Hayes John: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Hayes John: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 14 August 2012. Volume:682;Page:4353. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
JOHN HAYES (National—Wairarapa) 
: 
 One of the issues that we have in the foreign affairs portfolio is I thought an understanding that party politics stop at the border and I feel deeply disappointed because offshore we need to be there as “New Zealand Inc.” all working together for a common cause. So I take some exception to the member Phil Goff’s attack on my colleague Murray McCully who I think has done an absolutely superb job in picking up the pieces left by that last speaker and moving them and New Zealand and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on to a new plane. 
Let me just set out some of the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ achievements. First New Zealand’s exports to China have increased by 150 percent between 2008 and 2012. India and New Zealand signed several agreements during the Prime Minister’s visit in 2011 in for example education and films. Progress has been made on the free-trade agreement with Russia because that market has increased its food imports by 500 percent to 2000. Russia is one of the world’s largest markets for the importation of butter and cheese and New Zealand’s exports to Russia in 2011 were worth $120 million. New Zealand signed a new accord with our third-largest trading group ASEAN that is already worth $4.6 billion to our export market. And after 90 years—and a 10-year effort by Mr Goff that got us nowhere—we have got our apples back into Australia. Yes Murray McCully achieved that not Phil Goff. Our Australian and New Zealand CER investment protocol was signed by the Prime Minister on 16 February last year and we have got ongoing negotiations with Korea. 
Under the Minister’s leadership there is always more to do. That is why he is so busy travelling the world because he is putting stuff in place for us. We have to develop a comprehensive programme of Government-led trade delegations to China India and ASEAN. We have got 28 trade missions to be led by Ministers over the next 3 years. Our drive and focus on New Zealand agencies and interaction and the release of a series of New Zealand country strategies goes on. 
Let us come back and reflect on the comments made by the last speaker. We are in a situation where this country is in recession and no stone is going to be left unturned by this Government to get our economy back into surplus by 2014. Part of that requires the foreign affairs ministry—a directive from Cabinet—to save $24 million a year in each of the next 3 years. That is why John Allen as chief manager of the foreign affairs ministry made the interventions that he did and those interventions despite the efforts of that last speaker are progressing well. 
Hon Phil Goff 
: Yeah right! What’s the attrition rate? How many have left? They’re leaving in droves. 
JOHN HAYES 
: Well I can promise you it was not the 300 that you just spoke about. In fact— 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Order! 
JOHN HAYES 
: Mr Chair I can promise you that that speaker was absolutely wrong to be asserting that 300 people are going to leave. That is not the case and was never the original plan. 
I want also to congratulate the foreign affairs Minister on the wonderful work that he has done on Fiji and on getting Fiji and the region engaged. I think back to 2000 when the then Prime Minister Helen Clark and her foreign affairs Minister one Phil Goff were driven in their response by the community of Fijian Indians who came into the South Auckland electorates and drove them. They said: “Let us put up barriers to that Government. Let us refuse to speak to them.” and we refused to speak to them for 9 years. For 9 long years that member refused to speak to the Fijians. Well I am very grateful for the leadership shown personally by Murray McCully who has worked his backside off this year as leader of the forum group of foreign Ministers who have been engaged with Fiji and they have made significant progress. They have made significant progress in getting Fiji back into the flock and that Minister Mr McCully has committed significant money to enable the registration of Fijians in the electoral process. I have no doubt that an election will take place in 2014.