Curran Clare: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCurran Clare: General Debate[Sitting date: 21 October 2015. Volume:709;Page:7419. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]CLARE CURRAN (Labour—Dunedin South): The Government is neglecting our regions. It is failing to diversify their economies. Regional New Zealand’s roads and internet services are languishing and are in desperate need of upgrades. We heard in question time about the comments the Waitaki mayor Gary Kircher—who is no friend of Labour—made about barriers to economic growth. We heard the member for Waitaki Jacqui Dean talk about having to stand on one leg in rural schools to get a signal. We have even got the member for Clutha-Southland Todd Barclay who talks about the slow and unreliable internet connections in his electorate. We have heard from Fonterra and we have even got Federated Farmers saying that the state of the existing telecommunications network is poor in many rural areas.In my office I have got more than 40 responses from councils that are desperate to improve the internet in their areas. I had a mayor in my office today spitting tacks because the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment refused to meet with him. It was far too busy to meet with him to talk about the state of broadband in his region. He said the signals from the Government are that the rural sector does not matter. He said it is just pure arrogance and he has had it.There are projects being developed in regional New Zealand that need workers. They are areas in South Canterbury Southland Western Bay of Plenty Manawatū and Northland to name just a few but they do not have good internet access. He said to me: “What do we say when we advertise for workers in those areas? Shift here we want you but sorry we don’t have the internet.” He said that is why economists are starting to describe those regions as being zombie towns.I have got some more examples. One is Culverden township where someone had the bright idea of giving fibre access to the school. He said he would dig a trench and would provide access to the wider community. But Chorus said no and why did they say no? He could not access that fibre because it is old fibre. It is not new fibre; it is old fibre. It is only one pair of fibres and you cannot get access to the wider community. I have just received confirmation that of the 2500 schools in New Zealand only seven have been able to make a fibre connection available to their wider communities. Why only seven? Because it is too hard.This is just an absolute travesty. Why does this matter? Because rural New Zealand has around 20 to 25 percent of our population. Outside of our three main centres it contributes a third of our GDP—nearly $80 billion. In 2009-10 the Government announced it would roll out broadband. It said that 75 percent of New Zealanders in urban areas would get ultra-fast broadband—that is solid good connection. In the places in rural New Zealand where they have achieved a connection 25 percent have only a 5 megabit connection. Where they have managed to achieve that they have spent $300 million and it has made no difference to those communities.That is why I have got 40 councils sending me their documents saying just how bad it is. After 5 years rural New Zealand is understandably intensely frustrated and angry about the situation for them. What they need and what rural New Zealand needs is a Government that is going to stand up for them. Our regions need and deserve to be treated better.Who is going to stand up for regional New Zealand? Well it is not going to be this Government. It will be Andrew Little. It will be David Clark who is working on economic development strategies that include good connectivity. He will be looking at the transport investment that has been cut by $11 million in terms of the sealing of roads at the closing of the Gisborne to Napier railway line and at the fact that Otago is lagging by 10 percent in terms of its economic output.There is a list that can go on and on. This Government is not standing up for regional New Zealand. It is not standing up for rural people. It will be a Labour Government with Andrew Little and David Clark with his economic development strategy that will stand up for rural New Zealand.