Hipkins Chris: Debate on Crown Entities Public Organisations and State Enterprises — In Committee 
Hipkins Chris: Debate on Crown Entities Public Organisations and State Enterprises — In Committee 
[Volume:673;Page:19325] 
CHRIS HIPKINS (Labour—Rimutaka) 
: 
 There is a bit of a double standard operating in this Government. The Government is willing to intervene when the interests of its corporate mates are at risk but when it comes to protecting Kiwi jobs the Government is totally and utterly absent and does not give a stuff about them. No better example exists than in the way the Government is treating KiwiRail. I speak as a resident of the Hutt Valley where we have one of the two major rail workshops in the country the Hutt Railway Workshops in Woburn. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch) 
: I remind the member that we are not talking about KiwiRail; we are talking about the Railways Corporation. Focus in on the Railways Corporation not on KiwiRail. 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: I am happy to speak about the New Zealand Railways Corporation and the Government’s lack of commitment to rail in general in this country. In this year’s Budget no relief was provided to rail. In fact we in this country treat rail entirely differently from the way we treat roads. We put financial constraints on rail that we simply do not put on our roading system. That is one of the reasons why rail in this country is facing such a tough time. We have already seen lines being closed in provincial New Zealand because of this Government. The Stratford line has already been mothballed. The Napier to Gisborne line is at risk as is the Auckland to Whangarei line and the northern Wairarapa line. They are all at risk under this Government because this Government simply does not want to invest in rail. 
It is quite happy to go out and provide corporate subsidies to the people it supports and who support the Government but it is not willing to intervene to protect Kiwi jobs to make sure that investment in infrastructure stays in New Zealand and to make sure that we put that investment to good use. Rail provides an amazing opportunity to invest not only in New Zealand jobs but also in the future of the New Zealand workforce. We should be building trains locally here in New Zealand and using the opportunity of building those trains to train the future workforce of this country. 
Clare Curran 
: Look at him laughing. You think it’s a joke. 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: I know that Wayne Mapp thinks it is hilarious that New Zealand would actually back New Zealand workers and New Zealand jobs. I know that is a point of humour for the National Government because it does not believe in doing that. The Government would much rather have those jobs exported off to China rather than invest in buying locally and in supporting the local economy. 
I will talk about the fact that the rail system is vital to our economic future as a country. We cannot have every piece of freight on the road and we cannot simply restrict ourselves to the main trunk line which is what this Government wants to do. The main trunk line through the centre of the North Island and the interisland ferries are all this Government is interested in supporting. I think we need a more comprehensive vision for rail than that. New Zealand’s engineering and manufacturing expertise is being lost because of the lack of vision by this Government. 
New Zealand should do what other successful economies do. Other successful economies around the world back themselves and their own workers and they use the power of Government procurement for the benefit of their own countries and their own economies. Why are we in New Zealand not willing to do that? Why is this Government not willing to back Kiwi workers and the Kiwi economy? It is purely ideological. The Government is willing to put our laws and regulations up for sale for its corporate mates Warner Bros and Skycity. It is willing to do that for the film industry and the gambling industry but it is not willing to back the rail workers in this country. Frankly that is disgraceful. New Zealand workers should be given a fair go. 
I do not think we should be exporting jobs offshore. It is time to say that enough is enough. We hold ourselves up as this virtuous country because we simply will not take any steps to protect New Zealand jobs. That is not good enough. We should start in the rail industry by protecting the workers at Hillside and Woburn and by building locally the new trains and wagons that are needed. We have the skilled workforce here in New Zealand. Our workshops can compete if they are given the opportunity to compete. It can be an economically successful option. This Government is simply not willing to consider that. It is willing to intervene for Warner Bros and to prop up Skycity but it is not willing to do anything to protect the jobs in the rail industry in this country. That is a disgrace.