Smith Nick: Address in Reply 
Smith Nick: Address in Reply 
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Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment) 
: 
 That speech was from a member whose legacy to New Zealand is a decade of deficits. That member said today that we should be spending more but only 6 months ago he was accusing John Key of being reckless for wanting a $4.5 billion programme of infrastructure investment. What we have now is a Government that is committed to keeping its word to the public of New Zealand. We have a Government that is committed to responding properly to the global recession and to doing so in a way that is realistic and responsible. 
We are 85 days into the first 100 days of the new Government. Is this a Government that is doing what it said it would do? Well we said that in the first 100 days we would pass a tax package to reduce tax for all New Zealanders and to improve the incentives to create wealth. I note and compare the first act of the previous Labour Government when it came to office. It put taxes up. Members on this side of the House are proud of the fact that one of the first actions we have taken is to reduce the tax burden on those who earn the wealth for this country. 
We have come to office with a huge infrastructure deficit. If there is any part that reflects that it is in respect of the shambles of the Cook Strait cable. As a Minister in the previous National Government I remember being told that if there was an area where we would be attacked in the unlikely event of a military threat then it would be the Cook Strait cable. Do members realise that the previous Labour Government without any enemy has created a set of infrastructure where half the Cook Strait cable is down? Whether we look at roading in Auckland at electricity at water or at any other part of the infrastructure we will see that the last Government neglected New Zealand. National is on track to address that problem. 
We said that during our 100-day programme there would be a Minister for Infrastructure. We said that we would be setting out a programme with a 20-year plan for infrastructure and we said that we would bring those projects forward early so that we could get on and do them. The Government is doing just that. 
The third thing we said we would do within that 100-day programme is to introduce and announce a set of reforms to the Resource Management Act. For 9 years there were pleas from every corner of New Zealand for the previous Government to make changes to that Act which has acted as such a brake on the engine room of growth for the New Zealand economy but the previous Minister for the Environment said that the Act was beautifully crafted and beautifully written and steadfastly refused to make changes to that statute. 
I was amazed to get a letter today from a former president of the Labour Party Mr Bob Harvey. He has written to me to congratulate the Government on its Resource Management Act reforms and to say that they are excellent. He went one step further: he said that they should have occurred years ago. Bob Harvey is right; they should have occurred years ago. Next week this Government will be introducing a resource management reform bill so that we can build the infrastructure and have the engine room of the New Zealand economy growing. 
We also said that we would be introducing a transitional relief tax package. I say to members opposite that there is almost a pretence from David Cunliffe that if only the Government spent enough then it could somehow make the international recession go away in New Zealand. Members on this side of the House are far more realistic. Anybody who pretends that New Zealand can somehow magically—as David Cunliffe would have it—remove itself from the international events that are occurring is off in cuckoo land. We have seen from this Government a very realistic response to those things that we can do. We are aware that there will be New Zealanders out there hard-working New Zealanders who will lose their jobs through no fault of their own. I congratulate Paula Bennett on the package she has brought forward that will make it easier for people particularly for low and middle income families as they manage the effects of the recession. 
I particularly compliment Simon Power on the work he has done in the justice area. If one looks at the 100-day programme and the challenges—[ 
Interruption 
] Well what does it say in the 100-day programme? It says that legislation will be introduced to deal with the parole issues for the worst repeat violent offenders. We have done that. I say well done to Simon Power. It says that we will introduce legislation to clamp down on criminal gangs and the drug trade. It says that we will make changes to the bail laws. It says that we will make changes around the DNA laws. It says that we will introduce a levy for those who commit crimes so that we can help victims of crime. It is a very ambitious agenda. 
The interesting thing coming from members opposite is that every one of them has said that the Government is going too fast. Members on this side of the House say that we are keeping our word—and we will keep our word to the electorate. 
I also commend Anne Tolley the Minister of Education. She said that in her first 100 days she would introduce legislative change to provide for literacy and numeracy standards—and she has delivered on that. I say well done to her. New Zealanders up and down the country will also say well done to her. 
Tonight I am holding a public meeting in my Nelson electorate around the issue of special education facilities. I have to say that the community in Nelson welcomes the extra money that has been brought forward for educational facilities. What does it mean for my community? It means that special-needs children in Richmond will have access to a newer facility so that they might get the education they deserve. I know that members on all sides of the House will say that that is right and proper. I just cannot see why members opposite would whinge about a plan that will see children in New Zealand have better facilities than they have had previously. 
I look at the programme in terms of what the Government is planning in the area of health. The Government said it would instruct the Ministry of Health and the district health boards to pull back on their bureaucracy and I congratulate the Minister of Health—my benchmate—on doing that. The Government campaigned on providing the full 12-month treatment for Herceptin. I have to say the most amazing thing happened to me over the holiday period when I hopped down to my local Mitre 10. A lovely woman and her family came up to me—in a way that has never occurred in my 18 years as a parliamentarian—to express how grateful they are that the Government is providing that Herceptin. In fact it was actually very emotional in that the woman broke down in tears over the fact that no longer would they have to raise a mortgage on their house so that their daughter might be able to get the best chance of life. I say good on the Minister of Health for meeting that part of the 100-day programme. I know that families all over New Zealand are grateful for that. 
Also in that 100-day programme John Key said that National would repeal the Electoral Finance Act. I know that there are New Zealanders up and down this country who are grateful for that. I look forward to members opposite apologising for that Draconian law which was nothing other than an abuse of power by a desperate Labour Government that would do anything to hang on to power even screw the electoral laws to its own advantage. The most amazing element has been the Leader of the Opposition admitting that Labour had that wrong. 
This is a Government that is keeping its word. This is a Government that is responding responsibly to the recession. This is a Government that is on track to be able to be a responsible and good Government for the people of New Zealand.