Mark Ron: Estimates Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMark Ron: Estimates Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 28 July 2015. Volume:707;Page:5386. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]RON MARK (Deputy Leader—NZ First): I rise on behalf of New Zealand First to make a brief call in defence of Defence Force personnel during the debate on the external sector in the Committee stage of the Appropriation (2015/16 Estimates) Bill. I have to say I subbed briefly on to the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee to take the opportunity to hear the Minister of Defence who made a presentation along with the Chief of Defence Force Tim Keating so that I could get a bit of clarification around why I could not find in the appropriations a clear indication or any detail of a pay increase for Defence Force personnel. I think it is only appropriate at this time to remind the Committee that it was not so long ago when we had a certain gentleman standing on that side of the Chamber yelling at the House—in fact I actually believe it was outside the Standing Orders myself but the Speaker never responded—The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows): Do not relitigate that please. Carry on.RON MARK: He did not respond Mr Chair. The question was put to this side of the House that we should gain some intestinal fortitude; in fact that we should “get some guts”. The question put across the House was about how the Opposition needed to get some guts and support the deployment of these troops. Often in my time in the Defence Force—15 years in the New Zealand Army and 5 years operating internationally—I heard many many speakers from this House talking about how they valued Defence Force people. In fact if I summed up the number of minutes of speeches at Anzac Day services by Government MPs and Ministers from both sides of the House—Labour or National; both the same to me—talking about how they valued Defence Force contributions I mean if I had a dollar for every second I would not be here today; I would be retired.What we now know from the appropriations is that despite the calls to get some guts and despite the accolades poured upon the Defence Force it did not seem to be enough to move this Government to give personnel a pay rise. There is nothing in this Budget for a pay rise for Defence Force personnel. In fact when I look a little bit deeper what do we in New Zealand First find? We find that this Government actually has the legislative tools and the mechanisms to do one thing for our Defence Force personnel—those deployed to Iraq who have got the guts to go—and that is to give them a tax-free wage. Australia has done it the United States has done it but not the New Zealand Government. When I asked the Minister of Defence that very question in the select committee his answer was no they didn’t consider that. New Zealand First’s question is why not. If these Defence Force personnel are so vital to the foreign policy of this nation and so vital to foreign policy in the view of this Government then why can this Government not see fit to pay them a tax-free wage as the legislation Minister Bennett allows your Cabinet to do. She is mouthing at me across the Chamber—take a call answer my question. As opposed to just chipping at me and mouthing across the Chamber Minister Bennett tell the people of New Zealand and the people at Linton Military Camp and Burnham Military Camp why this Government chose not to.If I look at the Cabinet committee that is meant to advocate on behalf of these Defence Force people—the people whom the Government values so much the people that it wants to pour so many accolades on but is too cheapskate to actually pay them what they are worth—who do I find on this committee? Oh the ministerial committee that makes this determination includes the Prime Minister John Key—well he clearly did not think that they deserved a pay rise. He clearly did not think that they deserved a tax-free wage for being in Iraq. There is the Minister of Defence—well who is going to expect a hell of a lot of support from that gentleman—and there is the Minister of Finance. I am surprised about Bill English. I had almost picked that Bill English was on his own. Section CW23(3) of the Income Tax Act states that the ministerial committee which also includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs “may for the purposes of subsection (2)(b) decide that an amount of income derived by a member for being in an operational area is exempt income.” But this Government no matter what it says out there on the hustings no matter what it says in the media and no matter what it says in the House cannot find it within itself to pay our troops in Iraq today a tax-free salary.What would that do? Well let me tell you as someone who has deployed unlike the person who is yelling out across the House—he would not know what deployment meant—Alastair Scott: Can you spell it?RON MARK: What I can tell you is about when the husbands the wives those service personnel are offshore—listen up Alastair Scott. When they are offshore it is left down to the spouse remaining to look after the kids to pay the power bill to pay the rent—now that they are subject to market rents because the houses have been taken away from them by this Government—pay all off those bills and deal with the coughs the colds the trauma that normally comes up in raising a family. It is hard to do as a couple. It is even harder to do when one is on one’s own. It is even harder to do if one’s spouse is deployed in Iraq and cannot get back. When all those things come to a head it is left down to the spouse back here at home and it is left down to this Government to have some heart and recognise that.