Rau rangatira ma

Tenei te mihi atu ki a koutou

Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou

E nga mate, haere, haere, haere

Today we come together to mark a very important day in New Zealand's history.

On this day one hundred and seventy years ago, just kilometres from this room, our forebears came together to sign a unique and ambitious document:  The Treaty of Waitangi.

Today we remember that momentous occasion as the formal coming together of two pioneering peoples, of the Maori people who first settled this land, and of the British people who sought to share it.

The document that was signed that day, its meaning and significance, have since been the subject of much debate. 

Too often that debate has been characterised by extremism and by people who have sought to weaken the strong ties that unite Maori and other New Zealanders. 

As we stand here in 2010 however, the genuine and mutual respect that New Zealanders have for each other has prevailed.

In our homes and communities New Zealanders of all ethnicities live and work side-by-side in pursuit of a shared set of aspirations.  No matter our cultural heritage, by and large New Zealanders value hard work and education, we seek better living standards and increased opportunities for our children, and we want this to be an inclusive nation where we respect each other and where each of us has the opportunity to get ahead. 

Implicit in that set of values is an acknowledgment of the legal and cultural traditions we have in common.  We share a respect for the rule of law, for property rights and for a basic sense of fairness in which Jack is as good as his neighbour.

In my view, that shared sense of justice is more powerful than anything that could ever be summarised in any one document.

This Waitangi Day, as we reflect on our history as a nation, I could take the opportunity to outline the many times in New Zealand where we have strayed from the path of justice, or acted in ways which call our basic sense of fairness into question. 

No one in this room would deny the existence of such dark moments in our history.  Indeed, we share this history with many other countries in the world where first peoples have been treated unfairly by those who have sought to share their lands. 

But today is not the day to dwell on our failures.  Let today be a day when we reflect on the prouder moments of our history, and on the growing unity that, for many decades, has underpinned the relationship between Maori and other New Zealanders. 

This Waitangi Day I want to talk with you about the positive steps New Zealand has taken to address the injustices of our past.  Specifically, I want to outline for you what this Government seeks to achieve through the Treaty Settlement process and the significance I place on it as Prime Minister.

As you know, the genesis of the settlement process can be traced back to the establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal in 1975.   

The Tribunal was established to investigate contemporary instances where the Crown had failed to recognise Maori ownership of their lands and properties, in breach of the agreement that was signed here in Waitangi, and perhaps more importantly, in breach of the basic respect for property rights that we hold dear. 

The mandate of the Tribunal was extended in 1984, so it could enquire into historical grievances.

Since the early 1990s Governments of red and blue have worked to recognise these breaches, and to negotiate settlements with the iwi which were wronged.

I believe it is to our credit as a nation that we have been prepared to confront the darker parts of our history and acknowledge the instances in which glaring injustices have occurred.   

It is a credit to successive Governments and to many iwi, that redress for such injustice has been agreed to at the negotiating table, and that past mistakes have been put to bed. 

Most importantly, it is a credit to New Zealand that, as a people, we share a desire to complete this redress process, so that we can move beyond grievance and towards a shared brighter future.

To my mind, that is what the Treaty settlement process is all about.

It is a process that puts into practice some of the most basic values that as parents we try to instill in our children, and that as citizens we expect from each other. 

It is about acknowledging unfairness, making amends for mistakes and accepting each others' apologies.  It is also about performing what for all of us can be the hardest task of all, choosing to close the door, move on from failure, forgive each other and seek a better tomorrow. 

It's that desire for a better tomorrow that motivates this Government's commitment to the progress and resolution of the Treaty settlement process.

We are impatient to stop looking in the rear-view mirror at grievances past, and to instead shift our eyes to the challenges of our shared future as New Zealanders.  

We want to address injustice and build a platform from which Maori and other New Zealanders will stand up and confront the challenges of a new generation.  Like lifting educational achievement, improving the health of our families and improving the living standards of us all. 

That's why the National Party campaigned on a goal of concluding just and durable Treaty settlements by 2014. 

I think it would be a betrayal of Kiwis' basic sense of decency to forget the past and the legitimate claims of iwi.  But at the same time I am determined that New Zealand will not become stuck in that past.

I believe it is to the benefit of all New Zealanders that we move beyond the settlement phase of our history and into the brighter future we all seek.

I want to shift our focus and energy from the settling of historic claims and the sense of grievance it conjures, so that we can instead throw ourselves at the next phase in our history. 

I am optimistic that next phase can be characterised by better race relations and an even more strongly united sense of our shared aspirations as New Zealanders. 

Today let me acknowledge that achieving this Government's goal of concluding historic Treaty Settlements will be a considerable challenge. 

When we came into office in 2008 there were 60 claims outstanding.  If we were content to continue at the settlement pace of the previous Labour-led Government, then we would only expect to resolve those claims at a rate of 1.6 a year.  In other words, we would still be signing settlements in 2048.   

Proceeding at that rate would merely stall resolution, and strand New Zealand in an ongoing discussion of grievances past. 

I won't accept that.  We must do better.  The Government has the will and my sense is that iwi have the will has well. 

Last year, we held two national hui with iwi to discuss ways in which Treaty settlements could be achieved more efficiently and expeditiously. They were very successful.

Iwi leaders see the experience of others who settled in the late 1990s and how much they have achieved in the intervening period.  They do not want to spend time and money on litigation and negotiation; they all want to cut to the chase, achieve good settlements and move on.

Today let me assure you that this Government shares their desire to move on.  Our foot is firmly on the settlement pedal. 

Let me take this opportunity to briefly outline for you the steps we have taken to speed-up the resolution of historic Treaty claims.

We have re-established the Treaty of Waitangi Cabinet Committee for the first time since Jenny Shipley was Prime Minister. 

I chair that Committee.

It brings together ministers to focus on settlement issues and to ensure negotiations are not allowed to stall or fester.  

We have been meeting fortnightly when Parliament sits, but this year I expect we may meet even more regularly. 

The Committee is supported by a team of top-notch officials whose job it is to ensure we receive the best possible advice about progressing settlements in a way that is efficient, fair and durable.

We have also provided additional resources to the Office of Treaty Settlements, which negotiates with iwi on our behalf, so it can undertake its task effectively. 

We don't think it's good enough for settlements to be stalled by an inadequate or creaky bureaucracy. 

We have also brought together a high-level team of Crown negotiators to work with the Minister for Treaty Negotiations. They are a bi-partisan group and include two former Labour ministers, a former Ambassador to the United States and senior businesspeople.

Perhaps most importantly, I have appointed a Minister of Treaty Negotiations in whom I have the utmost confidence.  In Chris Finlayson we have a Minister with an outstanding legal mind, years of negotiating and legal experience, and a person who shares my sense of urgency to resolve Treaty claims. 

I have instructed Chris to get out there and meet iwi and to work closely with them to conclude settlements. He has been doing exactly that and has just finished an extensive hikoi visiting most of the East Coast, much of the Central North Island and the Whanganui River. He is a very busy minister, and he is getting the job done and done well.

But make no mistake, the 2014 target the Government has set for itself is ambitious.  Reaching our target will require much work and goodwill from the Government, from the New Zealanders we represent, and from the iwi with whom we are negotiating. 

If we are to move beyond grievance, we need all New Zealanders to be on board.

As I've travelled around New Zealand I sense that everyday Kiwis are ready to join us, they want the Government to rise to the challenge of moving on and they share my impatience to close the settlement chapter of our history.

However, we must ensure that our desire to move on is tempered with some caution.

I am determined that every Treaty settlement that this Government signs will be full and final.

I do not want to condemn our children and grandchildren to endlessly re-litigating these negotiations, due to sloppy work and inadequate attention to detail.

To ensure finality, the Government must work through a four-step process on the journey to settlement.  It's not easy, it's complex work and I think it's important you have an understanding of what it involves. 

