Hayes John: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Hayes John: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Sitting date: 29 January 2013. Volume:687;Page:7574. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
JOHN HAYES (National—Wairarapa) 
: 
 I would like to invite the last speaker who has just addressed the House Eugenie Sage to come across to the Wairarapa. Come up to Mount Bruce and you can see wildlife being propagated at a joint Department of Conservation - community facility there. Come and see our white kiwi—three of them. There are 60 kiwis living in the wild. Come and see our blue skies. Come and see our beautiful clear pristine water in the Waiohine River which I have swum in and drunk from most days since Christmas. It is fantastic. You are promoting gloom and doom that just does not exist. Please come over the hill to the Wairarapa and I will educate you and show you what a great job this Government is doing in protecting our environment in the middle of people earning money by employing themselves doing work. 
Clearly the Opposition has had 6 weeks sitting on a beach suntanning itself but unfortunately it has come up with no new policy ideas at all. I have taken particular note of the speakers who have been performing in the House this afternoon listening to what they have said very carefully. David Shearer wants to be hands-on but he opposes every hands-on move we make. Think about the comments from Sue Moroney complaining about unemployment levels and contrast those with Eugenie Sage who has just spoken who would like to shut the economy down. There is an absolute diversion of ideas and thinking in the Opposition which is bereft of policy. Our colleague from Mangere Su’a William Sio could not organise the filling up of six free containers so he could send them off to Samoa. Can I suggest that he come across to the Wairarapa come to Greytown and we will have them filled in about half a day because that is what people in our community do. If he had got in early he would be beating the Solomon Islanders who are coming to work in orchards in the Wairarapa because the Samoans have not taken them but the Solomon Islanders will go back with containers full of interesting used items and new items from the money that they have earned. 
I listened to Winston this afternoon—Winston Peters. I do not remember the message he was trying to leave but I would say to all New Zealanders including the 4.6 percent who gave him the party vote please be generous to him but have the intelligence to know when you are being taken for a ride. 
 Sue Moroney demanded the Government turn the economy around. Her comments underlined the difference between that side of the House and this. The Labour-Green Opposition are socialists who still believe in that socialist concept of the command economy. Sorry it does not work. We need a complete package of measures to get this economy moving forward. There is no one issue that you can go flick and turn the light on or off. 
Megan Woods provided some employment figures—12.8 percent of 20 to 24-year-olds are unemployed. Well go and look at Europe a market of 500 million people and you will see that countries like Spain Portugal Italy and Ireland are coping with more than 50 percent unemployment particularly in that age group that you are quoting of 25 and under. If you look across the board those countries are coping with 25 percent and more unemployment. 
I listened to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has a very clear plan that involves returning this economy to surplus by reducing debt by pushing ahead with wide-ranging reforms because we must create a more productive and competitive economy that will give people work enable them to improve their lot and allow them to use their initiative. We want to drive better results and we want to get better value from public services and of course at the same time support the rebuilding of Christchurch. 
Through the period of the last 5 years this Government has been dealing with three major challenges: an economy that was left unbalanced by the Labour Government—it was also left in poor shape—the impact of the global financial crisis and then of course the Canterbury earthquakes. So as part of the package of measures that the Government has been taking I realise and the Ministers on this side of the House realise that we have got to keep strengthening our export sector. That is why the Government has been committed to increasing the commitment around the contribution that exports make to our economy by aggressively pursuing more and higher-quality trade agreements. We have had agreements with China we have had agreements with Hong Kong and with Malaysia and we are pursuing the Trans-Pacific Partnership now. This year the focus will be Asia because that is where we see huge opportunities for New Zealand businesses. Since 2008 our exports to China have trebled and in the next 5 years developing countries in Asia like India China and the ASEAN countries will increase their share of world GDP by nearly 20 percent. There are great opportunities in countries like Laos like Viet Nam like Burma which are opening up as well as the traditional markets like Singapore and Hong Kong. 
Last year the Business Growth Agenda set a target of raising the value of exports to the economy from 30 percent to 40 percent of our GDP by 2025. To do that the primary sector will have to be the major contributor to our export earnings. It accounts for 72 percent of merchandise exports. To achieve that despite the claims of the Greens access to reliable water is critical for primary production. Those dairy farmers in my electorate who are suffering particularly in the north are suffering because we do not have irrigation schemes in place and it is a very dry summer. If you are trying to dairy farm in a very dry area that is really difficult. That is why the Government is investing $80 million for the initial stages of a company operation. That is going to be set aside in the 2013 Budget to allow irrigation development. That is very important in my electorate particularly in the Central Hawke’s Bay around Waipukurau and to the south of Mount Bruce particularly around the area of Masterton Bideford Gladstone and Martinborough. Reliable irrigation represents a major step in unlocking New Zealand’s economic potential and having our tradable sectors growing strongly and delivering on the Government’s economic growth goals. I want to just say to the people of the Wairarapa that this arrangement and the support the Government will give to irrigation in the Wairarapa will happen irrespective of how the electorate decides to settle on local government administration—whether it runs with a unitary council or some other arrangement. 
Finally I would like to commend the work that Tony Ryall has done refocusing the district health boards. A major effort has been made in the Wairarapa and we are linking up very strongly with the Hutt Valley District Health Board. Through that Tony Ryall is ensuring that we are making each dollar go further and we are getting great results. I would finally just like to highlight the fact that there are 70000 fewer smokers today than we had in 2009. The rate of daily smoking for youth has fallen from 14 percent in 2007 to 6 percent in 2011 and 2012. That is because the Government has a plan. That is because the Government is taking action. That is because the Government despite the claims of the Opposition is delivering results. What a great job John Key and his team are doing. It is really a great pleasure and it makes me very proud to be a part of that team. Thank you.