King AnnetteHon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour): For those who are listening in today you have just heard a speech from the Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand setting out the Government's agenda in election year and setting out the policies that they will go to the election on and fight for New Zealanders on. [Interruption] No what we heard from the Mistress of Blowhardiness and Blatherskite" was full of bluster and animal manure. There was not one mention of what their plans their dreams and their hopes are for New Zealanders and not one word in support of her leader's statement. She spent 10 minutes talking about the Labour Party. Well when they cannot muster a paragraph on their own programme that just tells us how worried they are about the Labour Party.I have to say to the member that if she wants to talk about the new faces she should have a look at the Cabinet that her leader chose. Bill English the soufflé that never rose is in first place—he is back. And then we have got the new face of David Bennett—the new Minister David Bennett—and of course we got Jacqui Dean. She is the new face of Cabinet. And Nick Smith—well he is a very new face in Cabinet. I mean I could go on but I am not going to waste my time talking about National. I want to talk about the real issues that affect New Zealanders because there are some real issues out there in our community.We are a very good country. I am proud to be part of this country which I was born in. I am a fifth generation New Zealander and I have had some wonderful opportunities in my life. It is a country where I got a good education where I got good jobs where I had a chance to own my own home and where I had healthcare when I needed it. I have been one of those—along probably with you Mr Speaker. I must acknowledge that you are looking happy to be back in this place today.Mr SPEAKER: Absolutely delighted.Hon ANNETTE KING: Along with you Mr Speaker I am sure we have lived the Kiwi Dream. We have had that opportunity and I have been very fortunate in my life but I am worried that the opportunities that I have had will not be available for our kids and be not available for our grandkids. I am worried that that Kiwi Dream is slipping away from them and thousands of New Zealanders are missing out. We can do better. We must do better. But what did you hear from the Deputy Prime Minister on how we are going to do better? We heard ridicule we heard her make jokes and talk about other political parties but we did not hear one thing about how they will improve the lot of New Zealanders.What we actually need is leadership. We need determination and we need commitment. But what do we have? We have Bill English who is a slow follower. That is what he is because he is too scared to make the hard decisions. He has to have it focus-grouped first and it has to be voter-tested. That slow conservative and dithering approach is not what is needed in New Zealand now. In New Zealand we actually need someone to step up speak out and have a vision for this country. That is exactly what Andrew Little offered in his state of the nation speech. That is what he offered in his speech here just a day ago. He stood in this House and he said that we are a great country and these are things that we need to do and that we can do together. We did not hear that from the Deputy Prime Minister.I have to say—and maybe the Māori Party member Marama Fox will agree with me—that the only thing Bill English talks about is his social investment approach. It is his biggest claim to fame—Marama Fox: Ask Willie. There's a housing development—Hon ANNETTE KING: Just wait. I call it the "emperor without clothes policy" because he was the Minister of Finance who would not fund Whānau Ora who would not put in the money that was promised for Whānau Ora. Of course the social investment policy is really just Whānau Ora with another name. He had the opportunity to fund it and make a difference and he did not.So what has happened under this Prime Minister? When he was the Minister of Finance he oversaw $1.7 billion missing from the health budget. People say to me: "How can that be right? Every year National has put more money into health." Well I will tell you how it is right. If you do not cover the cost pressures in health if you do not cover the wage pressures in health and if you do not cover the population growth a hole develops in your health budget. These are not my figures. They were worked out on the same Treasury calculations that have been used for decades—$1.7 billion is missing in the health budget over 8 years. We know it. Members cannot deny it if they are out in their communities and have not got their heads stuck in the sand. I can tell the members that I know what is happening out there—they must know what is happening.Let us see what it is. Let us first of all look at where some of the pressures are because $1.7 billion is missing. Take mental health. Mental health services in New Zealand are under huge pressure. It does not matter where you look there are people who are missing out. They cannot get mental health services. You must be seriously unwell to be able to access the service in New Zealand. You have to turn up to an emergency department—that is where you will get a service—or get brought into the service by the police because the crisis teams have been unable to address the issues. All around New Zealand there are people who are seriously mentally unwell and are not receiving the care that they should. That is not a country that we want to have. That is not providing the care that New Zealanders need when they need it. Emergency departments—failures. They are the measures. Have a look at them I say to the members opposite with their heads down because they know it is true. Let me talk about the second issue that shows you how there is money missing out of the health budget: the cost of going to your doctor. Many New Zealanders have not been able to afford to go to a doctor—434000 New Zealanders in the last year did not go to their GP because of the cost. The cost was $28 in 2008; it is now $40 and going up—that is the average. It can be far higher than that. Maybe those on very low-cost access are going but those who are not are paying top dollar—and they are not going.The third issue that I want to put up as a measure of this Government not addressing the health needs of New Zealanders—one of the fundamental requirements of any good Government—is the New Zealanders who are going blind because they have not received treatment. This is a First World country. I can tell you that it started with the 38 patients in the Southern District Health Board area who have irreversible partial sight loss because they waited too long for a follow-up treatment. Imagine how scary it would be to not have a treatment that you need because the Government could not provide the follow-up treatment. That is 38 people just in the Southern—Marama Fox: Happened to Māori all the time—170 years of it. They died.Hon ANNETTE KING: Let me tell the member opposite—[Interruption] No these are not—I beg your pardon?Marama Fox: They died—Māori—all the time. For 170 years.Hon ANNETTE KING: Well yes. I have not even got on to people dying. What I am saying is that I have listened for years to those members opposite bemoaning the fact that a Labour Government in the early 2000s sent patients to Australia for cancer treatment because we did not have the facilities we did not have the equipment and we did not have the staff after 9 years of a National Government. But we got them treatment. What do we have now with people losing their sight? They did not get treatment. But it is not just those 38. What does the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists say? It says there are 20000 to 21000 people overdue for follow-up treatment and that is just from five district health boards—and that is not all of them. It estimates that more than 100 people could lose their vision or go blind because of the delays. Can you believe that in a country like New Zealand we cannot provide the treatment that people can have for conditions that can be treated? I find it terrible—a shame on this Government.So I say to the members opposite that it is time to look at what is good for this country what is needed and what the people are asking for. They are asking to be able to own their homes. They are asking for a good education for their kids. They are asking to have health services when they need them—not when it is convenient for the Government to provide them if they have got some money. You see they are basic things that people are asking for. They want a job that pays a reasonable wage and that is not too much to ask. But what did we get today? We got a speech from the Deputy Prime Minister that was a disgrace. It is a disgrace that you could stand in this House and talk about another party and never mention what your dreams hopes and vision for this country are."