Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 17 October 2012. Volume:684;Page:5910. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National) 
: 
 Sat sri akaal Mr Speaker. Thank you for the opportunity to speak in this general debate. New Zealand has and continues to be a resilient economy. This is clearly visible when one considers a number of economic indicators. Despite the uncertain global outlook these economic indicators have shown positive signs. 
Some of us love to talk about Australia. I have the pleasure of sharing that our GDP growth for the June 2012 quarter was 0.6 percent. This was equivalent to Australia one of the really resilient economies during the global financial crisis. Our GDP growth figure is far ahead of many developed economies. Another testament to how productivity under this Government is working is our annual growth figures. New Zealand’s analysed growth stands at 2.6 percent. This is the highest rate since 2007 before the domestic recession and global financial crisis. In addition our rate of inflation is the lowest in the past 12 years. 
Pragmatic steps by the National Government have ensured that interest rates are at the lowest level for the last 45 years and this results in direct savings for homeowners and new home buyers. By our estimations a household with a $200000 mortgage stands to save $200 a week. Our Government is ambitious yes but realistic in goals. Our ambition is to build a more productive and more globally competitive economy with the creation of high-paying jobs at the core of the ambition. To ensure that we walk the talk. I am pleased to share that we have created almost 57000 jobs over the past 2 years. Here I would like to mention one of my colleagues the hard-working member of Parliament for Maungakiekie Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga. He mentioned to me the other day that a new outlet of The Warehouse in his electorate has created a couple of hundred jobs there. In the next few days there will be the opening of a couple of Countdown stores on the North Shore. This will also help to create another couple of hundred jobs. 
The private sector is playing its role; the Government is playing its role. We are investing a lot of money in infrastructure which is helping in creating jobs. The National Party under the very able leadership of the Prime Minister and our Minister of Finance has facilitated this job creation by cutting company and personal tax across the board. We have reformed the Resource Management Act and are investing a lot of money into infrastructure. 
Business depends on capital. To expand the operations of course capital translates into access to liquid cash and access to raw material and resources along with a skilled workforce and infrastructure which is reliable electricity broadband transport networks and other infrastructure facilities. This is one kind of support that the National Government has provided to our businesses. Our exports have increased significantly over the last few years. Recently I was in Sri Lanka where we went to visit the Fonterra facility. They mentioned that they are importing almost $350 million worth of raw materials from New Zealand which is quite significant for our country. 
Although we on this side of the House are trying to do positive work the result is betterment for everyone. We humbly accept that some people are better off although some may struggle. However we remain optimistic that with a prudent plan we can get New Zealand to a situation where no one struggles. To address the issue of inequality we are increasing the war disablement pension and surviving spouses pension by 5 percent from 1 April 2013. Before I conclude I would like to congratulate the Minister of Veterans’ Affairs the Hon Nathan Guy on considering this. Thank you. 
The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.