Robertson Grant: New Zealand Productivity Commission Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Robertson Grant: New Zealand Productivity Commission Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 09 December 2010. Volume:669;Page:16377. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
GRANT ROBERTSON (Labour—Wellington Central) 
: 
 It is an honour to be here in front of such an appreciative audience tonight. It is quite interesting from this side of the House to reflect upon which National members are here tonight. I know that I cannot reflect upon who is not here tonight but it is quite interesting to reflect upon who is here tonight and where they might fit in certain different factions within that party. We also have those sitting on the front bench which is perhaps a window to the future of the National Government. Sandra Goudie finally has been recognised and promoted to the front bench—it has finally happened. At the other end of the front bench we have Tau Henare. Finally his merit and effort have been recognised once more. He is in Judith Collin’s seat on the front bench. He is replicating Judith’s hard-hitting fighting style. No he is actually dead—oh no he is alive. There he is he has come back. 
With regard to the Productivity Commission I must say what a productive Opposition we are tonight. If we look at Labour’s input on this side versus our output we see that we are a very productive Opposition. I am not sure about the Government members over there though; there are a lot of people there. I understand that for those members of the Government who have to stay in Wellington tonight and are not able to get home there is a party at Chris Finlayson’s house. A party is happening at Chris Finlayson’s house tonight as it is every night. That is what is happening tonight. 
I am very pleased to speak on the New Zealand Productivity Commission Bill— 
Hon Tau Henare 
: We’ve got families to go home to. 
GRANT ROBERTSON 
: So have I I say to Mr Henare—so have I. I tell Mr Henare that I can speak very slowly for a very long time. This bill is excellent legislation. On this side of the House we are very proud to support it. I give credit in particular to the Ministers involved Rodney Hide and Bill English and to my colleague Lianne Dalziel the chair of the Commerce Committee. They have done an excellent job in bringing this bill before the House. 
There is much in this bill that I would like to see changed. But in principle the idea that we might have a Productivity Commission in New Zealand is a very good one because productivity challenges have bedevilled this country for a very long time. Despite setting up a Productivity Commission—I ask Mr Henare whether there is any gin in the glass he has just given me; I also ask whether those members over there have blankets—there is still no plan for productivity though is there? There is still no plan for productivity from this Government. There is still no plan to increase skills. There is still no plan to invest in research. 
The Government has managed to get the commission up and running but there is nothing for the commission to do is there if it is about the agenda from that side of the House. Members on this side of the House proposed amendments tonight that would have improved this commission. They would have put a social partnership model in the bill. That would have had Business New Zealand and the Council of Trade Unions at the table but those amendments were rejected tonight by the National Government. The amendments were rejected because those members are not here for a social partnership. They are not here to build the productive economy with those people at the table. It is the big end of town or no one if it is from that side of the House. 
This Productivity Commission deserves a durable model. It deserves to have a model a mandate and terms of reference that will survive the inevitable end of this Government and the arrival of a Labour Government. That is what this Productivity Commission should look like. At the moment it lacks some key elements. It lacks an ability for social partners to be at the table. It lacks the broad mandate it needs to allow it to undertake practical productive projects. 
Hon Hekia Parata 
: We’re talking about the bill now. 
GRANT ROBERTSON 
: I am talking about the bill I say to Ms Parata. That is right I can do this all night. The Productivity Commission is indeed a great idea but it lacks the mandate and the terms of reference that would allow it to undertake practical projects in the productivity area. 
The Productivity Commission also lacks the mandate to spread out to look at a range of issues beyond those that members on that side of the House might want it to look at at the moment. I share the concern that David Clendon raised about the lack of a focus on environmental sustainability. 
Chester Borrows 
: You don’t sound concerned. 
GRANT ROBERTSON 
: The sow crate is outside I say to Chester. It is OK; the member can go out there now. We on this side of the House also have the concern that the Productivity Commission needs to be able to look at issues of environmental sustainability. The Australian Productivity Commission is the model and that is what it is able to do. It has produced a series of independent reports. That is exactly what the New Zealand body should be able to do. 
Labour has concerns about the membership of the commission. We have concerns about that because as Lianne Dalziel has pointed out the process for the appointment of the chair has not been a good one. Murray Sherwin is a very competent public servant but he is not the person who will be ambitious for New Zealand—he will not be the person to drive the economy forward and close the wage gap with Australia. The National Government needed to be far more inventive than that. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Who is? Andrew Little? 
GRANT ROBERTSON 
: Well it will not be Tau Henare. One thing I can say is that it will not be Tau Henare. This commission needs people on it who are reflective of New Zealand and New Zealanders beyond the big end of town bringing the social partners to the table. That is what will make this Productivity Commission work. 
Members on this side of the House can support the bill and say that yes this is a good idea. This is something that Rodney Hide and Lianne Dalziel have worked on extensively together; this is something that we can all believe will do good things for us. But to be a durable model—to be something that will survive changes of Government—it needs a broader mandate. It needs to be an inclusive commission and we will be watching very closely to make sure that happens. 
In conclusion I say that it has been a rare pleasure to be greeted by the National caucus in such great numbers tonight. Those members’ enthusiasm for the Productivity Commission— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Spirited. 
GRANT ROBERTSON 
: —that is right—knows no bounds whatsoever. Even Paul Quinn has woken up. This has been a fine occasion a fine evening and as the clock ticks past 9 o’clock Labour has achieved its goal.