Sio Su'a William: Tariff Act 1988 Repeal Bill — First Reading 
Sio Su'a William: Tariff Act 1988 Repeal Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:662;Page:10800] 
SU’A WILLIAM SIO (Labour—Mangere) 
: 
 This morning I was released by my whips to attend a community event where several Pacific community leaders who have been involved in a life-changing programme called “OTC” or Off the Couch were celebrating. This is a programme run by Buck and Lucretia Stowers of Genetics Gym in Manukau. Off the Couch involves some of the heaviest South Auckland men supporting one another to change their lifestyle through exercise and information. 
I took a taxi from the South Auckland Taxi Association. While talking to the taxi driver I learnt that he was quite concerned about the Auckland super-city and the impact of that change on him and his family. He was quite free with his views. He revealed to me that he did not like the person whom he called “the architect of the super-city”. He did not say any names but simply referred to that person as the “architect of the super-city”. He believed that his proposal would be “a disaster for Auckland” and then he said: “He’s only firing the gun but the bullets are coming from Roger himself.” 
The “Roger” that this taxi driver referred to this morning is the same Hon Sir Roger Douglas whose bill the Tariff Act 1988 Repeal Bill we are debating. The taxi driver had a very vivid memory of losing his job during the Rogernomics period. He did not have a kind word to say at all about Sir Roger Douglas. I confess that I gave the taxi driver a bit of encouragement about that. Our community still has vivid memories of Sir Roger Douglas being responsible for Rogernomics in the 1980s. Tonight in this House in 2010 we are debating the first reading of a bill that is based on the same ideological thinking which delivers only for the few and not for the many in our country. Sir Roger’s bill aims to remove all taxes on imports. The last time that Sir Roger played around with the removal of tariffs he practically destroyed many of the industries of that time particularly in my neighbourhood in Mangere in Manukau South Auckland. 
The wholesale overnight removal of all tariffs as proposed by the Hon Sir Roger Douglas’ bill is in our view reckless and it would have a detrimental impact on many New Zealand industries and jobs especially on our manufacturing industry. I will quote Peter Conway Secretary of the Council of Trade Unions: “although the level of tariffs provide much less security in respect of local industry and employment than in the past they still make a difference to sectors such as carpets clothing textile and footwear as well as plastics and whiteware.” 
New Zealand’s unemployment rate has ballooned to over 7 percent under this Government and it continues to rise. Maori and Pacific unemployment numbers have hit double digits and the detrimental impact of being unemployed manifests itself in children going without and missing out on the basic necessities. Some families are falling behind in their power and rent payments. They are risking eviction and power cuts because they have lost their jobs and cannot find other ones quickly enough. Some families are struggling to meet their mortgage payments and risk losing their home because they have been laid off from work. Since the last election our unemployment rate has soared and it now stands at 30 percent higher than Australia’s rate which has gone down. If this bill is passed this Government will risk the livelihoods of many more families who will lose their jobs as a result of the reckless ideology of the past. 
Mr Douglas will argue that the tariff imposed on imported goods hurts consumers. He will argue that the tariff forces us to pay higher prices for goods. He will say the tariff should be removed so that consumers can have more money in their hand to spend elsewhere. If he is concerned about that and if this Government is so concerned about additional costs being placed on consumers they should back down on their proposed increases to GST because increases to GST mean there will be higher prices in our community. No one voted for increases to GST. No one voted for higher prices for the basics. 
We oppose Sir Roger Douglas’ bill. Labour supports free trade by endeavouring to build free-trade agreements bilaterally and multilaterally through the World Trade Organization system not through the reckless unilateral action that this bill proposes. New Zealand already has some of the lowest tariff rates in the world which benefits our consumers.