Genter Julie Anne: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeGenter Julie Anne: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply Debate[Sitting date: 26 June 2013. Volume:691;Page:11322. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Supplementary EstimatesJULIE ANNE GENTER (Green):I rise on behalf of the Green Party to speak generally on the Government’s economic strategy as it relates to the bills before us—the Appropriation (2012/13 Supplementary Estimates) Bill and the Imprest Supply (First for 2013/14) Bill. As we heard earlier today from my colleague Dr Russel Norman the Government strategy effectively boils down to borrowing more money enough to prop up economic activity mostly in the non-tradable sector—the Christchurch rebuild is going to add some to that—so that it can scrape together an ostensible surplus in the Government books and make GDP look a little bit better by the next election.The problem with this strategy is quite obvious. It is completely unsustainable in every sense of the word and it does not reflect true progress economic or otherwise. The Government’s own forecasts show that its strategy is going to lead to our current account deficit growing to $17 billion by 2017. That means that in 4 years we will be spending even more money than we do now and even more than we are going to be earning as we make our way in the world. This is completely unsustainable. This imbalance in our economy is going to result in the quality of life of New Zealanders being worse because there will eventually be a correction. The sooner we face up to the true fundamental structural issues in our economy the better off we are going to be.The Green Party stands for a clean green economy that works for all New Zealanders not just the few not just the Government’s mates and not just those who are already doing very well under the current circumstances. The Green Party has been setting the agenda and leading the debate on policies that will deliver a smart green economy for all New Zealanders. A perfect example of that is the initiative that the previous speaker John Hayes referred to which was the home insulation scheme. The Green Party worked very hard to negotiate the home insulation scheme with the previous Labour-led Government and worked very hard again to ensure that it continued to exist under the National-led Government when it came into office in 2008. The National Government scaled back quite significantly the proposal that the Green Party had put forward. It was about one-third of what the Green Party was proposing but we were able to convince National that it was a good idea to invest in insulation and that it was a great way to create jobs in the wake of the financial crisis in the building sector and it has been proved to have enormous benefits not only economically in terms of energy efficiency but also—and even more so—in health benefits.So those are the kinds of smart green ideas that the Green Party has been putting forward and that are being taken up by both of the big parties. Thank goodness the Green Party has been in Parliament to talk some sense into both of the big parties. Unfortunately the National Government is not taking up our smart green ideas onclimate change. Today in the United States President Obama gave a historic speech calling for urgent action on the most serious issue of our time. He admitted that we cannot continue to drill mine and extract fossil fuels and also meet the challenge of climate change and provide a healthy stable climate for our children and grandchildren. Our children and grandchildren deserve to inherit a world where they can live be healthy and do well without having to worry about increasing frequency and severity of storms resulting from human-induced climate change.The issue is so clear and stark. The choices we have in front of us are so clear. In the future we will look back at this time in 2013 and ask ourselves: “What was the National Party thinking? Why didn’t they take this opportunity to help us futureproof New Zealand’s economy so that we could do our part?”. I know that New Zealanders care about our future. I know they care about our planet. I know they care about their children their grandchildren and their grandchildren’s children who are yet to be born. I know they are willing to do their part. What is unfair is that this National Government is not taking the steps. It is denying New Zealanders the choice to transition to a clean green economy that would work for all New Zealanders not just the few and not just the National Government’s rich mates.The National Government has its head in the sand on this issue. We have asked Government Ministers time and time again whether they recognise the challenge of human-induced climate change. Do they recognise that it is real as President Obama of the United States has said? The US is a large trading partner that the National Government is trying to court for a free-trade deal. President Obama has said he has no patience for climate change deniers and yet our Minister of Finance has made statements in this House to the effect that climate change may well not be real. So it is clear that the National Government has its head in the sand. All the Government has done on the issue is weaken an already very weak emissions trading scheme. Essentially it has become a meaningless and complicated charade that gives big subsidies to polluters.Let us come to the issue of affordable housing as the Green Party has also been leading the debate on affordable housing. The Green Party has been speaking about the merits of a capital gains tax since the early 2000s.Phil Twyford: Is there anything that you didn’t invent?JULIE ANNE GENTER: Well it was not me but it was our former co-leader Rod Donald who was begging the Labour-led Government in 2002 to institute a capital gains tax. The Labour Party is capable of learning and it has come on board with many policies such as a capital gains tax. I think Labour members advocate very well for it now and I do give credit where it is due but it was Rod Donald who was begging the Labour Party to institute a capital gains tax back in 2002. It would have contributed quite a lot of revenue to the Government’s books and it would have potentially dampened the housing price bubble that we are continuing to see in Auckland.The National Government is supposedly going to achieve affordable housing through its Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Bill—which has been introduced; it is still before the House—by enabling developers to set up in special zones where they will be completely free from the Resource Management Act completely free from agreed unitary plan or district plan rules and under orders of this particular bill if it passes into law to provide areas that are mainly housing. We have seen in other countries that rural subdivisions or fringe subdivisions that are mainly housing have been incredibly harmful for the economy. In fact it was those car-dependent housing-only suburbs where house prices collapsed first because people were too far away from services and jobs and they could not afford to keep driving to those services and jobs.As their transport costs increased the value of their houses collapsed and they found themselves owing more money than their houses were worth.The National Government is a lot of talk and no action on housing it is a lot of talk and no action on climate change and as we have seen today it is a lot of talk and no action on transport. We have seen the Government finally admit that rail is the best option to address congestion to ensure that Auckland is able to grow in a sustainable way and to ensure that business and economic interests are met by our transport.Phil Twyford: Thank you for supporting Labour policy.JULIE ANNE GENTER: Of course the Green Party has been an advocate of rail in Auckland and elsewhere in New Zealand for quite a long time. We have led the debate actually.Phil Twyford: You’re a very good supporter.JULIE ANNE GENTER: The Green Party was begging the Labour-led Government in 2006 and 2007 to electrify the rail line. I know that the member Phil Twyford was not here at that time in 2006 and 2007 so it was not his fault but Michael Cullen did not want to electrify Auckland’s rail line. It was the Green Party that managed to force the Clark-Cullen Government to contribute the money for electrification to ensure that Auckland’s rail development could go forward. Now we have the National-led Government trying to claim credit for what was essentially a Green Party initiative committed under the Labour-led Government in 2007. Now the Government is trying to claim credit for the City Rail Link and for future rail development to which it will not commit funding.When the National Government says 2020 will see the start of construction of the City Rail Link that means that John Key will be long gone and New Zealand will be stuck paying back the heavy debt that was incurred by this Government on these crazy motorways that have no economic case. Unfortunately the National-led Government although it has finally admitted that rail is the future for Auckland is still delaying the solutions that Auckland really needs. The Green Party will continue to argue for the economic solutions that will help New Zealand.