Dyson Ruth: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDyson Ruth: General Debate[Sitting date: 16 March 2016. Volume:712;Page:9812. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon RUTH DYSON (Labour—Port Hills): I have got a question to pose to the member who has just resumed his seat Alistair Scott and his colleagues: is it acceptable to them that overseas-owned banks take about $90 million a week profit from New Zealand and take it overseas at the same time that it is estimated that 25 percent of our dairy farmers could go under? Is that an acceptable situation? Is it acceptable that the livelihoods of about 100000 small businesses that are dependent on the flow-on income that they receive from dairy farmers and other farmers are at risk? Is that all right? Again no answer from the National Party. Because that is what New Zealanders are currently being told is happening in our economy. When the official cash rate is lowered and the banks do not pass it on questions should be asked about the flow-on effect of that on those 100000 small businesses and the estimated 25 percent of dairy farmers whose livelihoods are at risk.That is what Andrew Little and Labour were asking for—for the National Party for John Key and the Government to stand up for New Zealanders. To stand up for New Zealanders and say: “These are good hard-working people. Their livelihoods are at risk because of circumstances outside their control.” But the Government said nothing—they should do nothing and say nothing. It is not good enough for the Government of our country. We are a nation that is dependent on small businesses. We have become increasingly and foolishly in my view dependent on dairy farming—that was too big a risk and now that is coming back to bite us.The Government’s response is that we should support the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)—which clearly is doing nothing for dairy farming anyway—and that we should support changes to the Resource Management Act so that further damage can be done to our environment.Where are the brains of Government members? That is a question I have often asked when I have listened to them during question time and even more so during their speeches. They have completely lost touch with New Zealanders and lost any aspiration for New Zealanders for the future. I actually do not think that New Zealanders have aspirations that we should discard. I think our aspirations have always been pretty consistent: to have a home to have a job to have a fair society to have safety to have something to look forward to. Remember Norman Kirk’s words? Those words are as true now as they ever were. Those aspirations form the value of New Zealand society and it is those aspirations that are being taken away from good hard-working New Zealanders while the National Government stands by and says: “Do nothing.”I want a society where we do care about each other where we do think that it is a credible aspiration—and one that the Government should support—to have a home to have a job with a fair income to have a safe community and to have something to look forward to. Those are the aspirations that I was brought up on and I think I had a good family who raised my siblings and me. We always knew that we would have a secure home that we would have an income through my father’s job and that we would have something to look forward to in the future. Work hard get ahead—those are the aspirations that a Labour-led Government will support New Zealanders to have again. Those are the values that have formed the basis of our society. Those are the values and aspirations that have been thrown away by an arrogant and out-of-touch Government led by John Key.The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.