Boscawen John: Adjournment 
Boscawen John: Adjournment 
[Volume:676;Page:21846] 
Hon JOHN BOSCAWEN (Leader—ACT) 
: 
 It was a proud day in November 2008 when ACT not only returned to Parliament with an increased number of five MPs but also for the first time entered into a confidence and supply agreement with National. That agreement changed the Government and if it had not been for the people of Epsom and those who gave their party vote to ACT we may well still have a Labour Government. 
Since then ACT has played a vital role in supporting National in all of the policy initiatives that it campaigned on at the last election. However we have held the Government to account when we have needed to. To see this one only has to look at the events of the last week. The Criminal Procedure (Reform and Modernisation) Bill and the Video Camera Surveillance (Temporary Measures) Bill have been passed in a significantly different form from the way they were initially promoted to the ACT Party. For these reasons alone the ACT Party not only deserves to be represented but also must be represented in Parliament in even greater numbers. 
It was very pleasing then to see in the  
New Zealand Herald  
this morning the editorial that acknowledged the vital role that ACT has played in this Parliament. ACT however is perhaps better known as campaigning for a stronger economy and a more prosperous New Zealand. We believe that the income gap between New Zealand and Australia can be closed and that there is much that this Government could do to achieve that. Sadly National has lacked the courage to implement the recommendations of the 2025 Taskforce chaired by the now ACT leader Don Brash. The results of that are seen in the ever-growing public debt and the double credit downgrade we have experienced this week. 
National has been good at misrepresenting ACT’s position as wanting to slash public spending but the truth is that there was a massive blowout in public spending over the last 4 years of the Labour Government. If the expenditure had been held just to 2005 levels as a percentage of GDP New Zealand would have considerably less debt our exporters would be more competitive our current account more balanced and our incomes higher. Despite this ACT has achieved much in Government. We forced labour market reform so that the 90-day trial period is now extended to all employers so that young and high-risk entrants have even greater employment opportunities. It remains a scandal however that National was not prepared to reverse Labour’s abolition of youth rates which it opposed so strongly in Opposition. Both National and Labour have directly contributed to the unemployment of many thousands of young New Zealanders and we think that is a disgrace particularly when there are MPs in this House who should know better. We have also negotiated with National to open the ACC workplace account to competition and we have established the Productivity Commission. ACT’s Regulatory Standards Bill and the Spending Cap (People’s Veto) Bill are now at a select committee and will if passed into law revolutionise financial governance in New Zealand. 
I pay tribute to Rodney Hide who has served in this Parliament and served the people of New Zealand for 15 years. He is a formidable debater with a great political instinct and has an excellent knowledge of public policy. In winning Epsom in 2005 Rodney achieved one of the biggest political upsets in our generation and he and his staff have continued to serve the people of Epsom unstintingly for the last 6 years. Over that time it has become folklore that National conceded that seat to ACT. Nothing could be further from the truth. ACT took that seat from National and I was proudly one of over 200 volunteers who took part in that campaign. Rodney took David Garrett me and later Hilary Calvert under his wing when we first arrived in Parliament in order to teach us parliamentary process and the art of a good question. That contribution continued right up until last week when Rodney argued strongly in caucus that the video surveillance bill should be referred to a select committee. The benefits of that wisdom were obvious from the debate in Parliament this afternoon. 
I also acknowledge my colleague Heather Roy who has served in this Parliament for 9 years and who also played a vital role in ACT’s 2005 Epsom victory. Heather’s achievements have included her member’s bill opening up voluntary student membership and the Aspire Scholarships that she achieved as Associate Minister of Education. 
I also acknowledge my former colleague David Garrett who was the driving force behind ACT’s three-strikes legislation which has made our streets safer from serious repeat violent offenders. I have told David many times since he left Parliament that there will be people alive in years to come who otherwise would have been murdered or seriously maimed but for his legislation. David Garrett has everything to be proud of. 
I thank Hilary Calvert who came into Parliament at a difficult time and was thrown in the deep end for her support and her wisdom. In particular I acknowledge the time and effort she put in to listening to submissions on the Criminal Procedure Bill. 
To Sir Roger Douglas I owe a great deal of gratitude. When Roger Douglas came knocking on my door early in 2008 asking me to stand for ACT I rejected him. I was not prepared to make the sacrifice and pay the personal cost of standing for Parliament. He subsequently convinced me to stand. I am here today and I am very proud that I made that decision. Just under 2 weeks ago I announced that I would not be seeking re-election to Parliament on ACT’s party list. I will be standing in the electorate seat of Tamaki; however my sole objective will be to campaign for the ACT Party and the party vote. As a consequence this is likely to be my final speech to this House as a parliamentarian. From the first time I arrived I have felt incredibly privileged to have been elected an MP. As I say I am greatly indebted to Sir Roger Douglas for that. I have been very lucky to have experienced all that I have. 
During my first 20 months I served as a backbencher on Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee and the Commerce Committee. I am particularly proud that I was able to force the Commerce Committee inquiry into finance company collapses. The way that some of those who have lost money have been treated by the legal system given what would appear to be fraudulent actions on the part of some finance company directors deeply concerns me. Just as Simon Power spoke yesterday of being deeply moved by his meeting with the Elliott family I too have been moved in my meetings with some of those who have lost their homes and their savings. As a small consolation it was great to assist in achieving the revised ANZ-ING settlement. 
I have also served on special select committees overseeing Auckland’s governance the super-city the emissions trading review and the electoral law and I was pleased to be treated hospitably by Tau Henare during my term as a member of the Maori Affairs Committee when reviewing the marine and coastal bill. 
In April 2009 I was proud to travel with Mr Speaker on the Speaker’s tour of Viet Nam and Japan and to meet with the President of Viet Nam and the then Prime Minister of Japan. In August 2010 I was elected deputy leader of ACT and appointed Minister of Consumer Affairs and Associate Minister of Commerce. I thank the Prime Minister for his confidence in me in appointing me to those positions at that particular time. I was able to continue the work of the Hon Heather Roy and the work she did on reviewing consumer law and the Consumer Law Reform Bill now sits on Parliament’s Order Paper. In May of this year I was elected parliamentary leader of the ACT Party and resigned my portfolios to allow myself more time to concentrate on ACT’s election campaign. 
Like other members of this Parliament I pay tribute to all of the staff who contribute to the smooth running of Parliament. Finally to the present and past staff of my former school Otahuhu College I say kia tamatane. Thank you.