Ross Jami-Lee: Budget Debate 
Ross Jami-Lee: Budget Debate 
[Volume:673;Page:19191] 
JAMI-LEE ROSS (National—Botany) 
: 
 Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker for this opportunity to speak on Budget 2011. When I was looking to join a political party about 8 or 9 years ago I went home one night and assessed the Labour Party website versus the National Party website. I assessed the policies of the National Party and the Labour Party and I went away and ended up signing on the dotted line with the National Party. As I sit through my first Budget as a member of Parliament I can say I am very very pleased I made the decision to join the New Zealand National Party and not the New Zealand Labour Party. 
This Budget is about building growth. This Budget is about getting this country back to surplus. This Budget is about building jobs for New Zealanders and seeing a build-up of national savings. 
The previous speaker from the Labour side of the House was my old friend Su’a William Sio with whom I served on the Manukau City Council several years ago for about 4 years of our political lives. Back when I knew Su’a on the Manukau City Council he was a very sensible politician. He believed in controlling government expenditure. He believed in keeping costs—to the ratepayer at that time and now when we talk about this Budget the taxpayer—to a minimum and in sensible policies. 
I have to say having heard Su’a William Sio speak for the first time whilst I have been in the House that I was bitterly disappointed with what I heard from him and from his Labour colleagues throughout this Budget debate. This Government is about controlling costs and building growth. Unlike the other side of the House we do not believe in lolly scrambles and we do not believe in buying votes with public money. If that party over there took the time to put together a Budget—of course all David Cunliffe has at the moment is a spreadsheet—we would see a Budget that was about buying votes about hurting businesses in the country and about not creating jobs. We would see a Budget about hurting the very people who create jobs in this country. 
I am pleased to be speaking in support of this Budget which was led by the Hon Bill English and delivered several weeks ago. When I found out that I would be speaking after the Hon Roger Douglas I thought to myself: “Goodness what am I going to say?”. But as I was sitting and thinking about the Hon Roger Douglas’ time as the finance Minister I thought to myself: “What would he be most disappointed about as a former Minister in the fourth Labour Government?”. 
Well I can tell members that the Hon Roger Douglas would be most disappointed about the performance of the Hon Phil Goff and the economic views that he is leading the Labour Party with. You see the Hon Phil Goff of the 1980s believed in reducing tax. The Hon Phil Goff of 2011 believes in hurting New Zealanders by increasing taxes further making it more difficult for New Zealanders to live. The Hon Phil Goff of the 1980s—the Hon Phil Goff that the Hon Roger Douglas would remember—believed in the need to reduce income taxes and move towards GST. That is something that this Government did very recently. The Hon Phil Goff of 2011 believes that GST can be reduced. He does not tell us how he would pay for it but that is what he is campaigning on around the country. 
The Hon Phil Goff of the 1980s also saw the need to invest in future assets by selling assets that are good for Kiwis to invest in. This Government is doing that now. This Government is proposing to the country a mixed-ownership model whereby Kiwis will have the opportunity to invest in successful companies. Out there in the real world people rarely have the opportunity to invest in good quality companies. Many people have invested in finance companies and lost their money. If MPs went to their local Grey Power meeting and asked those people whether they would rather invest in a finance company or in a successful Government company—a company that the Government is giving them the opportunity to invest in so that we can build more assets for New Zealanders—what do MPs believe they would say? 
Well I have spoken to many of those people out there. I have asked them whether they would prefer to invest in finance companies or in the successful companies that we are now making available. Every single time they have told me: “If we invested our money in finance companies it would be at great risk but here is an opportunity for us.” This Government is putting to the people an opportunity to release more money for capital growth and capital investment in the country. It gives people the opportunity to invest in quality companies. 
The other point I would like to mention about the Hon Phil Goff of the 1980s was that he actually believed in reducing compliance costs for businesses around the country. This Government believes in reducing compliance costs for businesses but the Hon Phil Goff of 2011 is out there campaigning on making it more difficult for businesses to survive under a future Labour Government if that was to ever happen. 
I believe this Budget is a good-quality Budget. I am proud to support it because we are seeing more funding for health we are seeing more funding for education and we are seeing more funding for justice. We are seeing a $1.6 billion infrastructure programme. 
I want to particularly mention the extra funding for early childhood education. During the recent Botany by-election members of the Labour Party ran around like headless chickens trying to scare people into thinking that funding for early childhood education had reduced. At the time I was proud to say that the Government I was representing in that by-election was spending a record level of money on early childhood education. Let us look at what the Government is delivering. It is now delivering an extra $550 million for early childhood education. I would like Sue Moroney to stand up and thank the Hon Anne Tolley for the extra funding that she has put in. 
Sue Moroney 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I want to know whether the member was actually yielding his call because I would be very pleased to take a call. He invited me to get up and take one and I want to know whether he was yielding. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: No; I think you have the next call and you can have 10 minutes. 
JAMI-LEE ROSS 
: I am looking forward to that speech of thanks to the Hon Anne Tolley. I will be listening intently when that comes along because $550 million for early childhood education is a lot of money. It is going to the children who will benefit the most—children from Maori and Pacific Island communities and children from the most disadvantaged communities that need a bit of a hand up a bit of help to get themselves into early childhood education. A big part of that funding will go towards helping them. I am proud to stand here now and say to the people of Botany and those listening that $550 million extra for early childhood education is a good amount of money and I am pleased to support that. 
I also support the extra $2.2 billion that is going into public health services over the next 3 years. An additional $585 million worth of initiatives is coming in 2012. 
Let us also talk about justice. The justice sector is receiving $157 million more over the next 2 years. I was out recently with the police on a Friday night on a ride-along as I know many members of Parliament sitting here have probably done. The police out there on the streets are very appreciative of the funding and the focus that this Government has put into law and order. The public are very pleased about the focus on law and order and the funding that this Government has put into it about the extra 300 police officers the Government has delivered for Counties-Manukau and about the extra 600 police officers around the country. 
This Budget goes a step further by increasing the funding in the justice sector. It is increasing the funding in an area that New Zealanders are very concerned about and hold dear to their hearts—that we continue to fund justice to a suitable level. This Budget increases funding for health education and justice and it helps to build growth around the country and get this country back to surplus. I am very pleased to support it and I look forward to the speech of thanks from the member Sue Moroney.