Lotu-Iiga Peseta Sam: Budget Debate 
Lotu-Iiga Peseta Sam: Budget Debate 
[Volume:655;Page:4295] 
PESETA SAM LOTU-IIGA (National—Maungakiekie) 
 I rise to speak on Budget 2009. Before I start I congratulate two new additions to this Parliament. I first congratulate Cam Calder who will be entering Parliament this week. He is a hard-working and faithful member of the National Party and a very good campaigner. I look forward to his joining us here in Parliament. I also congratulate David Shearer on a well-deserved victory in Mt Albert over the weekend. But this Budget is not about by-elections and new members of Parliament; it is about a road to recovery for this nation. We are over the sideshows. What we are really in need of in this country is political leadership. This Budget is a demonstration of the skills of the Hon Bill English in delivering a package to New Zealanders that is both measured and considered in terms of the recovery of this country economically. 
Budget 2009 takes steps to ensure that New Zealanders are cushioned and buffered against the sharpest edges of the worst global recession we have seen for over 70 years. The Budget is one I am proud to support because it follows up an election in which promises were made. Promises were made to safeguard national superannuation for those who are in need. When I walk around the streets of Maungakiekie and talk to the elderly they are thankful that this Government is supportive of their entitlements and superannuation benefits and they say “Well done!” to Mr Key Mr English and the National Government.  
The Budget is also about improving public services. After 9 years of a Labour Government that neglected public services and that bloated bureaucracies this Budget is about delivering front-line services. Let us have a look at the types of front-line services this Government will deliver. In the next 2 years 600 police will be delivered on the front line. The Minister of Police has made some gutsy calls and done some hard negotiation in a tight Budget to deliver more front-line police. On the campaign trail last year we heard from the people that what is required in our communities in order to safeguard our health and well-being is more police delivered to our communities especially in Manukau City which the members opposite harp on and on about until they are blue in the face. The extra 300 police for that area will be welcomed in a very good spirit.  
This Government has produced a Budget that ultimately will control debt. Ultimately it will control the debt curve that we were in danger of experiencing over a decade of deficits going into the future. That is because the previous Government increased structural spending of the Crown to levels that have been unheard of in this country. The Budget is about wise spending and about prioritising spending in the areas that matter most to New Zealanders. What are those areas? I am happy to report that our association—at least our working together—with the Green Party has produced a home insulation programme that will enable warmer healthier homes for those most in need. That is right; 180000 households will be eligible for grants of up to $1800. If those people are of high need and hold community service cards then they will be eligible for grants of up to $3000. That is to be commended.  
On the subject of health this Government is putting more funds—I repeat more funds—into front-line services. That means we will be training more health professionals in a whole range of different areas—not just doctors and nurses but also psychologists and people in mental health and right across the health sector. The Budget is about upgrading the health infrastructure. We are putting over $245 million into elective surgery theatres which will be welcomed and will reduce the waiting lists that have been built up over the term of the previous Government.  
My favourite area is education. Over the next 4 years $1.68 billion will be put in to improve facilities and lift our educational achievement. What does that mean? It is the biggest spending programme we have seen in education for many many years. That is right; over half a billion dollars will go into modernising schools and building new schools. Having visited all the schools in my electorate of Maungakiekie and seen the state of disrepair of some of those schools I can tell members that these funds will be very much welcomed by schools right across this country.  
One of our campaign promises was around the area of literacy and numeracy. In that area we will be providing over $36 million in order to help schools meet the national standards. We have seen that the evidence and research show that those who do not have numeracy and literacy skills who do not have minimum standards in those areas are more likely to be in prison more likely to not contribute to society and more likely to be disruptive. That is why we need to spend money in this area and need to encourage not just the students and teachers but also the parents of children growing up in this country to understand that improving literacy and numeracy is the only way to go towards improving one’s plight in life.  
We know that education is a priority for this Government as is health but when this economy eventually improves it will be the infrastructure development that this Government puts in place that ultimately will lead to higher growth higher incomes and a better way of life for New Zealanders. On that front we promised $1.5 billion in ultra-fast broadband to the home which is what we will deliver in the coming years.  
We also have a Minister of Transport who is committed with the National Land Transport Fund to funding network highways. I am happy to report that State Highway 20 and the Onehunga foreshore development will go ahead. This Government and the Auckland City Council and to a lesser extent our friends at the Auckland Regional Council have put together a plan to develop that particular part of the foreshore and harbour. We also will ensure that train stations will be funded across the Auckland isthmus. We will fund train stations and I mention again the station in Onehunga which is well overdue. The train tracks will go into the heart of Onehunga and the trains will take fans from the central business district out to Ericsson Stadium—or Mt Smart Stadium as it is now called—because people do not watch the All Blacks since they lost in the last match but they will go to watch the New Zealand Warriors. The train stations will be welcome in the Maungakiekie electorate.