Lotu-Iiga Peseta Sam: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Lotu-Iiga Peseta Sam: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:660;Page:8719] 
PESETA SAM LOTU-IIGA (National—Maungakiekie) 
: 
 I rise to support the speech made by our Prime Minister this afternoon. It was a fitting speech from the popular and respected man who leads this country the Hon John Key. As we all know the Prime Minister is aspirational and he is ambitious. His 23-page statement outlining his vision for this country during this year is one that must be admired and it echoed across this country as a vision that will lead us into this new decade. The Prime Minister outlined six areas that this Government will focus on in the coming year. But before I talk to two or three of those areas I want to review what we have done in the last 15 months of this administration. 
We have navigated New Zealand through the worst global and economic conditions in this generation. We have enhanced New Zealanders’ trust in our Government by fulfilling many of the promises and many of the undertakings that we campaigned on in 2008. This trust is reflected in the latest polls which show on average 20 percent poll leads between this Government and the Opposition and show even far greater differential between our Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition Phil Goff. 
What have we done? We have reformed the Resource Management Act to reduce red tape and bureaucracy. In health we have capped wasteful bureaucracy and delivered more resources to front-line services. You see in 9 years the previous Labour Government doubled the health spending but outputs and deliverables did not change at all; in fact some of them went backwards. What have we done? We have added over 11800 elective surgeries improving the quality of life for those particular New Zealanders and their families. What has this Government done? It has signalled a whopping $7.5 billion in long-overdue infrastructure spending in the areas of roading public transport and broadband. We have also provided a fiscal stimulus and tax cuts for hard-working New Zealanders which saw the economy finally grow again. 
That is what this Government has done but it is not resting on its laurels—no. This Government in terms of going forward has set out six main goals. These are tax reform; more effective public services; support for science innovation and trade; better regulation; further investment in infrastructure; and improved education. These goals are consistent with making New Zealand a more prosperous country and one that can take its place among developed countries providing job opportunities for all New Zealanders and security for their families. 
Let us take a moment to just ponder the tax system. The tax system is of course about creating the right incentives for people to work and contribute to society. Savings are critical so the most important part of the system really should encourage savings and boost the productivity of investments. A lot of the discussion this afternoon has been about the gap between New Zealand and Australia and other developed countries. We all know that in order to bridge that gap productivity and gains in productivity are critical to the future of this country. We also look to our tax system to promote fairness. That is why this Government is looking at how taxation will affect people across the board. If there are to be increases in GST then of course these will be accompanied by compensation for lower-income earners and those on fixed incomes. 
When I go out to visit the businesses in my patch of Maungakiekie and I talk to the business owners and to the employees they say they are looking for some relief in the areas of taxation. The business owners want to pay lower taxes so they can carry on investing in their productive resources. The workers—what do they want? They want to have more money in their back pockets so that they can spend it on their families and on themselves. These businesses also give me feedback about a number of the programmes that this Government has implemented in the last 15 months. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: Tell me. I can’t wait! 
PESETA SAM LOTU-IIGA 
: One such programme I say to Mr Robertson is the legislation on the 90-day probationary employment period that we passed last year. Do members recall the scandalous way that the Opposition jumped up and down about this legislation and the fearmongering that went on? And have they heard a whimper since? 
Chris Tremain 
: The world was going to fall over. 
PESETA SAM LOTU-IIGA 
: The world was going to fall over as Mr Tremain has said. And did the world fall over? It did not. That shows that the sort of scaremongering that has gone on today is a continuation of the Opposition’s obvious whining and moaning about the sorts of Government policies that are working out in our communities. 
In terms of education this year sees the implementation of our national standards. National standards are about helping the children of this country—not the unions but the children of this country—to get extra support when they need it. It is about informing parents about how their children are faring in the areas of literacy and numeracy. It is also about informing their teachers as to how they can go about improving the learning levels of those students who are in need. When I speak to the principals and teachers in my electorate of Maungakiekie where the schools are primarily decile 1 to 4 I do not meet one teacher who is against having standards in education. I do not know one teacher who is against better informing parents about their children’s progress in school. I do not know one teacher who does not want the best for students. Although people may disagree about the implementation of this programme in terms of trialling and monitoring everyone whom I speak to wants to see a better education provided for the children. [ 
Interruption 
] 
If that does not stir Ms Turei I tell her to consider this: there is a teacher called Brian Langdon who runs the reading enrichment programme at One Tree Hill College. The programme predominantly assists Maori and Pasifika students to develop their reading. There are kids there who have the reading age of a 10-year-old but who are actually 15 years of age. If there is any reason to identify literacy issues earlier than at college then it is these kids. They give me ample reason to support this policy. If that member does not accept that she should come to One Tree Hill College and see the plight of these kids. 
Finally I just want to touch on the Leader of the Opposition who was screaming and ranting from the benches opposite. I have to say I like Mr Goff. He was once my member of Parliament. He represented me and he is a good electorate MP. But Mr Goff is not a Prime Minister in waiting. He is not a leader who has a vision. He is clearly in above his head when it comes to having a vision for this country. I wind this speech up by saying the Prime Minister has laid out our vision. I support that vision and I support his quest to improve the lives of New Zealanders. Thank you very much.