Bridges Simon: Budget DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBridges Simon: Budget Debate[Sitting date: 07 June 2016. Volume:714;Page:11724. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Minister of Energy and Resources): What an outstanding Budget by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance Bill English. It is one that he should rightly be proud of. I say that from two perspectives: from the perspective of looking back at the pitiful state that things were left in when we inherited office the long way we have climbed back to where we are today; and also from the perspective of where this Budget and the numbers show we are heading as a country. That I know fills the people of Tauranga of Hamilton and of many parts of New Zealand with absolute confidence as to where this country is heading.It is right to reflect on where we have come from. A decade of deficit is what we inherited from that lot over there—a decade of deficit. It is remarkable when you think about it: $1.6 billion of new spending. Look at this graph. Here we see Annette King—in her last year $7 billion in new money. That is $7 billion more than all of the new spending of this Government. She managed to make it look so hard. She managed to make it look so hard that $7 billion in new spending—fewer results for the people of New Zealand whether in health or in education. We are spending more and we are spending it wisely. In health there is $16.1 billion more than ever before. New money is being invested incredibly wisely by Jonathan Coleman.Hon Annette King: What does Treasury say?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: Education for the first time ever is above $11 billion in spending and it is being spent really well. It is being spent where we know it makes the difference because we have taken the time and we have made the effort to make sure it is making the difference—unlike Annette King. When she was in office the billions kept accumulating and the results got worse. We are investing more and we are seeing better results.And where are we heading? We are heading to a position of rising surpluses of falling debt of growth on average of 2.8 percent over the next 5 years and of falling unemployment. Nanaia Mahuta had the cheek to come into this House and try to hit us where we are strong. If you are going to hit someone—Muhammad Ali knew this—hit them where they are weak. She hit us on jobs. We are creating 170000 new jobs over the next 5 years. Annette King said just about a minute ago: “What does Treasury say?”. That is what Treasury says—170000 new jobs through this Budget. More jobs higher incomes—averages of I think $63000 per annum—and fundamentally more choices which is what New Zealanders want.This Budget is a Budget for a growing New Zealand. I would say it is more than that actually—Bill English is being too humble—it is a growing and a thriving New Zealand. You contrast where we came from yet again. Those adverts I remember them well: a fresh-faced John Key at the Wellington Cake Tin.Hon Annette King: How does he look now?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: I would not say that about you Annette King—you are in dangerous territory there my friend. The Wellington Cake Tin holds the number of people leaving every single year when Annette King was a senior Minister in the last Labour Government and now Kiwis and Aussies—Kris Faafoi: Is that the one when you ripped off the music?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: —are returning to this country—no that was another one—in tens of thousands. They are voting with their feet and they cannot be wrong. They are seeing the confidence and they are understanding the numbers in this Budget. They know that it is real and that it means real jobs and a better economy in New Zealand.Tauranga is a very real example of this: a city that I do not think has ever been as confident and that is booming on the back of kiwifruit where the Government supported it. It has come back with a vengeance with construction and entrepreneurship. This is a Budget that is catering for that boom: more money in health the district health board getting some $32 million more taking it to $718 million invested every year in new generation medicines—Hon Annette King: He’ll be sat down for repetition soon.Hon SIMON BRIDGES: —and elective surgeries and bowel screening. See Annette King is interjecting because she does not like the speech. She knows how true it is. She knows that in the Hamiltons and the Taurangas and the Dunedins and the Canterburys and the Aucklands they know that it is true.Hon Member: Gores.Hon SIMON BRIDGES: They are seeing it in the Gores. In the metropolis of Gore where people have got great representation they know there is more in health. They know as we have seen in Tauranga that there is more in education infrastructure funding. A new school was announced last week in the growing areas of The Lakes and Pyes Pā and all that that means. There are more classrooms in Welcome Bay Ōropi Maungatapu and Mātua. I was there—can I declare a conflict of interest? I have got a 4-year-old who will probably go there but a new classroom was delivered literally last Thursday.I appreciate that there is more that is required there over time but actually in Tauranga where we have got some of the highest population growth in New Zealand we are not just catching up. We are I think getting ahead of the game and building for growth whether it is in education or whether it is in health. We have also seen it in the great investment package Steven Joyce had there in innovation with more trade training more apprenticeships and more tertiary investments really making a difference in the provincial areas of New Zealand in the cities of New Zealand and in rural New Zealand.I just want to speak very briefly about my portfolios and the great difference that the Budget is making in those portfolios. You look at transport: $358 million more invested by this Budget in regional roading—Hon Annette King: How many bridges?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: —and projects like in Taranaki. There are plenty of bridges: Mōtū Bridge in Gisborne which Annette King and her lot talked about and which we are investing in in Taranaki as I say and in other parts of New Zealand. KiwiRail where Denis O’Rourke came down to this House and said we are doing nothing in that area we have $4 billion invested in rail by this Government or $3.9 billion to be precise—it is comparable to what we have invested in the roads of national significance—for electrification improvements and new rolling stock. What we are seeing as a result of our investment—this Government’s investment; not that previous Labour Government’s investment—is burgeoning metropolitan use. The numbers are going through the roof and freight on rail is up year on year because we are backing rail as well as the others.One of the things of course that is not appreciated is all of the things in transport outside the Budget where through the Land Transport Fund we have seen a fourfold increase—and in some parts of New Zealand a fivefold increase—in the investment in transportation from around $1 billion a year when Labour was first in Government in the early 2000s to $3.5 billion at the moment. Actually it is nearly $4 billion when you include the Crown investment as well—unprecedented investment that is making the difference whether it is the western ring route the City Rail Link the East-West Link the Wellington corridor or the Christchurch roads of national significance.I also want to talk about homes because Nanaia Mahuta came down here and said—I am sure not wilfully—an untruth about this Budget and what it does for homes. I am really proud that this Government through this Budget will get to having over 300000 homes in this country insulated. How many did the last Labour Government manage to get to? Look I think it was about 50000. For all of its members’ compassion and for all of their talk 50000 homes were insulated—and over 300000 by this Government. Complementing this are the changes that Nick Smith is making to the Residential Tenancies Act that will see an additional 180000 rental homes in this country insulated to good standards.I think that we have got an incredibly proud record on insulation. We have made sure that not just tens of thousands but hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders—actually when you consider that there are families living in these houses there are possibly many more than that—have warmer drier healthier homes. This Budget has helped with the insulation of a further 20000 rental homes which complements and incentivises the 180000 rental homes under the Residential Tenancies Act that must be done by July 2019.Finally regarding access to justice some of you may not appreciate it because it is just quiet diligent work that I do behind the scenes—I do not expect any credit for it—but as Associate Minister of Justice I can say that there is $110 million more for access to justice in this country meaning that we are getting the kind of justice system that we deserve. In civil legal aid criminal legal aid and family law we are ensuring that people—those most vulnerable New Zealanders—get the advice and the advocacy that they need and it is yet another area where we can be proud of this outstanding Budget which is delivering in health in education and in the economy the brighter future that we promised in 2008.