Macindoe TimHon TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West): Kia ora Mr Speaker. I didn't have the opportunity to speak in the Address in Reply debate so I'd like to take this opportunity to start by thanking the fine folk of Hamilton West for doing me the great honour of re-electing me to represent them. Sir I know it's an electorate that you know well. I'm very proud to be now in a position where I have matched my good friend Martin Gallagher's record of being elected four times to represent the seat and in fact if I may say so I am the first one to have been elected in four consecutive elections. So I am proud and I want to advocate as strongly as I can for my constituents albeit from the new position that I'm in in Opposition. Could I also congratulate the new Government welcome all the new MPs and congratulate them on their election. It is an exciting time to have been elected and I've been very impressed by the maiden speeches that I've heard from across the House. I know that they've come here with the best of intentions and I wish them well. But if the members of the new Government—I'm sure that they are already quite concerned by the shambolic start that their ministerial colleagues have shown because it seems that this is a Government full of grand vision and intentions but no fiscal plan. Very quickly they are going to squander the gains that we have worked so hard—through the most difficult positions that any Government ever faced—to get us into. We came into office nine years ago already in a domestic recession. The global financial crisis hit and then we had the earthquakes. We had the Rena disaster. We had Pike River. We had all sorts of problems yet we came through and at the end of that time in all the leading OECD indicators we in New Zealand were seen as having done remarkably well and to have set a model for other countries to follow. Yet now in this short space of time we have a Government that is throwing it all away on some very extravagant and uncosted policies and I really fear for the country. I hope I am wrong. There have been a number of people who have said that National MPs don't seem to be able to accept the election result. They're quite wrong—we do. This is a legitimate outcome of an MMP election and I was so proud of the gracious way in which the Rt Hon Bill English acknowledged that on the night that Winston Peters chose the Government. But therein lies the problem. My electors say to me Surely a basic tenet of democracy is that the voters should choose the Government—not Winston Peters." Until you have a system whereby the voters can choose the Government not one man leading a minor party you do have a problem. We will be a strong and constructive Opposition in the best interests of all New Zealanders. In my electorate I'm calling on the new Government to commit to some really important projects that will make such a big difference for our growing region going forward. One of the most important is to recommit to the Housing Infrastructure Fund which is going to make an enormous difference in Hamilton which has long needed greater balance in its growth. As the person who represents the southern and western suburbs on my side of the river seeing the Peacocke Development going ahead after years on the drawing board—which will be enabled by the Housing Infrastructure Fund—is incredibly important and I really really urge the new Government to commit to it. I also urge them to pick up the commitment that our party made going into the election campaign to extend the Waikato Expressway to the base of the Kaimais and also down to Tīrau. State Highway 1 is so incredibly important for the movement of freight for safe commuting and for a whole raft of reasons that it is absolutely vital that the new Government should make that commitment and I've been really concerned that the new transport Minister has failed to commit to that and many other roading projects in recent weeks. I make a strong plea for the Government to commit to the Southern Links project which is so important particularly between Taranaki the King Country and the Waikato. and I really hope that they will do that. Can I also urge them to commit to the Waikato Medical School proposal. We have a critical shortage of doctors in rural areas—the hard-to-staff centres. The Waikato Medical School proposal is based on a well-proven model that is going so well overseas and I strongly urge the new Government to commit to it. Today a number of members opposite have celebrated the demise of national standards. Well let me just finish by pointing out why they came into existence. Parents were not receiving helpful reports in sufficient time to enable them to take remedial action when their children were falling behind in literacy and numeracy. Those are the foundation blocks for a good education and to get rid of national standards without having anything in place is utterly irresponsible."