Brownlee Gerry: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Brownlee Gerry: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:618;Page:13557] 
12.  
GERRY BROWNLEE (Deputy Leader—National) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does she stand by her statement with regard to the Government’s Working for Families Budget package that “a certain amount of money has to go into promoting it”; if so how much money does the Government plan to spend over the next 4 years promoting the package? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes departments will be running information campaigns to inform families about their new entitlements as components of the package come on stream in the period through to April 2007. Departments have budgeted for up to $21 million for those information campaigns. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Does the Prime Minister still hold the view she expressed in 1993 when she expressly criticised the promotional campaign around health reforms which cost only $2.5 million stating then that it was a matter of major public concern; and if this $21 million of Government spending on its own programmes is not an orgy of advertising what is it? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I most certainly do. I have a very clear recollection of the Amanda Millar advertisements which the Deputy Prime Minister has already entertained the House with some aspects of. Those advertisements were about promoting a disastrous Americanisation of the New Zealand health-care system when people were actually being asked to pay each time they entered a public hospital for treatment. 
Deborah Coddington 
: Is this a campaign where the Prime Minister spends more than $160000 out of the taxpayer-supplied leader’s fund to produce and to deliver this pamphlet to New Zealand households to actually top up the $21 million spend of taxpayers’ money supposedly to explain the Budget—a spend that incidentally puts the Labour Government up on  
Admedia 
’s top 40 spending list—and will she explain to the House the difference between these two hits of taxpayer-funded propaganda? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: As I have explained there is a $21 million departmental programme and departments will advise families what their entitlements are. There is of course the expenditure through the Parliamentary Service budget just as I have seen all parties in this House advertise their policies in exactly such a way whether through billboards car stickers leaflets Pipitea Street or whatever. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: Did I understand the Prime Minister correctly when she said that the spending in 1993 was actually to promote changes that would make people pay to go to public hospitals? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Those advertisements were about the disastrous Americanisation of the New Zealand public health system that involved the National Party asking Kiwis to pay for going to a public hospital. It is of course also fair to report that the ”mother of all Budgets” was promoted with only $895000 worth of publicity because the National Government did not want to advertise the cuts in the pension the benefits and the State house rental rises. That is what a National Party Budget delivered. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. During the answer to the last question a Labour member made a very very serious comment which is purely and clearly an insinuation about someone not paying his or her taxes when he shouted across the House: “Pay your GST.” That Labour member knows who he is and if he is not prepared to withdraw and apologise he should exonerate the other 119 members of this House of such an allegation and front up to what he said. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: If that comment was made I require the member who made it to stand withdraw and apologise. 
Mark Peck 
: I withdraw and apologise. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Can the Prime Minister confirm that the $21 million for the advertising campaign has been accumulated from cuts to teacher-aide hours for special education; if not why have those hours been cut? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: No. The money has been accumulated by a very successful Government running a strong economy.