Barry Maggie: Estimates Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBarry Maggie: Estimates Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 30 July 2013. Volume:692;Page:12051. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MAGGIE BARRY (National—North Shore):I rise with pleasure to talk about this Government’s economic record as the deputy chair of the Finance and ExpenditureCommittee. We had the Minister of Finance through talking to us recently about appropriations and of course I paid close attention to the Budget and the triumphs that have emerged from the way that we have managed our spending. This is a Government that is responsibly managing its finances. We have a clear plan in difficult times to manage the finances to get on top of debt and return to surplus and we are doing it. We are delivering.Look at our results so far. A growing economy with 2.4 percent growth. That is higher than in many other developed countries. We have got after-tax wages up 22 percent since we took office. That is more than twice the inflation rate. We also have the lowest mortgage interest rates for 50 years—Andrew Little: What’s happened to the median wage? That’s gone down. You’re failing working New Zealanders.MAGGIE BARRY: —the lowest interest rates for 50 years. That is a tremendous achievement and people on this side of the Chamber understand and realise exactly what kind of a difference that makes to people’s lives unlike the bozos and the angry birds over the other side who bray and heckle from the backbenches without any idea of what they are doing. Tax reforms are another area where we have achieved encouraging savings and investments.What have we done with jobs? Over the past 2 years 50000 new jobs have been created—pay attention to that why don’t you. The 90-day trial period was introduced to give employers incentives to hire another staff member and that has resulted in tangible results: 13000 jobs have been created. There have been thousands of jobs created throughout the Government’s infrastructure investment and there are thousands that are needed and are going on at the moment to help rebuild Christchurch.What have they done on the other hand—Labour and the Greens thenaysayers the people who say no to everything? They say no to 13000 jobs and the 90-day trial period. They say no to a thousand jobs through the International Convention Centre and thousands of jobs on the roads of national significance. Labour’s failings over the time that it was on the Treasury benches have been well documented.I look at health for example. Health was one of the big real spenders actually in this Budget. The Hon Bill English delivered on the promises and when it came to putting up and allocating money the Government has been able to save and really reprioritise spending in the health area. That has made a huge difference in for example the area where I come from the North Shore. Under the Labour Government of 9 long years we saw that theWaitematā District Health Board was one of the very worst performing in the country. People were in corridors for days. They went to Australia to get treatment. It was a woeful and dreadful situation and understandably people in my electorate were unhappy about that.What we have done with the reprioritised health spending—some $88 million in the current year and over the next 5 years—is to redeploy it. When I look at North Shore Hospital I see a new elective surgery unit that opened last month. We have a renal unit. We have far better cardio care than we have ever had before.Taharoto Mental Health Unit which was in a woeful state of disrepair consistently ignored by the Labour Government has now had more than $20 million allocated to rebuild that facility. It is very much needed and a very much wanted resource.I look at theWaitematā District Health Board and I see a hospital in particular that is really benefiting from the medicines being made safer by electronic prescribing. The Hon Tony Ryall was in the electorate a couple of weeks ago and he was looking at how staff are prescribing and administering medication electronically using mobile computers called “COWs”. These “COWs” which are computers on wheels are doing a wonderful job. It is being trialled at North Shore Hospital. It has cut down on theaccidents and it has cut down on incorrect medication. It has been a triumph. Electronic prescribing eliminates the risk of errors. It has been very well received and very well trialled in my area and will be rolled out to others.In fact just last month the prescription team at North Shore Hospital was named the hospital pharmacy performer of the year. That was in the 2013 Pharmacy Awards—The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy): Order! We should focus the debate on the area that the estimates are on which is finance. I think the member by all means can make comparatives but we should come back to that and much of what the member is saying is for another vote. So if we can focus on finance—I would really like to keep us on track.MAGGIE BARRY: Thank you Mr Chair for that timely reminder. I was carried away enthusiastically by the wonderful achievements that have happened as a result of the successful Budget reprioritising which the Minister of Health did speak to us about at the select committee and which I questioned him on—but point taken.When I look at what we have done in terms of responsibly managing the finances my colleague Paul Goldsmith has actually gone into some detail around our books being in good shape. I have talked about jobs. I would like to look at how we are getting back into surplus as well because under our strong economic management we are very much on track to return to surplus in the 2014-15 year. New Zealand will be one of the very few developed countries that can do that.