Muller ToddTODD MULLER (National—Bay of Plenty): It is great to be I think the last speaker on the Appropriation (2017/18 Estimates) Bill this evening. I have had the great privilege to sit and listen over the last little while to a couple of parliamentary colleagues who have spoken before me: Richard Prosser whose stream of consciousness was discernible only to himself but it was entertaining to see him have a go at it anyway; and of course my colleague Andrew Bayly—what a vociferous promotion of the Budget that was. It reminds me actually that—I have to detour if you do not mind—last week I was involved in a silent leadership challenge in Tauranga. You over on the other side will enjoy this. It was a silent leadership challenge where we had to sit in Tauranga with earmuffs on—this actually had a serious context—to understand what it would be like if we were hearing impaired. I had the pleasure"—inverted commas—to be sitting opposite Simon Bridges while he was talking to me with his earmuffs on and of course I was talking to him and we were struggling to hear each other. But I was thinking while you were speaking Mr Bayly that you would have had no problem being discerned by anyone wearing those earmuffs through that entire event.As for Dr David Clark he has the audacity to stand up here and lecture this side of the House around our investment in health which has gone from $11 billion to just $16 billion and to wave his finger at us and say "Only the Labour Party knows how to deliver in the health sector." when for 9 years of that Government from 1999 to 2008 the health expenditure went up 50 percent but hip and knee and elective surgeries stayed flat. They stayed marginally flat. It was absolutely extraordinary that he could stand here and say that this Government's focus on delivering improved productivity and outcomes from the health dollar should be lamented and that his party's record which was appalling and focused just simply on the process and the bureaucratisation of the health sector should be lauded. It was a complete reflection of how out of touch Dr Clark is in respect of the health sector. What we are doing is investing in ensuring that there is actually more delivered for that public investment.Part of the reason I stood 3 years ago to be part of the John Key—now Bill English—Government was to be able to one day add my voice to a Budget like this for it speaks to the core of the National Party that we could come in here in 2008 with an economy that was an absolute cot-case. Every single time the Labour Party has come anywhere near managing the Treasury benches we have ended up coming in after it has been involved with the place in a mess. It cannot help itself. It is tax and spend and tax and spend because that is the philosophy that underpins the Labour Party. There were 11 percent interest rates—do we remember that New Zealand? That was when the Labour Party was last in office. There was 5 percent inflation—do we remember that New Zealand? That was the last time it was in office. It was a disgrace.Hon Damien O'Connor: There's a tired Tory over there.TODD MULLER: And for the 4 years prior to 2008—and I hear Damien O'Connor who was involved in the rural sector at the time—the country was in a recession of the tradable sector. The only sector that was growing was the Government sector the public sector because that is the philosophy of the Labour Party: you keep the wheels moving by spending money in the public sector. It does not matter what you do with it it does not matter if you make any effect on New Zealanders' lives it does not matter if you do not deliver as long as you can stand up to your group and say "Look we're spending more money." because in their world that is the definition of success.But in our world as this Budget shows the definition of success is being able to retire debt and being able to build an economy that is actually delivering surpluses that is able to deliver over 10000 jobs a month to New Zealand—10000 jobs a month. These jobs are New Zealanders; they are families; they are people who are able to get an opportunity to contribute and deliver for themselves and their family. Not only can we have an economy in which now as we look forward over the 3 or 4 years we have surpluses—which we have not dreamt of as a country for over 20 years—in this collective effort of this Government in this country we can now do that and we have choices. We can use those surpluses to invest in the areas of the most need but in a way that actually delivers.So last year we could stand in front of this House and this country and say: "For the first time in 40 years we are going to lift the benefits for working families." This time we stand in this House and this country and say: "We will through the Family Incomes Package lift the incomes for New Zealanders on an average of $26 a week." In my town of Tauranga I can talk and have been able to talk to families who will have—if this Government gets returned—the opportunity to have real significant increases in their take-home salary in terms of an adjustment to Working for Families and to an adjustment of the accommodation supplement. This I accept needed to happen but we had the choice to make it happen because we have an economy that is growing and an economy that is strong. It is great to be able to take that message strongly to the people of Tauranga.The other area that I have felt very proud to be able to support in this Budget is our investment in infrastructure particularly schools. My colleague Andrew Bayly talked about the schools investment in his electorate. I too can stand up in front of my community and talk about the new school that is going to be built in Pyes Pā West.Dr David Clark: It's a formula. There's a formula.TODD MULLER: That I could talk to. We get the "Oh it's a formula. It's a formula." but in our community it is real. It is actually something that is going to make a difference for people's lives and families because in Pyes Pā there is a school opening in 2 years. This Government's management of property and investment—Hon Tim Macindoe: It's been outstanding.TODD MULLER: —and of course my great friend and colleague Tim Macindoe is now a key part of that decision making and focus—is ensuring that I can stand up and say: "Pyes Pā West you're getting a school. Papamoa you're getting a school." And the various schools of Golden Sands and Papamoa College and Ōropi and Maungatapu and on I go—they are getting the impact in terms of new school buildings. I am very very pleased to be able to talk to that record which is inherent here and explicit—more than inherent—in this Budget.The other area that I would like to touch on is the infrastructure that is of course going to give support across the country—an eye-watering commitment of $35 billion. They do not want to talk about that because in relative terms this sort of investment dwarfs Think Big in a relative context if you look at the scale of the country back then versus where we are today and the size of this infrastructure investment that we have in front of us over the next 4 years.In my community an example of that is the housing investment fund that we talked to 2 weeks ago. This Government is intending to give an interest-free loan of $230 million to the Tauranga City Council so that it can build the waste-water facilities required to facilitate the growth in Ōmokoroa Tauriko and particularly Papamoa. In my electorate there is an expectation now of 4700 properties going to be able to be built in the short term because of this innovative approach of using the Government's balance sheet to be able to support Tauranga City Council in its investment plan. It will be a huge material difference for the people of my community.Finally an area that I am particularly—I guess personally—interested in is the investment that we are putting into trade to help facilitate the continuing opening of markets and the ease of trading across markets for New Zealand exporters and particularly Bay of Plenty exporters. There is $90 million signalled over the next 4 years to be able to open two embassies which are critical in Dublin and Sri Lanka. I know from experience of being engaged in business in Sri Lanka that that is going to be huge not only for Fonterra but for other businesses that are working in that area.There is also the investment in technical capability in the Ministry for Primary Industries and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to be able to be in markets and to be able to work with our small medium and large exporters to reduce the technical barriers to trade. This is because when you boil down the rhetoric to be able to focus on actual delivery of making a difference for people in the market having people who understand the technical issues at a very deep level and who can argue and debate them to get the change required to support small businesses to ensure that their products and services can get into markets—that makes a real difference. We are putting real money behind it and people with real skills to be able to ensure that we constantly push on our trade and economic opportunities.It is a great privilege for me to conclude this debate. I am sure that New Zealanders at home will have reflected and will reflect on the extraordinary effort that this Government can put in front of them in terms of surpluses fantastic economic stewardship significant jobs that are being created every month and on the basis of those surpluses investment in areas with prudent focus on outcomes for real New Zealanders. I am proud to support it."