Nash Stuart: Estimates Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeNash Stuart: Estimates Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 11 August 2015. Volume:707;Page:5623. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]STUART NASH (Labour—Napier): What an extraordinary speech from the Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy. Is there a Minister in this House who is more out of touch with his portfolio and heartland New Zealand—[Bell rung] Mr Chair—second call Mr Chair? Can I start again?The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows): No.STUART NASH: OK. Is there a Minister more out of touch? First of all he stands up and talks about the value of the regional economy. Well those of us who are regional MPs know this. I am sick to death about hearing that the regions are failing because they are not. Regions like Hawke’s Bay are doing well in spite of this Government. In fact you have got two mayors who are saying: “Where is the plan? Where is the strategy from this Government around regional economic development?”. The Government has not got one. Then we get a Minister who stands up and says: “You’ve got to concentrate on primary industries.” Really? There are three major variables for success in the primary industries: one climate; two exchange rate; three commodity prices. And do you know what? We have no ability to control any of those three.So why should we concentrate on an area where we have no ability to control? Sure we are the first to admit that primary industries are the backbone of the Hawke’s Bay economy. They provide around about 45 percent of the revenue into Hawke’s Bay. It is an incredibly important part of our local economy. But let me inform the Minister: there is more to primary industries than red meat and dairy especially in Hawke’s Bay. There is the wine industry which the Minister for Economic Development had the nerve to stand up and tell this House is doing really well as the Government whacks an excise tax on it. The wineries are so annoyed with this Government because it taxes them more. These guys cannot get a break.The apple industry is finally doing really really well in Hawke’s Bay. But do you know what? We do have a problem with labour supply in the regions and the Government’s response to this is Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme workers. I have a philosophical problem with the RSE scheme because what we are doing is we are bringing workers in from overseas when there are a whole lot of unemployed people in Hawke’s Bay. The problem with it is that we actually need them at this point in time. We need them because getting these unemployed people off the dole and into work is proving close to impossible.What we really would like this Government to do what the industry would like this Government to do is come up with solutions. It has not had a solution in 7 years so yet again it is up to Labour to provide solutions for the RSE scheme and we have got solutions. Meka Whaitiri and I have been working with the industry. We have the answers. All we need is to get into Government and implement these and what we will do is drive the sort of growth that we need to see in Hawke’s Bay.In terms of the Primary Growth Partnership—I will tell you this is a very interesting thing. I am hearing more and more as I go around. It is a little surprising actually but the sort of catchcry is out there. What I hear is: “We don’t bother with the Primary Growth Partnership—this is just a Minister giving money to his mates.” And I have heard—even the Chair is nodding. Even the Chair is nodding in agreement—The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows): Order! Do not bring me into that in the way that you have. You have been here long enough; you know how this place operates. Do not muck around like that with the Chair. Thank you very much.STUART NASH: I was at a conference just yesterday and a speaker stood up—we were talking about the Primary Growth Partnership—and this speaker said: “We don’t even bother. It is the Minister and his mates.” We were at our regional economic caucus. Our economic caucus did a Hawke’s Bay visit last Tuesday. One of the largest employers in the Bay said exactly the same thing: “Oh we don’t even bother these days. It’s corporate welfare. It is money for the Minister’s mates.”Then there is forestry—a very very important part of this local economy. There was a policy workshop for the New Zealand Institute of Forestry yesterday and the Minister did not even turn up. Not only that the Minister did not even send anyone along at all and the word from the forestry sector is that this Government does not care about the forestry sector—this Government does not care about the forestry sector. It does not understand the forestry sector and as a consequence the New Zealand Institute of Forestry is trying to develop policy on its own because this Government is not providing anything for it at all. Minister if you had been there you would have heard exactly the same as I said.So when I hear this Government talk about the primary industries all it talks about is dairy—which it has done nothing about—and red meat. What I would love the Minister to do is to start coming up with a strategy around the wine sector around the apple sector and employment opportunities around the forestry sector—