"\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=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00229ed54b8a8b0d428ea9e5ecd3019ed94b\u0022\u003ETuesday, 28 May 2013\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000003\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00229ba63ac752654407b2ce8952c6473ae0\u0022\u003ETuesday, 28 May 2013\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000002\u0022\u003EMr Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000004\u0022\u003EPrayers.\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000005\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022f4f524b3b1f148e1a081c46793f92744\u0022\u003EResignations\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000006\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022dc3a07c2abb84131a0800efc1f8dbbcd\u0022\u003EDr Jackie Blue, New Zealand National\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000007\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002226abc60812c64f8e87a7e5328f59dc08\u0022\u003EAaron Gilmore, New Zealand National\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000008\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022001c80144b34453b9da2c1d5b8e5c626\u0022\u003E Dr Jacqueline Diane Blue\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022 data-id=\u0022f3fedced130241209175643cc99d566a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000009\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f3fedced130241209175643cc99d566a\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I wish to advise the House that I have received letters from, resigning her seat in the House with effect at midnight on Friday, 24 May 2013, and from Aaron Wayne Gilmore, resigning his seat in the House with effect from Monday, 27 May 2013.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000010\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b7360c9a72d245baa9567fdda8846fe2\u0022\u003EList Member Vacancy\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000012\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022658d4fc7e9ee47aa86bb25993de61009\u0022\u003EList Member Vacancy\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022 data-id=\u0022a6e81f8ec9bc48939937376308062940\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000011\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a6e81f8ec9bc48939937376308062940\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I have been advised by the Electoral Commission that, pursuant to section 137 of the Electoral Act 1993, Paul Ayers Robert Foster-Bell has been declared to be elected a member of the House of Representatives in place of Dr Jacqueline Diane Blue. I understand that Paul Foster-Bell is present and wishes to make the affirmation. Would he please come forward to the chair on my right.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000013\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002237f7104df45b4000a1010a1a3bb7c09f\u0022\u003EMembers Sworn\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000015\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022fe8cfec4c57145f4b7ff560dd67214d9\u0022\u003EMembers Sworn\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000014\u0022\u003EPaul Ayers Robert Foster-Bell was presented to the Speaker, made the affirmation required by law, and took his seat in the House.\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=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000016\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00224d1ab5169c68487cb1dd0c48eb795d93\u0022\u003EPsychoactive Substances Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000017\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002236688df8571440189514c445b6a4e57b\u0022\u003EInstruction to Health Committee\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u00227ca5466890b0474abebbfdbb6fae801f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000018\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227ca5466890b0474abebbfdbb6fae801f\u0022\u003EHon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour\u2014Hutt South):\u003C/span\u003E I seek leave to put a question to the House without notice or debate that the Health Committee in its consideration of the Psychoactive Substances Bill have the authority to consider and, if it sees fit, adopt amendments preventing the use of information resulting from animal testing being used in the consideration of specific psychoactive substances for approval.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022 data-id=\u00222b1c602e43814048a4f132a6f2e0d02d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000019\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222b1c602e43814048a4f132a6f2e0d02d\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Leave is sought for that course of action. Is there any objection? There is objection.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000020\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00220af082f54dd149e2a3ebc7745e701413\u0022\u003EQuestions for Oral Answer\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000021\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b55d34cbf6194ddf846b3722a2c52c6e\u0022\u003EQuestions to Ministers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022f43962afc3e14324b7d3b28bf29d6fb0\u0022\u003EBudget 2013\u2014Job Creation and Economic Growth\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022 data-id=\u0022038d6e4a4cef4a769756ce7780e713e5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000023\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E1. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022038d6e4a4cef4a769756ce7780e713e5\u0022\u003EANDREW WILLIAMS (NZ First)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: How many new jobs, if any, are forecast in Budget 2013?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u0022a607afe039be4fe0980d59d1dc94d5a3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000024\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a607afe039be4fe0980d59d1dc94d5a3\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you for asking about jobs, a key focus for the Government. The Budget forecasts are done independently by Treasury, who predict that there will be 60,000 more people employed over the course of 2013, and a further 54,000 in 2014. Since the Budget forecasts were finalised, the actual numbers for the first quarter of 2013 have been released showing an increase of 38,000 of the predicted 60,000 for the calendar year growth in employment. However, these numbers can fluctuate from quarter to quarter. This reflects, in part, reasonably strong growth in the New Zealand economy, as well as growth in exports, low interest rates, low inflation, and the confidence built by the Government in maintaining its track to surplus.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000025\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226aea4507eb2c40eeae528e8df21c3dc5\u0022\u003EAndrew Williams\u003C/span\u003E: Why is annual average employment growth estimated to be minus 0.8 percent in the June 2013 quarter of the 2013 Budget, given that Budget 2011 forecast 170,000 new jobs by 2015?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000026\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022743d6e9e7e71407fb15e6a10c1ed0cd3\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: That is a very good question and one where I would need to go and look at the detail to be able to answer the member. As I said, job growth is forecast based on reasonable growth in the economy. I think we would accept two things. One is that job growth was pretty soft in 2012, softer than was expected, so there were fewer extra people in employment than expected, and, looking out over the next 12 months, job growth as measured by these statistical methods is likely to fluctuate from quarter to quarter around the rising trend.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000027\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226508fe93786a417aa85c70c5c6162842\u0022\u003EAndrew Williams\u003C/span\u003E: Given that the June quarter shows a minus 0.8 percent average employment growth, and given that Budget 2011 forecast 170,000 new jobs by 2015 and Budget 2013 is now halfway through that time frame, how many of those 170,000 new jobs has the Government actually delivered?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000028\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022feb66d9dc32643329a1acea503c7996e\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: In the first place, the Government does not directly deliver jobs; it delivers an environment where businesses are confident enough to make the decision to invest and employ. Secondly, in response to the member\u2019s question, the fact is that in the calendar year for 2012, job growth was pretty soft, and of the 170,000 jobs that were forecast in Budget 2010 it is currently about 40,000 behind that forecast. However, the forecasts ahead of us do look a bit surer because we are closer to the rebuild of Christchurch and there is likely to be more success in getting Auckland housing under way.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000029\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f40a2e58f7e849daa0d6c526ca6c7ab4\u0022\u003ETodd McClay\u003C/span\u003E: What is the Government doing to support more jobs?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000030\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002282a3b31ef3cd4a54b6a2d6efea94497e\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: Instead of printing money and excessive Government spending, what we are doing is focusing the Business Growth Agenda on getting businesses to make decisions that constitute growth. The Business Growth Agenda sets out over 200 initiatives\u2014in fact, closer to 300 initiatives\u2014all of which are designed to support and encourage business to invest another dollar and employ another person. The indications from anecdotal evidence and measures of business confidence are that New Zealand business is increasingly interested in hiring more people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000031\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022593e58b0411145b8a3ceae78eaca9f22\u0022\u003EAndrew Williams\u003C/span\u003E: Does he consider the 354 new jobs at Work and Income New Zealand announced in Budget 2013 to be part of those 170,000 jobs forecast in Budget 2011, and why are those new jobs at Work and Income New Zealand required\u2014354 of them\u2014if his Government is predicting a decline in unemployment?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000032\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c01dd10cc81c410f906c97915a8d61da\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: It is precisely because we are shifting the focus of whom Government supports back into work. What has become clear through the welfare reform and the investment approach is that people who are in unemployment who have been the focus of much of Government support activity have a pretty high probability of getting jobs again. However, other parts of the beneficiary population\u2014in particular, solo parents and sickness beneficiaries\u2014have been left languishing, particularly by the previous Government. We have decided they deserve more support, and more of them will get work if we support them, and that is why the 350 new jobs in Work and Income New Zealand are there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000033\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224b4e8ab360fc4ac1bd5a87102b12ddc7\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Is it correct that the Budget documents show that National will be 61,000 jobs short of the promise of 170,000 extra jobs that he made in Budget 2010 and repeated on the election trail in 2011?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000034\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226b2725a05afa4c1aa42475eed52f832a\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: As I pointed out to the member, the job numbers are forecasts made by Treasury, in the same way that GDP growth is a forecast made by Treasury. In answer to the question, yes, and the reason is that the economy was slower last year. But I can tell that member that promises of printing money and stopping all economic growth are not the recipe for more jobs.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000035\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a3387d6903c541b8b7e43ec2405c34a1\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave of the House to table the National Party\u2019s ad regarding 170,000 more jobs from the 2011 election campaign, which the finance Minister has just told us will not be met.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000036\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022503604ee1efb45529c079d07f27bb6ff\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Leave is sought to table that. Is there any objection? There is none.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000037\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003EDocument, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000038\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d2123fcec42c4e1390057c97df023b58\u0022\u003EAndrew Williams\u003C/span\u003E: Given that the number of Kiwis on the unemployment benefit was 23,000 when his Government took office, and now sits at 49,000, how can he claim that his economic management is not putting people out of work?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000039\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d10ab545f58743e4b6c6bb6d6b223dac\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: Well, a few events have occurred since we took office that the member may not be aware of. There was a large earthquake in Christchurch, there was a global financial crisis, there was the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s, and in that context we have done pretty well. But if that member wants to stay on \u201CPlanet Labour\u201D, he will remain out of touch with what is happening in the real world.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000040\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022687091e58d8649849d2fb27cf19c70ba\u0022\u003ETodd McClay\u003C/span\u003E: What policies has he seen that will reduce jobs?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000041\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224cd228d8f0134de2a6fcef05cd607f9e\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I have seen a few: a policy that will use the emissions trading system to increase power prices by $500 per family and will probably destroy jobs; policies opposing all new mining and oil and gas exploration, which will probably destroy jobs; policies designed to shut down the dairy industry, which will probably destroy jobs; and policies to print money and erode confidence of business, which will probably destroy jobs. Those are the policies of the Labour-Green Opposition.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000042\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002220f49552f3524db3b49ab48ca1d6cd29\u0022\u003EBudget 2013\u2014Economic Programme\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022 data-id=\u00220d6e7a0519ce447faf67383dbfffdcf1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022\u003E2. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220d6e7a0519ce447faf67383dbfffdcf1\u0022\u003EHon KATE WILKINSON (National\u2014Waimakariri)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: How did the Budget on 16 May contribute to the Government\u2019s economic programme?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u00228cbc2728c74345ffb35112432745960b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000044\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228cbc2728c74345ffb35112432745960b\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E The Budget provided further momentum right across the Government\u2019s economic programme, built on considerable progress over the last four Budgets. In particular, it progressed the Government\u2019s four priorities for this term: getting back to surplus, a more competitive economy, better public services, and rebuilding Christchurch. The Budget continues to focus on imbalances that are part of the recovery, such as the pick-up in house prices, but which could threaten the recovery.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000045\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b8c123203d6d4c8f86c3ee7bf65583ae\u0022\u003EHon Kate Wilkinson\u003C/span\u003E: What has been the Government\u2019s approach to implementing its economic programme, and what do recent indicators show about progress?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000046\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cdaa3dc558d14ed6973a5f2aafe32780\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: The Government has focused on moderate and consistent change over time, in order to manage New Zealand out of the difficult circumstances of the recession and the earthquakes, but, at the same time, to invest in improving our capacity for growth in the future. The Government\u2019s plan is working, as international bodies such as the IMF have recognised. In the last year New Zealand grew at about the same rate as Australia, which is higher than most other developed economies, and looking out over the next couple of years New Zealand has better prospects than most developed economies, and probably moderately better prospects than Australia.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000047\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a19c1746aa9d431d870adefb9e0a99ac\u0022\u003EHon Kate Wilkinson\u003C/span\u003E: How does the current economic outlook as set out in the Budget compare with the position the Government inherited in 2008?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000048\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002247e54799b7ad49aebd0970df95125b65\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: The economy is in much better shape, and compared with other countries there is a sense that New Zealand has been dealing with some of the key issues that are going to dog other developed economies for the next decade. Five years ago, New Zealand was in deep recession, the global economy was in crisis, Government spending was out of control, and Treasury forecasts showed never-ending deficits and soaring debt\u2014and that was before the Christchurch earthquakes hit, which are going to have an impact of about 20 percent of GDP. So the Government\u2019s plan has been to get on top of those issues in the short term and build our long-term capacity for growth.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000049\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227f5b2da9d9c141658bb8d4c4eaff94a3\u0022\u003EHon Kate Wilkinson\u003C/span\u003E: What independent reports has he received on the Budget in the Government\u2019s wider economic programme?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000050\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002283a15451a60a479bb2b2e4dd1afb84bf\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: The reports on the Budget have generally supported the Government\u2019s economic direction, but I would be the first to give the credit to New Zealanders\u2014their businesses and households\u2014who have proven to be so resilient and have actually made the decisions that have enabled New Zealand to get back on its feet. The Employers and Manufacturers Association commented on the Government\u2019s returning the books to surplus giving business confidence. Business New Zealand says a careful and measured approach to spending is also showing benefits, as well as the focus on competitiveness through innovation, infrastructure, internationalisation, and skills. Even the Children\u2019s Commissioner, who is generally a critic of the Government, has said there is much to be impressed with in the Budget, despite the Government\u2019s constrained finances. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000051\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229eac1c6e9a884d039ce44b02be3e9c17\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: Given that New Zealand\u2019s net international debt will increase by $61 billion over 5 years under the Budget projections and economic plan that he released, does he consider that an increase in net debt of $61 billion over 5 years is a sustainable economic strategy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000052\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220a55395195814c0d9a0f3cf6769fec86\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: I think that in the context of the recession there has been a significant build-up of Government debt, and that is what has\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000053\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b06f9b7997f946acabe11264e1793029\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am terribly sorry to interrupt the Minister, but it was about New Zealand\u2019s net international investment position\u2014the debt of New Zealand not the Government\u2019s debt position.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000054\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002252e5a5541e874cfc8d9fdb6bd7d7073f\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Allow the Minister to answer the question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000055\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226a4aa1c2a4bc4e51a20b25594ea35dad\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: If the member was really concerned about that, he would support the asset sales, which are enabling us to buy public assets without borrowing money off foreign bankers. Why is he so keen on foreign bankers?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000056\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d23d7a432eed42f9862861fb55b9caa5\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It was not a political question at all; it was a very straight question about New Zealand\u2019s net debt increasing by $61 billion. I asked the Minister whether he thought this was a sustainable strategy. He is opening by just attacking me. It has got nothing to do with me. It is about his Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000057\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227adb4dd9a50c47c4beb8496959fdc61b\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, I think the Minister adequately addressed the question that was asked.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000058\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022da5f20c5dff84485b33f7a98f5c82395\u0022\u003EHousing, Affordable\u2014Auckland Housing Accord\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022dfa851f0-ef7b-4834-bc41-1b3b645a3495\u0022 data-id=\u00228b78d1eabec9480b8e2a4cb18a87d690\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dfa851f0-ef7b-4834-bc41-1b3b645a3495\u0022\u003E3. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228b78d1eabec9480b8e2a4cb18a87d690\u0022\u003EDAVID SHEARER (Leader of the Opposition)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022 data-id=\u002287ce5a48392c441589057ca5b348fadc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000060\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002287ce5a48392c441589057ca5b348fadc\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000061\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dfa851f0-ef7b-4834-bc41-1b3b645a3495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022158c8788552e4868bbdf480566281e4c\u0022\u003EDavid Shearer\u003C/span\u003E: Does he stand by his statement in relation to affordable housing that \u201CWe are very serious about resolving this issue.\u201D; if so, why do the Budget forecasts show an increase in average house prices by up to 46 percent by 2017, or more than 10 percent a year?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000062\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dd3ada04acb1423697a6ce8b79c9d16b\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Well, that is Treasury\u2019s forecast, but we are very serious about that issue. That is why the Government has been prepared to release 39,000 sections in Auckland alone over the course of the next 3 years, working alongside Auckland Council. That is why this Government does not want to embark on printing money\u2014which Labour and the Greens support\u2014because that would drive up interest rates. That is why this Government is successfully managing the economy: to make sure that New Zealanders can afford to buy a home.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000063\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225e59da2fe3834c028fc543ae9180ffbc\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Stop telling lies.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000064\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221249f6212b754b11a4e918cdd2bb7f19\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: It is not a lie. It is not a lie, Grant. I am afraid you are tied at the hip to your boy over there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000065\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dfa851f0-ef7b-4834-bc41-1b3b645a3495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223a186a472b5744a38f7e18176b36a28d\u0022\u003EDavid Shearer\u003C/span\u003E: In light of his last answer, have there been any targets set for the number of affordable homes that will be built as part of the 39,000 homes under the housing accord with Auckland Council?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000066\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226c510c3779434226b1872c680461d00f\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: I am not sure that a firm target has been set, but there is wide expectation that a great many of them will be affordable, because the reality is that, firstly, that is where the demand is; and, secondly, by fast-tracking the process and ensuring that they are built right across Auckland the very target of this is actually for affordable homes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000067\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dfa851f0-ef7b-4834-bc41-1b3b645a3495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002269627c9fcf3f4793b7163c899601a0ce\u0022\u003EDavid Shearer\u003C/span\u003E: Can he guarantee that any of the 39,000 homes that are going to be built as a part of the accord will be in the affordable range? Can he guarantee that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000068\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ec29ac3acd704b879c5dadbfb7f597ab\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: The Government itself is not building the homes, so by definition you can only make these statements, but, of course, there will be affordable homes built\u2014of course they will be built. In reality the only guarantee that we can make is that if Labour and the Greens ever got the chance to print money, they would drive inflation up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000069\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dfa851f0-ef7b-4834-bc41-1b3b645a3495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002237246252fcc04c058484a2626d8deb56\u0022\u003EDavid Shearer\u003C/span\u003E: What confidence can Aucklanders have that affordable housing will actually be built when the housing accord talks only about giving \u201Cconsideration to the provision\u201D of affordable housing?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000070\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022010be83727d4434e99ef244df2761691\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: What the member seems to be saying is that Len Brown, the Mayor of Auckland, has all of a sudden left the Labour Party and is interested in building big homes that do not attract the people who want affordable housing. Well, if that is what he thinks about Len Brown, maybe he should go and tell him.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000071\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dfa851f0-ef7b-4834-bc41-1b3b645a3495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002237a1f9b99d2f4f96aebd1141bc78ee8f\u0022\u003EDavid Shearer\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. That question was addressed to the Prime Minister. It was a really straight question. I do not want to hear about somebody else whom he knows; I would like to hear what the Prime Minister thinks about it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000072\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dc40c395f3304acf81c4b1f1340ddbcb\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member needs to think carefully about the question he asked, which is what confidence would Aucklanders have that housing would be affordable, etc. That is a political type of question that will get a political type of answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000073\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dfa851f0-ef7b-4834-bc41-1b3b645a3495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002271bc4c3103284ffc87462d9e5ee27bf7\u0022\u003EDavid Shearer\u003C/span\u003E: I will ask it a different way: what safeguards has he put into his housing policy to make sure that speculators building on his new land do not build all of the homes at the expensive end of the market?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000074\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220ee4ef7a92ab4505918a04a930d65c98\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Well, it is not my land, but the reality is that the commitment between Auckland Council and the Government is to try to build 39,000 homes on brownfield and greenfield sites over the course of the next 3 years. The mayor himself is on record\u2014I was at the press conference that we held\u2014saying that his focus is on affordable housing. I might add, while we are at it, that if we want to care about people having access to good-quality homes, this is the Government that, in the Budget, announced that 3,000 additional bedrooms will be built for State houses in Auckland\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000075\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dfa851f0-ef7b-4834-bc41-1b3b645a3495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226f49f6a2ff394b6584d37277983d25e4\u0022\u003EDavid Shearer\u003C/span\u003E: Bedrooms!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000076\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e1497a8baec64436ae71e6780b3b34df\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Well, the member laughs, but that is right. The Labour Government did absolutely nothing in 9 years in caring about large families\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000077\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002224fd03b16c414ffca9a7254c4d564034\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! That is quite a sufficient answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000078\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022fd4cc33cb41d48d19410202f8b104dd8\u0022\u003EChild Poverty\u2014School Food Programmes and Other Initiatives\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022695678cf-542a-4616-9e0a-86990caec192\u0022 data-id=\u0022168ab778b7b040118e06ecc39d7b16e6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000079\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022695678cf-542a-4616-9e0a-86990caec192\u0022\u003E4. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022168ab778b7b040118e06ecc39d7b16e6\u0022\u003EALFRED NGARO (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Social Development: What announcements has she made about providing support for breakfast in schools?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022 data-id=\u00222e19b79599c543d0923d3951cbe98573\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000080\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222e19b79599c543d0923d3951cbe98573\u0022\u003EHon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development):\u003C/span\u003E Today we announced that the Government is putting $9.5 million over the next 5 years towards the KickStart Breakfast programme in schools. This is in partnership with Fonterra and Sanitarium, and will be matched in value by them. We have also announced that we will increase our support to KidsCan, providing $1.5 million over 3 years to provide children with basic necessities like raincoats and shoes. I believe we have struck the right balance. Ultimately it is parents who are responsible for their children, but we cannot ignore the fact that some children turn up hungry and cannot learn on an empty stomach. That is why this programme includes not only Government but community non-governmental organisations and business partners, as we all have a shared responsibility for these children.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000081\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022695678cf-542a-4616-9e0a-86990caec192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b0794e2a26dc4936bf606b7a7a6ae73a\u0022\u003EAlfred Ngaro\u003C/span\u003E: How will this Government investment support these programmes to make a difference for vulnerable children?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000082\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224d4538405c1a4e3eb0f9bd3cd7e2c9fa\u0022\u003EHon PAULA BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: Currently, the KickStart Breakfast programme runs just two mornings a week in decile 1 to 4 schools. This partnership will increase this to five mornings a week, and higher-decile schools that want and need the programme can opt in over time. These programmes are a genuine partnership. The Government will back the programme with resources, Fonterra and Sanitarium will distribute the food, and communities will run the breakfasts and provide the bowls and spoons.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000083\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022695678cf-542a-4616-9e0a-86990caec192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b99161fc10d64f57971494f39e3d005d\u0022\u003EAlfred Ngaro\u003C/span\u003E: What other announcements have been made to support low-income families?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cea41c824a9841df8a4ee06f5d128afe\u0022\u003EHon PAULA BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: This is part of a vast programme of initiatives and policies targeted to vulnerable and low-income families with children. We have a strong record over the past 4\u00BD years of targeted assistance and support to those who need it most. But Budget 2013 included further initiatives, like $100 million to extend the home insulation programme; another $24 million for rheumatic fever prevention; $41 million for early childhood education for vulnerable children, to make sure that they really are targeted; $35 million for carers of children; and low and no-interest loan options.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000085\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c71bdaf372104931bcae63b4c498594a\u0022\u003EJacinda Ardern\u003C/span\u003E: Will her Government take the next step and formulate a plan to tackle child poverty, starting with setting targets to reduce it, and address the root cause of the problem: our low-wage economy and inequality rates that have reached their highest point ever under this Government?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000086\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d08636ec45f949ab83efaca6991fa31e\u0022\u003EHon PAULA BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: Some of the reports that I have seen said that way back in 2007, when that member\u2019s party was in Government, we still had 240,000 children who were living in poverty. I think that if the member reads our response to the Children\u2019s Commissioner\u2019s Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty, she will see an extensive programme of work that has been going on out there. Ultimately what we are saying, though, is that the plan is working, but there is more still that we can do, and that is why we are pleased with the announcements today.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022597219dd9cc84307b889549e20b7ff9b\u0022\u003EJacinda Ardern\u003C/span\u003E: Has she adequately responded to the Children\u2019s Commissioner\u2019s Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty, its 78 detailed recommendations, and its almost year\u2019s worth of work with her 13-page double-spaced paper, which barely acknowledges the group\u2019s recommendations and which lists tax cuts and floating mortgage rates as her Government\u2019s child poverty successes?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002247702de5a0cc423091eb253837999df1\u0022\u003EHon PAULA BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: In the old days, when that member\u2019s party was in Government, it was a case of the longer the document, the more it was doing. But, actually, this is about action. What that document shows is what a vast lot of work is going on to support those who are on low incomes or in benefit-dependent households. To give just two quick examples to the House, we have had a doubling of special-needs grants to families that needed it during the recession. We spent twice as much at that time, when people really needed it. We were there for them and we were able to give them that level of assistance. This Government spends nearly $2 billion on accommodation support alone: $1.2 billion, projected to go up by another $100 million, just on accommodation support, and also under the income-related rents. That is making a difference. It is one thing to sort of harp from the other side; it is another to take action.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000089\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002242da625a20cf4defa8f5200b081c39d3\u0022\u003ERt Hon John Key\u003C/span\u003E: Has the member seen reports of a Government that over the last 5 years, when it comes to at-risk children and to vulnerable families, has spent $20 billion on Working for Families, income-related rents, and accommodation supplements; insulated 215,000 homes, with a further 46,000 homes to be insulated; built 3,000 additional bedrooms on State houses in Auckland\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000090\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002296e85891c96f4929b76eb994ecf85f7e\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000091\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002204561db1e9a44a54bc8af4fa0db12931\u0022\u003ERt Hon John Key\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014spent just on $50 million on rheumatic fever; come up with a whiteware procurement programme and a microfinance programme\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000092\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225e6f178dd3d04551bad94d6f96dd914e\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! That is quite a sufficiently long supplementary question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000093\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022684be93c8c914b7d9b654bac7672e4b5\u0022\u003EHon PAULA BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I have seen reports about that. Actually, the report was a lot longer than that, because you did not actually cover everything that was in the report that is actually happening for vulnerable children. But, of course, this National-led Government is the one that is stepping up and taking action for those low-income families that need it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000094\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227befcd4878bd46fd8ab58bb36059b347\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000095\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225f36376a924944a3a4b746c1f40fd780\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000096\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002217e67980c250487c96ee12955b2c5918\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: No, no. It is a supplementary question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000097\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224048ba272c044559b02eb8463641e9d7\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, a supplementary question. The Hon Trevor Mallard\u2014[Interruption] Order! The member is asking a supplementary question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000098\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022354bfd89d25242fe91190fc08f270f3a\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Has the Minister seen a statement recording the view of an individual that Working for Families was communism by stealth, and is that individual now the Prime Minister?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221a4881621bd54133a66f4859c221d355\u0022\u003EHon PAULA BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: What I have seen a report on is that we have actually seen Working for Families being fixed. We have actually seen more support going into those lower-income families and seen it actually making a big difference in their lives.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000100\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ed294f6f224443f98ac961ea141bcb2a\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Although it was a political question, it was straightforward and does deserve an answer. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000101\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d5276273246e47a38c8b0ba7b0c66e96\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I would appreciate it if the Minister could answer it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000102\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002277b7a66884c041e6b71aff8303f7af8a\u0022\u003EHon PAULA BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: I personally have not seen a report like that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000103\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022573e6ac490a9443d865d63e9c52dc709\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Question\u2014[Interruption] Order! Question\u2014[Interruption] Order! Would the House please settle. Question No. 5, Dr Russel Norman.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000104\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022874694769bc5432ca7c6a3f228ead41a\u0022\u003EState-owned Energy Companies, Sales\u2014Forecasts, Costs, and Investors\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022 data-id=\u00226cd9d42f215b44cc89654c5c3d5c69bd\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000105\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E5. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226cd9d42f215b44cc89654c5c3d5c69bd\u0022\u003EDr RUSSEL NORMAN (Co-Leader\u2014Green)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: Has he received any official advice since the sale of Mighty River Power on how many retail investors are expected to buy shares in Meridian Energy; if so, what is the forecast for the number of retail investors in Meridian Energy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u0022695816a460c84042a821047b0d7d94b4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000106\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022695816a460c84042a821047b0d7d94b4\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E No, there is no official forecast, and in any case the number would be difficult to predict. This Government has confidence in the ability of New Zealanders to examine the information about investing in Meridian Energy and to make up their own minds about where to invest. It is a good thing that they now have greater choice as to where they put their savings, and we will be happier getting money from New Zealand retail investors than getting it from the foreign bankers for whom that member advocates.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000107\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d859fb535485431ca1ba1f673b95d81d\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: So is the Minister telling us that he proposes to sell billions of dollars in public assets without any knowledge of how many Kiwis are likely to buy them?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000108\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e92246553e1c44c9b919daac7fb882ab\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: Well, as I said, there is no prediction or forecast for the number of retail investors, but it is likely that they will look at the information presented through the offer document, which has to be factual and transparent, and will make up their own minds. If you can use Mighty River Power as a yardstick, then there were 113,000 investors who took part in the public pool there, and there may well be more taking part in the Meridian Energy pool. Either way, we hope to replicate the experience of Mighty River Power, where we got $1.7 billion in the bank Friday 2 weeks ago, whereas that member would have either printed the money or got it from foreign bankers.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000109\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022582f933a53a9452091dd196e9231704c\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. These have been two very straight questions. The first one was on notice; it was a very straight question. The Minister used both his answers to attack me as the questioner. I do not see why you are not ruling those answers, or those parts of the answers, out of order. How are they relevant?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000110\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002255595597d80240ea9238b76f7b4addad\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I do not think the answers in any case were attacking the member. They were political, but this is a political debating chamber. The first question was on notice and it was very clearly answered with: \u201CNo, that information is not available.\u201D The member then raised a supplementary question, which, effectively, was a repeat of the primary question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000111\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223369ae06a1a34b92a3fe7e2c4d83c44d\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: Given that his Government forecast that 250,000 Kiwis would buy shares in Mighty River Power, according to the Treasury documents, and only 100,000 did, why would subsequent sales attract a larger number of investors?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000112\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002259d45273708d496ea9e29b21b02c0150\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: First of all, 250,000 was not a forecast. It is a number that the logistics people thought they needed to be able to cater for, because, of course, if we could not have catered for the numbers, then that would be the point of criticism. Secondly, the reason it will attract more retail investors is that fewer and fewer people think that the Labour-Greens policy is credible and even fewer people think that they can now win an election.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000113\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ac969ad972dd474db094b523034efcca\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: Is it still the Government\u2019s plan to sell both Meridian Energy and Genesis before the end of the year?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000114\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a4c9951b49e74fb8bac9faf216a1cd6c\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: The Government has not made decisions about that. It has simply made the decision that it will float Meridian Energy with the objective of widespread New Zealand ownership. We would expect that it will give New Zealanders the opportunity to invest in a large New Zealand company, and tens of thousands of them are likely to do so. We will get several billion dollars of cash in the bank, which is not a bad thing, and then we will be able to use that to purchase other public assets. We will be doing that instead of borrowing from foreign bankers, whom that member continues to advocate for.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000115\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022da47fab7f11c430b84051c445218f5ba\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister assure the House that Mighty River Power is still at least 85 percent New Zealand - owned?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000116\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002266943e7006bc4e2594bf684376bf3a33\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: I cannot give that assurance and the member knows why. What we always said is that at the float it would be. Actually, the record of a number of New Zealand public companies is that New Zealand proportional ownership is growing, and that may well occur with Mighty River Power.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000117\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ce930449eb4c408cbd8672cbce5171c7\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: Given his earlier admission in this House on 9 May that the cost of selling Mighty River Power alone was $100 million, how can the Government possibly keep to its limit of spending 2 percent of the asset sales revenue\u2014or about $120 million\u2014on the entire asset sales programme?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000118\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226c8d76514b7e4ccf8a8b07504ef8588a\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: The costs are published every 3 months, so it is quite a transparent process. It was always going to cost a bit, and there have been some extra costs, such as the Supreme Court case, which was not something that was necessarily anticipated. The member\u2019s announcement of his policy designed to scare off the very retail investors he now pretends to advocate for meant that we had to give a lot of investors the opportunity to withdraw their application and refund their money, and that was an extra cost.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000119\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a51f82d193434719b68bb2edb29ce0bc\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: What advice has he received on the cost of selling Meridian Energy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000120\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222996c98c651d414ba905fdb23f708f6f\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: I do not know whether I have received specific advice on that, but we have said that the programme will cost 1 to 2 percent of the proceeds of the whole programme. We believe that is a cost worth incurring in order to give New Zealanders the opportunity to invest in large New Zealand companies, rather than borrow the money off foreign bankers, as the Opposition seems to want us to do.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000121\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002275c6895a9e6c4068a59fbc728158a06d\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: So to recap, is the Minister telling us that he has no idea how many retail investors are likely to buy Meridian Energy, he has no idea how much it will cost to sell Meridian Energy, and the whole failed asset sales programme is just on a wing and a hope?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000122\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223a6a895437344d2999b3c90b347d587d\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: No, that is not the case. But I would anticipate that now the member has indicated he is keen to see widespread New Zealand ownership rather than narrowly based New Zealand ownership, he will be in full support of getting the mums and dads interested in investing and will not try to stop them, as he did last time. That member should pay more attention to trying to get enough signatures on his referendum\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000123\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002235fc400473bf42d4b76cc193fb172a3a\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! That is quite a sufficient answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000124\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00226144de9962b04362a786992c336e2665\u0022\u003ECrown Revenue\u2014Accident Compensation Levies\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u0022102a0cecf130405a84be506a7291298f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000125\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E6. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022102a0cecf130405a84be506a7291298f\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: How much revenue will ACC levies over and above those recommended by ACC in 2012 contribute to the Crown\u2019s finances in 2013/14 and if he had followed the advice of ACC what would have been the effect on the surplus or deficit in 2014/15?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u0022070e6b19d3af4f92abc4d7a6be354f9a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022070e6b19d3af4f92abc4d7a6be354f9a\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E As the ACC Minister said last December, at the time that the previous decision was made to keep ACC levies unchanged, the Government was focused on ensuring that the signs of improved performance in ACC could be sustained over time in order to avoid volatility in the levies\u2014that is, dropping them and then having to increase them. At the time, we also said that we took into account that a reduction in ACC levies would have a direct impact on the Crown\u2019s operating balance. In answer to the question, ACC recommended a $317 million reduction in 2013-14, rising to $383 million in 2014-15, which would have passed through directly to the operating balance before gains and losses if it had been accepted. As it happened, Budget 2013 subsequently allowed for levy reductions of around $300 million in 2014-15, increasing to around $1 billion in 2015-16. These have been fully incorporated into the Budget forecasts and we remain on track to surplus.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000127\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ebdc6ab679b54ca6a1f71118b2bd89f6\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: Does he agree with the Hon Judith Collins, who stated at a party conference just this last Saturday that both the earners and workers accounts are now fully funded; if so, why is he not lowering ACC levy levels now, as recommended?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222e224402ab9a42b0bc59e4ab775234e0\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: Well, we have signalled the path in the Budget and ACC levies will be reduced on 1 April, which is the next possible opportunity after following the correct statutory process, which means that decisions will be announced in November. But it is important to understand that the success of ACC has been built on improved rehabilitation\u2014that is, getting more people back to work sooner. We have been anxious to ensure that its improved performance under Minister Smith and then Minister Collins is well bedded in so that levy reductions do not have to be reversed later.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000129\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fdf201e4f20a49348738308e22c72341\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Government taking more than $650 million extra in ACC levies than was recommended, and does he realise that that is the equivalent of 325 years of the $2 million per annum extra going from Government funding into food in schools announced today?