Tremain Chris: Adjournment — Sittings of the House 
Tremain Chris: Adjournment — Sittings of the House 
[Volume:659;Page:8629] 
CHRIS TREMAIN (National—Napier) 
: 
 I begin by wishing you Mr Speaker and Alexandra a merry Christmas. I acknowledge the efforts you have put into lifting the standards in the House. I think the behaviour in the Chamber reflects a superb new level. I also wish a merry Christmas to all New Zealanders in particular to the people of my rohe of Ahuriri—Napier. I say to them that it is a privilege to be their MP and I definitely appreciate it. I wish a merry Christmas to all my friends and colleagues around the Chamber. It has been a tough year but it has been a lot of fun. I say to members to make sure they have time with their families and to look forward to coming back to the House early. 
I reflect the comments of Bill English when he thanked all the staff of the House and all the workers who have done such a huge job in this place. They make it happen for us. In the spirit of Christmas I also acknowledge my whipping colleagues: Jo Stevie Darren Kennedy Te Ururoa and David. We have a professional relationship that at times is one in which we do not agree but I think we have worked at a level this year that has meant that the House has worked on a very professional level. If we reflect on it we see that 70-odd bills were passed through this House this year. I understand that the average over the years has been in the low 60s so that has been a good effort from around the House. I am proud of it and I am proud to acknowledge the work of Gerry Brownlee in that particular effort. 
I do not think we can go past thanking the people of New Zealand. Without them our party would not be in Government and our friends in the minority parties would not be here as well so I thank New Zealanders around the country for supporting our Government and for giving us the absolute privilege to be here. As we have come through this recession it is very easy for the Government to stand up and take the plaudits and the accolades. But actually the hard-working New Zealanders of this country—the businessmen and businesswomen and the employees in those companies—have got us through this recession. I think we need to thank them for all the hard work they have done throughout the year. 
I acknowledge that but in doing so I also acknowledge all the people who have lost their jobs. The thing that often grates on me in this House particularly when we are going through a recession is that we forget the businesses that fell over throughout the recession and how tough it is for people to stand up and lay someone off. I have been a businessman for most of my life and laying someone off is the toughest thing you have to do. I acknowledge the businesspeople who have tightened their belts and have got on with the job even though it is tough. I acknowledge the employees who also acknowledged that we were in a recessionary time and did not push for the wage rises that they perhaps deserved this year. In particular I acknowledge those employees out there who lost their jobs. It is tough but I want them to know that this Government has supported them through this recession. 
In my speech today I want to look at some of the things we as a Government have done this year to support the country and to take it forward. If we think about those employees who have lost their jobs we should ask what we as a Government have done that we can reflect on. We lifted the minimum wage from $12 to $12.50 an hour in a recession when it would have been very easy not to. We held benefits and entitlements at a level throughout that recession when we were facing down the barrel of 10 years of deficit. We looked at that recession and said that we needed to provide a safety net for employees who got themselves into difficulty and we retained those entitlements. We were still able to deliver $1 billion in tax cuts. We protected savings in the wholesale and retail bank markets. We assisted thousands of workers in the Job Support Scheme. We provided 16900— 
Hon Member 
: How many? 
CHRIS TREMAIN 
: —16900 opportunities for 16 to 24-year-olds. I acknowledge the rise in unemployment among young people in my own electorate of Napier. It is a real concern so I am proud of what Paula Bennett has done. I am proud of what the Prime Minister did in putting those schemes together for 16900 people. I acknowledge that this scheme will not solve the problems of every unemployed person out there but it is a hang of a lot it is a great start and it shows that we are out there trying to do the best we can. In that regard we made a good start with home insulation. We have a goal of getting 180000 homes insulated and that is no mean feat. We have already got out this year and delivered on that goal and it has provided jobs for people and warmer homes. It is absolutely superb. 
In going forward this country has set a platform that will provide a pathway to grow as a country. In that regard we have done something that I also think we should reflect on: we have capped the numbers in the core bureaucracy. It needed to be done as that number grew exponentially over the last 9 years. We have put $7.5 billion into infrastructure expenditure and we keep rolling out the announcements on that infrastructure. This week Steven Joyce was out there announcing Transmission Gully and the whole route from Wellington up to Otaki something that has been on the books for 20-odd years. We want to reflect on the fact that this Government has got out there and made decisions and tough calls. Even when lobbies have not supported where we have gone we have gone out there and done the hard yards. I am particularly proud of that. 
On top of that we have had a $500 million relief package for small businesses we have simplified the Resource Management Act to make it easier we have undertaken some major structural reform reviews and this week Gerry Brownlee was out there with a review of the entire energy system. Once again we are setting a platform for growth and are trying to introduce more competition in the sector. We cannot guarantee we will stop price rises but we can aim to keep them low which is good. 
In health we have done some wonderful things. We said at the election that we would increase the amount of elective surgery. It had been increasing at about 1500 a year. We said we would lift that increase to 4500 a year and what did we do? We lifted it to 11000 this year. That was a pretty good effort. Some smaller but very important things include our commitment to Herceptin which we delivered on. We provide a 12-month programme of Herceptin. PlunketLine is another. For people like me who have a young family it was a particularly important initiative that we rolled out. Another thing which I know my good colleague Katrina Shanks supported throughout the election was maternity care. We listened to the New Zealand public who told us that maternity care was important and I know that as I had three babies at that time. It was not good enough for mothers to be rolled out of maternity care when they did not feel it was time to go so we put another $104 million into maternity care. That $104 million gives mothers and fathers more choice in maternity care and I think that is absolutely fantastic. 
I reflect on where we have got to in law and order. There has been a clamp down on gangs and P. The police have new powers which has been absolutely fantastic and tougher penalties can now be imposed. The whole P initiative led by the Prime Minister is just a sample of things to come. Our Prime Minister got multiple departments to put their heads together and they have delivered results. We are already seeing the results roll out around the country with less P being taken and more P penalties. 
I will finish by talking about education because for me that is a critical area going forward. I show my support for Anne Tolley and the wonderful way in which she is dealing with national standards. For me it is one of the most important things going forward next year and I think the country will definitely get in behind it. At this point in time 20 percent of our children are leaving high school unable to read write or do maths to a level that will get them by in a modern economy—20 percent! We can do a couple of things. We can wring our hands and say that it is too hard so we will just continue with 20 percent being in that position or we can get out there and say that we will do something about it. We can say that we are going to do something for those kids and for the parents of New Zealand. Anne Tolley has bravely gone against the teacher unions and against some of the principals and some teachers and said that we actually care for parents and for children that we are out there and that we are going to introduce national standards. Those standards are coming in next year and I am looking forward to that roll-out. I accept there is a dual responsibility for parents to work with the schools. I think we need to bring the pendulum of responsibility in education back towards parents as well. The responsibility does not rest just with teachers; it rests with the families and they need to understand that as well. So I am excited about that. I am excited about national standards and I am very positive about this Government and next year. 
It has been a great year and one in which I have been proud to be part of this John Key - led Government. It has been a privilege to be in this House and to be the member of Parliament for Napier. Thank you very much and merry Christmas to everybody in the House.