Wong Pansy: Budget Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Wong Pansy: Budget Debate 
[Sitting date: 16 June 2004. Volume:618;Page:13692. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
PANSY WONG (National) 
: 
 It was surprising to hear the Labour Associate Minister of Finance the Hon David Cunliffe speaking in such a defensive tone. It seems difficult for him to sing the praises of the Labour Budget and therefore he spent three-quarters of his time trying to defend it and attack us. I want to mention a coincidence. The member kept saying he has been pounding the streets of his New Lynn electorate. Incidentally I was door-knocking in Herne Bay Auckland Central and came across a household in the name of David Cunliffe. I tell him that the Labour Budget received the thumbs down in Auckland Central and that includes the people of New Lynn. 
The Labour Government tried to label the $1.1 billion payout in the Budget as the Working for Families package. Sadly the Budget is not working for the Labour Party. In fact it has received the thumbs down. In all the after-Budget polls the majority of New Zealanders said: “We do not want a handout.” They aspire to have jobs and want to be self-sufficient. If the Budget is as good as Mr Cunliffe is trying to tell his electorate in New Lynn but he lives in Herne Bay why should the Labour Government bother to spend another $21 million to promote it? Let me ask my colleagues how many hip replacements they think we could buy with $21 million. 
Simon Power 
: How many? 
PANSY WONG 
: We could buy 1600 hip replacements. Guess how many computers the Government could have purchased for schools. 
Simon Power 
: How many? 
PANSY WONG 
: It could have purchased 10000 computers. 
John Carter 
: Serious? 
PANSY WONG 
: Yes it could buy 10000 computers for schools. Instead the Government wasted the money on explaining the biggest spend-up Budget. If it was that good why should the Government need to spend $21 million to explain it? 
I want to share with the House two other areas where the Labour Government always believes that throwing money at the problem is the answer. Let us examine some of the other money that the Government is throwing away apart from the Working for Families package. This morning at the Finance and Expenditure Committee I asked the Minister of Finance what had happened to the much-trumpeted Export Credit Office. The office was set up 3 years ago. [ 
Interruption 
] My learned colleague the Hon Lockwood Smith has asked me a good question. Three years ago the Hon Pete Hodgson said the setting up of the Export Credit Office was the saviour for small to medium sized exporters. It would sign up export credit insurance. I point out to my good colleagues that the Export Credit Office is not meant to cost the taxpayer a single cent. That is against the regulations of the World Trade Organization and the OECD. The setting up of an export credit office is not supposed to be subsidised by the New Zealand taxpayer. Can my colleagues guess how many export credit insurance contracts this office has signed up in 3 years? 
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith 
: A thousand? 
PANSY WONG 
: It is zero—nothing. The office cost $3 million to set up but 3 years later there is not one contract. I said to the Minister of Finance this morning: “Excuse me but the Minister Peter Hodgson assured us that small to medium sized exporters were waiting queuing up to use this office so what business has it signed up? He looked at me and said: “But they do other things.” We said: “Minister what other things do they do?”. He said: “Oh you know they open the doors for exporters.” So I reminded the Minister: “Don’t you think that is the job of Trade and Enterprise? Maybe that is the agency that should do it.” To the credit of the Hon Dr Michael Cullen he said: “Pansy Wong I think you have made a very good point.” I have to say the Export Credit Office is now on notice; so it should be. Why should the New Zealand taxpayer pay over $200000 every year to an overseas agent to oversee this office which has signed up no business? 
But that is not all. The Minister of Education the Hon Trevor Mallard before he departed for China on another marketing trip to Asia for export education announced that the Government will spend $40 million to promote export education. Of course all the members of the House support export education. In 2003 it earned $2 billion revenue for New Zealand. It is the fifth-largest export industry. We support it. 
Unfortunately the Government has refused to value and get serious about the export education industry. Last Sunday another language school the Paramount Institute of Auckland fell through and 80 students had to be placed in other schools. In fact a year ago a staff member of that institute rang the New Zealand Qualifications Authority and told them about the problem with the school. But the authority did nothing. We learnt the same thing about the Modern Age Institute of Learning. It was the largest language school and it failed last year costing the taxpayers and other schools over a million dollars. Former staff members and other people alerted the New Zealand Qualifications Authority to the problem but it did nothing. 
There is not much point in the Minister travelling overseas trumpeting that the Government will spend more money to promote export education when the gatekeeper the New Zealand Qualifications Authority has not taken its task seriously. 
 No institution can enrol international students unless it is registered and accredited by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. The authority is supposed to audit those institutions. The horror stories are being revealed every day. We read in the  
Central Leader 
 of accusations about teachers in schools taking bribes and students not having to turn up to classes. When both those schools were put into liquidation it was found they had no money in their trust funds. We want to know how the gatekeeper the New Zealand Qualifications Authority conducted its audit and how it followed up any complaint. Why would the New Zealand taxpayer have the confidence to spend another $40 million to promote our export education industry overseas when the gatekeeper is not doing its job properly? If we are to return our export education to a credible state it is important that the Labour Government supports an inquiry to make sure the gatekeeper the New Zealand Qualifications Authority is doing its job properly. 
This Budget has a theme. It is about the Labour Government continuing to tax and spend throwing money here and there. Unless Labour understands how businesses are run and understands what incentives are needed for people to work hard and aspire the Budget will not achieve anything. It is a waste of $21 million to promote a Budget that is complicated and not working.