Russell DeborahHon Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL (Labour): Thank you Madam Speaker. In the lead up to the Budget the Minister of Finance was at pains to say several times that the Government would have tax cuts and that they would be meaningful—they would be meaningful—that they would make a substantial difference to people. But what this bill does is it shifts the tax thresholds around. The net upshot of it is the most that anyone will get—the most that anyone will get—from the shift in the tax thresholds is $25 a week and that's only in conjunction with the independent earner tax credit. Now that's the amount that someone earning about $60000 a year will get in conjunction with the independent earner tax credit. It's the very most they will get. Most people—people like those of us in this House—who are earning over $78000 a year will get a tax cut of about $20 a week.But in the meantime public transport costs have gone up. In the meantime rates have skyrocketed. In the meantime the cost of going to the doctor has accelerated. In the meantime there has been substantial inflation caused by worldwide factors; it's a worldwide phenomenon.Tom Rutherford: Oh here we go. Here we go. Playbook number one: worldwide factors.Hon Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL: In fact sitting in the Minister of Finance's speech the Minister of Finance said—and it was gobsmacking actually—that the Government can only be held responsible for factors within its control. She started talking about the worldwide factors that are affecting them. Somehow they didn't exist a year or so ago.In the midst of that what she has been at pains to talk about over the last few weeks are the— meaningful changes to the after-tax income that people get. I put it to you that in face of the increased cost—the increased cost because the Government has withdrawn from services—these shifts in the tax thresholds do not deliver anything like a meaningful increase to after-tax incomes.Tom Rutherford: Nobody's on that side of the House; they haven't turned up for days.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Excuse me—that's not an appropriate comment.Hon Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL: Going from that broader issue to one more detailed issue in this bill there is something that was—more or less; until the very previous speech—a secret new tax on student loans on student loan borrowers. Now ordinarily when there's a measure taken in the Budget it will be highlighted it will be discussed it'll be in the publicity documents. But the only way we found out about it was by reading the tax bill itself—and here it is. So the interest rate that is going to be charged to people who go overseas on their student loans is going to increase—Hon Member: By 1 percent.Hon Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL: —by 1 percent. So again sitting in the detailed estimates—I'm going to direct the House's attention to the section on revenue—there is an increased amount of funding for investment in compliance activities. Let me just read what it says. It says this initiative provides funding for and shows an increase in tax revenue from Inland Revenue's increased compliance activities on tax and student loan overseas-based borrowers.Now having sat in that role myself for some time and having had student loan borrowings within my remit there are some extraordinary outstanding debts on student loans and some students—people who studied here in New Zealand then have gone overseas—who are in real financial trouble who took out loans when they were young and didn't really understand the impact of it. Now this Government is going to chase after them even harder and is going to charge them more while they are about it. Sitting in this tax bill is that increased charge on student-loan borrowers.You know getting an education is sufficiently expensive as it is. It's hard enough and that Government is making it harder. That sits along with some of the other stuff they're doing in tertiary education making it harder for people to get an education. They should be ashamed of what they are doing in that space.There are a whole lot of other changes sitting in this Taxation (Budget Measures) Bill. A lot of them are simply consequent on the changes in the tax thresholds. They are deeply detailed; they are flow-through changes to fringe benefit tax to employer superannuation contribution tax and so on—all the sorts of changes we would ordinarily expect. But the heart of this tax bill—the heart of it—is that shift in income tax thresholds. As I've said before in the first reading speech on this bill it does provide a change not as the Minister said—and I'm going to take it that he just made a slip of the tongue. It doesn't change people's income; it will change the amount of income they take home after tax. Of course any increase in after-tax income is welcome.Of course another way to increase the income that New Zealanders have is to provide a flourishing economy. This is a Government that in order to provide its billions of dollars of tax cuts—its tax cuts which favour the already wealthy—has cut services and cut jobs dramatically. There is a high cost to this shift in income tax thresholds. The high cost is being borne by people who have lost their jobs.You know we've had some organisations in this country celebrating that 5000 people are out of work in order to provide these tax cuts. So in this country we need to have a little bit of a think about why we pay tax in the first place why paying tax is something that supports us that supports our health system that supports our welfare system that supports our education system that builds our roads that provides for our police that provides for our defence that provides for our judicial system that provides for all the things that we like to have in this economy and in this country because it makes living here good.This is a great place to live and it is a great place to live precisely because of the things that the Labour Party and people on this side of the House have fought for and funded for generation upon generation. We are the party of health. We are the party of education. We are the party of welfare. We are the party of the environment. We are the party that supports the way of life we like in this country. In order to do that we all pay our taxes. We all make a contribution to the common good.Through this tax bill coupled with all the swingeing cuts to services that this Government has made all we are doing is shifting costs from one pocket to another. All we are doing is ensuring that families who now have perhaps some more money in their pocket—because of the changes in the tax thresholds—have to at the same time pay increased public transport fares to get their children to school. All we have is families who might have some extra money in their back pocket—because of these changes in tax thresholds—having to pay more in excise tax starting from the 2026 year. All we have is families who might have some more in their back pocket—because of this shift in the income tax thresholds—having to pay incredibly increased rates because that Government would not fund the critical water infrastructure needed in this country. All we have from this shift in income tax thresholds which might put a bit more money in people's back pockets is families who now have to pay more to register their car.So there's a whole lot of sneaky increased costs which are now no longer being funded. On top of that they've imported into this an increased tax on our student-loan borrowers—on the very people who've done their damnedest to get ahead. It is a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace. And this Budget is a disgrace. They should be ashamed to be part of it. It's a Budget with no vision with no care with no forethought for the future with no way of ensuring that long term this country can thrive that people in this country can do well. They should be ashamed to be part of it.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Members the time has come for me to leave the Chair for the dinner break. The House will resume at 7.30.Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.