GEORGINA BEYER (Labour—Wairarapa): I am delighted to have gained the call. It seems a considerable amount of time since I was able to give a speech in the Chamber, and, while I am on that subject, can I say that during my recent health problems I received many best wishes from members around Parliament, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank those members for expressing those good wishes. They assisted in my speedy recovery, and, indeed, I could be considered dangerous right now—certainly, dangerous in the sense that we are debating the 2004 Budget.

Quite clearly, it is good to be a Labour member of Parliament these days, when a Budget like that is delivered. Once again, Dr Michael Cullen, the Minister of Finance, has been consistent in showing the steady hands on the tiller approach that he has had since the Labour-led Government came into power in 1999. Furthermore, with this 2004 Budget we have delivered most generously to those who are most in need in this country. The Wairarapa electorate is one of the beneficiaries of the Budget, and I would like to run through one or two points that illustrate where this Budget has assisted people in my particular electorate.

The march towards a more skilled workforce is taking major strides, with figures showing that over 2,200 workers were in on-the-job training in Wairarapa last year. The forestry industry had 520 trainees, the agriculture industry had 436, and the hospitality industry had 106. Nationwide, of course, industry training numbers grew by almost 20,000, or 19 percent, to reach a record high of 126,870 trainees. In the Carterton, South Wairarapa, Tararua, and Masterton District Council areas, a total of 2,279 workers participated in industry training last year. It was not that long ago when we in the Wairarapa—certainly, in my memory—were screaming about some of the highest regional unemployment rates in the country.

There has been comment about that dreadful Budget of 1991, which has come to be known as the “mother of all Budgets”, and I certainly concur with the comments of those fellow members who have referred to that Budget. It wrought devastation in areas of provincial New Zealand such as the Wairarapa. It is quite true that some of the small towns, such as Carterton, Greytown, and Featherston, had a rude awakening. Many of the small-business owners—particularly, owners of dairies and those kinds of places that provide everyday goods for families in those areas—were shocked to find out that the income they received from customers on benefits was to be severely reduced.

This Government, since it came to power in 1999, has made it a policy to get people into work. If they cannot get into work and need skills, then we will get them into training, in order that they have the right skills to meet the job requirements that are out there. I am pleased and proud, as a member of a Labour-led Government, that in my area we are looking for more workers now. Our unemployment rates have plummeted. As of 19 March, the number of people on unemployment benefits in the Wairarapa and Tararua districts had plummeted to 892 from 1,988 in March 1999. That is a significant gain in terms of people going into work, in an area like the Wairarapa.

We do have difficulties—I like to think of them as positive problems—whereby businesses and enterprises cannot get enough of the workforce they require. That offers opportunities, absolutely, to those people who find work difficult to get, in areas like the Wairarapa. There are opportunities, and if people do not quite have the skills to match the jobs, whether in the forestry or agriculture sectors, or in some of the light industrial, manufacturing industries, then we have a way, with this Government’s training incentives, to fill some of those gaps that need to be filled.

There is a lot of work to do. A Labour-led Government over the next triennium, after this particular Parliament is finished, is essential because the good news in this Budget rolls out over a number of years to come. That is consistent with the roll-out that this Government has introduced since 1999 in a vast range of areas: industry, education, health—you name them. This Government has made a very strong effort, including in the business and industrial sectors. We have been assisting not only locally but, certainly, in the international arena to help maximise and to capitalise on the good image and value that New Zealand offers in a global market. I believe that this Government has been fair in its balance between those who are most in need in this country, and those who are in most need of assistance to help grow this country even more. It is a positive commitment that this Government has been giving.

More than 250 pupils at four Wairarapa electorate primary schools were part of a further chapter in the Government’s commitment to lift literacy standards. Wallingford School, Weber School, Mangatainoka School, and Woodville School were among the first intake of 133 schools to take up a new, professional development programme for teachers that assists teachers to improve their pupils’ literacy skills.

I also have to mention the primary health organisations. They have cut the costs of medical prescriptions for young people. Instead of families paying around $15 per prescription, 6 to 17-year-olds enrolled with their local primary health organisation now pay only $3, as part of the Government’s push to make primary health care affordable for everyone. It is great to see the momentum of primary health organisation enrolment in the Wairarapa area, and the Government’s commitment to providing affordable, targeted health-care.

Part of the reason why the Tories of the 1990s lost the Wairarapa seat was that Government’s abysmal performance when it came to health. Members opposite may well criticise this Government as far as education reviews and the closure of schools are concerned, but I have to say the closure of hospitals in an area like the Wairarapa was absolutely devastating and did not help those members’ re-election chances in 1999 one little bit. Indeed, the member for Wairarapa who preceded me happened to be the Minister of Health at the time, and I think he well understood that the programme the National Government had rolled out regarding health, hospitals, etc. was turning into a dismal failure. It took a Labour-led Government to provide $27 million to Masterton Hospital not only to improve the services available there—including the two primary health organisations that have been established, one in the Tararua district and one down the Wairarapa-Masterton end of the area—but also to restore confidence and faith in a healthy health system for the Wairarapa. That was something the people of the Wairarapa, over the entire period of the 1990s, were in fear of never achieving.

A Labour-led Government, with Budgets such as this, has delivered to provincial areas of New Zealand such as the Wairarapa. Oh yes, we have much to be grateful for when it comes to extolling the virtues of this particular Budget, and there is no better example of how it scares off the Opposition members than their rantings and ravings as they rail against what has to be seen, historically, as one of the best Budgets this country has ever had. It is inclusive of many thousands of New Zealand working low and middle income families. It is inclusive of those who are involved in business, the generators of wealth in this country. Research and development and other such initiatives are benefiting from a Labour-led Government, with a Budget such as this. It is a good day to be a member of the Labour Party and the Labour-led Government, and I hope all New Zealanders will see this Budget for what it is. It is about uplifting our people and our country towards a greater, better, more prosperous nation for our future generations. If people are thinking about the future, I say it lies with Labour.