Shearer David: Budget Statement — Budget Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Shearer David: Budget Statement — Budget Debate 
[Sitting date: 24 May 2012. Volume:680;Page:2399. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
DAVID SHEARER (Leader of the Opposition) 
: 
 If that does not get people flocking to the departure lounges all around New Zealand nothing will. That is if they are still awake after that man just delivered that Budget. That man has delivered a Budget that has the worst growth in 50 years has 50000 people going to Australia has delivered 50000 more unemployed and has 50000 more people on benefits costing us $1 billion. That is a zero growth Budget a zero hope Budget and a zero reason Budget for staying here in this country. I move  
That the words after “That” be omitted and the following substituted: “this House has no confidence in this National Government led by John Key because year after year it has failed to deliver the economic growth and the growth in jobs incomes and exports it promised which has forced record numbers of New Zealanders to look for better opportunities in Australia has failed to take the tough decisions needed to generate the economic growth to keep young New Zealanders at home and as a last resort is selling our most valuable assets against the will of New Zealanders.” 
The other day I popped into one of my local schools and the principal was telling me that many parents at that school were coming to school with their kids who were really too sick to be at school so that the kids could sit in the sick bay. The reason for that was that the parents themselves were too worried about taking a day off to look after their kids and they had to go off and work. I also popped in the other day to get my car serviced and was chatting to the mechanics there. They are skilled guys good guys. They have not had a pay increase in 4 years—4 years. GST has gone up inflation has gone up and their incomes effectively have gone backwards. All around the country there are people who are working hard working longer making the tough choices and bringing their kids up in the best way that they possibly can. They expect a better deal—they expect a better deal. They expect the Government to keep its side of the deal. 
What do they expect? Well they expect to be able to send their kids to school and not have them sit in bigger classes. Class sizes have gone up—they have gone up. If your kids are in year 1 you might have a class size of 15. But if they are in year 2 well those class sizes can go up to about 28. So if your children just happen to miss out on a very special important element of learning they will not be able to have the same opportunity to catch up as they did before. I do not understand why this Government has brought out this policy because Bill English when he was spokesperson for education said small class sizes would lead to “better relationships between families teachers and students which research shows is really important for achievement particularly disadvantaged kids.” But Hekia Parata—and she must be the teacher’s pet; maybe she has got some sort of a thing with Mr English—is saying “Oh Mr English I know! I can raise class sizes for you. That will save a bit of money.” That will save a bit of money! Well that does not give our kids the best start in life. I am talking about all parents across New Zealand and I am talking about my kids as well. I am a parent; they are going to be influenced by this change as well. 
This is where the rubber hits the road. This is where the rubber hits the road for New Zealanders. The high-flying economics of a Budget goes over the heads of most people. But I tell you what they do pick up on. They pick up on the fact that their kids are going to have less of an opportunity now in schools than they did before. 
That is not where the front-line cuts start and stop. And that is a front-line cut of our future—our future. That is a front-line cut of our future. But look at the other ones such as the police: $400 million is going to be slashed out of the police budget. It is going to come off the back room of course—the back room. But the problem with that is that the police have to go into the back room to do the job of the people who were once doing the backroom jobs. That is what is going to happen and it means that fewer police are going to be on the streets looking after you and me. As for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade what a debacle that has been. What an absolute and utter debacle that has been. Murray McCully who has insisted on cuts to the foreign affairs ministry has managed to cut the very future of our trade relations with the rest of the world. In South America for example the number of our diplomats has been halved. That is the place where we are trying to negotiate a new trade agreement. It is the same with India. All over the world our future prosperity is being cut on the front line. Another front-line cut is in biosecurity. This is the very protection that keeps things like the Queensland fruit fly out of New Zealand. Fifty-four staff have been cut $3 million has been slashed from that budget and now we have a fruit fly infestation in New Zealand that has the potential to wreck our agricultural economy. This Government knows the cost of everything and the value of absolutely nothing. 
