Budget DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBudget Debate[Sitting date: 05 June 2013. Volume:690;Page:10734. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Budget DebateDebate resumed from 4 June on theAppropriation (2013/14 Estimates) Bill.Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister of Police): Budget 2013 was a very good Budget—a very good Budget—for New Zealanders. It confirms that New Zealand is on the right track it forecasts economic growth for New Zealanders it forecasts more jobs for New Zealanders it forecasts rising wages for New Zealanders and it forecasts a return to surplus for the Government’s books by 2014-15. They are all the issues that matter to New Zealanders right across the country all the issues that this Government has been talking about for the last 4 years and I have to say all the things that the Labour-Green Opposition has consistently opposed at every opportunity. The Budget builds on the momentum created over the last 4 years as this Government has grappled with probably the deepest depression in the economy since the 1930s—the global financial crisis—and the dreadful earthquakes that have wreaked such havoc in our second-largest city the beautiful city of Christchurch.In order to rebuild this country’s economic performance this National-led Government has set four priorities: firstly to responsibly manage the books and it is clear from the Budget that we are doing an excellent job of that; secondly to build a more competitive and productive economy and again the Budget shows that we are doing exactly that; thirdly to rebuild Christchurch and with an $18 billion investment from this Government we are certainly working hard to rebuild that city; and fourthly to deliver Better Public Services and the Prime Minister has set 10 targets across a range of ministries in order to deliver those services to New Zealanders. It is that latter point that I want to focus on today.If we look at all three of the portfolios that I have responsibility for—police corrections and the Serious Fraud Office—they have certainly had an outstanding year. Corrections was named as the department of the year at the end of last week by theTrans-Tasman. Recorded crime is at its lowest rate in 24 years and reoffending rates have fallen by nearly 9 percent. Budget 2013 provides the platform to continue to see lower crime and further reductions in reoffending and that will enable the portfolios that I have responsibility for to achieve their Better Public Services targets. Budget 2013 makes $10 million available from the Justice Sector Fund over the next 2 years to establish new services to support prisoners on their release into the community and in the next couple of weeks we will be making announcements about the details of this. We have rolled out the expanded programmes within corrections both within our prisons and for community offenders of increased educational opportunities increased skills training and dramatically increased alcohol and drug rehabilitation available to offenders. There is the transference of three prisons into working prisons where prisoners will have a very structured 8-hour day of both working and training. We have revamped youth prisons so that again those young people have a very structured daythat revolves largely around education and gets them into the normal habits of ordinary young New Zealanders to help them when they go back out into the community.It has become clear to us as three-quarters of our prisoners do return to our communities that the next area that we have to focus on is what sort of support we give to those people when they have completed their sentences and are returning to their homes and their families and their communities. So those are simple things like connecting them with the social service agencies that they are going to need to support them through the next few months. As much as we might try to get them all some form of employment that is not always possible. So they do need to have some assistance. They need accommodation. Corrections tells me that several hundred prisoners could be released much earlier into the community if there was accommodation available to them but of course unfortunately many people do not want to have a newly released prisoner living in their street so accommodation becomes very difficult.We do want to provide employment. It is very clear that if we can get ex-offenders into employment as quickly as possible on their release then they have a much better chance of not returning to prison of not breaking the law. Of course for many of them they need ongoing assistance around just plain basic living skills—how to budget how to manage a bank account how to keep themselves and their families clean and well-fed and living normal lives. So we are certainly looking at how we can provide those services to prisoners as they are leaving prison in particular and whether that sort of programme needs to be extended to some of our more high-risk community offenders.It is interesting when you look at the results that corrections has seen over the last 4½ years that we are starting to see that drop in reoffending rates—nearly 9 percent. We have set a target of 25 percent by 2017. When you consider where corrections came from—when this Government took office the probation service had been run into the ground. Under the previous Labour Government it was seriously understaffed and seriously underfunded. This Government injected $255 million into the probation service alone to try to get it back into some shape so that it could deliver services to do the job that New Zealanders expect it to do. The result of that now 4½ years later under this Government is that the Department of Corrections has been named the department of the year.Even though the day after that came out we did experience a group of prisoners—29 prisoners—in Spring Hill Corrections Facility running rampant it was interesting to me and heartening to me to see that the response from the corrections officers was absolutely perfect. They followed their professional code to the letter. They showed that the extra effort and resources that we have put into safety training have paid off. They followed those procedures and protocols exceptionally well but more important when it became clear that fire—which is the worst possible danger in a prison where you have and we did have many prisoners who had locked themselves in their cells rather than participate—was involved those prison officers then risked their lives to go in and save the prisoners who had set fire to their own surroundings. They were very brave actions and fortunately for me as Minister I would say that we are very lucky that we had no serious injuries out of that for either our officers or any of our prisoners.Budget 2013 has set us up in police corrections and the Serious Fraud Office for another exceptional year as part of the justice sector that this Government is ensuring is effective and is delivering good public services to New Zealanders right across the country.JAN LOGIE (Green): Mr Speaker this is a split call with my colleague Steffan Browning. This year is the 120th anniversary of women gaining suffrage in this country. It is also the 80th anniversary of women entering Parliament and the 20th anniversary of women first taking leadership of a political party in this country. I think it is particularlyimportant this year and especially this week following the death of Dame Margaret Shields to consider how our political system is doing for women and how this Government in particular through this Budget is delivering for women. Of course we have made really significant progress since the 1970s but there is a sample of measures that tell me we have still got a long way to go. In this speech I would like to look at just one of those measures which is around the gender pay gap.We have an entrenched gender pay gap and according to some measures it is growing. Other measures tell us that it may be narrowing because male wages are declining. So what is this Budget offering us as women in terms of making some fundamental change in the inequality that exists for us in this country? According to the Minister of Finance one of this Government’s priorities with this Budget is to build a more productive and competitive economy. Well that should really bode well for women you would think especially in light of the Goldman Sachs research last year that showed that closing the gender pay gap could increase productivity by 10 percent. That is worth over $20 billion a year to this economy.Surely for that kind of outcome it would be worth actively and strongly pursuing a policy towards that end. Yet the Budget announcements relating to promoting a productive and competitive economy have been devoid of gender analysis. The Minister is focused on increasing tourism with $20 million a year; marketing education overseas with $10 million a year; and providing $25 million a year on new research and development. It is not that I do not believe in any of those initiatives but I really struggle to see how they have got the potential that is held within measures that would reduce the gender pay gap.So what is the Government doing to close the gap? My temptation honestly is to say “nothing”. It has said it is not going to put anything into extending paid parental leave and it has threatened to use its financial veto against the will of this House despite the fact that extending paid parental leave will strengthen women’s attachment to the workforce and the loss of that contributes to the gender pay gap.Further it has legislated against paying family carers their legal entitlements which would have significantly helped with the gender pay gap. Further it has not acted on the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner’s recommendations regarding pay for aged-care workers—another core factor in the gender pay gap. And when we look at non-Budgetary measures we see that it has refused to pick up my member’s bill which just provides a technical tool to enable women to argue their case.Those are four distinct things that this Government could be doing to radically increase productivity in this country—and it has done nothing. But if I am being truly fair I have to acknowledge that it has increased funding for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and that that ministry is responsible for monitoring the gender pay gap. That is particularly important now that nobody is actually responsible for lowering that gap.So how will the ministry deliver for us women in New Zealand? Last year the Human Rights Commission critiqued the ministry saying that women are being short-changed by those setting targets on their behalf and it criticised the ministry’s pale ambition for women’s progress in New Zealand.Well I would expect as I am sure a Minister of Finance who cared about productivity would expect that ministry to have taken those criticisms on board and to have radically strengthened its targets. But no. Actually the ministry has watered them down. From a target of having 47 percent of appointments to State sector boards in 2015 now we find its target is to continue to increase from 41 percent in 2015 and a web page dedicated to gender pay gap just justifies the use of its measure. This year it has put out six media releases and has contracted one piece of research. That is this Government’s pitiful commitment to gender pay inequality.STEFFAN BROWNING (Green): I rise to speak on the Appropriation (2013/14 Estimates) Bill in terms of biosecurity in particular. On the surface in this Budget it appeared that there was a $5 million to $7 million drop in biosecurity funding and we certainly commented on that. The Minister said: “No no no. That was a reshuffling of figures between 2011-12 and this current Budget and that is all that is.” But what is actually very very clear is that despite the increasing risks to biosecurity because of staff cuts and increased trade this Government has not given an appropriate increase to biosecurity funding. There has been some talk of increased staff but that is actually just a drop in the bucket compared with the staff drops and cuts since 2008. This Government is not addressing biosecurity adequately at all.This week as we speak there is a conference on bees in Queenstown. Federated Farmers are talking on bees down there and very soon there is another conference for the National Beekeepers’ Association. I know that that industry has come to the Minister it certainly has come to the rest of us and it is wanting