Cunliffe David: General Debate 
Cunliffe David: General Debate 
[Volume:630;Page:2288] 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Minister of Immigration) 
: 
 It is interesting to follow that member—a member who has eloquently stated the case. He was raised in a State house went to a State school and has dedicated his professional career to making sure that the next generation does not get the chances he had—which put him here in this House with a good education. I ask: what about the next generation of John Keys? Are we to use the excuse that social services rob them of their dignity? I see sitting opposite Tariana Turia who said she does not want to see a world where any Maori needs welfare and on the face of it I agree. But the sad thing is that we live in a world where not everybody yet does have the skills the qualifications the house to live in and the good job—and until people do we will stop Kiwi children from falling between the cracks. We will ensure that Kiwi children get the chance that John Key got. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Tell us about fixing the education system. 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: Gerry Brownlee said today that there is no such thing as an $11 billion cost to the tax package. Well that is very interesting because on Larry Williams’ show on 9 February— 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I made no such statement today. I did point out that there is quite a difference between tax forgone and cost. If the Minister has not worked that out then he should take himself back to his office and do some study. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: No the member will be seated. He knows very well that that is not a point of order; it is a debating point. 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: The unofficial transcript records the member as saying that a costing of an $11 billion package over 3 years was quite untrue. That is in direct contradiction to John Key’s statement: “Let’s understand you know from the last tax package which we had was um probably the largest single proposed tax plan ah I think New Zealand’s ever seen. I mean it was ‘$11 billion’ and the estimates are $3.5 billion of borrowing.” Borrowing for what? It was borrowing to give tax cuts to that member’s rich mates—men who bulldoze other people’s houses so they can build their tennis courts; men who dedicate their careers to ensuring that the next generation cannot get what they did. 
I want to talk about tax because on 1 April we are bringing in tax cuts worth about the same as taking 2c off the business tax rate—$1.4 billion. But the cuts are better targeted. They are targeted at the things surveys tell us that Kiwi businesses most want—things like not paying provisional tax off at the rate of last year’s earnings. Earnings go up and down and if people have a bad year they do not want to be paying tax off at the higher rate they paid the previous year; they want their tax rate to move with their income. And we have fixed it—we have fixed it in this tax package. Business told us that fringe benefit tax was a “pain in the rhetorical” so we have raised its threshold level to ease compliance costs. Business told us that PAYE was difficult to administer. Well the fix was something both parties supported so we have subsidised payroll agents to make it easy. We have also provided international recruitment benefits and new rates of depreciation for high tech. 
You know John Key thinks that the best way to make money is to buy a big house. Well maybe he will make money maybe he will not but it is not good if New Zealanders think their country will get rich through real estate. Hey we will get rich as a country when we build things make things and export things not when we speculate on property or foreign exchange! If we are to build and to innovate we need low depreciation rates on investment and technology and that is what we are bringing in on 1 April. We are bringing in low depreciation rates on technology—tax cuts for innovators. That is what is in this package. 
In this Parliament it is fair to say that some days are better than others. I can say to members opposite that 1 April will be a red-letter day for New Zealand and a red-letter day for the Labour Government. John Key said we had gone down the gurgler. Well I do not know whether he has noticed but we are still on the Treasury benches and he is still in the Opposition. He will be an old man before he gets out of there at this rate because we are governing in the interests of all New Zealanders and not just John Key’s tennis club. With the Working for Families package interest-free student loans an increase in the superannuation rate and the business tax package worth 2c off the business tax rate what a day it is for New Zealand and what a day it is for the Government!