Dean Jacqui: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Dean Jacqui: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:670;Page:16552] 
JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki) 
: 
 That contribution from the member Charles Chauvel just highlights what an ideologically driven party Labour is when its members talk about the ordinary New Zealander. Mr Chauvel says that Labour will put middle New Zealanders at the core of what it does. Well that is a very interesting thing to say in the context of the report that came out very recently from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research which looked at the impact of the 90-day trial period over a 6-month period following its introduction in March 2009. The results of that trial period are very interesting and I will read from a section of the press release about the report: “Unemployment peaked at 7.1 percent that year and considering the economic conditions small businesses”—that is ordinary New Zealanders to the ideologically driven members—“were operating under the indication that hiring was almost 6 percent points higher than expected is extremely good.” Furthermore the report said that total job numbers for these firms were also higher by about 2 percent. 
In her contribution earlier today in this debate the Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson told the House that figure represented some 13000 jobs. That is 13000 good ordinary New Zealanders so beloved by the ideologically driven Labour members have jobs. That in my eyes is success but how did Labour and Helen Kelly react? They hated it. Why did they hate this initiative this 90-day free trial that has provided 13000 jobs and has saved jobs for ordinary New Zealanders? Why did they hate that I ask Simon Bridges— 
Simon Bridges 
: Because we did it. 
JACQUI DEAN 
: It was because we did it. If that is not ideologically driven to the detriment of ordinary New Zealanders I think it is a shame that Labour has the blinkers down. 
Charles Chauvel also talked about some other aspects of policy that National can be very proud of. Minister Nick Smith relaxed the rules around air-quality standards. Do members know why? It was because they were simply undoable. Those air-quality standards were going to adversely affect places like Ranfurly and Alexandra down in the South Island that have inverted air sheds over them and that were due to breach those air standards a number of times per year. They simply could not conform to the standards. We would have ended up with regional councils prosecuting district councils and citizens and for what? Because the citizens in those towns could not afford to buy clean-burning fuel. What is this Government doing about that? We are providing subsidies for people to put clean-burning wood fires into their homes. That is a success. 
Simon Bridges 
: That’s Bluegreens. 
JACQUI DEAN 
: That is a Bluegreen initiative. What does Labour think about that? It cannot stand it. Why can it not stand it? 
Simon Bridges 
: It doesn’t involve more taxing. 
JACQUI DEAN 
: It does not involve more tax and more borrowing and because National did it. 
The drinking-water standards are another example where National is in good touch with the needs of community. Under the Labour Government the drinking-water standards were unaffordable and were not doable. National is the Government that has put the interests of the good New Zealand Kiwi—Charles Chauvel’s middle New Zealanders—first. It has taken a National-led Government to do that. 
This year the National-led Government will continue the work of the previous 2 years under the leadership of Prime Minister John Key. Our focus will be on building a stronger economy. This year the people of New Zealand will have a clear choice. Come 26 November they can choose. They can choose the tax-and-spend policies of the back-to-the-future Labour Party where taxing the so-called rich and either driving them out of business or driving them over to Australia is its recipe for economic success. Or New Zealanders—even Charles Chauvel’s middle New Zealanders; I thank Mr Chauvel—will have another choice. They can have the choice of a Government that is focused on building a strong economy and moving away from the debt-fuelled consumption so beloved of Labour towards real and enduring economic growth. This is the year for good strong economic policy and for growing the pie if you like—to put it in the simplest terms—rather than just cutting it up a different way which is the sum of Labour’s lack of aspiration for New Zealanders. Shame on Labour! Shame on Labour for its lack of aspiration for New Zealanders. Building a stronger economy is the only way we will provide New Zealanders and their families and kids with better jobs higher incomes and improved living standards. 
I want to talk about education. We need to make sure that New Zealand kids have the skills that they need to succeed. Our early childhood education investment has increased by $100 million above the original 2010 Budget allocation. 
Simon Bridges 
: $1.4 billion. 
JACQUI DEAN 
: I thank my colleague Simon Bridges who is so on the ball about these issues—$1.4 billion is now being invested into our kids through early childhood education. We are now at the stage where the taxpayer is subsidising early childhood education centres at an average of $7600 per child per year. Is it not interesting that although early childhood education funding has trebled over the past 5 years the number of little kids receiving early childhood education has increased by only 1 percent. It makes no sense that in some parts of New Zealand up to 40 percent of preschool kids receive no early childhood education before they go to school. So National is bringing spending under control and targeting funding at children who need it most. 
Members should not tell me that tired old story of mothers grandmothers and aunties who cannot make a contribution to their child’s learning. They should not tell me that sad old story that we need to have 100-percent trained early childhood teachers in early childhood centres. They just should not tell me because as a mother and a grandmother I know that I can make a very good contribution to my own children my grandchildren and anybody else’s children who care to have that contribution to their early childhood education. Labour should try selling that story to the parents of the kids who go to Papakaio School whose kids in a little country town mostly went to parent-led early childhood centres—they went to playcentre. They should not give me that story. Of course Labour has said that it will reverse this Government’s sound financial decisions but it has no idea how it would pay for it. 
Let us talk about national standards. Let us talk about a story about a mother who came into my office to tell me about her little 8-year-old kid. This little 8-year-old boy brought home his first national standards report. Mum and Dad were surprised and a little concerned to learn that their 8-year-old boy was falling behind in his mathematics. What did they do about it? They went straight to school and they talked to the teacher. The teacher was a little surprised and a little concerned but said: “Why don’t we try this?”. So the parents and the teacher worked out a plan for that kid. They went home they did the Cuisenaire rods—my colleague Simon Bridges will not even know what Cuisenaire rods are. 
Simon Bridges 
: I thought you said “questionnaire” wrong. 
JACQUI DEAN 
: They are little counting sticks. They did the homework and in about 3 weeks’ time that little 8-year-old boy was re-tested—[ 
Interruption 
] Labour does not like to hear this. That is the thing about Labour: it does not like to hear the truth. That little kid after about 3 weeks was re-tested and guess what! He was back up to doing maths at the normal standard. That is national standards and that is why Minister Anne Tolley is absolutely on the right track and has the support of parents and students up and down the length of New Zealand. 
Members should try telling otherwise to the parents who go into the schools talk to the teachers and fix the problems for these kids who know they are not achieving. The mother said this little kid knew he was not doing so well and he did not feel very flash about it. Actually I was not very good at maths—I still am not but never mind. This kid knew that he was not doing so well. Now he is. His self-confidence has come back up. That is a success and under this National-led Government led by John Key we will continue this good work. Thank you.