Fenton Darien: General Debate 
Fenton Darien: General Debate 
[Volume:673;Page:19391] 
DARIEN FENTON (Labour) 
: 
 I join with the rest of the House in expressing my sadness and condolences to the people of Christchurch. It is just unimaginable what they are going through. It is good that we can all share our condolences work together and stand beside the people of Christchurch. I just wish we could do it on other occasions because New Zealand is going backwards under John Key’s National Government. National has no plan to get the economy going. 
New Zealanders are hurting. I was very interested to hear some of the speakers in this debate—or at least one of them—talk about the “odd folk” as I think he called them who are struggling. We meet a lot of those people because as my colleague Moana Mackey said we go to food banks we talk to people in their homes and people come to talk to us in our various offices. 
I will tell the story of a family I met in west Auckland in Paula Benefit—that was a genuine mistake—Bennett’s electorate of Waitakere the other day. They told me exactly how tough life is. This is a really nice couple. They are desperate to pay their way. They have always worked hard and they want to take responsibility. They have grown-up children so they want to be able to help their children as well but they are really struggling. They are struggling because the wife was made redundant in 2010 with no redundancy pay of course because the boss said he could not afford it. This Government thinks having minimum redundancy pay and entitlements is a luxury. She searched and searched for other work. She has been to Work and Income and she has done the job seminars over and over. She has tried to upskill on her very meagre income but there is no job for her. 
Then there is her husband. He was working and he lost his job too. There was no redundancy and both were on the scrap heap with a mortgage to pay and facing increases in the costs of living such as power petrol food and other costs. The husband like his wife was very determined to find work and he went looking. He finally found some work in South Auckland. From where he lives that is a very long way to go. The job is in a factory stacking tyres and he is getting paid $14 an hour. Getting to work costs him $100 a week in petrol so there is not much left in their pay each week. As is inevitable in that sort of job—an awful job—he was injured so the Accident Compensation Corporation paid him 80 percent of $14 an hour then said he was fit for light duties. He has gone back to that awful job where there are no light duties. He has gone back before he should have because that is the only way they can at least pay their mortgage. His wife told me that some days they eat and some days they do not—some days they eat and some days they do not. 
This is a tragic story. I was just appalled. I did not know what to do. I will go back and make sure they are receiving their entitlements but I make it clear that despite all of the Government’s assurances about protecting the vulnerable from the sharp edges of the recession this couple and many like them are not being protected. They are struggling. These are good people. They are good people; they have always worked when they can. They have always worked hard when they can find a job. They are not being protected. As I said there are many like them. They are not bludgers. They are not bludgers and they do not deserve what has happened to them. 
This Government is a disgrace and should be ashamed of stories like this one. I know that Jonathan Coleman does not think that these people exist but they do. The Government has turned its back on hard-working New Zealanders in its determination to look after its mates and big-business interests. This Government has no plan for job creation. As I said Kiwis want to work. Many of them are desperate to work but not enough jobs are being created and there are not enough jobs where people can make ends meet. 
The price rises announced this week will not surprise struggling Kiwi families like this one. They reinforce the need for Labour’s policy of removing all GST from fresh fruit and vegetables. That will make a difference to the couple I met the other day. But it is more bad news for these low and middle income earners these Kiwi families under this Government. Unfortunately John Key’s Government chose to hand out billions of dollars in tax cuts to better-off people and to the wealthiest New Zealanders and most families are finding it harder.