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022beafa8220f5446afb3c907799c2df6dd\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: Whether you regard it as extra is a matter of what you think the core performance level is of ACC. Under the previous Government, that would not have been near enough, actually, because ACC was performing so poorly on rehabilitating injured people and people who had serious accidents. Now that it has improved, we have the opportunity to pass those levies through. The Government has been conservative about it. That is consistent with the way we have managed all Government finances.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000131\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226f33d75b92ca4613a3943a9d86da3d6e\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: Why is his Government using ACC as a stealth tax?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000132\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022415e0573f29b4a06b0abb4bb3d87d72b\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I think the point of the Budget announcements is that we are using it as a stealth tax cut, actually\u2014that is, over 3 years we will be able to leave $1.6 billion per year, after 3 years, in the hands of New Zealand\u2019s businesses and households because the performance of ACC has greatly improved compared with the time when that member\u2019s Government was in charge.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000133\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f464fc976dcb414b80a3373ed26518da\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: Given that the Minister of Finance has just admitted that he is using ACC as a future stealth tax cut\u2014[Interruption]\u2014that is exactly what he said. How is it proper for National to use ACC as a political jellybean jar, overfilling it now and then doling out the lollies\u2014doling out the lollies\u2014in an election year?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000134\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002248f481deebeb447e878830d7029c2846\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: That, of course, would not be acceptable. We are treating it according to prudent financial management. But the difference here is that this Government cares sufficiently about rehabilitating people with serious injuries and accident victims, and that is what we are focused on. The result of that is an improvement in the Government\u2019s books and lower levies for businesses and companies. What works for those who are injured and vulnerable is the most important. Now that we are delivering that, there are benefits for the Government\u2019s books.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000135\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022f7eac58a26f14ffb89ca10f7e242649e\u0022\u003EChild Protection\u2014Legislation and Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022 data-id=\u00228f365955fb4f4795961e23c239c7e546\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000136\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003E7. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228f365955fb4f4795961e23c239c7e546\u0022\u003ESCOTT SIMPSON (National\u2014Coromandel)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Justice: What steps have been taken recently to stop child sexual abuse online?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022 data-id=\u0022ce5f57aa6d8344e88b8617b086ef56d5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ce5f57aa6d8344e88b8617b086ef56d5\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Justice):\u003C/span\u003E This week I introduced the Objectionable Publications and Indecency Legislation Bill, which targets criminals who prey on children. The bill increases maximum penalties for possessing, importing, or exporting objectionable materials from 5 years\u2019 imprisonment to 10 years\u2019 imprisonment, while also increasing the maximum penalty for distributing or making an objectionable publication from 10 years\u2019 imprisonment to 14 years\u2019 imprisonment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000138\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002294e0e0a1267041ba915112600b6c9b30\u0022\u003EScott Simpson\u003C/span\u003E: What additional protections for children are targeted in the bill?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000139\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c2b2f29644e94de59687ce3d027b315e\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: The bill also creates a new offence of indecent communication with a child under the age of 16. Indecent communications may include texting, picture messaging, internet chat, or verbal communications via telephone. Indecent communications are damaging to children, regardless of the method of communication, and the new offence will be punishable by a maximum penalty of 3 years\u2019 imprisonment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000140\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022201f45574ffc4e23a45ce50714cf0725\u0022\u003EScott Simpson\u003C/span\u003E: What other steps is the Government taking to eradicate child sexual abuse online?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cb67f0385def4e27bb782876d279d944\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: Last year New Zealand was one of 48 countries to sign up to the Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online. The global alliance, headed by the European Union and the United States, aims to eliminate legal loopholes exploited by the distributors of child sexual abuse material, strengthen efforts to grow Interpol\u2019s international database of material, and make it easier to initiate joint cross-border police investigations. Efforts are also being made to dismantle child sexual exploitation networks, block internet sites, seize harmful material, and raise public awareness. Stopping child sexual abuse online is a priority for enforcement agencies and a priority for this Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000142\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022125f446c43a946b2a89ac3ea130703c2\u0022\u003EPrimary Industries\u2014Meat Exports to China and Confidence in Minister\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022 data-id=\u00222ff17ead308c4a9bbed02f7ef4f2dcc4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000143\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E8. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222ff17ead308c4a9bbed02f7ef4f2dcc4\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u2019CONNOR (Labour\u2014West Coast - Tasman)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in his Minister for Primary Industries?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022 data-id=\u0022ae7b235f99e544658d26777a3cb5bd26\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000144\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ae7b235f99e544658d26777a3cb5bd26\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000145\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022818c188b83cd4527b34c987c848f39fa\u0022\u003EHon Damien O\u2019Connor\u003C/span\u003E: Given the statement made just today that Chinese officials now have all the information they need, how can we believe that statement any more than those made by the Minister for Primary Industries on 18 May, 20 May, and 23 May that the issue of meat exports into China was being resolved, and, indeed, today the latest press statement confirms that the meat still sits on the wharves in China?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000146\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002251f2b5619ae64be08c8e59c451f0f925\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Because it is correct.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000147\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022049661cc48724a49a38c3f697c753625\u0022\u003EHon Damien O\u2019Connor\u003C/span\u003E: If the Prime Minister will not hold his Minister to account, who should be responsible for the compensation that he referred to, possibly available to meat exporters, and is it now the Government\u2019s policy to compensate private companies when his Ministers stuff up?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000148\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eb3cf2cbfe534819bcbb642194e19a3d\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: The matter of compensation is a matter for the Director-General of the Ministry for Primary Industries. It is fair to say that there are a number of people who have made mistakes here, but, quite clearly, the issue actually rests with the officials in the Ministry of Primary Industries.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002299a96fce9d644f2093f4a2e9ebb3e020\u0022\u003EHon Damien O\u2019Connor\u003C/span\u003E: Has the Prime Minister considered reassigning the Minister for Primary Industries to the energy portfolio, where all his drilling down might be more productive than in the primary industries portfolio, where his drilling down has done nothing to achieve a resolution of this issue in a timely manner?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000150\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002279e685c8632443c6a4c48ba89b68d2df\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: No. I have enormous confidence in the Minister for Primary Industries. But I have to say I am a little surprised that that member has raised the issue of drilling, given he is at complete odds with his own party over what is happening at Denniston.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000151\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022cbabdf6ee46941298bb094845ff3de71\u0022\u003EBudget 2013\u2014Mental Health Care for New Mothers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022 data-id=\u00224dc57ff12942436faef23918ca9b7ac3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000152\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003E9. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224dc57ff12942436faef23918ca9b7ac3\u0022\u003EKATRINA SHANKS (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Health: What investments in Budget 2013 is the Government making to better help mothers with post-natal distress and other mental health conditions?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022 data-id=\u00229ec99d1e11414ac18b62f138cf474553\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000153\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229ec99d1e11414ac18b62f138cf474553\u0022\u003EHon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health):\u003C/span\u003E The Government is putting an extra $18.2 million over 4 years into dedicated maternal mental health beds and new specialist community services around the North Island for around 650 mothers and babies a year. At least 15 percent of New Zealand mothers develop depression, anxiety, or a more severe mental illness post-natally. Currently in the North Island new mothers with severe mental illness are often treated and supported in adult acute mental health units, separated from their new babies and families. But thanks to this investment, more of these mothers will now get the support of the new specialised maternal mental health services, with their babies beside them, reportedly, in the North Island for the first time in 40 years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000154\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cda02654357e4af0bb8559c98f1e5d60\u0022\u003EKatrina Shanks\u003C/span\u003E: What services and support will this new funding provide?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000155\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022070be6a0fa1d464693030ea4533fad26\u0022\u003EHon TONY RYALL\u003C/span\u003E: The $18 million of extra funding will provide a balance of dedicated acute in-patient and community residential beds, serviced by specialised multidisciplinary teams, mostly in the Greater Auckland area. An additional 18 to 20 community health practitioners, comprising doctors, nurses, midwives, psychologists, and support staff, will be employed and integrated across the district health boards in the North Island. It will make a real difference to the families involved with post-natal depression. It will allow mothers to receive their care with their new babies, instead of having to be separated for weeks on end at what should be a happy time in their lives.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000156\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ecee61bb88344b349cacffc121647707\u0022\u003ESue Moroney\u003C/span\u003E: Will he support the prevention as well as the treatment of post-natal distress by voting for my bill to extend paid parental leave to 6 months, given the submissions received by the Government Administration Committee from organisations such as La Leche League and the Human Rights Foundation that identified the importance of adequate paid parental leave in improving maternal mental health?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000157\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222e6b857dafaf45dc89bca650dff010e2\u0022\u003EHon TONY RYALL\u003C/span\u003E: No, I will not be supporting that bill, but what I will be saying to those groups, if that member wants to be political, is why did her party do nothing about it for 9 years in office? [Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000158\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022be1b4f1f39a6401182ffd651608d08a9\u0022\u003ESue Moroney\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Is it in order, when I have been called by the Speaker to ask a question in question time, for members on the backbenches opposite to yell at me to sit down? Is that in order, Mr Speaker?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000159\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223c526c5fee254f018253b5229b506fcc\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, it certainly is not in order. I did not hear any member\u2014[Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000160\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220f52f816a0cb4bd3a8ddb3b7fc390190\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Listen up!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000161\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225456f19aaa7b4a948453d6c662e952b6\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Well, I am attempting to listen up, but the noise today is fairly loud. I did not hear it but it is certainly not in order, and the member is quite correct to raise it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000162\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022d7a97194d7b946cf9bb0c8672c7f1333\u0022\u003EEqual Employment Opportunities Commissioner\u2014Appointment Process\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022 data-id=\u0022e716b970b7164ebb9dd65e280a4f2c8c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000163\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e716b970b7164ebb9dd65e280a4f2c8c\u0022\u003EGRANT ROBERTSON (Deputy Leader\u2014Labour):\u003C/span\u003E My question is to\u2014[Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000164\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022877e1bd422b540bfb6ea8674f8a1c6f4\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000165\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002251dfea20-2244-4fc7-bd7d-ebf7a98580e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002280e36019886b43bda318033fa697e9bc\u0022\u003EHon Tau Henare\u003C/span\u003E: Sit down, Grant.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000166\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022738b60b022a14aa998fa6f3f407e40ff\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That is certainly not helpful to the order of the House, particularly after the last point of order that was raised.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000167\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dccc97545c944a208cc5ce2cbc261c2e\u0022\u003EGRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: He so rarely gets to stand up himself.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000168\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e16c4debbedd49f1ba488530dd98a92c\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Right, question No. 10.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022 data-id=\u00223d7d3930d98b4d709744cea3a82719d0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E10. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223d7d3930d98b4d709744cea3a82719d0\u0022\u003EGRANT ROBERTSON (Deputy Leader\u2014Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Justice: On what date did applications for the position of Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner close in the most recent appointment process, and on what date did the Ministry of Justice receive an application from Dr Jackie Blue?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022 data-id=\u00225105ae5d76414b0d82fe3b6376dabab4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000170\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225105ae5d76414b0d82fe3b6376dabab4\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Justice):\u003C/span\u003E The premise of that question is incorrect. This is a statutory position for appointment by the Governor-General under advice from the Minister. Expressions of interest for a ministerial appointment close when the Minister making the advice to the Governor-General is satisfied that they can make the right recommendation for the appointment to the Governor-General. I received an informal expression of interest from Dr Jackie Blue\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000171\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002264b5b5e0d8c14cd59a1d325fe2f8294a\u0022\u003EHon Shane Jones\u003C/span\u003E: Dodgy!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000172\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b4cf60e52d0341eebf2a66358c699b80\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: That is a bit much, coming from that member, is it not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000173\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002229a07648fabf4f058b95663df4dfcfff\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Would the Minister just complete the answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000174\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002298b4f2ebcaeb483687813bd50dc1132d\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: I received an informal expression of interest from Dr Jackie Blue on 20 September 2012. Dr Blue\u2019s formal expression of interest was sent by me to the ministry on 11 November 2012.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000175\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f1db57c550814f3199bd72aa6cf5b9d3\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave of the House to table the advertisement for the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner published in daily newspapers, which had a closing date of 13 October 2012.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000176\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a21610ec370c40eeb5ec30f6a8f0186c\u0022\u003EHon Dr Nick Smith\u003C/span\u003E: It was in the newspaper.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000177\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223d8834bfcc964099bc2e64d739f4cece\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: But on this occasion I will put the leave. Leave is sought to table it. Is there any objection? There is none. It may be tabled.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000178\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003EDocument, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000179\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b7ad304943c14ced8cf04a9da4838a2d\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Why was Jackie Blue\u2019s application treated differently from those of other applicants, who had to have their application in by 13 October 2012?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000180\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022966d4355110543c9adccd7959d430364\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: In fact, as I have already told that member, they were only expressions of interest, not applications\u2014expressions of interest\u2014and, in fact, the expressions of interest could come either to me or to the ministry. She gave me her expression of interest on 20 September 2012, which is significantly earlier than the date quoted by that member.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000181\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e7b2656bcc354962a07c8ad603cbe9eb\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Why did the ministry announce a closing date of 13 October 2012 if that was not relevant to the appointment process?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000182\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223b68e27a5cda4856b462d44a13431623\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: The ministry\u2019s process was in addition to the fact that I had already commenced the process. Actually, the ministry\u2014[Interruption] Look, I\u2019m sorry for that member, who obviously does not seem to understand ministerial appointments, but he should ask Trevor Mallard or David Parker\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000183\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c22672d7234f4bdeaf8ff85f0760955b\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! [Interruption] Order! A point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000184\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226718ba038b9e4a2dbe3d8cc25935ae0d\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Supplementary question\u2014[Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000185\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022641f828110c44ece978f33b5ded8740b\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! We now\u2014[Interruption] Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000186\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002246fc57a79d7b44f0968c56d401b27483\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: What a fool! What a fool!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000187\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229da1fd5b59f248568718d55f76e37e47\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I am trying to assist the member\u2019s colleague to ask a supplementary question. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000188\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225c389ee3afee4ae9ae42ca2c6539ce55\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Why is there no evidence on paper, as released by the Minister under the Official Information Act, of Jackie Blue\u2019s expression of interest going to her on 20 September?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000189\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229630742c14cd4fc9ac09c2e09b58a2e2\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: Because she came to see me with her CV. Actually, it is very difficult for me to be able to have a written piece of paper to say \u201CHere she is with me.\u201D, but Jackie Blue could confirm that to that member, should he ever wish to ask.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000190\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ba3092eaa1ed45b68c6478ea2de5f5a3\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave of the House to table Jackie Blue\u2019s expression of interest letter, dated 11 November 2012.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000191\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022061814844ac2440b8d8d1366d28cd598\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Leave is sought to table that letter. Is there any objection? There is none.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003EDocument, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227dcd038b20f84a06a8db7f6967ad7ad3\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table a document showing that four Ministers under the previous Labour Government actually sat on the interview panels for the appointments of the Solicitor-General, the State Services Commissioner, and the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Two of those members are here today\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000194\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227e04597c53f4411296cb7e99d71fe4ef\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Leave is sought to table that document. [Interruption] Order! Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There appears to be none. It can be tabled.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000195\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003EDocument, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000196\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224b81d5e07d2a400aa32b60bb06702124\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave\u2014[Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000197\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224bcf9757867e41ecacbf6a043cf7daca\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! This is a point of order. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000198\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228c6b97520d194b2ebb47010ba815991b\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table a document that proves that the State Services Commissioner cannot appoint himself.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000199\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220e52f9c4755b451490f734d32b33a4d8\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I am not putting that leave.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000200\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022feb285b9644a41a486aeedeb4b5723fd\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Why did she give as her initial answer to written question No. 4716 that she did not discuss the position of Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner with Dr Blue prior to 13 October 2012, contrary to what she has told the House today?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000201\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226d95c445cabf4c8cbcbca7ad18fd1b79\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: As that member well knows, I actually corrected that because I looked at that answer, which my staff had prepared, when I came back into the office and said: \u201CThat\u2019s a bit cute.\u201D I did not go out to Jackie Blue and say to her: \u201CWhy don\u2019t you come and apply for this job?\u201D. She actually discussed it with me and asked whether she could put it in. That is why I corrected it, Mr Robertson, unlike that member, who should now go and\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000202\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d2ccc77af9aa4a2c93e77543d6434ece\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000203\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022d3615683f520423fb3a5dc1869aff214\u0022\u003EMining in Conservation Areas\u2014Denniston Plateau\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220bfa5b74-8933-458a-99d4-bbd75d9898d0\u0022 data-id=\u00221e42197c5f8c4ec785ba04e0a05eb3eb\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000204\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bfa5b74-8933-458a-99d4-bbd75d9898d0\u0022\u003E11. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221e42197c5f8c4ec785ba04e0a05eb3eb\u0022\u003ECHRIS AUCHINVOLE (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Conservation: What benefits does he see in the access agreement negotiated between the Department of Conservation and Bathurst Resources for its mine on the Denniston Plateau?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022 data-id=\u0022ee69b5d4695d4ccbba3004852f8d235f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ee69b5d4695d4ccbba3004852f8d235f\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister of Conservation):\u003C/span\u003E There are both conservation and economic benefits. The conservation benefits come from the extensive and intensive $22 million programme of pest control covering 4,500 hectares on the plateau and its surrounds, and a further 25,000 hectares in the Heaphy Valley in the Kahurangi National Park. I am advised this will result in a net increase in the populations of great spotted kiwi, k\u0101k\u0101, and blue duck, as well as native bats and snails, on the West Coast. The economic benefits are 225 direct jobs and $1 billion in export earnings, and will be a welcome relief for a region that has been hit hard by the Pike River mine disaster and the financial woes of Solid Energy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000206\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bfa5b74-8933-458a-99d4-bbd75d9898d0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a41d7d79cf2a40e2a8f8b4b8546c4899\u0022\u003EChris Auchinvole\u003C/span\u003E: Has the Minister received a letter from the Labour Opposition on the issue; if so, is it consistent with other representations he has received on the Bathurst Resources mine?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000207\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022185179787a3c42d3b303b369aa75a8d5\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, the letter from the Labour Party is dated 3rd of this month and states \u201CI urge you to take whatever action you can to support Bathurst\u2019s proposed Denniston mine.\u201D, and it is signed by Mr Damien O\u2019Connor. I previously stood on a platform with Opposition environment spokesperson, Maryan Street, who said on this mine: \u201CLeave the coal in the hole.\u201D But what was even more confusing is that after I approved the mine last Friday, Mr O\u2019Connor put out a statement damning the deal.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000208\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bfa5b74-8933-458a-99d4-bbd75d9898d0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002244d957166d464dce8e39a272c27d00f5\u0022\u003EChris Auchinvole\u003C/span\u003E: What advice has the Minister received on how he should deal with appeals against the Denniston mine?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000209\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cc939c50093b49b1a22fe1d5022646b0\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: The letter I received on 3 May on Labour Party letterhead and signed by Mr O\u2019Connor said this: \u201CAs Minister of Conservation your involvement is crucial to stop the continuous appeals from Forest and Bird against the mine development.\u201D After approving the Bathurst Resources application last Thursday, I received a joint statement from Mr O\u2019Connor and conservation spokesperson, Ruth Dyson, stating that I was riding roughshod over process and that I should give the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society a further opportunity to oppose the mine. It seems that Labour\u2019s position is all over the paddock\u2014or should I say \u201Cplateau\u201D? I seek leave of the House to table a letter I received from the Labour Opposition on the Bathurst Resources mine, dated 2 May 2013.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000210\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b54e261400fe412799df6e43526ebe1a\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Leave is sought to table that letter. Is there any objection? There appears to be none. It can be tabled.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000211\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003EDocument, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000212\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022487423cc8cb3477fbc53a7f8437da65b\u0022\u003EMining in Conservation Areas\u2014Denniston Plateau\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022 data-id=\u0022cd54b6b1a80d49bdbad0d02f2023d18c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000213\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E12. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cd54b6b1a80d49bdbad0d02f2023d18c\u0022\u003ECATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Conservation: Does he agree with advice from his own Department of Conservation, in regards to Bathurst\u2019s plans for an opencast coal mine on the Denniston Plateau, \u201Cthere would be significant and irreversible adverse effects on the conservation values and overall ecological integrity of the application area and the Denniston Plateau should the proposed activity be approved\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022 data-id=\u00222d57e1f08ddc4534ac6b49c8bac60dd3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000214\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222d57e1f08ddc4534ac6b49c8bac60dd3\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister of Conservation):\u003C/span\u003E Yes. In regard to the area to be mined, the effects will be significant and irreversible. I also note the advice, though, that the area concerned has already been mined, has a dam and artificial lake, includes roads and bulldozer tracks, and has infestation from weeds like gorse and broom. I also note the advice that the area to be mined is general stewardship land. It is not national park, conservation park, or any class of reserve or sanctuary. It is the lowest conservation category of land managed by the department and the mine affects 5 percent of the plateau.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000215\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002260e0d56a57014a56b39e9d6f20143546\u0022\u003ECatherine Delahunty\u003C/span\u003E: How can he, as Minister of Conservation, approve an access agreement for a proposal, possibly the first of six from Bathurst Resources, which his own department has advised is inconsistent with the objectives of the Conservation Act?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000216\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002245e1cc2d7f05475a9e7d4b76412b8f08\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: Because the member is selective in the advice from the 230-page report from the department. The departmental report said that there was very significant benefits from the $22 million compensation package and that the threats from pests on both the Denniston Plateau and the West Coast were far greater than those from mining. The advice I have received is that, for instance, with this package the population of a special species like the whio, or blue duck, will increase fivefold within 5 years as a consequence of the compensation package that goes with the mine application.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000217\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fc17024bcfcc42f19df862caad90d355\u0022\u003ECatherine Delahunty\u003C/span\u003E: How will New Zealand\u2019s environment be better off, given that after the completion of the Bathurst Resources pest control programme, the pests will come back, but the significant and irreversible mining damage will remain for ever on Denniston Plateau?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000218\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ce7e6c0107ed4ad789f492dff645b1ba\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: The programme of pest control is for a period of 50 years. Of course, the mine application also requires the rehabilitation of the area. The member\u2019s wish may be that the area actually be environmentally detrimental from what it is now. Actually, because it has been mined, the water in the area to be mined is almost as strong as acid. As a condition of the consent, the water in this area right where it is being mined will actually be of better quality than what it is now. The Green Party totally overlooks the fact that the Denniston Plateau has been mined for over 100 years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000219\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227f74083a3e1b4b7b82e6e31ed6b9108f\u0022\u003ECatherine Delahunty\u003C/span\u003E: Does he accept that, as Minister of Conservation, he will have allowed the destruction of a unique landscape with distinctive rare and threatened plants, and that proposed compensation will do nothing to stop the destruction of that specific environment?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000220\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224b82d57a31094ed281dd38e537f8f989\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: The part I cannot work out from the Greens is this: they do not want mining anywhere, but I want to know where they are going to manufacture the wind farms. And what about the glass and the steel that we use in daily lives? One of the facts they overlook is that the only way that you can manufacture steel is with good quality coking coal, and it is hypocritical for people to say no to mining but want to use steel in their daily lives.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000221\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002205282d32c2a948329059cc2c966bc2ec\u0022\u003ECatherine Delahunty\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table a photograph that I took myself of the iconic landscape on the Denniston Plateau, and it has not\u2014[Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000222\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002288c2deb12bd14474a39dcdd706def4f2\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! It is a point of order and it is seeking leave to table a photograph that the member has taken herself. Is there any objection to that being tabled? There appears to be none. The member can table the document.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000223\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003EDocument, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000224\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022e98743739d3f4907aac7b35ca3421b74\u0022\u003EUrgent Debates Declined\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000225\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c242cd7c9e694f94b41a4c54ca4eedc6\u0022\u003EPrimary Industries, Ministry\u2014Suspension of Meat Exports to China\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022 data-id=\u00223933ee498ccc4c7292b1e2f09d761d26\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000226\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223933ee498ccc4c7292b1e2f09d761d26\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I have received a letter from the Hon Damien O\u2019Connor seeking to debate under Standing Order 386 the cessation of the importation of New Zealand sheep and beef meat into China as a result of actions by the Ministry of Primary Industries and the failure to adequately respond to these issues. This is a particular case of recent occurrence involving ministerial responsibility. However, applications for urgent debates are required to be lodged at least 1 hour before the House sits. The member did not meet the deadline with this application. However, in any event, the House will today continue with the Budget debate. This provides another means for the House to discuss the matter. In these circumstances there is no justification for setting aside the business of the House. The application is therefore declined.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022dfcc936bafa54a9083a2883ce6f7b73a\u0022\u003EBudget Debate\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=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000228\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002214b3435da6dc4dbe804b3159ead4021a\u0022\u003EAppropriation (2013/14 Estimates) Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000229\u0022\u003EDebate resumed from 16 May on the .\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022 data-id=\u0022ff4a7f9506674668a3daae01c609ce2a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000230\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ff4a7f9506674668a3daae01c609ce2a\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery):\u003C/span\u003E Mr Speaker, I am not surprised that Damien O\u2019Connor got that letter in to you late. He probably had another one in his drawer asking not to have an urgent debate, and he could not work out which one he should send in. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000231\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EI rise to speak in favour of the Budget delivered by the Hon Bill English and against the amendment moved by the Leader of the Opposition. This is a Budget that has seen the Government being able to project a surplus in the coming year, and I want to put on record my congratulations to the Hon Bill English, who has stuck to the course but has shown throughout the last 4 years considerable compassion for New Zealanders where there are needs, and, most particularly, that has been shown in the situation around Christchurch. This Budget committed a further $2 billion in extra funding to the recovery effort in Christchurch, bringing the Government\u2019s contribution to that recovery to something around the $15 billion mark. The total recovery from all sources will now be in excess of $40 billion\u2014a very large undertaking by any manner of means. The Government remains very committed to ensuring that we do get a good recovery result in Christchurch. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000232\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EI want to just run through with the House not only some of the things that we have committed funding to but also some of the issues that we have previously committed funding to. So, first, in this Budget there is $900 million of new capital funding, which will go to Christchurch hospitals and their redevelopment. This is the biggest single hospital development in New Zealand\u2019s history, and it is very appropriately being led by the Canterbury District Health Board, which is doing a great job in making sure that this new facility comes together extremely well. I want to thank the Hon Tony Ryall for his considerable efforts in making sure that this funding was available. Furthermore, there is a capital commitment to the justice and emergency precinct, and further commitments also to tertiary education. Once again, the hallmark of the legislation that we passed for the recovery in Canterbury is that each Minister in their own ministry has responsibility to contribute to that recovery. It has made my job as the overall Minister responsible so much easier, and I do want to thank the Ministers for the work that they continue to do. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000233\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EWe have also put money in this Budget into making sure that the anchor projects that were in the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan, which was produced last year, do get under way. These are very big civic assets that add to the amenity of any city. The opportunity here is for Christchurch to have some very, very good buildings that will be strong, that will last and pass the test of time, and that will add value to our community. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000234\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EIn addition, we have put up money for the development of the Avon River precinct. People will be familiar with the Avon River, which wanders through the centre of Christchurch. We want the banks of that river to become far more accessible to people in Christchurch and to visitors to our city, and the Government has put up a fund of some $96 million to make that happen over the coming years. As private sector investors begin to build buildings\u2014I want to acknowledge Antony Gough for getting first out of the blocks with the proposals he announced yesterday\u2014there will be complementary design between those buildings and those riverbanks to ensure that we get the most splendid results possible. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000235\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EThe Earthquake Commission comes under a great deal of criticism, and we have funded it beyond the Natural Disaster Fund so that it can continue with the obligations that it now picks up in Christchurch. So far it has repaired over 38,000 homes. That is a very large number, albeit that it has taken a couple of years to do that. What it does let us do is get to the point where by the end of the year we would expect that number to be 50,000, and by the end of 2015 the entire repair job going to the Fletcher EQR office to be completed. Private insurers have got a role to play. They need to step up and do a lot more than they appear to be doing at the present time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000236\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EOne of the things that we did early on was put up $1.7 billion to help families out of damaged homes in the worst affected areas of Christchurch. These are areas, essentially, where it is just so difficult to rebuild that it was much more desirable for people to make a difficult choice\u2014a very difficult choice\u2014to accept one of the Government offers and move on. I am pleased that nearly 6,700 households have accepted those offers and are moving on. We saw last Friday night on the Campbell Live television programme the happy faces of people who have been able to benefit from that programme by, in fact, relocating into new or second-purchased houses in far stronger areas. It was a little change from the novel John Campbell television programme. He is, I think, the self-appointed campaign manager for the Labour Party in Christchurch. It is disappointing that he does take that particular role, because I do not think that he actually represents the city terribly well with some of the stories he does put out there. I would just encourage him to keep looking\u2014not too hard; not too hard, because you do not have to\u2014to find some of the very good stories that exist for people in Canterbury. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000237\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EWe are coming into a local body election this year, and that does create some worries. I would simply say to anybody who is thinking of standing for the council, or taking a major leadership role that they might be elected to, to have a look at the finances\u2014have a look at the finances\u2014and do not be deceived by what you are being told by the people who are presenting those figures. That is a council that has significant challenges ahead of it, and some of the silly rhetoric that we are getting out of potential candidates is not going to help people in Christchurch move forward. We need to do that in a sensible fashion, and I am pleased that the Government is sticking by Canterbury and ensuring that things do move. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000238\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EIt is noteworthy that the economy in Canterbury last year grew by 5.6 percent, compared with the rest of New Zealand at 2.2 percent. We have got very good growth statistics, with a 6.8 percent rise in employment, and unemployment sitting at 4.3 percent. So there are some very, very good fundamentals. Essentially, local people are responding to the challenges in front of them and getting on with putting the city back together. I have got huge admiration for them. I do want to make it clear that it is the Prime Minister\u2019s commitment, the Deputy Prime Minister\u2019s commitment, and the commitment of the whole Cabinet and National caucus, as well as a great deal of the membership of this House, that sits in a most complementary fashion behind the work that local people do. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000239\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EI do think, though, that it is worth looking at the public reaction to the Budget as a whole, which, by and large, has been very, very positive. I mentioned John Campbell before. Sadly, I now have to mention Paddy Gower, who had a very interesting take on some polling figures that were produced last week. He said that it was the Labour Party hoax over the electricity proposals that had got it up in the polls. I will simply say this. The National Government came into office in 2008. We had had at that time a 72 percent rise in the retail power price in just 8 years. We had had four crises in the electricity industry through that time, when people were asked to save, and the power companies profited all the way through that. We said that there was something wrong here. The first thing we did was get rid of the thermal ban. The second thing we did was embark on electricity market reform. When in 2010 those reforms kicked in, the Labour Party said that they would never work and that they would cause problems. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000240\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EWell, firstly, power price increases have been at less than half the rate that they were under the Labour Government, and, secondly, in the last 3 years of the Labour Government the average amount of electricity generated from renewable sources was just 65 percent. Since 2010 the average amount of electricity generated from renewable sources has sat at 74 percent. That is a massive increase. What it means is that when power companies are faced with some opportunities to do things in a sensible way, they will choose to do that. The point that I make is that under all the smoke and mirrors from the Labour Party, there is a suggestion that there will be a $300 or $400 a year saving in electricity, which, frankly, cannot be proven and cannot be sustained as an argument. But then, of course, climate change charges will put $500 to $600 on the costs of every household. It is no surprise that the alternative to the excellent Budget brought down by Bill English has fallen on its face with the public. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u002278bef2c6afaf462fa4ebae9e536eaad8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000241\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002278bef2c6afaf462fa4ebae9e536eaad8\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Is this a 10-minute call?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022 data-id=\u002235941f9cd1c945eba49f4b571ae856c4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000242\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002235941f9cd1c945eba49f4b571ae856c4\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: Ten minutes. I will give a call at 2 minutes to go.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u0022e8574a76cedc424cb42373055d78bfc2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e8574a76cedc424cb42373055d78bfc2\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Again today we had another typical announcement from the Prime Minister. He made an announcement of $2 million a year going into food in schools\u2014just enough to get a headline but not enough to make a substantial difference. That is the way this Government operates. It knows it is in trouble on child poverty, it knows it is in trouble on housing, it knows it is in trouble on electricity, and what does it do? It just tinkers a little bit, but it never does anything sufficiently large or substantial to make a difference that will be significant. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000244\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EThis is the National Government\u2019s\u2014is it its fifth Budget? It is its fifth Budget, but it has not yet balanced one Budget. Labour ran nine Budgets, and we ran surpluses every time\u2014every time. We actually had very substantial tax cuts for families with children, and we cut the corporate tax rate from 33c to 30c in the dollar and improved write-off for short-lived assets.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000245\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c3af1994a92543d588024b0d6b2c08ed\u0022\u003EAndrew Little\u003C/span\u003E: What of the Crown debt?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000246\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c43c1d821da34f5c97df63f6f19eb011\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: Well, over that same period, we reduced Crown debt, Mr Little. We reduced gross debt from 38 percent of GDP to 18 percent of GDP, and we got net debt down to zero. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000247\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EWhat was National calling for at the time? It said it did not want the big surpluses that we ran; it wanted more tax cuts. What foolish behaviour that would have been. That would have left New Zealand in the same position that the United States, Great Britain, and most of Europe are facing as a consequence of having Governments that did there what National would have done here, had it been in charge, and that would be to fritter away those surpluses. As a consequence National would have had us in very, very difficult times at the moment. Even Bill English, who is not really a Labour Party supporter, was forced to acknowledge at the time he took office that this was the rainy day the Labour Government had been saving for. So this proud record that Labour has of fiscal responsibility goes back\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000248\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022110fc3d9874e4edd98392e2cd0c5871e\u0022\u003EHon Dr Nick Smith\u003C/span\u003E: Rubbish.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000249\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022886fa48af38e4b62b818307c21f8f610\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014just about through every Labour Government that you have ever had. Dr Smith says \u201CRubbish\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000250\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f243c47ed8884fd7a2bddf9f4311dab5\u0022\u003EHon Dr Nick Smith\u003C/span\u003E: It is.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000251\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022441dbe524e434c21a67cef4d9b11e996\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: Dr Smith, who was the most fiscally irresponsible Prime Minister in your life? It was Mr Muldoon. Mr Muldoon is the only fiscally irresponsible Prime Minister that we have had. John Banks\u2014who looks like he is on the phone over there\u2014is the only one left here who was a supporter of Mr Muldoon, and I am not surprised that the ACT Party\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000252\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e2988df0e33740a498ac8542cffd6b52\u0022\u003EHon Phil Goff\u003C/span\u003E: He named his dog after him.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000253\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221d1d82493a794605a8938145d9f98749\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: He named his dog after him. Well, that might be appropriate. He also modelled his own behaviour after him, because he tripled council debt when he was last the mayor. The Labour Party is not fiscally irresponsible. We have never been fiscally irresponsible, and our record shows that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000254\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f2ac939c5fe64cf5b15fe42939aabea3\u0022\u003EHon Dr Nick Smith\u003C/span\u003E: Tell the truth.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000255\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002297416208aa5845d589ffc788078a6117\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: So this should not be a debate about austerity compared with Government spending. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000256\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002215f1a4086da0415ea469f7d4a3de82e9\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Sorry. The member cannot say that phrase. There is a well-known Speaker\u2019s ruling; 42/3. Do not do it again.