"\u003C!DOCTYPE html\u003E\u003Chtml xmlns:xlink=\u0022http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink\u0022 xmlns:xsi=\u0022http://www.w3.org/2007/XMLSchema-instance\u0022 xmlns:mml=\u0022http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Chead\u003E\n    \u003CMETA http-equiv=\u0022Content-Type\u0022 content=\u0022text/html; charset=utf-16\u0022\u003E\n    \u003Cmeta name=\u0022viewport\u0022 content=\u0022width=device-width, initial-scale=1\u0022\u003E\n  \u003C/head\u003E\n  \u003Cbody style=\u0022font-family:sans-serif; font-size:100%;\u0022\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022815a06723da84614acc5ac36aed5302d\u0022\u003ETUESDAY, 7 MAY 2019\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000003\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00223f12a7fb42cc4517a5fa9632a0d4b7cb\u0022\u003ETUESDAY, 7 MAY 2019\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000002\u0022\u003EThe Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000004\u0022\u003EPrayers.\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000005\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022a1f388abef8b4322a0f003fc8dd7f9e9\u0022\u003EMotions\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000006\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00227efb709ec7144ca3ad026a9ac0306bd1\u0022\u003EBattle of Monte Cassino\u201475th Anniversary\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022 data-id=\u00221efc556316d745cf95b4273ab8fb37b6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000007\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221efc556316d745cf95b4273ab8fb37b6\u0022\u003EHon RON MARK (Minister for Veterans):\u003C/span\u003E I seek leave to move a motion without notice and without debate to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Cassino.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000008\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ebd7d0b5911f4a05bd781a034248995a\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Is there any objection to that course of action being followed? There appears to be none.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000009\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221cdf3dc1f39843d2bc2a08a1f20ecf51\u0022\u003EHon RON MARK\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I move, That this House recognise that 18 May 2019 is the 75th anniversary of the fall of Cassino, which brought to an end one of the most brutal and costly battles in which New Zealand forces fought during the Second World War.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000010\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000011\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022123af1f76e524f79851b8e420126d521\u0022\u003EPoints of Order\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000012\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00223f216f3406d140df9639ba5310107e0c\u0022\u003EMotion Without Notice\u2014Leave to Move\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022 data-id=\u002219ad50d28b1f4d4485a1aaf843b94e59\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000013\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002219ad50d28b1f4d4485a1aaf843b94e59\u0022\u003EHon EUGENIE SAGE (Minister of Conservation):\u003C/span\u003E I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek leave to move a motion without notice and without debate to acknowledge the global assessment report of the Intergovernmental Science and Policy Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022797638ee8650454088f384254d1f5c90\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000014\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022797638ee8650454088f384254d1f5c90\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Is there any objection to that course of action being followed? There is objection.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000015\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022bd977110fffc4251a291b9a4f6e4e2a9\u0022\u003EOral Questions\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000016\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00223dfd31ac70fa46a8891785a24990ff0b\u0022\u003EQuestions to Ministers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000017\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022cae140241b384985847aa1304c5c9a7f\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 1\u2014Prime Minister\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022 data-id=\u00225041399f9ef04482a03b7c7f8e3d9d4f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000018\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E1. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225041399f9ef04482a03b7c7f8e3d9d4f\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the Opposition)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government\u2019s statements, policies, and actions?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022 data-id=\u00225c75052a0b5e48609f0cfa37cb7ff9a8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000019\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225c75052a0b5e48609f0cfa37cb7ff9a8\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000020\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022150f988872704be3b75e1409de6a1375\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: How many of the 42 recommendations of the welfare working group report will the Government adopt?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000021\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221796e0eee45046978aa5e66e5c77b619\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: The member will know that at the time the announcement was made, we immediately acted on the issue of case managers and the discriminatory sanction around the naming of both parents. We also moved on abatement. We are progressing as well and have already started work on 15 other recommendations, and have fully acknowledged that there is further work to do on the issue of income adequacy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b5748925e21e43738c2732284f94cc6b\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: What obligations will exist for parents to pay their fair share of child support now that her Government is scrapping the obligation to name both parents?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000023\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ad1fc7bc529a495ab266ea1cb8cd1a7e\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: The obligation still exists; what we\u2019ve removed is the sanction that then follows that obligation. Our view is that that is important because it is directly affecting children\u2014on average, over $30 a week that families are missing out on\u2014and those are families who are suffering from income-adequacy issues. It\u2019s something that we have long flagged that we had an issue with and that we thought was negatively affecting children.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000024\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f1b6696cb2994d54817bffa8fcfab7e1\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: Isn\u2019t an obligation without a penalty entirely meaningless, and if, as she says, it\u2019s discriminatory, shouldn\u2019t she just say that rather than play around with words?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000025\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229f23875fb2f0401c9d43ef3fef206611\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Again, as I\u2019ve already said, it is impacting negatively on children, and so that\u2019s why we have taken a child-centred approach. The member will well know that there has been some discussion over time on whether or not enough of a sense of obligation on paying child support exists, because it is the State that retains child support payments. So if the member wants to discuss the issue of child support pass-on, we can do that, but our view is that the penalty\u2014the sanction that exists\u2014is negatively affecting children and impacting on child poverty.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000026\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002215afb685ee5c40e6ae7a11a319e4b2e7\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: What advice did her Government receive on how many more women won\u2019t name the father, given the scrapping of the obligation to name both parents?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000027\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220c935de6899949b5b2b7b9c221d9e45f\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: I couldn\u2019t give him that level of specificity at this time, but, again, we have made a principled decision here that there will often be a range of reasons. As I say, the obligation to name still exists, but we do not think it\u2019s right that as a consequence, that sanction then ultimately will impact on children. If the member wants to maintain that those families have that penalty, which can be significant for a family on a low income, then he is entitled to that opinion.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000028\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ac273d06d73b4e87be62a9cfdc390fcb\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: Does she agree with the welfare working group\u2019s recommendation that the Ministry of Social Development be statutorily accountable to iwi and M\u0101ori for achieving well-being outcomes?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000029\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cf60584246074a84b146819ae42b56ad\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Yes. I mean, there\u2019s, I believe, an obligation to make sure that we fulfil the expectations on all citizens as well, but of course there are specific expectations as well on the over-representation that we have of M\u0101ori within our welfare system and also within Oranga Tamariki, and we should not shy away from addressing those directly.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000030\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022887067958e2e4c4fb08bff5ea373fe80\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: When, then, will those statutory accountabilities to iwi and M\u0101ori for achieving well-being outcomes in welfare be enacted?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000031\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a38f2c60ff004b6888b6df86133a87f7\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Again, as I\u2019ve said, there\u2019s a number of areas where we\u2019re continuing to do ongoing work. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000032\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f01c8cd99610466ab38b9c5ed953f67e\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: Oh! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000033\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223b211bcf071d40988d10edd33f6848bb\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Who made that noise?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000034\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227b6a601513184adab6104fb4021ed37d\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: I did.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000035\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002264cdbf671f534410aa58d796a28e413d\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Last week I remonstrated with a member for making a noise that is not really fit for Parliament, and I\u2019d just like the Leader of the Opposition to show some leadership. I did think it was that member again.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000036\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002241803a97c931440585f52ce85b43cc9d\u0022\u003ERt Hon Winston Peters\u003C/span\u003E: Can I ask the Prime Minister as to whether or not the subject raised by the Leader of the Opposition with respect to obligations to M\u0101ori was not identical in the last local government bill that they had prepared? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000037\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229b338dee07e94173b4617b5a857caf87\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: That is in fact true. I also recall this very specific obligation, again, in discussion around Oranga Tamariki, and the last Government didn\u2019t have that hesitation then in acknowledging that there was work to do with that over-representation of M\u0101ori.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000038\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002244714509a1274bc295b438269310ec4a\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: Does she agree with the welfare working group\u2019s recommendation to remove obligations on beneficiaries to be drug-free, to have any children they have enrolled with a GP, and to attend early childhood or primary education?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000039\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002233a5e998fa46458a86a7d3b088f07bfe\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: We haven\u2019t made final decisions on some of the recommendations that have been made by the Welfare Expert Advisory Group, and there\u2019s additional work to be done.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000040\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002225ff3609822641468dd5fea053a81fc6\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: What does she say to former Green MP Sue Bradford, who said her Government\u2019s response to the report is \u201Cvirtually useless\u201D and that \u201CI strongly suspect it will take a way more progressive [Government] than this lot to enact serious welfare reform.\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000041\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a947561f87674c07882d9e0bba781eaa\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019d say she would still be vastly happier having this Government than that last one.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000042\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220d043e8090d046aaa99d19dda957f009\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: What has her Government achieved in welfare in its year of delivery, other than 13,000 more beneficiaries on jobseeker support?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a84a1021742e4671a305c40c32729724\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you for the opportunity. We will be employing 170 extra case managers to make sure that those who are seeking work have the support to find work. From 1 May, the winter energy payment will be affecting up to a million New Zealanders. Families will receive $700 over those winter months, including those families on benefit and Government support and superannuitant couples, and $450 over the winter months for singles so they don\u2019t decide between turning the heater on and putting food on a table. We also have the ongoing roll-out of the Best Start payment. For the first time, we have a near-universal payment for the first year of a child\u2019s life, and that extends to years two and three for those on low incomes. It is the most significant change to our welfare system in over 10 years. The Families Package: on average, $75 a week is going to over 380,000 families. It will mean that between 40,000 and 70,000 children will be lifted out of poverty. It is a $5.4 billion package that was introduced by this Government and continues to be rolled out. Is there more work to do? Yes, but I am incredibly proud of what this Government has done already.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000044\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228a40000419b445c4974858de4fafbb3a\u0022\u003ERt Hon Winston Peters\u003C/span\u003E: Can I ask the Prime Minister, with respect to these policies that she\u2019s unveiling, on the running poll of approve or disapprove, is it not a fact that the disapproval ratio is going down and the approval ratio is going up?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000045\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d8dc8986bc8f42659fed978673d835ab\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Resume your seat. That\u2019s not a matter for which the Prime Minister has responsibility.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000046\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022152313d4fc674e049e1cf4c85f9fb39c\u0022\u003ERt Hon Winston Peters\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Can I just suggest to you, without wishing to contest your ruling but hoping for maybe a more considered judgment, that the approval or disapproval of policies is seriously apposite to the Prime Minister and every one of her Cabinet Ministers and colleagues. So it\u2019s not unusual for the Prime Minister to be aware of it, because any Prime Minister that wasn\u2019t aware of it would go the way of the previous one.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000047\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002232ebe7c6956a48e0ae2a594442a9a331\u0022\u003EHon Chris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: On a near daily basis, the Minister of Finance is asked about the mood of the country when it comes to the economy. Therefore, surely, the Prime Minister can be asked about the mood of the country when it comes to support for the Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000048\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002209c584016a384964a68974209a642db2\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I think if I\u2019d really considered it carefully, I would have allowed the question. But, having ruled it out, I\u2019m going to leave it out.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000049\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225fd5f28ef2664c8b904d672cd2fb1389\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Excuse me, sir, why did you give that look when I asked for a legitimate point of order, when you\u2019ve just had three from the other side?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000050\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227692df160b9045a68ca6e573f0fcc09f\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Because I was just living in the vain hope that we might be getting on with question time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000051\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002297f29b574f02467c8f34fb1870443481\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. How is it appropriate for you to entertain several pointless points of order from that side, and when I react to something the Prime Minister has said, I\u2019m the naughty boy in this Parliament?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000052\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d602f62997db40058f3ecb449d1ad395\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Do I really need to explain?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000053\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ff78dac6af2d4fbe84843e829f359d77\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: Yes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000054\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228465d46774bf4a8798fb5c09477aefb6\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Right. The points of order, as I ruled, were, in fact, legitimate. Both those of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Leader of the House were legitimate: they drew to my attention an error in my ruling. The member, earlier, made a barnyard noise of the sort that would not be accepted in a junior classroom, and I remonstrated with him for it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000055\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d654d9b674334996b1b6730cc95eafed\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I made no such noise, and it is entirely wrong and unfair for you as a Speaker to say that sort of unprofessional comment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000056\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002229515dbbd53d40739b9abceace731674\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member will leave the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000057\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003EHon Simon Bridges withdrew from the Chamber. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000058\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022d989d8e163c24a6abbeff1be2824e727\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 2\u2014Health\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022163d0b68-eb0e-4094-9bed-99e184f063e1\u0022 data-id=\u0022e9d562de58194e53aaf070a30f953a13\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022163d0b68-eb0e-4094-9bed-99e184f063e1\u0022\u003E2. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e9d562de58194e53aaf070a30f953a13\u0022\u003EJAMI-LEE ROSS (Botany)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Health: Does he agree with the calls made at the teen suicide awareness march at Parliament yesterday for more counsellors in schools as one measure to help reduce New Zealand\u2019s youth suicide rates; if so, how many more counsellors will be funded over the next four years?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022 data-id=\u002204a9a57d9c5c4acda05b879f36750454\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000060\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002204a9a57d9c5c4acda05b879f36750454\u0022\u003EHon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health):\u003C/span\u003E School counsellors are just one of a range of supports available in schools to help students with their mental well-being. This Government is committed to helping our young people in distress. For example, yesterday, when the march arrived at Parliament about which the member speaks, I was at Victoria University announcing the further roll-out of the Piki pilot, which is delivering free mental health support to 18- to 25-year-olds in the Greater Wellington region. What we want young people to know is that there is no wrong door to accessing mental health support. In our first Budget, we extended the nurses in schools programme to cover decile 4 secondary schools, and we\u2019ve also rolled out Mana Ake, which makes mental health support available in all primary and intermediate schools in Canterbury and Kaik\u014Dura.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000061\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022163d0b68-eb0e-4094-9bed-99e184f063e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222c08e06c1ffa440081af2e9d3fd55f47\u0022\u003EJami-Lee Ross\u003C/span\u003E: Will the Government adopt recommendation 30 of the mental health and addiction inquiry to \u201CUrgently complete the national suicide prevention strategy and implementation plan and ensure the strategy is supported by significantly increased resources for suicide prevention and postvention\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000062\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022292074a0cf6c443d8608f283aa1154bc\u0022\u003EHon Dr DAVID CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: The report was a very considered report which got 5,200 submissions. We are responding as a Government before the Budget to that report, but I\u2019m not able to announce our response today.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000063\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022163d0b68-eb0e-4094-9bed-99e184f063e1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002204baf947f0b442f9bf91a525b4e53db9\u0022\u003EJami-Lee Ross\u003C/span\u003E: Is he willing to meet with the organiser of yesterday\u2019s march, Pania Te-Paiho Marsh, to discuss ways to reduce New Zealand\u2019s alarming rates of teenage and youth suicide? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000064\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022314314\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eeaa0d10bae6440d9b8a7ca40ddbed33\u0022\u003EHon Dr DAVID CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: My office will consider requests to meet. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000065\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ee649aea-c6fa-4610-9fcf-5c4bb2d3cd33\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002259c0cafcd7a64e0c90a183bd6c55035a\u0022\u003EMatt Doocey\u003C/span\u003E: What does the Minister say in response to the editorial in the Christchurch Press which states, \u201Coverall the mental health inquiry appears to fit a wider pattern of delays, obfuscation, and a lack of transparency that has started to afflict this Government \u2026 we see a widening gulf between promise and delivery.\u201D? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000066\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227436490c2ed2496bb2a87b366bee6915\u0022\u003EHon Dr DAVID CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: I utterly reject that assertion. This Government has got on with investing in mental health even while the inquiry was under way. We put an additional $200 million into the ring-fence for district health boards for mental health and addiction issues. We\u2019ve put nurses into schools. We have put the Mana Ake programme into place across the Greater Wellington region, which is serving young people, 18 to 25\u2014sorry, that\u2019s the Piki programme. We have the Mana Ake programme in Christchurch, Canterbury, and Kaik\u014Dura, which is serving primary and secondary students and making sure that they have mental health supports in schools that were not in place previously. We\u2019ve also extended cheaper doctors visits to community service card holders, meaning over 500,000 more New Zealanders will have access to cheaper doctors visits\u2014approximately $20 to $30 cheaper, on average\u2014and that will mean people will be able to access mental health services in primary care. This is a Government committed to getting on with the job of addressing our mental health challenges. The need went up, I\u2019m advised, over 10 years by about 60 percent, and resource only went up around half of that. So resource has been lacking in this area, as it has across the health system, and we as a Government are determined to address that. We will be responding soon to the mental health inquiry. It is a worthy inquiry and we will give it a worthy response.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000067\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b8b3f925dead4c99a2e1941bbeb10cd7\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 3\u2014Education\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022 data-id=\u0022e852e48d1c414c33b48a94b170120b18\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000068\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003E3. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e852e48d1c414c33b48a94b170120b18\u0022\u003EJAN TINETTI (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Education: What announcements has the Government made to get more teachers in classrooms and support thousands more in training?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022 data-id=\u00220701b24d9ead4d2e886a9bf2af3ee4b1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000069\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220701b24d9ead4d2e886a9bf2af3ee4b1\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education):\u003C/span\u003E Last week, I announced a $95 million investment in teacher training and recruitment\u2014the largest in a decade. This will fund almost 2,500 more teachers through more scholarships, more on-the-job training, and new iwi-based scholarships. We\u2019re also supporting 800 beginning teachers into the workforce through the new National Beginning Teacher Induction Grants and the voluntary bonding scheme expansion.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000070\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226828f3aa1d1e4bcaac28601fe78be9ad\u0022\u003EJan Tinetti\u003C/span\u003E: How does this additional new funding compare to previous investments made to address teacher supply?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000071\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f1724004b92d412090a101a631b9ba48\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: The $95 million I announced last week builds on the $40 million investment the new Government made shortly after taking office. That\u2019s about 12 times the mere $11 million of new money invested in the nine years before that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000072\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022efc51b7deb25472bb23e68b4a055c5ee\u0022\u003EJan Tinetti\u003C/span\u003E: How does the $95 million for teacher supply build upon previous announcements over the past 18 months made by this Government to support our teachers?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000073\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022de4fd04fa74a415099878c3a75a35451\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: The Government has committed, among other things, $500 million to support children with additional learning needs. A significant portion of that money will fund 600 more teachers to fill the role of learning support coordinators in our schools. We\u2019ve also been working to reduce compliance to make sure that teachers have the time to focus on teaching, and, of course, we\u2019ve been investing in a large capital upgrade for our schools to ensure that the working conditions and learning conditions of our teachers and students are improved.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000074\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002216ea207e54dc461eb762a4c3c4789e83\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 4\u2014Prime Minister\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022 data-id=\u0022015d068f5d91433bbfdb0fec321e57ae\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000075\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E4. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022015d068f5d91433bbfdb0fec321e57ae\u0022\u003EHon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Leader\u2014National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government\u2019s statements, policies, and actions?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022 data-id=\u0022a12ce50ee4c54023848760f9571d65d8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000076\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a12ce50ee4c54023848760f9571d65d8\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000077\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022baecda8bb5a84fc1b62216ac57cc5e3b\u0022\u003EHon Paula Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: Does she stand by her statement earlier this year in the House when questioned about the referendum on recreational marijuana use: \u201Cit will be a binding referendum for the public.\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000078\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022030d7da5e1ad4613b46b41a7674d74a7\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Yes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000079\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022787e6d05809e45db810978a8817f7bf6\u0022\u003EHon Paula Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: Does she agree with her Minister of Justice, Andrew Little, who, in December, said, \u201Cwe have a commitment that it is binding.\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000080\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cf08d43ec9bf4c1eb169a93ae0dc3b1d\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Yes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000081\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022068f38514cce471eb26f5d1ffc8093b4\u0022\u003EHon Paula Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: In that case, why are you are not doing option four, that\u2014as the Cabinet paper says\u2014gives the most certainty, and is the closest to being actually binding?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000082\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224efc9da8d268491299a3b3d6b8de16b1\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Because the outcome is ultimately the same. The only way to ensure that people\u2019s decision in the referendum is upheld is if political parties commit to abiding by the outcome. All three parties that make up this Government have committed to abiding by the people\u2019s decision. My question is: will the National Party?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000083\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228b23ecd7efc347508798bcba891aa705\u0022\u003EHon Paula Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: So, in light of that, has she seen advice from the Ministry of Justice provided to her Minister on 24 May 2018 that explicitly states, \u201Cbinding referendums require referendum legislation. This legislation both enables the referendum and sets out the law that will be automatically enacted in the event of a majority Yes vote.\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227385fb50b4964215b6ec074c0944dd9b\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: The member well knows it is not possible for any Parliament to bind a future Parliament. The only way to ensure that the people\u2019s decision is upheld is if a commitment is given by political parties to abide by the outcome of a referendum. All three parties in this Government are giving that commitment. My question is: will the National Party do the same?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000085\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d934fc43bdb046279301f95f198ea5eb\u0022\u003EHon Paula Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: So does she agree with the advice provided by the Office of the Clerk that in order for a referendum to be actually binding, legislation needs to be passed through the House first, and then have a commencement section stating that the Act comes into force when it has met the referendum conditions?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000086\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223f4bac02ebc14b08bc8b5c790f3e221d\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Again, it still requires all political parties to commit to abiding by the outcome and to not repealing the legislation. It is not possible for any Parliament to bind a future Parliament. It is, however, possible for political parties to give a commitment to abide by the decision of the public. The Green Party, the New Zealand First Party, and the Labour Party are giving that commitment. Will the National Party?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002296bad778051d4d7dbb26218911e5a148\u0022\u003EHon Paula Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I can\u2019t remember the exact circumstances, but last week, I think it was, the honourable Deputy Prime Minister was speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister, and you said he could not ask the Opposition a question. I\u2019ve now had one three times from the Prime Minister, and I\u2019d like consistency.