The first step is to establish clearly which representatives the Crown should negotiate with to settle a claim, through what is called a ‘deed of mandate'.  We need to make sure we're negotiating with the right people and that they have a legitimate right to the redress they are seeking. 

The second step is to progress discussions to a point where terms of negotiation are signed.  This is the point at which the Crown and iwi agree that we have come together in good faith and that we're all on board for the process that will follow. 

The third step is to sign agreements in principle, which set out the bare bones of a proposed settlement.

Finally, once all the detail has been worked out, we sign a binding deed of settlement that is then given full and final effect by legislation.  It is a testament to New Zealand's shared commitment to Treaty settlements that, by and large, such legislation has been supported by all parties in Parliament.

So, as I've outlined, moving settlements along is no easy task.  But it can be done. 

I'm pleased to say that the National-led Government has got off to a great start.  Since the beginning of last year we recognised eight deeds of mandate, signed seven terms of negotiation, signed 12 agreements in principle and signed four final deeds of settlement.

We are determined that this momentum carries on into 2010.

This year it is likely that much of our effort will be focused on the Auckland region, where around 20 per cent of outstanding claims are centred.

It's worth outlining some of what that may involve.  Because settling historical Treaty claims by 2014 means just that - settlements have to take place.

Governments and iwi cannot just talk about settling - both sides actually have to get together and do the deals.

Several potential aspects of Treaty settlements are worthy of mention.

The first is that sometimes iwi ask for restoration of historic names.  New Zealanders have nothing to fear from this.  Just think of how, many years ago, Mount Egmont was renamed Egmont/Taranaki.  Over time everyone has become more comfortable with the change, to the point where Taranaki is the more common name nowadays.  There are other settlements where name changes have taken place and where we can envisage this happening in the future.   

Sometimes iwi ask for input into how a discrete area can be looked after - be it a river, mountain, forest or similar area.   In many cases the Government may deem this is reasonable, given the historical connection iwi may have with that area and the shared interest all New Zealanders have in ensuring good management or restoration of it.

In Auckland, for example, there has been some discussion over the volcanic cones or maunga.

The previous government offered the local iwi Ngati Whatua o Orakei the transfer of title and a say in the management of some of these cones. 

The trouble with that approach was that other Auckland iwi had overlapping claims to the cones, meaning the issue ended up returning to the Waitangi Tribunal.  

This stalled settlements in the Auckland region for three years. It's also meant that while we‘ve been waiting for the issue to be resolved, we've had a situation where no new tree could be planted on One Tree Hill.

The Government has been talking through these issues with iwi over the past 12 months.  We've made great progress. I'm pleased to say that things are now at a point where we could settle all claims in the Auckland region.

This would involve transferring the title of the volcanic cones in a way that takes account of all the iwi with legitimate interests in the cones, and that would give iwi a role in managing them, alongside the Council.

In fact, it is the same co-management model that has worked without a hitch at Orakei Basin - including the reserve and Bastion Point - since 1990 when that land was vested in local iwi.

What effect would this change have on the public? None. Public access remains the same, and that's an important bottom line principle for this Government. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, these are exciting times.

In 2010 the opportunity exists for concluding just and durable settlements throughout the Auckland region, something that a few years ago would have been regarded as a pipe dream. Iwi are keen to get on with the business, the Crown is keen, and everyone agrees that public access can never be compromised.

We all have a stake in making this happen.

When I talk to New Zealanders I find the desire to justly conclude the Treaty settlement process is widely shared.

Yes, there are extremists on both sides. 

These extremists cynically damage the goodwill needed to put an end to grievance and division.

There are those who can't see the point in all of it - who point to the 20 years we have already been working on Treaty settlements and who see no end in sight for a gravy train born out of actions from a time so long past that they bear no relevance in modern day New Zealand.   Who believe the price for fairness is too high and that we should ignore past injustice.  There are those who believe progress is impossible. 

And then there are those who never want to see an end to the Treaty settlement process, who believe all the woes of today can be traced back to colonisation and the subsequent breaches of the Treaty.  Who promote a culture of entitlement, disrespect and separatism.   And those who believe the mistakes of the past 170 years entitle Maori to receive special treatment and to act outside the law. For whom division is the only objective.

I believe these extremes represent a small minority of New Zealanders.

By and large, New Zealanders are united in a desire to respect the settlement process, and to focus on the shared and equal aspirations of all Kiwis, no matter their ethnicity. 

This Waitangi Day, I think we can all agree that it's time to consign the grievance mentality to the history books. 

Why can't this be the generation of New Zealanders who open the next chapter in our history?

Let's move the conversation on from one about past injustice, to one about how to address Maori underachievement, about how to deliver world-class education standards, and how to eradicate the deficit mentality so that every child can have the opportunity to succeed, prosper and celebrate success.

Let's move on and acknowledge that in modern-day New Zealand, the history of colonisation and injustice can't be allowed to dominate decision-making or be used as a crutch for supporting dependency and a lack of personal responsibility. 

The desire to see Maori improve their lot in life, to be better equipped to participate and succeed in modern day life and to no longer be overrepresented in negative statistics associated with education, health and crime lies at the heart of why both the National Party and the Maori Party chose to form a government even though neither party were compelled to do so.

This won't happen without debate, Inevitably solutions will have to be found.  It will, from time to time, challenge both sides.  And it won't always be perfect.  But if successful it will be worth it.

A New Zealand that makes us all proud.

A New Zealand that really delivers equality of opportunity.

A New Zealand befitting the 21^st century.

So this Waitangi Day, let's strengthen our resolve.

Let us get behind the settlement process so we can move beyond grievance, and towards the brighter future we all deserve.

Thankyou.

 Your Royal Highness, Chief Justice, ladies and gentlemen.

Rau rangatira ma

Te Atiawa iwi

Tena koutou katoa.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome Prince William to New Zealand.  He is here today, representing Her Majesty The Queen, as the Queen of New Zealand, at the opening of the new Supreme Court building.  

We are delighted that Prince William is back in New Zealand on an official visit.   The training demands of the Royal Air Force mean that this visit must be short.  We hope, though, that Prince William will feel warmly welcomed.  His visit this time coincides with our summer holiday, when New Zealanders are enjoying the beach, the bush and the barbecue.  I'm very pleased that as well as today's formal events, Prince William's programme includes some of those activities.  Like many New Zealanders, he is getting out sailing in Auckland harbour, and will be walking in the bush this afternoon at Kapiti Island.

He is also a great rugby enthusiast and is patron of the Welsh Rugby Union.  I can attest to the fact that yesterday he showed particular interest in the progress at Eden Park.  I regret to advise Your Royal Highness that I confidently expect that the All Blacks will trounce Wales - and England for that matter -  when New Zealand hosts the Rugby World Cup in 2011.

It is great that you can share in these outdoor activities.  As you know, sport and the great outdoors are much loved by a country that values time to play and relax.

But we are also a nation that works - works hard, and works well.  One of the key reasons that this country works so well is that we have a reliable and effective judicial branch of government.  The opening today of the Supreme Court building is enormously important for the senior members of the Judiciary, who finally have a permanent home. 
 
Today's ceremony to mark the opening of the Supreme Court building is significant also for the whole country.  It represents more than just the opening of a building, and there is much to celebrate.

This building, like the Beehive and Parliament Buildings, are very important to New Zealand's sense of national identity and our international reputation.  What happens in these buildings both represents and affects New Zealanders.  In my view, the buildings themselves can and do symbolise the core values of this country - values such as fairness, justice, democracy, and an absolute rejection of corruption.

These values of honesty and integrity are hallmarks of New Zealand.  In 2009, New Zealand was rated first on the Transparency International's ‘Corruption Perception Index'.  Out of 180 countries, New Zealand was rated as having the lowest perceived public sector corruption.  As a nation, that ranking is something of which we can be very proud.

