Pettis Jill: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Pettis Jill: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:629;Page:1302] 
JILL PETTIS (Labour) 
: 
 I always appreciate listening to Sue Bradford’s speeches and that was a good one. [ 
Interruption 
] Well I have said that before and I will say it again: I always enjoy listening to Sue Bradford’s speeches. 
That aside one of the things that happens around here occasionally is that one has to pinch oneself to check that what one has heard is correct. I am not referring to Ms Bradford at all. One of the things I have had to pinch myself about a bit lately is this new-found friendship between the National Party and the Maori Party. I guess they are working on the principle of “my enemy’s enemy is my friend”. Those of us who were not born yesterday know exactly what is going on there despite the racially divisive comments that have been made by National members for many years. This is just after an election—that is what people say just after an election instead of just leading up to an election. 
I am very proud of the Labour Government because it is a Government that wants to move New Zealand forward on a journey to being a far more prosperous dynamic and secure nation. We know that working together in the interests of everybody is in New Zealand’s best interests. We know that we need a country that produces high-value goods and certainly in provincial New Zealand we know that adding value to our goods is the way towards economic prosperity for all New Zealanders. 
One of the other things about which I am particularly proud of the Labour Government is our arts culture sports and music policy. That is cutting-edge work that is being done in New Zealand and I am so proud of our growing international reputation in the whole of the arts field. The other thing that is really important to me is that under Labour New Zealand will remain nuclear-free. 
The district of Wanganui which is the area where I was born and raised and am very proud to say I come from has had quite a rapid transformation in its economy. On 26 November—one month after the local government elections by coincidence—a report was published in our local paper stating that the Wanganui economy is a five-star economy. One does not often see headlines like that in Wanganui newspapers but I was most certainly delighted to see that. The ASB/Main Report Regional Economic Scoreboard stated such fantastic statistics as Wanganui’s unemployment level being at the lowest in 23 years. That is very good for Wanganui and very good for its people. 
 The new Wanganui District Council commissioned a report to be carried out by Business and Economic Research Ltd a very reputable and reliable research company and that report was published 5 months after the local body elections. The comments from it are absolutely stunning and I am delighted to see those results. The headlines said that Wanganui is booming. Those kinds of headlines are good because it means that people are benefiting. The Wanganui district GDP per capita growth at 5.2 percent is higher than the national average of 2.8 percent. Employment growth in Wanganui is 3.3 percent which is very good for all of Wanganui. 
David Bennett 
: What’s your population growth? 
JILL PETTIS 
: No the population growth is not that great—I acknowledge that. Provincial New Zealand is feeling a slight decline in some of its population figures. There is no doubt about that at all. The member is correct. 
But central and local government spending has been rising in the last 4 years so the statistics in Wanganui are fairly consistent with that trend of increased spending. The Labour-led Government has invested heavily in Wanganui and one of the areas in which we have invested with particular benefit to our local business sector is that of business grants approved in 2005. Business grants worth $2294799 were approved. That money goes directly into the pockets of those businesses and is then transferred into the pockets of employees. 
Government investment in Wanganui is significant and there has been an upward trend in that spending for some years. The main areas of earnings in our GDP in 2005 were in health services with $75 million—directly and clearly money from central government—education with $50 million and government administration with $46 million. Other categories of expenditure in this area were defence and community services. 
One of the strongest performers in employment in Wanganui was the road and bridge construction industry. An extra $16 million was spent on transport in the Manawatu-Wanganui area in 2005 and of course we all remember the significant contribution of funds made following those disastrous floods in Wanganui in 2004. That increased spending—[ 
Interruption 
] Well they will have to get up early to beat me so I will just carry on. Maurice your voice is just not loud enough— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member will use the member’s full name please. 
JILL PETTIS 
: Mr Williamson should keep sucking those Throaties. 
One thing that is particularly pleasing to see is the increase in employment levels in our region. Fifty-one percent fewer people are on benefits in Wanganui—that is a drop in benefit numbers across the board. The greatest drop is in unemployment— 
Hon Harry Duynhoven 
: Less than half. 
JILL PETTIS 
: That is quite right I tell Mr Duynhoven. The greatest drop in benefit levels is in unemployment levels which is benefiting families right across the board. Wanganui lost proportionately more jobs than any other district in New Zealand in the 15 years to 2001 so that increase in employment levels is fabulous for our local area. Not just the city area has benefited but also the larger region because South Taranaki unemployment benefit numbers have fallen by 17 percent. 
Government investment in Wanganui has also been significant in recent months. In February it was announced that $3 million would go towards the Universal College of Learning and $112000 was given by the Ministry of Youth Development to assist with a project whereby young people would be able to develop their own youth centre. That is good funding for youth. An extra $100000 went to the Wanganui District Council’s roading budget because of a subsidy increase that went directly to the council. In relation to tourism $516000 extra was given to the Ruapehu District Council as part of assistance to deal with the growing number of tourists that smaller towns throughout New Zealand are experiencing. Schools operations grant funding is up by nearly $3 million which has a direct benefit on future educational opportunities for our young people. 
In the area of early childhood education $50000 went to Wanganui $15000 went to Patea and late last year $284000 went to Mataroa in Taihape which is not in my patch but is certainly very close by. 
One of the schemes of particular benefit for older citizens who live in our area is the rates rebate scheme whereby 27400 people in Wanganui-Taranaki who receive State-funded superannuation will directly benefit from the rates rebate scheme. Our senior citizens who live in State houses will also be $35.28 a week better off than they were under the previous Government because of the income-related rents policy that the Labour Government brought in. The comments from the National Party members when the Minister of Housing used the term “social housing” indicate that the Tories clearly do not understand that concept or how important social housing is. 
There has been huge investment and a huge partnership between this Labour Government and the rest of New Zealand. I am proud of that partnership and of the very real tangible benefit it has brought to New Zealand.