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d78c94b2fa714db98526fb5a42115995\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That was not helpful, but it was accurate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000089\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dd564ab0f8b04d979bf9235446032d66\u0022\u003ERt Hon Winston Peters\u003C/span\u003E: So could I just get this clear from the Prime Minister: there are three parties she expects\u2014the Greens, Labour, and the New Zealand First Party\u2014to keep their word with respect to a binding referendum, and not, as others would suggest, double-cross that bridge when they come to it?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000090\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223b0a57523803444abd7c14fd48731193\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Order! That\u2019s not a matter for which the Prime Minister has responsibility.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000091\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002225020952e8744dd8bda70b8c0043c21b\u0022\u003EChl\u00F6e Swarbrick\u003C/span\u003E: Could the Prime Minister explain, and help the Opposition to understand, the difference between self-executing and binding?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000092\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b9bbc66cad4547279f6ccbec25c347d8\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, she can\u2019t, because the question was out of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000093\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222a2659eb46b04e47916163e32124d1db\u0022\u003EChl\u00F6e Swarbrick\u003C/span\u003E: How many times, approximately, has she invited the deputy leader of the National Party to engage in our cross-party group to answer all of these so-called questions about the cannabis referendum?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000094\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002206ea16b7c3fd43c9957651641937ae9c\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: On many occasions, and I do so again. Ultimately, this is a process that we have decided to commit ourselves to but we leave the decision in the hands of the public. That is what we are committed to. We are making the offer for any member of Parliament to be involved in the drafting together of the draft legislation that the public will then vote on. They will have a draft bill on which to make their decision. If they decide that it should be enacted, then we will abide by that decision.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000095\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221d1a7855c5f94ab1ab6957431a6fb2d9\u0022\u003EHon Paula Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: Does she stand by the statement in the Cabinet paper that an enacted piece of legislation would provide the electorate with the greatest certainty about the consequences of their vote?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000096\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022605dd8604d7946578c08d71a231f6c72\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Of course, the greatest certainty will come when the National Party declares whether or not it will abide by the public\u2019s decision. We are committed to giving the public their say, we are committed to them having a piece of draft legislation to vote on, and then we are committed to abiding by their decision.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000097\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002263776108-58dc-4cab-baf1-95282c61d0de\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eb826c4fc45f468892c2b1c89d79a1cd\u0022\u003EHon Paula Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: Does she accept that having a select committee process\u2014that has experts alongside of it and takes public submissions\u2014and the committee of the whole House would actually mean that that piece of legislation is more robust and more suitable and would give more certainty to the public on what their vote means?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000098\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d84dd2aab5a042a49c795031721c7a78\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: A select committee process does two things. It allows all members of Parliament to come together; we are providing that opportunity. The second thing is it allows people to have their say. There is no greater say than a public referendum.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002251ebf34ccde34e59925bb3ad05f12b5c\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 5\u2014Finance\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022 data-id=\u0022c3204e004b844052a098fc12d022461a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000100\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E5. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c3204e004b844052a098fc12d022461a\u0022\u003EHon AMY ADAMS (National\u2014Selwyn)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with Treasury that firms\u2019 own trading activity indicator from the most recent Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion suggests annual GDP growth of around 2.0 percent, and when was the last time New Zealand\u2019s annual GDP growth was at or below 2.0 percent?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u00224c1e47a4526d4cf5bb9633ad136344c8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000101\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224c1e47a4526d4cf5bb9633ad136344c8\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Associate Minister of Finance)\u003C/span\u003E on behalf of the Minister of Finance: In answer to the first part of the question, no. In answer to the second part of the question, I\u2019m advised that New Zealand\u2019s GDP growth was at or below 2 percent numerous times under that member\u2019s Government, most recently in quarter four 2013, when it was 1.8 percent. I know at that time, when the economy was growing at\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000102\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f56777618a8f46539c49588747737d64\u0022\u003EHon Amy Adams\u003C/span\u003E: The GFC. That\u2019s it\u2014the GFC.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000103\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022645aec5a86c4471a80b0ad258b07675b\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: \u20142013 is considerably later than the global financial crisis\u20141.8 percent, the then Minister of Finance said that there was good economic growth in New Zealand and that business sentiment was strong. That was the Hon Bill English.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000104\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022112dc68198db43daaf72c7553457513b\u0022\u003EHon Amy Adams\u003C/span\u003E: So is he, as Minister of Finance, satisfied with New Zealand growing at its lowest rate for six years, and, if not, what is the Government\u2019s plan to grow the economy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000105\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eddca7c8b91a4b82b1c3c1281dd35b0d\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: On behalf of the Minister, as he said last week, the IMF has downgraded global growth forecasts three times in the last year. New Zealand\u2019s growth rate is higher than Australia, Canada, the euro area, Japan, and the UK, and higher than the OECD average.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000106\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c92bf0445eef4af580ac4ed4514df8c2\u0022\u003EHon Amy Adams\u003C/span\u003E: What is the Government\u2019s plan to grow the economy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000107\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002262e7757bbfe04058adf09166ad2951f9\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: The transition from volume to value is already occurring. Exports have grown as a percentage of GDP under this Government, after having dropped from 30 percent to under, I think it was, 27 percent of GDP under the last Government, when they had the ambition of growing. One of the reasons why exports are growing is we\u2019ve introduced an R \u0026amp; D tax credit. We\u2019ve stimulated the economy through a tax package that the Prime Minister outlined earlier in the day, which benefits low to middle income people, who spend money into the economy, and we\u2019ve introduced, amongst other things, the green growth fund to support new initiatives.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000108\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f229112c8fa743ed89cf46d7d0fe82a4\u0022\u003EHon Amy Adams\u003C/span\u003E: So should the public take from that that when this Government talks about transitioning the economy, they mean transitioning it from one growing at 3.7 percent to, now, growing at a meagre 2 percent?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000109\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228e17edf9f40b438e96303426987d0c38\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, and most New Zealanders are aware that since World War II, growth rates under Labour administrations have exceeded those under National administrations.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000110\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f553dafb48ba41adabf197cc75e881a5\u0022\u003EHon Amy Adams\u003C/span\u003E: So who is correct: Treasury, who have used business confidence surveys to predict our current GDP track, or Associate Minister of Finance David Parker, who has said that business confidence surveys are just junk?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000111\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220bf5ba5f716e4b0d80fb856d253dea60\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: The Associate Minister of Finance\u2019s spokesperson was correct, and his predictions were proven correct because history already shows that. But I note in respect of Treasury that Treasury were not adopting the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) view; they were reporting it, and it\u2019s true that the NZIER view is a sentiment survey and so is subjective. It also has a hole in it. As the Opposition spokesperson on agriculture will be able to tell the member, the high performing and optimistic agriculture sector is excluded from that survey. We prefer to deal with real data.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000112\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002222c048edd3ba4a3fad09cd3cd4108b5c\u0022\u003EHon Amy Adams\u003C/span\u003E: When will we see this Government deliver the more productive economy that he has promised, when economic growth is now predicted by Treasury to be at its lowest rate for six years and per person growth is close to zero?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000113\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f7a3e2ee5c394b3997a397bbc93832fe\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: As I said earlier, IMF international growth forecasts have been downgraded three times over the last year. That does have an effect on the New Zealand economy, but it remains true that New Zealand\u2019s growth is forecasted by both the New Zealand Treasury and the IMF to be higher than that in Australia, Canada, the euro area, Japan, and the UK, and higher than the OECD average.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000114\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00229853fa9505444696bb95f01e510f06a4\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 6\u2014Social Development\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022872744a3-2256-4cdd-a4cc-939836dc2b11\u0022 data-id=\u0022a276d7cbd5dc416c8d31ef474bd6a6cb\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000115\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022872744a3-2256-4cdd-a4cc-939836dc2b11\u0022\u003E6. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a276d7cbd5dc416c8d31ef474bd6a6cb\u0022\u003EPRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Social Development: What recent announcements has she made about making the welfare system fairer and more accessible?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022 data-id=\u00229d2b03f14c9848c5a0d5c4145565a3b1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000116\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229d2b03f14c9848c5a0d5c4145565a3b1\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development):\u003C/span\u003E On Friday, alongside the release of the Welfare Expert Advisory Group\u2019s report, Whakamana T\u0101ngata: Restoring dignity to social security in New Zealand, I made three pre-Budget announcements that will contribute to the fairer and more accessible welfare system that this Government is committed to. Firstly, there was the repeal of section 192\u2014formerly, section 70A\u2014which penalises parents and children by reducing a client\u2019s benefit if they do not name the other parent of their child and apply for child support; secondly, there was an increase in the abatement threshold for main benefits over the next four years to reflect this Government\u2019s commitment to increasing the minimum wage; and, finally, we announced 263 extra front-line staff at the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) over four years to better support people into meaningful and sustainable employment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000117\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022872744a3-2256-4cdd-a4cc-939836dc2b11\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224b45bc67ec1d42869eb53638a4764d1f\u0022\u003EPriyanca Radhakrishnan\u003C/span\u003E: What impact will these announcements have?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000118\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e084bd74de2b4aa7bdaade6c2341e73f\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI\u003C/span\u003E: These announcements show that this Government is taking immediate action to support people into work and improve income security for New Zealanders. By repealing section 192, around 24,000 children will be better off as a result of this change, with sole parents who are currently affected receiving, on average, an extra $34 a week. The changes to the abatement threshold will ensure that as this Government increases the minimum wage over the next four years and clients who are working and on minimum wage will receive the benefits of these increases, and our extra front-line staff will mean there is a more proactive employment service available to support people into the right work for them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000119\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022872744a3-2256-4cdd-a4cc-939836dc2b11\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002236eff992aaf34ced945e4f9dcaa177f5\u0022\u003EPriyanca Radhakrishnan\u003C/span\u003E: What are the next steps for overhauling our welfare system?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000120\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002230b0235b896e43748653b9086733af7b\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI\u003C/span\u003E: The Welfare Expert Advisory Group\u2019s report will contribute greatly to this Government\u2019s welfare overhaul. The three pre-Budget announcements are important steps, and, in total, we have already started working on around 15 of the recommendations in the report. However, we know there is much more to do, which is why we will be taking action in our three priority areas: income support; supporting everyone who is able to to be earning, learning, caring, or volunteering; and improving access to affordable housing. At the same time, we will also be developing a three- to five-year plan that sensibly addresses recommendations in the report through a systematic overhaul of the welfare system that is effective and enduring and that ensures those who need access to MSD support are actually better off.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000121\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b880d1be33004dcdb92dab8257019c4c\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 7\u2014Housing and Urban Development\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022 data-id=\u00227896ac32726541f4974e666945e86470\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000122\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E7. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227896ac32726541f4974e666945e86470\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS (National\u2014Papakura)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: Does he stand by his answer to oral question No. 6 on 12 March that the additionality test for a KiwiBuild development can be met in four key ways, \u201Cby getting a development under way; by bringing forward a development, or the stage of a development that is scheduled for a later time period; or by redesigning part of a development to provide for additional affordable homes, rather than a smaller number of more expensive homes\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022 data-id=\u00224f46aff7530e43fea9fdc32e138facbc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000123\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224f46aff7530e43fea9fdc32e138facbc\u0022\u003EHon PHIL TWYFORD (Minister of Housing and Urban Development):\u003C/span\u003E Yes, in its original context. But the fourth element not in the member\u2019s question is to reduce the price of homes by reducing cost, risk, and margin.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000124\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002209975dcf73674a5aa2aa3e031b286f5e\u0022\u003EHon Judith Collins\u003C/span\u003E: Is he confident the \u014Ct\u0101huhu development met that test when officials advised the Minister before he bought them that all 19 houses were already under construction, including 10 that were already completed?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000125\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002204a6b042605142659626d61bac952592\u0022\u003EHon PHIL TWYFORD\u003C/span\u003E: I am confident in that advice received, and I note that the \u014Ct\u0101huhu development done by NZ Living\u2014Shane Brealey, the developer of that project, has stated that one other development would still be a figment of his imagination if not for the KiwiBuild deal. He said it\u2019s the result both of the deal freeing up his investment for new developments and from it giving him the confidence to build affordable homes because of the backing he got from KiwiBuild. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b4f03888314c4294bc209297161b30c1\u0022\u003EHon Judith Collins\u003C/span\u003E: How can houses be initiated, redesigned, or completed earlier after they\u2019ve already been completed?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000127\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fda4e66407c84547aa8cf97469d06b28\u0022\u003EHon PHIL TWYFORD\u003C/span\u003E: Well, the member seems to want the KiwiBuild unit to tell developers to stop building affordable houses while contracts are signed. The member can\u2019t have it both ways. She wants us to do due diligence on contract negotiations but wants the contracts to be signed with the houses not even started or planned.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d6e0601fbd164c18af12acc050180fca\u0022\u003EHon Judith Collins\u003C/span\u003E: What price or design details have changed for the nine houses under construction as a result of the KiwiBuild purchase?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000129\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002264ff47d068f64844b6491bc34ef7b4b4\u0022\u003EHon PHIL TWYFORD\u003C/span\u003E: If the member wants to put a written question down about that level of operational detail\u2014[Interruption] Look, we are focused on getting affordable homes built, not on nit-picking and endless excuses for not building affordable houses.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002252a303516fc04902a11f63ab27420c1b\u0022\u003EKieran McAnulty\u003C/span\u003E: How many homes are more affordable or are being built faster through this programme?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000131\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223bc0b36739284368a98f6571e7d2d569\u0022\u003EHon PHIL TWYFORD\u003C/span\u003E: The members opposite don\u2019t like to hear this, but Government agencies, including KiwiBuild, are building more homes right now than at any other time since the mid-1970s. Working with the private sector on KiwiBuild is a small part of that programme, but we make no apologies for backing builders to build more affordable homes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000132\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002228ae6827c7f54d468122f1eb41304830\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I think that \u201Cmany more\u201D is not a suitable answer to that sort of supplementary. The member will repeat the question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000133\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b7f00a81bf47487e9fd0c899621488d7\u0022\u003EKieran McAnulty\u003C/span\u003E: How many homes are more affordable or are being built faster through this programme?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000134\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002224aa926ccc7b43898750a082f025f822\u0022\u003EHon PHIL TWYFORD\u003C/span\u003E: There are more than 1,300 homes that are either completed or under construction or contracted as a result of this part of the KiwiBuild programme. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000135\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225a01fd11eb224ee595ba5ffceef03c2d\u0022\u003EHon Judith Collins\u003C/span\u003E: How comfortable is he that of the 10 \u014Ct\u0101huhu KiwiBuild houses offered for sale six months ago, only one has sold?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000136\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002212a59517a9654c2dac3e5c5e0537715d\u0022\u003EHon PHIL TWYFORD\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019m comfortable that we are supporting the building of more affordable homes in \u014Ct\u0101huhu and in a dozen other locations around the country. These are homes that would not have been built if it were not for the support they get through the KiwiBuild programme. We are committed to building more affordable homes for first-home buyers, in stark contrast to that party when it was in Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224d1466a28a284a038f915bd26de08310\u0022\u003EKieran McAnulty\u003C/span\u003E: How does this programme fit within the Government\u2019s broader housing supply programme? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000138\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022081e565404db41268405ae2c1f9c4ff5\u0022\u003EHon PHIL TWYFORD\u003C/span\u003E: As I said before, Government agencies are building more homes than at any time in the last 40 years. As well as the KiwiBuild programme, in March, there were more than 2,300 new State houses under construction. We\u2019re getting on with tackling the housing crisis. It takes a while to scale up and implement when you\u2019re starting from zero, but we\u2019re making good progress.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000139\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224bb3b34ddcbc468b8c2b2873c2b8476c\u0022\u003ERt Hon Winston Peters\u003C/span\u003E: Have tenements and new house consents reached a record level in the last 12 months?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000140\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bd6f01470aa84f9980af4651c2522d7b\u0022\u003EHon PHIL TWYFORD\u003C/span\u003E: Yes. It\u2019s not just the houses that are being built by Government agencies; the market itself is responding to our policies, and the private market is building more homes right now than at any time since the Helen Clark Labour Government in 2004.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022078afef84d254383b1d768f9a877db5a\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 8\u2014Health\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022 data-id=\u002210e3494ea96245019d2d9aac458b3dc1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000142\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003E8. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002210e3494ea96245019d2d9aac458b3dc1\u0022\u003EHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Health: What advice, if any, has he given to the Prime Minister about an early access scheme for patients seeking faster access to new medicines through Pharmac?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022 data-id=\u0022d367ccc3605a48a9867a995156f1e035\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000143\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d367ccc3605a48a9867a995156f1e035\u0022\u003EHon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health):\u003C/span\u003E The Prime Minister has asked me to accelerate work looking at options for early access to medicines. While I\u2019ve had some initial advice, it is not yet sufficiently developed to provide to the Prime Minister or her office.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000144\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002259e550bf799b41549378e04fb43c959c\u0022\u003EHon Michael Woodhouse\u003C/span\u003E: When did that work first commence?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000145\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dae738154d4440afa5b9ff6fb90ce960\u0022\u003EHon Dr DAVID CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: I have received reports around questions I\u2019ve had around early-access schemes since I became the Minister. I couldn\u2019t name them all.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000146\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229f74eb0c67b54421847c10a99f18623c\u0022\u003EHon Michael Woodhouse\u003C/span\u003E: Does he accept that many of the cancer sufferers who signed one of the six petitions tabled today will die waiting for that advice?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000147\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229b59cd8f6abc440c9706f748d70c9745\u0022\u003EHon Dr DAVID CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: Obviously, this is a difficult and emotive issue, and I understand the anger and frustration directed at Pharmac over these matters. It is why I have instructed Pharmac to look at the openness and transparency of their decision-making process, and it\u2019s also why we are looking at options for early access.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000148\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022126e67ebe202459998ad301ef033a027\u0022\u003EHon Michael Woodhouse\u003C/span\u003E: Does he agree with Pharmac CEO Sarah Fitt that taking more money from district health boards (DHBs) means less money for hospital services, and will he commit that any funding for an early-access scheme won\u2019t be funded out of existing DHB budgets?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bdb89677189c4a0eb0d08f91ebeb8025\u0022\u003EHon Dr DAVID CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: I would expect that the Pharmac CEO provided that comment in a wider context, because Pharmac is able, with its purchasing power, to gain more drugs for more people through using the budget that also sits in DHBs.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000150\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002258b691966810475d801d8fe47fc15d48\u0022\u003EHon Michael Woodhouse\u003C/span\u003E: Well, isn\u2019t it true that early access to at least some of the medicines that are the subject of those petitions could have been funded by the $200 million of Pharmac savings achieved in Budget 2018 had that money not been reprioritised to other parts of the health sector?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000151\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002230ee74a5267046cea0d3dad81ddfaae6\u0022\u003EHon Dr DAVID CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: The Pharmac budget is at a record amount currently, and I\u2019m not about to make the clinical decisions that Pharmac makes. They are difficult decisions to make\u2014prioritising drugs\u2014and they do it based on evidence.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000152\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00229bf5d70de19b4c31bfc256dcd32d9008\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 9\u2014Finance\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022 data-id=\u0022d9d5c28c376443618678e462aa5ad451\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000153\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003E9. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d9d5c28c376443618678e462aa5ad451\u0022\u003ETAMATI COFFEY (Labour\u2014Waiariki)\u003C/span\u003E to the Associate Minister of Finance: What effect, if any, has the ban on foreign buyers of existing homes had on the number of foreign buyers of existing New Zealand homes?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u00220277f27afd2f4f63acf6c3308ece444e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000154\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220277f27afd2f4f63acf6c3308ece444e\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Associate Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E The ban on foreign buyers of existing New Zealand homes\u2014a core policy of all three Government parties and strongly supported by the public\u2014has caused a very significant drop in the number of foreign purchasers of New Zealand homes. In the March quarter last year, before the ban came into effect, there were 1,083 homes transferred to foreign purchasers. In the March quarter of this year, there were only 204. That\u2019s a decrease of 81 percent. Even though these statistics paint only a partial picture of how well this is doing because the earlier data excluded foreign companies and trusts, the numbers show that the foreign-buyer ban is yet another example of this coalition Government delivering on its promises to New Zealanders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000155\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002219f33a460cb94424875f9ccec1c3c31a\u0022\u003ETamati Coffey\u003C/span\u003E: Where was the decline in foreign buyers most noticeable?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000156\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002258bb8c315e414ee9b5482f06a5a4ab15\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: In the March 2019 quarter, the percentage of homes transferred to overseas persons dropped to just under 3.3 percent in central Auckland, down from 22.2 percent in June 2018, before the ban came into effect. In the Queenstown Lakes District a year ago, one in 10 homes were being transferred to overseas persons, and now it\u2019s just one in 37. These, of course, have been two of the most overheated residential property markets in New Zealand, in part due to foreign speculators. This Government has ensured that we now have a New Zealand housing market that\u2019s shaped by New Zealanders for New Zealanders. This is something that the vast majority of New Zealanders want.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000157\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002236c8c596-d890-4cca-9767-1eeb5c9ce710\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a6e958008dae49d681545de79acd3bd2\u0022\u003EDarroch Ball\u003C/span\u003E: What\u2019s the principle underpinning the ban on foreign buyers of existing homes?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000158\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ded4f5dee5e341c3ac8983dfc11346b7\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: The basic principle is that if you have the right to live in New Zealand long term, then you have the right to buy a home here. But the Government believes that it\u2019s the birthright of New Zealanders to buy homes in New Zealand, not the birthright for overseas people\u2014for them, it\u2019s a privilege. We don\u2019t think it\u2019s right for a very wealthy person from overseas to outbid our most successful people for the most beautiful bay in the Bay of Islands or a beautiful bit of land around Queenstown, but we also believe that principle extends across the socio-economic scale to the most modest house in South Auckland, which is none the less someone\u2019s dream.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000159\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002236c8c596-d890-4cca-9767-1eeb5c9ce710\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aa5551427ba849dfbd3ab6de560ea539\u0022\u003EDarroch Ball\u003C/span\u003E: What would have happened if the ban on foreign buyers of existing New Zealand homes had not been passed before the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) came into effect? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000160\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002255409964bd5140049b0e4be68a23477f\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: Well, in effect, New Zealand would have lost for ever the right to control who buys our homes. It was critical\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000161\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002242ac5039e1b9440a842eced5b557facb\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Rubbish\u2014absolute rubbish. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000162\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022953dc9fbf96342088477cbcd93bd030c\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: Well, Mr Brownlee still doesn\u2019t understand that the terms of the agreement, and its precursor, the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, meant that new categories of investment could not have been introduced into the screening regime if they were not introduced before the CPTPP was passed. So, while others were happy to ignore that, we protected the sovereignty of New Zealand Governments, both current and future, by having this policy space preserved both for this Government and future Governments.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000163\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00222b7f62f81fa747119547f285d8b0fac9\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 10\u2014Social Development\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022 data-id=\u002239f97981c149442ab18c354a028ded75\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000164\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E10. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002239f97981c149442ab18c354a028ded75\u0022\u003EHon LOUISE UPSTON (National\u2014Taup\u014D)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Social Development: How many of the 42 recommendations in the Welfare Expert Advisory Group\u2019s report will be implemented by the end of this parliamentary term?