Brownlee Gerry: General Debate 
Brownlee Gerry: General Debate 
[Volume:653;Page:2298] 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister for Economic Development) 
: 
 That was an interesting speech from the Leader of the Opposition. 
Hon Paula Bennett 
: Was it? 
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE 
: Well I found it interesting because at the end one or two of his caucus members applauded. That is quite unusual for this particular Leader of the Opposition. The two words that are out there in the minds of New Zealanders at the moment if they notice and if they are interested are why the Leader of the Opposition is so invisible and so ineffective. We have seen today some examples of exactly why that is. It is because the Labour Party team is not even slightly united behind its leader. 
I refer to these apparently bogus Twitter entries on the Twitter website. I accept the statement made by David Cunliffe that it was not his work because I know that anything that is good David Cunliffe claims and anything that is bad he does not and this is very very bad. It indicates that there are people out there who are presumably close to him and who want to promote him or to put it about on Twitter that he is the man to replace Phil Goff. What was absent this afternoon was the question about Mr Clayton Cosgrove. Apparently Mr Clayton Cosgrove also has a Twitter webpage. On that webpage he makes a number of comments that indicate he is also waiting in the wings for Mr Goff to trip over and fall in the hole. The talk on Twitter around the Labour Party is that it is just a matter of time for Phil. We will say goodbye to Helen Clark and to any other senior members who might be on their way and then we will have a massive and bloody spill. 
Here we are on 1 April a day when the Government is doing serious good things for the people of New Zealand that will make a difference in strapped economic times and all we can get from Labour members is the holding up of a Labour-National poll that shows the rapid incline of National’s support among the voters of this nation. It is no wonder that the incline is so steep. We have personal tax cuts coming into effect today. Members opposite can say that the tax cuts are not big enough or good enough or that things could have been better. Of course the other half of them say that there should not be any tax cuts at all. I know that at a time when the commodities that households require are on an upward price-path these tax cuts will be very much welcomed. 
Today also sees the start of the small-business initiative for the raft of small-business enterprises in this country that employ so many New Zealanders. That package totals some $480 million and is designed to make business a little easier for those business people so that they do not have to be consumed by the day-to-day inanities of their businesses and can focus instead on growing them and providing the work opportunities that so many people will need. 
Then there is the extraordinary situation where Labour members are saying that it would have been better to not raise the minimum wage rather than just put another 50c on it. How pathetic is that? Everybody working in those minimum wage jobs will be very happy to get their extra 50c an hour. That is another example of the fact that even in tight times the National Government is very attuned to the needs of those at the bottom end of society. 
Day by day businesses are having to face the difficulties of redundancy and the Government has packages in place so we have to ask why the Labour Party is so upset by programmes that might help those people through the Restart programme the 9-day working fortnight and the various other interventions designed to help people through difficult times. It is also interesting to note the criticism that comes from Labour members about the Government’s huge boost in infrastructure investment in New Zealand. A $500 million programme has been outlined so far. We also have the big broadband roll-out. That $1.5 million programme is designed to ensure that when New Zealand like the rest of the world reaches better times the ability to participate will be so much better.