Copeland Gordon: Imprest Supply Debate 
Copeland Gordon: Imprest Supply Debate 
[Volume:628;Page:466] 
GORDON COPELAND (United Future) 
: 
 United Future will vote in favour of this Imprest Supply Bill. I thought I would take the opportunity tonight to explain why because I know from my experience of the last 3 years that for the next 3 years every time I stand up to say that United Future disagrees with the Government about something—and we will do on plenty of things—members on the other side of the House will bay at us and ask why we voted for the Government’s Imprest Supply Bill. 
I will get down to telling members why. The election was by any standards a major set-back for United Future. With our caucus cut from eight to three on just about any calculation we would have been irrelevant to the make-up of this Parliament. Therefore I had contented myself with the thought that I would spend the next 3 years experiencing for the first time what it is like to be on the Opposition benches engulfed and surrounded by the new eager beavers of the National Party. I thought it might be fun. 
I had fantasised for example that United Future might get lucky and end up in a Parliament with New Zealand First on the Government benches and United Future on the Opposition benches. That would have given me the opportunity to design a little sign similar to the one that Winston Peters had last time that read “poodle power”. Believe you me for those members who were not around during the last 3 years Winston Peters did have a little sign like that. Every time we stood up to speak Winston Peters would put up his little sign that read “poodle power”. 
It was quite a mutually beneficial arrangement because every time Winston Peters put up his little sign he would grin like a Cheshire cat and I would look at it and read in bold letters from Winston Peters the thought: “I am jealous.” Believe you me I have already heard some speeches like that delivered by members opposite who decry parties like United Future—and now also New Zealand First—and the members just sound so jealous. I am sorry but as the old saying goes when the rubber hits the road and all is said and done we have just had an election and the people have spoken. Members opposite should just get over it and accept the reality of the next 3 years. I think they will experience greater contentment that way than they would by going down the road of jealousy. 
One interesting little point Madam Assistant Speaker which will be of personal interest to you is that in the last 3 years not one single Speaker ever noticed Winston Peters’ little sign. He sat in a seat on what is now the National front bench and he always managed to have his sign tilted and directed at about where I was sitting. No Speaker ever actually saw his little sign so I thought I would just give you that tip Madam Assistant Speaker in case some member opposite is tempted to come up with a similar sign this term. It would be quite pleasant if someone did but maybe it is contrary to Standing Orders; I do not know. 
In any event United Future is back on the Government side of the House with just three MPs one of them the Minister of Revenue and with the Labour Government committed to advancing 15—yes 15—major United Future policy planks. That is not a bad outcome and it is one that will ensure that the next 3 years of this New Zealand Parliament will see some positive outcomes. We may be small but we sure are influential. It is not for nothing. We are doing this for the people of New Zealand. We are doing it for the families of New Zealand. We are doing it for the communities of New Zealand. We are doing it for the charities of New Zealand. 
Darren Hughes 
: For the businesses. 
GORDON COPELAND 
: We are doing it as Darren Hughes has just mentioned for the businesses of New Zealand. The National Party said that the businesses of New Zealand will have to wait until 2008. We will deliver long before then. There are only three of us but we will deliver where National members have failed to deliver. 
We will deliver for farmers in this country and believe it or not—and this will be a comfort to Jeannette Fitzsimons—we will deliver for the environment. We have two party colours: purple and green. The Green Party has two colours: bright red and green. Ours are purple and green. We will deliver in our supply and confidence agreement these things—and I ask members to listen. We will have a nationwide pest reduction strategy. We actually want to get rid of weasels stoats and possums so that the beautiful birdlife of this country can flourish. That is what we will do in the next 3 years. 
We will address issues to do with water quality which is a problem in many many rivers in whole areas of New Zealand such as the city of Dunedin which has no fresh water. We will fix that. We will fix the agrarian runoff. Nitrate leaches into the water which allows weeds to grow in the first place. For the benefit of those who are not scientific I say weeds feed on nitrate and if nitrate is stopped from going in the rivers the weed problem will be cleared up. We will do that. We will have—members should listen to this one—public access along rivers and lakes in this country so that people who want to catch a trout can get to their favourite fishing hole. That is what we will deliver to the people of this country as part of our confidence and supply agreement. I say that the Green Party and United Future should have a lot in common in those policies. The members of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society have signalled that once we have begun the pest reduction they will give us their support at the next election so I look forward to that with great interest and great enjoyment. 
I could go on. Through our agreement we are going to review the prostitution law. We are going to use private hospital capacity. Dr Jackie Blue spoke about that during her maiden speech and I thought what she said was very very impressive. We are actually going to start doing it. Our supply and confidence agreement states that appropriate private hospital capacity will be used to reduce waiting lists. We are going to deliver on that. It will happen during the next 3 years of this Parliament. I say to members opposite: “Eat your heart out guys. We’ll be doing that.” We will be bringing in tax breaks for charities—something that charities have waited 18 years to get. This Parliament—parties from both the left and the right—has failed charities for the last 18 years. We are still stuck with a miserable 630 bucks for donations rebate; that will become at least $6300 under United Future. 
United Future is going to deliver all that supported by the Labour Party. I think that is quite an amazing achievement for a team of just three MPs. In exchange we are only too happy to give our votes in support of the Imprest Supply Bill. 
Debate interrupted.