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022 data-id=\u00224da4150526714caabdf04b0397479060\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000165\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224da4150526714caabdf04b0397479060\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development):\u003C/span\u003E We have already made three pre-Budget announcements to make our welfare system fairer and more accessible. Those announcements align with three of the recommendations in the report. Work was already under way to address around 15 of the report\u2019s recommendations prior to receiving the report. After receiving it, I immediately commissioned further advice on another five. However, we know there is much more to do, and much of what needs to be done will be rolled out in a phase two plan that is yet to be developed. We want to make sure the changes we make to the welfare system are effective and enduring. As is noted by the Welfare Expert Advisory Group in their report, more work is needed to be done on the interactions with other government systems in wider areas, and this is important work that we will be doing before we commit to a long-term welfare overhaul work programme.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000166\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d04dfaeabdce4efbbb60a00675b022c6\u0022\u003EHon Louise Upston\u003C/span\u003E: Will the Government remove the obligation to be drug-free and to have children registered with education providers, as listed in recommendation 11 of the report?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000167\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223dc4830604be45e3b1e1388396a4bd32\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI\u003C/span\u003E: This Government is committed to removing excessive sanctions. We take the advice that is in the report and we\u2019ll be considering all the recommendations that embody that advice, but that member will need to wait until we roll out phase two of our overhaul programme.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000168\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fb7a2965013544e09aa5d8720bcfd737\u0022\u003EHon Louise Upston\u003C/span\u003E: What advice has she received on the additional number of mothers who won\u2019t name the father when the Government removes the obligation to name both parents?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223ab615387e50423ba073cc95451a59ce\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI\u003C/span\u003E: With regards to repealing section 192\u2014that was formerly section 70A\u2014the advice that this side of the House received was that there was no evidence to support that that sanction actually did anything to get child support out of the absent parent. Instead, the evidence that we were presented with\u2014which is the same evidence that the previous Government was presented with in 2016\u2014was that the sanction was, in fact, throwing the sole mothers into further hardship and causing further poverty for the 24,000 children that live in those households. So we make no apologies for the announcement that we will be repealing that sanction.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000170\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b1af541f6d3347118f6a906a627fdc77\u0022\u003EHon Louise Upston\u003C/span\u003E: What advice has she received on the additional number of fathers who will avoid being financially responsible for their children?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000171\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226e05b997d9864684bbe66043ac09592f\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI\u003C/span\u003E: As has already been noted, there was no evidence to support that that sanction was actually doing anything to ensure that the absent parent was paying child support, so the premise on which that member asked the question is incredibly flawed. On this side of the House, our concern is for the 24,000 children that are living in those households, and we\u2019re proud of the fact that they will not be punished because of the fact that they have an absent parent.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000172\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e29fffe1f0e44937aeaa9c5759a3f94a\u0022\u003EHon Louise Upston\u003C/span\u003E: When the Labour Minister Steve Maharey introduced the sanction initially, it was about ensuring fathers are held financially responsible for their children. What will the Government do to ensure that fathers are held financially responsible for their children?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000173\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022979f8928a7cf4b049fccd639d1c4ea52\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI\u003C/span\u003E: Given that the evidence that we have been presented with shows that there is no evidence to support that that sanction has in any way contributed to holding the absent parent to account, then we make no apologies for repealing that sanction.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000174\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a5f0fe84-01e8-4eb3-a590-0025017c4243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022694e8f7c22db496581bed10d4185c7b9\u0022\u003EMarama Davidson\u003C/span\u003E: Does she endorse the vision of the Welfare Expert Advisory Group that the social support system should move beyond a safety net to enabling whakamana tangata by restoring dignity to people so they can participate meaningfully with their families and communities?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000175\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b997893d41b5479cb20b07ee39ec5c71\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI\u003C/span\u003E: Absolutely, and can I just say that on this side of the House, we are very interested in the international evidence that shows that excessive sanctions aren\u2019t necessarily the way to move people forward. In fact, we\u2019ve been presented with evidence and seen international evidence that shows things like excessive sanctions can actually dissuade people from getting into employment. So on this side of the House, we want to make sure that all of the over 1 million people that access the support of the Ministry of Social Development every year, which includes our superannuitants, disabled people, unemployed people\u2014that all of them are treated with dignity and respect and that we have the resourcing and the mechanisms in place to support those that are able to get into employment, but not just any employment: employment that is sustainable and meaningful to them, so that we don\u2019t experience the churn on and off benefit that that side of the House had when they were in Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000176\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00223891e6eed37b484cbaf7fc84df1f5814\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 11\u2014Police\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022 data-id=\u00221cc2bac70a44426d8c677fb9262b9e58\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000177\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E11. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221cc2bac70a44426d8c677fb9262b9e58\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP (National\u2014Hutt South)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Police: Does he stand by all his statements, policies, and actions in relation to the New Zealand Police?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022 data-id=\u002236d7d9120bd14ac3a95332beae8e34d7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000178\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002236d7d9120bd14ac3a95332beae8e34d7\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Deputy Prime Minister)\u003C/span\u003E on behalf of the Minister of Police: Yes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000179\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022683819e76f9541749a0dd2566fd0f2e3\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Can he confirm the total new number of front-line police added to the force since 1 November 2017, taking into account attrition, is only 496 full-time equivalents, and with just 18 months to go until the next election, how is he going to reach his target of 1,800 new police in three years? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000180\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022df84844d873c41cf8fdd266fa5fd89fb\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS\u003C/span\u003E: On behalf of the Minister, what I can confirm is that the police have the lowest attrition, virtually, of any Civil Service\u2014at, now, 5 percent\u2014so keen are the men and women to stay on, now that they\u2019ve got a supportive Government. What I can also say is that over 830 have already been trained, or are being trained, in just 12 months, and this week, on Thursday\u2014good news\u201480 will graduate out at Porirua College and, just today, a further 80 have been taken on. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000181\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f04b0f9e507d4e59a1e98b497032b890\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: If the Government has only managed to recruit 496\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000182\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225b92e3a018a24624addf5a4c6856009f\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Order! Questions start with a question word. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000183\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002207476916c80d4476b98e62d3c83ac100\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Sorry, Mr Speaker. How can he claim the Government will meet its target of 1,800 new police in three years, given the Government has only managed to recruit 496 net new police since November 2017? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000184\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002205791fd0d39b4639a2629ac2ae20f08a\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS\u003C/span\u003E: On behalf of the Minister of Police, those graduating for the years 2019 and 2020 will be over 830, just in that period of time. That\u2019s more than in any two-year combined period in any previous administration\u2014in other words, we are delivering twice as many police. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000185\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f824a7d266bf4625a22b95e6bccebea8\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Does he accept that official advice to him in 2018 was that he required funding of $515 million over four years to deliver the 1,800 new police and that Budget 2018 only appropriated $299 million, and can the police expect a further injection of the balance in Budget 2019\u2014namely, $216 million?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000186\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cb368c3aa7f34b30800c24acb798a82b\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS\u003C/span\u003E: On behalf of the Minister, I always get worried when I hear people quoting figures, particularly when they\u2019re not qualified to. Can I say, in particular, here are the real facts: we have deployed more than 1,200 new constables since we\u2019ve been in office. That\u2019s 1,200, and if you look at the election cycle, we just might make the 1,800 before the three years is out. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000187\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a65eb81004b946a1984f89c0a51e474e\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. With respect, my question was about funding and about various Budget documents that are in the public domain. That answer was about new police delivered, but the question was actually about the funding. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000188\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022923cc538857440db9ff4ae4ad938fad4\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, and I think right at the beginning, although not in a very satisfactory way, that was addressed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000189\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cc012d4de1cb4b8b83b6b3ea177ad602\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Does he stand by his statement of 12 June 2018 that in relation to the Minister of Finance, \u201CHe has also assured me if I go back next year, he will top me up,\u201D and if he doesn\u2019t get the required $219 million top-up, how will he explain to the Police Association that he hasn\u2019t delivered on his commitments? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000190\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c664a8c4b7fd42f89e9d7a2c95fef7b9\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS\u003C/span\u003E: On behalf of the Minister, it\u2019s well-known\u2014it\u2019s in the Bible, in fact\u2014that he who sets his hands to the plough and looks backwards is not fit for the kingdom of heaven. In short, he\u2019s going to see the Minister of Finance, determined to succeed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000191\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022f953e2099cb34eed8728bad00988890b\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 12\u2014Internal Affairs\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bf71a65e-c9f0-4856-902f-1a15c4274e94\u0022 data-id=\u00220a9efb4d43a44c0fbf4accc2c1ed1335\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bf71a65e-c9f0-4856-902f-1a15c4274e94\u0022\u003E12. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220a9efb4d43a44c0fbf4accc2c1ed1335\u0022\u003EMARK PATTERSON (NZ First)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Internal Affairs: What recent announcements has she made regarding the recovery from the devastating Tasman fire?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022 data-id=\u0022f47b719c04ec47c4910d2b52c40dbee6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f47b719c04ec47c4910d2b52c40dbee6\u0022\u003EHon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister of Internal Affairs):\u003C/span\u003E It was a pleasure on Saturday last week to attend an event at the Richmond Fire Station to acknowledge International Firefighters\u2019 Day, and can I thank all the members across the House that also did that to acknowledge their local firefighters. I particularly want to acknowledge Melissa Lee and how wonderful she looked in their level 2 gears. At that event, I had the opportunity to announce another $792,000 from the Lottery Grants Board for the restoration efforts via the Tasman Mayoral Disaster Relief Fund.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000194\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a68dc5870a754562864d8251e57c4473\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019ll call a supplementary question, but if I gave that answer I\u2019d be in trouble! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000195\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bf71a65e-c9f0-4856-902f-1a15c4274e94\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022039238efa6134a2ca6626f13fa2c3515\u0022\u003EMark Patterson\u003C/span\u003E: Is this the only funding that the Lottery Grants Board has provided for the restoration efforts?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000196\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a001d5b4e4ac43dbb46accc2f40bf174\u0022\u003EHon TRACEY MARTIN\u003C/span\u003E: No. Earlier this year, on 15 March, I travelled to Nelson to announce an initial payment of $1 million of Lottery Grants Board funding through my lottery ministerial discretionary fund. The subsequent amount is recognition that Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the Tasman District Council have since made a more accurate assessment of the extent and cost of damage.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000197\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002230c2123ee65a4206ac11351e0e2ef405\u0022\u003EUrgent Debates Declined\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000198\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00228de21121204a4d15ac2f401c4ecdca5c\u0022\u003EReferendum\u2014Legalising the Recreational Use of Cannabis\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022f0e31387bdfb4900bc6a70ccc468034c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000199\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f0e31387bdfb4900bc6a70ccc468034c\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I have received a letter from the Hon Paula Bennett seeking to debate under Standing Order 389 the Government\u2019s recent announcement regarding the proposed referendum on legalising the recreational use of cannabis. This is a particular case of recent occurrence, it involves ministerial responsibility. The test for whether a particular matter requires the immediate attention of the House is a high one\u2014I am not convinced that the application meets the test for urgency. I must therefore decline the application.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000200\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00229c4a4958fbb9439a933718d44ed82b2d\u0022\u003EAnnual Review Debate\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000201\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c2af4dd5caef41e9b58e82340b8d090c\u0022\u003EIn Committee\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022 data-id=\u0022ede0031b18544550b96c130983273e7f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000202\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ede0031b18544550b96c130983273e7f\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley)\u003C/span\u003E: Colleagues, can I ask your indulgence while you leave the House. This, that I\u2019m going to read out, is quite a long piece for me to read, so I suggest that you bear with me and listen carefully.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000203\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003EThe House is in Committee on the Appropriation (2017/18 Confirmation and Validation) Bill. This is the debate on the financial position of the Government and the annual reviews of departments, offices of the Parliament, Crown entities, public organisations, and State enterprises as reported on by select committees. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000204\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003EThe time allocated for this debate is 10 hours. The debate is divided into 10 separate debates covering the sectors set out in the Estimates of Appropriations 2017/18. Each debate will be led by a call from the chairperson of a select committee reporting on the sector in order to set out the major findings of that committee. Other speeches are allocated on a proportional basis based on membership of the House\u2014and that means that executive members are included in that count. The parties therefore have the following number of calls to use as they choose, across the debates: National has 51, Labour has 42, New Zealand First has eight, Greens have seven, ACT has one, and Jami-Lee Ross has one call. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003EAt the end of each debate, the question will be put that the committee reports relevant to the sector be noted. The time taken on each question is in the hands of members, depending on the party\u2019s use of their allocated calls. However, the debate expires after 10 hours. A motion to report progress on a bill must be moved on a call, not a point of order\u2014and that\u2019s Speakers\u2019 ruling 77/5. Because the annual review debate will run for a fixed period of time, and the calls have been allocated proportionally, it would harm the proportionality of the debate to treat a motion to report progress as a member\u2019s entire call. Therefore, when a member moves to report progress in this annual review debate, the presiding officer will call on that member first when the debate resumes. This is a similar process to that followed in other debates when they are adjourned. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000206\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003EAt the conclusion of the debate, a single question is put on the provisions of the Appropriation (2017/18 Confirmation and Validation) Bill. There is no amendment or debate on this question. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000207\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003EWe turn first to the select committee reports on the first sector of annual reviews and the question is that the report of committees relevant to the Economic Development and Infrastructure Sector be noted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000208\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c6019ada43f24935b6f789d9ad03f4f2\u0022\u003EEconomic Development and Infrastructure Sector\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022 data-id=\u00226cae328d4f5740a5bf44df018a68c4d2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000209\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226cae328d4f5740a5bf44df018a68c4d2\u0022\u003EJONATHAN YOUNG (Chairperson of the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Chair. It\u2019s a great delight as chair of the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee to start off this debate and to look at, essentially, what our committee did in its review of the Government departments and entities that came before us.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000210\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EThe process of annual reviews is an important one, where, in a public setting, before the elected representatives of the people of New Zealand, we require and receive validation and reporting on the taxpayer funding that different Government departments and entities have received. Can I say thank you to all of those entities for the supply of information as requested, for appearing before the committee, and responding to further questions sent to you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000211\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EFor the financial year 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018, the committee requested the following entities to appear before us, and it is quite an extensive list: AgResearch, Broadcasting Commission, Callaghan Innovation, the Commerce Commission, the Financial Markets Authority, Kordia, Landcare Research, MetService, NIWA, the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE), New Zealand Forest Research, New Zealand Post, New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, New Zealand Productivity Commission, New Zealand Tourism Board, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, New Zealand Venture Investment Fund, Radio New Zealand, Research and Education Advanced Network New Zealand, and TVNZ, plus we also joined with the Transport and Infrastructure Committee on the Electricity Authority\u2014so quite an extensive list of agencies, representing tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer funding.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000212\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EPerhaps the largest entity was the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. They are a large agency with just over 4,870 employees and 47 offices, as of June 2018. Its responsibilities cover a wide range of areas, including immigration, science and innovation, communications, energy and resources, tourism, and Government procurement. The ministry aims to \u201Cgrow New Zealand for all\u201D, with a focus on economic performance through productive and sustainable use of resources. MBIE works to increase real household incomes, through more competitive businesses, increased job opportunities, and more affordable housing. Their departmental expenditure in 2017/18 was $750 million, an increase of about 8 percent from the previous year. Their total revenue was $756 million\u2014just slightly above that. They had a net surplus of $6 million. In addition to its own spending, the ministry administers a large amount of non-departmental expenditure as well. This totalled $3.814 billion. So, indeed, quite a substantial amount of money. This money was administered on behalf of Ministers for services provided by Crown entities and research facilities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000213\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EIn 2017/18, the ministry set up the Provincial Development Unit (PDU) to manage the design, administration, and monitoring of the Provincial Growth Fund. In 2018, they allocated $3 billion over three years to the Provincial Growth Fund. In the committee, when we questioned them, there was concern about the transparency and the operation of the PDU, and we were assured that information would be put up on the website, and that project is well under way.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000214\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003EOne of their objectives is, of course, also housing affordability and quality. MBIE has a target to increase real household incomes by 40 percent by 2025. In support of this, one of the ministry\u2019s objectives is to lower the ratio of housing cost to incomes. In 2017/18, the ministry supported a range of initiatives to improve the supply and affordability of homes, focusing on improving conditions for rental properties, etc. But we also noted that a new ministry, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, on 1 October 2018 superseded them, and so we were able to ask them, in terms of that point in time, what their goals and achievements were.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000215\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc9c47c0-4409-44ca-ad2f-498707f27d69\u0022\u003ENo doubt a number of members of the committee will report on different aspects of this work, but I\u2019d like to say thank you very much to the staff and to those people who have come in and reported to our committee. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022 data-id=\u00229fa36cf4892a4e3ab8f1ac59921bdd12\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000216\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229fa36cf4892a4e3ab8f1ac59921bdd12\u0022\u003EMELISSA LEE (National):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Chair. It\u2019s a pleasure to rise. I\u2019d like to start off by complimenting the chair, who actually just sat down. Jonathan Young is a very able chair and he has actually given us a rundown on some of the issues that the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee has actually worked through in the last financial year. There were many. I think the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee probably does more annual reviews than any other select committee in this House, and I\u2019d like to actually thank all of the members from right across the House who do great work together. We debate, but we actually work well together as a select committee.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000217\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EI\u2019d like to traverse, maybe, some of the issues related to the particular portfolio responsibilities that I have in broadcasting, communications, and digital media on this particular debate. Because of my responsibilities, one of the biggest, I guess, interests that I\u2019ve had over the last couple of years of this Labour-led Government was the issue in relation to Radio New Zealand in terms of Labour\u2019s desire to potentially turn Radio New Zealand into a television channel, calling it RNZ\u002B, and their promise to actually deliver in excess of $38 million a year for the next four years. That was their election promise, but the delivery never actually happened.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000218\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EConsidering that this is actually a debate, I thought that 2019 was the year of delivery, and I have to sort of wonder where the delivery, the action, has actually gone. It is definitely not a year of delivery for this Government, and they haven\u2019t actually so far delivered anything. But I have to actually compliment the Minister the Hon Kris Faafoi, who, I have to say, does a wonderful job for the portfolio that he was given. I say make him a Cabinet Minister\u2014he\u2019s so much better than the previous one.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000219\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EI guess Radio New Zealand has had a challenging year.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000220\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221280edd6e58b44c8b6745c0d1c543544\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley)\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019m sorry to interrupt the member, but Radio New Zealand comes under a later debate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000221\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002262beab6868714eb2b6e41e288e8bf335\u0022\u003EMELISSA LEE\u003C/span\u003E: Economic development?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000222\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d1d8a56a018645819351d9996a4c95f1\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley)\u003C/span\u003E: It comes under M\u0101ori, Other Populations and Cultural Sector according to this list. Radio New Zealand comes\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000223\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225094e6f85dcb45b3955004c080f0f9c6\u0022\u003EMELISSA LEE\u003C/span\u003E: Oh well. I will repeat that debate next time around. Do I get three minutes back?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000224\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002277010b20a3794205abf99809e01e6dae\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley)\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, I beg your pardon. It\u2019s listed there\u2014no, I\u2019m sorry. It\u2019s listed there, but it does actually refer it back to economic development. Continue on. I\u2019m sorry\u2014my mistake.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000225\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a43e1759b764436c82dc6756794536ed\u0022\u003EMELISSA LEE\u003C/span\u003E: So I can actually talk about it?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000226\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022243313f0b6a040cc9cc46660d75761a5\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley)\u003C/span\u003E: You can\u2014my mistake.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225f57b91feebf4a0a97d1b7b80b20299b\u0022\u003EMELISSA LEE\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess one of the difficult tasks that Radio New Zealand has had is that it\u2019s been rather controversial, having had previous chairs and a very able CEO turn up to select committee having to explain the issues of non-transparency, and having a new Minister tasked with the job of cleaning up the process. I guess the controversy of losing their head of news as well has been rather difficult, but having said that, I think Radio New Zealand does a good job. Any criticism I have of Radio New Zealand is probably in terms of the issue that they had with the last Minister, and I think they do try and do their very best in producing quality programmes and the diversity that this nation actually requires. I commend them for the work that they do.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000228\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EIn terms of other entities that we have actually reviewed, I mean, most of them do a grand job. One of the concerns that I\u2019ve actually just recently had was in relation to MetService, who have appeared before our select committee, where time and time again, under question, I tried to ask questions in relation to how MetService would react to the roll-out of 5G in this country, and they weren\u2019t actually able to produce the answer. The CEO and the chairperson could not actually answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000229\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EI am appalled to actually see an article in the newspaper where they have now commented saying that 5G may interfere in the prediction of the weather forecasts. I am surprised at this article because they must have had that information when they appeared before our select committee. I have today written to the select committee chair, hoping that we may be able to recall MetService to actually answer some of the questions that I have of them in regards to this particular article that I hold in my hand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000230\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EOverall, the entities that have actually appeared before select committee were asked very pertinent questions, and they were very able in their answers.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022919a8e8d-afaf-4342-ad6f-71cbb6024544\u0022 data-id=\u0022d487a099c9eb4af7a9c263d38007281f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000231\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022919a8e8d-afaf-4342-ad6f-71cbb6024544\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d487a099c9eb4af7a9c263d38007281f\u0022\u003ECLAYTON MITCHELL (NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Chair. It gives me great pleasure to stand on behalf of New Zealand First to talk in today\u2019s debate on economic development, science and innovation\u2014a very large portfolio, under which we had a lot of annual reviews. I\u2019d like to take this opportunity to say what a wonderful job Jonathan Young does in chairing the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee. Our committee works very, very collegially together. We have good, robust, solid discussions throughout. We don\u2019t always agree\u2014sometimes we leave with the agreeing to disagree ideology\u2014but all in all, we do come to a good place most days.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000232\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022919a8e8d-afaf-4342-ad6f-71cbb6024544\u0022\u003EI\u2019d like to just go back to where this coalition Government started off from, which was the idea about giving this Government, and making sure that we gave capitalism, a human face. In order to do that, we had to look at the way that we were building our economy, which is to start building our economy from the bottom up. To build our economy from the bottom up requires making sure that our most vulnerable, most uneducated, most unskilled workforce are being looked after. So to that end, increasing the minimum wage, heading towards a living wage, was a very, very vital part of that drive and motivation for this Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000233\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022919a8e8d-afaf-4342-ad6f-71cbb6024544\u0022\u003ENow, we have seen in real terms the largest increase in the minimum wage that this country has ever seen, taking the minimum wage to $17.70\u2014up by $1.20\u2014as of 1 April, which is a considerable lift for those most vulnerable workers. I think the previous Government\u2014it speaks for itself where they missed out, with a trickle-down sort of economic policy that really didn\u2019t look after those workers. We\u2019ve certainly put this country, and this Government is putting our people, first to make sure that they are being looked after.