Collins Judith: New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Bill — Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
Collins Judith: New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Bill — Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
[Volume:609;Page:6293] 
JUDITH COLLINS (NZ National—Clevedon) 
: 
 It is with a heavy heart that I have to support this bill. I do so for only one reason. It is because the bill seeks to reduce the bureaucracy by one half and that is a good thing. 
John Carter 
: By some. 
JUDITH COLLINS 
: Certainly by some as Mr John Carter tells me. The hope is that it will reduce it by half. 
Some of us in this Chamber have actually had successful experience in business. 
Rodney Hide 
: None in the Government. 
JUDITH COLLINS 
: None in the Government of course as Mr Hide says. One of the things we know is that if some fool with a briefcase waltzes along and says: “Shall I give you some money? Can you develop something new?” any red-blooded New Zealander will say: “Yep I’ll have that.” 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Would the member speak to Part 2. 
JUDITH COLLINS 
: What is any different about these grants in Part 2? What bits of Part 2 are any different from the old days of supplementary minimum price payments to farmers to get sheep in before 31 March and then get rid of them after 1 April—which happened to be April Fool’s Day? The difference is that the farmers do not want to see Jim Anderton trotting around crowing about how much taxpayers’ money he is giving away to people. They know exactly where he can go and they will tell him—as they would have at the Fieldays if he had turned up. 
The actual function of this bill is stated in clause 9: “The functions of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise are to—(a) contribute to a supportive environment for sustainable economic development.” That sounds really good but what does this bill have to do with reducing the costs of doing business? Absolutely nothing! What does it say about reducing the risk to employers of taking on employees? Absolutely nothing! Where in the bill does it say: “Look employers we know you’re doing a good job. We know you value your staff as your most important asset in any business and we’re going to help you to have the confidence to employ people.”? Where does it say that in the bill particularly in clause 9? 
David Benson-Pope 
: What about the bill? This is irrelevant nonsense. 
JUDITH COLLINS 
: I cannot ever remember David Benson-Pope taking a call and I would like to know whether he will take any calls on this bill. 
Rodney Hide 
: He’s incapable. 
JUDITH COLLINS 
: That is true—he is incapable. 
Clause 9 goes on to say that New Zealand Trade and Enterprise should “(b) provide a conduit for input and advice from industry”—and wait for it—“trade unions local government regions education and research organisations potential investors and individual enterprises ...”. The only people in that whole group who would have any clue at all about trade or free enterprise would be industry some potential investors and individual enterprises. Everyone else would just be wasting our time wasting taxpayers’ money and more important wasting the time of employers and business people. 
Paragraph (c) states: “enhance industry and regional enterprise and entrepreneurial capabilities ...”. How many bureaucrats have we ever met who would know anything about entrepreneurial capabilities? If they are entrepreneurial what are they doing being bureaucrats? We would not find any there. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: What about Trevor Moeke? 
JUDITH COLLINS 
: Apart from Trevor Moeke. The member is quite right—he has certainly been entrepreneurial with someone else’s money. 
I come back to the point. Subclause (d) states: “contribute to increased exports from and investment in New Zealand…”. Why do we not just start treating people in business as though they were not second-class citizens in their own country? Where does it say that in the bill?