Lees-Galloway IainIAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Labour—Palmerston North): The last time that Labour was in Government we ran nine straight surpluses. Every single year that Labour was in Government the Government was in surplus. We used those surpluses not only to invest in stronger better public services but also we started the New Zealand Superannuation Fund—known of course as the Cullen fund because it was Michael Cullen who started it—so that the Government could start saving for the future.We also started KiwiSaver with the incentives to get Kiwis into KiwiSaver so that they could start saving for their future themselves. And of course we got Government debt down to zero in net terms. That was one of the most important things that we could have done because it was golden weather economically. The global economy was doing well and it was important that we did things to make sure that the Government and the country were in a good position to weather the storm when it came.And when it came the global financial crisis it hit hard. But New Zealand fared well because the Clark Government with Michael Cullen had put New Zealand into a position where we could fare well. So even though the Government ran deficits and even though the Government has racked up a level record of debt it started from such a good position that now that the global economy has turned and the good times have come back again it is in a position to actually make some choices now that it is back into surplus.Those choices are important. But what is this Government choosing to do? Is it choosing to save for the future by investing in the Cullen fund? No. Is it choosing to make sure that our health services are actually able to respond to the needs of ordinary Kiwis so that people can afford to go to the GP so that people can get their elective surgery in a timely manner and so that we have mental health services that actually respond to the level of need that exists out in our communities? Is the Government doing that? No. Is it investing in our education system? Is it dealing with the ballooning class sizes? Is it dealing with the fact that parents are paying more in so-called donations" than they have ever had to before? Is it dealing with the fact that our education system is stretched to breaking point? No it is not doing that either.What about housing? Is it dealing with the housing crisis? Can the Government members even bring themselves to say the words "housing crisis"? Do they accept that we have the lowest rate of homeownership in 60 years? Do they accept that the cost of renting is ballooning completely out of control that we have families living in cars that we have families living in garages and that we have people sleeping under bridges? Are they prepared to invest in housing to deal with any of those issues? No because this Government does not make choices that are in the interests of ordinary working people in New Zealand.The only thing this Government wants to do now that the surpluses have returned is to cut taxes. The one-trick National Government pony knows how to do only one thing and that is to cut taxes for the rich because let us be honest it does not cut taxes for ordinary people. The last time it cut taxes—the income tax cuts—the majority of those went to the people at the very top. What did the Government do at the same time? Well it increased GST it hiked up ACC levies unnecessarily it hiked up fuel tax and it went ducking down the back of the sofa to tax the poor paper boys to find every last cent it could to tax the poor so that it could give more money to its rich mates.Those are the choices that the National Government makes. So now when it has choices when it has an opportunity to invest in health in housing in education and to get the country saving for the future again—so that we will have universal superannuation when people who are my age get to retirement—is the Government making those long-term investment decisions? No. This is short-termism and the Government is interested only in what it can do for its rich mates. Well that is what people have come to expect from that Government. What people have come to expect from this side is the kind of leadership that Andrew Little offers: strong stable and dependable. He is focused on the issues that matter: health housing education and investing in the future. That is what Labour stands for and that is what Labour will do when we are in Government after 23 September."