McClay Todd: Budget Debate 
McClay Todd: Budget Debate 
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TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) 
: 
 I regret that the time of the previous speaker Chris Tremain from Napier has expired. He is a great speaker and a man who knows what is going on. Mr Tremain is in touch with what is happening on the ground. He has been talking about jobs jobs and jobs and that is what this Budget is largely about. What else is this Budget about? It is about police education health and the front line: all the things on which this Government was elected last year to deliver for New Zealanders. That is what this is all about. 
We have heard from Opposition members whose benches are almost as vacant as the gaps in their logic at the moment. They have been standing there telling us that these things are not important and saying that the people of New Zealand do not want more police out on the beat. Those members are happy with the crime statistics that this Government was left with. That matter is not important to them. They are saying that what we want to do in education is not good enough that everything was fine and that we should not spend money on that. 
All members opposite want to talk about is tax cuts. Well soon after the Budget Mr Goff said that Labour would not have delivered tax cuts either. Those members cannot have it both ways. They cannot be “whacking it on the bill Phil” and at the same time saying: “You have to get your feet out of the trough Goff.” I say to the Leader of the Opposition and to all of his very strong supporters who have rushed down to the House to defend him today that they cannot have it both ways. Health and education are at the front line. 
The good times are over and New Zealand is saying: “Thank goodness we rejected that previous fair-weather Government at the election last year.” Our Government and Bill English have delivered a Budget for New Zealand that is about fiscal responsibility and getting New Zealand through the downturn. 
Do members opposite know what their problem is? They have no ideas. They have lots of excuses they do lots of complaining— 
Paul Quinn 
: Exactly yes! 
TODD McCLAY 
: I say to Paul Quinn that members opposite do lots and lots of whinging but they have no ideas. The Budget is about improving growth and productivity and getting New Zealand through the downturn so that when we do get through it we are stronger for it. 
All we have to do is to ask people in the street or to pick up local newspapers. In my home town of Rotorua one can read the  
Daily Post 
. Its reporters went out and asked people in the street what they thought about the Budget and the tax cuts that were not delivered. In those street interviews not a single person mentioned— 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: Maisie did. 
TODD McCLAY 
: Maisie in Rotorua is a wonderful wonderful woman and her husband is a fantastic singer. She said that she was concerned about all the scaremongering over the pension being taken away. Bill English delivered for her and said that her pension was fine and that it would not be touched and I am happy to give her that assurance today. 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: Her husband can go back to singing. 
TODD McCLAY 
: That is right her husband will be singing now. He is a fantastic singer. 
Members opposite should stop scaring the most vulnerable people in our community. John Key promised Bill English delivered and we have kept the rate of superannuation at 66 percent of the average wage for people aged 65 years and over. 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: Tell us about the funding for construction trade training. 
TODD McCLAY 
: I do not want to argue with the member. We are talking about fiscal responsibility. 
The focus is on the areas that are important to New Zealanders. It is about creating jobs. The honourable intelligent and smart member from Napier is right: Governments do not create jobs; business and industry do. This Government is about supporting business and industry. How will we do that? Since this Government came into office about 6 months ago its sole focus has been on removing unnecessary regulation so that businesses in New Zealand can thrive. We are in the deepest recession in 60 years. With this great Budget we will work our way through this recession and at the end of that businesses will be in a better position not only to re-employ people but also to keep them in their jobs. 
We are investing in lifting the literacy and numeracy skills of our young people. What does that have to do with jobs? It is so that when our young people come out of schools they have the skills to get better jobs and be more productive members of society. It creates a more productive public sector. I am yet to meet anybody in my electorate who says: “Please Todd when you are down in Wellington go and tell that great Prime Minister of yours that we do not want a more productive public sector.” Not a single person has told me that. People are saying that but they are not coming to my office; they are speaking only to the newspapers. 
