Rich Katherine: Future Directions (Working for Families) Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Procedure 
Rich Katherine: Future Directions (Working for Families) Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Procedure 
[Volume:617;Page:13473] 
KATHERINE RICH (National) 
: 
 As I rise to speak to Part 1 of the Future Directions (Working for Families) Bill it is very clear that members on this side have a whole host of questions for the Minister about how this bill will really take this country into a future direction that is positive for New Zealand. Looking at this bill one of the first questions for the Minister is: what in this bill will keep some of our professional educated New Zealanders in this country? What will keep our nurses and doctors from going to Australia and the UK our teachers from leaving to go to better salaries overseas and even our social workers from going to London? What will make it easier for the Department of Child Youth and Family Services to not only get social workers but also be able to keep them and pay decent wages? One of the things that is absent in this bill is any discussion about how it will contribute to economic growth and grow the pie. This bill is just about redistributing the pie and handing it out to different New Zealanders. 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: Vote bribe. 
KATHERINE RICH 
: It is a vote buyer—it is nothing more than a bribe. I ask the Minister: where is the courage of his convictions? If he was serious about putting his plans in place then how come these benefits are dribbled out over the next couple of years? That has been the major feedback over the last couple of days. People are saying that if the Government is serious about this why is it not putting these plans in place earlier? They are saying: “Well I might get something 3 years down the track but big deal!”. In today’s  
Dominion Post 
 Jane Clifton said: “Jam tomorrow and a smear of Marmite today.” This proves that it really is an election bribe. All the benefits conveniently start to filter in after the next election. There is nothing in here to provide a blueprint for making this country a better place for a larger group of New Zealanders. There is nothing in here about growing the economy or creating an environment where our professionals educated New Zealanders and tradespeople will stay. It is not just the nurses teachers and doctors taking off; it is also our plumbers electricians and those people who have any kind of skill because they can travel across the ditch and get better salaries and wages. 
A lot of these things happen sometime in the future. Now if this Government were serious about making a difference to its voters then it would have the start date more or less immediately. One of the things that is quite strange is why members are debating this in urgency at all as there is nothing in this bill that kicks in before this October. The Government is not changing any taxes or putting up any prices. Those members are here only because they want to make a huge performance and try to convince their voters that they are doing something glamorous and making a major change. 
Well I think most of us can see through this. This is nothing more than a cute performance to make it look as if the Government is doing something—marmite today and jam tomorrow for many of Labour’s voters. This bill is called “future directions” but I ask what future this legislation will actually give to families in New Zealand. What is in it for the young student who has just got a degree and gone off to get his or her first job? What is in it for young married couples who have no children? Nothing. That is why the feedback on the Budget has been mixed. I imagine that the Minister is pretty gutted that many New Zealanders have not looked at the Budget and cried: “Yeehah we’re for Labour!”. New Zealanders have realised that four out of five families get nothing from the Future Directions (Working for Families) Bill. 
Even the childcare part of the bill is a bit of a joke. Anybody who listened to  
Morning Report  
would have heard that Sean Plunket has his kids in a private childcare arrangement. Those families who choose not to be in community-based childcare facilities will get nothing. Once again it is social engineering at its worst. 
If this Government had the courage of its convictions the start dates would not be in some far-flung year in the future conveniently after the next election. The Government would not be holding this lolly scramble out and basically telling New Zealanders: “Yes there is going to be a lolly scramble but the lollies will be delivered right up until 2007.” In this bill there is a major change that will not be good for New Zealand.