We have heard the various projections from the Minister of Finance but do we really believe them? This is the fourth Budget we have listened to from this Minister of Finance. This Minister of Finance promised in 2009 to deliver real GDP growth of 1.5 percent over the last 3 years; he delivered 0.6 percent. In 2010 National projected real GDP growth of 3.1 percent a year and it delivered 1.3 percent. In 2011 National projected real GDP growth would rise to 4 percent per year and it delivered just 1.1 percent. So why today would we want to listen to Mr English telling us that somehow this projection is going to be better in the future? After three times—after four times—you get sick of listening to these projections that never actually work out. 
Today exports are down 17 percent—$800 million down. That is the record of this Government. But do not worry about that. Do not worry about that because it can still talk it up. In 2011 this is what Mr English said. He said the economy “has in prospect the strongest growth for a decade.” He said later on that New Zealand’s growth was accelerating. It was not; it was slowing right down. “Growth is expected to accelerate in the second half of 2011 and through 2012.” It is nowhere near it. “A recovery in activity is now expected from mid-2011 with economic growth rising … and peaking at 4.0% …”. It achieved as I say 1.1 percent. In Budget 2012 this year here he is again: “The Budget documents will show we are likely to experience reasonably robust levels of growth.” “Reasonably”—what does “reasonably” mean? “Reasonably robust”—how do you have “reasonably robust” growth? Now he is saying that there is going to be a “moderate adjustment”. We have gone from “reasonably robust” down to “moderate adjustment”. At least Mr English is coming a little closer to the mark. The real mark is utter failure. 
This Government in its term in office has delivered the worst growth in 50 years. Take a look at this graph. Here are the various administrations since 1957. Here is this Government’s growth record. Those people at the back are unlikely to see it. Yes it is just above the line—just above the line. That is disgraceful. It is the worst growth in 50 years. Fifty thousand people are going to Australia 50000 more people are unemployed and 50000 more people are on benefits. Rather than the Government confronting the big issues that this country needs to focus on on looking through this Budget you see can that what it is trying to do is nickel-and-dime New Zealanders. One of its big announcements is that the tax credit that it once gave to paper boys and paper girls is being cut. That is being cut. That is what we are shooting for. It has just cut that tax credit but it is only if you earn $45 or less. That is the tax credit that has been cut. But the good news is—well actually there is a little more bad news about that because it is going to be done retrospectively. I guess these people—these paper boys and paper girls—do not vote. I hope they remember who cut their tax credit. We are picking the pockets of our paper boys and paper girls around the countryside. But the really good news is babysitters will be exempt. So the Government does have a heart after all. Mr Australia—Mr Speaker— 
Hon Members 
: Oh! 
DAVID SHEARER 
: Wait for it. We could call—[ 
Interruption 
] Thank you Mr Speaker. I appreciate that. Perhaps Mr Key should be called “Mr Australia”. Fifty-three thousand people are going to Australia. That is a record. In New Zealand’s history we have never had as many going to Australia as we have now. We have never had a bigger number. But listen to this. Who said this: “We’re here today in Westpac Stadium. It holds nearly 35000 people. And believe it or not the equivalent of this entire stadium—and more—leaves every year to live permanently in Australia … I’m convinced we can give them a reason and a purpose to stay in New Zealand. And that’s why I want to be New Zealand’s next Prime Minister.” 
Hon Members 
: Who said that? 
DAVID SHEARER 
: “Mr Australia”. That is who said it. Well I can tell you that when it comes to 2014—and I let the Prime Minister in on a little secret—I have booked Eden Park for him because he will not be able to fit everybody into Westpac Stadium this time round. I had a special word to the groundsman and he is going to roll out some spare seats because even in 2 years’ time there is going to be more particularly after a Budget like that. This is a zero Budget and there is zero reason for anybody to stay here in New Zealand. I can tell you that one of the reasons the unemployment rate is so low is that we lose 53000 people a year. The Budget will bring our unemployment rate right down so congratulations to the Government on bringing that down. 
