Bennett David: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBennett David: Supplementary Estimates — Imprest Supply Debate[Sitting date: 24 June 2014. Volume:699;Page:18809. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East):I just want to put a few things straight for the public out there who were listening to the speech from the member who has just resumed his seat Andrew Williams. The New Zealand economy grew by more than 3.8 percent in the year to March. That is the third highest among the world’s most developed countries and growth is forecast to reach 4 percent next year. This is a far cry from what we inherited in 2008 it is a far cry from what you would get under a Labour - Greens - New Zealand First Government and it is a far cry from what the Australians see happening in their country at the moment.There are a couple of policies that have been mentioned by other speakers today that I think we should talk about. The last speaker touched on one. It is one policy that has come through from the Greens New Zealand First and Labour and it is the attack on the productive sector of New Zealand. They do not want New Zealand farmers to deliver the products that the world wants on the world stage. They do not want New Zealand to be a strong agricultural producer going forward. They do not want that to happen and they are going to bring in a series of policies to achieve that purpose. The first of those is carbon pricing. This is not a carbon tax. Everybody would expect some kind of carbon tax to raise money and for that money to then be spent on environmental initiatives. Carbon pricing does not do that.All that is proposed under the Greens’ policy which would be favoured by Labour and the New Zealand First Party is to tax the productive sector of New Zealand. The farming sector of New Zealand would have to pay more taxes so that they can redistribute that as tax cuts for New Zealanders. That is all it is. It has got nothing about achieving any environmental purpose. It is pure politics. It is a transfer of income from the productive sector to the sectors that are in the rest of the New Zealand economy. That is what the Labour Party the Green Party and the New Zealand First Party will stand for at the next election.Andrew Williams: Come on—are you joining us?DAVID BENNETT: See either they are joining them or they are not. That is the question for the Greens. Are they going to them or not? They do not answer do they because they know they are. That is what New Zealanders have to be aware of. That policy will mean that the productive sector of New Zealand the agricultural sector that has been delivering great economic returns for New Zealand in the past few years will be hamstrung by carbon pricing and that will reduce its competitiveness which will reduce the competitiveness of the New Zealand economy in total.The next policy they want to do is around a capital gains tax. Again it is another policy that does not achieve its purpose. It is a policy that attacks the productive sector of New Zealand. The one part of the New Zealand economy that will be paying for a capital gains tax is New Zealand businesses and farms that generate the income for this country going forward. It will—Dr Rajen Prasad: What’s wrong with that?DAVID BENNETT: “What’s wrong with that?”—that is what Rajen Prasad said. What is wrong with that? What is wrong with attacking the productive sector of the New Zealand economy? That is exactly what the Labour Party thinks. It does not believe there is any problem in attacking the productive sector of New Zealand. Labour believes that the productive sector is a cash cow that you can hit until the cows come home does it not Mr Prasad? Labour believes that you can go after that sector all day and all night and it is not going to make any difference to the New Zealand economy. That is the fundamental misunderstanding that the Opposition has.The Opposition does not understand where the bread is buttered in New Zealand and where the money comes from to pay for our schools to pay for our roads and to pay for our hospitals. That money has to be earned overseas. New Zealand is a great agricultural producing country and to attack that productive sector through a capital gains tax and a carbon price will hurt that sector. You will see as Mr Goldsmith said earlier that those increases in taxes will not lead to what Mr Prasad and others are saying will happen. They will lead to capital being moved out of New Zealand less capital investment in our productive sector and therefore less revenue for our country as a whole and less economic growth for our economy.The third area that I think New Zealanders need to be aware of is the anti-immigration stance that will be taken by those three Opposition parties. They do not believe in having a free and open New Zealand where we make the most of the opportunities we have in the modern world. They believe in an isolated island that can put up barriers and that it is not good enough to have anybody else coming in; the people who are here now are the limit. That is what the New Zealand First Party has always stood for. [Interruption] That is what the New Zealand First Party has always stood for and will always stand for because it is against immigration it is against an open and free New Zealand. It is a disgraceful day for the Labour Party to agree to that. They are so silent over there now because they know in their heart of hearts they do not agree with it either.Chris Hipkins: We’re bored.DAVID BENNETT: You are not bored; you are listening mate. You will be listening to the end of the election campaign as well. When we look at New Zealand going forward New Zealand has an economy that is growing. This is something that we did not inherit when we came into Government. In the last 5 years of the Labour Government there was a 50 percent increase in Government expenditure. We have got that under control. Mortgage rates for those homeowners about whom the Labour Party members were talking were at 10.9 percent under Labour; under National they are at about 6 percent.Food prices were up about 10.9 percent in the last year of the Labour Government. They are up 1.5 percent under this Government here today. House prices went up 96 percent over the 9 years of the Labour Government but they have gone up only 28 percent under this Government. Electricity prices went up 72 percent under Labour but only 20 percent under this Government. The current account deficit—the thing the Greens always talk about—was 7.9 percent under Labour but it is only 3.4 percent under this Government. Many New Zealanders left and went to Australia at that time because they understood what the Labour Government would mean to them and to this economy going forward.Denis O’Rourke: What about $60 billion of debt?DAVID BENNETT: The debt that New Zealand has accumulated has been to rebuild Christchurch a city I thought you would have been most comfortable to see rebuilt and to keep this country afloat in the most difficult of economic times. So the New Zealand First Party obviously does not want to rebuild Christchurch. But I have got news for all transport lovers in New Zealand. When you see the New Zealand First transport policy you will be amazed. New Zealand First wants to have passenger trains going from Wellington to Wanganui. Every other city in New Zealand will be serviced by a passenger train network.Trevor Mallard is smiling and nodding and saying that is great as well so it is good to see that the Labour Party is supporting that as well as New Zealand First. That is the kind of rhetoric that those parties will engage in during the next 3 months. They will be reckless with their promises. They will not have costed out their promises at all. They will make a lot of promises to New Zealanders that will not be held up.This is an economy that is doing well. This is a country that is doing well. It has got good strong leadership prudent economic management and a willingness and desire to make its way in the modern world. We need to celebrate our successes in agriculture and other trading industries which provide a lot of the mainstay of income that is generated in this country. We do not need to attack them and see them as some kind of cash cow that will enable the Opposition parties to deliver their election promises.We should be looking forward as a country that grows and makes the most of its opportunities not one that looks back and tries to hijack and take advantage of the hard work of New Zealanders that has gone on before. This is an important election for New Zealanders because they have that choice. At that election they will choose a progressive country that looks forward takes advantage of our opportunities as a food producer and openly embraces immigration. They will choose a country that does not say no to people coming into this country. They will choose a country that does not look backwards does not try to redistribute money and does not try to move the deckchairs around to try to achieve the Opposition’s election promises. That is the choice New Zealanders will have and it is a choice that New Zealanders will hopefully make the right decision on. Thank you.