assistance around biosecurity. It has been under continued threats under continued impacts from the lack of biosecurity controls in this country. We all know about the varroa bee mite and that varroa got away and that now all beekeepers effectively are having to deal with varroa. They are having to go through some quite significant control methods to keep varroa from taking out their hives because if they do not the hive perishes. New Zealand is already all the worse for the feral hives being totally decimated. We now rely totally on kept hives and the controls in them.So that is just one example. Another bee diseaseNosema ceranae a small unicellular fungal parasite of bees came in and showed up when Psa showed up in kiwifruit. Although it does not seem to decimate the hives to the same degree if we get a particular virus in which would be very easy with this open border approach by the Government the combination will decimate hives. We need to not allow that. The fact is that that bee disease is here. We will deal with it or it is being dealt with through hive management as best as possible.There are other factors potentially impacting on our bee health including neonicotinoids or neonics for short. These are synthetic pesticides that have been shown to affect bee numbers. They are used as a systemic poison in seeds that expresses out through the pollen in things like corn and other flowering plants like brassicas. That needs to be pulled in immediately. We need the Environmental Protection Authority to reassess them but it actually should be stopping the use of them immediately until it does reassess them just as the EU is doing. Neonics as I say need to be reassessed. The only reassessment of pesticides as such at the moment is of the organophosphates. The Government is not putting enough into reassessments of either those or new chemicals. We get tons of new chemicals being allowed in each year and yet reassessments of existing ones are woefully slow.Just back into the biosecurity issue and the open border approach the Government intends to allow honey imports from Australia too and yet we have this lack of an increase in biosecurity funding to actually control the potential diseases that will come from the open border approach. Another aspect of the open border approach is the raw pork imports but that can be for another speech. Thank you.Hon TIM GROSER (Minister of Trade): Budget 2013 has I think to be seen against the background of its predecessors the economic challenges facing New Zealand and in particular the quite extraordinary challenges facing other developed economies of the OECD. Shortly after the Minister of Finance introduced this Budget into the House I—like other trade Ministers from New Zealand over the last 10 years—had the privilege of representing New Zealand at the OECD ministerial meeting. Going from New Zealand where I think there is growing confidence that we are indeed on theright track into the heart of Europe and the heart of the problems of the eurozone was very striking indeed. To say that the mood was sombre would be considerably understating the case. I mean forget the outlier countries—the countries in serious trouble like Greece Portugal and Spain. We just got news on the eve of the OECD ministerial meeting that the youth unemployment rate in Sweden—a country that I am sure most members of this House would consider is one of the most cohesive and successful societies in the world—is 25.1 percent. There is 25.1 percent youth unemployment in Sweden with riots taking place in Stockholm as a result of the frictions that this inevitably causes. So I think that people need to wake up and smell the roses here when they sit down and see the enormous progress that New Zealand has made under the superb leadership of the Minister of Finance Bill English.I had the privilege of speaking to a leader of one of these countries who asked me: “Well Mr Groser what are the big numbers in New Zealand?”. And I said: “Well the big numbers Prime Minister are these. We have growth of 3.1 percent. We have inflation of 0.9 percent and 0 percent on food prices. We have unemployment still higher than we want but trending down and currently at 6.2 percent. We have seen household income rise 20 percent in the last 4 years. And as for our debt”—and remember this: the average gross Government debt to GDP in OECD countries is well over 75 percent and for many of them it is above 100 percent—“we are trending just above 30 percent at the moment from memory and we will be back below 30 percent in a year or two. We will return to surplus in 2014-15 which has been much improved by the latest statements coming out of Treasury a few days ago.” This Prime Minister said to me: “My God I wish we had numbers like that.” And I bet that most of those countries would wish that they had numbers like that; they wish they could tell their young people that there is a future for them in their countries.The achievement of this Government is quite considerable and I sense a growing realisation in New Zealand that we are turning the corner. When we set this against the background of the numbers that we inherited—let me reel off just a couple of them. Inflation—Dr David Clark: Five long years.Hon TIM GROSER: —you can check it yourself if you think it is a lie—to November 2008 was 5.1 percent which is five times the current rate of inflation. We had huge debt growing because the Labour-Green Government of the previous 3 years lost the plot completely just throwing money at every problem that arose in the belief that that would solve the problem. There was no prospect of returning to surplus at all. There was not even a date out there—no prospect of returning to surplus. When you think about the turn-round between those two sets of numbers and also factor in the extraordinary additional challenges of the biggest natural disaster to hit New Zealand for 70 years which cost $40 billion and the collapse of our finance companies through the greatest financial crisis in the last 70 years I think this Budget and the achievements of the Minister of Finance and his senior colleagues in steering New Zealand to this position is nothing short of remarkable.Looking at this Budget I will pick out just a few issues at random. Look at the position of health. I think it is important to look at these issues given the absurd critique that somehow this Government is focusing on—what do they call it—rich mates. Is that not the rhetoric that is used—rich mates? Let us look at just the facts. This is a National-led Government. We are working for the nation. Let us look at some of the data in this year’s Budget to uncover the real truths here. In health a portfolio that Minister Ryall has handled with outstanding professional ease the way that Mr Ryall has managed to move this whole debate forward in such a positive direction is extraordinary. We have allocated in this Budget over the next 4 years an additional $1.6 billion for dementiacare for more elective surgery for better treatment of diabetes and for more screening for adult health.We have allocated an extra $900 million that is carefully targeted at early childhood education at primary education and at social education. And as for poor families—just to return to the theme of the absurdity of this critique that we are trying to look after rich mates—we are interested in all New Zealanders particularly people who are hard-pressed by economic conditions. The first thing is that we believe absolutely—and all the empirical evidence tells us this—that the most important assistance you can give somebody is a paid job and we have created 50000 of those new jobs in the last 2 years. We are going to insulate a further 46000 homes mostly for people on low incomes because the evidence tells us that warm homes are a crucial ingredient in the health and educational performance of young children in low-income families. We are going to allocate an additional $21 million to deal with rheumatic fever one of the childhood problems that have plagued these people over many years. This is what this Government is interested in: all New Zealanders—the nation.But this has not been a Budget just conceived on its own; we have also pursued a rigorous plan through the Business Growth Agenda. Much of this has been implemented through previous Budgets. If we look at the fantastic tax reforms the fiscally neutral tax reforms introduced in the 2010 Budget by the same Minister of Finance we can see the benefits of this already coming through. The figures that came through in terms of fiscal balances this week showed increased tax revenue as a result of the structural changes the Minister of Finance introduced under some of the most difficult economic conditions that the world has seen in 70 years. And we will see also as this economy continues to move in the right direction the effects of incentivising middle-income New Zealand to the point where 75 percent of New Zealanders are paying the top tax rate of 17.5c. We are going to see the structural policies that we have introduced over the last four or five Budgets start to impact on New Zealand’s long-term and medium-term prospects.And all of this has been done under a coordinated plan called the Business Growth Agenda which covers broadly speaking six headings: innovation capital markets skilled and safe workforces management of our natural resource base more effective use of our infrastructure and investment in it and close attention to export markets which is the portfolio obviously of greatest interest to me in terms of the Government’s structural plan. We can see elements of Budget 2013 in moving forward all of these agendas. Let us just look at innovation for example. This Budget has allocated an additional $96 million for further investment in public services. We are going to invest $106 million over the next 4 years in research and development assistance to business and new start-ups. So I think that this Budget as with its predecessors is placing New Zealand in an excellent space so that in the second decade of the 21st century New Zealanders can look forward with great confidence to a future in this country.Finally to conclude I am going to award first prize for the most ridiculous comment made in the context of this Budget to the co-leader of the Green Party Dr Russel Norman or as I call him “Dr No” since he is opposed to any policies that would raise growth or create employment. You may recall that Russel Norman likened our current Prime Minister to Rob Muldoon. Having been in that Prime Minister’s so-called think tank for 3 years—2½ years under Muldoon and 6 months under David Lange—unlike an Australian schoolboy I actually knew Muldoon’s personality. I would argue that I have never met two people more unalike than John Key and Robert Muldoon.ANDREW WILLIAMS (NZ First): On behalf of New Zealand First I would like to welcome the wandering minstrel of a trade Minister Tim Groser back to this countryfor a rare visit to this Parliament. Unfortunately he needs to get—he is leaving the Chamber now—Mr SPEAKER: Order!ANDREW WILLIAMS: —his facts right. Mr Groser the previous speaker made the comment in the Budget debate that he was just recently in Sweden—on one of his junkets to try to get a job with the World Trade Organization spending $250000 of taxpayers’ money trying to get a job for himself. He said that in Sweden he was told that its youth unemployment rate was 25.1 percent and that Sweden was appalled by that and so envious of New Zealand.Well I have got news for Mr Groser and I have got news that is hard facts. He needs to spend a little bit more time in this country and a little bit less time on junket trips around the world. The unemployment rate for 15 to 19-year-olds in this country according to the New Zealand household labour force survey of March 2013 is—guess what. Guess what the percentage of unemployed for the 15 to 19 age group is. Do any of the National Party members know what that is? Would you take a guess? Would it be close to the 25.1 percent of Sweden? Would any of you know? Well actually the figure in New Zealand is 25.6 percent—26 percent of 15 to 19-year-olds in New Zealand are unemployed.So here we have Mr Groser going on about how terrible youth unemployment is in Sweden—it has a rate of 25.1 percent—and saying how wonderful New Zealand is when in actual fact New Zealand’s youth unemployment rate is higher. So Mr Groser I suggest that you spend a little bit more time in this country and a little bit less time wandering around the world and learn about the facts of your own country. In terms of