Bakshi Kanwaljit SinghKANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National): Thank you Mr Speaker for the opportunity to participate in the general debate today. I think this will be my last contribution this year in the general debate so I want to wish all members a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.Chris Hipkins: You know there's still 2 weeks to go.KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI: Yes yes I do. But I know that I will not be speaking in the general debate but on a number of other occasions so you will have to listen for it. Ha ha! The previous speaker Chris Hipkins raised two points. On one point I agree with him and on the other point I disagree with him. The first point he said is that we can do much better. Definitely there is always the opportunity for improvement. The second point he said is that we want to make sure that the future for our kids is brighter. But I do not agree that the policies he is advocating will write a brighter future for us. The Labour Party's policies will make sure that we are writing a disaster for our future generations.The National-led Government is ambitious and confident for the New Zealand economy. We are working hard and we are trying to ensure that the future is brighter for this country not only for us but for the generations to come. One thing I would like to clarify over here is that it is not just us who are claiming that the New Zealand economy is doing better. If you look at the international endorsements we have been getting over the last few weeks they all say that New Zealand is one of the best places to do business. For the small and medium sized businesses it is the best place to grow. The second thing is that for safety and security again we are placed very well—in the top five. As you know on 14 November mother Nature again struck with power and residents of the North Island and South Island were woken up due to the 7.8 magnitude earthquake. These are the things that have been hindering us in growing at a faster rate but still we are growing at a rate of 3.6 percent. As I mentioned it is the ease of business for small to medium sized enterprises. I would like to thank the Hon Craig Foss for organising the roadshow in South Auckland last week where the ease of doing business was told to the small and medium sized businesses that were not aware of the many tools that are given to them online which they can use for the ease of doing business. This is very important. We need to understand that we have to support our small and medium sized businesses because they are the backbone of our economy.I would also like to congratulate the Hon Chris Finlayson who has been working hard to do the Treaty settlements. Even today we saw during the extended sitting that some more Treaty settlements were settled. If you look at the statistics out of the total Treaty settlements 19 percent were settled by the Labour Government and the rest have been settled by the National Government. This gives confidence to every New Zealander that we are standing by the commitment made before 2008 by National. We are ensuring that all the Treaty settlements are done as soon as possible so that the grievances from those issues can be addressed.I would also like to mention the $15 million that has been allocated to tackling drug abuse. This money has been allocated from the recovery being made by the Police and Customs from anti-drug initiatives. This is one of the main issues that create more crime in our society. We want to ensure that the people who are living in New Zealand feel safe in their homes in their communities and at their workplaces. It is important for us to ensure the safety of the people so that we can live a peaceful life. With these words I commend this motion to the House.