Lee Melissa: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLee Melissa: General Debate[Sitting date: 30 July 2014. Volume:700;Page:19677. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MELISSA LEE (National):Thank God there will not be a New Zealand First - led Government. It is a great pleasure to speak in the general debate this afternoon—the final general debate in this 50th Parliament. After the member Denis O’Rourke’s contribution I was going to rebut some of the things that he said but it is probably not worth it. It is like everything that that party ever said—things like they are not anti-Chinese but everything that comes out of that member’s mouth is all about anti-Chinese rhetoric.I am very proud to be standing here as part of the National-led Government led by our Prime Minister John Key. Our Prime Minister has provided strong political leadership stable Government policies and a united hard-working team. Today you can see that most of us are wearing a very colourful tie going out in support of one of our colleagues who is giving his valedictory speech today the Hon Tony Ryall who has been a very colourful character in this House for a very long time. We are united. We are a hard-working team and together with forward-thinking New Zealanders we are making things happen.There are many things that I could talk about but I wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge the Minister for Ethnic Affairs the Hon Judith Collins. As her parliamentary private secretary I have worked very closely with Minister Collins and her work has been exemplary. I am particularly proud of the work of the Office of Ethnic Affairs in Ethnic People in Commerce in New Zealand. More than 400 people attended the Ethnic People in Commerce conference this year and it was an opportunity for ethnic people in commerce to connect with mainstream businesses and corporates. This year Ethnic People in Commerce in New Zealand is partnered with Export New Zealand to connect and take advantage of and maximise growth opportunities. I can say that there were at least 300 real connections that were made as a result of the conference and they will result in greater opportunities for our ethnic communities in recognition that our ethnic communities can and do contribute significantly to the benefit and growth of New Zealand.Tomorrow Parliament wraps up after an incredibly busy term with more than 330 pieces of legislation passed and literally thousands of questions answered by the Prime Minister and Ministers. Through everything that has made the headlines over this parliamentary term this National Government under John Key’s leadership has been well and truly focused on what actually matters. Jobs and wages are growing and we have one of the highest growth rates among the world’s developed economies. That is something that we should all be proud of.We are supporting the most vulnerable in New Zealand with Better Public Services. We have fewer Kiwis thinking that their future will be better in Australia; they are remaining in New Zealand. We have Kiwis returning to Aotearoa. People are feeling more positive. Export figures are high inflation is low and we are on track to surplus. That is something that we should all be very very proud of. We are on track to Budget surplus this year and to post increasing surpluses in years to come so that we will have choices about repaying debt and investing a bit more in our priority public services.Earlier someone asked where the jobs are. In the past year there were an extra 84000 jobs created right across New Zealand. Treasury is forecasting that another 172000 jobs will be created over the next 4 years. That is something we should all be proud of. It is interesting that the increase in spending from Labour in the last six Budgets in its term of Government added up to $20 billion. Compare that with this side of the House: our six Budgets total $2.9 billion—$20 billion versus $2.9 billion driven in part by two net zero Budgets. Everyone can decide who is better in charge of the treasury. The public can see who is a better manager of the treasury.We have improved the Government’s finances while still improving public services and making a difference. It is less about throwing money around on a problem and more about changing the way we work so that the services we deliver are more effective. We are finding out that the more we get Government agencies to focus on results the better outcomes we have for our communities and our country.This Government is willing and able to spend more now to reduce the long-term social and economic costs of dysfunction. What a good thing it is for families and what a good thing it is for the Government. The National Government should be voted in on 20 September.