Young JonathanJONATHAN YOUNG (National—New Plymouth): I am very pleased to stand in support of the Prime Minister's statement for this Parliament for this year and for the people of our nation. This year is going to be a busy and ambitious year in terms of legislation to bring changes through into this nation that will continue to undergird and support New Zealanders.Just for the sake of the previous speaker Denise Roche and her comments there are a number of levers that the Government can utilise to improve the well-being of New Zealanders. The minimum wage is one. Secondly last year for the first time in 42 years $790 million was allocated to families with children who are on benefits and who are at the lower end of the socio-economic scale. That is another lever that this Government has utilised in order to ensure that those most vulnerable are supported. We hear time and time again from the left about the borrowings of this Government but when we went through that worst recession in 60 years and we borrowed money week after week to protect those people to shield them and protect them from those sharp edges of recession there was not one word of thanks. There was not one word of acknowledgment that we used the equity and the strength of this nation often won by strong business in order to be able to protect those most vulnerable.It is also good to see and important to acknowledge that the average annual wage is now almost $59000 a year. That is up more than $12000 since we came into office—double the rate of inflation. Average wages are expected to reach $66000 by mid-2021. So all we hear from the Opposition is an alternative fact regarding the growth and the opportunity that New Zealanders are getting under this Government. I have to say that it is 8 years of solid and careful management of this country that has enabled us to do that. We were one of the first developed countries in the world to get back to surplus after the global financial crisis with a $1.8 billion surplus last year. We are on track to reduce Government debt to around 20 percent of GDP by 2020. That is good by anybody's standards. We are rated first in the world for prosperity and ease of doing business first equal for anti-corruption and second for quality of Government. Those are all statistics that have been hard fought for by this Government and by the people of New Zealand who through some very difficult and challenging times proved to be resilient and proved to work hard.I take my hat off to business owners because they are the ones who generate the job growth. They are the ones in changing circumstances. They are the ones when markets are unstable or uncertain around the world who have to take the risks. I know business owners who have increased their own borrowings against their own house in order to pay their staff. We take our hat off to those sorts of employers those sorts of people who care for the people who work for them and who are prepared to invest in them at their own cost and at times at their own peril.This Government backs New Zealanders. We back those people who take those risks to create those new jobs and those new businesses. I am pleased that we are No. 1 in the world for the ease of doing business because what that means is that those business people have a Government that supports them. They have a Government that is facing them that does not have its back against them but is listening to what they need in terms of being able to run their businesses.This year we have a further $126 million reduction in ACC levies. Since 2012 that equates to $2 billion less a year that we are taking as a Government in ACC levies. That is good for New Zealand individuals and workers and that is good for New Zealand business. We do that instead of gathering and gathering. We take only that which is necessary to offer back that strong and robust system of accident compensation. We also back New Zealanders who need the Government's support to improve their lives. As I said before there was that $790 million package that came into play on 1 April last year to help those New Zealanders who need support.We would have to say that attainment through education is another huge gain for this Government and this country yet all we hear is criticism and alternative facts from the Opposition. We have seen NCEA achievements go from 68 percent up into the 80s. We have continued to see Māori achievement in NCEA be surpassed by only a very few. There are huge gains. There are huge gains in those places—Carmel Sepuloni: Then why are there 90000 young people not in work or education an increase of 20000 since last year?JONATHAN YOUNG: —which have made tremendous efforts as that member will know in order to support young people into education. Of course she will know great organisations like Taranaki Futures that are working very hard with students in high school and school leavers to help them gain trade qualifications. I remember the first year that that organisation worked with young men and women young boys and girls from high school. Every single one of those students who were engaged in that programme went into an apprenticeship. That is a community that is pulling together and proving these things.During this time we are seeing huge numbers of people who ordinarily would not come to New Zealand because they would rather stay in Australia come back to our country—New Zealanders—because they see this as the land of opportunity. If there is one phrase that I would love to see in 2017 it is increased opportunity". The word "opportunity" should be a word that we become very comfortable and familiar with because this Government has created a platform under the wise leadership and financial leadership of Bill English our Prime Minister. He has brought in great policy and great decisions that have given us right now a platform that enables us to see this increased opportunity for all New Zealanders.We know that we live in a fragile world; 2016 saw cataclysmic change across this globe. That is not over yet. We know that for a nation as small as we are—4.5 million to 4.6 million people—living at the very end of the world with the great distance to our markets we need to be productive we need to be focused we need to be deliberate and we need to be strategic. Eight years of incredible experience on the international stage 8 years of taking us through some of the most challenging times—whether that be economic or natural cataclysmic events—we know that this Government has experience. This Government has learnt what it is to lead and to govern during stressful times and this world is in a stressful time.It is important that we have a Government that is not divided that is together that is unified that is cohesive that is coherent and that has very clear policy—oh! Is that not wonderful that we have policy? So far we have not heard of any policy that has come from the Opposition; all that we hear is how good the vibe is. What we do not need is people jiving to the vibe. What we need are people who are smart intelligent strategic and experienced and who have got depth and who know how to make decisions. This is the party. The National-led Government is able to do that as we continue to lead this nation through reduction of costs for business through the support where needed for New Zealanders and through supporting those businesses that go out there and take the risk and increase the job opportunities. What we need is a Government that is able to engage internationally across the world and see those relationships fostered so that indeed we can see our businesses prosper.This economy is diversifying. We have tourism now—a burgeoning opportunity for this nation. We are doing much in the regions to see tourism increase. We are doing much to see our regions come together with great plans of growth and development. I am very happy and privileged to stand in support of the Prime Minister's statement."