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000257\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b655432aba7e40958f07be98985ba523\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Speaker; I am sure that will not come off my time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000258\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EWe had shiny pledges from the National Party in order to get into office. It promised us a brighter future. It said: \u201CWave Goodbye to Higher Taxes. Not Your Loved Ones.\u201D Since then 200,000 people have disappeared to Australia. Since then we have had electricity prices continuing to rise at double the rate of inflation. In fact, last year they went up by five times the rate of inflation. We have got rampant house price inflation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000259\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E We have got a two-speed economy, where some parts of the economy are thriving\u2014i.e., the speculative economy. Speculative housing investment in Auckland is driving rampant house price inflation. And National does nothing about it because it has caused the problem. Forty percent of its income tax cuts went to the top 10 percent of income earners, and National is surprised that those people are out there trying to buy more and more houses, while a lot of people\u2014in fact, the majority of young people\u2014cannot afford even one. Not only that but National knows that it is a tax bias that is driving over-investment in property at the cost of jobs and the productive economy, but it does nothing about it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000260\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EWe have got a two-speed economy in the regional sense, in that we have got some regions doing well and lots of regions doing poorly. We have got unemployment at over 15 percent amongst Pasifika and M\u0101ori groups. There is a two-speed economy for them. We have got a two-speed economy age-wise, with young people increasingly in insecure work, without secure work and career structures to keep them in New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000261\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EWhat has the Government done in terms of its promise to create 170,000 more jobs? We had Mr English, again, in the House today trying to say that it was something other than an election promise, when I have got here with me the advertisement that was on the television, which says \u201C170,000 more jobs\u201D. At the time of the Budget, where were they? The Government got only 8,000 more jobs. It was 162,000 behind. That is yet another broken promise from the National Party. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000262\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EWe have got rampant house price inflation. The Government is really spooked by the fact that the Labour Party has struck a chord with people. We have said that there is a need for some planning interventions, and the Government has brought forward some of those\u2014indeed, it has overreacted in one part of it\u2014but only after the Labour Party and the Auckland Council said that the Government has got to let it give effect to the Auckland Plan. But the Government does not have a clue as to how it is that you get on and build more houses. It is actually quite simple. You get on and you build more houses. But it will not do that. It does not have a clue as to how to solve this problem. It is blaming councils, which it is apt to do, and Nick Smith has been blaming councils\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000263\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022867ec619e5e8454da5d9c9d933518c9f\u0022\u003EPhil Twyford\u003C/span\u003E: He\u2019s the worst.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000264\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f8cdc2e89ea94af9a3a1bf4e33177be4\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014saying that it is all the councils\u2019 fault. He is the worst at it. He talks up a crisis, as he did with ACC. Blaming councils might take the heat off the Government, but it does not take the heat out of the problem. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000265\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EWe will be holding the Government to account on this problem because rampant house price inflation is set to continue. Indeed, it is an absolute indictment of this Government that the upside projection in this Budget\u2014the upside projection in this Budget\u2014is predicated on more house price inflation driving more debt and more debt-fuelled consumption. That is the great scenario in the Government\u2019s Budget. That is the upside scenario in the Budget. Its growth strategy is to make the imbalances in the New Zealand economy worse. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000266\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003ELet us talk about the national overdraft. The national overdraft is our current account deficit. The national overdraft is something that Bill English said he was going to fix. He was going to rebalance the economy. But, under National, the national overdraft is already the worst in the developed world. Five years into its\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000267\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f1a1a6ee69a94d93b414da0e8dada83d\u0022\u003EDr David Clark\u003C/span\u003E: Worse than Greece.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000268\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002267820dec1f3d440ab967d7d0d3132aeb\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: It is worse than in Greece. It is worse than in Greece. It is the worst in the developed world, according to the IMF. And every year from here it gets worse still until the end of the projection period. So National\u2019s overdraft has us\u2014instead of borrowing $10 billion extra overseas next year, or selling assets to overseas owners\u2014going to $16 billion in the projection period. As Russel Norman said today in the House, there is an extra $60 billion of net international liabilities in the forecast period. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000269\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EThese guys could not run a bath\u2014they could not run a bath. They have not got extra jobs. Electricity prices keep going up at twice the rate of inflation. And what do they do about all these things? Nothing. Because, you know, in the end, the National Party stands for vested interests. It stands for John Banks keeping secret the donations from Skycity. He is currently facing charges before the court in respect of that abysmal lack of judgment. We have the National Party giving New Zealand the misery of pokie machines in return for a shabby deal for a convention centre in Auckland.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000270\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b53f8451-a5f8-4e92-851f-9ca381f19343\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002291c6cc4de068452d8be0e1ffb5f9733c\u0022\u003EHon John Banks\u003C/span\u003E: What\u2019s happening to the polls?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000271\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223a25e5622beb4389851b57e9e0b8a002\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: What has happened in the polls? What has happened in the polls is that there has been a more than 10 percent two-party swing from National to Labour since the election. What has happened in the polls in terms of ACT is that we cannot find it. Polls have just about stopped reporting ACT, because it is under 1 percent. It is below the margin of error. That is what has happened in the polls. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000272\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EThis two-speed economy is not working for ordinary New Zealanders. That is why 200,000 people have left for Australia. Forty percent of them are between the ages of 18 and 30. They are our future\u2014the young people. It is shameful\u2014absolutely shameful\u2014that they are leaving. We used to hear Bill English saying that the Government was sticking to a plan that is working. Well, that is gone. I have not heard those members skiting about the brighter future or saying \u201CWave Goodbye to Higher Taxes. Not Your Loved Ones.\u201D\u2014all these flash slogans. They are all being proved wrong one by one, and as a consequence the shine continues to tarnish in respect of the National Party. This is a bad Budget. It does not address any of the fundamental problems of the New Zealand economy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022 data-id=\u00229745be5b11d84753aa7510c8230e4cf5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000273\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229745be5b11d84753aa7510c8230e4cf5\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister of Conservation):\u003C/span\u003E It is with huge pride that I endorse this Budget from Bill English, because if you look at all of the vital signs on which you should judge an economy, it is a Budget that is making great progress. Let us go through them. What is the rate of interest rates being faced by New Zealand households and businesses today, and how does that compare with what the previous Labour Government left? We have got an interest rate, in front-page ads today in the paper, of 4.9 percent\u2014the lowest mortgage interest rates since I was in nappies in the 1960s. Mortgage interest rates were 9 percent when the members opposite left office, and that halving of interest rates is making an enormous difference to families and businesses throughout New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000274\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003ELet us look at growth rates. How is New Zealand\u2019s economic growth rate comparing throughout the world? The Budget shows a 3 percent growth rate. Name me a country\u2014name me an OECD country\u2014that has delivered a better, stronger economy under the most trying conditions since the Great Depression. You look at the UK\u20140.3 percent. You look at France\u20140.5 percent. You look at the United States\u20141.2 percent. There is only one country within the OECD whose growth rate is slightly better than New Zealand\u2019s growth rate, and that is Australia. Anybody listening to the Budget last week in Australia or in our own country would know that they would rather be on this side of the Tasman. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000275\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EAnother key issue that you should test economic performance by is the cost of living. It impacts on every New Zealander. Members opposite want to highlight the odd element. One minute they were screaming last year: \u201CFood prices are going out of control.\u201D Actually, Statistics New Zealand shows that the cost of living for households in the last year has gone up by less than it did at any time in the last 15 years\u2014any time in the last 15 years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c0f6e4d6972c42fbb289785b07fb5218\u0022\u003EAndrew Little\u003C/span\u003E: What about power prices?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000277\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226d282d56dab24e48a1f7a1f64c61ddf7\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Andrew Little is interjecting there\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000278\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e225edefbcde4801b2b5f3bbb1ca5a81\u0022\u003EAndrew Little\u003C/span\u003E: Five percent. Five percent last year.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000279\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002278f193f242dc468b9bff3637fe39c384\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: What was the inflation rate after Labour had been in Government for 9 years? It was over 5 percent. New Zealand families could feel themselves going backwards. Their power prices were going up, their food prices were going up, the Government was spending like there was no tomorrow, and their charges were going up. Look at growth, look at inflation, look at jobs, look at mortgage interest rates\u2014this is an outstanding Budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000280\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EI was interested in Mr Parker\u2019s contribution, in which he said that the Labour Party was good at fiscal discipline\u2014good at fiscal discipline. Well, let us look at the numbers. I totalled up how much Labour had spent in new spending in its last five Budgets. In its last five Budgets how much had Labour spent? There was $14 billion of new spending\u2014$14 billion of new spending\u2014over its last five Budgets. I compare that with this Budget, which is Bill English\u2019s fifth Budget. What is the total amount of new spending in each of those five Budgets? If we take the zero Budgets, when times were really tough, there was a total of $3 billion of new spending. Am I going to take a lecture on fiscal discipline from David Parker, when the record shows that the last Labour Government spent like there was no tomorrow, and left a huge wave\u2014a decade\u2014of deficits, at which Bill English has been beavering away, year in, year out? And now Bill English is going to balance the books. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000281\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EI want to focus in on that question. How many OECD countries have been able to deliver a Budget in which they are going to balance the books? How many? How many? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a87455483c7146c1b34f61fe869d468a\u0022\u003EHon Craig Foss\u003C/span\u003E: Just this one.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000283\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002273ee4ffaaec8459f9ae2091f4aeb5774\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: Well, actually, there were two. There was New Zealand and there was Australia, except that Australia delivered a Budget, with its hopeless Labor Party\u2014with its hopeless Labor Party\u2014where it had to declare a deficit of $20 billion. We know the UK has been in tough times. Actually, the deficit in the UK is bigger than the whole of the New Zealand economy\u2014bigger than the whole of the New Zealand economy. I looked up the speeches from last year\u2019s Budget. There was ridicule\u2014ridicule\u2014from members opposite at the idea that Bill English would be able to balance the books. They said it was a joke. They said he would never get there. You had all those speeches criticising his fiscal approach. Bill English has delivered the goods, and delivered them better than any other OECD country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000284\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EBut I want to go further in saying that, absolutely, Bill English and John Key are sticking to a plan, despite all of the rhetoric from members opposite. Let us go through the things they said they would do and how they have delivered. We have got the mixed-ownership model. Yes, there have been a few headwinds. Yes, the Opposition has, disgracefully, done its best to sabotage the interests of New Zealand taxpayers in opposing that policy, but we have seen it through. We have seen a successful float of Mighty River Power. One thing we understand on this side of the House, which members opposite do not, is that a strong sharemarket is absolutely crucial to a successful economy. Can members opposite who want to sabotage our stock market\u2014who want to sabotage it\u2014tell me a successful economy that does not have a successful stock market? The silence is deafening. You see, we on this side of the House understand what is needed for a strong economy and what it is to deliver goods for New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000285\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EBut I also want to tell the story of this Budget, in that it does deal with the real issues facing New Zealand. I particularly want to talk about the initiatives on housing in this Budget. I do want to draw a contrast. I listened carefully to Mr Parker saying that house price inflation under this Government had been awful. So I went to the Parliamentary Library and I asked them for the figures on what was the average increase in house price from 2000 to 2008. The answer was an average of 9 percent per year\u20149 percent per year was what house prices went up by, Mr Little, when you were president of the Labour Party and Labour was in Government. And what is the average over the last 5 years? It was 9 percent under Labour, and what has been the average over the last 5 years? It was 2.1 percent\u20142.1 percent has been the average increase over the last 5 years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000286\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c5bad28ed65548f395ebbd1b726fbe7f\u0022\u003EAndrew Little\u003C/span\u003E: What about last year? Tell us about last year.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000287\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222d8d4cd3f2e64754bcf69d4994548097\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: But it is openly acknowledged that, particularly in the last year, house prices have moved\u2014so the Budget has responded. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000288\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EThe interesting feature is this. The Productivity Commission, an initiative that we had with the ACT Party, produced a comprehensive report on what was needed to be done around improving house prices for New Zealanders. It said that we had to address land supply; that we had to address infrastructure costs; that we had to address the issues of materials costs and productivity in the sector, particularly in the area of skills; and that we had to deal with the compliance costs. Over the last month you have seen the Government, on every one of those five areas, announcing initiatives in each of those things. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000289\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EI compare that with members opposite. Members opposite have opposed this Government on every attempt to fix the Resource Management Act roadblocks to getting affordable houses for ordinary New Zealanders\u2014every single step\u2014and we then hear the response from Labour. Is it not interesting? It says: \u201CWell, if houses are not affordable, the answer is for the Government to run it, the Government to do it.\u201D Well, Labour has got the same approach with the electricity sector. Labour members say: \u201COh, the way to get good power prices is for the Government to run it.\u201D Well, I am just waiting for the next Labour member to say to us that to get better food prices all we have to do is get the Government to buy all the damned supermarkets! It is a lunatic policy. It is a policy that is a huge risk to the future of the economy and we should not have a bar of it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000290\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EThe other thing on which I want to compliment the Minister of Finance is the smart spending\u2014careful but smart spending\u2014in this Budget. Every member of this House knows that we need to grow our exports and our foreign exchange earnings. That is why the Budget commits $400 million to increased tourism, increased support for our exporters, increased investments in technology, and increased investments in areas like skills and apprenticeships\u2014things that will make a difference. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000291\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EThe last point I want to make is that in every single area in which the New Zealand economy has opportunities for growth and jobs, members opposite, particularly with this mixed-ownership business between Labour and the Greens, say no. They say no to the convention centre. Right now there is an issue in my area with the industry of aquaculture, where we have got the Green Party opposing any growth of that industry and of jobs for my constituents. We have got the issue of Denniston mining, where you have had more positions than the Kama Sutra from the Labour Party on whether it supports or whether it opposes that. When it comes to irrigation, where does the Labour Party stand on the growth in irrigation? I have heard Mr Parker saying Labour is totally opposed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000292\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003EThis is a good Budget. This is a Budget about growth. This is a Budget that will give New Zealanders confidence about their future. We are in better shape than any other country in the world, and, by goodness, we should be proud and pass this Budget.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022 data-id=\u002290b600f0c29a4a10a5effa51ac785081\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002290b600f0c29a4a10a5effa51ac785081\u0022\u003EKEVIN HAGUE (Green):\u003C/span\u003E It is my pleasure to take a call in this debate. I want to begin by recalling that when I was a kid at primary school one of the resources that our teachers used was Aesop\u2019s Fables. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000294\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b53f8451-a5f8-4e92-851f-9ca381f19343\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022788c48c5d9014853b9eb92655cfe8b44\u0022\u003EHon John Banks\u003C/span\u003E: That was a long time ago, Kevin.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000295\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229f7fc4062e7e4308912bf243d3ec0e66\u0022\u003EKEVIN HAGUE\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, it was a long time ago, as Mr Banks said, and I do not know whether Aesop\u2019s Fables is still featured in our primary school curriculum. My favourite was the tale of the grasshopper and the ant. I want to say that this year\u2019s Budget confirms once again that this is a Government of grasshoppers. It is a Government that is focused on short-term gain, and, in particular, on short-term political gain, at the expense of future generations and at the long-term cost to this country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000296\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003EThere has been the disastrous asset sales programme. There has been the matter that has been discussed already this afternoon in this House, which is the $61 billion\u2014$61 billion\u2014increase in New Zealand\u2019s net international debt. There has been the charter schools experiment with our children. There has been the constant prioritisation of economic activity and private profit over environmental considerations and over the legacy in our natural environment that we will leave our children. There has been this Government\u2019s not only inaction on climate change but also unwinding of even the modest action that the previous Government had taken on climate change. It is a Government of grasshoppers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000297\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003E If I can pay a backhanded compliment to my counterpart, the Minister of Health, it would be to say that he is a star in this Government of grasshoppers. He has genuinely increased funding and expenditure to some areas of the health budget, but at the cost of everything else and at the cost of future generations and the future health of New Zealand. Take, for example, elective surgery. The Minister has genuinely increased funding to elective surgery, and that is a great thing for people who will benefit from elective surgery\u2014good on them\u2014but he has done that at the expense of everything else, and elective surgery comprises perhaps 5 percent of what the health system actually does for New Zealanders. That cost to everything else comes also against a backdrop of a sinking lid on health funding, because in this year\u2019s Budget, as the Government has done in every other Budget in its tenure, it has in real terms reduced the amount of funding that is going into the health sector. Within that sinking lid, there have been some winners, like elective surgery, and that means that everything else has had to find even more just to try to tread water, and it has been unable to do so. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000298\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003ESome of the other winners have been the areas that the Minister has prioritised through his health sector indicators. Look, I am not opposed to having indicators and targets for the health sector; I think that is actually a quite good approach. The UK has proved that that has been a particularly useful approach, in fact. But what the Minister does not seem to have understood, or perhaps he has understood and just does not care about, is that when the Minister sets targets for the health sector, those are the things that the sector will focus on, and there is an opportunity cost to everything. If the sector is focused on achieving those particular things, then it will be less focused on achieving everything else. What that means is that if the Minister is going to set indicators for the sector, if he is going to set targets, he has to be absolutely sure that he has set the right ones. Once again, what we see is a Minister who has set targets that fit the things that he prioritised when he was in Opposition, that fit the particular areas where he is able to make short-term political gain, and are not well suited to measuring the health sector\u2019s preparedness for the long-term needs of New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000299\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003EAlthough there has been genuinely good progress on some of those health indicators that the Minister has set\u2014and good on the sector for delivering on those\u2014there are some other indicators that the Minister could have chosen. He could have chosen inequalities in health outcomes, for example, where the indicator would have shown that inequalities are increasing. The gap between, say, M\u0101ori New Zealanders and non-M\u0101ori New Zealanders in terms of their health status is getting greater and greater. That seems to me to be unacceptable. He could have chosen ambulatory sensitive hospitalisations. That is when someone gets admitted to hospital for something that could and should, arguably, have been prevented, either by public health services\u2014those that aim to prevent diseases\u2014or primary care services. Once again, this internationally recognised measure of how the sector is doing actually shows it is deteriorating. It is getting worse, and it is particularly getting worse for M\u0101ori and Pacific Island people. He could have chosen\u2014let us see\u2014readmission rates: unplanned readmissions to hospital after a hospital stay. He did not choose that. Actually, if he had done, that too would have shown that our health sector, against this internationally recognised indicator of performance, is, in fact, deteriorating. It is in trouble. It is getting worse, and it is particularly getting worse for M\u0101ori New Zealanders and for Pasifika New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000300\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003EHe could have chosen obesity rates. New Zealand has the second-highest obesity rate in the OECD and it is getting worse. He could have chosen\u2014let us see\u2014diabetes rates. We have just seen data published that shows that one in four adult New Zealanders either has diabetes or has pre-diabetes\u2014one in four. He could have chosen that, but he chose not to, perhaps because that, again, is getting worse, particularly for M\u0101ori New Zealanders and particularly for Pasifika New Zealanders. Actually, that one-in-four figure is even worse for older New Zealanders and for those groups that I have mentioned. The Minister has repeatedly chosen short-run political considerations over the long-term health of New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000301\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003EThe word \u201Ctsunami\u201D is overused in relation to chronic conditions, but I cannot actually think of a better word to describe the fact that there is going to be an absolute need among New Zealanders for health services related to the chronic conditions that are literally exploding in these populations that threaten to engulf our health services, and are already doing so. We are already seeing renal services\u2014transplantation and dialysis\u2014really struggling to cope with diabetes. Diabetes, heart disease, cancer, asthma, depression, dementia\u2014this Minister is doing almost nothing about those things. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000302\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003EA responsible Government, a Green Government, would be responding to the evidence. On obesity, for example, we would be using taxation measures to try to drive the eating and activity behaviour of New Zealanders. We would be putting restrictions on marketing and advertising of unhealthy foods. We would be ensuring that food in places that are controlled by the Government is healthy\u2014like schools, for example. We would be undertaking a major promotion of healthy eating and physical activity for people of all ages, ensuring that what happens in schools is evidence-based. We would be ensuring that there would be a health workforce geared to meeting this growing demand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000303\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281e8ca24-8b1d-4558-9ef9-c9418df2b3c0\u0022\u003EIn contrast, Minister Ryall has abandoned the healthy food requirements in schools. He has abandoned the healthy eating and healthy activity programmes. He has abandoned the \u201CGet Checked\u201D Diabetes Aotearoa programme and replaced it with something that, well, actually, we still have not seen yet. He has ruled out using market measures. He has ruled out using regulatory measures to control the food industry. He has appointed the food industry\u2019s lobbyist to the Health Promotion Agency. He has left the Public Health Bill languishing at No. 64 on the Order Paper\u2014a bill that was reported back by the Health Committee in June 2008 and has yet to receive its second reading. He has axed health promotion programmes in order to undertake his pet projects. He is a Minister who has prioritised short-run considerations ahead of long-term health gain for New Zealanders. It is time for a decent Minister of Health, and a reminder, I think, that in Aesop\u2019s Fables, things did not work out so well for the grasshopper, and winter is coming.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022 data-id=\u0022ed2415bf65284717b1b054f73090acd8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000304\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ed2415bf65284717b1b054f73090acd8\u0022\u003EHon CRAIG FOSS (Minister of Commerce):\u003C/span\u003E We have an interesting contrast here in the House. An earlier Labour speaker was talking about a two-speed economy or something like that. Well, I think that member may have been half right. There are two speeds going on at the moment. There is forward and reverse. The National-ACT-United Future-M\u0101ori Party coalition Government is in forward mode, into growth, looking to the future to build a sustainable, real job growth, real export growth economy. We have a Labour-Greens Opposition, or where the fruit meets the loop, or where the Greens are leading Labour\u2014we are not quite sure at the moment\u2014backwards to reverse, to recession, to printing money, and to experimenting with all sorts of weird and wonderful things those members have read in the latest book somewhere. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000305\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EThis Budget continues the momentum towards solid and prudent management of the Crown accounts or the taxpayers\u2019 account\u2014the taxpayers\u2019 balance sheet. The momentum continues towards surplus, towards actual surplus, the surplus that was laughed at by Opposition members not 1 year ago, the surplus that they questioned, the surplus that we are achieving that they blocked and voted against. They opposed every measure to achieve that surplus. The Opposition voted against every single measure to achieve surplus, to achieve an economy that can weather economic storms around the world. I am surprised that Mr Parker had the audacity to say in the paper: \u201COh, yes, but Labour would have achieved a surplus itself, anyway.\u201D How could that be? How could those members have done that when they have voted against every single measure to help achieve the surplus that is coming to fruition, as the documents show, next year? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000306\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EThe polls are showing that New Zealanders believe this Budget. They trust this Budget. They are continuing their support for the National-led Government and its prudent management of our accounts, of our economy, in these tough, tough times. Our economy needs to pay its way. New Zealand needs to pay its own way around the world. How do we do that? We have to manage our way through economic storms; we have to grow our economy through exports, exports, exports. Commentary over recent weeks has actually been very positive about the Budget. It has been very positive, indeed, and I will come back to that in a moment. But, actually, what was reflected in the polls the other night from both TV channels was that they showed an average, sustainable, and solid improvement in polling for the National-led Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000307\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EInterestingly, though, just as an aside, when was the last time members saw a poll with National versus Labour? I cannot recall the good old days, if you like, of National versus Labour. It is now always National versus Labour-Greens, or National versus Greens-Labour. Which party is leading the charge and the debate in the Opposition? When was the last time any member of the public who is listening saw a poll with National versus Labour? There has not been one for quite some time. The Labour-Greens potential\u2014well, the Opposition coalition\u2014is a scary, scary thought, indeed. The recent lurch to the far left in the joint politburo announcement about the nationalisation of the power industry has gone down like a cup of the cold proverbial not only with most of New Zealand but actually with core, traditional Labour supporters. I actually do think some of them realise that and are wondering quite how they can get out of it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000308\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003ELet us test some of the current rhetoric of Labour against what it was saying the last time it was in Government. The Hon Nick Smith was pointing to some of these points in his speech. We need to remember that Labour took New Zealand into recession 1 year before the global economic crisis\u20141 year\u2014yet now it is talking up GDP growth and it has got all the answers. We must remember that, because that is what we should test some of its announcements on. Labour led New Zealand into recession 1 year before\u2014before\u2014the global economic crisis. Let us contrast that with New Zealand\u2019s running at 3 percent GDP growth; contrast that with one of the best growth rates in the OECD. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000309\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EIt is quite interesting to actually just test the numbers. The pre-election update, or the December update\u2014I cannot remember which one it was\u2014in December 2008, revealed the decade of deficits of the previous Labour administration, so we must test Mr Parker\u2019s rhetoric that \u201COh, no, we would have got into surplus, of course, as well.\u201D, yet the fiscal independent forecast in December 2008 was for a decade of deficits. Those cannot both be true. We have to test it. Interestingly, and quite weirdly, actually, inflation at the time, under Labour, was running near 5 percent\u20145 percent inflation under Labour. Currently, under National, it has been 0.9 percent for the last year. That means that the cost of living under Labour in its last year in Government was nearing 5 percent per annum. Under National, it is under 1 percent. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000310\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EThe cost of living is much cheaper under a National Government. Take mortgage rates, for instance. When Labour left office, floating mortgage rates were near 10 percent. Quite how Labour got floating mortgage rates through 10 percent, when growth was in recession, I do not know. I do not really know how it managed it, but it did. So New Zealand families\u2019 mortgages under Labour were near double figures, at 10 percent. Currently, those same mortgages are under 5 percent. What an awesome result in 5 short years. That is what prudent management and solid, economically and fiscally responsible Budgets mean. They simply mean lower interest rates for longer for New Zealanders to afford their mortgages: National\u2014sub - 5 percent mortgages; Labour\u2014plus 10 percent mortgages; National\u2014cost of living, 0.9 percent per annum; Labour\u2014cost of living, 5 percent per annum. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000311\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EAll that means is that families struggle under Labour. Their mortgage rates are always higher under Labour. Thank goodness, for our children\u2014thank God\u2014New Zealand voted those members out in 2008. They are still in denial. There were 240,000 children in poverty under a Labour Government when it was running surpluses, and it was in recession, but inflation was at 5 percent and mortgage rates were at 10 percent. How dare they get up and talk about poverty when they were running an economy rampant with 10 percent mortgage rates. Absolutely outrageous! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000312\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003ESo what are their latest solutions? Well, Labour has given up on having itself run the economy because now it is joint Labour-Greens, far-left announcements. Printing money\u2014that will solve it. I do not know why Dr Michael Cullen did not think of that when he was the Minister of Finance. Printing money will solve all the problems, as the Labour-Greens coalition has recently announced. Quite why that was not offered when it was in Government, I do not know. Perhaps it was because most of them truly realised that it is absolute madness, it is inflationary, and it is essentially theft from future generations. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000313\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EI just want to comment on one thing, in particular. New Zealand owes the world about $200 billion. It is incumbent on all of us that there is confidence in our capital markets and certainty about the New Zealand state of affairs so that the interest rates that we have to fund that are as low as possible for the Government, for our companies, and, of course, for our families. The economic grenade that Labour and the Greens threw all but 2 or 3 weeks ago about their crazy, far-left power policy actually adds to the risk premium of New Zealand. So that announcement actually means that mortgage rates for New Zealanders may well be slightly higher than they need to be because of the risk\u2014the scary risk but the risk, none the less\u2014of a far-left Labour-Greens coalition Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000314\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003EI go back again to my earlier point. When was the last time any poll showed Labour versus National? That is the record that should be tested. At least the Green speakers are leading the debate. They are making their points. Labour comes in quickly and behind now and tries to join, but we are now seeing what a Labour-Greens coalition Government could look like to the far left. This is a solid, prudent, manageable Budget continuing the momentum towards surplus, real growth, and real jobs. It is good for our families\u2014interest rates are half what they once were under the Labour Government. There were 10 percent mortgage rates under Labour. They are at 5 percent under National. National is by far\u2014by far\u2014a better manager of the New Zealand economy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022 data-id=\u0022c64855aadc3f4ad09b1eeddb30941b3c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000315\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c64855aadc3f4ad09b1eeddb30941b3c\u0022\u003EHon SHANE JONES (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E To the members of the crochet club in Hawke\u2019s Bay, that was the member for Tukituki. The meaning of such a word\u2014tukituki\u2014is to beat. If there is a Minister full of promise but very empty on delivery, it is the beaten member for Tukituki. His name is Mr Foss. His name is Mr Foss, which rhymes with dross. What we have just received was a lamentable and forgettable and very disappointing speech from a person of the Hawke\u2019s Bay, whose region suffers 8.9 percent regional unemployment. Only my own area of Northland has a worse unemployment rate, reflective of the fact that we have to rely on Mr Sabin and Hone Harawira to actually advocate for it in a constituency seat. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000316\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EMr Foss is a person who actually represents what is wrong with this Budget. This is not a Budget for the low-waged citizens of New Zealand. This is a Budget for the over-hyped consumers of the sharemarket, the purchasers of services from the merchant bankers and those who are wiping their consciences clear as housing prices spiral out of control. There is not a glimmer of hope from that side of the House that that will be arrested. Let me just recap, before we talk about the Budget: dross, Foss, Tukituki, low-wage economy, 8.9 percent unemployment, Hawke\u2019s Bay. That is the gift of this Budget to that part of New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000317\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003ELet us talk a little bit more about unemployment. Unemployment is, without a doubt, the area where this Government will eventually fall and move to this side of the House. There are no jobs being created that meet the aspirations of our young people. We are into serious double-figure youth unemployment. I accept that the senior members on that side of the House cannot admit to this, but the majority of our regions that are dealing with significantly double-figure unemployment are busily encouraging their young people to leave those regions and go to Australia. They know that, it happens in their regions, and it is an indictment on the Government that the best it can deliver is a passage to Australia. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000318\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EBut it is worsened by one other thing, and the thing that eclipses that level of folly is the attitude shown by the current Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs. I cannot let \u201CHuggie Bear\u201D escape today. You cannot use small amounts of dough, which may actually contribute to the development of a bilingual nation\u2014I have no idea, and he does not even know, himself\u2014to mask the fact that M\u0101ori unemployment is approaching, in a number of our areas, 40 percent amongst the ages of 15 to 19, and 19 to 24. A thousand million grants to grow gardens at the back of the marae\u2014and if they are not well-tended, let me tell you, they will have electric puha in them\u2014cannot mask the fact that there has been abject failure by the current Minister of M\u0101ori Affairs on unemployment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000319\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EHe can at least offer the defence that he does not understand it, because that is a brilliant defence; it is the truth. But members on this side do understand it. They understand that Government members have narrowed their attention and their resources to enrich a narrow caste of the New Zealand community. How have they done this? They are selling a pup to you and me, as New Zealanders, that the only way to resuscitate the capital markets in New Zealand is to take property, developed by countless generations of Kiwi taxpayers, and then gift it to a narrow range of Kiwis who may be possessed of either connection or a little bit of capital to purchase those shares. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000320\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EThat, in itself, is an indictment on the people who are speaking very, very grandiloquently about the power of the sharemarket. If it was that good, why do we need to come back and raid the larder of the Crown to resuscitate that particular part of the economy? It might be said that it is going to provide a broader range of opportunities for Kiwis to save. In Hawke\u2019s Bay, with the low-wage economy, there are no savings available. Secondly, the narrow number of New Zealanders who have managed to buy into these shares shows that the broad number of Kiwis lack surplus money but, more important, they are struggling to pay on a week-by-week basis for the key necessities. That is why our power strategy, our power policy, is an absolute winner. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000321\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EWe will fight month by month until the next election, and I can guarantee that the polls that are already showing considerable support for that power strategy will increase in growth. A number might say, as Mr Nick Smith, I recall, and a host of others have said, it was dirty pool. This House, this group of parliamentarians, is entirely entitled to say that the regulatory framework governing this sector of the economy is going to change. Why is it that we get criticised for being up front about that when Government members change the regulatory framework for the casinos, and give them a tax holiday for 7 years, and then say that if you want to re-regulate in order to meet societal demands about the ills associated with gambling into the future, you are not allowed to do it until you compensate? Well, if that is what we are lumbered with, that is what will have to happen. But know this: the cost of that regulatory change is a John Key bill. That is not a Labour bill; it is a John Key bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000322\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003ELet us just go back here. Yes, we will re-regulate and improve, and indeed refine, the regulatory framework for the power industry. All that has been established, as more people become accustomed to that, is a new norm. That happens in all industries. Indeed, the fishing industry at the moment is going through a significant regulatory refinement process that is going to increase the costs associated with vessel ownership, with vessel purchases. So rather than just confine it to that part of the economy\u2014because it is an essential service; the effect of power prices is systemic\u2014it will drive the improvement on manufacturing, and drive the improvement on industry as they gain access to moderated prices, and it will substantially decrease the cost of power to the average householder. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and we will politick, we will campaign, and we will sell that policy to the citizens of New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EWhen you vote, when you exercise the privilege of being in a democratic country, first, you are a citizen, and second, you are a consumer. Therein lies the key difference in terms of what that party is saying about how it wants to run the economy. National wants to run it for a narrow range of power-obsessed, highly wealthy individuals who want to treat the rest of society, the rest of the community, in the context of power, as consumers to be fleeced. We will be changing that, without a doubt. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000324\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EThe final point I would like to make is that I actually do applaud the current Minister of Housing for moving into the territory and trying to colonise what we have won over the housing debate. The only reason that the Minister of Housing has moved into Auckland and sought to provide the chimera of a housing policy is that he knows that the policy originally announced by Annette King is a winner\u2014100,000 houses. That improves supply; they increase the supply equation. But his policy is just going to generate more demand, without an improvement in supply. That will have only one impact\u2014a further driving-up of prices. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000325\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EIndeed, I understand that people who live in Herne Bay are now enjoying a new blessing. When I was at St Stephen\u2019s School half of Ng\u0101puhi seemed to live in Herne Bay, but a M\u0101ori living in Herne Bay is very rare now. I understand that $2 million, if you are blessed enough to live in Herne Bay\u2014and I know one or three who live in Herne Bay\u2014is the average cost of a whare there. There is no way that that type of policy is going to generate a solution to the housing woes. It will happen only by increasing supply, and that is the essence of the Labour remedy. Kia ora t\u0101tou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022 data-id=\u0022eec93e32bb5d4db69d220677109282a9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000326\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022eec93e32bb5d4db69d220677109282a9\u0022\u003ESHANE ARDERN (National\u2014Taranaki - King Country):\u003C/span\u003E What a pleasure it is to rise in support of the Budget, particularly after listening to the previous speaker, Shane Jones. I think what you were listening to there was a leadership speech, but the problem with that was that the only ones listening were the members on this side of the House, because those on the other side of the House could not understand a single word that the Hon Shane Jones was saying, except when he reverted to the Labour type, which, of course, he struggles to agree with himself. What we are looking at, as other members have said, is a very, very stark contrast. It is a contrast between growth, forward movement, and a party that is focused on what makes the economy grow, what creates jobs, and what will create a better future for New Zealand, and a group, a mismatch of people, from the left. What did the Prime Minister say? It is a 51 percent - 49 percent shareholding between the Labour-Green parties, and no one really knows which one has the 51 percent share. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000327\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003EThe issue confronting the country at the moment is how we grow an economy in what has been described\u2014not by me, but by political commentators and economists around the world\u2014as an economic crisis, an economic downturn, on a scale equal to the 1930s Depression. How do you grow an economy in that circumstance? We listened to the Opposition spokesman on finance, the Hon David Parker, talk earlier on about Labour\u2019s track record in the management of the economy. Well, let us have a look at that for a moment. Let us test some of what Mr Parker said. Let us go back, as he did, to the 1980s, when you had the David Lange - Roger Douglas administration. Just remember, at that time we had a Prime Minister who said that the agriculture sector was a sunset industry. When you think about that in the context of today, when 70-odd percent of our export receipts come from that sector, it is a bizarre comment. It is a ridiculous comment. But what is so bizarre about it, even today, is that was the case then, when those comments were made. And what happened at the end of Labour\u2019s tenure through the 1980s? Apart from the fact that it had three Prime Ministers in quick succession towards the end of it, we had the 1987 sharemarket collapse, we had the bailout of the BNZ, we had interest rates that peaked at 22 percent, and we had inflation rates that ran at 18 percent. This is the track record that Mr Parker was talking about. Let us have a look at some of those figures. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000328\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003EThen we had a change to the new, incoming Bolger National Government, which inherited the fiscal shambles. At the end of that Government\u2019s period, the country was on a growth strategy again with growth rates of 4 percent, we had interest rates back down to the lowest level they had been since the early part of the 1960s, and we were on track for an economy that was growing. What happened then? Well, the Government changed in the late 1990s. And what did we end up with then? We ended up with the Clark-Cullen Government, the next Labour Government\u2014once again checking this track record that Mr Parker spoke of. What happened at the end of that period? Well, we had interest rates back up to 10 percent. We had inflation growing at a rate that was unsustainable. We had export receipts in decline again\u2014once again in decline. We had the best economic circumstances that the New Zealand economy had seen in about five generations, and what did we end up with? We ended up with the circumstances that this Government, the incoming Key Government, inherited, which was, once again, a fiscal outlook that had the Government heading towards 60 percent debt by 2020\u2014a forecast 60 percent debt against GDP by 2020\u2014and no prospect of Government surplus ever again. Well, if that is the track record Mr Parker wants to promote, then I invite him to promote that as strongly as he can over the next few months, because I think it is the best thing since sliced bread for the National Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000329\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003ESo what have we got today? We have got the lowest interest rates in 40 years\u2014the lowest interest rates in 40 years. What is it about our opponents that they cannot understand that? For mum and dad \u201CJoe Hard-worker\u201D out there, trying to own their first home, it is in the order of $300 to $400 a week compared with what it was when Labour was in power. We have got the lowest inflation we have had for a very long time, with the cost of living going up by less than 1 percent\u2014under 1 percent. Food prices for a very, very long time have become more and more affordable for mum and dad \u201CJoe Hard-worker\u201D out there. What is it about that that Labour cannot understand?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000330\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fc0065484c78404595214cc37bcd2479\u0022\u003EDr David Clark\u003C/span\u003E: Where are the jobs?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000331\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d4d7c6930c7b469e9e443b7d9d6ed3f8\u0022\u003ESHANE ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: The member over there bays \u201CWhere are the jobs?\u201D. Well, the end result of all of this fiscal growth is more investment. I heard the Hon Shane Jones talking about unemployment rates. Look at Taranaki\u2014the area that this member here would condemn, and his colleague often does. Where are the jobs? The highest employment rate in New Zealand is in Taranaki. Why is that? Because of a strong, growing energy sector and a strong, growing agricultural sector. Those are both sectors that our Labour-Green opponents would attack, and let us just talk about what they have said they will do. They will introduce a capital gains tax, they will introduce an emissions trading tax, they will increase company tax, they will increase personal tax\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000332\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ae1f7615b7da4a059c17a459385c4026\u0022\u003EDr David Clark\u003C/span\u003E: Where are the jobs?