McKelvie Ian: Debate on Prime Minister’s StatementText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMcKelvie Ian: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement[Sitting date: 12 February 2014. Volume:696;Page:15884. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]IANMcKELVIE (National—Rangitīkei): I was going to start off talking about credibility and integrity but the previous speaker Clayton Cosgrove has done it for us. Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker for the opportunity to speak tonight on the good news of the state of our nation. But first and foremost I am here tonight to speak in support of our Prime Minister’s statement in which he outlined the great performance of this Government to date. He cemented National’s intention as we lead up to the next election. This is a Government of aspiration independence and inspiration and I could add integrity and credibility as well. All we do and all we have attempted to do in the time we have been in Government is aimed at giving people the opportunity to grow and thrive and giving our economy the opportunity to grow and thrive. Over there is a gaggle of people whose policies create dependence stifle growth in the private sector and in the case of the Greens stop everything.One of the great achievements of this Government has been the ability to reprioritise Government spending under that outstanding Treasurer Bill English dramatically changing the trends of gross expenditure and ineffective public services promulgated under the Labour Government of Helen Clark. It has worked. We have been able to re-incentivise business education Government services and our producers to the extent that we are now seeing more jobs created daily more houses built than for many years a health system that is catering for more and more people on a daily basis—better than ever before in fact—and more exports leaving these shores than ever before. This has all been made possible by the Business Growth Agenda of this Government.I will detail a few of these initiatives that have had a particular impact in the Rangitīkei. The promotion of our export markets since we have built a more competitive and productive economy the development of free-trade agreements and the potential for the Trans-Pacific Partnership and those types of agreements have certainly incentivised the producers of my electorate to perform to new levels of effectiveness. Farmers have new levels of confidence in the future and enthusiasm for now with intentions of improving environmental systems and sustaining productive systems that have never been stronger. We have an opportunity because of the activities of this Government to lead the world again in this field. This is something we have struggled with.I want to speak for a minute about innovation. Massey University many of the Crown research institutes and the Riddet Institute are all in my electorate and are all thriving in the new environment that this Government has created for them to operate in as they play their part in the scientific contribution to the Government’s growth aspirations. Only tonight we saw a remarkable presentation—I thought it was beyond belief frankly—across the corridor in the Speaker’s Science Forum where we saw the use of nanotechnology. I think it is too late to replace my teeth but certainly it will replace the teeth of many of our younger members of Parliament in the future. All they do is poke it into a printer and it comes out the other end and you have got a new set of teeth. I could not believe it frankly but it will make a massive difference to the way the world sees a lot of things. One of the slogans they had up there tonight was “I have seen the future and it works”. It was a quote from Lincoln Steffens. Actually I guess this Government has seen the future to some extent and it is working.I want to speak for a while about tourism. The northern Rangitīkei has been watching for a number of years as people have left jobs have disappeared and businesses have struggled. Under this Government and partly due to the Prime Minister’s brilliant and innovative cycle trail development idea the number of new job opportunities and things for young people to do in our electorate has increased significantly. The touristactivities in the north of my electorate and I am sure in many other electorates are significant—notably the Forgotten World Adventures initiative which uses golf carts and the old railway line from Taumarunui to Stratford. There is something like between 40 and 80 of those a day being picked up on a good day and using that railway line all the way to Stratford creating new business opportunities along the way. It is much like the Otago Rail Trail actually. It is creating new businesses along the way creating new jobs and giving people new hope and a different way of life from they have had before. I think the tourism initiative is amazing and in an electorate like mine it has just made such a difference. That will undoubtedly be our future.The positive bullet points being generated by this Government are more prolific than Kane Williamson’s bat and you would not often have been able to say that about a cricketer but they are. Like BJ Watling we scarcely let a chance go by. Having said that there are some challenges for us in rural New Zealand. The maintenance of infrastructure in areas of static or little growth is a challenge for those communities but we need to ensure that it continues. Roads electrical reticulation and communication are all big challenges for us in rural New Zealand and are all big challenges for Governments as we strive to I guess provide those services. As we leave the global financial crisis behind these matters will be addressed in the future. They are being addressed now but it is a challenge for us and it is something that we must bear in mind as we move forward in New Zealand. The great investment in cycleways walkways our environment and agriculture is doing a lot to contribute to that.The Green-Labour coalition that we see across the House today has already commenced the lolly scramble that election year is for those members. It is a typically irresponsible attempt to bribe the electorate by using taxpayers’ funds irresponsibly. The damage these policies do is evidenced by some of the challenges this Government has had in arresting the dramatic growth of the public sector and of course managing the challenges that the student loan scheme has provided for us as a country.I had the privilege of attending the Waitangi celebrations last week. It was the first time I have ever been there. I went there I guess with an expectation probably created by the press in New Zealand—Iain Lees-Galloway: And the Prime Minister.IAN McKELVIE: —and when I got there I found something very different. The celebrations I attended did not remotely resemble anything I had seen in my time by reading the press and watching it on television. As the Opposition members have raised the subject of the Prime Minister I have to say that I think the Prime Minister has an enormous amount to do with the fact that Waitangi is what it is today as opposed to what it was some 8 years ago. I thought it was a special occasion. When you think about it we were welcomed by a proud people to their place. When you go to someone’s house for the night you expect to be told what they expect of you. You expect to have the right to answer them back. It is exactly how it worked for me and it certainly worked like that for the Prime Minister. I was most impressed with Waitangi. I think that as a country we have a whole lot to protect around the celebration of Waitangi Day. I think that it is a very special occasion for anyone who is able to go to Waitangi and celebrate that day and something that should be taken up at every opportunity.I want to speak briefly tonight about some of the activities that are happening in our primary sector. Of course the Primary Production Committee in this House has a lot to do with that. When you think that we have the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill and the Food Bill before that committee at the moment one realises the importance of those two pieces of legislation when you think that they prop up some $30 billion worth of exports. They not only prop them up but they support and guarantee the future of that $30 billion worth of exports.The other leg of the triumvirate I guess for our primary production sector is the environment. I want to talk very briefly about the contribution that this Government has made to environmental improvement in New Zealand. We have led the way in this field. The Land and Water Forum the work of our regional councils and of course the work of the Ministry for the Environment are significant. I think that we can be very proud as a Government and as a country of the repair and the work that is going on in our environment to improve our opportunities in the future. After all our tourism and agriculture sectors rely entirely on the environment for their futures.I am very proud to be a part of this Government. I think we are doing pretty well I think we have had some difficult times and I look forward to the future with confidence. I want to conclude tonight by supporting the activities of this Government and the great work of our Prime Minister and his Cabinet. Thank you.