Bennett David: Appropriation (2009/10 Supplementary Estimates) Bill Imprest Supply (First for 2010/11) Bill — Second Readings 
Bennett David: Appropriation (2009/10 Supplementary Estimates) Bill Imprest Supply (First for 2010/11) Bill — Second Readings 
[Volume:664;Page:11901] 
DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) 
: 
 It gives me great pleasure to follow in the footsteps of that great speech from a very fine new member of this Parliament. She shows the new leadership that National has delivered to this country. I say “Well done!” to new members like Amy Adams who are delivering a very strong focus for National in the South Island. 
When we look at the Budget and what is happening in the economy at the moment we see that it is important to take a bit of a sideways step and look at what would have happened if National had not been here. If National had not been here what would the case be for the New Zealand economy? Well it would have been a continuation of the poor and misguided management of the previous Labour Government. It put our country into recession before the rest of the world had a financial crisis. It bought assets such as KiwiRail for a price beyond the value of those assets. It made promises at consecutive elections about buying the votes of middle New Zealand without taking into account the long-term effect of those costs on our economy. That is the heritage we get from the previous Labour Government. It bought votes it did not care about the future and it banked on the rest of the country paying for it. 
There was a wake-up call. The wake-up call was the world recession. It came to all countries and it was deep and dark. That wake-up call has been something this Government has had to grapple with. We have had to deal with not only those international concerns but also the mismanagement that set us up in a very difficult predicament. If Labour had been in Government it would not have known what to do because it was just taxing and spending to buy votes at elections. It had no plan no direction and no foresight for what it wanted to see as a strong economy going forward. 
But that would have left New Zealand in a very difficult position. New Zealand would have become the Greece of the South Pacific if Labour had been in charge. Labour members know that. They are sitting there and they know that they could not have dealt with that situation. They are looking across the Chamber and are asking themselves why they could not make those firm and right decisions that National is making now. The reason they could not is that they do not know. They have no policy they have no direction and they have no ability to make a direction happen for New Zealand. 
New Zealanders are justifiably proud and supportive of their Government because they know that it is the best Government for these very difficult times. New Zealanders know that under the leadership of John Key they have somebody who is an international politician of repute and is providing vision and clarity to a country that has been long lacking in those attributes because of the previous leadership of the last 9 years. 
We are very proud to be part of a Government that is setting out a Budget that takes a balanced approach to where we need to go. I say balanced in the sense that we realise we have certain commitments albeit made by the previous Government albeit made for the wrong reasons. We still have to deal with them and we are dealing with them. We are also balanced in the sense that we are looking forward to what we need to do to build a stronger economy so that we send the right signals and incentives and we do not have policy or make spending decisions based just on winning elections. That is a difficult balance especially at this time but we have managed to do that. We have done it in a slow but sure and direct manner. We have done it by making decisions that people can understand and live with. At the same time we are sending the right signals and incentives to New Zealanders and the economy. 
Hon Parekura Horomia 
: What’s this rubbish about? 
DAVID BENNETT 
: That Labour member has just come into the Chamber and he would have no idea what the economy requires. He did not even make a Budget bid when he was a Minister so I do not see how he could be any help in making the economy work. 
Hon Parekura Horomia 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That is not true. I made several bids when I was a Minister. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: That is not a point of order; that is a debating point. 
DAVID BENNETT 
: If that member made several bids we all missed them. That member would not even have known if he had made a bid anyway. 
When we look at what we need to do for New Zealand going forward we see that we need to send the right signals and incentives— 
Hon Parekura Horomia 
: What about the 400 people who have lost their jobs in Waipukurau in the Hawke’s Bay? 
DAVID BENNETT 
: That Labour member is going on about 400 people who have lost their jobs as he is all about creating fear. I ask him about the 40000 who would have lost their jobs if Labour had remained in Government. That is the detail that those members on that side of the Chamber need to understand. We will not look at it like that. We will look at what we need to do for this country going forward and what we need to do to be competitive in the world economy. We need to have our people getting a decent education a decent job and the rewards for working hard and making the right choices. Those are the factors that will lead to a strong country and a strong economy. Our future is in our people. We back them and we back their ability to succeed. We are sitting in what will be the best part of the world for the next 50 years. New Zealand is in the right place at the right time to take advantage of the world recovery especially the recovery in this part of the Asia-Pacific region. But we need to give our people the tools to take advantage of it and that is where we are going. We will send the right signals and incentives so that young New Zealanders stay in this country and build a future in this country. They may go overseas to get experience but they will come back to make New Zealand their home and make this the strongest country we can be. 
That is the future for New Zealand. That is where we are going. We have set the tax system so that people see those signals and incentives and that is what the Budget was about. It was not about carrying on the past injustices of trying to make money out of property. The previous Labour Government continually abused that and it asked why the Reserve Bank was putting up interest rates and kept blaming other people when it had 9 years to deal with that economic distortion. It did not have the guts to make the calls but National has had the guts to make those calls. We have gone out there and given young people the direction they need. Young people want to get the best possible education they can and the best possible job they can. They want to make the most money they can so they can have the goods and services they desire for themselves their families and their communities going forward. That community aspect is something we are building through New Zealand. New Zealanders are understanding that they have the opportunities that other countries have. We will not be looking across the ditch or anywhere else and saying that we cannot achieve those things. We believe in the future of this country. We are giving the New Zealand people the tools to take advantage of that future. 
That is quite a different approach from what Labour would have done. Labour would have looked across the ditch and it would have been abusive and jealous. Labour would have said that New Zealanders cannot do that and it is beyond us and that we should accept what we have because this is as good as it gets. Labour would have redirected the money and told us that this was as good as we would ever get. That is the mentality that Labour wanted to build in New Zealand. Well we want to see an ambitious and successful New Zealand where that is not the mentality. We want a mentality such that we have the option of going out there and achieving our goals and that New Zealanders can see that they can prosper and succeed on the international stage and they can succeed at home as well. 
That is the nature of the directional change that New Zealand has encountered since having a National Government. John Key is inspirational in that regard. As a leader he emphasises and epitomises what New Zealanders can and will achieve. That is what the public of New Zealand like. They like to see that we can do these things. They like to see somebody who listens and makes decisions. They like to see a Government that makes the right decisions for people based on the right commercial realities not decisions based on winning votes at election time and on not paying for those things until somebody else has to in the future. That is the point of difference. That is why this Government is so strong and successful. We commend these bills to the House.