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000333\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222c86c5e8c7594a3a8784e5e17e62e4da\u0022\u003ESHANE ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014and they will do away with the 90-day trial period in employment, as the member keeps baying \u201CWhere are the jobs?\u201D. They will do away with the 90-day trial period, they will increase ACC charges, and they will increase interest rates through higher Government spending and more Government borrowing. Those are the end results of a Labour administration over a period of time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000334\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003ESo what has this Government announced in its Budget in regard to jobs, as the member wants to know? A $130 million boost for Kiwi research and development start-ups. Budget 2013 is investing $130 million in Callaghan Innovation, encouraging business to invest more in research and development and to support new start-ups. What the member obviously cannot comprehend, and Labour never can, is this country is made up of small businesses that employ low numbers of people. So where would you invest money if you wanted to get more jobs? Is it in great Government expenditure or great Government employment schemes? I mean, this is Labour, which over the term of the Clark Government invested so much in the public sector that it doubled the office space for bureaucrats in Wellington. And what did that do for employment? What growth came out of that? What were the opportunities there? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000335\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003EWhat would Opposition members do in terms of opportunities and in terms of development, like what I have just said, in the energy sector? Well, they would reverse the Resource Management Act reforms that this Government is proposing and has already carried out. They have said they would do that. How would you develop an energy-efficient economy under those circumstances? In fact, what did happen under the Labour Government? We saw a massive increase in the use of fossil fuels for the generation of energy, because the development of sustainable energy production could not take place because of Resource Management Act or environmental constraints that were placed on those developments. Labour talks about growth in jobs and improving the economy, but what it would do towards the economy would be devastating. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000336\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003EIn the Budget there is $80 million for irrigation. Is there any lower hanging fruit than what this would produce\u2014producing more of what we are good at and where we have international markets to sell to? Right up the eastern belt of the whole of the South and North Islands\u2014including in the Hawke\u2019s Bay, which Hon Shane Jones, the previous speaker, spoke of\u2014is where we could invest in irrigation. Of course, the cry from the Greens on this is \u201CMore dairy cows.\u201D Well, when we put water into the Marlborough area, it was not dairy cows that were developed there; it was actually vineyards. If you were to go into Marlborough now and suggest\u2014and Labour and the Greens are potentially mad enough to say that we should never have done it and there should not be vineyards in Marlborough. Where there used to be one sheep per 10 hectares in some of that very arid land, there are now intensive, world-renowned viticulture developments that have exports of $1.2 billion to the world and still have potential to grow. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000337\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221c818ce2-6ca3-4c4a-9e6a-2e3a67d070e1\u0022\u003EWhat we have in this Budget, the Bill English Budget, the John Key - led Government Budget, is a strategy for strong growth going forward, a formula for success, and a formula for jobs. I strongly support the Budget.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022 data-id=\u0022382ed0e297e447e298c5becba12fe5d7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000338\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022382ed0e297e447e298c5becba12fe5d7\u0022\u003EDr DAVID CLARK (Labour\u2014Dunedin North):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002289387d2c563849b3ab6fabd2142eff34\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Talofa lava.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000340\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002217e324c82a244692a962ff274f86a747\u0022\u003EDr DAVID CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: Talofa lava. Well, what a lot of rhetoric we have just heard. I do not think even Shane Ardern, the member himself, believes much of it. He might well believe that his Government has spent money in certain areas, but he knows very, very well that its record of job creation is so poor that it is an embarrassment\u2014it is an embarrassment around this House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000341\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EHe wanted to raise the issue of Labour\u2019s track record, and I will happily raise that issue again. Under the Labour Governments since the War we have had a 3.7 percent average growth rate. Under National it has been 2.9 percent. There is a considerable difference between those two numbers in real terms for real New Zealanders. Labour grows the economy consistently. National stalls it. Under this Government real wages have dropped\u2014real wages have dropped, median wages. The New Zealander, \u201CJoe New Zealander\u201D, is really feeling the pinch, and it is as a result of the policies of this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000342\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003ELet us go back to the 2010 tax cuts. Forty percent of the value of those tax cuts went to the top 10 percent of people\u201440 percent went to the top 10 percent. The bottom 20 percent of people got just 2 percent of the value of those tax cuts. That is typical of this Government. This Budget does nothing to change that picture. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. This is a Government that is creating a two-speed economy, with a bigger gap between the haves and the have-nots. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000343\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EThis Budget, if it does anything to raise average wages, has attempted to do it one Mighty River Power director at a time. That is the way this Government approaches it. It looks out for those who have vested interests and those who are its mates. It looks to transfer some money to them, but the average New Zealander, \u201CJoe Normal\u201D, is struggling. The average New Zealander can no longer dream of owning their own house. The average New Zealander can no longer dream of having a decent job, because this Government is destroying those jobs, it is creating unemployment, and it is driving wages down in real terms. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000344\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EThis Government has created the worst current account deficit in the developed world. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000345\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228128050c8cd247029ba164158eec99ba\u0022\u003EHon Dr Nick Smith\u003C/span\u003E: No. Look at your own record.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000346\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002293ada0c2150547f68d19ae2972ff03a2\u0022\u003EDr DAVID CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Smith disputes that, but this Government has created the worst current account deficit in the developed world. It is worse than Greece\u2019s. It is worse than Greece\u2019s, the IMF tells us. This Government has brought about a credit downgrade. It has had New Zealand\u2019s credit downgraded. Kiwibank is on notice now. This Government does not know how to manage an economy and that is the real shame. This Budget was another opportunity to address the structural issues in New Zealand. Those opportunities are flying by, and, with them, New Zealand\u2019s chances of raising its place in the world, of creating a better standard of living for its citizens. This Government is taking the country backwards. Let us remind ourselves that this Government is the Government with the worst economic record of any Government in this country in the last 50 years. This Government\u2019s only idea is to sell off the best revenue-generating assets. That is its only vision for this economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000347\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003ELabour would do things differently. We have announced our NZ Power policy. That would bring businesses\u2019 power bills down by 5 to 7 percent. It would put an extra $200 or $300 in Kiwis\u2019 pockets. It is a sensible policy. It is a policy that is about taking New Zealand forward. We would put in affordable housing. We would create 10,000 new houses over the next 10 years, and that too would create jobs. Not only would it make an affordable house an affordable dream for New Zealanders, it also would create jobs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000348\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003ELet us remind ourselves that these things that we have now\u2014these situations where housing is unaffordable and power prices keep going up\u2014are things that can be fixed. We know from Professor Wolak\u2019s report that there was $4.2 billion worth of price gouging in the New Zealand energy market between 2001 and 2007\u2014$4.2 billion worth of price gouging. We have been told by academics and we have been told by those who have researched this that this is a pattern in New Zealand, and that the market does not work. When a recession hits and the rest of the world\u2019s power prices go down, they go up in New Zealand. Something is wrong here, and it can be fixed. We know that markets are good when they do the bidding of the people\u2014of the citizens. When the markets do not do the bidding of the citizens, they make terrible masters, and this needs to be corrected through effective regulation so that businesses can thrive and citizens can thrive. There is a problem here that needs to fixed. This Government is sitting on its hands and not doing anything about it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000349\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EI have just returned from a trip to the United States. It was a tremendous privilege to go on this trip. I went with the Eisenhower Fellowship. President Eisenhower created as his legacy an international exchange. Many Presidents have created large libraries in their own states, but President Eisenhower wanted an international exchange. I have been a fortunate beneficiary of this. It has been a terrific learning experience. One of the lessons I brought back is about the importance of fairness as a cultural value in New Zealand. New Zealanders believe in fairness. They believe everybody should have the opportunity to get ahead; it is part of what makes New Zealand a great place to live. Sir Paul Callaghan used to talk about the importance of New Zealand being a place where talent wants to live, as part of a strategy for economic growth. This growing gap between rich and poor in New Zealand drives us in the opposite direction, I am afraid. This undermines our reputation for fairness. People want to come back to New Zealand once they have had overseas experience, because they want to go to a hospital where they do not have to bring out a cheque book. They want access to justice for all citizens so that there is a sense of fairness in society. They want to know that they can get a great education at their local schools. We want to live in a fair society. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000350\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EWhat is also true is that people in other countries admire this sense of fairness that New Zealand has. It is part of what gives us a privileged place in international trade negotiations. People want to hear New Zealand\u2019s voice because we speak impartially, we speak independently, and we speak about fairness. This Budget, which drives this two-speed economy that the Government has been creating, goes further toward undermining this international reputation for fairness. It is not good for us as a people, it is not good for our citizens, and it is also not good for our country. It undermines the reputation we have that gives us that privileged place at the international trade negotiation table. We need to be at that table if our economy is going to grow. We need to be at that table, because we want to be a part of those discussions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000351\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EThe Government\u2019s mates are jacking things up. We know that the casinos are getting extra funding, we know that Goldman Sachs is profiting from the sale of assets, and we know that the wealthiest New Zealanders have had those tax cuts. This is not the recipe for a fairer society. This is not a recipe for the kind of society we want to live in and that, actually, most of the world aspires to live in. We have the largest gap between rich and poor in this country that we have had since records have existed. We are becoming an economy of the haves and have-nots. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000352\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EThirty thousand jobs were lost last year, and 1,000 people in my home city moved from Dunedin to Australia permanently because of the policies of this Government. We have had a 10 percent drop in the last 4 years in non - primary sector manufacturing in this country. The policies of this Government have been undermining our exporters. When I left New Zealand, Mighty River Power was 100 percent Kiwi-owned. Now, 49 percent of Mighty River Power is owned by just 2.5 percent of New Zealanders. This is a two-speed economy where some Kiwis are getting ahead, and some are being left behind. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000353\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EWe need a Government that is prepared to bring in pro-growth tax reform. We need to take out the investment distortion that pushes money towards properties, creates housing bubbles, and creates people farming for capital gains rather than for profitability. We need tax reform that makes our country more profitable. We need tax reform that promotes research and development. We need universal KiwiSaver so that we are more like Australia, which has $1.3 trillion in savings. Its savings regime brings back its own financial markets expertise from overseas. When its young people go overseas, they have something to come back to, because they have a successful industry there. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000354\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003ENew Zealand, unfortunately, has suffered under National Governments that have not had a long-term vision. They have focused on the short term, they have focused on making sure that their mates are looked after, and the rest of New Zealand are missing out. They are not interested in creating a society for all of us; they are interested only in a few of their mates. That is why this Budget is a terrible Budget, which does nothing that is in the interest of ordinary New Zealanders, and I think this is a Budget that needs to be condemned.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022 data-id=\u002273bd1cadc9924747bad20571a8322589\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000355\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002273bd1cadc9924747bad20571a8322589\u0022\u003EPAUL GOLDSMITH (National):\u003C/span\u003E It is a pleasure to rise in support of this great Budget, and interesting to follow on from David Clark, who has been studying in the United States for the past few weeks. I had hoped that he would come back to New Zealand better informed and with some fresh ideas, but instead we have the same old monotonous line about our record over the last 50 years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000356\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226cce1ec195084339b5253683ae528c9c\u0022\u003EDr David Clark\u003C/span\u003E: Which is the worst of any Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000357\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eeb9bf437b384225956c23a4bec44b69\u0022\u003EPAUL GOLDSMITH\u003C/span\u003E:  Well, hello, Mr Clark, the global financial crisis has been the worst crisis internationally for 70-odd years, but the good news is that this Budget confirms that New Zealand is on the right track. Our growth is amongst the best in the OECD, unemployment is falling, real wages are rising, inflation is subdued, interest rates are the lowest in decades, and the Government books will be returning to surplus in 2014 and 2015 as we promised. Sure, these are not boom times. Retailers in Newmarket and around Auckland and New Zealand are still facing headwinds. Everybody know that. But most fair-minded New Zealanders agree that the results of this Budget are indeed promising and relatively good in a difficult international context. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000358\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EThat good result was by no means guaranteed. It is easy to forget that when John Key and National entered Government at the end of 2008\u2014when I was still happily writing books in Auckland\u2014in the early years of the global financial crisis, Treasury projected 10 years of deficits and rising debt. The previous Government had increased spending by an amazing 50 percent over a short period. The New Zealand Government\u2019s books were pregnant with expensive new schemes that were never properly funded, which led New Zealand to have deficits projected for 10 years. So to have turned that round, so that this year\u2019s deficit will be less than 1 percent of GDP and next year will yield a surplus, is an achievement of which we can all be proud. Contrast that with Australia, which has just announced a $20 billion deficit this year, and with many other comparable countries such as the United States and the UK, where there is no end in sight to deficits\u2014it is a remarkable achievement for New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000359\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EI hear the Labour members opposite saying that they would have done the same. Yeah, right! We do not believe that for a moment. They have opposed every control and limit that we have placed on spending\u2014every scheme that we have tried to get spending under control they have opposed. Perhaps their idea is just to increase taxes. Well, how is that working in France? Not very well, as far as I can see. Maybe they think a capital gains tax on productive businesses is a good idea, but I certainly do not see that that is a good way to increase and promote savings in this country, which they say they are concerned about. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000360\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EI am particularly proud overall that the adjustment that we have made in this Budget has been achieved without resort to the excessive austerity that we have seen in other parts of the world. The return to surplus has been achieved carefully, without undermining growth, and while we continue to support the most vulnerable in New Zealand society. There have been no gimmicks. This Government holds to the traditional notion that a country has to earn its money\u2014it cannot simply print it\u2014and that the only way to pay our way in the world is to produce goods and services that free consumers out there want to buy. So this Government has focused on doing the basics well. It is about building a productive and competitive economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000361\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EI am happy to take the House through the core elements of the Business Growth Agenda, which people have heard about a number of times over the last few years. It focuses on what businesses need to grow and thereby increase exports and employ New Zealanders with good high-paying jobs. It is about ensuring access to export markets, and innovation\u2014more of which I will talk about later. It is about skilled and safe workforces, such as trade training schemes, which we are investing a lot of money in. It is about access to capital markets and we have given a shot in the arm to that area with the Mighty River Power flotation. It is about natural resources\u2014and we are hearing about the Denniston Plateau right at the moment, again opposed by the Greens and their friends in Labour\u2014and infrastructure. The Waterview tunnel, of which we had the sod-turning only a few days ago, will reduce traffic enormously on the streets of Epsom and throughout Auckland and is a very good example of the investment that we are making in infrastructure in this country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000362\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EAs well as those things, it is all about delivering better public services without increasing spending in most areas. A good example of that is in the area of police where recorded crime is at a 24-year low in this country and we are rolling out new technology for front-line police officers, but the baseline funding for police has not been increased. Instead, police have found more efficient and effective ways of doing their jobs and generating savings that we can reinvest. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000363\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EGovernments should be judged on the quality of what they achieve rather than the vast amounts they spend, and this Government has understood that, as every other business person who has to survive on their wits has understood that for a long time. Health and education once more received the lion\u2019s share of the new spending in the Budget, and considerable resources, some $200 million, are also being pumped into science and innovation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000364\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EWe are signalling that ACC levy cuts that will benefit families and businesses across New Zealand will be coming in the next couple of years. We are expecting a $300 million reduction in 2014-15 and around about a billion the following year. As a small business operator myself in the past, I know how painful ACC levies are\u2014the invoices always arrive at the most inconvenient time. I am very proud to be part of a Government that\u2014because of the improved performance of the way that we have managed ACC that led to better rehabilitation rates\u2014can sustainably reduce those levies over time, and I hope we can go further on that score. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000365\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EThis Budget also includes the proceeds of the first partial asset sale\u2014some $1.7 billion for Mighty River Power\u2014and that money is going into the Future Investment Fund for investment in new capital assets such as the redeveloped hospitals in Christchurch. That partial asset sale allows us to have these new assets without borrowing more on global markets and thereby reduces our vulnerability to a sudden change of sentiment in these dangerous times. I have no doubt, as well, that the scrutiny of the share market will improve the business performance of Mighty River Power and, over time, the electricity market in general. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000366\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EI am still shocked, frankly, by the proposal of the Labour Party and the Greens over power. I expect that sort of thing from the Greens, but I had thought that, since the 1980s, there has been an understanding within the major parties of this country that heavy-handed regulation had failed in the 1970s, and that markets were the best way to get an efficient system in power and education. But Labour seems to have withdrawn from that basic understanding, and I am shocked and deeply saddened by that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000367\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EThe real focus also in the Budget has been on supporting low-income families. Budget 2013 signals our intent to grow the social housing sector. As well, a further $100 million has been invested in warmer, healthier homes for those in need. Already there are some 215,000 homes across the country from deep in the south up into the north that are warmer because of this Government\u2019s scheme. So I am proud to be a part of that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000368\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EAddressing Auckland\u2019s housing affordability issues was another part of this Budget, and rightly so. My aunt in Feilding might well ask why on earth she should care about Auckland house prices when they are cheap down there. Well, the answer is that she will care if runaway house prices in Auckland lead to higher interest rates for all New Zealanders. And she certainly would care if those higher interest rates, if they were to come sooner than they needed to, led to the New Zealand dollar being higher than it needs to be, putting further pressure on the economy as a whole. So getting on top of Auckland housing affordability and the bubble that we are potentially seeing in Auckland with 12 percent growth in the past year is an important focus of this Budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000369\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EIt is a real worry that thousands of Aucklanders are struggling to progress up the housing ladder. So the Government\u2019s housing response has been grounded in the work of the Productivity Commission and it is focused, particularly, upon increasing the supply of land. Constantly we hear people denying that there is a link between rigid land supply policies and house prices, but you only have to look at the evidence: the availability of sections in Auckland has plummeted over the past 10 years and the price of sections has increased over the past 5 years from about $100,000 to $325,000 today. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000370\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EWe are currently building only 4,000 houses when we need 13,000-odd, so the Government\u2019s Budget initiatives on housing and the housing accord that it signed with Auckland Council and is working on with Auckland Council provide a circuit breaker to get some pace and momentum back into addressing housing supply in the Auckland region. I am sure that will make a real difference to the lives of many Aucklanders who are wanting to get on to that housing ladder. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000371\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003ENational is building towards a stronger, more stable economy and it continues to work on building a brighter future for all New Zealanders. I commend the Budget to the House. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022 data-id=\u0022621aec2305a247f983a95706805f132a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000372\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022621aec2305a247f983a95706805f132a\u0022\u003ERINO TIRIKATENE (Labour\u2014Te Tai Tonga):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. Talofa lava\u2014in recognition of Samoan Language Week\u2014to all of our folks who are out there watching. I am pleased to rise to oppose this dreadful Budget. We have had 5 years of this National Government, and when it came to power we heard all the promises about the brighter future, and that it would be creating jobs, lifting wages, growing the economy, and making New Zealand a better place to live. Well, those promises have turned out to be absolutely false. After 5 years John Key has let New Zealanders down. But he has not let down all Kiwis. No, he has looked after the movie moguls, the casino operators, and those with capital and a wealth base underneath them\u2014and that is the base of the National Party. But he has not looked after all Kiwis, and that is why National has created this two-speed economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000373\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003EThe speakers opposite have spoken about how they have got this momentum going and that we on this side of the House are going to be sending New Zealand backwards. Well, that is totally misinformed because they have got a complete mix-up between speed and direction. If they wanted to turn things round and go forward, they will be going backwards, and that is exactly where they have taken our country. If we look at the actual failures of this National Government, it has been appalling. Members opposite talked about rebalancing the economy, and delivering more export growth. That is what we all want; we definitely want more export growth. That is what we need to move forward as a country. We need to get our tradable sector thriving. We need to grow those exports and sell our wares to the world and make some money. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000374\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003E But what has happened under this Government? We, as a country, have seen the worst current account deficit in the whole world\u2014No. 1 in the world. That means we are spending more on imports and on interest than what we are earning as a country. If that is rebalancing the economy, well, I do not really know what planet Mr English is on, because that has been an absolute failure and it is only going to be getting worse. The projections are that that will be getting worse. It is a very dangerous sign for our country and for our economy, because, as we know, worldwide countries are debasing their currencies. We have got asset bubbles that are blowing up all over the place. We have got stock markets that are blowing up, all based on printing-press money from the big, major countries around the world. This is putting a huge amount of pressure on our whole financial system. Everything is teetering on the edge, and this Government does not want to know about it, but when the bubble pops\u2014like all bubbles do; they will pop at some stage\u2014it is going to signal a huge blow, not only to our economy but to the global economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000375\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003EI think we need to be mindful of that, because members opposite are talking about how great it has been that there have been record-low interest rates. Sure, we welcome low interest rates, but the reason the interest rates are low is because the world economy and our economy have been so sick. That is why. You lower the interest rates because you want to try to rev up things. The problem is that we have had going on 7 years of record-low interest rates, and ours are really high compared with the rest of the world, and yet it has not actually generated economic growth, because this Government has been more concerned with looking after its own base\u2014its own rich, elite, select group of the National Party support base\u2014than it has been towards looking after all of the wh\u0101nau across Aotearoa. So that is a very dangerous situation that we find ourselves in. When interest rates do rise, it is actually going to catch out a lot of people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000376\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003EThis Government has been so concerned, so preoccupied, about reaching surplus in 2014 that it has forgotten about the finances of everyday Kiwis. Everyday Kiwis are actually struggling\u2014we are maxed out; we, as our current account deficit shows, are more indebted than ever\u2014and that is putting huge pressure on families, and that is why we have got this two-speed economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000377\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003EBut the two-speed economy does not apply just in terms of household finances; we are seeing it right across the whole country. If we look at it geographically, there is definitely a North Island - South Island spread going on there. I am actually quite fortunate in that I cover a huge electorate. I cover the whole of the South Island, and there are some regions that are actually doing quite well, in relation to their agricultural and pastoral sectors, so I commend that. But if you look at the regions in the North Island, particularly in the far north\u2014Hawke\u2019s Bay, Ikaroa-R\u0101whiti, and the area covered by that electorate\u2014there are huge amounts of inequality happening up there. They are struggling, and this Government has not had a plan to really help those regions. It has neglected the regions, and that is why we are seeing such terribly high unemployment numbers coming through. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000378\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003EWe also see that the two-speed economy is applicable age-wise. Younger New Zealanders are being locked out of that homeownership. They would like to aspire to owning their own home and getting on that property ladder, but the way that the property bubbles are going\u2014again, the properties are being held by that wealthy class who have the capital and the wealth base and who want the tax-free capital gains\u2014is preventing young people, the new generation coming through, from actually getting on that property ladder. It is all because this Government has sent the wrong signals. It has skewed the whole property ownership model because of the fact that it is encouraging property bubbles to occur, through the fact that we have had a low-interest rate environment, no capital gains tax, and the like. Again, that does put a lot of pressure on those young people who want to get there. But the older generation\u2014who are obviously looking out for their own retirement and they want to hold on to, and charge the rent on, private rental accommodation\u2014want to generate an income for themselves going into the future. So we have a real mismatch there, caused by this Government, between our young generation and our older generation in terms of property ownership. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000379\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003EThen, of course, what it comes down to is that this two-speed economy is around fairness. We have seen the largest growth in inequality in this country under this National Government. Income disparity is at its widest, and it is very much pronounced when we look at the M\u0101ori community itself. That is the electorate I represent. When you see the deprivation and the hardship out there, it does break your heart. It can be addressed. I know that the Prime Minister made the announcement about providing some support for the food in schools programme. Although we support that, why has it taken so long? We had the Budget\u2014what\u2014over a week ago, and the Government sort of signalled it prior to the Budget, but then there was nothing in the Budget itself, and now we have had to wait another week and a half and then something has come out. I think something must be up around the National Government Cabinet table, because it has taken too long for that to come through. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000380\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003EWhat it shows is that there is incredible hardship and poverty out there. We have 270,000 children living in poverty. That is just way too much. The rising unemployment rates among M\u0101ori people are absolutely horrendous. When I look at the unemployment rates for M\u0101ori and Pacific Islanders\u2014basically, 14 percent for M\u0101ori and 15.2 percent for Pacific Islanders\u2014those are horrendous unemployment rates that apply to all of us, to all M\u0101ori and all Pacific people right across the board. We have to change this Government so we can actually address those issues, because I fear that if we continue down this track put down in this Budget, it is not going to be able to really address those pressing issues that are really desperate cries coming out from those hard-working families out there. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000381\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002281825190-fd5d-4ed0-bb80-f12f3c93e653\u0022\u003EIn conclusion, I would just like to say that I mentioned before that there is a preoccupation with surplus in this Budget. The Government thinks that by 2014 it can get to the surplus, when, at the end of the day, it has been constructed on bogus numbers\u2014bogus numbers\u2014because we see that there is approximately $3 billion worth of numbers in that Budget that are a complete sham. I am talking about the overcharging from ACC of $700 million, the so-called $1.1 billion of extra corporate tax, which the Government thinks is going to suddenly appear, and I am talking about the tax credits that it has booked in as revenue and no one knows where they are going to come from. So this is a dreadful Budget, we oppose it 100 percent, and we look forward to getting rid of this Government. Kia ora t\u0101tou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022 data-id=\u002228cfaa86a80a4f6e9baab83c5b80c7d2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000382\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002228cfaa86a80a4f6e9baab83c5b80c7d2\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Defence):\u003C/span\u003E Poor old Rino Tirikatene. Look, he is a nice bloke, but that was absolutely dreadful. I mean, how misinformed. What is going on in that caucus over there? He had nothing good to say about the Budget. He could not even agree with David Parker, his finance spokesman, who said that getting to surplus is the right thing to do. So Labour Party members cannot even get one crucial message right about this Budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000383\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003EWhat I can tell you is that when you look at the Budget, it tells a very clear story. There have been 4\u00BD years of very difficult economic conditions, which the National Government has shepherded the country through. It has not been easy. We had to have a couple of zero Budgets, but we are now building momentum with this Budget, and it tells a very good story. If you do not believe me, you have got to just look at the external validation that the New Zealand economy is getting\u2014that objective feedback. So Standard and Poor\u2019s says that this is the ninth-best place in the world to hold debt. So actually this is a very good place to invest. The IMF, just the day before the Budget, came out and said that the New Zealand Government is absolutely on the right track with its policies. It pretty much said: \u201CDon\u2019t change those policy settings. Don\u2019t go back to the policy settings of the Labour Government, because it was getting New Zealand into deep, deep shtick.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000384\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221aa44a27a62c4fe180d6d3cdedbac007\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Who said that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000385\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002296f190194b694266932a773623e19c72\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: That was the IMF. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000386\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003EIf you look at what was happening when Labour was holding the purse strings, you will see that it was spending like Topsy\u2014it was spending like Topsy. What was happening was that the growth of the Public Service was going out of control. When we came into Government we had a look at those books, and we said that New Zealand could not continue like that. Debt has been a problem\u2014$70 billion now\u2014but do you know what it would have been under Labour if it had continued with those policies? It would be $170 billion, and that is a fact. The Labour Government was out of control. We inherited a situation where debt was heading to 60 percent of GDP, so we had to do something, and we had to do it very, very quickly. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000387\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003ELook at the environment we are in now. We have the lowest interest rates for 50 years\u201450 years\u2014inflation is just less than 1 percent over the last year, and wages are growing at 2 percent over the last year and are projected to grow real incomes in nominal terms by 20 percent over the next 4 years against the background of 9 percent inflation. So, actually, there is more money in people\u2019s pockets at the same time as mortgages are cheaper. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000388\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003EWe are in a very, very good position, but the one danger on the horizon is the far-left Government that Labour and the Greens would deliver, because, as John Key said\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000389\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b978d76ad0d5437b98c04e0369020af0\u0022\u003EDarien Fenton\u003C/span\u003E: Ha, ha!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000390\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d368a3b956d7468cbee34c9aa41a4dce\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: They might laugh on the Labour side, but David Shearer has wrapped himself in the Greens. There is no question about it. These dangerous left-wing fundamentalists, these Bolsheviks like David Clendon over there, are going to be there with the Labour Party if it gets the chance to be in Government. You would have someone like Russel Norman as the Minister of Finance. He will be printing money. Labour knows it can never get into power unless it promises things like the finance portfolio to Russel Norman. You will have Metiria Turei\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000391\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221d15a7ce6b684606b57604d92e7d46e0\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000392\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022956c61619d7f4f319ce58ccad6291bd9\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014running the transport or environment portfolios. Seriously, it is going to be really, really bad. This election is going to be a contest between the centre-right and the far left, and for New Zealanders that is going to be very, very scary. You can actually see five Labour members and one Green here in the Chamber, and there is not a day of business experience between them. Is that not frightening?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000393\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b30aa803390f46f6a5beb0ebf3e6d0a4\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Rubbish.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000394\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c6732ca592cf4af1b3b798c1a94a2f0c\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: That reflects the reality of what you would get with a Labour Government, and they are saying: \u201CRubbish.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000395\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022005eaf79a14e4ab585db3c4d77cde7cd\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000396\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228a99179c49d540d5a8d4e95463044336\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: Well, it is absolutely true. David Clendon is getting more excited than I have ever seen him in the House, and the Assistant Speaker is trying to bring the debate back to him, but this is the reality. We are facing a situation where, if those people opposite ever got hold of the Treasury benches, New Zealand would be in a huge power of trouble. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000397\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003EThis is a very, very good Budget. We have set out our four priorities very, very clearly. We are going to be in surplus by next year\u2014a $75 million surplus. It is thin, but it is there, and that is what 4\u00BD years of fiscal discipline brings you. This year we have a deficit of $2 billion. Back in 2010 we had an $18.7 billion deficit. When you look at where we are positioned compared to Australia\u2014they have got a deficit of A$20 billion this year\u2014we are in a very, very good position. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000398\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003EThe Opposition can go on about the state of the economy, but the fact is that we, and the Australians, have grown at the fastest rate in the OECD over the past year\u2014the fastest rate. Over the next year we are going to be growing at 3 percent. No one is going to be growing faster in the OECD. The eurozone is really down the gurgler, as is the UK, the US, and Japan. We are very, very well positioned. There have been 50,000 new jobs over the past 2 years. Unemployment has gone from 6.8 percent to 6.2 percent. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000399\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003EWe are hearing from Labour a lot of whinging, we are hearing a lot of misinformed comment, but we are not getting one comment about what it would do better. In fact, we are not even getting a comment about what it would do\u2014full stop. It is going to be very clear where the balance lies. You have got a Government with a very sound economic record, which is getting us\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000400\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b2f2f5fd3c3c42c2a1cbb18e25e598c5\u0022\u003EClare Curran\u003C/span\u003E: We\u2019re going to bring down power bills; that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000401\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f34f61565c314b8884fe2c62b1200fdb\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: Ah! Getting down power bills. Labour reckons it is going to get down power bills by regulating and nationalising the electricity industry. Well, good luck with that, because that is going to take us back to blackouts. That is not going to be the way forward. That is going to totally stop new generation, and it is going to be incredibly bad for the economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000402\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003EI can tell you what is going to happen if these people opposite were ever in charge\u2014it would be an end to inward investment in New Zealand, because these people do not like the Chinese. They were very clear about that during the whole Shanghai Pengxin Group episode. They spoke out about it on the basis of political opportunism, and that is very, very dangerous for New Zealand. But I think what you will see if these people ever get the chance to get close to the Treasury benches is a big change in those ratings from people like Standard and Poor\u2019s. You will see the IMF\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000403\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bf0ecf81281e4b1180f85ce8b11c1ae4\u0022\u003EDarien Fenton\u003C/span\u003E: Doom and gloom.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000404\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022efca00aa12e9447e836631614fc9db1b\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: When the IMF sees hard-bitten unionists like Darien Fenton over there getting anywhere near the immigration portfolio, stopping the inflow of skills and stopping the inflow of capital, investment will fly from New Zealand. There is no question about it\u2014it will leave. There is no question. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000405\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003EWe focused very much on our priorities: getting back into surplus, economic growth, and this is interesting\u2014[Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000406\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b94e4ce420ba4920888eef3379955df2\u0022\u003EHon Maurice Williamson\u003C/span\u003E: Pay attention.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000407\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022038ceff1974c40aa9fc0610b4658ab20\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: Yes. We are growing the economy, getting the skills here that we need in New Zealand, encouraging new apprenticeships and new skills, getting people down to Christchurch, and making a firm commitment to rebuilding Christchurch. The impact that Christchurch has had is actually incredible, but we have willingly said it is very, very important that we rebuild New Zealand\u2019s second-biggest city. The Government\u2019s contribution is $15 billion out of a total rebuild of $40 billion, and that has gone up quite considerably from $30 billion. Despite that, we are still going to hit surplus. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000408\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003EWhat I can say is that if those people opposite reckon they are going to get down debt, rebuild schools, build hospitals, and fund fast broadband, where is the money going to come from? They are going to stop partial share floats.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000409\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223dcc8e62cc3c4757bc29e2b0524f0fe9\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s right.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000410\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b56bc68188044c799f8cece72cca8216\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: Yes. \u201CThat\u2019s right.\u201D, they say. They are proud of it. This is how economically illiterate those people opposite are. They need to explain\u2014and I am looking forward to the next speaker getting up to explain\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000411\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002266652d6a64464ecfbdeabb5ffb052180\u0022\u003EDarien Fenton\u003C/span\u003E: There\u2019s more than one way. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000412\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223d3432662af34a13a90a01f5fd492c8e\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: Darien Fenton, when you are Associate Minister of Finance\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000413\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b3b9c422af0d4ff19b4316ac11ccc5d0\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The member has now brought the Chair into the debate four times.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000414\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002204b7655945124ad7934d497be71af5f9\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, come on. When that member, Darien Fenton, is Associate Minister of Finance and she cancels partial shares\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000415\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022199e9ca8da4b4e1abfe40be07252d4bd\u0022\u003EDarien Fenton\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I do not wish to be picky, but, as we observe it in one language, it would also be nice if the member would call me by my proper name. It is \u201CDar-rien\u201D, not \u201CDarry-en\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000416\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ae5e00e2855c40398934fb4dd9ec8025\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: I thought Darien was going to get up and deny that she was going to be the Associate Minister of Finance, and, in fact, many members from both sides might have agreed with that. Anyway, one thing we have learnt from the Labour contribution in this debate is how to pronounce Darien Fenton\u2019s name. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000417\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003EWhat I would say is that if Labour is going to stop partial share floats, where is it going to get the money from? It is concerned about debt, but it is going to have to borrow more. Or is it going to go down to Christchurch and say: \u201CNo, we\u2019re not going to rebuild Megan Woods\u2019 Christchurch Hospital, we\u2019re not going to rebuild schools, and we\u2019re not going to put in fast broadband, because we\u2019re not going to borrow the money, and we\u2019re not going to raise money for the Future Investment Fund.\u201D So, basically, what you are going to have with those people is more debt, and you are going to have investment flying out the door. When that member from Dunedin who has just come in, David Clark, says that nonsense about the worst economic record in 50 years, he is telling a gross mistruth.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000418\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fa7ff940b7de40f5a51e18e4e21d4f5e\u0022\u003EDr David Clark\u003C/span\u003E: The worst economic record in 50 years of any Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000419\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002200d610ca41b74aca957196f82199fea2\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: Here he goes. That is the only contribution he can make. In conclusion, it is a very good Budget, we are going ahead well, the economy is growing, and New Zealand is on the right track. New Zealand, do not put it all at risk. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022 data-id=\u002234479667f6a3498a86ca0421a8ead743\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000420\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002234479667f6a3498a86ca0421a8ead743\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Before I call the next member, I just want to refer members to Speaker\u2019s ruling 27/5(1). The use of the word \u201Cyou\u201D\u2014and the member did it three or four times during that debate\u2014is not to be used in debate because it brings the Chair into it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022 data-id=\u002224ccdf90931c440eac315a56e7d5ab4d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000421\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002224ccdf90931c440eac315a56e7d5ab4d\u0022\u003ECLARE CURRAN (Labour\u2014Dunedin South):\u003C/span\u003E Talofa lava.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000422\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022830d9f5f1870429696e7dc164b56ab09\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: O a mai oe? Now I\u2019ve got you!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000423\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226e77aaa8488a48609cf3a3c7704deece\u0022\u003ECLARE CURRAN\u003C/span\u003E: Now you have got me.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000424\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dd12679c5cb344189486677486d8f92f\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Manuia fa\u2019afetai.