"\u003C!DOCTYPE html\u003E\u003Chtml xmlns:xlink=\u0022http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink\u0022 xmlns:xsi=\u0022http://www.w3.org/2007/XMLSchema-instance\u0022 xmlns:mml=\u0022http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Chead\u003E\n    \u003CMETA http-equiv=\u0022Content-Type\u0022 content=\u0022text/html; charset=utf-16\u0022\u003E\n    \u003Cmeta name=\u0022viewport\u0022 content=\u0022width=device-width, initial-scale=1\u0022\u003E\n  \u003C/head\u003E\n  \u003Cbody style=\u0022font-family:sans-serif; font-size:100%;\u0022\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002222fb2c57d077401aba8d1dcb3645d414\u0022\u003ETuesday, 23 June 2009\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000003\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00226f88e135ce2b460ea34ab4b4e6a099c1\u0022\u003ETuesday, 23 June 2009\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000002\u0022\u003EMr Speaker took the Chair at 2.30 p.m.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000004\u0022\u003EPrayers.\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000005\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ef7a1e20af8a4558b9cf11afc96a32d8\u0022\u003EMinisterial Statements\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000006\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c1669c5c925949d6a93eb10a33eea0f9\u0022\u003ESwine Flu\u2014Change from Containment to Management\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022 data-id=\u0022c77ee0f802db4c95bc13f76a1c888e1f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000007\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c77ee0f802db4c95bc13f76a1c888e1f\u0022\u003EHon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health):\u003C/span\u003E I wish to make a ministerial statement under Standing Order 347(1) relating to AH1N1, the swine flu. I undertook to keep the House informed of any significant changes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000008\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003EReflecting the wide community transmission of the flu, on Friday New Zealand moved from a containment approach to managing the epidemic. This is in line with World Health Organization recommendations. This means that New Zealand is now treating this new flu like the usual seasonal flu. As a result of the tremendous efforts of our public health authorities and primary-care professionals, New Zealand has delayed the likely peak of the swine flu beyond the annual flu peak. As of today, 12 of the 21 district health board areas are in the \u201Cmanage it\u201D phase, with a further four district health boards expected to enter this phase by the weekend. The decisions to transition to that phase are made by regional medical officers of health and the Ministry of Health. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000009\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003EOver the coming months, the AH1N1 flu will present challenges to the health system and the community. I have been advised that this flu will become very widespread. The number of confirmed cases has grown by one-fifth overnight. This rate of spread will put pressure on hospital emergency departments and general practitioner clinics, in particular. For example, there may well be lengthier delays in emergency departments, and some surgery may need to be deferred because of the pressure on hospital beds and staff. District health boards will be establishing flu centres as appropriate. It is even more essential now than it was previously that Kiwi families take simple precautions to prevent the spread of the flu, and we are making information on how to do this widely available. Businesses, schools, and other organisations should have contingency plans for more people being away sick than usual, so that normal life can go on. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000010\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003EIn light of health officials\u2019 advice, we are now using the national Tamiflu stockpile strategically. This is because, in nearly all cases, the flu is mild, and it is wise to conserve our stockpile for a possible second wave of a more serious nature. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000011\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003EI conclude by reinforcing that although the flu will become very widespread\u2014that is expected\u2014it is mild, and we have the resources, plans, and health professionals to deal with it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022 data-id=\u00228c902512bda84272bb4639eab475d8a3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000012\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228c902512bda84272bb4639eab475d8a3\u0022\u003EHon RUTH DYSON (Labour\u2014Port Hills):\u003C/span\u003E First of all I acknowledge the Minister of Health and his statement. I thank him for ensuring that all parties have had an ongoing opportunity for briefings on this issue from officials. That openness is appreciated. I acknowledge also the huge additional workload that is being carried by those working within our health system, and thank them for the work that they have been doing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000013\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003EI reflect on those who have contracted swine flu. For some, it has been very mild, but for others, it has been extremely serious. I am sure that all members of this House wish everyone with swine flu a speedy recovery. Many others have suffered financially due to schools and businesses closing, and for some that additional financial burden is very hard to bear. I reinforce the message from the Minister: we all need to continue to take simple precautions to prevent the spread of this flu. The change in status may be confusing for some people, and I am pleased to be part of sending what I hope will be a unanimous message from this Parliament this afternoon to continue to encourage everyone to do everything we can to prevent the spread of swine flu. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022 data-id=\u00227653975cd1ac4319b1f1b16e2790eaaf\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000014\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227653975cd1ac4319b1f1b16e2790eaaf\u0022\u003EKEVIN HAGUE (Green):\u003C/span\u003E When I previously spoke in this House in response to the Minister of Health\u2019s first statement on AH1N1, I indicated my belief that it was unlikely that this virus would be contained, expressed the Green Party\u2019s best wishes to all those affected by the epidemic, and offered the Green Party\u2019s assistance and support for measures to help manage it. In light of the Minister\u2019s statement today and of recent events, it is appropriate to reiterate the appeals for calm that we all made on that occasion and at the same time remind New Zealanders of the need for vigilance. Although the severity of illness associated with this virus is generally mild to moderate, we need to brace ourselves for the reality that at least serious illness will be experienced by a significant number of our citizens and that the disruption will be considerable. Any steps that can be taken to slow the epidemic in New Zealand will be of tremendous value in the long term. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000015\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003EThe Green Party is very pleased to see the new restriction being placed on the use of Tamiflu. We have been concerned for some time about New Zealand\u2019s experiment in having this medicine available over the counter and hope that we will now see the drug\u2019s use aimed at minimising the development of resistant strains, as well as maximising our supply to prepare for future need. I add our voice in praise of the herculean efforts by officials from the Ministry of Health, district health boards, and throughout the health sector to slow the onset of this epidemic phase. Their work has been extraordinary, and a great many New Zealanders owe them a debt of gratitude. Recently, I inadvertently overheard two officials from a district health board commenting on how their organisation had coped with AH1N1. They concluded that there was a sense of calm and control because the pandemic preparedness planning process undertaken over the past several years had prepared the organisation for what it would need to do. So I take this opportunity to extend acknowledgment and gratitude to the previous Government for steering that process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000016\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003EIt is inevitable that at some point the world will experience a pandemic that causes substantial loss of life in New Zealand. It is critical that even as we implement our previously laid plans to cope with AH1N1, we commit ourselves today to keeping a critical eye on what we can learn to ensure that next time our response is better still. The Green Party applauds the measures that the Government has taken, and offers our continued support for this considered and well-judged response.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022 data-id=\u0022ae2e6227ea764fc6af1bbc07bae9ce30\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000017\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ae2e6227ea764fc6af1bbc07bae9ce30\u0022\u003EHon RODNEY HIDE (Leader\u2014ACT):\u003C/span\u003E I rise on behalf of the ACT Party to thank the Minister of Health for keeping Parliament completely informed of the Government\u2019s response, but more particularly to thank the Minister for keeping the public of New Zealand informed of what is a very difficult and potentially scary development, and for what I believe to be a very intelligent, measured, and considered response to this flu. Yes, a lot of work was done by the previous Government in preparing New Zealand and the health authorities for this situation, but the Minister has been at the forefront, and I think his job could not have been done better by anyone in this House. I commend the Minister for that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022 data-id=\u0022be9af50e3edd43c9a03dfd7e1cbf36ee\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000018\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022be9af50e3edd43c9a03dfd7e1cbf36ee\u0022\u003EHon TARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader\u2014M\u0101ori Party):\u003C/span\u003E The M\u0101ori Party stands in support of the Minister of Health and his statement bringing attention to the need for caution and collective care in our response to any influenza-like illness. We endorse the comments of the Minister that this is a time when we must all take full responsibility to ensure that people are informed of the symptoms and the risk factors associated with the disease. We have a particular concern as it relates to M\u0101ori. We know from accumulated research that M\u0101ori already experience higher rates of illness from respiratory conditions. On top of that, the evidence points to the fact that socio-economic deprivation increases the likelihood of poor outcomes and respiratory disease. When over 56 percent of M\u0101ori are located in three of the most deprived socio-economic deciles, it makes for particular concern that we must be vigilant in our care of each other. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000019\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EThe M\u0101ori Party believes that it is critical that we all step up to the mark in respect of taking care of each other and taking preventive care of our wh\u0101nau. The current situation really gives us all the more reason to take all the necessary precautions to maintain good health. We must be alert to the vulnerability of our neighbours, our wh\u0101nau, and our communities. This is about taking a common-sense approach: staying home when sick, and protecting the life around us. I commend the previous Labour Government for putting in place the pandemic programme, and I say thank you to the Minister for the way in which he has approached this issue, and ensuring that everybody has been kept informed, including the public of New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022 data-id=\u0022778677b49ebb441cb474f8b006afaf8f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000020\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022778677b49ebb441cb474f8b006afaf8f\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE (Leader\u2014United Future):\u003C/span\u003E I thank the Minister of Health for his statement to the House, updating us on developments of the pandemic as they emerge. I also acknowledge the work of the previous Government in getting us to the state of preparedness where the plans now being implemented were able to be adopted quickly. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000021\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EI think we are entering a particularly dangerous phase with this pandemic, especially if reports are correct in stating that up to half of the population may acquire this virus without being aware that it has done so. In that eventuality, a number of the precautionary steps that are being proposed will be more difficult for people to take if they are not aware in the first place that they are suffering from this particular virus. I think the prudence that has been adopted in recent times has been very beneficial in terms of New Zealanders not overreacting, but reacting properly to the emergence and spread of this virus. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EThere will be challenges in the future. I put this proposition to the Minister: in terms of some of our larger institutions\u2014our schools and our hospitals, in particular\u2014the Government may need to become more activist in terms of ensuring that those institutions have good sanitary materials and physical equipment available, and that the message about washing hands and keeping clean is delivered. I think that many people want to do the right thing, but they are unsure about how to go about it. Maybe, as this virus moves to its next phase, that sort of practical information and practical advice is something that needs to be considered by the authorities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000023\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EI conclude by simply acknowledging the work that has been done. This is a difficult time for all New Zealanders, and I congratulate the Minister on the prudent way in which he and his officials have handled the situation thus far. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022 data-id=\u0022dc5e407cb34a42769c93bfb8391bcc5c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000024\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022dc5e407cb34a42769c93bfb8391bcc5c\u0022\u003EHon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health):\u003C/span\u003E I thank members for their, I think, well-deserved praise of our public health authorities and the work they are doing. I also advise Minister Dunne that the Ministry of Health is sending materials to schools to assist them in their messaging for young New Zealanders. In Victoria, schools have proven to be the main area of spread, and that is why so much effort is going into communicating with schools as to what we can do with our kids in order to help to prevent the flu. Thank you, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000025\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002241e9e009932549199e7726127b2ffc73\u0022\u003EQuestions for Oral Answer\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000026\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022144f0a00855d49ea9e6d3dda9783f249\u0022\u003EQuestions to Ministers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000027\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022d20f370caec749fbabb4578e17db09aa\u0022\u003EJobs\u2014Statements\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000028\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E1.\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022881ee94652b347dca5d653d2c4eb1991\u0022\u003E Hon PHIL GOFF (Leader of the Opposition)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements he has made as Prime Minister in relation to jobs?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022 data-id=\u00221fb2fbc72ed5421996d9c4b9fe039091\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000029\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221fb2fbc72ed5421996d9c4b9fe039091\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000030\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229bcc6c5c5749477dbd8fcb1a06696dc4\u0022\u003EHon Phil Goff\u003C/span\u003E: What have the three main ideas that emerged from the Job Summit, and that he promised would save or create thousands of jobs, delivered in actual job numbers?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000031\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ecc175a06d5e4ef7a8b561ec4f973859\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I would say that the Job Summit has and will create thousands of jobs.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000032\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022848466f94de445e98cb353e15a54a048\u0022\u003EHon Phil Goff\u003C/span\u003E: Is it not true that the first idea, the $2 billion credit fund, has produced nothing and has fallen over; the second idea has created 345 jobs, which is approximately the same number of job losses that occur in 1\u00BD days under his Government; and the third, the nationwide cycleway, has become a pathetic remnant of the original idea and has created no jobs so far?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000033\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221f139958a4ed4acfbd22e75fb1cad625\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Is it not weird that the Opposition does not like success? You see, this is a Government that goes out and engages with people in real debate, and gets businesses, unions, and the Government all on the same page, working hard for the country. I think the Leader of the Opposition should take a look at this chart. It is the Roy Morgan Research survey. I know that Opposition members do not like talking about it, but the business confidence survey shows what New Zealanders think. When Labour was in Government the line on the graph was down; now it is up. This Government is working for the country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000034\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224457c925beb34327a5774c142306e387\u0022\u003EHon Phil Goff\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000035\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228e23a4d064254490873c5aace2cc9f1f\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: A point of order has been called and there will be silence.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000036\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022751f49d0d8624bc8ba606d2fcfa65fef\u0022\u003EHon Phil Goff\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Speaker, just because the Prime Minister turns his back on you does not mean that you cannot bring him to order when he does not even attempt to address the question, which he failed to do in that instance\u2014as you well know.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000037\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022de28cababc38421d86f2a1789362fd60\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I think the member makes a fair point of order. I think the Prime Minister should seek to address the question asked by the honourable Leader of the Opposition.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000038\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b7c38544525c484e831bcb66bd5a7ef5\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: National said at the Job Summit that some ideas would be progressed and some would not. In the case of the fund that the banks were looking at, that idea was floated at the Job Summit, and, yes, by the banks themselves. They agreed not to progress it, because it would affect their capital ratios. But I point out to the Leader of the Opposition that, as he well knows, even before the Job Summit started\u2014but as a result of the Job Summit\u2014ASB had put up $1 billion for investment in job creation areas.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000039\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cec1b5aa95894561bd6e01e4ae6e7fe4\u0022\u003EHon Phil Goff\u003C/span\u003E: Nothing to do with the Government! Absolutely nothing to do with the Government!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000040\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221913eda32d1e459ebba41d5aa1e466be\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: The member does not like ASB. Maybe he should go down and have a chat to them. They are out there working hard for the economy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000041\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c0596ea0469242dc8752101ec324448a\u0022\u003EHon Phil Goff\u003C/span\u003E: We will try again. What has the Job Summit actually done for the more than 1,000 Kiwis each week who are losing their jobs and joining the dole queue?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000042\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002257b0c695e144416caae0675895f3c734\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: For a start off, let me take the Leader of the Opposition back to the Job Summit. We were under no illusions when we went into the Job Summit. We actually said\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ce6bdb4dc6314318b70297eb49918ac7\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It is the same point of order that Phil Goff raised before. There is a requirement in the Standing Orders and Speakers\u2019 rulings to address the Chair. The Prime Minister has again turned his back on you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000044\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227aad7575f55d403a8c7cec917e656115\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I am more interested in the content of the Prime Minister\u2019s answer. I am not too hung up about his speaking to the wider House. I think he was actually going to answer the question asked by the honourable Leader of the Opposition.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000045\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226b456648c8b54e5daccf867128d0ffad\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: It is amazing how members on the other side of the House have amnesia; I saw Helen Clark looking that way for 9 years! Putting that to one side, at the Job Summit I said quite clearly that unemployment would rise over the next year. Why? In part, because the Labour Government had let productivity levels in this country get so low; that is part of what is affecting jobs. Second, out of that Job Summit came a quite long list of initiatives. They are being worked on. For instance, the insulation fund, costing $343 million, was set against the Government\u2019s Budget, which was well received by New Zealanders. It is out there creating jobs in the worst economic conditions since 1930. That is what Phil Goff was saying in January\u2014that these are the worst economic conditions since 1930.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000046\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022456c6b73c2c54acc9d1f58fda7ea25c1\u0022\u003EHon Phil Goff\u003C/span\u003E: Does Mr Key stand by his statement at the Job Summit: \u201CAs I have stated many times, I am interested in what works \u2026\u201D; how does it fit with his comments yesterday when, asked about the number of firms taking up the 9-day working fortnight, he replied: \u201CIt doesn\u2019t really matter. I think the fact that it\u2019s there is the important thing.\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000047\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e1c230f615694b85acba3f4bd7408e42\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: There are two things. Firstly, the success of the 9-day fortnight is not judged by the number of people going on it; it is the fact that it is there to support businesses if they need it. Secondly, I suggest that the Leader of the Opposition have a talk with the head of the Council of Trade Unions, Helen Kelly, who said to me that one of the greatest things to come out of the Job Summit was the fact that businesses, unions, and the Government were all on the same page, working hard for New Zealand. The last time there was a summit in this country, it was held by Labour. It was called the Knowledge Wave, and Labour could not get anything achieved at that one.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000048\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225da5213019c04bf2a4099bdba8c978d8\u0022\u003EHon Phil Goff\u003C/span\u003E: Does he stand by his statement: \u201CI believe it is important to save as many jobs as we can, while we can.\u201D; if so, why was there nothing new in the 2009 Budget to save and create jobs, given the fact that 4,000 Kiwis have joined the dole queue since the Budget, and 16,000 since his Job Summit? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000049\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b710c47090ba4cc585700817b08f413e\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Firstly, that statement made by the Leader of the Opposition is ridiculous. The $343 million insulation fund is acknowledged by, I think, pretty much every party in the House\u2014obviously, with the exception of Labour\u2014as creating thousands of jobs. I tell the Leader of the Opposition that if he wants to make sure there is wholesale job loss in this country, this is the way to do it: spend lots of money and get the country\u2019s credit rating downgraded, and businesses cannot borrow. That is exactly what would have happened if Labour was in charge. New Zealanders are grateful for a Government that knows what it is doing economically. That is why the graph I am holding up looks like it does, and not like it did when Labour was in office. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000050\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a92f707f08024af69ed6d6659e373940\u0022\u003EHon Phil Goff\u003C/span\u003E: Speaking of spending a lot of money, does the Prime Minister agree that had he given tax cuts to people earning $40,000 or less, who are struggling to make ends meet and to raise their families, he would have created far more stimulus for jobs than was created by his giving a third of the $800 million to his mates in the top 3 percent of income earners, who just saved it or paid off their mortgages?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000051\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002245c47551d174413988cf1e1933ef0841\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: No, I do not agree, but I do agree with the policies that the Government has rolled out: a credit upgrade for this country, half a billion dollars for infrastructure brought forward, half a billion dollars for small to medium sized enterprises, tens of millions of dollars for the Export Credit Office, a 9-day working fortnight, a cycleway, a home insulation package\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000052\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022376113d8cafa47398377f04c0b69bcc5\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000053\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228856a92abf024b198a71e753c1883a5c\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I could go on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000054\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e3518dc0921c443f989fad6f87125823\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, the Prime Minister has given us sufficient information. I warn the Hon Trevor Mallard he cannot interject in that manner across the House. In fact, I will ask him to withdraw that statement.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000055\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c1c8a1f4e173470b987cd3bf195139aa\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: I withdraw. I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. What remedy do we have when a Prime Minister makes a comment about an upgrade that he knows is untrue. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000056\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e8d42c3b47b74c4e8b4dcb60fe9cba6c\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member knows that he can use supplementary questions to attack the Prime Minister\u2019s answers to questions. They have been available since the first question. There are many more supplementary questions available to the honourable member.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000057\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220f23cd464eb546d1b4c9d657c3d1179a\u0022\u003EHon Phil Goff\u003C/span\u003E: Does Mr Key stand by the commitment he made in his opening speech at the Job Summit: \u201CWe can take steps to ensure that young people who cannot enter the workforce are able to up-skill in the meantime.\u201D; if so, what does he say to the 2,800 apprentices in the building and construction trades who have lost their jobs before completing their training; and why did he allow the Budget to cut funding for job skills training, cut the scholarship schemes that enabled low-income kids to get to university, and cut the Enterprising Communities scheme, which provided good programmes like the \u014Ctorohanga youth apprenticeship programme?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000058\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022adcbba764eac4a4ab31b10c78c9eb335\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Firstly, I think those apprentices will be grateful that this Government has brought forward infrastructure spending on roading and housing. I think those apprentices will say good on this Government for making sure we have a home insulation package. I think those apprentices will say good on this Government for having the Youth Guarantee scheme. I think they will say good on this Government for having an adherence to literacy and numeracy skills. No one is arguing that there are not tough economic conditions out there, but let us get this right: unemployment in this country is 5 percent; in the United States of America it is 9.4 percent. This is a Government that is working hard. day after day, to take the pressure off businesses, and on not one occasion does the Opposition vote for anything that will take the pressure off businesses\u2014never.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00222bdd1863e4f2469da343b54a5ab1a04f\u0022\u003EInfrastructure\u2014Investment\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000060\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E2. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221ecaa660c0014777abc2c48ef85727aa\u0022\u003ECRAIG FOSS (National\u2014Tukituki)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: What steps has the Government taken to boost New Zealand\u2019s productive infrastructure?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u0022d2a929eb3da145b3a591ddd2153919d1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000061\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d2a929eb3da145b3a591ddd2153919d1\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E Budget 2009 outlined the Government\u2019s plan to spend $7.5 billion extra over the next 5 years in improving roads, rolling out broadband, and modernising schools and our housing stock. This included $500 million of accelerated projects, announced in February and now under way, which are supporting New Zealanders in jobs. Another $3 billion will be spent in the next 4 years upgrading the national grid, and this includes $1 billion extra to be spent on State highway construction over the next 3 years. This increased investment shows that the Government is channelling resources to two priorities: the first is supporting jobs through the recession, and the second is a long-term increase in our productivity.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000062\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222c22c95111584e64b6ad6c949dfdf0db\u0022\u003ECraig Foss\u003C/span\u003E: How will the increased infrastructure investment support jobs?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000063\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224e54c18d851447dda1e2c88041364dbb\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: There has been a range of estimates about how many jobs are supported by this spending. In the short term, $500 million worth of accelerated projects announced in February are providing an immediate boost for tradesmen and suppliers across the housing, transport, and education sectors. For instance in housing, the Housing New Zealand Corporation estimates that its expenditure is supporting 1,341 jobs. The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research published an estimate some months ago that said that the Government\u2019s stimulus spending would support around 10,000 jobs. I do not think that there is any doubt that the Government\u2019s decision to keep spending through the bottom of the recession is supporting thousands of jobs, and one of the measures of that is the fact that our unemployment increase is one of the lowest in the developed world.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000064\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225ea2e13a171741a38e6864dd023674c6\u0022\u003EHon Sir Roger Douglas\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Minister agree with Thomas Sowell that spending on infrastructure to get out of a recession is like someone mailing a letter to the fire brigade and telling it that his or her house is on fire; if not, why not, given that tax cuts provide an immediate stimulus, whereas infrastructure investment can take years to work its way through the system?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000065\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229aa632739c2e47b7b40ff56f871a21ad\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: I cannot agree with Thomas Sowell\u2014not because he is not very knowledgable; he is, but I do not understand the analogy he is using. The fact is that the Government\u2019s commitment fulfils both objectives. For instance, roading and the electricity grid are two of the main bottlenecks in our economy; there has to be investment to free up those bottlenecks if we are to have growth. And that will support jobs as we spend the money. It would be great if we could spend it all now, but these projects do take time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000066\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022226916c74af04d469285d1842a607d24\u0022\u003ECraig Foss\u003C/span\u003E: Has the Minister seen any reports on alternative approaches to infrastructure investment?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000067\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227d6e1161b3084cf9a0fb1f8e40de3f20\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: One of the jobs the new Government has had to do has been to clean up the mess left by the last Government in respect of infrastructure spending. Just one example is the fact that the previous Government bought KiwiRail for almost $700 million. The current valuation is about $350 million, and a cash-flow valuation would give it a negative value\u2014that is, the Government could in theory pay someone to take it away, and we would be better off. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000068\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002249bbfe159e01425f8d31a25677279f27\u0022\u003EFamilies Commission\u2014Appointment of Christine Rankin\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000069\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E3. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002256b047b2cd4e433e8199f0c5554854f3\u0022\u003EHon RUTH DYSON (Labour\u2014Port Hills)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his reported statement as Prime Minister, in relation to the appointment of Christine Rankin to the Families Commission, that she was appointed for her expertise when it comes to abused children; if so, why?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022 data-id=\u002226536981076648858294d4a3b54668ec\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000070\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002226536981076648858294d4a3b54668ec\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes, because I believe that she has something positive to offer the Families Commission and will work hard on behalf of Kiwi families.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000071\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022575933cc4ace43bc8f4409964f5ab674\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Prime Minister believe that Christine Rankin was demonstrating her expertise and knowledge of child abuse issues when she said that people are told when they ring the Child, Youth and Family that the service is too busy and cannot be there for 6 weeks, but if a child is smacked then the service is there the next day?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000072\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022286043d02b0240a194c7d2e9cc0b70df\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I think she was offering her perspective on the matter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000073\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f9bfd7e4ec564a609832fd9662b00b54\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: How can the Prime Minister reconcile his defence of Christine Rankin\u2019s appointment, on the basis that she had been \u201Ca very vocal advocate for abused children\u201D, with his decision to ban her from campaigning on section 59 of the Crimes Act, which was to remove the defence against assaulting children?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000074\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223a2eef2165bf4dc48be9c92f8ecec19b\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: The Families Commission has a stated position in relation to the referendum, and as a Families Commissioner it makes sense for Christine Rankin to make sure that she does not contravene that line and speak out by campaigning in a way that would be inappropriate. Having said that, I would expect more from the Opposition. When National was in Opposition, we still cared about abused children and we did not spend our time playing political games. All those members care about is politics; they do not care about the abused kids of New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000075\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222a1478c2bc3d4fc1901118abb31672e2\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: What is the Prime Minister\u2019s definition of campaigning on the section 59 referendum?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000076\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022841363250a8646d598df43990091e56a\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I define that as if Christine Rankin had turned up to the press conference yesterday, but she did not. In fact, most sectors of the media are arguing that she has been muzzled. I go back to the point I just made: members on this side of the House care about abused kids. We look in the hospitals of New Zealand and see thousands of abused kids, and Christine Rankin has spoken out about the damage that is happening to those kids. We are going to do something about abused kids, because not enough happened under the previous Labour Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000077\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f8b92f47-d078-4e6a-b4c6-136913bda55d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022db653c6477d24165beabe1a8ea4015d6\u0022\u003ESue Bradford\u003C/span\u003E: Is it true that Christine Rankin was originally offered the post of Children\u2019s Commissioner and that it was her choice to turn the job down because she did not want to move to Wellington, rather than the Government\u2019s choice because she posed too big a political risk?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000078\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002271cd31c486c24fb9851c7bb11830c63a\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I am not aware of that. If that was the case, it was never brought to my attention.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000079\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002258721418776a4fdb89b73b3b0a9a69a8\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: How many times will the Prime Minister tolerate Christine Rankin\u2019s defiance before he takes action?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000080\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ebdc4a4585a04812b86f3d35e0386283\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Firstly, I am more focused on the kids than on political point-scoring\u2014but that is OK. Secondly, I do not believe Christine Rankin has been defiant; most sections of the media believe that she has been muzzled. Members on this side of the House care about abused kids, but members on that side do not.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000081\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002277ec6495-df45-43ac-aaa1-a03b5dd4c128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d66aede5600d48bc8d3f3a197d376edb\u0022\u003EJohn Boscawen\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Prime Minister saying that a New Zealander appointed to the Families Commission loses his or her right to free speech and the right to express his or her public and very well-known view that a light smack given to a child by a loving parent should not be illegal, and was not this silencing of dissent roundly rejected at the last election?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000082\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002244d6635dbf3e49b7be592dbb28b3210e\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: No, I am not saying that. As I said at my press conference yesterday afternoon, I was quite relaxed about the comments that Christine Rankin made. I do not think they were terribly provocative; nor do I believe that they were anywhere out of line; nor did I expect Christine Rankin to express a view she does not hold. But if a Families Commissioner has an agreed position, although he or she can express a broad view in the context of the overall responsibilities, he or she cannot get out there and campaign for the \u201CNo\u201D vote.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000083\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022dfb2448ab1b24ea784e2bd5105b9f560\u0022\u003EJobs\u2014Jobs Saved, Created, and Lost Since Job Summit\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E4. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002207152b3c0df64afc8639ff2d36d4a17a\u0022\u003EMETIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader\u2014Green)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: How many jobs were saved or created by the Job Summit, and how many jobs have been lost since the Job Summit was held on 27 February?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022 data-id=\u0022f92bcbeb0e3845adb2eaa91db9077dbe\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000085\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f92bcbeb0e3845adb2eaa91db9077dbe\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E The member will know that jobs are created and lost in the economy all the time. I am aware of a study showing that between 2002 and 2007, each year about 250,000 jobs were created in New Zealand and about 200,000 jobs were lost. The Government does not routinely collect this information, however, so it is not possible to say how many jobs have been lost since 27 February. Even if we had that information, it would be near to impossible to identify separately the number of jobs saved by the Job Summit. For one thing, many Job Summit proposals related to the fundamentals of the economy, like infrastructure spending, improving regulations, and the like. These are good proposals, but it is hard to put a specific number of jobs against each of them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000086\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022df32235a761846c2a1055d77c3c026cb\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: What plans does the Prime Minister have to create 28,000 full-time real jobs across the economy by utilising out-of-work, qualified builders to tackle the waiting list for State houses and provide warm, dry homes for the 10,000 families in need?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227f0c3f655890457fb10e223716ebad74\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: The Government is building albeit a very modest number of new State houses. But the member will be aware, because her party worked on this, that the Government is spending $343 million over the next 4 years on creating jobs to also insulate and warm those homes. The member\u2019s former co-leader was on a platform with me in Christchurch to celebrate that fact last Thursday, and I welcome Jeanette Fitzsimons\u2019 expertise in that area.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226a6833bba14e4d44812a94737edd5484\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: What plans does the Prime Minister have to create 40 percent more jobs for the same money that is to be spent, by diverting funds from new motorways into bus and train services, walking and cycling infrastructure, and road maintenance, as laid out in the Green Party\u2019s Green New Deal stimulus package?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000089\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221c6ac4033bf84e199ce2b269f2644b6a\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: We do not have plans to do that. We have plans to spend a billion dollars a year on new State highways. We are spending more money, I might add, in some of those other areas: public transport, and cycling. But we are spending a billion dollars on State highways. The previous Government was spending $650 million\u2014or, to put it another way, the equivalent of 5 years of spending on the entire road infrastructure in this country would have been spent on the tunnel in Mount Albert if Labour had built it. The reason we are doing this is that it will create jobs, because it will make New Zealand more productive. By the way, I tell the member that roads are a form of public transport. Buses drive on them all the time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000090\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222b7d9f199f624d9b92469f8fd11ecc49\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: What plans does the Prime Minister have to create 4,500 jobs by fencing and planting waterways, restoring water quality, and protecting New Zealand\u2019s clean, green reputation, as laid out in the Green Party\u2019s Green New Deal stimulus package?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000091\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a6e3c6acf0c74362aa4c61608f21194d\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: The Government is always spending money on trying to make sure we improve the quality of our environment, because that is very important. We have seen, and will continue to see, expenditure in that area. We support the member\u2019s view that New Zealand\u2019s reputation as a clean, green environment is one of the foundation stones on which our tourism industry is built.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000092\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229631b6dd5c17496cbafafba879b50959\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: If the Prime Minister has no such plans, as it appears and as is widely understood, for dealing with rising unemployment\u20141,000 people a week are going on to the dole\u2014and with both the current crises of climate change and the recession, by creating jobs and a sustainable economy, will he then borrow some more solutions from the Green Party and our Green New Deal stimulus package, solutions that will be just as successful as our home insulation package, which he has already adopted?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000093\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022feb1d3199d54431e8eadda591cb062ae\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Firstly, I utterly reject the proposition that there is no plan. For a start, let us understand why the chart looks like this. It shows consumer confidence as being at pretty much an all-time high, and business confidence as being at an all-time high, despite the fact that we have a 1930s-style recession. Why? Because this Government avoided a downgrade; it had an upgrade. The Opposition members, when Labour was in Government, wanted to send us into debt and deficit for a lifetime. This Government is out there reforming things like the Resource Management Act, so that our country can get going; Labour had 9 years in Government and did nothing about that. This Government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars more than was being spent on a small to medium sized enterprise package; Labour, while in Government, landed costs endlessly on that sector. This Government has come up with 20 initiatives. They are on our website, and I am happy to table them. They go on and on. This Government has produced one of the lowest unemployment rates in some of the worst conditions that we have had. I am proud of my record in these difficult economic times, and it looks as though we have the support of almost everybody other than the Labour Opposition. