Hide Rodney: Taxation (Annual Rates Venture Capital and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill — First Reading 
Hide Rodney: Taxation (Annual Rates Venture Capital and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:616;Page:12496] 
RODNEY HIDE (ACT) 
: 
 I follow the senior Government whip who has just given her longest speech in the House this year. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: It was a good one. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: It was a good one. It was more coherent than some of the interjections and contributions that Mrs Pettis has made. I must admit it was very good to hear the Hon David Cunliffe introduce this bill. I quite like listening to him because I like to hear both sides of an argument. In fact when I was listening to him I think I heard about six sides of an argument. Last week he was explaining to us how he is a Christian socialist when it came to shop trading I think and this week we heard about him being a venture capitalist and all that he was doing. 
Jim Peters 
: From the Boston group. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Yes the man with the Harvard accent. If this Government was serious about venture capitalism if this Government was serious about entrepreneurship and investment in New Zealand it would not be fiddling with this bill. As my colleague Rod Donald says it would be cutting taxes. He is quite right because the one thing I know and I like about Rod Donald is this: he does not like business he does not like economic growth he does not like success and he does not like commercialism which is why he favours higher taxes. He sees lower taxes as giving economic growth which if one is a Green is a bad thing. But across the floor in Mrs Jill Pettis’ party and in the Hon David Cunliffe’s party they say: “We’re for economic growth and we’re for high taxes.” 
Hon Paul Swain 
: Yep! 
RODNEY HIDE 
: The Hon Paul Swain from the great Department of Corrections with the iwi consultation at $1.3 million to talk to a— 
Hon Paul Swain 
: This is “Beat them up Rodney Hide” all the way from the Fiji consultation. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Oh! So $1.3 million to talk to 150 Maori according to this Minister is excessive spending. When asked on television: “What about this letter?” he said: “I don’t know anything about the letter.” They said to him: “But you signed it Minister.” And did he not look a turkey on television when that happened? What a turkey of a Minister! [ 
Interruption 
] He pipes up and says: “Yes we are in favour of higher taxes and economic growth.” Because the one thing that Paul Swain has in common with Jill Pettis and with Mr David Cunliffe is this: no concept of the impact that tax has on entrepreneurship on investment on venture capitalism and on growth of the New Zealand economy. If they were serious they would not be fiddling; they would not be sitting over there trying to laugh at Mrs Pettis’ jokes; they would actually be getting some serious tax policy on the Table which would be lowering the top rate on those earning over $60000. 
Darren Hughes 
: Another rort. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Well this is the great thing about the member for Otaki. 
Darren Hughes 
: I pay my taxes. It’s a great thing. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: The great thing about “Mr Whoever” paying his taxes is all it is is a bookkeeping entry because his entire salary is paid by the taxpayer of New Zealand. The member is sitting there saying that he pays his taxes and anyone else who is wanting to lower the top rate of tax down from 39c to 33c to 25c to 20c is somehow making a rort. But what we are talking about is taxpayers’ money. Mr Hughes might want to take that money from those taxpayers and give it over to the Hon Paul Swain so he can splurge it on a scheme of iwi consultation at $1.3 million to talk to 150 Maori and when the television cameras come along he says: “Oh yes this is excessive spending.” but that Minister over there and his predecessors approved it and directed it. That is what happened. Then the Minister is confronted with a letter and says he does not know anything about the gate but he signed the letter. That must have been one of those things he sort of signed when he was asleep just like Parekura Horomia. But I ask Mr McCully why can we not get the top rate of tax down to 30c 25c and 20c. Mr McCully is indicating we should go a bit further. Well I would concur with that. 
Jill Pettis 
: I will tell you why—because you’re not the Government. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Oh well! Mrs Pettis has worked it out. I do not know how long Mrs Pettis has been in this Parliament but she has finally worked out something—she is in Government and we are not. Well that is about to change and I am so pleased she has figured out why she is sitting over there. We know what it is. So does the rest of the country and they are sick of it. 
I have to say one other thing about Mr David Cunliffe when he was talking about the new culture in the Inland Revenue Department. I have to say that there are elements of this bill that are taxpayer-friendly and we will be interested in looking at the detail. I know things have got pretty bad under the sisterhood under “Helengrad” but I am astonished that Mr Cunliffe is sanctioning a manager turning up to the call centre of the Inland Revenue Department each and every day in a fairy suit with wings and a crown on and a magic wand and saying she is a fairy. This is what David Cunliffe says is OK in the Inland Revenue Department. I do not think so. I do not think that is a very good idea. Here we have Mr Cunliffe thinking he is in charge of the Inland Revenue Department. Do members know what the fairy does each day? She dances around the call centre spreading a bit of twinkle dust here and there and it is designed to— 
Jill Pettis 
: Sounds like that member’s had some twinkle dust during the dinner break. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: I might have had a bit of twinkle dust but I hope that member gets home by midnight otherwise the pumpkin might turn into a princess for a change. Would that not be something—the old pumpkin turning into a princess? 
I have to say to Mr Cunliffe that having the old fairy walk around the call centre spreading a bit of twinkle dust when we are saying:“We need a new culture at the IRD.” is a bit over the top. Another thing that is happening at the call centre at the Inland Revenue Department—the new caring understanding employer the New Zealand Government—is that if people are working at the call centre they have to put a sign on their seat and that sign is a picture of a monkey. 
Darren Hughes 
: From the member’s website. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: No no the call centre. So people arrive at work and they get to choose which monkey they are. I have to say that I think David Cunliffe is on to it—because over there do we not have a Cabinet full of monkeys? We used to have a barrel of monkeys but over there on that side of the House there is a Cabinet full of monkeys and I think we are on to something. We have them over there on the foreshore and seabed issue. We have the Minister of Corrections—see no evil hear no evil do no evil. That is what is happening with this Government. I have to tell Government members that the public are awake to the duplicity of this Government. They are awake to this Government. 
We have a simple proposition: do not fiddle around with the tax system. Let us get some real entrepreneurship. Let us get some real investment. Let us get New Zealand moving and let us drop the top rate of tax down from 39c. Let us drop the company rate down and let us go for a flat tax of 20c in the dollar.