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000425\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cd1b91f931fc4ecdbb927102eaaaf34c\u0022\u003ECLARE CURRAN\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Speaker. What a lot of froth, bubble, bogus claims, and excuses have come out of the mouths of the members on the other side of the House, the Government speakers, today. Bill English today promised 60,000 new jobs in the 2013 Budget, but 2 years ago he promised 170,000 jobs. The truth is that there are no jobs. Our unemployment rates continue to go up. Since this Government has been in power, 41,000 more people have become out of work. I draw your attention\u2014if you can see the bar graph in the document I am holding up\u2014to the grey column, which is what was projected for jobs. The blue column is where there have been some jobs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000426\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003E John Key\u2019s and Bill English\u2019s and Steven Joyce\u2019s ghost jobs\u2014their ghost job promises\u2014will be their undoing. There are no jobs in the regions. There are certainly none in the southern part of New Zealand, because this Government is delivering a two-speed economy that is advantaging the people whom it likes, and the parts of New Zealand that it likes, and disadvantaging our regions. It is disadvantaging our young people and our exporters and entrenching inequalities. It is morally wrong to entrench inequality. It is wrong for our kids, and it is wrong for a country that considers itself to be egalitarian. It is wrong economically, and it is not only wrong but stupid. An economy has to work for the ordinary person so that they have got a job, so that they can stay in New Zealand, so that their families will thrive, and so that they will pay tax, they will spend, they will invest their wage, and they will help our economy to stay on track. Otherwise, what happens is that they leave. They become disenfranchised or they leave. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000427\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EOur economy has to also work for manufacturing. We have to make things. We have to make things and export them, to be a productive economy. It is not rocket science. Instead, we are hollowing out our manufacturing base, and the loss of so many middle-income skilled jobs has made New Zealand a very unequal society. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000428\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EWhy is this Government propping up its mates at Skycity and not lifting a finger to support manufacturing businesses like the Hillside railway workshops in Dunedin? Just what New Zealand businesses are going to benefit from the Government\u2019s new pretend procurement policy, which was announced after a significant manufacturing outlet with more than 100 skilled jobs was allowed to go down the gurgler? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000429\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EThis Government is not benefiting our regions, and it is not benefiting the increasing number of working poor and elderly who are struggling with low incomes and rising costs of living. Most of all, though, it is not benefiting our young people\u2014our future workforce, our future. That is the area in which entrenched inequality policies are criminal in nature, because they are doing us harm. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000430\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EAlthough the national average for youth not in education, employment, or training is 14 percent, Dunedin has a rate of 34 percent. The number of people participating in training programmes in Otago has dropped by 24 percent, or 1,805 people, since December 2008. Why? Not because of the demand but because the number of funded places has dropped. Seventy percent of the Dunedin South electorate earns less than $40,000 a year. The median income in Dunedin city is $19,400, compared with the national median of $24,400. In Otago it is marginally higher at $21,600, compared with that national median of $24,400. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000431\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EThe average power bill in Otago is almost $3,000, which is acknowledged by the ministry itself as probably being too low. Since November 2008 power bills in Otago have increased by 25 percent. In 2010 an Otago University study calculated that 30 percent of households in Dunedin are living in fuel poverty. Fuel poverty is a recognised measurement whereby the household spending on power equates to 10 percent or more of income. That figure of 30 percent sounds right at least, and it could be higher. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000432\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EThank God that Labour\u2019s NZ Power policy will reduce average household power bills by 10 percent a year and lower the cost to businesses by up to 7 percent a year, because that means something to the ordinary person. It means something to them. It is concrete. It is not froth and bogus promises. It will mean something to the 70 percent of people in my electorate who earn under $40,000 a year, and who may be spending up to $4,000 a year on electricity and living in fuel poverty. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000433\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EWe have got to have a new approach. We have got to have a major rethink on how to grow jobs, wealth, and fairness. The fact is that the merchant banking outlook has failed. The way the National Government looks at this has failed. Clinging to that way harms people. It does us harm. It does not help the economy. The new outlook is industrial. This view holds that economic growth must be based in a real economy, a productive economy, where people actually make things and where businesses create products and services that bring real growth and real jobs, not speculation. But, unfortunately, National still views the economy through that lens of merchant banking, which has dominated the Western World for the last 30 years. It has to change. The productive economy requires a productive workforce and a skilled workforce for the jobs of the future. It is a digital world that we live in now, and we have to equip our kids for the digital workforce. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000434\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EAnother huge issue of concern for all of our communities\u2014and where that two-speed economy is so stark\u2014is the growing digital divide in our economy. This Government should be putting its heart and soul into equipping our kids to be the workforce of the future. But, again, what it is doing is entrenching a digital divide. We cannot have a digital divide. It will kill our future economy. If we are not providing our kids and their families with access to digital literacy, we will kill our future economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000435\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EIt is estimated by the most up-to-date data that around 20 percent of New Zealand households currently do not have a computer. Computers in Homes has estimated that there are 100,000 families with dependent children who do not have access to a computer at home. Those unconnected homes are predominantly in lower socio-economic areas. They are often home to Pasifika and M\u0101ori families, where children cannot participate equitably in digital learning and using technology and where programmes such as Computers in Homes, Computer Clubhouse, and Aotearoa People\u2019s Network Kaharoa do great work in increasing digital literacy; but where their success is sporadic because of limited and uncertain funding. Well, it is about to become more limited, more sporadic, and more uncertain. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000436\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EWhen Nikki Kaye was made a Minister and given special responsibility for digital education, she said that she wanted New Zealand to lead the world, and her vision was to enable more children to have access to online learning and resources. Well, access to infrastructure is great if you can afford it, and great if you actually do have the access. Hidden in the Budget was a nasty and an unnecessary cut. It was a cut to Computers in Homes through the digital literacy fund\u2014a cut of $1.7 million, which could affect more than 1,000 families a year. In the last 12 years Computers in Homes has supported more than 10,000 families in this country. It supports communities in 17 different regions across the country, from the far north to Otago. It has widespread support and flow-on effects. For every $1 invested by the Government, another $2 is invested by the community and by local businesses. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000437\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EIt is an absolute travesty that this is being cut. This is mean-spirited, it is unnecessary, and it is a cut to the heart of an initiative that is making inroads into closing the gaps in increasing inequality. Cuts like these affect people who need the help the most, while 100,000 families with no computer access have bleaker prospects. This is truly a two-speed economy\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000438\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224fb9e737c1864ad3b0fe786828e5fe1f\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: I am sorry to interrupt the honourable member. Her time has expired.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022 data-id=\u00223fab08b5ed2e453aa0ee537445aeb38a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000439\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223fab08b5ed2e453aa0ee537445aeb38a\u0022\u003EHon MAURICE WILLIAMSON (Minister for Building and Construction):\u003C/span\u003E Today I want to pay tribute to the New Zealand public. I want to pay tribute to them in that they do not fall for the little traps that keep being thrown at them by the Opposition, which I think is known as speaking from both sides of your mouth. They know that when reality strikes, Governments have to change their whole policy mix. So when the National Party was campaigning in the 2008 election and promising to do a certain number of things, black storm clouds were just beginning to gather on the economic horizon. It was called the global financial crisis. What I do not understand in this House is that members on the opposite side have not got how to handle something when such an event occurs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000440\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003EI know that if I had promised my kids that they would all get new plasma screens for their bedrooms at Christmas, and then during the year I lost my job, my wife lost her job, we were on welfare, and we were struggling to even pay for food, and so on, do you know what we would have to say? Every New Zealand family knows what they would say to the kids: \u201CWe just cannot do it. Sorry, we thought we could and things were looking good, but events outside of our control have occurred and we just cannot do it.\u201D And yet it is almost like over in happy \u201CLabour Land\u201D that the global financial crisis did not occur. It did not happen. Why has unemployment gone up from where it was when Labour was in power? Well, it is very simple: the whole world melted down. But the good news is that the New Zealand economy got the least battering of just about any country I know. That is through sound, prudent fiscal management by Bill English and the team, who said: \u201CLook, it is going to be rough. It is going to be tough, but we have got to try to withstand some of the real sharpness of the peaks and the troughs that will come at us, but without going in and doing some of the harsh cuttings of the welfare budgets that other Governments have done in the past when times have got tough.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000441\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003EThe Labour-Greens Opposition sits there as if the global financial crisis never happened. So they will be getting up, and I have heard them today, saying: \u201CWhere are all the jobs? When we were in power, we had this level of employment, and now look how bad it is.\u201D Well, I can tell you that under the policy mix that we inherited in 2008, had we stayed on just the Labour Party policy mix platform, this country would now be calling to the IMF to come in and totally bail us out. I think this country owes a huge debt of gratitude to Bill English for having steered us through 5 years of some of the most difficult economic times. By the way, if you did not think the global financial crisis was the biggest smack around the whole world could have been dealt\u2014we were sort of on our knees and trying to get through it\u2014along came a series of devastating earthquakes that caused $40 billion worth of damage, which no one could see coming. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003EBut what I find really hard to get through is that sort of duplicity of view that we hear from the other side. For example, the Greens will spend half of their day saying that our economy is not functioning and that people are heading off to Australia, and asking why are we not doing as well as Australia. But the other half of their debate is saying that they do not want minerals, mining, petroleum, and taking stuff out of the ground. Well, that is the only reason Australia has been a success. The only reason Australia\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000443\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a36754cb44e84d7ebe3f5e34bd4af74b\u0022\u003ECatherine Delahunty\u003C/span\u003E: No, it\u2019s not.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000444\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cd1c372c1c06453f877e0f04f4900153\u0022\u003EHon MAURICE WILLIAMSON\u003C/span\u003E: It is true. It is the only reason the Australian economy\u2014it has a two-tier economy. Its ordinary economy is going slower than ours. In fact, the forecast levels of growth for New Zealand are better than for Australia. Have a look at the Budget that the Australian Labor Government brought down a couple of weeks before ours. It is appalling. There is a $22 billion deficit within that Budget. Australia is really struggling because commodity prices for all of the stuff that it rips out of the ground are falling. But you just cannot run the policy that the Greens do, which is that we should match Australia. We should be economically as good as it is and doing as well as it is. But we should not do all the things that it is doing, like taking minerals and so on out of it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000445\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003EI think it is enough for us to have a duplicitous view of the world from the Greens, but today I saw something that I have never seen before. I saw a member of Parliament who even disagreed with himself. Damien O\u2019Connor wrote letters saying that we have got to do the mining on the Denniston Plateau, and then said that it is all wrong and we should not be doing it. It is the first time in my 27 years in this House that I have actually ever seen a member of Parliament debating with himself and losing on both counts. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000446\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003EIt applies to the Labour Party, as well. If you look at direct foreign investment, you see that there is no question that if we want this economy to function well, we need direct foreign investment. We need foreigners to bring their skills and their capital in here to grow it. There is just no doubt about that. What happened when Labour was in power? Let us take the sale of foreign lands because I cop this all the time. It is dreadful to be selling land to foreigners, OK\u2014dreadful. Well, the National Government is a babe in the woods compared with them. I feel embarrassed. Total land sold to foreigners under a National Government is about 100,000 hectares. Total land sold to foreigners under the Labour Government was 666,000 hectares. That is about six times what we have done. That is what I said. I am embarrassed. I am embarrassed\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000447\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c9e0b4218d8a41d0a435b95422966c4d\u0022\u003ETracey Martin\u003C/span\u003E: You don\u2019t know because there\u2019s no register for it. No register for it so you haven\u2019t any idea how much land has been sold underneath a house in Auckland.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000448\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002235457c8fa8a64f7cae0a027655c3f37a\u0022\u003EHon MAURICE WILLIAMSON\u003C/span\u003E: There is somebody over there going off like a demented chook; I cannot quite tell what they are saying. But all I can say is Helen Clark sells 55,000 hectares\u201455,000 hectares\u2014to Shania Twain, and then goes down and walks across the farm with the cameras. Are we not wonderful? Then it comes to selling 6,000 hectares to the Shanghai Pengxin Group and it is evil. They are foreigners\u2014we cannot do it. Well, Shania Twain was from Canada. I reckon that makes her a foreigner. Maybe you do not, Mr Speaker, and maybe Helen Clark did not, but I think Shania Twain was a foreigner. And it is the same when Labour sold 350,000 hectares of forestry land, and then it could\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000449\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a1da828e77c3416dbe294cbeb2b6c76d\u0022\u003ETracey Martin\u003C/span\u003E: If you\u2019re not a New Zealander, you shouldn\u2019t be able to buy land. No matter where you\u2019re from, you shouldn\u2019t be able to buy land if you\u2019re a foreigner.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000450\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cc1bd5495d6542a6bf7b148dec6410f7\u0022\u003EHon MAURICE WILLIAMSON\u003C/span\u003E: Could somebody get her some medication? She is really in pain over there. She is really suffering. You need to help her out somebody. Get a medic kit. All I can say is that Labour sold 350,000 hectares of forestry land in 1 year, and then we sell a few thousand and somehow it is wrong. I want Phil Goff, when he gets up, because I know he is getting up next, to explain to this House how it can be all right for Labour to sell six times as much land to foreigners as we do but it is now wrong and evil, and how Labour could have supported the building of a convention centre in Auckland that, I think, was a third of the size of the one that is planned, but with the same number of pokie machines with it. Again, Helen Clark paraded on the stage about what a great deal we have got for you, and then Steven Joyce goes and gets a convention centre three times that size, which the private sector will put its own money at risk to build, and with only the same number of pokies. Oh, and by the way there is a sinking lid on the number of pokie machines in New Zealand, so the total number of pokies is dropping. But somehow it is evil. I just do not understand how it can be all right in one case but it can be wrong in another. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000451\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003ELabour sold just about everything that moved when it was in office in the 1980s, but it now says that it is awful, it is evil, and it is wrong. I just still do not understand how the public\u2014well, actually the good news is that the public do not the fall for it, and that is showing in the polls. It is showing in their response to this House when we are doing legislation. Parties that get up and try to be all things to all people when their history and their track record shows the exact opposite of what they are calling for are never going to convince the New Zealand public. No, Mr Goff, 2 more minutes of this and then you can get up\u20142 more minutes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000452\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003ESo I want to talk about Labour\u2019s alternative policies, and the first thing I had to do with the research was struggle to find what the alternative policy is. I do not actually\u2014[Interruption]\u2014well, no, no, they should be well known, but we do not know. We have got a couple, though. It certainly wants to have a much more dramatic and harsh emissions trading scheme. It thinks ours was a little toy poodle, and it thinks that industry and emitters should be really, really paying the price. Well, that will be good for economic growth, would it not? Let us really put the boot into the productive sector. It really, really wants to do it. By the way, also, households pay a big number of moneys towards any emissions trading scheme and Labour\u2019s scheme would make it a lot more. It wants to introduce a capital gains tax. Is that not fascinating? A capital gains tax. So it socks everybody, then it is going to exempt the family home, then it is going to exempt this, and so on. It ends up so that it will be business and rural farming that will be hit so hard. That is really good for the productive sector, right? Is that how we grow the economy? I do not think so. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000453\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003EThere are a couple of others. It wants to abandon some of the sensible monetary policy\u2014I think this is mainly the Greens, but remember the Greens co-leader Russel Norman will be the finance Minister in the coalition and just print money. Mr Goff laughs. If that is not going to be the case, he should tell us. If Russel Norman is not going to be the finance Minister, then just say so. I hear nothing\u2014I hear nothing. Is Russel Norman going to be the\u2014see, Opposition members will not even answer it. He wants to back the truck up to the Beehive, unload a swag of printers, fill it up with printing ink, and just print off the money. That has even been stamped best before 1990 in Eastern Europe.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000454\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003EI am proud of this Government, I am proud of the Budget, and I think Bill English will go down in the history of this country as being one of the best Ministers of Finance we have ever had.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022 data-id=\u0022302a4611d0144bdca2065a56c21017b5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000455\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022302a4611d0144bdca2065a56c21017b5\u0022\u003EHon PHIL GOFF (Labour\u2014Mt Roskill):\u003C/span\u003E I would like to answer a few questions posed to the House by the gay icon on the other side. I want to bring a few facts into it. Maurice Williamson knows this. He knows it, and he will smile when I give him the answers, because he knew them already. First of all, if New Zealand came out well from the global financial crisis, it was because of the state that a Labour Government, after 9 years, left this country in. If he does not accept my word for this, I am quoting from a document from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Treasury, and the State Services Commission. Produced in November 2011, it is called Better Public Services, and it said this: \u201CAlthough New Zealand entered the global economic downturn with a stronger financial position than most OECD countries \u2026\u201D. Bill English said it, did he not, just after becoming Minister of Finance? He said: \u201CThis is the rainy day that [New Zealand] has been saving for.\u201D What was he talking about? He was talking about a Labour Government, because he had only just become the Minister of Finance. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000456\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EWhy was New Zealand in a good shape, Maurice Williamson? It was in a good shape because we had paid down our debt when you, Mr Williamson, were talking about spending it on tax cuts. So we had net zero debt for New Zealand when we went into the recession. We had the lowest rate of unemployment in the OECD. One other thing, Mr Williamson: we had just signed a trade agreement for free trade with China and the ASEAN countries. Our exports have trebled since I signed that agreement in Beijing\u2014trebled to $6 billion. We were safe from the worst effects of the downturn in Europe and the United States. That is why this country is in good shape: 9 years of surpluses from a Labour Government\u20149 years of surpluses\u2014net zero debt, the lowest unemployment rate in the Western World, and trade agreements with China and with Asia. That is the answer to your question, Mr Williamson; not what you were making up as you went along. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000457\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EYou ask about the capital gains tax as if this was something extraordinary. We are almost the only country in the OECD that does not have one. The Reserve Bank has proposed it. Treasury has proposed it. The International Monetary Fund has proposed it. The World Bank has proposed it. In his heart, Maurice Williamson knows it is the right thing to do\u2014knows it is the right thing to do\u2014and he is smiling now, because he knows I am telling the truth. That is enough of Maurice Williamson. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000458\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EI want to talk about the things that are really important to New Zealanders. You know, New Zealanders do not ask for much. They do not actually even expect much, and, even so, they have been disappointed by what this Government has delivered them. What do they want? They want a job, they want a home, they want a good education for their kids, and they want a fair go. None of those things are unreasonable, but that is what the ordinary Kiwi wants: a job, a home, a decent education for their kids, and the Government to give them a fair go. This Government, in this Budget, has delivered none of those things. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000459\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003ELet us go through them. Regarding jobs, 146,000 New Zealanders are out of work\u2014146,000. In my city of Auckland, it is 7.3 percent, but in the parts of the electorate where I have Pasifika communities living, it is around 15 percent. For their kids, it is one in three not in work. This Government has not delivered on its promises. The 2010 Budget promised 170,000 jobs, and John Key mimicked the Budget. He said: \u201CWe will deliver 170,000 jobs by 2014.\u201D He made the same promise in 2011, as did the Budget. Twice in a row\u2014170,000 jobs. When he went to the people of New Zealand at the election in 2011, what did he promise? He promised 170,000 new jobs. What does Treasury tell us in this Budget? What does it tell us, Mr Coleman? It tells us that you are breaking the promise, and that you will fall short of that target that you promised three times through your leader and your finance Minister by 61,000 jobs. Three times they promised it, every promise a broken promise, and one-third of the teenage Pasifika kids in my electorate stay out of work. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000460\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThe answers are not rocket science. Why are we importing tens of thousands of skilled tradesmen into this country when tens of thousands of our kids are out of work? Why will the Government not turn the dole into a payment to encourage employers to take on apprentices? Why will we not give jobs to our young people who are on the dole, out of work, without hope? Because this Government\u2014what did it do with skills training? It cut skills training. It did not grow it; it cut it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000461\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThen, about manufacturing in New Zealand\u2014manufacturing has got a really important role to play, and what has this Government done? It has jacked up the dollar value to a point where our manufacturers are going out of business because they cannot compete with a dollar that is overvalued, Treasury says, by 20 per cent. Where is the guts in this Government to actually say that we need a new approach to monetary policy? We need to say that the Reserve Bank should be looking at jobs and it should be looking at the exchange rate, not just the inflation rate. It will not change the monetary policy by broadening the objectives and the representation on the board of the bank. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000462\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThen there is the question of investment policy. Where are people putting their money? They are not putting it into Mighty River Power. Mighty River Power is selling for less than what you floated it for a couple of weeks ago. They are putting it into speculation, because it is easy to put money into housing. You can make a lot of money out of it and you do not pay tax when you sell it, so you have a tax-free income. It is a speculator\u2019s paradise in New Zealand. It is great for the speculators. They are making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and who is paying that money? The low-income families with their kids, desperate to actually achieve the New Zealand dream of a home of their own. What happens to those families? When I bought my first home, the price of that house in Auckland was three times my annual wage. Today it is 10 times the average wage of that young family desperate to get into a home of their own. What is the Government and this Budget doing about it? Absolutely nothing. There is no commitment to an affordable housing policy, and no commitment to cracking down on speculation through a capital gains tax. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000463\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EWhy are we not getting jobs? Because there are not the savings. I heard the Prime Minister this afternoon talk about KiwiSaver as if it was his idea. I think National voted against it. Certainly, it has done nothing to make it universal, which would create an investment basis for jobs in this country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000464\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EBut I want to come back to housing. If you get a housing programme going, it does two things. Firstly, it gets people into homes of their own. That used to be a National Party principle\u2014the property-owning democracy. Now you cannot do it. The speculators will own 50 houses and the young families will not get a chance for a home of their own. Labour is talking about KiwiBuild, setting up a fund funded by homeownership bonds rolled over that would allow us to create 10,000 houses a year, with all of the jobs and all of the skills training that that involves, and the opportunity for people to own their own homes. Labour would put a warrant of fitness on rental housing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000465\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThe Government comes out with its insulation policy. I can get cheap insulation for my house on my income, but most of the low-income families in our country live in flats. The lowest take-up for insulating homes was from rental properties. Those are the families with low wages, living in cold, damp, and unhealthy conditions, with absenteeism from work because they are sick too often and absenteeism from school because they are not well, and they fall behind in their learning. Why has the Government not done something about that as a warrant of fitness for rental housing? That would really make a difference. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000466\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThe other thing that is obvious is lower power prices. You know, the Wolak report said that the power companies were making a killing out of power prices. They were gouging to the extent, he said, of $4.2 billion. When will the National Government realise that the Bradford reforms have failed? Simon Bridges got up and said that they have not had long enough\u2014they have not had long enough. They have had 16 years and they have failed. It is time that we actually gave some of the dividend back from the power stations that our forebears and my father-in-law helped build, by giving it back to New Zealand consumers by way of cuts to the price of their electricity. What difference would it make to a low-income family to have their power bill cut by $300 a year? A huge amount of difference, and we will do it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022 data-id=\u0022a92ab19e35354ade8a1359505cec8609\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000467\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a92ab19e35354ade8a1359505cec8609\u0022\u003EJACQUI DEAN (National\u2014Waitaki):\u003C/span\u003E Under the National Government, New Zealand is on the right track. This Government is doing exactly what we said we would do and we are delivering in areas that matter to New Zealanders. This Budget is a Budget that delivers for New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EAfter-tax wages have risen by 22 percent since September 2008, when we became the Government. Economic growth rose by 3 percent last year. That is a significant rise against a global financial crisis where other countries around the world are literally floundering. Here in New Zealand we achieved 3 percent growth in the last financial year, forecasting around 2.5 percent in difficult economic times. The cost of living in New Zealand has experienced the lowest rises since 1999 and mortgage interest rates are the lowest since 1965. The New Zealand economy is in good shape under Bill English and John Key. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000469\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EThis Government has got four priorities for our economy: responsibly managing the Government\u2019s finances, building a more competitive and a more productive economy, delivering better public services, and, arguably, to a South Island member of Parliament, the fourth imperative is rebuilding Christchurch. I want to spend a bit of time talking about that, but first of all I want to put some stakes in the ground, refuting some of the rather unwise comments made by some members across the House. Clare Curran, that luminary from Dunedin, said that there are no jobs in the regions. Well, come on. That kind of language might work in South Dunedin, but this is Parliament. This is where we want to have some reasoned debate, and I am going to tell that member exactly why comments like that do not help her cause and do not help her party\u2019s cause. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000470\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EUnder the Better Public Services initiative the Ministerial Committee on Poverty has endorsed a number of important initiatives to help low-income families. Those include $100 million over 3 years for the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart healthy homes programme. That programme targets low-income households, particularly those with children with health needs, for home insulation. What did Labour do in the 9 years it was in power? Phil Goff just spent 8 of his 10 minutes taking credit for the state that the New Zealand economy is in in 2013. Well, the news is, Phil Goff, that those guys went out of Government 5 years ago. You cannot keep taking credit for stuff you did way back in history. That is so last century. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000471\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EThis Government has put more than $21 million aside over the next 4 years for rheumatic fever prevention. That is significant for the health and welfare of our children. There is an extra $1.5 million for budgeting services in 2013-14, in addition, it has to be said, to the $8.9 million that was provided for in the previous financial year. This next one is good. There is a whiteware procurement programme that will enable people on benefits to purchase new appliances under warranty using repayable Ministry of Social Development payments. That is a significant help. It is just a small portion of the Budget, but it is a significant help to low-income families and people on benefit. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000472\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EThe trial on Housing New Zealand properties for a warrant of fitness programme for rental housing\u2014where was Labour? Where was Labour, in its 9 years of surplus that it keeps talking about? Where was Labour in helping low-income families? Where were those members with the insulation programme? They were absolutely nowhere. Labour was content for low-income households to live in cold, damp social housing, and what did it do about it? It did nothing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000473\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EI want to go on to some welfare measures. There will be $188 million over the next 4 years for the next stage of welfare reform to help more New Zealanders off benefit and into work. Of course, this follows a $287 million investment in last year\u2019s Budget, so it is increases year on year. You see, Labour members are yelling because they do not actually care about this stuff. What they care about is going back to the glory days\u2014they think\u2014of the 9 years under Helen Clark, when they squandered the economic opportunities they had. They do not actually care about the fact that here is a Government that is providing assistance to low-income New Zealanders and providing assistance to people on a benefit, and that has a very strong focus on getting those people who are on a benefit off that benefit and into jobs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000474\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EThere will be 354 extra Work and Income staff to provide intensive help and support. I know from recent history in my own home town of \u014C\u0101maru that when the Summit Wool Spinners mill closed, Work and Income did a magnificent job. It rallied around those people who were made redundant from a regional response\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000475\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022072983b875164f2badc15c956c8ae78c\u0022\u003EClare Curran\u003C/span\u003E: Have they got jobs?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000476\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e181df676397478cbeab1ea31c8ff376\u0022\u003EJACQUI DEAN\u003C/span\u003E: And I am happy to say to Clare Curran, who asks \u201CHave they got jobs?\u201D, that, yes, they have. Most of those people have got jobs\u201460 of them\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000477\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d736e0d3af5349b6b92024500f4c7de7\u0022\u003EHon Dr Jonathan Coleman\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, she\u2019s so disappointed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000478\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002210c3a7e4a33c4d22b7dfd1308cbc8f45\u0022\u003EJACQUI DEAN\u003C/span\u003E: I know, she does not like to hear it. It does not suit that member\u2019s agenda. But I can tell that member that 60 of those workers at Summit Wool Spinners have been re-engaged by Canterbury Spinners and that a significant proportion of the other workers have found work either by themselves or through the assistance of Work and Income. That is not good news to the other side of the House, because those members do not like to hear this stuff, but, actually, Government agencies such as Work and Income are providing a magnificent job in supporting the workers back into jobs. Labour members do not like to hear it, because they love shouting, they love pulling this country down, and they love people being poor and downtrodden, but when they see a Government that is actually prepared to put a stake in the ground and do something about it, they simply do not like it, because it does not suit their purposes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000479\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EI am going to go on now to talk a little bit about health, because that is something that is quite important to people, obviously not only in my electorate but all over New Zealand. There will be a further $1.6 billion for new health initiatives. Again, Labour members, when they are not yelling, have gone quiet. They do not like this initiative, because it is there to actually help people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000480\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EI will tell the House how this new initiative, this $106 billion\u2014I wish\u2014this $1.6 billion is going to be allocated. Over the next 4 years there will be $70 million for aged-care and dementia services. We know that New Zealand has an ageing population. We know that it is incredibly difficult for the State to provide services, and so that $70 million will go a long way, particularly in the area of dementia services. There will be $35.5 million for diabetes and heart disease. We know very well that we have a problem in New Zealand with growing rates of diabetes and growing rates of heart disease. There will be $100 million in this Budget over the next 4 years to meet population changes and cost pressures in disability support services. I do hope some of that money will be allocated into my part of New Zealand. I certainly will be advocating for that to happen. There will be $48 million for more elective operations, such as for hip replacements and cataracts. This is real assistance for New Zealanders. This should be celebrated across the House. This is extra cataract surgeries in south and north Dunedin. This is more hip operations in south and north Dunedin. Gosh, you would think those members might be quite pleased about that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000481\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EI just want to talk a little bit in my final moments about the strong focus that this Government has got on the recovery for Christchurch. There is going to be an additional $2.1 billion for Christchurch\u2019s recovery. We know that Christchurch has been through a terrible event. We know also that the people of Christchurch are incredibly resilient and are getting on with life and rebuilding Christchurch. This Government is committed to assisting those people in Christchurch in rebuilding their lives and rebuilding the economy of the second-largest city in New Zealand and the largest city in the South Island, and the tourism gateway to other parts of New Zealand, such as W\u0101naka and Southland. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000482\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003EI want to finish my speech with just a couple of figures. I am reading from a document from Invest Christchurch, which is the Christchurch Central Development Unit. I just want to say that Canterbury is attracting business from around the rest of New Zealand. I quote from this document: \u201CInland Revenue data at April 2013 show a \u2018positive net internal migration of business\u2019.\u201D, and also: \u201CCanterbury is attracting employees to job opportunities.\u201D So I go back to Clare Curran, who said\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000483\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002299579510ca7a48df81bd388320521d30\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: I am sorry to interrupt the honourable member. Her time has expired.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022 data-id=\u0022087d9e3641bb43be9552e2684f66b96c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000484\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022087d9e3641bb43be9552e2684f66b96c\u0022\u003ECATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green):\u003C/span\u003E I am delighted to have the opportunity to participate in this slightly bizarre debate. I sometimes wonder whether the listeners who are familiar with George Orwell will be weighing up whether the Budget is really Nineteen Eighty-Four or Animal Farm. It is a bit hard to tell which. Also, I do have to comment on the attack on South Dunedin. It was quite odd to say that someone from South Dunedin can talk like this but not in Parliament, implying that Parliament is the real world? I find that really odd. We all claim we are in the real world, but I think South Dunedin has its feet on the ground in a way that Parliament possibly does not. Parliament, despite our aspirations to be in touch with reality, has a certain unreality about it, and so did the Budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000485\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EThe thing I want to talk about in terms of the Budget, as laudable as some of the things may be, is that there was a huge elephant in the room\u2014actually a herd of elephants, trampling around the room, as usual, standing on each other, trying to find spare room, because they were being ignored, and trying not to gore each other in the process. There were many issues associated with poverty that were not addressed. But there was also this thing that was not mentioned, called the environment\u2014this thing that actually we all depend on for our life, for everything. We cannot get food and water without it, but it was not addressed in a 21st century Budget in a so-called modern country. There was no addressing of the issue of the environment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000486\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EAll around the world, countries everywhere recognise we are facing the greatest ecological crisis that we have ever faced as a species. It is self-created, which some of us are still in denial about. There was nothing. There was silence. It is very Orwellian when some people ignore the issues that are screaming out, because they cannot see a way of leading with any vision to solve those issues. They think that if we continue with business as usual and just ignore them, they will all go away. But they will not, and they cannot, and we have a responsibility to do a whole lot better than was done in the Budget with that absolute howling silence on the issues of the environment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000487\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EHowever, I want to briefly address a couple of Budget issues in this speech. One is to do with the $90 million that was spent on charter schools in the education budget, and the other is the money that was set aside for the family carers and the Budget bill that pushed that through under urgency. That would have to be a lowlight in the history of the Parliament. It is perhaps one of the most disingenuous, discriminatory, and unbelievably cruel pieces of legislation, masquerading as a Budget, that was not going to assist anybody. But I will refer to that later. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000488\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EStarting with charter schools and the $90 million in the Budget, it was a nice little sum, considering that there was no mandate for it and that nobody at the last election asked for it, except for the ACT Party. I am not saying they are nobodies; they are certainly not everybody, but they are the only people who actually wanted it. When the evidence, which is a rare word these days in education, is looked at for the results globally of charter schools, in terms of creating educational equity and improvement of children\u2019s learning, the very best that you can say is that the results are mixed. If you go through Stanford University and all the other research, the results in the United Kingdom and the USA at the very best can only be called mixed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000489\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003ESo why is the Budget giving money for a bunch of experiments from religious fundamentalists to people who also could use the special character provisions or the kura kaupapa provisions? What about the other groups of people, who may not be religious fundamentalists, who have been seduced into thinking that they will get more money and more autonomy by signing up to this latest failed fashion for the screwed-up notion that competition improves children\u2019s learning? Competition works well in sports teams, but it does not improve children\u2019s learning. This may be news to the National Government, but actually children learn through working with a supportive professional, with a registered teacher, with family, and with each other, through cooperation. Learning is a collective and collaborative experience. It is not a competition. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000490\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EHowever, the reason we have got this $90 million being wasted is that the ACT-National coalition agreement says it should. It also works really well for the Government with its meme that the public education system is a failure. If a decision has been made to present a system as a failure, then you really need to spend money on it and create models that you would ensure at the beginning, initially at least, will succeed. That is what the charter schools are all about. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000491\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EI think there is nobody who thinks that the education system is perfect and that it has delivered for everybody. But as to the idea that a model based on a contract where unregistered teachers and a sponsor who does not have to have an educational background is going to succeed better, when the results from overseas are clear that it does not, that is just not evidence-based. It is just ideological and political agreement between the National Party and the ACT Party. It certainly suits the National agenda, when you look at its history with the educational system since 2008. It is not going to work, but does it really matter, because they have made their agreement? Well, of course, it does matter because those children who are going to charter schools, if they are not counselled out because they cannot meet the statistics, are going to be put in a very vulnerable position because the very particular version of charter schools that we are funding\u2014and this will come up tomorrow in the House\u2014supported by the Budget, is based on some very bizarre ideas. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000492\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EOne idea is that the schools do not have to have registered teachers. On the one hand, we put a lot of effort and energy into improving the Education Review Office, the Teachers Council, registration processes, and making sure we protect children from inappropriate behaviour in schools. On the other hand, we throw up our hands and say: \u201CHey, let\u2019s bring in charter schools. They don\u2019t have to abide by any of the rules, just so long as they meet the contract.\u201D That is where the business meme in education gets sicker and sicker, because all it says is to \u201Cmeet the contract\u201D. If you can produce the data at the end of the day, they do not care how you do it. They do not care whether the teacher is registered. They do not care how many hours the students are expected to be at school. They do not care what means are used, so long as they meet the contract. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000493\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EThere is no scrutiny that is going help. There is not going to be an overview by any external body. There is going to be a contract that will be a secret between the Ministry of Education\u2014probably the Secretary for Education\u2014and the contractor. This, to me, is Orwellian because our children are not lab rats and because the Budget is wasting precious educational dollars on something that at best is called \u201Cmixed\u201D, in terms of success. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000494\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EWhen we have got programmes that have been proven to work, we should support them\u2014for example, Te Kotahitanga has been proven to work. It would be quite a good idea if instead of taking out the core element\u2014the facilitators in schools\u2014because they are too expensive, we actually invest in those programmes and then we will start to get results, such as they have at Melville High School and Kerikeri High School. If the Government does not know about those, I suggest it goes and talks to those schools to find out how it is working for M\u0101ori and Pacific students. That is what we call evidence. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EHowever, given my short call I will make a brief mention of the other Budget disaster that I wanted to focus on, amongst the many\u2014and I am spoilt for choice\u2014and that is the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill (No 2) that was forced through the House, as part of the Budget. I think the reason it was forced through under urgency, as part of the Budget, is that probably very few support parties could have stomached it if it had not been. It is a unique bill. The Budget has allocated $23 million per year for 3 years for perhaps 1,600 families, who can be paid less than all other carers, who can be paid for only 40 hours\u2019 work a week, and who basically, if they are not able to get that funding and want to complain about any aspect of the Government\u2019s new policy, will be unable to do so because there is a discriminatory clause in the bill. A most extraordinary discrimination has been entrenched in the bill, and it has been commented on far and wide. That is why I have called the bill the \u201CToo Little, Too Late, Too Bad, Shut Up Bill\u201D, because that is really what it is about. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000496\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EThe only reason there was any money put aside for this in the Budget is that the Government had lost in every court in the land. The Government did not do it to become internationally recognised as people who really like to defend people. The Government did it because it could, and it is wrong. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022 data-id=\u00220b661fef572f436ebef575e20b91995c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000497\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220b661fef572f436ebef575e20b91995c\u0022\u003EDAVID BENNETT (National\u2014Hamilton East):\u003C/span\u003E For all those people listening, that was Catherine Delahunty. Catherine Delahunty will be the next Labour spokesperson on Treaty issues, so watch this space. She will be the spokesperson for the Labour Party very soon, as the Labour Party gives away another policy area to the Green Party\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000498\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d509892a2d064734b8b05cb5005755db\u0022\u003EDr David Clark\u003C/span\u003E: Expecting a change of Government?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000499\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022969b4e5a52004f4e9c5dfc240859a559\u0022\u003EDAVID BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: No, I said \u201Cspokesperson\u201D, which does not mean anything more than that. We have back in the House the man who is known, and will be known in his political career, for yelling out one phrase. For 5 years he has yelled out one phrase. Nobody can actually remember it, but he has been known for the one phrase. The \u201COne-Phrase Bandit\u201D\u2014it is good to see you back and I am sure that we are going to hear you yelling out across the House for the next few months.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000500\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E This Budget is a good Budget. It is a great Budget for New Zealand. It is a Budget that we should be proud of, and it is a Budget that the Opposition should be afraid of. This is a Budget that has gone down well on the streets of New Zealand, because people know the reality of the world that we live in and they know that this is a good Budget.