Peters Winston: Budget Debate 
Peters Winston: Budget Debate 
[Volume:608;Page:5781] 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 Today marks the slide of New Zealand into the Third World as an Asian colony. If we look at the back of the  
Sunday Star-Times  
of 11 May we will see that a world expert on inventions and manufacturing says that if New Zealand does not learn to nurture its manufacturing base and stimulate the creation of new and better products it will become a Third World nation reliant on other countries’ imports. That is the view of experts abroad and today we have a Budget that has had the press gallery for the first time in my career half empty. The public gallery was filled with children and even they walked out. 
Dr Cullen spent all his time talking about Budget 2004 and forgot Budget 2003. He clearly demonstrated that he is the latest victim of the Stockholm syndrome. Treasury has demonstrably palpably captured him and there he was today parroting its mantra as though it were sound economic policy alongside this week’s Budget from Australia—a sound economy run by a decent Treasurer. And all the time the United Future party did not applaud one word of his speech and when it came to the end its members did not rise. 
I want to amend the motion put by the leader of the National Party by adding the words: “ 
that this House also records that it has no confidence in this Government’s ability to govern as it only ACTS the part and even then only in a shallow and hammish way 
.” 
But we believe that in the preparation of this Budget there have been some Oscar-winning performances. The highly paid Cabinet cast only acts like Labour Ministers: they say one thing in election year and do something entirely different whilst in Government. It is time that these theatrical thespians received the theatrical recognition they so richly deserve and we have some New Zealand First “Oscars”. In this case Oscar stands for “Obstinately Self-serving Carping and Ridiculous” when it comes to the interests of ordinary New Zealanders. Today I want this House to recognise the failings of a number of Ministers and I propose to help it do so by the presentation of these Oscars which I have just had conveniently prepared. We want to immortalise these Ministers for their failings and to induct them into New Zealand’s parliamentary hall of shame and these are the appropriate Oscars for doing that. 
The first Oscar is for scriptwriting and acting: the best adaptation performance of a responsible Budget. For this award the academy has nominated Dr Cullen for an outstanding performance in acting as a Labour Minister of Finance yet achieving a Budget surplus of $4 billion in the face of grave social service stress and tension and the starvation of extra funds for so many social interests in this country. We have a Labour Minister of Finance with a Budget surplus of $4 billion and around him he has United Future the Greens and the last rump of the Progressive party in this Parliament before it disappears in the next election. And what did they get? Nothing at all! Never in the history of politics have so many sold out for so little. Never in the history of Western politics have so many sold out so often for so little. We have a $4 billion surplus while tens of thousands of people are thrown off hospital waiting lists while police are massively under-resourced while the education system is overloaded with costs—and on top of that is paying for foreigners as well—and while the social services systems are enormously stressed. Through his outstanding acting ability Michael Cullen has fooled everyone including his own party that he is a Labour Cabinet Minister when he is really a closet ACT supporter. Most of these Ministers are never present so I have had to ask my colleague Peter Brown to stand in and take his Oscar for him. Sadly in the interests of time there will be no acceptance speeches. In fact the nomination for the Oscar for Dr Cullen came from his old mate Richard Prebble. 
The next one is for George Hawkins. He is up for an Oscar. In the preparation of this Budget he got 50 extra police for Auckland. They are short of 135 police but he got 50 for Auckland—for the rest of the country nothing. George Hawkins members will remember starred in the 21st century saga called “ 
Leak House 
”. That was his last film. Now he has a lead role in the movie he was made for: “ 
Dumb and Dumber 
”. In this movie he is to make he does not have to act; he is an absolute natural. He is living proof that anyone with half a mind to become a Cabinet Minister can become one. Whole forests are destroyed and sacrificed while George Hawkins makes up more traffic tickets. That is his law and order policy. To be fair though George Hawkins is presiding over New Zealand’s real and only real growth industry. 
R Doug Woolerton 
: What’s that? 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Crime. So let us have one for George Hawkins. Maybe my colleague should make an acceptance speech for him; he is not so good at it himself. 
