Parata Hekia: Budget Debate 
Parata Hekia: Budget Debate 
[Volume:655;Page:4326] 
HEKIA PARATA (National) 
 Tena koe e te Mana Whakawa. Huri noa i te Whare i tenei po tena koutou kia ora tatou katoa. 
[ 
Greetings to you Mr Assistant Speaker and to you collectively throughout the House this evening greetings to us all 
.]  
I am delighted to stand and to follow the honourable Minister. 
Hon Member 
: You should be! 
HEKIA PARATA 
: I am delighted and I know that I will not be able to reach the height that he was able to achieve in his address to us this evening. Nevertheless I will do my best in honour of the resoundingly successful Budget that this Minister of Finance has delivered to Aotearoa New Zealand. He has navigated through the difficult circumstances of an extremely tough recession by recognising that a number of factors had to be balanced in the delivery of this Budget. We had to focus on how we might soften the sharp edges of the recession for the most vulnerable people in New Zealand while investing in sustainable growth to support the jobs that are necessary for the future of New Zealand. We also needed to ensure that the debt burden that will be carried by this country is sufficiently lightweight in the circumstances to continue to attract the international regard that this country relies on. The first response we received after the delivery of this Budget was the assurance that it had indeed met those three requirements. 
This Budget reflects the experience the subtle touch and the deft analysis of a finance Minister who understands what is required by New Zealand. He understands that there can be increases in a number of areas of the Budget but unlike the Opposition he understands that they are required to be funded not simply in the year that we are operating but also in the years ahead of us. We are as concerned for this generation as we are for the generations that follow and commentators on this Budget have seen the wisdom of the way that this Minister of Finance has put together those requirements. What response did we get from the Opposition in a time of vulnerability and in a time when people are concerned about their jobs their livelihoods and the long-term prospects of their families? What did we get? We got scaremongering about superannuation instead. The Opposition was scaremongering in relation to the most vulnerable sector of our society: the older people of New Zealand. Instead of joining with this Government respecting the wise construction of this Budget and showing New Zealanders that at this time they could trust in leadership from this Parliament the Labour Party gave us mischief-making and the low muckraking of members opposite. 
We have had to spend time instead reassuring superannuitants that they can rely on getting their pension. We have been able to assure educationalists that when we talk about raising the standards of literacy and numeracy in our country their schools will be supported to do so. We have indicated as the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations indicated that we are prepared to back our commitments by ensuring that we fund them. We do not have some pie-in-the-sky idea— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: I am sorry to interrupt the member but the time has come for the Minister of Finance to speak in reply.