Goudie Sandra: General Debate 
Goudie Sandra: General Debate 
[Volume:653;Page:2711] 
SANDRA GOUDIE (National—Coromandel) 
: 
 I am proud to be part of a Government that is about action; not like this Opposition that does not even understand the meaning of the word. The previous speaker has no idea what the royal commission was all about; it was about consultation. He is a member—Goff—who is constantly trying to gain— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I apologise to the member for interrupting her speech but I cannot hear a word she is saying. Could members on both sides of the House please cease the barrage of interjection so that the House can hear the contribution from Sandra Goudie. 
SANDRA GOUDIE 
: Thank you Mr Speaker but I was quite happy to go on regardless because this is a Government that is proud of its work. It is all about action; it is not just all talk like the previous Government which had 9 years and did nothing. Quite clearly Goff is constantly perverting the facts in a desperate bid to gain ground while it rapidly shifts underneath him. He clearly does not understand what a royal commission is for—that it is all about consultation. Does he not understand that? He is desperate to try to cobble together a few hundred people out of the hundreds of thousands who actually support progress in Auckland. What does he understand about it? I do not think he understands a great deal; it is all just for political purchase and it is rapidly slipping away from him. 
I am incredibly proud of National and the work it has been doing on the Resource Management Act. There has been a healthy debate which is ongoing and New Zealanders up and down the country are celebrating the fact that we are making some changes to the Act and that we want to make a difference. This Act affects the lives of New Zealanders across the country who have experienced the blockages in this legislation that were never addressed by the previous Government in its 9 years in office. It is an appalling indictment against the Opposition. Labour had 9 years when in Government of doing nothing while National has really been on the front foot and is working hard to make a difference. There has been healthy debate around changes to the Local Government Act to the Building Act and to a whole lot of other legislation. 
I can tell members of the excellent work done by the Minister Judith Collins on law and order. It is just another one of those factors of significant and positive change and making a difference as we go forward. We had only to listen to what she had to say in the House today about the extra policing for Counties-Manukau; that has been a huge step forward for Counties-Manukau and for the security and safety of New Zealanders. 
I will share with members the fact that since National became the Government the number of police in Counties-Manukau has increased by 26 to 780. In addition police numbers in Counties-Manukau are expected to grow by a further 16 constables by 30 June 2009. Overall the police expect to achieve an extra 150 in police numbers this year and 150 next year. This is a boost of 300 new front-line police to Counties-Manukau by the end of 2010. It is a key Government policy and we are delighted to be able to announce this progress to date under the auspices of the excellent Minister Judith Collins. A further 41 police recruits are destined for Counties-Manukau—all a part of the programme that she has under way that is making such a difference. So there is a lot of work going on in that regard. I will also mention the excellent work in justice by Simon Power. He is another really hard-working Minister who is making a difference. 
The Opposition cannot deny the huge amount of work that this Government has undertaken within 6 months which the previous Government could not even equal within the whole of its 9 years in office. It is outstanding work and the Government will continue to implement policies to protect jobs as well as create an environment that creates new jobs and make it easier for small businesses up and down the country to do business. This is about getting rid of as much red tape as possible so that people can get on with their jobs and not be bogged down by paperwork. This is all part of fulfilling that 100-day plan and it is fantastic to see the difference that has been made in this regard. 
As well as fulfilling our commitments in our 100-day plan we are continuing to implement our jobs and growth plan. The funding to Housing New Zealand has made such a huge difference. Members have heard stories in the House about builders who have been kept going as a result of the extra work made available to them by the funding being put into New Zealand housing and by the upgrading of New Zealand houses.