The House today
August 5th, 2008 at 2:40 pm by David FarrarThe Winston question was a fizzer – his so called dirt on National was all old stuff.
The questions on borrowing for infrastructure has been wonderful. Someone in National Research deserves a keg of beer for digging up quotes from Helen Clark in 1994 and 1999 advocating increased borrowing.
The 1994 quote was priceless as debt as a % of GDP was 56% then, and Clark explicitly said there should be more money on infrastructure and not to worry about the debt.
Key also revealed that the first thing Clark did when she became PM was lift the Govt’s target for debt as a % of GDP from 25% to 30%. Hilarious.
National will get beaten up later on for Bill’s tape recorded comments, but those quotes were priceless, and the look on her face as Key read them out – superb.
Anyone who has a copy of the actual full quotes should feel free to e-mail them to me!
August 5th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Excellent, National needed to treat this session as any other in terms of all out attack. Sure, they have to expect some back but there is plenty more out there to ping Labour with.
Vote:August 5th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Totally typical of Labour and their supporters. It’s OK when Labour do it but the sky will fall if national even talk about it!
Suck it up Helen, your time is over – just call the election soon and retire with a tiny bit of dignity. Well, some credit for at least being able to see you have made a pudding of this country and led the most morally and ethically bankrupt govt this country has ever seen.
Vote:August 5th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
“Key also revealed that the first thing Clark did when she became PM was lift the Govt’s target for debt as a % of GDP from 25% to 30%. Hilarious.”
Why do this? Because they were expecting to spend up big time and wanted to budget for it. They got happily surprised that the economy did so well and the increased tax take was more than they could ever have hoped for, so they didnt have to use the 5% buffer. But they were preparing to, that much is obvious.
In fact, their good fortune was so good that they were able to pay down debt, but how much of that was to be fiscally prudent, and how much of it was to hide the extra billions they were taking in tax from the people of NZ before they could think of ways to spend it?
Vote:August 5th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
I would be giving the staffer beer for life for finding this stuff. Got the cow a beauty. To try and say the sky will fall in by taking debt from 20% of GDP to 22% of GDP was pure hysteria. Clark and Cullen do not realise that debt targets, borrowing for infrastructure, tax cuts are National’s issues. Labour will NEVER win the argument that they are more prudent with public money and the Crown balance sheet.
Vote:August 5th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
It’s official (thanks TV3) : If a National MP suggests that the Beehive toilet paper is a bit rough it should be assumed that there is a nasty secret agenda to destroy NZ’s paper tissue industry by changing suppliers.
Vote:August 5th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Also interesting was Annette King’s response to Bill English pointing out the use of taxpayer funds for election advertings. She pulled out a brouchure of National’s and complained that they put it out last year “before the law changed.” Well duh!! This is similar to a session or two ago when she was complaining that National recieved donations from their trust in December before the law change. FFS she is complaining that National is acting within the law.
Vote:August 6th, 2008 at 5:14 am
Another slam dunk for National.
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