He said the Opposition itself had embraced the mixed-ownership model: "The Labour Party is 51 per cent owned by Labour and 49 per cent owned by the Greens. They have come together in this happy little place where fruit meets loop."
He went on to draw from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, saying although Sherlock Shearer and his offsider Dr Norman believed Finance Minister Bill English was the "devil-beast" that stalked the moors, English's ambition was to build houses on the moors for first-home buyers. "The devil-beast is the Opposition, not the Minister of Finance."
There was an intermission from Green co-leader Russel Norman, who went on at length about economic deficits, social deficits and environmental deficits.
But then it was back to the fun with NZ First's Winston Peters, who whipped out a pink treadmill with a fake rodent in it and began spinning it with enthusiasm to illustrate his own attempt to name the Budget as the 'treadmill Budget".
He spun it round every time he mentioned a rodent-related metaphor. "The Government's fat cat mates!" he bellowed, and round it went. "Crumbs thrown to the mice!" he thundered, and round it went. So the day ended, with a surplus as crumbly as well-aged cheddar and one very dizzy stuffed mouse.