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000234\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022919a8e8d-afaf-4342-ad6f-71cbb6024544\u0022\u003EAlso on 1 April, we took away secondary tax to assist with those workers earning very low or modest to low incomes, to assist with their needs. That was a vital part, again, to show that those people that are out there putting in a full day\u2019s work deserve a fair day\u2019s pay for their contribution to the community to look after their families. So those are two things that I look around and I\u2019d like to raise everybody\u2019s attention to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000235\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022919a8e8d-afaf-4342-ad6f-71cbb6024544\u0022\u003EBut also we needed to raise productivity, and that becomes a bit more of a conundrum. Raising wages is a very important part. Wages are essential, but productivity to ensure that businesses\u2019 profitability can grow and be maintained so they can employ people is a big part of it. With that came the billion-dollar R \u0026amp; D tax credits to actually increase R \u0026amp; D spending in New Zealand\u2014up to 2 percent, I think, by 2028 is the goal. We\u2019re well and truly on the right track for that. Just prior to the 1 April announcement of the R \u0026amp; D tax credits kicking in\u2014the $1 billion over four years tax credits kicking in\u2014actually we were at 1.37 percent. Even without the $1 billion R \u0026amp; D tax credits, which kicked in on 1 April, that 1.37 percent, as I said, is there, and we\u2019re looking at growing that exponentially. Now, that\u2019s going to open up new opportunities to grow and develop intellectual property rights, added value exports to the market place, and raise GDP per capita, individual persons\u2019 per capita wealth in this country\u2014another great way that we can actually assist in building our economy from the bottom up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000236\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022919a8e8d-afaf-4342-ad6f-71cbb6024544\u0022\u003EWe\u2019ve got the second lowest unemployment that this country has seen in the last 10 years, currently at 4.2 percent, but we still acknowledge the work that needs to be implemented to ensure that those workers can actually get back into the workplace\u2014to use a coined term, \u201CTo get the nephs off the couch\u201D. I was speaking, just yesterday, to the Hospitality Association of New Zealand and that group of people are struggling to find workers. I know we\u2019ve got people that haven\u2019t got work at the moment, and we need to get them fit and ready for work to give them gainful employment. There\u2019s no more personal mana and respect that you can give yourself than to give yourself the opportunity to get out and work for yourself and for your family to get ahead. This Government is doing everything that it possibly can\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000237\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227dd8d957d23f4549a4c3a2834237111e\u0022\u003EHon Shane Jones\u003C/span\u003E: Mana in Mahi.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000238\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022919a8e8d-afaf-4342-ad6f-71cbb6024544\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b1c7ea212b7a43e8aacbfdd88364aed6\u0022\u003ECLAYTON MITCHELL\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014the Mana in Mahi ideology\u2014getting people that have served prison time, to get out, to actually learn the skills that they need so that they can actually contribute to society. So this Government\u2014and New Zealand First being part of this Government\u2014is very, very proud to see that we\u2019re heading in the right direction and ensuring that our economy is building itself from the bottom up and giving capitalism a human face. Thank you Madam Chair.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022 data-id=\u002235be0cb066b74f72a419e5db59b570ee\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000239\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002235be0cb066b74f72a419e5db59b570ee\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley)\u003C/span\u003E: Just before I call the next speaker, can I just refer\u2014I know we only do this once a year\u2014members to the Speakers\u2019 Rulings 131/1 to 5, which is the conduct of debate. In particular 131/3, \u201CAt some point members must make reference to the period of expenditure under review or one of the select committee reports\u201D. So it\u2019s not just a general speech that you\u2019re giving about how wonderful the Government is or the select committee is, etc. We do actually want some reference to that period of expenditure under review. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022 data-id=\u0022141ea4fbfbb44d76bab2d012287170c4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000240\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022141ea4fbfbb44d76bab2d012287170c4\u0022\u003EHon PHIL TWYFORD (Minister of Transport):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Chair, for the chance to make a contribution in this annual review debate. I want to thank the chair and the members of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee and make some comments about transport policy over the year in question. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000241\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EThe two big tasks of our transport policy and the various transport agencies that were subject to the annual review at committee: first, cleaning up the mess that was left to us by the transport policy of the last Government, and tackling some of the long-entrenched, difficult issues that this Government has inherited. I\u2019ll give the members a case in point: the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), which is the largest of our transport agencies\u2014its mandate was maintaining a land transport system that is effective, safe, and in the public interest. Well, in the year in question the board of the NZTA uncovered the fact that the agency had failed to carry out its regulatory responsibilities to the standard that New Zealanders expect. NZTA was failing in its duty to properly check the companies, and the individuals that certify vehicles as being safe for the road. When problems with these companies were identified there was often no follow up. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000242\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003ENow, public safety has to be paramount. The conduct of the agency, in this regard, was unacceptable and it\u2019s clear from the work that\u2019s been done by Meredith Connell\u2014the law firm that was brought in by the board of NZTA to fix up this mess that we inherited\u2014that the agency, for a number of years, has been treating the people and the companies that it is regulating as their customers. Well, they are not their customers. Their customers are the travelling public of New Zealand\u2014they deserve to be able to use our roads, and our rail, and our public transport systems in the knowledge that the transport system is being kept safe by the regulator. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EThis systemic failure, in my view, was partly a result of a reduced focus on the agency\u2019s regulatory role over the last decade. It\u2019s clear that staff were redeployed away from regulation; that there was an emphasis on education and encouragement, instead of enforcement. The former Government was asleep at the wheel while this went on for years. Well, we have turned this around: 850 files of regulatory lapses that had been left unattended have now been dealt with. The agency put in place Kristy McDonald, a QC, to investigate the Dargaville Diesel case, which was one of the most egregious cases, and an independent review by the Ministry of Transport is due to hand down its report shortly. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000244\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EI want to turn to the Ministry of Transport, who, over the last 12 months, have undergone an enormous organisational change as they gear up to deliver the new policy direction contained in this Government\u2019s Government Policy Statement on Land Transport, in which we signalled a shift in focus towards three things: we made safety the number one priority for the Government, right across the entire transport system. Secondly, a shift towards prioritising public transport in our cities; we\u2019ve moved away from a policy that saw the last Government invest 40 percent of the transport budget in a handful of urban motorway projects that carried 4 percent\u20144 percent\u2014of the journeys. Well, we are investing right across the entire transport system in safety and, in our cities, the priority is to build modern public transport systems that reduce congestion and car dependency, and give people genuine choices about how they get around. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000245\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EIn terms of safety, the number of road deaths blew out between 2013 and 2017 by 55 percent, from 253 deaths to 378. That\u2019s the equivalent of a Boeing 747 crashing every year. While that was going on, 40 percent of the transport budget was spent on a handful of urban motorway projects, while people died in huge numbers. Well, we\u2019re committed to turning that around, and just today Associate Minister for Transport Julie Anne Genter has unveiled the first of $101 million of safety improvements on State Highway 2, north of Tauranga, as part of a $1.4 billion safety investment across 600 kilometres of our roading network.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022 data-id=\u0022c92d231481ec488bb0a5d984d2a13ecc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000246\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c92d231481ec488bb0a5d984d2a13ecc\u0022\u003EHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Chair. Just keen to debate the whole question of economic development and productivity and infrastructure in this country under this Government. At the start of the period that we\u2019re talking about, 2017, the previous National Government had a very clear economic development strategy; it was outlined in the Business Growth Agenda, and that asked the basic question, \u201CWell, what do New Zealand businesses need access to in order to grow, in order to hire New Zealanders, to pay them higher wages, in order to grow the productivity of this country, so that we could all enjoy a higher standard of living?\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000247\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EWe broke that challenge down into six areas: we need access to quality investment in order to, you know\u2014you only get jobs if somebody invests some money and buys a plant and starts a business. So you need policies that attract investment. Then you need good quality skills so that people can make a contribution in the workplace. You need access to natural resources, you need access to quality infrastructure, export markets so that you\u2019ve got somewhere to send your goods\u2014that\u2019s why we worked so hard to bring in the free trade agreements\u2014and a good innovation framework.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000248\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003ENow, when this Government came in, they threw all that out\u2014didn\u2019t like it because we\u2019d come up with it\u2014and what did they replace it with? Well, that\u2019s when we run into troubles, because there\u2019s no clear replacement, clear economic development plan, or economic plan for this country under this Government. I\u2019ve asked David Parker the Economic Development Minister and he said, \u201CWell, three things. We\u2019re going to do an R \u0026amp; D tax credit\u201D\u2014well, yeah, OK, that\u2019s a policy. It\u2019s replacing the growth grants that we put through Callaghan Innovation with a tax credit. OK, that\u2019s one. The second one was that there\u2019s going to be a massive shift in the way taxation was done to move away from speculation in housing. I think that was the capital gains tax, but they dropped that last month. So that second one\u2019s gone. The third one was the Provincial Growth Fund under Shane Jones, where they\u2019d spend $3 billion in order to create lots of jobs\u2014tens of thousands of jobs, the Minister told us. Then, when we actually dug into it, we found 54, and 118 bureaucrats. So there\u2019s been a lot of money spent there, and not many jobs created. The Minister comes up with all sorts of figures, and let\u2019s see how they are demonstrated over the next little while.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000249\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EBut the point I\u2019d make is that under National, the country was delivering 10,000 new jobs every month for the last two years\u201410,000 new jobs every month. So far, with the $3 billion spent, I think we\u2019re around somewhere between 20 and 50 new jobs created in the last three months across the whole country. We lost 4,000 jobs; so we didn\u2019t create 10,000 new jobs, we lost 4,000 jobs. So the jobs boom that we had under the previous Government has gone. Part of that is the confusion about what the economic policy is. So remember last August, the Prime Minister got up in front of a business audience and gave a big speech to announce the Government\u2019s policy framework on economic development, and she announced it: it was the Business Partnership Agenda. Then, we never heard anything about it since\u2014never once, never mentioned once more. It was a big announcement, announced with fanfare, trumpets, and totally ignored ever since. So that\u2019s why people are confused.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000250\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EWhen we come to infrastructure, we\u2019ve heard from the Minister of Transport about trying to\u2014most people think the purpose of infrastructure and transport policy should be to enable New Zealanders to get where they need to go quickly, efficiently, and safely. But that\u2019s not what this Government is about, as he quite clearly articulated. There is absolutely no focus on reducing congestion across the transport network in New Zealand. The Minister has been brilliant at stopping things. So he stopped the East West Link, he stopped all the State highway projects that we were doing, you know, the four-lane highway north of Tauranga going up to Northland, out of Christchurch, extending up past K\u0101piti. All sorts of projects he stopped, and what\u2019s he replaced them with? Well, nothing yet\u2014nothing. There\u2019ve been plans about the slow tram going down the Dominion Road to the airport, but that still hasn\u2019t emerged. We don\u2019t know where it is. So he\u2019s stopped a whole lot of projects, hasn\u2019t started any new projects, and, in the meantime, if you\u2019re stuck in the traffic on the Southern Motorway in Auckland, or trying to get out of Christchurch, well, help is not on the way, because they\u2019re not putting any extra resources into building the roads that most people use, because they hate cars under the Greens.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000251\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003ESo their focus is getting people out of their cars on to public transport. Well, public transport, of course, is an important part of the package; yes, you invest in it. That\u2019s why we invested in the City Rail Link, it\u2019s why we invested in the electrification of the rail units, and, yes, you have to have that as part of any transport policy. But if it\u2019s completely unbalanced, such as it is under this Government, that will not enable New Zealanders to get where they want to go. In fact, their focus in transport is to make life as frustrating as possible for the motorists, and that is not going to help either New Zealanders\u2019 quality of life, or the economic development of this country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022 data-id=\u00224677039a3cca4d28b89adbe270e3aaae\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000252\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224677039a3cca4d28b89adbe270e3aaae\u0022\u003EHon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Research, Science and Innovation):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Chair. It\u2019s my pleasure to take a call in this economic development and infrastructure section, specifically to talk about two reports that are occurring here: the annual review of AgResearch Ltd., and the annual review of Callaghan Innovation. I think both these reports, in many ways, speak to some of the points that the previous speaker has just raised.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000253\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003EThis Government has a very clear economic strategy, and that is about us partnering with business to encourage innovation, productivity, and to build a skilled workforce. It is about the development of an economy that is sustainable, that is productive, and that is inclusive. These are things that we have a range of policies that we are working towards, and some of them are covered off in the reports that I\u2019m speaking to today. Specifically, one of the key planks of what we\u2019re trying to do, of course has been mentioned, is that, actually, we\u2019re not just seeing economic development and productivity as something that happens in our cities; that this is a Government that for the first time in a generation is substantially investing in economic development in our regions with the Provincial Growth Fund.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000254\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003EWe are also looking at how it is that we need to transition our economy. We know change is coming. We\u2019ve set up the New Zealand Green Investment Fund Ltd in order to ease that transition. We\u2019re a Government that is investing in infrastructure: $42 billion over five years\u2014investment in core infrastructure from this Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000255\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003EBut one of the other key planks of what we\u2019re doing is an investment in research and development. Now, one of the previous speakers, the Hon Paul Goldsmith, said that the R \u0026amp; D tax credits were replacing the growth grants of the previous Government. That is something that is covered off in Callaghan Innovation\u2019s report. I think this could go down as one of the understatements of the year, that growth grants were a scheme that helped around 300 businesses with their R \u0026amp; D needs each year.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000256\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003EWhat we as a Government, in the period that\u2019s covered off in these reports, have done is put in the policy work, and indeed now the legislation is passed to have an R \u0026amp; D tax credit that will benefit 10 times that number of businesses in working alongside them to reach this Government\u2019s aim of finally getting serious about lifting our percentage of GDP spent on R \u0026amp; D. At the moment, we languish way down in the OECD tables. We only spend around 1.38 percent; there\u2019s been a slight lift, but we are way below where we need to be if we are going to be the productive, sustainable, inclusive economy that we want to produce. Well, we have an ambition to lift our expenditure on R \u0026amp; D to 2 percent over the two-year period.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000257\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003EWhen Callaghan Innovation came before the select committee, this is something they talked about in terms of the work they were doing in order to transition to this, and they emphasised a number of points when they appeared before the committee in terms of the work that they were doing, both with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and with organisations in terms of facilitating this switch. This is the kind of transformative measure that we need in order to realise the kind of economy and the kind of country that we want to be. We as a Government, when we talk about raising our expenditure to 2 percent of GDP, know that we won\u2019t be doing that through public expenditure alone. What we want to do is have the right support mechanisms in place so that the private sector also increase their expenditure. One of the key indicators that we are looking to lift through this measure, the R \u0026amp; D tax incentive, is to raise business expenditure on R \u0026amp; D, because we know that this will lead to higher-paying and skilled jobs and is something that we have to make sure that we are putting in the work to do.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000258\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003ELikewise, we saw when AgResearch appeared before the committee that they were talking about some of the fundamental work they\u2019re doing around the decarbonisation from biological emissions work and some of the pieces they are doing there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000259\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003ESo, thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to conclude by thanking the chair for this opportunity to address the House on these reports.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225e6b7aaa-8157-4d5e-9940-1bdbcd61ae95\u0022 data-id=\u00225b91ade9fe2c45d89f56ad6103601273\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000260\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225e6b7aaa-8157-4d5e-9940-1bdbcd61ae95\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225b91ade9fe2c45d89f56ad6103601273\u0022\u003EALASTAIR SCOTT (National\u2014Wairarapa):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Chair, for this opportunity. It\u2019s interesting the previous speaker, Megan Woods, didn\u2019t talk about the banning of gas exploration as part of the infrastructure debate that we\u2019re having this afternoon, because we had a number of electricity sector players come into the Transport and Infrastructure Committee. One of them was Genesis. Genesis burns coal. Coal\u2014dirtier than the gas that the Minister has banned, but she hasn\u2019t banned coal or the use of coal. And I\u2019m not advocating for that. It\u2019s a very good reason that she hasn\u2019t banned it: because coal is very useful. It\u2019s very cheap. It actually plays a very important role in our electricity system. It keeps the lights on, though it only produces about 2 percent of the electricity across the country. But, unfortunately, the facts are that in the next 30 years, demand for electricity will double, and now we\u2019ve had a lot of investment in Transpower\u2014that\u2019s the business that we reviewed that transports, essentially, the electricity from the South Island to the North Island. We\u2019ve had a large investment over a number of years under the previous Government, which enables that electricity to flow.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000261\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225e6b7aaa-8157-4d5e-9940-1bdbcd61ae95\u0022\u003EBut the Minister did not address the fact that demand will double, and although we can talk about wind farms, they\u2019re not as reliable as hydro and they\u2019re not as reliable as gas. By banning the gas, we\u2019re only moving the burden of emissions away from the sector as a whole, and we\u2019ll be forced to burn more coal, because the lights have to stay on somewhere. Of course, the gas that would\u2019ve been exported to replace someone else\u2019s coal is no longer able to be exported. So, unfortunately, an ideological view, a stand made by the Government, which is going to end up creating more emissions across the planet and not less.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000262\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225e6b7aaa-8157-4d5e-9940-1bdbcd61ae95\u0022\u003EThen, of course, as I say, the demand will double in the next few years. Again, there needs to be some stronger thinking, some more forward thinking, about where that supply of electricity is going to come from. We know it\u2019s very difficult to get new consents for hydro, for example. We know it\u2019s difficult to use those lakes to a greater degree. We could have, for example, much lower minimum levels to make greater utilisation of the water available, but we know that\u2019s going to be difficult. We heard in the committee that is going to be difficult to achieve as well. We also know that wind farms, though sustainable and renewable, are not the favourite form of visual pollution that some communities will put up with.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000263\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225e6b7aaa-8157-4d5e-9940-1bdbcd61ae95\u0022\u003ESo there are issues around the long-term supply, but I must say, over the last 20 years, since I have been involved in the electricity sector, from when the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand split up\u2014I was an employee of the first Meridian Energy\u2014the marketplace has developed hugely. The products have become much more sophisticated. The retail market is very efficient and effective and competitive, and the customer, the consumer, is getting good value for money because of that. Of course, we\u2019ve got all sorts of technologies on the demand side of electricity that we\u2019ve seen as well. So as the spot price rises, people can automatically turn themselves off and enable them to save money and reduce costs because of the high electricity price. So, inevitably, we will see higher prices, and the challenge for the Government is to think more about that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000264\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225e6b7aaa-8157-4d5e-9940-1bdbcd61ae95\u0022\u003EI just wanted to touch briefly about the safety point of view on the roads that the Minister mentioned. Well, he talks about road safety but he doesn\u2019t advocate or support a drug-driving regime. Despite the increased number of deaths on our roads relating to drugs\u2014and it\u2019s topical at the moment\u2014road safety has been ignored by that Minister because he doesn\u2019t want to make sure that drug-drivers are off the roads.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000265\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225e6b7aaa-8157-4d5e-9940-1bdbcd61ae95\u0022\u003EI\u2019ve only got a few seconds to talk about the criteria for the Provincial Growth Fund. Well, who the hell knows what it is? How do we get funds from the Provincial Growth Fund? Everyone with their hand out seems to think they\u2019re going to get it and it\u2019s some sort of unlimited amount of money. There\u2019s no accountability. I mean, how do you determine if a roundabout should be built in Northland or Masterton? Do we have to go to the Minister? No accountability\u2014a waste of taxpayers\u2019 money.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022 data-id=\u0022e990ecab768e4aea92721c916bf219b0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000266\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e990ecab768e4aea92721c916bf219b0\u0022\u003EMARJA LUBECK (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Madam Chair, and thank you for the opportunity to take a call in this debate of the Appropriation (2017/18 Confirmation and Validation) Bill. Now, this part of the debate is focusing on the economic development and infrastructure sector, and I would like to take the opportunity here to acknowledge Jonathan Young for his chairing of this committee. I\u2019m what\u2019s called a floater on Thursdays, and that means that you get to see different select committees and you get to see different ways of how they are chaired, and it\u2019s fair to say that Jonathan Young, in the way that he chairs that committee, definitely has deserved his nickname, Jonathan \u201CGold Star\u201D Young\u2014a pleasure to sit in on his committees.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000267\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003ENow, on a not-so-good note, one of the previous speakers, the Hon Paul Goldsmith, posed some questions with regards to economic development. He asked us \u201CWhat is needed for higher productivity?\u201D and \u201CUnder National, we created all these jobs.\u201D Now, on this side of the House, we are a little bit more aspirational.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000268\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003EThis part of the debate focuses on economic development and infrastructure, which includes the workplace relations and safety sector, and I\u2019d like to talk about the safety reviews that I have been part of in the Education and Workforce Committee, in particular the safety of workers and, if time permits, the safety of the roads. In the 2017 and 2018 annual review of WorkSafe the select committee learnt that there has been progress with regard to the health and safety system in New Zealand, especially when looking back at the dark days since the Pike River tragedy, but New Zealand is still one of the worst performers. In fact, it\u2019s in the bottom quartile of performance in the OECD when it comes to health and safety, and that is rather shameful.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000269\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003ESo while we have made progress, areas that continue to cause concern are in, particularly, forestry and agriculture. Rates of death and injury are still high in these industries, and in the review we heard that in the agriculture sector there are at any time 600 workers off with an accident injury.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000270\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003EWe also heard that good work is being done through harm reduction programmes and through tripartite forums, where, again, unions play a crucial role. In fact, it was the board chair of WorkSafe who was very clear that international evidence shows us that unionised workplaces are safer. The reason for that is that when you have a unionised workplace, there is support and representation to raise issues without jeopardising the particular person\u2019s security of employment. And it\u2019s no coincidence that in the particular health and safety priority areas such as agriculture and forestry there is the biggest challenge when it comes to worker representation and participation. So in these last sectors that I mentioned, we still see people dying and being seriously injured in the workplace.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000271\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003EWe heard, at the particular annual review, of mixed ownership and leadership of the sectors poor health and safety performance and, as a result, also mixed accountability around the need to change. In the annual review, we were provided with evidence highlighting the importance of giving workers a voice that bypasses the unequal worker-employer power relation, thereby removing workers fear of retaliation if they speak up and are potentially in jeopardy of losing their job. Now, poor working conditions injure and kill people, and that\u2019s why it is so very important we do everything possible to ensure that those who are simply going about their business, going to work to earn a living, return home safely to their families. So a really important and valuable review we did with WorkSafe.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000272\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003ETo touch very briefly on transport, in the 2017-2018 annual review of the Ministry of Transport\u2014and we heard it from the Hon Phil Twyford, as well\u2014one of the major priorities here for the ministry has been road safety, with a commitment to putting safety at the centre of land transport decision-making. This Government has invested $1.4 billion over three years to upgrade some of our most dangerous roads. Too many people are killed or being seriously injured on our roads. We need to continue to invest in safer roads, in particular in the regions, and move away from big gold-plated projects in the cities.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000273\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003ENow, the Prime Minister yesterday, after Cabinet, made the comment, \u201CHave we done everything that we wanted?\u201D Now, of course we haven\u2019t, but it\u2019s clear we\u2019ve made significant improvements and we are committed to addressing long-term challenges this country faces.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ed2de46a-9047-4bfe-92c8-5f14fd415dfb\u0022 data-id=\u0022c1d5b9f7ccbf4e618c6d23d7b0a5627f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000274\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2de46a-9047-4bfe-92c8-5f14fd415dfb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c1d5b9f7ccbf4e618c6d23d7b0a5627f\u0022\u003EANDREW FALLOON (National\u2014Rangitata):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Chair. I\u2019m very pleased to take the opportunity to speak this afternoon on the confirmation of validation of the 2017-18 estimates for economic development and infrastructure.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000275\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2de46a-9047-4bfe-92c8-5f14fd415dfb\u0022\u003EIf anyone\u2019s watching at home, those dates might confuse a few people\u20142017-18\u2014because it\u2019s a strange quirk, I guess, of Parliament that we\u2019re 20 months into this new Government, still talking about what was essentially the last Budget period of the last National Government. But isn\u2019t it a good thing that we are? Because we\u2019re talking about infrastructure this afternoon, and, if you look across at the other side, that\u2019s a party that\u2019s absolutely failed when it comes to construction of new infrastructure. Not a single new road has been started under the current Government\u2014not even Shane Jones\u2019 much fated roundabout near his house.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2de46a-9047-4bfe-92c8-5f14fd415dfb\u0022\u003EBut I\u2019m not going to talk about a road, just for a start; I\u2019m going to talk about rail, and I am going to talk about some of the expenditure that was appropriated in 2017-18 by the last National Government and, in particular, $50,000 that was set aside for a feasibility study into bringing back the Christchurch to Dunedin rail line.