Dean Jacqui: Address in Reply 
Dean Jacqui: Address in Reply 
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JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki) 
: 
 Thank you for the opportunity to speak in this Address in Reply debate. I will start with a taxi story because the topic was raised by my colleague Moana Mackey who despite the speech she just gave I think is quite a good parliamentarian. I have enjoyed working with her in the past and it is a shame that her speech was so bitter. But that is beside the point. 
When I ride in taxis—as I do these days—and swipe my parliamentary card taxi drivers often ask whether I am a parliamentarian. When they ask me which party I represent and I reply: “National” they say: “Well thank God.” That is what they say. Taxi drivers are relieved that finally we have a Government that is focused on what matters. I am proud to have come from a local government background and one of the first and most important lessons I learnt there—and that I hope I have taken into my parliamentary career—is that we attack the issues. The lowest form of debate is to attack people and I regret that that has been a feature of the contributions from the Opposition members so far in this debate. 
On 8 November last year New Zealanders voted overwhelmingly for change. New Zealanders chose to vote for a change of Government; they chose to vote for National and for what National stands for. National leader John Key on becoming Prime Minister took only 2 weeks to negotiate a coalition that will be strong respectful and enduring. It is a coalition with the ACT Party the Maori Party and United Future. Together we have formed a Government that is looking forward and is focusing on what matters to New Zealand. It is focusing on growing our way out of the economic legacy we have been left with by the fair-weather Labour Government which enjoyed 9 years of very favourable economic conditions and which as has occurred several times in our political history has left the incoming National Government to pick up the pieces. 
Well I have news for the Labour Opposition: we are here we are ready and we have a plan. I am the proud MP for the new electorate of Waitaki which seems to take up a great deal of the lower half of the South Island. When I think about what this National Government is focusing on—[ 
Interruption 
] I am asked what my majority was. My majority was just over 11000. I worked hard to represent the people. [ 
Interruption 
] Whom did I beat? Former Cabinet Minister David Parker stood against me. I am proud to be the member for Waitaki. 
So what are we going to do? What do “Waitakians”—those people who live between Roxburgh in the south and Rangitata in the north—want? We want good education. Let me tell members how Labour did things. Let me take for example the growing community of Wanaka which worked diligently and hard to get themselves a new primary school—in fact they probably need two. They worked for a number of years jumped through every hoop and had endless negotiations with the Ministry of Education but all to no avail. No work was being done. I tried to intervene but as an Opposition member at the time I had no luck. Lo and behold 10 days before the election what happened? Mr Parker made one of his rare visits to Wanaka and announced that a new Wanaka school would go ahead. [ 
Interruption 
] Ms Ruth Dyson just made a charge of pork-barrel politics-she has to ask herself does she not? 
If members want to talk about infrastructure projects for the South Island I can say that our Minister of Education Anne Tolley has already announced that a new primary school will be built in Arrowtown. Speaking more widely about other education initiatives I can say that across the country five new schools will be built. We are working at a much faster pace and making a far greater commitment to the children of New Zealand than ever occurred in the 9 years of the Labour Government. Which are the new schools? They are Mt Wellington Primary School Papamoa East Primary School Kerikeri Waipapa School Hingaia Primary School and Papamoa Secondary School. Those communities will be so thrilled for their children after 9 years of lobbying the Ministry of Education under the previous Labour-led Government. The National Government is actually going to deliver on its promises. 
What else do “Waitakians” want? They want to do business. Most of my constituents who are in business are in small business. They have been continually frustrated by the red tape that seems to proliferate under the Labour-led Government. What has National done? We have introduced a $480 million package that will provide small and medium businesses with a helping hand on their taxation issues and regulatory matters. There is cheering up and down the Waitaki electorate and up and down the Clutha River where a number of small-business people in the fruitgrowing industry are particularly burdened by red tape. We can practically hear the cheering from here. 
What will we do about the Resource Management Act? Some of the most common complaints I hear in my office apart from those relating to health and education are about the effect the Resource Management Act has had on any kind of development especially in areas of high growth such as Wanaka and the Wakatipu Basin. National knows that fixing the Resource Management Act is crucial to future growth and to enhancing our environment. Last week National announced the first phase of reforms to simplify the Resource Management Act. I can hear the cheering up and down the Waitaki coming from business people large and small from developers and from farmers who want to put in a shearing-shed and have to pay thousands of dollars to their local authority. I can even hear cheering from the local authorities themselves because they too are crying out for reform of the Resource Management Act. 
The Resource Management Act will be referred to a select committee and my office has already received three submissions from people who wish to have their say on the reforms. That is yet more good news delivered by the National Government. My people want decent health care. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: My people? 
JACQUI DEAN 
: The people whom I represent—I say to Dr Cullen that I am a constituency MP and represent a number of people unlike his good self. I represent the people in my electorate; I am very proud to be the MP for Waitaki. Those people come to me because they cannot get health care. The Otago District Health Board missed out on providing almost $12.1 million worth of hip operations eye operations ear operations and knee replacements and the previous Minister of Health did nothing about that. The new Minister Tony Ryall is calling for accountability and it is about time too. 
What else is the National Government delivering that the people of my electorate want? My people want to feel safe in their homes. My people—[ 
Interruption 
] Yes I am so proud to be the member for Waitaki. The people whom I represent want to feel safe in their homes and National’s law and order policy will deliver on that unlike the policy of the Labour-led Government which fiddled around the edges.