Key John: Address in Reply 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Key John: Address in Reply 
[Sitting date: 21 December 2011. Volume:677;Page:36. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Mr Speaker I start firstly just by taking this opportunity also to congratulate you once again on your role of Speaker of this House. I also offer my congratulations to the Deputy Speaker Eric Roy and the Assistant Speakers Lindsay Tisch and Ross Robertson. I know that they will guide this House wisely over the course of the next 3 years and we look forward to their rulings and judgments.  
Can I take this moment to acknowledge the mover and the seconder for making two outstanding speeches. I think Alfred Ngaro’s speech as the mover was a tremendous speech and a great example of the diversity that the National Government is bringing into office. We are the party that has brought in the first Cook Islands member of Parliament the first Chinese member of Parliament the first Korean member of Parliament and the first Indian member of Parliament.  
Hon Bill English 
: That’s right. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: That is right. We are the party of ethnic diversity. Then there was Mr Goldsmith. What an outstanding speech that was. The man who did such a wonderful job of coming second! Sometimes losing is winning and what a great result that was and a great speech.  
 There are 26 members joining the House for the 50th Parliament—26 new members for the first time. If I could offer them some advice it would be simply this: for most of you you will have worked incredibly hard to get here. Make sure you enjoy your time here because in my experience far too many members of Parliament spend a long time trying to get here moan the entire time when they are here and then try to come back when they have left—one or two on occasion will make a request. I particularly acknowledge the new members on the National side: Maggie Barry who will be representing the people of North Shore and filling those big shoes that Wayne Mapp had before her; Ian McKelvie of course who takes over in Rangitikei from Simon Power; Mark Mitchell who takes over the seat of Rodney from your good self Mr Speaker and I am sure he will do his very best; Simon O’Connor in Tamaki and I pass my condolences to the Peachey family and say how much we will miss him and his remarkable contribution in this Parliament; Mike Sabin who is representing the great people of Northland and representing John Carter who these days is our representative to the good people of the Cook Islands; Scott Simpson who is in Coromandel replacing Sandra Goudie our famous “Orange Roughy”; and Jian Yang who is with us. I also take this moment to thank our support parties that formed this Government—United Future ACT and the Maori Party. We campaigned on providing strong and stable Government and I am sure we will do that.  
Finally I take this opportunity to congratulate very sincerely the new Leader of the Opposition David Shearer. It is always a difficult task being the Leader of the Opposition. I have been there I know what it is like and it is not always a lot of fun. But I have to say that I listened very carefully to that speech and there were two things that came through pretty strongly. The first thing was that the new Leader of the Opposition promised change and then he delivered a speech that Phil Goff would have been proud to have written. There was absolutely no change in that speech. I am sorry but selling the assets was the speech Phil Goff delivered and it delivered a 27 percent result for the Labour Party. My only advice when he said he is going to go up and down the country and campaign on it is that is what Phil Goff said about the tax changes. So Mr Shearer be careful when your chief of staff says: “Let’s get a bus and go up and down the country.”; just be a little bit careful. That was the first thing.  
The second thing though that came through in that speech loud and clear was something that took me 25 minutes to cotton on to what it was because it took a long time. It was slow but it was there. It was the quiet sound of David Cunliffe plotting seething away and plotting and meticulously going through the list of 22 people of which Trevor is right up the top in the “ABC” club—“Anyone But Cunliffe”. They are in that club. You see and this is the problem for the Labour Party—[ 
Interruption 
] Well they do not want to hear it but this is the problem for the Labour Party: David Cunliffe does not like David Parker. We know that. David Parker does not like Grant Robertson. Grant Robertson does not like Clayton Cosgrove. [ 
Interruption 
] Well he knows I am right. Clayton Cosgrove no longer likes the people of Waimakariri. You see he is not really fond of Andrew Little. Andrew Little does not like Shane Jones. Shane Jones does not like anybody in the Labour Party I am sorry. Phil Goff we know does not like David Cunliffe and Annette King does not like anyone whom Phil Goff does not like. So I say to myself honestly it is not hard to see why they chose someone who has spent his life in war-torn places like Somalia and Bosnia because that is the Labour Party as we know it. I have to admit that when I was watching this season’s version of Labour’s  
The X Factor  
during the campaign I thought to myself: “They don’t need David Shearer or David Cunliffe or David Parker. These people need David Copperfield. They need a magician over there to go and sort out their problems.”  
