Chauvel Charles: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Chauvel Charles: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:646;Page:14996] 
CHARLES CHAUVEL (Labour) 
: 
 I am delighted to follow the previous speaker Bill English from the National Party on this question. He spoke about the New Zealand way of life in a tough economic time. He talked about New Zealanders looking for leadership. Well that is exactly what New Zealanders have had over the last 9 years from this Helen Clark and Michael Cullen - led Government. One look at the record lets us see that this Government just needs to keep the course steady keep the achievements clocking up that we have kept on clocking up over the last 9 years and New Zealanders will get exactly the leadership from the Government in economic terms that the deputy leader of the National Party talked about. 
We have had the longest period of economic expansion in this country in 30 years. Average growth rates since 1999 have been faster on average than those in Europe Japan the US and the UK. Company tax returns are evidence that recent profit growth has averaged over 20 percent per year. New Zealand has consistently rated highly in international comparisons of openness competitiveness and the ease of doing business. Again this year despite the attempts by members opposite to talk the New Zealand economy down which is what they always do we were rated second in the world in this area. Those are fantastic achievements. They have built a base that we should be very proud of and the fundamentals that those achievements demonstrate are very sound which means that New Zealand is securely placed going forward even though times are looking darker on an international basis. 
Since 1999 New Zealand’s annual economic growth has averaged 3.6 percent. That is well above the OECD average of 2.5 percent. As a result of that the New Zealand economy today is around a third larger than it was in 1999. Real household incomes are 25 percent higher than they were when this Government took office. That has enabled this Government to do great things with the wealth that has been created. It has created 370000 new jobs reduced unemployment to its lowest level ever and extended targeted tax relief through Working for Families so that many of our families on low and middle incomes with children do not pay any tax whatsoever. That is a fantastic record. The Government has made student loans interest-free in order to ensure that Kiwis can pay off their loans sooner start a family sooner buy a house sooner and keep their skills here in New Zealand. It has invested in infrastructure and accelerated New Zealand’s largest-ever road building programme reviewed business tax and made payments into the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. 
That is the record. When New Zealanders look for leadership—the leadership that the deputy leader of the National Party referred to—that is what they will look at to reassure themselves that going forward the economy is in good hands and the country has good management. They can be satisfied that not only has the cake grown over the last 9 years but that it has been cut fairly and cut in a way that meets the basic New Zealand cry for social justice. 
Mr English talked about views that he tried to claim Dr Cullen and Helen Clark were at odds over. Well why do we not look at the two sets of views that manifest themselves not even from two people on the Opposition benches but from one person the leader of the National Party? We have all heard about John Key’s big flip-flops. On Iraq in September 2003 he said that New Zealand was “missing in action” during the invasion of Iraq; in July 2007 he said “we wouldn’t have sent troops to Iraq”. On climate change John Key said in May 2005 it was “a complete and utter hoax.” yet in November 2006 he said “I firmly believe in climate change and always have.” With regard to student loans in November 2005 he said interest-free loans were unaffordable and an irresponsible cost to the country. Do members know what John Key said in January 2008? He said “We will keep interest-free student loans for tertiary students.” The nuclear-free policy the antinuclear legislation was bad news for economic growth and for our job market according to John Key in October 2003 but in September 2007 he said National was going to stick with the antinuclear legislation. 
So I do not want to hear from Bill English that there are two views from two different leaders in the Labour Government on this side of the Chamber. There are two views from the one person who supposedly leads the National Party on the other side. In June 2006 John Key went on to say the building of affordable housing at Hobsonville was economic vandalism but in February 2008 he said he was in favour of the affordable housing that we might build there. 
That is the record of the member opposite and it needs to be contrasted with the great record over here of the Government.