Anderton Jim: Debate on Budget Policy Statement 
Anderton Jim: Debate on Budget Policy Statement 
[Volume:615;Page:11521] 
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Minister for Economic Development) 
: 
 If John Keys the National spokesperson on finance said that Mr Cosgrove’s speech was uninteresting I would think the people of New Zealand who listened to that if any did would hear that the National Party’s response to the Budget Policy Statement and the state of the economy is just a joke. 
John Key 
: Why? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: Here is one reason why. He said that this Government would find it hard to get New Zealand’s economy into the top 10 of the OECD. That is absolutely true but here is the important fact that the National Party has to stare in the mirror about. This Government has had to stop the economy that we inherited from the National Party falling off the OECD tables. We were slipping down and at least the member had the reasonableness to say that we had moved New Zealand’s economy up. We had to stop New Zealand’s economy falling off the edge of the world. That was the reality. 
In the context of this Budget Policy Statement—which is as the introduction states to advance the Government’s policy programme in a whole range of areas; that is health education growth innovation and so on while maintaining appropriate levels of capital investment—in that context what is the reality about the New Zealand economy now? Let us look at a few facts and let them get in the way of our prejudice. Last year New Zealand was one of the best-performing and fastest-growing economies in the OECD. 
John Key 
: Why? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: The member asks: “Why?”; he does not deny it yet we have just heard his speech that said how terrible we all are when in fact last year the economy of New Zealand was one of the fastest growing in the OECD. 
John Key 
: Why? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: The first reason is that we have a Government that is interested in economic development. This Government is interested in economic development; the former National Government was interested in economic deconstruction. That is what actually happened. 
I would hate to put the facts in the way of anyone’s prejudice here but the second thing is that when that annual growth rate is measured in each quarter for every single region of New Zealand it shows that every region in New Zealand has registered positive growth for 18 consecutive quarters. There must be a really terrible Government to actually get every region in New Zealand growing for the whole time that it has been in Government quarter on quarter on quarter! Is that an accident? Did we just get lucky? We were lucky for 18 consecutive quarters. Gee whiz does that mean that for 27 consecutive quarters the National Government was unlucky? It was unlucky for 27 quarters on end and we got real lucky when we were here for 18 consecutive quarters. It does not make sense; nor does the member’s speech. 
The unofficial unemployment rate—just to give the House some more good news—was 4.6 percent in the December 2003 quarter. That was up from 4.4 percent in the previous quarter but it was still very favourable in terms of every other OECD economy. 
I know we have been celebrating  
The Lord of the Rings 
 and I have to say that there is a bit of an irony in that. The front page of the Christchurch 
 Press 
 had a big celebratory thing in relation to the Oscars and  
The Lord of the Rings 
. It failed to mention of course in all of this celebratory stuff that successive Governments and the people of New Zealand have paid a fortune for this—and that is fair enough; one could say one could write it off against all the image for New Zealand. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Subsidy! 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: Absolutely! Everyone is celebrating it. But on the front page of the Christchurch  
Press 
 right alongside all of what has cost hundreds of millions of dollars there is a column attacking the $20000 that was spent on Navman for an investment of $50 million—not a subsidy but an investment. I had to run that past me again because over here we are celebrating in full page after full page the hundreds of millions of New Zealand dollars going into a film—and that is good and we are all celebrating the 11 Oscars; good on us. But $20000 of investment in Navman to get a $50 million investment; I do not know—wake me up and smell the coffee! I cannot quite see or understand that. 
In Christchurch last night I was at the premiere of the musical—and maybe members may eat their hearts out but I was representing the Prime Minister— 
Once were Warriors 
. I tell members quite seriously that I will write a letter—and I was one who was probably pretty sceptical about how what I thought was a pretty violent film which was a reflection of some elements in New Zealand society could be turned— 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: It’s a documentary. 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: But nevertheless it was pretty harrowing. I found it pretty harrowing. I wondered how on earth a musical could be made out of that. I tell the House that that musical is the most impressive musical I have seen since I saw  
West Side Story 
 as a kid. It is a  
West Side Story 
 of New Zealand written by New Zealanders. The music is written by New Zealanders the whole thing is by New Zealanders including its choreography lyrics and everything else. Apart from Tina Cross who is magnificent the musical is performed by at-risk street kids Maori and Pakeha together. While the theme is about a very dysfunctional family and all the rest of it the thing that comes out of it is the incredible optimism of that story for the future—the cooperation partnership caring and honesty of those kids and everything around them and what they did for New Zealand. I think that it almost should be a commitment on every parliamentarian in this House to see that show. I cannot believe that any member of Parliament could see that show and then talk about division between Maori and Pakeha in this country or use any kind of racial division to gain some cheap political points. In that musical we have the best of New Zealand and the worst warts and all. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Where’s it on? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: It is in Christchurch. It is coming to Wellington and it is going to Auckland and Dunedin. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: The Minister might circulate the dates. 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: I will circulate the dates and I will write to every member of Parliament. Last night I spoke for a few minutes on behalf of the Prime Minister and said I would say in Parliament today that I would invite every member of the New Zealand Parliament to see that musical. They would not fail to be moved or extraordinarily proud. I was more proud—and I have to say this and Peter Jackson can eat his heart out; he will not care anyway; it does not matter to him what I think—however of that production last night than the  
Lord of the Rings 
. Fundamentally that musical is about New Zealand. It is written by New Zealanders and is about us. It was written magnificently in the first instance but the musical is tremendous. Jim Moriarty is a hero in New Zealand. 
Here is the thing. I was giving that speech and in the middle of it the kids—and there were dozens of them—suddenly turned around and did the haka. I thought: “What have I said?” but actually Jim Moriarty had just walked up the stairs and was coming in and they were paying tribute to him. He is an icon New Zealander. He is someone who has turned those kids around and their heads are up. One of the VIP drivers said to me that he had been in with one of the Ministers to see the musical in rehearsal and the kids were shaking hands with him and their heads were down. They could not look him in the eye. At the time the musical started the kids had their heads up and when they shook people’s hands they were looking them in the eye. 
I say that because in a sense the Budget and all the stuff around it is about economics fiscal balances and everything else; however the real New Zealand was in Christchurch last night. Those kids were the real New Zealand. They are the future of our country and I think that everything we do here should be done to empower those kids. Fundamentally they are the future of New Zealand. By the year 2050 40 percent of our workforce will be of Maori and Pacific Island extraction. If those kids fail we fail. That is it. Last night they were getting education credits for their future as they went through that production. I recommend the musical to this House. I interpolate it in a speech in the Budget debate to remind members of the real New Zealand out there and how we have hope and optimism and we have reason to be hopeful and optimistic after I saw what I saw last night. I hope that members can experience that too in due course.