
The left continually associates wealth with callousness and cynicism. We continually hear those members say that those who succeed only got there on the backs of the people they employed and that it is time those people received a break. It is interesting to look across the House and listen to those members’ speeches. I have to congratulate the member who has just resumed his seat Su’a William Sio. That was the most ably read speech out of the Labour Party media unit I have heard for some time. I believe he did that incredibly well. It is a shame he could not remember the lines himself and deliver it with a little more passion but there we go. 
The trouble with the other side of the House is it believes absolutely and fundamentally that it has to keep its supporters poor and pissed off so they do not have to ever look to themselves to stand up under the pressures and the struggles. It was interesting to hear the member who has just resumed his seat talk about the history of our Prime Minister John Key. He said in a scoffing sort of way that Mr Key believes he understands the struggle of the working class because of his upbringing. The problem with the Labour Party is it has never understood the aspirations of the working class. It has never for a moment understood the aspirations of the people who support it when times are tough. When people manage to stand up overcome their struggles and do better for their children they recognise that they will never get better under a Government that comes from the left. 
Who does the left call wealthy? Apparently it is anyone who earns over $70000 a year. We know that 75 percent of those who earn over $70000 earn less than $100000 a year and who are they? They are the detectives the ward managers—the people we used to call sisters—the assistant principals and some of the teachers. They are working for that level of pay and members on the other side of the House—the previous Government—want to tax them at 39c in the dollar. They want to grab every cent they can from those people and they rubbish their aspirations to get on and do better. That is not on. Labour is not the party of aspiration because it continually slags off anybody who achieves who works hard or who experiences success. 
I was in Nelson on the weekend visiting my family. My dad and mum are 85 and 78. Dad is pretty crook; he is not keeping too well. They still manage to tick over by growing a few veges. They live pretty frugally and all the rest of it. They voted Labour all their lives until one day they woke up and realised they were not getting ahead. Even as pensioners existing on the pension they found it a struggle and they were kept where they were. 
I had a great conversation with my mum on the weekend. She was so pleased she voted National in the last couple of elections and she will for the foreseeable future because she knows that under National people are being encouraged. For instance I look at my cousins who earn an average wage of about $50000 per year. They are now paying half the tax they paid 2 years ago. A number of members on this side of the House have kids who are in their 20s and want to save up and buy a house. Those are the sorts of people who want to get on. They want to get their ducks in a row and have the hallmark of success in this country by owning a little plot of ground for themselves. They want to put a house on it and raise a family. That is what they aspire to. They hold good and wholesome values. They are being encouraged to do that under this Government whereas in the past they were seen to be people who were too wealthy for their own good and who were to be knocked as hard as Labour possibly could. 
Let us look at who else has been saying a bit about the last Budget. There are those huge apologists for National like Vernon Small who stood up and stated: “English can also take a bow for keeping a rein on spending”. Well good on him. I must admit that I never expected to read that from him. Then there is that other huge advocate for the National Party the  
Dominion Post  
whose editorial of 21 May stated: “the Budget is a coherent document that should encourage saving and investment and discourage consumption and speculative investment in property.” It was great to see some moves being made to pull back those people who are making the sly best of good times by hiding income in property investment and in trusts. 
A hell of a lot of us have worked for wages all our lives. We are completely frustrated when people who are employed by a family trust send their kids off to university and their kids can get a student allowance and all the rest of it while people on middle incomes working for wages working say as a Government servant and working damned hard cannot do that. I am pleased to see that this Government has been able to tighten a loophole on that. It surprises me that members opposite who had 9 long years in which to close that loophole and who hate everything that those people stand for never ever had the foresight to do that very simple thing. 
It was wonderful to be in this House last Thursday to hear the Minister of Finance deliver his Budget and to hear the speech that was delivered by the Prime Minister after it. The Budget was a celebration of all that Kiwis aspire to. It was a celebration of 18 months of a successful Government in this country and we can see the reception it has received. 
It was sad to look at the reception on the other side of the House. As we looked along the faces on the front and middle benches on the other side of the House what did we see? We saw some members who thought: “Well I have been here for a few years and I was really hoping I would be able to beat the hell out of the Government on this because we promised that the Government would put up a Budget that would encourage only the wealthy. And here we are absolutely stuffed because 75 percent of wage earners in this country now pay only 17.5 percent tax in the dollar.” That is the top rate and members opposite were thinking: “I do not know whether I can stand another 18 years of this in Opposition.” because that is what they will be relegated to and they know it. 
It will be very very interesting to see who chucks in the towel over the next few months. As we lead up to an election year next year which members on this side of the House are all looking forward to it will be incredibly interesting to see which members will throw in the towel and say that they have had enough. I reckon we can speculate as to whom those members will be. Some members are looking forward to the next election about as willingly openly and keenly as they are looking forward to the release of the expenses budget for the Labour Ministers who were in Government just a few months ago. We are looking forward to that. 
The New Zealand public are looking forward to another 20 years under a National Government knowing that they can achieve the aspirations that they have held for so long. Those people who were oppressed under the left are looking forward to standing up with their chins out and their chests out and achieving under a National Government. Thank you.