Mark RonHon RON MARK (NZ First): Thank you Mr Speaker. It is an absolute pleasure to be able to take a call this afternoon in this general debate. Well just to continue on what Minister Little has just finished saying looking at the Opposition what a sad sad tired lot we have facing us these days. Five months in and we're seeing absolutely the same old pattern that we saw in Government. And what do we know from the past Government? Well we know a heck of a lot more having gotten into our ministerial positions of responsibility and opened up some books.What have we found? What did we see? This is a party that knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing. The National Party is a party that is all sizzle and at the end of the barbie there is no sausage. It's a party that talks big on the games talks big about its Budgets talks big about the money that's allocated two three four five years out and when we get into Government what do we find? Absolutely nothing.In fact this is a Government—and I've got to say to Minister Robertson he was wrong. Minister Robertson I'm sorry mate—you were wrong. There was not an $11 billion hole in the National Government's Budget; there was a $31 billion hole. And where do we find that $31 billion? Well it's the $11 billion that the Hon Grant Robertson identified during the election but now we know that all the talk on the $20 billion capability plan was exactly that: talk nothing else.The irony is that we went into negotiations to secure that funding to give our Defence Force personnel certainty and security going forward only to find that there was never a dollar allocated. Oh there was money allocated for this year—you know operating costs. But when you look at those lines and columns and you pull out that wonderful glossy book the capability plan there was one mention of the $20 billion no tables no outline years no budget no nothing. So all I've got to say to the National Party is it's a good thing that they have time to sit in Opposition to review their past performance to wonder as to why they're there and maybe do a bit of cleansing which is well on its way right now and I understand there's more of that to come Mr Carter—David Carter that is.So look this is the past Government that kicked the can down the road on some big issues that we're having to deal with now. What's one? Well one was the frigate system upgrade—a $148 million blowout in the project—Hon Tracey Martin: How much?Hon RON MARK: —a $148 million blowout in the project that could have been settled by Mark Mitchell when he was the Minister. But did he do it? No—can't make big decisions. He can order up a helicopter to take him from Whenuapai 35 minutes down the road from his home to take him to a dinner at Papakura but he doesn't want to talk about that—he doesn't want to front up and talk about that. He will talk about me getting on board an NH90 but won't talk about what he's done his own track record. The track record is no decisions. The track record is kicking the can down the road waiting until the election's out of the way then we'll deal with it.What about the decision round the systems communications upgrade of the frigates? Ah silence—silence. So here we are faced with a situation where that project is yet to follow on the back of the frigate systems upgrade which is seeing vessels put in dry dock and worked on. Why could Mr Mitchell not have brought both those projects together and have the projects done at the same time? Why? Because he can't make big decisions—totally incapable of it which is reflected in the mess that the Minister of Health is having to clean up with hospitals up in Auckland with mould mildew and sewage and former members of the district health board now are talking about it.Well Mr Coleman had every bit of information he needed but did that turn the minds or the heads of that past Government? Not one bit. It turned them as much as their sympathy about people's housing plights turned them. This is a Government that has a plan. I'm so proud of the announcement on the road funding. Julie Anne Genter stand up and take a bow—and Mr Twyford. Finally mayors around the country are applauding a Government for putting money into the rural—Hon Jacqui Dean: No they're not.Hon RON MARK: —and provincial communities of New Zealand and dealing with the roading projects. We'll see all those old one-way bridges fixed up—don't worry about it Ms Dean; those one-way bridges will be fixed up—and we will see a far happier local government in New Zealand than we have seen over the last nine years. Let me assure you of that.