Lotu-Iiga Peseta Sam: Taxation (Annual Rates and Budget Measures) Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee 
Lotu-Iiga Peseta Sam: Taxation (Annual Rates and Budget Measures) Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee 
[Volume:672;Page:18917] 
PESETA SAM LOTU-IIGA (National—Maungakiekie) 
: 
 Malo le soifua maua. Thank you. It is certainly my privilege to speak on the second reading of our Taxation (Annual Rates and Budget Measures) Bill. Today is a momentous day. It is a momentous day because this Government has set out a plan to get us on the road to recovery. It has set out a measured plan a balanced plan and a prudent plan in order to get this country back on the road to recovery. 
As we have all heard tonight the country is on a precipice in terms of the Budget deficit of $16 billion. It has been shaken by two major earthquakes and of course we had the Pike River disaster. But the country’s future has been set out in a Budget that is prudent and balanced. 
When we came into power 2½ years ago we had to cover the damage of 9 years of Labour. Under Labour there were 5 years of exports contracting and 9 years of some of the highest interest rates that our businesses and our consumers have faced. Inflation rates were well above Reserve Bank requirements. Those are the conditions we inherited. 
Where have we been in the last 2½ years? This Government has been about investment: investing in infrastructure investing in people and particularly investing in our schools and in our health system. I am proud of this Government. In my local electorate our local high schools have received a services academy—an investment in our young people to grow and develop. One Tree Hill College had a music suite put in place. Admittedly that was started under the last Labour Government but it was certainly constructed and opened under the National Government. We have an arts centre at Onehunga High School. These are the types of investments in our young people that this Government stands for. 
It has also been about investing in our roads and in our infrastructure in broadband. Investment in State Highway 20 which runs through my electorate and is one of the biggest State highways in the country demonstrates the Government’s commitment to infrastructure. It was constructed on time to budget to scale and to specification. That is the type of Government that people want to see. 
David Shearer 
: Who put it in place? 
PESETA SAM LOTU-IIGA 
: I did not negotiate the free-trade agreement with China. Someone did. It might have been the Rt Hon Helen Clark but I do not know what role Mr Goff played in those negotiations. 
This Government has also been about delivering front-line services. It has not been about increasing the bloated bureaucracies that are part of a Labour Government. The biggest show in town in the previous Government the show that actually fuelled inflation was Government spending—Government departments. We are about delivering more police in South Auckland. We are about delivering more nurses and doctors in our hospitals and our general practitioner clinics. This Government has delivered on those promises. 
We have heard tonight about the details around this Budget. Working for Families has been modified. KiwiSaver has certainly been altered. The student loan scheme has been streamlined. But I point out what the Budget really does at a grassroots level. It is about having a go at Government bureaucracies. We have put a figure in our estimates that looks at providing a better Public Service. Efficiency savings will be in the vicinity of $980 million over 3 years and that is to be admired. 
It is also about building the confidence and the trust of our investors in our capital markets. I had the privilege tonight to go to a function that certainly signalled the inauguration if you like of the Financial Markets Authority. This Government worked on the legislation that set up the authority in collaboration with all parties in this Chamber. It is part of the measures that we are undertaking as a Government in order to restore confidence and trust back to financial markets. This Financial Markets Authority which is part of this Budget is about dedicating resources and putting in place the people who will actually take a stand in our capital markets. The authority will be well resourced it will be well run and it will certainly protect investors—the mum and dad investors who were abandoned under the last Labour Government when finance company failures were not responded to in an adequate or an appropriate way. 
How do we know the optimism that is prevalent in our economy? I visit businesses in my electorate like Owens-Illinois where $600 million has been invested. That was the biggest investment in capital works in this country last year by a private sector business. When I see the investment the employment opportunities and the jobs created I certainly feel buoyed. We also see the Government’s investment in businesses like Compac Sorting Equipment. That company is based in Onehunga. It produces equipment that sorts fruit. The investment of millions of dollars which are being put in over the next few years will see that company grow and will see its markets and its customer base grow from a few countries to a number of countries around the world. That is the type of investment we want to see in terms of science and innovation. 
We look at the members opposite to see whether a credible Opposition is in place. As we all know it is important that a democracy delivers a credible Opposition. We hear from members opposite cries of taxing revenue and sales. We hear cries of taking out GST on fruit and veges. They are gimmick-type policies that are uncosted unfunded and do not deliver the type of growth that this Government is putting in place. I suggest to members opposite that they need to sort their own house out internally before they will be able to come out and deliver something positive for this country. 
I will end as I started. This Budget is about consolidating the road to recovery that was begun 2 years ago. This is about a prudent measured and balanced Budget. It is about being positive. It is about growth jobs and opportunities and it is about taking New Zealand into the future. Thank you.