Guy Nathan: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Guy Nathan: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
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Hon NATHAN GUY (Minister of Internal Affairs) 
: 
 Thank goodness for John Key! Just over a week ago the Prime Minister rolled out his statement to the House. It was a big bold vision for New Zealand to get our economy moving again. The Leader of the Opposition Phil Goff thinks that now is an appropriate time to say that he does not support GST. But we know—we have trolled back through the archives and the  
Hansard 
 records—that he supported a GST rise when he was in Cabinet during the 1980s. 
I have sat through five of these addresses addresses by the previous Prime Minister Helen Clark and by our very good Prime Minister John Key. Three of them were made by Helen Clark and they were very sleepy dreary affairs. They struggled to make any traction on the 6 o’clock news. In 2006 the first time I heard Helen Clark’s statement she was using the buzzword “economic transformation” which delivered nothing. Then in 2007 Helen Clark’s catchphrases were “sustainability” and “carbon neutrality” which struggled to deliver anything. In 2008 Helen Clark’s statement was all about lifting living standards but in that year the Labour Government upped spending and increased debt. Also we should not forget to mention the Electoral Finance Act. 
But now we have a very bold Prime Minister’s statement which was delivered just over a week ago by the Prime Minister the Hon John Key. It creates incentives for people to work hard improve their skills and get ahead. It encourages savings to boost our productivity and it is fair to all New Zealanders. 
Another important thing is that a big part of the Prime Minister’s statement focused on boosting infrastructure and the Government has a big work programme this year as we carry on delivering that. 
One of the roads of national significance was the road from Wellington to Levin which of course was significant to my electorate of Otaki. A sum of $2.2 billion was invested there. Transmission Gully is part of that package which was met with a huge amount of applause from my constituents in Kapiti and Horowhenua. 
The Government will also be focusing on putting ultra-fast broadband into New Zealand homes—$1.5 billion will be rolled out. 
For those who are interested and who are listening today I point out that a big part of the statement was about water storage and food innovation. There will be more investment in research and development and in science. 
Let us think back to what we have heard from the Opposition leader since the Prime Minister delivered his speech. We heard Phil Goff the leader of the Labour Party criticise the National Government for sitting on the sidelines during the period of recession last year. The prudent management of the Prime Minister John Key and his Minister of Finance Bill English means that we have managed to come through that period with some certainty and confidence. 
We know that Labour would have wanted to spend more if it had been in power. We know that Labour members would have wanted to borrow more which would have racked up debt. We know now having sat through Mr Goff’s speech that those members have very few ideas and no policy. We know full well that under the leadership of Phil Goff it would have been a case of “Just put it on the bill Phil and we will go down to the pixie at the bottom of the garden to see whether we can print some more money.” 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You may well have been distracted when an unparliamentary expression was used. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: I do recall that the member used a term that has been ruled out. All members are honourable members and proper names will be used. 
Hon NATHAN GUY 
: If we think about proper names we see that the Labour Party has a bit of an issue with trying to rebrand the image of its leader. Labour members have tried to ramp up their leader as “bikie Phil” “freezing worker Phil”—I have seen the brochure —“blokey Phil” and of course “robotic Phil”. At times we have seen “angry Phil” but nothing really works. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Do I need to— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: Well I did miss it. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: About seven times I think in the last couple of sentences the member has breached your ruling. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: The member will desist from using terminology that has been ruled out of order previously. 
Hon NATHAN GUY 
: Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. I think it is worthwhile focusing now on the GST debate which is very very important. We will reincentivise the economy and give more of people’s hard-working money to get the wheels turning on the economy. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Hard-working money? 
Hon NATHAN GUY 
: It is interesting that Mr Mallard wants to pull me up about criticising Phil Goff. I know that Labour struggles to take the medicine but if we think about— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I think the member used to be a senior whip. He knows that members cannot refer to a ruling you have made or to a matter on which you have ruled. 
Hon NATHAN GUY 
: I am not referring to a ruling you have just made Mr Assistant Speaker. This is a very robust debate. It is the debate on the Prime Minister’s statement and I should be allowed to continue. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: I did not pick up the comment that the Hon Trevor Mallard made reference to. I have now attended to the matter that occupied me and I will be paying greater attention to the member. 
Hon NATHAN GUY 
: I was alluding to the debate on GST. When we think back to 1986 when Phil delivered a speech in the House about GST we recall that he stated: “Every New Zealander will be better off under the proposals announced last night. It introduces a fairer system for New Zealanders. … It reduces the burden of personal taxes which wage and salary earners have to pay.” It was a great little speech by Phil Goff but I think that he has forgotten that message so we will be reminding him that he was part of the Cabinet that raised GST in 1989 with no compensation for workers or beneficiaries. I am proud that the National-led Government will not be carrying out those sorts of dirty tactics. 
Also Phil Goff the leader of the Labour Party has some kind of amnesia over chief executives’ pay does he not? He wants to pay our top public servants less but he was part of the Cabinet that gave them huge pay increases. Maybe he was asleep at that particular part of the Cabinet meeting. 
Labour members have resentment towards members on this side of the House. They resent effort and success. We need only look at the issue of national standards. 
When Helen Clark was in Opposition in 1999 she rallied against the fact that there were poorly performing students. She said it was shocking that 20 percent of our kids leave school being unable to read and write to a decent standard. Of course she is right; it is shocking. But the previous Labour Government had 9 years in which to sort that out. What happened over that period of 9 years? Lo and behold kids were still failing—and 20 percent of kids are still failing. 
That is why I am publicly supporting Anne Tolley and the great work she is doing towards the introduction of national standards. She has the support of the Prime Minister and the whole of the caucus. We cannot afford to have our kids slip through the cracks. If we want a modern economy then we want our children to perform and get a job. If we do not incentivise those kids to ensure that they can read and write to a decent standard then they will continue to slip through the cracks. 
It is also worth commenting on the bold programme we have. The Prime Minister delivered a very very bold statement. I alluded before to the fact that I have sat through five Prime Minister’s statements now. Two have been fantastic and I particularly applaud this one which outlines the massive work programme that the Government has laid out for this year. All the work is sitting in the pipeline. There are already 44 bills on the Order Paper. We have a Prime Minister and a Minister of Finance who will deliver a step change for our economy. We have a vision for New Zealand and a vision for our country. So I say let us bring on the Budget in a little over 90 days on 20 May for a brighter future. 
Over the next few months we can bet that Labour will be trolling around the countryside and trying to ramp up the GST debate but we know that those members are a very pathetic Opposition. We know that the phone is off the hook as Labour members go up and down the country trying to ramp up opposition to the increase in GST. We know that the Labour caucus is split. We know that those members have all sorts of leadership issues in their caucus. I believe that there is a four-way split currently. 
It was interesting to hear Simon Power allude to the fact that the only Labour member licking his chops after Phil Goff’s speech was Shane Jones the honourable member across the House. I believe he is another aspirant lining up behind Phil Goff to challenge him sometime between now and the election. We also know that many other candidates are lining up. There is the Cunliffe camp and the Parker camp. 
The Prime Minister’s statement was a bold statement that will deliver a step change for every New Zealand household. I stand here in support of that today.