Hayes John: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHayes John: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply Debate[Sitting date: 26 June 2013. Volume:691;Page:11320. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Supplementary EstimatesJOHN HAYES (National—Wairarapa):Could I say to the previous speaker from across the House Sue Moroney that if getting to surplus in 2014-15 is such a sham I am prepared to wager one dozen bottles of Ata Rangi pinot noir—Ata Rangi won first prize late last week at the Gold Awards; first prize for the whole Greater Wellington area—if we are not in surplus in 2014-15. If you are not prepared to take that wager on we can see that it is you who are offering the sham—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Order!JOHN HAYES: —it is Labour that is offering the sham not this side of the House. These bills the Appropriation (2012/13 Supplementary Estimates) Bill and the Imprest Supply (First for 2013/14) Bill continue the Government’s economic and fiscal strategy and provide funding for the Government to operate until the 2013 Budget is passed. There is no sham in that. That is why we are here tonight Ms Moroney. The bills are about responsible management of the Government’s finances. I have to say Ms Moroney that we are on track to return to surplus and to begin to reduce debt by 2014-15. I am prepared to put up my own money against your lie because that is what it is. That is the sham.I would draw attention to an article in theDominion Post earlier this week. In fact I think it was either yesterday or the day before. It was written by Lew Evans Professor of Economics at Victoria University. You see as we discovered at the Finance and Expenditure Committee this morning not only do Mr Cunliffe and the Labour Party want to introduce a capital gains tax on every business and farm force households to pay an extra $500 a year under an emissions trading scheme and spend and borrow more money but in their rush to appeal to the political left and scratch every political itch they ignore the economic impacts of their ideas. The plan on electricity outlined in this article under review is playing politics with the value of New Zealand’s economic assets and they do not care Ms Moroney whom it affects.Let me quote from this article: “The model proposed by the Greens and Labour of a single electricity buyer with price discrimination has been likened to Pharmac. The only feature the two have in common is that both face some trouble in getting supplies and investment in New Zealand. In the case of Pharmac there are benefits to be balanced against these effects. Pharmac funds pharmacological drugs on a list it approves for New Zealand. Drugs not on the list that have health and safety approval can still be used but they are not funded …”. The article goes on to say: “In contrast a single buyer in electricity will be a monopoly buyer in an industry where supply is sensitive to price. A single buyer may also have to be given regulatory powers to make operational decisions for suppliers. For example there may be alternative uses for water that are more profitable than producing electricity at the single-buyer price meaning regulation would be needed to require generating firms to use water for power generation.” Have you thought about that Ms Moroney? No I do not think you have thought about that.It continues: “A second reason is that the wholesale market for electricity is operating relatively effectively yet it is to be restructured with no definable purpose. The proposal entails reducing the price paid for electricity from particular sources ofgeneration and lowering the price of electricity to households. The reduced price reduces returns to private owners. The government which owns power companies will lose dividend revenue and receive less tax revenue from the privately held electricity firms because their dividends are lower. Assuming the lost Crown revenue is to be replaced by increased taxation …”. That is what the Labour and Green Opposition in this country is offering our community. “In targeting the ‘market’ in ‘electricity market’ the proposal would produce an unstable commercial environment.”—an unstable commercial environment—says Lewis Evans Professor of Economics at Victoria University in this week’sDominion Post .He goes on to say: “It is tempting to draw comparisons with health and education where the state does buy services. However in these labour rather than capital determines cost. Capital and date of establishment are less of a factor in costs and profitability and so there would be an opportunity for the price manipulation of the proposal … The investment and price effects of the single buyer for electricity suggest that a better comparison would be the New Zealand Electricity Department of the 1960s and 1970s.” That is where the Opposition wants to take us back to—the 1960s and 1970s. He goes on: “In that era taxpayers paid and politicians made pricing investment and operational choices in the electricity sector.” That is why David Shearer is so low in the polls—because our community knows that “The associated planning and control of electricity produced some poor investment decisions and meant that the price of electricity was not its cost.”That is why it is important that we pass this legislation tonight and it is why it is important that our country does not let us go into any form of Labour-Green Party - run Government. The best option for the community is to stick with the National-led Government which is building a stronger more stable economy that can weather global storms and deliver opportunities higher incomes and more jobs for New Zealanders. Budget 2013 continues to do that. I can tell you from the experience of my electorate that households in the Wairarapa and businesses there have faced some pretty challenging times in the past 5 years—for example because of the global financial crisis the Christchurch earthquakes and with continuing global uncertainty especially in Europe. And in some parts of the Wairarapa especially in retailing businesses are still facing quite difficult circumstances and difficult challenges. Although these challenges remain the economic recovery is gaining momentum and it is being driven in that direction by low interest rates by investment and by strong export prices. What I see happening right across the Wairarapa electorate is jobs being created. I have just done some checking on my computer this evening and discovered that there are more than 50000 more jobs in this economy today than we had 2 years ago. The fiscal outlook has improved markedly because of the National-led Government’s sound management and that is why you guys—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Order!JOHN HAYES: —that is why the Labour Opposition is at 30 percent in the polls because the community can see through things like the capital gains tax which they do not wish to have.I remember that when we came into office in 2008 we inherited a set of Government books that had debt running at 60 percent of GDP by 2020 and no prospect of a Government Budget surplus ever again. This Government is on track to meet two key fiscal targets—first of all to get back into surplus in 2014-15. Ms Moroney I am waiting for you to pick up my wager. Or are you the sham?The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Order!JOHN HAYES: I meant is Ms Moroney the sham not you Mr Assistant Speaker; I was not thinking about you at all. And we will have a surplus in 2014-15—Sue Moroney: Dame Moroney to you.JOHN HAYES: Lady Moroney if you like—Lady Moroney. We are going to have a surplus of $75 million in 2014-15. I am really proud to be part of a Government that is taking this country in that direction.Furthermore we must follow the work of the Ministerial Committee on Poverty. Budget 2013 confirms important initiatives to support low-income families because it is important in places like Masterton and Dannevirke that we do that. I am really pleased that this Government is spending $100 million over the next 3 years to insulate 46000 more homes which is very important at this time of the year more than $21 million over the next 4 years to reduce rheumatic fever in children and an extra $1.5 million for budgeting services. Some of that will go to the budget service in Dannevirke and some will go into the budget service in Waipukurau and I support that. Furthermore we are supporting a whiteware programme to help beneficiaries buy new appliances. This is excellent legislation which I support fully.