2. Hon PHIL GOFF (Leader of the Opposition) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
What has been the impact of his Job Summit in addressing the increasing level of unemployment in New Zealand, and what effect, if any, has this had on Treasury forecasts of the likely unemployment levels by July 2010?
Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) Link to this
Mr Speaker, I seek your forbearance because the answer will be quite long. Quite a lot came out of the Job Summit, including, of course, the New Zealand cycleway, and I announced the first seven routes yesterday. I am advised that the Warm Up New Zealand home insulation programme will provide about 2,000 jobs over the next 4 years. The Job Support Scheme—which the unions identify as a priority—came out of the Job Summit, as did increased flexibility for industry training organisations to help trainees find jobs; the issuing of a longer-dated Government bond, and close examination of a bond bank to help reduce the cost of borrowing for local councils; an extension of the short-term trade credit insurance guarantee scheme for exporters; the 9-day working fortnight; the new business migration scheme, which was announced today; and various initiatives relating to the fundamentals of the economy, such as infrastructure spending, improving regulations, and the like.
How many actual jobs have been created by the so-called three big ideas that emerged from the Job Summit, and how does that number compare with the estimated 40,000 jobs lost since the Job Summit was held?
There are a few things to point out. Firstly, I would not put at 40,000 the number of jobs that have been lost since the Job Summit. Secondly—
I do not have the exact number, but I can say that out of the Job Summit came not only a whole range of initiatives, which I have just detailed, but also, as Helen Kelly, the head of the Council of Trade Unions, has mentioned on previous occasions, a format and a platform for unions, businesses, and the Government to try to work together to get us through this recession. The only people who are not on board are the miserable Opposition members.
How will his Job Summit or his cycleway proposal help the 190 workers who have lost their jobs at Winstone Pulp International Ltd and Cedenco Foods in Gisborne in the last 3 days alone?
It is unlikely that the cycleway will help them. No one has ever argued that the cycleway is the panacea for a global recession. I can say that in the last 8 months this Government has been reducing regulation, making New Zealand a more productive country, and doing a variety of things to unwind the bureaucracy that 9 years of a Labour Government put on the business community of New Zealand.
Chester BorrowsTēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Tēnā tātou katoa. What report has the Prime Minister seen on reaction in the Wanganui-Ruapehu area to the cycleway project?
I have seen a report from the Mayor of Wanganui that says that it is very exciting news for Wanganui and the surrounding district, and that it should contribute millions of dollars a year to our tourism economy. The Mayor of Ruapehu has also said that “It will be huge. It will definitely create the employment opportunities that we have been looking to have for some years.”
What does the Prime Minister say to the numerous businesses whose workers are currently working 4-day weeks, when the Government’s 9-day working fortnight proposal is so constrictive that it is irrelevant to those businesses in trying to help preserve the jobs of their workers?
Hon Sir Roger Douglas Link to this
Does the Prime Minister accept that spending taxpayers’ dollars to create jobs just shifts people from profitable businesses to often unprofitable Government ones; and why will he not help all businesses by kick-starting the economy through tax reduction, the removal of Resource Management Act barriers to growth, and the removal of labour market barriers to job creation?
I think the member has a point, and that is that there is a limit to what the Government can do in relation to make-work schemes. Some can be of benefit and can take the sharp edges off the recession, but, in the end, if New Zealand is to have an effective economy, we need to have high levels of productivity, and to do that, many of the reforms the member is talking about need to be addressed.
Why did the Prime Minister promote the cycleway as one of the three big ideas that emerged from the Job Summit, when by his own figures probably no jobs will be created this year, or very few, and when he estimates that 160 to 280 jobs will have been created 18 months out from the Job Summit, which is about the same number of jobs being lost each and every day in New Zealand?
I will say three things. Firstly, I promoted the cycleway project because I think it is a good idea; it will be a tourist attraction, both internationally and domestically. Secondly, I promoted it because I think it will make a long-term difference to New Zealand. And, thirdly, I promoted it because I personally think a cycleway across New Zealand is a hell of a better idea than welfare for millionaires.
Eric RoyWhat reports has the Prime Minister seen on the reaction in the Southland and Queenstown areas to the cycleway project?
I have seen a report from the Destination Queenstown chief executive officer saying that the announcement of the Around the Mountain Rail Trail was “fantastic news for Queenstown”, and that “The benefits of a cycleway to this region will be significant …”. The Southland District mayor said: “It’s a win-win situation for us all. The trail will be great for economic development throughout the region and will bring more tourists, who can visit the many attractions that Southland and Otago are well-known for.”
Did Bill English’s comments on Q+A about not funding the cycleway reflect a cost-benefit analysis by Treasury that showed that it was a very ineffective way of creating jobs; if not, is he prepared to release that advice to the public?
Dr Russel NormanTēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Does the Prime Minister accept that the first part of the Green New Deal programme—that is, insulating houses—has been a successful job generation project, and will he now move to implement other parts of the Green New Deal programme, such as energy efficiency, forestry, riparian planting, and a greatly expanded State housing building programme?
In relation to the last part of the member’s question, no, I do not think there will be a greatly expanded State housing building programme. In relation to the first part of the question, which asked why I think the insulating houses part of the programme has been successful, I think it has been successful because we know that around about 800,000 homes in New Zealand are not properly insulated, and, 8 months into a National Government, with the strong help, support, and encouragement of the Green Party, progress is being made, after 9 years of a Labour Government when no progress was made.
Sandra GoudieWhat reports has the Prime Minister seen on the reaction from local government to the cycleway project?
I have seen a report from the Local Government New Zealand president stating that the project announced yesterday “will create local jobs and a platform for economic development.” The project has been an excellent example of local and central government working together to deliver benefits, and I would like to thank the councils for the support they have shown for the initiative. I will just make one final point: I am looking forward to election 2011, when National will be talking about extending the cycleway to even more parts of New Zealand, and Phil Goff will be campaigning on ripping up the cycleway around New Zealand. Way you go, tiger; give that one a whirl!
The Prime Minister was looking forward to the Mt Albert by-election! Why did the Prime Minister tell Local Government New Zealand at its conference yesterday that it should be spending more money on cycleways, when in April he approved a paper from his Minister of Local Government, Rodney Hide, that would have declared that a non-core activity that it could not be involved in?
Because that paper is a review document, and that is exactly what we are going to do—review the core services.
Chris TremainKia ora, Mr Speaker. Has the Prime Minister seen any reports of a Minister dealing with increasing levels of unemployment?
Yes. I have seen a newspaper report about a former employment Minister, which stated: “There was a widespread expectation that Mr Goff could somehow bring his optimistic touch to the growing disaster of unemployment. The dream did not work. Unemployment has continued to climb to ruinous heights, from 54,000 people 2 years ago to registered unemployment last month of 101,770.” OK, fair enough, that report was from 1988, but it finished with this line: “Seldom now is he referred to as the bright, young hope of the Cabinet.”