National used to be a party of aspiration. I have not heard that word in a long long time—aspiration. This was the party that was saying we have to be aspirational for New Zealand. It is actually shooting down to the floor now—shooting down to the floor—looking at Greece and saying “Thank God we’re not down there with Greece.” It is a little bit like my daughter coming home and saying: “Dad I didn’t get bottom of my class and I happened to beat the Greek kid in the corner as well.” That is not what I would expect from my kids and it is not what I would expect from a Government here in New Zealand either. A party of aspiration? No longer. This is a party that is shooting for the lowest possible bar. 
But it has got a 120-point plan. Anybody who ever worked for Merrill Lynch would call it a laundry list. It is the sort of list that you put on your fridge with a magnet and you go through the list: “Sell off State assets—tick. Sell off pokie machines—tick. I must remember to put economic growth on there; I just have not got round to that yet.” But here are some of the Government’s growth ideas: “We can effect things like labour laws and if you look at the jobs creation that we have been promoting: the Skycity convention centre more mining and exploration Australian companies coming back … they will create jobs.” That is it? That is pretty desperate. A 120-point plan and that is all it is going to come up with—the Skycity convention centre which is actually funded from the pockets of problem gamblers? That is it? That is the economic plan for our future? Australian companies coming here? That is great but they tend to be ones that are coming here for our low wages. So we have got some call centres and we have got tobacco-packing plants. We will take the jobs but what we are really shooting for is high-skilled high-value jobs not the sorts of jobs that this Government is prepared to allow Australian companies in for. 
The worst thing about the economic plan of this Government is the sell-off of its assets against the will of most New Zealanders. It says that mums and dads all over the country—“mums and dads”; is that not that a cutesy little saying—will be “at the front of the queue”. Which mums and dads? Which queue? Is that the queue of people waiting to get jobs at the local supermarket? No it is not—no it is not. Mums and dads will not be at the front of the queue because there is nothing in the legislation that will actually guarantee that mums and dads are going to be at the front of that queue. 
 Yet despite that zero Budget there is no shortage of excuses—lots and lots of excuses. So we have the global financial crisis. Of course that is being trucked out as the reason we are not doing so well.  
Hon Annette King 
: I thought it was over. 
DAVID SHEARER 
: That is a good question. The financial crisis seems to be trucking along nicely for this Government despite the fact that Australia has upped us 6:1 Canada and the US 2.5:1 and outside Europe we are second from the bottom—second from the bottom—in terms of our economic growth. Of course the other excuse is the tragedy that happened in Christchurch—and it is a tragedy. But you cannot have it both ways. You cannot blame our economic situation on Christchurch and at the same time say that our economic growth is dependent somehow on the recovery of Christchurch. This Government has rolled out the excuses. Yesterday we had the same old tired excuse of this Government having inherited it from the Labour Government. The Labour Government actually left it a surplus—9 years of surplus—which it quickly ran into deficit. 
This country needs smart innovative companies and I will congratulate the Government on its beginnings in terms of putting more money into science and innovation. That is welcome. But it cut it last year. Last year there was a $14 million cut. When you look at what Labour brought in in 2008 and at what the Government cut we are still at less than half of what Labour brought in at the end of its time even with what the Government is bringing in today. Half! 
So we are not going to grow this country in the way that we should with innovative smart high-value jobs. We are not going to get that sort of progress where people can have the right education that they deserve. Out there I know that parents are worried about their kids going to schools where they have to be in bigger classes. This Budget is more about what is missing than about what is in it—like monetary policy that makes sense. Superannuation is something that John Key puts his fingers in his ears and whistles Dixie about but I tell you what: in 3 years’ time the entire superannuation budget will be larger than the education budget in this country. Then we will start seeing the difference between what the young people today have in terms of an education or whether we have funding for our superannuation. This Budget is a zero Budget. It is a zero growth Budget. It is a zero hope Budget. And there is zero reason for people to stay on in this country. What they want to do is continue living here working in high-value jobs earning decent incomes and leading decent lives.