Simpson Scott: Debate on Prime Minister’s StatementText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSimpson Scott: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement[Sitting date: 17 February 2015. Volume:703;Page:1614. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]SCOTT SIMPSON (National—Coromandel): It is an absolute privilege to rise in the House at the first opportunity I have had to speak in 2015 to participate in the debate and support the Prime Minister’s speech so eloquently and positively delivered last week. It is also an absolute privilege to be a member of this National Government which after 6 years is entering its third term and making such wonderful progress on behalf of all New Zealanders. The country is in very good heart. We are heading in the right direction. We have lots yet to do but boy have we got a big plan for New Zealand and New Zealanders.It is also a privilege to be the member of Parliament for Coromandel where I am pleased to report that we have had the summer of our childhood memories. It has been a magnificent summer on the peninsula—Hon Annette King: All the National Party’s work.SCOTT SIMPSON: I know that Annette King loves it when I get up each Christmas and talk about how wonderful the Coromandel is and how wonderful business is and how much thousands of New Zealanders who come to holiday over the summer period have enjoyed their stay on the beautiful Coromandel.One of the things I note is that at times over the Christmas break I saw so many members of Parliament around the electorate that I thought there were probably more members in the Coromandel electorate over the summer break than sometimes there are here on a sitting day in Wellington. They came like thousands of other New Zealanders to enjoy the beaches the surf the bush the nice white sand the quality of parliamentary representation while they were holidaying in the electorate and for a whole lot of other good reasons.But they came in noticeably larger numbers this year than the summer before. Why was that? Well partly it was because they are feeling confident about the state of the nation they are feeling confident about the economy and they are feeling confident about their own futures. Petrol prices are lower. That means that they have been able to come and enjoy a wider longer distance around the electorate and they know that the Government is looking after their interests with care and diligence and making sure that their futures are bright and prosperous. So they are spending more time and more money in the electorate than they did last year. I think that is a terrific thing. Small businesses all around the Coromandel have noticed that. They are telling me that they have had a great summer and with a little bit of luck it will run through to Easter. It is true that the farmers are finding that it is about time the lack of rain was remedied and surely soon that will come.I just want to spend a minute talking about my role as the chair of the Local Government and Environment Committee. That is the committee that this year will be tasked with shepherding through the select committee process the much-needed second phase of reforms that the Hon Nick Smith will be bringing to Parliament in the not too distant future—the reform of the Resource Management Act.The Hon Nick Smith gave a speech in Nelson only a couple of weeks ago and he highlighted the fact that the Resource Management Act since its inception 25 years ago has produced something like 80000 pages of plans and rules across the country’s 78 councils. That is just too cumbersome. It needs some significant work and we have an obligation I think as parliamentarians to steer through this House some legislation to modernise and make more relevant and appropriate the very important foundation stone that is the Resource Management Act in terms of our country’s planning and economic and environmental balance. So the plan is that we will modernise it make it more relevant and make it more practical and we will standardise plans and simplify processes for hard-working New Zealanders who simply want to get on and do things that are logical and sensible but have sometimes been completely bogged down by bureaucracy and by often well-meaning councils that have in fact following year after year of opinion precedent guidance and rules made those rules too hard too difficult and too high a burden for hard-working New Zealanders to get around.There is such a big difference between this Government and the Labour Opposition. We are a united focused hard-working team and we have got a big plan a big vision and a big future for New Zealand. There was a time when people used to know what the Labour Party stood for. They no longer do. I am very pleased to be able to stand here today and support the Prime Minister’s statement and I know that my colleagues will do so with vigour as well.