unemployment in the next age group 22 to 24-year-olds it is 10.9 percent and for 25 to 29-year-olds it is 7.1 percent. This is appalling. This means that you are talking about one in every four or five of our young people in this country being out of work. That is appalling.If you look at the regions around this country—Northland with an average of 10 percent unemployment; the Bay of Plenty with 8 percent unemployment; Gisborne - Hawke’s Bay with 8.4 percent unemployment; and the Manawatū-Wanganui area with 7.7 percent unemployment—you see that these are not good figures at all. We constantly hear the National Government saying that it is trying to get unemployment down when in actual fact out in the provinces things are pretty grim. It is even worse if you are a Māori or a Pasifika person or if you are from Middle Eastern Latin American or African areas. Māori are currently 13.9 percent of our unemployed people in this country. Pasifika people are even worse off at 15.2 percent. Those of Middle Eastern Latin American or African origin are 10.9 percent.It was interesting that a survey of National Party voters in the paper on the weekend said that they were not that affected by unemployment. Not many people in their families were affected by unemployment. They did not know too many people suffering from unemployment. It was interesting that the favoured few—the rich cats who were referred to before by Mr Groser—seem to be exempt from this. It does seem that the anointed ones—those who support the National Party—certainly seem to be doing well out of this Government while the middle-class everyday good hard-working average Kiwi is not.There is nothing to promote growth in this Budget. There is nothing for jobs or to lift incomes for good hard-working Kiwis. This Budget does nothing for provincial New Zealand. In fact it attacks provincial New Zealand. We heard last week that provincial New Zealand will be paying an extra 3c a litre from 1 July which will rise by another 3c for the next 2 years to 9c a litre. So people in the likes of those areas with high unemployment—in the likes of Northland in the likes of Gisborne - Hawke’s Bay inthe likes of Manawatū-Wanganui and the Bay of Plenty—are not going to be seeing anything for their extra 3c to 9c a litre on their fuel tax. They are simply just going to be paying more money to put petrol in their family car and in their work vehicle each week to get to and from work or to take their family out and about. They are not going to see anything more from it because all the “roads of National Party significance”—all the “roads of National Party significance”—happen to be north of Hamilton in the main.Hon Anne Tolley: That’s not true.ANDREW WILLIAMS: They are. They are apart from a little bit in Wellington and a little bit in Christchurch. In all those provincial areas hundreds of kilometres away they will see next to nothing.What have we had from this Government apart from 5 years of tinkering around the edges? We have had a lot of broken promises. For example in July 2007 the then Leader of the Opposition John Key said: “That would be a fundamental purpose of our Government to narrow the wage gap between ourselves and Australia and to grow local wages in New Zealand.” That is what he promised as the Leader of the Opposition in July 2007. The reality today is that the wage gap with Australia has increased by $58.18 a week. So 5 years later he has not followed through on his promises as the Leader of the Opposition. In fact we are worse off compared with Australia.On 27 November 2007 John Key still the Leader of the Opposition said: “We’re here today at Westpac Stadium.”—and many of you will recall him standing in the middle of Westpac Stadium—“It holds nearly 35000 people. And believe it or not the equivalent of this entire stadium—and more—leaves every year to permanently live in Australia.” And then Mr Key went on to say: “I’m convinced we can give them a reason and a purpose to stay in New Zealand. And that’s why I want to be New Zealand’s next Prime Minister.” That is what he said. Well what happened?This was also the promise: “We’ve got an agenda which is about the economy it’s about building opportunities it’s about stopping 80000 people leaving a year to other parts of the world.” That is what he said on 27 August 2008 leading up to the election. The reality 5 years later is that 126669 New Zealanders have left for Australia under John Key. So his promises as the Leader of the Opposition and coming into Government have not been fulfilled.As to asset sales much of this Budget was built on the sale of assets trying to balance the books and trying to come into surplus in a few years’ time. On 12 October 2008 Mr Key releasedMy key commitments to you. These were his commitments to you. He said: “I’m not interested in selling assets—I’m all about building assets.” So is it not interesting that in 2008 he talked about building assets but in actual fact the whole agenda was to sell assets?He then went on to say on his personal commitment card: “I personally guarantee that we will maintain and build New Zealand’s asset base by … not selling Kiwibank or any other state-owned company.” The reality however was that National has sold off Mighty River Power selling nearly half of something that all New Zealanders including every person in this room already owned and it has moved it over to the wealthy people who could afford to buy the shares and 2.5 percent of New Zealanders are now better off as a result.Mr Key said on 30 January 2007: “I have no intention of being a Prime Minister who tackles only the easy and convenient issues … But I can tell you that dealing with the problems of our growing underclass is a priority for National both in opposition and in government.” He said that as the Leader of the Opposition. The reality today under this Budget is that the underclass has grown with 32873 more children living in benefit-dependent households during the time of this Government than when National comeinto office. This Budget has not delivered for the underclass and it has not delivered for low and middle income New Zealanders. This is a very disappointing Budget.TE URUROA FLAVELL (Māori Party—Waiariki): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. Ka nui te mihi ki a tātou. Talofa lava. There is a saying in Maoridom that goes something like this: Tama tū tama ora; tama moe tama mate. Loosely translated it says something like: “Those who are productive will survive and those who sit back will die or perish.” It is a message that has been widely reflected I think in Budget 2013. It reflects the thinking that our whānau will reap the rewards of security in jobs and increasing the income that comes into the homes and that is important. It is the concept behind Whānau Ora; that together we can achieve the transformation we need to stand on our own two feet and craft our future. But it also could apply that those of us who turn up to Parliament each day and focus on making gains for our people can expect to see results.This Budget is a pragmatic Budget driven by the needs of the people. It is a Budget that allocates resources that matter; resources to enable our whānau to stand tall and to stand strong. I want to focus on three themes that represent the gains that we of the Māori Party have fought so hard for in this year’s funding—namely opportunity support and sustenance.The Māori Party has a track record of seizing opportunities taking big decisions quickly and grabbing the moment to make the difference. We have been elected into this place to make everything count to open the doors and to ensure that the voice of tangata whenua is interwoven throughout every vote every departmental balance sheet and every ministerial portfolio. So this Budget builds on that powerful precedent established by Whānau Ora to do what is right for all of our whānau.A basic moral test for any Parliament is how our most vulnerable members are faring. The Māori Party has always taken steps to protect those of our whānau who are facing challenges te pani me te rawa kore and this Budget is an opportunity a good opportunity to put resources where they matter most: in our homes in our kōhanga in our kura in our marae in our daily lives.One of the highlights for us is in the dedicated investment in Māori and Pasifika trades training. It is not just about the $43 million—and that is absolutely sizable. It is also about the focus of working in partnerships with iwi with hapū with Māori and Pasifika communities the community groups and with the employers and the tertiary education organisations. Everyone will be in the same room talking to one another making sure that Māori and Pasifika learners have the support of vocational training apprenticeships qualifications and even perhaps the cost of the tools themselves. We have another saying that goes something like this: Mā tōu rourou mā tōku rourou ka ora te iwi.[With your food basket and my food basket the people will live.]Working together we can make it happen. That collective and collaborative approach which Whānau Ora has delivered on and He Kai Kei Aku Ringa the Māori economic development strategy is built upon comes together in the form of Marae CBD. This I believe is a fantastic initiative one that the Māori Party campaigned on in the 2011 elections and I have to say it is revolutionary in its making.What we see occurring with Marae CBD is the opportunity to restore our marae to thriving hubs of social cultural and economic activity to their whānau. It is a great day indeed when $1.2 million is set aside to invest in the entrepreneurship that is marae-led and marae-based. We have worked hard to make sure that we provide all of our children with the best possible chance of success and it starts from participation in early childhood education.This Budget delivers $172 million in new investment in early childhood education with the funding targeted to support our most vulnerable communities and it is focusedon making a big impact amongst Māori and Pasifika communities. That is an opportunity not just in setting a pathway of educational success for our mokopuna but also to improve upon quality and leadership to make sure that all of our babies are equipped for a brilliant future.Of course an opportunity can be realised only if we have the courage and the strength to actually last the distance and that is why a second policy plank for our Budget pledges this year has been on support. We knew that to achieve our aspirations to lift whānau incomes it is not just about jobs and training and further education it is about the dollars and the cents coming into the household.There are two particular packages that we are proud of having pioneered and that is the emphasis on microfinance and the support for financial literacy. This Budget brings with it a commitment to pilot a partnership with NGOs and financial institutions. In my electorate of Waiariki the AWHI Credit Union has been working for years to help its own families help themselves. It is about mutual self-help.Today we welcome the move to support the provision of low or no interest loans for low-income borrowers. Too many of our families have been caught in a stranglehold of loan sharks who strip them of their dignity and rob them of their finances. I am sure you in your electorate Mr Assistant Speaker Robertson recognise some of that. This Budget hopefully supports them. Of course our biggest hope was that we could act on lifting the minimum wage but unfortunately the Government failed on that account—unfortunately yet again.Perhaps the highlight for us in this year’s Budget has been in the practical support we have pushed for in the area of housing. I want to congratulate our co-leader Tariana Turia on the massive $100 million of home insulation and particularly its focus on low-income households and those with children or high health needs. We are also excited about the commitment to trial a warrant of fitness for Housing New Zealand properties and to then see that trial leading on to other social housing providers. I believe it is a genius idea promoted by the expert advisory group on poverty and it is about supporting our families to thrive in a warm dry home.This Budget also attempts to address overcrowding or more to the point to support so many of our whānau who know the value of living collectively and choose to live together. Project 324&5 putting another 2000 extra bedrooms on to existing homes is a novel approach I think of responding to the needs of whānau. Of course one of the obvious reasons we have focused on healthy homes