Smith Nick: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSmith Nick: General Debate[Sitting date: 19 March 2014. Volume:697;Page:16811. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister of Conservation):The last person in this House I am going to take a lecture in humility from is Clayton Cosgrove. His speech showed a desperate Opposition that is disconnected from the issues that matter. Over the weekend National had its very successful Bluegreens conference. We reviewed the progress that we are making in bringing together sound environmental and economic policy and planned for the policies that we want for the future. I want to commend my colleague Amy Adams for the work and the announcements on improving water quality and on getting better standards in areas like waste and so many other others.This afternoon is a good opportunity to contrast that record with what took place in the electoral landslide in Tasmania. There the Labor-Greens coalition Government was responsible for the worst economic malaise in our part of the world for political instability for record numbers of people who are jobless and—ironically given Labour’s announcement on timber processing—for a meltdown in that Government because of the differences of view between Labor and the Greens on timber processing. There is a salutary lesson for New Zealand as we go to the polls in looking at the record of that Labor-Greens Government in Tasmania. A warning for Labour members opposite: this is the only time in our part of the world Labor has gone into formal coalition with the Greens. Do you know how many Labor members of Parliament are left in Tasmania after the weekend? Just four—just four. I say to members opposite that Shane Jones is right—get into bed with the Greens at your peril. But we know Labour members think otherwise.Let me go through a few of the reasons the parallels are important. Of course we know that Tasmania is closest to us geographically. They actually have a proportional system of government like us. Unlike the rest of Australia the biggest part of the Tasmanian economy is their farming their forestry and their fishing industries like here in New Zealand. Let us not listen to the rhetoric; let us look at the record of what the Labor-Greens Government gave. What has happened to unemployment in Tasmania? It is the worst in Australia. Youth unemployment in Tasmania is over 20 percent—over 20 percent. What is more is there has been a record number of young people leave Tasmania over the last 3 years of that Labor-Greens Government. Understand that a Labor-Greens Government meant young people losing hope and leaving the country. That is a salutary lesson for New Zealand.But let us look elsewhere—the deficit. The deficit in Tasmania has gone up every single year of the Labor-Greens Government. It is the worst of any state in Australian and it is a warning to New Zealand of the red ink that we would get into were we to go down that path. But there is another interesting parallel. The Green Party in Government in Tasmania has insisted on a single electricity purchaser. Well how has it gone? Electricity prices in Tasmania have gone up by 12 percent under the very policy that Labour and Green members promote in this House.If you look at growth—the worst growth of anywhere in Australia—if you look at jobs if you look at power prices if you look at the deficits and if you look at political instability there is a very loud warning from the electoral landslide in Tasmania. You see Shane Jones is right. The contradictions that exist between the Labour and Green parties would result in a hugely unstable Government. New Zealand cannot afford it. I just simply invite Labour members to reflect on the advice from mainland Australia Labor politicians who say “Get in bed with the Green Party at your peril.” That is advice that I am sure Shane Jones is taking on board. The record is clear. A Labour-Green Government would mean high unemployment high deficits political instability high power prices and record youth unemployment. New Zealand should not have a bar of it.