te Heuheu Georgina: Budget Debate 
te Heuheu Georgina: Budget Debate 
[Volume:663;Page:11318] 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU (Minister for Courts) 
: 
 The true measure of Bill English and John Key’s Budget 2010 will be realised slightly further down the track although some of it is coming to fruition now. It will be realised when we register 3 percent growth over the next 4 years when the 175000 jobs that Treasury is forecasting start to come on stream and when the public continues to feel the absolute benefits of better more efficient public services rather than having to look at the bloated public service that was the legacy of the party opposite when it was in Government. 
It will be realised when our best and brightest decide to stay at home and contribute to our growing economy and when those who are now overseas look back at New Zealand—and I am sure some of them are already making plans to move back now—and decide to bring their skills back home. A whole lot of other things will flow from last week’s Budget in the next year and in the years after. Why would that not be the case? Because this Budget was a Budget for the long term. National managed the country through the recession and we have come out the other side in a pretty good state and we are predicting obviously better things in the years to follow. 
Talking about the party opposite I think the most immediate measure of the success of Bill English’s Budget was demonstrated by the deafening silence on the Opposition benches on Tuesday at the start of this sitting week when question time opened. It must be absolutely unheard of at question time when most of the focus is on this House for members on the other side of the House to be absolutely silent. There were no questions about the Budget. Members opposite were wasting time on other things. There was a deafening silence with no questions and no comment about the Budget. Their heads were down. 
Even when members on our side of the House were asking questions about the Budget we got an absolutely free run. Nobody from the other side interrupted our questioners on the Budget. Nobody on the other side of the House had the guts or the wherewithal to challenge the questions that were put to our finance Minister and our Prime Minister by members on this side of the House. That must be an absolute record. There was not a peep out of them and not a bang but an absolute whimper. It was pathetic—and as I said earlier why would that not be the case? The members opposite had nothing to say. Did we wrap up quite early last Friday afternoon on the Budget debate? I think we did and that is also unheard of. They ran out of steam. They did not know what to say. The support from outside— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. There appears to be a little bit of confusion about the topic. I have been listening for some time and I think the member has just clarified it. I think she thought the Budget debate concluded last Friday. She is actually speaking in it and maybe if that could be drawn to her attention we might have something relevant. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker) 
: I listened to the words quite clearly and the member has completely misunderstood the speech. The Hon Georgina te Heuheu was referring to the debate on the tax legislation. That is how I understood it. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: She said “Budget debate”. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker) 
: I am on my feet. This is not a matter for an exchange at this point between the member and me. The member is perfectly entitled to speak in this debate in the manner she wishes to. It is a debate. 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU 
: Yes of course we are still in the debate but last Friday was the ideal opportunity for the Opposition to really if it had any real challenge— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: It was a tax bill. 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU 
: What is the difference? In the end it is all part of the Budget. 
I thank the Hon Trevor Mallard for mentioning the tax bill. The tax bill a key component of last week’s Budget is the most comprehensive tax package in 25 years. National delivered that and we delivered it on the back of a recession. Members on that side of the House were in Government for 10 years and they gave a measly tax break in their last year. Now they cannot stand to hear about where they fell short in the 10 years they were in Government. 
Another measure of the success of Bill English’s Budget is some of the feedback that has come back to us. There are comments on John Key’s Facebook page: “The Budget is a good move. It will help undo some of the damage Helen Clark did to our economy while she was in charge.” and “I like the shift away from income taxes towards flat consumption taxes. This is a great start and a brave one—well done Prime Minister. This is what New Zealand put you in office to do.” There is feedback on Bill English’s Facebook page: “Keep up the good work Bill. The budget that you have produced will move New Zealand forward and was long overdue. Appreciate all the hard work you do.” and “Wish I had the chance to shake your hand and thank you in person for your fantastic navigation through the tough times. But take this cyber thank you in lieu.” 
We are truly heartened by and grateful for the support New Zealanders gave us as we managed our country through the recession. It was not easy and it was harder for some sections of the community than others. But we truly appreciate the support we have had. We appreciate the support now. We think we signalled fairly to the New Zealand public and we laid some groundwork for the Budget. The sign that people appreciate that is now coming back to us in the form of support for the Budget. I am very proud to be part of a team led by John Key and Bill English who have looked to the long term who have put economic growth at the heart of our Budget and who are genuinely truly committed to getting New Zealand performing in a way that New Zealanders deserve and in a way that guarantees New Zealanders long-term prosperity. 
I want to turn to two or three areas that are directly my responsibility. I will say a little about our priorities for Maori and what the Budget has delivered for Maori. There is $4.5 million to grow Maori productivity and stimulate export growth and to support Maori innovation. There is $3 million over 3 years to invest in skills training and money to support Maori innovation in science. There is money to support Maori tourism and of course there is money for Whanau Ora. 
Those initiatives are about a Government saying that it supports and recognises the growing role that Maori are playing and will continue to play in the New Zealand economy. We need Maori to play that role. We need Maori to be investing to be developing their skills and to be making that contribution to the economy. Maori are stepping up to do that and with this kind of backing they will gear up even more to do so. 
I mentioned Whanau Ora. Again we are a Government that is willing to try something new. During the previous 10 years more than 50 percent of Maori boys achieved less than level 1 of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement and that says something about the slackness and lack of activity in the previous 10 years. That is not good enough from the point of view of a Government that wants to achieve real growth for New Zealanders. Whanau Ora is something new something different. It is a challenge and it is bold but that is what it is all about. It is about backing New Zealanders to back themselves. That is what Whanau Ora essentially is—helping families to strengthen their own position; their own growth and movement forward. 
I come to Pacific people where the same things apply. In 25 years one in every two babies will be brown—Maori or Pacific—and that has a huge impact on our plans to grow the economy. We want Pacific people to be skilled and educated. We want better outcomes for Pacific children in primary schools and better participation by young Pacific children in early childhood education—and there is more money in Vote Education to ensure that that is a priority—and better literacy and numeracy skills. 
The money allocated for those things will have a direct impact on the ability of Pacific children to do well at school and eventually find long-term permanent employment. The Government’s priorities for Pacific people are to lift incomes and standards of living and to make progress in Auckland and we have allocated new money to promote Pacific culture and language because Pacific culture and language underpins economic growth and enhances Pacific peoples’ position in our community.