Sepuloni Carmel: Budget Debate 
Sepuloni Carmel: Budget Debate 
[Volume:663;Page:11389] 
CARMEL SEPULONI (Labour) 
: 
 I commend my colleague Stuart Nash for the great speech that he gave. It was particularly excellent considering that he followed on from John Carter. Before Mr Nash spoke we had to listen to Mr Carter spend 7 of his 10 minutes telling us a story about the price of beer. That indicates to this side of the House how far removed the National Government is from reality. The reality is that most everyday New Zealanders are more concerned about the price of bread and being able to put that on the table than they are about the price of a case or a keg of beer. I thank Mr Carter for those 7 minutes of his speech. I am sure that even though we go away none the wiser it was satisfying for him to give that speech. 
Many people are saying that there has never been a one-term National Government and Labour has a really hard job in trying to make this Government a one-term Government. After the announcement of the Budget many people are saying to Labour that they think we can actually win the next election. Why do they think that? Because National has shown its true colours with regards to its priorities its lack of empathy for the ordinary Kiwi family and its lack of understanding for New Zealanders who are struggling. Their priorities are towards those who already earn large sums of money. I thank the National Government for showing New Zealanders what it is all about. 
The other day I was listening to a Pacific radio station and I heard a caller being interviewed about the fact that his mother earns $32000 a year. I thought it was interesting that he thought it was so unfair that his mother who works her butt off as a cleaner at Middlemore Hospital—my sister also works there doing the same job—has come away none the better with this Budget. National has put out statements and the Minister of Pacific Island Affairs has put out statements saying that the Pacific Island community will be so much better off with these tax cuts. But the reality is that—once we take into consideration the rises in accident compensation levies the anticipated rise in inflation and the increase in GST—the average worker or someone on the minimum wage will be much worse off. 
The caller not only talked of his mother but also pointed out that he had watched the Prime Minister give his speech after the Budget had been announced. That caller felt insulted by the fact that the Prime Minister thought it was one big joke. The caller talked about the Budget putting a nail in the coffin of those who are struggling yet John Key got up and did a big comedian routine. That is exactly what we were thinking. How can we take the Prime Minister seriously when he cannot even take seriously the struggles of Kiwis and rather than speak to the issues or express any level of compassion he stands up and spends 10 minutes cracking jokes and attacking the Leader of the Opposition? 
The Leader of the Opposition the Hon Phil Goff had just expressed the sentiment of many Kiwis who are asking how they will cope given that the Government has done absolutely nothing to create opportunities for jobs. Those Kiwis are asking how they will cope given that this Government has just increased GST making it more expensive to live. How will they cope when our Prime Minister thinks that is a joke and cannot take anything seriously? He sits there happy as Larry because he is the “Fifty Million Dollar Man” and he has just gifted all his mates an incredible tax cut. I think that is offensive and I think that the person who rang in to the radio station was right to state that it was insulting. To everyone who sits in the National seats the ACT Party seats and also to some extent—I have to say this but I wish I did not have to say it—the Maori Party seats I say on behalf of most Kiwis out there that it is offensive. 
We have looked at the amount of money that has been given in tax cuts and my colleagues including Stuart Nash have pointed out that it is a broken promise. We heard from the Prime Minister before the election that there would be no increase in GST. Unfortunately it follows on from many of the broken promises that we have experienced over the last 18 months. It is another broken promise. It is worrying that it is also at the expense of other services that are necessary when we need to move this country forward. 
As a Pacific person and as a person with a role in Labour’s education caucus I am concerned about the fact that tax cuts have been given to the rich. At the same time $400 million has been cut from early childhood education. For 9 years the previous Labour Government took education overall and early childhood education seriously. We knew that with a young demographic in order to curb the inequality that exists it is really important that all of our children get the same start in education. There were increases despite what the other side of the House has to say in the number of Maori and Pacific undertaking early childhood education. There were increases in the number of qualified Maori and Pacific staff in early childhood education. That increase came out of a concerted effort to make it happen. It did not come out of a sense of charity towards the Maori and Pacific communities which is a charity that we often hear National talk about but never ever demonstrate; it came out of an understanding that it would be good not only for those communities but also for New Zealand as a whole. Yet the National Government thinks that cutting $400 million from early childhood education will somehow be good for this country and that early childhood education is not a priority. 
We have also seen other cuts. We have seen cuts overall to education regardless of what the Minister of Education has said in this House. We have seen reductions a 14.4 percent cut in Maori and Polynesian scholarships—14.4 percent. We have seen the end of the $2.15 million Skill Enhancement programme. We have seen further restrictions on students loans which will affect Maori and Pasifika more than anyone else; I know this having worked at the University of Auckland. We are also seeing the student loan eligibility for new permanent residents being tampered with. That will disproportionately affect Pacific people. 
All of those things do not make for a very bright future for New Zealand. I think a lot of New Zealanders out there are thinking that they voted for National but that they made a mistake. Someone said to me the other day that we should create a bumper sticker that says: “Don’t blame us we voted Labour.” I think that would be a really good idea. A lot of New Zealanders who voted for National for the first time are quite embarrassed because they now see that National members have not changed their colours. They forgot what those members were like but now they see that those members are exactly the same as what they were before. 
The main message that we have to put out there is that the National Government may say that this is a tax switch but the reality is that it is a tax swindle and New Zealanders have been done over by the National Government. I think that it may still be going through its honeymoon period with regard to the Budget but it will not last. 
Paul Quinn 
: Long honeymoon. 
CARMEL SEPULONI 
: I tell Mr Quinn that it will not last. We will see further dissatisfaction with what that Government is able to provide further anger for the fact that it has no level of compassion for people who are struggling that its leadership is flawed and that the Prime Minister thinks that everything is a big joke. The Prime Minister would rather stand up in the House and go through a comic routine than talk about the issues that are real for the everyday Kiwi. The reality is that it will not get much better. We have seen some of the things that the Government is planning on doing in the future. New Zealanders have woken up. That Government has a very short term with regard to how much longer it will serve this country.