Ryall Tony: Financial Review Debate 
Ryall Tony: Financial Review Debate 
[Volume:607;Page:4141] 
Hon TONY RYALL (NZ National—Bay of Plenty) 
: 
 It is disappointing that the Government has decided not to take the Appropriation (2001/02 Financial Review) Bill very seriously this afternoon. It is disappointing that the former Minister of Commerce should be taking the call for the Government. Many people will remember that Mr Swain was the Minister of Commerce in the previous Labour-Alliance coalition Government but was removed because of his inability to get any legislation passed or progress made in that portfolio. 
The National Party in Opposition is strongly opposed to this bill. Its members are strongly opposed to any mechanism that votes money for that Labour Government to spend. We believe that the Labour Government is the most rapacious tax-gatherer in the history of New Zealand. It does not deserve one extra dollar from the taxpayers of New Zealand and this Opposition is not going to endorse the spendthrift policies of the Labour Party in Government. 
In the year under review huge amounts of money were taxed off hardworking New Zealand families when it was completely unnecessary. A recent OECD study confirmed that New Zealand out of all the Western countries has the second-highest tax burden on working families. We do not believe that burden should be increased any further whatsoever. 
This Government is failing in its responsibility to New Zealand families not only to the hardworking families who are going out there and making it by themselves but also to the 350000 beneficiaries in New Zealand. Mr Swain can talk about all the economic progress this nation has made in the last 3 years—and we know it is because of the policies that were put in place under the previous National-led Governments—but he cannot explain why the number of domestic purpose beneficiaries is going up why the sickness beneficiary numbers are going up and why the invalid benefit numbers are going up. 
Pita Paraone 
: Perhaps that is the problem. 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: There are 350000 of them. As Mr Paraone says that is the problem and this Government is doing nothing about it. If we look to the productive sector to fix the economy and drive the extra resources we are looking for Business New Zealand tells us that this Government has added $44000 in additional compliance cost to an average business employing 20 people. That is money that comes out of the owner’s pocket off the bottom line and is spent on compliance cost and we are against that. 
These documents show a number of appalling circumstances in the year under review. We know that in the year under review despite repeated denials this Government had done a deal on the sale of Air New Zealand to Qantas. Right up to the election we heard that there was no deal before Cabinet and that the Government did not know what the Qantas and Air New Zealand people were talking about. But a few weeks after the election when the papers were released it became absolutely clear that this Government knew about the deal to sell 25 percent of Air New Zealand to Qantas. It tacitly supported it and covered it up. While Government members were on the campaign trail telling New Zealanders they knew nothing about a sale of Air New Zealand to Qantas the Government had the papers prepared by Treasury telling it what was going on. The Government said one thing before the election when no one could get the papers and when they were released there was just a slew of excuses. 
We are also appalled at the stewardship of this Government. In the year under review hospitals were $250 million in deficit. I remind Mr Donnelly who is paying attention to this debate that in the year under review this Government which is led by a woman Prime Minister and has a woman Minister of Health sent women with breast cancer to Australia for treatment. Women in my electorate were told that they would have to have their breasts removed because the Government was not putting enough money into the health system and was not spending it wisely. While the Government was spending tens of millions of dollars on additional health bureaucrats women in my electorate were having their breasts removed because they could not get the radiation or cancer treatment they should have been entitled to in a First World country. All we got from a Government with a woman Prime Minister and a woman Minister of Health was a $250 million Budget blowout. Tens of millions of dollars were wasted on consultants and other bureaucrats but no care— 
Hon Brian Donnelly 
: You guys had a woman Prime Minister too you know. 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: Yes we did have a woman Prime Minister and our cancer treatment waiting lists were way down on this Government’s. No woman from my electorate was told that she would have to have her breast removed because she could not afford to wait on the cancer treatment list. It is a common mistake for Labour Party members to try to say that there are no problems under their party. 
Here is another one. Every member of the Law and Order Committee panned the Government on the Budget blowout on the regional prison in North Auckland. Every single party represented on that committee criticised the Government’s handling of that project. Mr Paraone will vouch that the price tag for that prison was $40 million but today it is $132 million and climbing. Another paper will be going to Cabinet asking for more money for the prison at Ngawha. The cost of the prison has risen from $40 million to $132 million and those people are asking Parliament to fund them more money and give them the authority to spend money like water and in a way that is completely wasted. This National Party is opposed to that. 
I tell this House that it is with pride that the National Party recently released a document written by the Dr Don Brash about prosperity for New Zealand’s future. This document sets a path forward and a vision for the New Zealand economy that we do not see from the Labour - United Future Government. The United Future Government’s economic policy is essentially “Bank all the gains from the National-led Governments spend it and hope it all turns out right.” In fact this Government has no plan for the future of the New Zealand economy. Things have been going very very well in the New Zealand rural sector for the last 2 or 3 years. All the farmers and orchardists have been paying a lot of extra tax. One would have thought that when things are going really well would be the time to plan for when things start to slow down so that when the belts are tightened we have a leaner stronger economy that can weather those storms. But we have seen none of those policies from the Labour Party. That is why Don Brash in his forthright and direct document  
Prosperity For All New Zealanders  
has set out a plan endorsed by our leader Bill English that clearly sets out the priority areas for the New Zealand economy in the future. 
Bill English has been travelling the country talking about that document and he reports that there is a strong and growing desire particularly from the business community and from families for the prescription that the National Party in Opposition is talking about. The National Party in Opposition is talking about growth in the economy. It is talking about one standard of citizenship for New Zealand. It is talking about redesigning the welfare State so that we do not leave those 350000 New Zealanders withering on the vine. It is also talking about education and more opportunity for institutions to compete for the attention of parents. 
What we are also talking about is accountability. In question time today we heard Mr Goff skirting any accountability for his lack of decision making and for his inability in the period under review even to pick up the phone to find out what was happening with Barry Allan Ryder. If Mr Goff had known maybe if he had made some effort those three boys would not have been affected in the way that they were. That is what Mr Goff said about the previous Government. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. The outburst from Jill Pettis on the speaker was absolutely unacceptable. 
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Thank you Mr Hide. Order! 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I am used to the common interjections. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. 
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: I have dealt with that point of order. 
Rodney Hide 
: So it is OK to accuse the speaker of those things. 
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: No. I have dealt with that member and called for order. Would the member please be seated. 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: What is clear is that this Government does not deserve the support of this House; nor does Mr Goff. He is the guy who made his reputation saying that Ministers should do something about Barry Allan Ryder because they knew about him. But when he knew he did absolutely nothing. He is just as responsible for what happened in Christchurch.