Parker David: General Debate 
Parker David: General Debate 
[Volume:648;Page:17331] 
Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister of State Services) 
: 
 Listeners will recall that the previous speaker Mr English who is the shadow finance Minister and the finance spokesperson for the Opposition when last in Government was of course the Minister of Finance who cut the superannuation rate from 65 percent to 60 percent. 
One of the most important institutions that we have in this House is Hansard and the  
Hansard 
 record stands as a record of what we say. It enables members of the public journalists and members of Parliament to judge what is said today and to compare it with what was said yesterday. It is one of the best ways in which we can judge the sincerity of what people say today particularly as we approach elections when some politicians are known to say what they think the public wants them to say rather than what they really believe. I want to concentrate today on some of the reasons why it is increasingly clear that members of the public are concerned that John Key and National members continually just say what they think the public wants to hear rather than what they really believe. 
I will start with Iraq. Lots of us were at meetings with John Key when he said New Zealand should be in Iraq. He was quoted as saying New Zealand was “missing in action” during the invasion of Iraq yet this year he said “National wouldn’t have sent troops to Iraq”. Again he is telling people what he thinks they want to hear and denying the true agenda. In respect of climate change he will say anything to win. He said in May 2005 and I am quoting from  
Hansard  
here “even if one believes in global warming—and I am somewhat suspicious of it”. That is a direct quote from John Key the Leader of the Opposition. He now says “I firmly believe in climate change and always have”—another incident where he was reinventing history and telling people what he thought they wanted to hear.  
The most recent time he was outed on his true agenda was in respect of accident compensation. There was no comment from the National Party on this issue until they were forced to comment in response to media queries as a consequence of stories in the Australian media following comments to Merrill Lynch. They had told Merrill Lynch and I quote from a Merrill Lynch report that “ 
The National Party has been cautious about its statements on the possible privatisation of the ACC market but are giving the insurance industry a strong message that it is a likely outcome if it wins the election 
”. Having been clearly outed on that and not able to deny it—because of course Mr Key is a former senior employee of Merrill Lynch—National was forced to admit its privatisation agenda in respect of accident compensation. 
Other areas are of increasing concern to New Zealand voters and that is why they are increasingly concerned about this hidden agenda. The next I will mention is the cost of going to the doctor. Tony Ryall is the National Party spokesperson on health. He is a front-bench spokesperson. What did he say? He said that National will not cap the cost of doctors’ visits. His words were in fact “We don’t support Labour’s fees control system. We’ll be knocking it on the head”. That is the true National agenda. National members subsequently denied it but that is their true agenda from their health spokesperson. 
Let us look at student loans. Student loans were said by both Bill English and John Key—and I quote John Key—to be “an unaffordable … and irresponsible cost to the country”. Now they say they will keep them but we know about their promises to students. The last time National was seeking election Lockwood Smith made promises said he would resign if the party did not keep them and then broke those promises but did not resign. 
Let us look at superannuation rates and eligibility. Within the last couple of years both Bill English and John Key in their responsibility as finance spokespeople have said that the eligibility is too generous for superannuation in New Zealand and that we need to tighten up. National members were the ones who cut the superannuation rate from 65 percent of the average wage to 60 percent for a married couple; they would do it again. That is their true agenda. 
Let us look at what they would do in respect of education. John Key says there will be more money for private schools; Anne Tolley says there will be no more money for state schools. She said that to a principals’ association. That is on record and that is the true agenda. 
Let us look at KiwiSaver. It is a flagship policy for Labour and very important economically to increase our savings and the depth of our capital markets. Kate Wilkinson is on record as saying that National would have no employer contribution; John Key says “Oh no no no; that is not our true agenda.” But then what do we hear? We have another ideological burp—the truth from Shane Ardern.