Yates Dianne: Budget Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Yates Dianne: Budget Debate 
[Sitting date: 16 June 2004. Volume:618;Page:13660. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
DIANNE YATES (Labour—Hamilton East) 
: 
 Kia ora. It was very interesting to hear that negative speech. I think when people have very little to say in this House they get louder and louder. It does worry me when I hear empty vessels making a lot of noise. 
It is absolute rubbish to say that Labour is doing nothing for business and nothing for farmers. I have heard people on the other side say that and actually if one looks back at the history of New Zealand farmers in this country one finds that they have always done better under Labour. Those members should go and have a look because they are showing their ignorance of history. Farmers have always done better under Labour and there is plenty of evidence to show that. If you do not believe me read Mr Keith Sinclair read Michael King and read any New Zealand history book that you might like to get hold of. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Please do not bring the Speaker into the debate. 
DIANNE YATES 
: Sorry did I say “you”? I am terribly sorry. If the members opposite would like to read a little history they would find that that was the case. When National was last in power it did very little for farmers. I come from Hamilton which is in the centre of a dairy-farming area. I cannot think of one constructive thing that National did for farmers in those 9 years. When I look around Hamilton now I see the Waikato Innovation Park which came through Labour. I see research being done for farmers that came through Labour. I see a 25 percent increase in money going into our area and going into economic development and that came through Labour. I would like to see the members opposite stand up and enumerate all the things that they supposedly did when they were in power because I think Mr Sowry will end up seeing that they did nothing nothing nothing. 
I go around my local schools and since we have been in power I see the schools looking really really good. I see the schools with new coats of paint and new buildings. I see new grants going into those schools. I see operation grants that have increased. I see new shade screens. I see schools in particularly poorer areas looking good. I see kids in those schools getting good test results and working very very well indeed. I thank Michael Cullen and Trevor Mallard for putting the money into our schools because it is actually working. 
I thank Jim Anderton for the money that has gone into the Waikato Innovation Park and the ideas and the growth that are coming out of our city. I am afraid that I do have ideas. Talking of ideas I heard Lindsay Tisch of all people get up in the House and say that Labour thought so little of business that it did not give any Queen’s Birthday awards to business people. What a load of rubbish! I congratulate Bill McArthur of MacArthur Engineering in Hamilton on getting a Queen’s Birthday honour. He is a business person. What about Ossie James? His actual business is in Lindsay Tisch’s electorate and Lindsay Tisch said that business people did not get any awards. Where has Lindsay Tisch been? He should take off his glasses. I congratulate Ossie James. Bill Garland from Lindsay Tisch’s electorate got a Queen’s Birthday award and I congratulate him. Where on earth has Mr Tisch been? He does not seem to read even the newspaper in his local area. Those are business people in our Waikato area who have received Queen’s Birthday awards. 
People have also received research grants for their businesses. The Budget provides for another $212 million over 4 years to go into research science and technology. That is a 45 percent increase since Labour came into office. 
Let us look at apprenticeships. There are now about 6500 apprentices. When I go door to door talking to business people in my electorate what do they say they need? They say they need trained staff. There are now about 6500 apprentices and another 500 people will be going into apprenticeships as fast as we can get them there. National has a lot to answer for in terms of the training of young people and training people for jobs and for industry. After 9 years of a National Government we had a great shortage of apprentices. 
I shall refer to the Waikato business awards. I congratulate C F Reese Plumbing on its expansion on the work it is doing and on the apprentices it is taking on. Excellent work is being done there. In fact the top business was a pharmaceutical research laboratory Stockguard Laboratories. I congratulate that business on the work it is doing. I also congratulate the Government on the work it is doing in supporting those businesses—businesses that in turn support our major industry our farming industry. 
What do we hear from National members? Tax cuts tax cuts and more tax cuts. That means those members have not read any economics books for about 20 years. There is no evidence to show that tax cuts improve the economy. All that those members have to do is to look at the history of the United States and their own history to see that that is not good economics. 
Also while we are talking about industry training I want to mention that the Hamilton careers expo this year is extremely successful. It is on this week. Young people are going through it looking at new careers new possibilities and new opportunities in training. It is the best careers expo the city has had. The parents the young people and the people who are displaying—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Those members opposite are rowdy and they have nothing to say. I would like David Carter to come back and take another call. Last night he got up and said he would talk about National’s vision and for 10 minutes all that he did was moan whinge and groan. I did not hear about one bit of vision from the National Party. Its leader Dr Brash is always talking about ideas. He takes a step forward then goes back. He says he is pro-nuclear then he says that no National is not going to have any policy. What is its policy? There is to be no policy until after the election—no policy on anything. There is a lot of whingeing coming out of the National Party but no policy. There is nothing to hang on to; there is just negativity. I know it is hard to be in Opposition and feel that one’s main job is to be negative. But people are asking for policy. Labour is giving it to them and bringing it on; it is actually happening. 
I heard the member opposite talk about infrastructure. He should go from Hamilton to Auckland to see how much money we are putting into the four-laning between those two cities. For years and years we have been waiting for that and now the people in Hamilton and Huntly are seeing it happen. Recently 14 MPs came down from Auckland to Huntly and Hamilton looking at matters to do with energy looking at the infrastructure looking at the new roads and saying: “My goodness isn’t that road coming along fine.” I thank the previous Minister of Transport Mark Gosche for putting money into that four-laning which is actually happening. The people in my electorate are extremely pleased and very glad about that. 
We are also very glad that about $200 million is going into our hospitals both in Waikato and in Thames. It is long overdue. Members opposite let Thames Hospital run down. Waikato Hospital the biggest hospital in the country is also to get a boost enabling many of those old run-down buildings to be renovated. The whole process will be extremely good. 
I also want to talk just a little about what is happening in terms of operations. When I was in Opposition people on accident compensation or the sickness benefit were coming into my office every day because they could not get their hip operations. I say to Annette King that I am very grateful for the money that is going into that area. 
Also I acknowledge the Minister of Tourism because money is going into tourism into cultural tourism and into arts and culture generally. 
I finish by paying a tribute to Judith Tizard the Associate Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage with a little bit of rap: 
One of the things that I want to say 
Is that some of our olds will be happy to bop all the day. 
Because of the Budget orthopaedic operations 
Hip ops will now give them their freedom and new sensations. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Just before I call the next member I would like to inform honourable members that the Green Party has decided to split its 10-minute speech into two 5-minute speeches.