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000277\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2de46a-9047-4bfe-92c8-5f14fd415dfb\u0022\u003ELook, I\u2019m a big fan of rail, actually. I\u2019ve spent a lot of time on the Northern Explorer between Wellington and Auckland, stopping from time to time at National Park. It\u2019s a fantastic journey. I really recommend it to anyone. I\u2019d love nothing more than to see something like that started between Christchurch and Dunedin, where particularly tourists can get off the road and get into a nice carriage, enjoy a lovely glass of Marlborough sauvignon blanc or perhaps a Central Otago pinot as they look out the window and look at some pretty stunning scenery, particularly in mid and South Canterbury.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000278\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2de46a-9047-4bfe-92c8-5f14fd415dfb\u0022\u003EI\u2019ve been pretty disappointed actually by what the current Government has done, because we haven\u2019t heard anything more about that feasibility study since that Government have come into office. Phil Twyford has been asked about it, and, whenever he\u2019s up being asked about it, all he\u2019s talked about is commuter rail in major centres\u2014commuter rail in major centres. Well, that does nothing, actually, for people in the area that I represent\u2014people in Ashburton and people in Timaru. They won\u2019t benefit at all from commuter rail between places like Rolleston and Christchurch or, you know, that CBD rail loop or even rail from Auckland Airport to Auckland Central, if it ever transpires. They won\u2019t benefit from that; they would benefit, however, from a passenger rail network between Christchurch and Dunedin, and it\u2019s gone absolutely quiet under this Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000279\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2de46a-9047-4bfe-92c8-5f14fd415dfb\u0022\u003EI do want to come back to roading though, because it is, I guess, a passion of mine. Despite my love for rail, I do feel like we do need to do more in terms of road and construction, particularly in mid and South Canterbury.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000280\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022271403144f0c4be9817daf29f0b554ad\u0022\u003EGreg O\u2019Connor\u003C/span\u003E: Train spotter!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000281\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2de46a-9047-4bfe-92c8-5f14fd415dfb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022de19f44e42704a2cb77345c854ebe820\u0022\u003EANDREW FALLOON\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019d like to explain to Mr O\u2019Connor why. I mean, I know he\u2019s a former cop and he understands the need for good and safe roads. So I do want to talk about particularly the road between Christchurch and Ashburton\u2014Christchurch-Ashburton\u2014where traffic volumes have doubled since 1998. There\u2019s a couple of reasons for that\u2014in fact, three major reasons for that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2de46a-9047-4bfe-92c8-5f14fd415dfb\u0022\u003EThe first one is the increase in tourism in the South Island. As I mentioned before, the South Island is an absolutely beautiful spot, particularly mid and South Canterbury. A lot of tourists are now coming to our part of the world to enjoy it, and so tourism numbers have increased substantially. The second reason is the economic growth in mid-Canterbury and South Canterbury, particularly on the back of the strong primary sector over the last decade or so. It\u2019s been tremendous, and we\u2019ve now seen a lot of growth, particularly with more trucks on the road servicing that primary sector. And the third reason is the success of PrimePort in Timaru. We have had a lot more ships now coming into PrimePort, moving through to the inland port at Rolleston, and that\u2019s led to more and more trucks on the road, to the extent that, unfortunately, that road has now become far more dangerous.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000283\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2de46a-9047-4bfe-92c8-5f14fd415dfb\u0022\u003EIn my offices both in Timaru but particularly in Ashburton, I get people coming into my office every single week, talking about how they no longer feel safe travelling on that road between Ashburton and Christchurch. And it has become more dangerous. It\u2019s now the second most dangerous stretch of highway in the country for fatalities and serious crashes, and, unfortunately, this Government\u2019s response to that has been to take $5 billion out of the State highway network and put it into Auckland rail\u2014$5 billion out of our petrol taxes, out of our road user charges, ripped out of regional New Zealand and put into central Auckland. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000284\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2de46a-9047-4bfe-92c8-5f14fd415dfb\u0022\u003EIn my last few seconds, I do just want to address the comments by Marja Lubeck. She talked about the fact that National was talking about creating 10,000 jobs in the last four or five years that we were in Government\u201410,000 jobs per month. And she said, well, that\u2019s not ambitious enough\u2014that\u2019s not ambitious\u201410,000 jobs is nowhere near ambitious enough. Well, actually, Marja Lubeck, that Government is now creating far, far less. In fact, it\u2019s down to about 5,000. The number of jobs that have been created every month has halved under that current Government, and she has the temerity to say that we weren\u2019t ambitious enough.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022 data-id=\u0022b6297523cde243129a058851ca26f403\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000285\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b6297523cde243129a058851ca26f403\u0022\u003EHon SHANE JONES (Minister for Infrastructure):\u003C/span\u003E I take a short call and correct some of the misapprehensions that have been flung around the House. Of course, I am referring to the annual review period, and your admonition to speakers in this debate has been taken on board, although I would remind you there is some latitude if issues related to the current time scream out for attention. But I want to talk about KiwiRail, which has been a recipient of some of the funding from the Provincial Growth Fund, and just outline and respond to some of the rather apocryphal things that are being said about our transport approach.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000286\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EWe do not agree with a lot of the sentiments and a lot of the philosophies that were espoused during this period of time by the other side of the House that has fed a cult-like philosophy. Indeed, today I had to caution and tell off yet again a man who lives in the North by the name of Mr Bayly. Stop being a mouthpiece and channelling historic, discredited views of a transport nature from the National Party. I have advised him that his time to have made professional contributions has come and gone. That is why we are backing substantially the growth of KiwiRail as a credible alternative to a road-centric approach. That doesn\u2019t mean that we don\u2019t believe in improving the safety of roads or that we\u2019re not going to continue to invest in the egregious cases where roading failure is leading to fatality.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000287\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EBut KiwiRail has, at long last, as is reflected in this report in the annual statements, received the overdue attention. Now, I won\u2019t steal the thunder of the current Treasurer or anyone else further up the tree than my good self and talk about upcoming announcements\u2014that lies for the future\u2014but remind the House and remind our friends on the other side of the House that they have had an enormous amount of opportunity to grow KiwiRail, to move heavy freight off the roads on to rail. They chose not to do it. They made a strategic decision that the golden triangle would occupy enormous amounts of energy, capital, and time, and the North, where we hail from, has been starved. The roads of the North have not been remedied. They have not been supported. Consequently, we\u2019re seeing an ongoing degradation of the roads, and that\u2019s why KiwiRail is going to continue to enjoy support.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000288\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003EThis particular coverage does specifically isolate the wisdom of putting the spur off the main trunk out to Marsden Point. It\u2019s actually here, page 79. That will be happening, and, of course, they are taking a very judicious approach, and the engineers are doing drilling and costing and various other things. But it\u2019s good to see that KiwiRail\u2014of course, they have a new CEO now, and they have Brian Corbin, a redoubtable identity from west Auckland, extremely experienced in matters of governance, grossly overlooked by the last regime. We don\u2019t have that petty approach, just because people aren\u2019t necessarily fellow travellers of an ideological nature. We see virtue in retaining\u2014mercifully low numbers\u2014some of the people that were appointed by the last regime. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000289\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003ESo not only are we going to see tracks upgraded, do we have a new level of leadership at an executive level, and we also have a higher quality of personnel at the governance level, but the most important thing: all of these rhetorical statements that were heard from the other side of the House\u2014we\u2019re actually funding what we\u2019re talking about, and therein lies a tremendous level of difference. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000290\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f44431ef-b505-4e94-9f57-a60b0a569bf7\u0022\u003ENow, there\u2019s been some rather scathing remarks directed in my direction at the criteria that\u2019s employed to allocate the funds out of the Provincial Growth Fund to such areas as this\u2014that it\u2019s something akin to having a cup of tea or a beer with Shane Jones at the M\u0101ngere fish shop and you get a cheque. No, no\u2014were it so true. It\u2019s quite the opposite. There is a rigorous process. The fact that the Waipapa roundabout in this period of time enjoyed some of the fiscal love of the Provincial Growth Fund was interesting, because it was actually brought forward to the Government by New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), and we expect great changes from NZTA, given that we\u2019re going to improve its governance. Thank you very much.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227940e9f2-9cea-43d5-8f16-3b470e34f47f\u0022 data-id=\u002229e3ef1eaaa74f26947a3944438b331c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000291\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227940e9f2-9cea-43d5-8f16-3b470e34f47f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002229e3ef1eaaa74f26947a3944438b331c\u0022\u003EMATT KING (National\u2014Northland):\u003C/span\u003E It\u2019s a pleasure to speak on the transport Estimates debate. I just want to talk just briefly about the road versus rail, and I want to relate it to Northland. We\u2019ve had rail lines up there for decades going into the North, and it\u2019s never made money the whole time we\u2019ve had a rail line in Northland. So I\u2019m talking about specifically rail to Northland, OK? For rail to pay its way or to compete with trucks it has to have bulk and it has to have distance, and in Northland, we don\u2019t have either. The only thing we\u2019ve got is bulk\u2014that\u2019s the logging. The distance from the scattered forests we\u2019ve got in Northland to Northport, which is where all the logs leave, is just not long enough to have them ever compete with trucks. The logs have to get loaded on to trucks in the forests, and it will never be economic to transfer that to rail to make rail pay its way in Northland. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000292\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227940e9f2-9cea-43d5-8f16-3b470e34f47f\u0022\u003ESo this debate that we keep having about rail in Northland is flogging a dead horse. They have never made money. I believe back in the day there was a time when the trucks were legislated against, and so, basically, trains had the monopoly\u2014they had it over trucks. But since that\u2019s been removed, trucks hands down beat rail, especially in Northland. Now, I\u2019m not against rail in any way, shape, or form, but in Northland it just doesn\u2019t work. I used to run a business and I needed parts overnight, and I had to have them\u2014that\u2019s the way we operated; that\u2019s the way most businesses operate. There\u2019s no way that trains can compete with trucks in that area. So this truck versus train debate, in my experience, is a dead duck. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227940e9f2-9cea-43d5-8f16-3b470e34f47f\u0022\u003EBut I want to talk about the Hon Phil Twyford. He says\u2014and his Government\u2014that they support economic growth, safety, and resilience when it comes to roading, and they start by canning the safest, most resilient economic driver of growth in Northland: the roads of national significance. Because you know why? It\u2019s a National Party initiative. It\u2019s as simple as that. It comes down to pure economics. They wished they had got it. Whey wished they had got it, but National grabbed it. It works all over the world\u2014everywhere. If you talk about four-laning in Queensland and in Sydney, wherever they build a four-lane highway out of the city, it\u2019s boom times everywhere. So it\u2019s happening all over the world.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000294\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227940e9f2-9cea-43d5-8f16-3b470e34f47f\u0022\u003EBut let\u2019s talk about the road toll. We\u2019ve experienced the worst road toll in close to a decade, so the roads are dangerous\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000295\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022434ef26332ad4cac9ae5c7fdb857a5e3\u0022\u003EHon Dr Nick Smith\u003C/span\u003E: In 20 years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000296\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227940e9f2-9cea-43d5-8f16-3b470e34f47f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022110df44f264d471f8a343daccea28ce2\u0022\u003EMATT KING\u003C/span\u003E: In 20 years, is it? Yep. Well, in the Dome Valley we\u2019ve got a stretch of road called \u201CThe Killing Fields\u201D, where dozens have died. It\u2019s not fit for purpose. They\u2019re proposing a landfill for the area, which will mean 200 to 300 extra trucks a day. The roads of national significance that we were building were going to bypass that stretch of road\u2014but no. Phil Twyford calls it gold-plating, but then he\u2019s going to spend money on a tram from the city down Dominion Road\u2014not even to the airport, just to Onehunga. That\u2019s all. He\u2019s going to spend a fortune on that, and that\u2019s last century\u2019s technology, and I imagine by the time they get to build it, if they do, costs will blow out, just like the City Rail Link. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000297\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227940e9f2-9cea-43d5-8f16-3b470e34f47f\u0022\u003ENow, let\u2019s talk about the billions\u2014this Government has diverted billions of dollars out of the roading budget from the New Zealand Transport Agency into the Shane Jones slush fund so they can spend millions, not billions, on projects all over Northland, and you know what that\u2019s for. So my argument is that State Highway 1 in Northland is not fit for purpose. It\u2019s outgrown. There\u2019s no point in fixing up an existing road. It won\u2019t cut it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000298\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220f3b14d4f82341d8aec7983e29e1f438\u0022\u003EDr Shane Reti\u003C/span\u003E: Sticks.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000299\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227940e9f2-9cea-43d5-8f16-3b470e34f47f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002228076027ff9c4b66ae56f468356e7681\u0022\u003EMATT KING\u003C/span\u003E: We have to\u2014and this Government\u2019s answer is reflectorised sticks going down the middle of the road, and those rumble strips. I\u2019m rolling over those rumble strips all over Northland at the moment. That is their answer to road safety in Northland, but they can the safest, most resilient roads that there are in exchange for plastic strips. So in Northland, we, the four councils, identified that the highway, the four-laning, was a driver of economic growth, but this Government decides that they\u2019re going to concentrate on Auckland-centric things. So Northland is going to miss out with this Government. Phil Twyford likes to use the words \u201Cre-evaluate\u201D, \u201Creview\u201D, and, his favourite, \u201Crecalibrate\u201D, and that basically means slash and burn\u2014cut it, slashing and burning. So they\u2019re cancelling our roads. They\u2019re going to spend it all in Auckland. Northland\u2019s going to be in a losing situation. It\u2019s not going to win.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022071f7800-2755-41b6-83df-07ebaf867ae2\u0022 data-id=\u00221f0d2b4dab3d410492383159f5db8833\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000300\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022071f7800-2755-41b6-83df-07ebaf867ae2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221f0d2b4dab3d410492383159f5db8833\u0022\u003ETIM VAN DE MOLEN (National\u2014Waikato):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Chair. I\u2019d like to focus this afternoon on the annual review of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA). Now, this is an area that\u2019s seen a lot of focus over the last wee while, and justifiably so. We\u2019ve heard already a bit about how we\u2019ve seen $5 billion stripped out of the regional roading networks and rediverted to rail in Auckland. That is a big issue, in particular for me in the Waikato. We were looking at another couple of pieces of extension to the Waikato Expressway project\u2014the roads of national significance. We\u2019re very lucky to have seen work under way now from Auckland right down past Hamilton to near Cambridge, and they were going to continue to the intersection of State Highway 1 and 29, where traffic diverts and splits two ways. We were then looking at additional stages. Those projects have been taken off the table.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000301\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022071f7800-2755-41b6-83df-07ebaf867ae2\u0022\u003EThis is a major issue in our area, given the high volume of traffic and the safety risk. We heard from NZTA during the annual review that under the 2018 Government policy statement, they\u2019ve revised and reprioritised some of their focus. The number one focus, and we heard it from the Minister just earlier, is on safety, and yet this very project was going to significantly improve the safety in the Waikato, and it\u2019s been canned. It\u2019s outrageous to see that taken off the table. They are very dangerous intersections, and now they\u2019re not getting the support they need, although part of that\u2014and we heard about the additional funding into the Safe Network Programme\u2014was going to focus on rural roads. Again, there are plenty of those in the Waikato.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000302\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022071f7800-2755-41b6-83df-07ebaf867ae2\u0022\u003EA couple of key intersections I\u2019d like to focus on with this and, in particular, the rural intersection activated warning signs: now, NZTA said those signs\u2014these are the flashing electronic signs you see as you approach intersections; they warn you if there\u2019s a car looking to come out and you have to slow down to 60\u2014were going to be installed at the intersection of State Highways 1 and 29, and also State Highway 29 and Hopkins Road, near Hobbiton. It\u2019s a very busy intersection and often plenty of tourists are going through there. We\u2019ve seen all sorts of interesting turning manoeuvres in that space. This was going to help improve safety at those intersections\u2014not a fix but one step. I wrote to NZTA about this, and they confirmed that they would be installed by the end of January. I visited on 1 February, and they weren\u2019t there. Just a few weeks ago, I wrote to NZTA because they\u2019re still not installed and it\u2019s putting our communities at risk. I raised this during the annual review process as well, and NZTA said, well, they didn\u2019t know about specific projects, so they couldn\u2019t comment on that, but absolutely they expected to be able to deliver on their time frames. They\u2019ve failed miserably in this regard and in so many others as well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000303\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022071f7800-2755-41b6-83df-07ebaf867ae2\u0022\u003EAnother example is Morrinsville\u2014another great town in my electorate\u2014at the intersection of State Highway 26 and Avenue Road: inside the town limits and a dangerous, busy intersection with high volumes of heavy-vehicle movements through there as well. There were going to be safety improvements done to that late last year and resealing done as well. It still hasn\u2019t happened, and here we are now in May the following year, more than six months after they were meant to have implemented these safety upgrades. NZTA are not taking their responsibilities seriously. They\u2019ve said, under the Government policy statement (GPS) that they put out, which they mentioned in this annual review, that safety was their number one priority, and yet they\u2019re not demonstrating that. They\u2019re letting down rural communities like Matamata, like Morrinsville in the Waikato\u2014communities that rely on economic growth in the area, that rely on those transport connections, and yet they\u2019ve been marginalised by this Government through a failure to act and to meet the promises that NZTA has made.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000304\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022071f7800-2755-41b6-83df-07ebaf867ae2\u0022\u003EWe heard also from NZTA around a shift\u2014that this shift of focus in the GPS would result in increased congestion and traffic delays. NZTA stated that. They believe this will change the focus and that traffic congestion and times will increase in cases\u2014they\u2019ve stated it right here\u2014but, in other areas, such as the Hamilton to Auckland rail link, it will reduce traffic on the roads. What they don\u2019t seem to realise is that Te Kauwhata, at the north end of my electorate, is a growing town that, actually, under the previous Government, received $37 of investment for their infrastructure, which this new Government has reinforced. They\u2019re looking to grow\u2014there\u2019s KiwiBuild there apparently, too\u2014and yet there\u2019s no rail link; the train is going right through that town on its way from Hamilton to Auckland and not stopping. They stand and wave at it as it goes past.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000305\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022071f7800-2755-41b6-83df-07ebaf867ae2\u0022\u003ESo what we\u2019re hearing is a lot of rhetoric from this Government, NZTA, and KiwiRail standing up and saying they\u2019re doing these wonderful things and yet their words do not align with their actions. Communities like the Waikato are being sorely let down, and the Government needs to do better.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022e26c9a150c624b779a87da76b6890041\u0022 name=\u0022division\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EA party vote was called for on the question, That the reports of committees relevant to the Economic Development and Infrastructure Sector be noted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 63\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 57\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EReports of committees relevant to the Economic Development and Infrastructure Sector noted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000306\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022024b34fe745a41efa4f0274316499d63\u0022\u003EEducation Sector\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000307\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022 data-id=\u0022f4d48837d2cd47c7ad626423ac9e5e48\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000308\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f4d48837d2cd47c7ad626423ac9e5e48\u0022\u003EDr PARMJEET PARMAR (Chairperson of the Education and Workforce Committee):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Chair. As the chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, it\u2019s a pleasure to initiate this debate on the education sector\u2019s annual review. In the education sector, we reviewed Education New Zealand, Education Payroll Ltd, the Education Review Office, the Ministry of Education, Network for Learning Ltd, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, and the Tertiary Education Commission. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000309\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003EAs we know, during the annual reviews there are broadly\u2014if I can try to put them into three categories\u2014three things that we want to probe into. One is the finance side, the second is the human resources side, and the third is the policy side, and that was the intention when the select committee decided to invite these entities for their annual reviews. I want to thank all these entities for appearing before the select committee and answering all the questions that were asked by various members on the select committee. To give some examples, I would like to start with Education New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000310\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003EFor Education New Zealand\u2019s annual review, of course with a financial overview we wanted to get some more insight into a policy that was put in place by the Government in August 2018. We wanted to know about the policy that is about taking the employer assistance away from the post-study work visa\u2014whether that policy had any impact in terms of attracting international students\u2014and, second, as the policy was intended to reduce exploitation, which happens in that sector, we all agreed that, yes, those workers do get exploited and there is more and more work that needs to be done. So we wanted to know from Education New Zealand whether there had been any obvious impact that they could tell us about. What we heard from Education New Zealand was that there hadn\u2019t been any kind of quantitative work around that, because they haven\u2019t had enough time since the policy came into effect\u2014as the policy came into effect in August 2018\u2014but these are the things which will be of ongoing interest to the select committee. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000311\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003EOn the same topic, we also talked about the reduction in the number of international students. As before the election, the parties currently now in Government campaigned on reducing international students in some courses, but there hasn\u2019t been any policy put in place by the Government. So we wanted to know about the numbers that are reducing, in terms of the students who are coming from overseas to study here as foreign students. We were told, yes, there is a reduction, and we were told there has been about a 21 percent reduction in the number of students coming from China. We also heard that it is important that we spread our risk, because we don\u2019t want to be relying just on the two big markets that we have at the moment\u2014that is, India and China. So that is a big focus for Education New Zealand, and that has been a focus for some time now. We definitely want to go out to bigger markets to attract more international students to come to New Zealand to do valuable courses. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000312\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003EWe also talked about sustainability of growth in these sectors, which I have just described, and then, if I move to the Ministry of Education, again, the questions were around all the areas that the Ministry of Education nearly is responsible for\u2014for example, we talked about school property management and development. In that, we talked about rebuilding Christchurch schools, which is of interest, and of course the national education growth plan review of Tomorrow\u2019s Schools. We also talked about teacher supply pressures and young people not in education, employment, or training. In these topics, there were, of course, several questions which related to these topics\u2014like, in teacher supply pressures, we wanted to know about the current demand and how newly qualified teachers were coming along, and also about their retention issues. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000313\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003EWe also talked about M\u0101ori and Pasifika educational attainment because that has been a big focus for the education sector. We want to make sure that M\u0101ori and Pasifika students are able to attain educational levels like other students. One thing that we found was that the Ministry of Education has not been able to achieve its goal of 70 percent for regular school attendance, which was of concern to the select committee. What we heard in the select committee was that M\u0101ori and Pasifika students had the lowest regular attendance rates, at 50 percent and 51.7 percent respectively, compared with 63 percent in the general population. We were told by the Ministry of Education that they will definitely be reassessing the situation about not achieving their goal of 70 percent of regular school attendance. So we were told that that will be their focus in the next 12 months, and we look forward to seeing some improvement in that space. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000314\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003EA final point I would like to touch on is fees-free tertiary education. Again, this is about the Government\u2019s policy, and we wanted to see if Government policy since it has been implemented has been able to improve access, because one of the things that came with this policy was improving access to tertiary education and making it affordable. So the Ministry of Education told us that, yes, as students don\u2019t have to take debts and loans, affordability has been seen to be good for students, but on the other hand we did not get full data on enrolment as there was no full-year data available at that point, but we talked about withdrawals\u2014the number of students who take advantage of the scheme and later on withdraw from their courses. We were told that up to September 2018, 2,618 fees-free students\u2014[Time expired] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022 data-id=\u0022949ce684a5884720a6171bea4715228d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000315\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022949ce684a5884720a6171bea4715228d\u0022\u003EHon KELVIN DAVIS (Associate Minister of Education (M\u0101ori Education)):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Chair. The previous speaker, Dr Parmjeet Parmar, has just finished speaking about M\u0101ori achievement in education, and I\u2019d like to pick up from where she\u2019s left off. On page 203 of the annual review, it talks about \u201CThe ministry has a number of initiatives that support M\u0101ori and Pasifika students to progress and achieve in culturally responsive environments.\u201D I\u2019d just like to talk about what we are doing to create those culturally responsive environments. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000316\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EWhat better cultural response is there than a young person being able to learn in their own language and hear their own language being spoken and being taught? I\u2019d like to describe a bit about the initiative called Te Ahu o Te Reo M\u0101ori, which is an initiative that fulfils and delivers on our promise to integrate Te Reo M\u0101ori throughout the curriculum by 2025. What we\u2019re doing is we\u2019re supporting teachers to grow their level of competence and confidence in Te Reo M\u0101ori. We\u2019re working to normalise Te Reo M\u0101ori in classrooms up to year 10. I think it\u2019s really important. If we\u2019re looking to engage children\u2014not just M\u0101ori but children across all New Zealand schools\u2014and trying to get them to engage in education, helping them to engage and identify their learning in Te Reo M\u0101ori is really important. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000317\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EWe\u2019re developing resources to support teachers. That\u2019s online resources, that\u2019s person to person resources, online support groups, and other things. Te Ahu o Te Reo M\u0101ori is being rolled out in four takiw\u0101\u2014four regions\u2014across the country initially. That\u2019s in the Waikato area, the Taranaki-Whanganui area, Horowhenua-K\u0101piti area, and also Te Wai Pounamu. We\u2019re rolling it out in those areas first and foremost because we know that there\u2019s going to be a 20 percent increase in the number of M\u0101ori students enrolled in those areas and it\u2019s important that they are able to engage in Te Reo. We launched this initiative just some three weeks ago and we\u2019re hoping to have 700 teachers engage in Te Ahu o Te Reo. Already, we\u2019ve had over 400 enrol in Te Ahu o Te Reo. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000318\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EEach area is free to develop Te Ahu o Te Reo as they see fit. So in Taranaki, for example, Dr Ruakere Hond is leading the charge there. They\u2019re using the Te \u0100taarangi method to help teachers, in a non-threatening way, to pick up Te Reo M\u0101ori. Dr Hond said, \u201Cit was a concerted effort to focus on language use, which was something that has never been done before.\u201D\u2014and that\u2019s in a Taranaki newspaper. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000319\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EThe other initiative that we are launching is Te Kawa Matakura. Mai r\u0101n\u014D\u2014since time immemorial\u2014the Crown has suppressed m\u0101tauranga M\u0101ori, M\u0101ori knowledge. In other words, if you go into any school in the country you\u2019d be hard-pressed to find true m\u0101tauranga M\u0101ori being taught. That\u2019s despite the best efforts of kura kaupapa, wharekura, k\u014Dhanga reo. They\u2019re doing great work, but what we don\u2019t actually really teach, and certainly don\u2019t assess, is as m\u0101tauranga M\u0101ori. So a child can achieve NCEA, and that\u2019s very good. That shows that they can achieve NCEA; it doesn\u2019t actually show that they can achieve in m\u0101tauranga M\u0101ori. