SpeechDAN BIDOIS (National—Northcote): It's a pleasure to rise and take a first call in the year of 2019 in the general debate and I want to take time to amplify some of the concerns that I'm hearing in Northcote and also throughout New Zealand. It's actually about New Zealanders. It's not about as the New Zealand First Party would say National; it's not about MPs' pay; it's about the concerns and aspirations of New Zealanders.The feedback that I'm getting is loud and clear. The people of New Zealand are not confident with this Labour-led Government. They're not confident especially when it comes to the economy. Business confidence is down according to ANZ's latest business confidence index. The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence survey indicates that consumers are at their lowest level of confidence this year. And we just learnt that farmer confidence farms—I've got no farms in Northcote but farmers are hurting: a negative 80 percent confidence rate in farmers under this Labour led Government. It's important to raise this because there's a strong link between confidence and economic performance. When businesses can't hire—when they don't feel confident they don't hire they don't invest. Banks don't lend consumers don't spend and farmers don't invest. But don't take my word. Take the word of the Reserve Bank which also says that there's a strong link and I'll quote this from the Reserve Bank: We show that better nowcasts of the current state of the labour market are obtained by using …"—guess what?—"business confidence data". And New Zealand Institute of Economic Research forecasts released today indicate that—that the economy is forecast to slow partly for overseas factors but also partly because of the lack of business confidence in this Labour-led Government. That is why business confidence is important. It's important for New Zealanders and I'm hearing it loud and clear right throughout Northcote and in wider New Zealand. So why is business confidence down? Is it because there is no plan under this Government for the economy besides taxing more borrowing more and spending more? Is that it perhaps? Or is it the number of working groups that are—I don't know how many working groups there are; over 300 working groups I think. Or is it the fact that this Government's rolled back employment legislation under this Government and hurting small business? Or is it the unsustainable minimum wage increases that we're seeing in this Labour-led Government? Or is it the policies of this Labour-led Government that are causing fewer economic opportunities—the policies around the Provincial Growth Fund and extra money for uni students? And let's not forget KiwiBuild which this Government doesn't really like to talk about much.So yes confidence matters. Confidence is translating into a lower state of economic performance and that is why I joined the National Party: because I believe that the National Party strongly supports a growing economy because that is the way we improve the prosperity of New Zealanders. I saw this very much in my own life growing up having had a chance to get ahead and improve my own life through a butcher's apprenticeship and working in the private sector. I also see it in my community every day: start-up companies and businesses that are growing and taking on that extra worker giving these people an opportunity to improve their condition in life.That is why National has this week announced the release of our economy discussion document. I've got a nice copy here. This document is a great opportunity for New Zealanders to have a say in the next National Government's policies around increasing productivity and employment growth around reducing the cost of living for New Zealanders and around improving the sustainable financial management of our country. That is how you improve confidence in New Zealand. That is how you improve economic performance and how you improve prosperity in this great nation and it is my pleasure to advance this document and please provide input into our next National Government's platform. Thank you."