Goudie Sandra: General Debate 
Goudie Sandra: General Debate 
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SANDRA GOUDIE (National—Coromandel) 
: 
 One of the great things about question time and the importance of question time is the way in which we can observe the Prime Minister educating the members of the Opposition because we need to continue to educate them about the real management of fiscal policy. It seems to be difficult to get through to them but we are doing our very best. Of course “Mr Goff-father” was nearly apoplectic about having to swallow some of that information because he was finding it difficult to understand I am sure. I was also intrigued by one of the previous speakers. He talked about a bold new direction and I find that it is interesting to have a bold new direction from the Opposition with talk of taxes going up more spending and policy that we discovered in the House during question time was taken directly from existing legislation. That is rather extraordinary: a whole new strange way of developing policy from existing law. 
This Government remains focused squarely on building a sustainable long-term recovery and I think that is what New Zealanders want to see: something that is really solid and steady as she goes. They do not want to have any major surprises; they just want to see us get through these tough times. They have been tough times and I think we all recognise that. The recession is one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression. I think that National’s position is exactly the right position that the New Zealand people want to see the Government take for a solid focused recovery and a sustainable long-term recovery. It is going to be patchy at times. There is an uncertain global environment and a need for businesses and households to look at and start to address their debt build on exports and investment and look at saving rather than spending. I think that the New Zealand public have embraced that and the New Zealand people have embraced that and that is where they want to see us go. Really it is the only way that we can go because it is the only way by which we are going to provide jobs well into the future. So we have to build that recovery steadily. That in turn will build incomes steadily and that is how we will be able to afford all the services that the New Zealand people expect. 
I pay a huge tribute to Prime Minister John Key and finance Minister Bill English for doing such an outstanding job in that regard because it has not been easy. This is quite a juggling act and something that we have been incredibly proud of. We are proud to be part of such a strong Government. It is not just a matter of shrugging off a global recession because the challenges we face are pretty difficult. We have had a long session under Labour that made the problem much more difficult than it needed to be. Turning that round will require a relentless long-term focus and commitment and we are certainly committed to that. 
What is the only way forward? The only way forward is to grow New Zealand’s economy through considered consistent reform and change. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Who wrote this rubbish? 
SANDRA GOUDIE 
: I would not like to take anything from Mr Mallard so I will not mention that he has just admitted during question time that he made mistakes in the last term of Parliament. The previous Labour Government allowed more sales of New Zealand land to overseas owners than ever in the history of New Zealand as I understand it. 
More broadly we have built our economic plan around six policy drivers. The plan is to strengthen our taxation system and— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Who wrote this rubbish? 
SANDRA GOUDIE 
: I say to Mr Mallard that we are taking a moment to further educate the Opposition because members opposite have difficulty in understanding and embracing the plan. It is to strengthen our taxation system; deliver better smarter public services; reform regulation; improve education and skills and that is something of course that we are trying to impart to the Opposition particularly at question time; foster business innovation and trade; and invest in productive infrastructure. May I say that the contractors are doing a magnificent job on the Kopu Bridge which is coming in under budget and ahead of time. It is just awesome to see that happening and the bulk of the New Zealand public are embracing it hugely. 
There has been a lot of third-party comment on the direction in which this Government is taking New Zealand.