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000320\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EI remember attending in 2004 a hui m\u0101tauranga M\u0101ori in Taup\u014D hosted by T\u016Bwharetoa, where one of the goals was that M\u0101ori children should be able to achieve as M\u0101ori. Now, getting NCEA shows that they\u2019re achieving, but it doesn\u2019t show that they\u2019re achieving as M\u0101ori. So what we\u2019re doing is launching Te Kawa Matakura. It\u2019ll be established from the beginning of next year. It is being established in Tai Tokerau in the first instance, not because I\u2019m the MP for Te Tai Tokerau, but that was just how the tohunga, the M\u0101ori educational experts who were engaged and involved in the design and development of Te Kawa Matakura and Te Ahu o Te Reo\u2014it was their decision that it should start up there. Basically, it will allow young people to learn that deep, meaningful m\u0101tauranga M\u0101ori. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022 data-id=\u0022c9d8a35523e54a5e85f0c1be31a6aafe\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000321\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c9d8a35523e54a5e85f0c1be31a6aafe\u0022\u003EHon NIKKI KAYE (National\u2014Auckland Central):\u003C/span\u003E Look, I\u2019m very pleased to speak in this review debate. Firstly, though, can I just acknowledge what is very clearly articulated in the report. No better statement, in my view, sums up the state of where this Government is at in terms of education, and it was really the Prime Minister\u2019s statement to thousands of teachers in New Zealand that there is no more money. Well, Prime Minister, when you look at the report to this House around where there has been some more money, there\u2019s been an increase for more education officials. What we know is that we\u2019ve gone from 2,600 staff\u2014that\u2019s right\u2014to 2,900 staff. There are several hundred more education officials under the watch of this Government, a Government that is focused more on bureaucracy and administration than on core, front-line services. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000322\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EIf we think about the areas that are covered in the annual review of Estimates, core areas that the Government has failed to deliver on and where they have really shown themselves as incompetent\u2014take the issue of teacher supply. Yes, it is true that it is cyclic, and if you look at it, under our watch, when we came in in 2009, we saw a huge, acute teacher shortage. It happened again, but what we\u2019ve seen from this Government is complacency, and you saw this in the annual review of Estimates. We saw $9.5 million\u2014$9.5 million\u2014in the scheme of the Ministry of Education\u2019s own modelling, which is covered in this annual review. The annual review clearly indicates just the annual figure of the number of teachers that need to be funded on the Ministry of Education\u2019s own modelling, which they trumpeted throughout this hearing. We need 8,000 secondary teachers in the next five years. Whether it\u2019s through the annual review of Estimates or the announcement the Minister made the other day, National will be very firm. The facts are that when it comes to front-line education services and getting teachers in classrooms, the numbers don\u2019t add up and the Government is not doing enough to ensure that that occurs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EThe second core area is school property. Again, the Labour Party campaigned on modernising every single school building in New Zealand. Well, that wasn\u2019t costed\u2014about $10 billion\u2014so what was actually delivered then? What was delivered was actually a similar amount to some previous years. There were a couple of hundred million dollars more, but if you look, compared to what\u2019s needed in areas of growth, National had an Auckland growth plan, for instance, that looked at futureproofing a place like Auckland for the next 30 years, and the Government turn up with not only not enough money for growth but also the Government\u2014I know, because I\u2019ve got the schools that are talking to me about individual projects that have been delayed. Some of that is absolutely going to be talked about over the coming months: projects that we started and funded and they\u2019re not delivered by this Government, and it\u2019s very relevant to the review of Estimates that we\u2019ve got. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000324\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EThe other area which we just heard from Kelvin Davis was around M\u0101ori and Pasifika students. Well, the facts are that when it comes to attendance, we do have a huge difference in attendance by M\u0101ori and Pasifika students. You\u2019re looking at about 50 percent. We have tried to be constructive in Opposition. We put up a bill, for instance. I put up a bill which was around those education officers in Youth Courts. Radio silence\u2014yes, that is you, Minister Su\u2019a William Sio. Radio silence about how we might actually support some of our most vulnerable youth to have access to the education that they need so that they\u2019re not in our criminal justice system. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000325\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EIn a number of other areas we see incompetence, and I want to give you another example. National funded the Ministry of Education via the education payroll to look at what is the underpaid issue around the Holidays Act. Not only did they get the cash to go and work out who was owed what, but we\u2019re a year and a half later and nothing has occurred. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000326\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EThis, from my perspective, sums up this Government. They talk a good game. They always deliver whatever they tell you\u2014you pretty much cut it in half, you add a group of bureaucrats, and then there\u2019s incompetency and failure right across the portfolio, particularly in those core areas. The reality is they are not providing or funding enough teachers for the workforce needs. They are not funding the infrastructure that is required in terms of the front line. They are investing in\u2014as Shane Reti is about to talk about\u2014free fees for students to buy votes, rather than dealing with front-line education services. They are stuffing up teachers\u2019 pay when it comes to the Holidays Act, and, actually, I\u2019m getting a lot more situations through my email around Novopay. This is an incompetent Government that can\u2019t deliver the basics in education. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022 data-id=\u0022c61f00e93614485bbf70e62bf0b9702e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000327\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c61f00e93614485bbf70e62bf0b9702e\u0022\u003EJAN TINETTI (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Chair. I\u2019m delighted to take\u2014 \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000328\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d11c274079b148c29cf7d2947627770d\u0022\u003EGreg O\u2019Connor\u003C/span\u003E: A real teacher. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000329\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cbd1bc2b8eb04e279a7b65f8aedc5741\u0022\u003EJAN TINETTI\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014a call in the appropriation debate on education, and I do, Mr O\u2019Connor, consider it a great privilege to have been an educator for as long as I was, which was close to 30 years. However, I find it interesting, following Nikki Kaye, the previous speaker, who was talking about the lack of workforce planning of this particular Government, because it was in 2016 when I appeared before the select committee that talked about education at that time, where I begged the then Government to put in a workforce plan around teacher supply. I said that we were heading for a major shortage, and we were right at the beginning of it. It\u2019s amazing how we have a lack of memory about that at this particular time. This Government has inherited huge issues around workforce planning, but, hey, we\u2019re not going to let that get us down because we\u2019re doing something about it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000330\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s interesting that in the Ministry of Education review, they actually even said, when they appeared before us\u2014and I quote them from their 2017-18 annual review\u2014\u201CThe shortage is partly a result of unusually high roll growth that wasn\u2019t planned for.\u201D and a lack of clear guidelines about how many teachers needed to be trained each year from the previous Government. But we will do something, and we are doing something about it, and the previous speaker did talk about the announcements last week that will fund additional teacher-training places. That is really important, but not only that: we\u2019re also looking at the supply of beginning teachers and are supporting them into their first jobs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000331\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003EThat is critically important, and the one area that I want to talk about particularly is the voluntary bonding scheme expansion. That is a critical area that is vital to getting teachers into hard-to-staff schools. Also, a number of teachers have actually come through my school, which was a decile 1 school and was eligible for the voluntary bonding scheme as it currently exists, to get that particular grant that was afforded to them. Over five years, that is a total of $17,500 per teacher. That is a significant amount of remuneration for working in those hard-to-staff schools. That is something that we are expanding, along with those additional teacher-training places. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000332\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003EI just want to go back to that. Under that previous Government, initial teacher education enrolments plummeted\u2014not only dropped but plummeted\u2014by 40 percent. That is why we must now address that and do something to actually bring that right, and that is exactly what that\u2014 \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000333\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229d1a2ff0e30f40f1914987f8cb40a14a\u0022\u003EHon Nikki Kaye\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek leave for the member to table the workforce development strategy that\u2019s been in train for 18 months under that Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000334\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222248e6207d144d2e89090e619067e957\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe)\u003C/span\u003E: Two things. It\u2019s a really serious matter to interrupt a member. Every member has a right to be heard. If that seeking of leave was actually in order in the first place, which it isn\u2019t\u2014and then to interrupt someone during a speech is not correct, and I would expect the member to know that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000335\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a037e87df852425c9852f0df64c511ce\u0022\u003EJAN TINETTI\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Chair. Moving on from there, another issue that we have heard here this afternoon was about the removal of national standards. One reason why this Government has actually taken that step is to start to remove the administrative burden and compliance that has been placed upon our teaching workforce, which has led towards the complete burnout of our teaching workforce. The first thing that we could do was to actually remove those national standards overnight. It was something really embraced by our sector\u2014absolutely loved by our sector\u2014 \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000336\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221d734801532b411dba814d0324702b86\u0022\u003EHon Tim Macindoe\u003C/span\u003E: Not by the parents. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000337\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fbabbd7ca8e94ebca8a1163db9de9bfb\u0022\u003EJAN TINETTI\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014and something that I am absolutely pleased about, as an ex-principal, to actually say that that made a real difference to our teachers in the classrooms. It\u2019s something I\u2019m still getting thanked about, and I did hear from the other side someone saying that it wasn\u2019t welcomed by our parents. Well, I\u2019d have to say that that is something that I would beg to differ with, because I\u2019ve heard parents say that they\u2019re actually getting a clearer view of where their children are at now and a better understanding of what their children are actually learning. They\u2019re actually having real conversations with the teachers of their children, which is something pretty exciting to be happening when you\u2019re seeing the parents engaging so much in those classrooms. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000338\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003EThe other, last, area that I briefly wanted to talk about\u2014and we\u2019ve heard it from two previous speakers there\u2014is our fees-free announcement. The ministry said in their annual review that they consider the policy to be successful in terms of improving affordability and decreasing student debt. There is clear information showing that students are taking out less debt, which has got to be good for our economy. But what I did ask during that review was that I hoped that we would be looking at qualitative data as well, because I personally know young people that have considered university and who are attending university for the first time\u2014first-time students in their families. I think that\u2019s great for this country, and I think it\u2019s particularly good for those young people that they are able to go there now because they\u2019ve got those fees free. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022 data-id=\u00224d18861312c94152987fc2237926c61c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224d18861312c94152987fc2237926c61c\u0022\u003EDr SHANE RETI (National\u2014Whangarei):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Chair. It\u2019s a pleasure to speak to the annual review of the tertiary sector and tertiary education, and the documents that I will refer to in this address include the select committee report, the select committee transcript, and briefings to the Education and Workforce Committee in 2017-18. In these documents, the substantive topics, or even section headings, include fees free, funding spending, M\u0101ori and Pasifika, revenue and expenditure, and the ITP Roadmap, so I\u2019m just hitting the scope to what I\u2019ll talk through here and anchoring it back to the annual review. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000340\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003EI want to speak primarily around the failed fees-free policy\u2014the flagship policy from this Government\u2014and I want to start off as we talk to revenue and expenditure by being absolutely clear about the size of the fees-free policy. It is $2.8 billion. A substantial part of that goes to the fees-free policy; the second part is you have more students and, therefore, you have more student allowances; and the third part in the books is the capital expenditure, at around $700 million. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000341\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003EIt is a big number\u2014$2.8 billion over four years\u2014and so we were asking what sort of outcomes can we see from that policy, and we heard the previous speaker cherry-pick some outcomes, but wouldn\u2019t it be good if there were new learners and if there were more learners? Wouldn\u2019t this be a good policy if it was introduced at huge expense and we actually got new learners, and so we were asking how do you know that. Well, the ministry actually reports that in April and November each year, and in April what they reported was that under the fees-free policy there were negative 2,297 learners. Now, I was thinking how can that be? We\u2019ve put $2.8 billion into this. Does negative mean there\u2019s less learners now than there were before the policy? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000342\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a8be5c4e2ca84c44be21df4ffa7c276c\u0022\u003ESimeon Brown\u003C/span\u003E: No\u2014really? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000343\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002216d53098de594407a4ae0df3df751547\u0022\u003EDr SHANE RETI\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s right\u20142,000 less learners now, under this policy, than there were before. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000344\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003EBut maybe it was early in fees free, so let\u2019s give it through the November report. So we waited for the November report, and what we heard was there were actually negative 2,402. It had got worse. So, nearly a year into fees free, there are, in fact, less learners now than there were one year previously. There is the outcome of a failed fees-free policy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000345\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003ESo remember I said that April and November are the reporting dates? Well, we\u2019re into May now. What about the April reporting date? Well, that\u2019s where all the Official Information Act (OIA) requests can\u2019t find it. If it was going to be any good, I\u2019m darned sure the Minister would have reported it, so I can\u2019t wait for that OIA request to come back, because I\u2019ll predict it\u2019s even worse. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000346\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003EWe were interested in the impact of the fees-free policy. In fact, one of the subject headings was \u201CWhat is the completion rate?\u201D, and that was one of the things we discussed for fees free. Well, tragically, the message came back to us from the Tertiary Education Commission that \u201CWe\u2019re unable to report that because we don\u2019t collect information on it.\u201D Really? A $2.8 billion policy that\u2019s clearly going down the toilet, and we don\u2019t even report to know how bad it\u2019s getting? A terrible situation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000347\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003ESo what happened? Canterbury University stepped in and said, \u201CWell, we\u2019ll do a study and tell you how it\u2019s going, and what we\u2019ll find is that, actually, only 5.8 percent of people who took up fees free said it was critical to them. Oh, by the way, those are the ones who don\u2019t stick it out\u2014those are the ones who don\u2019t complete their course.\u201D There\u2019s the first evidence of completion rates under fees free. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000348\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003EBut maybe there was something in this for M\u0101ori and Pasifika, and we asked that. We were wanting to increase the enrolments and the eventual graduation of M\u0101ori and Pasifika. How was fees free faring, and how was the whole portfolio faring for M\u0101ori and Pasifika? What we were astonished to learn\u2014absolutely astonished\u2014was that the Budget that we\u2019re talking about budgeted $17 million for M\u0101ori and Pasifika, but only allocated $12 million\u2014$12.8 million, actually\u2014for an underspend of $4 million. I need to understand this: we\u2019re wanting to advance M\u0101ori and Pasifika in the trades through tools like the M\u0101ori and Pasifika Trades Training Initiative, and we underspent $4 million. In fact, that\u2019s the biggest underspend in M\u0101ori and Pasifika in the past three years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000349\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022861a1798-a396-4a6c-b9e2-7d2f15d4a001\u0022\u003EThat lends itself to the wider discussion of revenue and expenditure across the whole portfolio, because, tragically, the whole tertiary portfolio was underspent by $270 million last year. We have polytechs who, for whatever reason, have needed top-up funding of $100 million and we underspent $270 million in this portfolio. We kept $88 million for Vote Tertiary Education, we gave $8 million to Vote Education for NCEA, and $170 million left the Vote Tertiary Education portfolio and went into the general fund\u2014which is where I\u2019m guessing it went. It went to fund slushy machines, it went to fund failed KiwiBuild, and it left its purpose\u2014it left tertiary education\u2014and went elsewhere: $170 million. There\u2019s a lot of polytechnics who could\u2019ve survived and be doing very well today with that $170 million, as could the $4 million underspent in M\u0101ori and Pasifika. Thank you, Mr Chair. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022 data-id=\u0022d55f33b456994aac8ed184086692e1f8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000350\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d55f33b456994aac8ed184086692e1f8\u0022\u003ESIMEON BROWN (National\u2014Pakuranga):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Chair. Thank you for the opportunity to take a call in this annual review debate this afternoon. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000351\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EI\u2019d like to focus my contribution on international education. This was covered in two annual reviews: the annual review of Education New Zealand and the annual review of the Tertiary Education Commission. The international education market for New Zealand is our fourth-biggest export earner, earning approximately $5.1 billion in the 2017 year, with approximately 125,000 international students based here in New Zealand. As one of our largest export earners, it is an industry that I believe needs to be respected and needs to be given certainty in the way that we operate as a country, in the rules, the regulations, and the policies that we have to govern it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000352\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EBut, unfortunately, this Government has been introducing uncertainty into the sector\u2014uncertainty which is having an impact on our international reputation and on the number of students who are coming here. When this Government came into office, the Labour Party pledged that they would reduce international student numbers by 15,000 to 20,000 international students per year. Since then, since they were elected, no official target has been set. However, they have undertaken a number of policies which have continued to bring uncertainty into this industry and which are causing uncertainty for our sector and to our international brand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000353\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EWhen Education New Zealand came to the Education and Workforce Committee, we heard that competition in the international education market is growing, with English-based courses opening up in non-traditional countries like Japan and Germany. In Education New Zealand\u2019s view, New Zealand\u2019s competitiveness lies in its reputation. So, as we discuss this topic, my question to the Government is why the continued uncertainty, the continued change in rules, and the changing of the game plan for our international sector, because it is jobs on the line, it is people\u2019s incomes on the line, and it is our reputation on the line which is having an impact. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000354\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003ESo let\u2019s get to some of those changes which this Government has made: firstly, changes to post-study work rights for international students. This has had a significant impact on our reputation as a country because when students make a choice as to where they are going to study, one of the biggest choices they make is based on: \u201CWhat opportunities am I going to have to be able to work while I\u2019m studying? What opportunities am I going to have to be able to continue to engage, to be able to pay the fees that I have to pay in terms of my international education? What employment opportunities will I be able to take up while I\u2019m there so that I can gain new experiences and also upskill at the same time?\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000355\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EThis Government has decided to play with these rules. Firstly, they came out with radical plans\u2014radical plans which were going to scale back the amount of post-study work rights\u2014and then they softened that somewhat in the final rules which they put in place. But the impact was already had. Our reputation was damaged because they went out and made us far less competitive than other countries like Canada, like Australia\u2014other countries which international students can easily decide to switch between. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000356\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EThe second change that they put in place last year was an increase in the export education levy. This was only several million dollars, but, again, it was an increase in the cost that it would be for international students to come here to international export earners such as institutes of technology and polytechnics and our universities had their fees increased for every international student which they had. But the shame in this was, actually, that the fee was increased higher for private training establishments than for other establishments. Private training establishments\u2019 fees went up higher. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000357\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003ENow we\u2019re also seeing a slow-down in the processing times for international students coming to New Zealand. This is something which is becoming increasingly worrying as the amount of days that it takes for international student visas to be processed\u2014particularly through the Mumbai office\u2014is becoming something which is of a huge concern to me and others on this side of the House, because, again, if an international student has to take twice as long to get their visa processed to come to New Zealand than Australia, then why wouldn\u2019t they go somewhere else which is far more welcoming? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000358\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003ESo we have significant concerns over the fourth-biggest export earner for New Zealand. We will continue to watch this Government as they continue to make changes, because they must be taken to task on this. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022943fd636-21ec-4442-9a72-68c49464776f\u0022 data-id=\u00220091aa1c4c6f4aa89d5ac0ed5be9c50d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000359\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022943fd636-21ec-4442-9a72-68c49464776f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220091aa1c4c6f4aa89d5ac0ed5be9c50d\u0022\u003EDENISE LEE (National\u2014Maungakiekie):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Chair. It\u2019s a privilege to take this call in this annual review debate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000360\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022943fd636-21ec-4442-9a72-68c49464776f\u0022\u003EWe focused on a topic on the Education and Workforce Committee, on the school property portfolio, so we had the Ministry of Education before us and we particularly wanted to hear about their response to the growth in Auckland\u2014certainly I did, as an Auckland MP. So, many would know that the growth pressure in Auckland around the student roll is immense. In the Auckland region, over 278,000 students were enrolled in 2018. It\u2019s an increase of 3,000 students from the year prior, and if you go back to 2010, 18,000 more students have enrolled in Auckland. So it\u2019s a hugely important issue: school growth and overcrowding. Students and their families need assurances around the Ministry of Education\u2019s capability and capacity to respond to pressures. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000361\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022943fd636-21ec-4442-9a72-68c49464776f\u0022\u003ESo when we were in that annual review of the Ministry of Education, they, in simple terms, said that they didn\u2019t think funding was the issue; they thought that it was the capacity of the construction sector to respond to this growth. Well, back in my electorate of Maungakiekie, Te Papapa School and Oranga School, who have had a lot to deal with, are having huge housing growth pressure, which means that they are staring down the barrel of student growth pressure. Both those schools have had one heck of a job getting the Ministry of Education and the property team to be responsive. We\u2019ve gone back and forth with several letters to the Minister of Education, to HLC, which is an offshoot of Housing New Zealand\u2014both ministries not talking to each other. It\u2019s been a really harrowing experience for these schools, who genuinely need support and care given to their families who face very uncertain times. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000362\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022943fd636-21ec-4442-9a72-68c49464776f\u0022\u003EThere are similar pressures all over Auckland. My colleague Chris Penk has talked in the House about the pressures faced for overcapacity in schools, many of them in west Auckland\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000363\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228872c8523a9b4066a4d17730fe80b4f0\u0022\u003EChris Penk\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s right. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000364\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022943fd636-21ec-4442-9a72-68c49464776f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221d32779167e34b3395c2c93f62098713\u0022\u003EDENISE LEE\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014and he\u2019s agreeing with me to my right. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000365\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022943fd636-21ec-4442-9a72-68c49464776f\u0022\u003EUnfortunately, what we\u2019re hearing from schools all over Auckland and, indeed, the country is that the ministry has not been working as well with them as they should. The capacity is just not there within the property team, and so we needed to figure out what some of the causes were as we talked to them in their annual review. I even went so far as to ask them whether their staff turnover was an issue for why they do not seem to be responding to local communities and to MPs such as ourselves. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000366\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022943fd636-21ec-4442-9a72-68c49464776f\u0022\u003EThis is supposed to be the year of delivery, is it not? There are schools and there are communities all throughout Auckland who are left in a state of limbo with no action or leadership being taken on this particular topic. The ministry is clearly under pressure and the annual review that we sat through did not give me confidence that that was going to be met. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000367\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022943fd636-21ec-4442-9a72-68c49464776f\u0022\u003ENow, if you take that in context and then look at what is happening, at the time when we reviewed them, the terms of reference were out for the Tomorrow\u2019s Schools task force review. As we\u2019ve gone through that particular task force review, we know that we are now looking at a supersized, on-steroids Ministry of Education centralisation, hub, property network\u2014whatever you want to call it. So, right now we face all these pressures, but what\u2019s the answer? A supersized, fictional, on-steroids, superhero response? Well, I\u2019m not sure that that is going to be something that can come into reality, because as we saw in those annual reviews, the response currently isn\u2019t there. How are we supposed to have assurance that this Government, this Minister, and this Ministry of Education property team are going to have communities\u2019 best interests at heart? I\u2019m struggling in my community. Chris Penk is struggling in his community. What\u2019s the answer? It\u2019s a shortcoming, as we see it. Thank you. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022 data-id=\u0022b0340189c02b452e966bdcab873db32e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000368\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b0340189c02b452e966bdcab873db32e\u0022\u003ENICOLA WILLIS (National):\u003C/span\u003E I rise to speak on the annual review documents, particularly as they relate to the Ministry of Education and the Education Review Office (ERO), and in particular as those relate to the early childhood education sector. What these reviews laid bare was that the early childhood education sector is one that is under pressure and one where the Government has some significant promises to deliver on, and it has failed to deliver on it to date\u2014in particular, as they relate to increasing funding to allow for 100 percent qualified teachers and increasing funding to reduce group sizes and ratios. Those promises were not delivered at all in these documents. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000369\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EWhen we dig into the detail of these documents we also see that there are going to be big expectations for the coming Budget if we\u2019re just to keep up with where we are now. When we look at the Ministry of Education for 2017-18, the first thing we can ask is how many children actually attended early childhood education. The Ministry of Education told us they had a target that 98 percent of children would attend early childhood education. By its own admission, the ministry failed to reach that target. Only 96.9 percent of children did participate. This is a small drop, but it is significant because it is a trend that we would expect to be arrested in future years, because we are talking about children who are sometimes the hardest to reach and who may have the most to gain from early childhood education, and it would be expected that that gap would be covered in the next Budget. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000370\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EWe also looked at the proportion of qualified early childhood educators. Despite the rhetoric of members opposite, and the Labour Party, who in its campaign talked a lot about qualified educators, the ministry was clear with us in this annual review process that the number of early childhood educators who are qualified has not increased. It\u2019s roughly constant at about 70 percent. We asked at the Education and Workforce Committee what was being done to address the shortage of early childhood teachers. I\u2019ve visited dozens of early childhood centres across the country and they consistently tell me it is very difficult to find qualified early childhood teachers. We were told that there wasn\u2019t anything underway but that the early childhood advisory committee was working on ideas. So there is another area where we would expect delivery in the upcoming Budget, because the pressure to find qualified teachers is there, and there\u2019s currently not enough happening to arrest that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000371\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EWe then looked at the Education Review Office. Of course, the Education Review Office plays a very significant role for the early childhood sector because it really is the independent arbiter of the quality of services that parents receive. When mums and dads leave their children in an early childhood centre\u2014when they close that door and wave goodbye\u2014what they expect is that a Government-funded, licensed centre will provide quality care, and ERO is the check on that. So it was disturbing to hear in this annual review process that the total number of staff at ERO has not increased in line with the increasing number of children in early childhood education; in fact, quite the reverse. The number of staff at the Education Review Office has dropped significantly. It\u2019s down to 196, down from 200 the previous year, and down from 209 in 2013. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000372\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EMore significantly, as a proportion of that, the number of actual reviewers\u2014that is, the people who go into the early childhood service and check whether it\u2019s delivering high-quality services\u2014has dropped back, too. It\u2019s down to 132, having been 137 the year before, and having been 149 in 2013. Now, that is a degree of detail, but it\u2019s important, because what we saw in our committee as we examined these numbers was that we have a sector that\u2019s under pressure. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000373\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EIn fact, our view was backed up by the Office of the Auditor-General, who suggested\u2014and I quote\u2014\u201CERO would probably need more resources if it is to maintain current review schedules and focus more closely on struggling early learning centres. ERO admitted that while their target to return to a learning service is currently three years, they\u2019re only making it back every 3.6 years.\u201D What that tells us is that ERO is struggling to keep up with its obligation to review early learning centres. That matters to every mother and father in this country who expect quality for their child. We would expect that that pressure would be addressed in the upcoming Budget, along with delivering on the Government\u2019s large promises around qualified teachers and around group and ratio sizes for early learning services. Thank you, Mr Chair. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u00226184faa7f5834aca924999c9735ac52f\u0022 name=\u0022division\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EA party vote was called for on the question, That the reports of committees relevant to the Education Sector be noted. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 63 \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 57 \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EReports of committees relevant to the Education Sector noted. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000374\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ce1b3ab562ff4b5da042cd5e448c2d88\u0022\u003EEnvironment Sector\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002212d74f81-b1f7-4b51-9fb4-8f9481477192\u0022 data-id=\u00222b9348981342453ea5ac5b3463d9a877\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000375\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002212d74f81-b1f7-4b51-9fb4-8f9481477192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222b9348981342453ea5ac5b3463d9a877\u0022\u003EDr DEBORAH RUSSELL (Chairperson of the Environment Committee):\u003C/span\u003E As I rise to begin the debate on the reports from the environment sector, I do so in the shadow of a very recent report from the UN that tells us that a million species are facing extinction, but over 4,000 of those species are in New Zealand, including our beloved kerer\u016B, our kiwi, our fish, so many of our birds, and that the key drivers of this extinction that is facing our taonga is land-use change, exploitation and overfishing, climate change, pollution, and invasive species crowding out native species. All these issues are covered by the agencies within the environment sector. Our committee reviewed the work of the Department of Conservation, the Ministry for the Environment, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, the Environmental Protection Authority, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, and Predator Free 2050, and all of these entities are critical to saving our taonga and to saving our world, and to addressing some of the issues that we face.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000376\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002212d74f81-b1f7-4b51-9fb4-8f9481477192\u0022\u003EThe Ministry for the Environment is deeply involved in work on climate change. In particular, it is focusing on water quality: water quality in the agricultural sector, water quality in the urban environment, and trying to ensure that when we use water, we use it responsibly, that the water that we use is not polluted, and that we do not pollute our waterways. Currently, 71 percent of our lakes and rivers are swimmable; we want to get that up to 80 percent, and that is some of the work that the Ministry for the Environment is doing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000377\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002212d74f81-b1f7-4b51-9fb4-8f9481477192\u0022\u003EThe Ministry for the Environment is also working on waste minimisation and resource efficiency, and there is a significant move in New Zealand to move away from plastics and from single-use products. That is all to the good, and it is work that the Ministry for the Environment is engaged in as well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000378\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002212d74f81-b1f7-4b51-9fb4-8f9481477192\u0022\u003EThe Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority is also involved in work on climate change. Their previous focus had been on energy efficiency, but their focus is now changing to work on promoting decarbonisation, to ensuring that we actually have methods and ways of reducing our carbon footprint. It\u2019s critical for us, and they\u2019ve chosen to go down that route because it will have a greater impact on our environment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000379\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002212d74f81-b1f7-4b51-9fb4-8f9481477192\u0022\u003ETurning to the Department of Conservation, which, of course, is working so hard to preserve our taonga\u2014they are deeply engaged in a battle to save our birds. That is particularly so this year when we are facing a mega mast\u2014not just a mast year but a mega mast\u2014when our native trees will have so much fruit that it will not only support birds but support predators as well. So they are working on ways to ensure that our native birds survive, and 1080 is a critical part of that fight. They\u2019re also working on something dear to my heart: kauri dieback, ensuring that we protect our beautiful trees.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000380\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002212d74f81-b1f7-4b51-9fb4-8f9481477192\u0022\u003EIt is in the context of our fight to save our birds that Predator Free 2050 becomes very, very important. It is said that conservation in New Zealand mostly involves the hunting and killing of small furry animals. Predator Free 2050 is deeply engaged in that task. They have an objective of developing a science solution that will enable one small mammalian predator to be eliminated from the mainland by 2025. It\u2019s a difficult task, and they may not get there, but they are engaged on working with partners in developing the science to ensure that we can do that. Again, this is particularly dear to me, because one of the areas which is a focus for the predator-free work is Taranaki maunga, the mountain of my heart. So that is important work that is being done by Predator Free 2050.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000381\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002212d74f81-b1f7-4b51-9fb4-8f9481477192\u0022\u003EI end with a call from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, our independent expert, who wants to advise us on what we can do to promote a better environment. When he came to talk to us, he invited MPs to make contact with him, that members of Parliament make use of his expertise and call on him for advice and information. Through this report, I invite members of this House to take up that invitation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022 data-id=\u0022a703bc9973a84831951a55723f63ab03\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000382\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a703bc9973a84831951a55723f63ab03\u0022\u003EHon SCOTT SIMPSON (National\u2014Coromandel):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Chair. It\u2019s sort of a pleasure to take a call on this discussion of annual reviews in the environment space, but before I get into the material that I want to talk about, I just want to acknowledge the chair of the Environment Committee, who I think chairs that committee in a diligent and professional manner, and I\u2019m sorry that she will not be chair of that committee for much longer. It seems inevitable that she will, after the Budget Cabinet reshuffle, be promoted to the inner Cabinet, and we\u2019re going to miss working with her\u2014we\u2019re going to miss working with her. She\u2019s one of the few new MPs that have come into this Parliament that will, I think, rise to the challenge of an otherwise lacklustre Cabinet, and, as I say, we on the committee are going to miss working with her.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000383\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EAs we went through the various reviews of the organisations and the agencies in the environment sector, it became immediately apparent as we had chief executive after chief executive coming before the committee and, essentially, apologising for a lack of performance, or lack of progress, or lack of speed, or lack of haste in this area. If there\u2019s one area where the Government has failed utterly to achieve its high expectations, it\u2019s been in the environment space. We have a Minister for the Environment who is largely focused on things not environmental, we have an Associate Minister who is ideologically driven and who is biased to the point of concern in terms of her ministerial responsibilities across her portfolio areas, and that\u2019s deeply challenging for those of us who want to see a better environmental outcome for New Zealand and our natural resources and species.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000384\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003ESo we\u2019ve seen no progress on the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary. We\u2019ve seen no progress on waste minimisation, apart from airy-fairy, fluffy talk, which is helpful to a degree but doesn\u2019t actually do anything tangible about a circular economy. Actually, apart from an expensive discussion in Rotorua a few weeks ago, there hasn\u2019t really been any action in that space. We\u2019ve seen no cameras on commercial fishing vessels put in place. We\u2019ve seen, perversely, a reduction in the number of electric vehicles that are being registered in the country. We\u2019ve seen a very good member\u2019s bill that would have increased the fines for litter that councils could impose voted down\u2014voted down\u2014by this Government. It\u2019s bizarre.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000385\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EWe\u2019ve seen in the water space, water quality, which is a hugely important area, no positive action at all other than the creation of a few more working groups, and working groups that iwi are not participating with. We\u2019ve seen noises about punishing farmers, and we\u2019ve seen our urban waterways degrade even further\u2014no progress on marine reserves, a ruling out of a discussion on the introduction of biotechnology to assist in things such as Predator Free 2050, and a ruling out of a very good suggestion to introduce a container deposit scheme. Now, one would have thought that these were matters that a Green Party Minister and a Labour - New Zealand First Government would want to advance.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000386\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EBut the frustration in the sector is probably no better summed up than it was by one Kevin Hague, who happens to be a former member of this Parliament. He was on the television only a couple of weeks ago, and he said New Zealand is far from transformative in their approach to the environment, says Forest \u0026amp; Bird chief executive Kevin Hague. Hague said he thinks Kiwis will be a bit surprised by \u201Chow poorly this Government is doing.\u201D He went on to say, and I quote, \u201CI would say we\u2019re a one or a two, and that\u2019s probably shocking for New Zealand.\u201D He said the Government\u2019s response to the current environmental crisis is far from adequate or what was promised.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000387\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EHe went on to say \u201CIn freshwater, in climate change, we\u2019ve heard good rhetoric from the Government so far, but actually in this year of delivery\u201D, he said, \u201Cwe need to see [transformation] action from them.\u201D He said marine areas were actually doing worse under this Government, and he pointed to stalled plans to put cameras on fishing boats and reduce irresponsible fishing. Then he said that the environment was going to be a major focus, but he said we haven\u2019t seen much evidence of this from this Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000388\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EThat\u2019s an appalling indictment on a Government that came into power, that is halfway through its term in office and has done so little\u2014so little\u2014in the environmental space that now their supporters are their greatest critics. It\u2019s the Green environmental supporters who are most frustrated, most concerned, and most disappointed with the lack of action, the lack of delivery, in the environmental space.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e60c1237-5e2d-4d0a-9678-ab10db67d1b7\u0022 data-id=\u0022a836c4b4f52d42a48d14e881b1ca45ba\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000389\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e60c1237-5e2d-4d0a-9678-ab10db67d1b7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a836c4b4f52d42a48d14e881b1ca45ba\u0022\u003EANGIE WARREN-CLARK (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Chair. It\u2019s a pleasure to rise and talk about our annual reviews. It\u2019s a real pleasure because our Prime Minister has said that the environment is our nuclear-free moment for this generation. In fact, if I reflect on that, I think that climate change and the environment is a much more serious issue than what we faced when we stood on the right side of eliminating nuclear weapons and allowing them to come here.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000390\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e60c1237-5e2d-4d0a-9678-ab10db67d1b7\u0022\u003EI am really excited to be here today, because I note that today we had the biodiversity report. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services has just come in today and reported that there are 1 million species threatened or at risk of extinction globally, and 4,000 of those species are in New Zealand\u20144,000, people. That\u2019s why I\u2019m really delighted that our Government has turned around the $200 million in cumulative cuts under National around conservation. That\u2019s why I\u2019m really delighted that we\u2019ve invested $186 million to enhance biodiversity and to control and eradicate predators. I\u2019m really pleased about that, because when we think about what has happened and that we are so very rare in where we sit in this world\u2014we have so many rare species, or so many species that only exist here.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000391\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e60c1237-5e2d-4d0a-9678-ab10db67d1b7\u0022\u003ESo I\u2019m really, really happy that we\u2019re actually doing something significant. I\u2019m really, also, excited that we\u2019ve allocated $19 million from the Provincial Growth Fund to develop innovative approaches to expand predator control. While that may sound, from the Opposition, like we\u2019ve said that we\u2019re not looking at options, we actually are looking at options. We have no mandate from the community around genetic modification\u2014we have no mandate. If that\u2019s the mandate that the Opposition thinks they have, then maybe they should write a paper on it and suggest it. I\u2019m absolutely delighted that across the plethora of work that we are doing we have absolutely managed to systematically work in a way that ensures that we\u2019re going to try and get swimmable rivers\u2014not wadeable rivers, swimmable rivers. We\u2019re going to be looking across the environment about ways to protect and ensure, under the Resource Management Act (RMA), that our people have the opportunity to have their say, which, of course, was rolled back previously. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000392\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e60c1237-5e2d-4d0a-9678-ab10db67d1b7\u0022\u003ESo here\u2019s a little bit of progress to date: we have no new offshore oil and gas permits. Now, you will all remember\u2014sorry, Madam Chairperson, everyone will recall\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000393\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022071f7800-2755-41b6-83df-07ebaf867ae2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222cf36d9e56cc478e9275985e4f6377c1\u0022\u003ETim van de Molen\u003C/span\u003E: How many species does that save from endangerment?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000394\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e60c1237-5e2d-4d0a-9678-ab10db67d1b7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002208af427a78ba40ab97e246144114b06e\u0022\u003EANGIE WARREN-CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: You will recall\u2014how many species does that save? You\u2019re asking, across the floor, how many species does the change of\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000395\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022071f7800-2755-41b6-83df-07ebaf867ae2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227ac40167507d4e2ca25bb6b7b84e367a\u0022\u003ETim van de Molen\u003C/span\u003E: The ban of oil of gas. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000396\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e60c1237-5e2d-4d0a-9678-ab10db67d1b7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bba1732a80bc4944aa06d6ae9ae31fde\u0022\u003EANGIE WARREN-CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: Banning oil and gas\u2014absolutely. What happens is that when we have global warming\u2014which is a result of oil and gas\u2014we, therefore, have species extinction. It\u2019s the science and it is well understood. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000397\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e60c1237-5e2d-4d0a-9678-ab10db67d1b7\u0022\u003ESo we have no new offshore oil and gas permits; we have a zero carbon bill under consultation and we look forward to that coming to this House; we have the $100 million Green Investment Fund; we\u2019re countering myrtle rust and kauri dieback disease\u2014all of us here appreciate that if our taonga species such as kauri go extinct, then we have a catastrophic disaster occurring in our native forests. So it is with great pleasure that I sit now\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00229884e8e8-651f-4f48-a429-70b72d5e2821\u0022 data-id=\u00228cfc46ebf91a469f9881278ee1d0ec5f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000398\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229884e8e8-651f-4f48-a429-70b72d5e2821\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228cfc46ebf91a469f9881278ee1d0ec5f\u0022\u003ESARAH DOWIE (National\u2014Invercargill):\u003C/span\u003E Well, look, as the Opposition spokesperson for conservation it is a pleasure to take a call on these reviews of the 2017/2018 year. In particular, I\u2019m going to focus my contribution on two entities: the Department of Conservation (DOC) which is, of course, charged with the mandate of protecting, conserving the kaitiaki of our natural and historic heritage in New Zealand; and Predator Free New Zealand, which is an independent and separate entity that was put in place to look after the initiative that was, of course, the New Zealand National Party\u2019s initiative, of Predator Free 2050\u2014to eradicate rats, possums, and stoats from New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000399\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224f55adc5b4c749f0ba3fc5011da03dbb\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s transformational. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000400\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229884e8e8-651f-4f48-a429-70b72d5e2821\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226cb0b26db8d843c7a0efd2524b0134d6\u0022\u003ESARAH DOWIE\u003C/span\u003E: Absolutely transformational. In this, \u201Cthe year of delivery\u201D, all I can say is that these Government departments\u2014notwithstanding, I agree, with the chair, Dr Deborah Russell\u2019s statement that the rangers at DOC work very, very hard\u2014unfortunately have had a mixed bag under this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000401\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229884e8e8-651f-4f48-a429-70b72d5e2821\u0022\u003EThere are a couple of things that I want to focus on. The first is, definitely, what we\u2019ve seen come out, under the guise of direction of this Minister to the Department of Conservation, is a return to the bad old days of the 1980s where \u201CMinister knows best\u201D, and consultation, simply, does not occur. Now, in the past the Department of Conservation have been very good at engagement with stakeholders. They\u2019ve been very good in the education space, working with people at the coalface to get them involved in conservation, to get them to buy into initiatives and help out on the ground. But, unfortunately, as was raised in the reviews, even the Director-General of Conservation had to admit that in recent times consultation has been less than adequate. I\u2019m referring, specifically, to, first of all, the tahr cull. The tahr cull that was launched into\u2014spearheaded by the Minister, ignoring the wishes and will and thoughts of recreational hunters, to simply go in and cull to extreme levels, without engaging with that sector group. We saw a huge mobilisation and, simply, what that suggests is that the Minister has no respect for recreationists, no respect for their contribution to the conservation estate, and had no faith in them as to what they could achieve with, and in partnership with, the Department of Conservation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000402\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229884e8e8-651f-4f48-a429-70b72d5e2821\u0022\u003ESubsequent to that, we had the rushed introduction of the Conservation (Indigenous Freshwater Fish) Amendment Bill which, again, was introduced to this House with a lack of consultation. Practically no stakeholders were engaged and, again, it mobilised recreational fishers to such an extreme that we saw a backlash as to that bill, which was introduced under the guise of technical but it was anything but technical\u2014again, a tried implementation of a bill which ran roughshod over recreationists\u2019 viewpoints, their activity, and, again, their contribution to tourism and investment in the conservationist state. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000403\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229884e8e8-651f-4f48-a429-70b72d5e2821\u0022\u003ESo one of the things that I\u2019ll be looking for into the future from the Department of Conservation is for them to pull their socks up and to again engage with the community, because if we do not have buy-in from the community then we simply lose, with respect to environmental initiatives moving forward.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000404\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229884e8e8-651f-4f48-a429-70b72d5e2821\u0022\u003E With respect to Predator Free\u2014and my colleague Mr Scott Simpson touched on this\u2014again, an independent entity charged with eradicating predator species. But the Minister has come in over the top\u2014she knows best\u2014and made a direction that there should be no investment or looking into biotechnologies. It\u2019s Predator Free themselves that have come out and said that, without biotechnologies, there can be no achievement of Predator Free 2050. It\u2019s certainly not a silver bullet but without looking at it, without having that conversation, simply, the goal will not be achieved. This is unfortunate. The National Party still believes in that vision, and we believe that an honest and transparent conversation needs to happen with the public about this initiative. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022fdb01002-a7cf-4a77-8f05-678d24a36849\u0022 data-id=\u002212af9e1101d34db998ac6db6f2c9e0d2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000405\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fdb01002-a7cf-4a77-8f05-678d24a36849\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002212af9e1101d34db998ac6db6f2c9e0d2\u0022\u003ETODD MULLER (National\u2014Bay of Plenty):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Chair. It\u2019s a great privilege to rise and speak for a few minutes on the annual reviews on the Ministry for the Environment. What a tremendous contribution from both my colleagues. Can I particularly reference Scott Simpson\u2019s\u2014it was very funny watching from this side of the House as he, quite appropriately, talked up the potential of our chair, Deborah Russell. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000406\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dc0147a191914f85b98eebff4a826e83\u0022\u003EHon Scott Simpson\u003C/span\u003E: She\u2019s the new LINZ Minister. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000407\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fdb01002-a7cf-4a77-8f05-678d24a36849\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b06c93c3097743378338744f6a37ae30\u0022\u003ETODD MULLER\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s extraordinary\u2014and is likely to be a new Minister, post-Budget. Just watching the blood drain from the face of Kieran McAnulty, it was quite extraordinary. Then also from Willie Jackson\u2014with the mere mention of a Cabinet reshuffle the blood drained from his face as well. It was very awkward; it was extraordinary.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000408\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fdb01002-a7cf-4a77-8f05-678d24a36849\u0022\u003EBut we\u2019ve had some very interesting reflections on the conversation that we had at the Environment Committee about the annual reviews. In particular, I\u2019d like to draw attention to the conversation that we had around climate change. We started, first, with a reflection and a series of questions relating specifically to the Climate Change Adaptation Technical Working Group that had reported back around the importance of a national adaptation plan with a whole series of recommendations. It, essentially, landed on the table with a thud. There was no commitment to operationalise those. We\u2019ve heard nothing since; it\u2019s just silence from the Government in terms of what they\u2019re actually going to do, which reinforces this view that they are good at rhetoric but very, very poor at follow through. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000409\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fdb01002-a7cf-4a77-8f05-678d24a36849\u0022\u003EThere\u2019s been reference, as we had at the Environment Committee, about the zero carbon bill, and I suspect that\u2019s getting close, and I watch with interest the shaking hands of New Zealand First as they have to sign it off as it goes through Cabinet, trying to marry the commitments they\u2019ve made to their rural sector versus what they\u2019re prepared to support in terms of commitments for the future of this country. I wait with interest to see how that unfolds.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000410\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fdb01002-a7cf-4a77-8f05-678d24a36849\u0022\u003EBut, specifically in the select committee, we were discussing the interim climate change reports, both of which were signalled by the chief executive to be made public by the end of April. One of them related to the move to 100 percent renewable energy generation, and the second, of course: whether or how agriculture gets included in an emissions trading scheme. Of course, silence. We know those reports have been landed. We know those reports have been finalised. But unlike the commitment made by Vicky Robertson at that select committee, there is still no public disclosure of what is in that report.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000411\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022722d574f5705475d8d7219a242e498c5\u0022\u003EHon Scott Simpson\u003C/span\u003E: Why?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000412\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fdb01002-a7cf-4a77-8f05-678d24a36849\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022320149bd032a4189a7215bf3ca691bd1\u0022\u003ETODD MULLER\u003C/span\u003E: Exactly, Mr Simpson\u2014why? So here we have a scenario where, only a few weeks ago, we\u2019re told explicitly at the select committee to expect those critical pieces of thinking to be made public and discussed and reflected on, and instead they sit behind a wall of silence of the Government who, yet again, is trying to find out how on earth three hands hold the pen at the same time\u2014with great difficulty; with great difficulty.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000413\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fdb01002-a7cf-4a77-8f05-678d24a36849\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s interesting, when we reflect on some of the conversations that we had in a climate change context\u2014and I build on the very good contribution from Sarah Dowie, my colleague just before\u2014that whenever we have a conversation, as we did with the conservation area representatives, there is a complete aversion to the opportunity of using biotech and gene editing for the future challenges that sit in front of this country. We posed the questions. We\u2019ve posed them at the select committee, and we pose them here in this House. Despite the fact that Professor Gluckman has made it very clear that any attempt or ambition that we might have in the climate change space to reduce our emissions over the next 10, 20, 30 years is utterly dependent on using world\u2019s best technology wherever it comes from, being open to all ideas, all innovation\u2014because that is the secret of enabling New Zealand agriculture to thrive and feed the world\u2014that side says no; they\u2019re not interested. They\u2019re only interested in science that supports their political narrative. They\u2019re not interested in the interests of people of rural New Zealand, which takes me to the last issue that we traversed at the select committee that is covered in our report: urban-rural divide.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000414\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fdb01002-a7cf-4a77-8f05-678d24a36849\u0022\u003EIf there is a singular issue that we can see coming forward in this House that talks to this Government\u2019s inability to deeply understand provincial New Zealand, it\u2019s the response to the questions that we put on that issue. We were given fudge answers, that \u201CWe try to connect our Ministers with rural New Zealand\u201D\u2014that was the answer\u2014\u201CWe try to connect our Ministers with rural New Zealand\u201D. They only had Damien O\u2019Connor, and he\u2019s been on the job for 30 years. That\u2019s it; the singular voice. Provincial New Zealand, the underpinning economic engine of this country, and they have to say that they try hard to connect their Ministers with rural New Zealand because they\u2019re not naturally understanding their interests.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022 data-id=\u002298c813ebef594d5ca0d0ff67a84657e3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000415\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002298c813ebef594d5ca0d0ff67a84657e3\u0022\u003EHon EUGENIE SAGE (Minister of Conservation):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to rise above the negativity of the National Party and celebrate some of the things that the Department of Conservation (DOC) has done in the 2017-18 year. Today, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services came out with their global assessment of biodiversity, yet the National Party objected to a motion in the House to recognise the seriousness of our biodiversity crisis. Yet, in\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000416\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022493ac2036a3c4593bb4eaaeba293540d\u0022\u003EHon Scott Simpson\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s because the Minister didn\u2019t follow process.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000417\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224eb3545dfda14cccad0efd6bce140f66\u0022\u003EHon EUGENIE SAGE\u003C/span\u003E: We did consult, Mr Simpson. So in that report it highlighted that a million species are threatened with extinction; 4,000 of those are in Aotearoa. It is pressures on habitat, it is pests and weeds that are a major threat to them, and we know from the work that the department presented to the Environment Committee that where the department invests in predator control, it significantly improves the prospects for threatened species.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000418\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003ESo two of the things to celebrate in the 2017-18 year are the world\u2019s first successful eradication of a problem butterfly\u2014the great white butterfly, which DOC and a multi-agency team, over three years, succeeded in eradicating in the Nelson-Tasman area. That butterfly was a major threat to our native cress species\u2014we\u2019ve got 79 species of native cress, and 57 of those are amongst those million species at risk of extinction. The eradication also helped the horticultural industry, because the great white butterfly is a major threat to brassicas.