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000094\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00226e2a3084f5994a288ab18644fe08bcdb\u0022\u003EAdult and Community Education\u2014Upskilling and Retraining\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000095\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003E5. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022de8efe003a8c47b8a3365ed8c1b38d64\u0022\u003EHon MARYAN STREET (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Tertiary Education: What role does she see for adult and community education in the upskilling and retraining of people seeking to make themselves more employable during the recession?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022 data-id=\u0022765fda45ef1641c9acd30afbc08932cd\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000096\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022765fda45ef1641c9acd30afbc08932cd\u0022\u003EHon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister for Tertiary Education):\u003C/span\u003E This Government is committed to funding adult and community education that directly supports further study or leads to employment outcomes. Our commitment to adult and community education is demonstrated by the fact that over the next 4 years we will spend $124 million on the sector. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000097\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227e61a58a86f1450591fc75d11e1979cf\u0022\u003EHon Maryan Street\u003C/span\u003E: Why will parents who proactively seek to take parenting courses be denied access to them because the Government has cut funding not only to parenting courses but also to all other adult and community education courses? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000098\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b83bc839ca4440d787f9c1882eb8ac44\u0022\u003EHon ANNE TOLLEY\u003C/span\u003E: That member is not correct. I am advised that parenting courses currently receive funding from a whole range of different social service agencies, including district health boards. Schools that have received adult and community education funding for parenting courses will be able to engage with the Tertiary Education Commission through the funding process over the next couple of months. I suggest that the member, instead of scaremongering out there in the sector, advises those services to contact the Tertiary Education Commission immediately. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229f9bf5eaf0884eff90c5a06575ac7dc0\u0022\u003EHon Maryan Street\u003C/span\u003E: Why, after a meeting of educational professionals in March that recommended increasing the number of parenting courses available, did the Minister decide to overrule that recommendation by reducing, not increasing, the number of courses, as a result of the cuts to funding for adult and community education? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000100\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002230da1154c6164338b8b96e5271b9a183\u0022\u003EHon ANNE TOLLEY\u003C/span\u003E: I repeat the answer that I gave to the member previously. Parenting courses are funded through a whole range of different social service agencies. The best thing those organisations can do is talk to the Tertiary Education Commission about funding for next year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000101\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ffff330f-1757-41d6-9973-25244f0fdada\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eef14a78aba64e3e9badcca16dabfccf\u0022\u003EColin King\u003C/span\u003E: What reports has the Minister seen on how adult and community education should be funded? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000102\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f37dd3aaaaf74ab3aa7bfb887f81ad2b\u0022\u003EHon ANNE TOLLEY\u003C/span\u003E: I have seen a report from the member who asked the primary question calling for the funding changes to be reversed. That is typical of the Labour Party, because there is no mention of how it would be paid for. [Interruption] Members opposite do not like it when we tell the truth about them. They have not come up with any way of paying for it. All they have come up with is debt. In fact, we can only assume that they want us to borrow more in order to\u2014[Interruption]\u2014put it on the bill\u2014exactly. The previous Government left debts in education. It left unfunded promises. This Government is not prepared to continue borrowing to fund.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000103\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e6830e2c94c04e6e834cfd784ed3a526\u0022\u003ECatherine Delahunty\u003C/span\u003E: T\u0113na koe. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa. What would the Minister say to the former adult education students whom I met in Canterbury on Friday, who told me that participating in so-called \u201Chobby\u201D adult and community education courses led directly from a total lack of confidence to running a business and employing staff? [Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000104\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002233ab62a4ea4d41f08d0f74ec7759e9f8\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I want to hear the answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000105\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229e394df76be4479082a6a32278d96174\u0022\u003EHon ANNE TOLLEY\u003C/span\u003E: What I would say to those people is that they may well still have those opportunities. They should talk to the people who run the courses, because, in fact, those courses could still be available. Correspondence has come into my office\u2014form letters, I think we call them\u2014from people around the country who are taking courses such as How to Look 10 Years Younger, and Continental Cakes. These people say that they are taking these classes to increase their skills, improve the quality of their lives, and learn something new\u2014and that is to be applauded. But they also say that they would be able to attend those classes even if the course fees were to increase substantially. So I would tell the people whom the member mentioned to talk to the people running those courses, because they may well still be prepared to run them, and those people can pay a little bit more and attend them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000106\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022235ac364f46d496dbad14693d7ac9cf8\u0022\u003EHon Maryan Street\u003C/span\u003E: What does it say about this Government\u2019s education priorities when it can find $35 million for private schools at the expense of accessible adult and community education courses for more than 400,000 New Zealanders? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000107\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002222e585ea12794ec1b2b8b873c87c14d3\u0022\u003EHon ANNE TOLLEY\u003C/span\u003E: I am pleased that the member asked that question, because what it says about the Labour Party is that its spokespeople cannot get their stories straight. The member asks that sort of question, when Labour\u2019s education spokesperson says \u201Cthat the government\u2019s decision to increase private school subsidies has opened a can of possible savings or at the very least opportunities for reallocation based on fairness and equity.\u201D On the one hand, the Opposition\u2019s education spokesperson is in favour of supporting private schools, and, on the other hand, its tertiary education spokesperson is looking to take the funding. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000108\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b5462092eec8481dbacde6f311cf3e4e\u0022\u003EWarm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart\u2014Role of Trading Banks\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000109\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E6. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022234a15f3b0974d24974a09632d61056a\u0022\u003EJACQUI DEAN (National\u2014Waitaki)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What role will major trading banks play in the delivery of the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart insulation programme announced by the Government in Budget 2009?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022 data-id=\u002207e88bc15304444699f5a4fccb275031\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000110\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002207e88bc15304444699f5a4fccb275031\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister of Energy and Resources):\u003C/span\u003E All of the major trading banks have agreed to waive their fees for customers who wish to top up their mortgage by adding on some of the cost of the insulation and clean heating they install in their homes. Additionally, I have been advised that TSB Bank Ltd has agreed to lower by 0.25 percent the interest charged on any money borrowed for installation and clean heating. We welcome the support of the banking industry in delivering this important initiative. It will create warmer, drier, and healthier homes for many thousands of New Zealanders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000111\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222c4a4dc83067485798463b1475bae333\u0022\u003EJacqui Dean\u003C/span\u003E: What has been the response from the public to the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart scheme?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000112\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c8d1991a76b742cc8b6f7c648bd45099\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE\u003C/span\u003E: The programme is proving to be very popular with the public. It is early days. The programme does not start formally until 1 July, but I am advised that there have been over 100,000 unique visitors to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority site since the Budget announcement. That shows a great intensity of public interest. We are confident that when the 0800 numbers from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority and EnergyWise transfer to the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme from 1 July, the number of visitors will increase even further. More important, though, New Zealanders will be getting warmer, drier, healthier homes because this Government has committed to the programme in conjunction with the Green Party.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000113\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220c0c5edd4e394d1c8d80e926663e8dee\u0022\u003EJacqui Dean\u003C/span\u003E: Has the Minister seen any incorrect reports about the scheme; if so, what do those reports state?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000114\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022265c3cad2039497b97a699bba3ea4e8a\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I have seen incorrect reports about the scheme. It will come as no surprise to the member to learn that they came from the Labour energy spokesman, Charles Chauvel. He has put it about that low-income households will be worse off under the scheme than under the small and miserable scheme the then Labour Government was running prior to the election. The reality is quite the opposite. Under the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart scheme, people with community services cards will get 60 percent of their insulation paid for, and in most cases the balance will be covered by participating funders who are partners in the scheme. Crucially, the Government will also give that sector of the community $1,200 for a clean heating device. The Labour scheme did not have that component in it. Mind you, there was no Labour scheme, because it did not commit any money to it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000115\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228ee78f036471406098f6a009bab2d8e3\u0022\u003ECharles Chauvel\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister confirm that the major bank fee waiver will be worth around $200 to the average household and that, in return, each such household will have to add around 10 times that amount to its existing home loan in order to finance a retrofit?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000116\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002205cfd8a6e3904e7faf465c8943fa84dc\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE\u003C/span\u003E: I cannot confirm the value of the fee waiver, but I can assure the member that tens of thousands of households will pick up on the scheme and will be delighted that the bank will allow them that extra lending at no additional fee. I cannot see why the member is so opposed to this programme. It may upset Labour members that we have got the programme off the ground when they could not, but essentially they should be supporting New Zealanders getting access to warmer, drier homes as a result of participating in this programme.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000117\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022851965d932084f2a85be8ea03f479021\u0022\u003EVote Education\u2014Gifted and Talented Education\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000118\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E7. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a988ca93221d4468819e1f903ccbd068\u0022\u003EHon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour\u2014Hutt South)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Education: What changes did she make within Vote Education Budget 2009 relating to gifted and talented education?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022 data-id=\u0022bf9a3fce60a846c1ba495e02cff1396c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000119\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022bf9a3fce60a846c1ba495e02cff1396c\u0022\u003EHon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister of Education):\u003C/span\u003E The Government ceased funding for gifted and talented education professional development services through the school support service contracts. That yielded savings of $5.4 million over 4 years. The advice I received was that the funding had a limited effect in small pockets of the country but overall was not delivering system-wide changes in the practices of schools and teachers. The Government is still committed to helping gifted and talented students by providing funding of $5.28 million over the next 4 years to support initiatives for gifted and talented students. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000120\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b276a3f80c4145c0bad76e0b2e939e08\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Why were gifted and talented children such a low priority that the Minister singled out their programmes for budget cuts and did not put the savings into more effective programmes for those children?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000121\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aee6ed0a5e724d539d26617b62ddf8ca\u0022\u003EHon ANNE TOLLEY\u003C/span\u003E: As I have said to the member, the advice I received was that those professional development programmes had limited and isolated reach, with not many schools benefiting from them. But we are committed to ensuring that gifted and talented students\u2014like all students at school\u2014are supported through the large amount of funding we spend on professional development.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000122\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f8e9efed563b49b9886ca805d7f57f5f\u0022\u003ENikki Kaye\u003C/span\u003E: What initiatives is the Government proposing in order to deliver system-wide change to help gifted and talented students?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000123\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229ac7019af8d248c08dab20a274d674bb\u0022\u003EHon ANNE TOLLEY\u003C/span\u003E: One example would be that in December of this year the Government plans to publish resources to support gifted education in all New Zealand schools, including identification tools and quality teaching standards. Those resources are designed to promote system-wide change to help gifted and talented students, rather than the very limited and isolated change that the spending on professional development has produced so far.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000124\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c1a135a67ef2499ca9328a8aa9213405\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Why are children from a generally privileged background in private schools and elite integrated schools being given money taken from gifted children in State schools?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000125\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229c3f4380a85a421380654a087b012e7a\u0022\u003EHon ANNE TOLLEY\u003C/span\u003E: Again, as I have already stated in this Chamber, I am confused by that member\u2019s stance on independent schools. On the one hand he is saying that they save the State money, but on the other hand he is saying we should not be giving them any funding.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e147b82c4f1d490e9510e00a6c844b55\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. You and I have corresponded on the issue of authentication and factual correctness in answers from Ministers. In this case the Minister is misquoting\u2014as she did earlier\u2014my blog on the site Red Alert. She has an obligation, if she is quoting me, to do it accurately.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000127\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002296aae82de87143278aa20614efe8f869\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member cannot dispute an answer by way of a point of order. On this occasion it was a point of order; last time this matter arose I was wrong and it was not a point of order. The member has raised a point of order, and he cannot dispute an answer that way. However, I ask the Minister to come more directly to the question the member asked. It has taken an awfully long time to hear an answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002220976bc6fdfb4b7a835744557bfabea9\u0022\u003EHon ANNE TOLLEY\u003C/span\u003E: I said to the member that the professional development services that were being delivered\u2014that $5 million that we have taken from the Budget\u2014was not delivering system-wide change. We are looking for system-wide change for gifted and talented students across the country. They deserve to have support. That is what we are attempting to achieve through both professional development across the board and the specific initiatives we are putting into place.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000129\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a95dbb0daed5477582194d2f2d22c309\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Did she cut the money from gifted and talented education professional development because she was captured by politically correct officials who do not believe in nurturing tall poppies?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221f7713d8913245dab62f5da3daa49a1d\u0022\u003EHon ANNE TOLLEY\u003C/span\u003E: No.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000131\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022e52216452e8a4524ac58eec4b40f8868\u0022\u003EPrisons\u2014Capacity\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000132\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003E8. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c6a75841a7b34aeb90b0820780a5c447\u0022\u003ESHANE ARDERN (National\u2014Taranaki - King Country)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Corrections: What reports has she received on prison capacity?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022 data-id=\u0022ee58e522363842839fbec0d489a922a1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000133\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ee58e522363842839fbec0d489a922a1\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Corrections):\u003C/span\u003E I have received several reports on the looming prison capacity crisis that this Government inherited. This crisis was first signalled in the briefing to the incoming Minister, which noted: \u201CAn immediate concern is the prospect that existing in-use capacity is exhausted by mid-2010.\u201D Since then I have received other reports from the department on the crisis. The Government has been forced to take immediate action to ensure that the Department of Corrections does not run out of beds next year.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000134\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227fb71a769fa048bd8231b315d052363b\u0022\u003EShane Ardern\u003C/span\u003E: What options are being considered to address the looming capacity crisis?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000135\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002215307c81df1246dd9662a36e1b453f9e\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: Unlike the previous Government, this Government is working to ensure that we can house those prisoners. We need to deal with the fact that we will run out of baseline beds next year. Double-bunking and increasing capacity on existing prison sites using containers are viable short-term solutions. Justice sector forecasts point to an extra 5,000 prison beds being required by 2018. Clearly, we will also have to build a new prison, and collectively we also need to try to reduce the number of people going to prison in the first place.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000136\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002212ae59e4605b4ba3b34ab561b1a7e203\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Minister take pride or shame in the fact that New Zealand has the second-highest rate of imprisonment in the developed world after the USA, and how will keeping prisoners in containers reduce reoffending rates?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022172d243274164642926d2fb812826293\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: Actually, it is a national disgrace for this country to have the second-highest rate of incarceration after the United States. I have to say that it is a bit rich for that member to ever try to say anything about it, because when his party took power there were 5,000 prisoners in our prisons and now there are 8,500. That is the legacy that Phil Goff left us with.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000138\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220a3a317c3e7a4745a91431ffce241654\u0022\u003EShane Ardern\u003C/span\u003E: What reports has she received on the cost of using containers at existing prisons?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000139\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d822ffb32add4cc983bafeb9116c5703\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: The latest costs I have from the department are for a landed per bed cost of $7,625 and a plugged-in cost per bed of $53,000 to $63,000. That includes hardening, concrete base, service connections, and unit-based infrastructure. Those costs could fall further, given the interest in providing these containers that is being shown around the country. Containers are a viable and cost-effective solution, and whatever option we choose, we would have to provide a secure, clean, and humane living environment for prisoners.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000140\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00223c399449ad2e4a93bdeeb4d42e9ff910\u0022\u003EM\u0101ori\u2014Open Access to Universities\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E9. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022af68e1488568492892cc0477e41bea16\u0022\u003EKELVIN DAVIS (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs: Does he stand by his statement \u201CM\u0101ori students should be granted open access to universities at any age with no qualifications\u201D; if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022 data-id=\u0022364e72eaf85a48389fb0a98e21facf01\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000142\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022364e72eaf85a48389fb0a98e21facf01\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Speaker. Yes, I do.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000143\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002262374b279cda4702925fc2da2417d37f\u0022\u003EKelvin Davis\u003C/span\u003E: How does allowing open access for M\u0101ori to university address the core issue of M\u0101ori underachievement at school?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000144\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226500051f91e54e6c95a647e1db2b815c\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES\u003C/span\u003E: The member is right; it does not. We have had 60 years of challenging secondary schools to increase their work rate. Fifty-one percent of M\u0101ori boys leave secondary school with no National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) qualifications. We have a trial programme that allows M\u0101ori into university at some institutions without any qualifications, then they do a bridging course to bring them up to standard, and then they enrol in first-year papers. The other part of my request was that kaupapa M\u0101ori be introduced into the teaching at universities.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000145\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002258417de4b7b04efe85a2952a08007642\u0022\u003EKelvin Davis\u003C/span\u003E: Why does the Minister want to give M\u0101ori free access to university at any age when the current policy allows open entry to university for all students from the age of 20 anyway?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000146\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e3f5e61120094107b1dc70a308570eb6\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES\u003C/span\u003E: Part of the reason is the way that some teachers allocate subjects in years 9, 10, and 11 to M\u0101ori students means that they are automatically taken away from the university entrance programme. A recent thesis produced by Margaret Taurere of Auckland University details subject choices and how they are made. M\u0101ori families do not know about that, and there needs to be an education programme. But, basically, secondary schools have to lift their work rate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000147\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002266ac4ebe6a1f4309a64179559ef294f2\u0022\u003ETe Ururoa Flavell\u003C/span\u003E: T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Speaker. Kia ora t\u0101tou. How does the Minister account for the fact that M\u0101ori students have the lowest rates of progression from school to tertiary education of any ethnic group, and what is he doing about it?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000148\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224ba09ba4bd48490d910f5e02d3a80dd8\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES\u003C/span\u003E: Over the years I have tried just about everything and still there is that gap in achievement in secondary education. As I said, 51 percent of boys leave school with no NCEA qualifications. As the Associate Minister of Education I am running out the kotahitanga programme in more schools. I have an education programme for school principals to get them in the groove so they know what is required for M\u0101ori students. I will establish a trade academy and I have a literacy programme in South Auckland, which I will be announcing very shortly. I am working on kaupapa M\u0101ori programmes, k\u014Dhanga, kura, wharekura, and whare w\u0101nanga, and my task force on the economy has a transition programme to get secondary students into the tertiary sector.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d52ae0ad52994f73ae47a557e85ade48\u0022\u003EKelvin Davis\u003C/span\u003E: If the Minister is concerned about providing bridging courses to better prepare M\u0101ori students for tertiary education, why did he vote in favour of a Budget that cut funding to adult and community education for literacy and numeracy courses that prepare many M\u0101ori for higher education?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000150\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a12a9bfe68ac41c7a08a54421f7ca721\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES\u003C/span\u003E: As part of our arrangement with the National Government, we give them confidence and supply\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000151\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228e686b62-8dc4-4f03-a7b6-2d0f9c874e9a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002222de5dc639da401187e6b4c7092112b3\u0022\u003EHon George Hawkins\u003C/span\u003E: Sell-out!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000152\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221bdda4e934474c7dbe771a217650f9a4\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES\u003C/span\u003E:\u2014a lifetime of working for one\u2019s people is not being a sell-out, so I tell that member to start learning\u2014and that is the reason.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000153\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c21f0ef2db21407eaaf345b76113a2b8\u0022\u003ETe Ururoa Flavell\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister explain why lifting the number of M\u0101ori people with degree-level qualifications is important to him?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000154\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220bc629b707d9465aa92ffbbbae77525a\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES\u003C/span\u003E: M\u0101ori people with degrees have a high participation rate in the workforce of 90 percent, they have a strong resilience to unemployment of 3 percent, and they earn 150 percent more than M\u0101ori people without degrees. At the macro level, increasing the returns of M\u0101ori labour is the single most important action for improving M\u0101ori prosperity, and ensuring that more M\u0101ori students get degrees is paramount.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000155\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d6b53b1503ad4647adffcc1a81e1e24d\u0022\u003EKelvin Davis\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Minister still believe that he has no chance of getting the Government to agree to allow open entry of M\u0101ori students at university; if so, is that statement an admission that the National Government is not listening to his views as either the Associate Minister of Education or the Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000156\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219767ece-60f1-4014-9855-74afaa34e699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220e5402c4fd864ce989d3473cd01298ed\u0022\u003EHon Dr PITA SHARPLES\u003C/span\u003E: There are two answers to that question. Firstly, Victoria University took my suggestion very seriously, as did the Auckland University of Technology, and will look at it. Secondly, it is vital that we attack the problem of secondary schools not performing in terms of M\u0101ori youth. That is why I am highlighting the point that if secondary schools will not step up and deal with that problem, then we go elsewhere, such as universities, to deal with it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000157\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00224d9f640de4604bef912df67ae74e90b6\u0022\u003ELegal Aid\u2014Public Defence Service\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000158\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E10. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fbb1017ee62a4fe697d28ca9ea830920\u0022\u003ECHESTER BORROWS (National\u2014Whanganui)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Justice: What recent changes has he announced to the Public Defence Service?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022 data-id=\u00222d1444509ff64dfbb910d6280c3729b7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000159\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222d1444509ff64dfbb910d6280c3729b7\u0022\u003EHon SIMON POWER (Minister of Justice):\u003C/span\u003E The Public Defence Service, which is administered by the Legal Services Agency, is an in-house service providing criminal legal aid and duty solicitor services for up to one-third of all legally aided defendants in Auckland and Manukau courts. As part of the Budget, the Government is providing $5.3 million in the year to come to expand that pilot service from the courts in Auckland and Manukau, to include courts in Waitakere, North Shore, Pukekohe, and Papakura.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000160\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002256d77cd3d9a74a61826d0d5999c0cf62\u0022\u003EChester Borrows\u003C/span\u003E: How has the Public Defence Service demonstrated its effectiveness?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000161\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e53dac5b3f2c4f22a2eaabbc49c258fa\u0022\u003EHon SIMON POWER\u003C/span\u003E: A recent value-for-money analysis found that the flow of Public Defence Service cases through the court system led to a two-thirds reduction in jury trials, resulting in material savings in court time and cost. That backed up an earlier evaluation. Those savings were achieved with no difference in outcome for the client, as measured by overall conviction rates.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000162\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002271a787d3e0d04f859658f5f3fc9695e3\u0022\u003EChester Borrows\u003C/span\u003E: Has he seen any other evidence regarding the working of the Public Defence Service?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000163\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022803002d1-e810-4bd8-b8e7-2e97d0d6f626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228cd710caec2a4ca78cde71d3011a79b5\u0022\u003EHon SIMON POWER\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I have. Earlier this month I sat in on a session at the Manukau District Court, where I was able to see the Public Defence Service in action. I was very impressed with the level of preparedness of the public defenders, and the speed with which cases were progressed through the court.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000164\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00224a807d50a1a04387b2a4f7529476b5b0\u0022\u003EDr Richard Worth\u2014Confidence\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000165\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003E11. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002225611b5a95e84aeaa1a56aa6b3b07531\u0022\u003EHon PETE HODGSON (Labour\u2014Dunedin North)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Why did he lose confidence in Dr Richard Worth as a Minister?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022 data-id=\u0022911ca953d96a4274bd282a059d9c69a4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000166\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022911ca953d96a4274bd282a059d9c69a4\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E I refer the member to the response to question No. 12 on Tuesday, 16 June.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000167\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a1d5849999e24e82866b0ab12b08bc4d\u0022\u003EHon Pete Hodgson\u003C/span\u003E: When the Prime Minister came to the view that he had lost confidence in Dr Richard Worth, was he in possession or not in possession of substantive information that is not yet available to the public?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000168\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022868ab5219d3e4599a82732bec7617b29\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: When I did that, that was the point at which I lost confidence in Dr Worth. I did not believe that his conduct befitted that of a Minister. I will not go into the specifics of the information, but I think members can rest assured that in losing confidence in Dr Worth I was satisfied that I could make that case.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022648ceb5fbd66429ea4f19991668e096f\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. That was a very direct question. It asked the Prime Minister whether he was in possession of material not yet in the public arena. The Prime Minister did not address that question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000170\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bddfb5ace903490cb5fba35b3692050b\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The Prime Minister indicated that he did not intend, presumably in the public interest, to go into the matter in too much detail. The member obviously has a further supplementary question. I will listen very carefully to the Prime Minister\u2019s answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000171\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225dd00ac845154353b3cb368822e96cc1\u0022\u003EHon Pete Hodgson\u003C/span\u003E: Let me put the question again, then. When the Prime Minister came to the view that he had lost confidence in Dr Richard Worth, was he in possession, or not in possession, of substantive information that is not yet public?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000172\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002261bea90e21bd4e18ac69a7a097acfee2\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I will not go into the specifics of the information I had when I lost confidence in Dr Worth, because I do not believe it is in the public interest to do so.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000173\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002254700087e6324bb99abeb97d238868b1\u0022\u003EHon Pete Hodgson\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I pointedly did not ask the Prime Minister to tell us what the information was, and the reason for that is that the Prime Minister had already advised the House last week that it was not in the public interest for him to divulge it. The question is whether he had that information in the first place, and that question has not been addressed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000174\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221174fe609ecd4880b669d6d02433fd59\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I take the point that the member has made. He is not asking what the information is; I take it that he is asking whether the Prime Minister had any information at the time he lost confidence in the Minister that was not in the public arena. It is totally up to the Prime Minister whether he answers on that specific issue. I invite him to consider whether he can answer the question as to whether he was in possession of any information that was not in the public arena.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000175\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221f919203ebdf48d699aa49e9463b12f4\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I do not think it is in the public interest to go into those specifics.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000176\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bb67fd98e7064d928ea4f8f621e0c9bc\u0022\u003EHon Pete Hodgson\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. In summary, I submit to you that it is not the Prime Minister\u2019s choice whether he advises us\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000177\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225777acbe50f445ef8957be571188dff8\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Is this a point of order?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000178\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222c774b046e4c498badd660d82191e4cd\u0022\u003EHon Pete Hodgson\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, it is. It is a point of order under Standing Order 377(1). My submission is that the Prime Minister does not have the discretion to decide whether he wishes to address the question. Standing Order 377(1) is a two-part Standing Order. The second part talks about the public interest and how that point might be invoked to not address a question. Otherwise, the Minister must seek to address the question. Mr Speaker, I put it to you with humility that you are obliged\u2014[Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000179\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022441b034284ba4b29a0ef78322f036180\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: This is a point of order; it is a serious one.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000180\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002223176d000dc74b9291ef30e25a92e18d\u0022\u003EHon Pete Hodgson\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014to uphold the first part of Standing Order 377(1). To briefly recapitulate, I say that the question is determinedly\u2014on purpose, obviously\u2014a narrow question. The question does not seek to learn what information is being withheld; it seeks to learn whether information is being withheld. Mr Speaker, I believe that you are bound to have the Minister seek to address that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000181\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002289c5938d99284617b9a700ab514ac0d8\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I appreciate the seriousness of the point of order that the honourable member has raised. He may note that when the point was raised by the Hon Trevor Mallard, I put the particular issue of his question to the Prime Minister, and I think I summarised it reasonably when I put that to him. It was the Prime Minister\u2019s judgment that it was not in the public interest to answer that particular question, and as Speaker I cannot judge that, because I do not know what information may or may not have been received\u2014I am not in a position to judge that. In this case, only the Prime Minister can be the judge of whether it is in the public interest to divulge that information. Standing Order 377(1) makes it very clear that it is the right of a Minister not to answer a question, and that constitutes addressing the question. If a Minister says that it is not in the public interest for him or her to answer a question, he or she has addressed the question as required by that Standing Order. Therefore, I believe that the House has to accept the Prime Minister\u2019s judgment that it is not in the public interest to answer that question further.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000182\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fc397fe9cd4c4e5bb6ef53b81c736792\u0022\u003EHon Pete Hodgson\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Speaking to your ruling, if I may raise another point of order under Standing Order 377(1), I submit to you that because the question is only about whether the Minister has information, for him to not answer it is disorderly. If, let us say, the Prime Minister has no information, then he has already told the House that he is withholding information under the second part of Standing Order 377(1), and has, in fact, contradicted himself in the course of a week. If, on the other hand, he has information that he is not of a mind to impart\u2014and no one can require that of him; it is his choice alone\u2014then it would seem to me that he is obliged to tell the House that he has information so that we can put to one side the possibility that he does not.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000183\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229ec6f82734df4abc83bf79192fb9ed4e\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Not only is Mr Hodgson challenging the ruling that you just made, but also he is seeking to undo the ruling by Speaker Hunt, Speaker\u2019s ruling 157/8, which says: \u201CA member cannot demand a \u2018yes\u2019 or \u2018no\u2019 answer to a question.\u201D As the question was put to you by Mr Hodgson just then, he is effectively asking for a yes or no answer. The fact that he did not put on the end of his question: \u201C\u2026yes or no?\u201D is irrelevant. That is the nature of the question. The Prime Minister has answered as adequately as is possible under the circumstances. Parliament should allow that to be the case. Numerous Speakers\u2019 rulings in here, which I do not want to necessarily refer to, make it very clear that although members may not be satisfied with an answer to a question, that does not necessarily mean that the answer itself has in any way breached the Standing Orders. I support the ruling that you have just given. It makes it clear that if the Prime Minister determines that carrying on with this exchange in the way that Mr Hodgson wants is against the public interest, then that determination should be accepted by the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000184\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d7053d8d66e04d34a3084d063e54af40\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Speaking to the point of order, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000185\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225229604701054615a0ca0842de8a9ec9\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: This is the last one I will listen to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000186\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a41b2a15cad6467e85df2b721a9ab85e\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: I think I might be going down a trail of irrelevance here, but in considering the matter raised by Mr Brownlee, I ask you to consider also Speaker\u2019s ruling 163/2\u2014again, from Speaker Hunt\u2014which says: \u201CMinisters have a responsibility to the House, and through the House to the country, to account for the public offices they hold.\u201D It goes on to say that Ministers should, wherever possible, answer questions. I have been contemplating the Prime Minister\u2019s reply in this particular area, and, unlike my colleague, I think I can contemplate one particular circumstance where it would not be in the public interest for the Prime Minister to answer the question. It is not a police matter. If it is a police matter then it would not hurt the Prime Minister to indicate that he held information; he would not have to say where it came from. I think the only area that it could possibly be is a security matter, and I think in leaving it like that, if it is not a security matter, he is leaving Dr Richard Worth\u2019s name\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000187\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227fb7a30e237343eda63858e3060ac41c\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000188\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002222e11686876c4ed1ad2dffce14f8128f\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: That was a very eloquently delivered piece of complete irrelevance from the Hon Trevor Mallard. It is interesting to note that on the same page of the Speakers\u2019 Rulings, once again Speaker Hunt notes: \u201CQuestion time is a political exchange. The adequacy of the performance of members, whether in Government or in Opposition, is judged on a political basis.\u201D This nature of exchange is exactly that, and, as I have said, I do not think the point raised by Mr Mallard is relevant. Your ruling should stand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000189\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c3c4bf86a75347eda134573bac0700b7\u0022\u003EHon Peter Dunne\u003C/span\u003E: Speaking to the point of order, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000190\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a10deff629b941b6b357be090cd44f63\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: OK, I will hear the Hon Peter Dunne, but I do not want to take much further time on this.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000191\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002265a366e0a3374935a5cf5ba3dd4d4784\u0022\u003EHon Peter Dunne\u003C/span\u003E: I just draw your attention to Speakers\u2019 rulings 162/3 and 162/4, particularly with reference to the public interest. In 162/3 Mr Speaker Steward in 1892 and Mr Speaker Gray in 1991 ruled that the determination of the public interest was \u201Cin the opinion of the Minister interrogated,\u201D. In 162/4 your predecessor, Madam Speaker Wilson, ruled in 2008 that \u201Cultimately, the judgment of whether a particular reply is consistent with the public interest is for the Minister to make.