Tabuteau Fletcher: Estimates Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTabuteau Fletcher: Estimates Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 21 July 2015. Volume:707;Page:5159. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]FLETCHER TABUTEAU (NZ First):Thanks for the opportunity. I just wanted to note the eloquence of the Minister for Economic Development who spoke so wonderfully just a few moments ago. What I have to say though is that it is a shame that that eloquence that wonderful turn of phrase could not be applied to his super ministry to get his staff in line in order to create those synergies that were promised to the people of New Zealand. In terms of eloquent messages at the moment as well it seems like National is putting out this wonderful argument that if anyone talks about how bad things are in New Zealand it is their fault. If you talk about how bad things are it is your fault. So apparently by talking about it tonight it is going to be my fault that the economy is not doing that great.Speaking about infrastructure and economic development though the regions have been short-changed in this appropriations round in the 2015-16 appropriations round. Economic development without a doubt will be more meaningful for each and every New Zealander if this Government would actually focus on our regions and more important on the people in them. Infrastructure development—we were talking today. We have just come back from meeting with our constituents. We were talking about roading in Northland funnily enough. We are encouraging cruise ships to come to the port which is wonderful and then what they are doing is they are taking them out to wonderful tourist activities out in the Millennium Kauri Forest but a lot of that road—and it was spoken about before how there has been a 13 percent cut in our regions’ roading for example—is gravel. So there is absolutely no doubt that we are undermining our tourism which the Minister spoke of how wonderful it was. We are undermining it with inappropriate and lacklustre appropriations in this round.What this Government needs to do is to be considered in its approach. What it is failing to acknowledge as well is the appropriations to the broadband roll-out for example.Brett Hudson: Two billion?FLETCHER TABUTEAU: No there were no appropriations attached to the broadband roll-out because the Government has not acknowledged that there is an actual problem with the broadband roll-out in New Zealand. So what we have at the moment is again another discussion with people in rural communities in our regions telling us that not only can they not connect because of structural issues with the roll-out that were inherent from the start—the problems were there and transparent from the start—but we were having some wonderful conversations about the broadband roll-out and the fibre connections. And what businesses in our rural sector in our regions were telling us which is ridiculous was that as they were connecting and opting in to this wonderful option to grow their business their internet speeds were slowing down. They were measuring their internet speed and they were able to tell us categorically that it was slower than dial up—dial up from 10 years ago. That is how slow it has become because the infrastructure—the investment the lack of foresight of this Government in terms of these appropriations for infrastructure and for economic development—is just not there.National Ministers might not know this—they seem to go rural only when there is a by-election—but rural businesses only 10 minutes from the city are experiencing these problems. The lines have been upgraded but the infrastructure is not coping. It is ridiculous. Previously I have spoken in this House about the implications of the broadband roll-out for rural businesses. The reality is that rural businesses have fewer websites less internet connectivity and they are not bothering with this so-called online economy because they cannot take advantage of it.The electricity industry—another infrastructure and economic development issue that seems to have been left by the by by this Government. We have had conversations put to New Zealanders from the Electricity Authority asking whether regions should pay more for their electricity through line charges. They have put it that essentially it is going to be the absolute nth degree of user-pays. So we are not going to share structural costs; we cannot you know share this with New Zealanders. It is going to be the regions—