Sabin Mike: Estimates Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSabin Mike: Estimates Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 31 July 2013. Volume:692;Page:12176. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MIKE SABIN (National—Northland):“They will do nothing to grow the economy.” Well I have got some good news for that member Darien Fenton because the economy is growing at more than 3 percent. In fact the New Zealand economy is growing at a greater rate than the Australian economy and they are all coming back Darien. They are all coming back Darien.The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson): Order! Order!MIKE SABIN: Sorry Mr Chair. They are all coming back so that is why we do not hear too much about the people leaving for Australia because that is right they have all worked out that they should be coming back here and so they are.The Government’s priorities in particular around growing the economy have centred on managing the Government’s finances and building a more productive and competitive economy. If we look at “New Zealand Inc.” what we know as a nation is that we have so much to offer but we need to offer it to the world in a competitive manner and in a way that people want to get hold of our products and so that we are the go-to country. That actually is something that has been heralded by many around the world includingObama’s previous financial adviser who said that the New Zealand economy is the one economy in the world in these challenging environments that is getting it right paying down debt and investing for infrastructure and investing for growth.What we know about business is that ultimately New Zealand is made up largely of a multitude of small businesses. What we know from a macro perspective is that getting the Government’s finances in order and managing the country in a manner that grows a competitive and more productive economy is something that will flow through to the small businesses out there which will then take the risk to invest and grow their businesses. When they grow their businesses they employ people. They will employ people when the settings are right.The secret ingredient to growing a business and to growing the economy—something that the Labour Party is not too up to spec on and certainly members from the Green Party have got absolutely no idea about it—is to be able to produce a product that eitherno one else is producing is a better product than someone else’s is at a more competitive price than someone else’s or is provided in a way that is better than someone else’s out there in the market. It is about being able to do that for less than what it costs to procure that product or deliver that service.When we get those settings right the companies make profits and the ability exists for them to then invest take a risk and grow. That is the quintessential nature of business whether it be in a micro perspective of the economy from a small business employing two three or four people or right through to what we are trying to do as a nation. Those settings are right. As much as this country has been through some enormous challenges in recent times the economy is growing because the settings are right in the labour market for employers to invest and employ. That is the crux of the matter.What are we doing around that? In this vote we talk about the 90-day trial period. Well there have been 13000 jobs come into the market as a result of that. We see the starting out wage for the 16 to 19-year-olds. One thing we know is that many employers will want to employ youngsters but when they are lined up in a situation where you have got someone very low-skilled or possibly someone with even no skills and has never been in the workforce versus someone who has been in the workforce for many years and has experience and the employer has to make a decision about whom they will employ for the given dollar unfortunately a lot of those youths will miss out. We have to make sure that the settings are right to employ those young people. That will bring about 2000 jobs over the next 2 years. Actually I believe it will do a lot more than that because this economy is starting to move and employees out there are starting to realise that they need to hop on. They need to get out there and get working because otherwise they will be left behind. That is exactly what they are doing.We are unravelling the red tape of the Employment Relations Act. We are doing a lot and we will be completely reforming the health and safety side of the workplace. In short what we are doing is “we are doing”. There are three sorts of people in this world: there are the “never do’s” there are the “gonna do’s” and there are the “do’s”. My question to the members on the Opposition benches is what are they doing? They talk about “gonna do” something from time to time but mostly it is just to criticise what we are doing and to offer no alternative vision.Vote agreed to.