\u201D My submission today is as it was last week: the determination whether the public interest criterion is satisfied rests not, with respect, with you as Speaker, but with the Minister who is being questioned at the time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022071799cd7a1d4318bd8db0cc48ae71fa\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I thank honourable members; I think all have made valuable contributions to what I accept is a sensitive issue. But at the end of the day members will note that I have\u2014in fact, today, a couple of times\u2014asked members to not just address a question but answer some questions. But the quid pro quo, as the Standing Order intends, of Ministers being required to answer questions, is that if in their view it is not in the public interest to do so, they can say so and actually not give an answer. The Standing Order makes it very clear that it is possible to do that. The fact that a Minister chooses to do that tells a lot about the nature of the question, etc., and it actually says a lot in itself when the Minister, or on this occasion the Prime Minister, chooses to do that. So I think that, as the Hon Peter Dunne pointed out, the House has to accept that where a Minister invokes the public interest, the Speaker and the House have to accept that judgment on behalf of the Minister. I would far sooner have a Minister say it is not in the public interest than waffle on for half an hour about irrelevant stuff. I believe it is the proper implementation of the Standing Order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220c9c0d10c3ad48c196b0a98d2deab194\u0022\u003EHon Pete Hodgson\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Prime Minister believe that his trenchant refusal to seek to address questions on this matter is a good look?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000194\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002220eb00c1a2564f98bc079b4f961ea635\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, it is, because it shows that the Government is focused on the issues that really matter to New Zealanders, and that the Opposition is in the gutter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000195\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c0eba1d-17a6-44e2-a9b3-2e2535339570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224cc1f90d69064efeac2ac32c9de9a237\u0022\u003EHon Pete Hodgson\u003C/span\u003E: Given that the Prime Minister said last week that he \u201Cacted fairly but firmly and swiftly.\u201D, how might the public judge whether he acted fairly but swiftly and firmly when he has chosen not to tell them what he was acting on, or even whether he was acting on anything at all?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000196\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222c80601a2dfc4da3aa7d2301384ec54d\u0022\u003EHon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Firstly, because they can tell by the actions. I know the Opposition is not used to a Prime Minister who acts, but this side of the House is. That is the first point. The second point is that, in the end, the test of whether a Minister enjoys the confidence of the Prime Minister is a subjective test, in the same way that it is a subjective test whether someone is promoted to Cabinet.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000197\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002232c7fcd6f4804d508156746e65adcdbf\u0022\u003EWine\u2014Testing Requirements\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000198\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ffff330f-1757-41d6-9973-25244f0fdada\u0022\u003E12. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224ce79d787bde4ee2af26ddbf9d4c3e6f\u0022\u003ECOLIN KING (National\u2014Kaik\u014Dura)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Food Safety: What changes have been made to the testing requirements for wine?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022 data-id=\u0022d33f1a1f8ae54474a9caa0b1bab5afc0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000199\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d33f1a1f8ae54474a9caa0b1bab5afc0\u0022\u003EHon KATE WILKINSON (Minister for Food Safety):\u003C/span\u003E On my instruction, to reduce business compliance costs the New Zealand Food Safety Authority has removed the requirement that all wine destined for the European Union must be sent to Auckland for testing, and now wine will be able to be tested closer to a winery\u2019s own operations. [Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000200\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228e4ba1469b1142699ba25b5a6b8548fb\u0022\u003EHon John Key\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am sorry to interrupt the member, but the member Mr Mallard has been accusing me of being a liar, and I think that is inappropriate in this House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000201\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220eedf27cc5bb46f5ae7a7f3d7f6b00c4\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: On a couple of occasions during question time today I have heard the Hon Trevor Mallard interjecting exactly that. Offence has been taken on this occasion, and I ask the member to withdraw and apologise for it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000202\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a6aa6ff5067f4341870155be60a5dd6f\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Before I do that, Mr Speaker, I make it clear\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000203\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bad045371cb741328302edf58b572643\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000204\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aae74e7f0b1041f6b5dfe3563f5e21af\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: I did not make the comment!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e923251d2fae4d7387b3e10570895835\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member will leave the Chamber for the rest of the day.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000206\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dcf47dae1fb64d75b1be2c4529aa5144\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: For not making a comment? For goodness\u2019 sake!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000207\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229e96b7e6f0b644dbbe2c4723baf70035\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member will not dispute the Speaker. [Interruption] And if he is not careful he will be named. [Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000208\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard withdrew from the Chamber. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000209\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ca7871fd27844f7e889c65f726ca1dff\u0022\u003EHon Darren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I appreciate that we have to take this issue carefully. I think the issue was that Mr Mallard was trying to communicate to you that he had not used the phrase that the Prime Minister had accused him of making. Mr Mallard said he was happy to withdraw if he had breached parliamentary procedure by using an unparliamentary term, but Mr Mallard did not say the very word that the Prime Minister said he had used. I heard what Mr Mallard said; I am happy to repeat it for you, if that is of use to you. To eject a member and threaten him with being named, when you had directed him to withdraw and apologise for something that he had not said, and when you did not ask him to clarify what he had said, does seem like Mr Mallard has paid a very high penalty.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000210\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fa6aad7d178c4aee96319562f5d6ce24\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The matter is very simple. Today during question time I have listened to the Hon Trevor Mallard interjecting inappropriately on a number of occasions. I have pulled him up on a couple of occasions. The problem at the end was that when I asked him to withdraw and apologise for it because offence had been taken, he started to dispute with the Speaker. I will not tolerate that. The manner in which he did it was the problem; it was not that he had interjected. He could have withdrawn and apologised for that. It is not a difficult thing. The dignity of the House was totally destroyed by the way that the member behaved, and I will not tolerate that in the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000211\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003EThe honourable member will just have to learn to control his anger. It would have been perfectly within my right as the Speaker to have him called back into the House and have him named. I have not done that, because I do not want to do that, but the member will have to learn to behave with a little more decorum. He is a senior member. He has the authority from the Labour Party, it seems, to raise points of order on behalf of the party. The shadow Leader of the House appears to allow him to do that on a number of occasions. If he is going to do that, he has to respect the House and respect the dignity of the House, and not behave in the way that he did just now. He will be out for the rest of this day, and he will learn to behave in a manner befitting the dignity of this House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000212\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003EI did not make that decision lightly. Members will note that I resisted the temptation. In my time in the House, I have seen members named for that kind of behaviour as they left the Chamber. I did not want to do that, because I realised that the member had lost the plot for a moment and he was angry. That is the end of the matter. But I want all members, on all sides of the House, to realise that it does not matter about me as the Speaker; it is the treatment of this House. This House will be treated with its proper dignity.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000213\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002268003bd78c6d4c0f96ab5c611fe3a624\u0022\u003EHon John Key\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Let me make it quite clear. On numerous occasions Mr Mallard yelled out at me: \u201CYour nose is growing. Your nose is growing.\u201D I think everyone understands what Mr Mallard meant by that. I took offence at it. The reason I took offence is that Mr Hodgson may not like the fact that I have not answered questions in the way that he would want, but I have not done so because I am a liar or have misled New Zealand in any way; I have done so because I do not believe that it is in the public interest to answer those questions in the way that he would want. That is a vastly different proposition. I recognise Opposition members\u2019 dissatisfaction with that, and they are entitled to be dissatisfied, but I am also entitled to answer questions in the way that I perceive to be in the public interest. There was no ambiguity about the implications of the statements that Mr Mallard made. Members will know that I have been in this House for 7 years and I have virtually never asked members to apologise, but I will not put up with Mr Mallard implying very clearly that I am a liar. I am not.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000214\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002276ce5373174c437fb055c875390471e7\u0022\u003EHon Darren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: I think what the Prime Minister has just offered the House goes directly to the point I have made to you. The Prime Minister took a point of order and accused Mr Mallard of calling him a particular word. Mr Speaker, it was that which made you get to your feet and reprimand Mr Mallard. As you rightly said, he had said that word earlier in question time and without hesitation withdrew it. But the Prime Minister, who brought the issue to your attention by way of a point of order, used a different word from what he has now admitted in his second point of order was actually said. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000215\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003EThe other point I would make is that you have given a long dissertation about your views on Mr Mallard, using your authority as Chair, in a way that I do not think we have ever seen; it was quite a detailed explanation given by somebody in the Chair. Mr Mallard has been penalised, in this case, for something that the Prime Minister himself, who was the person who complained, now admits was a false accusation about what Mr Mallard had said in the first\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000216\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224005c2dfe19043c59e5af96dc3a820e8\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000217\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002289af8ab159ed4a4bb4982b82611bee94\u0022\u003EHon Bill English\u003C/span\u003E: Sit down!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000218\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e9655d8101cf4d40ac30a1bd2778b706\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member will resume his seat. And there will be no interjections, even from the Deputy Prime Minister. I have let these points of order go on long enough, because I realise that the House is concerned about the actions I have taken. But I say to the Hon Darren Hughes that anyone who thinks that what the Hon Trevor Mallard said was not an insinuation of lying does not have half the intelligence that I attribute to the Hon Darren Hughes. To insinuate a member is lying is out of order. It has been well\u2014please do not dispute me while I am in the Chair. I have not asked many members to leave this House. But I will not have the dignity of this House insulted by members behaving in the way that the Hon Trevor Mallard has behaved just now. I will not tolerate it. It is up to members to treat this House with dignity. That is the last thing I will say on this matter. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000219\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003EWe were on question No. 12. I think Colin King has a supplementary question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000220\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ffff330f-1757-41d6-9973-25244f0fdada\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002282210454695c4f83b6d9f8df62476b5c\u0022\u003EColin King\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Can I seek your indulgence, if not the House\u2019s indulgence, to put the original question to the Minister again?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000221\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ac169d29-4849-42c2-a4a7-f344fd416503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226c741fafb62b4684af1215a912497830\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I will let the member put his question, because I think the honourable Minister had not finished answering it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000222\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ffff330f-1757-41d6-9973-25244f0fdada\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c94caab8731c4903943dbeaf5f526e6d\u0022\u003EColin King\u003C/span\u003E: What changes have been made to the testing requirements for wine?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000223\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a65a2dfa318841398b5731dacd8985b6\u0022\u003EHon KATE WILKINSON\u003C/span\u003E: On my instruction, to reduce business compliance costs the New Zealand Food Safety Authority has removed the requirement that all wine destined for the European Union must be sent to Auckland for testing, and now wine will be able to be tested closer to a winery\u2019s own operations. It makes sense that wine should be allowed to be tested at any appropriate lab, rather than forcing wineries to send everything to Auckland. I thank the National MPs who lobbied so effectively on behalf of their local winemakers who had expressed frustration over the current process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000224\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ffff330f-1757-41d6-9973-25244f0fdada\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a41e45ecbb24446bb2f3a56315e952c8\u0022\u003EColin King\u003C/span\u003E: What reports has she seen in response to this announcement?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000225\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229c075cb82926463290fc609d0630f665\u0022\u003EHon KATE WILKINSON\u003C/span\u003E: South Island laboratories have already indicated that they want to offer testing services, so wineries should soon have a choice of providers and an opportunity to reduce their costs. Wine exporters have already expressed their support, with the New Zealand Winegrowers Deputy Chairman, Steve Green, saying that he is pleased to see that the Government is supporting New Zealand wineries.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000226\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002272fdef202a1642c6bdc85d4664380779\u0022\u003EImprest Supply (First for 2009/10) Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022fc40eb13aac9451d8fc172efbf6f6e7f\u0022\u003EFirst Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u00220c07a4c174664dc6a9f7788136ebd58e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000228\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220c07a4c174664dc6a9f7788136ebd58e\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the Imprest Supply (First for 2009/10) Bill be now read a first time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000229\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EBill read a first time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000230\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c85e6f6d9754473f8914f8917f62c9ba\u0022\u003ESupplementary Estimates\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000231\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002250e970305e6548d49d114cceefc9b698\u0022\u003EImprest Supply Debate\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000233\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022a5eb5c1e0ad544d981f6ceffebc00333\u0022\u003EImprest Supply Debate\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u00220548be0552bf45d9a30b0a411f57700b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000232\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220548be0552bf45d9a30b0a411f57700b\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the Appropriation (2008/09 Supplementary Estimates) Bill and the Imprest Supply (First for 2009/10) Bill be now read a second time. The presentation of these bills to Parliament is an opportunity to reflect on the drastic change in the fiscal outlook that has occurred in the last 8 months in New Zealand. Back in 2008 the Government was forecasting fiscal surpluses with some cash deficits over the next 4 years. In Budget 2009, because of the impact of both the New Zealand domestic recession\u2014in train since the beginning of 2008\u2014and the later impact of the global recession, that fiscal outlook has changed dramatically. The Budget outlined plans that show that the Government now faces 10 years of deficits, and more than a doubling of public debt. That is after making substantial decisions in respect of tax deductions, contributions to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, and other decisions, including having a smaller operational allowance for new spending for Budgets over the next 10 years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000234\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EIt is important to remember that surpluses give us positive choices; deficits tend to give us more difficult choices. The Government has started out on a process that reflects the reality that fiscal constraint is now a permanent part of the Government\u2019s plans. That is not a matter of ideological conviction or the democratic choices that the public make about Governments; it is the way the world has changed, and it is a product of past misdirected policy under the previous Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000235\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EA bit of analysis of Government spending shows that the Government\u2019s books are now significantly out of balance. Over recent years entitlements and Government spending have grown rapidly, particularly under the Labour Government since the 2005 election. The effect of this is that when we calculate what is called the primary balance\u2014that is, Government revenue and expenditure excluding finance costs\u2014we see that it is now significantly larger than anything that the New Zealand Government has seen in the last 25 or 30 years. Certainly, the primary deficit is significantly larger than it was in the late 1980s, which was the last time close attention was paid to New Zealand\u2019s fiscal situation and a lot of Government policies were focused on remedying that outlook.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000236\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThe Government made a critical decision in respect of the Budget, which is reflected in these bills, and that was to continue with the election undertakings that it had made. This has the effect that through this next financial year the Government will continue to grow public spending at a fairly significant rate. We are doing that because we believe that it is important to support the economy through the most difficult part of this recession, which we are in now. This will be a very tough 12 months; we have already seen rising unemployment and dropping tax revenues. At the same time we have set out a plan to get on top of rising debt over time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000237\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EIt is important to remember just how we got here and whom people should look to when they realise that they have to deal with some difficult issues. The last Government left this economy in much worse shape than its members believed, and certainly in much worse shape than the public were led to believe. It is pretty straightforward: the economy was in recession through 2008, and that recession was caused by domestic excesses. Those excesses consisted of rapid growth in Government spending, a lot of misdirected spending by the Government, an asset bubble in the housing market, a record current account deficit, and appallingly low productivity growth through that time. Those factors left this economy in a weak state to handle the onset of the global recession.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000238\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003ETo turn to the Government books I say that this Government has had to deal with the global recession in the context of Government books that were already headed into deficit, despite 10 of the best years of economic conditions that this country could have enjoyed. It meant that in Government we found ourselves starting not from the start line but from way behind. There was a dysfunctional immigration service, a dysfunctional corrections service, and a health and education sector that had been pumped up with large increases in funding and negative productivity growth.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000239\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWe have had to deal with particularly bad decisions around investment, and a shortfall in accident compensation funding of $300 million a year\u2014or $1 billion over the forecast period covered by the Budget\u2014just because of neglect and bad management. KiwiRail was a black hole if ever there was one. The previous Government decided it was worth $700 million plus a set of concessions to the previous owners, and it seemed to be intent on setting it up as a Government department. We have had to contribute something like $145 million to keep it running. We will have to put some basic investment into it next year, but over the next few years that looks to be nothing like enough. So we have to clean up that particular mess.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000240\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EAlong with that, a whole set of regulatory changes were made that treated businesses as golden gooses that would keep laying eggs but that needed to be punished in case they were too successful. We have had to initiate sweeping regulatory reforms in order to create the kind of business environment where people will invest so that we can have employment, because it is not until businesses invest that we can get the unemployment rate down. There will not be one new job until a business decides to invest and to employ someone.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000241\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EWhen people are concerned about the choices the Government is making, they should lay the blame for that concern at the feet of Labour. We are cleaning up a mess left by an economically illiterate and fiscally reckless Government. Cleaning up that mess was always going to involve some difficult choices, but the fact that the global recession has come on top of that will really test our capacity.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000242\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EI am impressed with the way that much of the Civil Service has decided to shift its framework now that the outlook has changed\u2014not just the change in Government but the change in the economy. However, some parts of the Civil Service do need to adjust a bit more to the realities.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThis Government has strongly supported the police. We are pouring millions of dollars into the police force in order to help the police to do their job. We are pouring money into Tasers so that police can be safer, and into DNA testing in order to give them more capacity to resolve crimes. However, I am not sure that the police are in step with the public in looking for a 4 percent pay increase. The police get a 2 percent pay increase regardless. That increase, by any standard in respect of the rest of the community, is quite generous, especially compared with people who are losing their jobs and taking pay cuts. The Police Association is claiming 2 percent above that. This part of the public sector probably has the most secure jobs in New Zealand. The New Zealand Police has the strongest political backing of any Government department, with the Government pouring so much money into the police, and I think the association would do well to check whether it is reflecting the views of its membership and the communities that those members are serving.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000244\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EThis legislation is part of a programme that the Government has embarked on to get the books back in order, but, more important, it is the first step in a 3 to 5-year programme to deliver smarter and better public services to the public for the same or less funding. It is going to be a challenge, but it is one we are up to. Just a few years ago, Government departments were spending considerably less than they are now\u2014in some departments it was 30 percent or 40 percent less\u2014and at that time they were meeting many of the needs of the public. Those needs are going to grow in the recession; we are determined to meet them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u0022c11d5cfef01d4daa920eafd89f81d3f3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000245\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c11d5cfef01d4daa920eafd89f81d3f3\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E The previous speech by the Minister of Finance, Bill English, should be contrasted with what he was saying before the election as the Opposition spokesperson on finance. He was saying to the electorate that they could have everything that they had under Labour, plus tax cuts. He was not saying that the social spending or tax credits that surround both Working for Families and KiwiSaver were profligate. He told people that those policies were there, they were secure, they were good policies, and people could rely upon National to protect them and superannuation\u2014people could have everything they had under Labour, plus tax cuts. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000246\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EHe was warned before the election by journalists that Lehman Brothers had failed and the IMF was giving warnings of a major slowdown in the world economy. Those facts were put to Mr English when he was the Opposition spokesperson on finance and he was asked whether, as a consequence, the promises that he was making were unrealistic and unaffordable. He denied that they were. He made promises that he knew could not be kept in order to win the Treasury benches. Straight after the election, we were here under urgency passing legislation for those unaffordable tax cuts. Not only were those tax cuts unaffordable, but also they were so weighted to those who were already well off that they were terribly unfair. They were patently unaffordable, and that was proven within 6 short months when we were back here in this Chamber reversing some of those tax cuts that we had voted for, under urgency, prior to Christmas. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000247\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EThe Minister of Finance continues to pretend that his Government inherited a difficult set of cards, but his Government inherited one of the best fiscal positions in the Western World. The third-lowest Government debt in the OECD is a wonderful set of cards to inherit in a time of recession, not a difficult set of cards. The Minister has had more room to move than virtually every other Minister of Finance in the developed world. He should not complain to members of the previous Labour Government that we left a situation that was in a parlous state, because nothing could be further from the truth. When Mr English last left Government\u2014he was Minister of Finance in the last National Government\u2014the Labour Government inherited Government debt of 38 percent of GDP. When the Labour Government gave back the Treasury benches to the National Government following the last election, the National Government inherited Government debt that was less than 18 percent of GDP. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000248\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EToday the Prime Minister heralded the fact that New Zealand\u2019s unemployment rate is, in his view, not too bad because it is at 5 percent, when some of the rest of the world have higher rates. In a numerical sense that is true, but who should get credit for that? The prior Government oversaw real growth in this economy. That growth saw New Zealand\u2019s unemployment be the lowest or second-lowest rate in the world, a position we swapped from time to time with South Korea. That is the legacy the Labour Government left to the incoming National Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000249\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EMr English says that productivity growth was low in the period prior to the election. On an annual basis during the 9 years of the Labour Government, growth in New Zealand was higher than it was in Japan, the USA, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and even, although just slightly, Australia during that period. It is true that growth in labour productivity during that period was not high, but that is the statistical effect of reducing unemployment. If we have unemployment going down to the very low levels that we had in New Zealand, the last people who are back in the jobs are the lowest skilled. Similarly, the first who get laid off and cannot get a new job are generally the lowest skilled. Ironically, when we have reducing unemployment, we can also have low rates of increases in labour productivity. Mr English knows that well, but he denies it in this House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000250\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EThere are a number of criticisms that can be made of the Budget. This Budget does very little to set up New Zealand to come out of the recession in a stronger position than we went into it, because it takes money away from the training of people who, through no fault of their own, are normally made unemployed. It does not fund their training whilst unemployed. Sir Roger Douglas presided over the finances of this country in a very difficult time in the 1980s, and he did some good things and some bad things. I congratulate him on floating the dollar and some other good things. One of those good things he and that Labour Government did was that in that period of dislocation when there was rising unemployment, money was put into the retraining of people who were made unemployed. This Budget does not do that; in fact, this Budget reduces payments to a lot of good courses. Let us look at the 9-day fortnight, one of the big three ideas to come out of the Job Summit. It is an idea that I think most people in this House inherently think is a good idea if it is well managed, but there is no skills package around it. The people who are not in work fully are not getting training as a way to improve themselves and therefore improve the future productivity of our economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000251\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EI want to deal with one of the exaggerations that we hear from the Minister of Finance relating to the increase in Government expenditure during the term of the Labour Government; Sir Roger Douglas does this, too. They both include tax credits in the definition of \u201CGovernment expenditure\u201D. The Working for Families tax credits\u2014effectively a tax reduction for people with families; over $100 a week per family with children was the average of the Working for Families tax credits that were voted by the previous Labour Government\u2014and the KiwiSaver tax credits that encourage people to save are both counted as Government expenditure under the definition used by the Hon Bill English today and at times by the Hon Roger Douglas. They exaggerate the increase in Government expenditure by including the tax credits, which are effectively tax reductions. If they did not agree with those tax credits, they would have campaigned against them. But, of course, the National Party said it would keep them, because it agreed that in the end they were a good way to deliver assistance and effective tax reductions to families with children. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000252\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EThe other big, glaring mistake in this Budget\u2014I will not deal with some of the smaller choices like putting more money into private schools rather than public schools\u2014is the issue of superannuation. New Zealand has an ageing population. We currently have approximately 500,000 superannuitants in New Zealand and a rapidly ageing population. Baby boomers, born from the time of World War II to 1960, are approaching retirement age. Between now and 2030 an additional 500,000 of those baby boomers will move into retirement. At the same time, the number of people in the workforce will decrease proportionately because we will have fewer working-age people as a proportion of our population. It is obvious that in order to maintain future superannuation entitlements, Governments of today need to collect taxes from the people who are working today in order to fund that future superannuation. If that does not occur, we create not just uncertainty as to future superannuation entitlements, and we certainly do that, but also we create intergenerational unfairness because we will have a generation of people expected to fund a million or so people on superannuation from a smaller working population. That would not be fair, and it may not be politically sustainable. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000253\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EThat reality is clear to everyone but it is denied by the National Government, as it has stopped contributions to the superannuation fund not for 1 year but for the decade. So there will be $20 billion plus earnings less in that fund in the future, when that increased number of people will be reliant on superannuation. As a consequence, future entitlements to superannuation are at risk. The likelihood of means testing, or age changes, or decreased generosity of superannuation is denied by the National Government. It has again broken its promise on superannuation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022 data-id=\u002287445ae6a1bb47aa93a4ac00369c7b3a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000254\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002287445ae6a1bb47aa93a4ac00369c7b3a\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Police):\u003C/span\u003E The people most upset with Budget 2009 are those sitting opposite me: Labour Opposition members. They went up and down the country during the last election and told people that a National Government would cut the benefit rates and entitlements of the poorest and most vulnerable, but we did not. The angriest people are people like the Hon David Cunliffe\u2014who I thought was about to have a heart attack, he was so angry\u2014because we did not do that. In fact, the most vulnerable New Zealanders were protected even more than they ever were under a Labour Government. This Budget was not the \u201CSlash-and-burn\u201D Budget that some newspapers had gone to such efforts to have cartoons ready to portray. It was a Budget that was moderate, sensible, and had new core Crown spending of $2.9 billion combined with recent tax cuts. That is the sort of spending that will help keep this economy going. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000255\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EIt is very important that we look at the circumstances of the elderly. This Budget locks in national superannuation at 66 percent of the average wage. Every member on this side of the House who went to all the Grey Power meetings during the election campaign had to listen to Labour Party members say that a National Government would cut national superannuation. National members said time and time again that national superannuation would stay at 66 percent of the average wage, and by gosh it did! National fulfilled its promises. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000256\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EBenefits, student support, and Working for Families are maintained at current levels, despite the worse economic conditions that this world has seen since the 1930s. Every other country is going through the most appalling situation with their economies, with 9.5 percent of people in the US now unemployed. That is an appalling situation. Yes, we have more people unemployed now than we did a year ago, but this time a year ago it was pretty apparent that things were turning for the worst. I remember the Hon Ruth Dyson standing up as the then Minister of Social Development and Employment and skiting that only 290 people had lost their jobs, or words to that effect. She said that everything was going to be fine. It was pretty obvious that things were not going to be fine this year\u2014the level of how tough it was going to be was never obvious, yet this Government has been able to present a Budget where more money is spent on things that will support the economy and our most vulnerable New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000257\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EThis Budget provides a $3 billion boost for health over 4 years that is focused on front-line services, not on conferences. That is something that really upsets the Labour Party, because its view has always been to have a conference, a strategy, and a report, then that is it. Well, I say that that is not it. Conferences, strategies, and reports do not feed one child and they do not make the sick well. Yet in the last few months we have seen the Hon Tony Ryall as Minister of Health show what happens when we have a Minister of Health who is in charge and is on top of his game. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000258\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EWe have seen $1.68 billion spent on education to raise student achievement. Why do we never hear about that from the Opposition? All those members want to talk about are Moroccan cooking classes that might have be dropped or, as we heard today, some make-up classes that were dropped\u2014I can understand why the Labour Party is worried about that, but the rest of the country is not. People want to know that their money is being spent wisely on creating jobs and in helping New Zealanders to get the education they need. Many New Zealanders will need to retrain, but they will need to retrain for jobs and not for hobbies. Six hundred more police will be on the beat by the end of 2011\u2014600 more than there were when we came into office\u2014and there will be 246 more probation workers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000259\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EI will take a little time to talk a bit about the Department of Corrections. When we came into office in December last year, we found that in the dying days of the previous Labour Government Phil Goff had been asked for special help by the parole section of the Department of Corrections. But what had happened? That section did not even get an answer. Instead, this Government was left with an utter mess. We were left with a parole system that was underfunded and completely under-resourced, and that had had a whole lot of community sentences dumped on it without the resourcing for that. For year after year the parole section had cried for help, for some budget assistance and some leadership from its Minister. But he was never there; he was always off overseas, looking to buy cameras somewhere. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000260\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EInstead, we have had to pick up this problem, and now we have some fantastic results coming out of our parole section. We have some great results. When Mr Goff was last in office, 58 percent of our high-risk offenders were complying with parole requirements; now 77 percent are\u2014a complete turnaround in a matter of months\u2014and that is before all the budgetary considerations have come into it. That is what leadership and some more money does\u2014and, no, I tell Mr English that he cannot have any back. I say we are going to do even better. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000261\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EWe were also left with a crisis of capacity in the prison service because the previous Government liked to lock up people but it forgot that the housing for that had to be provided. What that Government did provide was extraordinarily expensive. It cost $643,000 a bed at the Spring Hill prison. I repeat: $643,000, just in case anyone thought I had that wrong. Now all we hear from Opposition members in relation to other solutions about the burgeoning prison population is that the idea was not their idea, so it cannot be any good. They do not have one solution, despite 9 years of a Labour Government. Instead, they have left us with another mess to pick up, and we will sort that out. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000262\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EOne of the other things we could talk about at this point is education. For the building of new schools and the modernisation of existing ones, we have budgeted $523 million. Which one of us here has not been to a school in our electorate and thought about what could be done to improve education, particularly for our most vulnerable children whose parents do not have any excess money to help their school and for whom their school has to be funded fully, in all ways? Here is $36 million to help students meet national standards in literacy and numeracy. We can talk all we like about tertiary education, and we can talk all we like about Moroccan cooking classes. We can do all of that, but if our children are coming out of school after 10 years\u2019 education and cannot read and write, then that is absolutely a national disgrace. It is an international disgrace for a country like this, where education has been free for primary and secondary schooling since the Great Depression, to have people coming out of schools and, frankly, filling our prisons. About 80 percent of our prisoners are said not to have numeracy and literacy to the level they should do. Many of those prisoners have never had a chance at education because it has been denied for them from the very start. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000263\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EThere is $900 million in this Budget for justice initiatives aimed at improving public safety. It is not about writing reports but about improving public safety. It is not about going to conferences\u2014no, it is about public safety. There will be 600 more police on the streets at a cost of $182.5 million, 246 more probation officers, 29 front-line managers, and 26 psychologists to improve the quality of parole and home detention management at a cost of $255.9 million. There will be a thousand extra prison beds through double-bunking at five prisons, plus planning for additional capacity, at the cost of $385.4 million. That is a lot of money; it is a lot of money at a time when this country should have more money in the bank and when New Zealanders should have more money in their pay. Unfortunately, so much money was wasted by the previous Government. That Government thought it was much more fun to go and buy a train set\u2014KiwiRail\u2014and burden this country with a debt for years to come. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022 data-id=\u002233b5cfeb35b84bc1908b9d8cfb9278e9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000264\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002233b5cfeb35b84bc1908b9d8cfb9278e9\u0022\u003EHon RUTH DYSON (Labour\u2014Port Hills):\u003C/span\u003E I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Before I take a call in this debate, I wonder whether I could remind you of the Speakers\u2019 rulings that prohibit members from moving from their seat to gain an advantage in interjections. Paul Quinn has done that; he has been interjecting not just through David Parker\u2019s speech but also through his own colleague\u2019s speech. It is against Speakers\u2019 rulings. I ask you to bring that to his attention, and to ask him to comply with Speakers\u2019 rulings. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022 data-id=\u0022adf959dba0da44ed936e09cf3f62dfe5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000265\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022adf959dba0da44ed936e09cf3f62dfe5\u0022\u003EPAUL QUINN (National):\u003C/span\u003E As has been mentioned to me\u2014under, I think, the Speakers\u2019 rulings on pages 62 and 63; I cannot just place my hand on them\u2014that the rules say that a member cannot move to improve his or her position. I put it to you, Mr Assistant Speaker, that, as I think your office has said to me on a couple of occasions, with my beautiful, melodious, voluminous voice, it would not matter where I was sitting; my support for my colleague on this side would in fact be the same whether I sat here or sat at the back. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000266\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022929d61aa9fac4bf0953f9648d81e0e94\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker)\u003C/span\u003E: I do not think that that is particularly helpful. The member raises the Speakers\u2019 rulings about shifting seats to enhance a member\u2019s capacity to interject, which presupposes that a member will intentionally do that. On a number of occasions I have said that I am not rigid on this particular rule, because I think that it is to the advantage of the House to have people drift down towards this part of the Chamber, as members are wont to do, rather than have them scattered around the place. It helps to create the ambience of the House. The second point I have made previously is that the people who built this Chamber built it as a debating chamber, a chamber that invites interjections\u2014it is not a lecture theatre\u2014and interjections are part of debate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000267\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203bc0052-6dd8-4807-998a-4768a4732e0b\u0022\u003ESo I say to the member that I will ask her to take a call, if that is what she wishes. I remind Mr Quinn that interjections should be rare and reasonable, and hopefully witty, and that the House has taken note of the fact that he has been interjecting quite consistently through this debate. The member might like to take that on board, as we hear the remaining speeches. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022 data-id=\u002226779167451144728b62d4b9edadac1b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000268\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002226779167451144728b62d4b9edadac1b\u0022\u003EHon RUTH DYSON (Labour\u2014Port Hills):\u003C/span\u003E I am pleased to be able to take a call on this Appropriation (2008/09 Supplementary Estimates) Bill, which Labour opposes. The Budget was a wasted opportunity, and the Minister of Finance should be ashamed of his inability to deliver on quite fundamental issues to New Zealanders. He had 9 years in Opposition to prepare a plan, to prepare some action, and to galvanise support around this Parliament for a Budget that would deliver real opportunity for people, but he wasted that opportunity. