Wilkinson Kate: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Wilkinson Kate: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:645;Page:14232] 
KATE WILKINSON (National) 
: 
 We have a motion before the House—a very excellent motion—and that is John Key’s motion. I remind those listening what we are actually debating tonight: “That this House has no confidence in the Helen Clark-led Government because it has failed to make significant improvement in the areas of real importance to New Zealanders because it lacks ambition because it is tired and bereft of ideas because it has lost touch with the people who put it in power and because under its lead our country has become a story of lost opportunities.” That is the motion we are debating tonight in the Chamber. It is a very very serious motion. Then again very very serious issues are facing our country that are being ignored and swept under the counter by this Helen Clark - led Government. 
We all know that as time has gone on this Helen Clark - led Government has concentrated more and more on its own survival and less and less on the issues that matter to the people who put it there. The latest example is the Electoral Finance Act. There is no concern whatsoever for freedom of speech. We all know that Labour has squandered New Zealand’s economic inheritance by failing to build strong foundations for the future. This is a squandering Government and it is time that that squandering stopped. We have heard the Prime Minister’s statement. We heard it; it was full of rhetoric and of that word “sustainability” but there were no new ideas. In fact there were some ideas that were recycled from way back in 1994—14 years ago. But that is probably no surprise— 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: How long? 
KATE WILKINSON 
: Fourteen long years—not as long as the 8 long years that we have had to endure under this Helen Clark - led Government. 
Given the recycling of old ideas it is probably no surprise to listeners when they hear that the increase in violent youth offending is a result of the 1991 Budget—and the sun and the moon. The 1991 Budget was years and years ago. I wonder what we can blame on the 1958 Budget or even the 1990 Caygill Budget. It is all very well to learn from the past but this Government is actually living in the past. There are current pressing urgent important questions out there questions that Kiwis really want answers to—proper answers not some suggestion or excuses that blame everything on something that happened 17 years ago. Kiwis are asking why after 8 long years of a Labour Government we are paying the second-highest interest rates in the developed world. 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: Do they have an answer to that? 
KATE WILKINSON 
: There is no answer. Why under Labour is the gap between our wages and wages in Australia and other parts of the world getting bigger and bigger? There is no answer. Why under Labour do we get a tax cut only in election year when we really needed it years ago? There is no answer. Why can hard-working kids not afford to buy their own house? There is silence; there is no answer. Why is one in five Kiwi kids leaving school with grossly inadequate literacy and numeracy skills? There is no answer. The 1991 Budget is the answer to the numeracy and literacy problem in our schools. That is what the Labour-led Government is saying tonight. It is blaming it all on the 1991 Budget—and on the sun and the moon. Kiwis are asking why when Labour claims it aspires to be carbon neutral our greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at an alarming rate. Why has the health system not improved when billions of extra dollars have been poured into it? There is no answer. Why is violent crime against innocent New Zealanders continuing to soar and escalate and why is Labour unable to do anything about it? These are the issues facing New Zealand. These are the questions that New Zealanders want the answers to. These are the issues that this Labour Government is ignoring and pretending do not exist. We say they do exist. We will focus on the real issues facing New Zealand not on the tired old political debates of 20 and 30 years ago. 
Unlike Labour National understands why Kiwis are demanding change. They are demanding change because they think it is time for a Government that says no to mediocrity and yes to aspiration and that expects more for New Zealand. National will lift wages by driving economic growth by investing in infrastructure by ongoing tax cuts and by monitoring the quantity and quality of Government spending. National will create safer communities taking the brave steps that are needed to address this country’s growing crime problem. We will ensure that our education system delivers real opportunities to young people. We will give Kiwis confidence in the Public Service which they rely on. National is interested in building performance; Labour is intent on building bureaucracy. National will build a more confident aspirational New Zealand with a proud sense of nationhood. This Helen Clark - led Government seems to think that if it throws money at a problem then the problem will just go away. More money is not the solution. More money is not the answer. Better spending better ideas and better management are the answers. 
If one wants an example we can give example after example. I will look at the courts. The Minister for Courts is often confused about whether he is spending $165 million or $156 million. You know it is just another $9 million bungle. He spends this money yet the court delays are no better; they are worse. Court security incidents have increased. Legal aid is a challenge with people unable to get legal aid lawyers to represent them. Legal aid lawyers are threatening to withdraw their services for several reasons one of which is the burdening bureaucracy being foisted upon them. People are unable to get proper access to justice. 
This Helen Clark - led Government is allowing the courts to become less and less secure. There were 661 security incidents in the courts in 2007 and 484 in 2006. That is an increase of 36.5 percent. That is not value for money. Of those incidents 208 were classified as serious which is up 18 percent from the last year despite the spend of the Minister for Courts. The biggest regional rise was in the southern regions where the rate went up by 111 percent. That is not good enough. We cannot believe—or be expected to believe—that the Minister takes court security “very seriously” when the number of incidents is increasing and increasing. Labour has promised to review court security and things have got worse. The Minister says it is all OK because in some cases the number of security incidents has decreased. Well yes they have—in Huntly there was one fewer security incident in 2007 than there was in 2006. It does not matter that the security incidents in Christchurch have escalated from 9 to 30; there was one fewer incident in Huntly and therefore it is all OK. It is not OK. This Government has spent more money maybe but the problem has got worse. Our court system is under siege thousands of trials are on hold median waiting times are nearly 300 days we have an increasing number of stays of prosecution victims have to wait longer and longer for justice to be seen potential criminals walk free without a trial because of our court system yet the Minister thinks that because he has spent money it is all OK. National says it is not OK.