is to deal with some of the appalling health indicators that have beset Māori and Pasifika communities and whānau for far too long. It beggars belief that despite 9 years of plenty the Labour Government did nothing to address the rates of rheumatic fever.This Budget almost doubles what we originally achieved with the $24 million signed up to in the relationship accord with National. Tariana Turia has gained another $21 million for rheumatic fever prevention and all credit to her for that fight to keep our children alive. Another boost and another important health announcement—which took place today I believe—was the $35 million boost of new funding to prevent diabetes and heart disease.When we are talking about survival that brings me to the third major platform of the Māori Party influence on Budget 2013 and that is of course Te Reo Māori me ngā tikanga. From unlikely quarters one of the first tweets this afternoon was from Morgan Godfrey celebrating the fact that papakāinga housing and Te Reo Māori had been increased.For the benefit of Mr Harawira who has clearly has not read the Budget let me count a couple of things that he should have noted: $12 million to support and retain teachers in Māori language immersion education $8 million for a new Māori languageresearch fund $5.9 million for priority learners to gain National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) level 2—that is Māori—an increase of the Mā Te Reo funding of $2.5 million 30 new scholarships to attract Māori and Pasifika candidates into the teacher education area and funding for new kura with $134 million for capital funding announced by the Associate Minister of Education Nikki Kaye. It is one of the most dedicated announcements of funding for Māori medium education that we have ever seen in many years and all credit to my colleague Dr Sharples.In closing it is not all good news. Of course we have asked for a lot more and we still stand resolute in our opposition to the sale of State assets which has bankrolled this Budget. We have some real issues around the welfare reform work stream and we are deeply concerned at the lack of emphasis on wise environmental stewardship kaitiakitanga. That aside this Budget is still about whānau and we hope that it does produce the benefits that we set out in negotiating with the National Party. Ka nui te mihi. Kia ora tātou.Dr MEGAN WOODS (Labour—Wigram): Budgets are about priorities and Budget 2013 writ large once again that tertiary education is not a priority for this National-led Government. It is a slow and painful attack that is changing the way we view and approach tertiary education in this country. It is a long and steady shift. It is a long and steady shift from public provision to private provision. It is a long and steady shift from backing our students to study to not backing them and to not investing in our future. This Budget missed the opportunity to invest properly in tertiary education and in New Zealand students in the process. This is yet another anti-education Budget like those we have seen in the last 5 years from this Government—that education is a cost to be cut and not something to invest in. We have seen this in so many areas and notably we have seen it in the area of tertiary education.But this really is not surprising given that the Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment Steven Joyce sees tertiary education as something that needs to be dampened down. Tertiary education is not something that he sees as positive for the future of our country any more; no we have a Minister with the self-declared aspirational aim of dampening down demand. He is a Minister who thinks that success in his portfolio is turning students away from our tertiary institutions rather than enrolling them and empowering them with the skills and the learning that a tertiary education can give to people. This is what aspiration for New Zealand has come to mean under this Government: cost cutting and turning people away. We saw it in the last Budget when we limited access to education by cutting student allowances for postgraduate students. This Government might talk big the rhetoric of the fact that we need to be an innovation-led economy that innovation is our future and that we need research and development but it turned off the tap of that innovation incubator that is postgraduate study. We have seen this Government and this Minister have to concede that his moves in the last Budget have meant we have fewer postgraduate students in this country now as a consequence. This is something for which we will pay the price for a long time to come.What did we have in this year’s Budget? What group did the Minister turn his guns on to dampen down demand for education? Those over 40. As a 39-year-old I take great umbrage at the fact that this Minister does not think that someone over 40 can learn anything else. This is a Government that is really taking literally the idea that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. This is a Government that is ready to throw anyone over 40 on the scrap heap and tell them that they are not worth investing in that they have nothing to offer the nation and that we as a nation will not get any benefit from retraining them. The Government is telling people over 40 all over this country “We don’t need you.” By limiting student support and student allowance to 120 hours forthose over 40 we are denying ourselves as a country opportunities in so many areas. This is a Budget of lost opportunity. You know National Governments past and the National Party used to believe in the notion of lifelong learning. Even while we were chasing Lockwood Smith out of windows at the University of Canterbury in the 1990s he still did believe in the notion of lifelong learning. He still thought that people whatever their stage in life had something to offer and something to contribute.But what we have seen in terms of tertiary education in Budget 2013 is once again National’s commitment to the two-speed economy—the two-speed economy in relation to geography. This is a Government that when it comes to tertiary education has given up on the regions. It has made funding decision after funding decision that is leaving the regions cold—Hon Anne Tolley: Rubbish!Dr MEGAN WOODS: —in terms of the provision of tertiary education. It is a Government that simply does not believe in it. Members opposite are telling me “Oh this is rubbish.” and Anne Tolley in particular is calling out something. Well I am going to talk about the Eastern Institute of Technology in that Minister’s electorate and what the Eastern Institute of Technology has lost under her Government. The fact is that levels 1 and 2 provision has fallen all over New Zealand and most notably in the regions. When that Government made a decision to competitively tender out levels 1 and 2 foundation tertiary education it made a decision to do national provision. The national provision has meant that regions all over New Zealand are suffering.Anne Tolley instead of barracking across the House might like to give some thought to what it is that the region that she represents has lost. What has the Eastern Institute of Technology lost since her Government has been in Government? Well it lost $2.3 million in 2013 as a result of that competitive tendering. That is right—$2.3 million cut from the Budget and fewer students in that part of the country who can stay in that region and receive their tertiary education. All this is at a time when 2574 people from Gisborne and the Hawke’s Bay have permanently migrated from that area to Australia. This is not a Government that is willing to back our regions. This is a Government that has seen apprenticeships in that Minister’s area fall by 40 percent since 2008. This is not a Government that is backing the skills training and the education of our young people while all the time Hawke’s Bay has had a skill shortage in the area of industrial electricians welders and precision engineering—all things that could have been taught at the Eastern Institute of Technology if this Government had not decided to slash funding and slash costs.But it is not just Minister Anne Tolley’s area that has lost funding. Canterbury Gisborne as I mentioned Hawke’s Bay Nelson Marlborough the West Coast Otago Taranaki Waikato and Wellington have all seen a net loss of levels 1 and 2 provision in their regions because of the cuts this Government has put in place. What we have seen is $51.6 billion less going into our polytech sector since Budget 2011. A further $38 million was put out for this private provision and where did this $38 million go if it did not go to our polytechs? That is right it went to private training enterprises. Again it is continuing the theme of moving from public to private provision of tertiary education in this country. This is something that this Government cannot be proud of. This is a Government that is letting down its young people and is not properly providing tertiary education opportunities in our regions. In so many areas this is a Government that has no plan for and has given up on regional New Zealand. Tertiary education is just another area where that Government has done it.It is time that we had a new approach. Labour is proud of its history from Peter Fraser right through to the last time when we were in Government in the way in which we have backed tertiary education. We democratised it and we allowed people to enterit. It is time that we got back to that. The world is changing. The merchant bank approach to our economy is no longer enough. We need a Government that knows that skills and a productive economy are absolutely central to our future. This is not a Government that believes in that; instead it is a Government that sees the training of our young people and the tertiary education of our young people only as a cost to be cut. This is not something that can continue. We look forward to a time when we have a Labour Government that will deliver a Budget that sees tertiary education as an investment and will back our young people in that.Dr Cam Calder: This principled pragmatic—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): Order! I have not called the member yet but he can stand and ask.Dr Cam Calder: Mr Speaker.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): I call the honourable member Cam Calder.Dr CAM CALDER (National): Enchanté. Merci. The principled pragmatic Government continues to work relentlessly for the betterment of every New Zealander. It is working and succeeding in cushioning vulnerable New Zealanders from the ongoing effects of the worst financial conditions in decades. Whilst in Spain the unemployment rate is in excess of 25 percent and that of the US is in double figures here in New Zealand the household labour force survey shows very encouraging job growth with the unemployment rate dropping from 6.9 percent to 6.2 percent in the March quarter. There were 38000 more people employed in that quarter. This result puts New Zealand in 11th place in the OECD. Our participation rate grew to almost 68 percent and remains higher than that of Australia which rests at around about 65 percent. Our growth in GDP at 3 percent is higher than for most other developed countries.Wages have increased by 22 percent since 2008; 22 percent is twice the rate of inflation. House mortgage rates are at the lowest in 50 years. Annual inflation is running at 0.9 percent. The cost of living increase is the lowest in decades and we have heard that Standard and Poor’s has endorsed the Government’s approach by placing us in the world’s 10 least risky economies. Just yesterday the good news continued. Further positive signs of a stronger economy underpinning the tax revenue and combined with responsible control over spending kept the operating balance before gains and losses—the OBEGAL deficit—below $4 billion which was $664 million less than was forecast.The Government’s economic management has been widely praised over the last few years by a variety of international pundits of impeccable economic credentials. Most recently the IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde praised the Government’s economic policy and Business Growth Agenda. She described the economy as being very stable very promising and a lot better than in other parts of the world. Imagine what her comment would be should the New Zealand economy be managed by a dysfunctional pick-up team of an anti - free market Labour Party and the red-green money-printers. The IMF in the report issued only yesterday endorsed New Zealand’s balanced