Soper Lesley: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Soper Lesley: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:645;Page:14211] 
LESLEY SOPER (Labour) 
: 
 I will take a moment to acknowledge the Hon Brian Donnelly who has just given his valedictory speech tonight and wish him well in his future career. Mr Donnelly and I do not share just a birth date—5 November which means we have both probably heard every fireworks joke going—but we share a dedication to education issues children’s rights regional development industry training and an affection for the Pacific. Mr Donnelly has been a firm and principled contributor in this House and a very good select committee chair. I know that my good friend the late Helen Duncan MP who very much enjoyed the Education and Science Committee with Mr Donnelly in the chair would also have wished to wish him well in pursuing something else that is dear to his heart. 
It is a privilege to speak today in this debate. I would like to contrast the Prime Minister’s substantial positive and visionary statement of yesterday with the negativity hate speech dearth of ideas and absolute drivel of the responses from the Tories that we have heard. I suppose I could ask what more we could expect from a party that seems quite comfortable with a billboard in my electorate of Invercargill featuring Mr Mugabe. 
I particularly draw the contrast between the Prime Minister’s programme of change which was about the delivery of new and substantial policies for developing New Zealand’s potential and stepping up to the challenges because it is the right thing to do and what I will quote from Mr Colin Espiner about the National leader. Colin Espiner said: “Key failed to rise to the occasion yesterday … he failed to deliver. There was no substance and little in the way of new ideas or a vision for the country.” The Prime Minister “gave the public more to chew over than anything Key had to say.” Is that not exactly right? Does it not fit exactly with the previous history of the National Party and its leader jumping from insubstantial cloud to insubstantial cloud? 
Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. 
LESLEY SOPER 
: Before the dinner break I left Mr John Key jumping from insubstantial cloud to insubstantial cloud with no new ideas or even a hint of policy—unless of course it is announcing that the Tories will adopt yet another of Labour’s good ideas or a regurgitation of all the old failed National policies. Have members heard that National will sell State assets and State houses again and bring back market rents remove the cap from doctors’ fees and student fees bring back schools’ bulk funding go back to its Draconian Employment Contracts Act and privatise anything that moves? Members should read the lips of those on the other side of the House because it is what they plan to do. 
On the other hand Labour moves forward with the next steps from the Prime Minister’s statement. They are positive next steps that are based on having led the New Zealand economy through the longest run of economic growth since World War II based on record low unemployment for years. Unemployment is currently 3.4 percent nationwide and only 1.6 percent in the Southland region and in my city of Invercargill. I repeat unemployment there is only 1.6 percent. One just about breaches privacy now by knowing the names of everyone on the unemployment benefit in my city. 
Those next steps include reminding the National Party that up until now that has meant 2.2 million New Zealanders in paid work which is 377000 more jobs since 1999 126 new jobs every day since the Labour Government came in. Those next steps include a major funding boost for community-based organisations and essential services like parenting programmes budgeting services family violence programmes victim services and women’s refuges—a total of $446 million over 4 years. As the Plunket chief executive officer said yesterday that is a great result for families and children in New Zealand. Yes it is. 
What else? There will be major investment from Labour in infrastructure and sustainability. There is the Schools Plus initiative so that our schools of the future really will be the gateway to the range of education and training opportunities—be they Young Apprenticeships or tertiary courses. There is major ongoing investment in work-based training which has already seen us double the numbers in industry training. There are the B4 School checks. There will be a victims’ rights charter and a plan to increase the supply of affordable housing which once again demonstrates that Labour has always been the party that houses the people—unlike National which sold 13000 State houses in the 1990s. Labour has added 7500 State houses issued 3200 Welcome Home Loans and actually cares enough to focus on increasing the supply of affordable homes not on planning how to sell the State house stock again. 
In response to all this positive policy what do we see the National Party doing yesterday today and this year? We see it trying to rewrite history and flip-flopping. I will tell members a story about Tory attempts to rewrite history. Recently Mr Eric Roy and I were speaking at a public meeting of the Invercargill City Council. Mr Roy claimed that National supported industry training. He was reminded that the last time his party was in Government it had destroyed apprenticeship training. “No” said Mr Roy “we only changed the name of the Act.” I did not have to say much in response. The businessmen at that Invercargill City Council table very roundly explained what they had experienced in the 1990s under a National Government and how it was the destruction of the apprenticeship system to the disservice of their businesses. I am proud—and those business people all knew—that we now have had 14411 Modern Apprentices since the year 2000 and $49 million per annum in Modern Apprenticeship funding which was zero under the National Government. 
That is just one of National’s attempts to rewrite history. Members should look at Mr Key’s flip-flops on Iraq climate change and student loans. They should wait for the Key flip-flop to come on KiwiSaver and Working for Families. I ask whether any member of the public is fooled by those flip-flops from a leader and from a National Party that even votes against the business tax cuts it says it believes in. 
Behind the caterwauling that has been coming from the other side of the House what do we hear? Let us listen. We hear the National Party trying to cover up the ringing of the hospital tills that it will be bringing back and the splash of their flip-flops. The thing about flip-flops is that if one does not have a spine one cannot break it doing a flip-flop. Unfortunately for my cousin Katherine Rich she did have a spine. I join with my colleagues today in acknowledging that. Even though we disagreed on much policy my cousin Katherine Rich usually showed her good genes by displaying a spine and standing by her principles. I am not looking forward to the further flip-flops from National that Katherine’s decision today will lead to. Her party is not one that is friendly to women politicians but she did a good job in difficult circumstances and carried the women’s flag in the National Party. I wish her well in her future. Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker.