Robertson H V Ross: Budget Debate 
Robertson H V Ross: Budget Debate 
[Volume:608;Page:6011] 
H V ROSS ROBERTSON (NZ Labour—Manukau East) 
: 
 I offer warm Pacific and Asian greetings from my electorate of Manukau East which is an electorate that has 165 different ethnic groups residing within it making for a rich tapestry of cultural vitality energy and excitement. It is an area that I am proud pleased and glad to represent—whether it be Papatoetoe Otara East Tamaki or Howick. Manukau is often seen as the face of the future which was a designation given to it by the former Governor-General Sir Paul Reeves. 
Unaccustomed as I am as Assistant Speaker to taking a call in the debate—because I believe in the convention of non-partisanship—it has become necessary today for me to vacate the Chair. It is therefore a pleasure to speak in support of our Government’s Budget. As an electorate member of Parliament firstly for Papatoetoe for 9 years and now in my third term for Manukau East—which includes Papatoetoe—I have witnessed and been part of many Budgets in this House. Some have been good and others not so good but then that is the nature of politics: what goes round comes round. 
Rodney Hide 
: What was the best one? 
H V ROSS ROBERTSON 
: I tell Mr Hide that I would not like to say because it might backfire. 
My interest and training has always been in the commerce area particularly in productivity human resource management and small business and the Government has done well in those areas by implementing a growth and innovation framework for business which is an area that can be a legacy for this nation and for this Government. That is the way forward in terms of creating an innovative dynamic and growing economy which has been inspired by the leadership given to the business area by the Government but I want to talk about that a little bit later. 
In my electorate my interests have been education health and housing. Why? Because Manukau East is a microcosm of New Zealand today and into the future. In that electorate we have the most challenging areas and the most successful areas. We range from decile 1 schools to decile 10 from the low-paid to the millionaire. It is an area that truly is a microcosm of New Zealand. 
The Government is keeping its word and I want to mention four particular areas in which it has done so. Firstly I will discuss employment. There are now more New Zealanders in work than ever before. There has been an increase of more than 132000 since December 1969. 
Rodney Hide 
: Does the member count himself? 
H V ROSS ROBERTSON 
: I ask Mr Hide to please not interrupt; a payback time will come when I am up the top there. When we have people in work it provides them with security a sense of well-being and the opportunities to go forward. 
The second very important area in which the Government has kept its word is in reducing the cost of primary health-care through the 34 primary health organisations that have been established throughout the country. My colleagues who represent the area of south Auckland the honourable Mark Gosche the Hon Taito Phillip Field and the Hon George Hawkins well know the problems that we face. 
The third area is education. The Gateway programme for secondary schools and industry will benefit work-based learning. In the Manukau East area we have Otahuhu College in which Mark Gosche has been working; Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate Senior School with principal Robin Staples; Tangaroa College with Mike Leach where I have been working; and new ones this year that have come on board—James Cook High School in Manurewa Mangere College and Papatoetoe High School where the principal Peter Gall has been doing outstanding work. 
The fourth area is Modern Apprenticeships. There were more than 5000 as at 31 March this year and the scheme is on track to reach the target of 6000 by December 2003. 
The Government has kept its word in those four areas. It has made the commitments it has made the promises and it has delivered. As a member of this Government I am pleased and glad that we have been able to do that. 
I turn now to implementing the growth and innovation framework. I very strongly believe that that is an area where we can really do something in this country. We live in a globalised world. We need to be good at what we do we need to niche market and this programme put in place by the Government can certainly lead us in that direction. The initiatives include $140 million over 4 years for research science and technology which are absolutely vital—any good business person will say that. There is $73 million over 4 years to promote overseas trade—again another absolutely essential ingredient for us to remain internationally competitive. There is $19 million for the pre-seed accelerator fund which is for projects that have moved beyond eligibility for grant-funded research but which are not yet at the stage where they might attract venture capital or other forms of private sector financing. It is a step up and we are providing that. 
There is also $6.4 million to increase the highly successful business incubator programme. We say to the House that those incubators are really good. The Icehouse incubator in Auckland has been really successful. I graduated in business studies last week from Massey University and the Icehouse was one of the incubators that I researched for my graduation. It really brought home to me just how much work goes into the incubation system and into the funding that the Government has provided in order to provide a way forward and a pathway for our young innovative creative entrepreneurs who want to go somewhere. That is a very important programme. 
There is $110 million over 4 years to respond to the recommendations of the task force on biotechnology design screen production and information and communication technology which are areas where the Hon Steve Maharey has been most instrumental. 
There is $1.84 million in 2003-04 and $960000 in each subsequent year to support the small and medium-sized business sector. That is my favourite—I love the small-business area. It is the engine room of growth often referred to as the locomotive. That is where employment can be created and it is where people do so much—often on the smell of an oily rag. Everything goes into the business—even the kitchen sink—but small-business people are toilers and battlers and in some cases I do not know how they survive. It is because of the entrepreneurial spirit that they have that they work and continue to do so. Under this Budget those people have something to look forward to. 
Another initiative is the $200000 a year for a 2-year pilot programme to establish an employment relations and occupational safety and health advisory service for small and medium-sized enterprises and $9 million over 4 years for a mediation service. Human resource management is absolutely crucial in the development of intellectual capital within our small-business sector and we need to ensure that management has that expertise in order to bring out the best in its employees. There is $9.825 million over 4 years to improve the calibre of senior management in the State sector. If the State sector runs harmoniously and if we have professional well-trained management it makes the job of being the Government so much easier. It is important that we continue to improve the calibre of senior management because there is always room for improvement. One of the things that happens with productivity is that there is always a better way and it is the same with management. We need and should continue to upgrade and upskill ourselves; and that has to be a good programme both for the Government and for senior management. 
An additional $1.504 million has been allocated for the Pacific Business Trust. Representing the area of Otara which is one of the most challenging I never cease to be amazed at how versatile some of our Pacific Island families are. I have to go to the Otara market every Saturday. I usually sell raffle tickets to raise funds but in doing that I see the vitality of that market which was initially organised by Pacific Island people. Originally it was all Pacific Island people but now we have a lot of Asian and other nationalities competing there. They all want to work together and the Pacific Business Trust is a way of helping more people into business. I commend that. 
There is $15 million over 3 years to promote New Zealand tourism in the USA which is another key growth industry. 
There are so many things that I could go on about especially in the health and education areas but I realise that my time has come. I want to thank the House for the opportunity to speak.