and pragmatic economic management and confirmed that the Government’s economic plan strikes the right balance between supporting growth and limiting public debt. The IMF stated: “The benefits of the plan are many. First it withdraws fiscal stimulus at the right time by making room for the expected increases in private sector and earthquake-related construction spending. Second it has improved the macroeconomic policy mix by reducing pressure on monetary policy. Third it creates fiscal space to help the country deal with aging and health care costs that are expected to increase over the long-term and to cope with any negative shocks that may cause a sharp reduction in domestic economic activity or potential liabilities associated with thebanking sector. Last it could help raise national savings reduce the current account deficit and limit the increase in foreign liabilities.” It is a resounding vote of confidence in this Government’s proven prudent financial management a safe pair of hands and a stark contrast to the reincarnated 1970s Labour Party in coalition with those of a red-green hue.Our economic programme includes a large number of measures aimed at improving the competitiveness of businesses including increasing our exports and infrastructure and innovation improving skills deepening the capital markets and sustainably developing our natural resources—interventions vehemently decried by Labour and the Greens. It seems they truly do believe that all they would have to do should they ever find themselves on the Treasury benches is press a button and print money. Hopefully that is a clarion warning call to all thinking New Zealanders mindful of their children’s and grandchildren’s future. This Government is encouraging investment right across the New Zealand economy as we know that nothing creates jobs and grows income for New Zealand families better than economic growth. A growing healthy productive economy allows us to invest in infrastructure better public services security education and health.No Government has ever spent more on health. Let us look at the facts. We are making $1.6 billion available over 4 years boosting total health spending to a record $14.7 billion—$14.7 billion. While many developed countries around the world are freezing or even reducing their health funding National is growing and protecting our public health services.In my maiden speech I spoke of my wish to see a campaign for men to raise their awareness of the need to take responsibility for their prostate health. Budget 2013 delivers $4.3 million over 4 years to raise awareness among men of the need to look after their prostate health. Each year about 3000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 600 die of the disease. A prostate cancer awareness campaign will ensure men get better information will get better care and will ultimately enjoy better survival rates. This Budget is great news for Kiwi blokes and their families.We are combating the high rate of obesity in New Zealand by significantly increasing funding to raise the number of people getting heart and diabetes checks. That is a national health target. We are doubling the funding for Green Prescriptions at a cost of some $7.2 million. Green Prescriptions see general practitioners or nurses prescribe exercise and improved diet to patients and their families which is a proven way of increasing physical activity and improving health. We have extended the Fruit in Schools programme. Last year over 18 million individual pieces of fruit were delivered to pupils in low-decile schools. Over 100000 students in 484 schools across our country benefited.Sadly New Zealand faces an increase in dementia as people live longer. This Budget invests $17 million in aged-care and dementia services including improved home support services trained health care workers and increased funding for dementia care workers and bed subsidies. We have targeted $100 million to meet population changes and cost pressures in disability support services. We are investing $48 million in elective surgery such as hip replacements and for cataracts and more than $21 million to reduce the incidence of rheumatic fever among our most vulnerable which is particularly apposite in our schools in Manurewa in Māngere and in Manukau East in parts of the far north in Flaxmere and in Porirua. I was visiting Ngā Iwi School just last week delivering a certificate to the principal there for its hard work in reducing the incidence of rheumatic fever by swabbing the throats of vulnerable kids.No Government has ever spent more on education—no Government has ever spent more on education. National’s targeted spend across the entire education sector for2013-14 will be $12.4 billion. Ensuring every child gets a good education we believe is the most crucial intervention we can make to raise living standards unlock the potential that lies within all our young people and allow them to realise their dreams and aspirations and to create a more competitive and productive economy. We are spending over $1.5 billion on early childhood education. Our education investment in early childhood education and in primary and secondary schooling is 7.2 percent of our GDP which is well above the OECD average of 5.8 percent. This is a huge increase up from the $860 million spent on early childhood education in 2007-08 yet only a few weeks ago the New Zealand Educational Institute president had the barefaced effrontery to rail against cuts in early childhood education.We are spending $5.67 billion on primary and secondary schools and over $4.2 billion on tertiary education but unlike with the previous Government this spend is targeted and we expect results from the money invested. All up our spend on education is well over $12 billion as I mentioned. We are demanding outcomes from our spend and are setting ourselves targets. We make no apologies for wanting all kids to leave school with the tools and skills they need to unlock the potential that lies within all of them. That means intervening early with those being left behind and lifting them up and encouraging those who are doing well to do even better. We know that quality early childhood education sets a child up for life and we are aiming in 2016 to have 98 percent of all entrants in school having participated in early childhood education.We have invested over $48 million in the Targeted Assistance for Participation fund which will mean that vulnerable communities Pasifika and Māori many of whom are in the south of Auckland—Manurewa Māngere Manukau East—will benefit and be engaged in early childhood education. This is a prudent compassionate Government delivering a fiscally responsible Budget for the betterment of all New Zealanders.NICKY WAGNER (National—Christchurch Central): I rise to speak today on this Budget 2013 because it has been a really important Budget. It is Bill English’s fifth Budget and the fifth in a series of Budgets that has taken us through the worst global recession since the 1930s. It is one of the five Budgets that have allowed us to invest in our communities to support jobs to protect our most vulnerable and now to chart a path to pay off debt and to get back into surplus by 2014-15. It is a big ask but we are getting there. We are on our way.It was good to see that the OECD in its economic survey just recently has confirmed that we are absolutely on the right track that this Government is improving productivity to support long-term growth that our banking system is in good shape and that it applauds the fact that we are on track towards a Government surplus. The report also notes that the economy is gathering momentum. It is gathering momentum through the post-earthquake reconstruction of Christchurch and Canterbury through business investment and through increased household spending. This is all good news from this Budget.Of course as the MP for Christchurch Central I am mostly interested in what this Budget does for Christchurch. Supporting the rebuild of Christchurch and Canterbury is one of the four pillars of this Budget. It is one of the four along with responsibly managing our finances building a more productive and competitive economy and delivering better public services. I have always been very grateful that the Prime Minister comes from Christchurch that he was educated there and that he began his working life there because I know he understands us. I know he understands the value of our city and our province and that he and this National Government support the rebuild 100 percent.We are second-largest city in New Zealand. We are the gateway to the South Island. We are the first stop for tourists to the area. We are the hub for businesses and thetransport centre for exports. It has been really good to see that despite all the damage from the earthquakes the port of Lyttelton has exported record tonnages over the last few months. Of course we are the home of the Crusaders. Without doubt Canterbury and Christchurch are the economic powerhouses of the South Island and this rebuild is the biggest economic undertaking in New Zealand’s history.For the people who live in Christchurch and Canterbury for our economic influence and for our national pride it is enormously important that this city gets rebuilt. And it will be rebuilt. It will be rebuilt safer stronger more people-friendly more sustainable and even more beautiful. We are on our way to create a 21st century city and to position ourselves in the world as a great small city and a place where people will want to live will want to visit and will want to invest. This is a one-off opportunity and we have to make sure that we all make the very most of it.I am really pleased that Budget 2013 has increased the Government’s commitment to fund that rebuild by a further $2.1 billion. The total cost of the rebuild which will include funds from insurance from investment and from local and central government is now estimated to be about $40 billion. We had thought $30 billion but it has now escalated to $40 billion and this Government’s contribution will also increase from about $13 billion to $15 billion. It is a huge amount of money and it indicates just how much work has got to be done in the city.It is really positive for Christchurch and Canterbury because it underpins our future growth and jobs for at least another decade. Latest figures show that Christchurch is really doing well in terms of employment. The unemployment rate is down to 4.3 percent and dropping. There are increased wage rates increasing numbers of building consents and with a growth rate of 7.5 percent—absolutely unheard of in New Zealand—Canterbury is the most confident region in the country. Also we have high levels of internal and external migration and low unemployment and it is starting to become a real economic hotspot. Tourism is also increasing with our guest nights rising and we have a higher than average proportion of international visitors visiting in comparison with local visitors. That is not surprising when you consider that Christchurch is deemed by Lonely Planet as one of the top 10 cities in the world to visit in 2013. Who would have ever thought that pre-earthquake?The Budget increases funding for the things that matter most to Cantabrians—rebuilding our homes and communities and investing in health and education. The Budget allocates $900 million of new capital funding for the rebuilding of the Christchurch Hospital and Burwood Hospital. This is going to be the biggest health project ever begun in New Zealand. There is also funding for the justice and emergency service precinct. This is a hub in the central city that will allow emergency services—police the Department of Corrections St John Ambulance and fire service—to work together much more efficiently and effectively.The Budget has also got funding for tertiary education institutions. On top of that it allocates $92.4 million for the greater Christchurch 21st century school renewal programme which will benefit many future generations of school students.There is an extra $303 million that has been allocated for the central city recovery plan which includes nearly $80 million for the development of the Avon River precinct. The Avon River flows through the city and that will become the focus for our city. The precinct will provide public amenities and become the equivalent of a recreational waterfront right downtown. There is also funding for the final land zoning decisions and the work of CERA that is the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority.On top of all this Christchurch will benefit