Goldsmith PaulHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment): I have had the joy this week of getting around many many businesses as part of Techweek where we are noticing and understanding the incredibly important role that the R & D and tech sector has in the New Zealand economy. This is a strong economy that we are living in at the moment—a very strong economy that is robust. It has generated 137000 new jobs in the last year and 29000 in the last 3 months. Unemployment is below 5 percent and we have got good strong growth in the next few years ahead. Young Kiwis growing up in this country are not leaving in droves like they used to. They know that they have the opportunity to succeed and flourish and reach their dreams in this country because we have a strong economy.I have also had the opportunity to announce today a pre-Budget announcement of an extra $75000 million going into Callaghan Innovation growth grants over the next 4 years. They are there to help support and encourage our businesses to invest in R & D which they have been doing in big volumes over the last couple of years. We have seen a significant increase in investment in R & D over the last couple of years. And so I am proud of that announcement but it is part of a broader innovation strategy that we have for this country. We want to see our New Zealand companies succeeding internationally and competing internationally around the world as strong innovative companies.What can the Government usefully do? Well actually the most useful thing that any Government can do is provide that strong stable predictable environment where people feel comfortable to invest. When we look across the House the potential for strong stable Government in the years to come if the triple-headed monster on the other side were to get into power is very slight indeed. When you cannot have the Labour Party even working out whether it supports a basic policy like charter schools you know that it is internally divided.We see around the world the consequences of Governments when they have been riven by internal dissension. In this country we have had an absence of that over the last 8 years as we in the National Party with our coalition partners have been lock step in unity and understanding with a single sense of purpose. That makes a big difference in terms of raising the confidence that investors have in this country to invest. It is only ultimately people individuals making a decision to hire somebody to start a new firm to invest in R & D—they are the sorts of things that actually produce growth.Aside from that it is also important to invest in infrastructure and that is why we have invested so much money in ultra-fast broadband so that companies have access to high-speed internet. We also have invested very significantly in the science infrastructure that New Zealand companies can draw on. I mean why do we invest the $1.3 billion a year that we put into science? Well fundamentally it is about—when I step back and ask what we are trying to achieve in Government we are trying ultimately to raise the living standards of all New Zealanders. You can do that by strengthening the economy and making it more productive but you can also do it by delivering better public services.That is not the only thing that Governments do. Governments also try to preserve and enhance what is special about New Zealand and that is the quality of our environment. But it is also our way of life our social cohesion. We also have a contribution to make to the world. When you look at the contribution that science and innovation can make to those things it is powerful. Good quality science can inform and empower our New Zealand economies to be more internationally productive come up with ideas and solve business problems. Science can also inform our decision making in Government with better research-based and evidence-based decision-making which is essential to good public policy.When it comes to preserving what is special about New Zealand I have had the opportunity over this week to visit some of the national science challenges which are dealing with very difficult issues that we face around biodiversity about water quality about housing—all those issues that the science community can help understand and better equip us to deal with those issues. We can also make a global contribution.So that is why we invest as heavily as we do and that is why I am so pleased that we are part of a strong economy. We have got so much optimism that when we look over the next few years ahead this is a country that is well-equipped with skilful young workers people who are innovative entrepreneurial and determined to do well in this world. We have had a good strong Government for 8 years and I hope that we will get another 8 years so we can strengthen that foundation for the New Zealand economy. Thank you very much.