Quinn Paul: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Quinn Paul: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 18 August 2010. Volume:665;Page:13241. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
PAUL QUINN (National) 
: 
 Firstly I thank Dr Kennedy Graham the honourable member who has just taken his seat for his contribution. 
I will now return to the theme of the debate which has really been about the economy and the fantastic work this Government is doing to take this country forward after the mess that was left by the previous administration. Those members now have the audacity to sit on that side and hope that by throwing mud and calling out “They have no plan.” people will listen. Well I have news for them: people are sick of them. That is why they are sitting on that side of the House. 
In fact I have been reflecting on the debate as it has moved through the hour and I have tried to think of some words that might capture the different approach this Government shows compared with the approach of that side of the House. When I reflect on the 9 years those members were in Government I can best sum it up by saying that their approach was to dispense and consume whereas members on this side of the House focus on investing and producing. I think that those two phrases sum up the difference in approach between the two major parties. 
We have come in and whether or not the Opposition likes it we do have a plan. We have a plan to shift the focus of what happened over the last 9 years of a consumption binge with no productivity increases no capital investment—[ 
Interruption 
]—no capital investment—none. 
Hon Annette King 
: What? $350 million into hospitals— 
PAUL QUINN 
: Ms King should read the statistics—read the statistics. There had been no investment. The tradable sector had gone downhill. It was absolutely going downhill in all the economic growth statistics. But we came in and had to pick up this country by the bootlaces in a recession and turn it round. We are doing that under the great leadership of the Prime Minister and his team and we are focused on a plan that starts off by introducing a whole new tax regime— 
Chris Tremain 
: Which happens on 1 October. 
PAUL QUINN 
: —that happens on 1 October. When we think about it we know that we are going to give $4 billion—I say $4 billion—back to the people. They have earned it; it is their money. There will be $4 billion to allow them to spend invest and save in the way they desire. 
Hon Member 
: How much goes to the top 5 percent? 
PAUL QUINN 
: Of GST? It will be $2 billion. So there will be a net outflow to the people there will be a net outflow to wage and salary earners and there will be a net outflow to consumers. There will be a net outflow to the people of $2 billion to enable them to do with it what they want. 
We hear from the Opposition the fact that people on higher incomes get more of the tax cuts. Well of course they do; they earn more. But I have not heard one Opposition member offer to give his or her tax cut back to someone else. Oh no. Have we heard any of them? 
Hon Tau Henare 
: No. 
PAUL QUINN 
: No—no. But in terms of fiscal issues tax is just one. 
Let us focus on education. I would be ashamed if I sat there and had said to me that under the previous administration 56 percent of Maori school kids left school without the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) at level 2—56 percent. Look at those members—shamed! Then they criticise us for holding teachers accountable in order to lift standards but only 18 percent of Maori leave school with NCEA at level 3 and above—only 18 percent. I call that shameful. 
Hon Annette King 
: Simplistic rubbish. 
PAUL QUINN 
: I say that Ms King should be ashamed of herself.