from its share of the general Budget investments. Those are the investments that are designed make our economy more productive and competitive such as research and development for businesses andfunding for tourism and international educational marketing—all areas that are really important to us. Also Christchurch will be part of the broadband and irrigation projects. In terms of public services we will benefit from the Warm Up New Zealand: Healthy Homes project funding and improved support for low-income families. Of course there is our share of the $14.7 billion going to health. That is health for all our families. It is focused on the elderly dementia diabetes asthma extra operations but also on maternity and child care and men’s health.All in all this is an intelligent and well - thought-out Budget. It is an excellent Budget for the people of Christchurch and Canterbury and for the rebuild and that is good for all New Zealanders.CHRIS AUCHINVOLE (National): It is interesting the way the sequence goes but we seem to have just had a selection of speeches one after the other commending this Budget to Parliament. I rise to speak in favour of the Appropriation (2013/14 Estimates) Bill. I would like to congratulate my colleagues who have spoken on this Budget before me and my equally esteemed colleagues who are to speak on it shortly. Although I know we all share the same level of excitement and enthusiasm my own take on it is that this is a responsible finely tuned Budget for what are in my opinion post-ideological times.Let us think back to what we came through. The age of growing the Public Service to grow the economy is over. In fact it has been over for quite some time. As a nation we may be small in numbers but we are productive and have proven ourselves as a nation to be highly capable of achieving great things with the materials that we have. This recognises the quintessential essence of fundamental New Zealand values. Unfortunately previous Governments have not always recognised this and kept it in mind. Under the previous Labour Government the Public Service ballooned but the services to the public did not improve. Nor did Labour policies prepare us for the impending global financial crisis. Rather than saving for a rainy day one could say that the money was spent with what could be described as reckless disregard knowing that by the time the coin—or the lack thereof—dropped they would be out of office and indeed in one notable case out of the country.Labour’s time in office has reminded us of one very simple fact: dogma does not pay bills. Dogma does not pay bills. When this Government came into office it inherited a set of Government books that had debts running to more than 60 percent of GDP by 2020 and no prospect of Budget surpluses seemingly ever again. The Government has not and will not follow down that destructive road. We understand that a productive economy requires a fine balance of innovation and diversification and continuing to do what we have always done best but in a smarter fashion.In both the West Coast and Tasman regions this Government has invested in tourism initiatives such as three of the Prime Minister’s Cycle Trails while also ensuring that traditional industries including responsible mining—including responsible mining—can continue as well. These initiatives as well as those brought forward by local business groups who have seen the potential for future growth for the community by the community have led to a strong and growing belief across the region that we have turned into a positive stretch of road and that our future is indeed beginning to look bright. The National Government is building towards a stronger more stable economy that can again weather global storms and deliver opportunities higher incomes and more jobs for New Zealanders.Budget 2013 continues our work to build a brighter future for Kiwi families. Economic growth is the highest in 5 years almost the same as Australia and higher than almost every other developed country. Our economy is forecast to grow between 2 percent and 3 percent a year over the next 4 years. That is an enviable situation. Themuch-mentioned number of working-age New Zealanders crossing the Ditch has dropped so low that it seems to be conceivable that many of our recent graduates are simply crossing the ditch to create a time zone barrier between them and constant phone calls from their parents. It is said in relation to our Australian rivalry that jealousy is just love and hate at the same time. Well Australia may have hated seeing Richie McCaw lift the Webb Ellis Cup but it loves our sensible tax regime and more structurally sound regulatory environment.This National Government has created an environment in which business feels safe to invest and create. This is being evidenced mentioned recently by an increased corporate tax take of a considerable sum of money. There are 50000 more jobs than 2 years ago and the unemployment rate has fallen to 6.2 percent—the lowest in 3 years. This is combined with a wage growth of 22 percent. Mortgage rates have hit 50-year lows—the lowest since 1965.Innovation has been and will continue to be key to our continuing success. A feature of Budget 2013 is a $100 million a year for an internationally focused growth package providing extra research and development assistance to businesses additional funding for tourism and more resources for marketing New Zealand to international students. This growth package acknowledges New Zealand’s need to pay its way in the world through increased trade and investment which in turn creates jobs and opportunities for New Zealanders. It is all about increasing productivity. Within the package science and innovation funding has increased by $50 million a year. This takes the Government’s annual investment in research and development to $1.36 billion in 2013-14 which is the highest ever. That is something we can all be extremely proud of.Innovation though must not be seen as the place of only the economy. The need for public services to innovate is there also. Over the next 4 years we will invest $1.6 billion in new initiatives to meet cost pressures and population growth. We are investing in more support for aged and dementia care more elective operations better heart and diabetes care and more preventative screening. The Government is helping more New Zealanders get the skills they need to build successful careers and fulfil their potential. We are lifting student achievement in all levels of the education system.Budget 2013 is focused on delivering better public services within tight financial constraints but not at the expense of those in need. This I am very proud to say is a major feature of this Government. Following work by the Ministerial Committee on Poverty Budget 2013 confirms important initiatives to support low-income families. These include $100 million over 3 years to insulate 46000 more homes for low-income families more than $21 million over the next 4 years to reduce rheumatic fever in children and an extra $1.5 million for budgeting services in 2013-14 in addition to the $8.9 million already provided in 2012-13. There will be a whiteware procurement programme to help beneficiaries buy new appliances under warranty using Ministry of Social Development repayable grants. The Government is investigating in partnership with NGOs and financial institutions to support the provision of low or no interest loans for low-income borrowers.We have heard a lot recently in debates on a trial on Housing New Zealand Corporation properties of the Housing Warrant of Fitness programme for rental housing. Probably one of the major features of this Budget was in housing—again something that there is a great need for and it is penetrating right through the Budget programme.These projects in Budget 2013 as a whole will ensure that this exciting and enthusiastic nation continues to have a future that is worth being excited about—a future that is worth being excited about; a future not based on arcane ideology not based on scare tactics not based on a tired or divisive dogma but based rather onworking together as communities to ensure that we can all weather any storm that comes our way. I believe Budget 2013 will help achieve this and I commend it to the House.Hon RUTH DYSON (Labour—Port Hills): Can I say that I understand that it is the role of the National Party backbench to get up there and read their research notes with as much energy and passion and enthusiasm as they can. I accept that that is a legitimate role of backbench National Government members but sometimes I have to say I sit in the House and I think “That member is better than that.” That is exactly what I have been thinking for the last 10 minutes. That member Chris Auchinvole is better than the speech he was just forced by his whips to deliver. But I commend him for doing that; I commend him for his loyalty to his party more than his loyalty to the honesty of the past. I invite him to stop misrepresenting the past in the way that he did by reading the research notes—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): Order! Can I just say to the member that members should not make reference to the reading of speeches. It is entirely a matter for the Speaker.Hon RUTH DYSON: Thank you. Can I Mr Assistant Speaker commend your attention to detail. It is incredibly admirable and I hope it is as contagious as courtesy is. There are a couple of points that the member raised when he presented so eloquently his speech to the House that I want to draw to his attention as being incorrect. He said for example that the public of New Zealand did not get any increased services through the increased investment that the Labour-led Government made in public services.Chris Auchinvole: None of them much worth.Hon RUTH DYSON: I will remind that member of a couple of things. For example in 1999 the Work and Income briefing to the incoming Minister had to be contracted out to a private contractor because Work and Income did not have the competence within its own organisation to write a fundamental document—the briefing to the incoming Minister. If Mr Auchinvole thinks that is acceptable then his standards are much lower than those that I support for the Public Service in New Zealand.I remember having to advocate for constituents to get into Work and Income appointments in less than 3 weeks. That time delay for appointments to see Work and Income is creeping up every month—every month every month. All the constituency MPs and any list MPs who support constituents in their area know that what I am saying is true. It is getting harder and harder and harder for people in need to get access to the public service support they deserve because the Government is running down public services.Mr Auchinvole also talked about the Labour Government squandering our money—that we did not put anything away for a rainy day. That is just wrong. I can remember Michael Cullen year after year after year delivering on the public record a Budget surplus and Bill English sitting over here braying at him to spend it on tax cuts. Dr Michael Cullen said that tax cuts for the most wealthy New Zealanders were not the right thing to do with a Budget surplus and that it was better to save for a rainy day and invest in our future. That is what he did and it is the opposite of what this Government is doing.I think that this Government should look at addressing the causes as well as the symptoms of poverty in a much more holistic way. Putting increased money into treating children who have rheumatic fever is very good and we need to do that because we have children with rheumatic fever. Those are the symptoms. But unless the Government also invests in the causes of poverty-related illness then we will continue to have children who do not just have a disease and then get better but who pay for their entire life in diseases of poverty diseases that are preventable and diseases that shouldbe an embarrassment on the public record of this nation. We are not a Third World country but we have children in our nation who have diseases that are common in Third World conditions. That is where we should start investing: in our children in their health and in their well-being. That is not what this investment sees.What the National Government is driving is a two-speed economy. We have two speeds geographically with the main cities doing very well and the regions stagnating. That is not a good thing for New Zealand. It is not a good thing for the prosperity of the regions obviously and literally and it is not good for the