Macindoe Tim: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Macindoe Tim: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 21 March 2012. Volume:678;Page:1167. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West) 
: 
 Gloating as the Hon Tau Henare has noted is never an attractive option yet despite some pretty cute attempts from some of the speakers opposite today that is exactly what they have been doing. It began with Grant Robertson it continued with Chris Hipkins it became particularly odious under David Cunliffe and now we have just had it from the 35th member of the Labour Party caucus Winston Peters. Revelling in another’s misfortune when that person has acted honourably— 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. This is not a debatable issue because we had an election. There is no 35th member of the Labour Party caucus. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: No— 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: There’s a proud party called New Zealand First. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: No—that is not a point of order. 
TIM MACINDOE 
: Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. I am pleased to advise the member that apparently not even the Labour Party caucus wants him either. But I want to say that revelling in another’s misfortune when that person has acted honourably— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. This member has been in the Parliament now for I think— 
Hon Members 
: 3 years. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Three years? Sorry I thought he was new—a number of months anyway. He should know by now Mr Assistant Speaker that he must not comment on your very wise rulings. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: That is perfectly correct Mr Mallard. I was actually thinking of frivolous interjections but you are right. 
TIM MACINDOE 
: Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. I think Mr Mallard is well aware of what he was attempting to do there and I think it is unfortunate that he wanted to interrupt me when I was making the point about the courage of the Minister who unfortunately has resigned today. I simply want to say that I am very proud to be— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Order! The member cannot refer to the courage of members. It can be seen as a personal reflection under Standing Order 117. 
TIM MACINDOE 
: The Minister has acted with dignity and I am very proud to be his colleague. I send my best wishes to Nick and his family at this time. 
I am also proud to be a member of a very busy focused and effective Government. New Zealanders’ enthusiasm for our Labour opponents’ policies is currently about as warm as the climate in Mr Shearer’s beloved Finland at this time of the year. Understandably given the overwhelming rejection Labour received from New Zealanders just a few months ago it is now licking its wounds and wondering how it can reconnect with the electorate. Well nothing Labour members have said or done to date and certainly not in today’s general debate indicates that they have a clue. 
Yesterday during question time we heard from the member for Rimutaka who enjoyed his own contribution in inverse proportion to the rest of his audience. We heard an attempt to ridicule this Government and our Ministers—wait for it—for having a series of plans. “Far too many plans” he spluttered. 
Hon Annette King 
: No he didn’t. 
TIM MACINDOE 
: Yes he did Ms King. He read out a whole lot of plans and strategies yet this was the same Mr Hipkins who along with his colleagues half of whom are now pursuing other career opportunities repeatedly bleated during the previous 3 years: “Where’s the plan? The Government hasn’t got a plan.” And every time they were told the plan they feigned an inability to understand it. Well perhaps they were not feigning it. 
They are leaderless and directionless and their demeanour indicates as do their statements that they are hopeless. In stark contrast the National-led Government is forging ahead with a visionary and appropriate programme to steer our country through very difficult times. We have a widely respected Prime Minister a talented and united ministry and a busy caucus blending industry and experience with a superb group of new MPs who demonstrate that the National Party is in excellent shape and clearly is the right team in the right place at the right time. I want to congratulate my new caucus colleagues—one of whom Ms Barry is sitting just in front of me—on their superb maiden speeches delivered in this House just a few weeks ago. 
There is strong support in the Hamilton West electorate for the Government’s determination to rein in Government spending; encourage appropriate investment; deliver better sooner and more convenient health-care; facilitate economic growth; lift educational achievements for those who are struggling; and implement important reforms to deliver better local government and to get our economy into surplus. These are the issues that matter to New Zealand. They are all areas where our Government is making significant progress notwithstanding the major problems we face—indeed most countries face—at the present time in each and every one of them. 
In the remaining time I want to focus on another major programme that we campaigned on last year and that we will begin to implement this month. In our previous term despite vocal criticism from the depleted party opposite the Government implemented the highly successful Future Focus programme to begin rebalancing our welfare system. The results to date have been very encouraging. Just by requiring people to reapply for the unemployment benefit after 1 year so far 12500 people have cancelled their benefit. Of that number more than half did not even complete the application and more than 3300 of them had already found a job. As of last month year 1 Future Focus results included 10400 fewer New Zealanders being on welfare while a further 2300 people who were on the domestic purposes benefit— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Boring repetition. 
TIM MACINDOE 
: —took up part-time work. Mr Mallard finds all this boring. Well I think every one of these people will be delighted with those results and we are certainly proud of them as a Government. Thirteen thousand went off the domestic purposes benefit into work and 50 percent of beneficiaries did not require a single hardship benefit. 
The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.