O'Connor Damien: Budget Debate 
O'Connor Damien: Budget Debate 
[Volume:608;Page:5974] 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Minister for Racing) 
: 
 I say to Barbara Stewart that the only “h” word I would use is “helpful”. I apologise now if I seem a little boring in my speech but I think people in this country appreciated the fact that the Budget was boring. It was predictable consistent and helpful. It may be boring in some people’s eyes—[ 
Interruption 
]—but I tell Mr Shirley that it is exactly what this country needed. Labour wants to carry on with the good work that it has put in place and with the programmes that it has laid down over the last 3 years in Government. 
When Labour came into Government we had a dollar that was overvalued. We got in there spoke to the Reserve Bank and got the dollar down to a reasonable and sensible level that offered security to exporters. That one move alone has driven this economy on to the stable footing we have today. I will speak briefly about rural industries about farmers and about the very industries that drive this economy and will do so for a long time into the future. The reality is that in spite of all the other claims made by many other industries the agricultural and horticultural sectors have out-performed most other industries in this country for many many years and they will continue to do so. 
We settled the dollar. We focused on the infrastructural needs of the rural sector and we put some other key things in place. We put secondary schools on a good footing. We put the Modern Apprenticeships scheme in place. There are almost 6000 modern apprenticeships now but there were none under the National-ACT Government because it thought the market would deliver all the needs of the growing New Zealand economy—regardless of the fact that the economy was not growing too well under that Government. 
On behalf of farmers I say that they wanted a steady boring consistent Budget because they are doing OK. I must quote from Federated Farmers which stated: “In the light of the very uncertain economic outlook with falling overseas demand in prices for our products it is wise for the finance Minister to be wary of eroding the surplus.” Federated Farmers’ expectations are not high and we delivered for them in a number of ways. Firstly we committed an extra $14.2 million to World Trade Organization negotiations. That is something that the last National-ACT Government did not do. Secondly we are going to spend an extra $6 million in biosecurity. A number of incursions occurred under the last National Government—[ 
Interruption 
]—Mr Worth may not have been in Parliament but I tell him that it was his colleagues who played a part in those biosecurity breaches because the last National Government did not commit funding to biosecurity. We have committed funding and we will increase it in the future. 
One of the joys for the farming sector is an extra $10 million for the Sustainable Farming Fund. The market gurus and the flat-earth people in the National Party do not think we need to intervene and facilitate any sustainable growth in the farming sector. There are hundreds of projects around the country now that are focused on growing the agricultural and horticultural sectors on looking after the environment and on producing better results from the money invested. There are a large number of areas in which we have helped the rural sector. We have committed $35 million specifically to rural health initiatives. 
John Key 
: It is not enough. 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: That member is from the party that will cut taxes and spending and he is saying that we did not spend enough. I tell Mr Key that we are very responsible economic managers. He will not have the opportunity for a long long time to show how incompetent he would be in Government. 
We know that it has been difficult to get medical professionals in the rural sector. We committed money and set up reasonable rostering so that medical professionals could have some time off and we provided locum support—doctors and nurses who will come in and help—so that those professionals will stay in the rural sector rather than pack their bags and go. If doctors and nurses go from the rural sector then farmers and workers will follow and that will mean a run-down of our productive sector. We are not going to stand by and let that happen as the last National Government did. We have committed money. 
Simon Power 
: Rubbish! 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: Does that member know why his colleagues got kicked out of Government? They got kicked out because they ignored the productive rural and horticultural sectors in this country. They turned their backs on those sectors which kicked them out of Government—for a long long time into the future. 
That is why we are making such a commitment to look after those sectors. We have a surgical bus going around this country which delivers surgery to rural people when they never thought such a thing would be possible. That is the kind of innovation this Government has brought to this economy—growth security and innovation. We will continue to bring that innovation. How have we done that? What did we do this year? We have allocated an extra $140 million over the next 4 years for science and technology. We have allocated $110 million over the next 4 years to respond to the recommendations on biotechnology— 
John Key 
: You won’t be anywhere near the Treasury benches to administer it. 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: Mr Key probably does not understand what biotechnology is and what it can do for this economy—because unless Governments are prepared to commit money to help facilitate that growth it will not happen. We have committed that money and we look forward to the growth in that sector which is built on the successful agricultural sector in this country. 
There are many many other good things that this Government has done but I have to go back and ask what the alternative would have been. What if by a long long shot we are ever to have Mr Brash as Minister of Finance? What would he do? Of course Mr Brash was going to cut taxes. We heard the age-old Tory dogma of cutting taxes yet Mr Key says we do not spend enough money. What is the cost of cutting taxes? It is probably a couple of billion dollars. Mr Brash would also increase spending on defence and police and do members know why? There will be so much social inequity under the next National-ACT Government—which we will not see for a long time—that it will have to spend that money. At least he has some idea of what might be necessary in the future. Mr Brash in his visionary way wants to have drug testing of beneficiaries. What a wonderful innovation! What else would Mr Brash do? He would slash Government expenditure by 20 percent. 
Labour is not prepared to undertake those draconian policies. They are the vision of the National Party—if it ever works out who might be the next leader and if it ever has someone with any vision and leadership to take it forward. Perhaps that leader will be Mr Power. He is not prepared to stand up and say he wants to be the leader of the National Party because he knows the party will be in the doldrums for a long long time. I ask Mr Power whether that is correct. What about Mr Key? He is an upcoming leader but no he is not prepared to do anything either because he knows that he will be in the dog box for a long time. 
I hope that speech was boring enough. I hope I have emphasised just a few of the key things that Labour has done for the rural sector in this country. People in the rural sector know that more apprenticeships will mean more tradespeople for the rural sector. They know that getting people into training will help drive agriculture and horticulture in the future and they know that if we help doctors and nurses they out in the rural sector will get help when they need it. 
This Government has undertaken a programme over the last 3 now almost 4 years to drive this economy into the future and we will be doing that for a long time yet. If Dr Cullen comes up with another boring Budget next year then I will be more than happy to stand up in this House and give another boring speech in the Budget debate because what this country wants is consistency security into the future and the knowledge that this Government will not sell its assets privatise the roading system or cut taxes unnecessarily. Those are the only alternative policies put up by the National Party or the ACT party. Thankfully I trust the wisdom of New Zealanders not to put those parties into power for a long long time.