Cosgrove Clayton: Taxation (KiwiSaver and Company Tax Rate Amendments) Bill — First Reading 
Cosgrove Clayton: Taxation (KiwiSaver and Company Tax Rate Amendments) Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:639;Page:9391] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Associate Minister of Finance) 
: 
 With regard to the KiwiSaver scheme so derided by Rodney Hide if we look back at history we can see it has taken 30 years to get to Michael Cullen’s scheme today. It has taken 30 years—since 1976 I think it was—to correct the biggest act of economic and social vandalism that was ever perpetrated in this country. That was when Rob Muldoon the then National Prime Minister rolled back and destroyed Norman Kirk’s compulsory superannuation scheme which had been introduced by the previous Labour Government. 
Rodney Hide 
: Roger Douglas’s. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Yes—Mr Hide said “Roger Douglas’s.” so I must be fair to the member. Sir Roger Douglas was part of that. That is true; it is dead right. Also Sir Roger Douglas as patron of the ACT party ran a mile when that member became its leader—but we will get back to that later. However the member is right; Sir Roger Douglas was part of the Norman Kirk scheme. The biggest act of economic and social vandalism perpetrated in this Parliament by a National Government has now taken 30 years to correct and the KiwiSaver scheme begins to correct it today. 
Is it not interesting that this bill has the first corporate tax cut since 1988? I would ask Mr Hide who gave that. 
Rodney Hide 
: Labour. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Labour—and who was the Minister of Finance I would ask Mr Hide. It was Roger Douglas. Again I say the cut was given under a Labour Government. I never thought that Rodney Hide would be a cheerleader for Labour but he has proved he is today. It was not National that cut the corporate tax rate. It had 9 years to do so—9 long years—and it did not. When was the last time that a National Government cut the corporate tax rate? I cannot remember the date but I believe it was under “Kiwi Keith” Holyoake in the 1960s. 
The National Opposition turns up today and tells the business community of New Zealand that it will vote against a 3 percent reduction in the corporate tax rate. Dr Cullen said that Bill English has fallen through the trapdoor. Bill English has fallen on his head because what did Mr English say right through the election campaign? And what did the leader of the National Party at that time Don Brash and John Key say right through the election campaign? They said we should cut the corporate tax rate. What did National’s leaders say up until a few weeks ago? John Key of course said we should cut the personal and corporate tax rates. Then on 24 April of this year on  
Morning Report 
 Bill English said: “and we would agree the last thing it”—it being the economy—“would need would be sweeping tax cuts”. Then he comes in here and votes against the cut in the corporate tax rate. 
Every business person out there who has called for corporate tax rate cuts and who believed the National Party was in favour of business is sitting stunned tonight as “Barmy Bob” Clarkson makes his contribution and confirms that National will not just vote against the corporate tax rate cut but vote against a measure in the KiwiSaver scheme that as I have said will correct 30 years of economic vandalism perpetrated by that party while in Government in 1976. The National members are very quiet over there on the Opposition benches. Mr Groser is very quiet. He may be one of the few intelligent people on that side of the House because he knows his history. He may not know much about this House but I give him this: he knows his history. And he ain’t arguing because he knows that is a fact. “Barmy Bob” is also history; we know that. 
I never thought I would say this in the House but I say to National members that although I disagree with Mr Hide’s contribution it was a far more logical contribution—a wrong contribution but far more logical—than anything we have heard from the National Party members. Do members know why? I will give Mr Hide this: he and I have had the odd rumble but at least he is consistent. He is consistently wrong but he is consistent; he is consistent in what he says and in the policies he believes in. The crew on the other side of the House—the National Party members—have flip-flopped on tax cuts. That is the most recent policy they have flip-flopped on: their flagship policy of tax cuts. Today after saying we should have tax cuts—after months and years of saying we should back business and encourage innovation and investment by cutting the corporate tax rate—what are they doing? They are doing the biggest flip-flop since that mob has been in Opposition because today Mr English confirmed National will vote against the cut in the corporate tax rate. 
Well I do not know what to say. Those guys are good. The problem is that they speak out of both sides of their mouths. John Key wanders around the country—I would love to know what he will say tomorrow—going into business houses into chambers of commerce and into manufacturers saying the National members are in favour of a cut in the corporate tax rate. 
Darren Hughes 
: But they are going to vote against it in Parliament. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: But they are going to vote against it in Parliament. So I look forward with relish to hearing what the chambers of commerce say about the National Party’s position on business tax. I look forward with relish to hearing that. 
There have been so many flip-flops. The National crew over there has a simple strategy. Anything this Government has done that is popular it will adopt. Any policy it has had that is unpopular it will drop. [ 
Interruption 
] Oh the National members do not like hearing that; Tweedledum and Tweedledumber over there do not like that. But they know it is true. What will the National members do before the next election? Here is a prediction: I reckon they will probably turn to my learned friend Peter Dunne and concede that he is absolutely damn right and that the bill he proposes today to cut the corporate tax rate was right. They will do that on the eve of an election to try to “me too” the Government and our partners and get into power. That is what they will try. 
But you see business people are smart. Business people go beyond reading the papers to read what politicians and finance people say in this Parliament and what analysts say outside Parliament. They know about voodoo economics and they know flip-flops when they see them. Mr English ruled out tax cuts as being inappropriate after a year or two or three of ruling them in—John Key said he would drop $7.2 billion in tax cuts on the country. The National members belittle the KiwiSaver scheme. When KiwiSaver is fully ramped up and fully implemented a person on the projected full-time average wage in 2011 will need to save about $40 a week. The result will be that $100 a week or $5200 a year will go into his or her KiwiSaver account. 
National members of course say we should scrap sustainable saving for people’s retirement. They say we should give people a tax cut. Most of the people in my electorate would get about $5 or $10 a week from National’s tax cut proposal. Although Mr Key Mr Groser and “Barmy Bob” over there would get $100 a week most New Zealanders would get about $5 or $10 a week. What can someone do with $5 or $10? Not a lot. I stack up $5200 a year—with the Government contribution the employer contribution and the saver’s contribution—against the $5 or $10 a week that that motley crew over there those indecisive champions of mediocrity and flip-flop would give to most people. 
National members have told us to give a tax cut and then they come into this House and confirm they will vote against a cut in the corporate tax rate. Well I say today that the National Party has dived to new depths. Mr Foss is the man who knows about tax; he questioned the Finance and Expenditure Committee about his own tax return of course—that was his priority. He understands tax especially his own tax return. 
Craig Foss 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I would like the member to withdraw that final remark about what happened at the Finance and Expenditure Committee because it was not accurate. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: That really is a matter of debate. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I wonder what Mr Foss who has a reasonable understanding of tax will say when he goes to the local corporates in his electorate. What will he say to them? How will he justify National’s position of voting against a corporate tax rate cut when it campaigned on the basis that it would give tax cuts? National campaigned on the basis that it would give tax cuts up until at least 24 April when Bill English killed the policy off. What will Mr Foss say to the corporates? 
The one thing that has come out of this debate today is that the National Party members are all over the shop. I tell members that we have put our Budget on the Table; we have put a solid Budget and a plan on the Table. Did we hear one policy one creative thought one bit of initiative or innovation from the National Party? Not one thing! Well ours is out. Our plan is on the deck; I ask the National members to give us theirs.