Brownlee Gerry:  
Brownlee Gerry:  
[Volume:622;Page:17309] 
GERRY BROWNLEE (Deputy Leader—National) 
: 
 That was a speech from the Acting Prime Minister—the most Acting Prime Minister in New Zealand’s history. Dr Cullen is the Acting Prime Minister who has stepped into that role 47 times in the last 60 months. 
Opposition Member 
: What? 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: That is right—47 times in the last 60 months as the Prime Minister has continued her travelogue around the world. What an interesting speech we had from the Deputy Prime Minister today. Once again there was not one hint from Labour of where it wants to take this country because of the embarrassment it has about the real agenda it is producing for New Zealanders. Labour talks about flip-flops but it should look at the flip-flop on the closure of schools. There was a little bit of public pressure and Trevor Mallard buckled like a cripple and gave up on that policy. Members should look at the reaction to Dr Brash’sOrewa speech earlier this year. The Prime Minister in complete panic announced that once again Trevor Mallard was to conduct a review of all the Government departments. Then there was a further flip-flop by not actually doing that at all and then finally there was a retreat to some sort of special constitutional matters select committee in order to take the issue off the agenda. 
This is not a Government that has a clear idea of where New Zealand should be heading. It is a Government that is massively overtaxing every worker in this country and Dr Cullen can say what he likes. In the last 5 years those guys have taken an extra $34 billion out of the pockets of hard-working New Zealanders and even Jim Anderton the great champion of the people knows that it is time to put something back. Alongside that there has been absolutely no significant movement in household income throughout that time. Labour members may sit in the House feeling secure at the moment but they should know that in suburban New Zealand their agenda is not going down well. Households are struggling in this country—everyone knows that. Everyone who has an electorate office—Mr Samuels in particular—knows that and furthermore it will not be long before many of Labour’s other deceptions are found out. 
I just think that we need to look at a few things that are happening in this country. We have no choice in schools—no choice in where we can send our kids. We have a Government that wants to tell us where we can do things when we can do them and how we can do them and we have a police force that is much more interested in focusing on minor crime than it is in solving some of the big issues that are out there. It does not matter how much Dr Cullen may like to attack the National Party; the reality is that Labour stands for very very little that ordinary New Zealanders identify with. If the Labour members think that one poll result will somehow be enough to put us off they are seriously wrong. I remind Mr Mallard that no one in the Labour Party was making bold claims for polling being so accurate in April of this year. 
We say that this country will soon wake up and realise that we have a Prime Minister who never faces up to the big issues and never wants to be around on a day when something is going to happen. Where was Helen Clark during the whole of the foreshore and seabed debate? She was off having shots taken in front of the TajMahal. Where is Helen Clark during the debate on the Civil Union Bill? She is nowhere to be seen. Where was Helen Clark during the speeding incident from Waimate to Christchurch? What were she and Jim Sutton doing in the back seat that did not let them understand that the car was going at such horrendous speed? How can a Prime Minister sit by and watch five policemen go before the courts for doing her business and a civilian driver be dragged before the courts to pay the same price? When she got out of the car and knew that she would be able to get to the rugby test I wonder whether she said to the driver: “Thanks very much.”? I bet she did! She was quite happy to have been driven at high speed and then to dump on those police officers.