Whaitiri Meka: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWhaitiri Meka: General Debate[Sitting date: 23 July 2014. Volume:700;Page:19403. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti):Tēnā koe e Te Kaiwhakahaere o te Whare nei ā tēnā tātou katoa ngā mema o te Whare nei i runga i te kaupapa whakahirahira o tēnei wiki te wiki o tō tātou reo o ō tātou rangatira. Nō reira tēnā tātou katoa.[Greetings to you Mr Speaker of the House and to you all members of this House in regards to the matter of significance during this week the week of our language and of our chiefs. So acknowledgments to you all.]The country deserves better. The regions deserve better. As a proud member of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti I think Ikaroa-Rāwhiti deserves better. This is a time and a place to put our plans out so that the people of this country can see what type of leadership we require in this country. Ikaroa-Rāwhiti to remind our members is about 657 kilometres in distance it takes about 9½ hours to drive there and for the last 2 weeks I cannot escape the reality that is confronting the constituents whom I come to this House to represent. I have visited towns like Gisborne Wairoa Napier Hastings Dannevirke Masterton and Upper and Lower Hutt. In those 2 weeks I got to move around. I got to speak with mayors of local councils I got to speak to providers of social services and I got to speak to deliverers of business support throughout my electorate. I can quite categorically tell you that there is struggle throughout Ikaroa-Rāwhiti.On the weekend I was doorknocking in Elgin a place that I am sure the current member for East Coast Anne Tolley has visited often. The feedback from behind the many doors that I knocked on was that people want sustainable well-paid jobs in places like Gisborne. So who are we to believe? Is it this Government which is operating on a two-speed economy one for the rich and one for the people like those in Elgin whom I doorknocked on? They are being ignored and they are being denied the basic rights to look after themselves and their families. That is what we have with this Government. This is what it has delivered to the people of Elgin of the Maraenuis of the Pōmares—the people whom I come to this House to represent. So Government members may get up and say that the economy is doing well but get into those suburbs—Ms Tolley I invite you to go to Elgin and doorknock and hear what they say and in Kaiti.I invite Mr Craig Foss and our departing member Chris Tremain to go and doorknock in Flaxmere and Maraenui. You will hear for yourself—those people are struggling. They are struggling but they want jobs. So I come to this House I listen to what this Government is offering to grow real jobs in the regions and I hear nothing. I hear absolutely nothing. There is no hope for the people of the constituency that I represent. I come here and I hold you to account because what I see is nothing. They are not even getting the bare basics of a well-paying job.This is what Labour will do. We will develop regional growth plans in partnership with local government businesses and iwi to identify opportunities and barriers for growth and work in groups to overcome them. We will make an initial investment of $200 million over 4 years in a regional development fund for projects that will create jobs and growth. We will support manufacturing in the regions through the research and development tax credit accelerated depreciation and our monetary policy upgrade. Yes we will. We will ensure that Government bodies buy from Kiwi manufacturers wherever possible. Let us put our Kiwi businesses ahead of overseas interests. We will redirect capital from housing speculation into productive investment. We are going to appoint a regional development Minister at Cabinet level. That is how serious Labour is about our regions. That is right—a regional development Minister at Cabinet level. We will integrate the regional development fund with a national ports strategy and regional transport investment and we will invest in upgrading regional information and communications technology.We have also got plans for our young people in the regions who are crying out for more education more training and more employment. I have seen in my electorate the closing of Government departments.