Pettis Jill: General Debates 
Pettis Jill: General Debates 
[Volume:610;Page:7450] 
JILL PETTIS (NZ Labour—Whanganui) 
: 
 Having heard the Leader of the Opposition speak earlier on I now know why National fell to 22 percent in last week’s poll. What was even more revealing was the fact that when Mr English was giving his speech there were only five National MPs in the House. I am telling Mr English that that is not good enough. When one is wanting to retain the leadership—and when the skids are under one as much as they are under Mr English at the moment—one needs the support of more than five MPs in the House; one needs 25 MPs in that sort of precarious position and the National Party is in a very precarious position. 
I have been a political junkie all my life. I have been interested in politics since conception and this is the worst I have ever seen National in my whole life. It is stagnating in the polls. It is at the same poll rating now as it was at the election. It will get more desperate and make more erratic statements. In the meantime it is trying to present the kind face which in reality hides the cold heart. New Zealanders are not fooled and the polls prove that the public recognises incompetence. 
The National Party will get even more erratic because even its own flock is saying things in the newspapers. At the Federated Farmers conference in Auckland recently—which is the last place one would ever expect to hear criticism of the National Party—a farmer leader said: “National will languish in Opposition for ever unless it stops taking us for granted and gets stuck in.” To which I say get stuck in Mr English! Even his own flock has deserted him and continues to desert him. He should show some leadership on the greenhouse gas emissions levy. Instead of looking for a crowd and then jumping in front of it he should show some leadership about how important climate change is to the agricultural sector in New Zealand. Instead of just following he should provide some leadership because he is most certainly not doing that at the moment. 
Mr English cannot be a Jekyll and Hyde; he has to stick to the line. He tried to paint a kind face back in 2001 showing what a caring chap he was but he has to be consistent because the public have woken up to him. He talked about National becoming too focused on money and not caring about people. That was the man who championed the Employment Contracts Act through the Social Services Committee. That was the man who was previously the Minister for Crown Health Enterprises which saw the first surgery waiting lists. He was the Minister of Finance who cut funding left right and centre. Mr English might have forgotten the past but the public of New Zealand have not. 
I do not know why I am trying to help that party but the situation is so sad that I actually feel a bit sorry for National. Having grown up in the 1950s and 1960s when the National Party was the dominant party of New Zealand I cannot believe what has happened to it now. The person who scares me the most in the National Party is Dr Don Brash. He creates in me a sense of being very afraid—not for me personally because I will always survive but for people who are not able to fight for themselves. I suspect that we do not have any worries about that in reality but I fear that if Dr Brash ever got the chance the poorer people in New Zealand would be absolutely decimated. 
This is a party that has lost its way. It has no leadership; it is in a desperate situation and it is only going to get worse. The public has recognised the National Party for what it is—incompetent with no integrity or leadership and certainly not providing any direction for New Zealand. Instead it is mistakenly trying to create a divisive society where people turn against each other instead of being like this Government which the public has rewarded with its support for providing a cooperative cohesive and caring society.