Cunliffe David: General Debate 
Cunliffe David: General Debate 
[Volume:672;Page:18790] 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour—New Lynn) 
: 
 Tomorrow is Budget day. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: We do not need that kind of mindless interjection when members get to their feet. 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: Accurate as the description may have been— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: We do not need that kind of comment either. 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: Tomorrow is Budget day and the most interesting thing about the Government members’ speeches today has been that they are saying hardly anything about what the Government might want to do. There is a picture of a desperate Government where the backbench lacks confidence in its own ministry. Those members would rather talk about us than their own plan to get New Zealanders out of the mess they have created. 
Let us deal with some real porkies up front. The first is that National has been tax-neutral. Well here is the table from the previous Budget that shows on page 70 a $1 billion hole over the first 4 years because of the tax cuts. That is the net figure. The gross figure for Budget 2009 and Budget 2010 was—wait for it—$23 billion of tax cuts. Much of that went on the top marginal rate going down from 39c to 33c. Some people benefited hugely from that and some did not. That was a rosy-glow picture that $1 billion hole and it was based on GDP being 3 percent higher this year than last year. That was the red line. What happened? The black line is way below the red line and that shows that the rosy glow did not come off. The economy is stuck in a hole and the Government does not know what to do about it. What it has not done is make everybody pay a fair share. When Mr Nash got the answer to the parliamentary questions about dairy farmers I thought there must have been a mistake. Surely the average dairy farmer pays more than $1500 a year in tax when beneficiaries pay more than that. Well no a multimillion-dollar business is a great way of sheltering income is it not? It is a great way of sheltering income. Look at the farmer on the front page of the  
Dominion Post 
. [ 
Interruption 
] Mr Bennett is an accountant from Hamilton. He is complicit in some of these rorts. Wait and see: the Labour Government will clean up this mess and we will be fair to all New Zealanders. 
The National Government has created a multibillion-dollar deficit the worst in New Zealand’s entire history—the debt mountain is worse than it has ever been in our lifetime—and it has the gall to tell New Zealanders who are already struggling to draw their belts in while the belts of certain constituencies that traditionally vote National have been let out another few notches. And that is not right. That is why we will fight these folks right to the line and it is why we will be the Government in November 2011 when we will set about getting New Zealand back on the road to recovery. How does one do that? There are four simple tests. First get New Zealanders back to work and build a strong economy by innovating and by exporting with the help of modern monetary policy that does not put the exchange rate through the roof. Secondly save more—do not cut KiwiSaver but save more so we own our own future. Do not throw it all away and sell off assets. Any granny knows that if we sell the family silver there is nothing to serve tea in tomorrow. National wants to sell the family silver; they have given it away to their rich mates. That is wrong and that is why National is like a McDonald’s special—for a “limited time”. The “limited time” ends in November 2011 because we are throwing them out. We are throwing them out because Kiwis have had enough of being told one thing that is not true. 
The great untruth of this Budget is that National is not breaking any promises. John Key said before the last election: “We will not cut KiwiSaver.” What has National said this week? It has said it will cut KiwiSaver. National said: “We won’t touch Working for Families.” What will it do tomorrow? It will change the abatement rate on Working for Families. It will put a new one on. It will cut Working for Families. “We won’t touch student loans.” National said. Wait for tomorrow. It will. All of those are broken promises just like “We won’t raise GST.” What is the excuse this time? “Oh the changes won’t take effect until after the election—you can throw us out.” Well then why not put it in next year’s Budget after National has campaigned on it? Why put it in this year’s Budget and legislate for it before the election? Because it does not have the moral courage of its convictions. 
Craig Foss 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I realise it is towards the end of the member’s speech but one cannot question the courage of members in any way shape or form or allege anything like that of other members of this House. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Objection was taken. I ask the member to withdraw that last statement. 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: I withdraw and apologise. I would not impugn the integrity of— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is all the member needs to do.