The strength and integrity of the three branches of government also means that there is a healthy relationship between them.  The buildings of our three institutions are only a few minutes' walk from one another, and I regularly see the Chief Justice and the Speaker of the House of Representatives both formally and informally. 

That does not mean, however, that the institutional roles are blurred.  I am well aware that it is the role of the Supreme Court, as the highest appellate court in the country, to play an important role in ensuring that the other two branches of government act in accordance with the laws of New Zealand.

It is true that occasionally there may be disagreement about where the respective boundaries lie.  This is healthy and provides a tangible illustration of the separation of powers in operation as the executive, legislature, and judiciary go about their business.

There will always be robust debate.  What is important is that those in office in each branch of government respect the roles of the others.  I am certain that in this country that is the case.  I know that I speak for the Attorney-General and my Cabinet colleagues when I say that New Zealand is very well served by the calibre of its Judges, the most senior of whom sit in the Supreme Court.

The ceremony today marks the opening of the building which will be the home of the New Zealand Supreme Court.  

In time, the new addition to the "government end" of Wellington will become a familiar feature of the cityscape.  I am told that the building incorporates technology that will ensure that it is future-proofed for a long life, including the capacity for video-conferencing and live-streaming. 

This kind of technology will ensure that the proceedings of the Court are open and accessible to all New Zealanders, for whose benefit the justice system is administered.  We look forward to justice being served here for many years to come. 

Kia ora huiui tatou katoa.

It is my pleasure now to ask Prince William to speak and open the new Supreme Court building.

Click here for the speech by Prince William

New Zealand statement to the Joint High-level segment of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and the Conference of the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol

Madam President, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.

New Zealand came to Copenhagen with great hope of achieving a binding agreement that had developed and developing countries working together to respond to the challenges of climate change.

We thank the Danish Government for their generous hospitality and huge effort to help achieve this end.

It is sobering to have reached this point of the conference without having made progress on the major issues necessary for a comprehensive, effective, and legally binding global climate change agreement.

The global deal

Any new climate change deal must shift from a system of limited participation to comprehensive global coverage.

For this to be achieved, we need international commitments from all major emitters that accommodate diverse national approaches to mitigation and adaptation.

At this conference we need leadership from the major economies; they need to listen to the voices of vulnerable nations that are facing the harsh realties of climate change.

For New Zealand we are acutely aware of the challenge climate change poses for our pacific island neighbours.

A clear and firm signal must be sent to the world. We must change attitudes, drive low-carbon development, spur innovation and deployment of technologies, and influence priorities for finance and investment.

A new global deal must be durable - with in-built capacity to evolve over time - to keep up with scientific knowledge, technological breakthroughs, and economic and social development.

Undoubtedly, as this conference has demonstrated, the scope of the challenge is enormous.

New Zealand actions

New Zealand is committed to doing its fair share in the global effort, including taking responsibility for emissions reductions and contributing to international finance and technology support.

New Zealand's emissions profile is heavily influenced by agriculture and forestry, and our efforts include a special focus on these sectors.

We are the only country in the world that has introduced an emissions trading scheme covering all greenhouse gases and all sectors of the economy, including agriculture and forestry.

At the international level, we are advocates of setting the right accounting rules for the agriculture and forestry sectors.

Rules are essential for ensuring environmental integrity and for giving countries the confidence to set ambitious targets.

The wrong rules could significantly undermine New Zealand's future as a food producer to the world for no environmental gain.

We must also avoid inefficient rules that constrain the carbon market. An open, global carbon market is crucial for maximising global emissions reductions.  

Agriculture and the Global Research Alliance

Globally, agricultural emissions equate to those from every car, truck, train, aeroplane and ship yet have received insufficient attention and very little research focus.

We have long been leaders in agricultural technology and efficiency. We are unique among developed countries as agricultural production is the backbone of our economy and accounts for half of our emissions.

Food security is a priority for all countries. The world population is projected to reach nine billion by 2050. To support this number of people, world food production needs to double. 

That is why yesterday New Zealand launched with 20 partner countries, including the US and India, a new Global Research Alliance on agricultural greenhouse gasses.

The Alliance brings developed and developing countries together on the dual challenges of food security and climate change.

The Alliance will allow countries to better coordinate, collaborate on, and fund research into mitigation solutions for the agricultural sector.

New Zealand has been delighted with the support for the concept received so far, and looks forward to advancing the Alliance in partnership with other countries.

Mr President, after years of planning for this conference and now weeks of talking here in Copenhagen, the time has finally come for leaders to reach an agreement.

Now is the time for us to set aside our differences and to collectively map a pathway forward.

Now is the time for every country to give a little, so we as a world can gain a lot.

Progress will require commitment, compromise and cash.

But now is the time for us all to face the reality: that of all the options on the table at Copenhagen, failure is the one we can all least afford.

On this day exactly a year ago, the 19^th of November 2008, the new National-led Government was sworn into office.

I remember the awesome feeling of responsibility as I took my oath that day.

The sense of the huge challenges before us, the sense of opportunity and possibility, and the energising mood created by the hope and expectation New Zealanders had for their new Government. 

On this day exactly a year ago, the 19^th of November 2008, the new National-led Government was sworn into office.

I remember the awesome feeling of responsibility as I took my oath that day.

The sense of the huge challenges before us, the sense of opportunity and possibility, and the energising mood created by the hope and expectation New Zealanders had for their new Government. 

The National Party had won the most votes in the election.  That was our first victory. 

You, the Party members, helped make that victory possible, and I am so grateful for your efforts. 

We had asked voters for their trust and in the hundreds of thousands they had voted for the brighter future we campaigned on. 

Kiwis said good-bye to a distracted, bossy Labour Government, beset by cynicism and political sideshows.

They welcomed in a fresh team, ready to strengthen our economy, raise education standards, improve safety in our communities and get more out of our health system. 

And for the past 52 weeks that is what we have worked every day to achieve. 

National's second victory was to put together a MMP-style Government that took in the support of three Confidence and Supply partners. 

We laid the ground for constructive working relationships with the Act Party, the Maori Party and the United Future Party. 

Those relationships have gone from strength to strength and they have allowed us to lead an inclusive, stable Government.

Twelve months on from these victories, we can look back on a year of change, a year of promises delivered and of challenges met. 

The mood of the country is very different today than it was in November 2008.   

Remember how dark the global picture was?    Banks were being bailed out, sharemarkets were diving, firms were collapsing and our trading partners were haemorrhaging.

New Zealand was looking down the barrel of an exploding debt-track, plummeting growth prospects and soaring unemployment forecasts.

Labour had left us with all sorts of nasty problems to sort out, some we knew about and some that were a surprise to everyone. A gaping hole in the finances of ACC; unfunded commitments in almost every corner of the Budget; and a huge set of fiscal risks and liabilities.

Our Government has squarely confronted these challenges, and as 2009 draws to a close, New Zealand feels like a much more optimistic place.

The unemployment forecasts have come down.

The debt-track has been pegged back.

We have technically exited recession.

And our future growth outlook has picked up.

Many businesses that years ago were looking to retreat and retrench are now seeing new opportunities.  New Zealanders have come together, shown their resilience, and soldiered through some very tough times.    We're not over the challenges yet, but a brighter future is looking much closer than it was. 

I want to take this opportunity today to look back on the achievements the National-led Government has delivered in our first year in office, and to look ahead to the next steps in our plan.

Economic achievements

Let's start with the economy.

Accelerating the growth of our economy has been and will continue to be the driving goal of this Government.  Because that's what will provide secure jobs for New Zealanders.  That's what will deliver better living standards.  And that's what will afford us the public services needed to provide strength and security to Kiwi families.

The first year of our economic plan has been about protecting families from the sharpest edges of the recession, supporting jobs and preparing for future growth.

While we have stuck to the core economic objectives we campaigned on, we've also taken a range of extra measures in response to the severity of the recession New Zealand has faced.

Let me go over the key achievements:   

• - We introduced a ReStart package to provide financial support to Kiwi families hit hard by redundancy. That package has delivered some much-needed breathing space to more than 5000 Kiwis and their families.

• - We held a Job Summit to generate ideas for keeping Kiwis in work and providing new job opportunities. That summit brought unions, businesses and community groups together and it resulted in dozens of great initiatives. These included the national cycleway and the Government's Job Support Scheme - the 9-day fortnight - which has built confidence in Kiwi businesses and assisted more than 3500 workers.

• - We fast-tracked $500 million of infrastructure spending to boost jobs in the recession. That package has brought forward roading projects like the Kopu Bridge, helped fix or build more than 100 schools, and allowed an urgent revamp of the state housing stock.

• - We delivered a $500 million relief package to make life simpler for small businesses. That package has reduced the tax and red-tape burden on SMEs and allowed them to focus their energies on growing their businesses rather than on the taxman's forms.

• - We stopped the ballooning of the bureaucracy by capping the number of government workers in the core bureaucracy. We also conducted a line-by-line review of public spending that resulted in an additional $2 billion being shifted into frontline services.

• - We passed a Budget with the biggest health and education votes in New Zealand's history; a Budget that gave people security during the recession by maintaining benefits and Working for Families payments and a Budget that locked in superannuation payments at a rate based on 66% of the after-tax average wage.

• - In that same Budget we took steps to bring Government spending under control and prevent future generations being weighed down by a large debt burden. These steps have benefited New Zealand's international credit rating and will ensure the Government can continue to finance the services and entitlements Kiwi families rely on.

• - We also included in that Budget $7.5 billion worth of infrastructure investment over the next five years, to ensure New Zealanders can look forward to world-class roads and transport networks, an ultra-fast broadband network, 21st century schools and state housing that is fit for purpose.

• - We launched "Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart", a four year campaign to help fund the insulation of 180,000 Kiwi homes. I know many of you in Christchurch have taken that offer up, and as a result you are looking forward to a warmer home, lower electricity bills and better health.

• - We delivered $1 billion of tax cuts to 1.5 million taxpayers on 1 April. We also took the difficult but responsible decision to defer future rounds of tax-cuts until the Government books are in a better position.

• - We passed much-needed legislation to simplify the Resource Management Act, making it easier for businesses to grow, invest, and create jobs, while protecting our environment.

• - We launched major reviews to examine and improve the building blocks of our economy. These included reviews of our health system, electricity system, overseas investment regime and emissions trading scheme, and ongoing examinations of our tax system, productivity policies and building regulations.

• - We created up to 16,900 extra work, education and training opportunities for young people who may otherwise have found themselves hit hard by a growing unemployment rate. We launched that package here in Christchurch three months ago. Since then more than 2700 young people have been given opportunities through the Job Ops and Community Max schemes while thousands more will benefit from new work, training and education opportunities over the next year and a half.

• - We opened up New Zealand exporters' access to world-markets by signing Free Trade Agreements with Malaysia and the 10 countries of the ASEAN block; we've concluded free trade negotiations with Hong Kong and the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council; while progressing negotiations with other countries throughout the world, including the United States.

• - We helped strengthen the agricultural backbone of this country by investing $190 million in the Primary Growth Partnership to boost research and innovation in agriculture, seafood, forestry and food, as well as launching and gathering international support for a Global Alliance to conduct research into ways of reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.

Ladies and Gentlemen, those are some of the highlights of National's economic achievements in our first year in office.

There is plenty more work to be done and I will discuss our next steps in the latter part of my speech.

Health achievements

But let me first turn to some of the Government's achievements in other areas, beginning with health.

National campaigned on getting more out of New Zealand's healthcare system.  Because while Labour had put more money in year after year, they failed to deliver the results taxpayers expected in return.

Our goals for the health system are to deliver better, sooner, more convenient patient care; to boost and support our doctors and nurses; to cap the bureaucracy and to focus funding on frontline services. 

In our first twelve months we've delivered across all these fronts.  Let me highlight some of the key achievements:

• - We delivered a record increase in the number of elective surgery operations performed in our hospitals. In the year to June, we've seen to it that an additional 11,805 elective operations were performed, as compared to the year before. That number represents reduced waiting times for thousands of Kiwis who needed operations like hip and knee replacements, cataract removal and ear surgery.

• - We made the compassionate and sensible decision to fully-fund a 12-month course of Herceptin for women with Her-2 positive breast cancer. That decision has made Herceptin available to 191 women who may otherwise have missed out.

• - We saved Plunketline, by securing funding for their 24 hour phone service, meaning mums-to-be and new mothers can get the advice they need seven days a week.

• - We introduced 960 places in our new Voluntary Bonding Scheme for graduate doctors, nurses and midwives working in hard-to-staff areas or specialities. That scheme will encourage more of our best and brightest to stay in New Zealand, while helping them pay off their student loans.

• - We boosted the number of doctors being trained in our medical schools by sixty extra places, putting us on track to reach our target of an additional 200 places in the next few years. We also boosted by fifty the number of GPs that can be trained each year, towards our target of 154 places.

• - We capped the numbers in the health bureaucracy, and in line with our focus on frontline services moved $20 million in resulting savings into frontline care. We signed-off future plans to remove 500 more back-office jobs with up to $700 million in resulting savings to be moved into frontline care over the next five years.

• - We've started the hard-work needed to rescue ACC from financial disaster, and to ensure our 24-7, universal, no-fault accident insurance scheme will endure.

• - We invested an additional $750 million in frontline healthcare services. This meant that even during the worst global recession since the Great Depression we were able to boost funding for subsidised medicines by $180 million, to boost funding for hospices and palliative care by $15 million; and to increase funding for maternity care by $104 million.

Ladies and Gentlemen, National has taken these steps to improve the performance of our public healthcare service.  We promised we would take these steps and we have delivered. 

Education achievements

We've also delivered in education.

Education is an area that is particularly close to my heart. Because education is a liberator.  It is the key to unlocking the potential of young New Zealanders from all walks of life.  

So this Government is determined to do better for the one-in-five young people who currently leave the New Zealand school system without the skills or qualifications they need to succeed in a modern economy.

In our first 52 weeks in office we've already marked plenty of progress towards that goal: 

• - We've legislated for and published ground-breaking National Standards in literacy and numeracy for New Zealand's 2000 or so primary and intermediate schools. The standards mean that from next year, every child in year 1-8 will have their progress in reading, writing and maths regularly assessed against national benchmarks. The standards will allow every teacher in every school to clearly identify children who are slipping behind or having problems.

• - We've also introduced mandatory plain English reporting of National Standards. This means that the teachers' assessment of children's progress will be reported to parents in Plunket-style report cards, so that mums and dads have a clear idea of how their children are doing, whether they're learning at the level they should be, and what their parents can do to help.

• - We've backed the National Standards policy up with an additional $36 million over four years to help schools boost help for the children who aren't reaching the benchmarks.

• - We've invested $523 million in a 21^st Century Building Plan to build new schools, improve existing schools and future-proof tomorrow's classrooms. We've started work on three new schools already, and ticked off improvements to another 112.

• - We've created 1800 opportunities for graduate teachers in our new Voluntary Bonding Scheme. This will encourage graduates to work in hard-to-staff areas and subjects by helping them pay off their student loans. We've also introduced a 10% voluntary repayment bonus on student loans to help graduates from all disciplines to pay their loans off faster.

• - We've provided a new vocational education option for 16 and 17 year olds, by creating 2000 Youth Guarantee places in our polytechs and private training establishments. This will allow hundreds of teenagers who might otherwise be left behind by our school system to take part in a fees-free course that fires up their imagination, whether it's a course in agriculture, tourism or plumbing.

• - We've announced six new Trades Academies to be developed in New Zealand's secondary schools. These will provide trade-training opportunities to teenagers while they're still at school.

