Pillay Lynne: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Pillay Lynne: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:660;Page:8994] 
LYNNE PILLAY (Labour) 
: 
 Last November John Key celebrated being Prime Minister for a year but survivors of sexual abuse and disabled people in “New Zilnd” or New Zealand as we say here have nothing to celebrate. John Key promised there would be a brighter future for all New Zealanders but survivors of sexual abuse and disabled people in New Zealand do not have a brighter future. In his speech in this House John Key promised there would be improved opportunity fairness and security for all New Zealanders but that is not the case for survivors of sexual abuse or for disabled people. John Key promised a New Zealand in which his Government would improve the opportunities available to our most vulnerable citizens but that is clearly not the case. 
There is absolutely nothing in the Prime Minister’s statement that could give any hope whatsoever to New Zealanders—no innovation and no support for the vast majority of Kiwis. National has failed New Zealand families. Let us look at the rise in the GST rate which will push more costs on to hard-working New Zealanders—and they are already struggling to make ends meet. Will the tax cuts deliver more to low and middle income earners? No they will not. Will they deliver more to the 10 percent of high-income earners in this country? Yes they will. 
Let us look at how much those people will receive. The Prime Minister will get another $509 a week— 
Dr Ashraf Choudhary 
: How much? 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: He will get another $509 a week. That figure is around the minimum weekly wage in this country and is almost exactly the same as the wages of the cleaners who rallied outside Parliament today. Labour Party members and Green Party members went out to meet them but did National Party members Maori Party members or ACT members go out to meet them? No they did not. If those members had listened to those people they would have heard that all they were asking for was a small increase so that they could make a living. But they were not listened to by the National Government. I say again that currently the cleaners’ weekly wage is almost exactly the same amount as the additional money that John Key would get under his Government’s tax cuts. Those same cleaners will also suffer a 20 percent increase in GST on what they spend just in order to look after their families—to feed and clothe their kids. Where is the justice in this? That is a line that John Key took from Labour’s statement: “opportunities for all for a brighter future”. Yeah right! Labour will fight alongside every community group every family the majority of all New Zealanders— 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: “The many not the few”. 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: —the many not the few to oppose this GST rise. That is what we are about. As my colleague Darren Hughes said we are about the many not the few. 
Yesterday there was another rally outside Parliament. This is the rally season and that protest was against the huge hike in accident compensation levies the cutting of all the entitlements and quite clearly the lining up of the accident compensation scheme for privatisation in the future. A wide range of people were there and I congratulate everyone who turned up. The biking community were there in their leather gear. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: They looked really good. 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: They did look really good. The people who are getting dealt to under the accident compensation scheme were there. The victims of injury were there. The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has referred to them in terms of “draining the swamp”. Those were the people who turned out but I want to talk about— 
Dr Ashraf Choudhary 
: Who wasn’t there? 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: Again the National members were not there to listen to that group. 
I want to talk about another group that turned up: the victims of sexual abuse and the professionals who support them and provide counselling. Those victims and survivors have suffered the most horrendous forms of abuse that one could ever contemplate. This Government introduced a new pathway for dealing with those claimants. Well that pathway was nothing short of a high wire. The latest figures show that 70 percent of those claims were turned down in a 6-month period. Victims are being pushed from pillar to post; they are forced to retell and retell their stories in order to apply for the help they need and deserve. The system is so shocking that many counsellors have felt compelled now on ethical grounds to not even participate in it. 
Let us hear some of the reasons given by ACC for declining claims. It decided that sex with a 12-year-old was consensual and that a childhood rape was sexualised play. Two young boys who were raped and thrown out of a window were deemed not to need counselling. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: What? 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: That is the new policy. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: That’s the policy? 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: That is Nick Smith. This cost-cutting exercise is without a doubt one of the most cruel and shameful we have ever seen in our country. 
I have a message for the National Government and it is this: victims and survivors of sexual abuse counsellors therapists organisations and members on this side of the House will not go away—not in 6 months not in a year not ever—until this Government accepts that what it is doing is absolutely wrong and reverses the cuts to accident compensation. 
The other thing I want to talk about is another group who have been seriously dealt to and that is people who are living with disabilities. The cuts in this area have been nothing short of mind-blowing. I will start with Minister Paula Bennett’s cutting of the training incentive allowance. That allowance is not only about single parents; it supports disabled students in tertiary education. That is gone. Community education has also been cut. I predicted as did my colleagues quite rightly that that cut would lead to the axing of sign language classes. Anne Tolley said no no that was not true. I notice that Anne Tolley is not saying a word now; she is heavily involved in sorting through her papers. Anne Tolley stood in this House and said that that was not true but now we are seeing the axing of those classes. I tell Anne Tolley that is shameful and it is no wonder she is looking embarrassed. We see the sacking of support and teachers for deaf children and their families. Again Anne Tolley should hang her head in shame on that one. We see the cutting of support for tertiary students in the Auckland region. Again Anne Tolley should hang her head in shame. It is no wonder that the Government dumped her from the tertiary education portfolio and I say to Mr Joyce it is his time now to fix it. 
We are also looking at the extraordinary organisations that help children with disabilities. Has Anne Tolley been moved to tears or am I imagining that? 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: No you’re imagining that. 
LYNNE PILLAY 
: I am imagining it OK. We see cuts in the funding of other organisations that help disabled students and support them to reach their full potential. The cut in that area is absolutely shocking stuff. This is a roll of absolute shame for this Government. In just a few short months we have seen all the support be slashed and that was done under a Prime Minister who has said he cares about our vulnerable people. 
Well in the House today the Prime Minister said sometimes politicians get things wrong. On that I agree. In his Prime Minister’s statement he said he wanted to improve opportunity fairness and security. In order to do that his statement should have said other things. It should have said the Government would stop the attacks on accident compensation and return to a fair system. It should have said the Government would shelve the GST hikes and stop giving huge cuts to high-income earners and would reinstate the cuts to disability organisations. I can see Mr Joyce looking at that and thinking it is not a bad idea. The statement should have said the Government would reinstate the 2 percent employer contributions to KiwiSaver which National actually snatched away from workers and reinstate the funding for community education. It should also have said the Government would make sure that the cleaners who clean our offices in Parliament received a fair wage rise. If John Key had said he thought that his proposed tax cut whereby he will get more money than the cleaners who clean those offices was unfair then he would get some positive words from members on this side of the House. Will the National Government do that? No it will not. Will it front up to those injustices? No it will not. Will it stop wrecking our education system with its national standards? I tell Mr Joyce that he will have to build a heap more roads after the new education statement that was made today because people are going to be whirling all over Auckland City taking their kids to the school of their choice. 
I will finish now but I say the Prime Minister’s statement is an absolute travesty and an absolute insult to ordinary New Zealanders.