Key John: Address in ReplyText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKey John: Address in Reply[Sitting date: 09 December 2008. Volume:651;Page:37. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Can I be the first in this House to congratulate Mr Goff on his position as Leader of the Opposition but I say what a lethargic speech that was I think as a starting point. If there were any take-away points from it I guess one of them was that Mr Goff seems to think that the 90-day trial period for small to medium sized enterprises was part of a secret agenda. You see the only minor problem with that was that not only was that trial period in National’s manifesto but it was in every newspaper in the country. The problem was that it was not in the Melbourne Agewhich is where most of the Labour caucus were actually reading the news!Mr Goff tried to talk about tax cuts. The problem for Mr Goff was that to his right was the previous Minister of Finance who is a man not known for being a serial tax cutter. No one should have believed that Michael Cullen would ever have delivered on those promised tax cuts—they would not have happened. Michael Cullen was not a man to deliver on his promise of tax cuts.Election 2008 was an election where New Zealanders voted for change. The country elected a new Government a vibrant Government an ambitious Government a young Government and I might say a very determined Government. But Labour also hadchange. Phil Goff replaced Helen Clark. It was a case of out with the old and in with the old. Poor old Mr Goff has been waiting waiting and waiting for 9 years to get the top job and what is he doing now? He is waiting waiting and waiting for Shane Jones and David Cunliffe to stab him in the back. I understand that the talk around the Labour Party caucus is that the leadership of Phil Goff is so transitional that he is known as “Phil-in”. But enough of the tired Labour Opposition!I acknowledge you Mr Speaker for your 24 years of dedicated commitment to this institution. I acknowledge your intellect and your respect for this institution. You will make a fine Speaker of this Parliament and we all wish you the very best. I also offer my congratulations to Deputy Speaker Lindsay Tisch who will also make a great contribution to this House. We have borrowed him from the racing industry. I congratulate Assistant Speakers Eric Roy and of course Rick Barker.I take this moment to congratulate the mover and seconder of the Address in Reply debate—in particular the mover Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga a young man who is indeed a real mover and who I thought gave a very moving speech in the House this afternoon. He is a man who talked about the diversity of our Parliament a man who believes very deeply in family values and a man who I thought had a great line this afternoon when he said that bigger Government does not always produce better solutions. I acknowledge Melissa Lee the first Korean member of Parliament. I confirm that she was correct: I am a kimchi lover and if she is going to brew up a batch in her flat I will come over and try a little bit of that.I congratulate all of the new MPs in the House and I wish them the best for their maiden statements which are of course a window into their journey of why they are here and their beliefs. My thanks go to the National Party MPs—a fine group of individuals all 58 of them. I particularly thank the new MPs: Steven Joyce; Amy Adams; Hekia Parata; Kanwaljit Bakshi the first Indian member of Parliament—my congratulations to him—Paul Quinn a man who will be making a significant contribution to the parliamentary rugby team; Michael Woodhouse; Simon Bridges who showed us that a massive win in Tauranga was always on the cards and possible; Louise Upston; Todd McClay who along with Jonathan Young comes to this House with a family pedigree in history; Tim Macindoe; Aaron Gilmore; and lest we forget Nikki Kaye who delivered Auckland Central for National which is something that had never been achieved in our party’s history. With each Parliament our Chamber becomes more diverse and more reflective of modern New Zealand and the forty-ninth Parliament has not disappointed in any way shape or form. We have a new-look Parliament a more diverse Parliament and one that will reflect I believe modern New Zealand.We are of course a minority Government supported in confidence and supply by three parties. I acknowledge firstly the ACT Party its five MPs and Rodney Hide. It will bring to the Government a serious focus on economic development economic growth and solutions to the problems that our economy will need at a time when our economy is desperately in need of that. I congratulate Rodney Hide and Heather Roy for their promotions to their portfolios.I acknowledge the United Future leader Peter Dunne who once again will make a tremendous contribution to this Parliament as he has done in previous Parliaments. He is the man known as “Mr Common Sense” and he will need to bring all of that common sense to the select committee he will be chairing on climate change.Last but by no means least I acknowledge the historic and special relationship with the Māori Party. In particular I thank Pita Sharples and Tariana Turia for their courage their leadership and their belief that this was a relationship worth investing in. I knowthat this relationship will benefit not only Māori Party supporters but indeed all New Zealanders.The ninth of November 2008 was a new dawn for New Zealand. It was the day after the country rejected the tired old policies of the Labour Government its lack of direction its years of distractions and sideshows and its decade of missed opportunities. It was a Government