Cosgrove Clayton: General Debate 
Cosgrove Clayton: General Debate 
[Volume:630;Page:2701] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Minister for Building Issues) 
: 
 I have to say that was a rich speech coming from a National Party member. Mr Heatley should read the historical annals out there in the corridor. It is a bit rich for him and his kind to come in here and lecture us about Housing New Zealand Corporation when the National Government deliberately attempted to destroy Housing New Zealand and destroy State housing in this country. No one can argue with that point because that National Government sold over 12000 houses. That is why we have long waiting lists; people want to get into the houses that National sold. 
Not only did that member stand up and pontificate about housing but he also forgot to mention the building sector and the destroyed apprenticeships that we brought back. As I mentioned at question time there are few rules in the industry. There is a big dose of amnesia over on that side of the House. Mr Heatley is the biggest example of a headless chook in the National Party that members will ever see—running around with no direction and no brains. He is an exact example of why the National members are on the Opposition benches. They are a rudderless crew—completely rudderless. 
I went to the Canterbury Manufacturers Association president’s function last week and the great speaker the great man the great hope for some—they are few; a minority—was one John Key who was pretending to be the leader. He got up and he did not give a bad speech—there was lots of stuff about Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew. He had read a book  
From Third World to First: The Singapore Story: 1965-2000 
 and expounded knowledge about that. Then it came to a thing called question time. It is always a cracker question time. I quite enjoy it on both sides. John Key was asked what his policy was on this that and the other. I know that the two National Party members there who were there at the time were cringing away at the speech. 
Then a very eminent Cantabrian and Kiwi businessman Angus Tait from Tait Electronics—he is a superb human being—asked the clanger question: “What are you going to do?”. What was the reply from John Key? A bit of dodging and a bit of weaving. He was not quite sure; he could not really say at that moment. Angus is a good guy. He is a bit like a dog with a bone; he does not give up easily. He then called him again and asked: “What are you going to do?”. John Key replied: “Oh I can’t really say. The election is a while away. I haven’t really done much policy work.”—that type of thing. 
I will tell members the feedback from the members of the Canterbury Manufacturers Association that I have talked to because I have friends and former colleagues in that organisation. They said the speech was long on rhetoric and short on detail. It was a nothing speech. Did he elucidate all the work he may have done on research and development policy or depreciation policy? Did he tell them he was going to backtrack as National did on the weekend on tax? No he did not say that—heck no. There was no policy. The National Party is a rudderless pack of headless chooks. 
I was really gratified after that speech because I am also told that the National Party MPs turned up at the Canterbury Manufacturers Association and met with its members—as the Labour Canterbury MPs did. I am told David Carter was there. The National MPs gave a briefing; they sat there and pontificated. The people they met with are manufacturers—guys who make things and smart business people. So what in an hour and a half of the breakfast meeting did the National Party MPs talk about to manufacturers? All David Carter could talk about was dog microchipping. There was no policy on manufacturing—and he was a business person I am told. I tell members that was the feedback from that meeting and those manufacturers are eminent Kiwis. 
I turn briefly to the ACT party because I cannot resist. There is the ACT party down from eight members to two. Heather Roy is off to the Territorial Army—she has a lot of time on her hands—and I commend her for that. Good on her! That is honourable—she is off to join the Territorials. Then we have Mr Hide—“Twinkletoes”. I predict Mr Hide will win  
Dancing with the Stars 
. Do members know why? Because his two specialist dances will be first the hustle—and we know he is the best at it—and second the limbo dance because of course no one goes lower than Mr Hide. I am also told that his hearing is going. When a producer at Television New Zealand asked him whether he would go on the show because he could dance like Anna Pavlova—the Russian ballet dancer—Mr Hide misheard. He thought the producer had asked him whether he would like a pavlova. He asked for two and he said yes. Then he told members he was on a crash diet. I am told he is down to four meals a day. So I say what a wonderful contribution Mr Hide and Ms Roy are making. I think Ms Roy is doing a good thing. She will make a better contribution I hope to our armed forces—and good on her; we want to encourage that—than she has in here. 
But I say to the Opposition over there and their mates from ACT that they are a bunch of headless chooks. They have no policy. Members cannot turn up at a Canterbury Manufacturers Association breakfast for example and talk about everything apart from manufacturing. Members cannot turn up and give a keynote speech to eminent business people and when asked: “What would you do if you were Minister of Finance?” say: “Well I haven’t quite worked that out yet.” Members cannot do that because that is a huge credibility gap. Our policies are out there. Our economic transformations policies are out there for everyone to see. We are proud of them. National is hollowed out; it has no policy.