Anderton Jim: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Anderton Jim: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:661;Page:9494] 
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Leader—Progressive) 
: 
 The question for the Government to answer is this: where in this appropriation has it made decisions that will achieve a step change in this country’s economic performance? The answer is: nowhere. There are two hugely contrasting approaches to the New Zealand economy in this House. Both sides know that our economy has to do much better. Over on that side of the House the Government’s entire programme for transforming New Zealand is to increase GST drop the top tax rate for the most affluent New Zealanders and—oh yes—build a cycleway. That is it—that is the Government’s one shot. On this side of the House we have a long list of ideas to foster innovation create jobs and increase incomes: research and development investment in science and skills and partnerships with the sectors the businesses the institutions and the people who can bring great New Zealand ideas to market. National says it supports them but this appropriation tells a different story. 
Where is the research and development investment here? The Government cut $700 million from the New Zealand Fast Forward Fund. That is a total cut of $2 billion in New Zealand innovation made up of $700 million from the Government matched dollar for dollar by industry and interest earned over 10 years—$2 billion. The Government abolished that and replaced it with a primary partnership which has so far completely failed. Eighteen months have been wasted. Not a single project has been funded and not one cent has been invested. Those are months we will never get back. 
I thought that when the Government axed the Fast Forward Fund it was coasting in neutral but it is much worse than that. It is actually going backwards. It is overseeing the axing of 40 jobs in AgResearch. Fifty jobs have already been lost in biosecurity. How will that help innovation and science in the most productive and innovative part of our economy? It will reduce growth further. Our future prosperity and jobs depend on science and innovation and the sector where innovation and science make the most difference in New Zealand is the primary industry sector. It makes no sense to hack off the jobs of 40 scientists. What does the Prime Minister say about that? He says that the Government is “not inclined to step in to save the jobs.” He is relaxed about it. The Prime Minister calls it “a necessary adjustment to deal with the structure of AgResearch as it currently finds itself” because it has “too much capacity in certain areas”. That is nothing less than double-speak. In the 1980s we heard quotes like: “We have rising unemployment around a falling trend.” or when we closed post offices and post banks it became not closure but “transferring their resources” and we are getting the same kind of double-speak now. 
I will tell members why AgResearch has too much capacity. It was meant to be working in partnership on research projects that would have been funded by the New Zealand Fast Forward Fund. The Government has chopped science funding and now of course we are losing scientists. The farmers themselves are not inclined to stump up for research in areas like wool because they know the Government has sawn them off. They are not going out there alone when the rug is being pulled out from under them. 
So the Prime Minister says AgResearch has “too much capacity”. That can only be possible if the Government thinks that too much science is already being done in New Zealand. What has this Government got against science anyway? It seems to be on a crusade to smash every limb of science research and innovation in New Zealand. The very first policy that the Government brought to this House after the last election was to impose the largest increase in company tax in New Zealand’s history. It targeted very carefully our most innovative companies. By removing research and development tax credits $700 million was gone over just 3 years for that purpose. Is it any wonder then that we are lagging behind in ways that we never envisaged? What was supposed to happen was that we were to come out of this recession—which of course has been worldwide—with our wheels running really fast. 
I look through this appropriation to try to find the pro-science policies that have replaced the research and development tax credits. Where are they? Tragically they do not exist. John Key still says we will catch up with Australia. Yeah right! We will catch up with them all right. I am waiting for the next speaker to make my day. This is a disaster.