Adams Amy: Appropriation (2009/10 Supplementary Estimates) Bill Imprest Supply (First for 2010/11) Bill — Second Readings 
Adams Amy: Appropriation (2009/10 Supplementary Estimates) Bill Imprest Supply (First for 2010/11) Bill — Second Readings 
[Volume:664;Page:11899] 
AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) 
: 
 I rise to take a call in this afternoon’s debate on the Appropriation (2009/10 Supplementary Estimates) Bill and the Imprest Supply (First for 2010/11) Bill. It has certainly been an interesting debate to listen to this afternoon. “Wide ranging” does not begin to cover the scope of what we have heard. 
As a relatively new member in the House I must say that it took me a little bit of time to get my head round some of the financial processes that we go through year on year in this House. It is worth clarifying for the benefit of anyone listening at home who is not familiar with the processes that this part of the financial programme is just about formally signing off spending that has already occurred in the 2009-10 year. That spending happened under Imprest Supply bills and we now formally sign off on it because it was outside the votes in last year’s Budget. The Finance and Expenditure Committee had the opportunity to look at the supplementary estimates in a little more detail. It was a very interesting experience and it was certainly a help in getting our heads round how the process worked. The major increases this year in the estimates were primarily in the finance portfolio of about $1.8 billion; revenue of about $900 million; and social development of $475 million. Those were the big three. 
When we look at where that expenditure has occurred it is interesting to note that all the big-ticket items are related to the global financial crisis and the uncertainty that it brought about. When we go through the briefings and break down some of those large numbers we see that the big-ticket items are things like the guarantee and indemnity scheme which was a reaction to the serious global financial situation that we found ourselves in. They are things like the massive increases in debt-servicing costs or the unexpected jumps in debt impairments and debt write-offs both in the tax arena and in the social policy area. And not surprisingly there was a large cost for increased benefits as we saw New Zealanders dealing with the fallout of the recession. I think it is entirely appropriate in this debate albeit it is a wide-ranging one that when we talk about the need to now sign off on that additional expenditure we take a moment to look at where our economy has come from and where it is going. We have found ourselves in an incredibly fast-paced and changing environment certainly since the National-led Government has been in office. That has been the largest contributing factor to the numbers we are looking at today. 
I will start by looking at exactly where our economy was and what its health status was. Given that we are having Men’s Health Month we should also have an economic health snapshot of where we are at. The economy in 2008 even before we went into the global financial crisis was in a perilous state because of exactly the same sorts of imbalances that this whole House is now acknowledging exist. But let us not kid ourselves that these imbalances came about under the recession. The sorts of imbalances that this country and its economy are really struggling to grapple with existed long before any international crisis. The biggest one of those has been the failure of our productive sector since the turn of the millennium to grow and expand as it should have. Since 2000 we have had a productive sector in decline. That is something I have mentioned in this House on more than one occasion and it is something I will keep mentioning because if we do not address it and acknowledge in this House that we have to get our productive sector in a healthy position then we will never create the sort of economy we need. It has been said here and I think it was the Minister of Finance who said it that it is very easy to say these things very easy to stand up and pay lip service to wanting to build exports to grow innovation and to support business. I do not think any members in this House would be brave enough to stand up and admit they do not agree with any of that. But the difference is what actions this House is prepared to take to make that happen. They are cheap words. They are easy words. If someone is not prepared to break the eggs to make the omelette then that person should not be making those sorts of claims. 
The economy that the National Government dealt with when it picked up the reins in 2008 was one where the productive sector had been neglected abused and abandoned by its Government. We were seeing the consequences of that. We were seeing a steady decline in exports. We were seeing exporters struggling to stay afloat. We were seeing more and more mum and dad New Zealand businesses shutting down not taking on staff not making a profit and increasingly heading overseas to what they perceived as greener pastures. There is no way that we will ever get our economy to a place where it can provide sustainable jobs good incomes and a standard of life to which we all aspire unless we are prepared to be honest with ourselves and say that if we do not create an environment in which business can grow thrive and prosper then it will be a case of the last one out please turn out the lights. This economy is doomed if we cannot get that right. 
That is why this Government when it came into office had two immediate goals. The first goal was to deal with the recession as best as we could and to make the impact on New Zealanders as little as it could be. We knew we could not avoid it. It was happening all across the world. But we could make sure that we maintained core entitlements to New Zealanders which we have done. We could make sure that we delivered on our commitments to New Zealanders which we have done. And we could make sure that we delivered the sort of platform for economic growth that we had promised New Zealand in the 2008 election campaign and that New Zealanders had invested in when they voted for this National-led Government. 
In the 2009 Budget and then in the most recent Budget we are starting to see that programme roll out. I often describe this economy as a pretty slow-moving beast to turn round. In the words of the infamous Rachel Hunter: “It’s not going to happen overnight but it will happen.” But we have to start by putting in place foundations for growth and they are things like addressing tax and carrying out the biggest single reform of our tax system that we have seen for 25 years. Why are we doing that? Because it is one of the biggest incentives we can give to this economy. It is the biggest way that we can tell New Zealanders to work hard get ahead save more and invest more and their Government will back them. That is what tax reform is all about. It is not about more money to the Government; it is about incentivising the economy to be more productive and less consumption focused. That is how we will address the shortfall in personal savings and that is how we will start to give business in this country the message that they can get ahead and that there is a future here. That is when we will see our best and our brightest returning home to base themselves in New Zealand. 
I will make the point that when we talk about business let us not think of it as some big ugly corporate on the stock exchange. The vast bulk of business in this country is small enterprises employing 10 or fewer staff. That is what we talk about when we talk about business. Do not buy into the lie that it is some faceless corporation. Supporting business is supporting the families and the people in our communities who get up every day and work very hard just to pay the bills and that is what has been lacking. But with the sorts of tax incentives in this Budget and the sort of investment in infrastructure that will lay foundations for growth we are putting New Zealand on the road to prosperity once more and we are putting New Zealand into a space that will see economic growth delivered. In this Budget we are looking at growth projections averaging 3 percent for the next 3 years and that is fantastic news. It will mean 170000 new jobs it will mean greater incomes for Kiwi families and it is the sort of economic growth that will provide the outcomes that all New Zealanders want. 
When we look at the infrastructure investment that this country was calling out for under the 9 years of Labour and that we are now delivering we see that it removes some of those bottlenecks. It will see roading put in place. Roading projects like the Christchurch Southern Motorway which my electorate has been calling for for 19 years are now under way. I drove past it yesterday and I saw the bulldozers rolling. It is a fabulous sight to see. We will see investment in broadband. I can tell members that in my communities in Selwyn it is the issue that my constituents raise with me most often. They cannot get broadband and without broadband one cannot do business in a modern environment. So we can see that our investment in infrastructure straight away translates into setting conditions for economic growth and prosperity for New Zealand. 
That is what this Government is all about that is what we have been delivering since 8 November 2008 and that is what we will continue to deliver. We know that that is what New Zealanders want. They want economic growth they want safer communities they want raised education standards they want less bureaucracy and they want a Government that has aspiration that has hope for them and that knows that we can aspire to more in this country. We are not tall poppy knockers on this side of the House. We do not knock anyone who puts his or her head above the parapet. We tell people that if they are prepared to work hard we will back them. This Government will get in behind any New Zealander who wants to get ahead. It is not just hollow words from us. We do not just stand here and make speeches; we get out there and do it. I am very pleased to support this motion.