Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: Address in Reply 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: Address in Reply 
[Sitting date: 16 February 2012. Volume:677;Page:512. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National) 
: 
 I thank you for the opportunity to speak in the Address in Reply debate this afternoon. I begin by congratulating you Mr Assistant Speaker Tisch on your role as a Speaker of the House and also take this opportunity to congratulate other presiding officers on their roles. I also congratulate my colleagues in Parliament on being re-elected and welcome all new members in this House. As a not-so-old member of Parliament I understand how honoured we are as members of Parliament and I extend my best wishes to all of you. I would also like to acknowledge and thank all the guests present in the gallery who have come to support the National Party MPs in their maiden speeches.  
I begin by commending the National-led Government’s commitment of $1 billion for the Future Investment Fund towards building new schools and modernising our existing schools to the 21st century education delivery level. I also commend my Government for choosing the prudent path of not borrowing to fund the building of the new schools and renovation of existing ones. Furthermore this Government is committed towards further increasing and improving the transport in this country and that is commendable as well. We are also investing $12.2 million in State highways over the next 10 years and we must also not forget that very important project of rebuilding our second-largest city of Christchurch. It is not only New Zealand’s second-largest city it also accounts for 20 percent of our economy. In order to rebuild Christchurch the Government has committed $5.5 billion. In doing so the Government wants to ensure the economic activities of New Zealand particularly in Christchurch stay active.  
The Prime Minister has outlined our macro strategy of Government management which involves strong economic growth along with strong support for our competitive export economy. This we believe will lead to our achieving a surplus by 2014-15. To attain our goal the Government wants to move people and capital into the tradable sector. The current economic climate makes it critical that the Government focuses its resources on the areas where they are most needed and will make most impact. The Government promises to do so without investing any new money into public services. This does not mean that the quality of these services will suffer. Rather by using existing capital and resources the Government wants to ensure that the investment is made in new technologies so that these services are brought up to the mark so that customers can experience the level of services that other OECD countries provide to their citizens. The Government believes this leads to far better public sector provisions.  
The Government places importance on protecting and supporting vulnerable people in our communities. This Government will support them by providing them with the opportunity to get a good education so that they can empower themselves to lead a better quality of life. To achieve this this Government is working on long-term and sustainable policies.  
All the above points are part of the four major priorities that this Government has laid over its second term. We need to consider all these priorities in the light of the largest economic challenge faced at home and globally since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Fortunately the New Zealand position in comparison with other OECD counterparts has been resilient. The credit for this resilience can be attributed to the common-sense prudent and solid economic policies of this John Key - led Government. It is on the basis of our common-sense prudent and solid economic policies that our Government is on its way to achieve a Budget surplus by 2014. In my opinion this is a target that is not easy to achieve. However I sincerely believe this Government has got the will to achieve it. The Government led by John Key promises to manage the finances of this country wisely to ensure that public services operate at optimum levels within their budgets that we remain a productive and competitive economy and that we remove the burden placed on individuals and entrepreneurs by excessive regulation and taxation.  
Excessive taxation results in more money being sent to Wellington rather than being invested locally where it would lead to the growth of the local economy and job creation for both young and old. Manukau East is where my out-of-Parliament office is located and it is home to many ethnicities who love the opportunity to make progress and provide better lives for themselves and their loved ones. They want to establish small enterprises and to contribute to the local economy. Many of these constituents have told me that they are worried about the introduction of capital gains tax and higher taxes for businesses as proposed by Labour. They are going to lose their savings and the fruits of their hard work via taxation. However by providing the National Party with the mandate to govern this country they can be assured that their savings and hard work will remain theirs to keep. This I believe will encourage minorities to start their small and medium sized entrepreneurial ventures that one day may grow to become large-scale and employ a lot of New Zealanders from all walks of life.  
Lastly I once again mention the rebuilding of Christchurch a city that in the past 13 months also has experienced unfortunate and uncalled-for events. Rebuilding Christchurch is our No. 1 priority.  
This Government has displayed the attitude of being proactive and hard-working and is resilient in its ability to take tough and unpopular decisions. This Government has a long-term vision and based on that long-term vision it has made wise choices such as investing in infrastructure schools medical care and broadband services. We are also ensuring that we do not do this by borrowing money but by using our current resources. The best thing about using our current resources to fund our future dreams is not only do we not borrow money for our long-term vision but also we get to see resources flourish and remain ours in the long term.  
Some may accuse the Government of being too focused on economic growth and not displaying enough care for the environment. Let me assure you that this Government is committed to the environment as much as it is committed to economic growth.  
Before I finish there is one important fact I want to share from the perspective of migrants and ethnic groups in New Zealand. I know for a fact that most of us value education. This is the reason that many of us have migrated to countries like New Zealand in search of high-quality education for all of us and for the generations to come. The steps initiated by the National Government under the very able leadership of the Rt Hon John Key and the Minister of Education the Hon Hekia Parata will go a long way to encourage more and more parents and children to seek quality New Zealand education. I also know for a fact that most ethnic minorities—children and parents—have a deep interest in their education. This is reflected in the grades they achieve at school and university level. They also understand that to ensure that they settle nicely in their adopted homeland they must act proactively and make an effort towards achieving higher education which will empower them economically and open doors socially for their success. Reforms in the area of education will also attract quality international students to our schools and universities. This is likely to provide other schools and universities with revenue that can be deployed towards better research that fuels innovation and economic growth. 
I am confident that my National Party colleagues will add much more to the above list of this Government’s achievements in the past 3 years while also listing our plans and strategies for the 3 years to come.