United Future
Gordon Copeland

Copeland Budget speech

 Just to back that up, I want to read almost verbatim from the letter and notes I wrote in October last year, when we were in dialogue with the Government about what should be included in this year’s Budget.

Our party decided to put to the Government that it should be a priority in this year’s Budget to address the issue of family support. The first thing we said we were looking for was a complete overhaul of the family assistance system. This bill does that. We wanted to do that by making a significant overall increase in the assistance given to beneficiaries and low-income working families, with specific recognition of the number of children who would be dependent on the family income. This bill delivers that.

We wanted to see a simplification of the system by the amalgamation or elimination of the present segmented family support, child tax credit, and parental tax system. We predicted that this would be likely to require a downgrade in the level of the benefit for those who were not in the workforce, but a downgrade that would be more than offset by the increase in child benefit payments. That is exactly what this bill does. We sought a widening of the after-tax income level between families on benefits and working families, in order to incentivise and encourage participation in the workforce. This bill delivers on that.

I should add that the 1991 benefit cuts that were rushed through in great haste by the National administration of the day did not adequately address the way the accommodation supplement and other things were rebated, giving very perverse outcomes and very high effective marginal tax rates to many families that were endeavouring to do what we all want them to do—to move from benefits into the workforce.

We wanted to ensure that all families entitled to support actually received it, and we are delighted that the Government has signalled that it will be undertaking a major marketing campaign to ensure that all families that should benefit from these measures will do so.

We also asked the Government to make sure that we retained some relativity and comparability with Australia, for the very important and inevitable reason—and, in many ways, unfortunate reason—that some New Zealand families are relocating to Australia because that Government is giving better assistance to families than they can receive here.

One of the things I am delighted to see in this bill is that benefit levels will now be indexed. Every time the consumer price index moves by 5 percent or more, the relative level of benefits and other assistance to families will move in tandem with it, thus retaining in real terms the benefit we seek to deliver to those needy low and middle-income families.

I remember very well having a conversation with Dr Cullen before the Budget in 2002 on the whole question of indexation. As a result of that conversation, members may recall that in last year’s Budget we began at long last to index those families at the upper end of the scale in terms of income. Last year’s Budget delivered $59 million in family assistance to those families, which would not have happened had United Future not been in Parliament to advocate for their situation and to bring that reality to the attention of the Government.

I remember saying to Dr Cullen that if a family had, for example, four children, then even at an income of over $50,000 a year, it would still be struggling to make ends meet. I had no idea at that stage that just a couple of weeks ago we would see in the Sunday Star-Times the big write-up and all the publicity given to the McLachlan-Gilbert family, which is in exactly that situation. It proves the point, once and for all, that even at that level, families continue to need direct support from the Government. The reality is that it is expensive to raise children. We need to take that fully into account, and I am delighted that in this Budget the cut-off point for a lot of families is as high as $70,000. For those with quite large families, it goes up even further than that, to maybe $80,000. We welcome that very much indeed.

I also want to say that the fiscal stimulus that will be delivered to the New Zealand economy through the Future Directions (Working for Families) Bill is timely. No less an authority than the Reserve Bank has said that this is the right way and the right time to give some fiscal stimulus to our economy, because it is going slightly off the boil at the moment and, therefore, can take that stimulus without any adverse effect on monetary policy. That is very, very important indeed. What could be more important right now for this country than to put additional funds, via fiscal stimulus, into the pockets of those people who most need it?

The unfortunate reality for New Zealand at this point in time is that children and poverty go together. If we think for a moment about how the money that will be delivered through this bill will be spent, it becomes obvious that this is exactly the right thing to do at this point in our history. The money will be spent on food, on clothing, on school uniforms and transportation to and from school, on mortgage repayments, on rent, and, I could add, the odd treat by way of family outings and family holidays. I wonder how many families in this country have not had a decent holiday together as a family for some years. It is very important that we give such encouragement now to those intangible but very important aspects of family life. Who knows? Maybe a family will even be able to get a newer car—probably a second-hand import, but still a step up.

The basic and fundamental thing is that through this Budget, our kids and their mums and dads will benefit. They will be able to spend more money on their families. In truth, this is not just expenditure on our families; it is also an investment in the future of our nation. Indeed, I suggest to the House that the measure of a nation and of a society’s greatness is how it caters for, and looks after, its children. It should be the No. 1 priority.

United Future is delighted that this bill will significantly and substantially reduce the level of child poverty in this country. For too long we have allowed children and poverty to go together in our nation. In many analyses, people have said that if we look for the cause of poverty in our nation at the moment, we will see that it is related to children. Those with children are the poorest members of our society, and the more children they have, the poorer they become. Why? Simply stated, it is because a single income—paid, very often, to a working family—just does not give them enough to look after their children and give them the benefits we want them to have. I, for one, do not want to live in a country that is prepared to allow its children to live in poverty. We need to give every child the best possible opportunity for a great start in life.

I was very offended by Richard Prebble’s nasty reference to “breeding”. I find that deeply, deeply offensive.

Hon Richard Prebble: Why?

GORDON COPELAND: Because children are our greatest blessing and our greatest wealth. They are not just our present reality, but also our future.

Hon Richard Prebble: Why do only the poor have them?

GORDON COPELAND: That is nonsense. I can tell the member that many people who probably earn a lot more than he does actually rejoice in large families, and I know lots and lots of couples who place a high priority on that. Has he so quickly forgotten the McLachlan-Gilbert family that was written up in the Sunday Star-Times just a couple of weeks ago? Did he not see in those photographs the kind of situation that all of us would like to see for our families?

In summary, this is a great bill. I know I will be disappointed, but I came here tonight—not having heard the National and ACT speakers—in the hope that this bill might have the support of all parties in the House. If any party does not vote for the bill, let members of that party—here and now during the first reading—stand up and tell the people of New Zealand that they intend to repeal it if they ever become the Government. Let us get really honest and down to basics. They should have the courage of their convictions. If they are not going to vote for this bill, they should undertake to repeal it. I say to members of the National Party—some of whom are saying right now on the radio that they cannot make their minds up about the bill—that they should get off the fence and vote for the future of New Zealand by delivering some much-needed assistance to struggling families.