Smith Nick: General Debates 
Smith Nick: General Debates 
[Volume:606;Page:3576] 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (NZ National—Nelson) 
: 
 Is it not noteworthy that we have heard from three Government speakers in this debate and every one of those speakers has chosen to attack personalities and to rub dirt. That is the standard the Government is setting in the House today. I say this Parliament should be focused on the issues that are important to New Zealand.  
I want to reflect on the Catching the Knowledge Wave conference that was held with so much fanfare just 18 months ago and what the Government has done with it. What we have in terms of the $10 million of public money that went into that conference 18 months ago is 44 recommendations. I have gone through those 44 recommendations. How many has this Government implemented? Four out of 44! Even under the “everybody passes National Certificate of Educational Achievement hold your hands politically correct” education system that this Government would like us to have I say to Mr Hughes that implementing four out of 44 recommendations has to be a failure.  
I ask Mr Hughes: what is the use of having a Catching the Knowledge Wave conference producing 44 recommendations and applying only four of them? [ 
Interruption 
] Oh he has admitted the Government has failed. Well it has failed and if this Parliament is going to achieve its objectives of raising the living standards of New Zealanders we do need to focus on the issues from that conference. While the Prime Minister will wander around in Auckland this week with phase two we on this side of the House say: “Finish phase one stop the spin focus on the substance.”  
One of the recommendations from the Catching the Knowledge Wave conference is that New Zealand would create the most business-friendly environment of any in the country. I want to test members opposite—members like Mr Clayton Cosgrove who is good at spreading dirt rather than focusing on what might work for businesses in our part of the country and ask him: “How has the Government’s behaviour on the Resource Management Act helped?”. His Minister said that the Resource Management Act changes would be passed in October 2001. She said again in October 2002 that they would be passed in that month and still there has been absolutely no progress.  
Look at the occupational safety and health changes and this new idea that employers are responsible for stress in the workplace. Is that going to help us have the most business-friendly regulatory environment in New Zealand? Not a hope! The Government says: “We want to be leaders in biotechnology.” What has the Government done in biotechnology? Despite 3½ years there have been no changes except a moratorium on any biotechnology. What has been gained by 3 years of stalling? Not one iota. Even after the royal commission the Government said that the rules that were put in place by National were sound. How can we possibly claim to be part of a knowledge economy when we have stalled biotechnology in this country for over 3 years?  
I want to turn to my own passion the area of education. Education is the cradle of the knowledge wave economy. What sort of innovation are we allowed in the education system? In terms of taking away parental choice parents are not allowed to choose where their children will go to school. This Government is going to decide. What does that do for innovation? What does it do in terms of taking away the control that school boards have to innovate with their budgets? We are going backwards. Why has the Government put a ridiculous cap on independent school funding? How does that help innovation? It does not; it does the opposite. Why has the Government stopped schools integrating? What does the Government have against it? Why did it change the policy in that regard? I ask Mr Benson-Pope how that helps innovation in our economy. 
David Benson-Pope 
: A good State education for our young people. 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: How that statement contradicts! This is where we find out. Mr Benson-Pope thinks that innovation rests with the State. I wish! I would be happy and I am sure members on this side of the House would be happy to give Mr Benson-Pope the opportunity to go to the Catching the Knowledge Wave conference phase two and learn that innovation does not start with the bureaucracy and the State; it starts with the private sector. Everything that his Government is doing is contradicting that and making innovation in the private sector more difficult. I challenge members opposite to live up to the knowledge wave and to stop killing innovation in New Zealand.