Because there was nothing new from the Leader of the Opposition let us talk about what the Government is going to do over the course of the next 3 years. You see we are going to deal with the reality of the global financial crisis— 
Grant Robertson 
: Well that’d be a start. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: —and the issues that will be presented to ourselves. Well I will tell you what the start was Mr Robertson. It was when we inherited 10 years of deficits from the Labour Government. It was when we inherited debt going to 60 percent of GDP and in 3 years we turned that round. In 3 to 4 more years we will be back in surplus. That is what will happen with this country. We will get out there and continue to create jobs as we have the 63000 new jobs we created over the last 2 years alone.  
Mr Shearer said in his speech that he is going to support good ideas. He is going to support good ideas. So is Mr Shearer going to support Resource Management Act reform? This country needs it. Is Mr Shearer going to support employment reform which this country needs? Is Mr Shearer going to support the roll-out of ultra-fast broadband? He talked about the knowledge economy. Is he going to support the $1.5 billion this Government is putting into ultra-fast broadband? If you want a knowledge economy and you want to connect with the world Mr Shearer you are going to support it—$1.5 billion. Is Mr Shearer going to support the $400 million we put in to irrigate those parts of New Zealand that can lift our economy? Is he going to support the sensible changes this Government will make to the emissions trading scheme?  
Hon Members 
: Good ideas. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Is the Labour Party—because it will support good ideas—going to support the changes to ACC and the need for competition?  
Grant Robertson 
: No no no. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: No those members are not—OK. So they want change but they do not want to support ultra-fast broadband or irrigation or Resource Management Act reform or emissions trading scheme reform or changes to ACC or more competition. No they will not do that. 
Mr Shearer said that he is going to grow the pie. OK so is he going to campaign on a capital gains tax on every single business in New Zealand every farm in New Zealand and every share in New Zealand? Do you grow the pie when you do that? Do you grow the pie when you lift the top personal tax rate and leave a yawning gap between the top rate and the trust rate? Mark my words—you can put a ring round it—those members will not be campaigning on a capital gains tax in 2014; they will not. He will roll his finance spokesman whether he wants to do it or not because that will not grow the pie and Mr Shearer knows that. When he talks about the young couples who walk into his electorate office when he talks about those people who want opportunities and jobs go and ask the 500000 businesses across New Zealand whether slapping more taxes on them will encourage them to employ people. [ 
Interruption 
] You see this is what I was looking for—those members have got more to say now than they did in David Shearer’s speech. That is OK. You see when Mr Shearer said that he was going to change I thought he was going to get up and say well done to the National Government for bringing in the 90-day probationary period and giving New Zealanders a chance.  
Hon Member 
: No surprises. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Well you see it did not surprise me but that is what change is all about.  
Let us talk for a moment about welfare reform. That will be a significant part of this Government’s agenda over the next 3 years and Paul Goldsmith got it absolutely right. Michael Joseph Savage also in 1938 said that welfare would not be an armchair ride to prosperity. Well he was right but he was wrong about one thing. It was not going to be a fraction of the New Zealand population; one in eight New Zealanders are now trapped on welfare—328000 New Zealanders of working age. 