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000269\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003EThe Budget did nothing at all either to protect or to create jobs for New Zealanders. The biggest opportunity that can be given to New Zealanders is the chance for them to walk out of the door in the morning and go to a paid job, but the Minister of Finance has made that chance harder for New Zealanders, rather than easier. The Budget fails totally to invest in people, our country\u2019s biggest asset. It ignores the opportunity to develop our innovation, our skills, and our training. During a recession we should be investing in skills, investing in people, and doing everything we can to give them more security and more opportunity in the future, because we will move out of recession into growth again. We could have had a better skilled, able workforce ready to take up the chances that improved growth will offer to New Zealanders in future. But that was entirely squandered. There was no investment in the skills and innovation of New Zealanders, and not a single thing done to give more security and protection in existing jobs, let alone to create additional jobs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000270\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003EThe Budget repealed, under urgency, the tax cuts that National bribed its way into Government with prior to the election. This Parliament put those tax cuts through under urgency, prior to Christmas, and we repealed them under urgency. I have not heard of one single New Zealander who believed Bill English when he said: \u201CWe thought tax cuts were affordable, but then we found out they were not.\u201D In fact, that is not quite correct. I have heard of one such person, but he is a member of the National caucus and that does not really count. He fell for that line, but he is the single New Zealander who believes the excuse that Bill English and John Key gave to the country. They promised tax cuts when they knew they were unaffordable, they rammed them through this House under urgency, when they knew they could not be delivered, and they repealed them under urgency. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000271\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003EWhat opportunity did the ordinary New Zealander have to contribute to that debate? What opportunity have the people earning less than $40,000 a year, who did not gain 1c from National\u2019s 1 April tax cuts\u2014those ordinary, hard-working New Zealanders\u2014had to have any input at all into \u201Cnow you see it, now you don\u2019t\u201D tax cuts? None at all. That is because we know that one-third of the $800 million worth of tax cuts that National did keep in place went to the top 3 percent of income earners in New Zealand. One-third of the total tax cut package went to the top 3 percent of income earners. Are those the people who every week find it hard to pay their electricity bills or their food bills? Are those the people who cannot afford anything at all extra in their houses? Are the people in this Parliament struggling on their incomes? I do not think so. But I know that many of my constituents, who work just as hard, if not harder, than members of this Parliament and do not earn a fraction of the money that we earn in this Parliament, got nothing from the tax cuts. They got nothing at all from the National Government\u2019s tax cuts. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000272\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003EI say that is a disgrace, but it is not nearly as bad as the dangling of hope that the Job Summit gave to New Zealanders. People were really hopeful about the commitment to get all the key stakeholders, except anyone who voted for Labour or the Greens, in a room together, get them focused on the fact that we have increasing unemployment in New Zealand and we want to tackle that issue, and then drive an action plan, led by the Prime Minister. People were really hopeful about the opportunity that the Job Summit gave New Zealanders, and now we know that not only were people like the leader of the Labour Party and our employment spokesperson excluded solely because they were Labour but also that we clearly should not have an opportunity to contribute about jobs, despite Labour delivering the best employment record in New Zealand\u2019s history during our term in Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000273\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003EBut what happened after the Job Summit? Well, nothing happened after the Job Summit. The 9-day fortnight? It affected fewer than 350 jobs. For every single job that has been saved, that is good. But we are talking about the New Zealand economy, where 1,000 people each week are losing their jobs. Every week 1,000 New Zealanders lose their jobs, so 325 people in total is not even half a week\u2019s worth of unemployment, under the National Government\u2019s regime. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000274\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003EPeople expected something to come out of the Job Summit. Then, we thought, there is the national cycleway. That was John Key\u2019s idea, right at the end of the summit. It did not arise in the workshops, nor in his introductory comments, nor in any conversation with people who might talk about it, think about it, and contribute to this idea. Right at the end John Key came up with this idea of having a national cycleway. But Bill English, who holds the purse strings, said that we would not be having a national cycleway\u2014not this week, not this month, not next year, not ever\u2014under his stewardship. Those were the words that Bill English used in support of his leader and the cycleway. But in the Budget we saw the money for that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000275\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003EThe money that was taken out of adult and community education and out of scholarships, such as scholarships for medical students\u2014genuine investment in skills training for New Zealanders\u2014went into a cycleway that is now being described as a little ride around some regions of New Zealand. I think New Zealanders have already been taken for a ride. They were misled and bribed by National, which said before the election: \u201CYou can have everything that Labour put in place. We won\u2019t touch any of that, and we will give you tax cuts, as well.\u201D That was the mantra. That was the Crosby/Textor mantra that went around the country from the National Party: \u201CWe will leave everything in place from Labour, and by the way, you can have tax cuts as well.\u201D People bought that. Now the only part of the cycleway that has been delivered is the ride that New Zealanders know they have been taken on. They were misled, in order to bribe National\u2019s way into Government. New Zealanders are rightfully resentful of that. They feel as if their trust has been broken. In my view, it certainly was broken. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003EWe had no investment in skills, we had no investment in jobs, and the worst trick of all was the one played on superannuitants\u2014not the superannuitants of today but of the future. If the member who resumed her seat immediately prior to my speaking thinks that current superannuitants do not care about the future of the superannuation needs of their sons, daughters, and grandchildren, she is wrong. I am very proud to have been to more Grey Power meetings than any member in this House. Grey Power members are not interested in their own personal well-being as a priority. They care much more about the future security for their children and for their grandchildren. They know that without the investment in the Cullen fund, which has been taken away\u2014not just for this year, but for a decade\u2014in order to fund the future superannuation needs of New Zealanders, when there will be more people over 65 and fewer people under 65 paying taxes to enable us to afford superannuation, either the age of entitlement will increase or the rate will go down, or it will be a combination of both. We will not have that investment, which was developed specifically to partly fund the future needs of superannuation in New Zealand, and that is the worst trickery of all.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022749d97b8-a772-4227-83da-b5e264c37bc0\u0022 data-id=\u0022dd2bf74d29044ef08e16bdde550c5552\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000277\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749d97b8-a772-4227-83da-b5e264c37bc0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022dd2bf74d29044ef08e16bdde550c5552\u0022\u003EALLAN PEACHEY (National\u2014T\u0101maki):\u003C/span\u003E In this opportunity to contribute to the Appropriation (2008/09 Supplementary Estimates) Bill, I begin by referring to the Labour member who has just resumed her seat, Ms Dyson. She described the 2009 Budget as a wasted opportunity, but let me tell this House what the 2009 Budget was. It was a brave attempt to rescue this country from the wasted opportunities of 9 years of socialist rule. It was 9 years of some of the most sustained prosperity this country has seen being wasted. That crowd over there, the Labour Party, was more interested in taking that prosperity, built up on the backs and the shoulders of decent, hard-working New Zealanders through the 1980s and the 1990s, to build up a sum of money to buy the 2005 election. The tragedy was not just the buying of an election but also that we then had to put up with 3 years of a Government that had lost its moral compass. That contributed even further to the difficulties that this Government is dealing with in the Budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000278\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749d97b8-a772-4227-83da-b5e264c37bc0\u0022\u003EMembers might like to reflect on the Thursday afternoon when the Budget was delivered in this House, and on the offerings from the Leader of the Opposition. There was huffing and puffing, and puffing and huffing, but nobody was listening. Certainly, on this side of the House we were not listening. There was pathos in seeing members on the other side of the House not listening, but most important of all, the people of New Zealand were not listening. The people of New Zealand wanted a very simple speech from the Leader of the Opposition, and it needed to comprise only three words: \u201CI am sorry.\u201D He could have said that he was sorry for the mess that the previous Labour Government left the economy in. That is all the New Zealand people wanted to hear: \u201CI am sorry.\u201D Instead, we have heard speech after speech from members opposite demonstrating that, firstly, they do not understand the damage they did to the New Zealand economy during their time in Government, and, secondly, they are totally bereft of ideas. When the Opposition\u2019s finance spokesperson, Mr Cunliffe, was asked on Radio New Zealand National when Labour would offer an alternative plan, the best he could do was to say it would be sometime before the next election. That spokesperson knows that he is bereft of ideas, and has not got a clue about how to get New Zealand out of the mess the previous Labour Government left. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000279\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749d97b8-a772-4227-83da-b5e264c37bc0\u0022\u003EAt least the National Government understands the importance of a credit rating. One of this Budget\u2019s many successes was protecting New Zealand\u2019s international credit rating. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000280\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221fb8d8db-3e96-49c7-ab1c-b7916a50e30e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ca0cf964e79a42f4b058deaf0914d6a3\u0022\u003EHon Steve Chadwick\u003C/span\u003E: Don\u2019t worry about the people. Just worry about the credit rating. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000281\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749d97b8-a772-4227-83da-b5e264c37bc0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e6dcbcd929b042edb021b3c1305dc100\u0022\u003EALLAN PEACHEY\u003C/span\u003E: When listening to the interjections coming from the other side of the House, and thinking about some of the contributions and speeches from Labour members, it becomes clear that they do not care. It does not matter whether it is Mr Cunliffe, Mr Goff, or any of them. They do not care, do not understand, and do not know. Well, let me tell them something that they should understand. If New Zealand\u2019s credit rating had been downgraded, according to the Treasury it would have pushed up interest rates by about 1.5 percent. \u201CSo what?\u201D, members opposite might ask. Let me tell those members that on a $175,000 mortgage, that means another $50 a week that a household has to find. I suggest that the next Labour member who gets on his or her feet explains to the people of New Zealand why the Labour Party would be happy to have New Zealanders spend another $50 a week on their mortgage, simply because Labour members do not understand and do not care what credit ratings mean. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749d97b8-a772-4227-83da-b5e264c37bc0\u0022\u003ELabour is a party bereft of any sort of economic ideas. What has the Government had to deal with? One could probably speak until we rise at 10 p.m. tonight, listing the difficulties that the Labour Party left for the new Government to deal with. They include a bloated bureaucracy loaded with unnecessary costs, and $2 billion of deferred maintenance of Housing New Zealand Corporation properties. There was an accident compensation shortfall of $1.5 billion. It is not looking very impressive, and it gets worse. KiwiRail was valued at half of what the previous Government paid for it. There was also falling economic growth, rising unemployment, higher inflation, a rising current account deficit, a deteriorating fiscal deficit, and sharply rising Crown debt, which was all the legacy of the previous Labour Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000283\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dcfba38ed46348e8ae7d3e218f966e98\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: Oh!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000284\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749d97b8-a772-4227-83da-b5e264c37bc0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002279b97bf34e8b4694ba393b62018f3f04\u0022\u003EALLAN PEACHEY\u003C/span\u003E: Members opposite might like to listen to this one: annual productivity growth was an appalling 1.1 percent between 2000 and 2008. I do not think that any New Zealander needs reminding that in those years we had a socialist Labour Government, a Government that was more interested in building a chest to buy an election than in doing what was right for New Zealand. The Department of Corrections was in need of major overhaul, and the Immigration Service was dysfunctional. We could just go on and on. That is the legacy of the previous Labour Government that this Budget is attempting to deal with, and that is why the New Zealand people wanted one thing from Phil Goff: \u201CI am sorry.\u201D For a long time the New Zealand public will remember the heroic efforts that went into the 2009 Budget, and the failure of the Labour Party to take responsibility. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000285\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022749d97b8-a772-4227-83da-b5e264c37bc0\u0022\u003EIn my remaining few moments, I will turn to the education provisions of the Budget, because there is something quite significant that has, by and large, not had any attention drawn to it. The Government has allocated $36 million to help students meet national standards of literacy and numeracy. That represents an end to the notion that academic achievement is not for all students. The Labour Party thinks it is not for all students, but finally a New Zealand Government has made the statement in a Budget that academic standards and achievement are for all students. For the first time in the history of New Zealand schooling, proficiency is being put at the core of education. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022 data-id=\u00226131c3dbb09143f5bfd0fafe1e09d726\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000286\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226131c3dbb09143f5bfd0fafe1e09d726\u0022\u003EMETIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader\u2014Green):\u003C/span\u003E It has been reported today that some 1,000 New Zealanders are joining the dole queue each week. The official unemployment rate in this country has more than doubled in the past year. We have seen major job losses in areas like the manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, and fishing industries, which are key productive industries in this country. We have also seen, as we expected, a major increase in the unemployment level of young New Zealanders; in particular, those aged between 15 and 24. This recession is having an impact similar to that of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when unemployment rose sharply and viciously, leaving ordinary working people without incomes and homes, and being treated by the then National Government as if they were without dignity. We are heading that way again, with some projecting 20 percent unemployment among young people, again under a National Government with no heart and no plan. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000287\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EToday in question time the Prime Minister was asked specifically about his plans to protect and create jobs for New Zealanders. He treated the questions about unemployment with contempt, choosing instead to treat unemployment as a side issue so that he could crow about his latest polling. Polling is not a plan. It will not create jobs, protect families, or see us through to the long-term economic sustainability and stability that this country needs. The Prime Minister had no plans, and, indeed, many of the ideas that he proffered this afternoon have already proven to have failed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000288\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EThe Job Summit, which was lauded at the time as the great hope for new and innovative ideas, has failed to produce anything like enough real solutions. It is true that one idea from the summit was successful: the Green Party\u2019s home insulation fund. It was funded to over $300 million in the Budget and will create 2,000 new jobs from the programme and protect 700 existing jobs, thereby protecting and creating 2,700 jobs in total. The Prime Minister might not have any plans, and I do not believe he should feel that it is a problem to admit he does not have any plans and that his solutions have failed. But it is a problem if the Prime Minister continues to ignore the solutions that are on the table to protect New Zealanders into the future. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000289\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EThis Budget desperately needed to address three key issues for our communities. We need to create jobs now through wise infrastructure investments, we need to invest now in our communities and our people to create the environment for longer-term sustainable economic stability, and we must provide New Zealand families with real income relief right now. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000290\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EThe Green Party and our Green New Deal\u2014The Green Stimulus Package have solutions that will contribute to all three key goals. Our home insulation fund is one such solution, and we will see the benefits of those 2,000 extra jobs rolling out over the next year or two. But we have other solutions that we have proffered for this Government. The Greens have calculated that investment of $600 million dollars in the clean-up and protection of our waterways\u2014mainly through the planting and fencing of the banks of waterways\u2014would create over 2,000 jobs directly, and about 4,500 new jobs indirectly. It would have the added invaluable economic return of cleaning and protecting our clean, green image on which our tourism is so heavily dependent, thereby enhancing our primary production market access, restoring tourism opportunities like trout fishing, and reducing the dollar and human cost to local communities and farmers of flooding and drought. Those are key solutions to protect the environment and our economy and to create jobs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000291\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EThe current waiting list for Housing New Zealand Corporation houses is around 10,000 families and rising, and it will continue to rise as unemployment kicks in and more and more families lose their homes. Yet half the residential construction capacity is idle in this country. New residential consents have fallen by half since June 2007, which means that about 6,000 new homes per year are not being built. That situation is devastating the construction sector. Investing $500 million in the first year and $750 million in years two and three in the building of new homes would give us something like 6,000 new State houses for our families. That investment would save 10,500 full-time direct jobs and create 18,000 new full-time jobs in total across the economy. That would be an investment to keep our families warm, dry, and housed and to create further jobs across our whole economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000292\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EBecause new road construction is highly capital investment intensive, not a lot of new jobs are created for the amount spent. Motorways are the least jobs-intensive of transport projects and make us much more dependent on oil, with higher greenhouse gas emissions. Our stimulus package spend creates 40 percent more jobs for every $1 million spent than the equivalent spend on new motorways. Forty percent more jobs could be created. A raft of other transport projects would employ far more people, make our cities more liveable, improve our transport choices, reduce our carbon emissions, and make us less oil dependent. They are key solutions to protect the environment, keep our families well, and create jobs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EOur solution is to shift the low-quality spend that this Government will make\u2014the $1 billion low-quality spending on motorways\u2014into a range of transport projects: rebuilding and upgrading railway stations and bus exchanges so that people are kept safe, warm, and dry in them; integrated ticketing; and increasing cycle lanes and walking paths, particularly for the many hundreds of thousands of children who want to cycle to school safely, thereby reducing emissions, reducing cost to their families, increasing community safety, and creating jobs, all through the same solution. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000294\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EThe Crown loan programme is another example. The lack of sufficient Crown loan funding over recent years has meant that hospital and other efficiency upgrades have not occurred. The savings to our hospitals from efficiency upgrades would go directly into front-line health services. For example, $25 million loaned per year for 3 years would create 390 full-time direct jobs, multiplied to 874 full-time jobs across the economy. By the same logic, the same investment in energy efficiency in Government assets like schools, prisons, and other Government buildings would continue to build on that job creation, thereby protecting the community, protecting the environment, and creating jobs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000295\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EWe need to invest in our communities and our people to create an environment for long-term economic stability. One core means for this is in education. We know that young people will suffer the most from unemployment, so we must invest in their future by enabling greater access to educational opportunities. But instead this Government has slashed education funding, particularly across the community and adult education sector. We have had a reduction of funding to universities of over $22 million per annum, cuts in funding to regional polytechs without any kind of mechanism for other technical institutes and polytechnics or tertiary education organisations to take up the students, and about a 50 percent cut in adult and community education funding, thereby cutting jobs, as well as reducing access to retraining that is so desperately needed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000296\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EThe Tertiary Education Union recently described how the Australian Budget put $7 billion extra into tertiary education to deal with the recession in the long term. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000297\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022891418cb08d441fb93e62a35849b5cfd\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: We\u2019re not Australian.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000298\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022af21d712f4594fbdb97f164b57e73bf6\u0022\u003EMETIRIA TUREI\u003C/span\u003E: I say to whoever it was who just interjected that the New Zealand Government could have provided about $1 billion in the 2009 Budget for tertiary education as a per capita response that would be a similar investment into our communities and our people when they need it most. Did the Government do that? No, it did not. It cut funding massively, thereby reducing the ability of our young people to get access to the education they will desperately need because they will not have the jobs to go to, and restricting the ability of older workers to be able to retrain in order to prepare for the time after the recession when we need that long-term stability and economic sustainability. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000299\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EWe need to provide relief for families who are suffering right now from high credit card and mortgage rates, because the banks are benefiting from the cuts in the official cash rate and are not passing on those benefits to our communities. The Green Party has called for an inquiry into that issue, because New Zealand families are entitled to have their elected representatives investigate the institutions that are preventing them from being able to get access to the benefits from the official cash rate cuts. New Zealand families are entitled to have their elected representatives stand up for them and say that they must benefit, too. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022 data-id=\u0022193a2f3af370405192028d6e7f1d6c7d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000300\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022193a2f3af370405192028d6e7f1d6c7d\u0022\u003EHon Sir ROGER DOUGLAS (ACT):\u003C/span\u003E New Zealand has two classes of citizens. In New Zealand we all pay taxes, yet some people get a bad deal for the money they pay. The people who get the rawest deal are those who are the least well off and the least able to provide for themselves when the Government fails to deliver. We have two classes in New Zealand not because the Government is not doing enough for the poor but because what the Government does for the poor denies them choices, destroys the incentive they have to get ahead, and subjects them to political abuse. The past 80 years of political control has achieved a larger welfare budget, more people on welfare, and barriers for those at the bottom to get ahead. Personal taxation in New Zealand takes $25 billion; 54 percent of that amount goes to health, a third goes to superannuation, and 13 percent goes to welfare. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000301\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003ELet us look at some of those areas. Superannuation costs everyone one-third of the personal tax we pay. For people who earn a little above the average wage, that is almost $4,000 a year. Superannuation is not free; it costs, and it delivers poor results. Despite the average person paying $4,000 every year in tax for superannuation, a single pensioner gets $311 a week and a married pensioner gets $239 a week. They pay in well over $200,000 during their lifetime for a miserable pension. Our superannuation scheme is designed so that people pay today for the retirement of their parents. If we simply adjusted the system so that the money people pay went towards paying for their own retirement, most would get a cushy retirement. If that money was put in the bank and was earning 7 percent nominal interest and 5 percent real interest, then the average worker would retire with $1.8 million in the bank. It would like winning Lotto and then retiring. The interest on that money would give you far more per week than you are currently getting. After tax, the weekly income of a superannuitant would be around $1,210 a week. The difference when compared with current Government superannuation is around $900, and that is without any capital contribution. The present system creates second-class citizens. So why do National and Labour not alter this when they are in Government? It is because National and Labour want to make the people of this country dependent upon them. If the average citizen had $1.8 million in the bank, he or she would not want politicians interfering in their lives. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000302\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003ELet us look at health. Of your and everyone else\u2019s personal tax, 54 percent goes towards health care. Saying that it is 54 percent can hide what this means. If you earn the minimum wage, you will pay about $2,500\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000303\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022772bf1c21c8643699b9da935739c998c\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: You have brought the Speaker into the debate a couple of times now. I indicate not to, as I am impartial in this matter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000304\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229ed9beaff3d2463ebbe2da9f84d99867\u0022\u003EHon Phil Heatley\u003C/span\u003E: He\u2019s a new member!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000305\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e143b187256c451db54d7a77444f328a\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I am on my feet. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000306\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ae8c018a234648caac036b756da58c51\u0022\u003EHon Sir ROGER DOUGLAS\u003C/span\u003E: If a person earns the minimum wage, he or she pays $2,500 every year for health care. If people earn the average wage, they pay over $6,396 in health care every year. People say we have free health care. To me, it seems that free health care has never been more expensive. When health care costs the average person $6,000 a year and costs a two-income family over $10,000 a year, one would hope that it would really deliver. However, it does not deliver. Despite the enormous cost, we ration health care. People who are sick get placed on a waiting list and people on waiting lists get worse, not better; some die. The suffering that takes place on the health waiting list is rationalised away as if the goal of equality justifies denying health care to people who desperately need it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000307\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003EThe most pernicious effect of socialised medicine is how it creates second-class citizens in this country. The first way it does so is through a bizarre mixture of subsidies. Some medicines are fully subsidised, some are partially subsidised, and some are not subsidised at all. Decisions over what medicines one can take are determined not by the patient or the doctor but by some bureaucrat here in Wellington. The second way it creates second-class citizens is how pressure can be applied to get treatments performed. Doctors, patients, and politicians can all pressure the system to get certain operations performed at the expense of others. If people can get their stories on Campbell Live, they can be sure they will get a treatment. If people can form a pressure group to get Herceptin subsidised, then they will get that treatment. But in socialised health, one\u2019s treatment comes at the expense of someone else\u2019s, and because the affluent tend to be more politically connected, more influential, and more organised, treatment for the rich comes at the expense of the poor. The third way it creates second-class citizens is the fact that wealthy people can afford to pay twice. They can afford to pay tax for health care and then buy health insurance on top. The very people who are denied this opportunity are the very people whom universal heath care was meant to help. While the poor die on waiting lists, the rich pop down to the private hospitals. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000308\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003ENo one would seriously contend that the system treats people equally, and the solution to this problem is the same kind of pathetic snake oil we hear from all the political parties in Parliament: that all the problems could be solved if only we would spend more money. What rubbish! When will we wake up to that lie? Under Labour, health spending increased in real terms by 50 percent. Despite that huge increase in real expenditure, the productivity of doctors declined by 15 percent and the productivity of nurses decreased by 11 percent. Overall, the drop was 8 percent. It was only 8 percent overall because the productivity of cleaning and orderly staff surged and those services were outsourced to the private market. This gives a hint of the kinds of benefits that could be achieved if we dropped the pretence and lived up to the reality. Socialised health care has failed. If we simply gave people on the average wage the $6,000 they currently pay, this would enable them to buy catastrophic insurance, put money aside for their health care and retirement, and pay for their day-to-day health care needs at the doctor. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000309\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003EWhen we look not at the goals of the welfare State but at the actual performance, we see that the results are depressing. In the last 80 years we have grown far wealthier than we once were, yet there are more on welfare today than before. We have created a system that gives options to those who can afford them and denies choices to those who most desperately need them. We have created a system that taxes and regulates opportunity for the poor out of existence and conscripts them into poverty. We have created a system with two classes of citizenship in this country, and at the very same time the solutions put forth by all the other political parties in this Parliament except ACT are more Government spending on health, more Government spending on education, and more Government spending on welfare. Only ACT stands against the philosophy that is creating two types of citizens. When will we wake up? On its own terms, the welfare State has failed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022 data-id=\u00225037186e4bcc450a809d207c83f527f2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000310\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225037186e4bcc450a809d207c83f527f2\u0022\u003EHon TARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader\u2014M\u0101ori Party):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, Mr Deputy Speaker. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. Last weekend, on Saturday night, was a chance to sit in front of the fire, cheer on the All Blacks, and laugh as the painted rooster outsmarted the security team at the Cake Tin. It was a bittersweet victory. A win on the night was not enough to secure the 6-point margin we needed to win the trophy, but we got over it. But for five young New Zealanders it did not stop there. They took their anger out on an unsuspecting member of the French rugby team, punching him and throwing him to the ground in an unprovoked assault, which left the player with a suspected broken eye socket and stitches to the face.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000311\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003ESo what does this have to do with the additional expenses in capital expenditure required for the financial year? Is it just an isolated attack that bears no further comment? If we were to read yesterday\u2019s papers we might find a different story, with the headline \u201CSurge in violence during recession\u201D. We could read that the Christchurch women\u2019s refuges have seen a huge jump in the number of women asking for help as the recession bites. The Battered Women\u2019s Trust described an extraordinary increase of 60 percent in the number of women asking for help, from about 200 community clients a year ago to about 360 now.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000312\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EAt the other end of the motu, a special circumstances court is being proposed to cater for the increasing numbers of homeless living on Auckland streets. The manager of the Methodist Mission\u2019s Lifewise service has called for a 24-hour service hub as an initial contact point for homeless people. Throughout the country the number of food parcels being given out has increased. The economy continues to lose jobs, and people are finding it impossible to stretch the family finances even further. For many of these New Zealanders, the recession signals just more of the same. These are the New Zealanders who live on very low levels of absolute income\u2014those people who represent the extreme end of income disparity.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000313\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EThis is the phenomenon that the M\u0101ori Party expected to see addressed in the Appropriation (2008/09 Supplementary Estimates) Bill. Increasing levels of violence, homelessness, food deprivation, and poverty are just some of the effects of the recession that must be spoken about. We have been pleased to support the initiatives that emerged in the Budget process to assist New Zealanders in responding to the impacts of the global economic downturn. The M\u0101ori Party has gone on record in looking at the opportunities that may arise for M\u0101ori from the $7.45 billion investment in infrastructure or the allocation of up to $40 million for the community responses to the recession.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000314\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EBut there are other areas that could benefit from further analysis, and we have been looking to legislation with poverty in mind. The supplementary estimates go into some detail in specifying appropriations for the Wiri Inland Port\u2019s rail link, a screen production incentive fund, and a contribution to joint venture airports. There are allocations for participation at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China, and there are more appropriations for State highways and railway development. There is investment in generating reserve electricity at Whirinaki, and even funding for a transformational initiatives fund. But there is nothing in this legislation that is transformational in terms of eliminating poverty. There is nothing to suggest that the earned income threshold for beneficiaries could rise by $80, or that over-crowding or homelessness will be addressed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000315\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EAlthough the changes in emphasis regarding infrastructure and transport initiatives are to be expected, it is disappointing that the estimates contain so little about incentives for our most vulnerable populations. The Child Poverty Action Group spells out in no uncertain terms that \u201CInsisting on fiscal prudence now at the expense of children will prove to be very short-sighted when the future social costs hit high.\u201D The M\u0101ori Party will not neglect the rights of our children. We are committed to the long-term view, a view in which wh\u0101nau ora prevails, and a time when marginalisation is reduced. We will speak the words that others may be afraid to say. We will do what we can to prevent poverty, to address discriminatory language, and to confront social exclusion.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000316\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EIf we have an eye to the long-term view, it will mean that we are clear about the outcomes before we proceed on any policy process. If the problem is that it costs over $600,000 to build a prison cell, the answer may be far more wide ranging than creating a solution out of converted shipping containers. It is about reintegration and restoration of offenders. It is about reducing the recidivist offender rates and putting in place wh\u0101nau support to encourage offenders not to turn to crime. If the problem is that approximately 5,000 New Zealanders die each year from tobacco use, we should not be putting all of our investment into programmes that tell smokers to quit. We would be far better off investing in early intervention and prevention strategies that discourage young people from ever starting to smoke. One of the solutions might be to remove the tobacco from the shop shelves in the first place. If the problem is boy racers, we might consider working with the boys themselves, which would provide a vital opportunity for change, rather than focusing on the vehicles alone. Better yet, we might consider supporting youth networks and positive youth employment initiatives.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000317\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003EAll of the investment in reducing hospital waiting lists is in many ways meaningless if the foundation of health promotion is eroded. We must be open to doing as much as we can for those who have the least opportunity. How do we lift the sights of vulnerable children to let them know that their world can change? What does wh\u0101nau ora mean for them? It should not be a 21st century version of Oliver Twist, when someone is asking for more when there is no more to be had.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000318\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c2dfe169-d946-4f87-8d43-0bcdb7d8bebc\u0022\u003ELast week was Volunteer Awareness Week. If there was one message that came through over and over again, it was the demonstration of how rewarding the gift of giving can be. In my role as the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector I am constantly humbled by New Zealanders who show their humanity to one another through gifts of time, gifts of money, and gifts of kind so that they can share. There is nothing more inspiring than to see such generosity transform lives. I see everyday people who have rejected the race to clutter their homes with accumulated wealth and who have, instead, dedicated themselves to helping others around them. It does not matter how they give; it is the fact that they give in the first place. Let these people become our models in this Parliament in terms of how to restore that sense of common unity, that sense of community spirit, which will be so critical in our recovery. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022 data-id=\u00227df69ef3bcbe42649fa2d0be578117a6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000319\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227df69ef3bcbe42649fa2d0be578117a6\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE (National):\u003C/span\u003E I want to give members a bit of a history lesson. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000320\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002277447a59eb974c8bba7480002ed94b56\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: Oh!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000321\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002264400ef8536a4d4088e83f1e8a4e732f\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: I do not have to say much before the rabble starts denying history. The members on the opposite side of the House do not even know what I am about to say and they start denying things. They cannot even handle\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000322\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229e78ec1392d34c858638fc11159f5f11\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Tell us about Wilberforce again!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224504dc3a90684e6ab4cb62dd45fc655e\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: No, I want to talk about the history that the previous Labour Government has left this nation. This speech will be called the leftist speech. The Labour Government left behind an absolutely dysfunctional Immigration Service. It left us with an accident compensation shortfall of $1.5 billion.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000324\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e62ca97690a74532876c0d7b2675eada\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: How much?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000325\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226b488117b8bc4f5faffd80c0a447812f\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: $1.5 billion. It left us with KiwiRail, and its value is about half of what Labour paid for it. It left us with falling economic growth. Between 2000 and 2008, after all the money that the Labour Government spent, all it could muster\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000326\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221fb8d8db-3e96-49c7-ab1c-b7916a50e30e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002280d66eb4d1e148178d3ad6fa29e6eaa9\u0022\u003EHon Steve Chadwick\u003C/span\u003E: Oh dear!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000327\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a033580da736450ebc703706409ce355\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: \u201COh dear!\u201D is what the public is saying; \u201COh dear! I wish we had got rid of the previous Labour Government earlier.\u201D I tell members\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000328\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221fb8d8db-3e96-49c7-ab1c-b7916a50e30e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226fd613e002584c8885a9e3a3ffe3fc39\u0022\u003EHon Steve Chadwick\u003C/span\u003E: Let\u2019s go back to New Zealand First days!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000329\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eecf272b2b10485590150cc363a0e1c7\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: I was not in partnership with New Zealand First. I did not make the leader of the party the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and then slobber all over the fact that he was our Minister of Foreign Affairs. I did not one day say that he is a nasty man and then the next day give him a bauble or two. That was not me. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000330\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003ETherein lies my speech; it is about history.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000331\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b20f0705e41942b18cbc4be91b5e2773\u0022\u003ECraig Foss\u003C/span\u003E: Who gave him the baubles?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000332\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c26af2fc52dc48e9884900afde43d0f6\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: Well, it was the lady who has gone. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000333\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EThe previous Labour Government left us with an inflation rate of 3.5 percent. It left us with rising current account deficit. Here is an interesting figure: $16.1 billion was in the current account deficit in the 2008-09 year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000334\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221fb8d8db-3e96-49c7-ab1c-b7916a50e30e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022de140a1da8fd46f8bf1a844f2a290c24\u0022\u003EHon Steve Chadwick\u003C/span\u003E: Oh dear!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000335\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c430947c0f644a9f9b0a102e85cb9af4\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: Those members keep saying \u201COh dear!\u201D because they cannot get away from the fact that they left the cupboard bare. There is nothing in the cupboard. On Budget day the Hon Bill English got up and delivered what is needed; not a wish-list, but what is needed. Shortly afterwards, New Zealand got a stable rating from the credit agencies. We did not get a downgrade, and you can bet your bottom dollar that we would have been downgraded if that lot on the opposite side of the House had won the last election. We would have been worse off than we ever have been. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000336\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EMr Jones should take note of this history: every time there has been a Labour Government for more than one term\u2014and that does not happen very often, but happened in the last two: the Lange Government and the Clark Government\u2014it has left the cupboard bare. It left the cupboard bare not for the spend-up of a National Government but for those who really need it. I say to Mr Jones that they are those who live on \u201CStruggle Street\u201D, to coin a phrase.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000337\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022273f937db1544a5a9bfb820bacf84320\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: He wouldn\u2019t know.