Tabuteau Fletcher: Customs and Excise (Tobacco Products—Budget Measures) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third ReadingText is subject to correctionTabuteau Fletcher: Customs and Excise (Tobacco Products—Budget Measures) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading[Sitting date: 26 May 2016. Volume:714;Page:11455. Text is subject to correction.]FLETCHER TABUTEAU (NZ First): I just want to conclude the debate today by sympathising with and acknowledging those who have spoken in the House on just what is wrong with smoking. There is no debate from New Zealand First that smoking is a problem that kills New Zealanders—there is no debate on that. In fact whom I sympathise with even more is one of the members of the Māori Party who talked about all the programmes and initiatives we need to make cessation a success. But that is not what we are talking about here today. What we are talking about here today is a taxation measure put on—and everyone agrees—the poorest members of New Zealand’s society. They will suffer the burden of this more than anyone else will. That member over there Marama Fox shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head but it will affect Māori disproportionately and it will affect Pacific Islanders disproportionately. So let us put that into the perspective of the debate we are undertaking today.This is the measure of the sincerity of this Government: rob from the most needy. Yes they should stop but they cannot and this 10 percent rate is exactly the wrong amount remembering what the health professionals told us in the select committee. This will not achieve anything in terms of helping to reduce the uptake of cigarette smoking because people will continue to do so and in fact we will get more revenue to the sum of $425 million from those most at risk. What we see—and Mr Lotu-Iiga said it himself—is that this is a stopgap measure where we take from those who can least afford it in order to fill in gaps from the health budget which is underfunded in the first place. So we have to ask the question—and why is it that I find the cynicism of the Government so unacceptable? It is because it is saying “Let’s tax the poor.” but what has this Budget done in terms of funding quit programmes? Nothing. Not only has it done nothing but also the funding for those types of programmes has decreased. Where is the logic in that?Every member in this House has spoken of the need for support programmes and wraparound services and yet in this Budget the funding for those very programmes is going backwards. Couple that with a rate that does the exact opposite of the intent that it was purported to the House to have and not only will you achieve nothing but also you will achieve the exact opposite of the stated proposition of this piece of legislation. It will go backwards and it will do far more harm than good. So show me the money? No. Let us actually help people stop persecuting them support them and lift them out of their addiction.What does this Budget tell us about this Government’s true attitude to the people of New Zealand? “Get stuffed.” More money for cessation programmes? “Get stuffed.” More money actually directed to smoking costs in the health budget? “Get stuffed.” Cannot quit? “Get stuffed.” Not only is the Government not adding more money to the Budget to help people to stop smoking but also it is decreasing it. I say yet again to the members of this House that not only will this bill not achieve its stated intent but also it will do the exact opposite. Thank you.