Rt Hon John Key
Prime Minister

8 May 2011 Speech

Speech to the 2011 Central North Island National Party Conference

Welcome to the 2011 Central North Island National Party Conference.

I’d like to thank you all for being here today.

You are loyal National Party members and you make this Party strong.

It is because of you that we are in government, building a brighter future for New Zealand.

Let me express my special thanks to our Party President, Peter Goodfellow.

Let me also thank your Central North Island Regional Chair, Peter Osborne.

CNI is a proudly blue region and it’s the efforts of you and your members that will make sure it remains that way.

I’m sure you will all join me in thanking the Ministers and Members of Parliament from your region.

In particular let me take this opportunity to pay tribute to outgoing MP Sandra Goudie.

Sandra is an outstanding MP and representative for the people of the Coromandel electorate. She has served her region diligently for nine years and has made a great contribution to the National Party caucus, and to Parliament as a whole.

We wish Sandra all the best for her future endeavours.

And of course we wish Scott Simpson luck as he prepares to fly the National Party flag for Coromandel this election.

Let me thank Minister Tony Ryall. He is an outstanding Minister of Health and Minister for State Services, and he’s now Minister for State-Owned Enterprises too. He is doing the Bay of Plenty proud.

Thanks to Anne Tolley. Doing the hard yards in education and focusing on the needs of New Zealand’s young people, and of course the people of the great East Coast electorate.

Thanks to our hard-working electorate representatives.

Shane Ardern in Taranaki - King Country.

Lindsay Tisch in Waikato.

David Bennett in Hamilton East.

Simon Bridges in Tauranga.

Tim Macindoe in Hamilton West.

Todd McClay in Rotorua.

Louise Upston in Taupo.

Jonathan Young in New Plymouth.

You all do a great job and the National Party is proud to have you representing us.

I’d also like to say a special thanks to your families and friends who make what we Parliamentarians do possible. We value your support and the sacrifices you make for us.

Ladies and gentlemen, this year is a big year for New Zealand.

We have the great city of Christchurch to rebuild.

We have an economy to strengthen and jobs to create.

We have a Rugby World Cup to win.

And of course, the National Party has a general election to win.

We are in great shape to fight the election.

Our team of Ministers and MPs is the strongest in Parliament.

You’ve had the chance to see some of their energy and enthusiasm during the sessions this weekend and you can be sure that’s reflected in the work they do in Wellington.

As you will have seen during this conference, we also have vibrant and organised electorate organisations and a Party structure that is geared up and ready for campaigning.

Most importantly, we have a strong record to campaign on.

The National Party, together with our confidence and supply partners, has provided stable, effective government for the past two and a half years. We have made good progress towards the brighter future we promised New Zealanders and we are full of enthusiasm for the work ahead.

Our first term in Government has been undeniably challenging.

New Zealand has been tested by some huge events beyond our control.

The international financial crisis and a global economic recession.

The collapse of South Canterbury Finance and more recently the wavering of Christchurch’s biggest insurer, AMI.

The Pike River mine tragedy.

Two devastating earthquakes.

These events have made life difficult for many Kiwis. Our hearts have gone out to the families who have lost loved ones, or who have had their livelihoods taken away and their daily lives turned upside down.

New Zealanders have come together as a country to show support to those in hardship and I’ve been really impressed by the resiliency they have shown.

The Government has also risen to these challenges. We have done everything we can to stand by those affected and to provide them the leadership and support they need.

We will continue to do so.

As I said at the time, the devastating earthquake on the 22nd of February marked the beginning of a long journey for Christchurch as it picks itself up, regains confidence and rebuilds, and my Government is committed to walking that journey with the people of our great southern city.

Indeed, supporting the rebuild of Christchurch is among the most important things that the Government will do this year and into the future.

Our determination to assist the people of Christchurch, however, will not take away from our commitment to deliver stronger economic growth for New Zealand as a whole.

Nor will it take away from our determination to improve the performance of the public services all New Zealanders rely on.

