Duynhoven Harry: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Duynhoven Harry: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:645;Page:14222] 
Hon HARRY DUYNHOVEN (Minister for Transport Safety) 
: 
 I rise to support the Prime Minister’s statement. I have listened with great interest to some of the things said this evening particularly by our colleagues on the other side from the Tory party—or the National Party as it is called in New Zealand. What was really interesting was that one of the Tories said there is a large list of National Party ideas. I think we could print the ones we have heard so far on the back of a postage stamp. But let us challenge them on that and say OK if there is a large list of National Party ideas about how it proposes if it ever became the Government to put policies in place and run the country let us hear what those policies are. All we are hearing is carping and criticism about what this Labour Government has done to rectify the mess we were left with. 
If we look at the reasons why most of us are here as members of Parliament and why we have put ourselves forward to represent the people of our constituencies or to be list members of Parliament we see that it is usually because we have some ideals some vision and some idea of what we want to see achieved in New Zealand. I came in as a relatively young man. I am a bit less young now but at 32 years old I came in and there were several things that I thought were of absolute prime importance for New Zealanders. They were the right to work having affordable good health-care having housing provision having education available to all having care when one is ill or injured and having security in old age. They were the gut things that I saw as absolutely vital to any civilised country and they are the things that Labour has always stood for. 
I have had a picture of Norman Kirk on my wall for years because as a young man—I was 18 when he died—I saw him as a real leader of this country. I am very proud to be part of a Labour Government that has had the leadership we have had from Helen Clark in recent years focusing on exactly those issues. [ 
Interruption 
] I say to the noisy interjectors opposite who are not sitting in their own seats—they complained about that a few minutes ago—that I commend Katherine Rich and I am genuinely sad to hear that Katherine is leaving Parliament. I believe that deep down in her heart she believes in exactly the same things that I do. I believe that she is a person of integrity who has got to the point of saying “I cannot be with this party any more.” No doubt she will have personal reasons for her decisions and I wish her every success in whatever she undertakes in the future. It has been a privilege working alongside her on many issues. 
It has also been a privilege working alongside Brian Donnelly who gave his valedictory speech earlier this evening. Brian is also one of those marvellous members of Parliament who has principles and who has been prepared to stand up and say what is the proper and decent thing to do. We all have occasions when we disagree with our party and that has happened to me more than once. But one survives them because of the support of one’s colleagues and friends—not only in one’s own party but across the House. To Brian I say very well done and I am absolutely confident that he will be a wonderful ambassador for our country in his new role as our representative to the Cook Islands. 
Now I want to return to the debate on the Prime Minister’s statement. Those issues I mentioned before are ones of real importance to New Zealanders. The no-confidence motion we have heard from the current Leader of the Opposition is supposedly about issues of real importance to New Zealanders. The issues I mentioned are the critical issues and if we look at each of them we see that Labour has done fantastically well. We had a speech before on the shared equity scheme for housing. We heard some comment on that before. [ 
Interruption 
] I want National members to go and tell Habitat for Humanity that it has got it wrong. I want National members to tell all the volunteers who work for that wonderful organisation: “Sorry you guys don’t know what you’re talking about. We do.” That is what National members are saying to them. 
Sue Moroney 
: And to Plunket. 
Hon HARRY DUYNHOVEN 
: And to Plunket and every other voluntary organisation in New Zealand. We have a very clear contrast—and it is becoming clearer by the day—between a Government that has clearly set out a programme to address those social issues and an Opposition that has carped and whinged and cannot believe it is not yet in Government. It thinks that is National’s rightful place. The people of New Zealand have said for three elections in a row: “Sorry fellas you are not there yet.” And it is mostly fellas— 
Hon Judith Tizard 
: Apart from the cross-dressers. 
Hon HARRY DUYNHOVEN 
: —apart from the cross-dressers. We on this side would love to know whom in the ranks Mr Key was referring to as cross-dressers. Perhaps we could make some good guesses but let us leave that to one side and look at the issues. 
Let us look at what this Government has achieved and where it is going. For example let us look at the economy. We hear a lot from the National members about how they are the ones who are business people and who know all about the economy as though no Labour person has ever been involved in business. I have sad news for them: many of us have. We have led the economy through its longest run of economic growth since the Second World War. Our Minister of Finance and our Prime Minister have presided over the best economic situation we can remember. In the 20 years since I was first elected as a member of Parliament—regrettably I have not served 20 years continuously; unfortunately I had a small sabbatical—I have spent most of those years and certainly the first half trying to find ways to get a critical mass of work to keep the specialists the engineers and all the other technical folk in my electorate. What is my problem today? It is getting more of them because we have too much work for those who are there now. Since Labour became the Government we have made the economy grow by a third. 
Bob Clarkson 
: Oh no way! 
Hon HARRY DUYNHOVEN 
: There are 377000 more jobs in New Zealand today than there were when we became the Government. Unfortunately for the property developer opposite whom I have got a bit of time for because he is a likable and enthusiastic man and who says what about the 77000 people who are going overseas—blah-blah-blah—I have bad news for his little theory. We are actually getting more skilled people back than are going. 
I say to that gentleman that I have two brothers. My two brothers and I each spent a year of our lives overseas once we had been trained in our trades and were doing our jobs. Why? Because it was damned good experience. It was life-enhancing to have some of those experiences and then come back. The current Leader of the Opposition himself Mr Key spent a lot of time overseas. Let us leave that but let us say that lots of New Zealanders go overseas for experience. They bring back new ideas new talents and new ways of looking at our country. They bring their families back to New Zealand and contribute massively to our country. If the National members want to stop that let them say so clearly. Let us hear their policy on it instead of their just carping. 
Let us look at the things this Government is doing and ask whether they can be improved. Can National come up with better ideas? If it can let us hear them. We now have the largest number of people participating in paid work that this country has ever had. Wage rates are rising and what is even better in a way the total number of beneficiaries is down by almost 140000 people. That is the total number of beneficiaries whom we inherited from the previous Government. So which is the successful party in running the economy of New Zealand? Is it that lot from the National Tory conservative Opposition who pretend they are ready to be the Government or is it this party which has a proven track record of success? It is us. 
The other thing that has really changed in the time I have been an MP is this. We heard lots about health before. In the last couple of years I have had a real change in the types of people who come into my electorate office. Ten years ago we used to get person after person with health issues that were not being addressed. We simply do not get them any more.