Connell Brian: Customs and Excise (Motor Spirits) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Connell Brian: Customs and Excise (Motor Spirits) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:621;Page:16624] 
BRIAN CONNELL (National—Rakaia) 
: 
 When the Minister in charge of this bill introduced it to the House he bragged about taking money from one section of society and giving it back to another—robbing Peter to pay Paul. He cannot understand why people are not standing in the aisles and applauding him. Then we had the rather pathetic sight of Mr Gosche standing up and taking a call. He is another has-been Labour Government Minister. He had the audacity to say that the National Party had no idea. When we asked him what his idea was he said it was taxation— that Labour was going to tax everyone. Well that is not a novel idea because this Government has already done that 34 times. 
Pansy Wong 
: How many times? 
BRIAN CONNELL 
: Thirty-four times. That is that member’s idea of how to fix the problem. Then when he should have sat down and shut up he made things worse because he went on to take credit for having split the police force and the traffic department and for putting cops on the roads. They are the most hated members of New Zealand society—and he wants us to applaud him for that! Then Mr Swain got to his feet and said he wanted to know what the Tories’ policy was. I say to him that it is very simple: we are going to get rid of the Government he belongs to. Then the big schoolyard bully Mr Mallard staggered into the Chamber. He took a couple of cheap shots but he did not have the strength of character to stand up and take a call. I challenge him now to stand up and take a call. In fact I will yield the rest of my call if Mr Mallard gets up to take a call. There is the challenge. He had a lot to say before but will he do that? No he will not do it. Mr Cunliffe got to his feet as well and the less said the better about his speech. 
Surprise surprise! Here we are again debating another piece of legislation that is nothing but a cheap and greedy tax take. This Government seems determined to tax anything that moves. I say to people across New Zealand that if they want to avoid being clobbered by the Labour Government’s tax machine they should change their last name to Tamihere. That is the only way they will avoid getting belted for tax in this country. If this Government would only share some of that koha—just a little of it—with fellow New Zealanders by giving them a tax break they would not feel as badly off as they do. I find it absolutely staggering that this Government can even contemplate introducing legislation such as this when international oil prices are going through the roof. Rather than give fellow New Zealanders a break when the Government has a surplus of $7.5 billion what is it doing? It is imposing more and more tax. 
Pansy Wong 
: How much more? 
BRIAN CONNELL 
: How much more have Labour members taken in taxes since they have been in Government? 
Pansy Wong 
: Yes how much? 
BRIAN CONNELL 
: A staggering $34 billion. That is a 40 percent increase and now they want to take some more. Michael Cullen is smiling because he knows that I am right. 
How are we supposed to encourage production in this country when we are giving investors every reason to look elsewhere? Our electricity prices are going through the roof. Supply is uncertain thanks to “Blackout Pete”. Our compliance costs— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member knows he cannot say that. If he says that again his speech will be terminated. 
BRIAN CONNELL 
: Our compliance costs are going through the roof and the Resource Management Act is choking off any sort of productive capacity in this country. Yet this Government now wants to put the boot in just in case there is any doubt that it wants to make this place as unattractive as it possibly can be as an investment destination. What this country needs is nothing less than an extreme makeover. In fact what this Government needs is an extreme makeover so it can cut out the endemic dishonesty and deception that it now practises in its everyday politics. Export industries in this country are seriously suffering as a result of the high exchange rate of the New Zealand dollar. The last thing that exporters need is to have another production cost added. Some members in the United Future party will cringe at the fact that they are building costs into the productive sector in this country because I know that some of them have run businesses before and they know that the way to erode profit margins is to build in costs. But other members of that undistinguished party I am afraid just want to give a tick to the Government regardless of whether it is the right thing to do or the wrong thing. 
Our export industries are a bit like John Tamihere. Their problems just keep being compounded and compounded by the fact that someone keeps building in more and more costs and explanations and sometimes one just does not know which way is up. But unlike Mr Tamihere the industries of this country do not have the protection of the Prime Minister. She is not interested in the primary production of this country; she is more interested in taxing hard-working Kiwis. She is more interested in Labour ideology and in being out of the country when anything difficult breaks. She is more interested in fact in reshuffling her Cabinet or putting in place meaningless inquiries in order to take the pressure off Cabinet members who are up to no good. That has become endemic in that party. 
What will this Government tax next? It is a hard one because there have been 34 tax increases so far. Michael Cullen is going a bad shade of red— 
Pansy Wong 
: What about the “fart tax”? 
BRIAN CONNELL 
: Carbon tax; that is the answer—there is to be a carbon tax. If people in this country think the situation is bad at the moment with 5c more tax per litre on petrol very soon they will find it will be 6c more per litre on petrol. And now there is to be 7c more tax per litre on diesel. But let us relax. We are told that is OK because it will all go into roading. But who would believe that? Who would believe a Government that said that after that one “envy tax” there would be no more taxes? Who would believe a Government that had a Cabinet Minister in its midst who said he would not take a golden handshake and that we could trust him? Well that sort of thing is endemic. Labour has gone through seven Ministers and judging by the way that Mr Barker went a bad shade of red earlier during question time I suggest the number may be eight soon. I suggest there may be more soon because the Grim Reaper—the people of New Zealand—will come looking for the Labour people who engage in mistruths. 
Members probably have a strong feeling by now that the National Party does not support this legislation. It is just another cheap tax and it will not fix our roading problems in this country.