Those are the goals we have been pursuing for the past three years and those are the goals we will continue to pursue should we be re-elected on the 26th of November.

In the election campaign this year our task as a Party is to remind New Zealanders of how far we have come as a country and how much brighter the future can be if we can continue our work.

So let me remind you of our achievements in four key areas; the economy, education, health and law and order.

For the past three years the National-led Government has provided the responsible economic management that New Zealand was in such need of after nine years of Labour.

When we took the reins of office the financial crisis had reached its peak and the New Zealand economy, which had gone into recession before anyone else, had shrunk three percent in a year, topping off five years of historically low growth.

Exports had flattened out completely, government spending was out of control and the Treasury books showed never-ending budget deficits and Government debt spiralling out to 60 percent of GDP and beyond.

Despite the surprises that have come our way I’m proud to say that the New Zealand economy is now much stronger than it was three years ago and is far better placed to meet future challenges.

We have improved our tax system so that it encourages work and savings, rather than providing incentives to hide income or head offshore.

We’ve made the Government-run parts of the economy more efficient so they don’t get in the way of the internationally-competitive parts of the economy.

We’ve reduced our reliance on foreign lenders by limiting debt.

We’ve cut red tape to encourage enterprise and flexibility.

And we’ve improved the education system so that it can produce better skilled workers for the future.

This was the economic plan we campaigned on and it is the plan we have stuck to.

You can be sure everyday New Zealanders are reaping the benefits of this economic plan.

Here’s some of the evidence.

National’s tax changes have put more money in the back-pockets of hardworking Kiwis, and more money into household budgets at a time when it’s really needed.

Our tax reforms mean that three quarters of New Zealand taxpayers now face a top marginal tax rate of only 17.5 percent.

Despite difficult global conditions and international pressure on food and petrol prices, that’s helped ensure that Kiwis’ after-tax wages have, on average, risen faster than the cost of living.

In numerical terms, average after-tax wages have increased by 7.1 percent in the past year – faster than the rate of inflation – and in real terms by 4.5 percent.

Increases in after-tax wages have flowed through to superannuation rates for older people, with superannuation rising $166 a fortnight for a married couple in the past three years, an almost 20 percent increase, or 8.5 percent once you adjust for inflation.

Strong fiscal policy from the Government and an unwavering commitment to our current monetary policy settings has provided the backdrop against which interest rates have fallen dramatically – to the lowest levels since 1964.

This has made a big difference to all those with floating mortgages, and has made home ownership more affordable for many.

A family with a mortgage of $200,000 now pays a floating rate around five percentage points lower than they would have in Labour's last year of office.

That adds up to lower costs of around $10,000 a year to that family, or $200 a week.

The Government has also helped create an environment that gives businesses more of the confidence they need to invest, expand and create new jobs.

We’ve reformed the Resource Management Act, introduced a 90-day probation period for new workers, rebalanced the emissions trading scheme, invested in infrastructure and cut red-tape across the board.

Because, as you National Party members know, ultimately it is New Zealanders, through their own entrepreneurial efforts and business decisions, that create new jobs and opportunities – not the Government. So it’s important we make sure businesses can get on with doing business.

Statistics New Zealand last week reported that about 30,000 New Zealanders found jobs in the March quarter and 2000 fewer people were unemployed. That helped reduce the unemployment rate to 6.6 percent, which we want to bring down further – especially among young New Zealanders.

We’re also seeing a rejuvenation in the fortunes of our exporters, with export prices at record levels, up 30 percent in the past year alone. That bodes well for the future job prospects of New Zealanders.

We’ve made progress on our plan to rebalance the economy away from the borrowing and consumption and towards the savings, investment and exports that will make for a strong New Zealand making its own way in the world.

Kiwis have taken up this challenge by paying down debt in their personal capacity, reducing the amount they borrow and increasing the amount they save.

For the first time in 20 years household debt-to-income ratios have been falling and household savings rates are predicted to move into positive territory for the first time in a decade.

