Finlayson Christopher: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFinlayson Christopher: General Debate[Sitting date: 24 June 2015. Volume:706;Page:4708. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Attorney-General): I move That the House take note of miscellaneous business. I want to begin by addressing my comments to the member for Wellington Central. It is just about 10 years ago that I came in here and I always remember having a chat with his predecessor Marian Hobbs. She said to me: “Look when you’re in Opposition it’s a really good time to read and to think.” I took on her very good words of advice and I did a lot of reading and thinking and mastering of my portfolio responsibilities. But the trouble with the Labour Party and with Mr Robertson in particular is that there is no thinking and there is no working. That is a great disappointment from Mr Robertson who has gone from rising star to elder statesman with no intervening period.I say this to Mr Robertson: what the Labour Party seems to be saying these days is—these are the broad themes of what those members are thinking about. The first is to look at the future of work which is great coming from a party that has no work ethic—Grant Robertson: You used to be so nice.Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: —I am being nice—and the second thing is that they want to get up a theme that we are neglecting the regions. But the member for Rongotai would know—because she had a very nice statement in The Chatham Islander the other day—what a tremendous Budget it was for the Chatham Islanders in the farthest part of our Realm. It was a very good article if I may say so. What we were doing—Hon Annette King: Did you read the bit that said it was 12 years too late?Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: I only read the good bits. There is the very substantive effort that been made by this Government in the farthest part of the Realm to do something about its infrastructure and I personally want to thank the Minister of Finance for his kindness.The second thing that we heard the other day—and Jonathan Young the MP for New Plymouth referred it to me—was this extraordinary article by Labour’s arts spokesperson Jacinda Ardern who was in New Plymouth with a group of Labour MPs—Hon Annette King: It’s “Ja-cinda” actually—Jacinda.Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: —Jacinda—and she stood in front of the new Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and she said that this shows why the Government is neglecting the regions and why money needs to be put into regional projects conveniently overlooking the fact that the Government through the Regional Museums Fund had put several millions dollars into that very project. So that was a week’s work for her and it was a very disappointing week’s work.I come back to what Marian Hobbs the former member for Wellington Central—a very nice lady—said to me and I say it to the Labour Party: there is no substitute for hard work. There is no substitute for knuckling down and thinking through the issues—Grant Robertson: What about nastiness—is there any substitute for that?Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: Instead of hurling abuse across the Chamber Mr Robertson should be at his desk thinking through the issues from a social democratic point of view but he is not. Instead we have the rising star of the left the Greens’ Mr James Shaw. It is going to be a very interesting tussle in Wellington Central. I am predicting that in 2017 Paul Foster-Bell is going to storm through the middle because this is—Grant Robertson: Join in—come along. Run in Wellington Central. Come on Chris. Run here—run where you live.Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: Mr Robertson is always wanting to have me stand in Wellington Central.I compare that do-nothing attitude of the Labour Party with the very positive agenda of this great party because we are building we are building we are building. I have been a student of politics since the fourth term of the Holyoake Government and I can honestly say that I have never seen such talent on the backbenches. I have never seen such a vigorous third-term Government building infrastructure.I congratulate my colleague Amy Adams. Someone told me the other day that broadband is faster in New Zealand than it is in New South Wales and the Australians are marvelling at it. We are building law reform thanks to Amy Adams’ good work.We are building houses thanks to Nick Smith. We are rebuilding—Phil Twyford: Almost nothing. You’ve blown your credibility.Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: —and all Phil Twyford can do is snipe on the sidelines. We are rebuilding a strong environment thanks to the work of people like Nick Smith. Look at the Environmental Reporting Bill debate last night. All Labour could do was indulge in pettifoggery and nastiness because the reality of the matter is that that is legislation that will greatly advance our environmental agenda.We are rebuilding Christchurch. Gerry Brownlee has got many many fine qualities but what he is going to be remembered for more than anything else is the work that he has done in rebuilding Christchurch.As Mrs Thatcher said I could go on and on and on but I have to have a meeting on the town belt with Mr Robertson.