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000338\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222a9d7952e75f49a5a4e64caf09f6b13b\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, yes, he would know. But the problem is that he forgot. He forgot where he is from; he is from \u201CStruggle Street\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EThe Labour Government ate lavishly and spent up large, and for what? Where were the results? No, I am not a denier; those members are deniers. It made no changes to the things that really matter. For example, it made absolutely no changes to the Resource Management Act. In fact, the changes that did come hog-tied businesses and developers, and nothing was done. For 8 years Labour members spent up large employing their mates in the Public Service, and now they moan about the cuts and retrenchments in the Public Service. Let me tell that very new member over there, Grant Robertson, that a big Public Service is not the best idea in the world; the best idea in the world is having an efficient Public Service. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000340\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EWhile I am at it, let us look at education. The unions are protecting members of the teachers unions from being good teachers. We know for a fact why there is large M\u0101ori underachievement. It is because of the poor quality of teachers and principals in this nation. The people who support and protect those poor teachers sit opposite us today. They protect those poor teachers and those poor principals. So what we have done, and what we will continue to do, is manage\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000341\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022402040c3bd0f4731a100217b0e610be6\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: How does money for private schools help?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000342\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b1685b2e5b864592bc5423e5b61dd41d\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: It is not about money, money, money. It is not about that; it is about doing the job properly. If one cannot do the job properly, it is time to get out.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000343\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229fff3eb017b74afab74c83561355f8ee\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: How does private school funding help?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000344\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a403bedc93b24565a72ca519474dcdea\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: It is not even about private schools any more; it is about teachers doing the job that was asked of them. But they are being protected because they do not want to go and learn\u2014[Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000345\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002214e8688b9a82434fab7aee4d2788eb86\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: There is too much noise.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000346\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022638163e13ce849359d430ea5b1869e18\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: They do not want to learn how to do the job properly. That is why we have statements like those from our Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs. All he wants to do is get the achievement rates up. We can argue till the cows come home about what he said, but the fact of the matter is that a whole lot of people out there are underachieving and it behoves us to make sure that we find better ways of helping them achieve. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000347\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003EOpposition members have the gall to say that they were in Government for 9 years and they did lots. If they did lots in those 9 years, how come more M\u0101ori kids are underachieving now than in the last 9 years? I can tell members why: because none of the schemes and programmes of the previous Government in the last 9 years worked. Why do we have Te K\u014Dtahitanga?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000348\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c83a1fb8be0447298e3a632ac2a6e911\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Who started Te K\u014Dtahitanga?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000349\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002212c6178c723a453bbe2e975f081012b6\u0022\u003EHon TAU HENARE\u003C/span\u003E: The Labour Government did not start Te K\u014Dtahitanga; Russell Bishop started Te K\u014Dtahitanga. Russell Bishop saw that teachers needed a helping hand, and that helping hand was a change in attitude. Some teachers stepped up to the mark. Every teacher should be learning that stuff at training college, rather than the Government having to spend millions of dollars on retraining. [Interruption] No, teachers should have been doing it when they were at training college. All of the Labour members\u2019 argy-bargy about 9 years during which they did a wonderful job is a load of balderdash and a load of pixie dust. It does not wash. That is why 70 percent of the country is happy with the job John Key, Bill English, and the National Party are doing, and that is why this Government will survive for quite some time into the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022 data-id=\u0022a6253b933ec64230b9472c23280c78ed\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000350\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a6253b933ec64230b9472c23280c78ed\u0022\u003EHon SHANE JONES (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113na koe Mr Speaker, m\u014Du i pai te tuku m\u0101ku t\u0113nei w\u0101hanga e k\u014Drero. Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker, for inviting me to make a few remarks. Unlike the speech of the previous speaker, Tau Henare, my remarks will actually relate to the legislation we are talking about. Also, they will not be tedious or repetitive, and they will probably be instructive for Mr Quinn. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000351\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003ELet us come to the first thing that one would really want to say about the Government\u2019s stewardship to date. There is no doubt that we confront very large, dangerous issues. There is no debate about that. We also know that debt\u2014Government borrowing\u2014will rise. That means that the Government in the near future has one of two things to focus on. One is that it has to start cutting expenditure. Surprise, surprise, it has held off on its real agenda. The Government was relying on Graham Scott and a host of other advisers, and it has found that the bureaucrats and chief executive officers can find only so many savings. So the Government has to focus soon on where it can slash, cut, and reduce expenditure, or boost revenue. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000352\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EYou see, Labour, when it was in Government, was about boosting revenue. Not only did we undertake great forays to drive international trade but also we worked constructively with key sectors to boost the revenue of those sectors. That is why in 2008, when the party across the Chamber arrived in Government, it inherited a situation that, when one took account of our liabilities and assets, was actually a net positive position, I say to Mr Foss. Admittedly, we work in a dynamic framework, and things have changed. Borrowing will now rise. But this Budget did not outline what the Government will do to boost revenue, nor how it will do it. The Budget recited a host of perceived ills that the Government wants to hold us responsible for, but overlooked the fact that the Government has the waka\u2014it has the car. The voters, who are the ultimate parents of all politicians, have given the Government the keys, but this Budget said not a single word about how revenue is to be enhanced. How will the Government grow the economy? No. Tau Henare obviously read the wrong end of the New Zealand Herald this morning. He started to talk to us about the current account balance. I say to Tau that come Thursday, he will know the answer. Come Friday, he will know the answer in terms of our GDP performance. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000353\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EWe all know that current account problems have afflicted our country for a long time, but what is the Government going to do about that? Where is its plan? What will the Government do? What is its strategy to boost exports and to boost revenue? Members opposite can continue to say the previous Government was slack in some areas and was a little ambivalent in terms of monitoring various pots of expenditure, but the Government has to develop a plan. There is no plan in that Budget. There is nothing that shows how the Government will boost exports. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000354\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229eb6a0d1a21c4712969423df1f82d19d\u0022\u003ECraig Foss\u003C/span\u003E: Which volume did you not read?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000355\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228d961ea52a5f41ec9408958b2c48909b\u0022\u003EHon SHANE JONES\u003C/span\u003E: Secondly, the Government said it is too expensive to work with agriculture. If there is one thing our country can prove to be very successful at, I say to Mr Foss, it is producing food. The goods and services associated with the food sector\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000356\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223e8fb898ef024431aa64ccd3ac50f20b\u0022\u003ECraig Foss\u003C/span\u003E: You\u2019re good at digging dirt!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000357\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224353f95054b74f748dec721716797f91\u0022\u003EHon SHANE JONES\u003C/span\u003E: Far be it for me to comment on the manure currently being sprayed from the Hawke\u2019s Bay member. I will not do that. But if we are to have this debate, we must come back to the key point. The Government did not put a plan forward. It ended up pinching a lot of ideas from our side. OK, it took a pale version of working with the agricultural sector, for petty, political reasons. It rained foul rhetoric upon Mr Anderton and his $700 million approach to enhancing productivity in that sector. The Government ended up taking a tiny piece of his thinking and, in a miserly sort of way, introduced it as its own idea. That will not cut the mustard\u2014no! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000358\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003ELet us talk about John Key\u2019s illusion. He will stand as he has stood in the past and continue to tell this House that over his dead body, or words to that effect, superannuation entitlements will not change. But the reality is that once he decided to change the consensus on superannuation and fracture the model for how we could account for meeting the costs of a rapidly ageing population, he has opened up the debate all over again. There is no consensus on superannuation; there is no consensus whatsoever. Members opposite have now decided that for the period of time\u2014mercifully short, I would hope\u2014that they enjoy the Treasury benches, they will pretend that there is no long-term superannuation problem. What they have not worked out is that in that period of time people who are in their 30s or 40s, those who are approaching their 50s, will be fearful. Insecurity is rising. Members opposite know that the consequence of their miserly, punitive approach towards a savings strategy that would have overcome some of the long-term problems is that they have turned their backs on those problems. They have turned their backs on that vulnerable group of New Zealanders who have been paying tax for a long time, based on the social accord that one day, when they reached the point when they could have superannuation, they would not be denied it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000359\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EThe Government ended up having to find dough from somewhere, so it has started to gut KiwiSaver. That is further evidence that Government members do not believe in savings. Unlike ourselves, members on that side of the House do not believe there is a savings problem in New Zealand. Without thinking it through, members opposite moan and complain that Labour was a poor steward in relation to the current account deficit problems. But if there is a deficiency in savings, that account is where it would show up. Those members do not believe there is a savings problem. Not only did they gut KiwiSaver but also they have now turned around and plundered the Cullen fund. The Government has plundered it in the following way: it has refused to allocate, as was intended, the ongoing allocations that were built into that scheme. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000360\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EA fund that would rival something akin to one of the more developed economies\u2019 sovereign funds was an item that every New Zealander could have taken pride in, and Governments could have looked upon it as a long-term option to deal with the growing costs associated with us all getting older. Of course, Mr Key will say that if we do not save the money now, there will be more money in the current economy. But that is not the case, because a plan was absent from the Budget for how our most vulnerable communities, such as the Pacific Island community and the M\u0101ori community, were to boost their skills. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000361\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EIt is all very well for Dr Pita Sharples to talk about M\u0101ori access to university. I do not really want to condemn him. I am sure he did not intend to say that all M\u0101ori could just arrive at university\u2014bypass k\u014Dhanga reo, and turn up at Victoria University. He was seeking to raise the problem that far too many M\u0101ori families do not produce enough kids who have either the right attitude or sense of engagement with school\u2014something to that effect. But he has overlooked the fact that if one associates with a party in Government that gives its tax cuts to the rich and denies tax relief to the poor and vulnerable, then that Government will have fewer resources to dedicate towards education, skills, and training. It is a vicious circle. The thing that really requires education in relation to Dr Sharples is what convinces that man to continue to hang out with such a bad crowd. Of course, in 2\u00BD years we will visit the answer to that question upon them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000362\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003ELet me round up here. Unless we are to invest in education\u2014Mr Quinn needs a great deal of it\u2014we will not raise the levels amongst the vulnerable communities that will be key contributors.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000363\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228c36831578924483ac3f1776748b6ea8\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: I notice you\u2019ve steered clear of Economics 101 in this appropriations debate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000364\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222bc4ee03b0bd4eeb9c79cc9d12322d02\u0022\u003EHon SHANE JONES\u003C/span\u003E: Stick to the point, Mr Quinn. \u201CStick to the point\u201D in M\u0101ori is \u201Ch\u0101ngai ki te kaupapa\u201D [remain focused on the topic], not \u201Ch\u0101ngia te papa\u201D [bake the earth in an earth oven]. Kia ora t\u0101tou k\u0101toa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000365\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002240fea45863804cb6aa6f642ab0f26022\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Before I call the next member, I say the discussions that are going on are making it very difficult for me to concentrate. We have lobbies for that and members may wish to go out into them. But I can hear some of the conversations, and I ask that we give members the courtesy\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000366\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f199a76369334e03a7e6b223e9675887\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: They are interjections.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000367\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002230341ea9e38840eebc523616e9d0042a\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: They are not interjections. They are low-volume conversations, but I can hear what is being said. I ask members, if they want to continue those conversations, to please go to the lobbies.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022 data-id=\u002275e557321a1141b2959f2fcf20c28e35\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000368\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002275e557321a1141b2959f2fcf20c28e35\u0022\u003EKATRINA SHANKS (National):\u003C/span\u003E It is my pleasure to speak to the Appropriation (2008/09 Supplementary Estimates) Bill and the Imprest Supply (First for 2009/10) Bill tonight. I will respond to the member who just sat down, Shane Jones, by talking about education, and investment in education. Labour was in Government for the last 9 years. For 9 years it had the opportunity to invest in education and to lift literacy and numeracy, but it failed. I ask members to look at the number of children who are coming through school who do not have the levels of numeracy and literacy to even get the most basic jobs, to even enter the polytechs, or to enter some of the trades. They do not have those basic literacy and numeracy skills. That is how the Labour Government failed this country and failed our children. This Government is determined not to let any child be left behind. In this Budget in our first year we have invested a lot of money\u2014$1.68 billion over the 2008-09 to 2012-13 period has been invested to improve facilities and lift educational achievement. Of this $1.68 billion, $1 billion is new spending that we will invest in the future and in our children, because they are a priority for a John Key - led Government. We will build new schools and modernise new existing schools with an investment of up to $523 million. We will help our students meet national standards in literacy and numeracy by investing $36 million. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000369\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003EAs a mother of three children, I have to say that the literacy and numeracy standards our children currently have is not clear to parents. They are not transparent. Parents do not understand how their children are going. They do not know whether they are improving from one year to the next. They do not know how they are doing against the national average. They do not know how to help their children, they do not know whether they are gifted, and they do not know whether they are falling behind, because there is no transparency from the school to the parents. There is no accountability from the school to the parents. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000370\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003EI have been in the school system for the last 9 years with my children, and it is the same now as it was 9 years ago. There is no reporting back to the parents, and that is what this bit of money will do. This $36 million will ensure that we have a national standard and that those children will sit the tests that they already sit: the progressive achievement test and the asTTle test. They currently sit those good tests and the parents are not informed about them. They never get to see the results. Parents never get to see inner tracking, or how their children are tracking. I speak to many parents around those issues. One of the parents I spoke to recently said that what that parent would love to see is a child\u2019s education graph set out like the graph in a Plunket book. The average is a line going up, the range is another line going up, and the child sits on one side or the other. As long as a child is tracking up, the parents should be comfortable with that and will understand where the child is. But how do people know if they are not told? That $36 million is crucial for me, as a mother with three children in the primary school system, to understand that my children are going to do well when they leave school. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000371\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003ENot only that, we extended the 20 hours early childhood education scheme to include playcentres and k\u014Dhanga reo. I went to a playcentre in Johnsonville last week, a lovely playcentre, and I have no idea why they would be excluded from that 20 free hours. Why choose to exclude a playcentre? They add so much value to early childhood education, which is a fantastic, iconic type of early childhood education that this National-led Government understands\u2014and that the previous Labour-led Government did not understand\u2014because playcentres are about families. Opposition members do not understand how parents can be good educators, very powerful educators, in their own right, which is what playcentres are. We put another $69.7 million into playcentres and k\u014Dhanga reo because we, unlike the previous Labour-led Government, which put no priority on families, acknowledge that parents are fantastic educators. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000372\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003EThese estimates are about helping New Zealanders through the recession, and supporting jobs. We are using the strength of the Government\u2019s balance sheet to absorb much of the shock of this recession. What this means, in plain language, is that we are keeping up spending on public services and on entitlements to income support despite the fact that the Government\u2019s revenue is dropping significantly. Our approach is to provide a considerable stimulus to the economy to stop the country from falling into a further recession. In the Budget we maintained all of the entitlements to income support, including superannuation, benefits, and the Working for Families scheme. We are also increasing spending on front-line public services, particularly in health, education, and justice. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000373\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221fb8d8db-3e96-49c7-ab1c-b7916a50e30e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226fee4a6a7d0f42eb861df4be2cdda369\u0022\u003EHon Steve Chadwick\u003C/span\u003E: No training back to work. Cutting training programmes for getting back into work.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000374\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cc26b82be3c145c58fa9554462c7cbfc\u0022\u003EKATRINA SHANKS\u003C/span\u003E: If that member over there would like to talk to me about adult learning in community centres, that is great. You know, I would love to do a pottery course. In fact, I have done one at a community centre and it was really good. But it is a hobby and I think I should be able to pay for that hobby myself. I do not think that the Government should subsidise it. In fact, I would rather the Government spent the money on reading recovery. What would the member prefer I do? [Interruption] That is right. Would the member prefer that the Government paid for my pottery course, or that my child did not get reading recovery? It is about priorities; it is about putting the money where it is needed. I tell members that in our schools, reading recovery, literacy, and numeracy\u2014and you know it as well\u2014are where our priorities should lie, not with the pottery course, not with the public speaking course, not with the Moroccan cooking course. You had 9 years to make a difference and you made no difference; we had 9 years of surpluses and you just blew it. You threw them away\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000375\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225cb2d589d74c4346b8b8f2412bce93cb\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member has brought me twice into the debate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000376\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223efbdc05dd2347f8bb57e42889bf477a\u0022\u003EKATRINA SHANKS\u003C/span\u003E: I am sorry, Mr Deputy Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000377\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003EI want to talk about one of our initiatives in particular: an investment of $323 million over the next 4 years in a campaign to make New Zealand homes warmer, drier, and healthier. I tell members that John Key understands that families need to stay warm. [Interruption] You had 9 long years to make these homes warm and healthy\u20149 long years. I say to Steve Chadwick that you can shake your finger at me, but you had 9 long\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000378\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fd89a646d9934a30939f6702d97caa07\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: You know what I am going to say, do you not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000379\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022033d58771f7e481ca3df43ed4c597742\u0022\u003EKATRINA SHANKS\u003C/span\u003E: I do. I am sorry, Mr Deputy Speaker. The Labour Government had 9 long years to make a difference; 9 years to make our homes warmer, healthier, and safer, and it could not do it. In 9 long years of surpluses, even with \u201CVisa-nomics\u201D\u2014with putting it on the bill\u2014Labour still could not provide the money to do this. Instead, Labour just wasted it, because that is the only way to describe what it did. The Labour Government just wasted it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000380\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003EI want to talk about New Zealand insulation funds. We will allow more than 180,000 New Zealanders to receive kickstart grants of $1,800 to insulate their homes and to install clean-heating devices. A number of electrical companies, city councils, and banks have indicated they will do their bit by offering loans to cover any extra expenses incurred. This policy will have a range of benefits. It will stimulate the building and construction industry and create jobs for the men and women who will do the refitting. There will be jobs at the level that we need them in construction for electricians, for builders, and for plumbers. It will stimulate and improve energy efficiency in people\u2019s homes, and in the longer term New Zealand families and children will experience warmer, drier, and much healthier living conditions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000381\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003EThe Budget also includes funding for measures we announced earlier in the year to help the sharpest effects of the recession, including the ReStart package for people made redundant and the small-business relief package. It also includes funding for initiatives that came out of the Job Summit in February. These include the $50 million for the New Zealand cycleway, the 9-day fortnight scheme, the boost to workplace literacy funds, the introduction of summer research scholarships for university students, and increased investment in international education promotion. In total we deliver a net increase in new operating spending of $5.8 billion over the forecast period out to 2011-2012. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000382\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003EIn addition to this year\u2019s spending, there has been a considerable amount of reprioritisation within existing levels of Government spending. We identified a total of more than $2 billion in spending over the forecast period that either did not accord with our priorities or had a relatively low value. We have used that money to fund other initiatives of more value.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022 data-id=\u002298765ce6018548d99095857fca77811b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000383\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002298765ce6018548d99095857fca77811b\u0022\u003EHon MARYAN STREET (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I speak in this debate to draw attention to a number of things the National Government has done that work in exactly the opposite way to its stated aims. National members have said repeatedly their aim is to protect Kiwis from the worst effects of the recession, yet where do they go to in order to make some of their most trenchant cuts in this Budget? They turn to education. At just the moment when a Government should be investing in its people, this Government has chosen to prioritise school buildings. Although school buildings will always require maintenance and development, a time when we are seeing redundancies, forced lay-offs, and the contraction of the economy is the moment when any thinking Government that had a commitment to New Zealanders would be investing in people, by allowing them to have cheap access to programmes where they can upskill and retrain in order to fit themselves to meet the demands of this recession. What this Government has been doing denies New Zealanders access to some of the lowest-cost and most universally available courses in the country for training, retraining, and upskilling themselves. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000384\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EI will start with adult and community education, because one of the things that members opposite keep saying is that they are investing, and are investing more, in literacy and numeracy skills. The figures do not bear that out; the figures, in fact, demonstrate that in this Budget there has been a substantial cut to the provision for literacy and numeracy projects over the term of the Budget. Apart from that, it is also clear that this Government has no awareness of the number of jobs that are being adversely affected. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000385\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003ELet us just take the adult and community education sector, to begin with. There are other things that I wish to talk about in the course of my 10 minutes, and I will get to them. But I say that in the adult and community education sector, this Government is realising only now, because of the petitions and the postcard campaign that the adult and community education sector is spearheading around the country, that 400,000 New Zealanders access quality, accessible, community-based education programmes on an annual basis. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000386\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EThe Minister of Education, Anne Tolley, seeks to denigrate and ridicule courses that hundreds of people are writing to me about. I refer to all the emails and letters that are pouring in to me about the cuts to adult and community education, and about how those cuts will impede people\u2019s ability to access formal education and skills programmes that give them the confidence, having been made redundant, to re-enter the workforce. After having been made to feel worthless by a forced redundancy, people\u2019s entry back into the paid workforce has typically been through skills training and the courses that have been offered, at a grassroots level, through school programmes. We commonly think of those as night classes, although they are frequently run at other times of the day, as well. But beyond that, people forget, and clearly this Government has forgotten, that 9.5 percent of the funding that goes to secondary schools to run adult and community education programmes has to go forward to other community organisations to enable them to run other programmes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000387\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EThat brings me to one of the things that I wanted to talk about. The Minister for Social Development and Employment, Paula Bennett, talked earlier this year about the need to have parenting education orders, in place to compel the parents of problematic and troubled children who are presenting in our justice system to attend parenting courses. Those parenting courses are run by a range of providers, but quite frequently they are run as secondary school night classes by adult community education programmes and by community organisations. The money given to the secondary schools is passed on to those organisations to fund those programmes. On the one hand the Prime Minister and the Minister for Social Development and Employment say we should enhance and expand the programme of parenting courses, and on the other hand the Minister of Education is taking away the wherewithal to provide those courses. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000388\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EI also mention something that really makes no sense in the context of this recession, and that is the cutting of funding for industry training. The Minister of Education proceeds with her offensive and insulting denigration of what she deems to be a \u201Chobby\u201D course, when, in fact, learning Italian at Wellington High School was of enormous benefit to a man who fixes European cars. He specialises in European cars and wanted to learn Italian because the manuals for some of those cars are written in Italian. Why should he not go and learn Italian? But the Minister would have us believe that is a hobby course. It is clearly imperative to that man\u2019s business for him to understand Italian. If I had an Italian car, I would quite like it to be repaired by somebody who understood the manual, as opposed to somebody who had taken a guess at it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000389\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EThe cuts to the funding for industry training make less sense than anything else that this Government has cut in education. The Minister of Education has chopped $15.1 million from industry training funding, and that includes cutting the CPI adjustment for 2010\u2014that is, $9 million. It means reducing the growth in funding for embedded literacy programmes. I am sorry, but the rhetoric does not match the practice. The rhetoric is all about the need to improve literacy and numeracy skills, yet exactly that kind of programme\u2014an embedded literacy programme\u2014is being cut with the reduced industry training funding. If people cannot retrain and upskill themselves in their workplace, or, if they have lost their jobs, retrain and upskill themselves through additional industry training available through apprenticeships and through employer-assisted programmes, then how will we manage to pull New Zealand out of this recession with a better-skilled, more literate, and more numerate labour force? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000390\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EThe Minister of Education needs to answer those charges, because at best there has been an under-investment at every turn in education, just at the time when investment is important, and at worst there have been drastic and Draconian cuts. Members opposite know that, because they are beginning to get petitions and they are beginning to get postcards like the ones I am holding up\u2014and these do not even reflect the number of email communications I have sitting in an email folder in my parliamentary computer. The lack of foresight and lack of thought in this Budget simply beggar belief. This Government does New Zealanders a disservice in the way it is approaching education. This is the moment in time when education should be the priority, not the poor relation. This is the moment in time when the Government\u2019s Budget ought to reflect education as being a priority for this nation. The Budget is a shame.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022 data-id=\u00225ce1b2980449474dba444af8c20f55d1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000391\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225ce1b2980449474dba444af8c20f55d1\u0022\u003EJOHN HAYES (National\u2014Wairarapa):\u003C/span\u003E I have listened to Parliament for some time this afternoon, and it strikes me that any fool can criticise and many have been doing so this afternoon. I stand to congratulate John Key and Bill English on a wonderful Budget, which is full of common sense and leadership, and makes the choices that have to be made. Contrary to comments made in the House this afternoon by luminaries like Ruth Dyson, a perfect example demonstrating that \u201Ccritics are the stupid who discuss the wise\u201D, I have to say that the Opposition has come up with nothing that should concern our electorate. It is carping criticism for the sake of it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000392\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003EI want to report to the House that the people of the Wairarapa, in my electorate, stretching from Ngaw\u012B in the south to Waipawa in the north, are absolutely delighted with this Budget. They keep stopping me in the street and they say they are really supportive. They say that John Key is doing a great job and Bill English is doing a great job. They are really proud of the Government\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000393\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227286cdff0bf54b0b9c82c86a26054880\u0022\u003EHon Phil Heatley\u003C/span\u003E: And Phil Heatley!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000394\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002272ff2241cc2249dfa036ed03e2166fae\u0022\u003EJOHN HAYES\u003C/span\u003E: They say: \u201CThank goodness we moved the people on who tried to send us to the cleaners.\u201D Yes, they like Phil Heatley because he is about to announce more honorary fishing officers to come to the Wairarapa coast. So even the people in my electorate are very supportive of the Minister of Fisheries, and good on him! They are highly supportive of this Government. They can see that John Key and Bill English have moved to cushion our community from the sharp edges of this recession. Those people see that new, core Crown spending of $2.9 million on projects like improving Muldoon\u2019s Corner and upgrading the Kur\u012Bpuni school in my electorate, combined with the tax cuts, will keep supporting this economy and will keep this country ticking over. Contrary to comments made by the previous speaker, and the one before, I can confirm that superannuation has been preserved at 66 percent of the average wage, and all this carry-on from the Opposition about cuts being made to superannuation is simply not true. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000395\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003EWe have also maintained benefits for the students and Working for Families. We have improved public services by putting $3 billion extra into the health sector over the next 3 years. We have put $1.68 billion into the education sector, and, yes, some cake-decorating courses are being cancelled. We have put 600 new police into the community. We are strengthening the economy for the future, so that businesses can thrive. I can report to the House that, for example, JNL Juken Nissho Ltd, operating in Masterton, went from\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000396\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228d2bfbd820dd46f9b33c97fd593b4600\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I am sorry to interrupt the honourable member, but the time has come for me to leave the Chair.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000397\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003ESitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000398\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e0311d95333f4cd48501b8e141264615\u0022\u003EJOHN HAYES\u003C/span\u003E: I will just recap a little. Earlier on I made the point that I had been sitting through the debate in the House this afternoon; I have to say that any fool can criticise, and this afternoon many have been doing so. On top of that, because a lot of fear and misinformation was being promulgated by the Opposition, I will point out and really make it clear that the Government moved very specifically to guarantee superannuation at 66 percent of the average wage. The Government also went out of its way to maintain benefits to students and to those on Work and Income benefits. It also made a commitment to improve public services, and agreed in the Budget to spend a further $3 billion on health and $1.68 billion on increased education expenditure. And my colleague the Minister of Police has found the money to provide an additional 600 police.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000399\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003E I feel that the Government has moved very strongly to strengthen this country\u2019s economic future, and we support that. People in my electorate are saying they are very, very supportive of the Key-English direction of this economy. In my electorate we are beginning to see improvements. One of our biggest companies, Juken Nissho Ltd, which processes logs, went from three shifts to one shift, but it has now just gone back to two shifts. If we look at other entities in the Wairarapa, like the Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre, which employs 700 full-time equivalent students and which has a total budget of $25 million annually, we see that these sorts of institutions are making huge fundamental differences in driving our economy forward. We need to grow the educational capacity of our young people if we are to move this country and this economy forward. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000400\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003EThere are two areas, though, where I am a little bit concerned. Although the Government is going through Government agencies line by line, and is making sure that the taxpayer money it is spending is being spent wisely and necessarily, I do not see the same happening in the five local bodies in my electorate. I am very concerned that some local bodies, under their long-term plans, feel that the Government can move, through tax cuts, to put more money into people\u2019s pockets and keep benefits flowing, but those bodies then seem to think they can vacuum up that surplus. For example, the South Wairarapa District Council is planning to raise rates by 20 percent next year and the Masterton District Council is going to raise its rates by 30 percent over the next 3 years, and rates are due to rise in Waipukurau by 16 percent and Waipawa by 10 percent. These sorts of rate rises are unacceptable to the people in my community, and in the context of our present economic environment and in the direction this country is trying to go under John Key\u2019s leadership, I think these rate rises really have to be addressed by our communities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000401\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003EAs well, the South Wairarapa District Council has 29 councillors servicing a community of 40,000 people. We can traverse then to Mr Hide\u2019s moves on the Auckland super-city, where there will be 20 councillors dealing with 1.4 million people. Something is out of whack. I am finding that our communities want change, my constituents want change, but the obstacles to change very often are the councillors, who do not wish to vote for an early Christmas; I think that that is highly unfortunate. We must, as communities, take charge of our circumstances in our communities, and drive efficiencies in a way we have previously not moved. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000402\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003ESo I call on my communities to rise up against these rate rises, and to force common sense on our local bodies. We have seen that the Government led by Michael Cullen and his colleague, \u201CPut-it-on-the-bill-Phil\u201D, left a series of black holes for the following Government\u2014us\u2014to fall into. We saw it in accident compensation expenditure, where there was a black hole of between $1.5 billion to $2 billion. But I was astonished last night to discover that in South Auckland we have thousands\u2014I am told\u2014of young Pacific Island children who are not in our schools and not getting access to health care because their parents are too afraid of being caught out as being overstayers. This is the problem that that previous Labour Government has left to us; it did not address this sort of problem. Just as that Government did with accident compensation, it has dropped us in a hole. Well, we must address these problems. We cannot let this country go on in the shambolic way our Labour colleagues drove it over the last long 9 years. For those reasons, I am very supportive of the direction this Government is taking. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000403\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003EWe are seeing that the global shocks are now abating, we are seeing firms that cannot continue to cut their stock levels, we are seeing investor panic receding, and we are seeing householders rehabilitate their balance sheets. Our Government\u2019s activism is helping this country to recover more quickly, and we are seeing markets in China and Brazil rebounding. We still have tough challenges to address, in this country, but John Key\u2019s Government is up to it. Thank you. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022 data-id=\u0022e7d192f5d3fc4d11a793aaaac50a1601\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000404\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e7d192f5d3fc4d11a793aaaac50a1601\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I am very pleased to stand and take a call in this debate. That was a very telling speech from the member who has just resumed his seat. I do not think he actually talked much about this bill, at all. He talked about how he wants to amalgamate all the councils in his local area, and he blamed all the democratically elected councillors over there in his electorate. That is fine, and good on him, but I suspect that if he keeps passing the buck, blaming everything on his local councillors, and not accepting any responsibility as a member of a Government, he might not be the local member for very long. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000405\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EThis Budget was a real opportunity for the Government, and the people of New Zealand expected to see some vision and a plan\u2014a plan for lifting New Zealand out of recession faster, a plan for ensuring that we do not make exactly the same mistakes the National Government made last time we went through a recession, and a plan that ensures that when we do come out of recession, we hit the ground running and New Zealand is not left at the back of the pack, as we were the last time Mr Carter was a Minister in Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000406\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EI think that New Zealanders hoped that National might have learnt from the failures of the past\u2014learnt what worked and what did not\u2014and might have come up with some kind of concrete, visible, transparent plan to assist New Zealand during this difficult time. But we got no plan. There was no plan for jobs, and the Prime Minister admitted yesterday that 1,000 New Zealanders are joining the dole queue every single week. As we heard in question time today, he has no plan to stem that\u2014no plan to create jobs\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000407\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002269e82ecbad4d4039b52ecbc86e5a5bfb\u0022\u003EJohn Hayes\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s a good place for you to go.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000408\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e9dae3001c114753bff21a57b609dc84\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: Well, you see, that is the level of debate that we get from National members. Even Mr Paul Quinn is being quiet, because he is taking this seriously.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000409\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022da3f6c0c1f804dcf90967aa53fb8a557\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: Ha, ha!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000410\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226b1d14af4e72408f97bb3a06664be8ce\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: I knew that would get him started. All John Hayes can say is that the dole queue is a good place for me to go. That is the level of intellectual thinking on that side of the House. [Interruption] I tell Mr Hayes that we on this side of the House take the situation a little bit more seriously than his party does, quite obviously. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000411\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EWe hoped we would see something\u2014anything\u2014to create jobs in New Zealand and to hold on to the jobs we have. We hoped we would see something of a plan to help the people who, unlike Mr Hayes, do not have a guaranteed job in here for 3 years and are genuinely concerned about how they will feed their families over the course of the next few years. We hoped we would see a little bit of a plan in this Budget, but there was no plan. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000412\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003ELet us look at some of the areas of the Budget, and let us look in particular at research, science, and technology. The Government had the gall to put out a press release stating that this Budget made a substantial increase in its investment in research, science, and technology. Of course, it failed to mention the fact that when we consider that the Government has removed Labour\u2019s research and development tax credit, we see that there is in fact a cut of more than $1.2 billion. There has been a cut of $1.2 billion in the very sector that could help to bring us out of this recession faster, the very sector that we need to help us create wealth in this country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000413\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EThe National Government has said that it does not value that sector at all and does not think it is important enough to keep those incentives. Mr John Walley said just this week that recent statistics show that New Zealand\u2019s private sector investment in research and development is 0.51 percent of GDP. That is a third of the OECD average. He called on this Government to take that seriously and to reinstate some kind of tax incentive. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000414\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EMembers on this side of the House are not saying the Government has to reintroduce exactly the same thing we did. What we want to see is some kind of tax incentive, because it has been shown to work everywhere around the world. So I want to know what the Minister of Finance knows, and I want to know what every single one of our trading partners who has these tax incentives in place does not know. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000415\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003ENot only are tax incentives working in those countries but they are also putting New Zealand at a strategic disadvantage. When we look over the Tasman we see that Mr Kevin Rudd is increasing and improving the tax incentives for research and development, yet New Zealand is going 100 kilometres in the opposite direction by removing them in their entirety. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000416\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EI come now to the New Zealand Fast Forward Fund. National likes to talk about being the party of the agricultural sector. If we compare the scheme that Labour put in place with the insipid, anaemic scheme that has replaced it, we would have to say that that is absolutely not true. Although we can talk about the quantum of that fund, and that is very important, National seems to have failed to grasp that one of the most significant things about the Fast Forward Fund is that long-term funding certainty was provided for our research sector for the first time. The sector knew that the fund was there for 10 to 15 years, and that it was a significantly sized fund. The sector knew that it was not something politicians could dip into, and it knew it would not have to come, cap in hand, to the Government every single year just hoping that it would get an appropriation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000417\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EResearchers working in the food and pastoral sectors quite rightly feel very worried. They have told me that next year\u2019s appropriation for pastoral and food innovation initiatives might go the same way the tax cuts went. How can the sector be certain that its funding for next year will be there? How can it be certain that its funding for the year after will be there? The reality is that it cannot. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000418\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EOne of the fundamental foundations of the Fast Forward Fund was that long-term stability, and that has gone as well in this Budget. So we do not have any plan to stimulate the economy. We saw that a full third of the tax cuts in the Budget went to the top 3 percent of income earners. That is nothing more than just paying off one\u2019s cronies; let us be honest about it. There is absolutely no economic reason why we would push the tax cuts towards people who will save the money or go on an overseas holiday and spend it on stimulating other people\u2019s economies. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000419\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EIf we really want to use tax cuts to provide economic stimulus, we would give them to the people who will spend them. We would give them to the people who need them now\u2014the people who will use them to pay the bills, feed their families, and pay their mortgage. That is the kind of thing one would do with that money. Not only is that economically the right thing to do but it is morally the right thing to do. These are the very people who are struggling right now. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000420\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EOne of the big issues in this Budget really had to be the stopping of payments into the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. We have heard a lot of comments from National members. They have been crowing and saying that superannuation has to remain at the current level of entitlement. But what they do not say when they make those comments is: \u201CBut we\u2019ve stopped the funding that will pay for that.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000421\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228500544dd9d64762bd286a4bb34df9b1\u0022\u003EHon Anne Tolley\u003C/span\u003E: Rubbish!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000422\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226a5653be76db4247b9a5f62dc1c55180\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, it\u2019s rubbish.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000423\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220c5a41220ef54c51835f0a6496a5ba2b\u0022\u003EHon Anne Tolley\u003C/span\u003E: The fund will fund only 14 percent.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000424\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ded04604227c4d188988bf2e0b4e0318\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, right! The fund will be $35 billion short by the time the baby boomers retire. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000425\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222f8e168f34694ba0b10b2554bfff1550\u0022\u003EHon Anne Tolley\u003C/span\u003E: You don\u2019t understand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000426\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022695c6ccadd544d3bbc7d7d5a56dc422d\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: I say to Mrs Tolley that if Labour had realised we did not need to pay for superannuation, then we would not have had a fund, at all. We would not have had a fund if we had realised that money was not the problem. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000427\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003ENow is the time we should be maintaining this fund. The superannuation fund did very well last month. Can the Government members, who are all yelling at me now, answer one simple question? How can we maintain the current levels of entitlement to New Zealand superannuation if the money is not there to pay for it?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000428\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022644dab4162a04d7cb4e63a724485ac4a\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: They believe in Santa, too.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000429\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a842bfde8102423dbf8e30836a97c63a\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: That is right. Maybe the pixies will bring it. Maybe Santa will bring it for them. The fact is that it cannot be done. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000430\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003ENational has made a political calculation that it will not be here when that problem arises. That will be a problem for a future generation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000431\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002260a569143cdf4379b199fd43ff608999\u0022\u003EHon Darren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: When Paul Quinn is Prime Minister.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000432\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224578e16773364d10a7518af841610a5e\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: When Paul Quinn is the Prime Minister this will be his problem. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000433\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EWhile we are on the topic of cuts that will affect our young people, we have to look at the cuts in education, industry training, tertiary education, and adult and community education. We have to ask what this Government is thinking. National did this the last time we went through a recession. The last time New Zealand went through a recession a National Government cut industry training funding, cut tertiary education funding, cut funding to the areas that will upskill people, and cut apprenticeships. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000434\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EWe are now going through a period when people need to be upskilled. A lot of people have got jobs that are not particularly skilled. They are now finding that they are the first in the dole queue because they are the unskilled workers. The first port of call for these people would be adult and community education. That is absolutely their first port of call. They will want to upskill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000435\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002267431f57-e958-4c83-b438-7da8061d479e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002240884d34d91a4d4ca28a788ec36301d7\u0022\u003EPaul Quinn\u003C/span\u003E: Now we\u2019re on to adult education, are we?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000436\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223a54f08be3cf4a5cb3d9993d47d4b544\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: I suggest that Mr Quinn might want to have a look at taking a few adult and community education courses. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000437\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EThe fact is that we will come out of this recession with an unskilled workforce, exactly as we did the last time National was in Government. What happened the last time we were in a recession? New Zealand took a lot longer to recover and we had bottlenecks within our economy because we had such an unskilled workforce. This National Government knows that, because it was National\u2019s fault\u2014National did it. It was a Labour Government that had to come in and deal with the reality of it. Labour had to come in and boost industry training. Labour reintroduced Modern Apprenticeships and boosted them up. We moved faster than we promised we would, because there was such a bottleneck in our economy. And here we are again!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000438\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b6163457288242a5a5672e1df0987230\u0022\u003EJohn Hayes\u003C/span\u003E: Do you realise you\u2019ve said nothing of substance in 10 minutes?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000439\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022573a2d51f759462ba5956e9748a4e130\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: I say to Mr Hayes that a definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. This Budget was the very definition of insanity.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022 data-id=\u0022cb8e2dcaabd3435ea1d6883efda9c43a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000440\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cb8e2dcaabd3435ea1d6883efda9c43a\u0022\u003ECRAIG FOSS (National\u2014Tukituki):\u003C/span\u003E I am looking forward to speaking on the Appropriation (2008/09 Supplementary Estimates) Bill and the Imprest Supply (First for 2008/09) Bill, which form part of the \u201Croad-to-recovery Budget\u201D as read by the Hon Bill English on 28 May. I have a few notes to speak to, but I cannot resist picking up on some of the points the previous speaker made. Excuse me if I do not quote her exactly, but I think it was that now is the time to invest. [Interruption] To borrow? Well, I will come back to that in a minute. I think it was to borrow funds to invest. It is very interesting, because under the previous Government\u2019s watch last year the superannuation fund lost $5 billion to $6 billion, accident compensation lost about $3 billion to $4 billion, and the National Provident Fund lost about $1.5 billion to $2 billion. Those members are now trying to give us investment advice. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000441\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EThey should think it through, think what the legacy of the\u2014[Interruption] I am more than happy to call it the Cullen fund when it is doing that. That does beg the question, and I know that another speaker said this on the reading of another bill along the way: \u201CTell us what you would invest in.\u201D. I say to those sages, give us some advice! Should investment be on shares, currency, or in fixed interest, and should it be in New Zealand or outside New Zealand? Would that previous Government have continued to invest in Australian infrastructure with the superannuation fund? Or would it start to invest in New Zealand? What would it have done? Where is the advice? Labour should remember that it lost about $10 billion to $11 billion of net worth off the balance sheet in the last year. Those members should not stand up and try to give investment advice. Please! They should not even attempt to do that. They can talk about the generics, but do not say that now is the time to invest, without coming up with something they think is worthwhile for the taxpayers of New Zealand to invest in. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EOpposition members keep forgetting the other side of the balance sheet. I will come back to that again. Under the current set of accounts\u2014the accounts as Labour left them, and the accounts as they deteriorated after Budget 2008\u2014in May, whatever the case, the previous Government would have had to borrow and to continue to borrow. It is worth mentioning that in that Budget, State financial asset sales of $6.7 billion were announced, and an extra borrowing of $6.7 billion was announced. When members on the other side get up and start to claim that it is a new world, or there are new accounts, the previous Minister of Finance had the numbers right in his hot little hand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000443\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EIt is very interesting and somewhat questionable, I guess, how fast and rapidly the accounts deteriorated post-Budget 2008. Interestingly, in that Budget there was hardly any reference at all to the KiwiRail purchase, other than a mention in the contingent liability of a potential write-down, which I will come back to again. As we know, the negative asset of KiwiRail was paid for at about $1.2 billion all up, and is now worth $350 million. Basically, in the space of under 8 months that supposed asset ended up as something that Wall Street, New York would be proud of. It was bought by the previous administration but $800 million - odd has been knocked off its value. Members opposite should not dare get up and ask questions about why there is no money for this, that, and some other proposal. They should not dare to get up and pass on investment advice when, in fact, under their Government\u2019s watch we lost billions upon billions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000444\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003ENew Zealand entered a recession about a year before the rest of the world. We led the world in beginning the global recession, so a number of reasons contribute to the fact that this Budget has to be in the shape and form of a \u201Croad-to-recovery Budget\u201D. It is a Budget that is right for these times and it is a pragmatic Budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000445\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EWe did not take on board the unfunded spending of the previous Government, but we did have to take on board its spending. Some hard choices were made. That is quite correct. Some reprioritisations had to happen. Almost all of them were uncomfortable to do, but we are quite proud that we have stepped up and been honest and transparent. If we look at the forward track of this Budget, we see the results of a very strategic Budget as read by Mr English. As I noted, page 1 of the Budget has the debt graphs. If the previous administration had stayed in office, and if their policies as in their press releases and as announced had continued, then the debt to GDP ratio, which was already nudging 70 percent, would have continued to go north over the next 4 or 5 years. In fact, we now see the curve coming down. It will go to about 37-odd percent of GDP. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000446\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EFrom that simple graph and those statistics came New Zealand\u2019s upgrade in our credit rating. I will come back to that again, because members opposite do not seem to comprehend one iota how important that is to New Zealand. I was very surprised that their leader, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, who I thought had knowledge of these things, had no idea, embarrassing himself on national TV on Breakfast the day after the Budget, saying that it did not really matter. Not long after that, his finance spokesman had another version of events, but, again, we will come back to that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000447\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EI will show members the quick statistics, because some members opposite keep saying it is all a surprise about what the Budget shows today. Budget 2008 forecast a surplus of $1 billion. Before the last election, remember, when Labour was still in Government, the figure came down to negative $1.7 billion, which was a deficit. The deterioration was obvious. We have seen it happen around the globe, and the situation was rapidly deteriorating. At that stage the bad scenario from the Treasury forecast looked pretty much where we are now. The December Economic and Fiscal Update showed a deficit of $4.1 billion. As announced in this Budget, unfortunately but realistically we have a $7.7 billion deficit. No, that is not good. No, we do not enjoy that fact, but we are being up front, honest, and open. We are showing New Zealand what has to be done to start the recovery from the previous 9 years of unfocused, unaccountable, non-transparent, unmeasurable announcements that the previous Government made, which had core spending going up and up whilst core revenue was always very vulnerable, and deteriorating down. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000448\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EThat brings me to a very interesting point. A previous speaker, the Hon Shane Jones, kept asking where the revenue boost is and where the hike is. That spoke volumes about that party, because what is revenue? It is an increase in taxes. Right there, he alluded to what would be in the supposed mini-Budget after the election if his party had unfortunately managed to get in. Actually, that party was going to hike taxes because of its concentration on just that side of the ledger, which again speaks volumes, because it is not just about one side of the ledger. It is not just about revenue. There is expenditure, the funny old thing that has put New Zealand in the situation we are in right now, where expenditure is compounding up and up and core funding is going down. It just shows where members opposite concentrate their thinking: \u201CThere is a problem. I know, let\u2019s raise taxes.\u201D I guess they are being truthful, because between 2004 and 2009 tax revenue went up about $20 billion per annum.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000449\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EThere has been a lot of attention given to the Government\u2019s reprioritising of spending on adult and community education. I fronted a meeting yesterday. About 70 or 80 people were there, and we discussed it. We all agreed on the unfortunate situation as to why we have to reprioritise so much in the accounts. We gave the example of KiwiRail. We talked about the $1 billion that had been written off and was not available for education, health, or the small, little courses that these people had been signing up to and attending, whether they were hobby courses, personal growth courses, or whatever they were. That is the bit that members opposite do not get. There is the net worth. There are two sides to the Budget, and it comes down to this number I am pointing out. It is a big negative. We inherited one big negative in a decade of deficits. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000450\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c437bda8-4741-4ac5-89ab-b0818e1ab9fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a2a4db2c60a74865af286f7010289e70\u0022\u003EHon Darren Hughes\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s not cash, Craig, and you know that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000451\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228cb9817a65734f62b852b52da334d8cb\u0022\u003ECRAIG FOSS\u003C/span\u003E: Does the member want to discuss it? I say step outside and we will discuss it, sir. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000452\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EWhere does the cash come from? It has to come from borrowings. It was in the previous Government\u2019s Budget. It started the borrowings. So there are assets, liabilities, net worth, and cash. It speaks volumes, again, that members opposite are confused about this particular matter. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000453\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EI will come right back to where I started, to the sage investment advice from members opposite who talked about how it is time to invest! Basically, they are saying we should go out, borrow money for the superannuation fund, and invest it in something, because all investments make money. Goodness gracious me! A final point is that when the superannuation fund was set up by the previous Minister of Finance, the entire construct was made to allow for movements and fluctuations in cash in the economy. It is stated there, and I have quotes from the previous Minister of Finance if necessary. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022 data-id=\u002289d67ef30c27451ab0128fecf884fa10\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000454\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002289d67ef30c27451ab0128fecf884fa10\u0022\u003EKELVIN DAVIS (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E My contribution to the Appropriation (2008/09 Supplementary Estimates) Bill and the imprest supply debate will centre on tourism and education. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000455\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003ETourism speaks for itself when we look at the statistics. Tourism is our greatest export earner. It contributes 20 percent of our economy. One in 10 New Zealanders is employed in the tourism industry. It makes sense to invest in tourism. When we look at the figures for our investment in overseas marketing we see that we receive $26 back for every dollar we spend in Australia, we receive $11 back for every dollar we spend in the United Kingdom, and we receive $16 back for every dollar we spend in the United States. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000456\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EThe money we spend marketing New Zealand to overseas markets is a return we receive within a season. Members can imagine that people over in Australia now who are looking at the \u201Cwhat\u2019s on in New Zealand\u201D advertisements about the ski season and the snow-covered mountains do not look at those advertisements then decide to visit New Zealand in 10 years\u2019 time in order to enjoy the snow experience. They want to come now, within the season, within 12 months. So it makes sense that New Zealand invests in marketing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000457\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EUnfortunately, when we look at the Budget we see that $6 million has been taken off the fund to market New Zealand. I have spent time talking to people in the tourism industry in Kait\u0101ia, the Bay of Islands, Whangarei, Auckland, Wellington, and Queenstown. Every single tourism operator I spoke to said we have to invest in marketing New Zealand so that we maintain market share overseas. Countries such as Norway market themselves as the New Zealand of the north, asking why customers should travel for 24 hours to get to New Zealand to see fiords and snow-capped mountains when they can fly just 2 hours from London to experience the same deal. People from the United Kingdom will take the short option unless we maintain our market share. It is unfortunate that our funding for marketing has been cut. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000458\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EWhen we are told that we are in a recession and there is not much money to go around, it just absolutely blows me away that the Prime Minister, in his role as Minister of Tourism, can find a lazy $50 million sitting in his back pocket to build a cycleway. We know now that that cycleway will not be the dream strip of concrete, or whatever it was going to be, running from Te Rerenga Wairua\u2014Cape Reinga, as others know it\u2014down to Invercargill. Instead, it will be a series of great rides. I am a cyclist; I enjoy cycling. The cycleway is not a bad idea, I guess. But the $50 million cycleway was going to create something like 3,000 jobs. So far I know of one job that has been created by the cycleway. I know that somewhere there is a policy analyst who is employed to try to progress the cycleway. So I guess the cycleway has not been a total waste of money; $50 million has gone towards funding some policy analyst somewhere who is trying to progress this idea. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000459\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EI was at the Trenz conference the week before last, in Auckland, where a number of tourism operators came together to sell their wares to companies from overseas. If New Zealand tourism operators can get their businesses in magazines and brochures overseas, then it is really beneficial and lucrative to their businesses. We were told the Prime Minister would make a significant announcement, so people held their breath, waiting for this significant announcement on tourism. What did we get? We got a facelift for Auckland; $20 million is going towards buying Queen\u2019s Wharf. I can solve another problem for the Government with that $20 million. When the Rugby World Cup is over\u2014when party central is over\u2014we can put the containers back on Queen\u2019s Wharf, throw in some windows with bars, and have Queen\u2019s Wharf prison. We can kill two birds with one stone. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000460\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EI want to ask the Prime Minister how many tourists he will attract who are not already going to be here for the Rugby World Cup at party central. How many people are sitting in their lounges somewhere in the United Kingdom, Europe, or the United States, saying \u201CWow! New Zealand is doing up its waterfront and doing up Queen\u2019s Wharf. It will fill in the potholes on Jellicoe Street, so let\u2019s go to New Zealand.\u201D? Absolutely nobody is going to come to New Zealand just because Jellicoe Street has been done up. It is a joke. I have to tell members that the delegates at the conference were highly disappointed. They got nothing out of it. I do not disagree with the party central theme for the Rugby World Cup. It will be fantastic for those people who are here for the Rugby World Cup. But I think we are suffering a bit from \u201Cworld-cup-itis\u201D. No tourism operators outside of Auckland will benefit in any real terms from Jellicoe Street having a new layer of tarseal and a lick of paint. The tourism industry is disappointed. The Prime Minister decided he wanted to be the Minister of Tourism, and he promised so much, yet the tourism industry received so little. I share its concerns, because, as I said earlier, the tourism industry, from Cape Reinga to Invercargill, is saying that marketing of New Zealand is the best value for money we can get. In the Budget, I am sorry to say, funding for marketing was cut. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000461\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EMoving on to education, I hung my head in shame at question time today to think that some people believe that moving M\u0101ori kids who are failing at secondary school to university is the solution to fix schooling. The solution to fix schooling is investing in teachers and professional development. I take the point made earlier by my whanaunga over there, Tau Henare, that teachers\u2019 colleges should be training teachers in skills such as Te K\u014Dtahitanga. It is a fantastic programme; he is right. [Interruption] It is being done. The principles of Te K\u014Dtahitanga are being taught in training colleges at the moment. But the big problem is that a number of teachers who have been teaching for 20 or 30 years have not yet had that experience. They need to be trained. They need professional development to be invested in them. Teachers who have been teaching for 20 or 30 years will not have had the benefit of Te K\u014Dtahitanga. It is important that we understand that. That is why professional development is the way forward. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000462\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EIf we are going to solve the problem of M\u0101ori underachievement, we should not shift the problem on to universities. One of the problems in trying to engage M\u0101ori kids in schools is that they do not like being lectured to. They do not like what we call \u201Ctalk and chalk\u201D. Yet Dr Sharples said today that we should move the kids to university, so that instead of being in a class of 25, or whatever, they can be in a class of 500. They will have a lecturer at the front of the lecture theatre whom they can see with binoculars, who will definitely \u201Ctalk and chalk\u201D to them, and who will basically turn them off. That is the pedagogy that turns kids off. It is very disappointing to see that professional development has been cut, and also that adult education courses have been cut significantly. Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker Roy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022 data-id=\u00228867e7ac09624a9cb3a6865c8271d4a0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000463\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228867e7ac09624a9cb3a6865c8271d4a0\u0022\u003EJACQUI DEAN (National\u2014Waitaki):\u003C/span\u003E Here we are for the imprest supply debate and the second reading the Appropriation (2008/09 Supplementary Estimates) Bill, talking about a Budget that, in effect, is tidying up after 9 years of a Labour Government, 9 years of Labour mismanagement, with us, the National Government, not only having to deal with the effects of a worldwide economic downtown but also having to spend a lot of time and energy dealing with the mess the Labour Government left behind it. One of the previous speakers this evening, Moana Mackey, who spoke after the dinner break, said it all. When Moana Mackey was speaking on contributions to the Cullen fund she said \u201CNow is the time that we should be investing\u201D. My question to Moana Mackey and members of the Labour Opposition, as we sit on a $7.7 billion deficit, is \u201CInvesting with what?\u201D. Moana Mackey\u2019s comment just goes to show that Labour does not understand the times. The economic times have passed Labour by. Once again, the National Government has been left to pick up the pieces after 9 years of good economic times, which Labour entirely failed to capitalise on. \u201CNow is the time that we should be investing\u201D, said Moana Mackey. Investing with what? I would love to hear the answer to that question. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000464\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EAnother previous speaker this evening and other contributions to this bill have raised with some bemusement the subject of the magnificent Budget initiative to invest $50 million over 3 years in a regional cycleway. What a fantastic initiative on behalf of a National Government the cycleway is! I will tell members why the national cycleway is a great investment. The Otago Central Rail Trail has invested $7 million into the Central Otago economy. Over 300 jobs have been created in Central Otago. Pubs that were dying are now back open again. Farmers who were struggling now have income coming into their farm operations through accommodation. People who were previously struggling and looking for work are now employed because of the cycleway. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000465\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003ELabour members do not understand. They do not understand that in provincial New Zealand 350 jobs are significant. An injection of outside money of $7 million is significant. The beauty of this cycleway strategy is that that will be replicated up and down the country. That is good news. But Labour does not like good news. It cannot cope with good news. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000466\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EThere are some good news stories in this Budget. I want to turn to those. This Budget is focused on jobs. In terms of the cycleway strategy, Labour members do not understand. They think there is one big-bang thing that will create jobs. They do not understand that a number of strategies are contained in this excellent Budget and that they are what will drive the recovery of the economy of this great country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000467\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EI will start with the excellent home insulation programme. The reason I want to start with that programme is that in the South Island we experience some pretty severe winters. I was in Cromwell yesterday. It was minus 6 degrees, then a shower of rain came at 7.30 in the morning and the roads turned to ice. I can tell members that people are cold in their homes in places like Cromwell, Ranfurly, Alexandra, and Invercargill. The South Island is cold in the winter. This home insulation programme is good news for the people of the South Island and, of course, for people all over New Zealand. So what is the programme? It is a campaign to fit homes that were built before the year 2000 with insulation and clean-heating devices, such as heat pumps and approved wood burners. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EAbout 180,000 households are eligible for grants of up to $1,800 regardless of income. This is good news. It is very good news for the people of the lower South Island. Of course, community services card holders will be eligible for grants of up to $3,000. This initiative starts on 1 July this year, and many, many people are inquiring about it. The best news of all is that it is fully costed and fully funded, unlike the rather pale imitation of an initiative that Labour pulled out in the dying days of its regime, which, as we know, was not funded at all. I move on to health, and this is another concern of the people down in the South Island. If people are not warm in their homes, if they do have good access to health services, they feel it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000469\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EThe Budget in 2009 includes an additional $3 billion of investment in health services. This is such good news. It includes $750 million in 2009-10. The intention of this is to improve the services of district health boards, and to meet population pressures. The population is growing in Central Otago. There will be 800 more health professionals to increase elective surgery capacity, and that is worth $70 million. The National Government will be improving maternity services. Once again, that is an area where many concerns were brought to me when I was in Opposition. Many concerns about maternity services and access to them were brought to me, particularly from people in rural areas. This initiative of $103.5 million will help to meet that need. That is great news for young women and their partners in places like Central Otago, east Otago, north Otago, and South Canterbury\u2014I could go on\u2014where there has been a level of concern about this. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000470\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EThere will be an upgrading of the health sector infrastructure, including a start to the construction of 20 new dedicated elective surgery theatres. That is good news for us in the south, and that is worth $245 million. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000471\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EThis Government is investing in health and education. There will be $1.68 billion over the years 2010-13 to improve facilities and to lift educational achievement. Our excellent Minister of Education, the Hon Anne Tolley, has been very strong on the need for us to improve on literacy and numeracy. So it is excellent news that from 1 July 2010 the National Government will expand the 20 hours\u2019 free early childhood education scheme to 5-year-olds; the scheme will also include playcentres and k\u014Dhanga reo. Many communities around my part of the country have playcentres only. They felt that they were missing out on the advantages of early childhood centres that had access to this funding. Now National is bringing them access to that funding, and that is good news. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000472\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EThere will be $36 million going towards helping students meet national standards in literacy and numeracy. Parents care about literacy and numeracy for their children. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000473\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EI could go on about the many, many Budget initiatives, but I want to close by saying that this is a good Budget for 2009. This Budget is designed to keep the economy going amidst some severe global turmoil. It is a wide-ranging Budget. It is focused on growth, and it is focused on jobs.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022 data-id=\u0022fe6d4928b0ed4049a76f0a87b7b48c7e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000474\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fe6d4928b0ed4049a76f0a87b7b48c7e\u0022\u003EDAVID BENNETT (National\u2014Hamilton East):\u003C/span\u003E As I follow on from that excellent speech, I have to say it is important that New Zealanders look at the history of the circumstances we are in at the moment. This is not a time when New Zealanders need a Government or a Parliament that is expressing wild views and desires. This is a time when New Zealanders need a Parliament that is realistic, pragmatic, and conservative. This is a time when some major economic issues are facing our country, our people, and the international community. It is not a time to make rash promises. It is not a time to say\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000475\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002279c52253cbf34bed81b9254440abd52a\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: That wasn\u2019t the National Party position before the election.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000476\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a6d355172bda43c192e7b6f7bb709694\u0022\u003EDAVID BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: This is not a time for that kind of rash talk from the Labour Party members. This is a time when we need to be out there and listening to the people, working out what is needed, and delivering it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000477\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EThis Budget is a pragmatic Budget. This Budget takes into account the economic circumstances we face as a country. This Budget has delivered a solution that has had international success, in that we had a credit upgrade within hours of this Budget being released. This Budget has shown that financial management in difficult times can be done in a way that maintains core services but, at the same time, is fiscally prudent. That is the balance that the New Zealand Government wanted, and the Minister of Finance, Bill English, deserves a big pat on the back for doing that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000478\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EOur compatriots across the ditch in Australia were not able to do that. Their Budget was far too optimistic, one could say, in regard to what they saw as their growth projections, and it did not go down as well in the international community as our Budget did. When people looked at our Budget from a distance, they said that it takes into account what is required to provide those core services to the New Zealand public while actually providing a direction for this country to get through the recession. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000479\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EThat balancing act is something the National Government can be very proud of achieving\u2014as can the parties that worked with National on this Budget. A lot of the smaller parties in this House came through and delivered for their communities but, at the same time, were part of a Budget that was rational and delivered to the whole country. I thank those parties for stepping up to the mark and being supportive. I am talking about parties like the M\u0101ori Party, the ACT Party, and United Future. They are all very successful members in terms of getting this Budget through so that we have a strong Budget for this country as it goes forward. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000480\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EThis Budget is not without sacrifices. We had to make a big sacrifice in regard to taxation, and we had to make a sacrifice in regard to superannuation. But the sacrifice in regard to taxation has, I think, been very much one that the New Zealand public has supported. When we go about among the public at the moment, they are aware that they could be losing their jobs tomorrow. That is the reality people face. Those who are in business are also aware that they are not making profits. These are very difficult times for New Zealanders out there, whether they are in business or are wage earners, and they wanted a Budget that took that into account. We did that. We looked beyond the political ideology that the Labour Party looked at. We looked at what was right for New Zealand in these circumstances, and we delivered that in this Budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000481\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EI turn now to superannuation. Labour Party members are going on about superannuation, but they forget that the best thing we can do to pay for superannuation is to have a strong economy going forward. There is no point in borrowing money to put on the New York Stock Exchange. I would like to see those Labour members go to their individual bank managers tomorrow and ask to borrow the value of their assets and to put them on a US stock exchange. I want to see those Labour members do that and then see how far they get kicked out those doors. The reality is that it is not prudent investment at this time. For this country to get in a better position economically, borrowing is not in its best interests. For New Zealanders going forward we can build a stronger economy and we can invest in infrastructure. We can make a strong country that will grow and therefore deliver the dividends to its citizens in the future. Those economic dividends will come through superannuation in time. But to get to that stage, we need to build that economic environment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000482\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EI applaud our team for doing that. I applaud them for taking into account those fundamental policy initiatives that we have been looking at maintaining, such as in education, in health, in law and order, and in infrastructure. But at the same time those members are delivering some economic rationale, which will build a strong economy for us to go forward as a country. When we look at the infrastructure, it is important to note that we have fulfilled many of our election promises around that in this Budget. There was a lot of talk about the broadband plan, the upgrading of schools, and the investments in transport. Those major infrastructural projects will not only deliver economic growth in the future but, in the meantime, they will deliver jobs for New Zealanders\u2014jobs that are very difficult to come by at this time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000483\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EThe National Government has delivered a Budget that delivers to people now and in the future. It is a sensible Budget; a Budget that New Zealanders can be proud of. It is a Budget that defines the political landscape. On this side of the House the political landscape is one of a listening Government that makes the best decisions in the current circumstances. On the other side of the House, what does one have? There is an Opposition party that wants to spend. It characterises itself as holier than thou while wanting to spend all the money that may be around. The fact is those members cannot justify what they are doing and saying. Imagine if they had actually written a Budget on the basis of what they were going to spend. What would the position of New Zealand be after a Labour Budget? It would be a shameful position. New Zealanders would be paying higher rates of interest on their mortgages. New Zealanders would see a lot of spending in areas that would not provide long-term returns for this country. New Zealanders would not have pride and respect for a Government that delivered a Budget that was important in the circumstances we face. I think that is important for New Zealanders to remember. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000484\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EAt the end of this Budget debate it is all right for the Labour members to say that we should have spent money here and we should have spent money there, but the reality is that the money is not there to spend. The New Zealand economy does not have the money that the Labour Party members are talking about. We have to be careful of how we spend money because every dollar counts at the moment. There is no room for rash promises. There is no room for taking money and spending it on political whims. There is no room for trying to buy votes as the Labour Party has constantly done. What we needed, and what we got, was a sensible Budget that takes into account our fiscal position, but delivers a future. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000485\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EI am very proud to be part of a National Government that has set its first Budget in stone and is creating a great fundamental base for us to build on, because not only are we building a structure that can go forward but we are doing it in a way that gives New Zealanders confidence in their Government. They are not seeing politicians making Budgets for political purposes. They are seeing a political party make Budgets in the best interests of this country. That is something that has been quite different from what one has seen in the past, and shows the contrast between us and the Labour Party. The previous Labour Government\u2019s Budgets have not been in the best interests of New Zealand. They have just been there for political expediency. Now, New Zealanders will see financial management that takes into account where this country is, where this country needs to go, and how this country will get there. That is why the investment in those key fundamentals is so important. