Gilmore Aaron: General Debate 
Gilmore Aaron: General Debate 
[Volume:670;Page:16835] 
AARON GILMORE (National) 
: 
 I will carry on from what Sue Kedgley the previous speaker was saying. I will talk a little about the brotherhood of men and women in Australia and New Zealand and I will touch on one aspect the previous speaker mentioned. It is not the case that we do not like Russel Norman because he is an Australian; we just do not like his politics. 
I will talk about some of the things that link my family to Australia. Some members may know what is on the A$10 note. If members ever have an A$10 note they should pull it out and look at it one day. On the A$10 note is one of the most famous socialists in Australia we could ever have met Dame Mary Gilmore. Dame Mary Gilmore was a journalist a literary writer for many years and a poet in Australia. She was one of the most famous journalists and writers in Australia and she was a very well-known socialist with the Australian Workers’ Union as I am sure some members opposite know. One of the neat things about her being on the A$10 note is that it shows us some of the links between our country and Australia that are to do with aspects other than those we have traditionally talked about relating to sport and our defence forces. 
I will talk particularly about some of the changes that have been signed off today. Those changes are in the field of business. One of the things that have been announced today is that New Zealand businesses will be able to invest up to $1 billion in Australia. There has been a lot of worry and concern about Australian companies investing in New Zealand but having New Zealand companies being able to invest up to $1 billion in Australia is a very good thing. I will give members a couple of examples. Right now a very large New Zealand company in the building products area is in the process of taking over a very large Australian company. That transaction is worth about $700 million or $800 million. Ordinarily such a transaction in a simple sense would require some sort of approvals but with the signing of the protocols today such transactions do not need such bureaucratic approvals and can go ahead in a more efficient manner. That is a classic example of the benefits of Closer Economic Relations and the extension of the protocols between our two great nations. 
We heard Jacinda Ardern talking earlier about some of the issues around skills. She said she was worried about wasted skills in terms of teaching people how to use text messages in jobs. Well I ask whether that member wants everybody to sit on a production line doing nothing and learning nothing for the rest of their lives. Teaching young people skills is one way of getting them better higher-paid and more productive jobs which is what our Government is about. 
We heard Clayton Cosgrove bleating about earthquakes and talking about worries arising from earthquakes. Well one of the great things about the links between New Zealand and Australia mentioned today by Prime Minister Gillard is the fact that down in Canterbury where I live many Australians are helping to rebuild our houses. They are helping to inspect houses and are providing us with skills we did not have. We did not have sufficient skills and expertise in Canterbury immediately after the earthquake. Australia did and many Australians have been busy working and helping with the planning and rebuilding for Canterbury. That is a wonderful step forward. 
At Pike River on the West Coast Australians have been providing many resources and skills. That is a wonderful example of the joint nature of Australia and New Zealand. The fact that Australians came over and provided us with resources that we did not have access to shows the wonderful nature of the link between Australia and New Zealand. 
Of course there are also wonderful things to do with sport—in particular the wider aspects of sport. Sport is a very global business these days and the ability to buy trade and sell professional sports teams is increasingly part of the nature of the world of business transactions. Russell Crowe a Kiwi whom we lent to Australia and of whom we are probably proud is a major owner of the South Sydney Rabbitohs. It will be possible to buy into other major sporting franchises that are likely to appear. 
Over time we are likely to see more and more examples of Australian and New Zealand businesses becoming increasingly intertwined. More jobs and expertise will be created and trade between the two countries which is currently something in the order of $21 billion will be able to grow. It has been at over 8 percent per annum over the last decade and it will continue to grow after the signing of the Closer Economic Relations protocol. 
We have heard fear and loathing from Opposition members about having Australians coming to invest in New Zealand. Well I ask them what is wrong with Australians bringing expertise and skills into New Zealand. What is wrong with that? Australians bring new skills and wealth into our country which helps to employ New Zealanders. That is a good thing. Having productive jobs and investment is a positive thing. We did not hear that from Ms Ardern earlier on. She did not think training made a lot of sense. For her training people in new skills seemed to be a complete waste of time. 
Finally I say to the Australians out there that we like them but we do not love them. I deal with a lot of them and increasingly the ones I meet when I am travelling round the world— 
Hon Shane Jones 
: “I’ve been everywhere man.” 
AARON GILMORE 
: Shane Jones has been everywhere man. Mr Jones is a classic example of one of the Australians who has done well.