Not only does this strengthen our economy as a whole, it also means Kiwis are spending less on servicing their personal debt.

Over the past two years, interest costs to New Zealand households have fallen from 15 percent to 11 percent of disposable income. That’s equivalent to a saving of almost $3000 a year for every average household.

The Government has itself taken up the challenge to pay down debt by hauling back new budget spending allowances, reprioritising billions of dollars of spending and making government departments more efficient.

You will see that drive to get the Government books back in balance continue in this year’s Budget.

Let me be clear now that ours will not be a normal election-year budget. There will be no lolly scramble. We feel it would be irresponsible for the Government to engage in a big spend-up and thereby put our economy at risk when New Zealanders themselves are working so hard to pay off their own debt.

Equally, the Budget will not be a slash and burn exercise.

We are taking a responsible approach to Government spending that reins in unaffordable expenditure while protecting our most vulnerable citizens and keeping a keen focus on improving the performance of frontline public services.

This Government is not about backroom bureaucracy – it’s about improving the services we deliver you.

As a result I am proud to say that after years of growth under Labour, not only has the National-led Government halted growth in the Government bureaucracy, we have actually shrunk it.

I’m sure the people of the Central North Island will be happy to hear that there are now fewer people working in backroom government offices in Wellington.

Instead, we’ve focused more people on the frontline where they’re needed – in our schools and hospitals and policing our communities.

So, despite the economic challenges of the past three years, National has made good progress in our plan to strengthen the economy and deliver better incomes, more jobs and improved living standards for New Zealanders and their families.

We’re optimistic about the economic future for New Zealand, and we don’t think New Zealanders want to put that future at risk with a switch back to unaffordable big-spending ways of the past.

Let me now outline for you some of the progress we’ve made in the important areas of education, health and community safety.

National campaigned on a plan to improve our education system and we have invested wisely to achieve that.

We’re not prepared to stand by and accept the situation Labour tolerated, where as many as one in five young people left school without even the most basic qualification needed to get them into an apprenticeship.

Those one in five young people are important to me and my Government. Over the three years of our term we’ve been fighting for them by changing the education system so that it delivers for every child.

Under the leadership of Anne Tolley in education and Steven Joyce in tertiary education, we’ve made changes to ensure more young people get the skills and qualifications they need to succeed.

We’ve implemented National Standards in reading, writing and maths in our primary and intermediate schools.

These are ensuring that children who are falling behind are identified early, and that parents receive plain-language updates on their child’s progress in critical areas.

We’ve boosted trades and skills training in schools so that more young people get the hands-on learning opportunities they need.

This year 2500 16- and 17-year-olds, who might otherwise have left school, are instead taking up a free Youth Guarantee place at a local tertiary provider.

That’s a win for them and it’s a win for the employers who will get a skilled work-ready employee at the end of their training.

This year the Government is opening eight Trades Academies, giving young people in their final years at secondary school the chance to rip apart engines, learn carpentry skills and generally take part in learning that is relevant to them.

We’re getting better value out of our tertiary education system, with record numbers of places being made available in our universities, helping create a strong platform for future growth.

We’re providing good opportunities for young people who are struggling to find work, with hundreds of new places in the Limited Service Volunteers army-based training programmes, training subsidies for employers taking on youth in high-demand industries and $5000 Job Ops subsidies for employers willing to employ and train young people.

And we’re ensuring that more of the children who are missing out on early childhood education, but who would have so much to gain from it, have the opportunity to access it.

We campaigned on improving New Zealand’s education system and we have delivered. This election we will ask New Zealanders to give us the backing we need to carry on this important work.

Turning to health.

In difficult economic times the Government has remained steadfast in our commitment to protect and grow the public health service.

We have focused on getting better results for the investment we make and, with Tony Ryall’s leadership, we have delivered.

We have simplified and streamlined the health bureaucracy and have refocused resources on the frontline.

There are now 1000 more nurses and 500 more doctors working in our health service.

