Brash denies claims speech was 'unpatriotic'

Don Brash

National leader Don Brash has hit back at Government criticisms he favours Australia over New Zealand in a speech titled "Proud to be a Kiwi".

National dubbed this month's budget as the "Bondi budget" and said it would push young New Zealanders across the Tasman in pursuit of lower tax rates and a better standard of living.

The Government in turn labelled Dr Brash "digger Don", saying his comments were unpatriotic.

Dr Brash today said that contrary to Labour's assertions he was proud of New Zealand's multiculturalism, its heritage and its achievements.

But he said the Government's policies were now putting many of the things important to New Zealanders at risk.

Over the past 40 years there had been a widening gap in living standards between New Zealand and Australia.

"That gap has profound implications for the quality of education we can afford for our children, for the quality of our housing, for the quality of our roads, and for the quality of our healthcare," he said in notes for the speech to Auckland Rotary members.

"It's no doubt a major reason why mortality rates from breast cancer are 30 per cent higher in New Zealand than Australia."

The gap in living standards was leading more and more New Zealanders to choose Australia as a place to live.

That trend would only be accelerated by tax cuts offered in the past four Australian budgets.

By contrast New Zealand had offered none.

"I've been highlighting these failings of the Labour Government and for my pains I've been labelled a racist and a person who's somehow disloyal to New Zealand."

Unlike Labour he did not need to demonstrate his patriotism by attacking traditional allies like the United States.

"I'm a fervent nationalist. But I'm not a blind nationalist. And I'm not xenophobic."

Criticising New Zealand in an attempt to raise its performance was deeply patriotic as he was trying to make the country a better place.

"How patriotic is it to spend money taken from taxpayers to buy your way back into office rather than do anything constructive to narrow the gap between our living standards and those in Australia, as Helen Clark did last year?

"How patriotic is it to tolerate a situation where more and more of our young people feel obliged to look abroad for the sake of their families' future?"

Dr Brash said National's policies were geared towards improving New Zealand's performance in all areas so it became an attractive place for those New Zealanders abroad to return to.

- NZPA