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000501\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022383363d0-b05b-469f-9cf9-a990d946d1b9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fc0447fe31b441dfa9d8b49f90d76764\u0022\u003EHolly Walker\u003C/span\u003E: Dipton doesn\u2019t need it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000502\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cfa6c64388cc4160ae447d6e49ef87b7\u0022\u003EDAVID BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: It is a good Budget for New Zealand, Holly Walker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003ELet us have a look at some of the speeches we have had today. I want to go back to Phil Goff. I thought Phil Goff made a great speech for Labour. That was the best speech to come from Labour on this debate. Phil Goff is the Kevin Rudd of the Labour Party, and he should be back leading the Labour Opposition. Why is Labour not getting together and getting Phil Goff back into leadership? He was better than anyone else Labour has put up. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000504\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EThat was a good speech from Phil Goff, but it is a speech that was wrong. Phil Goff talked about some good things like the free trade agreement with China\u2014yes, very good. Nobody disputes that that has been very important for New Zealand going forward. That is not a bad thing. The New Zealand First Party will disagree, but it disagrees with anything to do with trade. Phil Goff made a very good point about that, but when you look at what he said, he did not tell you the full facts. The full facts are that the last Labour Government put New Zealand into recession before the rest of the world. The rest of the world was pumping, and New Zealand was going into recession because of the policies the last Labour Government enacted. Those policies, as the Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman said, would have meant a $170 billion deficit for New Zealand going forward, for which we would have had to borrow. If those policies had been continued in the manner they were put forward, that would have been a disgrace and the destruction of the New Zealand economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000505\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EThat has not happened. There has been good, solid, responsible fiscal management by this Government in the last 5 years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000506\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a11ce4e-9fb3-4738-b0be-5a9f81d975da\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d4d8e1ac812a4248831a362d82e3e9be\u0022\u003EHon Maurice Williamson\u003C/span\u003E: And the public knows that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000507\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022141a8963c4e94784954e58e1f240dd69\u0022\u003EDAVID BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: Maurice Williamson talked about that, and Maurice Williamson was right: the public know that. The public know that there was a time when we needed responsible management, and that is what has been delivered. They are thankful for that and they are thankful to Bill English and the team for delivering that. That is something that the Opposition needs to be aware of. The New Zealand First Party can laugh over there, but it does not even know what fiscal management is, let alone working out what is responsible. That party has had no responsibility at all; it just sits there and tries to take the worst out of everything. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000508\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EOne thing Phil Goff did talk about was the KiwiBuild programme. That was the great building programme that, I think, David Shearer announced at the end of last year. Then did he not have to come back and say: \u201COh, no, those numbers aren\u2019t actually quite right. We can\u2019t actually do those houses for that price. That actually wouldn\u2019t be the reality of what would happen.\u201D? Labour had to backtrack on the one policy it built itself upon, and say that it could not actually deliver the houses. National, on the other hand, has worked constructively with Auckland City. We have worked together to deliver a plan that will increase the housing and the brownfields and greenfields developments in our biggest city. There is nothing wrong with having a big city in Auckland. The Opposition\u2014the Green Party certainly does not want a big city in Auckland, and the Labour Party is talking about trying to stop it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000509\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003ENew Zealand needs a city of that size and scale to be competitive. Imagine a New Zealand that did not have a city that was equivalent to Sydney or Melbourne. If we do not have a city of that nature, we cannot provide jobs and opportunities for our young people and we cannot provide the institutions of higher learning that will be at the scale and size to be competitive with other countries. If you look at the modern world, the world that is coming about, based in the Asian basin of the Pacific Basin, there are cities like Sydney, Auckland, Melbourne, Singapore, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The size and the scale of those cities is important for the future of our country going forward. New Zealand cannot compete if we do not have an Auckland that is in that realm.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000510\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f6e4e489c69e4ebe9787728464b3148c\u0022\u003ECatherine Delahunty\u003C/span\u003E: Crime-ridden.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000511\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d955a9410b2a49bd838f0d611264fec2\u0022\u003EDAVID BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: We will get a city in that realm. The Green Party says it is a crime-ridden city. That is not true. Crime has gone down. Crime statistics have gone down under this Government. You look at the statistics around that. Do not make up things in this House; talk about the reality and what is truthful.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000512\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022494874e9ca584e3a9686683f1a1da68f\u0022\u003ETracey Martin\u003C/span\u003E: Have you even seen your region? You\u2019re sucking the life out of your region and putting everything into Auckland.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000513\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220770c851c6494f64a4e390154f490c96\u0022\u003EDAVID BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: This is New Zealand First: \u201C\u2026 sucking the life out of our region.\u201D When was a New Zealand First MP ever in our region to actually see what is happening? I say to that member that our region is doing very well. We are doing well off the back of Auckland\u2019s growth, off the back of our growth and our export industries, and off the back of the investment that this Government has made in our region. I see a member here from Northland. People of Northland understand that this is important for their region as well, because that is going to be another growth area, once the plans of the National Government become a reality. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000514\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EThis is a Budget that puts New Zealand back into surplus in 2014-15. That is crucial for New Zealanders. The other crucial thing for New Zealanders is that their interest rates remain low for as long as possible. This Government will deliver that. On the other side of the Table, had the Opposition been in, your interest rates would be much higher. You would have a low dollar, do not get me wrong. The dollar would be at 40c if there were a Labour-Greens Government. That would be the rest of the world saying: \u201CYour economy is in tragic downfall because you\u2019ve got bad economic management.\u201D The Russel Norman approach to economics would give you a 40c dollar, but at the same time he would give you interest rates of 9 percent to 10 percent, and at the same time he would give you a higher unemployment rate, and at the same time this country would not grow. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000515\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EUnder this National Government you have seen growth of 3 percent\u2014growth of 3 percent, which is great in this modern economy of the world, where you have seen\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000516\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270dd644d-8bcf-40dc-998a-887d62d24a76\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002292a92965b653437d98ebb51ab02dad91\u0022\u003EMoana Mackey\u003C/span\u003E: Oh!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000517\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022554684ac6cef4b628200081fe5eedc69\u0022\u003EDAVID BENNETT\u003C/span\u003E: A lot of Western countries are finding it very difficult to get growth. The member over there from somewhere over near Gisborne\u2014she is a list member from over there\u2014is arguing about that. Those are good growth rates. Compared with the rates of other Western countries such as Australia and America, we are at the top of the countries that are growing in the Western World. The National Government has delivered that for New Zealanders, and at a time of delivering low interest rates, which are crucial for New Zealanders. That provides jobs, that provides security, and that provides the investment going forward. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EThe National Government has delivered in health care and in education. The new initiatives in that area\u2014which Jacqui Dean talked about in a very strong and positive way\u2014are all good for New Zealanders going forward. We are rebuilding Christchurch, a major city that had major destruction with the earthquake. The Labour and Green parties tend to ignore the fact that there was a world recession, and they ignore the fact that Christchurch needed rebuilding. It is all right to stand up there and say what they do about delivering all these things, but the reality is we had to deliver those two initiatives, and we have done that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000519\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003EThis is a good Budget for New Zealand. This is a good Budget for New Zealanders out there. People recognise and understand that. They understand that this Government and this country have had to be careful with their money\u2014just like they have had to\u2014to make the right choices and to work towards building a stronger country going forward. This Budget is a strong Budget, which indicates and shows that strength of the New Zealand economy and this National Government. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022 data-id=\u00228d6c4d11b1924ad9898e4848d4a926da\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000520\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228d6c4d11b1924ad9898e4848d4a926da\u0022\u003EDARIEN FENTON (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Talofa lava. I want to thank the previous speaker, David Bennett, for the comedy routine that we have just had just before the dinner break. I think it will send us all off in good humour. It does seem to be my problem that I end up following that member quite often, although it does provide one with quite a lot of good material, including the phrase \u201Cgoing forward\u201D, which I counted six times during that speech. I would like to ask the member whether he truly believes he is going forward, because I think that is probably not the case.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000521\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022310dd2bcdce84e08b76a697a2ebd7231\u0022\u003EDavid Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Speaker\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000522\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eed0ab911bc04711873cd6d4ad65d2d6\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: Is this a point of order?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000523\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002212f62675860644aebada0464b1c19cea\u0022\u003EDavid Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: No. I have been asked a question; I would like to respond to it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000524\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002234cf9aa2577a43a5aea3252df1f2ab80\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: No, no.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000525\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227d8404b04e564566994f8152ccc04452\u0022\u003EDARIEN FENTON\u003C/span\u003E: This Budget is definitely not going forward; it is definitely a going-backwards and looking-backwards Budget. I want to say in the 1 minute or the few seconds I have left before the dinner break how disappointing it is after 5 years\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000526\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223e21ec05c66e4fa683d90025f29ed1e0\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: I am sorry to interrupt the honourable member, but the time has come for me to leave the Chair for the dinner break. This debate is interrupted. I shall resume the Chair at 7.30.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000527\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=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000528\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225e4644ae8ac244bab012bb774462629a\u0022\u003EDARIEN FENTON\u003C/span\u003E: As I was saying before the break, when I had 1 minute to speak, this Budget is extremely disappointing. It is disappointing. After 5 years of a National Government\u20145 years\u2014and the fifth Budget of this Government, the only word you can use to describe it is \u201Cdisappointing\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000529\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003EThe Government is propping up its mates at Skycity and in the big end of town. It has not lifted a finger in this Budget to help grow real, sustainable, well-paid, decent jobs. There is nothing in this Budget for those affected by the entrenched two-speed economy we have been debating today. There is nothing in this Budget for the tens of thousands of out-of-work New Zealanders. There is nothing in this Budget to give hope or support to hollowed-out regions and unaffordable cities. Our young people are out of work in large numbers and have been consigned to youth wages, and they are expected, under this Government, to be grateful to be paid a pittance. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000530\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003EAfter five Budgets of this Government, incomes and wealth are ever more concentrated in the hands of a few. Chief executive officers these days are paid sickeningly huge salaries that are, on average, 35 times the size of a median Kiwi wage. There is something wrong with that. Today the top 20 percent of the population earns five times as much as the bottom 20 percent, and yet two in five seriously deprived children have working parents on inadequate incomes. So this is not just about people out of work; it is about people who are working who are not earning a decent living. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000531\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003EEven this Government has finally admitted that child poverty is a problem. It has started to talk about it today and about dealing with some of the symptoms. But what was interesting was when John Key admitted that the food in schools programme would be here to stay, meaning that he expects that the high levels of child poverty that we have today are going to become a permanent feature of New Zealand society, at least under the National Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000532\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003EInequality in New Zealand has worsened. That started with National\u2019s tax cuts for the rich in its very first Budget. It had the cheek, after holding a Job Summit\u2014remember the Job Summit; it went nowhere\u2014in its first Budget to give 40 percent of its income tax cuts to the top 10 percent of income earners. The ongoing refusal of National to address the gaping hole in our tax structures\u2014the lack of a capital gains tax\u2014is just making it worse. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000533\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003EHard-working New Zealanders who are struggling, who are doing their best to find work, to upskill, will be disappointed in this fifth Budget of the National Government. There is nothing in this Budget for families who have to work two jobs and still cannot make ends meet. There is nothing in this Budget for out-of-work New Zealanders who are desperate to get a job. And it breaks promises\u2014again. At the last election John Key promised New Zealanders that his Building a Brighter Future plan would create 170,000 new jobs over 4 years. That sounded great. That sounded great, but National promises and promises, and, in fact, it makes the same promise over and over again. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000534\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003EThe first time we heard it was in Budget 2010\u20143 years ago. What John Key promised then was more than 170,000 jobs from 2010 to 2014. Promise No. 2, in Budget 2011, was that 170,000 new jobs would be created from 2010 to 2015\u2014extending it to 5 years. Promise No. 3, in 2011, was the National Party election manifesto or election material. The National Party went out and did it again\u2014170,000 new jobs over the next 4 years. That has been promised three times, but the truth is that all National can promise in this Budget is that unemployment will reduce by a pretty pitiful 15,000 jobs over 4 years to 131,000 people out of work. I am sure that makes them feel a lot better, those people who have not got jobs, but it simply is not good enough. It is cold comfort to those 146,000 people around the country who are unemployed. That is 41,000 more people out of work since National came to power. I call that a disgrace.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000535\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221546934ae6184a74ad93f196faaf498f\u0022\u003ESue Moroney\u003C/span\u003E: It is a disgrace.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000536\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022738e2d8dd3984175abfc85ce31174ed6\u0022\u003EDARIEN FENTON\u003C/span\u003E: It is a disgrace. It seems that job growth is always just around the corner. But every Budget that we see, Treasury has to downgrade its forecasts. It is now predicting that National will fall 61,000 jobs short of its promise. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000537\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003EMeanwhile, the jobs market is not getting any better. In May Fonterra announced 300 job losses. A leaked Air New Zealand document shows that it may cut 150 jobs, and it is actually looking to contract out all of its flight attendants at the moment so it can cut wages. The Department of Conservation confirmed the job losses at 72. There are 70 jobs to go at Tait Communications, and 50 at Tower Insurance. Solid Energy has 105 added to the ones that it had\u2014another 400 last year\u2014as a result of National\u2019s mismanagement. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000538\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003EIn Auckland, where I come from, unemployment actually rose to 7.3 percent in the March quarter. In Northland it is 10 percent. In Wellington it is 6.8 percent. The only thing that is holding up the unemployment figures is the Christchurch rebuild. But it is not creating jobs. The economy under Bill English and John Key is not creating jobs other than those in the Christchurch rebuild. They have no idea about how to get the economy back on track. They are sitting by and watching as people opt out of the labour market. They are giving up\u2014it is just too hard to find a job\u2014or they are going off overseas. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000539\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003EUnder John Key\u2019s brighter future it is easy to see where the money is going: special deals for Skycity and employment laws for sale to movie moguls. I want to talk about that in particular. That deal was supposed to be for the good of New Zealanders, but yesterday we heard that Weta Digital is seeking to bring in 526 foreign workers. That is on top of the 369 workers it was able to employ from offshore last year. That is nearly a thousand jobs. Where is the responsibility\u2014where is the requirement from this Government\u2014on Weta Digital, with the taxpayer-funded benefits that that industry is getting, to train New Zealanders to do the work? There is not one. Weta Digital will be back next year asking for another 500 workers from overseas. There are some highly skilled jobs, but there are many that New Zealanders could do without much training, such as crew services, accounts, and publicity. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003EThe Government\u2019s response to all of this is a dreadful Budget. It is to sell the assets and take them out of the hands and ownership of New Zealanders and to help its mates again. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000541\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003EThe last thing I would like to say is that on the North Shore, where I work as a list member, I have been asking questions about the number of people who have been approaching Work and Income for support to pay their power and gas bills. The House would be surprised at these numbers. In Maggie Barry\u2019s and Jonathan Coleman\u2019s areas there are something like 487. In the Rodney District, where Mark Mitchell works, there are 968. That is 1,455 people who have applied for help to pay their power bills, yet this Government can talk only about selling assets. It has no ideas about how to make life better for New Zealanders. It has no idea about how to get people into work to make life better for them. It is looking after its mates. This is a disgraceful Budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022 data-id=\u00228667481cd93b4b0185bbf667f98a82de\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000542\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228667481cd93b4b0185bbf667f98a82de\u0022\u003EDr PAUL HUTCHISON (National\u2014Hunua):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, for this opportunity to speak on Budget 2013\u2014an excellent Budget. We have just heard Darien Fenton saying she was a little disappointed with it. Well, we have growth at 3 percent, unemployment at 6.2 percent and coming down, inflation at 0.9 percent, and balancing the books by 2014-15\u2014this is the envy of the OECD. This was a fantastic Budget and it certainly shows what a lack of insight that member, Darien Fenton, has, because this is a great achievement. It is a great achievement because of the extraordinary level of prudential financial management to get it through. It is a great achievement because of the history of the global financial crisis along with the other misfortunes New Zealand suffered: the earthquakes, the droughts, and the various other factors that have been of concern. And it is a great achievement given that under Labour\u2019s spending trajectory nothing like this would have ever happened. If we look at Labour\u2019s spending trajectory, if we look at the absolute financial mismanagement through those 9 long years, we see that net debt would have exceeded 60 percent of GDP by the early 2020s\u201460 percent of GDP by the early 2020s. But under the excellent management of National and the Minister of Finance, Bill English, we are going to have net debt peaking at 28.7 percent of GDP and by 2021 it will have fallen to 17.6 percent of GDP. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000543\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003EIt is absolutely frightening to contemplate what a Labour-Green coalition would do. I was reading the National Business Review just the other day and it was commenting about what that former Tasmanian Marxist Russel Norman would do. What would he do? He would print money. And what would be the result of that? Up would go interest rates, up would go inflation, and that would hurt every single small business across the face of New Zealand, as well as every single individual. And who is donkey deep with Russel Norman? None other than the Labour Party\u2014none other than the Labour Party. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000544\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003EI want to talk on two important trends. These relate to health and to science and innovation research and development. Under National, both are tracking absolutely in the right direction. Under Labour, sadly, both tracked in the wrong direction. Under Labour, during those 9 long, unfortunate years, health spending rose 7.2 percent year after year after year: $6 billion in 2000 to $12 billion in 2008. But the problem was that productivity declined\u2014productivity absolutely declined. This was absolutely, simply unsustainable, and the fact is that if we had gone on in that spending trajectory, health as core Crown spending would have been 60 percent of core Crown spending. Even Ian Powell of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, a well-known lefty, made the point only the other day that Labour was absolutely hopeless operationally\u2014absolutely hopeless. All one has to do is look at the latest New Zealand Doctor magazine to see that. But it is important to realise that between 1950 and 2012 health spending has actually gone up 442 percent, with the biggest incline between 2000 and 2008\u2014absolutely the fact. Per capita GDP has gone up during that time by 142 percent\u2014totally unsustainable under Labour. But under the excellent National Government, since 2009 the rate of increase of health spending has lowered. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000545\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003EBut the big difference between National and Labour is that under National productivity has increased, outcomes have increased, and there has been spectacular success with the health targets\u2014spectacular success. Let us have a look at immunisation. Under Labour, in 2007, only 67 percent of 2-year-olds were immunised. That was Third World. Today it is 95 percent\u201495 percent of 2-year-olds are fully immunised. In 2007, under Labour, the cancer waiting lists took months. People were going to Australia after waiting 2 or 3 months in New Zealand. Families were totally suffering. This was under Labour in 2007. Today 100 percent of people needing radiotherapy are treated within 4 weeks. That is best world practice. That is best world practice, gold standard treatment. That is absolutely fantastic, and, of course, elective surgery spending has increased by $35 million per year since 2008. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000546\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003EBut let us have a look at the achievements in science research and development, which is obviously a very vital lever to economic growth. Under Labour, both public and private investment in science research and development as a percentage of GDP remained static. Under National, public investment in science research and development has increased 7 percent per year\u20147 percent per year\u2014over the last 4 years. National has chosen to invest in a carefully designed grant system, which has palpably increased private investment in research and development, from a low under Labour of 0.35 percent of GDP up to about 0.6 percent already, and heading towards an aspirational 1 percent. This compares with Labour, which was hell-bent on putting in a tax credit of 300 million bucks a year, which would be well known right throughout the world to be rorted. This, clearly, was totally the opposite direction. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000547\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003EI do now want, just for a moment, to speak about the public health services, which have received the largest increase of funding in the Budget. The National Government, despite the global economic recession, has focused on increased investment in health, in education, and in science research and development over the last 5 years. This is in sharp contrast to many European countries. But Budget 2013 is making available $1.6 billion more for health over the next 4 years, $250 million for the district health boards, year in year out, over the next 4 years, and new funding, on average, is $352 million per year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000548\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cfdabe42-521a-4dca-afab-3e781731a130\u0022\u003EI just want to end by saying how pleased I am about the $4.3 million to improve care and men\u2019s awareness of prostate cancer. The Health Committee carried out an inquiry into early detection and treatment of prostate cancer in 2011-12, and I want to specifically congratulate Professor Nacey and his colleagues, who were in the Prostate Cancer Taskforce and who worked so well. For years nothing was done and there was huge confusion about this cancer, which affects 3,000 men per year in New Zealand, but National has taken up the inquiry and has put it into action, and we now have a quality improvement programme relating to the early detection and treatment of prostate cancer in New Zealand. This is a very positive thing. This is a very positive Budget.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022 data-id=\u0022935efea1372d4483ad614e6581fb7a84\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000549\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022935efea1372d4483ad614e6581fb7a84\u0022\u003ERICHARD PROSSER (NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E I am pleased to rise from the cross benches\u2014from the moderate, sensible middle ground, it could be said\u2014on behalf of New Zealand First to take a call in this Budget debate, and to take a call on Vote Police. It is with some sense of d\u00E9j\u00E0 vu that I rise. Looking back at my speech to the House in August of last year, I find that very little has changed in terms of the lack of proper regard accorded to the police by this inadequate Government and this inadequate Budget. The bottom line for the New Zealand Police in this Budget is that there has been a cut of almost $36 million from the previous year\u2019s appropriation\u2014$35,799,000, to be precise. The Government can spin that any way it likes, but a cut is a cut. A reduction is a reduction\u2014$36 million, give or take, off the budget from one year to the next represents an actual net fiscal loss. This is a mathematical reality, which is impossible to fudge. The police have $36 million less to work with this year than it had last year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000550\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003EIn these times of rising crime, when we should be spending more on the police and not less, the Government is cutting the budget. In these days, when more and more experienced police officers are leaving the force, are becoming disillusioned with the job of policing in New Zealand, and are jumping the Ditch to Australia in droves to work as police officers across the Tasman, where pay rates are realistic and resourcing is actually adequate, the Government is cutting the budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000551\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003EThis Government has fallen into a trap. It has fallen into the classic trap of believing its own propaganda. This Government has been telling us for so long now\u2014it has told us so often and for so long\u2014that crime rates are falling that it has actually begun to believe that this is so. But it is not so. Crime rates are rising. Crime is increasing steadily, as it always does when fundamental mismanagement of the economy results in lean times and hardship for many ordinary people. Ordinary people turn to crime, and regular criminals get worse. People stop reporting crime\u2014ordinary people stop reporting crimes, because they know nothing will be done about them. The police do not have sufficient resources to investigate and everybody knows it\u2014the people know it, the victims of crime know it, the crims know it, and so do the police themselves. The regular cops on the beat, who, day by day, are becoming frustrated to the point of leaving for Australia, know it too, and the Government is cutting the budget. In the face of all this, this Government is cutting the budget\u2014$36 million from the bottom line. Why? Has it forgotten? Is this Government so out of touch with reality that it does not remember, or never knew, why policing is important, and why it is that people need to be protected? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000552\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003ESomeone sent me an anecdote just this morning. Someone sent me a story that illustrates this very subject very well. It purports to be from Psychology 101 or somebody\u2019s interpretation of it. At any rate, if you start with a cage containing five monkeys, and inside the cage you hang a banana on a string from the top and then place a set of stairs under the banana, before long a monkey will go to the stairs and climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, you spray all the other monkeys with cold water. After a while, another monkey makes an attempt at climbing towards the banana, with the same result\u2014all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it. Now you put the cold water away. Then you remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and attempts to climb the stairs. To his shock, all the other monkeys beat him up. After another attempt at the banana, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted. Next, remove another one of the original five monkeys, replacing it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm. Then you replace a third original monkey with a new one, followed by a fourth, then a fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked. Most of the monkeys who are beating him up have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs; neither do they know why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey. Finally, having replaced all of the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys will have ever been sprayed with cold water; nevertheless, none of the monkeys will try to climb the stairway for the banana. Why, one might ask. Because in their minds that is the way it has always been. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000553\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003EThat is how Government operates, and it is why, from time to time, all of the monkeys need to be replaced at the same time. Perhaps that is what is wrong with this Government. I am not suggesting for one minute that the members of the Government are monkeys, not even in jest\u2014not even in jest. It is a metaphor; that is all. This is a serious matter. Some time in the not too distant past, this National Party, which forms this Government, abandoned its roots and took to promoting neo-liberal economic ideology. Since then, members have come and gone, members have joined and resigned\u2014they have been a part of that party and then left again. Today, as a result, there are too few members of the Government who remember being sprayed with cold water. There are too few within the Government\u2019s ranks who remember the cold water of the electorates\u2019 backlash, and who remember the beatings given to the National Party in 1999 and 2002. Too many of the Government\u2019s members have forgotten why they are supposed to be there, or perhaps they never knew. Too many of them appear to have no understanding of what it is that the Government is supposed to do. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000554\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003EAs Abraham Lincoln put it: \u201CThe legitimate object of Government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all, or cannot do so well, for themselves in their separate and individual capacities.\u201D This National Government appears to have forgotten that fact, or perhaps too many of its members never knew it. It is a fact that society needs to be safe, that people need to be safe. It is a fact that the people, the citizens of society, have a right to be protected from the actions of criminals. They have a right to expect that they will be protected and their families and property will be protected, and for that to happen the police need to be properly resourced. We need to have enough police officers and we need them to be out in the streets and out on patrol. We do not need fewer police. We do not need them to be stuck in back offices doing paperwork because the support budgets have been cut. We need more police out on the beat, more police who are actually available to investigate burglaries of property crimes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000555\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003EWe need more police on checkpoints, breath-testing drunk-drivers before they crash, before they kill and maim innocent people. We do not need fewer cops and fewer cars because the operation\u2019s budget has been slashed. It is not good enough for this Government to hide behind the excuse that less is being spent this year because some new police stations were built last year and we do not need any more of them. That is a red herring and a disingenuous explanation. It is not good enough for them to hide behind that excuse when we still have too many unsolved burglaries and too many drunk-drivers on the roads and too many cops being assaulted and beaten and shot at and stabbed. Too many good cops are giving up in frustration and leaving for Australia, when we still have under-manning and sole-charge rural stations, and people not reporting crime because they know that it will never be investigated. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000556\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003EIt is not good enough that this Government is cutting money from the police budget when it should be being increased. Perhaps it is time to replace all the members of the Government at the same time, just like the monkeys in the cage. Perhaps it is time to replace them with a New Zealand First Government, which will accord the police the recognition and resourcing that it requires and that we all deserve. This is a dreadful Budget, and the reduction in Vote Police is as incomprehensible as it is irresponsible. New Zealand First condemns this Budget and we urge the House to do the same. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022 data-id=\u00226fd2825ab8fa4c3fbc252a62ba53d337\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000557\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226fd2825ab8fa4c3fbc252a62ba53d337\u0022\u003EHon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Development):\u003C/span\u003E I think it is appropriate that I stand up and take a call on the Budget, considering that it is within Vote Social Development, and I am responsible for more than a third of all Government spending. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000558\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003EVote Social Development is spending a total of $22.23 billion on social support and services for New Zealand over the 2013-14 year. This broadly maintains the same funding from the previous year, although there is an increase of about 3 percent. There have been some key movements. We are certainly seeing an increase in superannuation, as we see the results of keeping it at 66 percent, and the need for those who are older. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000559\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003EJust to run through some of those bigger numbers so that people have got them, we are spending about $8 billion a year on benefits\u2014on welfare for the working-age population. It is broken down into many aspects, but we now spend about $1.2 billion\u2014and rising, as we said, to about $1.3 billion\u2014just on accommodation supplements. About 40 percent of that goes to those who are on benefits, but actually a lot more goes to those who are on lower incomes, and it is a way that we support people who are struggling in some areas and cannot afford to pay their rent and their mortgages. If you take the overall spend and include income-related rents, this Government, over the next year, will spend around $1.9 billion on accommodation supplements and income-related rents for those who are, as I say, on lower incomes and/or benefits, which do seem to come hand in hand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000560\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E We are investing another $188.6 million in welfare reform. I would like to go into that in a bit more detail than perhaps we have done in the past, but I am going to come back to it because I want to stick to some of the stuff that we have announced that gets overlooked pretty quickly. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000561\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003EThe Confidential Listening and Assistance Service\u2014we get the Department of Internal Affairs to administer the funding for it\u2014is really important for those who have suffered historical abuse. It was actually started under the Labour Government in 2008, and we have stuck with it and have now extended that funding for another 2 years. It is for those people who, quite frankly, certainly have the most horrific stories that I have ever heard. You can see that path that they have been on. What the Confidential Listening and Assistance Service does is give them a place to express that, and, actually, it is a really important part of their healing. Many will tell you that it is the first time they have been listened to and believed, and have actually felt that they have had the State listening, which is the way that it happens. The service is also able to wrap support around them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000562\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003EIn line with that, we have also put substantial money into addressing historical grievances\u2014about $16 million additional, from memory; I will find the figure as I am talking. That $16 million goes a long way to addressing historical abuse claims. The truth of the matter is that when these people go to court, the State actually wins because it is too hard for those people to prove that all those years ago the abuse took place, and because it is too hard to prove how much of it is from the previous hurt that led to them being in care and how much of it is from the horrific abuse that some suffered while in care. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000563\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003EWhat we have done, certainly, with the leadership of me and the Attorney-General, is that we have said that wherever possible we would like to err on the side of paying people out. So if it is a certain point in time, they were in certain institutions, and we had evidence that there was other abuse and neglect there, then we would like to see these people be able to move on with their lives, and wherever we can, we actually pay out. From memory we have about 1,000 claims. We have settled about 265, and we have another whole lot that are still in train and still working their way through. Hence we need to put more money in and need to see those people have what I think is quite minimal closure, to be honest. In some respects it feels quite trivial, but it makes a big difference to them and their lives. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000564\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003EThe other thing we have done is we have continued funding of $5.6 million for family violence response coordination. We have also put more into budgeting advice services, and that is temporary. We already put in about $9 million a year. That is more than double the funding over the last 4 years, but we see that they need some help in the interim. But that needs a complete review, so we need to look at the current policy. Is it working? Are we are getting unintended consequences or the consequences that we intended; if so, how is it affecting them, and do we need to look at more sustainable funding options for them going forward? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000565\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003EThe other initiative, of course, is what we have already heard today, which is food in schools. It is really positive to see it being accessible to all decile 1 to 4 schools for 5 days a week\u2014Weet-Bix and milk, which will make a big difference, I think. A lot is being said today about whose fault it is and why these kids are hungry, and I can stand here and pontificate for a long time on what the causes might be and why that is, but at the end of the day, any member who stands in a classroom and sees hungry kids who are fidgeting, unable to learn, and unable to get that kind of support to get that little brain switched on will see that it makes sense that we are stepping up and expanding a programme that is already there. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000566\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003EWe have also talked about KidsCan. I think it is important that we are more than tripling its funding. We give $150,000 now; we are actually going to $500,000 a year over the next 3 years. That funding goes towards those other items. One that I thought was really important as a mum myself is around lice treatment. Lice can be really hard to get rid of at times, and it can be very expensive to purchase those treatments and keep up with them. So seeing that treatment come through from KidsCan and seeing that it is able to step in do those sorts of services, I think, makes a big difference. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000567\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003EThe other thing I want to touch on is microfinance and whiteware. There was a bit of derogatory from the Opposition when we said that we were going to look at a procurement model for whiteware, where the truth of the matter is that we spend nearly $11 million a year in giving special-needs grants to those on benefits. They actually pay it back, so it is a loan. Effectively, what is happening far, far too often for my liking and for the liking of those who work with these people is that they buy poor-quality second-hand goods with no warranties or guarantees. The goods then break down and the people have not got the money to fix them. They go and borrow another loan, and they are still paying off the one that they bought originally. It just seems to be a really hard cycle for them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000568\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003EWhat we have discovered is that the average price that they are paying is around $420 for, as I say, predominantly second-hand goods. I reckon we can get them a new machine at that kind of price with a warranty of 2 years that is actually installed in their home. The old machine is taken away and they actually have a much better service, and it is much better that they are not having to re-borrow again and again and again. I just think it makes sense. We have seen substantial changes and alarm in previous years where I changed the procurement model for that. I think it will make a difference. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000569\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003EMicrofinance is something that I personally am particularly interested in. I think life is tough on a benefit, but, actually, people can do it, and that is made evident by the fact that 50 percent of those on welfare actually do not go for special-needs grants or additional payments. But when something goes wrong, it is hard to manage. We far too often see people borrowing from loan sharks and from others, and getting themselves into financial difficulty and unable to pay it back. The kinds of questions, though, that we need to go through over the next few months\u2014and we want to do that in partnership with the community, in partnership with banks and others\u2014are about what sort of lending we want to do. Are we the lender of first choice or the lender of last choice? Are we looking at consolidating people\u2019s loans from loan sharks or should we not be doing that because it almost incentivises? Are they low-interest or are they no-interest? Are we taking on the loan sharks in some respects in their own business and saying \u201CCome and borrow from this kind of microfinance service.\u201D, or not? Those questions are what we are going to work our way through as we go through it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003EI want to talk about Work and Income and the changes that are happening there. There is $188.6 million new going into Work and Income. One that has not been talked about much is that $16.4 million of that is actually a work bonus. That is for people on sole parent support or people on the new supported living payment who go off their benefit and do not have work expectations, so that they can retain some of their benefit over time. It is a huge transition going from benefit to work, and often the pay cycles do not add up nicely. What we are saying is that your benefit will decrease by $100 a week even though you have started in a job, so that you can actually have a little bit of time to manage and get yourself into that new world. We project that that will cost us $16.4 million, but I think it is a good investment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000571\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003EWhat we are also doing is employing 354 new staff within Work and Income. I heard New Zealand First today saying how shocking that is and how awful it is, and if the number on the unemployment benefit is going down, then why do we need them? For the very reason, actually, that the numbers on sole parent support and those on the current invalid\u2019s benefit, now the new supported living payment, are not going down at the same levels. They need intensive support that works alongside of them. We need to bring case loads down, and to do that we need to be putting more staff on the front line. Forty of those staff will be going into the contact centre, 100 will be in administration roles that are actually taking away a lot of that work from the front line, and the others, of course, about 214 of them, will be on the front line and making a big difference. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000572\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003EWe are also putting money into making sure that we have got money for drug testing so that we can help out with the cost there. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000573\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003EThis is a big package. I could speak far longer than 10 minutes on this as it is so significant, but this is making a real difference for people on the ground, and I am really proud to deliver it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022 data-id=\u0022d061d44f48974d389c804451a372e702\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000574\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d061d44f48974d389c804451a372e702\u0022\u003EPHIL TWYFORD (Labour\u2014Te Atat\u016B):\u003C/span\u003E Talofa lava lau afioga, Mr Speaker. E muamua \u2018ona ou fa\u2019aali atu. \u2018O le vaiaso taua lenei. \u2018O le vaiaso \u2018e fa\u2019ataua ai le gagana Samoa. \u2018O le gagana Samoa \u2018ua gagana \u2018e le to\u2019atele i totonu \u2018o Aukilani. \u2018Ou te fa\u2019atalofa atu i la\u2019u pule\u2019aga i Te Atat\u016B. \u2018Ma tagata Samoa \u2018uma i Nu\u2019u Sila. \u2018O le gagana Samoa \u2018o se \u2018auro \u2018e fa\u2019ataua aua le fa\u2019alelei atili mo tupulaga i tausaga i luma. \u2018E tatau \u2018i le malo \u2018ona pasia ni tulafono \u2018e mafai ai \u2018ona fa\u2019amalosia nei fa\u2019amoemoe. Fa\u2019amanuia mai le Atua i le Palemene atoa. Fa\u2019afetai lava lau Afioga, Mr Speaker. Soifua.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000575\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E[Greetings, Mr Speaker. First I must inform you, this is an important week. It is the week we celebrate the Samoan language. The Samoan language is spoken by many people, especially in Auckland. I greet my constituents in Te Atat\u016B, and all the Samoan people throughout New Zealand. The Samoan language is a treasure we must nurture for generations into the future. Let the Government enact laws so that these intentions can be materialised. Blessings to the whole Parliament. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Blessings.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000576\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224175c0ef301a459aa2c69fcd49ada940\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Malo.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000577\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022459ff70729444cd49ec8d906ef52fdd3\u0022\u003EPHIL TWYFORD\u003C/span\u003E: Soifua.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000578\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022acc7afb7f5864fb6a83823fa64e7d16b\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Fa\u2018afetai lava.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000579\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002285d328a41d5a44fa9868a66f09b7ecc0\u0022\u003EPHIL TWYFORD\u003C/span\u003E: It is Samoan Language Week. Samoan is the third most spoken language in our nation. I believe that it is a treasure that we should nurture and safeguard for future generations. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000580\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EI am going to talk about housing in this Budget debate. This afternoon David Parker made a comment that I thought was a typically shrewd observation. He said that the announcements that the Government made around housing in the Budget were typical John Key: big enough to get a headline, but not big enough to make any impact on the problem\u2014not big enough to make a difference. I think it is absolutely plain for anybody in New Zealand today to see that we have a housing crisis, particularly in certain centres like Auckland, Christchurch, the Bay of Plenty, Queenstown, and Nelson, where housing affordability is at its worst. But we also have a housing stock as a nation that is so inadequate and so substandard that it is causing too many of our children to die preventable deaths from rheumatic fever, from asthma, and from meningococcal disease. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000581\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EThe housing market has failed. It is in a terrible state. The consequence of that is that we have seen plummeting rates of homeownership. We used to have, only a couple of decades ago, one of the highest rates of homeownership in this country, and we were proud of that as a nation. Homeownership is dropping rapidly, and it has fallen from 75 percent across the country down to 65 percent only in the last decade. For people under 40, it has dropped down to percentages in the high 30s. