Eckhoff Gerrard: General Debates 
Eckhoff Gerrard: General Debates 
[Volume:617;Page:13076] 
GERRARD ECKHOFF (ACT) 
: 
 In case people are the slightest bit interested—and I am sure they are not—that speech was made by the Minister of Fisheries who told the  
Otago Daily Times 
 just recently that his only qualification for the job of Minister of Fisheries is that he was born under the star sign of Pisces and that he enjoys fish and chips. Well “ain’t that the truth” brothers and sisters! 
I suspect that every Opposition MP would give his or her eye teeth at the moment to listen in on a Labour Party caucus that is tearing itself to pieces. It is obvious that gone is the unity that used to be shown and gone is the confidence of that party. I must say that one thing still remains: the arrogance. Watching the Government’s show of unity is like watching an Irish river dance performed in bare feet. The Government is having no impact is painful to watch and is a painful performer and I can guarantee that the public of this country will never require an encore. The Government’s performance is abysmal. It backs down at every turn; as soon as the pressure is turned up it caves in. 
The public has had it with this Government and no lolly scramble in the forthcoming Budget will save it. That is very clear. This Government and its members is on the last train to Clarksville. How did the old song go? Members will remember that song; I think it was by The Monkees. “Take the last train to Clarksville and I’ll meet you at the station.” Let me say that rural voters will not meet that lot at the station or at the polling booth. They will remember the “fart tax” the holiday legislation the Kyoto Protocol the dog tax the fuel tax and the sherry tax—they will remember every one of those broken Labour promises. 
What about the hard-working families of this country like the Gilbert-McLachlan family that featured in the  
Sunday Star-Times 
 just recently? That family has an income of $55000 and is being taxed into poverty by this Government. They will not vote for another trip to Clarksville—that is perfectly clear. 
I can assure members that the people earning $60000—a whole $5000 more; the rich people of this country—will not be buying a return ticket to Clarksville either! People earning $55000 cannot make ends meet under this Government but the Government considers people earning $60000 to be rich. What arrant nonsense! 
What about Maori? I was on the steps of Parliament recently and I seem to remember that something like 15000 Maori turned up on the hikoi. They bought a ticket to ride—I thought a hikoi was something one walked on—on the train to Clarksville. They arrived in Wellington and what did they see? They tried desperately to find the Prime Minister but there was not even a reflection of her—not a skerrick nothing. Where was she? Where was the Prime Minister of this country when 15000 of the people who surely voted for her at the last election came down to talk to her? Nowhere. She was gone; she was no more. So I imagine that Maori will be off to meet Tariana Turia at her station. 
Who will vote for this Government at the next election? There is always the cloth cap brigade—they are always good for a few votes. There will be those who retire at the age of 18 and of course the beneficiaries who hop on board the Government’s gravy train hoping that it will never end. Well let me tell them that it will end. They will continue to vote for this Government and the Government will buy their votes on the 27th of this month. There is nothing surer than that. But the trip is coming to an end. The Government’s gravy train will run out of steam—and why? I ask this question. It will run out of steam because there will be nobody left to stoke the boilers.