Adams Paul: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Adams Paul: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:623;Page:18352] 
PAUL ADAMS (United Future) 
: 
 There appears to be very little doubt that the election campaign is in full swing having been opened by the Prime Minister and continued strongly in this debate. I want to pick up on two very important issues that were raised. One is the issue of encouraging saving and the other is that of lifting the rate of home ownership. Let me say that the continuing emphasis on wealth redistribution by this Labour Government scares the daylights out of me as it simply does not has not and will not work. Many Government MPs along with the Greens continue to falsely believe that if they throw enough money at something all the problems go away. In other words they believe people face certain problems only because of a lack of money and that is simply nonsense. What we need to understand is that money is harder to handle than poverty. When people have money they find that they have to make most of the decisions on what to do with it themselves and that they receive very little help from others on how to increase it. In contrast if people become sufficiently broke other people end up making the decisions for them. That seems to me to be the road that this Government wants to pursue as people then become dependent instead of independent. 
I am in the process of developing ideas which I will put to our caucus that will encourage people to save with the emphasis on first section or first home ownership.I agree that we need to teach and encourage people to save. We need to focus more on giving people a hand up and reducing the handout mentality. If this Government is serious about saving and homeownership it needs to recognise that that is in fact wealth creation. On the basis of my understanding I think that would be a major policy shift for the Government. I believe that United Future has the power to influence the Government and I am pleased that we are seeing some of that influence rub off on it. 
My plan would be very simple to achieve. It would need to be neutral in terms of age matrimonial status and gender. Saving could be linked to tax rebates attributed to dollars saved each year and those tax rebates would be obtained only on the purchase of a home or section. My plan would encourage people to save for a section or a home from the day they started work and it would be available until the day they made the final payment on their first home if they chose to keep the home for as long as that. We need to show people that saving little by little will in the end bring success. I heard the Prime Minister say that that was what the Government wanted to achieve yet I see most of the things it has been doing as heading in totally the opposite direction of that. The Government loves to take from the haves and give to the have-nots. It does not reward success; it pays for failure. New Zealanders do not believe that the nanny State does know best. 
If there is now to be a change in direction United Future will greatly encourage that. Let us change. Let us encourage saving. Let us encourage homeownership and reward success for a change. But that will require a fresh way of thinking. It will require providing a hand up and a disincentive to handouts. Money is certainly harder to handle than poverty so let us encourage wealth creation. Let us teach and encourage people to build assets and handle money instead of becoming experts in obtaining handouts for which the majority of hard-working middle New Zealanders are becoming very tired of being overtaxed. 
A vote for United Future is a vote for the strengthening of families for stable Government and for creative and constructive policy development that focuses on building families by giving them a hand up. I ask the Government to give United Future credit for many of the policies that have made a fantastic difference to the families of New Zealand—policies for which we have not been given enough credit. At a political forum I attended last weekend I was amazed when Moana Mackey seemed horrified that a teacher could teach a child a viewpoint that was contrary to that of a parent. She said that if that was really happening she wanted to know about it. I could not believe what I was hearing as I know that that happens every single day in the classrooms of New Zealand. Then I realised she was horrified about that because teachers must teach the philosophy of the nanny State and woe betide them if they do not. As a parent I have totally disagreed with many policies of the nanny State. 
I am proud to be a United Future MP a member of a centrist party that is progressive that has great leadership and great ideas that is focused on the families of New Zealand and that wants to build this nation into the greatest nation in which to bring up a family and raise children. People should look out because United Future is on the campaign trail and is looking forward to the election.