Scott AlastairALASTAIR SCOTT (National—Wairarapa): Thank you Madam Chair. Well we've just heard five minutes of pretty much nothing—nothing concrete nothing that one can say This is what the Government is doing for the regions." other than highlighting the fact that the Minister for Regional Economic Development with his billion-dollar slush fund wears a high-vis vest. Well how many jobs is that going to create in the regions? How many people are going to come off the couch because the Minister wears a high-vis vest in the regions? Not one.But what is happening is quite rightly—Paul Eagle the previous speaker mentioned the Local Government New Zealand conference—that local governments are unfortunate in that they believe that there's enough money for all to fulfil their wildest dreams and ambitions for their own districts. But unfortunately that's just not going to be the case. There have been thousands and thousands of hours spent through the local communities putting proposals together for the Minister to sign off on. But we know that there's a billion dollars and we also know that a billion dollars does not go very far except when one can take $5 billion out of the regions—except for the roading network fund that the Opposition had in place—when they can tax regions through regional tax. When they can increase petrol tax by 20c a litre then there is some money available to be dollied out in a lolly scramble fashion to try and win votes. That's the end of it. There's going to be no real underlying infrastructure—because that's what we're here to talk about. There are no infrastructure projects labelled with that Provincial Growth Fund.In fact in my electorate and in Rangitīkei on the other side of the Manawatū Gorge one of the projects has been postponed because these guys cannot afford to deliver the stuff that they said they were going to do. Their priorities are mixed up. They're focused on free tertiary education. I know we're not on education but it demonstrates the priorities that that Government has overriding the infrastructure demands and needs of the regions.I'd like to talk and I'd really encourage Minister Twyford to talk to Minister Hipkins and others particularly Minister Robertson—and I echo some of the words that Mr Twyford said in the select committee. He is a very strong advocate—a very strong advocate—of public-private partnerships (PPPs). Minister Twyford said that there is money in the system and there is money available and that we need to use this money to build own and operate the Auckland light rail—build own and operate. That's a PPP. It's not just a partial PPP—it's not just a build and hand over. It's not a build and own but not operate; it's a build own and operate model that Mr Twyford was very supportive of in the select committee Estimates hearing for the Auckland light rail project. So my question to the Government is: what's the difference between that infrastructure project and let's say Dunedin Hospital? Why can the Government not see that using PPPs is—as Mr Twyford quite articulately said in the select committee—an excellent way to use the private sector capital for the benefit of the taxpayer? Now I just implore Mr Twyford to keep talking that way and to talk to Mr Hipkins because Mr Hipkins is not interested in carrying on PPPs in the education sector. He's knocked a bunch of them on the head despite the fact that we have a number of them around the country. The Government's still talking about PPPs for Waikeria Prison. That's good—keep talking. The Government doesn't necessarily have to build own and operate. It could just build and own. It could just build and hand over. But please Mr Twyford keep talking to your colleagues because that is a key tool to enable and build greater infrastructure in this country for the benefit of the users of that infrastructure and also for those who are paying for that infrastructure—i.e. the taxpayers. So a lot of those guys across won't agree with Mr Twyford and they won't agree with me but for once Mr Twyford and I can agree on one thing."