Coleman Jonathan: General Debate 
Coleman Jonathan: General Debate 
[Volume:672;Page:18787] 
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Immigration) 
: 
 The facts just like his electorate are seldom visited by David Cunliffe. He was caught out today badly spanked by Bill English as he tried to make out that there was a great hole in the tax story that National has been laying out over the past 3 years. Mr Cunliffe neglected to say that National’s tax changes have been fiscally neutral funded by a tax switch that is quite transparently laid out in the Budget documents over the past 3 years. Mr Cunliffe has been badly undermined today by his spokesman on revenue who has scooped the front page of the  
Dominion Post  
off him. He will be livid about that. 
He is being badly badly exposed for a lack of a plan. If one reads his column in the  
New Zealand Herald  
today one will see there is a lot of guff a lot of unfunded stuff and no specifics. Three months ago David Cunliffe was telling the electorate that he had fully costed spending promises. Where are those promises now? Nowhere to be seen. It is a moving feast. Do members know why? The fact is that David Cunliffe does not want Labour to win the next election. That would be the worst possible thing that could happen to that member’s career. He knows that if Labour wins he is finished and his goal to be the Prime Minister of New Zealand will never materialise. 
Meanwhile poor old Phil Goff is stumbling out of the Takanini Countdown at the weekend absolutely shocked at the price of lamb chops. He seemed like a man who was trying to pretend that he goes to the supermarket every week when in actual fact it is completely transparent that he went in there only for political purposes so that he could make out that he is a man of the people and that he is really in touch with how tough it is for the average New Zealander. Once again Labour failed to visit the facts—that is that food prices went up under that Labour Government far more than they have in the last 6 months under this National Government. Those members can run cost of living arguments and they can have the chief well poisoner Trevor Mallard go on about BMWs painting houses and all that sort of stuff but until they come up with a plan for the electorate they will have no credibility. 
I can tell members that it has got to be better than slogans. You know it is all very well having slogans like “Higher incomes; better jobs.” Who could be against that? But there is absolutely no substance to the whole thing. What there is though is $5 billion of unfunded promises that Phil Goff has been rolling out. He has promised to find $5 billion. The other main plank of those members’ economic policy is removing GST from fruit and vegetables. That will not get the economy going ahead. 
In the Budget tomorrow we will find a firm plan for getting New Zealand back into surplus—a firm plan for reversing the damage that Labour did to New Zealand over 9 long years. It is a plan that actually targets Government payments to people in need and in terms of KiwiSaver and Working for Families will make a difference for those who really need it. I can tell members that these tax changes and this Government’s economic plan have been very very popular with the electorate. This Labour mob is getting absolutely no traction out there. 
Of course Phil Goff is out there at the front by himself. This other lot do not mind; they are sharpening the knives for Phil. In actual fact those members do not really want to win. Phil Goff will be stuck out there. David Cunliffe does not want him to win. David Parker has his head down. He knows that if Phil Goff wins that is the end of his career as well. I do not think Trevor Mallard wants Goff to win either. Otherwise those members would be pressing Phil Goff to come up with a credible plan for getting the New Zealand economy ahead. 
We know that this economy really needs the re-gearing that the National Government is bringing it. It is absolutely essential because those members blew years and years of record surpluses and wasted $1 billion on buying a trainset. At the end of it they handed a hospital pass to the incoming Government and we have been left to clear up the mess. 
I think that when the New Zealand people see this Budget tomorrow they will know that it is a prudent path back to surplus. They will appreciate the pressure that this Government has been under. They know the damage that the last Labour Government left as its legacy. Quite frankly I think they are very very thankful to have John Key as Prime Minister and I have no doubt that they will return him come November.