Wagner Nicky: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Wagner Nicky: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 28 November 2012. Volume:686;Page:6875. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
NICKY WAGNER (National—Christchurch Central) 
: 
 The celebration today of  
The Hobbit  
is a celebration of talent it is a celebration of creativity and it is a celebration of all of the fun and excitement of the film industry in Wellington and New Zealand. All the eyes of the world are on us today and we should enjoy it. But it is also a celebration of the tough stuff the stuff that needs to go on behind any glamorous result: the long hours of hard work the training and honing of skills the persistence and the absolute commitment to tenacity in hard times. It is the ability to be flexible and pragmatic and to identify snap up and make the most of every opportunity. 
It is thanks to the drive of Peter Jackson and his team that  
The 
Lord of the Rings 
 and  
The Hobbit 
 can be made. It is thanks to the thousands of actors film-makers technicians and artisans that Middle Earth and Hobbiton have been brought to life. And it is thanks to the pragmatic flexibility of the Prime Minister and the National Government that the films are being made here in New Zealand. It was a close call—too close. As a country—a small country—at the bottom of the world we cannot afford to let these opportunities go by. 
Everybody loves a success and everybody wants to climb on the celebration bandwagon today. Even the Labour Party’s naysayers will be out there on the red carpet and actually I do not blame them.  
The Hobbit 
 has brought thousands of jobs to New Zealand. It has attracted young skilled people here and it will continue to bring visitors and investment to our beautiful country for years to come. But one success is not enough. We need to build on these successes. If our country is going to go forward if we are going to have jobs for our young people and if all New Zealanders are going to have a decent standard of living and quality of life we need to be actively promoting every possible opportunity in our country. 
Success comes in many forms but it always starts with a yes—yes to giving stuff a go yes to being flexible yes to change yes to believing in people and yes to getting on with it. And that is the problem we have in our Parliament right now. The Opposition talks about jobs and how much New Zealand needs them but every time an opportunity like  
The Hobbit 
 comes up it says no—no to mining no to oil and gas exploration no to more farming no to better management of our assets no to overseas investments no to probation for jobs no to youth wages no to new marine legislation and no to a reorganisation of local government. No no no. It says no to change no to new ways of working and thinking no to innovation and no to a better brighter future. 
Well National is absolutely committed to doing the tough hard background slog so that organisations businesses and people can be successful. We are committed to being creative and flexible to finding ways to encourage industry to create more jobs just like  
The Hobbit 
 and to supporting young people to engage in upskilling so that they can make the most of every opportunity. So today let us celebrate the success of  
The Hobbit 
 let us celebrate the fact that we have taken an opportunity and let us celebrate the National Government’s commitment to support the success of all New Zealanders right now and into the future. 
The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.