Carter David: Budget Debate 
Carter David: Budget Debate 
[Volume:626;Page:20863] 
Hon DAVID CARTER (National) 
: 
 I start my contribution by wishing David Parker all the best for his job search when he departs from this place in the next couple of weeks because while he spent 10 minutes reading notes from the Labour research unit Jacqui Dean was out door-knocking and has probably been to another four households in Oamaru. She will be the next member of Parliament for Otago and the people there will finally get the representation that they deserve. 
I acknowledge the motion of no confidence expressed by the leader of the National Party Don Brash in Dr Cullen’s “blank” Budget. In supporting the no-confidence motion of Don Brash I note that 32000 New Zealanders also support the same motion of no confidence in this Labour Government because that is the number of New Zealanders who left New Zealand last year and who ticked the box on the immigration form to say that they were off to live in Australia permanently. That is the equivalent of half of David Parker’s current electorate leaving for Australia in 1 year alone because they have no confidence at all in the future of this country under Labour Helen Clark and Michael Cullen. But help is on the way in the not too distant future because those people who have voted with their feet still have a chance to vote at the ballot box. Those people did not leave New Zealand because they wanted to leave; they care deeply for this country. When they see that a Government is prepared to concentrate on real wealth creation they may be inspired to come back. 
There is a common misconception that the 32000 New Zealanders who have left are young motivated competent and qualified New Zealanders. I recently had the occasion to meet a person who was from the electorate of Otago. That person who was about 46 years of age was a truck driver who had returned from Melbourne quite recently and is currently driving trucks and trailers up and down the main route of the South Island. He receives a gross wage of $13.50 an hour. Before he left Melbourne where he was doing exactly the same work he was receiving a gross wage of $22.50 an hour. That was before Peter Costello delivered a Budget with significant tax cuts and before Dr Cullen delivered his “blank” Budget about 10 days ago. That person is leaving New Zealand again and this time he will leave permanently because his prospects in Australia are substantially better than they are here. 
The Labour Government has done nothing at all to address those concerns. Dr Cullen has now delivered six Budgets in this House and the best he was able to do in his sixth attempt was to offer that truck driver 67c a week provided he hung around for 3 years. The audacity and arrogance of that move has not been lost on the people of New Zealand. 
Two other initiatives that Dr Cullen mentioned in his Budget were a savings initiative of $1000 per saver and a home ownership initiative of $5000 for new homeowners provided the recipients hang around for the next 5 years. But in both cases no details were given of those schemes at all. Dr Cullen is incompetent. He came into this House after 6 years as Minister of Finance floated two schemes and then said that the details would be worked on in the future. He has failed New Zealand yet again. 
I managed to catch the news at 6 o’clock tonight. The first item on Television One was exactly what we can expect from State television—another photo shoot of Helen Clark out of New Zealand. She is touring the world and meeting with world leaders. Flicking to TV3 I saw that the first item should have been of interest to New Zealanders. It was Dr Cullen losing his rag again and falsely accusing TV3 of unfairly implicating David Benson-Pope in a bullying scandal. Dr Cullen was losing his rag yet again—he is the very Minister who should be receiving anger management counselling by the day. I acknowledge that he is under a lot of pressure. I accept that. Only a couple of hours after making those statements he came out with another arrogant and half-hearted apology to TV3. He said he had got it wrong. He should be apologising to every New Zealander for the arrogance and insincerity he has displayed by coming into this House to promote tax cuts which his own party president had said were the “deep dark secret” of the Budget. They were subsequently revealed to amount to 67c a week providing taxpayers waited around for the next 3 years. 
I thought it was very interesting that Mike Williams the party president was the person who led the charge on the tax cuts. Yet after the issue had been floated in the media Dr Cullen did nothing to lower the public’s expectations. He thought that 67c in 3 years’ time would be received generously. That is how out of touch this man is. He thought that 67c would be received enthusiastically by the voters of New Zealand. I have news for Dr Cullen—New Zealanders know that it was an outrage. 
I was particularly interested in Dr Cullen’s response to Mike Williams after the presentation of the Budget. He said: “Mike was speaking not the Labour Party.” Is Mike Williams not the president of the Labour Party? Is that not the same Mike Williams who is a board member of Transit New Zealand and who picks up the phone rings potential donors and those involved in the roading infrastructure and says: “By the way I am at a Transit meeting”—considering where the contracts might go—“and I just thought I would take the opportunity of speaking to you about a donation to the Labour Party.”? That man is the president of the Labour Party. When he seeks money he speaks for the Labour Party. When he mentioned tax cuts he had inside information. 
I will close by speaking about Mr Sutton who will not debate the public access walking policy—nor will any other Minister in the Labour Government. Yet it has put a further $2 million a year in the Budget document to develop walking access policy. I challenge Mr Sutton to table the legislation that has been sitting in his in tray over the last 2 years and to let Federated Farmers and other interested people in New Zealand debate the real issue. Even Mr Sutton’s ally Bryce Johnson of Fish and Game New Zealand refuses to debate the issue. He used to be the greatest proponent of public access. He has been told to shut up as the Government tries to downplay this issue. Yet it has stuck it in the Budget. 
The message is clear to all New Zealanders particularly landowners: if we are unfortunate enough to end up with a Labour Government after the next election land associated with water will be confiscated. That is what will happen. Public access will be taken from people. The right of farmers of this country to keep their land for their own production will be taken from them by a future Labour Government. But I will not allow that to happen.