Burton Mark: General Debate 
Burton Mark: General Debate 
[Volume:632;Page:3781] 
Hon MARK BURTON (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 We are seeing not only the leadership bids but the Cabinet wannabe bids. That was Murray McCully. The problem is that the member wants to portray himself as a statesman and believes that the status of office will attach itself to him if he could come and sit over where we sit—we could always swap sides. The member cannot behave in that way one moment when a matter of minutes before he put forward the notion that New Zealand should try to outbid Japan with cheque-book diplomacy. It simply will not do. It is simply incredible and people will not have a bit of it. 
We have already seen today that the gloves are off. Bill English is in an unbridled leadership bid. I have never seen the likes of it. I say to the senior Opposition whip that I felt for him. The whip’s job is a tough job. I have sat in that seat—I am a former senior Opposition whip. When the member who was trying to portray himself as a leader stood up and humiliated his own senior whip—made him sit down; waved him down—I saw the look on the senior whip’s face. He had every right to the outrage and anger he felt when that upstart wannabe leader waved him down. The National members are all after that job—the empty seat on the front bench opposite. I do not know which is worse—the boxer boy we saw this afternoon or the man who is now apparently obsessed with either Merrill Lynch or Trevor Mallard. He wakes up and his first thought of the day is about either Merrill Lynch or Trevor Mallard. I am not sure which of the two is the more scary. It is either one of those two or what the  
Sunday Star-Times  
editorial in February 2004 described as: “the voice of ignorance narrow political advantage and selfishness: the voice of Don Brash.” That is the choice that confronts New Zealand. 
Is that the sort of alternative to a Government that is rolling out the promises it made? My friend and colleague the Hon Pete Hodgson talked about some of the promises that will roll out on 1 July this year following last year’s election promises. In the Budget this year were extensive health investments in our people and our future. That is what this Government is about unlike like the wannabes opposite. This Government is about investing in our people our country and our future and about honouring the commitments we made. In terms of one of my own portfolio responsibilities I am proud to say that by the end of this week we will have seen the Local Government Law Reform Bill through Parliament. Unlike the baying around the red herrings in that bill—the minor matters that are in it—I say that there are some pretty major issues there. At the heart of it are the rates rebate changes. On 1 July the promise will be kept. There will be a significant increase in the number of people eligible for assistance with the payment of their rates. In the current year something like 4000 people were eligible. We will see the full rebate increase in place on 1 July. The eligible income amount will go up from $7400 to $20000. That will see up to 300000 low-income and fixed-income New Zealanders now eligible for the $500 maximum not $200 but $500—up from the 4000 who claimed it this year—because this Government believes in investing in our older people and looking after those who helped build this great country of ours. It is a great country. 
This Government is proud of our country and proud of our people and it wants to invest in them and I have to say it is in stark contrast to those opposite who are already trying to fight over the baubles of office and fight over the positions. We have seen the mean-spirited attitudes that would be the alternative. In place of the investment in New Zealand and New Zealanders we would see the stripping away of assets. Don Brash is on record and no one opposite has challenged him: sell off Kiwibank; sell off New Zealand Post; and sell off the Accident Compensation Corporation—do away with all those great institutions that are part of serving and looking after the interests of New Zealand—and sell away our nuclear-free status I have no doubt along with sending our young men and women off to Iraq.