Cosgrove Clayton: Taxation (Urgent Measures and Annual Rates) Bill — Third Reading 
Cosgrove Clayton: Taxation (Urgent Measures and Annual Rates) Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:651;Page:286] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) 
: 
 Before I address some of the comments made in Mr Flavell’s speech which I want to do at some length I just want to point to the  
Dominion Post 
 cartoon today to sum up the totality of that member’s speech. The cartoon is of Mr English saying: “On the campaign trail I pointed out that the details of our KiwiSaver policy were printed in a micro dot on the back of our pamphlets. These radical changes would have come as no surprise to anyone with a powerful microscope.” The slash-and-burn mentality might have been global as Mr Tremain signalled but I say the gutting of KiwiSaver and the tax changes where anybody under $40000 gets a big fat zero were not signalled at all by National. That was not signalled because that member’s leader went out and talked about aspiration and used the tag line: “Choose a brighter future”. Well I just point to a couple of figures and I say to Mr Flavell that 74 percent of his constituents some 40008 earn under $40000. I say to Mr Boscawen who waxed eloquent about the ACT Party that even in the sunset-tan paradise of Epsom 52 percent of the Epsom electorate earn under $40000. Those people get nothing in this bill. So the proud Mr Boscawen who waxed on about helping people does not wash.  
I want to get to Mr Flavell. I have to say the Maori Party members have a unique skill; that is they get their research unit and they have done it ever since they came to this Parliament to write out verbatim word for word their scripts. I just say as an observer that I would have thought that is a bit of an insult to that great tradition of oratory in Maoridom for a start. But today we heard the alibi for why Mr Flavell and his party are collaborating with these people in the National Party and selling out every constituent they have—in Mr Flavell’s electorate that is 74 percent of the folks who supported him. The Maori Party got the script from its research unit presumably washed through the National Party spin doctors and press secretaries. This was to be the alibi and it went like this. Mr Flavell said “vulnerability and poverty did not just happen today” and “the Labour Party in Government did nothing”. Well there is a word for that. That member knows it. He is an honourable member so I will give him the credit of assuming he does not believe what he read out because it is piffle. But he was told to come down to the Chamber to try to provide some sort of alibi and fight-back to take home to the marae to try to convince them.  
Let me remind that member that Maori unemployment fell to its lowest level in the history of this country—that was under the Labour Government not his mates on the other side of the Chamber. We have the lowest level of unemployment generally for 20-plus years. That means 370000 - plus jobs have been created; that helped that member’s constituents. The best thing that the Labour Government did for that member’s constituents was give them the dignity and the pride of having a job. We acknowledge that poverty and vulnerability did not start today; it started 9 years ago when we inherited it from the former National Government. We did do something about it.  
So Mr Flavell came into the Chamber and made another startling admission. He says now—this is the new version of the alibi—that his party was not consulted. Now that tells us two things. They were told: “Oi you’ve signed the deal vote for this.” I do not know how mana-enhancing that is. There is a word for treating people like that but I will not use it. He now says he was not consulted and that apparently is the excuse for continuing to support the bill. I would have thought that logically if a member is not consulted if he has not read the detail if his coalition partner has not shown it to him—and of course that party has two Ministers in the executive so I would have thought those Ministers would talk and he would see the legislation—if he does not understand it and if he believes as he almost said he has been hoodwinked then that member and his party would vote against the bill. So that is the flimflam and the alibi that the Maori Party members will take to their constituents on the marae. They will say they voted so that a person without children earning $23999 gets nothing because they were not consulted. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: Worse off. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: They will be worse off. A person on 50 grand and in KiwiSaver with one child loses $70 per week. “We weren’t consulted” that member will say “but we voted for it anyway like lapdogs.” Two people one on $33000 and the other on $22000 with three kiddies will be worse off by $14 a week but the Maori Party will vote for it because it was not consulted and did not read the bill. It will just line up in the stalls and tick the box.  
I say to that member that that is a disgrace. I say to him that I would hate to be in his position. It is worse than the National Government because everybody knows this is what National does when it gets into Government—it puts the boot in at the lower end. Everybody knows that so they sort of expect it. But it is worse for that member as his party has a modicum—up until today—of an honourable tradition. It is worse for that member and his colleagues to go back to the marae and explain that to the most vulnerable. On this side of the Chamber we know that the member’s colleague Mr Harawira is bitterly torn about this bill. We could see it a couple of nights ago when he had to put his hand up to vote—he crawled behind his desk.  
It is not good enough for Mr Flavell even if he was not consulted to say what he said after 2 days of debate in this House when the Labour Party has fought tooth and nail. The media might say we are dragging the chain and filibustering—oh no it is actually called fighting for what one believes in and standing up for one’s principles which is something that one or two members opposite might want to learn. We will continue to fight this legislation and we will take it out on the streets. We look forward to people rocking up to our electorate offices and asking why National said they would get a fair go when they are actually paying more at the bottom end. The member Kate Wilkinson who is sitting quietly in the back row with the hatchet ready on the next bill on 90-day probationary periods stood up at candidate meetings and said everybody would benefit from this. I remember it. I remember Woodend and Rangiora. I look forward to quoting her because I wrote her remarks down. I look forward to those people coming up to me who get nothing from this legislation. We will take this out on the streets and we will remind people. I say to Mr Flavell that what we have here is a typical Tory trick. It is a hoax: go out and tell the people what they want to hear then come back— 
Chris Tremain 
: Like the “chewing gum tax cuts”! Answer the question about the “chewing gum tax cuts”. What were they? Was that a promise? That was in law and you guys cancelled it. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I think the member has had too many fizzy drinks. 
Chris Tremain 
: You cancelled it. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I think you have had too much Coke for morning tea. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Well if he gives it he is entitled to get it back. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The honourable member knows he does not include me in the debate. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I apologise. I know that you are not a Coke drinker Mr Speaker; you are a fit man sir. I suspect you are a Coke Zero man. I was trying to say that I suspect that the member has had too much sugar. [ 
Interruption 
] I said a “fit” man.  
It will be interesting when people get their pay packets look at their KiwiSaver accounts and know they have been done over. We have seen reports today in the paper where people will lose $300 on what they would have got out of KiwiSaver and some of those people are on very modest incomes. We know everybody who is on KiwiSaver is a net loser because of this Government. Many of Mr Flavell’s constituents will be members of KiwiSaver.  
I just come back to a point that I think Dr Cullen made to Mr Tremain. Mr Tremain says as every member opposite parrots that National is dropping the rate on KiwiSaver to encourage more participation. If that were true I suspect we would all line up and tick the box. But the problem I say to Mr Tremain which he and his colleagues have never addressed is that if National is trying to create greater participation why has it not budgeted for that greater participation in its Budget documents and its plans? National has not done so. If we are going to create greater participation where will the dough come from?  
To conclude I say that we are at the end of the process of the third reading. I invite Mr Flavell to go back to his office with his colleagues and look in the mirror and try to reflect on what he did today because he sold his constituents out today.