Choudhary Ashraf: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Choudhary Ashraf: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:623;Page:18330] 
Dr ASHRAF CHOUDHARY (Labour) 
: 
 I continue my contribution from last night and say that we believe in celebrating our people’s successes across business education sport and the arts and culture—across the many areas where Kiwis are doing very well. We are proud that this Government has the Working for Families package and will invest $1.1 billion towards helping New Zealanders—working families—to make work pay and towards offering them more choices to succeed. We have over 7000 people in Modern Apprenticeships and more than 126000 in industry training at the moment. We are investing in education and health. Education spending is up by 39 percent over the last 5 years and there have been especially big increases in spending on early childhood education. 
The Labour Party has kept its word to students and their families and has delivered on its pledge-card promise to cut the cost of tertiary education to students starting with a fairer loan scheme. Student loan borrowers saved more than $250 million in interest charges in the first 3 years of Labour’s “no interest while studying” policy. Those changes contributed to a considerable reduction in the average repayment time for student loans. Estimated loan repayment times have decreased from 14.8 years in 1999 to 9.3 years currently. We have loan growth under control. Under the previous National Government between 1995 and 1999 the average loan balance increased by over 76 percent. At the moment over half the full-time student population now receives an allowance. Labour has delivered an end to the tuition fees rises of the 1990s. A new system of fee maxima is in place that constrains fee rises; it was introduced in 2004. 
Our achievements reflect the individual actions and decisions of thousands of New Zealanders and New Zealand enterprises. We accept that those achievements are not just the Government’s alone but a contribution made by many New Zealanders. However it does indicate that the Government’s policies are well designed and appropriate to the purpose. This is a Government with a bold agenda to realise New Zealand’s huge potential in the future. The Government is getting many things right. However we know that raising labour productivity is critical to staying on track. The investments that the Government and industry are making in skills innovation science research and technology will boost productivity. It makes sense to bring back our best and brightest people if we can. So we will focus on creating a most inviting environment for them and we are working with employers on how best to do that. The Budget this year will support more innovation in business. We want to get more women into the workplace and the policies we have in place support that intent. We are looking at options in that mix of policies for increasing the availability of home-based childcare as part of the overall solution to getting enough places. We want to help New Zealanders to save in order to increase their assets and security and reduce the national reliance on the savings of others. We have already set up a superannuation scheme for public servants but this year we will announce more programmes to encourage more families to take part in workplace savings. 
I shall say a few words about our engagement with Asia. I am delighted that our Government is taking many steps to engage with Asia. We know that Asians particularly the Chinese and Indians and the Asian markets are all doing so well that our future does lie with Asia. I am proud that we have taken so many steps towards that engagement. The Prime Minister’s visit to India last year and many of the free-trade engagements we are doing with many countries will be very fruitful in the long term. I am delighted at that because Asia is making huge strides in economic development and our future does lie in engagement with it. I am pleased that our Government is taking major steps in that area. 
Finally I say we want all New Zealanders to have real choices. That is fundamental to creating a fair society in which every family has a stake and sees a future. The choice this year is straightforward. 
People should stick with a Government that they know works that is getting results and that is building a stronger future for New Zealand or they will run the risk of lurching back to the division the unfairness and the sheer nastiness and arrogance of the 1990s. There is no future for our country in that.