Foster-Bell Paul: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFoster-Bell Paul: General Debate[Sitting date: 04 May 2016. Volume:713;Page:10764. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]PAUL FOSTER-BELL (National): In this House we often commemorate momentous events and occasions and I just want to place on record my regards to you on this Star Wars Day—May the Fourth be with you Mr Speaker. We have emanating from the Labour Opposition which is the “evil empire” of New Zealand politics led by the archetypal “evil emperor” himself the “Palpatine” of New Zealand—Andrew Little—a veritable stream of appalling policies coming out of its sarlacc pit of bad policy.We have heard those members’ answers to the problems faced by the New Zealand economy. Their answers are simply appalling—a universal basic income putting everyone over the age of 18 on the dole at a cost of probably billions of dollars more than we would actually raise in taxation revenue each year. That is not a policy to make New Zealanders wealthier and better off. Rental warrants of fitness which are well intentioned but in real terms put up the cost of rental housing for those at the very poorest end of the spectrum—the most vulnerable New Zealanders—are not an answer to the housing crisis in this country. Another policy is free tertiary education—well “free” tertiary education—delivered many years hence and of course nothing is life is free. You have to significantly raise taxation to give away a service like that—at no cost to the accountants and lawyers of the future but at considerable cost to the plumbers and builders and roofers and painters out there. These are not policies that will make New Zealand an economically stronger country.I have been looking at recent results in the household labour force survey and I thought it was interesting to note having just returned last week from the United Kingdom where under the Conservative Government the economy is actually performing better than the European average that New Zealand is actually outshining the UK Australia and the United States—some of the countries we compare ourselves to. We have 65 percent participation in the workforce whereas in the UK the US and Australia only 60 percent of the population is working. We can compare this with 52 percent the European Union average which shows that the policies adopted by this Government are having a very positive and practical effect on the lives of all New Zealanders.What does this mean in real terms? It means that our Minister of Finance one of the Jedi knights of the front bench of the National Government has been able to deliver a Budget increase to Pharmac’s budget something that will have very real positive impacts for the people of Wellington Central the constituency that I am very pleased to live in and to work on behalf of in Parliament.What will this get James in Karori? James who is suffering from advanced melanoma will have access now to Nivolumab a crucial melanoma medication. Aroha in Kelburn will be able to access Harvoni and the Viekira Pak which are treatments for hepatitis C infection. They are highly efficacious. We heard today from the Minister of Health that they are 90 percent efficacious treatments for hepatitis C. Ling in Te Aro will have access to Azithromycin which is for bronchiectasis in children. That is the widening of the bronchial tubes leading to increased risk of infection. Maria in Brooklyn who has a brain tumour has access to Temozolomide. I am sorry for my pronunciation of these Latinate words; I wish the pharmacy companies would come up with simpler terms. Dee in Mount Cook will get Rituximab for nephrotic syndrome which is kidney disease.So there will be very real benefits to this economy which this Government—Bill English and the Prime Minister in particular—has created policies to support and underpin. We have got a strong economy here in Wellington and we can look at small companies. I recently visited a company an entrepreneurial start-up Swibo which makes balance-board games. You fit a mobile phone a smartphone into a balance board and it creates a video game that also helps with rehabilitation from stroke patients through to those who suffer from sporting injuries. These are the sorts of innovative creative industries that underpin our local economy which this Government is working very hard to back and which are creating jobs and employment which in turn leads to better lives for all New Zealanders. For that reason I am very proud to be part of this Government.