Cosgrove Clayton: Budget Debate 
Cosgrove Clayton: Budget Debate 
[Volume:625;Page:20776] 
CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) 
: 
 Thankfully I was not in the Chamber when Dr Brash made his address to the nation. 
Hon Paul Swain 
: You were lucky. 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: My friend and colleague Mr Swain says that I was lucky. But I have since read some of the speech and some of the reports. Mr Anderton touched on the issue of leaders in this country being loyal to Kiwis and to our country and that is something that Dr Brash and his party could take a lot from. This is a good-news Budget. I know that the National Party will not like it because soon—within the next few months—we will have an election. Again as the Budget does every year this Budget provides a solid platform—it is our sixth Budget and it builds on five others—for this nation. I am proud of the Budget and I say to the National Party that I look forward with relish to going around my constituency and to joining other MPs around the country. I look forward to standing up on the campaign stump in the halls the schools and the hospitals to talk about our record as a progressive positive Government that builds growth and backs Kiwis—our schoolteachers our health professionals and our entrepreneurs. I look forward to fronting up with our record and comparing it with the economic vandalism that occurred in the 1990s under the crew that is now in Opposition. 
Let us get real and look at some of the facts. There is $4.9 billion for Vote Health. In respect of defence funding new money is there. We can all remember when the previous National Government came into office. I am sure Mr Mapp and Mr Power recall National’s legacy with regard to Vote Defence because Mr Power was at one point the defence spokesperson. He may recall that when National left office its legacy—[ 
Interruption 
] I am sorry. Mr John Carter is the defence spokesperson now. I forgot that. Mr Carter may recall that National’s legacy was to make the biggest cut in the vote for defence spending in the history of this country. Of course as the National members go around the country to the odd RSA—if the odd RSA member will speak to them—they will not be reminding people of National’s record in office. 
Darren Hughes 
: Amnesia! 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: It is convenient amnesia. Mr Carter looks at me like a possum stuck in the headlights. I challenge Mr Carter to go down to his local RSA or to mine and to have a debate about defence with me. Whereas we have provided $410 million in this Budget for defence and have put more money into defence every year that we have been in Government National will have to stand up on the stump in the election campaign and say its record was to make the biggest defence cuts in the history of this nation. If Mr Carter is honest he will say that on the campaign stump. But we will wait and see about that. 
This Budget is also about backing our teachers backing our health professionals and backing ordinary Kiwis. I am proud of the KiwiSaver workplace savings package of $1000 grants for people who want to opt in and save for their future—for their retirement. We have one of the worst private savings figures in the OECD. This Government has put up a package that will give Kiwis a contribution of $1000 and an incentive to save for their retirement and future. I heard Mr Hide earlier accuse this Government of a lack of ideas and a lack of vision. Well there are our ideas and vision. The KiwiSaver workplace savings package is our vision. That is one of our ideas. 
I challenge Mr Hide and the National Opposition to get up propose an alternative Budget and give us some policies finally after 2½ years—nigh on 3 years—of nothing. I say to the Opposition members that they are rudderless and have no vision. Their only policy which they prattle on about is Dr Brash’s tax cuts. What do tax cuts mean for ordinary Kiwis on middle and low incomes? They mean a big tax cut for Dr Brash on his salary—and I might say for every MP in this House. There is very very little for most middle and low income Kiwis and there is virtually nothing for somebody on $38000 a year. I hope Dr Brash goes with that policy. I hope he joins me on the campaign stump and puts that one up to ordinary middle-class and working-class Kiwis because I will be quite happy to present what we are doing with our Working for Families package which is putting money into the pockets of working middle and low income Kiwis as compared with Don Brash’s tax cut for his rich mates. I will stand up and we will have a debate about that. 
