Tremain Chris: Appropriation (2008/09 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
Tremain Chris: Appropriation (2008/09 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
[Volume:649;Page:17816] 
CHRIS TREMAIN (National—Napier) 
: 
Tihei mauri ora. Whakataka te hau ki te uru whakataka te hau ki te tonga kia makinakina ki uta kia mataratara ki tai. Kia hi ake ana te atakura he tio he huka he hau hu. 
Let me tell the members what that whakatauaki means: cease the winds from the west cease the winds from the south let the breezes blow over the land let the red-tipped dawn come with a sharpened air a touch of frost a promise of a glorious new day. The reason I began with that whakatauaki is that it is about time that this country experienced a glorious new day in politics. 
Tonight we have sat here listening to Mr Cosgrove and to Mr Jones. Both have stood up in the appropriation debate and they have had the opportunity to speak loud and proud about the policies of their Labour Government to speak to New Zealand about where they are taking this nation forward and to tell New Zealand what they stand for and where they are going. And what have we heard tonight? We have heard personal accusations and personal attacks day after day. They have been hitting our guys and not coming through with their policies. Tonight I would like to take the opportunity to share with the House some of the key policies that New Zealand will have the option of choosing within 100 days as we come to the next general election. If National is fortunate enough to be the next Government then in 365 days’ time National members could be standing here in an appropriation debate putting our policies into action. It is those polices that I want to focus on today. 
New Zealanders are faced with a clear choice at the moment as they get nearer to the next election. They are faced with a choice against the background officially announced by the Reserve Bank yesterday of a recession. Interest rates are up. They are some of the highest in the developed world. We have some of the highest food prices domestically rammed up by 5 percent inflation. Mortgage rates are going up and people are going onto higher fixed interest rates. House values are dropping equity is coming out of people’s homes and many are faced with mortgagee sales. Many of their hardworking mates are fleeing to Australia—80000 last year. Investment funds are closing up here. Kiwis are now concerned about strong brands such as AXA New Zealand Guardian Trust and AMP. Business confidence is at its lowest ever. Kiwis are faced with a big decision at this election. They will look at that background and they will consider the policies of the two major parties. There was an opportunity for the two Ministers to get up tonight and tell New Zealand what they stand for. But all we heard were personal attacks. It is these things that the New Zealand public will decide on. The reason those Ministers did not use this opportunity to speak on policy is that they know the New Zealand public have stopped listening to them on policy. 
At the weekend National’s leader stood up and laid out a programme a plan to go forward which New Zealanders can buy into and follow. It was a five-point economic plan which begins with reining in Government spending. Hardworking Kiwis are faced with that very issue right now. They have to look at their own budgets line by line. They have to look at the cost of their petrol their food and their mortgages and on every line they are having to make decisions about what they can keep and what they cannot keep. John Key will take into Government the sorts of policies that can deal with those issues. That is what National will be fighting this election on. National will keep control of that spending and make sure that every dollar counts. That is what is happening in small business too. If we walk around my Napier constituency and talk to small businesses we will see that they are finding it tough. They are going through every line every item—whether it be photocopying or stationery they are having to make tough decisions about spending. That is the type of Government that National will bring. 
Secondly in terms of bureaucracy John made it clear that we will cap the bureaucracy and not allow profligate growth in that area. The members opposite who are in constituency seats will know that small businesses are struggling out there. Motor vehicle sales are down by 19 percent furniture sales are down by 18 percent speciality food sales are down by 13 percent and appliance sales are down by 6 percent. It is tough out there. Small businesses over the last 7 or 8 years with bureaucracy of their own are looking at ways to reduce internal costs. My own businesses back home have had to look at customer services and marketing hard and clear because it is damn tough. Unfortunately we have had to try to take some of the fat out of the equation and that means hard yards. So National has a policy around capping that bureaucracy and making sure that every job in the bureaucracy is focused on something that is going to deliver a result for this country. That is why John’s focus is on front-line services on nurses on doctors and on police. 
The third area that we spoke about was education. There is a raft of policy that has been rolled out already that I can talk about tonight. For example National has a clear policy on national standards in education that will help the 25 percent of kids in our country who are not making the grade. It is a fantastic policy. National also has a youth guarantee that will keep 16 and 17-year-olds in education. That focus may not be on mainstream education because those kids may not be focused on that but it is about keeping them in education and off the dole and giving them a future. It is another great policy to take this country forward. Our trades in schools policy is another fantastic policy that was delivered months ago. New Zealanders are turning on and listening to our policies which—if we are lucky enough in 365 days’ time—we will be appropriating for at the next appropriation debate going into the next Government. 
Our leader spoke about our taxation package. I added up the billions of dollars of surpluses that this Government has had in the last 8 years. It has had $48 billion of surpluses. It has taken this side of the House to push this Government to the taxation-cut altar and push it to start giving hard-working Kiwis some incentives to get them back up on their feet working hard and trying to take this country out of the recession that it is in now. Our policies are about progressive long-term taxation cuts that will give hard-working Kiwis the incentive to get out there and work harder. That is absolutely fantastic and I am proud of that. 
The last thing I want to talk about is our policy on infrastructure. Did we hear anything in the appropriation debate from two of the key Ministers over there Shane Jones and Clayton Cosgrove on their infrastructure policy and where their vision on that will take them into the future? Our leader John Key announced a major policy platform: a $1.5 billion roll-out of fibre-optics. There was a further roll-out of infrastructure policy over the weekend. Mr Key quite transparently agreed that we will need to borrow to achieve it and that we will need to increase the borrowing as a percentage of GDP from 20 percent to 22 percent. Yet we have a document from the 2006 Budget that states that 23 percent of borrowing against GDP was considered prudent. The Government signed off the document saying that that was a prudent level of debt. But here we have a Government that thinks our vision of a ratio of 22 percent debt to GDP is profligate and not prudent. Well that is ridiculous. The National Party has a fantastic policy on infrastructure. It is something that will help to grow the economy and to get New Zealand out of the recession. I know from being in business that when the times get tough one actually needs to invest in the future and have a vision for the future and to get out there spend a little money and borrow it too. We are talking about borrowing that money off Kiwis and having infrastructure bonds in there to make that happen. 
All up I am proud of the policies we have put out there into the New Zealand market place. I think the New Zealand public will be voting on the policies of this Government and I am looking forward to the election. Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker.