Lotu-Iiga Sam: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLotu-Iiga Sam: General Debate[Sitting date: 25 February 2015. Volume:703;Page:1912. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA (Minister of Corrections): Xin nian Kuai le. Gong xi fa cai. Sun nin fail lok. Gong hay fat choy and a happy New Year a happy lunar New Year to you Mr Speaker. Over the past few weeks I have been attending functions throughout my electorate and across this country to celebrate the lunar New Year.Rt Hon Winston Peters: You haven’t.Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA: I have not seen Mr Peters there and we know why he does not turn up at these functions but these events culminated last night with a function that I hosted here in Parliament that you Mr Speaker attended. The one thing that these events draw together is that they remind us that New Zealand is a place where cultures can thrive and flourish. Different heritages and languages are part of the thriving web of interaction that is our country one that we all love and admire. We know it is the Year of the Sheep and of course many in this country have close associations to these fine animals including you as a former sheep farmer Mr Speaker. For me there is a rich history of sheep in this country: 39 million out there today. I think that based on that this will be New Zealand’s year the Year of the Sheep. People born under this sign are known to be creative and resilient and to persevere.That can best describe the role of this National Government in 2015. This country is going into this year in good shape: resilient and strong. Our Prime Minister leads a Government that has stabilised this economy. It grew 3.2 percent last year and average wages have grown 15 percent over the last 5 years and are forecast to head even faster into the future. Employment is strong. As the Minister for Economic Development Steven Joyce has said 80000 more people are now employed than a year ago—80000 more people. There are 217000 more—Dr David Clark: Unemployment is still higher than when Labour was in office.Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA: —people employed than 5 years ago. And how do I know that? I say to Mr Clark come to Maungakiekie come talk to the employers that actually create jobs wealth and opportunities for our people and our communities and they are saying to me that they want to hire more people that they are growing and they are confident that this Government is delivering for them.Unemployment remains low: 5.7 percent. This is forecast to drop down to 4.5 percent. Some of the things I am proud of about this Government is that in terms of my role as Minister for Pacific Peoples we now have 116300 Pacific people employed and that is the most at any time in our history—the most at any time in our history. We know that meaningful long-term employment is the best way not just for Pacific families but for all families to succeed and thrive in this country. These positive statistics reflect that more young people are in jobs gaining qualifications and moving into sustainable higher-paying jobs. That is what the people of Maungakiekie expect of this Government and that is what Pacific people are now reaping the benefits of in such a positive economy.As the Minister of Corrections I am focused on reducing reoffending by 25 percent by 2017. We all know that the crime rate is at its lowest in three decades but there are still too many people reoffending. We are taking measures through education programmes and rehabilitation programmes in our prisons and also through converting every prison in this country to a working prison. Why? Because we know that employment is the best way out of poverty the best way out of welfare and the best way to stay out of our prisons. We know also that specialist aftercare services are being promoted in our prisons and we are working hard to deliver on drug and alcohol rehabilitation programmes which are heavily placed in our prisons.Lastly can I just say that I am 100 percent behind our Government’s decision to stand alongside its allies and fight this evil organisation that calls itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It poses one of the biggest threats to this world since World War II and we must do whatever we can to defeat it. We cannot ignore the fact that we are part of the international community and there comes a point as the Prime Minister said yesterday when we must stand up and be counted. I am proud to be a New Zealander just like Mr Mark is. I am proud to be part of a Government that will not bow down to the fear and terror of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and I am proud that we have made this decision to go to Iraq.