Wong Pansy: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Wong Pansy: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:645;Page:14137] 
PANSY WONG (National) 
: 
 Our leader John Key was right on the mark when he moved the motion that this House has no confidence in the Helen Clark - led Government because it has failed to make a significant improvement in the areas of real importance to New Zealanders. The Salvation Army’s first state of the nation report advised that after 9 long years of the Labour Government more children are in the care of Child Youth and Family Services. The number of instances of child neglect and abuse is rising. Youth offending is on the increase along with teenage pregnancy abortion and accident rates. There is continuing education inequality and a rising number of serious and violent crimes. Against this wage growth has been modest 250000 people remain on welfare benefits household debt is up and houses are fast becoming unaffordable. The incoming Minister of Social Development Judith Collins has gone on record as saying that under her leadership money would not be wasted on all those bureaucracies. It would go to where it will make an improvement. 
National announced last year the policies of working with and trusting proven community organisations to provide a solution. Of course the Labour Government stole that policy but I do not believe that community organisations would trust the Labour Government not to interfere and control the way they can deliver results. After all we have seen Labour Ministers interfering in even the hiring and firing of staff in the Ministry for the Environment. 
The Prime Minister claimed in her speech that 2007 was a year of progress when a record number of New Zealanders left for Australia—42000 New Zealanders departed for Australia and only 13000 came this way. In her speech the Prime Minister announced a raft of so-called policies to improve infrastructure welfare families housing crime rates and the environment. This means that after 9 long years the Government has not done anything of significance in those areas. 
I can identify only one important area where there was no announcement of policy and that is health. There was no announcement on health. One can arrive at only two observations. Either Labour members are kidding themselves that health is under control or they have completely given up on the fact that they could resolve the health issue. But in the self-promoting style of Labour the Hon David Cunliffe’s answer to the health problem is that first of all he will deny there is a problem and secondly he will threaten people who raise the problem. If that fails then he will threaten to sack the people who are running the district health boards or if that fails further he will order an inquiry. The incoming Minister of Health Tony Ryall has a well-documented raft of policy including super clinics to address those issues. 
I also would like to address some of the issues raised by the Minister of Housing the Hon Maryan Street. She went on and on about the minimum wage. That is the problem with Labour Government members. Their aspiration for New Zealanders is for them to be paid the minimum wage. Well the John Key - led National Government will aspire for New Zealanders to go on to high wages. We do not want our people to aspire to be on the minimum wage. That is the reason why after 9 years the gap between Australian wages and our wages is growing. The Botany voters cannot wait for a John Key - led National Government because they are hard-working and aspirational people and they do not want their kids to be on the minimum wage. 
Well it is interesting. The Minister of Housing has quite a bit to say about Labour’s housing policy. The reason is that Labour has announced its policy four times. It should have been in place in 2006. It is no wonder the Minister has quite a bit to say on Labour’s housing policy. But she has very little to say about the accident compensation portfolio. That is interesting. In the whole Prime Minister’s statement there was only one sentence on accident compensation. Apparently legislation is to be introduced that will improve accident compensation coverage. One wonders better coverage for whom? 
In early January we were told that a serial burglar was demanding cosmetic surgery and had threatened to take legal action to have that surgery done while he was serving time in the Auckland Central Remand Prison. The Minister for ACC was nowhere to be seen or heard. It remained for the duty Minister to make a statement that New Zealanders would find it repugnant and offensive to hear that someone was demanding cosmetic surgery. The Accident Compensation Corporation spokesman Mr Edwards who was the only one prepared to comment said that many people would share Ms Wong’s view but that it would take a change in accident compensation legislation to prevent people from being funded for medical treatment for injuries sustained during a crime. 
That statement resulted in a few days of an outpouring of outrage from the public including from the Dobbs family. This was the family whose house the serial burglar broke into 5 years ago in the incident where his ear was bitten off during his arrest. Listen to this family. They said that this serial burglar took from them their sense of security and left them with the horrible feeling of being invaded. They were always security conscious but this left them feeling paranoid about locking up everything. 
Only after that outburst from the victims was the then acting chief operating officer Jeff Matthews prepared to go on record and say that actually the corporation does not really have to make this outrageous payment of $12000 for cosmetic surgery to a serial burglar. It can object and that right would be exercised. All throughout that saga the Minister for ACC was nowhere to be seen. Where is the leadership? 
I have in my hand another pile of Accident Compensation Corporation complaints from individuals throughout New Zealand. It has now become a daily occurrence. I arrive in my office and see another folder of complaints from innocent New Zealanders who are hard-working are paying their compulsory accident compensation levies and are not getting coverage. Instead we have to devote our time to debating a serial burglar who demanded cosmetic surgery while was in prison. 
Well also before Christmas this Labour Government sent New Zealanders another Christmas gift on 23 December. It sneaked in an announcement on accident compensation levy increases. For the workers the hard-working New Zealanders the accident compensation levy went up by 8 percent petrol and car registration went up by 24 percent and the rate for the self-employed actually went up by 30 percent. We want the Minister for ACC or her colleagues to take a call to tell us why the Government is staying so silent on how to improve the coverage of accident compensation—not for criminals but for innocent New Zealanders. 
When I knocked on the doors of the hard-working families of Botany during the Christmas period the No. 1 concern facing them was crime. They would not accept the Labour Government’s excuse. Indeed they are looking forward to a John Key - led Government and to John Key being the Prime Minister. Why? Because John Key as the Prime Minister would not accept from his Cabinet Ministers who would propose to ban the full moon hot weather and Christmas as a policy for reducing violent crime. What sort of leadership is there from this Labour Government? Now is time for those members to go. Nine years is far too long.