Tremain Chris: Taxation (Business Tax Measures) Bill — Second Reading 
Tremain Chris: Taxation (Business Tax Measures) Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:652;Page:1943] 
CHRIS TREMAIN (National—Napier) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to rise to speak after my Maori Party colleague Rahui Katene. She finished her speech by saying that the Maori Party supports any initiative that allows small businesses to grow. I could not agree more. It is absolutely fantastic that this evening we are introducing yet another key piece of National’s plan to blunt the edges of this recession and prepare our country to be in the best space to grow as a nation as we go forward. 
It was interesting that a couple of the leading acolytes in the race for the Labour Party leadership took the first calls on the bill for Labour tonight. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Oh! I didn’t speak. 
CHRIS TREMAIN 
: Mr Mallard has not spoken yet but I am sure he would echo the same wish. Both Mr Cosgrove and Mr Cunliffe stood up and asked where National’s plan was so it gives me great pleasure to be able to enunciate and talk about that plan tonight and to expand on where it is at. This debate is a great platform on which to do that. We came into office just over 100 days ago and we have had a huge rollout of economic policies. I will go through some of them tonight. Firstly we said we would introduce and pass National’s tax package into law before Christmas for the tax cuts beginning on 1 April. Did we do that? 
Hon Members 
: Yes! 
CHRIS TREMAIN 
: Yes we did. Secondly we said we would appoint a Minister for Infrastructure and begin implementing our infrastructure plans. Did we do that? 
Hon Members 
: Yes! 
CHRIS TREMAIN 
: Yes we did. Thirdly we said we would introduce a Resource Management Act reform bill to reduce the cost of delays and the uncertainties in the Act. Did we do that? 
Hon Members 
: Yes! 
CHRIS TREMAIN 
: Yes we did. Fourthly we said that we would introduce and pass National’s transitional relief package into law in order to offer extra assistance to Kiwis who are worst hit by redundancy. Did we do that? 
Hon Members 
: Yes! 
CHRIS TREMAIN 
: Yes we did and a number of my own constituents have been able to benefit from that as I have already put them on to that plan. We said that we would call in the Public Service chief executives and instruct them to undertake a line-by-line review of their departments’ spending. Did we do that? 
Hon Members 
: Yes! 
CHRIS TREMAIN 
: Yes we did and we are seeing that roll-out as we speak—despite the cries of the Opposition members. We said that we would establish a Cabinet expenditure control committee. Did we do that? 
Hon Members 
: Yes! 
CHRIS TREMAIN 
: Yes we did. The seventh thing we said we would do is begin a regulatory review programme to identify and remove inefficient and superfluous regulation. We have done that. But what is even better is that we have a number of other parts to our plan rolling forward. We said that we would continue to build on our jobs and growth plan to combat the global recession with action and action ideas. Over 20 ideas came out of that plan and a range of work streams are progressing out there. Already the Minister for Social Development and Employment Paula Bennett has rolled out the 9-day fortnight package which is a fantastic package that will help employers to stay in business and keep jobs going. It amazed me today when members opposite criticised that package and said it was not good enough. The fact of the matter is that that package will save companies keep them in business and keep jobs in place. It is a fantastic package. 
We are also going forward by cutting personal taxes on 1 April. We are doing that. As part of the rolling maul of packages in our plan we said that we would implement the tax changes in our small-business package and that is happening right now with the Taxation (Business Tax Measures) Bill. That is excellent. We also said we would begin to fast track infrastructure projects to upgrade State highways build new State houses and improve schools. In my own electorate of Napier and in the wider region of Hawke’s Bay we have heard two announcements in terms of the southern expressway extension and the bringing forward by 9 months of the Matahorua Gorge project. Again that will bring jobs to that part of the region. I have to say that that is a tough part up there on that Napier-Wairoa road but those projects will bring jobs to that region and help our local economy there. That is absolutely fantastic stuff. 
It defies logic for anyone to stand there and say that there is no plan or that we are not taking this country forward in tough and difficult times. There is a plan and this bill is only just part of it. I am not going to go through the education things we have rolled out the health things we have rolled out the electoral law reform and the law and order provisions. They are all part of the wider plan that we have rolled out in a very short space of time since we have been in Government. It has been excellent. 
As I said earlier the goal of the Government has been to blunt the edge of this recession and to put us in the best position to grow quickly following the recovery. We saw that today actually—the first signs of that—with Governor of the Reserve Bank Alan Bollard giving the Monetary Policy Statement. He started interestingly to predict a recovery for us somewhat sooner than for other nations around the world. Clearly that was a gutsy call given the uncertainties in the wider global situation but on page 3 of that statement we can read that in the first quarter of this year we have already started to see a real rise in the growth of the country and that we will see up to 4 percent potential growth leading into the 2010 year. The strong V-shaped recovery profile that will come thereafter is absolutely fantastic. Combined with the official cash rate reduction—a drop of over 525 base points over the last period—and inflation pressure abating really rapidly monetary policy is now “very stimulatory”. Those are the governor’s words—“very stimulatory”. 
Across the House Mr Cunliffe was saying that we are not doing enough. Well when we questioned Mr Bollard at the Finance and Expenditure Committee today he said that we were in a very good position and that we were in a great position to take the economy forward as long as we rolled out the things we had already promised. We will also see further lending rate reductions in the pipeline we can expect to see banks helping in the recovery and we are seeing a combination of monetary and fiscal policy stimulus—particularly with the NZ$1 going down. That is absolutely helping our economy to recover. I was at a summit back in Hawke’s Bay last Friday with Mr Nash from across the House and Craig Foss my colleague who heads up the Finance and Expenditure Committee. It was very good to hear where a number of the business sectors were at in the wider economy. There was not the doom and gloom that those Labour members over there predict—like Mr Cosgrove the doomsayer. We heard a number of businesses up in Hawke’s Bay say that it is not easy and the going is still tough. But they are consolidating and they are looking forward into the future looking at where markets will be and looking at those free-trade agreements that Labour started and that National is driving forward. I think we are actually in a great position going forward. Those businesses were comfortable to consolidate going forward; they were in good shape in that regard. 
I come back to the detail of this bill as part of our plan because I have clearly covered the fact that we have a strong plan going forward— 
Hon Paula Bennett 
: Strong! 
CHRIS TREMAIN 
: —a very strong plan. We have rolled out a significant amount of it or are in the process of rolling it out as some of these bills come through select committees. In this particular bill we see some really good initiatives for small businesses like that 5 percent uplift rate on provisional tax which is absolutely excellent; the increase in the GST threshold rate so that compliance costs are reduced for small businesses; the raising of the PAYE once-a-month filing payment threshold from $100000 to $500000; and the raising of the fringe benefit tax annual filing threshold from $100000 to $500000 again reducing that threshold for small businesses in terms of having to get in there and do fringe benefit tax returns. These are all positive initiatives and are all part of a wider plan to blunt the edge of this recession and put New Zealand in the best place to go forward. I am confident that with a John Key - led Government we will take this nation forward deliver on the forecasts of the governor and by the end of this financial year be on the way to recovery. Thank you very much.