The Pan Asian Congress has nominated Lianne Dalziel for an Oscar for make-up artistry. In only 4 years she has totally changed the face the character and the sound of New Zealand through unlimited wholesale immigration. In only 4 years she has changed the whole character and shape of New Zealand with massive immigration. Who did she ask? Nobody. Not one New Zealander was asked. Thanks to Lianne Dalziel’s dramatic and uncontrolled performance there are today 300000 New Zealanders—or people who call themselves New Zealanders—who do not speak English. Three hundred thousand! And the skills gap which was the excuse for all of this is bigger than ever before. If people are qualified professionals from Britain New Zealand does not want them. If there are qualified people from Britain who can speak English New Zealand does not want them. But if people are from the Middle East cannot speak English or are suspected terrorists we welcome them. That is the Government’s policy. If people are overstayers and need medical treatment they should go to Lianne Dalziel. She will fix the problem. She will make them instant New Zealanders. She will give them work permits even though they cannot work. 
R Doug Woolerton 
: So they can lie in bed. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Yes so they can lie in bed. She will give them work permits in the face of tens of thousands—100000—New Zealanders being unemployed and call them workers when nobody else is fooled in respect of that. That is Lianne Dalziel. If New Zealanders who have paid taxes all their lives need a hip or eye operation then—bad luck—they have to go on the queue. But overstayers refugees or terrorists being held in New Zealand prisons because they should not be here in the first place will go on the waiting lists above all other New Zealanders whether or not those New Zealanders have been here for 1000 years 100 years or 10 years and whether or not they are taxpayers. So this Oscar is for Lianne Dalziel. I am sorry she is not here but perhaps my colleague could take it for her. 
The nomination from the power companies is for “Blackout Pete Hodgson”. He gets it for his starring role as the political Nero of New Zealand’s energy industry  
“Fiddling While the People Freeze” 
—and watch out for the ides of June of July and of August and September this year. “Blackout Pete” blames everybody else although he has been in the job for 4 years. 
And we have the Al Gore re-election committee nomination for Helen Clark for her starring role as a political stuntman in the movie  
“Free Trade” 
. She has shown that she is the only politician in the Western World who can talk on foreign affairs with both her feet in her mouth and thanks to her brilliant performance on the overseas stage New Zealand now has only one staunch ally. Can members guess who it is? 
Hon Members 
: France. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: France. As they say in the Tui advertisements: “Yeah right”. She also gets a second Oscar for doublespeak for backtracking on statements for amnesia for inexcusable denials and for blaming everybody else. So here is one for the Prime Minister. 
Thousands of people who have been dragged off hospital waiting lists have enthusiastically nominated “Absent Annie” King for an Oscar. The mental health system has also put in her name for a second nomination for  
“Passing the Buck Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” 
. The present health system is sick more and more patients are being cut adrift from waiting lists hospital staff are falling apart under the stress of an overloaded system and New Zealanders have to wait in queues—or out of the queue as the case may be—whilst this Government treats everyone who is not a New Zealander and not a taxpayer first. Every refugee or asylum seeker whether or not they are genuine and every overstayer gets priority over all other New Zealanders no matter how long those New Zealanders have been paying taxes. Annette King has taken the habit of hand-wringing to new heights. Whenever she is confronted by the media she says: “Oh I’m really concerned about that.” She is like a badly trained used car salesperson. There is plenty of pre-sales talk but no after-sales delivery and no after-sales service. 
I have to say that there were other Oscar-winning performances from other Ministers who came very very close to an award. There were a lot of nominations for Rick Barker. He was nominated by the Mongrel Mob for his unforgettable part as a freedom fighter in the political hit “ 
Home Alone Detention 
”. Rick Barker came very close. During his performance as the “Minister of Freedom” he threw open the doors of the prison system especially for violent offenders and left them open. The Labour Party and every do-gooder woolly liberal in New Zealand are saying to him: “Rick we’re proud of you.” although everyone else thinks he may be a waste of space around the Cabinet table. 
Trevor Mallard got a nomination for creating the movie “ 
Red Education 
”. Margaret Wilson—now here is one—got a special commendation for creating the longest political saga or soap opera in history entitled “ 
The Treaty Settlement Millennium 
”. This soap opera is going to run for at least 156000 weekly episodes at the present rate of progress from this Minister. One hundred and fifty-six thousand weeks are going to come before she gets over there. Just as is so inimitable of her in the Budget she had a propaganda programme being costed out at $6.5 million to tell people about the treaty. But here is the issue: neither she nor Helen Clark or any other Labour Minister or member—or anybody for that matter—can tell us what the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi are. They are taking $6.5 million to tell the people but how about starting with them. They are taking $6.5 million but they cannot tell anybody what the principles of the treaty are. 
