Goff Phil: General Debate 
Goff Phil: General Debate 
[Volume:621;Page:16319] 
Hon PHIL GOFF (Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade) 
: 
 The report on “corngate” had a number of points that were agreed by all members of the Local Government and Environment Committee and they should be put on record. Firstly no evidence at all was found of a cover-up. That was a politically motivated jack-up a couple of weeks before an election. Secondly it was not proven in that report that there was GM contamination and thirdly it was agreed that the original tests were invalid and should have been disregarded. That is all that needs to be said about that particular issue. I want to encourage the House instead of the Opposition today doing their normal whingeing and whining about how bad things are to acknowledge the fact that this country is heading in the right direction—that this country is moving ahead. 
Last Friday a poll in the  
National Business Review  
showed by the biggest margin in recent years—by more than 2:1; 64 percent to 29 percent—that New Zealanders believe this country is on the right track. Practically two-thirds of New Zealanders believe this Government is taking the country in the right direction. The next day we had a  
Herald 
-DigiPoll. What did that show? It showed that Aucklanders by 13 percentage points put Labour ahead of the discredited and failing National Opposition. That was 13 percentage points in a region that covers nearly one-third of our country. 
Those polls together show that across the wider community New Zealanders believe this country is competently led by a party that is capable consistent energetic creative fair and inclusive. On every one of those adjectives we can contrast the performance of this party with that failed bunch of people opposite us who are sitting on the National Party benches. Why would New Zealanders not feel confident about this country? Unemployment is at a 17-year low—the best result in the OECD but for Korea—and is falling. The rate of unemployment has halved for our young people. 
 Never have our young people had the opportunities to participate in our society in the way they have today. Never have they had the investment made in education in training in apprenticeships. There is a chance for our families to improve their living standards in order to look for a better future and they know that they are backed by this party which is in touch with ordinary New Zealanders and has given a decent boost for the first time in years to working people struggling to get ahead—people on modest incomes who will be the major beneficiaries of those Budget moves. The growth in this country is 4.4 percent. This country leads the developed world in terms of the growth it has achieved. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Rubbish! 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: The member can say “Rubbish!” all he likes it is a statistical fact that New Zealand is outperforming the United States the whole of Europe the United Kingdom Australia and any other country in the developed world that that member wants to talk about. We are investing the proceeds of that growth into a better health system than we have ever had and we are investing it in providing superannuation for the future— 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Humbug! 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: —something that member failed to do when he had the chance—and bringing our debt down. We have halved the net debt of this country from 20 percent of GDP to 10 percent. There is only one thing falling faster than our debt and that is our crime rate which is down 13.8 percent—the best record by police ever in terms of resolving our crime rate. More crime is being resolved we have tougher legislation and better resourcing for policing and more criminals are being put away than at any time during this country’s history. 
Members should look at what is happening to business and agriculture. They are booming. Last month this country topped a World Bank survey of 145 different countries as the best country in the world in which to run a business ahead of the United States Singapore Hong Kong Australia and all the other countries. Meanwhile there those members go continuing to whine and grizzle. No wonder! Look at the National Party members! They had their heads in their hands after Don Brash spoke yesterday. Look at what he got from the weekend: “Brash blunder over help for Act” “Brash in troubled waters”—that man is failing and that party has failed.