Brownlee Gerry: Appropriation (2007/08 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
Brownlee Gerry: Appropriation (2007/08 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
[Volume:641;Page:11073] 
GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam) 
: 
 Kia ora. This afternoon when we came into the House it was decorated with those red boxes with the Labour Party’s name over them. Mr Hodgson points to his one now as if I had not noticed it. It was almost as if Labour members had a desperate need to create a feeling of festivity about themselves so they festooned the party with these baubles these decorations these brightly coloured boxes. Most of them are empty I note; they have clear ends and I can see that most of them are empty. 
We know that behind all of this lies the desperate need for Labour to feel as though it is a team again to get over the fact that it is in such terrible disarray from one end of the party to the other and to somehow disguise the fact that at least 11 of its members are likely to exit this Chamber within the next 15 months. Further we know that the prospects of any new members coming to replace them after the 2008 election is starting to look extremely slim. 
It is extraordinary that we can also turn to Speakers’ rulings that make it very clear that one cannot have in the House any sort of decoration like this that obscures the Speaker’s view of a member. We have looked across the House today and it would seem that most of the Labour members must be sitting on cushions in order to prop themselves up a little bit and to give themselves a further boost to the ego. It is either that or else they have been instructed by Helen Clark and Michael Cullen to get down in there and really feel like they are in the trenches. 
Today in this appropriations debate we have not heard any proud claims about what Labour has done for the nation or any proud claims about what its policies delivered in the last Budget are doing for the nation but rather a series of very very personal attacks on the leader of the National Party John Key. It is delightful for us that we can bask in the knowledge that if Labour members are attacking John Key then they know just how deeply attracted the New Zealand electorate is to him. So we are delighted by these attacks. 
We are a little saddened that we cannot get I suppose one would say a bit of information from Labour about what its aspirations are for the balance of its term. We know that some of those members cannot have too many aspirations because we noticed also that red boxes were not given to all members of the Labour caucus. I am afraid to say Mr Assistant Speaker that we looked at a certain gentleman sitting on a sheepskin in the third row one seat in and noticed that there was no red box on his desk. If that is some sort of a foretelling of that particular gentleman’s future then in his case we are saddened. 
As for the rest it is a little bit perplexing that there was no red box on Shane Jones’ desk. I cannot believe that that is because the Labour Government wants to get rid of Shane Jones—I cannot believe that. I cannot believe that he was not offered a red box. What I can believe is that Shane Jones said: “Do not be so stupid. Do not be so silly guys. We do not need this. Why can we not be proud of what we are and why can we not just get in there and do the business?”. 
Well we saw a perfect demonstration from Michael Cullen today as to why Labour members cannot do the business. He gave a 10-minute speech that never said anything about his view of where the economy is going in the next short while—nothing whatsoever. We had 8 minutes of Michael Cullen doing the sort of rant that he did last Wednesday which I have had so many letters about over the last week it is incredible. I suppose that on the one hand people might say that if people are writing about someone it is good for that person but in this case nothing those people had to say was particularly good. It is sad because we know that Dr Cullen is a retiring member. He has been a great parliamentarian and it is sad to see that at the twilight of his career and as it is coming to an end he is being forced to try to prop up the morale of the Labour Government by going on those sorts of seriously vindictive nasty attacks that really only leave people with a bad taste about the person making the attack Dr Cullen himself. 
So why did the Labour members not talk about their policies today? Why did they not talk about Working for Families? Why did they not talk about 20 free hours? Why did they not talk about KiwiSaver? And why did they not talk about the business tax cuts and everything else in a way that expressed their pride in doing those things? 
I will explain to the House why that did not happen. It is because Working for Families 20 free hours and KiwiSaver are all about taking choice away from New Zealanders. If there is anything that is characterising the current Government it is the lack of choice that New Zealanders have under its leadership. We have Michael Cullen Mr Hodgson and various other speakers saying that Working for Families is the greatest thing this country has ever had that more families are getting more money etc. etc. But these statements belie the fact that Working for Families has created a situation where the Government determines the amount of income that anyone has. 
It is the Government that puts caps and limits on people’s ability to earn. It is the Government that through the structure of Working for Families says to too many workers: “Do not do anything extra. Just accept what we are prepared to give you.” That is an unacceptable situation for many many New Zealanders. We do not begrudge anyone that income but we do think that there are much better ways to deliver it. There are much better ways to ensure the work that New Zealanders do is more productive. We need to see a rise in our productivity because that is really the only way out of the current hole we are in. 
The same applies for the 20 free hours arrangements. We know that some childcare centres are signing up for it. We know that many New Zealanders are availing themselves of it. Of course they should; we do not begrudge them that. But New Zealanders are being asked to sign up for the particular type of 20 free hours arrangement that suits the Government without having any choice on their part. For example if it were a tax relief for working mothers or if it was perhaps even a straight payment or subsidy for the choices that people make the important thing is that the choices would be there. Choices are not there under the 20 free hours policy as the Government currently structures it. 
Then we come to KiwiSaver. No one would mount an argument to say that saving is a bad thing but these days so many Kiwis face pressures in their lives that were not there some years ago in the general cost of living as it relates to the wages they earn. The Government says that if people want to avail themselves of KiwiSaver then they need to sacrifice a certain percentage of their income and that if they do that then there will be some Government contribution. It will all be locked up for 65 years without any great choice about when that money might become available to people. What is worst of all is the Government says to all those workers who cannot afford to get into KiwiSaver that they will continue paying through their taxes as well. 
If Dr Cullen wonders—in his Walter Mitty view of the world which is so perfect—why New Zealanders are not switching on to what he has to say then he need only ask himself why so many people are leaving the country. Why do we have an exodus of 760 New Zealanders each week? Why have we had a slide in our OECD rankings in the last 8 years? Dr Cullen talks about things like the health system. Why is it that in any part of New Zealand we can visit an emergency room that is under stress? If everything is so good in health then why is that the case? Why if everything is so good in education do we have one in five young New Zealanders leaving school technically illiterate? These are the things that people measure Governments by. 
Why are we becoming an increasingly violent society? Why do we so often have very very bad circumstances presented to us on the news where New Zealanders have gone off the rails somewhere in a sense of madness? We saw this sort of situation with the young child who was murdered last week and we know that that happens once every 5 weeks in this country. 
Those are the reasons why New Zealanders are not listening. They are the reasons why the phone is off the hook. They are the reasons why people are saying they want to try something different. They are the reasons why the optimism and the forward thought of John Key are attracting so much attention. 
I make the prediction that all the red boxes in the world will not make one iota of difference to the vote that is cast at the end of 2008. It could just well be that some of those wise people who did not display a red box in the Chamber today will end up winning anyway. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member is aware that he has 5 minutes and the bell will give a 1-minute warning.