King Colin: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
King Colin: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:670;Page:16716] 
COLIN KING (National—Kaikoura) 
: 
 I certainly support the Prime Minister’s statement about having a programme to rebuild this nation’s economy. It is essential to continue strengthening our economy and achieve better results from the public services that New Zealanders rely on because after 9 years of a Labour Government New Zealanders are up to their eyeballs in debt. 
Whichever way we look at it we see that Labour’s social agenda failed this country miserably. The only achievement Labour can celebrate is in 2007 being the Government of the first country in the OECD to go into recession. Labour grew a bloated State sector with its agenda of creating a nation that is totally dependent on the State for survival. Fortunately history will show that it has failed. 
That is why the Prime Minister’s statement about rebuilding this nation is so important and so appropriate. The National Government is determined to rebuild this country’s confidence for investment and to develop the conditions for more enduring more resilient and better-paying jobs. 
We are living in the fastest-growing region in the world. This nation has a comparative advantage by virtue of our climate which makes us the envy of other nations. The Government’s economic plan is about ensuring New Zealand maximises these opportunities. I make that point again: the Government’s economic plan is about ensuring New Zealand maximises these opportunities. 
This Government is rebuilding our economy and at the same time rebalancing our economy because priorities got out of hand during Labour’s wasteful 9 years on the Treasury benches. Just consider this one fact: 60 percent of all new jobs created since 2004 were in the heavily dominating Government sector. Labour grew the Government by 60 percent. That practice has a drag effect and shuts out private investment. 
We will see 2011 marked with further rebuilding of this country’s export base. We need to sell more of what we are best at producing and sell it at higher prices in order to pay down the debt that was built up over the last decade under Labour. For far too long this country’s export sector has stagnated while the previous Government focused on policies of self-gratification which resulted in consumption and wasteful spending. 
Let us have a closer look at a couple of the areas where this Government will create opportunities to rebuild the country’s economy take a lead on the front foot and strengthen the export sector. Do colleagues remember those fantastic days last year when we were debating in the House the Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Bill which is now an Act? About 12 months ago this Government took the decisive action to remove Environment Canterbury councillors and replace them with a team of commissioners under the leadership of Dame Margaret Bazley. Such a challenge was far too big a step for any feeble Labour Government. 
These opportunities were totally ignored under Labour’s watch and it effectively wasted the very best economic times in New Zealand for 30 years. When we consider the abundance of surpluses that existed during that time we see that there was an ability to invest in capital investment. The ambitious project that we are talking about will require all the skill and all the wisdom that this country can muster but the rewards are there. It will create thousands of jobs and it will contribute up to $1.7 billion annually to our nation’s economy. That is an example of what the Prime Minister was referring to when he spoke of rebuilding this nation’s economy and future-proofing it. All Labour could do while that was happening was attempt to sabotage it. 
How is the Canterbury Water Management Strategy going? I am pleased to report to Parliament that progress is being made at a good rate. Solutions are being worked on collectively after what has proved to be a 20-year impasse. We are making speedy progress. Down at the bottom end of the electorate the Hurunui water zone group has been working well together. Minister Nick Smith has approved moratoriums on water takes on both the Hurunui and Waiau catchments. The Fish and Game Council and Whitewater NZ have withdrawn their appeal for a water conservation order over the Hurunui. A collegial approach rather than an adversarial approach is making progress. Clear leadership from this Government has put all stakeholders into the room and effectively told them to sort it out or they will force us to make the decisions for them. 
This rebuilding is going on in New Zealand as we speak. New Zealand needs this rebuilding. Investment opportunities like these will require money—money that as a nation we cannot keep borrowing from overseas for any number of reasons as my colleagues have expressed over the last few days. But what a wonderful opportunity this represents for a number of our major institutions in New Zealand for iwi and for the 1.6 million mainly young KiwiSavers to play their part in rebuilding our nation’s economic future. What an exciting opportunity the partial sell-down of minority shareholdings of identified State-owned enterprises presents with clear measurable economic gains to the country and the building of a stronger and broader investment base for our nation. 
Aquaculture is another area where the Government needs to take a lead in rebuilding the primary sector. Aquaculture is a sector that under Labour became so bogged down by red tape and layer upon layer of bureaucracy that not one new aquaculture management area was set up by Labour’s 2004 Aquaculture Reform (Repeals and Transitional Provisions) Act. This sector certainly needs rebuilding and is potentially rich in jobs. The Government needs to provide certainty for the sector to reach its own goal of contributing $1 billion to the nation’s economy in 2025. It needs a Government that can produce legislation that encourages investment free from ambiguity it needs clarity about undue adverse effects to other commercial fishing operations it needs the ability to change to high-value species where research supports such changes it needs the provision of research and development to refine and improve commercial yields and species development and it needs a Government that can engage positively and fruitfully with Maori from the beginning of the process. 
These two projects represent a whole raft of projects that are happening and that will create thousands of jobs—jobs that are both resilient and production-based. 
Rather than borrow and hope like wasteful Labour this Government has a plan for real jobs that will rebuild the exporting base on this country’s natural advantage. The export sector can never be forgotten and is so important yet Labour neglected it for 9 years. Only by essential infrastructure development will this country realise its potential. The Prime Minister in his speech articulated very plain thoughts of how to rebuild this country and its economy. I cannot wait until the election where we can debate the wastefulness of the previous Labour Government and compare that Government with the John Key National-led Government as to which is the best financial manager and rebuilder of this country’s economy. 
In conclusion I ask for this statement to be remembered: if we want a first-class education if we want a first-class health service and if we want a first-class police force so that we can feel safe in our beds at night we need a first-class economy. I totally support the Prime Minister’s statement on rebuilding this country’s confidence in itself. Thank you.