King Colin: Budget Debate 
King Colin: Budget Debate 
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COLIN KING (National—Kaikoura) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to follow my colleague Dr Jonathan Coleman the Minister of Immigration and an Associate Minister of Health. When Bill English finished reading the 2010 Budget speech which had the theme of building the recovery the Leader of the Opposition got to his feet and moved an amendment to the motion. I make it very clear to the House that members on this side of the House do not support that amendment to the motion. The Leader of the Opposition made the statement that he believed that the Government had failed to implement a plan for jobs and that it lacked any vision for developing a smart highly skilled high-technology and high-wage economy. That is as far from the truth as we could possibly get. To the contrary of what he said this Government is all about creating the necessary environment to effect the step change that this nation needs. We need to have a first-class economy that will provide the citizens of New Zealand with jobs and careers that are highly skilled high-tech and high-waged because that is what the hard-working citizens of New Zealand deserve. 
When we look at the Leader of the Opposition’s speech we see that it failed to resonate with New Zealand in much the way that the tired previous Labour Government failed to resonate with the citizens of New Zealand leading up to the last general election. That Government lacked the inspiration that New Zealanders require. At a quick glance we see that the speech made by the Leader of the Opposition failed in one very important area. It is an area that I will take the House through because I believe that it is a centrepiece of the 2010 Budget along with the tax provisions. The Leader of the Opposition failed to refer to the contribution that science will be able to make. When we look at the speech of the Leader of the Opposition we see that it made accusations that were unable to be substantiated. Effectively the speech was very much like Labour was before it went into Opposition: it lacked fresh thinking and there was no evidence of that coming. 
I will take the House through Budget 2010 and show how it contributes enormously to taking New Zealand forward in the field of research science and technology. 
Simon Bridges 
: What will it mean to the average sheep shearer Colin? 
COLIN KING 
: It will mean enormous stuff because it will put the sheep industry back on the map. It will put the sheep industry back on the map. But before we go into that I say that if we look at the Budget we see that it contributed $321 million of new and reprioritised funding over 4 years. That will contribute enormously to an improvement in research. It covers all industry including agriculture and it is designed to lift the spending on science and on research and development to some $750 million a year. It covers all of those industries. Added to that is the increased spending included for the operating initiatives in research science and technology amounting to $40 million in the current year moving up to $64 million in the year 2011-12 and to $80 million in 2012-13 and going out to a whopping $82 million in 2013-14. 
We know that we got it right on this side of the House when we get a thumbs up from people who give third-party endorsement and people who have integrity. I am referring to Sam Robinson the chair of AgResearch who was formerly also the chair of the Richmond meat company. He is somebody who stands out in the agricultural sector for his integrity his contributions and his leadership. “A combination of the Budget-day encouragement for private investment and a new focus by Crown research institutes has been greeted as a great advance for science development and a wealthier New Zealand” That is a quote from a report of his press release. It goes on to state “Robinson said that as a farmer and citizen he agreed strongly with English’s conclusions. ‘As a director of AgResearch I say that the reform we’re seeing is about making New Zealand more competitive and productive and science is a big part of that.’ ” What a wonderful endorsement of the Budget from someone as eminent as him. Government funding for science and research in New Zealand has closed the gap between New Zealand and the average for OECD countries but business funding was well below the OECD average. “This Budget is about fixing that and it’s pretty good I’m heartened by it.” Those were the comments of Sam Robinson. 
Sam Robinson said that he especially liked the setting up of the Rutherford Discovery Fellowships with $25 million to be allocated over 4 years to encourage science excellence and train and retain world-class scientists in New Zealand. “I think that’s really smart because business doesn’t run without world class science.” he said. I would like to highlight to those members over there that in that particular quote Sam Robinson was talking about where this Budget is being directed by allowing those scientists to keep more of the smart money that they earn. As the  
Sunday Star-Times 
 said effectively we need the rich more than they need us. I think to myself that that quote highlights why we do: we want to retain that intellectual property and those smarts. 
The Budget confirmed $45 million worth of contributions over 4 years for the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases. It is an initiative in which about 30 countries are involved and it is aimed at reducing methane emissions from farmed animals. I like this quote from Sam Robinson: “One of the great unknowns is how the rumens work and they are the engine room of the NZ economy. Some of our best scientists are trying to understand it and you need to understand it before you can get solutions.” 
The Budget also provided additional capital funding of $6.7 million and operational funding of $14.3 million over 4 years to develop and improve joint border management systems and to replace ageing border clearance systems run by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Customs Service. On top of that another $200 million is to be rolled out for ultra-fast broadband on top of the $200 million that was rolled out last year under Budget 2009. 
It is also wonderful to see that the Primary Growth Partnership has commissioned a number of projects. Three primary sector organisations will receive $20 million over the next 5 to 7 years and that relationship between the Government and industry partners was announced in Budget 2009 with the industry funding and the value of the partnership expected to exceed $45 million. It is a wonderful endorsement that we see this Government so focused on making sure that there is a step change in this country’s economy. 
I finish off with another contribution by Merino New Zealand. Merino New Zealand and the Government Primary Growth Partnership have announced a $36 million 5-year initiative designed to amplify the momentum and economic returns already evidenced in New Zealand’s fine wool sector. What does the chair John Nichol acknowledge? He acknowledges the role of the Government. The process has been robust and at times demanding but it has forced us to further raise the bar in our thinking regarding sector innovation integration and the particular value capture to farmers and the broader economy of New Zealand. 
But the comment that I really do like which really reinforces that Budget 2010 is squarely focused on making a step change and creating an innovative society was the comment by John Brakenridge the chief executive of Merino New Zealand. He referred to the new Primary Growth Partnership as the start of the great New Zealand sheep revolution one that will once again have sheep as the mainstay of our economy but in a lot more market-driven manner than the situation described by the former clichés. 
The New Zealand sheep industry will also be very proud and positive about this Budget as are the rest of New Zealanders and we have put science at the very centre of the Budget. I do not have the time to keep on elaborating about it but it is an absolute pleasure to speak on this Budget. It is a stunner.