Woolerton R Doug: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply Debate 
Woolerton R Doug: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply Debate 
[Volume:632;Page:3697] 
R DOUG WOOLERTON (NZ First) 
: 
 I just want to correct my colleague Clayton Cosgrove. It is true that in the dark of the National Party there is a contest for a leader. Having been there myself many years ago I understand about these things. The point the member is not correct on is that National members are unsure of their numbers for that challenge. They do know. Each one of them actually has the numbers. The thing is that they do not trust their colleagues because in the very recent past each and every one of them has been done over by his or her colleagues. So each of them is doing the numbers but each of them is so unsure the numbers are correct that no one wants to move. Be that as it may— 
Hon David Carter 
: Who is this guy? 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: And the person who is interjecting the guy from down south somewhere had in his day aspirations of being the leader too. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: Yes he did. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: He did. I know that it is hard to believe but people close to the man—I cannot say who—told me that. However he no longer harbours such dreams. He is having to face reality and the fact that other people are superseding him in the hierarchy of the National Party. So if Don Brash goes that member is in trouble. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: Do you reckon he’s history? 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: Oh I am sure of it but the member can check it out for himself. The real concerns New Zealand First has about the economy were put out there by us during the election campaign. But because the fight was between those who wanted to deliver services in the case of Labour versus those who wanted to make tax cuts in the case of National that took precedence and New Zealand First had trouble getting its message through. 
As people have heard here this afternoon both parties are throwing accusations at the other. The problem is that nobody is actually looking at the real concerns relating to the New Zealand economy. They include excessive consumption excessive importing and a lack of exporting. I myself believe that that has been recognised by putting Jim Anderton in charge of agriculture forestry and fishing. He has said right upfront that although he knows very little about any of those areas he does know about motivation and his job will be to ask the productive sectors of the economy for one more turn at the pump. I know that my friends in Federated Farmers also believe that Jim Anderton was put there to say: “Look ladies and gentlemen can you please give us more exports?” 
New Zealand First believes that is the right way to go. We have had deep concerns about the amount of consumption that has been going on in the last few years but that having happened we believe it is essential that we now get back and support our exporters—to the degree that New Zealand First has insisted that 2007 be an export year and that the Government put emphasis on making exporters important again. 
Although that toing and froing is going on between the two major parties over what is happening and what has been promised New Zealand First has to come down on the side of Dr Cullen in carefully harbouring an $8 billion or so surplus. We know that if the economy heads south—if it weakens—that surplus will disappear in a heartbeat. We applaud him for hanging on to that surplus in the face of National’s calls to give it away in tax cuts. It is all very well to say—and we have all heard the line—that it is the people’s money and that we should not be taking it off them. Mr Key was going on about that; it was the main point of his address in this debate. But unfortunately history tells us that both in this country and—dare I say it—in America when tax cuts are given across the board they do not go to productive enterprise. That is the history. It is not me saying it and it is not New Zealand First saying it; it is what has happened traditionally in this country and it is what is happening in the United States of America at this point in time. If tax cuts are given across the board people will go out and spend more. I will not go into the detail of that but it is certainly what has happened. 
So in the situation we face now where we are having to do something about a $14 billion export deficit we will have to encourage exporters while being careful about what we import. That situation is certainly not going to be helped by one of the two major parties promising tax cuts across the board. I just hope that that party will not put so much pressure on the Government that Dr Cullen will be forced into a position of having to promise those things as we approach the next election. 
 We believe that the economy is not as robust as we are being told it is—we certainly agree with National on that front. We believe there is a downturn coming. We believe there is a sense of unreasoned optimism shall we say. We believe that internationally sharemarkets are showing signs of nervousness. We believe that New Zealand in total should put aside its differences between the parties and we believe we should be very very careful about how we go in the next few years because we do not believe we are in a position to give away anything in the way of tax cuts or anything that encourages consumption in order to get votes at the next election. 
We are scared that if those things were to happen we could get a 1987 situation. I am a positive person; I am not one to run around the country preaching doom and gloom and I am not suggesting that that will happen. But if we look at the fact that a couple of financial lending institutions have collapsed just recently—and I know the reasons for that—and if we look at what is happening in the financial markets then we would have to say it is a time for caution. It is not time for the gung-ho type of behaviour we are seeing from the National Party and with due respect from the Labour Party. It is time for this country to hunker down recognise that we have a debt recognise that the debt has to be paid and do something about it. New Zealand First for its part is saying that encouraging the Government to make 2007 an export year and to put our resources into that is the way to go.