King Annette: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKing Annette: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 29 October 2014. Volume:701;Page:333. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]1.Hon ANNETTE KING (Acting Deputy Leader—Labour)to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):Yes.Hon Annette King: Does he stand by his statement “We’ll be coming back over the next weeks and months with concrete policy across a range of portfolios. If we don’t come up with any policy solutions then I’ll live and die by that criticism.” which was made in his state of the nation speech in January 2007 in light of the fact that Unicef has said today that the Government’s policies are “ … doing little to protect our most vulnerable citizens from poverty and failure …”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Yes and I would note a number of things about the Unicef report. Probably the most important of them is that the report shows the importance of economic growth because the countries that have actually been doing better in terms of improving child poverty are those that have a strong economy and those that have been doing particularly poorly and have had big increases in child poverty are countries that have had a big recession—Hon David Cunliffe: Tell us about Australia. Not so flash now.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well actually interestingly enough that is the point is it not with Australia—that it did not go into recession and it did manage to provide more support. I think that is exactly the reason why New Zealanders so roundly rejected Labour’s proposition because they knew it would be bad for the economy and bad for child poverty.Hon Annette King: In light of that answer then does he realise that Australia which did not go into recession as the Prime Minister said still prioritised children and low-income earners during the global financial crisis while New Zealand which did go into recession instead favoured the wealthy with tax cuts?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: What is clear is that the member has got amnesia. We were in recession before National even came—Hon Annette King: That’s not the point.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: —that is the point; you just said it—in to Government. Secondly I remember going through an election campaign with one of the Labour leaders—I do not know which; they have had quite a few of them—and that particular Labour leader criticised this side of the House for borrowing money to support the most vulnerable children in New Zealand. That is another reason why Labour got hammered.Hon Annette King: Why did the Government prioritise tax cuts at the height of the global financial crisis which has given the Prime Minister himself an extra $385 a week over helping those who were living in the greatest hardship?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Again the member has amnesia because she forgets that in 2009 despite actually the commitment on the campaign trail for tax cuts the Government actually did not implement that programme. It did so in 2010. [Interruption] It did so in 2010. It did so in a way that was distributionally neutral as Treasury—[Interruption] Well interestingly enough one of the very important parts of that programme was actually the changes made in relation to depreciation on rental properties. What that saw was the Crown’s revenue rising by the order of about $600 million to $700 million. The other thing that was remarkable about that was not only did we know that policy; we could explain it. That is quite different from the capital gains tax that Mr Cunliffe was proposing.Hon Annette King: Can the Prime Minister please provide today three concrete policies that will reduce child poverty and put food on the tables of families that are in severe hardship including working families in the next 3 years of his Government?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: More work and a stronger economy and that will certainly be supported by the employment law changes that are going through at the moment and changes to the Resource Management Act. I hope the members support those. Oh that is right—you do not need good planning legislation! No. 2: the work we are doing around social housing and making sure that families will have housing to live in. I am more than happy to take an extension of time: if the member wants me to name 10 I am more than happy to do it. No. 3 would be free doctors visits for under-13s—again the very reason why we are back in Government and Labour got hammered.Hon Annette King: What is more important to the Government today: announcing $26 million to change the flag or setting some real measures to reduce child poverty that actually put money in their pockets so they can buy the food they need?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: If the member is claiming as she seems to be that the setting of a target is what is going to change the position for young New Zealanders who are in poverty then that is what is so terribly wrong with the Labour Party. It continues to think that just setting a target setting up a new committee having some new little way of looking at things—Hon Annette King: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No no no you have had your chance. No no you have had your chance—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Is that a point of order? [Interruption] Order! It is a point of order and it will be heard in silence.Hon Annette King: My question was what was more important to the Government—whether it was the $26 million to change the flag or concrete measures. Then the Prime Minister talked about me talking about a target. I had not mentioned one in that question.Mr SPEAKER: Order! I invite the member to reflect on her question. It was what is more important—the flag or developing some real measures. I think that the Prime Minister in his answer was concentrating on that part of the question.