Lotu-Iiga Sam: Address in Reply 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Lotu-Iiga Sam: Address in Reply 
[Sitting date: 14 February 2012. Volume:677;Page:321. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
PESETA SAM LOTU-IIGA (National—Maungakiekie) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to participate in this the Address in Reply debate. May I first congratulate you Mr Speaker on your reappointment to the office of Speaker and secondly may I congratulate all new members who are part of this the 50th Parliament of New Zealand.  
The Prime Minister has laid out clearly our Government’s four priorities. The first of these is to responsibly manage the Government’s finances. In a world as it is today—and last night we saw Moody’s downgrade both Spain and Portugal and we saw the Greek Parliament pass austerity measures in order to combat the evils of debt—it is important that our Government controls the debt path our country is heading on. It is about budgeting carefully and deciding which things are important and which things to prioritise. As with our own personal finances and our household finances we would not go for years spending more that we earn. So this Government is committed to returning to surplus in the 2014-15 financial year.  
Secondly we are about building a more productive and competitive economy. We have seen under this Government for the first time in many years a trade surplus and when we look at the record of the last Government we see 5 consecutive years of diminishing export levels. We know that the focus of a brighter future and the focus on jobs and opportunities must come through the export-focused economy. What does it mean? It means selling more of what the world wants. It means selling at a competitive price and building on a solid base of innovation. In both 2012 and 2013 our economy is forecast to grow more strongly than the eurozone the UK Japan the United States— 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: Still! 
PESETA SAM LOTU-IIGA 
: —as well as Canada. It is good to see you back in the House Mr Cunliffe. I do not know about the beard but it is good to see you anyway. Again the European crisis offers some lessons. It offers lessons because it is about— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch) 
: I would actually like to hear what the member is saying so keep the interjections low. 
PESETA SAM LOTU-IIGA 
: It is about competitiveness as I was saying. The second reason is that our competitiveness has declined over the period of the 2000s. As a result industries and sectors that were competing internationally have gone into recession and we have to do something about that. So what has this Government done? It has turned that round with a 120-point economic plan. I hold here in my hand some of the answers to peeling back some of the poor performance that the Labour Government gave us over the 9 years. What does it include? It includes a Future Investment Fund. It means investing in our future and investing in our kids. The schools and the early childhood centres that have been built across this country are part of the solution going forward. It is about a 120-point plan that will bring us into the 21st century.  
Simon Bridges 
: What’s it about? 
PESETA SAM LOTU-IIGA 
: Mr Bridges wants to know what it is about. It is about some of the roads that go into Tauranga Mr Bridges. 
David Bennett 
: And Hamilton. 
PESETA SAM LOTU-IIGA 
: That is right; and Hamilton. What else is it about? It is about broadband and connectivity between our cities as well as with the world. We are able to live in this country and make goods and services and export these across the world. That is what it is about. 
When I talk to our businesses in Maungakiekie they ask about the exchange rate and they ask about access to capital. This Government in the last 3 years has reformed so much of the capital markets. We created the Financial Markets Authority—admittedly with the help of the whole House; it was a policy that had cross-party support. We created a regulator that actually has teeth has resources and will enforce some of the really dreaded parts of financial markets where so many mum and dad investors were taken for a ride. 
We will reform the Securities Act which is 34 years old and needs refining. We will ensure that our capital markets operate with confidence and trust but also that the regulatory authority has the resources to enforce those matters in our capital markets.  
We are also looking at furthering our Resource Management Act reforms. When we talk to users of council facilities they say that one of things about consents is that they take too long they cost too much and there is so much uncertainty as to when and how a resource or building consent may be issued. So we are introducing a 6-month time limit for some of the consenting of medium-sized projects. 
We are encouraging oil and gas exploration and that is with a new system of processing permits. Whereas Opposition parties will look at our Australian cousins brothers and sisters and they will compare us with that country when you look at that country though you see how effectively they use their minerals and their resources. If we are going to be competitive not just with Australia but with the rest of the world we really need to get our act together in terms of exploration and in terms of using our minerals oil and gas resources in this country. 
We are also negotiating free-trade agreements. Although I admit that we are carrying on the good work of the last Government we are working on the Trans-Pacific Partnership including the United States as well as other free-trade agreements that will increase our access to markets around the world and increase our opportunities for job growth in our export sector. Of course we are talking also about the mixed-ownership model and extending that to four State-owned enterprise companies which will make better use of New Zealand’s balance sheet. It is about providing investment opportunities for our mum and dad investors because they cannot just invest in Telecom. They cannot just invest in a few top public companies. But these investment opportunities will provide some solid returns going into the future.  
Also for a company like Mighty River Power which needs access to more resources with its geothermal technological expertise and its ability to expand across the globe—it is in Chile in Germany and in the US but it is looking to get further into South-east Asia—these investments will provide Mighty River Power with the capital and expertise to extend those exports overseas. 
The final bit of reform that will be important especially this year—and I sit as the chair of the Social Services Committee—will be reforming welfare. Welfare is about getting people who can work to work. Welfare will be about providing a safety net for those who need help but providing incentives for those who need to go out and earn a living. 
I have set out the Government’s priorities. I am proud to represent this second-term National Government. It is a Government that is about action it is a Government that is about producing jobs and opportunities and it is about a Government that will deliver on its promises. Thank you very much.