morale of those areas either. We know what happens in provincial towns where we have high levels of unemployment and where young people are leaving school with no hope with no light in their eyes and with nothing to look forward to in their area. They leave they go to cities for a better time and a job they do not return and the downward spiral in the provinces continues. Under National that has just ratcheted up. We have a two-speed economy with the cities doing well and the regions stagnating.We have two speeds within our economy with our exporters and our manufacturers struggling. Some of the best and brightest of our country are struggling to survive while our speculators are doing very well. What sort of economy do we want? Do we want an economy that is based on cheap jobs low-income jobs in tourism and hospitality—where we have bigger and better casinos and lower-paid workers and casualised labour looking after the tourists who come to New Zealand—or do we want a strong high-wage high-skill economy where industries like those in our manufacturing sector are supported? We are getting the opposite under National. We see punishment of exporters and manufacturers and support for our speculators.We see the two-speed economy in Auckland where the growth in house prices is absolutely rampant. We have suburbs in Auckland where there is no property to be bought for less than $1 million. That used to be the exception. Now we have entire suburbs like that—$1 million suburbs—yet we have people queuing for jobs in a supermarket. When a vacancy is advertised in a supermarket in Auckland hundreds of unemployed people try to get that one job in the very next suburb to those million-dollar houses.We have also a two-speed economy with regard to fairness with incomes and wealth becoming more and more concentrated in the hands of the few where the gap between those who are doing well and those who are not is getting bigger and bigger and bigger every month. There is growing inequality growing tension and growing frustration. This is the opposite of the healthy society that we in New Zealand have been so proud of for so long.We certainly have a two-speed economy in Christchurch. Half of our city is depressed and angry to the point where our district health board is issuing quite strong warnings about it. People are angry because they have got wrecked roads; they have no community facilities no pools and no libraries; and they have got houses that either they cannot live in because they are so badly damaged or they are not allowed to live in because Government Minister Gerry Brownlee refused to allow rockfall mitigation on the Port Hills on city council or Government land. This is not the sort of Budget that is going to address those fundamental issues. It is not the sort of Budget that is going to address that two-speed economy.Labour’s KiwiBuild will build 10000 affordable houses a year. That is the sort of smart thinking and long-term investment we need in New Zealand. Homes will be sold to owner-occupiers for what they cost to build not to speculators who are banking on future tax-free capital gains. That is the sort of speculation the National Budget supports. That is the sort of inequity that it produces where the speculators are doing well and the young people struggling to buy their first home cannot get their foot on thefront doorstep. That is the sort of society that National supports but it is not one that I support.Labour’s NZ Power policy will reduce average household power prices by $230 to $330 a year and lower business power bills by 5 to 7 percent. That is the sort of smart thinking and investment in New Zealand families and New Zealand businesses that this country is crying out for. Our current electricity market has excessive prices. We know that. We know that the boards and management salaries have been excessive. But National continues to back it.We want a Budget that gives New Zealand hope. We want a Budget with vision for the future for a fairer more equal and healthier nation and that is the opposite of what National is delivering. National is delivering the opposite of what Labour will do.TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua): The last speaker in this debate on the Appropriation (2013/14 Estimates) Bill the Hon Ruth Dyson started her intervention by attacking my hard-working and very intelligent colleague Chris Auchinvole. She mentioned that she thought he could do so much better at his speech. Well his speech was an excellent speech about the great job this Government is doing under extremely difficult circumstances. I only wish I could say the same of the last member and that she too could make a better speech than the one she has just delivered. In fact her whole speech was about what is wrong not with New Zealand and not with this Government but what is wrong with Labour members their view of New Zealanders and their lack of desire for New Zealanders to get ahead—their lack of ambition for all New Zealanders.This Budget was one of the best Budgets that Bill English has delivered on behalf of New Zealand. We have had the great fortune on five occasions to stand up and say to Mr English: “This is a very good Budget for the times.” We have got to remember that when we came into Government we inherited books that were going in the wrong direction with great debt spiralling and that around the world economies were crashing—the global financial crisis. Mr English has said to New Zealand that we have a plan. He worked very hard over the first 3 years of this Government to put in place some of the building blocks to fix the problems in the economy we inherited.Come the election a year and a half ago we came forward to New Zealanders and reminded them of the plan. We were re-elected. This year Bill English has delivered another Budget that is part of that plan to build a stronger economy a better economy and an economy that will do much more for all New Zealanders and put us in a much better place in the world. This is just part of that plan that we move on with. I think that members of the New Zealand public get this. Certainly when I am out talking to them in different parts of the country they know we have come through difficult times and they are grateful for the strong leadership our Minister of Finance has shown.This is a Budget that builds on the momentum that we have created over almost 5 years now. It has four key priorities including responsibly managing the Government’s books and I am certainly going to talk more about that in a moment because we hear the opposite from Ruth Dyson and from many—not all—members opposite. They do not want to manage the Government’s books responsibly; they want to tax everyday New Zealanders much much more and spend on their behalf—tax and spend. Well we have had enough of that.A second priority is building a more competitive and productive economy. Many members of this House agree that that is what we have got to do. Where we have great difficulty in this Parliament is agreeing on how to do that. Can I say to you and to our Minister of Finance Bill English that the plan he has put in place over the last 4½ years is starting to show a great benefit in the areas of competitiveness and a productive growing economy.A third priority is to deliver better public services for New Zealanders because New Zealanders deserve those better public services. I want to touch on a few of these in a moment in particular the great work that Tony Ryall has done in health and the excellent levels of achievement that we are starting to see—the job has only just started—from Hekia Parata in education. Finally the fourth priority is rebuilding Christchurch. That is so very very important to all of New Zealand but particularly to the people of Canterbury who have gone through such very difficult times.Under unbelievably difficult conditions Budget 2013 has freed up a further $1.5 billion by redirecting spending to where it matters most for New Zealanders. This takes the total reprioritisation of Government spending between Budget 2009 and today to $14.9 billion. That is $14.9 billion which had the Labour Party still been in Government would have been spent in areas that were not productive for the economy. And woe and behold heaven forbid under a Green-Labour coalition Government that figure of almost $15 billion would have been so very much more because Russel Norman and his mates have already got designs on more than $15 billion of spending of hard-earned money by New Zealand taxpayers that they want to take off them and tax recycle and print a bit more to spend.At a time when the Government’s finances are tight reprioritising spending allows significant additional funding for new and improved initiatives and there have been so many of them. This Budget was about spending well not spending up—spending well not spending up. If Mr Norman has his TV on wherever he may be I bet you he has just turned it off because he does not understand that. He understands spending more money and printing more money; he does not understand that it is about better spending.In the economy we have a record that all New Zealanders can be proud of. It is not good enough yet we need to do much more work but compared with almost every developed country in the world New Zealand is punching above its weight with the exception of one and that is Australia. Have we not seen over the last little while that things are not as rosy across there as they were? Can you remember over the last four Budgets before this one? Bill English got on his feet and delivered excellent Budgets for the time for New Zealanders and the Opposition members were screaming and yelling: “Why can’t we be more like Australia?”. Well I can say to you Mr Assistant Speaker and to members opposite that if it were not for the great work of Bill English they would have got their wish.The Australian economy is going in the opposite direction from us now and our economy would be so much more like theirs. Indeed we have a 3 percent—3 percent—GDP growth rate forecast over the next couple of years. There are so many countries of the world that wish they were in a position to have a 3 percent growth. In Europe is still negative and in America it is floundering. In many parts of the world 3 percent is something they only dream of. Of course we know that mortgages are at a 50-year low. Well that is very easy to say but for those New Zealanders out there working hard through difficult times who are earning their money paying their taxes and paying their mortgages they know there is real benefit to them with interest rates being at a 50-year low because that is money in their pockets that they get to spend.Debt is under control. It is higher than anybody would want but when we came to office in 2008 the forecast was that debt to GDP would hit 60 percent by 2020 under the policies that were in place during the 9 years of the Labour Government. Remember that that Labour Government had $20 billion worth of surpluses $20 billion of extra money and when it went out of Government most of the problems that it accuses this Government of doing not enough about—and can I say that we work very hard for New Zealanders—were actually still there. They had not got better in those 9 years. The best we could say about the Labour Government was that at least it did not get as bad as itcould have been. But after $20 billion of surpluses and all that skiting from the Labour Government most of the great challenges were still there and this Government inherited them. They were no better; perhaps they were even worse.Well under this Government and Bill English’s plan debt to GDP will be at just under 20 percent by the year 2020. That is a saving of $60 billion of debt to the taxpayer. Under Labour and its policies there would have been around $120 billion of debt and no possibility of any Government surpluses any time at all. Under the work that Bill English has done—being careful about how we spend money delivering better services for taxpayers and unapologetically asking our civil servants to deliver more with the money that the taxpayer has earned and provided to them—our debt to GDP level will be 17.6 percent. We are on track in 2014-15 to a modest surplus of $75 million. The Opposition is already working out how it will spend that if it became the Government.The surplus is modest but guess what. This year the amount that we will have to borrow is about $2 billion. So our Government deficit will be about $2 billion. In Australia the deficit is more than $20 billion. That is the country that Labour said over four Budgets that we must be more like. Labour members said: “We must be more like Australia. Why can we not be more like them?”