Ross Jami-Lee: General Debate 
Ross Jami-Lee: General Debate 
[Volume:678;Page:913] 
JAMI-LEE ROSS (National—Botany) 
: 
 It is always good to go last in the general debate because you get to fix up some of the misstatements and the problems you hear from the other side. But I want to start with a theme that the Hon Annette King started during her speech. She wanted to talk about slogans. Well let me remind the Labour Party of some slogans. This is a slogan that applies perfectly to it: “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. We have apparently got a fresh face in the new Leader of the Opposition. We have apparently got some fresh policies coming along; we have not heard very much any more. They are actually so good that when David Shearer stood up the Hon David Cunliffe left the room and came back as soon as he had finished. That is how much confidence the Labour Party has in its new leader—its fresh approach supposedly. 
But actually we have seen nothing new from Labour. It is back to its old recipe of borrow and hope. It is back to its old recipe of spending up large like drunken sailors although I think that is a bit unfair to the drunken sailors out there. The Labour Party’s old recipe of closing the doors to the rest of the world is apparently going to be the solution to all of New Zealand’s woes. Well under the National Government New Zealanders have far fewer woes than they had in the 9 years under the Labour Government. 
I was getting a bit sick of hearing about Crafar farms. Apparently according to the Labour Party selling assets and seeing farmland owned by foreigners is an appalling thing. Let me remind the House of a few statistics. In 9 years of the Labour Government 660000 hectares of land was sold to foreigners—660000 hectares in 9 years. In 3 years of National 100000 hectares of land was sold to foreigners. If anyone wants to do the maths those figures show that the members opposite allowed twice as much land to be sold to foreigners as this Government did in 3 years. So do not ever listen to the Labour Party saying that farmland being sold to foreigners is evil. I can see those members putting their heads down because they do not like those figures. Those members opposite sold twice as much land to foreigners as this Government did. 
Why does the Labour Party now hate foreigners? When Shania Twain was walking through the South Island with Helen Clark it was OK. When James Cameron was buying land in the Wairarapa we did not hear a squeak. But when Chinese people want to purchase some farmland and invest some money into this country those members scream. In my electorate of Botany a third of the population is Asian and the third of my electorate that is Asian wants to know from that side why it hates Asians. That is appalling. The figures just do not stack up for that side. 
This National Government has been talking this afternoon about the primary industries and we have done a lot in the primary industries. We have reduced taxes across the board and cut the company tax rate. That helps the primary industries. We are cleaning up New Zealand’s lakes aquifers and rivers investing $265 million. We have reduced accident compensation levies—we are reducing them for rural businesses—and we are rolling out the Rural Broadband Initiative. 
We in the National Government acknowledge the heartbeat of New Zealand. We acknowledge the backbone of New Zealand. We are cutting red tape for the rural sector. We have streamlined and simplified the Resource Management Act. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: The member doesn’t even believe his own notes. 
JAMI-LEE ROSS 
: David Cunliffe wants to talk—the woolly mammoth over there. He could not even get his leader the right figures when he was in a debate with the Prime Minister. So I do not think the “Woolly Mammoth” over there should be speaking. 
Seventy-two percent of exports in this country come from primary industries and one of the things that those primary industries require is an efficient ports system. We have seen some announcements being made today in Auckland about the ports sector. I want to say that I thought it was quite appalling to see people on that side on the picket line opposing a more efficient ports system—opposing some changes that would make it easier for exporters to get their business through. The problem that we have at the port was not because of the port company; it was because of the appalling employment relations legislation that those members passed 12 years ago. Those workers are not redundant because of the port; they are redundant because of the union pushing them over the precipice. Long live the National Government.