McClay ToddHon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua): This is almost like comedy hour. The last speaker in this debate David Clark said there were so many promises delivered on. Well this isn't the year of delivery; it's a year of non-delivery. That Minister in health can't even arrange for babies in Lumsden in the South Island to be delivered in a hospital. He stands in front of us and he talks about the National Government. Well what he doesn't tell anybody is $16.8 billion of extra additional funding was invested in health by National over the last nine years—$16.8 billion. You know what we've seen over the last two years under this Minister as the health Minister? See National Party in Opposition had to drag him kicking and screaming towards an announcement on cancer treatment in New Zealand.What he's announced amongst a few other things is a very small amount of extra money at the same time having delivered a cut for Pharmac—less money for Pharmac. He's announced slightly more than a working group: an agency but an agency after two years. Well where were you Minister for the last two years when New Zealanders were wanting you to deliver on your promise of better health service and better delivery and cancer treatment for New Zealanders? That's right; we hear nothing at all as the door slams on New Zealanders who deserve more—$16.8 billion under National. What do we hear from the Minister? He's bought a whole lot of helicopters. Actually when it comes to emergency services in New Zealand the Government doesn't own a single helicopter. They don't own them; the private sector and their trusts do.You know how they've got a few more helicopters? They have canned services. They got rid of the rescue helicopter in Rotorua that was paid for by the people of Rotorua through fundraising. Did he turn up? No he didn't. He said to the people of Rotorua If you want your answer look at the slamming door." because actually when it comes to delivery in the health service this Minister is the Minister of deferred achievement and that's just not good enough for New Zealanders. Actually this was the "botched Budget". It was a botched Budget and it's leading to a botched economy. Do you know when they talk about wellbeing and caring what was the first piece of legislation passed under this Budget in urgency?Rt Hon David Carter: Bet it was a tax. It'd be tax.Hon TODD McCLAY: It was a tax increase. So they care so much about New Zealanders that they went into urgency and the very first thing they did to show New Zealanders they care—they put taxes up and it was on petrol. Now what we're going to hear is actually the reason petrol is so expensive in New Zealand is all the things that are happening overseas. Well actually what we heard from the Prime Minister today is that the reason that GDP has fallen from 4 percent growth under National to around 2 percent if they're lucky—it'll only be 2 percent because over the last two weeks they haven't been paying attention to the economy. So actually businesses' confidence has probably gone up because the Government have been so useless in this area. So what did the Prime Minister say? The reason the economy's slowing is because she can't control African swine flu in China and I agree with her.Now the only reason we know that she is sure of this is that she didn't promise it at the last election. What we've heard from the Prime Minister as the reason the economy is slowing is because of what's happening in Iran. The reason she said the economy is slowing is because of uncertainty around Brexit and of course the reason the economy is slowing is uncertainty because of a trade war between the US and China. Well to the Prime Minister: none of those things are correct and none of them are true because if you look at what our export sector is doing exports are at record levels.This is a Government that inherited a strong economy—4 percent growth falling unemployment benefit numbers going down as more people were being trained and going to the workforce—and what have they done in two years? Created more uncertainty in the business community than existed during the global financial crisis. Now the Prime Minister is right: her Government's not responsible for the global financial crisis. But they're responsible for the business community having less confidence than when the whole world's economy was up against the wall and that's frankly not good enough. So what we've been having this year between the Prime Minister and Simon Bridges as Leader of the Opposition is not a debate or an argument about whether the economy is slowing—the Prime Minister accepted that—it's a debate and argument about who's responsible. If you look at this Budget—the "botched Budget"—clearly responsibility sits on that side of the House with this Government. You know you say to the Prime Minister that you can't go out and just make decisions like "Let's go out and get rid of all exploration for gas in New Zealand." because you want to flip off to Paris and talk to a number of your international friends and make a great big grandstanding speech and it doesn't have an effect upon confidence in New Zealand. Go to Taranaki where actually they are in favour of exploration for gas because it's good for their economy and what do we see in this Budget: $20 million to replace the lost revenue that that part of regional New Zealand will lose. You know there are people who had invested there and who were buying houses there and their kids were going to school there. Well $20 million to look for some other type of energy just won't make it. We have seen uncertainty around tax increases and to the credit of the Opposition the Government didn't go ahead with their capital gains tax. It wasn't in this Budget not because they didn't want to but because they got rattled and they got scared because they saw what it was doing to their polling numbers. But you can't promise it then say you won't do it then promise it again say you won't do it then actually come forward and ask Michael Cullen the man that will always find more tax for a Labour Party to put together a group to come forward with a Government report that proposes it—18 months of uncertainty of people in New Zealand not knowing whether if they invest in their businesses if they buy another house or if they have a small lifestyle block they will be hit by the Labour taxman—and then all of a sudden say "We're ruling it out and that's it." In the very next breath the Prime Minister said that she had always been in favour of a capital gains tax but it was just not possible at the moment. Well do you know what New Zealanders know? Because it is a Budget you just can't trust Labour on tax. You can't trust them to deliver their promises. You can't trust them on tax because the very first bill and piece of legislation passed in the "botched Budget" was not about wellbeing; it was about a tax increase. When we were in Government in our last term in Government there were 10000 jobs a month being created—jobs for hard-working Kiwis to get ahead and to deliver for their families. There have been months this year where we went backwards where the economy was actually doing so poorly that fewer jobs were being created than were being lost—Hon Julie Anne Genter: What's unemployment Todd? Hon TODD McCLAY: —10000 jobs a month. Well the Minister over there—the "Minister of Everything But Having People Allowed to Drive at the Speed that They Should or They Want to on Our Roads"—asks what's happened to unemployment. It's really straightforward. There are businesses up and down New Zealand who are crying out for workers skilled and unskilled. They need them to pick the fruit to work in their factories to—I don't know. It'd be good to build a couple of roads—there would be some. What happens? We've seen the unemployment benefit numbers go up by 15000. They were falling under the last Government because jobs were being created. So that's right: unemployment levels through the statistics are at a record low because that party and the Government opposite inherited a strong economy with a falling unemployment rate. But I tell you what will happen next year: all of the predictions from the experts around the country of a slowing economy will come true. The ANZ has just said that later this week there's a 30 percent chance that in the second quarter of this year our economy was going backwards and GDP growth had fallen below zero. I hope that hasn't happened. I hope that hasn't happened because it's a bad signal for the economy and it's an even worse signal for businesses who want to invest and they want to grow. But it's the ANZ that have said this and if that is the case and if our GDP growth rates are not on the way up and if they are falling it's got nothing to do with African swine flu and it's got nothing at all to do with Iran. It's purely all of the decisions that have been made by that Government opposite. I would say finally that there are some signs of optimism around as spring comes. We know that in the kiwifruit industry they are feeling very very good. But I would say to every member over there: get off your chuff get out of your list places in some of our electorates and talk to businesses. They need workers. They need a plan. They don't need a "botched Budget". They need a growing economy. Thank you Madam Speaker."