Cunliffe David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCunliffe David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 22 July 2014. Volume:700;Page:19258. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]2.Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Leader of the Opposition)to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements on regional development if so how many regions of New Zealand now have a lower number of people unemployed according to the Household Labour Force Survey compared to when he took office?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):Yes. Three regions currently have fewer people looking for work than in the March quarter of 2009. But more important eight regions have—Hon David Cunliffe: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister is not addressing the question which was in how many regions there are a lower number of people unemployed. That is different from how many people are looking for work.Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! The member will resume his seat. I will listen to the answer that is being given by the Prime Minister. My first indication is that he was addressing the question but I will listen carefully and make a decision when he concludes his answer.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The answer is yes. Three regions currently have fewer people looking for work than in the March quarter of 2009 but more important eight regions have more people actually with a job than in March 2009 and across all of New Zealand in the last year 84000 more people were employed fewer people were unemployed and the unemployment rate has dropped to 6 percent.Hon David Cunliffe: Does the Prime Minister understand that the regions are not doing well under his Government when the only region to have fewer people unemployed now is Canterbury and despite the rebuild there are only 200 fewer people unemployed than in 2008 or is higher unemployment his definition of New Zealand working?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Actually the regions are for the most part doing pretty well. But I know two ways to help the regions. One of them would be to ensure that when there is a natural disaster and timber is blown over in the regions rather than allowing it to rot you would actually pick it up mill it and create jobs. I know another way and that is when 3000 people’s jobs in Southland are on the line you provide a bit of support to get them through it. But I do know of cases where unemployment might rise and they are in Northland and Napier and the reason I know that is that they are the places where Labour candidates have been talking to the Sunday Star-Times about the leader—Mr SPEAKER: Order! That answer will not help the order of this House.Hon David Cunliffe: Does the Prime Minister understand that people are not doing well in his regions when 13 out of 16 regions have lower weekly median incomes now than when he took office—13 out of 16 regions are worse off after his GST and price increases?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: We do not accept the member’s numbers or versions of events. But here is what we do know about the regions: they rely very heavily on agriculture on oil and gas and on minerals. They also rely on businesses that are taxed fairly. What are the Labour Party policies? Oh that is right! It is to get rid of agriculture with the Greens get rid of oil and gas exploration and put a capital gains tax on every business around the regions.Hon David Cunliffe: Why is the Prime Minister pinning all his hopes for regional development on the dairy industry when dairy prices have already collapsed 30 percent in the last 6 months and Federated Farmers has told me that 20 percent of farmers will go to the wall if the payout hits $6?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member has named more crises in the last 10 months than people who actually support him in his own caucus so let us get that bit right for a start off. Secondly yes dairy prices have come off a little bit from their absolute high but I am proud to lead a political party that actually supports agriculture and rural New Zealand. We support them with a fair emissions trading scheme not one that is going to whack a massive price on agriculture. We support them through roading development in the regions. We support them with ultra-fast broadband. We support them with investment in science. We support them with irrigation and water schemes. We support them on a number of different fronts. When the member went to Federated Farmers my understanding was that he got a reception very similar to the one he got at his caucus meeting today.Hon David Cunliffe: If the Prime Minister cares so much about regional development why was the best he could tell the Local Government New Zealand conference in Nelson this morning that he was going to hand it over to social media to come up with flimflam ideas on red tape because his team cannot do the work for themselves and why will he not do something more constructive like put up $200 million of major partnership projects like a Labour Government would which was very well received by Local Government New Zealand?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member got one thing right. I have got a team and I do not call my team members scabs.Hon David Cunliffe: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! This is a point of order and I will hear it in silence.Hon David Cunliffe: I have just sat back and watched the Prime Minister—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Would the member just come to his point of order—[Interruption] Order! I say to Mr Brownlee.Hon David Cunliffe: —make insinuations about the Labour caucus which had nothing to do with his portfolio or the answers to his questions. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order!Hon David Cunliffe: Mr Speaker if I may I want to put on record that my caucus is a hard-working—Mr SPEAKER: Would the member—[Interruption] Order! I gave the member considerable opportunity to come to a point of order that may have been relevant. In my opinion he did not.Hon David Cunliffe: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: Is this a fresh point of order?Hon David Cunliffe: Yes. Just to clarify your ruling are you saying that the Prime Minister was within the Standing Orders with his last answer?Mr SPEAKER: Yes I am. In light of the question that was asked I am certainly not saying there was anything unparliamentary in the answer. The answer probably in fact certainly was not helpful to the order of the House. I then listened to the point of order and the member was using the point of order to make a statement that was not actually relevant to the order of this House.Hon David Cunliffe: Does the Prime Minister think his personal brand of wit is going to help New Zealanders when half the families in Kawerau live on less than $40000 a year a third of the town depends on a benefit and in other areas over half the families earn over $100000 and less than 10 percent are dependent on a benefit or is he happy with that kind of game of two halves and with making jokes about politics instead of helping New Zealanders in their lives?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I could take the member seriously if he was actually prepared to support economic development initiatives but unfortunately his record and the Opposition’s record over the course of the last 6 years has been to oppose every decent economic development initiative. If the member thinks that whacking up a $200 million slush fund over 4 years to try to compensate for being opposed to agriculture opposed to mining putting on capital gains taxes and increasing all sorts of other costs is somehow going to stop things—Hon David Cunliffe: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I wonder whether you could clarify whether it is in order for the Prime Minister to mischaracterise Labour’s policies instead of actually—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member is now on two occasions using a point of order to try to make what is effectively a political statement. He can do that by asking the right sort of question in the first place.Hon David Cunliffe: When there are regions like Ōpōtiki where one in five working-age people is on a benefit and the community is crying out for job opportunities does it not make sense to spend on projects to create an economic step change rather than spend millions of dollars every year on welfare or does he think that is a joke too?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: It might make sense for individual projects but I would make the point that every time the Government has suggested that there are individual projects that might have some merit the Opposition has voted against them. So it is all very well coming into this House now 61 days out with a party that is in absolute disarray trying to make out that he cares about New Zealanders but he does not.Hon David Cunliffe: Does the Prime Minister understand that the regions of New Zealand are not doing well under his Government when the number of young people not in education employment or training has risen in three-quarters of the regions under his Government with devastating social consequences?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well a lot of the regions are doing particularly well and they can do better when they are given the opportunities to do better which is why reform of the Resource Management Act would help them. That is why irrigation schemes across New Zealand may make a significant difference. That is why expanding the oil and gas and mineral sectors across the regions might make a difference. The member’s own candidates are out there—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The answer is sufficient.