Joyce Steven: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Joyce Steven: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 01 August 2012. Volume:682;Page:4214. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Economic Development) 
: 
 It is very important that we have this discussion around employment because it is a crucial thing. I think what the whole Committee is interested in is the growth of jobs in the economy. In fact I think nearly everybody in the Chamber if you said to them: “Do you want more and higher-paying jobs in New Zealand?” would say: “Yep that’s a very good thing. I’ll sign up to that.” Where the problem comes immediately is where they go next. 
I would firstly like to thank the Hon Pita Sharples for his comments on the training programmes because they are an important part of bringing the economy forward. In fact I made some announcements on industry training today which we may get the opportunity to discuss in a later vote. 
The real challenge of growing the economy is what you are prepared to do to let jobs grow here and what you are prepared to do to let businesses have the opportunity to succeed in this country. That means what opportunities you are going to let them take to actually be successful. Where it all unravels on the other side of the Chamber is that they say they are very concerned about jobs but all of their initiatives involve effectively taxpayers subsidising some activity some more. As we know from Spain Greece and other countries like that that is a path that leads down in only one direction and that is too much debt which basically removes the sovereignty of those countries to decide what it is they want to do. So that is your problem. The solution for everybody on that side of the Chamber is to spend more borrowed money in order to persuade people to do things that they would not otherwise do. 
What are the opportunities? The opportunities are hugely important. There are opportunities in things like oil and gas in things like the intensification of agriculture in things like allowing people to build convention centres and in things like allowing foreign investors to come in and invest in businesses here. All those things are things that the Labour Party opposes and that various other members of the Opposition oppose. So on the one hand we have the member Jacinda Ardern popping up and saying: “I really care about jobs. I really care about jobs.” and then she sits down and once again those members go back to opposing oil and gas exploration they go back to opposing intensification of agriculture they go back to opposing most things that could immediately— 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Aquaculture. 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: Aquaculture is another one that they are against and all of those things. They do not want to change the Resource Management Act and they do not want to speed up the consenting processes to get decisions made more quickly—not to change the decisions but to get the decisions made more quickly. That is why nobody takes them seriously when it comes to economic growth and jobs. Every time they open their mouths they prove they are not interested in them. It is weasel words and crocodile tears about the job situation in this country. 
Do you know that the lowest unemployment rate in Australasia is in a place called Western Australia? Western Australia has the lowest unemployment rate in Australasia. It is about 3.5 percent— 
Hon Member 
: And why is that? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: —and that is in Western Australia. Well why do you think that is? I think it is because in that state they allow oil and gas exploration and mineral exploration. That is why. Tasmania incidentally has strong opposition to economic growth and its unemployment rate is 7.4 percent. That is where the Labour Party would take us. It would take us further down the Tasmanian path. That is where the Greens want to take us. Well frankly we on this side of the Chamber know what it takes to create jobs and growth and we are focused on it. It is not about just sitting there wringing your hands and thinking up another rinky-dink scheme where you can borrow some more money from incidentally foreign moneylenders spray it around the place and consider that you are doing something useful when in fact you are just heading us towards the Spanish situation which nobody in this country wants except for the Labour Party. That is why it is as popular as it is.