Carter Chris: General Debate 
Carter Chris: General Debate 
[Volume:620;Page:15673] 
Hon CHRIS CARTER (Minister of Conservation) 
: 
 The score will stay the same while I am speaking Mr Assistant Speaker. I have to tell the House that the Government the previous speaker has just described has been an enormously successful Government. The team of Ministers that the member was talking about has been part of an incredibly successful team. It is a team that has overseen one of the fastest-growing economies in the OECD and the second-lowest unemployment rate in the OECD which at just 4 percent is better than that of Britain Australia Germany France the United States and almost everybody else. 
This team of Ministers has overseen a 50 percent increase in education spending a 40 percent increase in conservation spending an unprecedented investment in transport including $1.6 billion over the next 10 years in Auckland billions of dollars flowing into health a reduction in waiting lists a billion-dollar package in the last Budget to ensure hundreds of thousands of families have sufficient income to give their kids a good start in life and the lowest crime rate in 20 years. This is the successful team that over the last 5 years has seen those sorts of developments. 
This is a Government that acts swiftly when there are problems. Think of Air New Zealand. Our flagship carrier would have crashed and our billion-dollar tourism industry would have been ruined had this Government not acted quickly and decisively. It has seen New Zealand workers get 4 weeks’ holiday and it has restored the cuts that the previous Government made to superannuation. When this Government came into power 160000 people were on the unemployment benefit. Now there are approximately 70000. It is still too many but is almost a 50 percent reduction. That is amazing. 
The previous speaker touched on the crime statistics. Under Police Minister Hawkins the crime statistics in this country have declined to an all-time low. There are now more police clearances and we are seeing more criminals being put in jail—so many in fact that we cannot accommodate them all at the moment. We will have to do something about that very quickly. We have been tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. Longer sentences have come in because we have listened to the people. Those are just a smidgeon of the amazing things this Government has done over the previous 5 years. When the people come to judge whether this Government should be privileged to have a third term in office those are the sorts of things they will be thinking about. They will be remembering that facts speak louder than words and that actions are better than just plain rhetoric. 
In fact one further reason why the people must vote this Government in for a third term is the extraordinary prospect of what the alternative would be. There is no alternative. My colleague the Minister of Immigration Paul Swain spoke about the failings of the leader of the National Party. I am a nice sort of guy and I do not want to get into personalities but I would like to quote what some of the journalists have been saying. I have in front of me an article from Jane Clifton—somebody who is not always known to be very friendly to this Government. Recently she wrote: “When Brash was wheeled back to Parliament this week even the comb-over looked more timorous than usual. Brash also needs to work on his parliamentary performance. Brash proceeds competently enough with his questions but he seems never to expect any come-back or smart-alecry. He sits back shaking his head and mouthing words of dismay like a vicar in a lap dance club.” John Armstrong wrote recently: “Home or away Brash is losing. The National Party has an awful dilemma. If it keeps Don Brash away from Parliament it is slammed for doing so. When he fronts up he is being slaughtered.” 
I think Don Brash is a nice sort of guy. He seemed very pleasant the few times I talked with him. But what this country needs is leadership. Helen Clark has provided this country with extraordinary leadership intelligent leadership decisive leadership strong leadership. That is what the people have seen—not words. They have seen actions. They have seen good governance they have seen delivery on promises and they have seen a leader whom we are proud of. Sometimes Opposition members criticise the Prime Minister. They say: “She’s going off to a job at the UN.” Has anyone in this House ever suggested Don Brash should be going to the UN? Did anyone ever suggest Jenny Shipley was going to the UN? Did anyone ever suggest Jim Bolger could go to the UN? But Opposition members often suggest that Helen Clark could go there. Why? Because they recognise the intelligence and the qualities she has. She has world leadership qualities. She is a leader to be proud of. Nick Venter wrote recently about the National Party: “National’s strategy has reduced the risk of embarrassment in Parliament. Dr Brash usually attends only once a week and when he is there he relies heavily on typewritten notes.”