Macindoe Tim: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Macindoe Tim: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
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TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West) 
: 
 I am very proud to take a call this afternoon in support of the Prime Minister’s statement and to be a member of a Government that is facing up to the major challenges that our country faces. I commend our Prime Minister for delivering such a comprehensive statement of intent. 
Carol Beaumont 
: Really? 
TIM MACINDOE 
: This Prime Minister leads by conviction and with integrity and I tell Ms Beaumont that the public are right behind him. 
His statement last week struck an excellent balance between having the courage to make some tough choices in the face of a very serious set of economic hurdles and a pragmatic and compassionate approach that reflects the very best principles of caring conservatism. Let us not forget that we are borrowing $240 million per week just to meet existing Government expenditure commitments. That is $12 billion of borrowing per year in a country of just over 4 million people. That is $12 billion without having one extra dollar to spend on new projects or to meet new demands. Every decision that we make as a Government must bear that grim reality in mind. So we must grow the economic cake. Not for the National-led Government unfortunately the luxury of sailing with a strong following wind. Labour members conveniently overlook the fact that they squandered the best economic conditions of a generation. 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: Oh for God’s sake! 
TIM MACINDOE 
: I tell Ms Chadwick that Labour’s record in office was irresponsible in the extreme and its legacy is hurting the ordinary New Zealanders the Labour Party used to claim it represented. What was that record? Government spending was out of control and bureaucracy was the country’s fastest-growing industry. The causes of crime were ignored. The consequences of crime are felt ever more seriously in every town and city the length and breadth of this country. Education statistics which the Labour leader described as “shocking” when she came into office were worse when she left it. Labour’s 9 years of record surpluses were squandered lost and gone for ever. 
So I am very proud to support our Prime Minister’s vision and ambition for our country. It is not enough simply to lament the lost opportunities of Labour’s 9 years in office and I am certainly not prepared to accept as the members opposite clearly do that this is as good as it gets. Our goal as a Government must be and is to lift the long-term performance of our economy. Without creating the right incentives for the private sector to create jobs and enabling them to produce goods and market them profitably and affordably we will never rise up the OECD rankings never shorten our dole queues never again boast world-class health and education opportunities and never provide the world-class social services that New Zealanders want and deserve. 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: Who wrote this? 
TIM MACINDOE 
: I tell Ms Chadwick that I wrote this speech and I am very proud of it. I bet the member is wishing she was delivering it because it is good and on our side of the House we know that the message is right. I tell Ms Chadwick that it is the message I get every day from my fine constituents in the Hamilton West electorate. Back in Hamilton West we are not greedy. We are not selfish as members opposite always want to infer whenever they are confronted by people who do not share their own ostrich political philosophy. The people of Hamilton West just want a fair go not just for themselves but for their families their neighbours and their friends. They know that we have to make New Zealand a more prosperous country that is capable of providing well-paid jobs and a better standard of living across the board. They know that John Key and the National-led Government with the important support of our minor party support partners are the team to lead us in that direction. We are facing up to the challenges and we are getting on with the job. We will not shirk from it and I am very proud to be a part of it. 
The people know that the six main policy drivers that our Prime Minister identified in his speech in this House just 1 week ago are the right priorities for us to focus on as we battle through the headwinds into calmer winds and better conditions. One of those drivers is a growth-enhancing tax system—one that is fair and rewards honest endeavour and encourages savings. The members opposite groan when they hear that which just demonstrates their economic illiteracy and frankly their cruelty as they condemn New Zealanders to more of the same—more of the dross that Labour delivered more of what we on this side of the House say cannot continue and will not continue. 
The programme includes better public services that meet our expectations especially when we send our children to school or face time in hospital and that will ensure that the vulnerable the frail and the elderly in our communities can live in dignity and with security. The programme supports science innovation and trade to ensure that we maximise the opportunities provided by our natural resources and the entrepreneurial gifts of the great New Zealand people. And what a gift we have as a people with our get-up-and-go attitude our Kiwi know-how can-do approach! We need to liberate enhance and encourage that gift and that is what the Prime Minister’s statement is all about. 
The programme also includes better regulation instead of more and more red tape which stifles every creative endeavour as we saw under the last Government. The regulations will give the right incentives and encouragements and protect our natural resources to ensure that the best decisions are made and that the conditions are created for sound development and best business practice. We had not heard of that for a long time under Labour but it is now fortunately coming back into vogue in this country. 
This programme is about investment in infrastructure. What a fine job the Minister for Infrastructure and his associate are doing for us! It is one of the real success stories of the first year in office. The people of New Zealand are delighted by it and they know that we are on the right path. We have to ensure that we can move around our regions our cities and our country safely and in an environmentally friendly and efficient way. That is good for the economy it is good for health it is good for safety and it will ensure that our economy is liberated and able to grow. 
We have to rebuild the schools that were falling down while Labour members looked the other way. What an appalling record they had in their school maintenance programme! It was absolutely shocking. They should all hang their heads in shame. 
Moana Mackey 
: What a load of rubbish! 
TIM MACINDOE 
: Miss Mackey knows that it was true. She absolutely knows that it was true. It was happening in the electorate that she one day wants to represent but because of that record probably never will. 
We need the best broadband and other technological services available to help us to meet the challenges of the modern economy. We want improved education and skills without which no real progress will be possible. I congratulate and thank the many fine teachers in the Hamilton West electorate who are working with the Government to achieve those outcomes. They are a vital link in the chain— 
Moana Mackey 
: Listen to them on national standards then. 
TIM MACINDOE 
: I can promise Miss Mackey that they are very happy with national standards. I have met with them they support them and they are working hard to implement them. I tell Miss Mackey that I will be working alongside them to ensure they are given the support and the tools they need to do the job that 73 percent of New Zealanders agree with. New Zealanders recently urged them to make those standards and the raising of our educational achievements in schools a top priority. 
Kelvin Davis 
: Teachers teach kids not standards. 
TIM MACINDOE 
: Mr Davis is chipping in. What a shame he is not back leading a school! I acknowledge he did it well. We know that he would be one of the most enthusiastic people to embrace the national standards. He would give good leadership in his school. It is a great shame he is not there doing just that. 
In the time remaining to me I will briefly endorse the Government’s intention to reform our welfare system in line with the commitment that we made to New Zealanders at the last election. This year alone New Zealand taxpayers will fund an estimated $7.6 billion of benefits and income support. That figure quite rightly does not include our ever-growing number of pensioners drawing superannuation. 
Moana Mackey 
: Do something about unemployment. 
TIM MACINDOE 
: I tell Miss Mackey that that figure amounts to $20.8 million spent on welfare a day in a country of just over 4 million people. Typically whenever this subject is raised members opposite—as they are doing now—resort to tired slogans and empty rhetoric. I urge them to consider the consequences of continuing in the direction that they took us down over the past decade. We have to be able to tell hard-working New Zealanders that an honest day’s work is an important and admirable objective. We have to instil the work ethic. We have to reward all those young and not-so-young people who are out looking for a job. We have to assure them that if they are genuinely in need of income support we will provide it. The welfare system will be there for those who need it. That is what caring conservatism is all about and I will fight for that throughout my career. But equally we have to structure our welfare system to encourage self-reliance and to not encourage and trap people in long-term dependency.