Joyce Steven: Appropriation (2009/10 Supplementary Estimates) Bill Imprest Supply (First for 2010/11) Bill — Second Readings 
Joyce Steven: Appropriation (2009/10 Supplementary Estimates) Bill Imprest Supply (First for 2010/11) Bill — Second Readings 
[Volume:664;Page:11917] 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister of Transport) 
: 
 Firstly in this debate on the Appropriation (2009/10 Supplementary Estimates) Bill and the Imprest Supply (First for 2010/11) Bill I will say how proud I am to have the opportunity to support Bill English and John Key with this Budget. It really is a fantastic Budget. It puts economic growth front and centre stage which is so crucial in this economy and in this country. I think it is so exciting that we finally have a country again where we are talking about how we grow the cake. All the debates now are about how we grow the cake but previously it was all about how we distribute the cake and who was getting their share. At last over the last year and a half we have been talking about how to grow it. 
The whole public debate has moved and I think that is exciting for this country. A lot of credit goes to Bill English and his Budget and not just Budget 2010 but also Budget 2009. The reason that the Budget puts economic growth front and centre stage is firstly that it tilts the economy towards savings investments and exports. We are already seeing that in terms of the renewed emphasis on our exports sector and the exciting stuff that we are getting which is partially due to world events and partially due no doubt to the Government’s actions. Secondly our major tax reform package is crucially important to helping families get ahead. It understands what my colleague Minister Collins said which is that it is all about the taxpayers and giving them the right incentives to do more to get ahead. This tax reform package does that. It means that after 1 October this year people earning the average wage will face a top marginal tax rate of 17.5 percent. That is exciting stuff and it means that these people can at last say that if they work a bit harder and if they do some overtime they can get ahead under their own steam. That is crucially important. People will really notice the effect that will have. Frankly the consumer confidence figures that we are seeing after the Budget was announced already reflect that. These people have enthusiasm for the future. 
The next thing that is crucially important is the improved fiscal outlook. That is very very important because effectively keeping the fiscal books in a better shape reduces interest rates across the cycle will keep the exchange rate under control and means that we are not borrowing against future generations as much. We are getting back into surplus as soon as we possibly can—a couple of years earlier than we were going to. It is all about the control of expenditure. Ultimately it is about living with this $1.1 billion cap in new spending. We do not have to go far to work out how hard that can be for some people because most of the solutions the Opposition raises involve more spending. The trouble with more spending is that it keeps sucking the life out of the real economy of this country and we cannot afford to do that. That is the fourth reason why this is a great Budget for economic growth. 
It is right across the board. I will focus briefly on the infrastructure area. I have a passing interest in it particularly the roading area. We have a big investment going in particular the seven roads of national significance. They are very important roads for this country. They are the most clogged of our rural highways generally and a couple of urban ones as well and we are seeing real progress. If we go around our biggest cities these days people are saying that the transport stuff is really starting to work faster. The commitment that the Government has made has really accelerated that. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: Name one new project. 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: Well we could name a few for Darren Hughes. There is Victoria Park. If he has not been there it is a big— 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: That started under us. 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: No way sunshine. The Victoria Park contract was let under this Government. 
Members will find that things move much faster too. People are saying that the Mangere Bridge duplication is moving much much faster under the new Government. It is due to finish 6 months earlier that it was—in early August. Would that have happened under the Labour Party? Absolutely not on your nelly. There is no doubt about that. It is happening much much faster. There was the old “TG”—there is more to say on that one soon. 
Then there is the rail system. We had to rejig the rail system because Labour had committed firstly to buy it at a ridiculous sum of money and secondly to spend whatever it took. In fact I think it still wants us to spend more money on the rail. We have invested sensibly in a turn-round plan which is $750 million over 3 years to make sure that rail gets moving but in a responsible and commercial way that does not crowd out the private investment in the other modes. That is crucially important. 
Of course there is the investment in ultra-fast broadband and in rural broadband. Most recently there have been about 30-odd expressions of interest for the Rural Broadband Initiative. There is a lot of excitement in rural areas about that programme which is a big programme of $300 million. I look across the benches and I see the eminent Leader of the House who is taking us through the electricity transmission investments which are massive for New Zealand. The bit that still amazes me whenever we talk in Cabinet about Transpower is that it did not actually get done under the previous Government. There were these massive and important investments— 
Chris Tremain 
: What were you doing? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: What were those members doing for that entire time? I know what they were doing: they were rearranging the governance model. That was all they were doing. Now Transpower is investing massive amounts of money in New Zealand’s electricity grid. All this stuff helps. It is very exciting to see that happening. 
We have a real opportunity and I hope that one day the Opposition will grasp it. Members opposite are being a little bit negative which is a bit of a surprise! I hope that they grasp this fantastic opportunity. New Zealand has a real opportunity to stand out from the crowd over the next few years. We are in the situation where we do not have as much debt as some other countries do and we have not had the problems with the banks that some countries have had. As a result New Zealand does not face some of the issues that the rest of the world is facing. We are also in a lucky part of the world in terms of our involvement with the People’s Republic of China. It is making massive investments which is making an improvement in our trade figures. All these things are very important but we also have a Government that is focused on economic growth. 
If we take those three things together—the international outlook in our part of the world the financial situation and the fact that we have not had to bail out our banks and the Government’s actions in terms of promoting economic growth—it is an exciting time for this country. All across the country we are starting to hear some great stories whether it is Fonterra and the investments it is making Zespri and what it is talking about doing over the next few years or export education. I was lucky enough to be in Shanghai last week. The Chinese are abuzz with the export education opportunities in this country. I think it is very exciting. 
We need a good strong steady hand on the tiller and somebody who understands the financial need in this market and Bill English is doing that fantastically. We are being led by a Prime Minister who understands the importance of growth and of giving people the opportunity to do business. We are getting the opportunity to secure that brighter future and we will look back in a few years’ time to Budget 2010 and say that it was the turning point.