Four priorities for the next three years
February 1, 2012
Last week, Prime Minister John Key made his first major speech of the year. I thought I’d use this week’s column to reflect some of the messages from this speech, to give you a broad idea of the Government’s priorities and where we’re heading.
National has proved in the past three years that we can deliver strong and stable government through the tough times. We’ve had to deal with a lot – the global financial crisis, Christchurch earthquakes, and the Pike River disaster among other adverse events. The next three years will be about rebuilding and strengthening the country.
This is made even more difficult by the global economy. The on-going problems in Europe could spill over and affect countries like New Zealand, or our export partners like China and Australia.
However, we are in good shape to handle any challenges and we have four priorities going forward. The first of these is to responsibly manage the Government’s finances, so we stay in control of debt. This will keep mortgage rates low and help our exporters through lower exchange rates. We are still on track to get the Government books back into surplus by 2014/15.
Our second priority is to build a more competitive and productive economy. We want to set policies that will help our exporters to succeed in overseas markets, and help Kiwi businesses to compete with imported products. This will include rolling out ultra-fast broadband, further Resource Management reform, encouraging oil and gas exploration, and restoring investor confidence in financial markets. These changes will help to increase job opportunities right here in Wairoa and throughout the country.
Delivering better public services for families and businesses is our third priority. You can expect a continued focus on raising achievement in education, free after-hours doctors visits for young children, and welfare reform to lift families out of the welfare poverty trap. Overall, we will be focusing on better value for money and greater results across the public service.
The final priority is to get on with rebuilding Christchurch. As Minister of Civil Defence, I spent some time in Christchurch recently after the December 23 earthquake. It’s clear there is a lot of work to do and a huge recovery project ahead. We are committed to the rebuild and assisting the people of Christchurch to get the city back on its feet.
There’s no doubt this will be another challenging year. But we’re in good shape to build on the opportunities we have. With these four priorities in mind, I am confident that we are moving in the right direction to boost jobs and incomes in Wairoa, Napier and the whole of New Zealand.
Chris Tremain
