GEORGINA BEYER (Labour): It is a great privilege on our first day back for 2006 to speak in the debate on the Prime Minister’s statement—a very good statement, in my opinion. I am a little disappointed that on this day, 14 February—Valentine’s Day—I am not feeling a great deal of love flowing around the Chamber. It is certainly not flowing from the Opposition side. But the hearts on this side of the Chamber—the Government side—are thumping with pride over the Government’s achievements of the last 6 years. We are certainly very proud of the vision, intention, and commitment to New Zealand and New Zealanders that was delivered in the Prime Minister’s statement today.

Economic transformation comes in many and varied forms. The Prime Minister outlined how we would address our communication issues, which are still part of the problems with our economy, and our labour force issues, because we have such low, if any, unemployment, at the moment. We will look at our transport infrastructure, particularly in Auckland, because it is a powerhouse of economic development and transformation in this country, and in the rest of provincial New Zealand, which is, as we all know, the backbone of this country.

The lack of love that is coming from the Opposition side must be due to the deep, deep conundrum those members find themselves in regarding their leadership problems. We heard from their lame-duck leader, quack-quacking away over there, while the other two were sitting there—that is, Mr Key and Mr English; we do not know which one it might be. That party is in trouble for this year and perhaps for the rest of the term until it has decided what to do with the lame-duck leader known as Dr Brash.

Dr Brash probably does need a doctor to help him through this rather tumultuous period psychologically. I understand. I attended a function myself on Sunday. I know that that member in the Chamber, Pansy Wong, was also present. She was waiting for her leader to arrive at the Big Gay Out in Auckland, which he duly did. The Labour team had been given speaking rights at the particular engagement, and there were many people there, possibly thousands, who were all potential voters.

About the only time the National Party turns out to something like that is when it needs to solicit votes. I do recall—and I have to give the National Party credit for this—that National Prime Minister Jenny Shipley was the first Prime Minister to turn up to the Hero Parade. I give National credit for that, and I particularly give that lady credit for having done that. But I remind this House that the Leader of the Opposition at the time, and our current Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Helen Clark, has attended every major outing that there has been in Auckland due to the Hero festival. I have to say that she tendered her apologies this year simply because she was doing the nation’s bidding in South Africa.

Our team turned up, we spoke, and we got a wonderful response. But when the Leader of the Opposition arrived he just sort of scouted around a bit. I know that Georgina te Heuheu must have got on the phone and warned her leader that we had challenged him to come up with a few commitments at that particular function. He did a quick walk around and then hopped in the car and went. He did not have a chance to speak, apparently—or did he just avoid it altogether? That has to be an indication of how confused, concerned, and totally ill at ease he is with the leadership issue.

I know that over there on that side of the House Mr Key is pressing on. They are denying, of course, that any such thing is happening. But we do recall that in the past Mr English found himself in a similar situation—he was in as leader and then out as leader. Those members should look back at some of their own history. But that is enough about them. They are always talking down this country.

Today this Government presented, via our leader, the Rt Hon Helen Clark, vision and future for this country.

Darren Hughes: An agenda for the fifth term.

GEORGINA BEYER: I could not have put it better than that member, Darren Hughes, who knows what he is talking about. We are looking toward a fifth term. There is no way that this Government will give up the Treasury benches while we are yet to bring forward an absolute plethora of policy that will move this country forward. That policy will be inclusive. It will be for the young and the old.

We will address issues of poverty in this country, as this Government set out to do during the last 6 years—that is one thing. We are making this country innovative. We are helping to rebuild from the tragic era of the 1990s. “Tragic” is an apt word for that time, because it has taken us a damn long time—6 years, indeed—to get us back to somewhere where we have a positive future to look forward to. This is what the Government stands for: a positive, inclusive future, and a transforming economy. Families, young and old, will benefit. We have a unique national identity and, of course, we can rave on about the most fantastic films that have been made, which the world is enjoying at the moment. We will host the Rugby World Cup—there again is another showcase. But let us just review what will happen in the very near future, come 1 April this year.

I remind those who are listening to the debate today of the big extension to Working for Families, with more than 60,000 more families becoming eligible for the package. All up that is $350,000—I mean, 350,000 families. Would it not be nice to have the dollars, though! Those families will receive dollars—a little bit more so that they are able to, perhaps, look at the KiwiSaver scheme that is coming up. Perhaps they might want to have some more security about their superannuation and what they might do in the future. Perhaps people might have a chance to buy their first homes, which they could not do under a National Government. National spent a fair bit of the 1990s getting rid of the available State housing.

Need I remind the House again of what happened in my former electorate of the Wairarapa under a National Government? Three hundred - plus State houses were sold. I cannot find one such State house in that electorate at the moment. This Government has initiatives, such as the KiwiSaver scheme, that will give some people in that electorate a little bit of hope. There will be an increase in the rate of New Zealand superannuation, in line with the confidence and supply agreement that was negotiated with New Zealand First, in order to boost our senior citizens’ living standards.

Have we heard any policy from those members on the other side of the House on that particular issue? No, we have heard no policies at all today. All we have had is a personal attack against the leader of the Labour Party, which is quite unwarranted. [Interruption] Can I tell that lot over there about people in glasshouses? I daresay those members had better look around their caucus at the individual returns—there may be some issues to be worried about there; who knows? So yes, I reiterate that people in glasshouses should not throw stones. These matters are being taken care of in a proper, open, and transparent manner. That is something new to the Opposition members, but it is not new to this Government. We always front up, and we front up to this nation transparently. [Interruption] Oh, please! That member over there has seen more pork than I have seen roast dinners. Other members there may have other shadows hanging over them, but I will not tarry on that. [Interruption] I wish some of those newer members on the other side of the House would do what a former National Prime Minister suggested, which was to breathe through one’s nose for at least the first 6 months in order to learn how the ropes work around here.

I say in conclusion that our Government’s task is to provide leadership and sound policy to support the journey that has been outlined in the Prime Minister’s statement. She looks forward, I look forward, and this side of the House certainly looks forward to building New Zealand. We look forward to all the opportunities and to New Zealand reaching its full potential under the policies that a Labour-led Government is able to deliver under the leadership of the Rt Hon Helen Clark and under the very prudent and sensible fiscal management of the deputy leader, Dr Michael Cullen.