Young JonathanJONATHAN YOUNG (National—New Plymouth): Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker. As everybody else has said congratulations on your appointment. I'm sure that you're going to do a fantastic job. Can I also express my congratulations to Adrian Rurawhe and also to the Hon Anne Tolley and the Rt Hon Trevor Mallard. I think that we've got a good strong team.After listening to the previous speaker Fletcher Tabuteau I can understand why they chose to go with Labour because there's such an enormous amount of misinformation and inaccuracy to his statements. The first thing he said was that inequality has increased and only months before the election the Ministry of Social Development came out with the report to say that over the last two decades—that is our National Government and also the prior Government—inequality has not increased in this country because of the transfer system. Then he talked about the excessive right" Government that preceded this present one. We need to understand that the top three percent of New Zealanders in terms of income earners pay 25 percent of the income tax. Also those in the four lowest deciles pay no tax and in the five lowest deciles once they have received transfers from the Government there is no net contribution to the running of this country. And you say this is extreme right—that is wrong. We are a country that has income redistribution—probably more so than most countries in the world.In the meantime in all of this period of time over the last nine years we have seen increased measures of employment increased growth and we have seen people stop leaving New Zealand and start coming back to live in this country. I think it's important that New Zealanders do not forget what has been achieved over these last nine years. When you think about what the new Government has walked into they have walked into surpluses they have walked into increasing employment and they have walked into economic growth. What did we walk into? We walked into a country already in recession for a year and then as soon as National became the Government the global financial crisis hit went right around world and created massive unemployment right around the world including here. Then just a couple of years later we had the Canterbury earthquakes and that took $17 billion to $18 billion of Government money as well as insurance money and Earthquake Commission money to start that massive rebuilding project in Canterbury and Christchurch.We understand that we've got a new Government. We want New Zealand to succeed. For the sake of New Zealanders we want this to be a great country. But let's just be careful about the kicks all right? Let's be careful about the kicks because you've inherited a really strong fiscal position.Darroch Ball: Oh rubbish.JONATHAN YOUNG: You really have. You have really inherited—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): Excuse me can I just remind the member not to include the Speaker in the debate.JONATHAN YOUNG: Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker. While we have changed not all change has great outcomes. But there has to be—and I am glad the previous speaker mentioned it—our select committee system because our select committee system will ensure that legislation that comes through this House will be robust. It's very unfortunate that the paid parental leave bill that was pushed through this House through urgency but will not be enacted for another nine or 10 months did not go through the select committee process where some changes—some positive changes that the Government is already acknowledging it will support but not just now—could have been incorporated for the benefit of those families as Amy Adams spoke of yesterday on the bill.The war against poverty is a very very serious war. But I would say to the Government who have made the war against poverty—like I said be careful of the kicks. We hate generational poverty but do not hate generational prosperity. When people succeed do not blame them. Do not make them feel guilty. Yes we want to see a human face in New Zealanders and to care for those who are in deprivation—of course we do—but be very careful not to hit those businesses not to hit those entrepreneurs and make them feel that this place is not a place where they can succeed and do business. It is on their risk-taking their effort and their hard work that we can continue to generate the jobs that will employ the young people who come through our education system.Our education system—which once again the people on the other side of the House are giving a good knock and a good kick because they feel they can do better; we need to understand some of the gains that have been achieved. When we came into Government 50 percent of those young Māori boys in particular were failing the system. We worked hard. Hekia Parata who's no longer in this House needs to be recognised and acknowledged for the hard work she did to ensure that achievement was lifted in those particular areas where now 75 percent of those young Māori men are achieving NCEA level 2 and have been able to go to apprenticeships go on to further studies and tertiary studies and be able to succeed in order to actually build this society and our community and their own lives and the families that they are a part of.So in the last two years we have seen incredible job creation at the rate of 10000 a month with 56000 jobs created in just the last three months. Businesses are looking for people. Regional centres are looking for people who would go in and work hard and we have got to be very careful that we do not take away the incentive for work. Yes I hear what people are saying in terms of the issue around care and compassion but listen if you make it so easy that people don't have to work how is that caring for them? We want our young people to be full of skill and education and also full of motivation and determination to get out there and to make a way for their own lives and also to support those businesses that employ them. We want our businesses to succeed because they are the ones who employ people. We as politicians don't employ people. What we've got to do is make sure that the groundwork the regulatory environment the laws of this land are such that businesses prosper that businesses can succeed and that those laws continue to be fair and continue to enable those people to come through.Madam Assistant Speaker just very briefly touching on the Speech from the Throne climate change is the greatest challenge facing the world. I think we all acknowledge—we don't resile from—that fact. But there are also other challenges that are facing this world: the technological wave the tsunami that is coming to economies of the world. And while we are concerned and justifiably so about environmental challenges let's also be aware of the vocational challenges that face our young people and not only our young people but current workforces where they will find themselves made redundant because of technology and because of increases in that particular area. Let's not hide away from technology; it's going to be the answer for so many things. But we need to be very very mindful and also careful about what we do.The Prime Minister's speech read from the Throne says "This Government will support a just transition for workers in industries that need to reduce emissions and it will support the creation of jobs in sectors that are carbon free or carbon sinks such as forestry." Let's be quite careful about what we do and what we think about this sort of thinking. Yes we all understand. Yes we all understand the issues and the challenges but when we think about the swift but smooth transition that is spoken about let us understand that most things that happened swiftly never happened smoothly. There needs to be considerable thought about transition—how it takes place—so that somebody who has received $100000 salary because they are a highly qualified technical person in the oil and gas industry doesn't find themselves with a very low income because there isn't the job opportunity or the technology to bring them into.So what I am saying in my final seconds of this speech is: let's be mindful let's understand the challenges but let's be very very careful about how we enact them. Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker."