Goff Phil: General Debate 
Goff Phil: General Debate 
[Volume:625;Page:20238] 
Hon PHIL GOFF (Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade) 
: 
 It is fascinating as we draw closer to an election that the Opposition parties seem consumed by sideshows and circuses rather than a focus on the sorts of issues that interest ordinary New Zealanders. The speaker who has just resumed his seat failed to demonstrate in any way that although there is some interest in a bureaucratic botch-up in Bangkok the man he is so concerned about and has spent his whole speech on is not regarded as a security concern by New Zealand by any of its intelligence partners or by the United States; in fact as I understand it he has been through a number of those countries. 
What the member failed to say however is what the Minister of Immigration and his predecessor have done in terms of improving the immigration system in this country. There were 2500 spontaneous asylum seekers when the leader of that member’s party was deputy leader of the Government Deputy Prime Minister in 1997-98. Each year more than 2500 spontaneous asylum seekers came to this country and flushed their passports down the toilet—and Winston Peters did nothing. He did nothing in 2 years of being Deputy Prime Minister. 
What has Paul Swain achieved? He has that figure down by 90 percent. The latest figure is 277 illegal asylum seekers in the last year under Paul Swain. There were 2627 illegal asylum seekers under Winston Peters as Deputy Prime Minister. The public can draw their own conclusions about who was effective in immigration. 
Then there are those other worthless parties of Opposition—the National Party and the ACT party. What are they interested in at the moment? They are interested in defending Peter Doone as Commissioner of Police a man who was judged by two independent reports to have acted unwisely and inappropriately when those members were in Government. They are trying to dredge up some ancient history because they have no policy. They have no direction; they have no leadership; and they have no support from the people of this country. 
When the electorate goes to the polls this September people will make their judgments on the fact that things have become better in their lives under the last 5½ years of a Labour-led Government. They know that this country has outperformed every other country in the Western World in terms of growth—growth rates are the best in the Western World. 
New Zealand has the lowest unemployment rate in the Western World. When the average New Zealander elector goes to the polls he or she will know that 264000 additional New Zealanders are working paying taxes and earning a good living—better off than ever before. New Zealanders know that under this Government they are spending $1.2 billion less on the unemployment benefit. There are 85000 fewer New Zealanders on the dole and 6000 fewer New Zealanders on the domestic purposes benefit. 
What is it about that that the National Party does not understand? That is why those members are languishing and low-polling in Opposition and they will not do any better. They will not do any better because they have absolutely no credibility. 
Their leader Don Brash has promised this week to spend three-quarters of a billion dollars on roads—in what area? The Waikato! By the time that he gets to the Bluff it will be tens of billions of dollars that he will want to spend. 
And he is going to spend another $200 million on defence. Sean Plunket asked: “Well what are you going to do with it?”; the answer was: “I don’t know.” “What’s your policy?” Sean Plunket asked; “We will have one by the election.” Don Brash promised. 
That Leader of the Opposition has failed to perform. The front bench has been hopeless. Those members have no policy they have no vision they have no direction and they do not have the support of the average New Zealander who knows that he or she is better off than ever before under what this Government is doing. 
On 1 April this year 300000 New Zealanders received an improvement in family support to help with raising their kids. Who in this House would oppose that move? Those members did! Ordinary working families who needed the help now have money in their pocket because this Government recognised their need and is managing the country’s economy in a way that that need can be met. As a result of this coming Budget 300000 elderly New Zealanders will receive rate relief. What people will vote for in this country is another Labour-led Clark-led Government.