Dyson Ruth: General Debate 
Dyson Ruth: General Debate 
[Volume:640;Page:10693] 
Hon RUTH DYSON (Minister of Labour) 
: 
 My colleague Steve Maharey mentioned the lift in the mood of Gerry Brownlee and it was particularly obvious during that contribution. Mr Brownlee can see his seat becoming vacant in the very near future. But I have to say that as well as his strengthening his contribution in the House I was very impressed with his moonlighting as a Radio New Zealand National interviewer this morning and the way he eased himself into Sean “Just Answer the Question” Plunket’s seat during the interview with Annette King. He is also looking forward to easing himself into the vacant seat of the current deputy leader of the National Party. 
The word is out not just around this building but around the whole country that John Key has lost the edge that he had. I did not think it would happen so fast but John Key has made a point of parading himself up and down the country and proving beyond doubt that he has no substance. If people wondered whether it was true they do not have to be in doubt any longer because the deputy Bill English confirmed it for them. In the  
North and South 
 magazine he is reported as saying that he is the grinder that he is the one who does all the work and that John Key has no substance—he just hops from cloud to cloud. What a fantastic thing to say about one’s own leader! I do not know whether he thought he was speaking off the record. Did he not know that there was a tape-recorder on the table turned on? 
Simon Power 
: Like John Tamihere! 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: Exactly we have heard of that situation before. Maybe Bill English fell for the same old trick. Whatever happened it has certainly confirmed any doubt that people had in their minds: there is no substance at all to John Key. 
John Key recently went overseas and they do say that when the cat is away the mice will play. John Key was asked who was going to look after the place while he was away. He said: “The wife the kids and my cat Moonbeam.” It must have been a bit offensive to his deputy who was going to be Acting Leader of the Opposition that he did not even rate ahead of the cat. He did not even make it to the list ahead of Moonbeam the cat. That is extraordinary. So poor old deputy leader Bill— 
Simon Power 
: That joke is 6 weeks old. 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: That was not a joke; it was what Mr Power’s leader said about his deputy. 
There was plenty of action from the deputy leader while the leader was away. One of the things I found most extraordinary—and Grey Power members from all around the country have been contacting me about this—was that Bill English is once again floating the idea that our age of entitlement for superannuation will have to go up or the level of superannuation will have to go down. After all our efforts to restore the level of superannuation to 65 percent for a married couple linked with the average wage we can see it going down again because of Bill English’s commitments. 
My colleague Steve Maharey quoted the concern of both Colin James and the  
Otago Daily Times 
 about John Key and Bill English. Fran O’Sullivan who has not been a strong supporter of our Government in articles from her that I have read is again raising concerns about the way in which the National Party leadership is prepared to play politics at the expense of our country. We saw it in relation to the trans-Tasman therapeutic products issue. We know that considerable concern was raised by National backbench members who understand our concern about the lack of regulatory protection for imported goods. Fran O’Sullivan said that the National Party led by a former currency trader was indulging in political point-scoring at the expense of New Zealand’s prosperity. Sooner or later there has to be some understanding that in this Parliament we have a larger responsibility to the whole country and in the words of Fran O’Sullivan we should not try to score political points at the expense of New Zealand’s prosperity. 
There is always plenty of room for robust debate and for disagreement but when it comes to open and honest dealings people’s commitments should be listened to people’s understanding should be taken at their word and the benefit of the country should not be put aside for cheap political point-scoring. In my view our nation deserves and expects more from major political parties.