Sabin Mike: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sabin Mike: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 22 August 2012. Volume:683;Page:4644. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
MIKE SABIN (National—Northland) 
: 
 While on the subject of Afghanistan can I just please pass my sincere condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers and thank them for the commitment they have made to this country and indeed to world peace and the efforts on the global stage. 
What is it that sets this National Party apart from those in “Labour Land” and from across there in the watermelon patch? Well I can tell you that the main thing is that we are just getting on with the job responsibly managing the Government’s finances and working to our plan to grow the economy. What does that require? It requires discipline and it requires focus on the things that matter. That is about making a difference— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Who wrote this rubbish? 
MIKE SABIN 
: I wrote it Mr Mallard. I wrote it. I can give you a copy if you would like. That requires staying on task for what matters and knowing what we stand for. Whereas in “Labour Land” of course those members do not know what they stand for they do not even know who their leader is or who they want it to be for that matter. They do not have any discipline unless you count Mr Shearer’s conversation with the media the other day that he would tell members like that that he should keep his trap shut and keep it behind closed doors—unless you call that discipline. They do not have a plan other than to oppose. That is all they can do and that is all they want to do. They do not want jobs they do not want the economy to grow because they want to be able to turn round and say to New Zealand: “Please elect us because there hasn’t been any growth in the economy and there are no jobs.” Well New Zealanders have woken up to that Mr Mallard. They have woken up to your self-serving agenda and that is why you are sitting on that side of the House. 
There is one thing that they will do though— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! The Speaker does not have a self-serving agenda. 
MIKE SABIN 
: Sorry Mr Speaker I am sure you do not. But some members on the other side of the House I am sure do. There is one thing that we have been told that they will do. Mr Parker said that they will get rid of the Puhoi motorway extension. In fact a week ago in this House he said that they would can it. This really is something of great concern to people in Northland. It is ironic given that they were up in Northland not that long ago having a wee Labour Party retreat a few photo opportunities and some fish and chips at the Maunganui fish and chip shop. I bet they did not get up on soap boxes and talk about canning the Puhoi project on that particular visit. No they save that for the safety of this place. 
So how do I know that that road is so important to Northland? I know that because as a new National Party MP I facilitated economic summits in Northland to look at how we could grow the economic opportunities in that part of the world because there are many and because the social dysfunction and the welfare dependence that so many will talk to is really the result of an underperforming economy and is not reflective of an economy that has much potential and is something that should be mobilised. So over the last couple of months I have facilitated the summits. The aim was to build a vision and a plan for the region that would identify where the enablers and constrainers were in achieving that goal. Over 440 attendees from 14 sectors across the Northland economy visited and participated in those summits and they found that 89 percent of the enablers and constrainers they saw fell into nine core themes. What was at the top of that list? It was infrastructure. Infrastructure was at the top of that list and at the top of the infrastructure list was the Puhoi motorway extension. 
Northland is a region with immense potential and a very bad road. Northland has immense potential for aquaculture forestry minerals oil and gas exploration geothermal power development of the Maori economy tourism manufacture agriculture horticulture—the list goes on. It is a long list. That road is a vital piece of infrastructure in Northland and it has been called for for years. Everyone in that part of the world knows that it is a trade and economic highway not a “Holiday Highway” as the “Labour Landers” would have you say it is. The National Government knows how important that piece of infrastructure is. The member for Rodney behind me and the member from Whangarei certainly do. 
We are committing to helping businesses to grow themselves and to improve the economic potential. We are committed to Northlanders. This party is committed to New Zealanders. We are committed to ensuring that New Zealand has a brighter future and that is what we are getting on with doing.