There is another good idea in this Budget: new support for first home buyers including a home deposit subsidy of up to $5000 and easier access to mortgage insurance. Well there is an idea. Of course those members sit over there on the Opposition side of the Chamber and cringe. Again I say to Mr Carter Mr Mapp and the other member from the “C team” over there that we will look forward to running that one up the flagpole to see whether Kiwis will back it. I suspect they will. What are the biggest assets that Kiwis have in the course of their lives? Generally those assets are their homes and their cars. The Kiwi dream has always been to own one’s own home. So what does this Government do? It stands up and says that it will back Kiwis because we are proud of them. It wants to stand with them and ensure that they have a future—ensure that they realise their dream of having their own home. What do members on the Opposition side of the House say? They say zip—they say nothing. What is their answer to that? What is Mr Mapp’s answer to that? He does not have one. No one over there in the Opposition has a policy idea. Those members are rudderless. 
Dr Wayne Mapp 
: Tax cuts! 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Yeah tax cuts for Mr Mapp’s mates! If someone is on 100 grand a year as Mr Mapp is that person and his or her mates will do well. I repeat to Mr Mapp that if someone is on $38000 under the Don Brash tax-cut scheme he or she will get zip. 
Mark Peck 
: What do they get? 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Zip. Zero. I would rather back getting families into their own homes through this budget package than I would the sort of bereft visionless rudderless crew that is over there on the Opposition benches. 
Let us look at education. There will be $297 million to lift quality education with relevance to tertiary education as well. We are increasing the investment in early childhood education by $152 million over 4 years and we are continuing to implement our commitment that teachers will get better pay and that the total investment in our schools operationally is increased. That is what we are doing. We have laid out our platform. Those are just some of the things in the Budget. We have moved the personal tax thresholds. I think that that is appropriate. That is our policy—our idea. That is what we are implementing. We are putting $45 million into industry and trade training. Who abolished the Apprenticeship Act? 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: National. 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: When did National do that? It was in 1995 or 1998 and I think the Minister responsible was Lockwood Smith. 
Hon Paul Swain 
: Bill Birch. 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: It was Bill Birch. Why did National abolish apprenticeships? That sold out every young person in this country who wanted to get a start in a trade. What did National do? It put pressure on the commerce sector and on small and medium sized enterprises. Who needs skilled staff? Why do we have a skills shortage now? That can be laid at National’s door. That is National’s legacy; it abolished apprenticeships. What did we do? We introduced the Modern Apprenticeships scheme. 
Darren Hughes 
: 9000. 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: We have 9000 young apprentices on the go now as my colleague reminds me. Young people are now coming out of their time and going into jobs as plumbers sparkies or carpenters. We did not sell them out. Every member of the National Party sold out a young person who wanted to start in a trade. I recall in 1999 when I stood as a candidate and was knocking on doors that a constituent said to me: “My wife and I have put aside $20000 that we have saved and we will go down to the local mechanic and plead with him that we will pay it to him if he will put our son through an apprenticeship.” That was National’s legacy. That was the legacy of Lockwood Smith and Bill Birch. I say to the National Party and to Opposition members that they are rudderless have no vision and have no answer to any of New Zealand’s problems. 
Don Brash gets up and says that Australia is better than New Zealand. He says that the United States and Britain are better than New Zealand. He says he backs every other country except this place. I say that that is a lack of loyalty to Kiwis. It is a lack of commitment to our young people to every middle-class and working-class family to every teacher and nurse and to every entrepreneur who struggles every day to grow a business and employ people. That is called a sell-out. 
I look forward to the election campaign with relish. Unlike some of the Opposition members I go around the schools in my electorate every week. I talk to health professionals teachers and others. I will stand up to put our proposals to the voters and will match them against those of the Opposition. I say to Mr Carter that this is our record over the last 6 years. That crew over there in National will have to stand up and say what its record and legacy are. The National members have a record of 9 long years of economic vandalism. These are our proposals in the Budget and this is our vision—a sixth Budget which builds on growth which is patriotic which builds our country and which hits every area and every pressure point in order to look after our people. That is what I am proud of. That is what I will take to the country. I look forward with relish to putting the skewer into the Opposition.