There used to be a movement in the United States 200 years ago called “Know Nothingism” Well its finest flower is over there—right there today. Judith Tizard gets a nomination for miming in her role as the “Minister of Auckland”. Can anyone name one thing that Judith Tizard has done for Auckland? Come on guys! One thing—not five! 
Rodney Hide 
: She came to Wellington. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: That is not bad. Rodney Hide said she came to Wellington. Parekura Horomia just beat out John Tamihere for his nomination. He is the invisible Minister of Maori Affairs. Nobody understands his answers or lines. No one knows what he is talking about and nor does he. Parliament is going to get an English interpreter to translate what he is saying in English. John Tamihere got the award for the “lion on the marae and the lamb in Parliament”. Mark Burton got the Arnold Schwarzenegger of New Zealand politics award. Almost single-handedly he has destroyed the New Zealand armed forces. 
But I go back to the Budget. This is a good Budget for some people. We have to be fair—this is a good Budget for some people. It is a good Budget as long as one is not a pensioner on a fixed income with soaring power bills. It is a good Budget as long as one does not need an eye or hip operation and as long as one has not been dumped off the hospital waiting list. It is a great Budget as long as one is not an exporter trying to cope with the rising New Zealand dollar. It is a great Budget as long as one’s house does not suffer from leaky-building syndrome and one does not expect someone to be accountable. It is a great Budget as long as one does not mind a cold shower and long cold winter nights. It is a good Budget as long as one is not one of the New Zealanders squeezed out by foreigners while trying to get a proper education for their children in their schools of their choice. It is a great Budget as long as people do not mind overseas companies taking all our resources and giving little in return. It is a great Budget as long as people do not mind the rail and road systems being in a total shambles. It is a good Budget as long as one is not a victim of crime desperately trying to get hold of a police officer. It is a great Budget as long as people are not in that situation. It is a good Budget as long as one is not a Maori living on a dirt floor in Northland and waiting for a job a treaty settlement or even some electricity. It is a good Budget as long as one is not in a family struggling to educate clothe and feed one’s children. It is a great Budget if one is not a small business struggling with compliance costs soaring overheads and bureaucratic red tape. 
This is in fact a bogus Budget for just about every other New Zealander. It tries to portray New Zealand as a nation basking in the warm glow of prosperity. Absolute nonsense! The facade of prosperity that the Budget seeks to contrive rests on one factor alone—massive consumptive immigration at a level that no other First World country would even dream of contemplating. It is a bubble that is going to burst. We are becoming a colony of Asia. We are; it is all there—I ask members to walk down Queen Street in Auckland and tell me I am not right—and never with any consent from the New Zealand people. 
David Benson-Pope 
: Oh! 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: “Solar Dome” can make all the noises he likes. 
David Benson-Pope 
: Pathetic! 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: I know the member is pathetic. He always has been but he need not tell us his problems. 
Every sound economist in New Zealand will explain what this bunch of actors pretending to be a Labour Government cannot explain—that the only thing driving this economy today is a level of immigration seven times that of Australia’s. But it is a bubble that is going to burst and all around New Zealand more and more New Zealanders are becoming alarmed by what they see and hear. The Government has shamelessly used a flood of immigration to generate a phoney feel-good factor. An unprecedented and ongoing infusion of migrants has created a superficial boom in consumption and housing expenditure and Mr Cullen admitted that in this Budget. He said in his Budget speech today in effect that immigration was robust and house prices would keep going up. It is all here in the Budget and that is it. 
I have to say this. When we look at it this is not the way the Labour Party used to be—a party with concern for ordinary people and a sense of nationalism in terms of our interests. This party is a bunch of sell-outs It is a bunch of internationalists. The biggest sell-out—Dr Cullen—has been captured by Treasury. Members should read the speech he made when he first arrived in Parliament. 
Opposition Member 
: Why would you? 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Oh yes why would we? We might like a laugh. We might see how someone can be captured by Treasury and surrounded by it. I think it is a matter of Labour members’ psychological uncertainty as people. They do not have what it takes to stand up to so-called peer pressure around them. I could speak for much longer on this Budget but I want to close by saying that this is the worst Budget I have ever seen in this Parliament.