Dunne Peter: Address in Reply 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Dunne Peter: Address in Reply 
[Sitting date: 21 December 2011. Volume:677;Page:63. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future) 
: 
 I begin by congratulating you again Mr Speaker your Deputy Speaker and Assistant Speakers on your selection to perform these important presiding roles in this 50th Parliament. I also want to acknowledge and congratulate the mover and seconder of this debate for their confidence and their two very fine speeches setting out their aspirations their hopes and their plans this afternoon. I encourage them and all new members to revisit their maiden speeches from time to time as a sort of checklist about how well they are doing in living up to the objectives and the ideals that they set out on this very important occasion. I want also to pay thanks to the people of Ohariu for their continued support over 10 elections now and to say how humbling it is to be the recipient of that support so consistently. I look forward to working with you to implement the policies set out in my 10-point plan for Ohariu upon which we campaigned at election time.  
The last election and the formation of the Government that flowed from it took place against unprecedented circumstances in our country’s history. In the last 12 months we have had just about every form of natural disaster that could befall a country from the flooding in the Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty with which 2011 began to the levelling of our second city through an ongoing series of massive earthquakes and now most recently to horrific floods on the eve of Christmas in the Nelson area. As if that is not bad enough we also stand against a backdrop of the worst international economic crisis since the Great Depression. We are I believe seeing the start of the unravelling of the political and economic settlement that has underpinned Europe since the end of World War II. The consequences of that are becoming more manifest each day as more revelations occur about the depth of indebtedness in those economies the risk to currency stability and the flow-on effects for distant small economies like ours.  
So here we are on the one hand having to cope with an unprecedented set of disruption and disaster within our own realm and on the other hand having to face an unprecedented set of international economic disruption. The outlook in many senses could not be more bleak or more challenging. I agree with the concept that just about every speaker in this debate has advanced so far that things have to change. The old ways are no longer going to be good enough. But the question is what that change will be about and on what it is going to be based.  
One of the things that United Future negotiated in its confidence and supply agreement was work towards the development of a family status report. This is based on work that has been done by the new coalition Government in the United Kingdom to set up some key indicators to measure the impact of Government policies against those indicators because that then determines expenditure levels.  
Let me give an example of a situation we have in New Zealand. Over the last 5 or 6 years there has been a substantial increase under the present Government and its predecessor in spending on early childhood education. That is good and noble and right and proper but when we look at the consequences of that we can draw three conclusions. The very wealthy have not benefited to any extent. “Good!” you might say. Those in the middle have not benefited to any extent either and those at the bottom socioeconomically have suffered a marginal decline. So here we have had a significant increase in spending with no apparent positive benefit. The point that arises from that is that we need to be constantly evaluating our spending programmes to ensure they achieve the objectives that we so nobly set for them at the outset. And then we need to be prepared to make change when clearly policy is not working.  
I think that in the context of the debate we had right through this election campaign about families about children about poverty about support for families and about support for those who are vulnerable the sort of thing I am talking about here is a critical tool in the analysis in terms of the direction of future policy. Because our traditional response has simply been to say: “Things don’t appear to be working. We’ll pour more money into it.” We do not live any longer in an environment where we are so unconstrained. So that report will be a very important step to getting a clear measure of the impact of expenditure on policy the impact of policy on families and the need for change in the future. It will not just be about boosting the circumstances of the families of this country but also about ensuring that our national patterns of spending are sustainable and are able to be achieved within what will be a very tense international situation.  
Another area that comes into focus here which is perhaps at the other end of the spectrum but which our agreement also covers is the issue of superannuation. There was a debate during the election campaign—I think it was the wrong debate—about whether the age of entitlement should shift from 65 to 67. I am in favour of keeping the age at 65 but I acknowledge that there are significant numbers of New Zealanders who are currently struggling to survive till they are 65. Demographically we know that Maori Pasifika and manual workers have very short periods of retirement and many do not actually live to qualify for New Zealand superannuation. We also know that there is an increasing tendency for people to stay in the workforce longer so we developed the notion which will now be the subject of a Government discussion paper of a flexible approach to superannuation enabling people to choose to take a discounted or reduced rate from the age of 60 the full rate at 65 or an enhanced rate if they choose to defer until they are 70 or above.  
The point about that proposal is that it recognises social change that is occurring. It is not going to alter people’s lifespans but it is going to improve potentially the quality of life that they enjoy. But also it makes the choice one for them; it is not the State telling them that they will retire at this age or that. They make the choice and in years to come as more and more New Zealanders take up KiwiSaver and it becomes effectively a compulsory national savings scheme there will be a much better balance in terms of how people can plan their futures knowing that they will be able to secure a good KiwiSaver payout at the age of 65 and that they may well be in a better position then to judge how long they want to stay in the workforce once they turn 60. This is a debate this country needs to have but it is important that it be one that is structured properly that actually addresses the real issues and that does not simply become a trade-off of this age or that as I fear the debate that was being initiated during the election campaign might turn out to be.  
There are some other matters I want to talk about briefly in the remaining time available to me. They concern some of the issues relating to a pretty critical part of New Zealand’s lifestyle: our appreciation of our great outdoor environment. United Future has always taken a strong stance on preserving public access to the great outdoors and also ensuring that those people who like to enjoy the great outdoors can do so in a way that is fair and reasonable to others. That is why we want to curb the practice of a form of heli-hunting whereby animals are herded and hazed into very difficult and tough situations at which point the hunters can simply pick them off. Mr Deputy Speaker I know that you have a particular interest in this issue and it is one that I have enjoyed the benefit of your discussion on on many occasions. It is an important issue about ensuring that our quality of life not to mention the quality of life of the animals concerned and our vision for New Zealand are preserved and that we can start to enjoy some of the challenges that are so difficult for us.  
Before I conclude can I simply say at the end of what has been a most difficult year for New Zealand that I hope New Zealanders are able to spend some time with family and friends over the coming holiday period to reflect on what is good in our country and to look positively to the future. My very best wishes to everyone in the House and in the wider parliamentary complex and the country as a whole for a happy peaceful and relaxing Christmas break.