GEORGINA BEYER (Labour-Wairarapa): In many respects the general debate today has been full of humour and its usual hot air, and I am glad to see that the standards have not dropped. I would like to think that the contribution of hot air being made here will contribute to the international hot-air balloon fiesta that is happening in the Wairarapa this week, and I invite all members of the House to participate in that fantastic event.

The Wairarapa is another example of a region that is on the rise—if members will excuse the pun—and that was illustrated very vividly with the celebration of Kiwibank’s first birthday in Featherston last Saturday. It is an amazing story. We were graced with the company of the Hon Jim Anderton, and, of course, the Rt Hon Jim Bolger. When a questioner from the audience asked: “Jim do you think they need you back in Wellington?”, Jim Bolger’s resounding response was: “Well, yes I think they do.” So I say to the National Party members across the House that they have a saviour in their midst—one who is prepared to come back and counsel them. They should get hold of the Rt Hon Jim Bolger; he might be able to give the Leader of the Opposition a few key pointers in being able to maintain his position.

Nevertheless, the first birthday of Kiwibank in Featherston was an auspicious occasion. That town has a population of approximately 1,200, and about 500 of its people have subscribed to become members of Kiwibank. If every small community in the country with a Kiwibank had an uptake like that, the achievement would be one of the most sensational for any bank around the world—per capita of course.

It is also another illustration of how this Government has taken heed of the plight of the regions, which were so awfully well-slammed, frankly, during the 9 long years of the National Government. That Government deserted its regions, unfortunately. Labour has restored some of their faith, particularly in the area of, for example, regional development. Funding that was taken away by the National Government through the business development agencies—the business development boards—that existed in that period, has been restored in some measure to areas such as the Wairarapa. For example, I know that we have had a couple of bites at the pool of funding for regional economic development that has been available to other New Zealand regions. That is proving to be an extraordinarily helpful tool, particularly for local government and those people who are leading business development in our regions. It is all part of the innovation and growth strategy of this Government. It is but one example of the way we are restoring faith, and, I might add, prosperity, into the regions of New Zealand. Wairarapa is no exception in terms of receiving that.

While I am speaking of my fantastic electorate, I would also like to mention, on a slightly more sombre note, the most recent crime statistics. Although the media prefer to propose and promote probably the most negative of the results out of those reports, in relation to our Rise Above It campaign in the Wairarapa I was very pleased to see a 15 percent decrease in family violence crime in the Masterton area of the Wairarapa. That was something that was given the “once over lightly” by my local media, I might add, and certainly was not even noted anywhere else.

Now, I do not claim that the Rise Above It campaign alone brought about such a result, but that community effort, along with our police and other community and Government organisations—the whole collaborative approach to taking on the unpleasantness of violence against children, and abuse against anybody, for that matter—is an example I would like to think all New Zealand regions might want to follow and perhaps put into practice in their own areas. I would be very, very happy, as we come up to the first birthday of our Rise Above It campaign and report back on the past year to our community in the Wairarapa, to share that information with other members in the House, if their areas could perhaps do with seeing the experience we have been through and what we have achieved in the Wairarapa.

It is commendable that this Government has made extraordinary efforts to engage with the people of its communities. One example I can give of that is the recent visit by the Hon George Hawkins in relation to his duties towards the Fire Service. He went from the Hawke’s Bay area, and down through my electorate—Dannevirke, Woodville, Pahiatua, and even Eketahuna, which had not seen a Minister since the last election. We do not get Ministers through there quite so often. But it was important that we had Mr Hawkins there.