Parker David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Personal Explanation—Comments Made at Environmental Defence Society Conference 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Parker David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Personal Explanation—Comments Made at Environmental Defence Society Conference 
[Sitting date: 25 July 2012. Volume:682;Page:3893. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
9. 
Hon DAVID PARKER (Labour) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: Does he stand by his statement regarding migration to Australia “What’s the point of standing in the airport crying about it?”; if so how many of the 158167 people that have migrated to Australia since November 2008 as reported by Statistics NZ are from 18 to 30 years of age in number and percentage terms? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 Since November 2008 61937 people aged 18 to 30—about 39 percent of the total. Yes I do stand by my statement because I think it is important New Zealand gets on with expanding industries supporting businesses and creating jobs so that those young people feel like they have more choices in a country going ahead not one that is spending and borrowing more than it can afford. 
Hon David Parker 
: How can New Zealand prosper when so many of our youngest and brightest are choosing to work in Australia rather than contribute to New Zealand’s economy? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: New Zealand can prosper if for instance the Opposition supports the Government’s push to expand our oil and gas and minerals industries—exactly the industries that those young New Zealanders are going to work in in Australia. So if it is good enough for them to stay here it is good enough for us to have those kinds of jobs for them. 
Hon David Parker 
: When will he acknowledge that too many young New Zealanders are leaving because under his Government they lack hope and opportunity in New Zealand? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: I do not accept that. The fact is in recent years the Australian economy has had higher growth rates than New Zealand’s. The migration flows between the two countries have generally correlated with those growth rates. The New Zealand Government is pushing to accelerate our growth rate in part by expanding the kind of industry that has been at the core of Australia’s success and that is its resource-based industries where those young New Zealanders are going to get those jobs. Why can we not have them in those jobs here? 
Dr Megan Woods 
: Does he agree that the Canterbury rebuild offers opportunities for young Kiwis to stay and work in New Zealand; if so how does the Government’s record of spending a paltry $8 million on post-earthquake skills training in Canterbury out of a total of $42 million allocated help young Kiwis get the skills needed to fill those jobs and stay in New Zealand? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: I think there are two parts to that answer. In the first place the Government looks to be heading to spend somewhere around $13 billion to $14 billion in Christchurch and that will provide lots of jobs for young New Zealanders. Secondly in respect of training places there are more training places available than there are young New Zealanders willing and able to take them up and we expect to maintain that situation for some time yet. 
Hon David Parker 
: Given that National campaigned so vociferously on reducing the brain drain to Australia why do his targets by which he can be held to account not include any target or milestone for closing the wage gap with Australia nor for decreasing the number of New Zealanders moving from New Zealand to Australia? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The number of New Zealanders going to Australia can be measured every day. The one way to stem that flow is to support businesses that make the decisions to invest more and employ another person. That is why so many New Zealanders did not vote for the Labour Party in the last election—because they know that it does not take that approach. 
Hon David Parker 
: Is he proud that the Statistics New Zealand figures show that National’s policies are turning Generation Y into “Generation Oz”? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: That is not what the figures show. I am very proud that National’s policies are turning round and repairing the damage done by the last Government to this economy and are building a brighter future for thousands of young New Zealanders.