Grant Robertson 
: It went up under you. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Well if you want to do something about it then we need to reform the system. And there will be fundamental change in the welfare system for very good reason. My view is that if you can work you should work. It is a fundamental tenet of mutual obligation—of mutual obligation. Yes it will cost money. Yes there will be an investment approach out there. It will involve more money on childcare and it will involve more money on job training but there will be a fundamental change to the way that we administer welfare in New Zealand. My view is that it will very much help those families because the way out of poverty is through work. That is the simple way forward. They may well be some of the very people who will be supported by Resource Management Act reform because businesses can start going out there and building new plants and doing new things. They will be the people supported by a tax system that is fair. They will be the people supported by a 90-day probationary period. They will be the people who will be supported by the capital investment this Government will have.  
Mr Shearer talked about science and innovation and then said he was going to go up and down the country and get rid of the plan that National has to have the mixed-ownership model. Maybe he should have just taken one moment because he also talked about education and the need to liberate our New Zealand kids. Well I agree with him about education and I agree with him about science and innovation—which is why I have given it to Mr Joyce with tertiary education and economic development—but go and have a look at what is happening to the mixed-ownership model. Under Labour there would be no money going into the advanced technological institute; there would be no new campus in Christchurch and Auckland. 
Hon David Parker 
: Oh that’s just rubbish. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: No that is absolutely right. There would be no $1 billion for next-generation schools. There would be no money going in. Under Labour we would continue to have New Zealand kids being educated in buildings that were built in 1950 and 1960. Forget about a smart board or the internet; these are schools that barely have a chalk board. The answer— 
Hon David Parker 
: You don’t need to sell assets to do that. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Well you can borrow more money Mr Parker. We had that debate in the election campaign. We had that debate about whether this country wants more debt.  
Let us go and talk a little bit about Christchurch because Christchurch is critically important. Firstly I want to acknowledge the politician of the year for his amazing work in Christchurch. Gerry Brownlee did an outstanding job with the Christchurch MPs to make a plan possible and to give hope back to the people of Christchurch. This Government for every day it is in office will remain committed to the people of Christchurch and to making sure we rebuild their city. There will be a lot of work to be done and that commitment will mean that we have to be totally determined and eliminate any roadblocks that are there. I simply say this to the people of Christchurch in all seriousness and that is that this Government will make sure those roadblocks are eliminated. If those roadblocks remain we will get rid of them because we have to get out there; we have to get out there and rebuild Christchurch.  
A lot of different things have occurred in Christchurch. The demolition work has begun: 898 of the 1297 buildings set for demolition in Christchurch have been demolished. More than 92 percent of all homeowners in the residential red zone have returned their consent forms to the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority and over 48 percent of those in homes in the red zone have indicated they will be formally accepting either of the offers from the Government. But this is a Government that has stepped up for the people of Christchurch. This is a Government that has stood behind the people of Christchurch. This is a Government that on the campaign trail said we will build a 17000-seat temporary stadium for the Crusaders. And Trevor Mallard said no. Trevor Mallard said no to the home of the Crusaders in the place where the test matches— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: No I want a decent one! 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Oh well. He wants a decent one. He said no. So next year in March when the Crusaders run out and play their games in front of the Canterbury crowds remember that Trevor Mallard said no. Well our Government said yes.  
There will be a huge amount of work in terms of training and this Government has committed tens of millions of dollars to training places to make sure that we bring in the right skills that we give young New Zealanders the opportunities and that we encourage people to take up those opportunities so that they can be part of the Christchurch rebuild. We will where required use immigration to fill the gaps but we hope that will be used sparingly because we hope we can get out there and continue to train New Zealanders.  
Next year the Government will embark on the mixed-ownership model and we will start with Mighty River Power. We will start with Mighty River Power. You see it is an interesting thing is it not: the entire Labour campaign was to not sell assets and Labour went well below the 51 percent we want to keep as a result of that campaign; they were nearly half of 51 percent. What the New Zealand public said is we want you to keep 51 percent but we want you to put that money in a fund and we want you to get out there and invest. 
