Blue Jackie: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Blue Jackie: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Advance Copy - Subject to minor change before inclusion in Bound Volume.] 
Dr JACKIE BLUE (National) 
: 
 The simple fact is that this country is broke. It ain’t got any money. We cannot keep on borrowing $300 million each week; it is just not sustainable. That is why John Key has outlined a plan for building on the recovery. The Government makes no apology for that—for continuing to build a brighter future for New Zealand. The Government’s 2011 programme will focus on building the foundations for a stronger economy and building better results from the Public Service. Building a strong and solid economy will be absolutely critical going forward and a strong economy will give New Zealanders jobs increased incomes and a better standard of living. Compared with other countries our Public Service is bloated. New Zealand needs and deserves an efficient and responsive Public Service that will ultimately improve the lives and the well-being of New Zealanders. 
At this stage I congratulate the Minister Tony Ryall on the fantastic leadership he is showing in the health sector. The immunisation targets were well ahead of schedule and the district health boards are achieving the cancer waiting list targets. Under Labour there were terrible stories of women having to go to Australia to get radiotherapy which was devastating to them and their families at a very vulnerable time. The emergency department targets are being achieved by district health boards around the country. The voluntary bonding scheme has been unprecedentedly welcomed by doctors nurses and midwives. The voluntary bonding scheme will be one solid way we will keep our professionals in New Zealand. It has been fantastic. 
In electives again unprecedented numbers have been achieved by district health boards around the country. We heard today in the Health Committee from Lester Levy who is now the chair of the Waitemata District Health Board and also more recently the Auckland District Health Board. When Lester became the chair of the Waitemata District Health Board it had terrible problems. There was a deficit morale was low and the culture needed changing. There were terrible problems with the emergency department with long waiting times. The Waitakere emergency department had problems opening 24/7 for both children and adults. That has all changed. There was daily bad press in the newspaper of patients having bad experiences. We were delighted to hear that that has changed and that is all due to leadership by Lester Levy. He is doing a wonderful job and I congratulate him on that. 
But it goes back to the economy: if we are to get the money to buy the medicines and to invest in new technologies to help New Zealanders stay healthy and to keep them well we will need a strong economy. The fact is that that is really what this Government is about. A key cornerstone of where we need to go is a solid economy to build for a brighter future. 
The simple fact is that when the Government came into power after the 2008 election the economy was in recession and had been so for almost a year. That was with the backdrop of a worsening international economic crisis. So the most immediate focus this Government had after the election was to steady the economy and pull it back on to a growth path. That is why building the foundations now for a stronger future is so critical. It is the only way we will get people jobs higher incomes a better standard of living and the New Zealand that they deserve. 
We are rebalancing the economy away from debt-fuelled consumption and Government spending and towards savings investments and exports. We are reducing new spending in Budget 2011 so we can return to surplus sooner. We are getting better value for taxpayer money including considering ways to streamline and improve the performance of the bureaucracy. Our other priorities include building world-class infrastructure to help businesses compete building skills and knowledge for future-proofed jobs helping exporters to sell more of their goods to the world at a better price and giving businesses confidence and certainty to invest in and create new businesses to take on more workers and to pay them more. That is so important. 
We know we have made progress. The economy is forecast in 2011 to grow in excess of 3 percent which will result in better job prospects and higher incomes for many New Zealanders. Although the immediate crisis is over our focus is now on repairing the systemic imbalances and that is why it is so important that we keep on steering that economy away from consumption and spending and towards savings investments and exports. 
The extension of the 90-day trial period is part of building the economy. It will give and is giving businesses the confidence to hire and will give job opportunities to those who do not have a track record or work history such as migrants youth and women returning to the workforce. National is a party that backs businesses and backs workers because we know that without jobs New Zealand and New Zealanders will not get ahead. Having a job is crucial for self-esteem giving people choices and independence. That is why the Government has an unrelenting focus on getting people into jobs and we make no apology for that. Increasing the number of jobs when they are not available does not magically happen out of thin air. A business needs to see the opportunity to expand and have the confidence to hire new staff. 
Our nation’s backbone quite frankly is small to medium sized businesses. The fact is that 99 percent of New Zealand businesses which employ 60 percent of our workers are small to medium sized businesses and enterprises. These businesses generate a big part of our wealth. When they prosper we all prosper and our plan for small to medium sized businesses links with our plan for growing the economy. The 90-day trial period is an integral part of our 2008 election promise and we have followed through with that promise. Recent research has confirmed that the trial period has been a positive experience. It has shown that the trial period has a positive impact on job numbers for small employers at a time of rising unemployment. The analysis by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research looked at the impact of the trial period over 6 months following its introduction in March 2009. The review was due at a time when the actual labour market overall was shedding workers due to the recession. Indeed unemployment peaked at 7.1 percent that particular year. The research by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research showed that the total job numbers for the firms reviewed were higher by about 2 percent. Although it is early days for this policy it is still very encouraging and promising that this proposed extension is showing this small benefit quite early on. 
Goodness me! The near hysteria when the 90-day trial period was extended was really quite astonishing. Anyone would have thought sweatshops had been introduced and that we had been transported back to the 19th century. The ill-informed critics who call this policy “fire at will” are really ignorant of the commercial facts of life. A business that wants to compete and get ahead will not be relentlessly hiring and firing. That is an utterly ridiculous suggestion. It costs money and time to train staff. It is evident from the research that has been done that employers are now more willing to take a chance on someone whom they otherwise would not have been. That is where the trial period is valuable. It is worth noting that many other developed countries have similar policies and go further than we have with our particular 90-day policy. 
Under the previous Labour Government the economy got way out of balance and out of kilter. The National Government is determined to reduce our reliance on foreign lenders and build Kiwi-owned savings and investments. We are considering advice on extending the mixed public-private ownership model for our four State-owned enterprises. That will be a way we can release money that can be reinvested and in turn give the opportunity for New Zealanders to invest. Instead of money going offshore to be invested ACC the Superannuation Fund KiwiSaver and iwi will be able to invest in these State-owned enterprises. It will be a win-win situation and this Government is determined about building a brighter future for New Zealand. That is why the Government’s focus this year will be on two main goals: first building the foundations of a stronger economy; and second building better results for the Public Service. Thank you. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Dr Rajen Prasad welcome home.