. Well actually the Australians are now wishing that they were a bit more like New Zealand. I think they wish that they had Bill English as their Minister of Finance to put in place a plan to be very careful with Government spending to make sure they would get back to surplus and to make sure debt levels would not grow. So we are on track back to surplus.I want to touch on one thing that I think is so very important to New Zealanders and this shows you the great difference between the Labour Government of 9 years and the work we have done in 5 years. When we came into Government an elderly lady in my electorate wrote to me saying: “Mr McClay it looks like the Labour Government has ruined ACC. I know times are tough. You can have my little payment that I get back so that we can make it survive.” That tells me that ACC is very important to New Zealanders; it is important to this Government.Remember those billions of dollars of losses those great challenges we had with ACC? Well not only has the Government been able to turn that round but we have signalled in the 2015-16 year that there will be $1 billion of levy reductions to New Zealanders—$1 billion going back to them because ACC is now in great condition financially. We have 40 percent of lower ACC levies signalled for families and businesses. That is fantastic work.Hon David Parker: Why not now?TODD McCLAY: The member asks: “Why not now?”. It is because we have a plan; we need to stick to it. It is not about borrowing and spending as that member’s party would do. Thank you.GARETH HUGHES (Green): Kia ora. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou. Kia ora. In this Budget debate I want to rise to talk about the economic choices facing our nation. New Zealand faces a number of economic challenges. We face growing inequality decline in economic competitiveness relative to other nations growing debt and a large number of Kiwis out of work. Over the last 60 years New Zealand has seen a steady decline in comparative economic performance and despite Kiwis working some of the longest hours for some of the lowest wages in the OECD the country is sprinting—it is running as fast as it can—just to stay where we currently are.In this Budget 2013 debate I would like to see our Parliament put aside some of the pointless point-scoring we have heard from the Government benches some of the petty partisan politics and the intellectually lazy reading of pre-prepared notes from research departments. Let us have a debate around the economic direction of our country. Let usask some of the questions like what it will take to deliver a prosperous New Zealand for our kids. What is the direction we should be taking? Where are the new jobs and the new innovation going to come from? And is New Zealand currently on the right path? These are all important questions if we want our kids and future generations of New Zealanders to grow up knowing there are good jobs to go into. The question is whether New Zealand is going to keep sliding down that OECD ranking and whether the poverty that some Kiwi families find themselves in right now is going to be exacerbated or alleviated in the coming decades.The Government has tried to make this Budget debate about just the surplus. But if you look at the numbers there is the current account deficit which is a more worrying measure of our economic performance and what we know from the Government’s books is that we are set to be the worst—the worst—in the OECD by 2017. Our national debt is set to skyrocket—$61 billion extra over the next 5 years—and our tradable sector is struggling. Without new exports or innovation we are going to have to keep selling the assets and keep resorting to borrowing offshore to maintain our lifestyles. That has been confirmed just today with the release of theOECD Economic Surveys: New Zealand 2013.When you drill down past the spin what the Budget reveals is severe structural problems facing us. They are getting worse. National’s entire economic strategy is flawed. What we are doing as a country is digging ourselves ever deeper into an economic hole. The current path National has New Zealand on is clearly not working. As the saying goes if you find yourself in a hole it is time to stop digging. But despite the worst economic performance of New Zealand in the last 50 years National is doing just that. The one answer it has to our economy is literally to dig more holes.Why would you pick fossil fuels and digging more holes and drilling more wells as your one industry to save the economy? It has got the fourth-lowest royalty plus tax rate in the world. There are pages and pages of tax exemptions and data out today shows that the Government is currently spending $46 million subsidising fossil fuel production and exploration in New Zealand. The Government literally called out the navy when iwi and protesters got in their way and it changed the laws at the behest of foreign offshore oil companies. I remember when the National Party used to talk about “one law for all”. Now what we hear from the National Party is “one law for oil”. That is what we hear. It is another egregious display just like the shameful Skycity deal—another display of making crony capitalist decisions for its mates.The question the country should be asking is why you would pick fossil fuels and digging more holes as your winner and why you would subsidise it because it is entirely a gamble. The Government cannot guarantee there is any oil there. We know that the hypothetical oil is likely to be deep at sea. The only way it is ever going to be economically feasible to extract it is if the oil price is high. If the oil price is high what we know is that every US$1 price rise in the barrel of oil wipes $40 million to $60 million off New Zealand’s GDP. Given that we still import two-thirds more oil than we export if the oil price is high we should be thinking about oil reduction plans not oil dependency plans. Unlike most other Governments militaries councils and businesses around the world this Government has got no plan to reduce our dependency on oil. It has got no plan to even start planning. The only plan it has got is a $12 billion borrowing binge for motorways and $46 million subsidies for oil drillers. It is the only plan it has got.The Government is not suggesting Kiwis are going to pay any less at the pump if we find more oil. It is not a smart sustainable area to focus on. We know it is job-poor. We know the profits are going to flow offshore; the Government’s own reports are saying 90-plus percent. We know it is unsustainable and there is still no plan for what happensonce you have used up the oil or drilled it. It is inconsistent with taking climate change seriously. Even the International Energy Agency says that we cannot even burn 70 to 80 percent of the oil we already know about without the Government going and trying to subsidise people to find some more down in the depths of the ocean. It is a last century approach to economic development and it is the same type of thinking that got us into the mess we are in right now. It is a model based on resources on commodities and on being a price-taker not a price-maker. It is about not being able to influence our country’s economic destiny. It is a gamble that someone will find something down there and they will not leave too much of a mess as they extract it and that maybe we will clip the ticket somewhat as they send the profits offshore.New Zealand is always going to lose under this strategy. If you look at the other legs of the National Party’s plan—dairy intensification and more mining—New Zealand is always going to lose out if we are trying to race Uruguay to cram more cows on a paddock. We are going to lose if we are trying to compete with China to see who can drill more holes in the ground and compromise our environment. We are always going to lose in New Zealand if we are racing to trash our environment faster towards economic growth.Another option of course is to look to the future. It is to have a plan around what is coming in the next century—the century we are in not the last century. It is to look at the markets and where international capital investment is heading. It is to focus on what Sir Paul Callaghan said was our strengths our niches. It is to focus on a smart green strategy that is going to build a richer New Zealand. Our strengths are in technology. They are in clean energy in a pure New Zealand brand that sees a premium paid when we export our products around the world. In 2011 Bloomberg reported that international capital investment in renewables outstripped fossil fuels. That is where the smart money is heading. That is where New Zealand should be looking not at making more holes in the ground.Do not get me wrong. I have got nothing against digging holes in the ground. In fact I would not mind digging a few—just some holes with a smarter rationale. I mean I would like to see the Government dig a trench to have a second internet cable to link New Zealand to our markets for resiliency for competition benefits and to support our thriving information and communications technology sector. I mean this is a $23 billion industry that you know has grown by $3 billion in the last year alone. Over the same period our oil imports have been down and just today the same OECD report that I referenced said that New Zealand’s high-cost low-speed internet is slowing us down. The Government could do more to support the sector. From greater education apprenticeships scholarships procurement removing patent software and a second internet cable there is a lot the Government could do. This is a much smarter future for New Zealand because there is virtually no limit to the amount of software or information and communications technology services we could be exporting around the world but there is a limit to the amount of cows we can cram on a paddock or holes we could dig.I would also like to see another hole dug this time in the Auckland central business district. A central business district rail link for Auckland will transform our biggest city’s public transport network. It is going to unclog it. It is going to benefit motorists primarily and it is going to help supercharge our biggest city. I think unclogging our biggest city’s transport and reducing the $8 billion fuel import bill is a smart way.Thirdly I want to see a power system that works for Kiwis for Kiwi businesses not for excessive profits. Every year hundreds of millions of dollars are taken out of Kiwis’ pockets and businesses’ bottom lines and we see excessive profits from the so-called market which is acting like a huge stealth tax on our economy. Over the last 70 yearsour electricity prices for families have risen by 70 percent in real terms while across the rest of the OECD their prices have dropped 6 percent on average. That is why we have put out the NZ Power plan—to give Kiwis a choice.What we are seeing is a real choice. Under National there will be more price rises more excuses and more assets sold. Under the Greens and Labour what you are going to see is cheaper greener power and Kiwis saving $300 a year. NZ Power is also going to deliver cheaper greener electricity in a market that is more innovative smarter and ready to take on the challenges. Growing clean-energy exports is where the smart money is. That is where international investment is going. That is where the Pure Advantage group of business people say is a $6 trillion global green energy cleantech sector that New Zealand could get a slice of. It is what PricewaterhouseCoopers says is a $22 billion economic opportunity for New Zealand. That is where we should be looking—not towards the past not towards oil drilling and drilling more holes and more fracking mining and drilling for New Zealand.In summary we have got a great number of choices facing our country a huge number of strategic economic challenges which are not being addressed by the Government with a single-minded media-friendly focus on just the deficit. What we need to do is look to the future not to the past. It is to look at where we can develop our economy. It is to look to things like the technology sector. It is to look at growing green exports and clean energy. It is about the “100% pure New Zealand” brand. Aotearoa’s future is not looking to the past; it is looking to the future. Kia ora.Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Justice): I moveThat the debate be now adjourned.Motion agreed to.