Hayes John: Appropriation (2012/13 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Hayes John: Appropriation (2012/13 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
[Sitting date: 21 August 2012. Volume:683;Page:4569. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
JOHN HAYES (National—Wairarapa) 
: 
 Yesterday I spent the day in my electorate with Russia’s David Frost Sergey Brilev and a television crew visiting all manner of productive primary sector activity in the Wairarapa in preparation for a television film that will be shown in Russia around the Prime Minister’s visit when he goes to Vladivostok in the middle of next month. I have got to say that we were on a dairy farm talking to the cocky and I said: “Well how do you think things are going?”. The cocky said: “Really well.” He said that he had great confidence in John Key and his exact words to me were: “Because John Key knows what he’s doing and I’ve got to tell you”—he said to me—“the other people don’t.” He said: “I will be supporting National at the next election because National knows what it’s doing.” There was one farmer who knows what is very sensible and what is good for this country. He knows that we have to invest in the primary sector because that is where this country has a competitive advantage and doing that will stimulate new jobs. He knows that in the Wairarapa for example we have got to save our winter water and feed it out in the summer when it is dry and we do not want to take 6 years or longer going through the resource management complications that the previous Government the Labour Government left us with. Every day we wait we are locking up jobs and we are stopping people being employed. We need to build a more competitive and productive economy. 
The Budget that we have just passed this year forecasts economic growth to average about 3 percent a year over the next 4 years. That means 154000 jobs created on top of the 60000 new jobs created in the past 2 years. And if Mr Groser is successful in getting free-trade agreements with India with Korea with Japan and with Russia then we will continue to expand the opportunities for employing people because— 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: How many has he signed in 4 years? One. 
JOHN HAYES 
: Let me explain to that member that once we signed the New Zealand - China Free Trade Agreement in the first year we sold an additional $850 million of product—in the first year. In this year under review we have sold an additional $3.35 billion worth of produce to China. Think about how many jobs exist because of that new level of export. Groser is doing a great job and I commend him for it. 
The Government’s responsible fiscal management in particular our discipline around spending—no new expenditure no new borrowing—and our capital management is strengthening New Zealand’s resilience in what I think are still very difficult times. We do not know whether Spain is going to fall over and if it does whether Italy will follow. There is still uncertainty out there. What we have to be careful to do—and this is what John Key is doing—is maintain New Zealand’s international credibility a status that is very hard-won but very easily lost as a number of countries around the world are finding out. He is helping every one of my constituents through his astute fiscal management because we are keeping interest rates low and mortgage rates have never been lower—not in my lifetime. They have never been lower. They have gone from 21 percent as I recall under Prime Minister Lange down to 5.7 percent now. 
We are also getting growth in New Zealand that is forecast to be higher than that of many other nations. New Zealand is only a quarter of 1 percent of the world economy so we are affected by what goes on in the rest of the world. The good news is I think that if we continue to do things right under John Key’s leadership we can stand out from a large pack and we already do. Growth in New Zealand over the next 3 years is forecast to be higher than in Europe by half a percent higher than in the UK by just over 1 percent higher than in Japan by 1.5 percent and higher than in the US and Canada by 2 percent. New Zealand is expected to have around the same growth rates as Australia—around about 3 percent. That is because growth in New Zealand would be based on strong fundamentals as I was told by a dairy farmer in Masterton yesterday. 
We have strong fundamentals. We have sound economic and financial institutions. We are producing the sorts of goods and products and providing the sorts of services that will be in demand over the coming decades. This is why companies like Xero are doing so well on the stock exchange. Xero partly invented in Greytown in the Wairarapa has done extremely well on the stock market this year going from about $2 a share to about $5.50. Why is that happening? Because it is a company that is based on the internet. How is it doing well? Because we have spent $1.5 billion out across New Zealand building a decent internet. These are the sorts of things and the sorts of services that are going to be in demand over coming decades. 
Sixty percent of our exports now go to Australia or to South-east Asia in particular the most vibrant and thriving regions of the world. We are moving our resources from Europe where we have traditionally spent effort promoting our exports and now we are spending much more effort trying to grow our export drive in Asia because that is where the economies are growing quickly in the global market place. 
The fact that we are also managing the economy and the Government’s finances providing stable Government in tough economic times and building a more competitive and productive economy based on savings and productive investment is being monitored by agencies external to New Zealand. If you have a look at Standard and Poor’s you will see that it is affirming an AA rating with a stable outlook for New Zealand. That is really welcome news and I think it confirms independently that we are headed in the right direction and are better placed than many other countries. Affirming New Zealand’s long-term foreign currency rating on 3 August Standard and Poor’s noted that this country’s fiscal flexibility resilient economy and strong political and economic institutions would stand it in very good stead. New Zealand is one of only nine countries with the highest possible AA rating and a stable outlook with Moody’s and it has an AA rating with Fitch Ratings. Standard and Poor’s notes that New Zealand has favourable prospects for sustained growth while there remains strong demand for agricultural exports. The Government is making progress in getting its own deficits and debt under control and it is on track for a fiscal surplus in 2014. But New Zealand’s high level of private sector debt is its biggest vulnerability according to the external agents. 
We have got a very resilient economy. This country has got extremely competent Government management in the form of John Key and Bill English. This is recognised— 
Andrew Williams 
: Ha ha! 
JOHN HAYES 
: You might laugh Mr Williams but I can tell you that it is strongly recognised in the Wairarapa and that is why you are sitting here leaderless—because your leader is not being sensible. Where is your leader Mr Williams? On “Planet Labour” you can impose all the economic development you like and then pretend you can have more jobs. Well that is fairy tale stuff—it does not exist. Labour wants to slow down New Zealand’s development for its own political reasons. The simple reality is that my constituents are telling me in the Wairarapa that we need more higher-paying jobs in this country because they want to support families and they want decent public services that are world class. Tony Ryall is delivering that and it helps people make their future in this country not abroad. Thank you very much Mr Speaker for the opportunity to support this legislation.