O'Connor Damien: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeO'Connor Damien: General Debate[Sitting date: 18 March 2015. Volume:704;Page:2367. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR (Labour—West Coast - Tasman): Last week I was asked to resign—not by the National Party; no indeed it was by a community leader on the West Coast. That person said: “If it takes your resigning for us to be discovered and to get the reduction in one-way bridges a decent hospital and proper funding of our education then it’s worth it.” I thought seriously about it because I am committed to my electorate and to rural New Zealand.The previous Labour speaker Mr Nash said that this Government has no strategy for provincial New Zealand. He is wrong. [Interruption] No he is wrong. It has no strategy for New Zealand—not a clue. And what must be the ultimate insult was a press release today by the Government’s own department Statistics New Zealand which is traditionally seen as a very fair and objective organisation. It is nothing more than spin. Do you know what the press release says? “Current account deficit reflects growing economy.” It then goes on to say: “The larger deficit”—because indeed it was a larger deficit—“in the latest quarter is due to overseas companies earning more from their investments in New Zealand.” Then it goes on to say: “Companies tend to earn higher profits when the economy is growing. If nothing else changes an increase in profits earned by foreign-owned companies in New Zealand will increase our current account deficit.”That says that John Key and his merry men have got what they want. They campaigned on selling down our assets and on facilitating the sale of anything that moves and anything that does not—land houses companies; you name it. They have got that and what that has left us in is a structural malaise—that is Statistics New Zealand in spite of its spin is admitting that the better our economy gets the worse our deficit becomes. We need change and they have indicated here that without change we will continue to go down the gurgler. Well change is on its way at the next election—starting with the by-election—and I am very pleased. Nikki Kaye said that we have got the best in New Zealand. Well I would have to say that is a pretty poor target. We can do better and the Labour Party in Government will ensure that we work for a better New Zealand for everyone.In the primary sector the Ministry for Primary Industries—the new superministry—has an export double goal: to double the number of exports from this countryby 2025. It is failing because we are some way down the track from when it said that and we have not made much progress. It has been said that a goal is not a strategy but the Government has not learnt that. Although I applaud the efforts to increase our exports it is coming at the expense of a long-term vision for our country. I say to you that National in spite of its traditional support from the rural sector is now destroying the very people who put it in power. There is a clear lack of leadership not only at departmental level in the Ministry for Primary Industries where the Government formed the superministry but also from the Ministers themselves. I challenge John Key and Minister Guy to provide the leadership that the rural and primary sectors are seeking at this moment.Yesterday an independent group—the Meat Industry Excellence group—put together after pleading for funding a very good report identifying about half a billion dollars in savings each year that can be achieved in the meat sector which will give more security to meatworkers more security to rural communities and a brighter future for farmers and it will ensure that we have growing stock numbers. It depends upon the Government taking leadership and taking the steps as laid down in that report.Dr David Clark: Will they do it?Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR: Will they do it? Well I have offered personally to Minister Guy support from myself and from the Labour Partyto implement those recommendations if he so chooses. I am not going to hold my breath on that. The Government has already committed $350 million of taxpayers’ money—$350 million of farmers’ money—to a Primary Growth Partnership scheme about which the Office of the Auditor-General says: “Having reviewed six programmes there is no identifiable economic benefit so far.” It is an absolute rort and a slush fund for a bunch of Tories who go around the country singing the praises of the Government knowing full well that their sectors are slipping backwards.The dairy industry is facing some big challenges as is the meat industry—and all of them—because this Government refuses to show the leadership necessary to develop a strategy for New Zealand a New Zealand that we want to be proud of.