Goodhew Jo: General Debate 
Goodhew Jo: General Debate 
[Volume:655;Page:4592] 
JO GOODHEW (National—Rangitata) 
: 
 This National-led Government is calmly and pragmatically tackling the effects on New Zealand of the global financial strife. 
Hon Lianne Dalziel 
: Cowardly? Did she say cowardly? 
JO GOODHEW 
: Aha! They are waking up. Unfortunately here in New Zealand we got a head start on the recession which is surely a sign that New Zealand had not capitalised on the economic golden weather that the previous Labour Government had the benefit of. Members should make no mistake: Labour did not deliver nor did it capitalise on that economic golden weather. Instead it squandered it. But what did National and its support partners inherit on 8 November last year? Here are a couple of examples of exactly what we inherited: falling economic growth rising unemployment high inflation a rising current account deficit and annual productivity growth that was only 1.1 percent between 2000 and 2008. That is stunningly unbelievable given the golden weather experienced by the Labour Government in those 9 long years. Add to the picture deteriorating fiscal deficits a sharply rising Crown debt an economy on a negative credit watch and a promise of unaffordable tax cuts in 2010 and 2011. It is a horrible inheritance is it not? Who would ever want it? It is a will the family would not want to read. 
What did National inherit in health? District health boards with projected deficits of about $160 million over the 2008-09 financial year and with potentially up to $200 million deficits in the 2009-10 financial year. And then there was more than $600 million worth of capital requests from district health boards. Sadly elective surgery was not keeping up with population growth. There is a severe workforce crisis. There were some 54 workforce reports under the previous Government yet the crisis just got deeper. There are shortages of nurses shortages of midwives shortages of doctors and in particular shortages of some specialists. 
Let us then talk about the Immigration Service. It is so dysfunctional. It has a failing computer system. It has a Pacific division with serious deficiencies. In education we now understand that there were schools in desperate need of repair. They had leaks and mould and National has certainly addressed that. Stack up that dismal record against the record of this National-led Government. We have not rested on our laurels. We have not basked in the glory of winning the election on 8 November—no! It was really important that we did not allow New Zealand to drift depressingly downwards. Right now business confidence will take New Zealand out of this recession. 
Let us contrast what we inherited from Labour with the future under National. It is a stark contrast. What has National done so far? Well actually it has done heaps. We moved to ensure that interest rates do not rise because of a credit downgrade. Many New Zealanders underestimate how important that move was and in particular the Opposition seems to have no conception of how important it was. Higher interest rates would remove money from the pockets of every New Zealander who has a mortgage who pays rent or who has an overdraft or a credit card. What is it that the Opposition cannot understand about this? This Government is focused on what matters. Certainly the polls should be telling Opposition members that fact but maybe they are not watching or listening. 
We have delivered a job support scheme to soften the blow for those who lose their jobs. We have introduced a package to make life easier for small and medium sized enterprises. We have got the Government unions and businesses all on the same page working to take New Zealand out of this recession. We have delivered a boost of $3 billion for health over 4 years. I tell members that that is not easy to do at a time like this in this recession. We are focusing on the front line and we will ask the hard questions about what that front-line service will deliver. Who are those front-line people and how do we get more people into the health sector? How do we get more health practitioners into the front line?