• - We've provided an $82 million boost for school sport, with our Kiwisport programme to boost direct funding for schools and sports clubs. This will allow hundreds of young Kiwis to get increased opportunities to kick around a ball, throw a discus or join a cricket team.

• - We've changed the rules and provided additional funding so that from next year parents can take up 20 Hours Early Childhood Education in kohanga reo and playcentres as well as in kindergartens and private childcare centres.

• - We've also offered boosted opportunities for young people from our less wealthy communities, with funding secured for 30,000 extra places in holiday activity programmes from 2011. And we've created 100 special places in a Prime Minister's Programme for teenagers who've made a concerted effort to turn their lives around.

Ladies and gentlemen, this Government is delivering in education and it's delivering for the next generation. 

Law and order achievements

Finally today, I want to point to the achievements we've made in the law and order area.  I know that one of the key reasons Kiwis elected National is because they trusted us to take the tough steps needed to tackle violent crime and make families safer in their homes and communities.

We have taken a multi-pronged approach to addressing New Zealand's crime problems, by coming down harder on offenders, boosting the tools for catching criminals, and preventing crime from happening in future by tackling youth offending, gangs and the drivers of crime. 

Let me go over some of what's been achieved:

• - We've passed new laws to toughen sentences and restrict bail for violent offenders; improve police powers, crack down on gangs and support crime victims. These laws includes tougher penalties for belonging to a criminal organisation, tougher sentences for crimes against children, new powers for police to intercept gang communications, dismantle gang fortifications and seize property from criminals, as well as allowing police to issue on-the-spot protection orders for victims of domestic violence. We've also introduced legislation to remove parole for the worst repeat violent offenders.

• - We've budgeted $200 million for an additional 600 frontline police, with 135 officers already deployed to the streets of South Auckland.

• - We've also boosted the police with new tools to go after criminals, including 720 new tasers and a new power to DNA-test offenders arrested for imprisonable offences.

• - We've passed a law that will allow police to crush the cars of repeat street-racing offenders under anti-boy-racing laws. I know that's a policy that the people of Christchurch will welcome with open arms.

• - We've improved services for victims of crime with a new Victims Fund, established with a $50 levy on criminals. This will provide new assistance to victims in the form of funeral grants, court attendance grants and other services.

• - We've invested $72.4 million in our Fresh Start programme to turn young offenders away from crime. This will provide the Youth Court with new powers to place young offenders in 3000 new programme places, including new military-style activity camps, mentoring courses, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and outdoor activities.

• - We've launched a full-scale attack on P. Our plan includes restricting access to the precursor chemicals gangs use to make P; new dedicated anti-drug Customs taskforces; a new police strategy to go after gangs and dealers; the formation of a new Police Assets Recovery Unit which consists of 22 hardened investigators whose sole mission is to track down and seize the assets of organised crime; and a funding boost of $22 million to provide more places in drug and alcohol rehab. The new strategy is already having considerable success with police and customs working together to make massive seizures of P, including 6kgs of the drug intercepted at Auckland Airport just last week.

My fellow National Party members, as in the economy, health and education, this Government has made considerable progress in law and order in our first year in office.

Taken together, it's been a super-busy twelve months for the Government.  Knocking off these achievements has relied on the efforts of a stellar-team of hard-working Ministers.  I want to acknowledge that team today and assure you that I expect our team to redouble their efforts in 2010. 

Our ministerial team is supported by the best caucus in the country.  I also want to thank them today.  National's MPs do a great job of listening to their constituents, keeping our Government in touch with the concerns of the people who put us in power, and doing the hard yards in Parliament's Select Committees and House debates.  They too will have to redouble their efforts next year.

Because there is so much more that needs to be done to secure the brighter future this country deserves.

As we look ahead to 2010, the Government will remain focused on addressing the concerns and hopes of everyday New Zealanders. 

That means supporting jobs, working to ensure wages keep up with cost of living, improving living standards, continuing to strengthen our health and education systems, supporting families and addressing some of New Zealand's toughest social problems, including the underlying drivers of crime. 

Doing those things will require work across a range of fronts. You will see the Government delivering on more of our manifesto promises, and responding to new pressures.  You will see us getting stuck into longer-term work programmes like Whanau Ora  and improving the performance of New Zealand's public services.  And you'll see us building on the work that's already been done to improve frontline services, tackle gangs and violent crime and improve the opportunities available to our most vulnerable citizens.

Amongst all of this, our most crucial task will be developing the policies needed to kick start New Zealand's growth engine.  Because over the next few years a faster growing economy will mean better jobs and better living standards, and in time it will allow the Government to pay down our debt and fund the improved services Kiwi families expect.   

Ladies and gentlemen, I am hugely optimistic about New Zealand's prospects as we exit the recession.  We have so much going for us.  We are one of the best food-producing nations in the world; we're blessed with beautiful scenery that tourists love to visit; we're located in this century's economic powerhouse region - Asia - and we are home to some of the smartest, hardest-working and most creative people in the world. 

The Government's mission is to unlock this potential.

I want to see our farmers and exporters producing more and fetching better prices for their goods overseas. 

I want to see our tourism industry growing, and attracting bigger-spending tourists all year round. 

I want to see more of our smart Kiwi entrepreneurs selling their goods and ideas to the world so they can expand their businesses and provide new and better paying jobs to New Zealanders.

I want to see more of our talented young people realising their potential in New Zealand rather than abroad.

So as we look to the future I've tasked my Government ministers with working on the key drivers needed to realise these ambitions.  They are about: 

1. Ensuring our tax system encourages people to work hard, save and invest in productive Kiwi businesses. 

2. Focusing the Government's considerable share of economic activity on better, smarter frontline services, rather than waste and backroom bureaucracy.

3. Providing all New Zealanders with the education and skills they need to perform productive well-paid jobs.

4. Building the transport, broadband, and other infrastructure networks that people and businesses need to get their jobs done as efficiently as possible.

5. Removing the red tape and cumbersome regulation that can prevent businesses from expanding, taking on new workers and making the most of new ideas.

6. Supporting Kiwi firms to grow and develop new ideas by connecting them with our smartest researchers and scientists, and helping them reach more global consumers by signing free trade agreements with our trading partners. 

That constitutes a huge programme of work, over a wide range of areas.

As a Government, it is a matter of rolling our sleeves up, focusing on the issues that matter and, in some cases, making some difficult decisions.

By creating the right conditions, we can give people the confidence to work hard, invest in a business, and take up new opportunities.

New Zealanders certainly want to do that.

And we were elected to represent them.

They are the people we swore an oath to serve.  And they are the people this Government works for every day.

Together we can realise the brighter future this country deserves.  Thank you.

The National Party had won the most votes in the election.  That was our first victory. 

You, the Party members, helped make that victory possible, and I am so grateful for your efforts. 

We had asked voters for their trust and in the hundreds of thousands they had voted for the brighter future we campaigned on. 

Kiwis said good-bye to a distracted, bossy Labour Government, beset by cynicism and political sideshows.

They welcomed in a fresh team, ready to strengthen our economy, raise education standards, improve safety in our communities and get more out of our health system. 

And for the past 52 weeks that is what we have worked every day to achieve. 

National's second victory was to put together a MMP-style Government that took in the support of three Confidence and Supply partners. 

We laid the ground for constructive working relationships with the Act Party, the Maori Party and the United Future Party. 

Those relationships have gone from strength to strength and they have allowed us to lead an inclusive, stable Government.

Twelve months on from these victories, we can look back on a year of change, a year of promises delivered and of challenges met. 

The mood of the country is very different today than it was in November 2008.   

Remember how dark the global picture was?    Banks were being bailed out, sharemarkets were diving, firms were collapsing and our trading partners were haemorrhaging.

New Zealand was looking down the barrel of an exploding debt-track, plummeting growth prospects and soaring unemployment forecasts.

