Jones Shane: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeJones Shane: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 08 August 2013. Volume:692;Page:12521. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]6.Hon SHANE JONES (Labour)to theMinister for Economic Development: What action has he taken to ensure high value jobs are retained in Otago Waikato Northland East Coast andManawatū?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Economic Development):The Government has taken a very large range of actions—in fact around 360—in its Business Growth Agenda which goes across different regions. Actually there is a very good summary that the member might be interested in reading in this report that breaks it down region by region for him but there is as I say a large number. One example is the Waikato region which is one example that the member raises. For example we are investing around $41 million over the last 3 years in research and development grants in the Waikato for companies to grow there—investing in a number of start-up fast-growth companies through the Venture Investment Fund. It is just under 70 Waikato companiesthat are involved with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. We fund and support the SODA incubator in Hamilton. We provide a large number of capability development vouchers for Waikato businesses through Opportunity Hamilton. We are of course building—Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It will have occurred to you and it occurs to a few of my colleagues that this is a Minister who simply cannot answer the question with any brevity whatsoever. It is a long tirade he always involves himself in and surely after all this time he should have learnt to get his thoughts right.Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume his seat. The Minister was giving a very adequate answer. There are too many occasions when the member himself jumps to his feet and says that the answer is not satisfactory. On this occasion the Minister can continue from where he was—certainly do not start the answer again.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: As I was saying and I will continue on there is of course the ultra-fast broadband initiative in the Waikato and the rural broadband initiative. We are of course building the Waikato Expressway a road of national significance that is crucial for the region’s development and the Waikato projects on the New Zealand Cycle Trail investing in the Food Innovation Network facilities at the Waikato Innovation Park—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I am now starting to agree with the right honourable gentleman. That is quite long enough.Sue Moroney: Well what new economic development plan does he have for the Waikato region now that our region’s leadership role in agricultural research and development has been gutted—gutted with the announcement of 180 jobs going from the AgResearch—[Interruption ]Mr SPEAKER: Order! On this occasion I am going to ask Sue Moroney to start her question again but—[Interruption ] Order! I want it to be a question that is in line with the Standing Orders: short sharp and concise without the addition. [Interruption ] Order! Does the Hon David Parker wish to stay for question time? I was on my feet.Hon David Parker: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. There were a number of interjections that were out of order during your response to the point of order and I accept your admonition in respect of that. But the problem that the Opposition has with that ruling is that a similar standard should be applied to answers as is applied to questions. The last answer that we had from the Minister showed that there is some inconsistency in that regard.Mr SPEAKER: Order! When you look at the question it was a very broad question involving many significant parts of New Zealand. The Minister gave a substantial answer. It was interrupted—[Interruption ] Sorry? I am on my feet I say to the Hon Shane Jones. The right honourable member interrupted at one stage and I thought that on that occasion I would give the Minister time to complete his answer. I then was in agreement with the Rt Hon Winston Peters. The answer was too long and I asked the Minister to cease that answer. I am now giving a supplementary question to Sue Moroney but it will not be a long-winded supplementary question. It will be a supplementary question in line with the Standing Orders.Sue Moroney: Thank you Mr Speaker—[Interruption ]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have called Sue Moroney; I never called the Hon Annette King.Sue Moroney: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Actually the first person to speak after you called me was actually David Bennett and I suggest—Mr SPEAKER: Order! My patience is running out with the whole of the House. The reason I picked Annette King is that I was looking at Sue Moroney and calling her. Ihave not got the ability to look at the whole House at one time and I would like members to appreciate that.Sue Moroney: What new economic development plan does he have for the Waikato region now that our region’s leadership role in agricultural research and development has been gutted with the announcement of 180 jobs going fromAgResearch’s Ruakura campus and given that 130 New Zealand Post jobs will also be lost from Hamilton?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I think the member highlights the importance of attracting new investment because of course the post office changes have occurred because people simply do not send mail any more. I have a total of 16 separate initiatives for Waikato some of which I have already listed for the member. I presume you do not want me to go through all the 16?Mr SPEAKER: I certainly do not want the Minister to repeat those.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: If I could just give you a few examples. As I said to the member before there is $41 million in research and development grants to help the development of new innovation with businesses in the Waikato. We are investing in fast-growth companies through the Venture Investment Fund and Seed Co-investment Fund. There is a very big investment that the country is making in the Waikato Expressway road of national significance which is a couple of billion dollars and to be completed by 2019. There is the very significant—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Order! That is a long enough answer.Sue Moroney: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question asked about new economic development plans from that Minister and he has yet to actually answer that.Hon Gerry Brownlee: It is very difficult for the Minister to answer when the person asking the question supported by her party starts moaning about getting an answer.Mr SPEAKER: Order! The question was asked and the question was very adequately addressed on this occasion.Hon Shane Jones: Given that the East Coast and Hawke’s Bay has again experienced unemployment increases and the Minister’s silver bullet for that region of oil and gas hangs on a very big “could” what does the Minister suggest the 8300 unemployed in the region do while they wait?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Again we are focusing on a large number of initiatives. I thank the member for bringing up the positive efforts we are making in East Coast oil and gas exploration. I appreciate that he does not have the support of his own energy and resources spokesperson in that regard. We are also making very big investments—for example in ultra-fast broadband in Napier Hastings and Gisborne where people are involved in building that and they have jobs doing so. We are also developing as we know the New Zealand Cycle Trail which has got investment in that area. We have increased the number of Youth Guarantee places in that area to around 600. We are developing an irrigation scheme that we are looking to see developed in theRuataniwha area which the Government is very positive about and that will bring lots of jobs for that region. We are also investing in the Primary Growth Partnership to lift private sector investment in innovation. We are spending a lot of money developing new work with the polytechnic and Eastern Institute of Technology in—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I appreciate the answer from the Minister.Meka Whaitiri: Is an unemployment rate of 7.6 percent in Gisborne - Hawke’s Bay acceptable to his Government; if not what action has he taken specific to this region to grow jobs?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I think the member makes a very good point. Obviously we want that rate to come down. You do that by encouraging investment in productive jobs and growth in that region. To the new member I noticed in the by-election recently that every candidate was against oil and gas on the East Coast and in the same breath wasasking for more jobs on the East Coast. I recommend she thinks about that approach. [Interruption ]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have called Shane Jones.Hon Shane Jones: How does he regard irrigation as a growth support mechanism given that no one from the farming community in Hawke’s Bay is actually signed up to purchase the irrigated water and will he then give them a $30 million cheque as well?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Well it is good to see that Labour members took only three supplementary questions to line up against economic development in the Hawke’s Bay. I am assuming they have not signed up yet because they have not been offered an opportunity to sign up yet. But I can tell the member that it is these sorts of infrastructural investments that will make the long and medium term difference to employment in Hawke’s Bay and the East Coast.