that had forgotten who put it there and frankly after a period of time it had forgotten why it was there. On 8 November 2008 the New Zealand public elected a Government they wanted to be focused on the issues that matter.But we have assumed the mantle of Government in arguably some of the most difficult economic conditions seen in a generation—maybe in the lifetime of New Zealanders. This is a global financial crisis that threatens to put the world in recession. It is a global financial crisis that has seen the global banking system put on life support—a system that has required an injection of capital right around the world. We have seen a pretty extraordinary situation where a bank such as Citigroup worth just under US$300 billion collapsed into a value of around US$28 billion before it was bailed out by the United States Government. So the challenges that my Government faces are very different and very difficult ones. They are certainly very different challenges from the ones that the Labour Government of the last 9 years faced when the hardest decision for Labour was how to spend New Zealand taxpayers’ money. That was it—how to spend taxpayers’ money was the hardest decision—but that will not be a luxury our Government will have.People can imagine how we reacted when knowing conditions would be immensely tough we then found the ticking time bomb called the Accident Compensation Corporation—a $2.3 billion hole that Phil Goff did not talk about in his speech. I simply say this: for a party that campaigned on trust to leave a $2.3 billion hole in the accounts is nothing short of a disgrace. But I guess that is why that party was thrown out of office: the New Zealand public did not trust it. We will be undertaking a ministerial inquiry. I cannot tell the House whether that inquiry will find that Labour Ministers broke the fiscal responsibility Act and broke the law. But I do not need a ministerial inquiry to tell me this.Hon Dr Michael Cullen: There is no such Act!Hon JOHN KEY: They do not want to hear about it. They are very chipper and very chirpy but that was not the case when they were writing to each other about the $300 million yearly ticking time bomb. They were not quite so vocal at that point. You see I do not need a whole ministerial inquiry to know that the Labour Government defeated the spirit of the fiscal responsibility Act. Those members knew there was a billion dollars required for the non-earners account alone and they were as quiet as little church mice. They were busy making lots of noise out there but they were very quiet when it came to accident compensation.We have assumed the Government benches in very difficult economic times. In the middle of December Mr English will release the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update and I think New Zealanders know that that update will contain a lot of red ink. Well my message for New Zealanders is that they should not take this as a time when their Government should overreact. We have a plan for this economic problem; we will reach through the recession. This is not a time for slash-and-burn; this is a time for the Government to show some strength and it is time for the Government to look beyond what are some pretty short-term difficult numbers because we know we can take New Zealanders out of this and make New Zealand stronger. But we should be under no illusion: the only hope for the finances of the Government the only hope for our young people and the only hope for our country is—Hon Chris Carter: A new Labour Government.Hon JOHN KEY: —not a Labour Government as Chris Carter would say; we all know that. The only hope is economic growth. That is the only hope to get us through. If there was a decade of deficits when Dr Cullen had not even taken into consideration the worsening 6 weeks or the billion dollars of the Accident Compensation Corporation’s non-earners account it is fair to assume that the deficits of the decade will be considerably larger in the way that Treasury is forecasting them. The Government actually—Hon Chris Carter: Is this a speech or is it stream of consciousness?Hon JOHN KEY: Well you see the difference between our Government and Mr Carter when he was in Government is that we are actually going to have to do things. We are going to have to actually get out there and not just spend money not just create more inter-departmental Government working groups and not just have more strategies and more sessions; we are actually going to have to do more with less. That is what we are going to have to do as a Government. We are going to have to eliminate waste. We are going to have to get on top of the huge growth in bureaucracy we have seen in the State sector. Again we picked up the paper today to read about the Government Shared Network—yet another experiment that the Labour Party commissioned. That has failed. There was no mention of that in Labour’s speech. There was no mention of the fact that there were no tax cuts for 9 long years under a Labour Government until it was staring down the barrel of defeat. It was much keener on lifting the bureaucracy and much keener on spending other people’s money. It was only in the dying days of a dying Government that there was any commitment on that.Our Government will lift the cloak of red tape and compliance costs on the suffering small businesses in New Zealand. I can tell members of the House that out there amongst small businesses there is a real sense of excitement and encouragement that help is on its way. But we will not be passing a new law or a new regulation or finding a new way to slow them down; we will be backing them. There was Mr Goff in his speech back again on the politics of envy. We stand