Stewart Barbara: Budget Debate 
Stewart Barbara: Budget Debate 
[Volume:639;Page:9606] 
BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
: 
 On behalf of New Zealand First I am absolutely delighted to take a call in the Budget debate. This was a very focused Budget which was delivered again this year by Dr Cullen. Of course we were delighted that a significant investment was made in the health system. We in New Zealand First applaud this investment wholeheartedly. We have done so every year and we will continue to do so. The Government’s commitment to health spending is absolutely commendable and its investment has paid off in so many different areas. We can see the results. There are far too many of them to list here in the House in this debate but we hear about them every day at question time and we know that there are some very positive outcomes. 
We want to have a First World health system; we hear about it every day. The bottom line is that if we want this then we have to be prepared to pay for it and we want to see the results. So we in New Zealand First believe that this investment is really setting a framework for the future of our health system and I do not believe that one party in this House could disagree with it. 
I must say that I found it very ironic when I listened to the speeches from the National Party members last night. Every year after the Budget we hear many members of the National Party lamenting about what the Australians received in their Budget compared with what we received in New Zealand’s Budget. Those members continually extol the virtues of Australia and say that people need to leave New Zealand and go to Australia to do well. It is very ironic that not one of those MPs has ever left to head off to Australia—the land that they proclaim is so good. We hear about this phenomenon every year. In fact it is really getting quite boring. Jane Clifton from the  
Listener 
 has recognised what is happening and has labelled it “the annual Australian Budget snivel-fest”. 
Pita Paraone 
: Did she say that? 
BARBARA STEWART 
: She said that; she wrote that in her column. It is just so ludicrous that the National Party has not recognised—as Jane Clifton says—that our economies are “cat and dog different”. That is the party that wants to be the Government and run our economy—yeah right! That is quite amazing. 
We in New Zealand First are absolutely delighted that this Budget has invested significantly in the aged-care sector. This Government has made the largest-ever investment of $150 million over 4 years into the aged residential care sector and $81.2 million into home-based support. We applaud this development and we know that the aged-care sector has also applauded it. We know that addressing the challenges in the aged-care sector has been a priority for many many years and at long last the issue will be addressed. We have had people petition Parliament over many years looking for action. At last significant amounts of money have been allocated to ensuring that the workers in this very important sector receive a much-needed wage increase. These dedicated people have been on some of the lowest wages in our economy and this is one of the hardest heaviest and saddest occupations we have. I know that a lot of these workers get a lot of pleasure from their work and that wages are not the only motivating factor for them but the important role they play has to be recognised particularly in light of the fact that we have an ageing population and that the number of people whom we expect to be cared for in rest homes and in their homes will increase significantly. 
In New Zealand First we believe that senior citizens should be treated with the services and the dignity that they need and we believe too that staffing and training is an important aspect of rest home care. Now this important sector should be able to meet their needs to a far greater extent than happens at present. So New Zealand First is very pleased with this Budget.