Ardern Shane: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Ardern Shane: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:670;Page:16683] 
SHANE ARDERN (National—Taranaki - King Country) 
: 
 Last night when I was interrupted by the House rising I was making the point that a number of speeches from members on the opposite side of the House—on the left-hand side of politics if you like—were about people who suffered hardship in their earlier life as a result of being in a low socio-economic group and as a result of poor social policy. In fact one of those speeches was a personal one. I made the point that the left do not have a franchise on this story. It is not unique to the left. Some of us on this side of the House have also experienced in our earlier lives the effects of living in low socio-economic areas. 
I did not hear during the long debate that led up— 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: I am sorry to interrupt the member but I ask that the level of noise be reduced. I am trying to hear the member. There is a lot of activity and movement. I ask that the volume be lowered. 
SHANE ARDERN 
: Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker; I will speak up. 
I did not hear in that debate what those members would do about that problem apart from increase taxes spend more and borrow more. There was nothing of any substance in terms of how we might turn round the socio-economic circumstances of the bottom quarter. There is only one way to do so and that is by developing an economy that has more depth and breadth and has the ability to fund better and more available social policy for those who need it. That is what this debate is about. It is a debate between the philosophies of the left and the right. The Key Government has set out a programme going forward that will develop an economy that will deliver the social policies we all desire. 
I draw the analogy with farming. In farming there are good times and bad times. In the good times we must invest. There is a time to invest. We must invest in the growth of the business we are involved in. When times get tough which happens on a regular cycle we must consolidate. We must look to where we can improve our efficiencies and to where we can make some savings and pay off some debt. 
It is no different for the Government. The reality of the last 9 years of the Labour Government was that we were in good economic times. What did we do? We squandered in most cases the opportunities to develop a backbone—a framework—that could drive forward the economy. The John Key - led Government is setting out on a path of looking at where we can find further efficiencies in Government assistance Government agencies and Government departments. We are looking at ways we can encourage investment in development and exports. We are looking at ways we can improve our infrastructure: telecommunications roading rail and others. 
If we add up the figures and look at what has been achieved so far we will see that the turn-round in the 2 years that National has been in Government is nothing short of astounding. Now we actually have a plan. We have a blueprint. We are not lurching from one social crisis to another or looking to spend more or tax higher. We are looking to encourage people to invest. We are looking to encourage people to produce more. We are giving incentives to people to live in New Zealand work hard and achieve a prosperous future for themselves their families and the community. 
There is quite a difference between the direction of this Government and that of the previous Labour Government. Listening to the speeches from members on the other side of the House one comes to the conclusion that the only thing that Labour has learnt in its 2 years in Opposition is that it did not spend hard enough when it was in Government. If Labour was given the opportunity to come back into Government it would go straight back to the same trend it had then which was to spend more borrow more and hope that somehow or other someone would find an answer to the problem. Obviously that is an unsustainable path to go down. 
Dr Rajen Prasad 
: How much debt did Labour pay off? 
SHANE ARDERN 
: It is interesting to hear from the member interjecting from the back. He spoke immediately before me when I spoke last night. His whole speech was dedicated to spending more and having more social policy with no opportunity whatsoever for anything else. National is the party that can build a brighter future for New Zealand. That is exactly the path the John Key - led Government intends to go down. 
If we look at any other business model that has been attempted and at any other kind of structure—governance or private sector—around the world we will find that when one goes down the path of social spending that exceeds the ability of the State and the business community that supports the State to fund it we see failure. We see inevitable failure. We occupy a space now in terms of our total debt internationally that compares with some of the countries that have gone down that path. Australia’s economy after many years of a conservative Government—before the change of Government to Labor—is stronger. There is no better comparison to make than with our neighbours directly across the Ditch. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: Where? The UK is falling in a heap. 
SHANE ARDERN 
: The Opposition spokesperson on finance is interjecting. I have heard no policy vision yet from that member in terms of how he can see a way forward in growing the New Zealand economy—nothing whatsoever. All I have heard from that member is that we do not tax the rich enough and that we have to tax the rich a bit more. All I have seen is a rerun of policies that failed in the 1950s in the 1970s and again in the 2000s and a regurgitation of the same old approach: spend hope and borrow but forget about the economic sector. The National Government has a vision.