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000486\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EWhen we look at the Labour Party, we see them try to provide this dream and this panacea of how things were with a Labour Budget. The reality is that Labour gave us our worst economic situation, more so than any other Western country. It provided us with a situation where we were in recession before most other countries, and it made expenditures on things like KiwiRail that were not in the best long-term interests of New Zealand. But the National Government has picked up on that. We have tried to do the best we can do in these circumstances. We have taken the power and made sure that, even though we were given a raw deal from the previous Government, we have delivered a Budget that will go forward into the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022c3f6d7228d51436e9f70bf366de7506e\u0022 name=\u0022division\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EA party vote was called for on the question, That the Appropriation (2008/09 Supplementary Estimates) Bill and the Imprest Supply (First for 2009/10) Bill be now read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 69\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 58; ACT New Zealand 5; M\u0101ori Party 5; United Future 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 52\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 42; Green Party 9; Progressive 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EBills read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000487\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002207748c4e88a04a018d5a09cefa0ced4f\u0022\u003EAppropriation (2008/09 Supplementary Estimates) Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000488\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022a37415999ccb4a5c9960092040100c13\u0022\u003EThird Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u0022e9e2e5657c3146a19cc29e0da7a25975\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000489\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e9e2e5657c3146a19cc29e0da7a25975\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the Appropriation (2008/09 Supplementary Estimates) Bill be now read a third time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000490\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EBill read a third time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000491\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ae42c2251b1146eb8cf80da30f785b57\u0022\u003EImprest Supply (First for 2009/10) Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000492\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00229db98180b2994b8093dc0b7c083f767e\u0022\u003EThird Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u0022620d8363d37242619e5dcc2ba94dad32\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000493\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022620d8363d37242619e5dcc2ba94dad32\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the Imprest Supply (First for 2009/10) Bill be now read a third time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000494\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003EBill read a third time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00222f4289ce53f84a038efd3625ca522aaf\u0022\u003EClimate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000496\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002282e7c98c208645db8c786b93932650fc\u0022\u003EFirst Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022 data-id=\u002236bd782227ae4cbb9b7d635bf8b19494\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000497\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002236bd782227ae4cbb9b7d635bf8b19494\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for Climate Change Issues):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be considered by the Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee, with an instruction that the committee report finally to the House on or before 26 June 2009, and that the committee have the authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting, except during oral questions, and during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House, and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House, despite Standing Orders 187 and 190(1)(b) and (c). \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000498\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EI will speak on the detail of the bill and why it is necessary, and then I will give a broader perspective around the very important issue of climate change and the Government\u2019s approach to it. But first I thank other parties for their consideration of the bill, and I thank the Business Committee for its agreement to allow it to progress quickly. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000499\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EThe bill has three parts around the reporting and the process issues for the forest sector under the Climate Change Response Act 2002. The first issue that the bill addresses is the requirement in the existing law that any deforestation during calendar year 2008 be reported and declared by 31 January 2009. This bill does not change the legal requirements that go with deforestation under the emissions trading scheme; it changes only the required reporting times by extending that date to 31 January 2010. The dates remain the same for reporting deforestation that occurs in this calendar year. We also made changes to the requirements to surrender units associated with that 2008 deforestation. This date has been put forward by 1 year, from the end of April 2010 to the end of April 2011. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000500\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EThe second change in this amendment bill is in respect of the application for exemptions for small forest lots of less than 50 hectares. The current Act requires that applications for exemptions be made to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry by 30 June 2009. The bill amends that with a provision that allows an Order in Council to set the date in future, relative to the progress in the report of the Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000501\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EThe third element of this bill is in respect of the publication of the forest allocation plan for pre-1990 forest owners. This allocation plan is a compensatory mechanism for forest owners who will be subject to deforestation liabilities under the emissions trading scheme. This has been quite a contentious area, and it was subject to many submissions at the review select committee. The bill defers the requirement for this forestry allocation plan from 30 June this year\u2014again, the date will be set by an Order in Council\u2014to a date that is appropriate after the select committee review has been completed and subsequent amendments to the emissions trading scheme have been brought back to the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000502\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EPart 2 contains some corrections to minor technical drafting errors that arose when the original legislation went through this Parliament under quite pressing time frames. The reason for changing time lines is quite straightforward to justify. The current review committee inquiry and the examination of the emissions trading scheme have absorbed a huge amount of energy and effort by many of those affected by the emissions trading scheme. There has been a particular focus on the forestry provisions of the scheme, and it is noteworthy that New Zealand is the first country in the world that is attempting to include forestry in such an emissions trading scheme. If the Government pressed participants to meet the compliance requirements of the existing law at the very time those instruments are being reviewed by the review committee, it would be unfair and it would send mixed signals. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EI have found that even Government agencies were not completely on time in reporting deforestation by 31 January this year. I am sure that many other forest owners\u2014thousands, I suspect\u2014will also be in non-compliance. The particular issue around the forestry allocation plan is that it would be nonsensical for the Government to continue to develop and consult on the detail of an allocation plan when such key issues as offset and other provisions around forestry participation in the emissions trading scheme are being openly debated. It would create confusion, and that is why the Government has not gone down that path. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000504\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EIt is highly unlikely that the thousands\u2014if not tens of thousands\u2014of small lot forest landowners are aware of their obligation to apply for an exemption by the end of this month. It would be unfair on foresters for this oversight to result in them being adversely affected, and that is why this bill sensibly provides for that date to be pushed out. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000505\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EIn bringing this bill to Parliament, I have consulted other parties. The Labour spokesperson on climate change, Charles Chauvel, has raised with me a preference that the two dates regarding forestry exemptions and the forestry allocation plan be firmly fixed at the end of June 2010 rather than be subject to an Order in Council. I understand and accept that that is quite a legitimate point, and the Government has agreed to support an amendment by Mr Chauvel to this effect. In exchange for the Government\u2019s support of that amendment the Opposition will support the timely passage of the bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000506\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003ESimilar concerns were raised by the Green Party. It also indicated a preference for fixed reporting and allocation plan dates. It is a pretty even toss as to whether a fixed date or a more flexible Order in Council mechanism is required, albeit I openly acknowledge that it puts more pressure on the Government to get on and resolve the details of a modified emissions trading scheme, and that is why the Government is happy to accept those. My expectation is that this change will be considered at the time this bill is referred to the special select committee. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000507\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EThe M\u0101ori Party has fairly raised with the Government the very substantive issue in respect of the interaction of forestry and the emissions trading scheme with the central North Island Treaty settlement, and with other Treaty settlement negotiations. The concern is that any changes in climate change policy in respect of forestry could adversely impact on the central North Island settlement. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000508\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EOn behalf of the Government I would like to make it plain that we are determined to see that settlement and other settlements progressed and implemented. We will ensure that such settlements are not disadvantaged by any substantive changes to the emissions trading scheme. In many respects the concerns that have been raised with me by the M\u0101ori Party reflect the growing economic muscle of M\u0101ori and their strong interest in the success of the New Zealand agricultural, forestry, and fishing industries. This in many ways connects with concerns that National has, and it requires a very careful balancing of New Zealand\u2019s economic and environmental interests. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000509\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EI also acknowledge that there are other Treaty settlements\u2014not just that of the central North Island\u2014where this issue needs to be managed carefully, and I am working closely with my colleague the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Chris Finlayson, to work those through. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000510\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EI emphasise that this is a relatively minor, technical bill. It simply deals with the reporting requirements and the allocation plan in the forestry sector, which is particularly important for New Zealand in respect of climate change. I thank other parties for their cooperative attitude on this issue. It bodes well for our being able to build a broader consensus around the bigger challenge of climate change policy and the emissions trading scheme. I acknowledge that the process for the advancement of the bill is a short process. The special select committee needs to ensure that the bill covers only those matters that I have raised, and that is why the shortened process is appropriate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000511\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EIn terms of the broader issue of climate change, this Parliament will need to deal with a more substantive emissions trading scheme amendment bill at the appropriate time when the select committee has completed its review. My expectation in terms of the time line is that the select committee will be able to report back to Parliament in August, and there will then be a substantive responsibility on the Government and on Parliament to progress a more substantive bill. I commend the bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022 data-id=\u0022269561500c694917a88916fd523c21df\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000512\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022269561500c694917a88916fd523c21df\u0022\u003ECHARLES CHAUVEL (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E As the Minister for Climate Change Issues has said, the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill seeks to do five things. First, it will amend the Climate Change Response Act 2002 to delay certain requirements applicable to the forestry sector under the existing emissions trading scheme. Secondly, it will amend section 168 of the Climate Change Response Act concerning the making of regulations so as to allow for dates for applications for exemption for landholdings of less than 50 hectares of pre-1990 forest land to be made by Order in Council. Thirdly, it will amend section 183(3) of the principal Act to remove the requirement for applications for exemption for landholdings of less than 50 hectares of pre-1990 forests to be made before 30 June 2009, and replace it with a requirement for such applications to be lodged by a date to be made by Order in Council. Fourthly, it will amend section 196 to defer the date by which 2008 deforestation must be notified, and alter the timing of the obligation to surrender the relevant New Zealand units. Finally, it will amend section 196 by inserting new section 196A, which will give the Minister the power to withdraw or suspend certain draft allocation plans.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000513\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003EAs the Minister for Climate Change Issues, the Hon Nick Smith, advised the House, he approached Opposition parties to consult over this amendment. Labour\u2019s reaction was that it would be less than desirable to allow the second and third changes that I referred to just now\u2014that is, the exemption for land holdings of less than 50 hectares of pre-1990 forest, and the requirement for lodgment to be dealt with by Order in Council. Our position is that it would be far better to have those matters dealt with by substantive legislation, with the amendment itself specifying dates by which these events must occur. If there has to be a delay, our preference is for a short delay, and we have suggested that it would be sensible for the date to be the end of June 2010. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000514\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003EThe Minister also advised me that it would be entirely feasible for the Government, relying on its support party and coalition arrangements, to simply pass the amendment bill through all stages in the House, but he was amenable to a request that there be a brief referral to a select committee. As a result, the bill will be the subject of some advice from officials before the select committee, at lunchtime on Thursday, I believe, prior to its coming back to the House for passage through its final stages next Tuesday, in time for the 30 June deadline up against which the Government has run. I will suggest the amendments I have outlined\u2014omitting the references to an Order in Council and replacing them with fixed dates\u2014at the select committee meeting. I have advised other parties, including the Greens, of this intention, and I understand that there is general support for following that approach. So that will be the Labour Party\u2019s approach to the amendment legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000515\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003EJust as the Minister took an opportunity to say a few words on the wider question of emissions trading, I will take a brief opportunity to do that as well. Labour members have said that we will support this legislation because the forestry sector has probably been one of the worst affected by the delays in the implementation of the emissions trading scheme. The House will know that the sector was effectively brought into the emissions trading scheme retrospectively when it came into force last year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000516\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003EObviously, with the staged bringing into force of the emissions trading scheme to all sectors and all gases\u2014which is the uniquely New Zealand approach to emissions trading\u2014the forestry sector was looking to be able to trade with other sectors as soon as they were brought into the scheme, notably the stationary energy sector on 1 January of next year. Unfortunately, Government policy has caused delay and doubt in the emissions trading and climate policy area. The decision to set up the Emissions Trading Review Committee and the conflicting statements made by Ministers about the future of climate change policy have cast that area into doubt and caused real difficulties, both internally and externally. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000517\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003EThe forestry sector has probably suffered more than any other from this doubt. There has been deforestation. We hear reports of 8 million seedlings rotting in the ground. It is unfortunate to have to subject the forestry sector to yet more delay, but if there has to be a delay\u2014and clearly there does, given the uncertainty around emissions trading and climate policy, and given that the select committee process will, as the Minister noted, possibly drag on into August, as far as a report-back date is concerned\u2014we might as well try to achieve some certainty for the sector as to date. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003EWe urgently need, in my view, to have agreement as to emissions trading policy. It is a shame that we could not have had that agreement under the previous administration, but, as is a matter of public record, the Labour Party has offered to have talks with the Government about whether we can achieve bipartisan certainty on the wider questions concerned. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000519\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003EAs I said to the Minister, Labour will approach that task in good faith, and I hope he acknowledges that so far we have done so. We do so with a desire to achieve a system that will be durable and in the best interests of not only New Zealand industry but also the New Zealand environment. We do not see the interests of industry and the environment as competing with each other. We see the future for New Zealand as one that really lives the \u201C100% Pure New Zealand\u201D brand. We see a future where we have an environment that not only has integrity but uses integrity in a meaningful way concerning the products we sell overseas, particularly in terms of food products and the tourism destinations we market overseas. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000520\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003EWhen we talk about the \u201C100% Pure New Zealand\u201D brand, it should be something that people overseas can have some real reassurance about. Those people will know that we really mean it, rather than just paying lip service to it. If we are to do that, then we need to put a price on carbon at the margin. That is the only way, as everybody recognises, we will get meaningful behaviour change. It is the only way, for example, we will avoid continued conversions of marginal land to dairying as opposed to forestry or other uses that are much more in the national interest, and it is the only way we will be able to restore our international credibility as a country that takes these matters seriously. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000521\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003EAlthough we are a small emitter by global standards, our per capita emissions are high, and growing, and we are seen as a country that ought not to follow other countries but should show a bit of a lead on this issue. In fact, even if we act now internationally, it would not be as if we were taking a huge lead, given the positions of Europe, the positions that are developing in Australia, and the positions that are developing in the United States. By the time we get to Copenhagen at the end of the year, we will, hopefully, have armed our delegation with meaningful legislation, and, hopefully, an emissions trading scheme will be in force, with some good complementary measures and with a good target for emissions reductions, not only by 2050 but also by 2020. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000522\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003EThe world will then be able to see that the last few months in New Zealand were just a hiccup, an unfortunate little pause for a cup of tea, and we will be able to really get on and give some certainty not only to business but also to other stakeholders. We will be able to tell them that we really mean what we say when it comes to climate change policy. Certainly, that is the aim of the Opposition in offering the opportunity for talks to the National Government. We regret the need to do it. We regret that it could not have been done 12 months ago, but we hope that we can reach a durable settlement and have an emissions trading scheme that has credibility. That will be our aim. Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220bfa5b74-8933-458a-99d4-bbd75d9898d0\u0022 data-id=\u00229da0831c177c4175a570bddc59c213c7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000523\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bfa5b74-8933-458a-99d4-bbd75d9898d0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229da0831c177c4175a570bddc59c213c7\u0022\u003ECHRIS AUCHINVOLE (National\u2014West Coast - Tasman):\u003C/span\u003E It is a pleasure to follow the Hon Dr Nick Smith, who introduced the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill, and my parliamentary colleague Charles Chauvel, who spoke with, I thought, a most balanced approach, and spoke about having talks between the parties to get this particular situation right. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000524\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bfa5b74-8933-458a-99d4-bbd75d9898d0\u0022\u003ENational believes that New Zealand is a responsible international citizen that, as a country that values its clean, green environment, must act to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. I do not think that there is argument over that point. This bill amends the Climate Change Response Act 2002 to delay certain requirements applicable to the forestry sector under the New Zealand emissions trading scheme. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000525\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bfa5b74-8933-458a-99d4-bbd75d9898d0\u0022\u003ETo background the bill, I say that National, as part of its supply and confidence agreement with the ACT Party, established a special select committee, the Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee, to review aspects of the existing climate change policy. The review has taken longer than planned because, I understand, the committee has been so thorough in its approach. The committee has now indicated that it will report back at the end of July or in early August. As a result, the sector with pre-1990 forest land would have to meet legal obligations before the completion of the final allocation plan for the sector. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000526\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bfa5b74-8933-458a-99d4-bbd75d9898d0\u0022\u003ETo those who are not familiar with the minutiae of this particular legislation, it probably sounds a little bit complex, but it is not really. Under the Climate Change Response Act 2002, the Minister has a duty to issue a final allocation plan for the pre-1990 forest land before 30 June 2009. The Government wishes to consider introducing offsetting or another mechanism for the pre-1990 forest land. To finalise this policy and ensure compliance, the 30 June 2009 date in the Act has to be changed. So this is really a technical bill to keep everything in sync. The 30 June 2009 date is intended to be replaced by an Order in Council, with 1 July 2010 a likely date. But in introducing the bill, of course, the Minister for Climate Change Issues spoke of different means of achieving that change. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000527\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bfa5b74-8933-458a-99d4-bbd75d9898d0\u0022\u003EOf the roughly 1.8 million hectares of forest in New Zealand about 650,000 hectares were planted pre-1990. Under Kyoto, forests planted from 1 January 1990 accrue carbon credits, which have a value. Forests planted before 1990 do not accrue carbon credits, but there are liabilities when the trees are cut down. Those liabilities will fall on the landowner. A lot of this land is Crown land\u2014public land\u2014and some of it is part of the settlement under the Treaty of Waitangi. Landowners of pre-1990 forests that are less than 50 hectares can apply for an extension under the emissions trading scheme, but there is a risk that these landowners will not meet the 30 June 2009 deadline. This amending legislation will ensure adequate levels of compliance. That is the purpose of the bill. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u002241eb686da854430094d9b22abe98ce35\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000528\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002241eb686da854430094d9b22abe98ce35\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I rise to speak to the first reading of the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill. I think it behoves me to record a little bit of the history of why we have got to where we are. You know, there has been ongoing debate round the world for a couple of decades now as to whether climate change is real. We in the Labour Government, supported by the Greens, made up our minds some time ago that there was enough compelling evidence to require us as policymakers to no longer sit on the fence but to actually do something to reduce emissions. Scientists are telling us that unless we do something to reduce emissions the future of our world is pretty dire. The consequences are not just modest changes to the way we live; they are dramatic and catastrophic changes for many species. They include the mass extinction of plants, of animals, and of aquatic communities as a consequence of the changing acidification of the oceans; changes in the places where food can be grown; and the increasing desertification of parts of Africa, Asia, including food-producing parts of China, and, of course, closer to home, Australia. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000529\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EIn addition, a number of people will be made homeless by rising sea levels. I do not know whether members have ever seen photos of the capital of the Maldives, which sits on an island just 1 metre above sea level. The whole capital city of high-rise buildings would be wiped out by a 1 metre rise in the sea level. Thirty million people in Bangladesh would have to move if the sea level rose by 1 metre.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000530\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220fc05f1c-47b0-4fb0-8298-2f347adae4e3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229b929ab4bbd04eee87acdb46423f4268\u0022\u003EHon Sir Roger Douglas\u003C/span\u003E: I was there 20 years ago and it was like that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000531\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d9bf0b0a15cf49e284f576114655d042\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: I say to Sir Roger that since World War II more people have died as a consequence of flooding of Bangladesh at current sea levels than as a consequence of the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan. Thirty million people on the move in Bangladesh would have very real consequences. It could cause war, it could cause civil conflict throughout Asia, and it could well have knock-on effects through our own region. These are very, very serious consequences. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000532\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EIt is easy to talk about these issues then do nothing about them. In this country we have had a long debate on how we should get the right economic signals into our economy in order to reduce emissions. We have to encourage businesses to go in the right direction rather than increase their emissions. New Zealand has an obligation under the UN agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, to take financial responsibility for emissions above 1990 levels. That already costs our country. How do we improve the environment by reducing emissions, and also minimise the costs of the bill under that international treaty? Well, a central part of doing that is the pricing of emissions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000533\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EThere are three ways that we can price emissions. We can force a cost upon people through regulatory action\u2014try to regulate every little area where emissions occur. That is quite an inefficient way to do it, but it is better than doing nothing. Alternatively, we can price emissions in one of two ways: we can have a carbon tax, which is what the Labour Government, supported by the Greens, originally proposed, or we can proceed with an emissions trading scheme. In reality, those instruments are not very different; they both cause industry to pay for the cost of increases in emissions, and they both reward it for any conduct that reduces its emissions. They change behaviour by changing prices. Sir Roger Douglas is always saying to Parliament that we should price things in order for people to value them, not to waste them, and not to do the wrong thing. There is something in that argument, especially around the environment. If we do not price environmental externalities into the commercial contract, they are largely ignored by those who are making the commercial decision. Therefore, they build another gas-fired power station rather than a renewable power station, and they increase emissions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000534\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EWhat happens with emissions pricing is that throughout the economy we are changing the relative price of goods and services to make low emissions goods cheaper, and higher emissions goods more expensive. It is as simple as that; it really is that simple. At the margin, someone buys a wooden ladder because it is relatively cheaper than an aluminium ladder. Conversely, somewhere else in the economy, it becomes cheaper to run an aluminium car, because it is lighter than a steel car, which is heavier and uses more fuel. All of those little changes of behaviour make a difference and the world\u2019s emissions go down instead of up. It is not the only thing that needs to be done, but it is a very important thing to do.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000535\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EWe already have legislation in New Zealand to that effect. We have the emissions trading Act, which is already in law. After a number of false starts on the carbon tax and very, very difficult politics around the emissions trading scheme, Parliament finally passed legislation last year that is essentially sound. No doubt there are line calls in it where the National Government might have a different view from the Green Party, which might have a different view from the Labour Party, but, essentially, it is sound legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000536\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EThe National Government came to power with a promise to change it. It said it was not going to delay things; it was going to be a quick change. Well, history already shows that that was wrong; the select committee process continues, and here we are now with legislation delaying the implementation of the emissions trading scheme in the forestry sector. We in Labour want to, if possible, reach consensus with National on this without sacrificing our bottom line principles as to what is needed for an effective scheme, but it saddens us that we have to delay some of these dates, and that cannot go without comment. On the positive side, I thank the Minister for Climate Change Issues for agreeing to the amendments suggested by Charles Chauvel. Rather than leaving open what the future dates are, he is specifying an end date. With that amendment, we can support this legislation as we try to find common ground\u2014if we are able to\u2014with National on amendments to the scheme that will not change its fundamental efficacy but might make it more durable for the future. No doubt there are some things that can be done better; everything can be second-guessed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000537\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EOne point I would also make is that during the debate on the primary legislation\u2014the emissions trading scheme legislation\u2014we had National members saying it was rushed legislation, it was shonky legislation, and lots of technical amendments were required. Well, I have the original Act here. It is 224 pages long; it is long and technical legislation on which the select committee, officials, the Government, and support parties laboured long and hard. The technical amendments to the existing legislation\u2014the 224 pages of the original legislation\u2014that the Government has so far identified are in Part 2 of this bill, under the title \u201CMiscellaneous technical amendments\u201D. How long do members think those amendments are? They are less than a page long; they comprise clauses 8, 9, 10, and 11. The legislation is already in good shape. It was not fundamentally flawed as the Opposition in the last Parliament pretended it was, and it remains a very good starting point for the debate that we are now having.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000538\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EI cannot say it is with pleasure that Labour members consider this amendment bill, but I do think that some progress has been made towards finding consensus. I think it is nonsense when people say New Zealand is leading the world in its response to emissions management. We are not. A lot of countries are doing better than us. We have turned the corner on renewable electricity. Last quarter we had 74 percent renewable electricity. That is the highest percentage of renewables that we have had for about a decade. We have turned the corner with more wind and geothermal generation being built. We do not need much more hydro generation, but wind and geothermal generation will push the percentage climb towards the target set by the previous Government of 90 percent renewable energy by 2025.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000539\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EWe have also made progress on public transport. It saddens me to see that under the current Government we are starting to go back, with the reprioritisation of roads, away from public transport. None the less, we are still in a better position than we were previously. There is some unfinished business with complementary measures, and I urge the Minister to look at the issue of efficiency rules for cars coming into the country. Once a car comes into the country it is used till the end of its useful life. It is a valuable commodity, and someone will run it. If an inefficient vehicle is brought into the country, it not only costs the world in terms of greenhouse gas emissions but it causes the country a cost in respect of wasted energy. It is an area where I think the Treasury modelling is flawed. It focuses only on the cost of emissions and does not look at the efficiency benefits for the economy of an improved, more efficient fleet. It is an area where New Zealand could improve its own wealth by reducing waste on its roads whilst at the same times reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EIn agriculture some good work is being done, but there needs to be more work. Most members on both sides of the House agree that science will play an important part, but a change in mindset amongst many in the agricultural community is needed to implement change in their practices in order to minimise their emissions. The Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading) Amendment Act 2008 is a good foundation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022 data-id=\u0022a061bccbc5bc4c51917a4a51b25af234\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000541\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a061bccbc5bc4c51917a4a51b25af234\u0022\u003EJEANETTE FITZSIMONS (Green):\u003C/span\u003E The Government has come to Parliament tonight to ask Parliament for a \u201Cget out of jail free\u201D card. Some might call it a technical \u201Cget out of jail free\u201D card, as Chris Auchinvole did, but nevertheless that is what it is. The Government has done that because unless Parliament agrees to suspend the Standing Orders on the amount of time it takes to put a bill through Parliament, next Tuesday the Government will be in breach of the law.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000542\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EThe Climate Change Response Act that we are referring to was passed in August last year. Since then there have been 10 months for officials to get things right. It is an Act that relies on allocation plans and regulations to have any substance. That was one of my main criticisms of it last year\u2014that we were, essentially, passing a bit of a shell that left a lot of the really tricky stuff to the officials to do through regulations and not through Parliament. Without those regulations, without those allocation plans, the law can have no effect. But the obligations and the entitlements for forestry began in January 2008. Forestry has been in the emissions trading scheme for 18 months. One would think that in 17 months the foresters could have got their act together and reported their deforestation, as the Act requires them to do, except that calculating deforestation carbon losses is a fiendishly difficult, technical thing to do, and it does not sound as though the officials have been particularly active in helping them so far, because climate change policy has been in a complete mess. Moreover, there have been 10 months since the Act was passed for the Government to develop its allocation plans for forestry, and it does not appear that anything has been done there yet, either, and that is where the Government will be in breach on Tuesday, if we do not pass this law. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000543\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EIn December last year the new Prime Minister came in and said he was putting the emissions trading scheme on hold. I asked a number of questions in Parliament about how the Prime Minister could do that, when it is the law, without passing legislation. It then became apparent that it was not being put on hold, because forestry would stay in the emissions trading scheme and nothing else would come in until next year. So the Government set up a special committee to review the emissions trading scheme, except, in this rather Kafkaesque way, the committee was given very detailed terms of reference, which asked it to do virtually everything one could think of except review the emissions trading scheme. It was given a wide range of issues to inquire into, but the Act that it was meant to be reviewing was never mentioned and the task of reviewing it was never mentioned. Nevertheless, everybody assumes that we are reviewing the emissions trading scheme, and, no doubt, we will do some of that, but not because we have been asked to; we will do it just because it appears to be the most useful job at hand at the moment. I have often suspected that the committee that we are all working very hard on is actually a bit of an excuse to park the issue until the Government has decided what it wants to do next.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000544\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EDuring all of this time foresters have been subjected to extreme uncertainty. Last year, with the Act in place and apparent certainty, they ordered some 7 million seedlings, enough to plant some 7,000 hectares, and they are being ploughed in this winter because nobody is planting them, because nobody knows what the rules are going to be. When the Prime Minister made his initial announcement they started to wonder whether they would even get credits for the last year. The answer eventually came that, yes, they would get credits for carbon sequestered since January 2008, but actually they will not be worth anything for a while yet, because nobody has any obligations to buy any carbon credits, nobody is buying any carbon credits, so the foresters cannot, with one or two minor exceptions, sell their credits to anyone at the moment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000545\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EAfter 7 months the Government is about to be in breach of the law, and 1 week before that breach it recognises that and brings us amending legislation. Forestry is in breach of the law already over its reporting of deforestation, and everybody is in a mess because the rules are still in complete flux and there is masses of doubt about what is going to happen. It would be somewhat tempting, as a small Opposition party, to say to the Government \u201CWell, stew in your own juice.\u201D But, actually, forestry needs certainty, so we will not do that. We will support this legislation. Last week I met with the Minister for Climate Change Issues, Nick Smith, and pointed out that we could not support completely open-ended replacement dates. It turns out that that was the same thing that the Labour Party had told the Minister, so we all have an agreement that that will be remedied at the select committee on Thursday. On that basis we will support the leave that the Minister is seeking and we will support the legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000546\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EIn my last few minutes I want to point out that there is worse coming up on the issue of the emissions trading scheme. This is only the first \u201Cget out of jail free\u201D card, because on 1 January next year the stationary energy sector comes into the emissions trading scheme. That sector includes the big industrials like cement, steel, and aluminium, which are totally relying on free credits for up to some 90 percent of their emissions in order to cope with the fact that their overseas trading competitors do not face a price on carbon. There is no allocation plan for how they get their free credits or how many they should get. Without that allocation plan they will, on 1 January, be liable for 100 percent of their carbon emissions, and if that state of affairs were to persist, a number of them would fall over and close down.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000547\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003ESo why do we not have an allocation plan for the stationary energy sector? Because the Government has not decided yet what obligations the stationary energy sector will have, how they will mesh with all of the other rules they have, and on what basis they will be allocated. That is not something that can be done in a hurry, because, under the law as it stands, those allocation plans have to come to Parliament. It is not something that can be done over a weekend. They are fiendishly complicated. In fact, the most politically divisive and difficult part of the whole emissions trading scheme system is developing those allocation plans. We know the retinue of lobby groups that will be besieging the Minister and the officials once it is known that those allocation plans are under construction, because it is the same retinue of lobbyists that the select committee saw all of last year, that the select committee has just seen all over again this year, and that we will no doubt see for the third time when the Government brings amending legislation to the House later this year\u2014if in fact it does.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000548\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EThe Government has a huge conundrum on its hands there, because I predict that before 1 January next year the Minister will be back with another little amending bill to delay the coming into force of the energy sector. I have to remind folks that by the middle of next year we will be halfway through the Kyoto period. We are already 1\u00BD years into that 5-year period, and, so far, nobody other than poor deforesting foresters faces any obligation at all to pay for any part of their emissions. So for this period, 2008-12, the taxpayer will still carry the main bulk of the liability\u2014and this is a Government that wants to bring down taxes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000549\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003EIt has been indicated a number of times that the Government would really like to align New Zealand with Australia. Well, tonight I want to celebrate one hero in Australia, who is a climate change denier. Members probably did not expect to hear me say that, but I tell them there is one independent senator who does not believe in climate change; he thinks the effects are all caused by solar flares, or whatever\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000550\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002259e9efe2-6dea-4eeb-869a-ef5b3e48a5b5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225b023eb2393843a7ad3b6a7039397404\u0022\u003ECharles Chauvel\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s this week.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000551\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a9766dbe3f99453c8b621e877f8eb9ce\u0022\u003EJEANETTE FITZSIMONS\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014well, all right; this week\u2014and who is not going to vote for the Rudd Government\u2019s proposed carbon reduction plan. Therefore the Government will be a vote short and the plan will not go through. Even the Green Party over there, which strongly supports carbon reduction, and which supports emissions trading if they can get the rules right, does not support the pathetically weak scheme that the Australians have. So there will be no Australia scheme for New Zealand to align to. We need to get on and make our own, and make it work. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022 data-id=\u002270d08f62d262488b8000923b270861c3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000552\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002270d08f62d262488b8000923b270861c3\u0022\u003EHon RODNEY HIDE (Leader\u2014ACT):\u003C/span\u003E I rise on behalf of the ACT Party to support this legislation, but I guess that my position could not be further away from where Jeanette Fitzsimons left the debate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000553\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e9d03c4162d44ef18b031af0dfe5c861\u0022\u003EJeanette Fitzsimons\u003C/span\u003E: Proud to be different.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000554\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227c818d34aa3d4b4c8b35038b7539c30e\u0022\u003EHon RODNEY HIDE\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, we are proudly different. I think that John Key is providing good leadership on this issue by saying that we should be aligning with Australia, and I would like to see the Minister for Climate Change Issues provide the road map for New Zealand, by stating how he intends to align New Zealand\u2019s response to climate change with that of Australia. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000555\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209278070-a54a-41e9-8a27-45166301277e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022559c4cc69a6447fb98beae07fd3af760\u0022\u003EJeanette Fitzsimons\u003C/span\u003E: There isn\u2019t one.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000556\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a2b39ea01e5b4fd5b6cd799537f02b6c\u0022\u003EHon RODNEY HIDE\u003C/span\u003E: Well, that is why we in the ACT Party are somewhat confused. It seems to me that we are in a situation of some considerable adhockery, where we have a statement from the Government saying that it wants to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, from what they were in 1990, which I think Jeanette Fitzsimons would agree with me is a very ambitious goal and would probably flatten the New Zealand economy, but we do not see a plan to achieve it. Then we have the proposal that we are going to align with Australia and not get ahead of Australia. Yet we have the legislation that was left to us by the previous Government, and the previous Government\u2019s ambition was to lead the world on this issue. