Guy Nathan: Budget Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Guy Nathan: Budget Debate 
[Sitting date: 12 June 2012. Volume:680;Page:2821. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon NATHAN GUY (Minister of Immigration) 
: 
 What we have heard there from the former leader of the Labour Party is just so much negative claptrap is it not? It is no wonder that that member was rejected by most New Zealanders at the 2011 election. It is because he was so negative. Here we have this Government in the Budget of 2012 in very tough economic times that has delivered a very pragmatic Budget for these economic times. When you look at the dark grey clouds gathering in Europe and when you think about what those members on the other side of the House would do if they were sitting over here on the Treasury benches we know what they would do. They would spend more and increase taxes. Our debt would just blow out and balloon and we would end up in a situation like many countries in Europe now. Some of the countries over there have 50 percent unemployment. We see now Spain with a $100 billion bailout of its banks. These are the issues that New Zealand has to face. But over on the other side you hear Phil Goff the former leader of the Labour Party so negative. Where is the aspiration? Where is the positive talk? There is nothing. There is nothing from the Labour Opposition. Whereas under the stewardship of the finance Minister Bill English with the overwhelming support of our Prime Minister we have delivered a Budget that has been difficult to bring together under these economic times but where we have found new spending reprioritised spending of about $4.4 billion or $4.5 billion reinvested into core public services.  
Most New Zealanders know that we have to tighten our belts. Most New Zealanders know that we have to rein in debt. Most New Zealanders know that we have to lift productivity and grow the economy. That is why it is great under this Government that our economy has grown in nine out of the last 10 quarters. Is not that fantastic? We are growing. When you look at the countries that we like to compare ourselves with and those that I have just talked about in Europe where they are not growing New Zealand is growing. We are going to grow a lot more jobs; about 150000 are forecast by Treasury in the next 4 years. In the last couple of years the economy has grown 60000 jobs. 
 Just in the last week we had Minister Paula Bennett talking about unemployment and how that dropped considerably down to about 50000 in May—fantastic—a drop of more than 3500 in the last month. What is also topical is the young people who are getting back into employment. That peaked in January 2010 at about 23500; now it is 13500. Is that not fantastic? You heard from the Prime Minister today that about 20000 people have moved off the unemployment benefit in the last couple of years. The economy is growing and that is as a result of the tough decisions that have been made by this Government under the stewardship of the Minister of Finance Bill English.  
Think also about the vulnerable. Under tough economic times we have supported those whom we needed to support—for example those on Working for Families and superannuitants. Superannuation is up by about 20 percent since 2008—fantastic. War pensions are up. And we have a real focus on getting even more people off the unemployment benefit and into work. Minister Paula Bennett is doing a fantastic job there. We need to support her. We need to ensure that these New Zealanders are able to perform in our modern-day economy. That is where it comes down to education. Yes we have had a robust discussion about education. It has been interesting to hear all of the issues that have been raised— 
Hon Phil Goff 
: Your policy crashed and burned. Just admit it.  
Hon NATHAN GUY 
: —since the Budget was announced in the last few weeks. One of the things— 
Hon Phil Goff 
: Two weeks and you had to withdraw it. That’s how bad it was. 
Hon NATHAN GUY 
: —that the Opposition and Phil Goff who is chipping in now have not talked about in his negative rant is why the performance of our teachers is not improving. Why have we still got one in five children failing in our education system? Why has the tale of underachievement been constant under the Labour Government for 9 years? Now this Government is keen to address that to ensure that we lift the tale of underachievement. Why did we have our opponents so negative when we rolled out national standards? Why did we have that? That was because they were supporting the teacher unions. Now parents have plain reporting coming on to the kitchen table. They know how well their children are doing and they know where to put the support for their children so that they can continue to lift the standards of numeracy and literacy.  
What we have from the Opposition is no debate talking about why there has been a 13 percent increase in teacher roll growth over the last 10 years when the student roll growth has been about 2.5 percent. Teacher roll growth is up here student roll growth is lower yet the quality and the performance of our students coming out of our education system have not improved. That is where the debate now needs to focus on in my opinion.  
This has also been a great Budget for health—$435 million extra invested in health and there is a lot more going into research and innovation which is part of our economic growth agenda. We are also putting more money into our assets as well. Think about what is happening in our State highway network up and down the country. Roads of national significance are going through the consenting process which has been fast-tracked under this Government like Transmission Gully and the Waterview Connection. All of these ones that would have probably taken about 5 years on average under the previous Government have now been put through an Environmental Protection Authority process of about 9 months.  
My constituents in the Otaki electorate are saying “Bring it on for Transmission Gully bring it on for the Kapiti Expressway ensure that we can improve our safety performance on our State highway network lift productivity and continue to grow our regional economic growth.” But what we have from our opponents over there is such negative claptrap. They over there on “Planet Labour” are not aspirational at all. They have continued to worry about their leadership woes. It was interesting when I had a look at my Saturday  
Dominion Post 
. The interesting thing about the leadership woes in Labour continues. Here we are: “The man waiting in the wings” Grant Robertson. There was a lovely story on Grant Robertson—just what I am sure David Shearer the new leader would not want. Is it not amazing when you have the battle of the three Davids still ongoing and here you have Grant Robertson the deputy of David Shearer having a blow-by-blow piece in C3 in the inside of the Saturday  
Dominion Post 
? 
What was interesting in here was that “Mr Robertson lives by three rules:”. The first one you might be interested to hear about is “treat others how you want to be treated”. Well I would have thought it is ironic that Grant Robertson wants to treat David Shearer in this way with a full-blown article with a heading saying “The man waiting in the wings”.  
The Labour leadership woes continue. David Shearer continues to bumble and stumble and stammer and stutter his way through interview after interview. Grant Robertson is loading the deckchairs up there in the office. He is getting his staff appointed in. Mark my words by the end of the year Grant Robertson will be the next leader of the Labour Party.  
Anyway I will get back on to the issues about this very important Budget which has been carefully crafted by the Minister of Finance and well received by most New Zealanders. The thing that I am very passionate about as Minister of Veterans’ Affairs is the 10 extra deployments that we announced in this Budget. It was hard to find any new money but I put a pitch through Cabinet and we managed to find $4.8 million for the 10 extra deployments. Those New Zealanders who have served in places like Rhodesia Afghanistan Iraq Iran Cambodia Somalia Haiti Bougainville Sudan and south Lebanon will now be able to get a war disablement pension. It is a fantastic initiative supported by this Government in tough economic times. Most important as I wrap up this is a Budget that has been well delivered and well received by New Zealanders and thank goodness we have got a decent Prime Minister in John Key.