Swain Paul: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Swain Paul: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:606;Page:3393] 
Hon PAUL SWAIN (Minister of Transport) 
: 
 That speech is an example of why the ACT party is in such a terrible disarray. What a bunch of whingers whiners and losers! They are absolute whingers. I listened for 10 very very long minutes and I did not hear one new idea. I did not hear any policy any direction any vision or any direction for the country. I heard just the same old Stephen Franks whingeing whining grizzling moaning and running down the country. He is constantly running down the country. That is why ACT members will not get anywhere. They are paralysed internally. They have no vision. They have internal leadership problems. ACT will always be a minor fringe party as long as its members continue to offer New Zealand absolutely nothing.  
It is not surprising that we turn our attention also to the National Party. If it is a joy and delight to be a member of the Labour-led Government which has strong leadership good vision for New Zealand strong public support and direction what an absolute misery it must be to be part of the once-proud National Party of Keith Holyoake and Jack Marshall. It must be an absolute misery to be part of that party. It has no leadership no principles and no vision.  
Let us start with Bill English. He is the absolute example of why the National Party is not performing at all and why it will not be back here in his own words “for three terms at least”. I thought that he was a bit under-optimistic. I would have said “three or more” but “honest Bill”—as we call him over here—calls a spade a spade. When he sees a three-term Government he is prepared to admit that it is a three-term Government. I would have added “at least”. Then of course we have the problem of the things he constantly keeps saying in the media much to the embarrassment of his own colleagues. He said that the troops were going to come back from Afghanistan. Then no they were not and then they were going to come back halfway. Members can tell when the National Party is in such disarray. The eyes of Opposition members are cast downwards every time their leader speaks. The reality is that a democracy deserves good Opposition. Unfortunately we have the National Party.  
We will now look at New Zealand First. Really I think it is fair to say that New Zealand First is the legitimate Opposition. No one treats the National Party seriously. 
John Carter 
: Tell us about the goat joke. 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: I will be happy to talk about the goat joke because it relates entirely to the National Party. It is funnier if one tells it about the National Party. However I will not be distracted by jokes other than the National Party because it is the only joke in town.  
New Zealand First of course is also a narrow fringe party. While it does claim to be the Opposition in this Parliament—I think with some due course—then it will never have the appeal. If it starts to try to scratch the itch of immigrants and if it starts to scratch the itch of treaty and Maori relationships in the country it will always be a very fringe and small party. On Waitangi Day I was at the Orongomai Marae and it was chocka there. There was the biggest crowd on that marae in about 6 or 7 years.  
There is a wind shift going on in this country. Trying to scratch that old itch which is what ACT wants to do as soon as it can get rid of Donna Awatere Huata—although it cannot do that at the moment because the situation is embarrassing—will mean that in the end ACT and New Zealand First will always be small minority parties as opposed to the Labour Party which is inclusive. We say that no matter who people are in New Zealand they have a contribution to make. If someone is out of the tent and not able to make a contribution that is to the degradation of New Zealand. It is New Zealand and the future of New Zealand that count not trying to pick off one group against the other. That is why some of those things that they have put forward as policy planks are despicable.  
I want to talk about some of the issues the Prime Minister raised in her excellent speech. It had substance and it had vision. She raised a number of things that I want to turn to because they relate to my specific area. She mentioned transport.  
Hon Richard Prebble 
: One paragraph. That’s all it got. 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: It was quite a long paragraph as I remember and pretty well written. In the last 5 or 6 years the National Party has completely sidetracked this debate by wanting to privatise roads. That is what it wants to do. National Party members spent time trying to privatise roads to the absolute outcry of the entire New Zealand local government and that is why they have no support at all.  
We have come in and tried to tackle the tough issues. The reality is that funding will always be a problem. As we get more efficient engines the ability for us to get more fuel excise tax will worsen. It will get worse. But we did take the bull by the horns and say that we would take some heat and put the petrol price up 4 cents. Then the National Party said it would take it off. The big thing about that is that National’s transport spokesperson said the way to solve New Zealand’s road safety problems is to build a 4-lane motorway between Auckland and Wellington. I think it was the person who parades himself as the National Party spokesperson on transport Mr Roger Sowry. He says that a 4-lane motorway between Auckland and Wellington—[ 
Interruption 
] We have had some advice that it would cost billions of dollars but I ask why we should stop at that. What about the 4-lane motorway between Wellington and Picton? What about the 4-lane motorway between Auckland and Sydney? This is the National Party that wants to build 4-lane motorways and cut the price of petrol by 4 cents. That is voodoo economics. We know what that is—spend more and cut tax. It does not work. It does not add up.  
In transport the ghost of Bill Birch and “think big” is alive and well in the National Party caucus. We have some long-term planning on transport some strategic direction and some alternative funding mechanisms. At last a Government is tackling the transport problems and difficulties of this country. It is not just roading; it will be rail as well. We will have a multi-modal strategic approach to transport which New Zealand has not had for many many decades.  
I wanted to talk about telecommunications and the work we have done there in the regulation regime and broadband and the programme of work we have for small business but the problem of course in speeches like this is that there is never enough time to talk about the positive things that this Government has done. We do not want to hear Opposition members running New Zealanders down running the country down and bringing everybody down. We want to hear them trying to lift the spirits of New Zealanders which is what this Government does. Give this Government a hand to lift the spirits of New Zealanders because what they want is hope and we are giving them that. Until those Opposition parties can join with us they will always be in Opposition.