Hide Rodney: Budget Debate 
Hide Rodney: Budget Debate 
[Volume:647;Page:16249] 
RODNEY HIDE (Leader—ACT) 
: 
 Let me say that the ACT party will be putting two votes behind Dr Cullen’s tax cuts so we will be voting for the legislation but sadly we cannot bring ourselves to vote for the Budget. We view the tax cuts as a baby’s steps some faltering steps in the right direction but the Budget falls short. In fact it is like every one of Dr Cullen’s Budgets. It is all about carving up the cake rather than enabling Kiwis to bake a bigger one. We see the result of those policies today. 
The forecast for economic growth next year is 1.5 percent. I remember that when Michael Cullen became the Minister of Finance he said—I know that Michael does not remember this—he would be judged by whether he achieved a 4 percent growth rate. Well the judgment is in I say to Dr Cullen and the rate is 1.5 percent. We look at the forecast for inflation and we see it is knocking the top of the target band. It is over the target band for the entire forecast period. We look at interest rates and we see that they are high and are staying high. In fact for any taxpayers with a mortgage—a reasonable mortgage—the high interest rates knock out everything they have received in terms of tax cuts. I have to say that that is a bit sad. 
It was great to see Sir Roger Douglas and Richard Prebble were here earlier. I was reminded that when they read a Budget everyone would tune in and I was aware that when Dr Michael Cullen was giving his Budget speech everyone had tuned out. It is a bit tough when Dr Cullen starts to get down to reading out that the Government is to grant $4 million to obesity research and that Budget item is deemed to be worthy of mention. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: Well you’ve done all right. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Well I agree with Dr Cullen. He could save his $4 million by having the Minister of Health come and talk to me. Dr Cullen could have come across here. He said in his Budget that he would spend $2 million—imagine that announcement in a Budget speech—on funding the Civil Aviation Authority to get the best practice. That shows how “Think Small” Michael Cullen has become in his ninth Budget. He has famously announced $1 million for local government to deal with climate change. 
I have to say that I actually sympathise with Michael Cullen. He has put a Budget together he has put it out there and he has made the trade-offs. We hear everyone—New Zealand First Peter Dunne the Greens and the Maori Party—complain about what is not in the Budget but nowhere did I hear of an alternative plan. I heard John Key say that National had a plan and I thought that was great. The National Party has 48 MPs plus Taito Phillip Field so I thought it was going to be great. I heard the House go quiet because we were going to hear the economic plan but all I heard was silence. 
I tell the House not to worry because the ACT party with just two MPs has come up with an economic plan which I am proud to present. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: This won’t take long. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: I am happy to take Gerry Brownlee’s slot and go right through the plan. First we need to set a goal for New Zealand. I ask Mr Brownlee why we do not set the goal of beating Australia by 2020. Why is it that every political party in this House is content to be second-rate behind Australia? Why is it that we were content to have 70000 people leave New Zealand last year? Let us set the goal of beating Australia. We would not accept being second-rate in rugby so why would we in respect of the economy? 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: We are! 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Michael Cullen accepts that we are. But I can tell members that over here in the ACT party we do not accept that. We do not like being second-best. ACT asks having set that goal—and this is the difference between this goal and the successive goals that Michael Cullen and Helen Clark have set—what then needs to be done to achieve it? I was actually surprised by the amount of agreement about what is needed. Everyone we spoke to—and it was quite a diverse range of business leaders community leaders economists and policy advisers—was in rough agreement about what is needed. But what is lacking is the guts to do it. 
Ron Mark 
: Hear hear! 
RODNEY HIDE 
: That is what is lacking. That is what Ron Mark agrees with. We actually lack the guts in this Parliament to do what is needed to get this economy going to get New Zealand moving forward. 
But I tell members not to worry because the ACT party has come up with a plan. We thought we would copy Helen Clark and put it on a pledge card. The card is not paid for by the taxpayer I have to say; we rushed down and paid for it ourselves. We also found that when one puts an economic plan together for New Zealand in order to beat Australia it cannot fit in a wallet. It requires some detail and it requires some substance. No one can say the ACT party does not have an economic plan for New Zealand no one can say the ACT party has not set a big goal for New Zealand and no one can say the ACT party lacks policies. At present we lack the MPs but we are planning to change that too. 
I want to show members what we have done with this plan. We have had help from John Ansell and it has been rather good. We have set the policies down here on the right-hand side. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: On the left. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: On the left if one is looking at it. We have set down in the next column what the benefits are—we are all good at doing that in politics. We have set down in the next column the other countries where it is done—and we were amazed at how many countries around the world are following good practice policies. We have in this column the benefits and we have along here what at the best estimate it would mean for economic growth. At present that is one thing we do not allow for. Sure we can talk about money for things such as buying back the trains having the emissions trading scheme doing this and doing that but it all adds up to a smaller economy to a smaller pay packet and to more New Zealanders working creating and producing in Australia. So we have in this column here the best estimates we could get of what it would mean for economic growth the trade-offs that we get for not having this policy and what that would mean— 
Ron Mark 
: Watch out that National doesn’t steal it. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Well I would love National to steal it. That is fine. I would like New Zealand First to steal it too. I would like Dr Cullen to steal it—I say to Dr Cullen that it is not too late. 
So in this column we ask New Zealanders to say whether they agree with the plan. This is what this election will be about. It will be about which party people vote for. Will it be Labour National the Greens or the Maori Party? But then there is the ACT party which is the only party with the plan and with the big goal to grow the cake. We are sick of politicians just carving up an ever-dwindling cake. Thank you very much.