What about law and order? An extra $900 million has been allocated to justice. That is money well spent. There will be 600 more police: 300 in South Auckland and 300 in other parts of the country. The message that this Budget delivers to New Zealand is that it is time to get tough on crime. It is not time for excuses any more. We had 9 years of excuses; it is time to get tough on crime. 
What did the Minister of Police Judith Collins say after the Budget? She is a great great Minister who is delivering for the people of Rotorua and the people of New Zealand. She said that there is no better deterrent to crime than having police officers out on the beat and on patrol in our communities. Well in Rotorua we agree with the Minister and we welcome that announcement. We need more police to tackle violence to maintain order and to ensure that all New Zealanders can feel safe in their homes on their streets and in their communities. What do we hear from members opposite? They say that they do not think it is a good idea. They say that they do not want New Zealanders to be safer. They do not want New Zealanders to be safe in their homes or on their streets. Those members should be ashamed of themselves for coming to this House and saying that. Over the next 4 years another $162.5 million of operating funds will be allocated to the police. That is a commitment to the police and to everyday mum and dad Kiwi battlers—New Zealanders. 
What about parole? We know that under the last Government far too many people were getting out on parole or at least the wrong types of people were let out on parole and were committing crimes again far too quickly. This Budget delivers 246 more probation officers. There is more money for parole for home detention and 1000 extra beds in prisons. 
Hon David Parker 
: There’s too much parole? How does that work? 
TODD McCLAY 
: Absolutely there is too much parole. Under the previous Government everyone could come out of prison. The previous Government said: “It is your right to spend a little bit of time there and we will not police you. You have spent a third of your time in prison you are good people again we know you have had a horrible upbringing and we do not care at all about the victim. It is all about you the criminal and we will let you back out and will not pay attention to you when you are out there.” Members opposite should go and say that to the mums and dads in New Zealand whose children have been hurt by people let out of jail too quickly because there were not enough parole officers. So yes let us get tough on crime. Let us put more money into home detention and parole. Let us have more probation officers and more police on the street. Let us have much more law and order because that is what this country has asked for and it is what this Government is delivering. 
Education is a pet topic for every member in this House. The biggest problem is that most of those members want to focus on their pets rather than on thinking about their children. There is more money for education and schools in the Budget. There is an extra $1.6 billion for better schools that deliver more for our children. Again all we hear from members opposite is complaints. They think there is a better way. New Zealand did not agree with them last year but they still think they know what is best for New Zealand. 
There is $34 million allocated for school Internet services. That will do wonderful things in all parts of New Zealand. The rural parts of my community are looking forward to this extra funding. In some of our rural areas where the Internet is not as good as it should be after 9 years of a Government that talked so much about these things kids will get better services from the Internet. 
I said that an extra $1.6 billion had been allocated for education. This Budget is all about children. We should do everything we can for them. Where do we start? We start with the youngest people in society with early childhood education. Any minute now members opposite will start yelling about “free” but this Government has delivered on another promise. There will be 20 hours’ education for young children in kindergartens playcentres and kohanga reo— 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: That was Labour’s policy. Labour did that. 
TODD McCLAY 
: Mrs Chadwick knows as well as I do that many many young people in Rotorua attend playcentres and kohanga reo. There was no subsidy or support for them at all under the last Government. This Budget is about every single child in New Zealand having opportunities and it is about delivering to them and to their mums and dads. We can do no better than to make sure that our youngest children are given every opportunity. 
What about health? It is another great topic that we speak about a lot in Rotorua. There is an extra $750 million for health services. Where will all that money go? It will not go on managers and on people doing reports to justify their existence as they did under the previous Government but it will be delivered in the areas where New Zealand wants it delivered: the front line for doctors nurses and operations. We will do that rather than having lots of bureaucrats writing letters saying: “We know you are on the waiting list; we are really sorry. By the way the Labour Government does not think there is a waiting list. We will tell you some time in the future when you will get into hospital to be treated.” That will not happen under this Government because there is $3 billion for district health boards over the next 4 years funding for the long term and $116 million for front-line health services. They are very important.