for the politics of aspiration. We believe in New Zealanders doing well and supporting themselves. There are tens of thousands of those small to medium sized enterprises out there and I know they welcome the change of Government.One of the big challenges for the Government over the next 3 years—and then in the terms beyond—will be to build infrastructure in this country because we have a major infrastructure deficit. That is why my Government has appointed not just any Minister as the Minister of Infrastructure but the second most senior Minister in Cabinet—if I can say that—Mr English. He will be the guiding force as we look to build infrastructure across the country in roading in energy in public transport and in broadband. My good colleague here Mr Brownlee sent me a fascinating stack of information about the increase in electricity prices overseen by that Labour Government over the last 9 years. I think it was a rate of 86 percent was it not Mr Brownlee—83 percent? There was an 83 percent increase in power prices over the last 9 years because that previous Government failed to invest in our national grid failed to reform the Resource Management Act and failed to bring enough new generation on stream.As I go around the country I see the excitement in the eyes of New Zealanders when they know they will have ultra-fast broadband delivered to their homes.Hon David Cunliffe: Yeah right!Hon JOHN KEY: They are the sorts of people that David Cunliffe hangs around with in the weekend the sorts of people who are actively encouraging Shane Jones to challenge for the leadership so early on and the sorts of people that Stuart Nash knew in his former career as a business person—they are out there; they want ultra-fast broadband. That will be delivered under our Government and New Zealanders will bein the 21st century with ultra-fast broadband. But it will not happen with a bit of pixie dust or by snapping our fingers; it will happen because this Government is committed to reforming the Resource Management Act. That is a top priority for this Government.And yes we have a high-level task force to assist the Minister in that regard. That is actually a very interesting point. The difference between our Government and the previous Government is that when we get advice from people who know what they are talking about we listen to it. OK that is a big difference. Can I say by the way that while I was listening to Mr Goff’s 30-minute speech never once did I hear the very first words I heard out of his mouth when he became the leader: “I’m so sorry about the Electoral Finance Act. I didn’t really believe in it. Helen made me sign up to it and I’m really sorry. OK? I’m really sorry.”Hon Member: And what did Annette say about it?Hon JOHN KEY: Annette said: “I’m really sorry too.” She is really sorry that as Minister of Justice day after day week after week she had to be pulverised by Bill English in the House when she said that the law of common sense would resolve it all. Even the Law Commission could not understand the law of common sense. I want Mr Goff in his temporary leadership role to know that we will reach out to the Labour Party and consult on the new legislation that will repeal and replace the Electoral Finance Act. I cannot remember whether it was in theOtago Daily Times—it may have been in theDominion Post—but in one of the editorials in the last couple of days a very good point was made. It said the new National Government should leave that legislation in place for 3 more years so that Labour could suffer even longer under its own legislation. But on this side of the House we are not so cruel; we are an inclusive Government we are reaching out and we will be doing that.In relation to the Resource Management Act I say there will be more money and more capital expenditure going into infrastructure. Public-private partnerships are something Labour talked about but under Labour they were like white rhinos—we never saw them. We heard about them but we never saw them. Members will see some public-private partnerships under our Government.One of the very very important things our Government will be doing is lifting education standards in New Zealand. What a fine job Anne Tolley is going to do in leading that charge and what a contribution Pita Sharples is going to make to that tail of underachievement—of lifting up that tail to opportunities. Today we heard the story of two young people who have come into this House. Both of them mentioned the value of education the difference education made to their lives and how education was a liberator. Every one of the 122 members of this Parliament we can assume has enjoyed the benefits of a good education while one in five young New Zealanders do not enjoy the benefits of a good education. Their literacy and numeracy skills are so poor that they have no future—Hon Chris Carter: What are you actually going to do?Hon JOHN KEY: I say to Mr Carter that I recall that when one of the major school principals was sitting next to me on a plane a few months before the election he told me: “I’m going to do something I have never done in my life. I’m going to vote National.” I said: “Why is that?”