Cosgrove Clayton: Debate on Budget Policy Statement 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Cosgrove Clayton: Debate on Budget Policy Statement 
[Sitting date: 13 March 2013. Volume:688;Page:8483. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour) 
: 
 That was the National Party leader who achieved the worst result of any National Party leader in our history that we know of— 
Dr David Clark 
: In the last 50 years. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: —no no in excess of 50 years—in 2002. I will tell you what is hilarious about the Budget Policy Statement. Bill English was so desperate to get some support for this document that he rang up his brother who works for Federated Farmers—the National Party in gumboots—and said: “Come on bro. I need somebody to put a submission in to support this.” And what did we have? We had one submission from the National Party in gumboots Federated Farmers in support. No one else even bothered to submit—no one else. I say to that member his brother did a good job. 
I say to that member I do not know what the strategy of the National Government is apart from asset sales and unleashing the dogs of war on the poor and unemployed at the same time that Joan Withers the chair of Mighty River Power and her board get 1200 bucks a day as Solid Energy’s directors get another 30 grand as does Meridian Energy and as do others. These guys are great of course at looking after their own but when it comes to the poor and unemployed they will try to scratch out $10 here and $10 there. But my word they will look after their own. So what we have got is flogging off the family silver taking a bit of tax off paper boys stealing a few of the shift workers’ car parks—that is a cracker is it not and even John Hayes knows it is a loser an absolute loser—and selling assets. That is the strategy. That is the strategy over there. They unleash the dogs of war on the unemployed. They say to the unemployed: “Get a job.” and unemployed folks should get a job but the problem is there are no jobs created by this Government. There are 163000 people unemployed and 90000 young people not in work not in training and not in education. That is the legacy. There are 1000 people a week going to Australia. Remember the political campaign ad? What was it Eden Park or somewhere? You know John Key ambitious for New Zealand was going to fix all that. There are 1000 people a week going across the ditch. He was going to close the wage gap between Australia and New Zealand. It has widened. 
Nothing has happened with this Government. It tinkers. Bill English actually admitted it himself. He said: “We want to maintain the support of mainstream New Zealand so basically what we are going to do is we are not going to do anything bold. We are not going to make any major reforms. We are just going to keep the ship of State paddling along. At some point some magical hand will come and prevent it from crashing into the rocks.” as we are doing now. We are second to Greece in our current account deficit and soon to be first. 
So that is the legacy of Bill English. That is the strategy. He should apologise as David Parker said for all the promises he made to all who are ambitious for New Zealand. He should apologise today because he has broken his promises. He has told porkies to the people of New Zealand. Is this guy hands-off? This guy is so relaxed that he is horizontal. He is hands-off in terms of Solid Energy. Not his problem. An award-winning export company for 9 years under the last Government and it is a basket case under him and Tony Ryall. He knew everything that was going on there with month-to-month reports. Now what happens? The poor old taxpayer is up the kazoo for $389 million—that is the legacy that Bill English has left the people of New Zealand. An award-winning exporting company is now a basket case while that man over there and Tony Ryall with his limp answers were asleep at the wheel as was Steven Joyce of course the Associate Minister with delegation for State-owned enterprises. But it is everybody else’s fault. So I say to Bill English: apologise apologise and apologise again to people.