Parker David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is subject to correction 
Parker David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 02 August 2012. Volume:682;Page:4237. Text is subject to correction.] 
3. 
Hon DAVID PARKER (Labour) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: Does he stand by his answer to yesterday’s primary question “as I understand it there are no regional statistics that specifically isolate the number of people leaving any particular region to move overseas” and has the Treasury reported to him the existence of official statistics on permanent and long-term migration compiled by local council area and region? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 What I meant yesterday was that you cannot isolate the relative impact of internal and external migration relevant to the question that the member asked. However the member is right that there is a separate series of external migration statistics by region. However the big issue here is the actions the Government is taking to try to create more opportunities for young New Zealanders who would rather have good job opportunities in New Zealand. 
Hon David Parker 
: Since he made that statement yesterday has he read the official permanent and long-term migration statistics prepared by Statistics New Zealand and do those statistics show by region and local council area that the regions of New Zealand are being hollowed out by the departure of young New Zealanders to Australia? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: No I have not but the member’s question illustrates more of the defeatism that I originally criticised. We live next door to one of the fastest-growing developed countries in the world. That means we have to compete for the talent of our young people and as I said we should get on and compete instead of standing around counting everything. 
Hon David Parker 
: If the Australian resources boom is the main reason why people are going why did Taranaki lose 1232 people last year—which is even after migration into the region a net loss of 885 people—when it has some of the best natural resource development in the country? Why are they going from a resource-rich region to Australia? Is it because so few of them are getting a trickle-down of any benefit to working families? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: No and actually there might be a couple of logical reasons. One is that when it comes to resources it is the huge new investment in Australia that is generating the jobs and I look forward to the support of the Labour Party as we ensure there is huge new investment in the Taranaki Bight to create the same sorts of jobs. The other reason people will be moving from Taranaki is that that is exactly the kind of expertise that is needed particularly in the gas industry in Australia. We want to help Taranaki businesses benefit from that large opportunity. 
Hon David Parker 
: Is there any region of New Zealand where the trend of departures has stopped or is getting better or do the figures show that the permanent departure of young New Zealanders is hollowing out every single regional area of New Zealand? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: All I can do is repeat what I said earlier. There are young people leaving. It does not matter whether you count them regionally or nationally you get the same result. The issue is this: it is time New Zealand stopped being defeatist about it and got on with competing and taking advantage of living next door to the fastest-growing economy in the developed world. That is exactly what the Government is doing. 
Hon David Parker 
: Has he seen comments from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research that “Rural New Zealand is likely to disproportionately suffer the consequences of the country’s ageing population and outward migration through a loss of skilled and innovative labour” and does he think young New Zealanders would be leaving in droves for Australia if New Zealand offered job opportunities and wages here? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Of course we need to offer them jobs and opportunities and what that needs is strong support for the businesses that make the decisions to invest and to create that new job. That is why the Government is advancing pro-growth policies and that is why it is hard to understand why the Opposition is against those pro-growth policies because that is stopping businesses creating jobs and opportunities. 
Hon David Parker 
: Are the regions that have lost the most young people in the last year the regions that tend to have the longest-serving National MPs and is that why they are leaving? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: No. Actually I represent a region that has had challenges of population probably for about 30 years but what is happening in Southland is the opposite of the kind of defeatism that the member is talking about. We have worked very hard to develop our local resources and provide more jobs and opportunities. Because of that we have a vibrant and successful local economy—more productive than any other part of the country.