Dean Jacqui; Tolley AnneHon JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki): It's a pleasure to follow the contribution by that last member Meka Whaitiri who seems to personify the new Greens - New Zealand First - led Labour Government which is increasingly after only five weeks one of a tone of just sheer arrogance. Get used to it" she said from her lofty heights. "Get used to us." Well that's arrogant. Iain Lees-Galloway in question time today saying to the Hon Amy Adams "Well if you'd played nicely and if you'd been nice to me I might've listened to your Supplementary Order Paper around paid parental leave. All you had to do was just do it nicely and we might've listened to you." Well that sounds like arrogance to me. But the speaker who has just resumed her seat what capped it off for me was the parallel universe she inhabits where she goes around New Zealand and farmers—farmers—are welcoming a Greens - New Zealand First - Labour Government.Hon Member: Name them!Hon JACQUI DEAN: Ha! Yeah bring them to me. I will talk to them because I have never met any of them.I can tell the speaker that I have spent the last glorious week—glorious week—in my own electorate of Waitaki clearly and undisputedly the most beautiful electorate in New Zealand. I can say that in front of the new chums because it is. In that beautiful week last week I met up with a number of members who were not only very keen to have a yarn about the new normal for us in the National Party and to talk about their hopes for the future but also to talk about the fears—the very real fears about what a Greens - New Zealand First - Labour-led Government will mean for them.So it might've been the vintner that I met just out of Alexandra who grows very successfully grapes for some pretty good brands wine labels around New Zealand who said to me as I went into her small home where she showed me some of beautiful product and some beautiful muffins—thank you very much. She said "I don't know what I'm going to do if this Government brings on the minimum wage of $20 an hour. I don't know if I if I can keep my vineyard going." She is a small business and if she and her husband—Hon Shane Jones: Rich get richer—rich get richer.Hon JACQUI DEAN: Now the Hon Shane Jones mocks. The Hon Shane Jones laughs when I say that. I invite the Hon Shane Jones to go down to Airport Road just out of Alexandra pop into Immigrant's Vineyard—yes these people are Dutch; they're very nice people too—and tell them why he is scoffing at their fears about raising the minimum wage having an impact on their business. And it's not just raising the minimum wage having an impact on their small business—and to the listeners at home if I may address them directly the Hon Shane Jones is still mocking as I am talking about the real experiences that are being told to me by my constituents who are small-business people. He mocks. He calls them rich. He calls them the rich getting richer. Well the professional person who runs an office—they hire something around 19 staff and this person is saying: "They raise the minimum wage—I don't know if I can take school leavers on anymore. I just simply don't know whether we can afford it."That's not me speaking. This is small business speaking—Hon Shane Jones: No you're making it up. Fake news—fake news!Hon JACQUI DEAN: —directly to us about their fears coming out of this Government. No—not making it up at all.So let's turn to the farmers and their fears about the impacts of this Government on farming. I had several meetings last week with irrigators. I have met with a representative of the Manuherikia irrigation company. Now they have a proposal to raise the Manuherikia dam improve water quality improve environmental outcomes improve outcomes for the community and improve outcomes for the farming. They have been working for years and years and years on this proposal to augment and improve their existing irrigation company. It's not a new initiative; it's an existing irrigation company. They have been working with the Crown investment company and luckily enough they have got a commitment from the Minister that the support will be maintained for them. But they fear for the future because this commitment only relates to stage two. This is stage three. What about stage three? What about if this Government pulls out from supporting irrigation which has all these environmental social economic bottom lines—what about if the Crown pulls out from them? What happens to that six seven years of earnest work by all the farmers and the farming committee? What happens to those families and those livelihoods? What happens to that little corner of New Zealand who relies on water for its economic sustainability?I'll tell you what's going to happen: irrigation is going to become unaffordable. Those farming families who have been on the land for generations who have gone from mining privileges and are transitioning to the Resource Management Act framework for water who have been doing the best for their families the best for their farming endeavours—we're just going to shut up shop. I don't know what the land will become but it won't be productive. What does that do? What does that do to New Zealand's economy? That is what this Government has to answer. So the Hon Shane Jones who was still chipping away across the House needs to get up and tell this House what he is going to do to maintain economic sustainability—Hon Shane Jones: Billion dollars. Billion trees.Hon JACQUI DEAN: —in those regions that need water? And it's not just Central Otago it's not just North Otago it's not just the Hunter Downs irrigation company who are facing the same sort of challenges; without water there is not the level of productivity. What does productivity bring? What does water bring? It brings jobs; that's what it brings. It brings people shopping in the supermarket; that's what it brings. And what is Shane Jones' answer to that? A billion dollars a year. Well let's be having it Minister. Let's be having a slice of that billion dollars into Manuherikia irrigation company into Hunter Downs. I'm sure colleagues across this side of the House could stand up and talk about—Hon Shane Jones: Corporate welfare—corporate welfare.Hon JACQUI DEAN: —any number of initiatives that will benefit—is the Minister now calling it a "pocket of money"? What's he calling it? Say again? I invite the Minister—Hon Shane Jones: Billion trees.Hon JACQUI DEAN: —he's been chipping across the House. Oh a billion trees. You see there's another thing: a billion trees—obviously more than you can count on the fingers of both hands. The thing is with those billion trees we were already planting half of that. So does the billion include that half or not? And what about the land? Is the land available for those billion trees? And what about the workers? Are the workers available for those billion trees? And what about when they have to be paid $20 an hour minimum wage? Does that become economically sustainable? There is so little substance to that proposal it's laughable. But here's the rub: it is important. It is important to my region it is important to my colleague's region it is important to every region throughout New Zealand that we have decent policies coming from this Government.They've had five weeks in Government. We can put that on the fingers of one hand. They've had five weeks. It is not good enough any more to say things like "We're looking forward to getting to know the sector." I'm sorry; that is not good enough. These people are in Government now. We need answers. My farmers need answers and they need them sooner rather than later because I'll tell you what's happening in the regions: there is a high level of anxiety and uncertainty. There is going to be a lack of investment in that very infrastructure of the half of the private sector that New Zealand needs to continue to thrive. Well here it is folks. You ain't going to get it from them. Bring it on is what I say.Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Just before I call the next speaker can I just refer the members to Speakers' Rulings from Mr Geoff Braybrooke that interjections should be rare reasonable and if possible witty. And just being like a parrot you know is not particularly witty."