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000582\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EThere are all sorts of consequences. It is not just homeownership and the fact that a whole generation of New Zealanders today is locked out of the housing market. The dysfunction in the housing market has terrible knock-on effects for people all the way down the chain. So people who two decades ago would reasonably have expected to own their own homes are now renting. People who were renters have now been pushed to the bottom of the market and are often living in substandard private rental accommodation. There is such an inadequate number of Housing New Zealand social housing units available that people who would normally have expected to get a State house are now often homeless and are living in sleepouts, in Skyline garages, and\u2014I see it every day in west Auckland\u2014in caravan parks. It is no exaggeration to say that this is a housing crisis for our nation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000583\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EThe Government made two big announcements in the Budget, and one of them was around the reform of social housing. Only National would spend weeks talking up the fact that its Budget was going to put people into affordable housing, and then announce that one of the centrepieces of its Budget announcement was to boot out 3,000 State house tenants, and in the worst housing affordability crisis in living memory\u2014in living memory. The housing shortage and affordability crisis has never been this bad, yet National\u2019s great policy centrepiece in this Budget is to boot out 3,000 State house tenants. Only the National Party would do that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000584\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EThe Hon Nick Smith, the Minister of Housing, announced that the income-related rental subsidy, which is currently used by Housing New Zealand, is going to be transferred across to the community housing sector. Along with that, he announced his plan to transfer a number of State houses to community housing non-government organisations. On the face of it, it is probably not a bad idea. But in the context of the worst housing crisis in living memory, in the context of terrible shortages, what this Government is doing\u2014transferring the subsidy across to the community housing sector and introducing reviewable tenancies, which will create tremendous insecurity among State house tenants\u2014is everything but the obvious thing, and that is to build more State houses. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EI know that the National Party does not like Housing New Zealand. It has never liked it. The National Party and its predecessors have not been comfortable with the idea of State-provided social housing since the days of Richard Seddon, let alone through the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. In the 1990s the National Government sold off 13,000 State houses. Well, it is at it again. It is at it again. It is running down Housing New Zealand. It is transferring its assets and many of its functions and powers away from the organisation. Nick Smith wants Housing New Zealand to be simply another tenancy manager, competing with the community housing sector to provide this service. National is up to its old tricks. It is offloading what is a fundamental responsibility of the State, and that is to provide quality income-related social housing rentals for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. All that it is doing is shuffling the deckchairs around on the Titanic. It is doing everything but the obvious thing, and that is to build more social housing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000586\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EThe second big announcement that John Key made in the Budget was the so-called Auckland Housing Accord. There is to be legislation that would provide a legal framework for the Housing Accord that the Government has negotiated with Auckland Council, and a framework that would allow the Government to do this with councils all around the country. On the face of it, it is an attempt to tackle the extreme housing unaffordability problems that Auckland faces. But the problem, as was made absolutely clear in question time today, when David Shearer was questioning the Prime Minister, is that this Government has no way of guaranteeing that a single affordable house will be built as a result of its policy. The Government has nothing to say. The Prime Minister was completely unable to give the House any kind of explanation or reassurance that any affordable houses would be built as a result of its policy. All the so-called accord does is cherry-pick a couple of aspects of the Auckland Unitary Plan\u2014that is, it brings in a supply of greenfield land into the land supply more quickly than it otherwise would have done, and it fast tracks the Resource Management Act consenting for affordable housing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000587\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EThose are two of a whole long list of things that are at the root of the housing affordability crisis. The Government wants us to believe that tinkering with the Resource Management Act will solve the crisis. Well, it will not. It just will not cut the mustard. And it is very clear that just bringing in some more greenfield land into the system will likely result in the construction of more houses that will sell for three-quarters of a million dollars on the fringes of the city. That is not what is needed. It will not put a single Kiwi family into affordable homes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000588\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EThe one thing that the Government needs to do is pick up a hammer and build some affordable housing. We have a shortage. There is a supply crisis. There are not enough affordable homes. The industry has seized up. It is not building affordable homes, because for the builders and the developers there is no margin in it for them. What the Government needs to do is roll up its sleeves and build affordable housing, as the Labour Party will do when in Government from the end of next year, with our KiwiBuild policy. We will build 10,000 modern, affordable starter homes every year for a decade, and while we are doing that we will drive down the costs. We will use the scale of KiwiBuild to drive productivity improvements, to do deals with suppliers, to reform the building and construction industry, to drive down the costs of the construction of new homes, and to provide a lasting solution. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000589\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EThis Government, in its housing announcements, basically created a charade. Nick Smith\u2019s job as the Minister of Housing has been to convey a sense of activity that he is doing something, but the Government is doing everything but what it needs to do, and that is pick up a hammer and actually build some affordable houses. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022 data-id=\u0022032ad48ba2854580a13d450d5bee2fe3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000590\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022032ad48ba2854580a13d450d5bee2fe3\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Fa\u2018afetai lava.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022 data-id=\u0022b19eb16c51204b99a407906797ae6ced\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000591\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b19eb16c51204b99a407906797ae6ced\u0022\u003EHon JO GOODHEW (Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector):\u003C/span\u003E Talofa lava, Mr Assistant Speaker, and to the House as well. This evening, as we debate the Budget and as we actually set out our particular views on how New Zealand is going, I want to convey to the House the view of the constituents in my electorate. The constituents of Rangitata responded to the Budget in very even measure. The reports in the paper, generally speaking, said that this is a sensible, strong Budget\u2014a Budget that continues down a sensible path without rocking the boat, because, actually, New Zealand has been through a very rocky couple of years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000592\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E It would appear to me that the Opposition members around the House have little or no comprehension of the actual effects of the global financial crisis. If I were to comment on some of the speakers who have preceded me, I would still shake my head in wonderment at the stories of monkeys and spraying cold water. The incomprehensible analogies that the New Zealand First member Richard Prosser treated the House to tonight were interspersed with stories about cuts to police budgets that bore no resemblance to the facts. In fact, under this Government, we have had a 5.9 percent drop in recorded crime, 18 new public safety laws passed, 6,000 families protected by police safety orders\u2014a personal favourite of mine because it adds an extra tool to the toolbox to protect women and children in their homes\u2014and a record number of prisoners engaged in training. This particular foursome I am going to describe as being part of a theme of the National Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000593\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003EWe are not continually spending more and more and more money throwing lollies at the electorate. In fact, what we as a Government are doing, under the stewardship of John Key and our finance Minister, is making sure that the money that the members of this House have paid in taxes and that the members of my constituency have paid in taxes is treated with the respect that that money deserves. That money deserves to be spent wisely, sensibly, and carefully, because it does not belong to the Government; it belongs to the people of New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000594\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003EWe have had many successes of which it appears that the member for the New Zealand First Party is unaware. We have seen crime fall by 17 percent in my own electorate. That is phenomenal. I tell you that that is about police on the beat, police on the streets, and smart police working with their community and getting fantastic results. This Government has introduced technology to the police so that they can do thousands and thousands more hours of police work out in the community instead of back at the office. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000595\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003EWe are a very different Government from the previous Government. As I said, we do not throw money around; we try to make it work better for us. The member who spoke prior to me, Phil Twyford, ascribes to the old Labour doctrine that the Government solves everything, the Government builds everything that needs to be built, and the Government creates every job that is worthy of having. But, actually, guess what? Jobs created by Governments are not sustainable jobs. Jobs created by businesses that are growing are sustainable jobs. The previous Government controlled business. The previous Government wants to control the marketplace with borrow, with tax, and with spend, and for good measure\u2014with its partners in crime the Green Party\u2014it is going to print money as well. The ill-thought-out and rushed policies from the far-left bloc, Labour and the Greens, are transparently vote-seeking missiles. But the one thing about that is that the vote-seeking missiles are heading for heat, and I tell you that the electorate is not showing it any heat. In fact, the electorate indeed is cold to its ideas. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000596\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003EUnder National we are concentrating on four main themes. I am going to repeat them because New Zealanders are coming to understand that this truly is what is important to New Zealand. We are responsibly managing the Government\u2019s finances and I have given examples already. A more competitive and productive economy grows jobs in the economy. We have had the global financial crisis, and that crisis has, in fact, dampened much of New Zealand. But we are no longer on that path to destruction that we were on under a Labour Government, where we had at least 10 years of deficits and were looking at a horrendous debt for the children who follow me and the members of this House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000597\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003EIn delivering Better Public Services we are looking at fine-tuning and addressing all of the money we spend, and making sure that we get a very good deal with it. When it comes to rebuilding Christchurch, our second-largest city\u2014in fact, the largest city in the South Island and so close to my home electorate\u2014we are completely committed to that. There is a lot of job growth happening in Christchurch, but from my own personal perspective, I am disturbed that the job growth is happening mainly for men. So the work that I am doing with the Ministry of Women\u2019s Affairs is to zero in on finding more jobs and encouraging women into non-traditional trades and into some of the jobs that the rebuild is creating. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000598\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003EI now want to spend a little bit of time talking about the health budget and what the health budget is actually doing for New Zealanders. There has been a huge change in the health sector. The huge change I can put down, I think, to a couple of things. First of all, the health Minister\u2019s \u201CBetter, sooner, more convenient care\u201D theme, which is now right across the health sector. But also part of that is actually about involving clinicians in the decisions. What we have seen as a result of that is a phenomenal impact on what is actually being achieved within the health sector. We have been delivering the sort of health care that matters most to New Zealanders, and at the same time New Zealanders have responded by becoming more and more secure in their knowledge that the health sector works for them. This year there are 35,000 more elective surgeries than there were in 2008, and there are free visits to the doctor for under-sixes, day or night. Immunisation is indeed one of my favourites, as it was Dr Hutchison\u2019s, in that 93 percent of 2-year-olds are fully immunised, up from 74 percent back in 2008. Actually, it is not so long ago, under the previous Government, that it was 67 percent. There are 1,000 more doctors and 2,000 more nurses, but even more important is that we have 45,000 children at nearly 200 schools taking part in the rheumatic fever prevention programme. Rheumatic fever was apparently a priority under the previous Government. It is just that nothing happened during that time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000599\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003EIn New Zealand these days, if a patient is going to receive chemotherapy or radiotherapy, then they get it in New Zealand. Far gone are the days when they travelled to Australia more often than we cared to admit. There are 56,000 more Well Child checks, and 24/7 funding for PlunketLine. When I talked to Plunket in my electorate recently, it asked me what it could do better and I said that whenever anyone talks to me about Plunket, I never get any complaints; the only time I ever hear anything at a public meeting is when someone says: \u201CCan we have more of Plunket?\u201D. So it is absolutely delighted that this Government funded PlunketLine 24/7. I believe that it was Helen Clark who cut it. There are 56,000 more Well Child checks. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000600\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003EThen we also have the amazing turn-round where no longer do we have beds in corridors in emergency departments. Sometimes patients were on those beds\u2014on those trolleys, really\u2014for days at a time. Now we have 93 percent of patients in emergency departments seen, treated, or discharged within 6 hours. But this Budget brought more\u2014$14.7 billion in total health spending. That is up. There is $1.6 billion extra for new initiatives and to meet population pressures. There is $70 million for aged-care and dementia services, and even more money, $48 million more, for elective operations. We are concentrating on the non-surgical aspects, as well, with more money, $35.5 million, for heart disease and diabetes checks. Then I note the screening service, which is my own particular responsibility. There is an extra $25 million for preventive screening services such as breast cancer screening. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000601\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003EThis Government is doing its level best to use the New Zealand public\u2019s taxpayer funds to the very, very best effect, and New Zealanders are not missing out. Today\u2019s announcements for vulnerable children and the money we are spending on vulnerable families mean that this Government and this Budget is entirely for all New Zealanders, not just some. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022 data-id=\u00221b522a7ba95e40df81b7564cbd5bdde3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000602\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221b522a7ba95e40df81b7564cbd5bdde3\u0022\u003ELOUISA WALL (Labour\u2014Manurewa):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe. Malo le soifua. N\u014D reira, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa. I would like to acknowledge that it is Samoan Language Week, which is particularly relevant for me and my electorate of Manurewa, where 32 percent of my community is Pacific and 28 percent is M\u0101ori. But within the context of those school-age children, 75 percent are M\u0101ori-Pacific. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000603\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003ELike my colleague Phil Twyford, I want to talk about housing and the relationship between housing and health, and how it relates to the educational outcomes of our children. I would like to begin with a quote from Gandhi, actually, which is: \u201CThe true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.\u201D Why is it relevant? Well, it is relevant to my electorate when I look at some statistics. I have been reading More Than Churches, Rugby \u0026amp; Festivals: A Report on the State of Pasifika People in New Zealand, which was produced by Ronji Tanielu and Alan Johnson from the Salvation Army. It makes very interesting reading, because what it says\u2014and I want to reiterate some of the statistics that Phil talked about\u2014is that 67 percent of New Zealanders own their own home. In my electorate of Manurewa, it is less than 50 percent. What is relevant is that 37 percent of Pacific people own their own home. There is a huge disparity if we look at the general population and who owns their homes, and then the relevance, I guess, of that statistic to my electorate, because what I do know is that 58 percent of Pacific people rent. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000604\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EWhen I think about my electorate of Manurewa, I think about what a home represents. For me, it represents a stable base where I can learn my language, learn my culture, and be fed, and where, for me, my parents ensured that my basic needs were met. Unless we all have a stable home, it is very difficult to then go out into this vast world and fulfil our potential. The relevance to my electorate, actually, is when I look at rates of transience. All of my schools collect data, and one of the most shocking statistics that I have come across in my time as the MP for Manurewa is from Takanini School. Linda Kelly is the principal there, and at one stage she had 120 percent transience. You may ask how you can have 120 percent transience. She had some children who were there\u2014they left. They came back, and they left. One child went to nine different primary schools in 1 year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000605\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EWhat is the relevance of that? The relevance of that in terms of the electorate work I do is that we see between 120 and 140 people every month come into my electorate office, and 16 percent of those people have housing problems. The people who come to my electorate office usually come because they are living in cars, they are living in a garage, or they have been booted out of their home because they cannot pay the power. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000606\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI have a community that lives on the breadline. Because they live on the breadline, having a stable home is incredibly important, and, as I have said, if families do not have a stable home, then that affects their children\u2019s ability to learn. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000607\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EWhen I look at the housing stock across the board, we have approximately 67,000 Housing New Zealand houses. Under this Government\u2019s watch, that has not increased at all. The relevance to my community is that between 1996 and 2006 the population of Manurewa increased by 35 percent. If the population of Manurewa is increasing by 35 percent but the housing stocks have basically not increased at all, the relevance, when I look at my population, is that if I look at my 29 schools\u2014and this is an indicator of need\u2014I have 14 decile 1 schools, nine decile 2 schools, and four decile 3 schools. So 27 of my 29 schools are deciles 1, 2, and 3. What that means is that my community is living in poverty. My community has families that either are living off the benefit or, if they are working, are working in jobs that pay them the minimum wage. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000608\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EWhat is the relevance of the National Government\u2019s policies to improving the lives of the most vulnerable members of society? As my colleague Phil Twyford said, it is absolutely nothing\u2014absolutely nothing. In fact, the communities of South Auckland, where predominantly M\u0101ori and Pacific people live, are not better off under this Government. I have huge concerns about the provision of basic services to our community. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000609\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI look at that relevance, then, to health, and I look at the rheumatic fever statistics. We have approximately 200 people who die every year because of rheumatic fever - related illnesses\u2014200 people. There is a report from the Auckland Regional Public Health Service and its medical officer of health, Katherine Jackson. What is the relevance of that to statistics in Auckland? It is that 60 percent of the people who suffer from rheumatic fever are Pacific and 35 percent are M\u0101ori, so we know this is a M\u0101ori-Pacific disease related to the quality\u2014or lack\u2014of housing that they have. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000610\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI find this appalling. I find it appalling that the Government\u2019s response to those statistics is to treat the symptom in one way. We are going to find out the kids who have strep A and then we will give them basic antibiotics, but they will continue to live in those cold, damp houses, and, at the end of the day, unless we address the underlying cause of rheumatic fever, which is the quality of the housing stock, then nothing is going to change. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000611\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EWhen I look at the priorities of this Government, they are not to address the needs of M\u0101ori and Pacific communities; they are to continue to have health targets where the Government can pat itself on the back because we can get elective services through, and we can do a whole lot of other things that have nothing to do with preventing some of the illnesses that are disproportionately affecting M\u0101ori and Pacific people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000612\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI am on the Health Committee. One of the pieces of information that we have got before our select committee is about the provision of general practitioners, midwives, and obstetricians. What we do know is that the Counties Manukau District Health Board has 13.5 percent of births in New Zealand. Nearly 9,000 children are born in South Auckland every year, and guess what? They are mostly M\u0101ori and Pacific. How does that translate to this Government\u2019s provision of those basic services\u2014general practitioners, midwives, and obstetricians? We have 293 general practitioners in South Auckland, which means, if you compare it with the number of children born and the number of general practitioners there are in the country, South Auckland gets 8 percent of the general practitioners that we have in New Zealand. In terms of the midwife count, we get 5.3 percent of the midwives in New Zealand. In terms of obstetricians, we get 4 percent of the obstetricians in New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000613\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EIf this Government really wants to make a difference, what it would do is ensure that there was some benchmarking in terms of what the provision of general practitioners, midwives, and obstetricians should be, and it would also ensure that those resources, those clinical resources, went to communities in South Auckland. You kind of wonder why it is not going to address this issue. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000614\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EWhat this means is that our families, our parents, are not choosing not to take their children to a doctor and they are not choosing for them not to be immunised. The reality is that where our most vulnerable community members live, those services are not provided. Where they are, they are not provided to the level of need for those communities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000615\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003ESo for me, when I look at my role as an MP in a community that is high M\u0101ori and high Pacific, I think about the priorities that this Government has and the priorities in electorates like mine, and I think that, actually, it does not care, because if it did care, it would start to address some of these systemic problems. It would make sure that these basic resources were provided, because what we do know is that every child has equal potential to be successful. If they do not have access to those basic resources, then they are not going to be on a learning and development pathway so that they can be full citizens of our country. Thank you. I just want to conclude, fa\u2018afetai. Ia manuia le Vaiaso o le Gagana S\u0101moa. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022 data-id=\u0022aa13e8ffe8e94fbd90565d83ee87e609\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000616\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022aa13e8ffe8e94fbd90565d83ee87e609\u0022\u003EPeseta SAM LOTU-IIGA (National\u2014Maungakiekie):\u003C/span\u003E Malo le soifua maua ma lagi e mama lau afioga le taitaile fono nei o le palmene o Niu Sila Aotearoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000617\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003E[Greetings to you, the Honourable Mr Speaker of the House of Representatives of Aotearoa, New Zealand.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000618\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003EGood evening, Mr Assistant Speaker. Good evening to our guests in the gallery and to all those listening across this country and watching this debate. Budget 2013 is about building momentum. Budget 2013 is about leadership, it is about stewardship, and it is about a vision for this country to go forward. For that I commend the Hon Bill English for bringing this Budget to the House and for bringing his steady, conservative leadership to our country. It is built on the four previous Budgets of this John Key - led National Government. It is about responsibly managing the books and the accounts of this country. It is about building a competitive and productive economy and delivering better public services, as well as rebuilding Christchurch. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000619\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003EI want to just answer my friend and colleague Louisa Wall from across the aisle about access to health services before I do talk about what is pertinent within this Budget. There are many general practitioner services throughout South Auckland, where she is the member of Parliament for Manurewa. They are very low-cost access practices where children, by and large, receive free access to health care, to primary care, and where the maximum amount paid is quite a low-code payment. It was a policy that was implemented by the Labour Government and it was continued by this National-led Government, so I do beg to differ around the access to services not only across South Auckland but also including in my own electorate of Maungakiekie. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000620\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003EWhat we inherited 5 years ago was an economy teetering on the brink of a collapse. There was forecast a decade of deficits going forward. The global financial crisis was beginning to hit. Many countries across Europe, particularly, were suffering quite distressing circumstances financially, where high unemployment rates were the order of the day. So what this National-led Government has done by coming in and rescuing the finances of this country is we have now got to the point where we have some of the lowest interest rates in the Western hemisphere, where we have the lowest inflation rate in the civil world, of under 1 percent, and where our economy is actually in the sort of top 12 countries in terms of economic growth. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000621\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003EYou might ask why that is important. Why is it important that growth stimulates this economy? It is because growth produces jobs. It produces jobs. As far as my constituents in Maungakiekie are concerned, when I go out and door-knock and when I go out to the markets and talk to business owners and I talk to schoolkids and residents, what they are after is an economy that produces jobs for their parents, where their parents are able to look after the kids, feed them, clothe them, and get them educated and where they can enjoy the Kiwi lifestyle that many of us\u2014many of us across this country\u2014have become accustomed to over the years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000622\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003EThis morning 2,300,000 people went to work in this country. Over 2.3 million people went to work in New Zealand this morning, and that is more than at any other time in our history\u2014any other time in our history. We know that 50,000 jobs have been created over the last couple of years, and it is not because of the Government, by the way. All that this Government does is set a framework, set an environment, from which jobs can be created. Often those jobs are created by the private sector. So we have got a situation today where the unemployment rate has dipped down to 6.2 percent, the household income has risen by 20 percent in the past 4 years, and where superannuitants\u2014[Interruption] Members opposite know this. Superannuitants\u2019 real incomes have gone up by more over the last 5 years than they ever did under the Labour Government\u2014more than ever under the Labour Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000623\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003EWhat I want to focus on is export growth. Export growth is the key to delivering jobs in this economy. Mr Mallard knows, because he was a Minister in the last Government. In the last 5 years of the last Labour Government, exports contracted in 5 consecutive years under the Labour Government\u2014in 5 consecutive years\u2014but we know that under this Government we have grown the export sector. We have had a compound annual average of 4.6 percent over the past 4 years\u20144.6 percent. That is a record that we can be proud of as a National Government, and it is a record that creates jobs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000624\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003EI have just come back from the United States, where we had a trade mission. I was with some iconic Kiwi companies like Vista\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000625\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220607d07e78304c25bfe8df015695fa74\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: Name-dropper.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002298b595c75a564ea99787d632207d692e\u0022\u003EPeseta SAM LOTU-IIGA\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014like Orion Health\u2014and Mr Mallard knows this, but he denies it. But let me talk to you about Vista. Vista is a cinema-ticketing software company. Mr Mallard knows it, but Mr Jones and Mr Cosgrove were there and they have seen these companies. This company in 2008 had a revenue of $11 million, and today that company now generates sales of over $38 million, which is three and a half times what it was. Under the National Government, under this environment\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000627\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228b01dcf39f9a43ff985c9d2809c9b003\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: And how did they get started?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000628\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022784c0230ed654e3aaeffec2b192e02f7\u0022\u003EPeseta SAM LOTU-IIGA\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014under the framework that we have set, it has more than tripled its revenue. But it gets better, Mr Mallard. It gets better. Its profits have almost tripled, from $3.5 million to $10 million, and its employees\u2014Mr Mallard will like this, because he was formerly a Minister of Labour; he will like this\u2014have gone from numbering 38 to 175 under the 5 years of this National Government. This is another success story of an export-driven company that is supported by this Government, that is nurtured by this Government, and that is encouraged by this National Government to expand and export goods. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000629\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003EOrion Health\u2014$150 million\u2014is another company that, under this Government and the conditions that we have set, is really thriving in the United States of America. When we have opened up more trade routes, when we have negotiated more free-trade agreements, whether it is\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225da4e66925c14b359cf3d307771119a6\u0022\u003ELouisa Wall\u003C/span\u003E: And the relevance to the Pacific community in Samoan Language Week is?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000631\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002247ad624d59834cb28c2f56e2916b2fe8\u0022\u003EPeseta SAM LOTU-IIGA\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014yes, the Trans-Pacific Partnership with America and with Canada and with Japan, Viet Nam, and Malaysia\u2014when those markets are opened up, we can expect more export-led growth in this economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000632\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003EI just want to make one more point around why this Budget is delivering for New Zealanders, and it is in the area of housing. The Hon Nick Smith has brought a package of reforms to this House that addresses one of the key issues of our times, and that is around housing affordability. Under the Labour Government between 1999 and 2008\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000633\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d497ba6afffe4a4e99ee65585faae9dd\u0022\u003ELouisa Wall\u003C/span\u003E: 200 premature deaths every year.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000634\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e3c37cc2850f486ca58d7f9694e883e5\u0022\u003EPeseta SAM LOTU-IIGA\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014and Louisa Wall knows this. She knows this. Under those 9 years average house prices in Auckland went up by 91 percent, which is two and a half times the rate they are going up under this National Government\u2014two and a half times the rate. So what we are doing as a Government is providing land supply. We have set up an inquiry that will look at building material and construction costs and look at how productivity in the housing sector could be improved. The Productivity Commission, in its report, stated quite clearly, Louisa Wall\u2014and you know this\u2014that land supply was the critical issue in terms of unlocking housing affordability, both in Auckland and around the country. So this reform is going to speed up consents, it is going to release more land for development, and it is going to put more Aucklanders into homes in the next 3 years than was ever accomplished under the Labour Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000635\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003ESo I return to just summarise that this Budget is, again, about managing finances and it is about addressing matters that really are important to New Zealanders. It is about an education system that is robust and growing. It is about a health system that can be relied upon and trusted. But, most of all, it is about creating jobs for families who want to look after their own, who want to be independent of the State, and who are confident and optimistic and give hope to those who want to get out there and produce for our country. 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=\u002239985f64985040b7af0e3f3cf239a526\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000636\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002239985f64985040b7af0e3f3cf239a526\u0022\u003EMETIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader\u2014Green):\u003C/span\u003E What an absolute load of rubbish we just listened to from Sam Lotu-Iiga. I tell you what, that was ridiculous to hear. Let us hear some facts, shall we. This Government promised 170,000 new jobs. How many did it deliver? Just 8,000 new jobs\u2014just 8,000\u2014and now it has promised another 170,000 jobs, so I guess we can expect another very little from this Government. It might be all well and good for that member to sit there and say that this is the Government\u2019s priority. It is clearly not. Do you know what this Government is? This is a Government of the 2 percent, for the 2 percent\u2014of the 2 percent, for the 2 percent. We saw that set out very clearly in this Government\u2019s Budget, through all of not just its social policy spending, which I want to talk about shortly, but its general priorities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000637\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EI think it was obvious when Bill English, in the lead-up to the Budget release, said that there is no solution to child poverty. That is what he said\u2014that there is no solution to child poverty. That is a typical attitude of this Government, that if you do not bother to find out whether something exists, then you do not have to worry about trying to fix it. \u201CThere\u2019s no solution to child poverty.\u201D, says Bill English and that is clearly what the Government believes. If you look at its Budget, and certainly if you look at the Government response to the Children\u2019s Commissioner\u2019s report, it is obvious that the Government has no intention either of understanding the scale of the problem or of addressing it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000638\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EI have to say it was quite a shock to see the Government\u2019s response to the Children\u2019s Commissioner\u2019s report Solutions to Child Poverty in New Zealand. This report came out late last year. It was worked on by a significant number of New Zealanders with a very high level of expertise on the broad range of issues to do with child poverty, including tax issues, income, and housing. It is a very significant report and it has many, many recommendations that provide the solutions to child poverty. Well, what do we have? A thin, meagre little response from the so-called Ministerial Committee on Poverty that was set up in Government, which has done virtually nothing. It is a tiny little, meagre report that provides no real solutions. Do you know what? The Children\u2019s Commissioner\u2019s report said: \u201CGovernment, you are failing our kids. Government, you are not doing enough to make sure that our kids are protected from the worst ravages of poverty, and that\u2019s why we have a quarter of a million children living in severe poverty. So Government, here are some solutions that you can take on board to fix the problem.\u201D The report says that the response from Government is simply to set out all the things it has been doing. The Government\u2019s response is: \u201CWell, we did all these things.\u201D Yes, we know, and we were told very clearly that they have failed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000639\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EBut there are no new solutions in this meagre, meagre response. We saw how this was reflected in the Budget. Today we had the food in schools announcement, and I will come back to that in a moment. But what was in the Budget that really gives some clear indication? I will tell you. The sum of $5 million a year has been set aside to fund charter schools that will funnel the poorest and most vulnerable kids into schools where there are unqualified teachers who can teach any kind of curriculum, any kind of crazy curriculum that they want, and subject those kids to that experiment. The sum of $5 million a year is a lot of money. What do the kids who need food in schools, the kids who go to school hungry, get from this Government? Do you think they get $5 million a year? Do you think they get $4 million a year? Maybe $3 million a year, maybe half of that budget? No, there is not even $2 million a year from this miserly, mean Government, which simply did it just because it knows that there is public pressure on the Government to do something about food in schools. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000640\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EIt would still rather give money away to private enterprise, to privatise the public education system, and subject vulnerable kids to unqualified teachers and an unformed curriculum, and spend much more money on doing that. Do you know what else the Government will spend money on? Wanganui Collegiate School alone gets $3 million a year. This Government was very happy to integrate that school and to provide it with even more money. This is a private school that costs a great deal to attend, and it is for the very elite. They get $3 million a year. What about the hundreds of thousands of kids who go to school hungry? Nope, they do not get even that. Therein lies this Government\u2019s priorities. It will give money to private enterprise, it will give money to private schools, but when it comes to the kids who really need support, well, they will not get anything. They get hardly anything under this Government. They get just the meagre crumbs from the table that John Key and the Skycity executives were dining at when they did a $400 million deal\u2014a $400 million deal that will be paid for off the back of problem gambling and human misery. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000641\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EWe know whom this Government is standing up for. We know that it has got people whom it really wants to support, communities that it believes are very important, and it will be here to protect them. Who are they? They are the miserable 2 percent, a tiny proportion of our community, when the majority of New Zealanders are suffering real hardship. It is not just the poor, not just the very poor. We are talking about the middle classes here. We are talking about people who have formed the backbone of New Zealand\u2019s economy, the backbone of New Zealand\u2019s community, who have relied for generations on quality public services to help provide them and their children with the ability to step up to a better economic situation, to greater wealth and greater stability. But this Government is degrading the status of the middle classes, and at the same time it is forcing vulnerable and poorer families into even worse difficulty, and then providing the maximum that it can get away with to the top 2 percent. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000642\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EWhy do we not just have a look again at this Government\u2019s response, because one of the issues that has been really huge for all communities around the country, including the middle classes of course, is housing and homeownership. There is a wide variety of issues around housing, including the provision of affordable housing. The Green Party has produced the Home for Life programme, which is specifically designed to provide support for young families to be able to own their own home through a progressive ownership system, like the old family benefit system that we used to have in the old days, so that these young families can get a real step up. We also provide in that programme a warrant of fitness for rental homes, so that those families who are trapped in the private rental market will at least know that the homes they rent will be warm and dry. These were all provisions and ideas that were provided in the solutions to child poverty report, particularly the warrant of fitness that is provided in the report. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000643\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EDo we want to have a look at what the Government has said about housing in its response, what the Government has written? It is worthwhile noting that solutions to child poverty report from the Children\u2019s Commissioner comes with a 73-page working paper of analysis, evidence, ideas, and recommendations\u201473 pages, on housing alone, sit behind this report. Do you want to know what the Government\u2019s response is? Its response to this report is a whole two paragraphs that it has written on safe and healthy homes, compared with a 75-page report from experts in New Zealand about how to provide solutions to child poverty through housing. Do you know what is in that report, what they talk about? The only thing the Government talks about in the entirety of this proposal\u2014this response to child poverty\u2014on housing is the home insulation programme. That is it. That is all it has got. The fact is that it has a home insulation scheme that was driven by the Green Party, led by the Green Party, and built by the Green Party, for a number of years now. The only reason that that home insulation scheme is still in this year\u2019s Budget is that we have been pestering and pestering this Government for more than a year in order to get it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000644\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f797c2102cb64ef0bd6edd57fc8c19e9\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: They\u2019ve cut the money in half.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000645\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a0b6c0fb539d48e58c6e9958347606d9\u0022\u003EMETIRIA TUREI\u003C/span\u003E: That is right, Mr Mallard. Mr Mallard is quite right. This Government cut that fund\u2014not just in half, Mr Mallard, but by two-thirds. The Government cut it by two-thirds because it did not want it. This Government did not want to insulate New Zealanders\u2019 homes. It does not want to insulate New Zealanders\u2019 homes and it does not want to feed kids in school either, so it will do the barest minimum that it thinks it can get away with.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000646\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002260991bac09584547a59cd6911434baf6\u0022\u003EHon Trevor Mallard\u003C/span\u003E: They want higher power prices. That\u2019s why.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000647\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ea63001c116044a08925315e6d5d72a2\u0022\u003EMETIRIA TUREI\u003C/span\u003E: Absolutely, Mr Mallard. This Government wants higher power prices. It wants kids living in cold, damp homes, and it wants them to go hungry. The evidence for that is in this Budget and it is in this response to this critical report on solutions to child poverty. There are two measly pages on housing, and only about the Green Party\u2019s home insulation fund. We are absolutely proud of that fund. We know that it will work for people and for children. We wanted it to be much stronger and much bigger than it is, and we are deeply disappointed that this Government has been so meagre in its approach. But we also know that, like the food in schools programme and like home insulation, the evidence proves itself. The public are out there campaigning for it. They want it, they know that it works, and they are putting pressure on this Government to make changes. I want to acknowledge that people power. I want to acknowledge all of those communities\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022 data-id=\u00222956096b6151442aa37450c3f2733837\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000648\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222956096b6151442aa37450c3f2733837\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: I am sorry to interrupt the honourable member, but her time has expired.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022 data-id=\u00224aa63ccb9de641db87e019bb8902b8f9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000649\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224aa63ccb9de641db87e019bb8902b8f9\u0022\u003EJOHN HAYES (National\u2014Wairarapa):\u003C/span\u003E It is a pleasure to speak on behalf of the \u201Cmiserable, miserly\u201D National Government. This is the Government that\u2014contrary to \u201CMiss Glossy\u201D over there, who has a very fast way with the facts\u2014has spent $100 million in Budget 2013 to insulate a further 46,000 homes. We are so miserly that we are spending $21.3 million to reduce rheumatic fever in children, so miserly that we are spending $189 million on welfare reform and on providing more front-line staff\u2014do not go away; you come here and listen to the truth. We are spending money on health care you can rely on\u2014$14.7 billion in total in this Budget. We are spending $1.6 billion in Budget 2013 for new initiatives so as to meet population pressure. We are such a miserly Government that we are spending a total of $12.4 billion on education in 2013-14. We are spending $173 million in early childhood education. We are so miserly we are spending $215 million to help improve our schools and to ensure kids get the basic qualifications they need! We are spending $130 million on tertiary education. Really miserly, are we not! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000650\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003EI would say to Louisa Wall that an individual\u2019s present circumstances do not determine where they can go; they merely determine where they start. I am a sailor, a sport I enjoy, and I know that it is always possible to reach your target by simply trimming your sails to the wind. That is why I believe this to be a damn good Budget. It offers the lowest inflation since 1999, it offered 3 percent growth last year, our mortgage rates are the lowest in 50 years, and our after-tax wages are up 22 percent since 2008. Our communities know that, and that is reflected in the most recent political polls that I have noticed over the last few days. People know\u2014contrary to what was said by Green speaker Metiria Turei\u2014that 50,000 more jobs now exist in the economy than were in place 2 years ago. This economy is being responsibly managed. The Government is going to have its finances back in order by 2014-15. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000651\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003EOur objective and this Budget\u2019s objective is to have a more productive and competitive economy. This fifth National Budget shows the Government\u2019s books are in good shape, because the Government chose sound fiscal and economic policies and is sticking to them. That is why the National Government had such a good turnout last week in Dannevirke, when the Prime Minister came to meet the Chamber of Commerce and to visit industries like Metalform (Dannevirke); to view the old freezing works at \u014Cringi, which is running really well; and to observe how Norsewear had morphed itself into the Kiwi Sock Company and is now employing 17 people, as against nine people when the policies of the Labour Government tipped that company off the edge. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000652\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003EBudget 2013 forecasts an operating surplus before gains and losses of about $75 million in 2014-15\u2014a very sharp contrast to the sort of outcome that we would get from a Green Government that printed money or a Labour Government with a capital gains tax. New Zealand needs to pay its way in the world through increased trade and investment if we are to create jobs and opportunities for hard-working Kiwis, stretching in my electorate from Pirinoa in the south to Dannevirke and \u014Ct\u0101ne in the north. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000653\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003EUnder our Business Growth Agenda the Government will lift exports by 40 percent of GDP by 2025. This target is an important part of our plan to build a more competitive and productive economy. Budget 2013 builds on the Business Growth Agenda by investing and growing New Zealand exports and boosting our overseas profile and international competitiveness through a $100 million\u2014or $400 million over 4 years\u2014internationally focused growth package. This is not something a miserly Government would do. The new spending will be invested in extra research and development assistance to businesses and supporting new start-ups\u2014about $106 million over 4 years. We are going to invest in public science\u2014about $93 million over 4 years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000654\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003EWe are going to provide additional funding for high-value tourism\u2014$38 million in 2013-14, increasing to $40 million a year from 2014-15, when our economy will be back in surplus. There are more resources for marketing New Zealand to international students\u2014$40 million over 4 years. That is a market that already contributes more than $2 billion to our economy each year. For the marketing of New Zealand under the New Zealand Story there will be $2 million in 2013-14. These are not the actions of a miserly Government, as asserted by the Greens and Labour.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000655\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003ETo meet the target of 40 percent by 2025, the value of New Zealand exports needs to double. This requires nominal export growth of between about 6.7 and 7.6 percent in 2025. I believe that the productive sector, as exists in the Wairarapa electorate, will seriously contribute to that. Government statistics show that our nominal export of goods and services has been growing by a compound average of 4.6 percent over the last 4 years. These things are possible because of a sensible, hard-working, moderate Government and sensible financial policies. These things are possible despite the international headwinds, which you can see in Europe, where unemployment rates are up over 25 percent, for example, in Spain, and where if you are 25 or under, you are 50 to 54 percent likely to be unemployed. We are nowhere near that space, because we have sensible policies. