Goldsmith Paul: Budget Measures (Miscellaneous Fiscal Matters) Bill — First Reading Second Reading In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeGoldsmith Paul: Budget Measures (Miscellaneous Fiscal Matters) Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee[Sitting date: 15 May 2014. Volume:698;Page:18027. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]PAUL GOLDSMITH (National): It is my pleasure to speak on this Budget Measures (Miscellaneous Fiscal Matters) Bill. The tenor of Mr Robertson’s speech seemed to be that rather than the steady sensible predictable Budget carrying on in the right direction that this Government has delivered we should somehow be turning things on their head and having big changes in the economy—putting in a capital gains tax nationalising the electricity sector overturning monetary policy with an experiment that no other country in the world has tried. He said it was time for an absolute upheaval in our economic policy which makes no sense whatsoever when we look at the results that have been delivered in this Budget the sixth Budget from Bill English.After 6 years of hard work by this Government and by businesses and New Zealanders generally from one end of the country to the other we have the economy growing at nearly 4 percent wages rising faster than inflation more money in the Budget for families and the most vulnerable and business confidence at the highest level in years. That seems to me and I think to most New Zealanders to indicate that this Government is taking the economy in the right direction.I was appalled to hear a whopper from Mr Cunliffe in his Budget debate speech saying that Labour had previously delivered nine surpluses. Well Mr Cullen said he had a surplus in his last Budget but the reality was that the final Budget in the final year that Labour was responsible delivered a $3.9 billion deficit. The 2008 year saw Government spending increase by an astonishing 12 percent in 1 year leaving a Budget deficit of $3.9 billion and forecasts of never-ending deficits. This Government has had to pick up the cudgels and get this economy back into shape. It was a great day yesterday being able to celebrate a restoration of fiscal responsibility and prudence and I am very pleased to be part of a Government that has done such a thing.I do want to mention in relation to this bill the housing affordability aspects of it in the temporary suspension of dumping duties provisions. Probably the single biggest issue that I hear about in Epsom is a concern about the steadily rising house prices in Auckland. This Government has been very very active in this sector because we realise that the biggest issue we have is the constraint of land and a small supply of new houses and so Nick Smith has been indefatigable in his efforts around the city to increase the supply of land and of new housing.The other area is the cost of building. I do not like to be unkind about any members on the other side of the House but for Mr Robertson to suggest that the cost of building has no impact on the price that first-home buyers pay is economically illiterate because the cost of building a new house does flow through to the overall cost of houses in the city. So this bill will in a small way make a difference to house costs across Auckland by making it cheaper to build new houses. On that basis I commend this bill to the House. Thank you.