Cosgrove Clayton: Debate on Crown Entities Public Organisations and  State Enterprises — In Committee 
Cosgrove Clayton: Debate on Crown Entities Public Organisations and  State Enterprises — In Committee 
[Volume:638;Page:8799] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Associate Minister of Finance) 
: 
 I am delighted as a colleague and as an Associate Minister of Finance along with my colleague the other Associate Minister to follow Trevor Mallard. I have to say that when we talk about monetary policy I recall when I was chair of the Finance and Expenditure Committee the Governor of the Reserve Bank coming to a meeting. He always provided us with excellent information. 
But we are debating monetary policy and Mr Foss talked about conflicts and contradictions. Well I have to say that before Bill English appeared on  
Close Up 
 with me a couple of weeks ago to debate the dollar he had just put out a statement that said it was all the Government’s fault and that we should cut expenditure. Then he went on  
Close Up 
 and was asked what he would cut. Would he cut the 1000 extra police? Would he cut the public service? Would he cut the number of teachers? He responded to Mark Sainsbury when challenged by saying: “You don’t need to cut expenditure.” So Mr English put out a press release saying we should cut it—we are talking about monetary policy here because the fiscal situation that National proposes has an effect on monetary policy as we know—then he said we do not need to cut it. Then when questioned again he said we are doing too well and we need to cut growth. So that member can talk about contradictions in fiscal policy!  
He is from a crew who criticises quality Government expenditure like the biggest roading programme we have seen in 30 years fairer wages for nurses a free 20 hours of early childhood education and 1000 extra police. And then that member has the audacity to go on about inadequacies and a lack of quality in expenditure. If he had got into Government he was going to drop on us a $7.4 billion tax cut half of it borrowed and inject it directly into the economy. I ask that financial genius over there to tell me what that would have done to the inflation rate and the Reserve Bank governor’s ability to control monetary policy. 
Mr English would have given his mates the then leader of National Dr Brash and himself a hundred bucks a week but most of my constituents and low and middle-income constituents around $20 or $30. And he goes on about the need to contract expenditure! This of course is after all his colleagues for months have called for more money in corrections youth justice roading and police. Mr English went on national television and thought he could hoodwink the public by saying we should cut expenditure then said that we did not need to and that the answer to our problems in respect of inflation and the dollar was to cut growth.  
Apparently according to Mr English we are all doing too well. The economy is doing just too well. It is over capacity—going gangbusters. We have the fourth lowest unemployment rate in the OECD and the longest stretch of economic growth since the war. So what is the National Party prescription to deal to it all? National members say: “Let’s cut economic growth.” Well I say to them that there is an easy way to achieve that task. If they were ever to win an election they would cut growth and the dollar and inflation overnight just through the lack of confidence they would engender in the financial community through speeches like the one that financial genius Mr Foss made tonight. I say to Mr Foss— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: He’s one of their better members. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: My colleague is known for his judgment but on this one he may be out. 
I say to National members that they cannot have it both ways. They cannot say to people at one end of the pub: “We should spend more on roads police and prisons.” and then say to the guys at the other end: “Isn’t the Government awful! We should be cutting expenditure.” Silly members like Mr Foss do not realise that the boys from both ends of the public house tend to get together have a wee chat and realise that that member speaks with a forked tongue out of both sides of his trap. 
I say that this is a debate about monetary policy. It is a serious debate. It is not a debate about political posturing and going on television to say that all we need to do is cut expenditure cut growth or whatever. This is a serious issue that most of the economies in the world are grappling with. Our problem which is sort of like trying to nail a jelly to a wall— 
Hon Member 
: Like the 21 above us you mean. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: That member exhibits every facet of a jelly. He is all over the place. But when we have an economy going gangbusters when we have people in jobs when people have confidence in the economy because we no longer have boom-and-bust cycles and when people are investing in property and other assets because they feel confident then we do get pressures on the dollar and pressures on inflation. Consumption is up because people have money in their pockets. So I say to that member that he should go back to Economics 101 read a textbook and get it right. 
Report noted.