English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:606;Page:3479] 
6.  
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does she still stand by her reported comments that the Sovereign Yachts project is like a dream come true and that the country needs more similar quality investment in leading edge ideas following today’s reports that the firm is laying off workers; if so why? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Acting Prime Minister) 
: 
 It is in the nature of an innovative entrepreneurial economy that risks are taken. The willingness to take risks is to be encouraged such as for example becoming the leader of the National Party. However by definition the taking of risks will not always lead to complete success—members should see the latest polls. 
Hon Bill English 
: When the Prime Minister said that the Sovereign Yachts project was like a dream come true and that it was a high-quality investment in leading-edge ideas did she have any idea that it would produce one boat and endless controversy about the owner’s property development dreams? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Certainly the expectation was that more than one boat was going to be produced. 
Lynne Pillay 
: Does she still want to see New Zealanders investing in leading-edge technology? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Absolutely. This is crucial to a growing economy. We will continue to work with those who have fresh and new ideas. Despite the problems faced by Sovereign Yachts we still believe that it is more important to build new yachts than to spend too long a spell in the sun on one. 
Dail Jones 
: What assurance can she give the people of Waitakere City and North Shore City that she will not follow this “dream come true” including Sovereign Yachts and Bob Harvey the Mayor of Waitakere City with another of Bob Harvey’s dreams of having a commercial airport at the nearby Whenuapai Air Base a dream that he is professing to give effect to even without resource consent under the Resource Management Act ? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I think that the member can rest assured that the Prime Minister will not be following Mayor Bob Harvey’s suggestion about Whenuapai airport. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: Was the Prime Minister aware of Mr Bill Lloyd’s dubious business history when she made her glowing remarks on 4 February 2001: “This project gives substance to our vision of New Zealand becoming innovators to the world turning great ideas into great ventures.”; if not does she consider Minister Jim Anderton to have misled her and the taxpayer? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: As far as I know she was less aware of it than that member was of Donna Awatere Huata’s somewhat dodgy budget rules.  
Sue Bradford 
: In the light of the Sovereign Yachts fiasco will the Government move away from its “think big” approach to regional economic development and instead begin to put a priority on providing funding and other infrastructure support to grass-roots community-based enterprises providing jobs goods and services at a local level? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The Government’s support of business ranges from very small enterprises to moderately large ones. I would not regard Sovereign Yachts as a “think big” enterprise. I welcome the sign of Green support for providing necessary infrastructure such as roading to enable economic development for small businesses. 
Hon Bill English 
: What does the Prime Minister have to say to the workers of west Auckland who took a job in Sovereign Yachts on the basis of the endorsement of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Economic Development and who are now turning up to work and getting the sack without even a redundancy payment? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Clearly any loss of jobs is to be regretted but the jobs created at Sovereign Yachts were certainly more real than the 410000 phantom ones that the member’s party once promoted.