Dean Jacqui: Budget DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDean Jacqui: Budget Debate[Sitting date: 28 May 2015. Volume:705;Page:4158. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki): Malo Mr Assistant Speaker. It is just wonderful to be the last speaker of the week.Grant Robertson: This is the top time of the day Jacqui. They pick the best person for this slot.JACQUI DEAN: The top time—some might call it the graveyard shift but not me. No I am excited to be the last speaker on a Thursday afternoon. And do you know what else? I love my region. I love representing—Tim Macindoe: They love the member.JACQUI DEAN: Oh stop it. I love representing my region and I am surrounded by caucus colleagues who also love representing their region. All the way from the top of the North Island right down to the bottom of the South Island we have got hard-working list MPs and electorate MPs who just love getting out there into their regions. I tell you what. They are well supported by this Government and they are well supported—Chris Hipkins: What about Northland? You’re not doing so well in Northland.JACQUI DEAN: We love Northland. We love Northland a lot and we are going to get it back in the next election. That is what we are going to do. We are going to get it back in the next election. We are working hard for the people of Northland just as we are working hard for the people of my region of which I am inordinately proud and all the other regions in New Zealand represented by National’s fine caucus and supported by this very very good Budget.I want to focus on regional development which is being so well supported by this Government in its broadband network roll-out. This is a programme that has been in play for something like 3 years or even more at a total investment so far of $1.5 billion into rural broadband.Brett Hudson: How much?JACQUI DEAN: “How much?” says my colleague. Well I will tell that colleague. It is $1.5 billion a significant investment in ultra high-speed broadband and rural broadband which is making an incredible difference in the regions in New Zealand. It is creating opportunities for regional development like we have never seen before.With all due respect to the previous speaker Ria Bond it is not the Government that exports logs from New Zealand. It is not the Government that exports cherries from New Zealand. It is not the Government that exports dairy products from New Zealand. It is private enterprise. It is business. It is small businesses—many of which operate in the regions. What can the Government do to support those small businesses in the regions? Well just at the moment I am talking about rural broadband.So on top of that $1.5 billion investment that has been rolling out over the past—is it 3 years or is it 6 years? I am turning to a colleague who knows a bit more about these things. OK it is 3 years. We will say 3 years. It might be 6 years. In that time a number of communities around New Zealand have been fully serviced by broadband and I am really proud to say that Ōāmaru the town where I live my home town in the heart of the Waitaki electorate is fully serviced with high-speed broadband. It is fantastic. The schools the hospital small businesses retail and homes are all serviced with high-speed broadband. That is a huge investment in the potential of what might happen out of Ōāmaru.I just think about one of the businesses in Ōāmaru which is called Milligans Food Group Ltd. It produces and repackages products ships them out all around New Zealand and also exports. It is a business that employs around about 50 workers which is not a bad employer for a small town. What does it rely on? It relies on connectivity. So it is that infrastructure that is proving to be most beneficial for Ōāmaru. I think about the investments that have been announced in this Budget such as an extra $360 million that has been set aside for the roll-out of connectivity. So that is $210 million for the ultra-fast broadband and $150 million for the Rural Broadband Initiative. That is fantastic. That means that there will be other communities all around New Zealand that have the opportunity to leverage off.It is not the Government that does the exporting. It is not the Government that sends logs offshore. It is small businesses and large businesses run by New Zealanders for New Zealanders that do that. I do not know that that is well understood by our new colleague from New Zealand First.Let us have a look at the Welcome to Gigatown initiative which was warmly embraced by many communities all around New Zealand. Dunedin won it—damn it—and Wānaka did not. Wānaka came around fifth so good on it. But what has Wānaka managed to do to leverage off that opportunity that has been provided by Chorus but also by the Rural Broadband Initiative? Wānaka has been able as part of that competition to position itself to take full advantage of the opportunities that broadband is presenting to it. For our wine industry which is a big exporter what does it need? It needs connectivity. It needs to be able to be nimble in the market. The industry needs to be able to respond quickly in the market to get its products offshore at the best price. There is the cherry industry—again a perishable commodity. What does the industry need? It needs to be nimble and it needs to be quick. What enables that to happen? It is broadband which connects these communities out in the regions.Ōāmaru which is a small part of New Zealand a small town has got the connectivity. Businesses are leveraging off that. It is not for the Government to tell small business what to do. It is for the Government to enable small business to take advantage of these excellent announcements such as we have had in the Budget.Debate interrupted.