Upston Louise: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Upston Louise: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Sitting date: 13 February 2013. Volume:687;Page:7806. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupo) 
: 
 So we will test to see if this is going because it does not sound like it from here. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I think we will just get the sound operators—move closer up. 
LOUISE UPSTON 
: Have we got some sound yet? 
Chris Hipkins 
: No. They are signalling to switch it on I think. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I think he is signalling to switch it on yes. 
LOUISE UPSTON 
: OK. So it is on now? Thank you Mr Speaker. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: So just leave it that way everybody. Thank you. 
LOUISE UPSTON 
: Obviously it has been an interesting afternoon in the House with some challenges with our sound system. I know our technicians are working incredibly hard to sort the situation out for us. 
I do want to just say before I start my contribution in the debate on the Prime Minister’s statement that I want to wish the Dr The Rt Hon Lockwood Smith farewell this afternoon and thank him for his service in the House and for his 4 years as the Speaker and to wish the incoming Speaker the Rt Hon David Carter all the best. He did an incredible job today despite the sound system being off so I think we have got some great things ahead of us. 
Speaking of great things ahead of us I am really proud to be a Kiwi and I think we have got great opportunities in front of us. I think the last contribution from Rino Tirikatene a Labour speaker opposite says it all. It was there in black and white categoric—those members will oppose anything that National puts up. Well actually I think that is kind of stupid and lots of New Zealanders out there also agree because at the end of the day if it is a good idea and if it is going to solve some of the challenges that ordinary hard-working New Zealanders are facing then I actually think the Labour Party should look at it. It should start thinking about using the word “yes” from time to time instead of just black and white saying no to everything this side of the House suggests. At the end of the day it is saying no to economic growth it is saying no to jobs and it is saying no to food on the tables of the kids that it purports to protect on a daily basis. That is why I think that it is just absolutely ridiculous for a member opposite to make that kind of statement in this House. 
If we come to this Parliament representing a constituency with the intention of making a better New Zealand we might have different pathways but each and every one of us should hold dear to that commitment that we serve in this place to make New Zealand a better country. That is definitely why I came to this place and why I am proud to be a member of the National Party Government led so ably by Prime Minister John Key. This is about making sure that the opportunities that New Zealand has—each and every one of us being able to make the most of them. Yes we have faced some challenges as a country. I think the member who just resumed his seat must have had his head buried in the sand not to take into consideration any of the sorts of challenges this Government has faced both financial and natural disasters that have led to some of the most difficult and challenging economic circumstances ever faced. I would invite that member to get his head out of the sand and actually start looking at the circumstances this country has faced over the 4 years and the work that this Government is doing and continues to do with a robust economic plan that has been detailed in now five out of six documents in terms of our Business Growth Agenda. 
I sat next to a gentleman on a plane just last week and we had a conversation about debt. The conversation was around why is it that the Prime Minister’s opening conversation in any speech is about the economy. The reality is that it has to be—it has to be right now. He asked me why is it that we are so determined to get our books back and balanced. I thought well it is no different—it is no different—to what you do at home. It is no different to what businesses do. It is no different for us as a Government to have to make sure that we get on top of our debt and we start paying it down. This side of the House actually has a very robust plan for making that happen. That side of the House unfortunately just wants to go out and print more money and rack up more debt for generations to come. So it was an interesting conversation I had with this gentleman on the plane in terms of very plainly and very simply why the economy is the No. 1 priority for this Government. 
It was really interesting being at the Business New Zealand Back to the Grindstone meeting last night. You could have heard a pin drop. Despite there being hundreds of people in the town hall—it was really interesting—you could not hear a pin drop when the Prime Minister spoke because the people in that room—and they were not just business people; they were scientists they were trade unionists they were all sorts of people from all sorts of organisations—were listening very carefully to the Prime Minister because they know that this Government has a plan which we are following. It was really interesting to see how on board that whole room was in following the direction under challenging circumstances and difficult times that the Prime Minister is leading. 
One of the things that I did want to just speak about is the issue of investment. Again it came up in the conversation last night at the Business New Zealand event. In terms of creating jobs it is businesses—businesses employ people. It is not up to the Government to create jobs. The Government’s job is to create the environment that allows businesses the confidence to grow and to take on new staff. One of the things that really holds businesses back and one of the things I have been talking to many of the businesses in the Taupo electorate about is the challenge of getting capital. That is why this Government has put a significant priority on making it easier for businesses to get capital. 
One of the things that again that side of the House is very loud and proud about saying no to is foreign investment. There are some significant projects in the Taupo electorate that would not happen if there was not foreign investment. There are jobs that have been created in the Taupo electorate that would not have happened if it was not for foreign investment. [ 
Interruption 
] Members opposite do not seem to listen. The foreign investment in businesses in Taupo has created jobs. So that is why it is really important that we provide the right environment for foreign investment to come into this country and that we make it easier for those investors to choose New Zealand as a place where they would want to invest. The reality is that they have got lots of other places they can choose— 
Dr David Clark 
: And they are. 
LOUISE UPSTON 
: —and we want to encourage them to choose New Zealand. Well if the naysayers on that side say no more often than not then definitely they will stay away. This Government is a Government that is interested in supporting businesses to create jobs. 
The other thing I want to speak about is the power of our people. The thing that is always really important to me and that is incredibly important to this side of the House is boosting skills and it starts in early childhood education. We heard it today in question time. Where is the focus for lifting achievement? The focus on lifting achievement first and foremost is making sure that we have a larger percentage of our young children attending early childhood education—98 percent is the target. One of the things that I have been doing as a local MP is having conversations with my community and saying: “Well how do we make sure that we achieve that 98 percent in the Taupo electorate? Whether it is in Turangi whether it is in Tokoroa or whether it is in Mangakino how do we make that happen?” because it is important. Everywhere I go people know the importance of education so we have got to focus on the barriers. 
It was quite interesting to sit in a select committee and be part of hearing submissions about concerns that submitters have about partnership schools. One of the submitters talked about the fact that choice in education has caused inequality. So my question was then: “Well which schools would you close? If you don’t think that choice in education and schools is good for student achievement which ones would you suggest you close?”. Of course there was no answer to that because at the end of the day education is the thing that is important. Actually this side of the House is quite comfortable with the fact that parents should be able to make choices about where their children go to school and if their children are not achieving to be able to support them more with better information and better data. We want to invest in teachers and principals to ensure that the quality of teaching is also increasing because I for one am very clear that education is the one thing that creates equality of opportunity and that is why it is so critical for this side of the House. 
We are setting targets for National Certificate of Educational Achievement level 2. There were a few people who said when we started setting targets that that was challenging. Well we are putting our money where our mouth is. We are actually setting targets and focusing the Public Service on achieving what is important for New Zealanders. 
It has been my privilege to speak in this debate. The Government has a very robust and very detailed plan about how we are addressing the challenges in the economy about which members on that side of the House want to keep their heads in the sand. We have fantastic opportunities as a country. It is really the opportunity for New Zealanders to seize those opportunities and make the most of them. The Government on this side of the House is supporting them each and every step of the way under the very strong and decisive leadership of Prime Minister John Key.