Bennett David; Carter DavidHon DAVID BENNETT (Minister of Veterans' Affairs): Thank you Mr Speaker. It is a great pleasure to speak in the House with you as Speaker. Happy New Year and I look forward to working with you during the year and to you presiding over this House in the strong manner that you have over the last year. I welcome members of the Opposition to the House as well and I look forward to the work that will go on together as we work together—Hon Member: Very statesman-like!Hon DAVID BENNETT: —to build—ha ha!—a stronger New Zealand going forward.Grant Robertson: He's reaching out.Hon DAVID BENNETT: I have reached out to you in my first speech. I know it is something unusual but it is something that is happening. I just want to acknowledge as well our Prime Minister the Rt Hon Bill English who is leading this country into another generation of strength and leadership and aspiration for a country that has so much potential going forward. We are so blessed to have as our leader the Rt Hon Bill English and also the Hon Paula Bennett as Deputy Prime Minister. They are doing an excellent job for New Zealand—dealing with the issues that New Zealanders face in their everyday life and making it a much better place for all New Zealanders going forward.The Labour Party members tried to start off this year with an aspect of positivity that had not been seen in their party for many years. They tried to present a unified front. They tried to present a message to New Zealanders for once. The Labour Party tried to actually be a political party of substance but unfortunately that did not last. The Labour Party could not go more than a month during the holiday period actually being a viable political party in the New Zealand political system at this time.The Labour Party as we know it is gone. It is unfortunate for the Labour Party members and unfortunate for their previous voters but the Labour Party does not exist in a viable form. The only thing that is the Opposition Labour Party now is a combination Green-Labour party in which we all know the Green Party is the dominant factor. The Green Party is actually the real true Opposition party not the Labour Party. The Labour Party sold out its values to the Green Party last year and the result of that is being seen this year. We see a Green Party that is reinvigorated in its power to represent left-wing values and left-wing ambitions in an election system. We do not see that from the Labour Party. We do not see leadership and issues from those members but we do see that from the Green Party. The Green Party is providing the leadership on the left when it comes to transport issues.Catherine Delahunty: That's not true. We're one of the leaders on the left.Hon DAVID BENNETT: They are. They are providing the leadership on the left when it comes to race relations. They are providing the leadership on the left when it comes to immigration. The Labour Party has given up on all those factors and the Green Party is now the party of preferred choice for the left-wing voters of New Zealand. We know that. The voters know that; the poor old Labour Party itself does not know that yet. It is still clinging to some ambition of being a major political party in the context of New Zealand politics. We have to look at how the Labour Party gave up its ability to do a state of the nation address at the start of the year and how it gave up its ability to actually present a vision for New Zealand. In recent days the Labour Party has fallen apart in its ability to provide even that partial unified voice. We see what has happened to Poto Williams. Why does Poto Williams have to apologise today? Why does Poto Williams have to apologise today? Why is Willie Jackson not apologising? Why is Andrew Little not apologising? Why is Poto Williams the one putting out the press release and apologising for the Labour Party? What is the difference? What is the reason why one of the strongest members of the Labour Party in this House has to apologise for speaking her mind and saying what most people in this House believe apart from the Labour Party leadership? I think that is a tragedy for this House that a member of Parliament like that has to apologise in this House for the actions that the Labour Party has taken. It should be Andrew Little apologising not Poto Williams.But we all know that the Labour and Green combination is not alone. They need one other player and that is the New Zealand First Party. The New Zealand First Party is back to its old tricks: anti-immigration and very nationalistic causes. It is the Trump party of New Zealand politics. The New Zealand First Party is not going to deny that at all; it will go through this whole year—it is about a month behind the American political cycle. It looks for its leadership in what it gets off tweets from America and that will be its policies over the next year. That will be the New Zealand First Party of this year.But New Zealanders do not want the party policies of the Green Party the Labour Party or New Zealand First. They want realistic policies that are going to lead to an open and free country that actually delivers opportunities for New Zealanders and that comes from National. We are delivering the infrastructure for New Zealanders to take advantage of the opportunities that this world offers.In Hamilton for example we have a fast-growing city that has done extremely well out of the National Government. The infrastructure investment in our city has never been seen before. It is a city that is growing at a very fast rate. There is a buzz in the air in Hamilton. There are jobs there are opportunities there are new schools going up. There is a real desire amongst Hamiltonians to actually take their place in the future of this world and the future of New Zealand. That is something that the National Party has helped to deliver in providing the base for that economic growth. We have provided that stable economic environment for places like Hamilton to succeed and prosper. We have provided the infrastructure for it to grow and we have provided the services for it to actually deliver to its people. You just have to go around our city and look at new schools opened last year and this year and a hospital that has been rebuilt. You look at the Waikato Expressway and other roading projects that are coming to fruition through that region and you look at a strong and vibrant part of New Zealand that is doing extremely well.The messages that the Green-Labour Opposition and the New Zealand First Party will try to promote do not resonate in that community because they see the positive side of life; they see what is happening and how successful New Zealand is going forward. We need to make sure that we continue that process. This is an important year for New Zealanders with an election coming up. It is an important choice. Do we put the good things that have happened and the bright future ahead of us at risk for the old policies of division State control and—Grant Robertson: Ha ha!Hon DAVID BENNETT: They may laugh but that is what the Labour-Green party wants. We know they want higher taxes. I bet you that during this year they do not come out and actually say what their high tax rates will be. They will conflate it and do everything but tell the public what will actually happen under a possible Green-Labour Government. We would love to see their tax rate policy but that will never come out before the election. They would never promote the reality of what they will do. They will never tell us their true intentions. They will just try to divide New Zealanders over the next year and that is something we must resist. New Zealanders must resist that. New Zealanders must look forward and take advantage of the opportunities that we have and National will give that opportunity to New Zealanders going forward.Hon Member: You've got to get back first.Grant Robertson: Go backwards!Hon DAVID BENNETT: Going forward is exactly what is happening in this country. Look at the growth rates in New Zealand. New Zealand has an economic growth rate that most countries around the rest of the world would love to have. Look at the inflation rates and interest rates. Interest rates are at some of the lowest rates in New Zealand's history for New Zealanders going forward giving certainty for New Zealanders who invest and build their futures in this country. So we had that strong economic base that you see throughout this country.So we have an important year with an election ahead. It will be a contrast of ideas and there will be choices but people know what they are getting from this side. They know they are getting strong dependable prudent governance. On the other side there will be a lot of promises that will not be supported by any attempt to give a true indication of where that money is coming from. It is going to be a big year for New Zealanders.Mr SPEAKER: I understand this is a split call—Rino Tirikatene.