Dowie SarahSARAH DOWIE (National—Invercargill): Labour is failing to deliver on its promises New Zealand First is failing to deliver on its promises and the Greens are failing to deliver on their promises. I rise in opposition to this botched Budget a Budget that has absolutely no circuit-breaker no plan and no initiatives whatsoever to turn this languishing economy around that was growing under a National-led Government at 4 percent and is now at 2 percent. That is appalling given that that Government over there inherited a surplus—a large surplus—and a growing economy. Through their hotchpotch of policies and their horse-trading between three parties it has left us with demise and with debt and that is unacceptable. Look I must admit that I absolutely flinch when I hear the other side criticise National Party people for caring about the economy because quite frankly Labour does not understand the essential nature of a growing economy. A growing economy is so important because if we don't have a platform that allows our businesses to expand then they won't be investing in their staff and investing in extra staff. What we need is a platform to create jobs within an economy so that people can be employed and can put food on the table for their families. This is why the economy is so important. Equally if we don't have a competitive job market—and let's think about the stats when National was in Government. We were creating 10000 jobs a month with regards to a platform to create stimulus and employ people and that has now dropped by 4000. It's appalling. If there is not a competitive job market then people can't look to grow in their career and they don't have those competitive situations with regards to employment terms and conditions. Equally that doesn't allow them to get ahead and achieve their hopes and dreams that they have for themselves and for their family. Then obviously a growing economy generates revenue and that revenue is important for us as the Government and parliamentarians to put into essential services like health our welfare policing and education so that our children get the best start in life. With regards to education again that is creating a platform for them to springboard off gain the skills they need and gain meaningful employment. In health we want our people to be healthy and to lead healthy lives and we want our people to feel safe on the streets and in their homes. But Labour just don't understand that. All they want to do is tax and spend all they've done is create a hotchpotch of principles in this Budget that have meant that this economy is slowing and to prop it up they want to tax hard-working individuals and ultimately all that means is that our people are kept down they can't get ahead and our most vulnerable are kept even lower. So Labour needs to understand that National Party people care about the economy for a reason: because it sets the quality of life for all New Zealanders moving forward to enable them to achieve their hopes and dreams.Look I want to talk about some of the things that haven't been provided in this Budget: the broken promises the promises that Labour campaigned on but there is no provision for in this Budget. We've heard some stories in question time about people not being able to access the drugs that they need to combat cancers and rare diseases. Labour promised $20 million for better access to those drugs and that is not even mentioned in this Budget.We have got people that are struggling at the coalface with the rising cost of living. The first piece of legislation that went through this House after the Budget in urgency was more taxes—$360 million worth with regards to petrol taxes. Now that hits people in the back pocket; trying to get around trying to do their business. In places like Southland where I'm from where the geography is quite sparse that really hits people in the pocket. So a tax that is going to be filtered into Auckland transport systems but one that hits Southlanders in the back pocket. So if you're busy getting around trying to drop your kids off at school or get around the district you are worse off.New Zealand First promised to champion the regions. They managed to secure of course a $2 billion slush fund but quite frankly that has made absolutely no difference to the regions when you've got Labour coming through the middle with respect to their vocational reforms. I want to know where the circuit-breaker was for those reforms in this Budget—there weren't any.The Hon Chris Hipkins took the time to come to Southland—it was quite a vibrant discussion—to talk about the closure and megamerger of our fabulous and successful Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) a polytech that is succeeding a polytech that is reputable and a polytech that produces high-quality students with skills fit for purpose ready to go out into the job market and retain that talent in Southland generating reserves of $36 million as much of a community leader as an institution in our community responding to market needs training people in disciplines that we need and attracting overseas students. SIT is integral with respect to our Southland Regional Development Strategy for attracting talent—and 10000 more people by 2025. That institute is high performing and employs many people from tutors and lecturers through to administrators looking after the students taking care of them and making sure that their needs are met.The Hon Chris Hipkins wants to merge that successful polytechnic in with 13 others because there are a couple that are failing—on an operational level I must say—and so it's like taking a sledgehammer to a chestnut and wanting to pull down a successful performing polytechnic to try and pull up the rest where he could be totally focused on those failing polytechnics and taking what the good polytechnics are doing and applying it to them. Well there was no circuit-breaker in the Budget for that. Certainly the slush fund is no circuit-breaker either because Southland has received a mere amount in response to its needs—a couple of hundred thousand with respect to feasibility studies and that certainly is not combating the jobs that are needed if the heart of SIT is going to be ripped away from Southland. Certainly if the time frames continue the way they look to be heading in I will enjoy going to the hustings on that premise that certainly SIT is a successful polytechnic and we won't be ripping the guts out of that come election 2020.Look I want to finish with my spokesperson's role in conservation. I certainly don't want to be a negative Nelly" all the way through; I do have to compliment the Minister on securing extra funding for Vote Conservation with respect to this Budget. It certainly is and shows a different set of circumstances that this Government finds itself in. We of course struggled with the global financial crisis. We struggled having to come in behind Cantabrians and Kaikōura people with regards to the earthquakes. Yet still with those pressures we kept the economy growing. But certainly conservation compared to the priorities of health and education and policing is a "nice-to-have". So it was good to see further efforts go into conservation but I am still concerned in regards to the management of Vote Conservation by this Minister in particular not investigating the future of biotechnologies and pest control for sustainability purposes. For that reason I oppose this Budget."