King Annette: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
King Annette: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:637;Page:7271] 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of State Services) 
: 
 I begin by welcoming everybody back and wishing them a happy new year. I am looking forward to a positive and productive year. I start by commenting on Gerry Brownlee’s speech. He is a man who smiles on the outside but is a seething mass of hurt and disappointment. He has a strong sense of betrayal. That is how he really feels. He may be smiling now but that is not what is inside him. He has every right to feel like that. In fact I would have made Gerry Brownlee the National politician of the year 2006. That man carried the National Party through a pretty rough year and through a very poor performance in Opposition. In fact he stood out as the Opposition. He was the Opposition. Day in and day out from his seat as deputy leader of the Opposition he stood up and did the bizzo while the rest of the National members I am sorry to tell Mr Brownlee were busy plotting the leadership. While Mr Brownlee was doing the business they were busy doing the bizzo on the new leader. 
I agree with Winston Peters who said there is no sin worse than ingratitude in politics. There was no gratitude for the role Gerry Brownlee played. Where is he now? He is on the way out—demoted. I tell Gerry Brownlee not to give up. He will rise again; he will be back. 
I hope that this year in Parliament we will put aside the personal attacks and the sleaze and concentrate on the issues. This country wants us to concentrate on the issues. It wants a good Government and a constructive Opposition. I say to the members of this House that we owe the people of New Zealand a good Government and a constructive Opposition. 
I looked at recent polling and it shows that New Zealanders believe that this Government is doing a good job. New Zealanders continue to support the leadership of this country. They support in large numbers the leadership of this country. Even more important they continue to support the direction this country is going in. A good Government does not just rest on achievements but looks continuously to see how it can improve the lot of New Zealanders. That is exactly what this good Government is doing. The Government has done a lot in a short time. In fact Gerry Brownlee made a mistake in his speech. He said the Prime Minister gave no examples of what this Government has done. Well he was wrong. Let me just run over some of the examples the Prime Minister gave. In education she pointed out the 20 hours per week of free early childhood education that will start from 1 July. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: It’s not happening! 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I would like to put a little wager on that with Mr Brownlee. We will see what happens in terms of the figures. 
In housing the income-related rents policy has been very important to this Government and to low-income New Zealanders. It has helped thousands of New Zealanders. We will continue to implement that policy. As my colleague Phil Goff asked will John Key reverse that policy? That is what we want to know. Where is the answer? When John Key was asked about that on television the other day he said: “We are not talking about housing today.” That reminded me of Mr Brash. Mr Brash often said: “We are not talking about this today.” because he did not know the answer. That was the problem for John Key. 
Let us look at health. Affordable primary health care will finally be rolled out to every New Zealander when the 25 to 44-year-olds are included this year. I tell the members of this House and the listening public that once upon a time we did have subsidised primary health care for all New Zealanders. It was removed in 1991 by Ruth Richardson; it was taken away from New Zealanders. They were given the poor card so if they needed affordable primary health care they had to provide a card. This Government has brought back affordable health care and I believe that it has helped many many New Zealanders. I have had letters from people who said thank you for the $3 prescriptions; they have made a difference particularly for older New Zealanders. The Working for Families package has resulted in a huge increase in income for those families who have children and are working. I am very proud of that. It was interesting to see on television at the end of last year the family from Waihi who were highlighted a few years ago when they said they were struggling and did not have enough income. They are now saying what a difference Working for Families has made for them. 
Let us look at infrastructure. The sum of $24 billion is being invested into transport over the next 10 years. We have put money into infrastructure. We had to play catch-up after a National Government now in Opposition failed to invest in our infrastructure. Let us consider safety in the community. With the help of New Zealand First there are 1250 new police staff. We are seeing as was stated in the New Zealand police magazine a thickening of the blue line because we have more police going on to the streets. We have one of the lowest levels of attrition—at 4.2 percent—that we have seen in many years. So that is what we are seeing from this Government. 
Let us look at the Opposition. I thought that with a change of leadership there would be a change in style and more important substance. Well to date we have seen National members go from being “hollow men” to “shallow men”. I agree with Colin James who said we need to see the wood not the veneer. Today we saw the veneer. John Key stood there for the cameras waved his hands looked at his back bench and waited for the applause and adulation he hoped he would get. 
I have to say that there has been a change in style. It has changed from the black business suits that Don Brash wore to every event whether he was walking a plank on to a ship or at a rugby match. John Key turned up to Waitangi in a T-shirt with a tiki on it. He thought that that is what Maori people wear when they go to Waitangi. Then of course he turned up at the Big Gay Out. What did he wear at the Big Gay Out on Sunday? He turned up in a pink shirt. You see he thinks all gay people wear pink shirts. I have to tell him that not all gay people wear pink shirts; in fact some heterosexual people wear pink shirts. I do wonder however what he will wear when he turns up to a Plunket meeting. I suppose he will wear nappies and have a dummy in his mouth. 
An effective political party needs good leadership as my colleague said. I know that National members have their fingers crossed about this leader. After all in the past 7 years they have gone through four leaders: Mrs Shipley Mr English Mr Brash and now John Key. National members have all their eggs in this basket. Or have they? Do they have all their eggs in this basket? Mr English reminds me of that smiling crocodile just watching and waiting ready to devour his prey. Let me tell Mr Key that he will be devoured at some stage mark my words. Mr English knows that he would be a better leader than John Key is. 
 What we have in the National Party now is dual leadership. We have two leaders—the leader who is the front man and the real leader who is Mr English. Mr English is pulling the strings. We know that that is the case. We know that Bill English drove a hard bargain to get rid of Gerry Brownlee. He is now the de facto leader behind the scenes. It will not be long before he pulls those strings in such a way that Mr Key will fall over. 
I also have to say that Mr English will never forgive John Key for that one vote that tossed him out of the leadership. I would never forget it and I am sure Gerry Brownlee has not forgotten what it did to him—and I have to say that neither has Bill English. Mr Key was called “the smiling assassin” in his last job and I say to New Zealanders that they should watch out—he is smiling now.