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000656\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003EThe aim of the internationally focused growth package is to help accelerate this trend over the medium term and, in particular, to build on the opportunities that exist in China, India, Burma, South Asia, Latin America, and also the Middle East. Along with its mates the Greens, Labour is promoting policy ideas that would stunt New Zealand\u2019s growth. I listen to that regularly at Finance and Expenditure Committee meetings, where I hear Mr Cunliffe talking about the introduction of his capital gains tax. On top of that, it is opposed to all initiatives that would create growth in jobs and boost incomes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000657\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003EI think that Labour is the anti-growth party. It wants to bring in a capital gains tax on every business and on every farm in my electorate. The Greens want to print money to lower the dollar, to force households to pay an extra $500 a year under an emissions trading scheme, and to borrow more and spend more. In the view of the Labour Party and the Green Party this stuff, money, grows on trees. I think that in their rush to appeal to the political left\u2014those who have just left the gallery\u2014they are ignoring the economic impact of their ideas. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000658\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ae94eea7-ba5f-4303-bf71-49e708bc9888\u0022\u003ELabour\u2019s latest plan\u2014Mr Mallard\u2019s latest plan\u2014on electricity is playing politics with the value of New Zealand\u2019s economic assets, and the Opposition does not care whom it affects. Even Mr Damien O\u2019Connor from the West Coast electorate can see the stupidity of Labour policies, as Nick Smith pointed out in the House this afternoon. Labour clearly has not thought through the consequences of discouraging investment and savings both for KiwiSavers and for the jobs for all policy that pretty much everyone agrees will not work. I think that our policies are very good. I think the Budget is outstanding. I look forward to this country and the economy moving forward, and people getting into a much better space over the next 5 years of this Government. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022 data-id=\u0022d8c3e1bae0844840ae1de70fbcacbabc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000659\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d8c3e1bae0844840ae1de70fbcacbabc\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour\u2014New Lynn):\u003C/span\u003E It is great to have an opportunity to take a call in this Budget debate. It is great to have the opportunity to speak in Parliament on behalf of so many of our countrymen and women who cannot speak for themselves. Under National, New Zealand is going backwards. At the last election, John Key promised 170,000 new jobs. It sounded great, but the reality has been all too different. Here is the Minister for Economic Development wandering in for the jobs machine, finally showing up in the Budget debate. He knows that the unemployment statistics are that there are 146,000 people still out of work. We say to New Zealanders that we on the Opposition benches are here in this debate for you. We are here for you. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000660\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EWhat we have over there is a Government that is not governing for all the people of New Zealand. It is for the rich, not the poor, and, arguably, for the old, not the young. The game that has been played here in this Budget is plain for all to see. It is a tight Budget that lacks strategy and that has zero vision. What it does have is a fig leaf of social policy, like food in schools, done at a trivial, pathetic scale that is nothing more than public relations spin. It is bad for New Zealanders, it is bad for New Zealand, it is bad social policy, and it is also bad economics. It is bad because the Government and the Minister of Finance seem to be unfixably confused about what their job actually is in a Budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000661\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003ELabour knows about running surpluses. We ran nine surpluses out of nine. National has not run one yet\u2014has not run one fiscal surplus yet. It is just absolutely craving to run one. But you know what? Although we would run one too, it is not the right question. The question here is not about balancing the Government\u2019s books at the expense of New Zealanders\u2019 books; it should be about growing the pie for the whole country, about getting those New Zealanders who are out of work back in jobs, and about giving hope to the 270,000 New Zealand children growing up in poverty, not about tokenism, Minister\u2014not tokenism. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000662\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003ENational has put all its political credentials, its hope for the 2014 election, on one magical number: reaching fiscal surplus. It cannot do even that right. It is a bogus surplus. It does not come within $1 billion of breaking even, and here are the simple facts why. The surplus is not wafer-thin; it comes only from massaging the numbers to an extent that I have never seen in my time in Parliament, because if the Government did not do that, it would have to admit failure in the one goal that it set itself. For example, over $1 billion more than is needed is being collected from ACC levies. Officials advised the Government to give the $1 billion back. It is keeping $700 million and giving $300 million back to New Zealanders, and without that $700 million we would not be within a bull\u2019s roar of breaking even. The Government is collecting an extra $900 million in petrol tax from people\u2019s pockets. That is a tax increase on everyday New Zealanders who cannot afford it, but without it there is no surplus. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000663\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EBut here is the really interesting stuff. On page 30 of the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update are the revenue forecasts. I have to read those, as revenue spokesman for Labour. They are very interesting, because in the year in which the Government is so desperate to reach surplus we see a sudden spike of $400 million in something called tax loss offsets, which appear from nowhere and are never seen again\u2014only in that 1 year when the Government thinks it is going to make a $75 million surplus. That is swamped by this magic $400 million piece of fairy dust that appears from nowhere and disappears again. Well, is that the only magic in the revenue figures? I am afraid not. Employees\u2019 compensation jumps from an increase of $500 million to $1.1 billion. Guess what! This is in the year in which the Government is desperate to make surplus. And then it tails off again. Corporate profits rise from $300 million to $1.1 billion and then drop again to only $200 million. The point is that if all of these extraordinary coincidences\u2014these funny-money rubber numbers\u2014did not all occur simultaneously, there would be no surplus. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000664\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226a112075567d40428a88e42bac1d95bf\u0022\u003EAndrew Little\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s boom bust. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000665\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aa1af3a2f7074596a76e0cbd48e989c9\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, it is boom and bust, as my colleague says. It actually belongs in the fiction section of the library. Then the next job was to go back to the estimates of appropriations for the Inland Revenue Department. As most New Zealanders will be aware, the Government has committed itself to spending between $1 billion and $1.5 billion on the Inland Revenue Department\u2019s computer system rebuild. That is very interesting. How much is in the Budget documents for the Inland Revenue Department\u2019s computer system? Zero, zip, nil, nada, nothing. How could that be? Is it because it is capital, not operating spend? No, because there is no line here for the operating costs for the interest on that capital. The Government has just left it out. How could it forget to include a $1 billion liability? Here we are not talking about Peter Dunne\u2014he is a billion and a half dollar liability. It had to add $500 million of flux because it does not know whether it can get the project over the line. Because the Government could not quantify it because it was so horrific, it thought it had an excuse to leave it out all together, and then claim that it has a $75 million surplus. The viewers will see Ministers in the front row nattering to each other. That is a sign of extreme nervousness: people who hardly talk to each other, the rivals for John Key\u2019s job, pretending to be civil because they know that what the Opposition is saying is true. They know that there is no surplus in this Budget. It is a creation of magic accounting worthy of Merrill Lynch, by coincidence. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000666\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003ERefusing to lower excessive ACC levies, kicking out forecast expenditure from $1.2 billion forecast down to $1 billion even, magicking another $200 million towards the surplus that does not exist\u2014yet another condition that, if they did not all occur simultaneously, would not get the Government over that line. You know when the Government is really desperate when warring Ministers have to call backbenchers to the front row to make them feel better because they cannot stand the heat in the House, they cannot stand the argument, they cannot stand the truth. They know that they are condemned by their own Budget documents. They know that there is a magic $400 million fillip at just the right time, once only in history, in the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update. They know that they are holding on to $1 billion worth of ACC levies. They know that they have been manipulating the books. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000667\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EIt is time for a whole new approach\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000668\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e17667fde56c4b4b9ec58ef820f2221d\u0022\u003EHon Judith Collins\u003C/span\u003E: Ha, ha!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000669\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002242e09753cd6d457ea48b71d4574abe40\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014because the world is changing. Oh, Judith Collins thinks that is about her. Well, she has been taking advice from Simon Lusk, apparently, the bagman of the ugly right. Poor old Aaron Gilmore got hit by a freight train and it was not Steven Joyce\u2019s face on it; it was somebody else\u2019s. We will let the public decide. The nervous laughter from the Government benches continues. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000670\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EIn behind here we have got two views of the economy. We have got a merchant banker\u2019s view. They think that it is all about the financial economy. And we have got the Labour Party view, which has grown up in working New Zealand and which knows that it is about getting the economic engine running and people back in jobs\u2014real jobs with real industries based on real strategy, not one-off transactions that are dependent on busting the law or selling it off to foreign movie moguls or casinos. New Zealanders deserve better than that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000671\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EIt is my pleasure to also be fisheries spokesperson for Labour. I have just been to a very interesting presentation on the launch today of Seafood New Zealand. It has a game plan to grow that industry, and we think we can back it. But that is based on real work, real jobs, sustainable use of resources, and building towards a much better future. It is not a one-off pokie transaction that Mr Joyce prides himself on. That will be his career high\u2014playing second fiddle to a gambler in order to sell the law for a bunch of pokie machines. Welcome to the big time, Minister. Was that all worth it? Is that the best you could do? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000672\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EWhere is the strategy in this Budget? I end where I started. It is not good for people, it is not good for the economy, and the numbers do not stack up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022 data-id=\u00221fcf6e6c66a04b54adf5b4366037886f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000673\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221fcf6e6c66a04b54adf5b4366037886f\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Economic Development):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the debate be now adjourned. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u002267c9457960084b6187e0ac9d5a7c3b5d\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 debate be now adjourned.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 63\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 58; M\u0101ori Party 3; ACT New Zealand 1; United Future 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 56\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 33; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 7; Mana 1; Independent: Horan.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000674\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022cf4d76766f44405eb3b7e103bedaeeec\u0022\u003EThird Readings\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c9f45e9cdf41410ca1d714b8b0fdf079\u0022\u003EThird Readings\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022 data-id=\u0022bb2a0979f5ca4cb3b1988c5081684fe2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000675\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022bb2a0979f5ca4cb3b1988c5081684fe2\u0022\u003EHon CHESTER BORROWS (Associate Minister of Justice):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill, the Auctioneers Amendment Bill, the Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2), the Criminal Disclosure Amendment Bill, the Evidence Amendment Bill, the Juries Amendment Bill, the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill, the Sentencing Amendment Bill, and the Summary Offences Amendment Bill be now read a third time. The laws governing criminal procedure are now over 50 years old and well out of date. The current criminal procedure system has been characterised by avoidable delay, excessive complexity, unnecessary costs, and a high reliance on paper-based systems that do not make sense in a modern era increasingly dominated by electronic technology. In response to such concerns, this Government passed the Criminal Procedure Act in 2011 and its 14 associated amendment Acts in October 2011 to modernise and simplify criminal procedure. They represented the biggest reform and modernisation of the criminal justice procedure in nearly two generations. These Acts consolidated criminal procedure and introduced a comprehensive package of reforms to make the criminal justice procedure more comprehensible and efficient.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000677\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003EI would like to note that although this Government passed the legislation, the project has had a long gestation spanning more than a decade. Extensive work was undertaken by the Ministry of Justice and the Law Commission, in consultation with the legal profession. For much of that time it was under the guidance of the Labour-led Government, so I would, first, like to thank all those involved in the development of these reforms. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000678\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003EAs I noted at the first reading, the reforms have the potential to deliver some significant benefits. They will reduce and streamline victims\u2019 and witnesses\u2019 exposure to the criminal justice system. There will be fewer repeat or unnecessary events in the use of staff time, and courthouse capacity will be optimised to ensure that money is spent more effectively. The reforms are part of this Government\u2019s wider programme of modernising the way our courts are run, and are expected to result in over 31,000 fewer court events per year. It is estimated that they will free up about 10,000 court sitting hours each year\u2014about 12 percent of the current total effort in the criminal jurisdiction. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000679\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003EThe reforms have the potential to take up to 9 weeks off the average time of cases that go to jury trial. The overall reforms have the potential to increase the efficiency of the courts to a value of about $50 million over a 10-year period. The criminal procedure reforms will also have benefits for the defendants\u2019 rights to a fair trial. The legislation achieves a careful balance between moving criminal cases through the court system more quickly and protecting the fundamental rights and safeguards that underpin our justice system. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000680\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003EOverall, making the court system more timely, efficient, fair, and easy to understand will reduce stress, delays, costs, and inconvenience for everyone\u2014and this includes victims, witnesses, jurors, defendants, judges, lawyers, and court staff, and, ultimately, the taxpayer, who pays for our court system. It is important to keep in mind the sheer scale of these reforms when considering these bills currently before the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000681\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003EAfter enactment but prior to commencement a number of technical issues were identified in the Criminal Procedure Act and related legislation. These nine bills remedy those matters and will ensure that the Criminal Procedure Act and its associated legislation may be fully implemented as intended. Although the Criminal Procedure Legislation Bill was a technical Statutes Amendment Bill type of legislation, the amendments included in these bills are important for the coherent implementation of criminal procedure reforms on 1 July this year. Accordingly, that stand-alone omnibus bill was promoted. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000682\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003EAt the first reading Mr Chauvel, the then Labour justice spokesperson, indicated that his party would support the bill so long as it contained only technical and uncontroversial amendments. Concern was raised by the New Zealand Law Society at select committee about the possibility of a proposed regulation-making power being inappropriately used to make substantive changes to the criminal law. The Justice and Electoral Committee listened, and removed the power. Although there were a small number of other concerns raised by the Law Society, it was generally supportive of the bill. The committee understood the concerns raised by the society but decided that good reason existed for the other proposed amendments. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000683\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003EThere was unanimous support for this bill at the select committee and during the second reading. It was recognised that although the individual amendments were small, collectively they would provide significant benefit in allowing full implementation of the agreed policy. I am grateful to all parties that have indicated support for this legislation and the constructive manner in which members have deliberated on these reforms. As indicated by the widespread support the legislation has received, it is not contentious. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000684\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003EAs I have indicated to the House on introduction, it is technical, non-controversial legislation that clarifies and gives full effect to legislation that this House has already approved. It will ensure that the largest criminal procedure reforms in 50 years can be implemented effectively and coherently and that the benefits predicted are fully realised. The criminal procedure reforms, when fully implemented, will have positive impacts for those who deal with our justice system. As the previous Minister of Justice said at the introduction of the Criminal Procedure (Reform and Modernisation) Bill, these reforms will ensure that timely justice is delivered for victims, witnesses, defendants, and the community. This legislation will assist in ensuring that these objectives are realised. I commend these nine bills arising from the Criminal Procedure Legislation Bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022 data-id=\u0022a40c4de51fb947e298570f2ef494d9b2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000685\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a40c4de51fb947e298570f2ef494d9b2\u0022\u003EANDREW LITTLE (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E It is a pleasure to get up to speak on what was previously the Criminal Procedure Legislation Bill and is now broken into nine bills. I will not adumbrate them all; they have been laid out by the Hon Chester Borrows, who spoke just now. As we have done so throughout, the Labour Party supports this legislation. This is the end of a process that started under the previous Labour Government to reform our criminal procedure legislation, when the original amending bill was passed. This now deals with some refinements and some technical amendments. It has been properly processed through the chamber of this House and the select committee, and it is supported by us. There is no controversy to it, and, indeed, the select committee process showed that the Government was listening. It listened to Labour\u2019s concerns about the \u201CHenry VIII\u201D clause that was in the original bill. That has been removed, and this is perfectly acceptable legislation now that ought to have the backing and the support of this House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000686\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EAs Mr Borrows pointed out, this completes the most significant reform of this area of our law in around 50 years. I am very pleased to see that one of the break-out pieces of legislation is the Auctioneers Act. It is an Act that goes back to 1928, and if there was ever a piece of legislation that was crying out for review it is probably that Act, at least, and it has been amended in part under this series of bills\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000687\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c19747034ca94e7eb6180448e6ab2d7f\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: Going, going, gone.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000688\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228be693221b684d01ba7056ec92a057c9\u0022\u003EANDREW LITTLE\u003C/span\u003E: Going, going, gone, as my colleague Mr Parker says. That is probably a piece of legislation that deserves some attention in its own right, given what is happening now on the interweb. The trading and retailing that happens in that forum now is perhaps making a traditional auctioneer\u2019s role somewhat obsolete\u2014although not completely, because, of course, they are good people and do good things. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000689\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EMr Borrows talked about the many other changes that are happening in criminal justice and the administration of criminal justice. One aspect, of course, that will not be there, which was expected to accompany this legislation when it took effect on 1 July, is eBench, the new information technology system that was meant to cover the courts and the court system. It has been delayed by at least another year. Talking to people in the traps, they expect it would be longer. But, of course, due to a reliance on eBench, a number of courts\u2014admittedly, small regional courts\u2014have been closed down, and the people in those courts do not have the benefit of new, wondrous technology that allows them to communicate by looking at a TV camera and a screen, and communicating through that with courtrooms in other parts of the country. We do not have the benefit of that, but we do have the benefit of modernised legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000690\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EThe objectives of this legislation and of the total reform are worthy. They are about ensuring fewer appearances, not only for counsel and for judges but for witnesses, as well. That should lead to less delay. If there is one problem that defines the difficulties with our justice system at the moment, it is the problem of delay. I can say from talking to many members of the profession that they approach 1 July if not with trepidation, then, certainly, with a small degree of anxiety, as they wait to see how this will all bed down and bed in. The very many crimes that we have in our Crimes Act, the Summary Offences Act, and the various other criminal statutes have been categorised into four types of crime, and that is going to have a bearing on the way that criminal lawyers conduct their practices, and, indeed, how judges administer the law. So this will be an interesting time for us all. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000691\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EI repeat too what the New Zealand Law Society said as this bill was progressing through the Justice and Electoral Committee, and that is that in areas such as criminal justice, these should proceed on the basis of cross-party agreement, as opposed to the Government ramming through its particular agendas and its desired reforms. This is an area that requires\u2014or where, at least, the participants in the system are entitled to\u2014certainty and agreement in this House, and the full backing of this House when it comes to that area of our law, because it affects people\u2019s lives, but, most important, it affects their constitutional rights, and criminal justice potentially affects their liberty. That is a matter upon which this House ought to, ideally, speak with one voice. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000692\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EBut, of course, there is one other aspect that was expected to have been successfully reformed to accompany the commencement of this new criminal procedure reform, and that is the system of legal aid. That is now in complete disarray, and yet it need not be. As recently as last Friday the Court of Appeal handed down its ruling on the challenge by the Criminal Bar Association, and found that that aspect of reform, which was handled single-handedly by this Government and by two Ministers of Justice\u2014the current one and the preceding one\u2014is now left in a most unsatisfactory state. It was declared by the Court of Appeal to have been implemented in an unreasonable way, for the Legal Services Commissioner, now responsible for legal aid, to have had his independence compromised, and that there was a lack of flexibility and far too much rigidity in the regime that this Government would like to impose on the system. So my plea to the Minister of Justice is this: it is not too late to get the legal aid system sorted out and in a satisfactory state, in time for 1 July.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000693\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226d2e227ef1b64c46b9ab4823b3723948\u0022\u003EHon Judith Collins\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Perhaps the member is not aware that this matter is currently in front of the Supreme Court. It is not appropriate to be discussing a court matter in Parliament.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000694\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002273ba506e31d640669daeec07ca8b8d6e\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I thank the Minister for that. Also, when we are doing a third reading, I refer the member to Speaker\u2019s rulings 122/4, which says: \u201CMembers must confine themselves to the general principles of the bill as it emerged from the committee.\u201D So please confine your comments to that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000695\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227ec5d68530674bb6bdea4f8eb06bcd6a\u0022\u003EANDREW LITTLE\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. I appreciate your guidance on this matter, except to say that when it comes to the administration of criminal justice, the Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill and the other bills that we are dealing with in this third reading came under the umbrella of the Criminal Procedure Legislation Bill, and is integrally related to other aspects of criminal justice. It is simply not possible to not talk about the greater efficiencies that are expected from this set of bills without referring to other integral aspects, which, in this case, includes legal aid. I will say no more on that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000696\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EI simply want to say this, though. The way we deal with criminal justice, the way we deal with criminal procedure, and the way this House speaks on it, is absolutely crucial to the principle of the rule of law. The way this legislation\u2014what was originally one bill and is now nine bills\u2014has been managed has been a model process for the management of bills by this House, and in a very sensitive area. It was properly introduced, it was allowed to be subject to the scrutiny of the select committee, members of the public, and, indeed, important institutional submitters like the New Zealand Law Society had their say, and changes were effected during that process, and we now have a satisfactory piece of legislation to complement changes already made. That is a good thing, but it would be nice if the felicitous way in which this process was carried out was reflected in other pieces of legislation too. I make that point because it is becoming increasingly apparent that the way some pieces of legislation and some issues are handled is not good for the reputation of this House. This piece of legislation, this bill, will stand as a model of lawmaking by this House. It is a good bill, and it is being conducted appropriately and properly. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000697\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EThe process started with the Labour Government, and we would expect that a piece of legislation that started its life under a Labour Government would be a good piece of legislation, and would be managed and processed correctly and properly. But the same cannot be said of other pieces of legislation, including, sadly, pieces of legislation that bear upon people\u2019s individual and personal rights, as we saw in the aftermath of the Budget just a couple of weeks ago. We welcome the fact that this bill has reached this stage. We are 5 or so weeks away from the implementation of what will be a significant change to the management of our criminal justice system and the criminal procedures that will apply in our courts leading up to it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000698\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E That is a very sensitive point and a very sensitive area. We have a profession that will now be called upon to bring life to these pieces of legislation and to this reform. Members of the profession who are practising at the Bar and judges will have to make sense of it, and I am confident that they will do\u2014no pun intended\u2014justice to the legislation we are passing. But they are in a state of concern. In fact, it would not be going too far to say there is a sense of alarm developing in the profession about the way in which, and about the respect with which, they are treated, as well as their issues and their ability to conduct themselves and fulfil their duties\u2014both statutory and ethical\u2014when it comes to criminal justice laws and the criminal statutes that they are called upon to work under. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003ESo it will be a pity if we look upon this time and the passage of these bills as the high-water mark of good legislation and good legislative practice. Let us take a leaf from these pieces of legislation, these nine bills, as we see them through their end stages tonight. Let us say that we want all legislation to follow this proper constitutional process, with good input from members of Parliament and good input from members of the public and those stakeholders who have a greater interest, perhaps, than others when it comes to legislation, as we have heard from the important stakeholders in these pieces of legislation. As I have said, we support the bills and we will be voting for them. But let us take a lesson from these bills, and let us not allow this House to repeat the exercises that it has been forced into in the last couple of weeks that have dealt with individual and personal rights and ridden roughshod over them. Let us look at these pieces of legislation, these nine bills, and say that this is the right way to go about it, this is the way to pass law, this is the correct way to do it. Let us make sure that this law is simply the start of a new approach, a breath of fresh air, for this 5-year-old Government to say: \u201CYou know, we\u2019ve got it wrong before. This is the way we do it. We\u2019ve taken a leaf out of the Labour Party book. We know what good law looks like, and this is the way we\u2019ll approach all other legislation from here.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022 data-id=\u00228ff38f6a807c4ab4a8d02e3320620b44\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000700\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228ff38f6a807c4ab4a8d02e3320620b44\u0022\u003ESCOTT SIMPSON (National\u2014Coromandel):\u003C/span\u003E It is a pleasure to stand in support of the third reading of what was originally the Criminal Procedure Legislation Bill but that has now been broken into its nine component parts. As the two previous speakers, Chester Borrows and Andrew Little, have indicated, this is a measure that receives wide and, probably, unanimous support across the House, so it is very good to be part of it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000701\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EThis is a Government that makes absolutely no apology for putting victims first in our criminal justice system. That is right and appropriate. These nine bills are just another milestone along what is quite a radical overhaul of our total justice system. They contain technical amendments that are needed to ensure that the legislative intent of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 is made clear and can be applied as intended. These measures, as others have said, are non-controversial, and the Justice and Electoral Committee was unanimous in its support for the introduction of these measures. I would like to thank the members of the committee for their work and for their diligent attention to detail, most of it of a very fine, technical nature. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000702\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EThe benefits of these changes, including the changes made by Supplementary Order Paper 233, have the potential to free up something like 10,000 court sitting hours each year, with potentially something close to 31,000 fewer court events, and, it is expected, somewhere between 300 and 500 fewer jury trials, and a reduction of somewhere between 6 and 9 weeks in the average time to complete a jury trial. The net benefit to taxpayers of these sorts of savings\u2014let alone to litigants and those people who are participating in our criminal justice system\u2014is just huge. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000703\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003ECriticisms of our criminal procedure over the last 20 years can be summarised broadly into four areas: excessive delay, excessive complexity, an outdated legislative framework, and excessive cost. It has been estimated that currently there are about 43,000 unnecessary court fixtures and appearances a year within our criminal justice jurisdiction. More than two-thirds of cases that reach a defended hearing fail to proceed on the day. We can, and must, do better than that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000704\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EOur current system, of course, is built entirely on an obsolete assumption of a fully paper-based system. It is a bizarre but current fact that the system currently makes and puts in place barriers to the use of modern technology. An example of the delays being experienced is that the median time to dispose of a High Court jury trial is now something in the order of 16 months. That is an increase of about 5 months in the last 5 years. As has been quoted many times in the earlier readings of this legislation, justice delayed is indeed justice denied. Our system is clogged, and we need to fix it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000705\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EThis Associate Minister of Justice, Chester Borrows, is a good Minister who is getting on with the job. He is making our criminal justice system more responsive, more effective, and more cost-effective for all involved. These are good measures, and I commend them to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022 data-id=\u0022d1f433abd52c49b7abad30fef5162b25\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000706\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d1f433abd52c49b7abad30fef5162b25\u0022\u003EHon PHIL GOFF (Labour\u2014Mt Roskill):\u003C/span\u003E Not only do I, together with my colleagues on the Labour benches, want to support these bills but also I want to commend the Associate Minister of Justice and his predecessor, actually, for the way in which they have conducted the process of legislation through the House. In recent times we have seen so many legislative outrages. Going back to just the last week of this session, we were pushing through under urgency things that never went to a select committee at all. They did not go to a select committee and they did not get the benefit of having ordinary citizens and people who are experts in their fields come in and have a look at the legislation to make sure that what this Parliament is intending to do is actually carried out in the form of the legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000707\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThis criminal procedure legislation actually allows us to put into effect the primary piece of legislation, the Criminal Procedure Act, which is a very thorough overhaul of our criminal justice system. In fact, the primary Act is a massive 426 pages long. It is a huge change, and Scott Simpson was very supportive of that change and attributed it, somehow, to the National Government. In fact, this came into effect as a result of a project set up in October 2007. In fact, I recall working on it some years before that as Minister of Justice. It was a huge job to do, and it was a really important job to do. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000708\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EI think that most people looking at the New Zealand justice system say that we have got a generally good system of justice. We have integrity, we have an independent judiciary, and we can rely on the quality and the principles of those who operate within the justice system, both on the bench and in the Ministry of Justice and the people who support them. But there were some very obvious problems with the New Zealand justice system. It came down to about four different categories. There was excessive cost, and that excessive cost was caused not by thoroughness but, rather, by inefficiency. Wherever we can within the Public Service, we need to reduce inefficiencies. We need to make sure that things are done right and that they are done properly but also that they are also done efficiently and that we are getting value for money. Our court system was replete with problems that meant that court cases took longer, and we have an obligation in this House to cut down on the costs that are involved. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000709\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThere was also excessive delay. Court cases were taking far too long from first appearance to the final disposal of the cases. You know, when court cases are drawn out in that way, you then create problems for everybody involved in the system. You create problems for the victim\u2014most important\u2014because the victim has that agony of the court case drawn out over a much longer period. You create problems for the defendant, and all defendants are innocent until proven guilty, so if the court case does not stack up, then that person is again on tenterhooks for much longer than should be the case. It creates problems for the juries. These are people who are taking time off work, who are being paid a pittance to do so but who are prepared to participate in our justice system\u2014and the really good thing about our justice system is that it allows for peer evaluation\u2014but they find that a much longer period of their time is required if you have excessive delays and if you have inefficiency.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000710\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E The third problem with the system was excessive complexity. This was very clearly the case, with legislation being spread across several statutes and seven different categories of offence. The Law Commission actually went as far as describing the courts system as \u201Can impenetrable maze\u201D. When the Law Commission, with the eminent jurists on it, reaches that determination, you can really believe that there is some credibility in that criticism. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000711\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThe fourth and last problem with the system was that it provided an outdated legislative framework. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000712\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003ESo what we have had was this very thorough process, which involved the Law Commission and the Ministry of Justice, going back to October 2007 under a Labour Government, setting out to make some real changes in our justice system that will improve it considerably. I think an earlier speaker mentioned that this is likely to free up something like 10,000 court sitting hours, that there will be 300 to 500 fewer jury trials, and that there will be a reduction of 6 to 9 weeks in the time taken to conclude a jury trial. Those are huge advances. That primary legislation has gone through, and it is important that we pass this legislation so that the 2011 Act can come fully into force in July of this year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000713\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThis legislation largely, as has been mentioned, makes technical changes. It amends the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 and 18 other enactments in relation to criminal procedure matters. These matters are largely things such as cross-referencing, technical matters, amendments to allow procedures and processes to operate as intended, and amendments to references to crime reflecting the repeal of the definition of \u201Ccrime\u201D in the Crimes Act 1961, to make explicit the type of offence that is being referred to where the context requires it. The legislation also clarifies the jurisdiction of community magistrates. So those things are technical, but the primary Act has real and important changes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000714\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EI want to go back to what I was saying before. A good Government\u2014a Government that is not arrogant and overbearing\u2014takes into account the criticisms made of the legislation as introduced. Too often that does not happen. Too often you see just straight-out arrogance: \u201CWe\u2019ll ram this through. We\u2019ve got the numbers. To hell with the principle.\u201D It is almost a matter of principle for the National Government, if the Opposition is opposed to legislation, to not make any changes, and that is really unfortunate because that is not how a good democracy works. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000715\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EIn this case the primary legislation did involve a range of things that were quite controversial. They included things like the threshold for jury trials. It was going to be extended up to, I think, about 3 years before you could get a jury trial, yet a jury trial is something that is a traditional right under our British system of justice. It is not something that we should give away lightly. The original bill required the defence to identify and disclose issues in dispute before the trial, and that would have been at the jeopardy of the position of the defendant. It would have allowed courts to proceed in the absence of a defendant\u2014this was really quite remarkable. Again, a fundamental principle of justice is that no trial should proceed in the absence of the defendant. It also involved the right to silence and compliance cost issues. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000716\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThere could have been a huge dispute over this piece of legislation, but, quite sensibly, the then Minister of Justice, Simon Power, decided that he would listen to the criticisms that were made. He took a step back from those issues, and the result is that we have a piece of legislation before us that actually has the support of all sides of the House. That makes this a very powerful piece of legislation. It has been carefully considered. It has sought and achieved consensus. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000717\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EI have just got to say again, if only in areas\u2014I was thinking of the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill (No 2), which was rammed through the other night, with the Attorney-General himself saying that it breached the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. You know, that was appalling process. That was a Government that, for no good reason, forced things through under urgency. It did not follow good process and did not seek consensus. This legislation stands in contrast to that and, therefore, this legislation will be enduring. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000718\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThe other thing that I would like to finally add is that there was some controversy over this legislation in the sense that it provided a regulatory power that is commonly known as a \u201CHenry VIII\u201D clause, which is a power to make regulations that amend statutes. Again, to be fair to the chair of the Justice and Electoral Committee and to be fair to the Minister involved, Chester Borrows, they agreed that this was inappropriate, and this was taken out. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000719\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003ESo I think, all in all, we have a piece of legislation that has followed good process, that has been properly researched, that has been carefully planned, and that will make a real difference. It is not a piece of rubbish like the gang patches bill. This is good legislation and we are supporting it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e959f20f-3de7-4f54-8577-8ea78d72c3dd\u0022 data-id=\u00226080ab3c14a3477c985fd727cbb960dc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000720\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e959f20f-3de7-4f54-8577-8ea78d72c3dd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226080ab3c14a3477c985fd727cbb960dc\u0022\u003EDAVID CLENDON (Green):\u003C/span\u003E I am pleased to take a short call on this bill, or this suite of bills as they now are, to affirm the Greens\u2019 continued support for this legislation. It is actually quite a rare day that the Greens are able to support a Government justice bill throughout every reading, for the reasons, of course, that generally they fail to meet the standards of good lawmaking and they fail to improve the situations for offenders or for victims, or the judicial system. But in this case it is legislation that we have supported, and are happy to continue to support through this final reading.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000721\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e959f20f-3de7-4f54-8577-8ea78d72c3dd\u0022\u003E The point has been made that the provisions of this bill in other circumstances could well have been addressed within the contents of a Statutes Amendment Bill. But, of course, there are time constraints. This legislation must be in place by 1 July this year, which is barely a month or so away, and so, of course, we are quite happy to cooperate and to see this legislation go through in time to ensure that the original legislation is enacted as was intended at the time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000722\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e959f20f-3de7-4f54-8577-8ea78d72c3dd\u0022\u003EIt is true that the purpose of this legislation, or the original legislation, should I say\u2014the principal legislation\u2014was to improve the efficiency and the effectiveness of our court processes, and to remove delays from the court process. And it is well said\u2014it is an old, well-tried clich\u00E9\u2014that justice delayed is justice denied. It is important that we get our justice system working effectively. Justice bills must be seen as some of the most important that go through this House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000723\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e959f20f-3de7-4f54-8577-8ea78d72c3dd\u0022\u003EWe make law in this place, clearly. The courts, the police, and other arms of the justice system enforce that law and take people to task if the law is not complied with. We have the capacity, the State has the capacity, to fine people, to deny them their freedom and their liberty in the extreme cases, so it is doubly important that the processes around the judicial system\u2014the justice system generally\u2014are seen to work effectively, efficiently, and properly in order to maintain public confidence, and to ensure that that confidence is well founded. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000724\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e959f20f-3de7-4f54-8577-8ea78d72c3dd\u0022\u003EUnfortunately, at the same time that this very useful legislation is being put in place to minimise or at least to reduce some of the delays and some of the roadblocks to good process in the courts, we are seeing other aspects of policy and implementation of policy that are working against the intention of this\u2014issues like staff cuts in our courts. Anecdotally, we are hearing repeatedly from lawyers, from people who work in the courts, and from people who have business in the courts that the loss of skilled staff and the loss of experienced staff in our courts is causing ongoing delays. Work is not being done in an effective manner. Judges\u2019 time is being wasted. Witnesses\u2019 time, even defendants\u2019 time, is being wasted because of cuts to staffing. It is critical that we do not save pennies and lose pounds in the way that if we do not have sufficient staffing\u2014experienced, well-skilled, well-trained staffing\u2014in our courts, then the processes will fail, we will lose the confidence of the public and other participants, and, no matter what we do in legislation like this, the process will fail and be seen to be failing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000725\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e959f20f-3de7-4f54-8577-8ea78d72c3dd\u0022\u003ESadly, also, of course, recently we have seen\u2014and Mr Little, I think, referred to this\u2014closures of some of our courts. We have seen reduced services at some of the courts. The consequences of that are quite significant, not least of all for offenders and for victims of offending, and, again, for witnesses. Unfortunately, that is not saving any money, which is what we were told it would be doing. It is simply putting costs on other departments of State. The police, for example, will be picking up the tab for the extra cost imposed on their budget by some perceived savings in the courts\u2019 budgets. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000726\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e959f20f-3de7-4f54-8577-8ea78d72c3dd\u0022\u003ESo, unfortunately, although this legislation will go some way towards speeding up the judicial process, sadly, other policies that are being enacted are actually working in the opposite direction. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000727\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e959f20f-3de7-4f54-8577-8ea78d72c3dd\u0022\u003EWe could talk about legal aid, and I am aware that there is a sensitivity about that question at the moment. Unfortunately, the Government has found itself on the wrong side of a legal judgment. But, more generally, there have been cuts to the availability of legal aid, and that has negatively impacted on access to the courts. We are hearing this again from participants, and it is not only beneficiaries, low-income people, or unemployed people; it is middle New Zealand that is discovering that as the access point, the entry point, for legal aid is being made more difficult, access to the courts is being denied\u2014access to representation. The intention of this legislation we have before us is to speed up the processes of our courts. Self-litigation will do nothing to speed up the process of our courts. Quite the contrary, it will slow it down. The cuts to legal aid will inevitably lead to more self-litigation in the courts. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000728\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e959f20f-3de7-4f54-8577-8ea78d72c3dd\u0022\u003EWe are told in terms of some of the difficulties that this legislation endeavours to overcome but cannot do entirely that some of the slack will be picked by NGOs\u2014by the community law centres, for example, which unfortunately have had no funding increase for something like 7 years. In other words, their funding is being cut. So although we might like to pass legislation to streamline legislation to make our courts work better, if we do not support the infrastructure around public access to the courts, then our work will be in vain. I could critique the Government\u2019s judicial approach all night\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000729\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b6ab088c904a41b5819f5787166b46ea\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: I am sorry to interrupt the honourable member. The time has come for me to leave the Chair.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000730\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003EDebate interrupted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000731\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003EThe House adjourned at 10 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20130528bdb17aefd7474719968cfa3bf438bdd2000732\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"