Swain Paul: General Debates 
Swain Paul: General Debates 
[Volume:613;Page:9722] 
Hon PAUL SWAIN (Minister of Transport) 
: 
 The flags at the National Party headquarters will be flying at half-mast today. Why? Because we are witnessing the demise of the once-proud National Party. That party is now an endangered species. We are watching the demise of the blue-billed Mogadoned yellow-bellied flightless Tory tit. We are witnessing the end of that endangered species. Very very shortly the National Party will need a Department of Conservation recovery programme in which children around the country draw pictures of the blue-billed Mogadoned yellow-bellied flightless Tory tit and send off postcards in order to save it. 
Don Brash is now the new leader. There are heaps of unanswered questions roaming about this place. It is a great place for unanswered questions. One of those questions asks why National Party members were all called back last Friday night at 8.30. That has never been heard of before. I will tell members why. There was whispering gossip and people who knew stuff talking to people who did not know stuff. Everybody was talking. In fact what happened so we are told is that the vote was 14 to 12 in favour of Mr English and it was reported back to the caucus as 14 to 12 in favour of Dr Brash. 
Hon John Tamihere 
: Treachery. 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: Treachery is what has caused the Nick Smith outburst. That is what got them back at 8.30. That is why there is so much bitterness and so much division over there and it has not ended. My prediction is that Gerry Brownlee will be the deputy leader before Christmas. If the huddles going on around Parliament at the moment are anything to go by—he shakes his head but he knows this deep down—my prediction is it will happen by Christmas. 
The problem then will be that these two Dr Brash and Mr Brownlee are ideologically opposed. Don Brash is last century’s man dragging New Zealand backwards trying to introduce the failed old-right policies that the country rejected at many many elections. He is Ruth Richardson in drag. Everybody knows that. He is ACT’s ninth MP and everybody knows that. What was his first king-hit speech yesterday as the leader? It was a debate on whether the Land Transport Management Bill should be called the Land Transport Management Bill. That was a huge one! Of course we know that Don Brash is an honest fellow. If he says he will cut taxes for the rich he will. That will mean that anyone earning under $38000 gets zero zippo and members of Parliament get at least $100 a week extra. 
If he says he will raise the age of superannuation entitlement he will do that because he is an honest bloke. If he says he will sell State assets again he will sell State assets again. Let us put that up against Gerry Brownlee who said there are those who say National is inextricably linked to the ACT party. He said they had their heads in the sand and all they could expect is their backsides to be kicked at the next election. I can tell members— 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Say that again. It was pretty good. 
Hon PAUL SWAIN 
: He said that those who say the National Party is inextricably linked to ACT have their heads in the sand so far and that all they can expect is their backsides to be kicked at the next election. I am looking at a lot of backsides—a lot of Tory backsides—that are going to be kicked at the next election. All we can see now is the National Party racked with division. It does not know where it is going to go. It has no leadership no vision no policy and no philosophy and it will have its backside kicked at the next election. 
Why has Shane Ardern for example been replaced by David Carter? What does he know about agriculture that Shane Ardern does not know? He cannot even drive a tractor. Those Tory backsides are going to be kicked and kicked good at the next election.