Beaumont Carol: Budget DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBeaumont Carol: Budget Debate[Sitting date: 21 May 2014. Volume:699;Page:18223. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]CAROL BEAUMONT (Labour): The Budget provides the opportunity for the Government to outline its priorities and to talk about what its plan and its vision are. We saw that last Thursday and it is fair to say that like for many New Zealanders for this side of the House it was pretty underwhelming. But let us imagine.Let us imagine that every New Zealander woke up and they were in a home that was warm and dry and they could afford that home. Imagine what that would be like. Imagine that they had the security of knowing that the community they were living in was one they could put roots down in and participate in. Being part of a community—imagine that. Imagine that the children in the house went to the local school and remained there until it was time to move to the next stage in their world-class education. Imagine what that would be like.Imagine there was enough room in the house in the home and that that was a healthy place where no one was at risk of getting Third World diseases. Imagine that increasing numbers of New Zealanders were able to own their own homes. That is right—own their own homes. It was not that long ago that that was the Kiwi dream.Imagine that all adults who were in jobs were earning a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. Remember that? That used to be part of the Kiwi dream too—a fair day’s pay fora fair day’s work. Imagine that they worked hard that they could get ahead and that they could improve their family’s standard of living.Imagine that all of the children living in this country had enough to eat. Imagine that all of the children in this country had the opportunity to develop to their full potential and to get ahead irrespective of their backgrounds and their families’ economic situations. Imagine that Budget 2014 had given New Zealanders hope that that was the sort of society we live in. But it is not.Once upon a time that was New Zealand but not any more—not under this National Government. Now we know that New Zealand is becoming less equal. These are the real figures in this Budget the things that underline this Budget. There are 285000 children living in poverty—a national disgrace. The cost of the tax cuts that National gave to the rich is $1.2 billion and now we cannot fund health and education sufficiently to keep up with cost increases and population growth. There are 42000 more people unemployed now than when National came into office and 46 percent of our people did not get a pay increase last year. Those are the sorts of figures underlying the Budget and those are the figures that impact on people and on families and in the end that is what matters.We need Budgets and an economy that delivers for people—all people not just some. Those are the sorts of priorities and the sorts of plans that could have been in Budget 2014 but not of course under a National Government.We also know that fairer societies are more successful societies. There is a body of evidence now that shows that we all benefit from people having a fair go and from all kids having a great start in life and getting ahead. We all benefit from that. The social costs of not doing that—imprisonment mental health issues and all of those things; the opposite side of that—the information about that is there. It is irresponsible to ignore that sort of information. Kiwis are worried about this.A recent poll showed that 75 percent of New Zealanders believe that New Zealand is becoming less equal and Bill English in the House the other day just sort of dismissed that saying: “They’re wrong. Obviously they’re wrong.” Well that is actually not the reality out there on the doorsteps. When I talk to people they are concerned about inequality. They are not just the people doing it tough themselves. Lots of decent New Zealanders who are doing OK are worried about other people. That is the sort of society we still have in this country.The Government ignores all of that and recent statistics including the census. The Government tried to dispute the census figures as well. Every time any information is put out in this House the Government ducks and dives. It disputes the figures and says they are not reputable. Even the New Zealand census showed that there are now twoAucklands: an Auckland for the rich and an Auckland for the rest. The Government says the census is wrong as well. Well tell that to the people inMāngere andŌtāhuhu whose incomes have actually dropped by 19 percent. Tell them that the census is wrong.In the Maungakiekie electorate in Auckland where I work we have got the richest and poorest Aucklanders living in one electorate. Housing is one of the big issues. Housing is a real indicator in the inequality argument. I talk to people about a range of different housing issues such as the difficulty that people are facing getting maintenance done on their State houses because the Government is extracting more money from Housing New Zealand. People have contacted me about the fact that there are State houses sitting empty while there are people desperately needing a home. There are people being evicted as a result of reviewable tenancies and elderly people worried that they are going to be evicted. There are people who just have no sense any more that they will ever be able to afford to buy a home.Access to affordable housing is vital. It is vital for people because they need shelter but it is much more than that. It is about a home it is about being part of a community and it is about good health and educational outcomes. So I know that this will be a really significant issue in this election and I know that across the other side of the House people know that as well. You know—sorry Mr Deputy Speaker. The Government knows—Dr Rajen Prasad: But he knows.CAROL BEAUMONT: —including the Deputy Speaker—that there is a real vulnerability on the housing issue because it is so clear.Members opposite are so out of touch on this issue. I still cannot believe that the member of Parliament for Maungakiekie the Hon Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga felt that a deposit of $130000—that is right $130000—is not out of reach for most people. Well that is just ridiculous. It is just ridiculous on the sorts of wages that people are earning to save $130000. That is so out of touch.On the poverty issue it is really interesting to see how much members opposite want to deny the issue of poverty and want to dispute what is going on with wages. Low wages in this country are a disgrace. People work hard and they cannot get ahead. Forty-six percent of them did not get a pay increase last year. Well prices certainly continued to go up last year. So this Budget did not deliver on those issues.Throughout New Zealand we see intergenerational inequality—young people burdened with student debt who have no sense of ever being able to afford to buy a home. We see inequality faced by women—single-income families beneficiary families and working families headed by women; Māori and Pacific women. The lowest-paid people in this country are Pasifika women earning little more than the minimum wage doing important work like aged care. That Government opposite intervened in the court case where they are trying to get wage justice. This is what is going on out there.Labour offers a different vision. Labour offers a vision where wages will be sufficient for people to have a decent standard of living and where there is a plan for economic development with decent jobs and decent wages. If you look at the Budget where was any information or any ideas about developing our economy to provide that sort of work? There is an absence of any thinking. There is a lack of ambition about moving forward lifting the standards in this country and lifting the sort of economic performance that we have in this country.So we want to make sure that there are decent jobs and enough jobs. Let us aspire to full employment. Let us aspire to lifting wages. Labour will lift wages. Labour will lift the minimum wage. Labour will promote the living wage. Labour will have fair labour laws where workers will be able to negotiate a decent pay increase unlike the sorts of attacks that they will face under National if it is returned in the election. So people have hope and change the Government.