Gilmore Aaron: General Debate 
Gilmore Aaron: General Debate 
[Volume:675;Page:21290] 
AARON GILMORE (National) 
: 
 It is always a pleasure to follow the member who I understand is the Labour Party campaign manager given that he spends more of his time cycling and talking about what is going on in every other place in New Zealand rather than focusing on the Labour Party campaign. In fact only today the  
Listener 
 has put out this great double-page spread looking at the wonderful candidates for leadership in the Labour Party. They are all posing. Mr Shearer is there but there is no Mr Mallard. The two “Camp Davids” are there and Mr Jones is there. 
I want to touch on one of the things about the great Mr Jones. All we have heard about from the Labour Party in this debate is the Rugby World Cup. The pleasure was mine to go to the Rugby World Cup opening. We went on a train. Mr Woodhouse and I sat on a train for 35 minutes with all the other New Zealanders. The thing is nearly 2 million New Zealanders watched the Rugby World Cup opening ceremony and the opening game—2 million New Zealanders—and all the Labour Party cares about is a very very small number who became very upset because they could not get to the game on time. That is why the Government has brought in the regime that it put in place yesterday. 
You see Labour members are not worried about the many; they are worried about the few. They are worried about the things that put the Labour Party leader at 7 percent in the polls but National is focused on those things that matter. It is not about voodoo it is not about the scary thoughts of what may or may not happen it is about the economy. It is all about the economy. The National John Key - led Government has achieved many things in the economy. It put in place a tax reform package that benefits most New Zealanders. It put in place—in a very uncertain global financial environment—a mechanism where in the space of collapsing economies throughout Europe riots throughout Western Europe in particular massive unemployment in the US and huge debts rising across the Western World we have an economy that has set the confidence of people to invest in this country across the board. 
We have lowered taxes at a time when other countries in the world are raising them. We have put in place a regime where our debt track is lower than that of other countries going forward and which will remain so so that we can maintain a credit rating that will be the envy of the Western World for years to come. That means that mortgage rates for those mums and dads out there will be lower than in most other countries in the Western World. 
Jobs are increasing. Labour does not like talking about that about real jobs and the real economy whether it is in Canterbury and the rebuilding of my fine city or in other parts of the real economy. It is not about bureaucrats; it is about real jobs. Labour seems to be focused on the absolute minutia of things that do not matter. We have moved people from the offices in the medical areas to the operating theatres and those things are the many things that New Zealanders actually care about as shown by the reaction of the people out there. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: He’s imitating John Key’s pronunciation. 
AARON GILMORE 
: Unlike Mr Mallard over there New Zealanders actually care about these things that the John Key - led Government is putting in place not about the things that Mr Mallard or the Labour Party seem to care about. 
We have already spent over $1 billion rebuilding my fair province of Canterbury and many more billions of dollars are yet to come. I have actually enjoyed some of the debate and discussions we have had even with colleagues from across the other side of the House and we have agreed from time to time on some of those things that are required to rebuild our fair city. I think that is a good thing. 
We are rebuilding our city and our province and the people actually agree with us in spades. It was a pleasure to go to the opening of some of the big steps forward in the rebuilding of my fair province in recent days. My own high school Shirley Boys High School has its first day tomorrow on its campus and that is a very important thing for the largest boys’ high school in the South Island. The biggest shopping mall on my side of town The Palms reopened last Thursday so that people can go and get their cake and their coffee buy their flowers and have a good time with their friends and family. 
The National Government has put in place a wonderful thing which is the National Infrastructure Plan. It had its genesis only 4 years ago in a small group of National Party activists. We have seen the results of this being implemented in the last 3 years and they will continue to be implemented through the National Government’s investment plan which is the first ever such plan seen in New Zealand. It will see over $100 billion spent on those things that Kiwis up and down the country really care about—hospitals schools roads and those things that drive the economy. 
Despite all that we still have some challenges. My mum and dad in their house in Parklands still cannot have a functioning toilet. There are 800 people in Canterbury who still have those problems and our Government is working hard to solve those issues as well as the big-picture issues around our economy. I actually care about what my mum and dad and other New Zealanders really think. They are a good microcosm of the small problems we still have here in New Zealand. 
It has been a pleasure in the last few days to talk about the Rugby World Cup but I want to take the last few seconds I have to talk about the great Parliamentary Rugby Team and its great successes. What a wonderful thing that was being part of winning the Parliamentary Rugby World Cup again. Thank you.