Tisch Lindsay: Taxation (Annual Rates of income Tax 2005-06) Bill Taxation (Urgent Measures) Bill Student Loan Scheme Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
Tisch Lindsay: Taxation (Annual Rates of income Tax 2005-06) Bill Taxation (Urgent Measures) Bill Student Loan Scheme Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
[Volume:628;Page:806] 
LINDSAY TISCH (National—Piako) 
: 
 We have had a very interesting debate. We have had a line-up of people on the Opposition side of the House who have been able to articulate the things that matter to ordinary New Zealanders. [ 
Interruption 
] Yes they are. They were able to articulate the things that really matter to the ordinary hard-working New Zealanders whom Government members would not know about. Those members have never invested a dollar and they would not know what it is to take a risk. All they want to do when the country is running huge surpluses is to take more of people’s money. There was a golden opportunity at this Christmas time and during the financial debates earlier on for the Government to say it would give every hard-working New Zealander a tax cut. It is not a tax cut that they deserve; it is their own money. They are the ones who have earned that money. But no the misers on the Government benches say they cannot do that. 
I will tell the House what Government members will do: they will say to hard-working students that they will make things easier for them by taking the interest off student loans. What an incentive that will be! I can tell members what that will do. More students will borrow and there will not be any faster repayments—absolutely not! If someone is given free money it makes sense for that person to borrow more. Every parent will think about where he or she can get free money from. Parents will realise they can get it from this Labour Government so they will use that money. Who will pay for interest-free student loans? I will tell members who will pay: hard-working New Zealanders. The mainstream hard-working New Zealanders who work—they may be young business people retired folk single people or people on some sort of benefit—are the ones who will foot the bill that comes about because this Government says that there will be no interest on student loans. There is absolutely no way that this measure will reduce the burden on students. There is a common-sense premise here: if one can get something for free one will take advantage of it. If it is free for students it will cost somebody else. That is how it works. 
 National’s policies at the election were about fairness and equity. They were about saying that if people worked hard they would benefit. Business people know that if they borrow money they invest in their future be it in education or business—[ 
Interruption 
] The Government members would not know about that because they have never been in business. They have never put a dollar at risk. They do not know what it is to put their money at risk. We would go out and borrow money and we would pay interest on it. 
Our policy is very simple. We would say for instance that the interest was a tax deduction. That is what it is about. That would show fairness and equity whereby everybody was treated the same. But no the Government has a very one-sided approach to this issue. It says it will scrap the interest on student loans but mark my words there will not be a reduction in the number of students paying back their loans. Even the best estimates state that this policy will blow out into billions of dollars and who will pay? You and I will pay Madam Speaker. Hard-working Kiwis will have to foot the bill. 
We have had some very good contributions this evening from some of our newer members. I was thrilled to see those new members have a go. Chris Finlayson was able to crystallise and articulate an argument with much flair and passion. He was right on that. He was able to show the important things about the legislation that make it an absolute farce and to show why National members will not be voting for it. Kate Wilkinson the lawyer was able to bring those arguments together and say what matters to the people she represents. 
And Jacqui Dean well she was the person who was able to win the seat of Otago. We saw at question time today how the Minister the Hon David Parker was not really with it—not even in respect of the questions I asked him. Jacqui Dean is somebody who knows what it is to have her feet on the ground and she was able to bring forward those very important issues about how important business is. That is what we come back to. If we make an investment and have to pay interest on it—if that is what it is about—then let us make it fair and say that that is a cost of doing business. Sure we should be able to claim back the interest on it as a tax deduction. But no this Government says it will not allow that to happen and instead it will make loans interest-free for students. At the end of the day that issue will be the Government’s demise. 
Paula Bennett the young member who sits behind me in the Chamber has also been able to bring a feet-on-the-ground common-sense approach to this legislation. This legislation does not actually help people; it makes beneficiaries out of them. We do not want that. We want people to move away from dependency. We want to give them the incentive to go out and do their thing. But no we are passing this legislation tonight—well National is not passing it; we will be voting against it because it makes beneficiaries out of people. It makes them dependent. That is not the sort of legislation this country should pass. 
Craig Foss the young guy from Tukituki also has his feet on the ground. He knows what this is about. He knows the sorts of things that the people of his region represent. He is another member who has been able to go out and win his seat from a Labour member because he knows what makes the world go round. We are a party that stands for principles. There is nothing superficial about what we stand for; they are the things that are really important. We are a nation of small businesses. When we look at what makes the world go round and at what makes the economy tick in New Zealand we see that it is about being able to take an investment to invest in the things that are important and to grow businesses even if people have to borrow money. But if people borrow money they should be able to claim the interest back as a tax deduction in order to reduce their taxable income. That is what business is about. Why do the Labour Party and its supporters not adopt that same sort of principle? It is common sense—it is absolute common sense. 
Through the Committee stage and the third reading tonight National members have been able to show how foolish this legislation is because it makes beneficiaries out of people. We want to move people away from dependency. We want to give them a hand up not a handout. That is what the student loan interest write-off will do. It will not make people more secure. It will not allow them to progress grow and move on. It will make them dependent. 
Let us look at those who receive money through the Working for Families package. Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith articulated very clearly this evening numerous examples that show that for every extra dollar people earn they are not actually getting any benefit out of it at all. All that happens is that they are hit with high marginal tax rates. They have to ask whether it is really worth their while to work. That is what has happened. Yet National’s policy at the election which was so well received was that one could go out and do the extra hard yards and National would have a flat tax rate of 19c in the dollar. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: What happened? 
LINDSAY TISCH 
: That will come. The member should just wait because next time around that policy will be really good. It will be very relevant in Tauranga. When I go knocking on doors in Tauranga the member will see how important our policy is. 
We have been able to canvas a number of views here tonight but I can tell members that National is the party that stands for fairness equity and low taxes. Student loan interest write-offs do not do that. The Working for Families package makes more people dependent. The carbon tax is coming up shortly. What will it do to the New Zealand economy? There is no vision. This Government has no vision for the future unlike a National Government. It would make people care for New Zealand. We would say to them that we valued their input and contribution and we would reward it through a lower tax system that showed that we thought they were important. We would not just give money away because it sounded good and because people may vote for us at the end of the day. 
This legislation is a nonsense. National has voted against it right throughout the debate. We have had a line-up of great speakers who have been able to represent heartland New Zealand. They have been able to crystallise and articulate those arguments right through the Committee stage and the third reading and those are the reasons why we will vote against the bill this evening.