Hon Member 
: A majority voted against it. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: They did; through their actions they did. This is what I say to New Zealanders. We can go out there and will go out there and invest in the future fund. We are going to put a billion dollars into next-generation schools. We are going to put more money into science and technology. We may well put a considerable amount of more money into health. We are going to put more money into a number of other areas like irrigation. What we are going to do is grow the balance sheet of New Zealand. The second thing I say to New Zealanders is we are going to give you an opportunity to invest in a decent product and a decent share so that your only investment opportunities are not failed finance companies. 
Lastly I say this: those companies will perform better. They will have better guidance and a better overall view of their overall assets. Companies like Mighty River Power will expand globally. They have that world-class innovation and technology that David Shearer is theoretically thinking about. Let us let them go and take that to the world. We know that this is a good model because not one political party—and Phil Goff never answered the question and David Cunliffe never answered it on the entire campaign trail—out there was saying it was going to buy back the bit of Air New Zealand we did not own. The model worked; the model worked. So we will be pursuing our agenda of the mixed-ownership model but we will with the help of United Future and others be legislating for 51 percent as an absolute minimum that the Crown will own and we will be legislating for a 10 percent cap.  
In the area of education there is a big difference between us and Labour. We do stuff and Labour just lets the problems pile up. You see if you cannot read and write or do maths you actually cannot carry out a job in the smart economy that David Shearer wants. Yet that Labour Government sat back for 9 years and did not care about the 20 percent of New Zealanders who left school hopelessly ill-equipped. Well the Minister of Education will be following national standards and I hope that Mr Shearer will take a moment as the new leader of Labour supporting change and say to those teacher unions: “Actually what is more important is the kids rather than the unions.” That is change they can write about. If Labour members want to go out there and get change they can write about go out there and support national standards. Go out there and tell the parents of New Zealand you care about how those kids are performing you care about how those schools are performing you care about whether you know if the kids are succeeding or not and you will do something about it. If you believe in change and if you believe in things you are going to support you will be out there doing that.  
It is not just national standards; it is also young kids who are going to early childhood education facilities. We are committed by 2015 to see 98 percent of young New Zealanders in that position. We will be rolling out a charter school or schools and they will succeed and they will provide opportunities. They are a good idea and if Mr Shearer believes in change maybe he can come with me as he supports charter schools. If he supports change if he supports opportunities for poor kids in parts of New Zealand let us go together with a big New Zealand corporation let us put in half a million bucks let us let them hire the best principals around the country they can hire the best teachers around the country and let us see whether those kids perform. Because I tell you what makes a difference: the best principals and the best teachers in front of those kids are the things that are going to make a difference. If we want to make a difference to those kids in underperforming areas let us give them the best teachers and the best principals. But I bet you this: David Shearer will not come out and support that change. Labour’s change is a cosmetic change it is veneer-thin. When you cut below the surface it is just Phil Goff David Cunliffe and David Parker writing the same old speech.  
Let me just finish with these comments. The year 2011 has been a pretty challenging year for New Zealand. I know that this House would want to extend— 
Grant Robertson 
: Go back to the jokes. They were better. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Well the joke is the Labour Party and the way that you were doing things but we will leave that to you. The year 2011 has been very challenging for New Zealand. What will happen in 2012 is that all of us will reflect on the challenges that a lot of families in New Zealand have faced. They have faced some significant challenges but what we can say is we are all very proud of the way that our fellow New Zealanders have responded to those challenges. Whether it was the Christchurch earthquakes whether it was other situations like the  
Rena 
 New Zealanders across the country have come out and supported their communities supported one another and I for one am very proud of the way New Zealanders have extended their hand of friendship or whatever it may have been or required to make New Zealand a better place. We have a huge number of challenges in front of us in 2012 but this Government is committed to making those changes to making New Zealand a stronger country to ensuring that we as a nation do better and that we are not only ambitious but successful. If the Labour Party wants to work with us on those changes on the things that really make a difference then it is going to be a very interesting 2012 but I suspect from the speech from Mr Shearer there will not be a lot of support coming for the very good ideas that are coming out of the National Government.