Parker David: AdjournmentText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeParker David: Adjournment[Sitting date: 31 July 2014. Volume:700;Page:19818. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon DAVID PARKER (Deputy Leader—Labour):Can I begin from this side by remembering Parekura Horomia. It is a great sadness for us these 3 years that his long and valued contribution came to an end with his death. Mr Speaker can I also acknowledge you. Can I add my good wishes to those other MPs who are retiring. Can I add my thanks to all of the staff around Parliament and can I make special mention of our own staff including our out-of-Parliament staff who I know work so hard for us.Bill English said at a time when his MPs’ heads were down over his faux pas in respect of unopened emails as they madly checked their BlackBerries for their latest polls that we had no prospect for our country of a change of Government—a very depressing thought for a lot of New Zealanders if he was right. Unfortunately as he said that we had a new poll out—we had a new poll out. That poll showed National down 5 percent the Labour Party up 6.5 percent and an 11.5 percent closing of the two-party gap. But unfortunately whilst all of his colleagues were actually on their mobile devices checking that Bill English missed it. We should not be surprised that “Mr 21 Percent” did that. If it was as Mr English would have the New Zealand public believe why is it that National is doing all these shonky deals trying to resurrect the ACT Party yet again?After David Garrett’s passport fraud; after Rodney Hide the man who was busted for his perks after having been the self-proclaimed perk-buster; after the disasters with Don Brash; and now after the disasters with John Banks and that conviction for fraud National still thinks it should tell the people of Epsom to elect an ACT Party candidate. Is that because National is confident that the election is already in the bag? No it is not. Similarly National is trying to shoehorn Mr Dunne who has never denied that he leaked the Kitteridge report back into the Ōhariu seat. It ain’t all over.We on this side are pleased that this is going to be an election that will be a contest of ideas of how to improve our country. We know that this is going to be a close contest because there is already recognition that the Labour Party has a positive comprehensive set of policies to upgrade our economy and to make other improvements. All our positive policies are costed. Our alternative Budget is already out there and we are already past this inane assertion of the National Party that we are tax-and-spend irresponsible people because we have shown that we reduce net debt as fast as—in fact a little bit faster than—the National Party alternative. Our fiscal plan is out there and no one has shot a hole in it. It is credible. The commentators accept that. We can get on and have a debate about policy.A couple of elections ago the National Party campaigned on a brighter future for all New Zealanders. That was its catchphrase. It has given up on that because that slogan has become so patently untrue in respect of the way in which it governs for the few. Its slogan this year is “Working for New Zealanders”. Well we on this side will be highlighting what New Zealanders know which is that actually it is not working for all New Zealanders; it is working for some New Zealanders.So who is it that National is really working for? Well it is pretty obvious—it is pretty obvious. In tax terms 40 percent of its income tax cuts went to the top 10 percent of income earners. It is pretty clear that it is not governing for the vast majority of New Zealanders when it comes to tax policy. Who is it that those members are working for in housing? Well they are certainly not working for first-home buyers because thousands of first-home buyers are being shut out. They are working for the speculators. They refuse to close the tax loopholes they refuse to stop overseas speculators they will not build any more houses and as a consequence we have got the lowest homeownership rates in over 50 years and they are still dropping. So National is not working for first-home buyers; it is working for the speculators—for the people who own multiple homes.What about children—what about children? We all know that we have got rising child poverty in New Zealand. It is an absolute disgrace that the Government’s Budget package in respect of lifting the incomes of children excludes the poorest children. It excludes the poorest children in New Zealand—it does. It excludes them because those members do not care about them. Government members are not governing in the interests of the majority of New Zealanders. We all know that when the gaps get as wide as they are getting in New Zealand we all suffer but those especially at the bottom suffer. I think it says a lot in respect of this Government that its income support package for families in this year’s Budget did nothing—did nothing—for the poorest children in New Zealand and it further widened the gaps.What is National doing in respect of power companies? Who is it working for there? Who is getting the brighter future? Well—Hone Harawira: Nationalise!Hon DAVID PARKER: Actually no we are not going to nationalise but we are certainly not going to sell the power companies to the 2 percent of New Zealanders who bought shares under this Government. Two percent of New Zealanders bought shares in its asset sales. The other 98 percent—well National was not working for them. It is not working for the people who pay ever-higher power prices and members on this side of the House are certainly going to do something about that when we stop the privatisation of the value of our rivers by giving people a decrease in their power bills.The Labour Party is promoting positive policies. “Vote Positive” is our campaign slogan and if people vote positive they will vote Labour. You know we have had a doubling of our membership—we have had a doubling of our membership. We have got a better on-ground presence than we have had for decades—decades—and our membership continues to grow. Why? Because people like the Labour alternative. It is positive. Our economic policies are designed to break this low-value low-wage economy that we have now got in New Zealand under National. We have policies that will increase the amount of capital that we save in society. Like what the Australians have done for ever—and one of the reasons why they have got higher wages—we are going to have a universal KiwiSaver scheme. Everyone will have a nest egg in retirement and the economy will be stronger.Then our pro-growth tax reform policies they tax capital gains. That pushes investment away from speculation which pumps up residential rental house prices and it pushes that money into the productive economy and jobs. In addition to that the capital gains tax of course makes it fairer. Sixty percent of the capital gains tax in America is paid by the top 1 percent. It is the same in Canada—it is the same in Canada. Sixty percent of the capital gains tax in Australia is paid by people on incomes over $180000 a year. It will be the same in New Zealand. It is a very fair tax because at the moment those people pay lower rates of tax than middle-income New Zealanders.We then have research and development tax credits encouraging our economy to become more innovative. We have accelerated depreciation to encourage investment in forestry jobs instead of exporting those raw logs. Our policies in addition go further than industry development and improving the economy and balancing the Budget. We are going to make life easier for families. Our Best Start package reaches all families with children who are on an income of under $150000 per annum. We do not exclude the poorest families like National does. Our NZ Power policy will reduce electricity bills. We are going to build 100000 new affordable homes.That is the positive alternative that is available under Labour at this election. We are pleased to be through this ridiculous tax and spend narrative that National tries to put on us. We ran the last nine Budget surpluses that this country has seen and we will run one next year. “Vote Positive”—party vote Labour.