1. Hon PHIL GOFF (Leader of the Opposition) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Does he stand by his statement that his proposed cycleway would cost $50 million and “will create just under 4000 jobs when it’s being built”; if so, how many jobs have been created so far?
Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) Link to this
Yes, those were the initial thoughts of officials and others looking at the idea on the day of the Job Summit. If the member wants to narrowly define construction, the numbers employed directly look like being about 500, of which 70 are already working. However, I am confident, because of the hive of activity and excitement around local communities, councils, and tourism operators, that we will see 4,000 jobs in the long term as a result of this project.
If the cycleway was the big idea to come out of the Job Summit, why have only 70 jobs—70 jobs—been created in the 16 months since the summit was held?
I would say that the big success of the Job Summit was the fact that we got employers, unions, and the Government on the same page, and what a stunning success it has been, with unemployment falling from 7.1 percent to 6 percent.
Were the summit and its initiatives designed to deal with the immediate unemployment problems arising out of the global financial crisis; if so, how does he rate the achievement of his flagship initiative in creating just 70 jobs, nearly a year and half since the summit was held?
It is not for me to rate it. We can look at the commentators who said that the unemployment rate would be 11 percent; it has fallen from 7.1 percent to 6 percent—a job well done, I would have thought.
How does he define the term “quick start”, when a year after he announced seven Quick Start cycle trails, three have not even got off the drawing board?
I would not define “quick start” as the influence that Phil Goff is having on the country as Leader of the Opposition.
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It was a very clear, straightforward question, and that answer in no way addressed it, and you know it.
Mr SPEAKERThe dilemma I have is that I could not even hear the question of the Leader of the Opposition because of loud interjections coming from both sides of the House. It is very difficult for me to rule in those circumstances. I think the only fair thing in the circumstances is to let the Leader of the Opposition repeat his question.
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. We do not need the question again. I can paraphrase exactly for the Leader of the Opposition. He said—
My supplementary question was this: how does he define the term “quick start”, when a year after he announced seven Quick Start cycle trails, three have not even got off the drawing board?
I say again that I define “quick start” as making more of an impression than the Leader of the Opposition is.
Forgive me, but I ask the member to resume his seat. I invited the member to repeat his question, and it asked the Prime Minister how he defines “quick start”. The Prime Minister defined it. That is the dilemma with that kind of question.
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. When the words “quick start” are used in relation to the cycle trails, they are used in a particular context and have a definition. That answer did not even come near to it.
The dilemma is in the construction of the question. It is a bit dangerous to ask a Minister how he or she defines something, because it gives the Minister a bit of licence to define things in a way that the member may not expect. I allowed the member to repeat the question because I wanted to hear it clearly, and I did hear it clearly the second time. There is the opportunity to ask further questions.
Is it correct, as reported, that to date only 10 kilometres of new cycleway, rather than upgraded track, have been created—only 10 kilometres—representing a mere 150 metres of cycle trail a week since he announced the policy?
Actually, it is. If the cycleway was such a good idea, as the Prime Minister said, why has he slashed the funding in the 2010 Budget for urban cycleways and walkways to half the level that it was in the 2008 Budget?