Labour had left us with all sorts of nasty problems to sort out, some we knew about and some that were a surprise to everyone. A gaping hole in the finances of ACC; unfunded commitments in almost every corner of the Budget; and a huge set of fiscal risks and liabilities.

Our Government has squarely confronted these challenges, and as 2009 draws to a close, New Zealand feels like a much more optimistic place.

The unemployment forecasts have come down.

The debt-track has been pegged back.

We have technically exited recession.

And our future growth outlook has picked up.

Many businesses that years ago were looking to retreat and retrench are now seeing new opportunities.  New Zealanders have come together, shown their resilience, and soldiered through some very tough times.    We're not over the challenges yet, but a brighter future is looking much closer than it was. 

I want to take this opportunity today to look back on the achievements the National-led Government has delivered in our first year in office, and to look ahead to the next steps in our plan.

Economic achievements

Let's start with the economy.

Accelerating the growth of our economy has been and will continue to be the driving goal of this Government.  Because that's what will provide secure jobs for New Zealanders.  That's what will deliver better living standards.  And that's what will afford us the public services needed to provide strength and security to Kiwi families.

The first year of our economic plan has been about protecting families from the sharpest edges of the recession, supporting jobs and preparing for future growth.

While we have stuck to the core economic objectives we campaigned on, we've also taken a range of extra measures in response to the severity of the recession New Zealand has faced.

Let me go over the key achievements:   

• - We introduced a ReStart package to provide financial support to Kiwi families hit hard by redundancy. That package has delivered some much-needed breathing space to more than 5000 Kiwis and their families.

• - We held a Job Summit to generate ideas for keeping Kiwis in work and providing new job opportunities. That summit brought unions, businesses and community groups together and it resulted in dozens of great initiatives. These included the national cycleway and the Government's Job Support Scheme - the 9-day fortnight - which has built confidence in Kiwi businesses and assisted more than 3500 workers.

• - We fast-tracked $500 million of infrastructure spending to boost jobs in the recession. That package has brought forward roading projects like the Kopu Bridge, helped fix or build more than 100 schools, and allowed an urgent revamp of the state housing stock.

• - We delivered a $500 million relief package to make life simpler for small businesses. That package has reduced the tax and red-tape burden on SMEs and allowed them to focus their energies on growing their businesses rather than on the taxman's forms.

• - We stopped the ballooning of the bureaucracy by capping the number of government workers in the core bureaucracy. We also conducted a line-by-line review of public spending that resulted in an additional $2 billion being shifted into frontline services.

• - We passed a Budget with the biggest health and education votes in New Zealand's history; a Budget that gave people security during the recession by maintaining benefits and Working for Families payments and a Budget that locked in superannuation payments at a rate based on 66% of the after-tax average wage.

• - In that same Budget we took steps to bring Government spending under control and prevent future generations being weighed down by a large debt burden. These steps have benefited New Zealand's international credit rating and will ensure the Government can continue to finance the services and entitlements Kiwi families rely on.

• - We also included in that Budget $7.5 billion worth of infrastructure investment over the next five years, to ensure New Zealanders can look forward to world-class roads and transport networks, an ultra-fast broadband network, 21st century schools and state housing that is fit for purpose.

• - We launched "Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart", a four year campaign to help fund the insulation of 180,000 Kiwi homes. I know many of you in Christchurch have taken that offer up, and as a result you are looking forward to a warmer home, lower electricity bills and better health.

• - We delivered $1 billion of tax cuts to 1.5 million taxpayers on 1 April. We also took the difficult but responsible decision to defer future rounds of tax-cuts until the Government books are in a better position.

• - We passed much-needed legislation to simplify the Resource Management Act, making it easier for businesses to grow, invest, and create jobs, while protecting our environment.

• - We launched major reviews to examine and improve the building blocks of our economy. These included reviews of our health system, electricity system, overseas investment regime and emissions trading scheme, and ongoing examinations of our tax system, productivity policies and building regulations.

• - We created up to 16,900 extra work, education and training opportunities for young people who may otherwise have found themselves hit hard by a growing unemployment rate. We launched that package here in Christchurch three months ago. Since then more than 2700 young people have been given opportunities through the Job Ops and Community Max schemes while thousands more will benefit from new work, training and education opportunities over the next year and a half.

• - We opened up New Zealand exporters' access to world-markets by signing Free Trade Agreements with Malaysia and the 10 countries of the ASEAN block; we've concluded free trade negotiations with Hong Kong and the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council; while progressing negotiations with other countries throughout the world, including the United States.

• - We helped strengthen the agricultural backbone of this country by investing $190 million in the Primary Growth Partnership to boost research and innovation in agriculture, seafood, forestry and food, as well as launching and gathering international support for a Global Alliance to conduct research into ways of reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.

Ladies and Gentlemen, those are some of the highlights of National's economic achievements in our first year in office.

There is plenty more work to be done and I will discuss our next steps in the latter part of my speech.

Health achievements

But let me first turn to some of the Government's achievements in other areas, beginning with health.

National campaigned on getting more out of New Zealand's healthcare system.  Because while Labour had put more money in year after year, they failed to deliver the results taxpayers expected in return.

Our goals for the health system are to deliver better, sooner, more convenient patient care; to boost and support our doctors and nurses; to cap the bureaucracy and to focus funding on frontline services. 

In our first twelve months we've delivered across all these fronts.  Let me highlight some of the key achievements:

• - We delivered a record increase in the number of elective surgery operations performed in our hospitals. In the year to June, we've seen to it that an additional 11,805 elective operations were performed, as compared to the year before. That number represents reduced waiting times for thousands of Kiwis who needed operations like hip and knee replacements, cataract removal and ear surgery.

• - We made the compassionate and sensible decision to fully-fund a 12-month course of Herceptin for women with Her-2 positive breast cancer. That decision has made Herceptin available to 191 women who may otherwise have missed out.

• - We saved Plunketline, by securing funding for their 24 hour phone service, meaning mums-to-be and new mothers can get the advice they need seven days a week.

• - We introduced 960 places in our new Voluntary Bonding Scheme for graduate doctors, nurses and midwives working in hard-to-staff areas or specialities. That scheme will encourage more of our best and brightest to stay in New Zealand, while helping them pay off their student loans.

• - We boosted the number of doctors being trained in our medical schools by sixty extra places, putting us on track to reach our target of an additional 200 places in the next few years. We also boosted by fifty the number of GPs that can be trained each year, towards our target of 154 places.

• - We capped the numbers in the health bureaucracy, and in line with our focus on frontline services moved $20 million in resulting savings into frontline care. We signed-off future plans to remove 500 more back-office jobs with up to $700 million in resulting savings to be moved into frontline care over the next five years.

• - We've started the hard-work needed to rescue ACC from financial disaster, and to ensure our 24-7, universal, no-fault accident insurance scheme will endure.

• - We invested an additional $750 million in frontline healthcare services. This meant that even during the worst global recession since the Great Depression we were able to boost funding for subsidised medicines by $180 million, to boost funding for hospices and palliative care by $15 million; and to increase funding for maternity care by $104 million.

Ladies and Gentlemen, National has taken these steps to improve the performance of our public healthcare service.  We promised we would take these steps and we have delivered. 

Education achievements

We've also delivered in education.

Education is an area that is particularly close to my heart. Because education is a liberator.  It is the key to unlocking the potential of young New Zealanders from all walks of life.  

So this Government is determined to do better for the one-in-five young people who currently leave the New Zealand school system without the skills or qualifications they need to succeed in a modern economy.

In our first 52 weeks in office we've already marked plenty of progress towards that goal: 

• - We've legislated for and published ground-breaking National Standards in literacy and numeracy for New Zealand's 2000 or so primary and intermediate schools. The standards mean that from next year, every child in year 1-8 will have their progress in reading, writing and maths regularly assessed against national benchmarks. The standards will allow every teacher in every school to clearly identify children who are slipping behind or having problems.

