Kaye Nikki: Debate on Prime Minister’s StatementText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKaye Nikki: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement[Sitting date: 01 March 2016. Volume:711;Page:9236. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NIKKI KAYE (Minister for ACC): I am very pleased to speak on the Prime Minister’s statement. If you are listening to this debate you would have heard a lot of slogans but actually when I read the Prime Minister’s statement I see a very clear vision for New Zealand. It is very clear and it is very clear that there is a very big contrast in this House between the Opposition and the Government. The vision is an open democratic nation that is connected to the world where we live in a place where every young person has the ability to have access to decent health and education services. Let us look at what has actually happened over the last 7 years and where we are going.Let us take the first issue: our economy. We hear a lot from the Opposition about how much it cares about business. Those members turn up they have the cocktail functions but when it comes to the crunch—one of the biggest things that will affect so many of our exporters—where are they? They have gone. They have ditched our exporters. Because the reality is that the emails that were coming in to me in Auckland Central—yes there were those people who were opposed but there were a whole lot of exporters who understood the basic concept of a deal that would reach 800 million people and 11 nations that would lead to if not signed a whole lot of businesses small and large having tariffs on them that other countries would not have. It was inconceivable to them that we would not sign it. In fact I think it was one exporter who said to me: “We would literally have our hands tied behind ours backs.”So the Labour Party talks a good game but when it comes to the crunch it cannot sign the deal and actually it is all over the place. We know where former Prime Minister Helen Clark sits on this and I do want to acknowledge her. You know she quite clearly understands the issue for New Zealand if we were to not sign this thing. We understand where Phil Goff sits on this. He is a former trade Minister. He quite practically understands a $2.7 billion deal for our country and what that means. We actually understand where David Shearer sits on this but he has been muzzled by his leader. The reality is that half of the Labour caucus support this deal but because of petty politics they have not been able to step up and do the right thing for New Zealand.We are a Government that has a Prime Minister who is outward-looking and who is walking the talk and signing deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I want to acknowledge the Hon Tim Groser. When it comes to the economy we are a Government that was handed billions of dollars of a hole in the ACC books. I am the Minister for ACC. We now have a situation where we have been able to put $1.5 billion back in New Zealanders’ pockets. We have got $450 million coming back. That is from motor vehicle levies being cut that is businesses levies being cut—that is actually real. In contrast we were handed a complete shambles in terms of the books.When it comes to other areas of the economy the reality is that—if you listen again to the Opposition you will hear a completely different level of slogans and a completely different world—the average wage in New Zealand has gone up $10000 under our Government. It is now at $57000. But again our vision is more than that. It is not just about the economy.When it comes to infrastructure we were handed a massive deficit. I am Associate Minister of Education. Let me walk you through the numbers. We were handed leaky buildings and we were handed old buildings. More than 60 percent of the buildings in New Zealand were over 60 years old. What happened? There were $2.7 billion in 7 years under Labour; we have put $4 billion in. We are literally fixing these schools all across New Zealand more than ever before. No Government has undertaken such a social infrastructure upgrade of our schools as this Government has. So if people want to talk about a Government that cares that is one example.Let us talk about the other examples. When it comes to health we have a whole lot of young people who we want to ensure get access to the doctor. Which Government was it? It was our Government that said: “Right we’re going to give free under-13s visits to young people in New Zealand.” We have delivered that. When it came to the issue raised by the Green Party of breakfast in schools it was our Government that has put in millions of dollars enabling those schools that want it—not compulsorily not making sure that every school has to have set times for their particular breakfasts. We actually said to schools: “It’s up to you if you want it but we will enable those young people to get access to breakfast.” When it came to insulating houses—we are now 350000 insulated houses later.Again this is set out in the Prime Minister’s clear vision for New Zealand—a country that is focused on opening up our many businesses to the world having access to those markets having access to decent incomes but also enabling some of our most vulnerable to get better support. And our record in those areas that I have just outlined is very clear.When it comes to infrastructure spend let us look again in Auckland. Again we hear a lot of slogans from the Opposition about the Kiwi Dream and all of these things and we hear a lot of slogans about the fact that we should not be investing so much in roads but here are the facts around rail in Auckland. It is our Government that has put $1.5 billion into the electrification of rail and I was very pleased to be with the Prime Minister when we confirmed that we are looking to bring forward the City Rail Link. What is that about? That is actually about Prime Minister John Key being responsible for delivering the vital artery in Auckland’s rail system. That is a project that will lead to not just the people of central Auckland benefiting; it is the people of west Auckland and South Auckland who are literally going to have their journey times slashed in half.That is a compassionate Government. That is a Government that is investing not just in roads but also in public transport. Again we are spending billions of dollars ensuring that our young people are connected to the world and that it is a connected nation. Whether it is the ultra-fast broadband programme which has been a couple of billion dollars we are one of the only countries in the world—and this is something that I am most proud of and when I leave Parliament this is one of the things that I will be most proud of. We said when we came in that we were going to do everything we could to connect New Zealand schools. And we have not only said that we are going to put the fibre in the ground we are going to enable every school that wants it to have access to fast connections reliable connections funded by the Crown. We are we believe one of only a couple of countries in the world that are delivering that. We are roaring ahead with that programme. More than 90 percent of New Zealand schools have been connected to that and that is paid for by us because we believe in a nation that is globally connected where every young person gets that opportunity.So again we hear a lot from the Opposition about the Kiwi Dream. The Prime Minister’s statement was very clear: an open nation connected to the world where every young person gets better access to equality of opportunity. And it is our Government in so many areas—from education to insulating houses to free under-13s visits to investing in infrastructure and catching up with the massive deficit that we have been left in areas like rail in transport and in ultra-fast broadband. That is incredibly significant. And we have done this at one of the most difficult times in terms of our history with the global financial situation but also with the Canterbury earthquakes.As the Minister of Civil Defence can I say this. There is a lot of talk around the Canterbury rebuild but I have had the good fortune of meeting Ministers from across the world and I do want to say this about the Hon Gerry Brownlee: it is one of the most complex processes to basically try to rebuild a city. I think that we have not only the Prime Minister’s leadership on pretty much day one in saying “We will rebuild that city.”—and we have spent $17 billion on doing that—but also the dedication and the huge amount of work that the Hon Gerry Brownlee does every day to ensure that we are rebuilding that city. But the reality is that there are many situations across the world where we can see that this does take a bit of time and we acknowledge the people of Canterbury and their patience through this period. But at the end of the day we have put up the money and we are absolutely committed to working through that.This is a Government that not only has compassion and has the right policies from a fiscal perspective but actually is walking the talk when it comes to the Kiwi Dream. Thank you.