O'Connor Simon: Budget DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeO'Connor Simon: Budget Debate[Sitting date: 20 May 2014. Volume:699;Page:18148. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]SIMON O’CONNOR (National—Tāmaki): It is a real pleasure to stand in this debate. I thought I would just touch on a quick few points of retort to the previous speaker Meka Whaitiri. I think actually National is and remains very proud of its working and track record with Māori. I want to acknowledge the work of the Māoricaucus. In fact I have two of my colleagues the Hon Tau Henare and Claudette Hauiti beside me as I talk tonight. Also—Hon Hekia Parata: Hear hear.SIMON O’CONNOR: —and Hekia Parata Minister Parata down the front. I also want to acknowledge of course the great work that the Māori Party does. It is interesting that the previous speakers were talking about how little money was invested in Māori. That is not quite true when you begin to look at all the work that is going on around things like the Business Growth Agenda. Of course we have the Treaty settlements that are ongoing and things like Whānau Ora that have been done. I think it is important to acknowledge that.The only other thing that I wanted to note was also from an earlier speaker who was getting all very upset that the National Party might be having a rejuvenation in its ranks. It is funny when you look at the other side of the House that some people have been on the Labour Party side for so long that not only were they there when my predecessor inTāmaki sat in this House and even there when my predecessor’s predecessor sat in the House but in fact it was when my predecessor’spredecessor’s predecessor was in this House that a number of the Labour members were there. We are not afraid to have rejuvenation.Dr David Clark: A lot of turnover inTāmaki. That’s what he’s saying.SIMON O’CONNOR: Not at all. No. In factTāmaki has a very slow turnover which I am quite happy about.Last week two Budgets were delivered in the South Pacific one on either side of the Tasman Sea. The Australian Budget was one of enforced restraint of hard choices sharp realities and deep cutbacks. The other delivered here by the Minister of Finance Bill English was measured and thoughtful. It was responsible and best of all it was balanced. What would Charles Dickens have said of this tale of two Budgets? I think he would have said that it was the best of times it was the worst of times it was the age of wisdom it was the age of foolishness it was the age and spring of hope and it was the winter of despair. Australia is now suffering through a winter of despair as its expenses come in. The new Government in Australia is working hard to dig itself out of a financial quagmire it inherited from a Labor Government—something that we on these National benches can sympathise with.What lessons can New Zealand learn from this awful spectacle? For those of us on this side of the House it reinforces that nothing comes for free. No matter what Labour and the Greens tell you everything must be paid for eventually. New Zealanders know this. They can see what is happening to our closest neighbour and they do not want it to happen here. They know that Labour and the Greens offer a short-term gain for a lot of long-term pain. In Australia the left spent recklessly for years buying favour with anyone it could. You have heard similarly from speakers of the left tonight. They are wanting to buy more and more favours. Their credit cards ran red-hot and cash flowed like water. But of course eventually the desires outstripped their resources and it all came crashing down. We look to Australia and judging by the hangover they have now it must have been quite a party.Yet Labour and the Greens here in New Zealand seem completely unaware of the mess that their comrades made next door. Their solution to every problem their answer to any question is to spend more money. Raise wages with a magic wand. Raise money from someone else. Labour is your magic genie. If you have a wish Labour will make it come true; just do not read the fine print and wow there is a lot of fine print when you begin to consider the Labour-Greens agenda.What are these little gems? We have heard a lot tonight aboutKiwiBuild from Labour. It is going to build 100000 houses. If you add up all the costs of that if it ismeant to be under $400000 each it is something like $40 billion in total. You know it is just a quarter of the nation’s GDP just like that that is going to be built somehow. As has rightly been pointed out by colleagues on this side of the House this Government is already well on to its target of opening up 39000 sections. We are about action not talk.We hear about Best Start. We heard from the Labour Party—which is again not looking at the fine print—that this was money for all children but actually it is not for all children when you start to read the fine print. The Labour-Greens grouping wants a capital gains tax to fund its spending. But that will not make money for years if at all and it is filled with so many caveats and regulations that it will be almost impossible to put together. In more recent days there was a shocking effectively racist plan to block tens of thousands of migrants to this country—but then again perhaps not when you talk to another member of the party. Then of course it is all about the internet with access to all but it is happy to ban Facebook. And my favourite—my favourite—element of the fine print is the Labour Party’s vaunted commitment to equality for all except of course for the on-again off-again man ban. So Labour will go to the election in September with many marvellous promises and enough fine print to blind a barn owl.Contrast that duplicity with the common-sense policy that National is offering New Zealand. We—and you have seen it in the Budget—are responsibly managing this economy with 2 percent to 4 percent economic growth and a Budget surplus. I noted before the Budget was delivered that it was something we were promising and we have delivered on it. In 2014 there is $1 billion of new spending and in 2015 there is $1.5 billion of new spending—a prudent responsible and balanced approach. We are going to be peaking Government debt at just over 26 percent but looking to bring that down to that responsible 20 percent.That is a Government that knows about balancing its debt commitments and downing its expenses there. And also—Hon Tau Henare: That’s right. Have to pay for Working for Families.SIMON O’CONNOR: Absolutely. The things that we were keen on as my colleague has noted things like Working for Families we chose to keep in order to support those middle to low income families. We decided to keep things like interest-free student loans. We have kept the support. We have increased the welfare spending and support and we are quite prepared to do that.We are looking to cut ACC levies. We have heard tremendous news today and in the Budget about—[Interruption] All of a sudden yes I say to my colleague Judith Collins in the House we are reducing fees. Kiwis are going to find as they go to reregister their vehicles—if that is even a correct word; to register their vehicles once again—that they are going to be getting substantial discounts. This a Government of financial prudence.We are a Government that is also investing in education. I have a note here with $858 million of new spending over 4 years—$858 million. Much of this is to improve school property. In fact about $284 million of that is to improve school property. There is more money for early childhood education. There is a $2.5 million boost for things like home computing and so on. This is making a real and substantial impact in my electorate the great electorate ofTāmaki. We have seen recently $3 million invested into St Thomas’ School for its new buildings. If you have never visited there it is well worth it. Not only is it a fantastic school but it has one of the best outlooks in the country over theWaitematā.We have of course ultra-fast broadband being rolled out. I think of something like Glendowie College a real innovator in this area which has been recently connected and is looking forward to the Network for Learning. Then of course we have the wonderful Selwyn College which is currently a finalist in the Prime Minister’s EducationExcellence Awards. Through the great work of the school and of its teachers principals parents and board of trustees—but the wider community and the Government too I would like to think it has seen its pass rates increase substantially. Selwyn College has seen its level 1 pass rate rise from 39 to 93 percent in just 7 years. What a fantastic turn-round that is in education.Of course we are doing amazing work supporting and helping children and families. That is something that my electorate welcomes. The different constituents who have rung emailed used Facebook tweeted or turned up at the front door have really supported that $500 million going to support families and children.So here in this House we have the best and the worst of times. We have a Government of wisdom and an Opposition of foolishness Ministers of prudence and profligate pretenders great policies and reckless promises. The contrast could not be clearer and I look forward to the National Government implementing this Budget and retaining the Treasury benches.