Dunne Peter: Adjournment — Sittings of the House 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Dunne Peter: Adjournment — Sittings of the House 
[Sitting date: 12 December 2012. Volume:686;Page:7483. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future) 
: 
 At times like this one often forgets that the real purpose of this type of speech is not so much to have an end-of-year slanging match on the political issues of the year—although that happens—but to acknowledge the support and give thanks to the people who make it possible for us to be in this place and to do the job that we do. So I want to begin immediately with my votes of thanks and then I will move on to some of the other issues as time permits. 
Let me thank all of the people who work in my office. I am not going to name them all because I have not got time to but they do a great job they are well appreciated and I value their support. I thank my electorate staff who handle many many hundreds of inquiries each year many of which I never get to see because they are satisfactorily resolved. I acknowledge also the work of the various Government departments around this city which help clear the backlogs and break through for so many of those people in terms of the help that they need. 
I want to thank all of the people who make this Parliament run Mr Assistant Speaker: you and your fellow presiding officers the Clerk’s Office the select committee office the Cabinet Office the Cabinet secretariat the messengers the security guards the people who run the catering service our VIP drivers our library people our research people and all of our officials. Every single one of them makes an important contribution to the smooth running of this place and makes it possible for us to be here representing the people of New Zealand. 
I think that this year could be described as a typical first year of a second-term Government. The gloss of the first 3 years inevitably dulls somewhat. The real challenges of Government become much more apparent and the mettle that Governments are tested on is their ability to withstand those challenges and to forge a path ahead. I think that this Government has done that admirably in extraordinarily adverse circumstances this year. I think that one of the other features of this year because of some of the particular events that have unfolded has been a rise in media responsibility. I have usually been one who has been very critical of the media in New Zealand. I thought that they have been superficial but in reality I think that this year on a number of issues they have performed their role admirably. I hope this might be the start of a more permanent transition. 
In terms of where New Zealand sits at the end of 2012 we are still coming to grips with the consequences of the worst economic depression since the Great Depression. Every day one hears more adverse news not from New Zealand so much but from the countries external to us that will have an impact on us. For people to say that this depression this economic situation is an excuse manufactured by the Government just like they say the earthquakes in Christchurch were an excuse—oh that Governments were so powerful to manipulate these things! The reality is that when you get news out of Europe in the last week of fears of a triple-dip recession occurring within the European Union the bounce-back and flow-on to economies like New Zealand’s cannot be avoided. That does not mean you give up the ghost. It does not mean you say it is all beyond us. But what it does do is temper the level of response and temper the reality within which Governments can operate. 
This Government has done extremely well in those adverse circumstances. Look at our debt-GDP ratio. Look at our unemployment which is too high but by world standards is still very much on the low side. Look at a number of the key indicators. We are getting there and the thing for New Zealand to remember as 2012 draws to a close is that the way forward will not be achieved by abrupt changes of path and will not be achieved by the implementation of policies that will actually shackle people’s opportunity rather than create it. In respect of the debate about poverty at the moment the one point that is being ignored is that growth and opportunity are the way out of poverty not simply pouring more in the way of handouts. 
So as we head off for our Christmas break I want to conclude on this point. For many New Zealanders this will be a tough Christmas. I think we should acknowledge them and just give them some space and some support at this time. For the rest of us I want to acknowledge the support and the encouragement—wry at times—of all members of the House. I also want to wish them and their families whatever their political persuasion the very best of the season ahead good relaxation good time with family and friends a reinvigoration so that the debate about policy and issues next year can be a full one a charged one a proper one and an effective one. Merry Christmas to all.