King Annette: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply Debate 
King Annette: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply Debate 
[Volume:648;Page:16847] 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Transport) 
: 
 Labour has set out our agenda in terms of Budget 2008. New Zealanders know what we are planning to do and what we stand for. We continue to build a sustainable economy to invest in health and education to provide additional support to our old folk and to invest in our infrastructure in a way that has not ever been seen in this country. 
I am talking of transport infrastructure and I take issue with the comments made by Bill English. You see National members have had a conversion on the way to the ballot box. They are now great promoters of the panacea for infrastructure—public-private partnerships. But National was in Government for 9 years and I am told by Maurice Williamson that Ruth Richardson said he could not have any money for transport and that is why National could not invest in transport. So why did National not turn to the private sector and use public-private partnerships from 1990 to 1999? We are told that National is a great believer in public-private partnerships but it never put in place legislation to enable public-private partnerships to take place. Which Government did that? It was a Labour Government in 2002. The National Government never took the opportunity to put its mouth money and policies together. 
Now National members are great supporters of public-private partnerships. Bill English said that we would not even entertain public-private partnerships and we refuse to even look at them. Where has he been? Is he so busy running around drumming up support for a party that cannot even give New Zealanders a policy to know that Labour has set up a public-private partnership steering group for the big Waterview Connection project? Who is on that steering group? There are people from Business New Zealand the Auckland chamber of commerce and the private sector working with the Government sector to look at the feasibility of a public-private partnership on our biggest roading project in New Zealand. Did that come from the National Government? Could National have done that when it was in Government? Of course it could but it did not. We cannot trust National because what it says now does not back up its record in Government. 
I believe it is now time to turn the spotlight on a would-be Government National. Today I want to raise some policy questions—questions the National Party has refused to answer but New Zealanders deserve a response to them. It is time for the National Party to stop treating the public of New Zealand as if they are dumb or as if they are sheep that are able to be led to the slaughter at the ballot box. That is what National is doing to New Zealanders now. It will not give them policy answers until 3 or 4 weeks before the election because it says other people might steal its policies. There is nothing to steal from the National Party because it does not have anything to steal. It is sleepwalking to victory. The arrogance of that party is palpable every day of the week. 
I want to ask some questions of the National Party about policy. What will that party do about climate change? What is its policy on climate change? Who was the person who said climate change was a hoax then said he had always believed in climate change and only a few weeks ago he took the steps back saying we should not be leading the pack; we should wait to see what happens? What is National’s policy on climate change? It is time its members told the people. I believe there will not be an emissions trading scheme in place if the National Party gets into Government. Three years will go by and there will not be an emissions trading scheme in place. We know what that will do for New Zealand’s economy at the end of the day. When the countries that receive our exports look at New Zealand and say that it is not taking climate change seriously they will say “Let’s take some action against that country because they are big polluters.” That is what we will face. I predict now that if National gets into Government there will not be an emissions trading scheme because it does not have the conviction to carry through its “great” commitment to climate change. 
The next question is what National will do with asset sales. Its members tell us that there will be no asset sales in the first 3 years. What a funny thing to say: we will not have them in 3 years but give us a chance and we will get ready for them. I have listened to the speeches made by National members on the buy-back of rail. They absolutely opposed the buy-back of rail. They opposed the buy-back of Air New Zealand. They said it was a dismal failure it would not work and it would be bad for New Zealand. Air New Zealand is performing incredibly well and has been bought back by this Government. That buy-back was opposed by the National Party in Opposition. Its members opposed the buy-back of rail but National will sell rail. There is no doubt about it. I believe that National’s asset sale agenda is submerged it is hidden it is secret but it has not changed from what its members have always believed. 
Let us look at KiwiSaver. Will the National Party keep KiwiSaver employer contributions at the same rate and in the same time frame as they are now? You see the truth came out. Kate Wilkinson let the truth out. I think she is an honourable member. She believed she was talking about the National Party’s policy because it is National’s policy. When she mentioned it in a speech and it became public once again the women in the National Party had to be suppressed. They were not allowed to speak the truth. We have seen that before. Kate Wilkinson told New Zealanders the National Party’s policy on KiwiSaver. National will get rid of it—listen to that New Zealanders. Around 700000 New Zealanders have now joined and the National Party will not support it. Kate Wilkinson let the cat out of the bag. What about energy? What is the National Party policy on energy? Will it privatise again by stealth the remaining energy companies and infrastructure in New Zealand? National sold Contact Energy. It is proving to be a disaster for this country. Will National do it again? It did it before. The answer is yes. 
What about education? Why is it that the National Party wants to create a two-class system whereby children will be unable to go to their local school because National wants to remove zoning? I know that in my own electorate there are many many children who if zoning is taken away will not be able to attend their local school. But does National care about the kids who live in the neighbourhood? No it does not. National’s philosophy is that kids should be able to go to school where they like and to hell with the consequences for those who live within those communities. What about health? Where is National’s policy on health? It has one policy on health and that is to take away cheaper doctors’ visits and cheaper prescriptions. National is going to take away the $3 prescription charge. When Tony Ryall was caught out putting out the policy National rushed in and changed it because otherwise it might lose a few votes. I say to New Zealanders that National’s policy is what its members said it is. Do not be fooled by the cover-up that is going on. 
Then we come finally to tax cuts. National will show us the size of its tax cuts just before the election. Why? It does not want any genuine scrutiny on them. It does not want people to really know the impact of what it wants to do. How will it pay for the tax cuts? Here is the doozy of them all. National is going to pay for its tax cuts which will be bigger and better than anybody has ever seen by getting rid of public servants. I tell this House that work has been done on what the size of National’s tax cuts would be if we got rid of a few public servants. I can tell New Zealanders that if we got rid of 1000 public servants we can look forward to tax cuts of 58c a week. That is what we would get by getting rid of 1000 public servants. So let us get rid of 10000 public servants and have $5.80 a week. That is what we would get by getting rid of public servants. But then what if we do not get the services we want because we have got rid of good public servants who are there to provide the services? 
It is time the National Party fronted up on a policy position. We are in a debate around a Budget. National did not disclose a single piece of policy when its shadow finance spokesperson spoke today—not one. He said “We’ve got a great economic policy.” but there was not one piece of information about that policy. The time is now— 
Nathan Guy 
: You wait. 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: It is not a matter of waiting. Those members should stop treating New Zealanders as fools stop treating them as dumb and front up to what their policy is so there can be a real policy debate in this country.