Kaye Nikki: General Debate 
Kaye Nikki: General Debate 
[Volume:674;Page:20481] 
NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) 
: 
 There are riots in London the financial markets are volatile but Labour has been distracted for a very long period of time. The facts are that Trevor Mallard is doing cycle races and Phil Goff is more concerned with remembering which notes he had at a meeting and attacking senior public servants than helping the people of New Zealand. 
The reality is that this Government has implemented a strong plan of economic reform. We can talk about the cost of living but the fact is that under Labour the price of milk rose higher than it has under National. The price of a 2-litre bottle of milk is $4.15. The best thing we can do for New Zealanders to ensure that they have a lower cost of living is to create a competitive economy to ensure there are better jobs and to ensure that we have lower interest rates. Under our Government we have had a strong programme of economic reform. We have had the largest tax reform in 25 years and we have ensured that we have reduced regulations in terms of the reform of both the Resource Management Act and the Building Act. 
In my city of Auckland we have undertaken the largest reform of local government ever. I was very proud to be standing on the waterfront with the Prime Minister and Len Brown to see the Wynyard Quarter opened. Anyone on the other side of the House who claims that people are not seeing the extraordinary changes that our Government is making in order to reform and to reduce bureaucracy was not at the Wynyard Quarter last Saturday afternoon. Thousands of people flocked to our waterfront. They flocked to our waterfront because they are seeing a transformation in Auckland. They are seeing a transformation in terms of our infrastructure and that transformation is not just down at the waterfront. 
They are also seeing a transformation in terms of transport. We have invested $340 million in the Victoria Park tunnel project. That project will open early. It will reduce congestion in Auckland. It will take thousands of cars off our roads. In a couple of weeks’ time we will achieve something quite extraordinary in our city: finally with one mayor and one plan we will have a spatial plan for Auckland that will enable us to deliver from a cultural social environmental and—more important—economic perspective right across our city. We will finally be able to deliver the transport system that Aucklanders want but we will do it in a fiscally responsible way. 
Looking across the world we can see that in Europe for instance 21 out of 27 countries have centre-right administrations because people are realising that the world has changed. The reality is that countries Governments and individuals that spend more than they earn cannot survive in the new world. That is why we are seeing riots in London. That is why New Zealanders understand that our plan for economic reform and the programme we have been implementing are working. They are working because we are seeing that unemployment is dropping even if the figure is modest and dropping only slightly. We are seeing progress in major areas of infrastructure as in Auckland. The feeling that I get on the doorstep is that people understand that we are making the hard changes because they are making them themselves in their own personal circumstances. 
The alternative is very clear; the alternative is to return to the party on the opposite side of the House that is continuing to promote policies that are high-debt and that involve taxing people more. In my view that party would take the country backwards. I can tell members that when I have been doorknocking on the streets of Auckland Central people understand that. People do not want to return to a party that will see us in debt with a decade of deficits. They want a Government that is responsible and that ensures reduced regulation and a smart tax system that rewards those small businesses that create wealth in this country. I can tell members that people are saying on the doorstep that they do not want to return to the party now in Opposition that is distracted not by what matters for many individuals in New Zealand but by what is happening internally with themselves. People contrast that with a leader who has courage who has undertaken significant reform and who has ensured that we have invested in our infrastructure. I tell members that on 26 November I look forward to seeing Prime Minister John Key hopefully leading our country towards the future.