PARLIAMENTARY REPORT
JURISDICTION NAME NEW ZEALAND
BUDGET 2015 AND RETIREMENT OF LONG SERVING CLERK OF THE HOUSE
Budget 2015
On 21 May 2015 the Minister of Finance, Hon. Bill English MP (National) handed down the National-led government’s seventh Budget. In his Budget Statement, delivered to a full House, Mr English announced: “The economy has risen from deep recession to solid, 3 percent growth.” He added: “New Zealand remains one of the faster- growing developed economies.” Budget 2015 included
increased funding for education, health, research and development, rural broadband, biosecurity, and Māori suicide prevention, as well as a NZ$25 weekly payment for beneficiary families with children. The Prime Minister, Rt Hon. John Key MP (National) praised the economic stewardship of Mr English, saying: “I am proud to have Bill English as the Minister of Finance of this country.” He said: “The Budget was fair. It was thoughtful. It was reasonable.” Speaking in support of the
Budget, Hon. Te Ururoa Flavell MP (Co-Leader, Māori Party) congratulated Mr English “on working extremely well with the Māori Party leadership.” Hon. Peter Dunne MP (Leader, United Future) said: “This government, under the Leadership of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, understands that the nature and role of government in a modern society has also shifted.”
Opposing the Budget, Mr Andrew Little MP (Leader of the Opposition) moved an amendment expressing no-confidence in the government. He said: “This is a government that is demonstrating
216 | The Parliamentarian | 2015: Issue Three One
management by sleepwalk … This is a Budget that manages the decline … This is as good as it gets.” Ms Metiria Turei MP
(Co-Leader, Green Party) stated that “the Prime Minister chose to do the barest minimum for the poorest children and to abandon the hopes of our younger generations.” Rt Hon. Winston Peters MP (Leader, New Zealand First) said: “This is a ‘Split Enz Budget’ … as the group Split Enz sang, ‘I see red, I see red, I see red.’.” Following the Budget
Statement, the House sat under urgency for the introduction and passing through all stages of four pieces of legislation pertaining to key Budget measures.
Speaking on the Social Housing Reform (Flexible Purchasing and Remedial Matters) Bill, the Minister for Social Housing, Hon. Paula Bennett MP (National) said: “The government has embarked on an ambitious programme to improve
social housing.” She explained that the legislation will “allow the Ministry of Social Development to explore other arrangements, such as long- term fixed-price tenancies that meet the needs of the Crown, provider, and tenants.” However, Mr Phil Twyford
MP (Labour) countered: “This government has been selling off State houses all over the country without telling anybody.” Denis O’Rourke MP (New Zealand First) said: “This legislation allows the government to pretend that it will provide social housing more cheaply but, in fact, it will not. It will just push it off to somebody else. It will allow the government to avoid full accountability for social housing.”
Ms Jan Logie MP (Green Party) questioned the passing of the Bill under urgency: “This legislation is passing without analysis from Treasury and without any
substantive input and analysis of the implications.”
Budget 2015 also included an immediate halt to the NZ$1,000 ‘kick-start’ payment for the government-sponsored superannuation scheme KiwiSaver. The Minister of Revenue, Hon. Todd McClay MP (National) said: “KiwiSaver was launched over 7 years ago in different circumstances.” He commented: “The incentive payment … is no longer necessary.”
Minister for the Environment, Hon. Dr Nick Smith MP (National) added: “It is now time to let the scheme be more about people saving for their own retirement and less about government top-ups.” However, Mr Grant Robertson
MP (Labour) responded: “This is a broken promise … It steals NZ$1,000 from future generations.” Mr James Shaw MP (Green Party) highlighted that “New Zealand is 22nd out of 24 OECD
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104