• - We've also introduced mandatory plain English reporting of National Standards. This means that the teachers' assessment of children's progress will be reported to parents in Plunket-style report cards, so that mums and dads have a clear idea of how their children are doing, whether they're learning at the level they should be, and what their parents can do to help.

• - We've backed the National Standards policy up with an additional $36 million over four years to help schools boost help for the children who aren't reaching the benchmarks.

• - We've invested $523 million in a 21^st Century Building Plan to build new schools, improve existing schools and future-proof tomorrow's classrooms. We've started work on three new schools already, and ticked off improvements to another 112.

• - We've created 1800 opportunities for graduate teachers in our new Voluntary Bonding Scheme. This will encourage graduates to work in hard-to-staff areas and subjects by helping them pay off their student loans. We've also introduced a 10% voluntary repayment bonus on student loans to help graduates from all disciplines to pay their loans off faster.

• - We've provided a new vocational education option for 16 and 17 year olds, by creating 2000 Youth Guarantee places in our polytechs and private training establishments. This will allow hundreds of teenagers who might otherwise be left behind by our school system to take part in a fees-free course that fires up their imagination, whether it's a course in agriculture, tourism or plumbing.

• - We've announced six new Trades Academies to be developed in New Zealand's secondary schools. These will provide trade-training opportunities to teenagers while they're still at school.

• - We've provided an $82 million boost for school sport, with our Kiwisport programme to boost direct funding for schools and sports clubs. This will allow hundreds of young Kiwis to get increased opportunities to kick around a ball, throw a discus or join a cricket team.

• - We've changed the rules and provided additional funding so that from next year parents can take up 20 Hours Early Childhood Education in kohanga reo and playcentres as well as in kindergartens and private childcare centres.

• - We've also offered boosted opportunities for young people from our less wealthy communities, with funding secured for 30,000 extra places in holiday activity programmes from 2011. And we've created 100 special places in a Prime Minister's Programme for teenagers who've made a concerted effort to turn their lives around.

Ladies and gentlemen, this Government is delivering in education and it's delivering for the next generation. 

Law and order achievements

Finally today, I want to point to the achievements we've made in the law and order area.  I know that one of the key reasons Kiwis elected National is because they trusted us to take the tough steps needed to tackle violent crime and make families safer in their homes and communities.

We have taken a multi-pronged approach to addressing New Zealand's crime problems, by coming down harder on offenders, boosting the tools for catching criminals, and preventing crime from happening in future by tackling youth offending, gangs and the drivers of crime. 

Let me go over some of what's been achieved:

• - We've passed new laws to toughen sentences and restrict bail for violent offenders; improve police powers, crack down on gangs and support crime victims. These laws includes tougher penalties for belonging to a criminal organisation, tougher sentences for crimes against children, new powers for police to intercept gang communications, dismantle gang fortifications and seize property from criminals, as well as allowing police to issue on-the-spot protection orders for victims of domestic violence. We've also introduced legislation to remove parole for the worst repeat violent offenders.

• - We've budgeted $200 million for an additional 600 frontline police, with 135 officers already deployed to the streets of South Auckland.

• - We've also boosted the police with new tools to go after criminals, including 720 new tasers and a new power to DNA-test offenders arrested for imprisonable offences.

• - We've passed a law that will allow police to crush the cars of repeat street-racing offenders under anti-boy-racing laws. I know that's a policy that the people of Christchurch will welcome with open arms.

• - We've improved services for victims of crime with a new Victims Fund, established with a $50 levy on criminals. This will provide new assistance to victims in the form of funeral grants, court attendance grants and other services.

• - We've invested $72.4 million in our Fresh Start programme to turn young offenders away from crime. This will provide the Youth Court with new powers to place young offenders in 3000 new programme places, including new military-style activity camps, mentoring courses, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and outdoor activities.

• - We've launched a full-scale attack on P. Our plan includes restricting access to the precursor chemicals gangs use to make P; new dedicated anti-drug Customs taskforces; a new police strategy to go after gangs and dealers; the formation of a new Police Assets Recovery Unit which consists of 22 hardened investigators whose sole mission is to track down and seize the assets of organised crime; and a funding boost of $22 million to provide more places in drug and alcohol rehab. The new strategy is already having considerable success with police and customs working together to make massive seizures of P, including 6kgs of the drug intercepted at Auckland Airport just last week.

My fellow National Party members, as in the economy, health and education, this Government has made considerable progress in law and order in our first year in office.

Taken together, it's been a super-busy twelve months for the Government.  Knocking off these achievements has relied on the efforts of a stellar-team of hard-working Ministers.  I want to acknowledge that team today and assure you that I expect our team to redouble their efforts in 2010. 

Our ministerial team is supported by the best caucus in the country.  I also want to thank them today.  National's MPs do a great job of listening to their constituents, keeping our Government in touch with the concerns of the people who put us in power, and doing the hard yards in Parliament's Select Committees and House debates.  They too will have to redouble their efforts next year.

Because there is so much more that needs to be done to secure the brighter future this country deserves.

As we look ahead to 2010, the Government will remain focused on addressing the concerns and hopes of everyday New Zealanders. 

That means supporting jobs, working to ensure wages keep up with cost of living, improving living standards, continuing to strengthen our health and education systems, supporting families and addressing some of New Zealand's toughest social problems, including the underlying drivers of crime. 

Doing those things will require work across a range of fronts. You will see the Government delivering on more of our manifesto promises, and responding to new pressures.  You will see us getting stuck into longer-term work programmes like Whanau Ora  and improving the performance of New Zealand's public services.  And you'll see us building on the work that's already been done to improve frontline services, tackle gangs and violent crime and improve the opportunities available to our most vulnerable citizens.

Amongst all of this, our most crucial task will be developing the policies needed to kick start New Zealand's growth engine.  Because over the next few years a faster growing economy will mean better jobs and better living standards, and in time it will allow the Government to pay down our debt and fund the improved services Kiwi families expect.   

Ladies and gentlemen, I am hugely optimistic about New Zealand's prospects as we exit the recession.  We have so much going for us.  We are one of the best food-producing nations in the world; we're blessed with beautiful scenery that tourists love to visit; we're located in this century's economic powerhouse region - Asia - and we are home to some of the smartest, hardest-working and most creative people in the world. 

The Government's mission is to unlock this potential.

I want to see our farmers and exporters producing more and fetching better prices for their goods overseas. 

I want to see our tourism industry growing, and attracting bigger-spending tourists all year round. 

I want to see more of our smart Kiwi entrepreneurs selling their goods and ideas to the world so they can expand their businesses and provide new and better paying jobs to New Zealanders.

I want to see more of our talented young people realising their potential in New Zealand rather than abroad.

So as we look to the future I've tasked my Government ministers with working on the key drivers needed to realise these ambitions.  They are about: 

1. Ensuring our tax system encourages people to work hard, save and invest in productive Kiwi businesses. 

2. Focusing the Government's considerable share of economic activity on better, smarter frontline services, rather than waste and backroom bureaucracy.

3. Providing all New Zealanders with the education and skills they need to perform productive well-paid jobs.

4. Building the transport, broadband, and other infrastructure networks that people and businesses need to get their jobs done as efficiently as possible.

5. Removing the red tape and cumbersome regulation that can prevent businesses from expanding, taking on new workers and making the most of new ideas.

6. Supporting Kiwi firms to grow and develop new ideas by connecting them with our smartest researchers and scientists, and helping them reach more global consumers by signing free trade agreements with our trading partners. 

That constitutes a huge programme of work, over a wide range of areas.

As a Government, it is a matter of rolling our sleeves up, focusing on the issues that matter and, in some cases, making some difficult decisions.

By creating the right conditions, we can give people the confidence to work hard, invest in a business, and take up new opportunities.

New Zealanders certainly want to do that.

