Gallagher Martin: General Debates 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Gallagher Martin: General Debates 
[Sitting date: 15 October 2003. Volume:612;Page:9189. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
MARTIN GALLAGHER (Labour—Hamilton West) 
: 
 Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. 
Simon Power 
: Here come the heavyweights. 
MARTIN GALLAGHER 
: That heavyweight over there I understand is currently looking at the numbers for the deputy leadership of the National Party. He will not take the poisoned chalice of the leadership because he knows that the next leadership of the National Party will probably be a very temporary phenomenon. 
But let me talk about a funny party that taught me all about ACT’s regional conferences. I am quite an astute observer of politics in this country and I did not realise that ACT had regional conferences. I did not realise it had sufficient membership to be able to set up a series of regional conferences. I have to ask the National Party under Bill English’s leadership why Don Brash can but Katherine Rich cannot and Maurice Williamson is not allowed to say anything. Don Brash can go to one of those ACT regional conferences which I did not even know existed and I bet your bottom dollar that the Rt Hon Winston Peters did not even know they existed either. 
Simon Power 
: We didn’t know that this member existed. 
MARTIN GALLAGHER 
: I would much rather be a backbencher from Hamilton West than the aspiring next deputy leader of the National Party faction of the Opposition. I would much rather be in this position as a member of the Government because there is no guarantee that that member will be even a deputy leader of the major Opposition party—which is what he aspires to. That is what is being played out in this House day by day and that is what is being played out around the country. We are seeing potentially a fundamental realigning of politics on the centre-right of the spectrum. Overnight we are seeing growing unease and panic on the National Party benches as those members face the facts. 
The inheritors of the once-proud party of Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake are becoming the No. 2 centre-right party and one can see the growing smugness and the growing smile on the lips of the Rt Hon Winston Peters—one can see it all the way. Of course he is not going to do a deal with the Nats. His “Three Tenors” appearance was somewhat temporary extremely reserved and extremely reluctant because why on earth would he want to attach the bow of his party to the pack of losers that the National Party surely represents at this particular time? 
Let us talk about Mr Brownlee and his somewhat wise words about the ACT party but first I would like to know what Maurice Williamson has to say. I believe that Maurice Williamson has a great contribution to make to the politics of this country but he has been silenced. The challenge to National Opposition members is: when will they allow Maurice Williamson to speak? How about a bit of free enterprise? They could let Maurice Williamson speak and his voice be heard in this debate. Gerry Brownlee is a bit worried that Ruth Richardson could be the future ACT contender in his seat of Ilam. This is the interesting thing: “If the people in the National Party think that we are going to increase the National vote by saying we are inextricably linked to ACT then they have got their heads that far into the sand all they can expect is their backsides to be kicked in the next election.” 
Georgina Beyer 
: Who said that? 
MARTIN GALLAGHER 
: Gerry Brownlee said that. Maurice Williamson mind you—and I think this is a very good quote—said: “You know there was little point in debating policies if National was never going to be in a position to implement them.” Do members remember him saying: “It is a bit rich to blame the assistant tea boy while obviously the captain should carry the can.”? Let the tea boy come back on board; let the tea boy have his say! Why are they so scared of the tea boy? I would be more scared of ACT and Mr Hide. Quite frankly I think Mr Brownlee has some words of wisdom for the National Party because in his own way Mr Brownlee is no fool. He can see the National Party— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I’m not convinced of that. 
MARTIN GALLAGHER 
: I tell Mr Mallard that I will defend Mr Brownlee in this House because I think he can see that this marriage this courtship with ACT is a one-way road to nowhere. What a demeaning thing that the once-proud party of Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake has to lower itself to go and search for the local telephone box in Christchurch or wherever to find an ACT party regional conference.