Kaye Nikki: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Kaye Nikki: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
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NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) 
: 
 I am delighted to rise and speak today. First I want to focus on the state of the nation that this Government was left. It is really important. When I get around the electorate one of the key things people say to me is that they are realistic—they understand what we inherited and they know that we will not be able to turn round the boat from day one. 
One of the key points I will raise today was highlighted in the Deputy Prime Minister’s speech. That speech highlighted the state of the economy we inherited. We found out today that in the 3 years to September 2008 spanning Labour’s term the economy grew by less than 1 percent a year. So despite all the rhetoric from the other side the previous Government did not deliver an economy that was healthy. That fact is really important because it demonstrates what we have had to turn round in terms of the economy. It is demonstrated by the fact that our economy grew by less than half the growth rate of the Western world and by less than one-third of the rate of Australia. I think that demonstrates from an economic perspective the state of the economy that we inherited. 
The second point I want to make is in relation to the bloated and inefficient public sector we inherited. I have a couple of statistics here. We have heard a lot from the Opposition—from Phil Goff actually—about what chief executives in the Public Service should or should not be paid. A report in 2008 stated that in just 2 years there was a 43 percent increase in the number of Public Service staff earning six-figure incomes—not including chief executives. 
Between June 1999 and June 2008 the Public Service grew by 50 percent and that was not due to a whole lot of front-line doctors and nurses—we know that. We know that between 2000 and 2008 we gained 28 percent more frontline doctors and nurses but 51 percent more people were working in the Ministry of Health. So we inherited a very bloated and inefficient public sector and we have had to do a number of things to turn that round. I am proud of the work that each of the Ministers is doing in that area. 
We inherited from the last Government a very soft law and order system. I see the effects of that in my electorate particularly in the central business district. Many people across the political spectrum—poor people and people who are on higher incomes—are disgusted with the level of crime they have been subjected to. So I will reiterate some of the things we have done—which the Prime Minister mentioned in his speech—and some of our achievements in law and order by the fantastic team led by Judith Collins and Simon Power and supported in that effort by many other members of Parliament and Ministers. 
We have clamped down on the gangs and on P. We have taken action on violent crime including tougher sentences for crimes against children. We gave police the power to DNA test offenders arrested for imprisonable offences and we put in place stronger bail laws. That is a really important point because the previous Government really softened bail laws. A number of the situations I have experienced through my electorate office related to people who have been affected by the changes made by the previous Government. I am very proud of the fact—and my electorate has benefited from this—that we have put $200 million into putting 600 extra police on our streets. 
We have had to turn round what I would call a soft law and order system. We are also doing a heck of a lot in the area of justice and youth crime. That is a really important area and it is an area that is close to my heart. As someone who has a family member who has been involved in that area and has been through our prison system I can say that we have many issues in that area. There are many young people in New Zealand who have felt they have no other choice but to end up down that road. 
This Government will be vigilant about giving young people other options. We will do so through reform of the criminal justice system improving legal aid improving court processes and improving the treatment of victims and through actually saying to these young people that there is another way. We will give them other options including education and having real role models in their lives. We will actually be doing something to assist those young people. 
Moana Mackey 
: But not a job. 
NIKKI KAYE 
: I heard a little bit of a heckle from Ms Mackey about jobs. I will mention at this point some of the schemes that people in my electorate have benefited from. 
I wrote to 4000 young people in my electorate to let them know about the Job Ops and Community Max schemes that we have put in place. I know personally of people who have benefited from those schemes. Yes youth unemployment is an issue in New Zealand at the moment but I stress again what a young person said to me in my office. That person told me the people understand what we are up against that we inherited a very difficult economic situation and that we inherited an economy that was growing at less than 1 percent. People understand the economic conditions that we have been under. 
The other area I will talk about is education. There has been a lot of discussion about national standards but again what really strikes me is the number of parents who come into my office and tell me it is their right as parents to know how their children are doing in reading writing and maths. It is the right of parents in New Zealand—and I will fight for that right—to understand in plain English how their kids are doing in reading writing and maths. 
The polls show that parents absolutely support the national standards policy when it is explained. However I do understand that the challenge for us is to ensure that we can get people within the school system to support the policy. But I will fight for the fact that it is not acceptable in this country to allow one in five children to leave school without skills and qualifications. 
At this point I would like to reflect on many of the speeches made by Opposition members. Often we hear speeches that do not even lock into or debate particular issues but one core point of difference between members on this side of the House and members on the other side is that we will fight for the right for parents to be able to understand how their kids are doing in terms of reading writing and maths. It is a point of difference and I am proud to be a member on this side of the House who will fight for that right. 
In summary I stress that the challenge we have is that we inherited a bloated and inefficient Public Service and a soft law and order system. We inherited a country where one in five children are not in my view in a position to get a decent job when they leave school because they did not get the education to do that. I will fight for everything that we are doing to turn that round and to turn round the good ship that is New Zealand. 
I think we are at a really important point in New Zealand’s history. National has done a lot in the last year as I said to stop the ship from going over the waterfall but now we have to make the boat go faster. The Prime Minister has identified six key areas that we will focus on to make the boat go faster: a world-class tax system better public services education and skills investment in infrastructure and regulatory reform. 
A key point is that of tax. The Prime Minister has been very clear and many people have discussed the issue of GST. Again I make the point that some of these proposals will be announced in the Budget so we will hear an amount of scaremongering from the Opposition. We have heard that already today; it has made various assumptions. But one thing is very clear: we are committed to ensuring that if there are tax changes our most disadvantaged will not be worse off. We are trying to ensure that we create a tax system that gives incentives for people to work hard and improve their skills. We need a tax system that is fairer. The current tax system is not fair enough. 
I am proud to be part of the Prime Minister’s Government; I am proud to be a National MP. We are fighting for some very important policies. We are fighting to ensure that kids are able to leave school and get a job. We are fighting to give them a better education. We are fighting to ensure that the money that goes into public services goes into front-line services. We are fighting to ensure that victims of crime get a decent deal and we are fighting to ensure that our justice system is not weighted towards the offender rather than the victim. I am proud to be part of Prime Minister John Key’s Government.