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000557\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003EIn order to provide some certitude for people in New Zealand, whatever side of the argument they are on, we need to know where the policy is on climate change. What is this Government\u2019s policy, and what is its plan? It seems to me that what we have now is not satisfactory, according to the Government, because the present legislation does nothing to align us with Australia. We are having now a series of ad hoc decisions, whereby as sector groups line up to come up, we are rushing a bit of legislation through in order to push actions out into the future. Well, where is the certainty or certitude in that? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000558\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003EI suggest that, yes, we have the select committee process reporting back, and that, yes, we have a cost benefit under way, but we need to be providing some certainty and certitude, and this legislation does nothing to provide that. I suggest that we should be putting the introduction of the emissions trading scheme on hold until we actually work out what the policy of this Government and this country on climate change will be. Otherwise, we will be left either with the mess the Labour Government left us or with a series of ad hoc reversals, which I have to say are better than the status quo. But surely the Government can do better than that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000559\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003EI look to the Minister in charge of the bill and tell him that the ACT Party stands here to welcome anything, and is willing to work on anything, that will stop the nonsense of the huge cost of the emissions trading scheme to the New Zealand people and the New Zealand economy, and especially anything that will stop the devastating impact it will have on our agriculture, for no good reason. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000560\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003EThe idea that New Zealand rushing ahead of the rest of the world is somehow good policy or good for the world is, frankly, nuts. The idea that that is good for New Zealand is nuts. The idea that we should line up with Australia has some logic to it, but I ask where the plan is. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022 data-id=\u00226e7b3880fb4d4dcea80905bb2dea3c68\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000561\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226e7b3880fb4d4dcea80905bb2dea3c68\u0022\u003ETE URUROA FLAVELL (M\u0101ori Party\u2014Waiariki):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. Kia ora t\u0101tou katoa e te Whare, \u0101, kia ora t\u0101tou kua tae mai i t\u0113nei p\u014D. I te \u0101huatanga o ng\u0101 k\u014Drero i runga i \u014D t\u0101tou marae, ko t\u0101ku i te tuatahi he tuku poroporoaki ki a koe e W\u012Bha, ki a koe Maxine. K\u014Drua tahi kua ngaro atu i te tirohanga kanohi, ng\u0101 pou o te reo M\u0101ori i te w\u0101 i a k\u014Drua. Ko t\u0113tahi i eke ki te \u0101huatanga o te kuia, ko t\u0113tahi he tamariki tonu. Hoi an\u014D, ahakoa p\u0113hea, k\u014Drua tahi haere. Whakangaro atu i te tirohanga kanohi me te m\u014Dhio an\u014D hoki, kua tutuki pai ng\u0101 \u0101huatanga i te w\u0101 i a koutou, m\u014D te aha? M\u014D te painga o t\u014D t\u0101tou reo.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000562\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003E[An interpretation in English was given to the House.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000563\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003E[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Greetings to us all, the House, and to those present tonight. With due respect to speeches on our marae, the first thing for me to do is to farewell you, W\u012Bha, and you as well, Maxine, both of you pillars of the M\u0101ori language in your time. One lived to an advanced age, the other was still in the prime of life. And so, regardless, I say to you both, farewell. Disappear from view, knowing full well that what you set out to do in your time has been achieved. And for what purpose? To advance our language.] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000564\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EThis last week, M\u0101oridom lost two key figures who advanced te reo M\u0101ori: W\u012Bha Malcolm\u2014I think that was her name at the time of her passing\u2014and Maxine Tamih\u014Dri, who was well on in age. Both were doyennes of M\u0101ori language, and that has some influence in respect of discussion about the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill in the sense that the context of the M\u0101ori world around us is something they knew in their time. They were promoters of the notion that we as tangata whenua use te reo M\u0101ori to express our world view. Our environment, our weather system, and our natural world are woven throughout all the waiata they used in order to teach about our stories, and those elements help to guide our daily lives. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000565\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003ETo help the House understand that, one example of how we use te reo M\u0101ori to express that notion of the environment being intertwined with us as a people is to look at this whakatauk\u012B: \u201CN\u0101u i whakatakoto i t\u014D h\u012Bnaki i te wai t\u0101wawarua, anei te waituhi ka taha.\u201D Loosely interpreted, the message is that the eel pot should be set during the main flood after all of the smaller eels have passed through, leaving the bigger ones to follow. That whakatauk\u012B is saying that to be effective, timing is everything. I have been thinking about that simple message as we have looked into the forestry sector amendments as they apply to the New Zealand emissions trading scheme. In essence, the key issue in this slim little bill is to delay requirements relevant to the forestry sector under the emissions trading scheme, as other speakers have alluded to. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000566\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EThe M\u0101ori Party has been well served on the Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee by our member for Te Tai Tokerau, Rahui Katene. Ms Katene, in turn, appreciated the excellent advice that came forward from nearly 30 submissions from M\u0101ori trusts, corporations, and r\u016Bnanga. It goes without saying that we are mindful of the advice from the Climate Change Iwi Leadership Group people, including Api M\u0101huika of Ng\u0101ti Porou, Timi te Heuheu of Ng\u0101ti T\u016Bwharetoa, Mark Solomon of Ng\u0101i Tahu, and other iwi actively engaged in the emissions trading scheme. The group supported the delay. Ng\u0101i Tahu are comfortable with the delay, and I understand that the Central North Island Iwi Collective have also passed a resolution supporting the delay on the basis that they have been given assurances that their position would be no worse. This is an excellent and important qualifier, with the support being conditional on the basis that iwi will not be in a worse position. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000567\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EAs other speakers have mentioned, the current law under the Climate Change Response Act requires foresters to have reported any deforestation during the 2008 year by 31 January 2009, and to apply for exemptions for small forest blocks by 30 June 2009. Without putting too fine a point on it, that is next Tuesday. Those dates are unreasonable given the process still in train of the committee review and the associated lack of public awareness of these requirements. Therefore, we recognise that without this bill, many forest owners would unknowingly find themselves in breach of the law or adversely affected by it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000568\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EAlthough it is a very complex picture, it seems that iwi with forest interests support the delay. We respect their views. Some of the inherent complexity can be understood by looking at the Central North Island Iwi Collective in a little bit more detail. We know that there is likely to be a split view across different iwi with forestry interests depending on whether they supported the emissions trading scheme in the first place, but there are other layers to the complexity. Reaction to this bill may depend on whether an iwi is a part of the Central North Island settlement group, whether they want to settle or not, or whether, like Ng\u0101ti T\u016Bwharetoa, they have forest lands included in the Central North Island settlement and extensive forest estates outside of it. It is a complex picture and it is vital that we get it right, not hurry for the sake of political expediency. We must take care to consider how we meet the Kyoto obligations and how we can protect the climatic systems from excess carbon emissions, while also considering the adjustments required specifically to achieve fair and equitable provisions for the forest sector. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000569\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EThe House has the benefit of some very strongly expressed views from M\u0101ori to assist it in how we can improve upon the legislation. There was the consistent recommendation that there should be a clause included in the bill that establishes a bottom-line position, namely: \u201CNothing in this Act shall be inconsistent with Te Tiriti o Waitangi.\u201D The Federation of M\u0101ori Authorities went so far as to say that the bill breaches the Treaty in failing to uphold rangatiratanga, while Morikaunui Incorporation said that the bill as drafted conflicts with the principles and provisions of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993. The sticking point is the bill imposes an encumbrance over M\u0101ori land that is, effectively, an alienation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EPerhaps one of the clearest explanations of the issues related to this bill comes from the submission from Te R\u016Bnanga o Ng\u0101i Tahu. Their concern was chiefly to do with their land; they considered it to be the most suitable for conversion to another commercial use. Ng\u0101i Tahu purchased this land before 2002, when the Government announced its intention to introduce some form of deforestation controls. Ng\u0101i Tahu were therefore unable to take advantage of the 2002-08 period to deforest key areas of land, as many owners of the pre-1990 forests have done. In fact, they concluded that Ng\u0101i Tahu would suffer a disproportionate and significant liability as a result. The financial costs for Ng\u0101i Tahu would be huge in scope. It was the thinking of Te R\u016Bnanga o Ng\u0101i Tahu that land returned as a part of a Treaty settlement that falls into those categories should be excluded. Ng\u0101ti Awa of the Whakat\u0101ne area, meanwhile, believed that those iwi in the same position as them should be eligible for a one-off adjustment to choose how they wish to use their lands in the future, without reference to the emissions trading scheme. Such an option would have meant that they can make the choice that they originally envisaged they would have when they purchased the forest, and therefore be required to comply with the emissions trading scheme. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000571\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EI described the context of this bill as complex. The more one reads through the submissions and appreciates the range of issues emerging from it, it becomes all the more evident that there is a great deal more to this bill than the five pages initially indicate. Wairongomai Incorporation put it bluntly: \u201CThe bill is inequitable and has disproportionate negative effects on M\u0101ori.\u201D It was their position that the Crown had assumed to itself the ownership, allocation, and management of the carbon allocation resource. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000572\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EI return to the advice from the Federation of M\u0101ori Authorities. The federation told the select committee that M\u0101ori know full well the need for climate change policy, that tangata whenua are fully in support of the focus on behaviour change to mitigate human impacts on the climate, and that that was in line with their kaupapa of kaitiakitanga\u2014the capacity to nurture the spiritual, cultural, and environmental protection of Te Ao M\u0101rama. That is taken for granted. But when we get to this bill, what we see is significant inequality of treatment of M\u0101ori. By locking M\u0101ori lands into this regime and legislating how M\u0101ori are to use their lands, the bill perpetrates a system of inequalities that I am sure the Minister for Climate Change Issues will consider as the bill moves through its various stages. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000573\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EFinally, the M\u0101ori Party has supported the call from many r\u016Bnanga, iwi, and incorporations for the Treaty of Waitangi clause to be added to the bill, and the call for amendments to protect the integrity and durability of the settlement. Now we listen again to the views of M\u0101ori, who are saying that they should support the call to delay, and, therefore, that will be our vote for this first reading of the bill. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022 data-id=\u0022a182b5353e134418bd8b5f3fcfb4baca\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000574\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a182b5353e134418bd8b5f3fcfb4baca\u0022\u003ENICKY WAGNER (National):\u003C/span\u003E I rise to support the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill. The Government is introducing this bill to deal with technical aspects of the timing of the emissions trading scheme, as it relates to forestry. The reason we are proposing this bill is that the special Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee is still debating the issues, and the process will not be completed before 30 June. The committee will report back in late July or early August, so unless we amend the law now, before 30 June, many forest owners may find themselves acting in breach of the law and they may be adversely affected. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000575\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003EIt does not make sense for the Government to publish an allocation plan by 30 June, when issues surrounding forestry are still in debate. The review committee has heard many and detailed submissions from the forestry sector, and is still considering the final shape of the emissions trading scheme for forestry. It is also considering the introduction of offsetting, or another mechanism, for pre-1990 forests. Getting the inclusion of forestry into an emissions trading scheme is a complex process. New Zealand is the first country to attempt it, so we must take our time and we must do the work to get it right. We are well aware of the enormous financial and environmental importance of forestry to New Zealand and to our economy, and we understand that these decisions are critical for foresters. Of course, we are working towards the substantive climate change amendment legislation later in the year, and this is where the final shape of the forestry scheme will be spelt out. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000576\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003ENew Zealand is a country that values its clean, green brand. Most New Zealanders identify closely with the natural environment, and understand that we must be responsible international citizens when it comes to dealing with climate change and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. Our two biggest industries, agriculture and tourism, rely heavily on the quality of our natural environment. Tourists come to see our beautiful clean, green country and when we sell our agricultural products overseas, food safety is of the utmost importance. In doing good for the environment, we do good for our economy as well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000577\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003ESo the Government and New Zealanders are committed to making emissions reductions, but we want to reduce emissions in ways that result in the least cost to society and the economy. The Bluegreens, the environmentalists in the National Party, have developed a series of values that help us make decisions on environmental matters. The overriding principle is that we must use our resources in a sustainable manner, and we believe that economic growth and improving the environment can and must go hand in hand, and I was very interested to hear Charles Chauvel saying something very similar earlier this evening. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000578\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003EIt is important that all environmental decision-making is based on good science. It is the only way to get quality decisions. We also believe that people respond best to change when they are engaged or given incentives, and that is why we generally support financial instruments rather than just adding another tax. Philosophically, we prefer the flexibility and choices available within an emissions trading scheme to a carbon tax. We believe that financial instruments, when used effectively, can provide incentives for businesses and organisations to do the right thing environmentally by choice, rather than by rules and Draconian legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000579\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003EWe want to harness the innovation of New Zealanders and New Zealand companies to develop ways to manage their greenhouse gases and protect the environment. Of course, the profile of New Zealand\u2019s greenhouse gases is heavily influenced by our agricultural emissions. Over 50 percent come from our farms, whereas, in most developed countries, agricultural emissions are nearer 12 or 15 percent. We have an unusual profile of emissions, and one that is particularly difficult to manage, but New Zealand is recognised for its expertise and research and development in the agricultural and forestry sectors, and that is why we are leading the development of an international research centre focused on greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector. The Centre for Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research will be a great opportunity for us to use our unique knowledge and expertise to tackle the issue, both in New Zealand and internationally. Of course, we will be doing anything we can to tackle the other major areas that produce greenhouse gas emissions: energy use and transport. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000580\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003EAs I said, New Zealand is a country that values its clean, green brand. New Zealanders identify closely with the natural environment, and want to be responsible when it comes to dealing with climate change. Forestry is an important part of our environment, our economy, and our response to climate change. The Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill will ensure that we take our time to do the work and understand the international conditions so that we can create an effective, long-lasting, and sustainable emissions trading scheme for forestry and for New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022 data-id=\u0022c71458bcf21b4e0a804c980467f1a313\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000581\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c71458bcf21b4e0a804c980467f1a313\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I am very happy to stand and take a call on the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill. First of all, I thank the Minister in charge of the bill, the Hon Dr Nick Smith, for his engagement with other parties on this legislation. Certainly, all members of this House see some benefit in as many parties as possible coming together to find a solution to climate change, and ultimately to support an emissions trading scheme that is environmentally credible and has the support of as many parties as possible. That is needed to ensure its longevity and provide certainty for those sectors that, at the moment, are finding themselves in a very uncertain position. It is from that perspective that Labour will support this bill\u2019s referral to the Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee this week. Of course, we have indicated that we will seek to make changes to the bill, and the Minister has already indicated that he is happy to accept them, and we appreciate that engagement with him as well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000582\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EIt has been really interesting to listen to the debate on a number of issues raised in speeches on this bill tonight, because many of them do not have anything to do with this particular bill. This is a relatively technical bill that extends deadlines, ensures the Crown is not deemed to be liable, and ensures the forestry sector knows where it stands. In that regard it is technical legislation, but it has been interesting to listen to the speeches and hear about the issues that are coming up. Members wish to raise those issues even though they are not covered by this bill. We assume they will be covered by a much larger and more substantial bill to amend the emissions trading scheme. As a member of the Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee, I can assure members that in respect of the issues that have been raised in speeches\u2014with the exception of Mr Hide\u2019s perhaps, although not entirely\u2014the committee has not really been interested in reviewing the science of climate change at all. We decided that that issue should be put aside, that the debate has been had on it, and that we need to get on with designing the best scheme possible. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000583\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EI want to talk about the delay in the emissions trading scheme, because that is really why we are here to pass this bill. It is a technical bill and we accept it, provided that we have the changes we want to see in it. This bill has come about because of a delay in the emissions trading scheme, and Labour has been very critical of that delay in the process. Although I think it would be fair to say the Labour members have been engaging really constructively with other members at the select committee and working very hard to try to tease out some of the issues, that has not been easy. A lot of the submissions that we heard were the same submissions we heard last year; they concentrated more on the legislation rather than the terms of reference that were before the select committee. It is not always easy to guide submitters towards the terms of reference, when they want to talk about the legislation that they know, and that they spoke about the year before. It has been interesting to try to get broad overview opinions on all the issues, when people wanted to talk about this section and that section, about taking a bit out of the legislation, and about their wish to be exempted because they say they are completely different cases from those intended to be included and can make arguments for that. The committee has worked in very good faith to do that work, because we decided that rather than play politics on an issue that is so important to our country, our economy, and our environment, we want to be part of finding the solution. Although some element of politics is always inevitable in such situations, we certainly do not want to be obstructive during that process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000584\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EIt is interesting to note some of the reasons that we have been going through the delay. One of the reasons is that we have been looking at harmonisation with Australia. The Australians are going through their own process now with their own version of an emissions trading scheme. But tonight we have heard that whereas on 4 June the House of Representatives passed the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, which is the Australian version of our emissions trading scheme, within the last few hours the Upper House in Australia has voted to suspend all further consideration of that scheme until 11 August.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bc1e9f65-e08b-4939-867c-22ef093e2a4e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229d7427e2f05a4866a5da00d1d7cedc75\u0022\u003EHon Rodney Hide\u003C/span\u003E: Great!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000586\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a6605a8f0daa4418a4e03c10fa71968b\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: I thought Mr Hide would be very happy about that. The Upper House has demanded that the Australian Government remodel the scheme, and the Minister for Climate Change and Water in Australia has come out and said that will not happen. We are seeing an impasse on the Australian scheme, and it will be interesting to see who blinks first, or whether we are looking at some kind of double dissolution of the Australian Parliament. I am sure the Minister for Climate Change Issues will be watching the situation very carefully. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000587\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EThe situation in Australia shows the reason why we need to set our own timetable for our emissions trading scheme. Although a level of harmonisation will always be desirable where it is possible, New Zealand really cannot wait for the Parliaments of other countries to decide on their path before we move ahead on ours. It has to be in our best interest, and Labour does not believe that it is in our best interest to delay the emissions trading scheme further and further. We want to see changes happen, and we want to see them happen as soon as is practicable. Although we did not vote for the special select committee process, we wanted to engage with it at that level and be constructive. I think we feel we would like to get on and do something. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000588\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EPart of the reason why we have to change the time frames today is that the Government did not suspend the existing emissions trading scheme passed by the previous Labour Government. That scheme is still in place; it is still active. I am sure all parties in this House want to be able to give all the industries that are due to come into that scheme, including forestry, which is already in the scheme and is looking for sectors it can trade its credits with, as much certainty as possible. We want to be able to tell industries as soon as possible the time frames they will have to work to. Already, some of those time frames have shifted. I am sure the Minister will make a statement about what has happened in Australia. Labour and the members of the select committee will be interested in knowing exactly what it means for our emissions trading scheme, in light of the Minister\u2019s strong desire for as much harmonisation with Australia as possible. As I have said, that is not undesirable, but, given what has happened tonight, obviously we cannot control it. As much as I would like to be able to blame the Minister for what has happened in Australia tonight, I am not going to do that\u2014I cannot do that. But we need to know exactly what it means in terms of the process here in New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000589\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EI want to pick up on a couple of things that the previous speaker said. We very much look forward to getting a bit more information about the greenhouse gas centre of research excellence\u2014I think that is its name\u2014and about what exactly it means and how it will work, because at the moment we are not quite sure. I know it will be a virtual centre rather than an actual physical one in a building somewhere. But given that our Crown research institutes already work very well together and we are seeing that on this cause, I think some more detail around whether it will be like one of the centres of research excellence that have already been set up would be extremely helpful. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000590\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003ENicky Wagner gave a really nice speech. It was a very nice speech, but I say sometimes the rhetoric just does not live up to the reality. National MPs can give lots of really nice speeches that say really good things, but at the end of the day they have to deliver. Although a lot of what she said was true, the fact is that it is very difficult for her to get up and talk about the importance of innovation and of science and research in this area, given what happened in the recent Budget. I do not say that in order to be deliberately negative; I just say I was astounded that she actually made those points, given the canning of the research and development tax credits\u2014the fact is that other countries around the world are bolstering their research and development tax credits, but we entirely got rid of ours\u2014and given the fact that despite all the spin around the replacement for the Fast Forward fund, it is a poor, poor cousin to what Labour had put in place. It is significantly less money, for a start. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000591\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EBut as I have said time and time again, what is more important than the amount is that the Budget took away stable funding. The Minister of Research, Science and Technology still does not get just how important that is. Researchers have to go cap in hand to the Government every year for an appropriation, not knowing from year to year whether that money will continue. We were promised tax cuts, and now they have gone. We had tax cuts in last year\u2019s Budget, and now they have gone. Who knows whether the money for phases two and three of the replacement for the Fast Forward fund will be there? Again, that was going to be an important factor for our pastoral and food research areas. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000592\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003EAll I would say to the National members is that they should all get a copy of Nicky Wagner\u2019s speech, pin it up on their noticeboards, and then try to live up to it. I think if the National members lived up to the rhetoric that was in that speech, then our environment and economy would be in a much better state. But unfortunately at the moment we are not there. As I said, the select committee is working very hard\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000593\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ec651e9a9e554bf8adcdec03470b4240\u0022\u003EChris Tremain\u003C/span\u003E: Moana, what about the rhetoric over the last 9 years?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000594\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002213a4c25c78204287acb7836ce721f775\u0022\u003EMOANA MACKEY\u003C/span\u003E: I can tell Mr Tremain that we actually delivered a research and development tax credit and the Fast Forward fund. We put in place the emissions trading scheme\u2014[Interruption] I was going so well. I was being very nice and conciliatory, then I got to about 9 minutes and 30 seconds, and it all fell apart.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022 data-id=\u0022a91a6a7661164e5d908221d864c5e3d4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000595\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a91a6a7661164e5d908221d864c5e3d4\u0022\u003ELOUISE UPSTON (National\u2014Taup\u014D):\u003C/span\u003E I rise in support of the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill. The bill delays the reporting requirements under the emissions trading scheme and the publication of the allocation plan by the Government, because the Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee process is yet to be completed. It is a hard-working committee. It has been considering a lot of submissions, but its work is not yet complete. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000596\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003EThe current law under the Climate Change Response Act requires foresters to report any deforestation during 2008 by 31 January 2009. They need to apply for exemptions for small forest blocks by 30 June 2009. Those dates are unreasonable, given the committee review and the lack of public awareness of the requirements. Without this bill, which is a technical bill that amends a date, many forest owners would unknowingly find themselves in breach of the law or adversely affected. It does not make sense for the Government to publish an allocation plan by 30 June this year for pre-1990 forest owners, when issues around offsetting and the underlying approach to the emissions trading scheme are still being considered by the review committee.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000597\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E I would add that New Zealand is the first country in the world to attempt to introduce forestry into an emissions trading scheme. These extensions are about having the time to get this right. It is critical that the details are accurate. This industry is of significant financial and environmental importance to New Zealand. In the Taup\u014D electorate, over 1,000 people are employed in forestry, so I, like many others in the House, am particularly aware of the need to get this right.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000598\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003ELet us have a look at this industry. We are talking about a date change in this amendment bill. New Zealand has one of the largest areas of protected natural forest in the world\u2014nearly 6 million hectares. It is also home to the world\u2019s biggest and most intensively managed tree plantations, which cover nearly 1.8 million hectares. Of those 1.8 million hectares, we are talking about 650,000 hectares that are pre-1990 forest. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000599\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003EAs I said before, the forestry industry is vitally important in the Taup\u014D electorate. It is very important that we get this right. I, along with the Minister of Forestry, David Carter, recently met with companies involved in forestry in Tokoroa and Taup\u014D. They expressed their grave concerns about the proposed time frames. Tonight they will breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that the Government is taking a pragmatic and cautious approach.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000600\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003EI am delighted to support the first reading of the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill, which is in the name of the Hon Nick Smith. I commend the bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022 data-id=\u00220d2a1be2a28240df9506cb6fcb09597f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000601\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220d2a1be2a28240df9506cb6fcb09597f\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I too rise in support of the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill. I do so for several reasons, but the main reason is that the country needs to be given a level of certainty around climate change and the Government\u2019s response to the major global issue around greenhouse gas emissions. We all know that under Helen Clark\u2019s leadership this country used to lead the world in terms of climate change policy. However, the rhetoric of Key and English at the last election tried to divide economic sustainability and success from prudent environmental management. In a country like New Zealand that need not be so. First and foremost, we absolutely need to understand where New Zealand\u2019s competitive advantage lies, and that is especially so in this day and age of globalisation, where increasingly countries market themselves and develop a series of brand attributes that companies can then go out and leverage themselves off when marketing themselves in the international market. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000602\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EWhat is our competitive advantage? It is our clean, green image, based partially on the perception that we live in a country that cares about the environment and cares about a future when carbon neutrality is a reality, and in a country where achieving zero emissions is a policy that is aspirational and something that all New Zealanders should buy into. That image will provide us with a competitive advantage, given that brands are vital not only to success but also, I would argue, to the survival of small economies like ours. Actually, that is more so in a country like ours than elsewhere. We face the tyranny of distance, and we must be great at creating markets that are built upon a perception of real excellence in the areas where we wish to differentiate ourselves. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000603\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EWhat is the clean, green image worth? Let me quote from a report that the Ministry for the Environment wrote on this very point: \u201CNew Zealand\u2019s clean green image does have a value. Environmental image is a substantial driver to the value New Zealand can derive from goods and services in the international market place. The study suggests this image is worth at least hundreds of millions, possibly billions, of dollars\u2014aggregating value elements from dairy, tourism\u201D\u2014Kelvin Davis spoke about that earlier\u2014\u201Cand organic produce, and extrapolating to other sectors such as meat. New Zealand is relatively clean and green. This is mainly attributable to our low population density resulting in relatively benign environmental pressures.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000604\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EThe emissions trading scheme put forward by the previous Government, a Labour Government, was a real, positive step in the right direction. The National Government\u2019s dilly-dallying on this very important legislation, I contend, shows a lack of leadership. Also, it potentially inflicts serious harm on the country\u2019s ability to successfully show global leadership. As those members who are in the House will know, many countries around the world have used this recession to start the transition for the citizens of their country from a fossil fuel - dependent economy to one known as a green economy. But since taking office last November, the National Government has walked away from a strategy for long-term, low-pollution economic growth. Instead of the plan that we had hoped to see in the Budget, National has simply caused uncertainty. Uncertainty causes a loss of jobs, loss of credibility, and loss of investment in key New Zealand industries. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000605\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EAs for forestry, I ask whether the Minister understands anything about the forest industry and its underlying dynamics. It does not sound as though he does, at all. This industry is one of the largest earners of export dollars, yet again it is being treated very poorly, due to a lack of decisive leadership, vision, economic development, and an understanding of the key employer of New Zealanders. Forestry demands a rotation of between 24 and 30 years. With a crop that takes that length of time to reach an economically viable age, legislative certainty is a must, policy certainty is imperative, and sound direction is vital. This was Labour legislation that we had consulted the forestry industry on widely. We listened to the industry\u2019s requirements and changed the bill accordingly, in response to the industry\u2019s input. We were pretty far down the path towards creating an environment that would allow the forestry industry to completely rebrand itself and refocus its attention towards the best land-use options. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000606\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EWhen I lived in Taranaki, I used to write forestry plans for farmers, in the belief that optimising land use was the best way to be a responsible steward of the land. The plans I would write now would differ significantly from the plans I used to write 10 years ago, because there are forestry programmes in place that allow forests to be farmed for carbon. Forestry has the ability to act as a very important carbon sink; we all know that. The economic possibilities are endless. The time is now right for forestry to move to the next level of economic development and market itself to a whole new sector of non-traditional forest owners. There are possibilities where, for example, M\u0101ori landowners who demand an economic rent from their land, but who do not wish to own the assets resident upon their own land, can manage a forestry resource on behalf of an owner who is searching for carbon credits. That is the way forward for this industry, as it allows land to be used in a truly optimal way. That is the way forward for New Zealand, because it allows us to make the most of our competitive advantage. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000607\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EForestry and the associated industries employ around 32,000 people. Export earnings from the forestry sector bring in about $3.4 billion annually. This is a serious industry that contributes significantly to the country\u2019s economic well-being. The sector not only requires but demands certainty in order to be able to invest, grow, and market itself internationally. I say to Dr Smith that this bill, and its proposal to delay the implementation of the emissions trading scheme, delays the establishment of certainty once again. He heard the guys from the Institute of Forestry talk about this, saying they are dismayed about the delay again. The benefits of the forestry sector are not only economic. We all know that planting trees sustains marginal land, purifies water, and helps water tables. Trees rejuvenate degraded land and promote the regeneration of native wildlife. There are numerous non-economic benefits of forestry. We all know that the cultural significance of trees goes back well over 1,000 years. The image of New Zealand as a forested landscape is iconic. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000608\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EBut forestry is in a state of flux yet again, due to the uncertainty created by the Government\u2019s inaction, and due to the Minister\u2019s inaction. The forestry industry is ready and willing to embrace the current emissions trading scheme\u2014it is ready. Nearly every consultant, forestry executive, and regional or local council person understands the opportunity created by the possibility of carbon farming. Those people want it to be introduced now, and Nick Smith is not able to deliver it now. Goodness me! The opportunity is there; we should just get on with doing it. Here we are again, with National annoying the hell out of one of our major industry and business groups. National has no idea what makes the forestry industry tick or what it needs in order to realign itself. Although I do support this bill, I ask members to believe me when I say the delay is no friend of the forestry industry, of those who must make the emissions trading scheme happen, or of the New Zealand economy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022 data-id=\u0022e5dd249870dd49a2bc00c46e0244094f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000609\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e5dd249870dd49a2bc00c46e0244094f\u0022\u003ENIKKI KAYE (National\u2014Auckland Central):\u003C/span\u003E I am delighted to rise to speak on the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill this evening. I was very fortunate to be in Ethiopia with the member opposite Mr Nash. When I was in Ethiopia I had the opportunity to chair a climate change committee. One thing I was very clear on is that many nations around the world are trying to do something about reducing their emissions. But one thing that has been made very apparent to members on this side of the House tonight by members opposite\u2014and Moana Mackey said this quite clearly\u2014is that those members are concerned about the issue of the rhetoric versus the reality. I want to make one point this evening: if we continue to talk about being world leaders in climate change policy, then we will fail. At the end of the day, nations should be judged on their record, and the record of the members opposite in terms of the environment and in terms of climate change is pretty appalling. As a nation our aim should actually be to be judged on our record. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000610\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EThe reason we are here this evening is to amend the Climate Change Response Act by delaying certain requirements applicable to the forestry sector under the New Zealand emissions trading scheme. This was part of our confidence and supply agreement with the ACT Party, whereby we established a special select committee to review aspects of existing climate change policy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000611\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EWe in the National Party have very clear principles in the area of reducing emissions, and one of them that I want to talk about this evening\u2014it is relevant to my background; I did a Bachelor of Science in genetics\u2014is that good science is essential to quality environmental decision-making. Some really exciting stuff is happening in New Zealand in that area at the moment. I know that this Government is very committed to making sure that good science is behind any decisions that are made in terms of reducing emissions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000612\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EI would like to talk further about that point, but the other point that I would like to make this evening is that, as the Minister has said, without this bill many forest owners would unknowingly find themselves in breach of the law. That is why it is essential that we proceed with this legislation this evening. You know, New Zealand is the first country in the world to attempt to introduce forestry into an emissions trading scheme, and these extensions are about taking the time to get critical details right. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000613\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EI am pleased to stand this evening and support this bill, because it is really important that we get the details right, and that we make sure that we have good science behind our environmental decision-making. I commend this bill to the House. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000614\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EBill read a first time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022 data-id=\u00227f24b7d6ad5d41b9bf60b171dd5f36a5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000615\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227f24b7d6ad5d41b9bf60b171dd5f36a5\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for Climate Change Issues):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill be considered by the Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee with an instruction that the committee report finally to the House on or before 26 June 2009, and that the committee have the authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting, except during oral questions, during an evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House, and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House, despite Standing Orders 187 and 190(1)(b) and (c).\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000616\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000617\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022acfa2cfea2494e5d8205b29fbbbd2307\u0022\u003ESittings of the House\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000619\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002214315bea721e433db9b3896231a714ca\u0022\u003ESittings of the House\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022 data-id=\u0022656560057ace4baebb0bc8021e89d985\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000618\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221368ba6c-25be-40f6-a2a0-8f81e1f78b79\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022656560057ace4baebb0bc8021e89d985\u0022\u003ECHRIS TREMAIN (Senior Whip\u2014National):\u003C/span\u003E Mr Deputy Speaker, the House has made good progress this evening. I seek leave for the House to rise early.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000620\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224a70e4440b0245c893d63df6d6d575a5\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Leave is sought for that purpose. Is there any objection? There is no objection.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000621\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003EThe House adjourned at 9.59 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20090623e389867070254d549f68096fc5c3e8af000622\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n  \u003C/body\u003E\n\u003C/html\u003E"