Woolerton R Doug: Taxation (Annual Rates and Urgent Measures) Bill — In Committee 
Woolerton R Doug: Taxation (Annual Rates and Urgent Measures) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:628;Page:753] 
R DOUG WOOLERTON (NZ First) 
: 
 I am not a student of history. I have not taught history. I do not even have a good mind for history and everybody knows that. But I will tell the House one thing. I was in the National Party for a number of years and it has gone to the pack since then. 
I was sitting here listening to the speeches from the National Party members and I was trying to think—students of history may be able to tell me—of the last time that National cut taxes. I was trying to think of how many National Governments in the past 50 years or whatever have cut taxes. I remember working as a party volunteer for many many years and I remember getting a really hard time many times—not just once but many times—when National put taxes up but I cannot remember when it put them down. 
New Zealand First is happy to support this tax amendment bill because like most other New Zealanders we looked at tax cuts and that sort of thing and we decided and have it as a policy that there should be tax cuts for exporters. We believe there should be incentives for people to export out of this country. The people who send our goods overseas should be encouraged and should have tax breaks so they can reinvest and be better able to do those things. But no no National members were not talking about that. They were talking about tax cuts across the board. It has not worked for President Bush I might tell members but nevertheless National members think that that is the way to go. 
The thing that we in New Zealand First could not get around and the thing that worried us most of all is the thing that has been spoken about by Labour Party members this afternoon and that is the question of where the money was going to come from. We believe we know where the money was going to come from. It was going to come very definitely from cuts in Government services—there is no question about that—and it was going to come from an area that we thought even National had learnt a lesson in and that is the business of asset sales. National was going to get back into the business of asset sales. They were going to get back into the business of selling off key assets in this country probably to the same people or associates of the same people they sold assets to some time before. I will not go down the list. I will not talk about all those things that were supposed to have worked more efficiently and better and provide better services under the free-enterprise system in the hands of private owners because we all know the history of Air New Zealand rail and all those sorts of things. 
Mr Clayton Cosgrove talked about borrowing for the tax cuts which was mooted at the recent election and National members say that that is not correct. But I can tell members though that they did not deny that very strenuously at the time. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: John Key is on the record as saying they will borrow. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: He said they would borrow? Well speaking of John Key I can tell members that I was in this House last week when this bill was being debated—Mr Cosgrove will not believe this; he was not here probably—and John Key gave a big speech about the bill but did not mention tax cuts. He did not even mention tax cuts. National’s finance spokesperson did not mention tax cuts. He was in the Chamber ranting and raving going on about everything under the sun but he did not mention tax cuts which is a key policy. In fact I believe it is the only policy that was part of the National Party election campaign. The policy did not do it for them. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: Oh no—that is because he is on 7 percent. 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: Well it is an interesting team over here. Mr English is coming up. Dr Cullen with due respect to him is a smart man but he asked: “Why is Bill English saying these things?”. He knows. He is being cute. He knows that this is not about the tax bill. This is not about any of this. They were pre-election speeches. What election? We have just had one. It is a leadership election. That is what it is about and that is why we have the team over here. I am going to watch very carefully.