Calder Cam: Address in Reply 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Calder Cam: Address in Reply 
[Sitting date: 16 February 2012. Volume:677;Page:514. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Dr CAM CALDER (National) 
: 
 Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker very much for the opportunity to rise and speak in the Address in Reply debate. It is an enormous privilege to stand in this House and it is one that I never take for granted. I am honoured to be back for a second term. As I look into the gallery above me here I see the many many men and women—part of that vast army of National Party supporters—who made it possible for this John Key - led National Government to have a second term in power. I thank you.  
It is a huge pleasure to greet the new members of Parliament in the National team. They have added breadth experience character and staunchness to an already staunch broad and characterful line-up. I look forward to working with them in the term ahead. There have been some excellent speeches from across the House. 
Chris Hipkins 
: This isn’t one of them. 
Dr CAM CALDER 
: Wait there is more. Thank you “Chippy”. It is always a pleasure—always a pleasure. There have been some excellent speeches across the House from members of all parties. I am looking forward to working across the House collegially with members of all parties in select committees to make this country a better place. What people may not know is that for 75 percent of legislation there is broad bipartisan support. What you see in question time is not always what you get. There is a lot of cooperation and it has to be like that.  
There is an ancient Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Let us face it these are interesting times. I am thinking particularly of the global financial crisis that we are still in. Despite what the then Leader of the Opposition said in the House almost 12 months ago—that it was over—it is not. We know there are huge problems facing us.  
Sure the news from the United States of America is improving slightly and the housing home loan and unemployment indices are all reasonably positive. But that is still a work in progress. When we look at Europe what do we see but the European Central Bank in December underwriting €20 billion per week to sovereign bond purchases on the secondary markets to support the struggling eurozone Governments. The eurozone Governments are lurching towards default because of the huge debt. They have got an almost unlimited amount of the low-interest long-term liquidity loans to European banks and as I say almost unlimited volumes because these are the major purchasers of the Government debt. So they have got about €430 billion for them and let that out on the first day and there is more to come.  
Then we think about Greece. It is now €230 billion to bail out Greece but the council of Ministers or the gathering of Ministers in Brussels have yet to sign that off because despite the gritted teeth acceptance of the bailout plan by the MPs they have not been able to get the coalition leaders to agree. So there has never been a more pressing need for the fiscal responsibility and prudence in New Zealand of a John Key - led Government than we have now because as I have said we live in uncertain times.  
We live in uncertain times and as a result it is pleasing to see and appropriate to see and it is absolutely meet and right to see that fiscal prudence will be an ongoing plank in the 3-year term that lies ahead of us. Prudent financial management getting more from our public services and rebuilding Christchurch are three of the main planks and of course improving our trade underpinning much of what we wish to achieve. The fourth pillar is developing an economy that is more competitive that is more productive and that can sell our goods into a wider market and this is what we have achieved.  
It has to be said that there was some very good work by the previous Minister the Hon Phil Goff in negotiating an agreement with China which has been carried on globally by the Hon Tim Groser who is doing an outstanding job in developing broadening and deepening our links in global trade.  
Our goal and we have made no secret of it is to lift our export sector from 30 percent to 40 percent of gross domestic product. We are aware that under the previous Government the tradable sector languished from 2004 right through until 2008. Indeed we entered recession well before the rest of the world and part of that was that we were not competitive. The decline in competitiveness has started to turn round over the last 3 years and we are determined to continue this improvement. I am getting a word from the whip that we have some maiden speeches and you did not come here to listen to me. Thank you.