Upston Louise: General Debate 
Upston Louise: General Debate 
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LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupo) 
: 
 Friday was the chance for New Zealanders to come together to grieve as a country at the national memorial service. When Prince William quoting his grandmother said that grief was the price we pay for love that sentiment was present not only among those in Christchurch but among the tens of thousands of people who were listening on the radio or watching on the television. I was proud to represent the people of Taupo but I left that service enormously proud to be a New Zealander because the people of Christchurch and also those in Taupo and across the rest of New Zealand have demonstrated with their actions their love as well as their grief. There are nearly 100 evacuees from Christchurch who have gone either temporarily or permanently to the Taupo electorate. 
The daily activities of fundraising for those who remain in Christchurch humble me. Whether it is a truckload of groceries walkathons coin trails at schools a swimathon in Cambridge auctions or adding a few dollars at the supermarket checkout every time one passes through those very actions support the people of Christchurch. The most recent initiative is one I am really enjoying through my electorate offices and that is the Shoe Boxes of Love. Every day I have care parcels turning up in my office. Some are labelled “6 to 8-year-old girl” and in the shoebox are some lollies some colouring pens some books and there might be some bubble bath—all sorts of bits and pieces that somebody has put a lot of thought and attention into collecting. When that box arrives in Christchurch the recipients will know that love has been sent in that box. Every person is contributing to the rebuilding of Christchurch. 
I do not think that anyone in this room could dispute the fact that 22 February changed our landscape physically financially and socially so I was quite staggered that the first speaker in the general debate from the Opposition did not even pay attention to the enormous challenge we have ahead of us as a country. I do not think helping to support and rebuild Christchurch is a boring matter unlike some of the members sitting opposite. It is important for us as a Government to make sure we get it right and it will be a priority for us this year and for years ahead. It is actually essential for all New Zealand. But while we do this it is important that we continue with our economic plan. We need to reduce New Zealand’s vulnerability to foreign lenders. We need to reduce New Zealand’s levels of consumption and levels of debt and to make sure we look at our savings and investment. We need to make sure that our national savings are growing and that we are exporting across the world more of what we grow. 
The earthquake will unfortunately delay our return to surplus but it is also important that as a country we stay on top of the levels of debt we incur. We will need to borrow a little more in the short term to meet the Government’s share of the costs of the earthquake as we redirect some capital spending to Christchurch. Major infrastructure projects the Government has already committed to will not be put off. I have seen very directly the economic benefits these sorts of infrastructure projects provide in Taupo and we need more of those benefits. As the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have said we also need to look carefully at our spending priorities so we can return to surplus and start repaying debt. While making those decisions though we will also protect the most vulnerable and improve public services. If it takes a village to raise a child then it takes a country to rebuild a city. This side of the House is focused on that.