We’ve set clear targets and driven performance so that 20,000 more people each year are now receiving elective surgery.

That’s 400 more people a week getting the surgery they need for things like hip replacements, cataracts and gall bladder removals.

We’ve made healthcare more accessible by ensuring Kiwis get better access to the medicines they need, with an extra 1.8 million prescriptions being made available.

Cancer patients are no longer being left to languish on waiting lists when they need treatment. They are now receiving their treatment within a maximum of four weeks.

More children than ever before are being immunised, meaning we’re preventing illness and death for some of our most vulnerable New Zealanders.

As we look to the future the Government plans to continue our investment in the public health system while improving the results we get for that investment.

We have a proven track-record of achieving better bang for your health dollars and we will be campaigning to continue this progress.

National has also delivered on our promises to take action on violent crime.

We’ve passed 18 new laws to help make families safer in their homes and communities.

We’ve made sentences tougher and strengthened bail laws. We’ve removed parole for the worst repeat violent offenders and worked with the Act Party to pass a three strikes law.

We’ve boosted the number of police on the streets and given them new tools to tackle crime, including tasers, increased use of DNA sampling and new Police Safety Orders to help prevent domestic violence.

By the end of this year there will be 600 more frontline police across New Zealand, including an overdue boost of 300 additional police for Counties Manukau.

We’ve launched a full-on assault on the vicious trade in “P”, with new anti-drug forces at the border, improved police powers and intelligence to crackdown on the gangs that produce and distribute P and more addiction treatment for P-users.

I’ve led the work the Government is doing in this area and I’m pleased to report we’ve got some great results. Our latest results show the price of P has stopped falling and may in fact be rising as gangs struggle to evade law enforcement agencies.

We are seizing the assets of criminals under a tough new forfeiture law.

We’ve improved services for victims.

We’ve implemented our Fresh Start programme which is taking young offenders off the street and putting them in a range of programmes designed to nip their offending in the bud, including Military Activity Camps, compulsory supervised activity programmes, addiction treatment and mentoring programmes.

We are confident that the steps we have taken, together with our ongoing work to address the drivers of crime, will help New Zealanders feel safer in their communities.

At this year’s election, we’ll be asking New Zealanders to give us the mandate to build on this progress.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this Government has delivered on our promises and we have done what we said we would do.

I am proud to say that we have achieved all this while taking people with us.

We have not left large groups of New Zealanders behind or conducted a slash and burn exercise that could have alienated large sections of the community.

Moreover, together with our confidence and supply partners, the National Party has continued to provide good, stable government when New Zealanders needed it the most.

Ours has been a moderate and inclusive approach, and that’s the approach we will continue into a second term of Government.

And there’s still a lot more that we can do.

This year’s election will be about which party has a realistic plan to achieve faster growth for New Zealanders – growth that will deliver the jobs, higher incomes, and better living standards New Zealanders aspire to and deserve.

National will be campaigning on the things that matter to all New Zealanders.

The economy.

Education.

Health.

And law and order.

We will go to the polls on the 26th of November promising a continuation of the positive, aspirational and inclusive approach that has characterised the past three years. We will stick to the pragmatic, responsible course that New Zealanders have come to expect from us.

We are optimistic about the future.

This country is set for great things. The world is paying more for our exports than ever before. Our people are getting out of debt and investing productively. Our taxes are the lowest they have been in decades. Our schools are more focused on measuring and reporting achievement than ever before. Our hospitals are performing more operations and our law and order system is better across the board.

On the 26th of November this year, voters will be presented with a clear choice.

By voting National, New Zealanders will be voting for forward-looking policies that will take us that next step towards a brighter future.

They will be voting for a team that has been tried and tested.

They will be voting for a team that can deliver on its promises.

The National-led Government has a proven track record. With the help of you the Party faithful, National will be able to continue its hard work to build the brighter future that New Zealanders aspire to and deserve.

Thank you for your hard work, and your efforts on behalf of the people of the Central North Island.

Now, let’s go out and win that election.

ends

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