And we were elected to represent them.

They are the people we swore an oath to serve.  And they are the people this Government works for every day.

Together we can realise the brighter future this country deserves.  Thank you.

Thank you for your warm welcome.

Can I start by acknowledging the Chair of the Organising Committee for this Summit, Ms Chong Siak Ching, as well as my fellow panelists:

• President Bachelet of Chile
• Mr Tom Donohue, CEO of the United States Chamber of Commerce
• Mr Richard Adkerson, CEO of Freeport-McMoRan
• Mr Teng Theng Dar, the chair of ABAC.

I spoke at this summit a year ago in Peru and can I say, what a difference a year makes.

This time last year, Lehman Brothers had recently collapsed and many other large financial institutions had been bailed out by the government or acquired under duress. It was a time of rapid change and unpredictable developments.

Fortunately, the world has responded well to the crisis. The extraordinary measures by governments to shore up banks and develop stimulus plans have averted catastrophe.

The world's financial markets have settled down and most countries have passed the worst of the financial and economic crisis.

But it would be foolish to think that everything is back to normal. In particular, high private sector debt and rapidly rising public debt will be a major issue for many countries. With financing harder to come by than in the past, growth prospects will be subdued for a while yet.

I want to offer a few thoughts today on the crisis and its aftermath, from the perspective of a small country whose fortunes depend to a considerable extent on what is happening elsewhere in the world.

That is no criticism of globalisation. New Zealand is actually testament to its potential.

We are a small and very open country. We are the descendents of immigrants from Polynesia, Europe, Asia, and elsewhere, and we have created a unique Kiwi identity.

We are a nation built on imported capital. And from our earliest days trade has been the lifeblood of our economy.  Our farm exports in particular provide the base on which New Zealand's prosperity lies.

We feel the pain when our access to overseas markets is threatened or when our exchange rate fluctuates wildly because of external factors. So we know about the exposure to risk that small economies must deal with.

What the economic crisis has reinforced is that small economies can get badly knocked about by the shockwaves of a global upheaval. Policy choices by the powerhouse economies can have far-reaching effects, and effects that are hard to predict.

It is therefore crucial that as a global community we better understand and manage the inter-connected nature of the global economy.

In that regard we welcome the emergence of the G20 as the premier forum for international economic co-operation.

It is encouraging that G20 members are continuing to consult with non-G20 members. We would welcome taking that process a step further and establishing a regional outreach mechanism in the Asia-Pacific region.

The G20's Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth is an opportunity for the world to work more closely together to manage globalisation.

That's important because my view is that future recessions could become even more correlated across countries and as a result could potentially be deeper than those we have seen in recent decades.

That is because the world's economies are becoming more and more inter-connected and the flow of information around the globe is only going to get faster and more comprehensive. Economies will therefore find themselves more in step, not less.

So in global forums like the G20, and in regional forums like APEC, we need to think seriously about the future economic cycles that will affect us all.

The topic of this Summit is "What APEC can do for Business".

At the top of my list would be a continuing focus on economic policies to resolve global imbalances, a renewed commitment to free trade, and a considered and coordinated look at financial regulation.

At the moment, many of the major world economies are still breathing pure oxygen in the form of massive stimulus packages. That has got them through the crisis but is not sustainable. At some stage - and probably sooner rather than later - that stimulus will have to be unwound.

That won't be easy, as I know all too well. In New Zealand we have had to sharply rein in Government spending increases over the medium term to ensure our rising public debt is brought back under control.

So a sustainable recovery can't happen through ongoing fiscal stimulus. But what will be critical for a long-term sustainable recovery is resolving global imbalances.

Many developed economies, including New Zealand, need to re-orient towards exports, and away from credit-fuelled domestic consumption. That will require economic policy changes to encourage more productive activity.

On the other side of the ledger, many high-saving emerging economies, whose exports have been hit hard in this recession, will need over time to lift consumption among their own people.

That could happen through a variety of channels.  But exchange rate adjustment is likely to be part of the mix.

That shouldn't be something to be fearful of, or something done as some sort of sacrifice to "help out" other countries.  For a fast-growing country with very large trade surpluses, a higher exchange rate is just one of the ways of ensuring that its citizens - and not just its exporters - share in the prosperity. 

I would also strongly urge a new commitment to free trade.

That is essential in the current climate where there is always the risk of protectionist policy responses.

But I don't just want to argue about how bad it is to go backwards on trade - I want to argue about how good it is to go forwards.

Trade benefits everyone. That is why in New Zealand we are continuing to pursue free trade agreements with a number of countries. In the last two weeks, for example, we have signed an FTA with Malaysia and concluded free trade negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Countries and with Hong Kong.

APEC has been a part of this process. APEC was the catalyst for the P4 trade agreement involving New Zealand, Brunei, Singapore, and Chile.

Building on that high-quality agreement, we are working towards a Trans-Pacific Partnership which would involve another four APEC countries including the United States.

That, in turn, could be a stepping stone to an eventual trade agreement involving all the economies in the Asia-Pacific region. As APEC economies, we should be ambitious for free trade across the region, because this helps create the conditions for business success in all our economies.

Policy makers will also need to look carefully at financial regulation.

I believe that many of the shortcomings that have become evident during the last two years are ultimately about how the financial sector manages risk. As a former head of global foreign exchange at Merrill Lynch, I have seen first hand the sort of risks that are taken on a daily basis.

In my opinion we won't get anywhere if we fall into the trap of somehow blaming ‘the markets' and financial innovation per se. Risk taking is part and parcel of how financial markets have been so successful, over a long period of time, at allocating capital.

There will be booms and busts again.  We shouldn't fool ourselves that we can prevent them. But we do want to minimise collateral damage and to ensure that policy isn't feeding excessive risk taking.

Over the past year or so, governments around the world have needed to step in and support many large financial institutions. However, the danger is that these actions will have the effect of eroding market discipline in the future. Institutions may be managed in a riskier way if creditors and management think they are ‘too big to fail'.

In my view we should be careful not to create rules for banks that merely push the risk into other institutions, like hedge funds or global insurers, which then become systemically important but are not appropriately regulated.

Liquidity risk is also important. Too many institutions were overly reliant on short-term wholesale funding markets prior to the crisis.

That was certainly the case in New Zealand, where too much of our current account deficit was being funded by short-term wholesale liabilities. We are now implementing new liquidity rules to strengthen the resilience of New Zealand's financial sector, while keeping a close eye on related developments at the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

Internationally, attention has also been given to the issue of cash bonuses to executives, particularly senior executives in investment banks.

While the huge bonuses paid to such people can often appear obscene, it seems to me that many of the changes suggested worldwide are largely symbolic.

To be really effective, it is necessary to look well beyond senior executives to the incentives on traders on the floor, fund managers, hedge fund promoters, and so on. 

Pay should, wherever possible, be based on long-term performance, and in a way that reflects the fact that often high short-term returns are simply the result of excessive, and potentially dangerous, risk taking.

Employee compensation may also need some limiting where institutions are getting heavy taxpayer support.

But we should also recognise that it is hard for people in many financial institutions to limit risk-taking, when the wider environment is one in which their investors are constantly demanding that they do whatever is needed to generate high returns, this quarter, next quarter, and every quarter that follows. Those are the facts of life for traders and for their bosses.

So it is important that the global debate on these sorts of issues continues. We need to get our policy responses right.

There is a role here for APEC to work alongside the G20 and others to ensure there is a clear understanding of the issues and a coherent debate in this region.

In conclusion, it is clear to me that opportunities are there for the taking.

The world economy, its businesses, financial institutions and markets have enormous potential to improve living standards.

We have seen their shortcomings, but those shortcomings can be overcome. The challenge now is to position ourselves to realise the potential that our region has.

The APEC economies can work their way back to more prosperous times, and I and the other leaders are determined to work with you to make that happen.

Thank you.