. He said: “Because Mr Carter has been the worst Minister of Education in this Parliament’s history and he has failed to lift education standards.” Labour had 9 years and they squandered that opportunity; that will not be lost on our Government. Our Government will be legislating for national standards. We will be legislating for national standards and we will be ensuring that youngsters have literacy and numeracy skills. We will be ensuring that that benchmark is there. We will be making sure that parents can understand exactly where their child is in terms of literacy and numeracy against the national standard. Most important we will make surethere is an action plan to resolve those issues. That is how a Government makes a difference to a country. It is when everyone has equality of opportunity and that comes through education.But it will not start and finish with national standards; trades and skills will be a very important part of the agenda for our Government. There will be world-class trade academies built in our schools across the country to give young New Zealanders an opportunity—a pathway to trades and skills. There will be the Youth Guarantee for 16 and 17-year-olds. Mr Goff was kind enough to talk about it in his opening remarks. [Interruption] That is right—for 16 and 17-year-olds. Not all of them will want to stay at school. They will be there enjoying the opportunity of free fees so they can go to the wānanga the private training establishment or the polytech to get those foundation skills and to go on those courses to ensure that they can achieve in life.The fact has already been mentioned in the House today that law and order is not at a level where New Zealanders feel comfortable or feel it is acceptable. My Government is going to have a real focus on lifting law and order and ensuring our communities are safer once again. That will involve quite a lot of legislative changes. They will include changes to the bail laws they will include changes to parole laws and they will include tougher sentences for those who commit crimes against young people. Why did it take 9 years of failure for the previous Government to address the issue of young people? There was not a peep not a squeak and not a word. Those members were like church mice; they were very busy changing the Electoral Finance Act or worrying about Winston Peters. They were too busy worrying about those things to get on with the core basics such as national standards or crimes against young people. Our Government will change that.A very important issue for our Government is making sure that we crack down on the serious end of crime. Something that will not be going under a National Government is the Serious Fraud Office. It will stay and it will investigate some very interesting crimes—I would suggest white collar crimes—over the next few years in New Zealand. Those who have broken the law—mainly those who have defrauded New Zealanders out of their retirement savings with all sorts of dodgy schemes—will know that the Serious Fraud Office will be there with all of its powers to investigate them.We will be dealing with the issue of gangs. Again Phil Goff was 9 years in Government and there was not a peep not a squeak not a word about gangs. On the campaign trail 4 weeks before the election he was despatched to say all of a sudden that he was going to do something and that he might outlaw gangs or that he might ban gangs. I can understand why he might want to ban Shane Jones’ gang—but no in 9 years there was no change. We will be changing that. And we will be delivering 600 police. It was great to see George Hawkins today when I was walking over the Parliament House bridge going into the reception and I said to Mr Hawkins that yes 300 police would be coming to his community to Counties Manukau and to Judith Collins’ and Pansy Wong’s electorates and we will be making those streets safer.We will be dealing with the issue of climate change. I guess if there was one change in Mr Goff’s speech it was this: it took him 29 minutes to debate the issue of climate change. It certainly was not the world-leading carbon neutrality—Hon Member: Same with you!Hon JOHN KEY: Well you see we have always taken a balanced view to climate change our environmental responsibilities and our economic opportunities. We are not prepared to wave goodbye to New Zealand businesses; we are going to do something and this Parliament in a proper and mature way will be debating that. When we despatch our Minister of Trade and Associate Minister for Climate Change Issues (International Negotiations) to Poznán in Poland in the next few days he will befighting for our corner when it comes to agriculture and land-use change and the ability to keep our economy strong and we will be investing in technological solutions.My Government will be focused on fixing the health system—and what a mess Mr Cunliffe left in his short period of time there! There are stories of district health boards with exploding budget deficits. One of the very first moves—and we will be making an announcement on it this week—will be to take the financial stress off those New Zealand women who are currently paying for Herceptin. We are standing up as a Government and paying for 12 months’ treatment. Mr Cunliffe said it could not be done; Mr Ryall has been in the job for fewer than 3 weeks and it will be done. That is what an action-focused Government is about.Thirty minutes is just not long enough when there is so much to talk about as a new Government—whether it is the investment of 40 percent of the superannuation fund in New Zealand whether it is the fact that we will be holding a referendum on MMP whether it is the fact that we will be setting new standards for Government or whether we will be in a situation where we are prepared to tackle the hard issues. We could spend so much time—Hon Pete Hodgson: Move an extension of time John if you want to say more.Hon JOHN KEY: I am more than happy to take more time I say to Pete Hodgson if he likes. I am more than happy to take more time. But you see in the end we really left that to the people of New Zealand who on 8 November 2008 said very clearly through the ballot box that it was time for a change. And that change is about to be delivered.