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The Muster- Penny Simmonds: A Busy Time Ahead · The Muster on Hokonui

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Once all is true, I love you.
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: This is the muster. Penny Simmons is MP for Invercargill
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: and joins us next from a sun-drenched Invercargill, which is
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: something we haven't said for a long time, Penny. Good afternoon.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Good afternoon, and oh, by golly, isn't it good to
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: see that sunshine? It's just going to do wonders for everyone,
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: for our peace of mind, our mental well-being, as well
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: as warming the lambs up, warming the soil up a bit, hopefully,
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: if we can get enough days of it, as I've
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: been driving around. And I haven't been back that long,
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: I'd have to say. I haven't suffered through all the
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: weather that everyone else has, and I certainly haven't been
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: outside in it. when I have been here, but just
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: a bit of sunshine, it brings just a bit of
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: hope to people, doesn't it? And I know driving around
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: seeing the paddocks looking grey and the lambs looking miserable,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: it's very tough going for everyone. So yes, long may
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: we continue with a bit of warmer weather as well
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: as sunshine would be good. But also on the good
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: news front has been the Treasury's pre-election announcement forecast updates
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: saying that books are better than expected and much of
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: that of course is down to our wonderful primary sector
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: that have been doing the hard work and getting the
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: good export prices and paying taxes so thank you very
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: much to all our primary sector, all our farmers and
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: growers so Treasury is predicting that the deficits are getting
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: smaller the surplus is coming there's going to be less
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: debt less debt servicing costs, because as I've said on
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: this programme regularly, we're paying over $ 9 billion a year
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: in interest alone, and the economy is predicted to be
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: growing at an average of 2.6% a year. That's going
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: to translate into 220,000 more jobs being created as the
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: economy grows, and we know from down here our unemployment
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: is lower. We've had the third best economic growth in
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: the country behind Canterbury and Taranaki and then Southland with 7% growth.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: And our unemployment, of course, is lower than the rest
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: of the country. And one of the other really positive predictions,
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: wages will rise faster than prices. Now, that means that
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: inflation is not going to be eating away at people's
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: earnings today. the same degree. So look, it is positive.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: The downside of this is, of course, that a positive
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: announcement like that will mean there will be some political
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: parties who will go out who have a tendency to
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: spend anyway and thinking that this is the time they
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: can have a bit more of a spend up and
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: it certainly isn't. We need to keep that government spending
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: discipline in place because There's a whole lot of things
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: that could change the geopolitical situation in the Middle East.
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: The oil price of oil and therefore the price of
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: diesel and petrol could have a big impact on this.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: So look, it's positive, but it certainly isn't an excuse
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: for any party to go out promising big spend-ups on
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: the back of it.
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: I'll let you take a breath, Penny, and I'll ask
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: you this. Based on the South driving the economy of
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: these figures, and this is something I've asked you previously
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: and I'm going to ask you again, are we going
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: to get any more than 12% of the roading budget
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: for the South Island?
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I'm pushing hard on it and I'm hopeful
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: that I might have a wee announcement soon, but no,
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: we haven't got our share. You're quite right. We haven't
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: got our share of the roading and... Transport Authority funding.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: There's no doubt about it. The problem is that our
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: roads are in better order than those that have been affected,
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: particularly around the far north with flooding and also around
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: Hawke's Bay. And then, of course, we have Auckland's congestion,
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: and nobody likes our money going to Auckland, and I
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: certainly don't like our money going to Auckland. So we
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: have to keep fighting against it. But I'll just put
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: in context that we've got about two-thirds of New Zealand's
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: population sitting in that golden triangle of Auckland, Hamilton, and Tauranga.
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: So It's a bit of a battle against the big
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: numbers of the population up there and, of course, the
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: number of MPs representing them. But, yep, I need to
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: keep fighting it. You're absolutely right. And both Joseph and
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: I are squeaky wheels and hopefully we'll get some announcements
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: that we can give you.
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: Well, all the populations based up north, I understand that,
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: but we pay our taxes too. We pay the same
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: for road users.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: Oh, absolutely. There's no doubt about it. We do not
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: get our share of funding back. There's no qualms about that.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: We don't, and I'm not going to try and defend that.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: All I can say is that there is a lot
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: of pressure on the funding going into those areas that
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: have had a lot of disruption with flooding over a
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: number of.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: Years and years.
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: Those of you who have driven around the Hawke's Bay
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: over to Wairoa up around the far north, some of
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: those goat tracks are pretty awful for people to be
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: driving on. But I absolutely accept that we are a
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: productive part of the country and our roading not being
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: kept up to standard is going to affect our productivity.
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: So you're back in Invercargill, the parliamentary year's finished as such,
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: and all roads lead to November, I suppose?
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so I got back here Sunday night, and most
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: of my days are going to be down here. I've
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: got a couple of things that we still have to
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: do a few things as Minister, still have to... keep
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: our officials working up there. We don't want everyone up
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: in Wellington to have six weeks holiday, that's for sure.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: So we've still got work going on there. But yeah,
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: mainly down here. Been out with the grandkids, a bit
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: of slave labour, delivering flyers over the last few days.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: And I'll be doing that around the place, delivering flyers,
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: knocking on doors, Kissing babies? Well, yes. Not too much
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: of that, but certainly talking to people and finding out
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: what their issues are.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: Penny Simmons, always appreciate your time on the muster. Enjoy
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: the sun.
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: Bye. Penny Simmons, MP for Invercargill. This is the muster
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: on Hokonui. Dairy NZ's Gerard Stockman is up next.