Copeland Gordon: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Copeland Gordon: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:637;Page:7434] 
GORDON COPELAND (United Future) 
: 
 Like my colleague Judy Turner I do not intend today to dwell very much on the content of the Prime Minister’s statement to the House but rather to look at some of the things she did not mention that United Future believes are very very important to the future of New Zealand and should therefore not be overlooked. For example no mention was made in the statement about the growing problem of housing affordability and indeed of rental affordability in New Zealand. These issues need to be urgently addressed. The data produced over the last couple of months indicates that much of this is driven by a combination of land supply shortage and ever-higher subdivisional and new home building costs imposed by local authorities. 
The economic equation is very simple. If the supply of land is greater than demand for land then land prices and therefore new housing and rental prices will moderate. But when demand for new housing and new accommodation outstrips the supply of land those prices will rise steeply. That is exactly what we have seen happening in New Zealand over the last 3 or 4 years. This is a tragedy for New Zealand and its families. Many families no longer share in the Kiwi dream of owning their own house but instead are relegated through a failed policy response to this crisis to long-term rental situations. 
Mention was made of New Zealand’s balance of payments deficit and the high interest rates in New Zealand by both the Leader of the Opposition John Key and the leader of New Zealand First the Rt Hon Winston Peters. However neither of them mentioned the possibility of a currency union between Australia and New Zealand. Such a union should be explored because it has the potential to create an effective 25 million - strong domestic market for New Zealand businesses and manufacturers and because of the centralisation of monetary policy that would follow to cut interest rates for New Zealand businesses and families. However when invited to look at this by the Australian Parliament Dr Michael Cullen was very quick to dismiss it. I urge him today to think again. It is an issue that needs to be explored. 
Keeping safe in our communities from growing levels of violence was also mentioned in passing by the Prime Minister but in my opinion without any evidence-based policy response that would be directed not at the symptoms but at the actual causes of our growing crime statistics. Frankly I do not expect to see much change in the present situation while so many of our children are being raised without a dad at home or while they can go through the New Zealand educational system without learning very much about the basic values of honesty and good citizenship. 
It is time we looked at the causes of family breakdown and began to address them through a constructive policy response. Tariana Turia of the Maori Party mentioned that 53 percent of Maori males are now leaving the secondary school system of New Zealand without even basic qualifications. The latest information I have is that that figure almost exactly corresponds with the percentage of Maori children in New Zealand who sadly are growing up without a dad at home. The evidence of longitudinal studies internationally shows that while that situation persists then failure in health and education will also persist. There is a direct correlation to whether there is a dad in the home for reasons that will be obvious when we think it through. We need to get down to causes. We need to begin to build a fence at the top of the cliff. We have had too much policy that just brings another ambulance to the bottom of the cliff. 
The Prime Minister mentioned safety on the streets and the Government’s priority to ensure that gang-related violence is eliminated. I wonder whether she has been to the Northcote area of Manukau. During my work on the prostitution law review I visited that area and I was amazed to find a cocktail of prostitution drugs and gang activity all happening without any police presence on the ground. It is shameful to think that the only police who visit that area do not get out of their patrol cars because they consider it to be too dangerous. 
During 2007 I will continue to work on delivering key items of United Future’s confidence and supply agreement for the benefit of New Zealanders. This will include the finalisation of plans to manage wild animals in New Zealand such as deer chamois thar and pigs—something that has been an issue in New Zealand for many years. I will also report back to the Government on our review of the Prostitution Reform Act having regard to the street soliciting under-age involvement and the location of brothels. In conjunction with the Government we will also make further progress on the issue of water quality with particular reference to agrarian runoff and negotiate a public walking access along rivers and lakes. We will continue to make solid gains for New Zealand using the power of three.