Bennett David: International Finance Agreements Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Bennett David: International Finance Agreements Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 08 May 2012. Volume:679;Page:2017. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) 
: 
 In that last speech from the Green Party member Kennedy Graham I am sure he would have preferred to have 10 minutes so that we could actually hear his reasoning behind why the Green Party has such a problem with the IMF. But I think what it does indicate is that the Green Party just does not have any concept of economic reality. It does not understand what is required in a modern economy. It lives in a cocoon of some world of economic legitimacy that it believes in.  
Really it needs to wake up and smell the roses and work out that you actually need to earn money these days that a country needs to go out there and pay its way in the world and that a country can do that and be environmentally friendly as well. The Green Party does not have to revert to communism and to put everybody at one level and think that the world will change for it. That is the Green Party philosophy. I would like to see the Green Party show us an example of where that Green Party philosophy has worked in the world at any point in time in world history let alone now. I am sure there are many examples where it has been tried and they are riddled with failure because it is not the way that the world works and it is not the way that human nature works. The Green Party says that National and Labour are essentially the same and have a neo-liberal agenda to term it in the way that the Green Party does. Well that is just— 
Paul Goldsmith 
: You’re not neo-liberal. 
DAVID BENNETT 
: I am certainly not liberal so to term it in that way is completely inappropriate.  
What we do see is that the world needs to wake up and the message that is coming out of what you are seeing in elections in places like France and through Europe at the moment is still I think a failure to recognise that the world has changed and that the modern economies of the world that are stronger are those that are based on core economic fundamentals of growing their economies earning revenue and not borrowing too much. Those strong economies like India and China that are coming through as proposed in their commitments to the IMF certainly will indicate that and the numbers speak for themselves. The rhetoric and idealism of the Green Party certainly do not favour that. This is— 
Tracey Martin 
: China’s a communist nation still isn’t it? 
DAVID BENNETT 
: What was that from New Zealand First? 
Tracey Martin 
: China’s a communist nation still isn’t it? 
DAVID BENNETT 
: China is a communist nation. That is what the New Zealand First Party says. It is a party that likes dictatorships anyway. It is quite interesting that that comes from the New Zealand First Party. China is a very successful economy and it has a very open market on the ground. You would find that if you had a look at the Chinese economy.  
This bill the International Finance Agreements Amendment Bill is something that is important for New Zealand going forward. It is something that as a Parliament we have wide-ranging support for which is good. The IMF is not the silver arrow that is going to save the world. The IMF is a body that is part of the integral nature of our world economy. It has a role to play. It will not be big enough or strong enough to save this world though. What we need to avoid any economic issues is good sound economic management in each country. The New Zealand National Government along with our political supporting parties has delivered that good sound economic management and that is what will be the success of countries going forward. It will be the factor that will determine the successful economies of the next decade or so and countries that do not undertake that successful reform of their economy and good solid management will pay the price in time to come. The environmental prospects of those countries are much worse than those of countries that actually take the right steps at this time. Thank you.