Hipkins Chris: General Debate 
Hipkins Chris: General Debate 
[Volume:671;Page:17549] 
CHRIS HIPKINS (Labour—Rimutaka) 
: 
 “This is the rainy day that we have been saving for.” Those were the words of Bill English when he first became the Minister of Finance. He said that this was the rainy day that we were saving for. Well if it was raining when National became the Government it must be pouring down now. National is talking about breaking all of the election promises that they made to New Zealanders at the last election. They were not going to cut KiwiSaver; now KiwiSaver is on the chopping-block. They were not going to touch Working for Families but that is on the chopping-block. They were not going to sell assets but they are on the chopping-block. 
The slow-burning fire sale has started under the National Government. This is because of Bill English’s mismanagement of the economy and because Bill English and John Key do not have a plan. They do not have a plan; they have no idea what is going on for ordinary hard-working New Zealand families. Under National New Zealand has been going backwards. What did John Key say on Monday? John Key said that he lived in the real world. In John Key’s real world he got an extra $1000 a week in tax cuts. Some people struggle to earn that much money in a week but John Key receives that much money each week just in his tax cuts. That is the real world that John Key claims that he lives in. 
John Key and Bill English and the rest of the National Government are totally out of touch with ordinary hard-working New Zealanders who are struggling to make ends meet. The cost of living is going up and every day when they fill up their cars or go to the supermarket they are facing increased prices. What is John Key’s and Bill English’s prescription for that? They will increase prices further. They will privatise accident compensation so that New Zealanders will pay more for their accident compensation cover and get less. They will sell State assets. They will sell the energy companies so that New Zealanders will pay more for their electricity. Of course New Zealanders will pay more for their electricity if the energy companies are sold because any private investors in electricity companies will want to maximise their profits. 
The Government’s plan for getting New Zealand out of the raining and pouring that Bill English is talking about is to load more and more of the cost of living on to ordinary New Zealand working families because they do not have a plan and they do not know how to get New Zealand back on track. They do not know how to create jobs or lift wages. Their plan is to divide up and hock off whatever is left that the Government may hold. 
I want to talk about the cuts in accident compensation that the Government is talking about—in fact not just the cuts it is talking about but also the cuts it has already made. This morning Phil Goff and I accepted a petition on the forecourt of Parliament from the National Foundation for the Deaf. Under this National Government because of the cuts that have been made New Zealanders who have faced hearing loss in the workplace are no longer covered by accident compensation. Those New Zealanders cannot hear a conversation. If they were sitting up in the gallery here they would not be able to hear what I am saying yet the National Government has cut the support that was previously available to them through accident compensation. That is an absolute disgrace. 
If we say that we judge our society by how we treat the most vulnerable this Government’s track record is an absolute indictment upon its Ministers because they are not doing well by that measure. They are cutting funding for children. They are cutting funding for the youngest children in early childhood education whose parents are struggling to make ends meet and now they are having to pay extra for the early childhood education that their children receive. They are cutting funding for people who need home help. Elderly New Zealanders who need home help are having that help cut. 
Paul Quinn 
: What about the 9000 kohanga reo and 16000 Playcentres? 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: I am not going to listen to anything that Paul Quinn says because he has absolutely no idea what he is talking about. He seems to think that if he just says it with a bit more volume it might make some sense. 
The youngest children are facing funding cuts. Elderly New Zealanders are facing funding cuts. Hard-working Kiwi families on the basic wage are facing cost of living increases on a day by day basis yet this Government has no plan for them because Government members are not in it for them. Government members are in it for themselves and their mates. They do not really care about the New Zealanders on Struggle Street because in John Key’s real world where one gets a tax cut of $1000 a week everything is going along nicely. In John Key’s world where he gets a brand new BMW to cruise around in every 3 years things are going along nicely. But things are not going along nicely for the New Zealanders who are working hard to make ends meet. They are struggling and this Government has no plan to help them out.