Bennett David: Debate on Budget Policy Statement 
Bennett David: Debate on Budget Policy Statement 
[Volume:653;Page:2084] 
DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to rise to talk about the Budget Policy Statement for 2009 because we are in extraordinary times. This is a country that is facing the greatest recession of our generation. It is a country that needs good leadership to get through these times of unprecedented economic turmoil. We have exactly that in the National Government and in our leadership from John Key. The National Government is not afraid to make the key decisions that are required to get this economy pumping and moving forward into the future to save jobs in the immediate future and to provide for all New Zealanders a future that is brighter than that provided by the previous Government before the last election. 
When we look at the Opposition we see that it started this debate today with Phil Goff. Phil was there doing his leadership speech and it was quite amazing to see that the rest of his team was very quiet. Those members were not very supportive were they? They were just sitting there watching and listening. They know that he is a lame duck who is sitting there and just waiting his time. They do not care. They are not supportive of Phil. They are not working hard to actually create any issues for the Government. They just want to be seen as being part of Phil’s team. [ 
Interruption 
] Yeah they are all waiting in the wings just looking for the opportunities to take Phil out at the right time. I think that as a leader Phil would be disappointed in his team. He would be disappointed in the way that his team was not there to support him just as he would be disappointed in the legacy that the previous Labour Government left this country. 
The previous Labour Government left a legacy of deficits throughout this country: deficits in our balance of payments and deficits in what the Government accounts will look like for the next decade or so. When Labour members talk about the deficits that the National Government will encounter trying to get this country through the economic turmoil it is important to remember that before the election last year before all the stuff that hit in the world economic crisis the Labour Government was presenting deficit after deficit after deficit. It was not doing that to build a stronger economy; those deficits were not based on keeping people in work; those deficits were based on keeping the Labour Government in power. That is all they were—they were paying for the Labour Government’s social spending promises and agenda. 
At least the National Government recognises that there are some issues that have to be dealt with. We recognise that the pain will be extreme in some cases. We recognise that the Government has to be there to deliver some support for people at their time of need. We will borrow to help our country get through this time but we will not borrow for the wrong reasons. We will borrow so that we can build a stronger country in the end and so that we can provide people with some kind of comfort as they go through the transition of this economic turmoil. 
This country is situated in a pretty good position in comparison with some other countries. I think the reforms that led to that good position were probably encountered by this Parliament 20-odd years ago when we dealt with some of the issues around our banking and industrial sectors that other modern economies are having to deal with now. New Zealand made those choices about the issues of trade protection and about having an economy that is open after the 1987 crash. We went through a long period of pain then setting ourselves up so that we could get through a situation like the one we are in now. That contrasts with some of the other economies that are our traditional trading partners. They are now having to go through the pain that we went through 20 years ago in very exaggerated circumstances. 
I think that is the real reason why leading into this crisis New Zealand is in a better position than some other countries. We had our crisis 20 years ago and we faced some of those issues about what we need to have a strong economy. To face those issues we need a Government that will actually follow those issues through and make sure that we have prudent management. That is what was lacking in the last 9 years of the previous Labour Government. The opportunities that were there for the New Zealand economy to grow prosper and build itself stronger to take into account any possible decline that might come through an economic downturn were not taken advantage of by the previous Government. 
Instead of building an economy that would have been strong enough and would have provided the economic vehicle to get through this downturn the Labour Party continually borrowed for its own mantra and its own ambitions in election times. That has been the shame of the legacy of the Labour Party. It is a legacy of a party that could have kept New Zealand on that track to get through this situation but it has created a number of problems that we now have to deal with in Government. When we look at things like the KiwiRail purchase the unfunded promises and the blowouts in the accident compensation scheme we see that all those things are symptoms of a Labour Government that did not deliver what was needed for the New Zealand economy. We have to pick up those issues and in some cases we will have to borrow to deal with those issues going forward. That will create further stress on the economy. 
The Labour Party left behind a country where exports were weak household debt was high and the current account deficit was extremely high. Labour had a number of imbalances in the economy that it supported through its economic management. Now is the time when those things are coming home to roost and we have to make some constructive and solid decisions around them. That is why the National Party has brought together a fiscal stimulus package at the upper end of the international reaction to the current situation. We have one of the best responses to this economic crisis that we will see around the world. We have a very strong tax cut programme we have a very strong infrastructure spending programme and we also have very strong social spending; for example our ReStart programme which gives people time to adjust to the changing circumstances they may find in their personal lives as a result of the recession. 
The National Party has made the right decisions to deal with this situation since it came into power. I feel that that is the difference between what we see under National and what we would see under Labour. Labour members would not be making the right decisions; they would not be investing in infrastructure they would not be carrying through the tax cut programme and they would not be looking after people who need their support to keep their jobs. They would not be doing those initiatives and the fundamental problem is that that would accelerate the potential impact of the recession on the New Zealand economy. New Zealanders are lucky that they have good prudent decision-making on a financial basis through the National Party. It will stand them in good stead to make the right actions to try to deliver an end result through the next couple of years. When we look at how households will benefit from the National Party and this Government we already see lower taxes lower interest rates and some lower petrol prices. The National Party is delivering for households. We are making it as easy as possible for people to get through this situation. 
Hon Shane Jones 
: Long-term rates! 
DAVID BENNETT 
: Mr Shane Jones would not take a call on this subject. Even though he was chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee last term he would not stand up to speak on this. He has deliberately not done anything to support Phil Goff in the last few months because he is sitting there and waiting for Phil to make a mistake so that he can take over. But Shane’s problem is that David Cunliffe has the run on him. While Shane has been sitting there saying nothing David has taken over and is building up his numbers in the Labour caucus. Shane will have to be careful because if he does not watch it then David will get such a lead on him that he will not get the job he wants. When it comes to the fight in the Labour Party ranks after the next election Phil will be sitting there and then there will be Shane and David. Who will win? I tell Shane that he needs to do some work now mate. He needs to get out there and put up his flag. He needs to stand up and talk about his economic vision because we are not hearing about it. He says that he is part of the Labour Party and that he is following the Cullen-Clark vision. It did not work and the National Party is making the right decisions for the circumstances now to deliver the future we need.