Mackey Moana: Taxation (Budget Measures) Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Mackey Moana: Taxation (Budget Measures) Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 20 May 2010. Volume:663;Page:11121. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
MOANA MACKEY (Labour) 
: 
 It is always an honour to follow on from Paul Quinn who apparently overnight has spoken to every person in New Zealand and is testament to the old adage that ignorance never sleeps. Mr Quinn talked about Labour’s “envy tax” in 1999 when we raised the top tax threshold. At least we went out on the election campaign trail and were honest about what we were going to do. Mr Quinn’s party the National Party went out on the election campaign and promised that it would not increase GST. In 1999 Labour did exactly what it promised. We did not hide anything during the election campaign and I think that is an important distinction. Mr Quinn might not think so; he might think it is OK to say one thing to the voters of New Zealand before the election and do the exact opposite afterwards as National said before the election that it would not increase GST but has increased it afterwards. The people of New Zealand will see that for what it is which is a tax swindle. 
Mr Quinn referred to the  
Close Up 
 poll last night where he said 80 percent of people are for this Budget. I tell Mr Quinn that that is because the people who are opposed to it could not afford 75c a text to phone in like his rich mates can. The National research unit would have been sending emails around telling people to text in and make sure they say that they are for the Budget. 
Paul Quinn 
: What about the  
Dominion Post 
? 
MOANA MACKEY 
: I tell Mr Quinn that thanks to the Budget of the National Party that was put up yesterday most people cannot afford 75c to text in and say what they think about the National Government’s Budget. I suggest he stops listening to unscientific polls and goes out and talks to people. I think he stood in Hutt South; I cannot remember how well he did. But he should go out and talk to people in that electorate. 
Paul Quinn 
: Read the  
Dominion Post 
; the  
Dominion Post 
 rang them. 
MOANA MACKEY 
: I ask Mr Quinn why he does not go out and talk to people rather than read the  
Dominion Post 
. He should ask those families who will have their early childhood education subsidies cut whether they think it was a good Budget. He should go and talk to those people who are having their home help services cut about whether they think this is a good Budget. He should go and talk to those schools that are having their budgets cut and ask them whether they think this is a good Budget. This bill is a tax swindle and Part 1 is one of the worst parts of this swindle. It locks into place the broken promises of the National-led Government. 
National promised there would not be an increase in GST as I said. Mr Tremain might think this is boring but the fact is that he went out on the campaign trail and promised that he would not increase GST. He promised that. Is this a broken promise? 
Chris Tremain 
: No way. 
MOANA MACKEY 
: Apparently looking down the barrel of a TV camera and saying: “I will not increase GST.” then increasing GST is not a broken promise according to the National Government. That explains a lot about this Budget. 
How is this being paid for? It is being paid for by borrowing for tax cuts. That was the other thing that National when in Opposition promised it would not do. The National Government has to now borrow half a billion dollars a year to pay for these unaffordable tax cuts for the people who funded them during the election campaign. The people who funded them during the election campaign are the people who get the biggest benefit from Part 1 of this legislation. 
I want to talk about the removal of the 20 percent depreciation loading on new plant and equipment for assets purchased after Budget day. This Government has been terrible for innovation. This Government took away everything Labour did when we were in Government then brought back less than half what we did and proclaimed it to be a great day for science for research and development and for innovation. Lo and behold in the Budget we have another whack on innovation. It is something else that will stop our most innovative companies from being able to get ahead and compete in this crucial area. This shows how hollow National’s words are when it comes to supporting innovative businesses. The fact that National put Wayne Mapp in charge of the portfolio is another thing. He is the man who went out after the election and kept saying to people that he never wanted the portfolio. 
Chris Hipkins 
: The political correctness eradicator. 
MOANA MACKEY 
: Wayne Mapp the political correctness eradicator has also become the innovation eradicator in this Government. I ask how someone can stand up with a straight face and say that this is a Government that supports research and development when the measures that have been lauded and brought back in Part 1 of this Budget are less than half of what Labour put in place when we were in Government.