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000419\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EAnother area where the department was really successful in 2017-18 was the Million Dollar Mouse programme, eradicating mice from the Antipodes Islands in the subantarctic. I was fortunate enough to go down there last February to see Reischek\u2019s parakeet, to see the Antipodes parakeet, and to see them flourishing in the absence of mice. That was a major investment in partnership with a number of organisations from the World Wildlife Fund, to the Morgan Foundation, the Jasmine foundation, and others. It was a dedicated and committed team of DOC staff, helicopter pilots, and others that succeeded in what was a very complex island eradication project in a very challenging landscape.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000420\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EDOC is investing in conservation, and this Government is investing in conservation. Unlike the National Party, objecting to motions on biodiversity, this Government, in Budget 2018, gave the biggest increase in conservation funding in 16 years, which is allowing the department to rebuild its capability and capacity. It\u2019s allowing the department to develop ever more partnership initiatives\u2014totally disagree with the comments of Ms Dowie\u2014and it was recently in the Mackenzie Basin. Te Manahuna Aoraki is a major partnership between 18 leaseholders, DOC, Land Information New Zealand, Ng\u0101i Tahu, local councils, and the New Zealand Defence Force. That ambitious project: over 300,000 hectares, investing in predator control, broom control, rowan control, rabbit control, research on how we better address threats in those high country environments, because the department and I recognise that we need to mainstream conservation. The department cannot do it on its own. It has to work with other players, it has to work with the community. Te Manahuna Aoraki and that vision for the Mackenzie Basin of reducing predators, controlling them so that we can have species like kak\u012B, the black stilt, and so that species like the robust grasshopper thrive, is all about a partnership approach, and it\u2019s all about a Government which recognises the seriousness of our biodiversity crisis and is investing in conservation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000421\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EThis May, the department is implementing the biggest ever pest control initiative undertaken in mainland New Zealand in response to the mega mast year; $38 million being spent to control rats and stoats, in response to the mast year. I do thank and congratulate the select committee for its unanimous support of 1080 as a tool to control predators. This is what was going to be totally necessary if we are to protect our bird species from going extinct regionally, to protect insects like the giant land snail. The department, over a million hectares, 12 percent of the conservation estate\u2014this Government has secured the funding for Tiakina Ng\u0101 Manu, or Battle for our Birds; under the last National Government, that was insecure year by year. So we recognise the seriousness of the biodiversity crisis, and we\u2019re investing in a range of initiatives to tackle that. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022275c91f8-c6b8-42fd-b3ab-d8fc000dd41f\u0022 data-id=\u0022f315c05afa7e45b79b0a1d539450b465\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000422\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022275c91f8-c6b8-42fd-b3ab-d8fc000dd41f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f315c05afa7e45b79b0a1d539450b465\u0022\u003EERICA STANFORD (National\u2014East Coast Bays):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Chair. There we had it\u2014right at the end of the Minister of Conservation\u2019s contribution, her acknowledgement that 1080, in her opinion, is the answer to all of our problems. The reason that we get this from the Minister is because she has put the handbrake, effectively, on Predator Free 2050. Can I just acknowledge the previous National Government for that initiative\u2014that incredible initiative, that big, hairy audacious goal that we put out there that we are striving to achieve that this Minister has, effectively, put the handbrake on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000423\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022275c91f8-c6b8-42fd-b3ab-d8fc000dd41f\u0022\u003EI\u2019m so pleased that she took a call before me, because it leads me so nicely into my contribution today, because I want to turn to the review that I found the most interesting, and that is from Predator Free 2050. The discussion that we had, in particular, was around the use of biotechnology by Predator Free 2050 in reaching their goals, and in that we took the officials back to some comments that they made a year ago, specifically around the use of biotechnology in ridding our country of these pests, these stoats, rats, and possums, to stop them killing our forests, and killing our birds.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000424\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022275c91f8-c6b8-42fd-b3ab-d8fc000dd41f\u0022\u003EThe question was around the support from this Minister in the use of technological solutions in the area of biotechnology, and the answer that was given a year ago was \u201CShe\u2019s given us support in regards to the strategy that we\u2019re undertaking\u201D, and we went on to ask \u201CSo she hasn\u2019t issued any instructions that you\u2019re not to proceed with the advancement of technological solutions?\u201D, and the official replied, \u201CNo\u201D. Two weeks after we asked that question, a mere two weeks, the Minister did a complete flip\u2014a complete 180\u2014and sent a letter, a directive, to Predator Free 2050, and she said to them, \u201CCease and desist. We don\u2019t want you even looking at it.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000425\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022275c91f8-c6b8-42fd-b3ab-d8fc000dd41f\u0022\u003ENow, fast-forward to just recently, when we had Predator Free 2050 back in front of our select committee, and we said to those officials, \u201CWhat changed?\u201D, and they mentioned specifically that directive\u2014they mentioned specifically that directive. They brought up the letter of direction, and they admitted to the committee, they said to us, that it came completely out of the blue. They were blindsided. And no wonder. Two weeks earlier\u2014imagine this\u2014they had the full support and commitment of the Minister for the programme that they were working to in terms of technology, and then two weeks later a cease and desist letter, a complete flip.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000426\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022275c91f8-c6b8-42fd-b3ab-d8fc000dd41f\u0022\u003EWe on this side of the House acknowledge that we have a massive problem, and it\u2019s not the million mice, it\u2019s not the butterflies; it\u2019s the stoats, it\u2019s the weasels, it\u2019s the possums, and it\u2019s the rats, and if we are to even start to think about Predator Free 2050, we have to have more tools in our toolbox than just simply dropping 1080 on our land, which is what this Minister wants to do. The only thing in her little tool box is these traps and 1080, and we know very well from the officials and from Predator Free 2050 themselves that this is only going to keep a lid on things at best. They admitted in our select committee, when we had them there in front of us\u2014they admitted to us that they will need more tools in their tool box to achieve this very big goal, and just dropping more poison is not going to be the answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000427\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022275c91f8-c6b8-42fd-b3ab-d8fc000dd41f\u0022\u003EFor the Minister to get up today and talk about the loss of biodiversity and about the pests being this major threat and how terrible it all is and how 1080 is the answer is absolutely appalling, because we heard from Predator Free 2050, we\u2019ve heard from the experts. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anyone out there who thinks that these tools on their own are going to get us to Predator Free 2050. This Minister has put an absolute handbrake on these poor officials and, you could say, tried to dance around the issue, but it was clear from their answers that they were going down a specific track, they knew the tools that they needed\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000428\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c052fe30f0d84366a175e109ef69cc61\u0022\u003EHon Scott Simpson\u003C/span\u003E: Ideological handbrake.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000429\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022275c91f8-c6b8-42fd-b3ab-d8fc000dd41f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022007ac97919b74edb8c23b33cb58a4027\u0022\u003EERICA STANFORD\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014it was an ideological handbrake; thank you, Mr Simpson\u2014and yet, two weeks later from that original answer a year ago, this Minister drops a bombshell on them: cease and desist that one thing that you know is going to get there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000430\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022275c91f8-c6b8-42fd-b3ab-d8fc000dd41f\u0022\u003EAnd they\u2019re not saying, \u201CLet\u2019s do it.\u201D This Minister isn\u2019t saying, \u201CDon\u2019t do it at all.\u201D She\u2019s telling them, \u201CDon\u2019t even look at it, don\u2019t even research it, don\u2019t put a cent into even thinking about it. Just keep dropping poison on our forests.\u201D That\u2019s what this Minister is saying: \u201CLet\u2019s not look at new technologies.\u201D Despite what other members of her Green Party say, that technology is going to be the future\u2014not in this Minister\u2019s mind.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022de1660b8d12449fc9abb04f889c6ddca\u0022 name=\u0022division\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EA party vote was called for on the question, That the reports of committees relevant to the Environment Sector be noted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 63\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 57\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EReports of committees relevant to the Environment Sector noted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000431\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b31e1811eabf4d3493acc8171ca9f6f8\u0022\u003EExternal Sector\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022 data-id=\u00222c5015012f6c4f21882147959ecb5896\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000432\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222c5015012f6c4f21882147959ecb5896\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR (Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much, Madam Chair\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000433\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b99d6a8589914b6f9fe9931e9cf930e1\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, this\u2019ll be great.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000434\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225b11b61f78e14111a06e2629bce3d030\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: Well, no, it probably won\u2019t be great, actually, because as the chair of the committee, I have to be relatively neutral, so I\u2019ve got to actually behave myself for the next five minutes, which is rather disappointing, but anyway, we\u2019ll give it a crack. Look, in all seriousness, can I start by thanking all the members of the select committee from across the House who have worked through these reports. I think it\u2019s fair to say that the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee works robustly but collegially. But can I also record at the start my thanks to all of those who work within the various sectors, be it defence, Antarctica New Zealand, customs, foreign affairs, overseas development\u2014they are the ones who make a difference day by day.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000435\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EI thought I\u2019d just go through several of the reports noting various elements which I thought were important, and I\u2019ll leave the politicking to others who will follow in my wake. Look, importantly\u2014and I\u2019m sure others in this debate have noted\u2014we\u2019ve been dealing with the 2017-2018 Budget. So, actually, some elements of what we\u2019re discussing were coming through the then National Government and then moving into the Labour Government side of things.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000436\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EWhen we start with\u2014if I was just going through the order in the book\u2014defence, we know that a substantial spend there of something like $20 million or so into defence\u2014actually not a large spend when one considers other countries. I\u2019m not trying to compare New Zealand to the likes of America, but not a substantial spend. But what\u2019s really important is just what our defence forces are able to achieve with those moneys. Look, obviously, the committee took a lot of time talking with both NZDF, the New Zealand Defence Force, and the Ministry of Defence. They are two actual separate groups that come together when presenting to us. Great interest in the various deployments that New Zealand has\u2014and I suppose it\u2019s important at this time to, quite rightly, acknowledge our men and women serving overseas. A particular focus in the select committee around how the defence forces are working not only around climate change\u2014working there on some really interesting insights, I would suggest\u2014but also some discussion around how defence is working around drug trafficking. We did talk a little bit around the location of bases. In fact, there was a bit of discussion too around why Singapore has not continued an idea to bring down some of its fighter jets. It\u2019s perhaps timely to note that we had some discussion of banning foreigners and those from overseas purchasing land. It\u2019s my understanding that that\u2019s something which has contributed to Singapore\u2019s decision not to come here and to set up a base at \u014Ch\u0101kea.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000437\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003ECustoms\u2014I\u2019ll get to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) at the end; they\u2019re the big one\u2014quite a substantial spend of about $204 million, but I thought quite interesting, perhaps, for the House to note that they intercepted over $345 million of illicit drugs, and if I was to be somewhat tongue in cheek, the current Government wanting to basically decriminalise the lot of it\u2014are we going to lose $345 million of illicit drug interception moneys? We\u2019ll soon find out.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000438\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EThere were a number of questions around the Joint Border Management System in the committee. We\u2019re just interested in how that has integrated in, and, by and large, it sounds positive but some work still to be done. It was quite interesting as well to hear from customs of the work they\u2019re trying to do in anticipation of Brexit.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000439\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EThe New Zealand Antarctic Institute, obviously, has Antarctica New Zealand. They do a remarkable job. I\u2019m somewhat biased in saying that, in that a few days after I\u2019d actually returned from Antarctica itself, we had the team come in front of us. Look, they are looking to do a base upgrade\u2014it\u2019ll be interesting to see what comes up in the Budget this year\u2014and what they saw as relatively positive is a new science platform, some funding now ring-fenced quite particularly to be able to give to scientists to do this science. Antarctica New Zealand provides the support to scientists at the moment; now they get to actually provide some funding.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000440\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003ELook, with MFAT, a substantial spend\u2014look, we were really interested, obviously, in the relationship with China. We\u2019re noting, obviously, the words that were in the defence statement which have upset China. We were very conscious at the time\u2014very few ministerial visits, concerns around the free-trade agreement, and concerns around the Middle East certainly came up in the committee; concerns that New Zealand was not playing a solid role speaking out against terrorist groups such as Hamas but readily quick to slam the likes of Israel, and we think that\u2019s all a bit mixed up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000441\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EBut I want to conclude by acknowledging Brook Barrington\u2014he was the chief executive of MFAT; he stood down\u2014and to use this opportunity in the final seconds to acknowledge his service to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to welcome Chris Seed as the new chief executive, and, if I might, an encouragement to members to read Brook Barrington\u2019s two-page contribution.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022 data-id=\u0022829d3652911043c986ff05787f61f9a4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022829d3652911043c986ff05787f61f9a4\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams)\u003C/span\u003E: Just before I called the honourable member, I just want to remind members that these are five-minute calls. If you go over the five minutes, I could regard them as a second call, and I don\u2019t think your whips will be entirely happy about that. So you must sit down as soon as the bell is rung.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022 data-id=\u00227c84b33632dc41feb2623d44633b4ed2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000443\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227c84b33632dc41feb2623d44633b4ed2\u0022\u003EHon TODD McCLAY (National\u2014Rotorua):\u003C/span\u003E Madam Chair, thank you very much. I\u2019m very pleased to speak on this part of the debate on the foreign affairs and trade annual review that came before our committee. I want to start where my colleague left off in recognising the work of Brook Barrington, who, since 2015, was the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Brook, who is a very able diplomat, led the ministry through a number of changes and challenges and, most interestingly, led it in a direction where it was more engaged both within New Zealand and in other parts around the world.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000444\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EAt the back of at least the document I\u2019ve got, we\u2019ve attached the reflections or the speech or the talk that Brook Barrington gave in the committee, and it was one of the better speeches I have heard that sums up exactly our position and where we sit. If I may, I want to quote a piece of this because I think it\u2019s very important that the Government takes note of the expert advice from the expert in foreign affairs when it considers what it should be doing currently in the days and years ahead.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000445\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EMr Barrington said\u2014and I quote\u2014\u201CMr Chair, the ministry acts in the world to make New Zealanders [safe] and more prosperous. And that world has become more complicated. It is possible to find [cause] for optimism and opportunity, of course. But the daily reality is that [the] global power is being contested and significant pressure is being placed on the existing international system and on many of the principles and rules that underpin it, to which could be added pervasive challenges like climate change, unregulated migration, and uneven access to \u2026 benefits of globalisation, which are fuelling uncertainty and nationalistic responses. As a result, predictability, one of the rivets of international affairs, is sprung. This is playing out most [dramatically] in our own hemisphere.\u201D And I end the quote there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000446\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EThe reason I wanted to read that is it actually talks to or speaks to New Zealand\u2019s place in the world, how we see ourselves, and how, as a small nation, successive Governments and successive Ministers of Foreign Affairs have been out talking about the values that New Zealand has, promoting them on the world stage, and actually using our voice with influence greater than our size and location would suggest. If there was anything I would implore the current Government to do, it would be to spend more time with our friends and partners and those that we are yet to agree as much as we want to with internationally overseas.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000447\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EThey often say that foreign affairs and trade is about not what you do within your own country but the things you do externally, and it is very important for a country like New Zealand\u2014a small country\u2014that we are overseas as much as we practicably can be, reminding people of who we are and fighting for a better deal for Kiwis. And I do want to recognise that the Government has of late been out to different parts of the world, but I would suggest\u2014and say I would criticise\u2014that they have been far too slow to do so. It seems that in the foreign policy area most of the Government\u2019s interest has been domestically\u2014what New Zealanders think only.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000448\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EIt is important we take New Zealanders with us, but the challenge or concern that we have is that if we\u2019re only here talking about foreign policy in New Zealand and not overseas persuading others as much as we need to be, then New Zealanders will miss out, New Zealand will miss out, and we will be left behind.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000449\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EThere is an example in this document, and we questioned quite widely in detail about this: the wording of the defence policy statement regarding China. I don\u2019t want to rehash this and go over it, but, as we questioned and looked at that, it is clear to us that there was a difference of view of the type of wording between defence and the foreign ministry. That\u2019s not unusual. Those sorts of things happen. Our experts will work this through.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000450\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EBut what is most concerning is the suggestion that at a political level, at a ministerial level, the different ministries were led in directions that those experts perhaps did not feel comfortable with. I see the Minister in the chair, Ron Mark, has an opportunity to clarify that: whether or not the Government, through the Ministers, were pushing their officials in a direction when it comes to the language of how we treated China in that defence policy document in such a way that those officials were concerned or actually were not able to give the advice that they thought that they should. If that was the case, it would be a travesty for foreign policy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000451\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003EFinally, when it comes to another area, was the advice the ministry had to give over the World Trade Organization (WTO) compatibility of the Provincial Growth Fund. I think what happened here is Mr Jones had to be worked over by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, because he did say at the time he didn\u2019t care about the WTO. Actually, a country like New Zealand must care about those rules-based approaches to things, and Mr Jones himself, as a Minister with a very large amount of money to try and spend, must adhere to international rules and law and shouldn\u2019t be saying as a Minister he doesn\u2019t care about our international obligations.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022 data-id=\u00225bb3f8276d454cae966a567597387b44\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000452\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225bb3f8276d454cae966a567597387b44\u0022\u003EHon TIM MACINDOE (National\u2014Hamilton West):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Chair. One of the problems with this debate, of course, is that five minutes goes all too quickly and we have a number of different entities that we had the privilege of hearing from during the course of our estimates considerations.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000453\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EI\u2019d like to start at the end just so that I can give a bit of an acknowledgement to the New Zealand Antarctic Institute because they do fine work and quite often they get overlooked in this particular debate. They\u2019re a Crown entity established under the Act of 1996 to ensure that Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are protected, valued, and understood. I do want to acknowledge, while the Minister of Defence is in the chair, that they couldn\u2019t do their work without the huge support that they get from the New Zealand Defence Force. They are two entities that work very well together and do an extraordinarily good job.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000454\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EAntarctica New Zealand receives 97 percent of its funding from the Vote Foreign Affairs and Trade budget, hence the fact that it\u2019s a very important entity for us to consider. And they are doing great work, particularly with the modernisation of Scott Base, which is vital to ensure that we have the very best facilities and equipment and accommodation down there. It\u2019s a pretty unforgiving climate, particularly in the middle of winter, and I am delighted that great work is being done there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000455\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003ECan I jump back, while the Minister of Defence is in the chair, to just say how much I appreciated the privilege of joining him earlier this year in going on a trip with himself; Commander, Joint Forces New Zealand from New Zealand Defence Force; and some other personnel to visit New Zealanders who are deployed in the Middle East and South Sudan. And, of course, in South Sudan we were meeting with the United Nations mission there, which was headed by the former Labour leader David Shearer. What a superb job he is doing, and what a pleasure it was to hear how highly regarded David Shearer and his team are. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000456\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EAgain, it\u2019s just not possible to do justice to everything in this short call, but I was really struck on that trip by how proud we may all be of the fine service of the New Zealand men and women in the New Zealand Defence Force. Their contribution punches well above the weight that you might expect of a small country, and in every respect they are extraordinarily highly regarded. I know the Minister is very proud of them, and with very good reason. I was too, and I think that New Zealand is doing a tremendous job in international peacekeeping missions in the Sinai and so many other theatres of huge conflict over the years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000457\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003ELet me now jump, in the remaining time, to talk about the New Zealand Customs Service, because I had the privilege of being the Minister of Customs back in the dying days of the previous National Government and I am a huge supporter of New Zealand customs. They are doing tremendous work.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000458\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003ELet me put on the record, for those who may be listening. They have three core functions: protecting New Zealand by reducing the risks associated with international trade and travel\u2014and most of us have the opportunity to interact with customs as we go through customs at airports in particular\u2014they promote and facilitate trade and travel by efficiently processing imports and travellers arriving into New Zealand\u2014not so many people are aware of those, but certainly those who are in business as importers and exporters are, and I know that they are vitally dependent on the efficiency which is at a very high standard in the New Zealand Customs Service\u2014and also the collection of revenue including duties, excise levies, GST on imports, and fees. Most recently, the Government has moved to, I think, balance the ledger by bringing tax on to low level goods from offshore, because I know that many retailers in New Zealand had felt that they were at a competitive disadvantage, and this was an issue that was certainly on my table when I was Minister, and I acknowledge the fact that that has made some progress.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000459\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003EI do want to acknowledge the leadership that was provided by the Acting Comptroller of Customs Christine Stevenson, who took over in my time and was a very fine chief executive of customs. Particularly, I want to acknowledge the work that customs does in a collaborative way with other agencies such as the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). They have the Joint Border Management System, which is a joint initiative of customs and MPI focused on modernising and aligning their computerised border systems and producing data to identify risks and future trends. This is just so important because the threats to New Zealand\u2019s borders are becoming more and more sophisticated, and it\u2019s so vital that those agencies are working together. Several work streams have come out of that initiative, including the establishment of a joint border analytics team and the vitally important Trade Single Window system. And I had the opportunity to celebrate that advance during my time as the Minister.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000460\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00228a1cb04e-8a86-44d1-9004-6e158e220339\u0022\u003ETwo years ago, a joint border analytics team was set up between customs, MPI, and Immigration New Zealand with the purpose to collect joint intelligence to support the work of the various agencies. I particularly want to acknowledge a great passion of mine: the tremendous work they do in intercepting drugs. There is a huge volume of drugs that are coming to our shores all the time. Customs does a fine job in intercepting much of it. Of course, they can never stop all of it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022 data-id=\u0022576070757368428eb8208416c5897aab\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000461\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022576070757368428eb8208416c5897aab\u0022\u003ECHRIS PENK (National\u2014Helensville):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much, Madam Chair. It\u2019s a pleasure to be able to contribute to the external affairs annual review. Let me start by acknowledging the Minister in the chair, Ron Mark. He\u2019s been generous with invitations that he\u2019s issued on behalf of the Defence Force to members of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee. I, for one, welcome and acknowledge that, and, in fact, I know other members do as well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000462\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EI\u2019d like to touch briefly on the work of the Ministry of Defence and the New Zealand Defence Force, mostly just to pass through the subject matters they\u2019ve covered, really by way of acknowledging them and thanking them for the work they do on behalf of our country throughout this world of woe, at times. They do a difficult and dangerous job with professionalism, and I join, I\u2019m sure, all members of the House in thanking them at this time, now that we have an opportunity to do so. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000463\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EBriefly on defence matters that relate to my electorate somewhat\u2014excuse the gratuitous mention of the electorate of Helensville, Madam Chair, but I\u2019ll just touch briefly on a couple of issues. One is in relation to the Whenuapai Air Base. We asked the various officials who came before us about the prospects of Whenuapai Air Base and also Devonport Naval Base in relation to whether those defence establishments were secure in their current location. The indication was that there was no information to the contrary, albeit that issues relating to housing intensity\u2014excuse me, density; and intensity, for that matter\u2014in the area do complicate their operations somewhat, for example, in relation to the noise of aircrafts and the operation of ships, too, in relation to Devonport. Similarly, the firefighting foam contamination issue that has been noted throughout New Zealand is something that I\u2019m watching carefully as a local MP in relation to Whenuapai Air Base. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000464\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EFor the remainder of my short time, I\u2019d like to touch on a couple of matters in relation to the foreign affairs portfolio more so, taking my lead from colleagues senior to me on our side of the aisle and our side of the select committee, if I can put it like that. A couple of these issues were raised by the chair of the select committee, Simon O\u2019Connor. In that role he wasn\u2019t able to be particularly political, so I\u2019ll take the liberty of doing that somewhat, not really so much from a party perspective, given that a bipartisan approach to foreign affairs tends to characterise all parties\u2019 approach\u2014traditionally, at least. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000465\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003ESo, really, on the themes of consistency, clarity, and cooperation, I\u2019d like to note a couple of issues, including as they\u2019ve been handled in less than ideal fashion in a couple of instances by the Government of the day, of course, within the period of this annual review. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000466\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EIn relation to consistency, I\u2019d like to note that it is important that the New Zealand Government act in a consistent manner when it comes to condemning acts of violence and, indeed, terror throughout the world. Sometimes it\u2019s a length of time that a response takes to have a condemnation of a violent and perhaps a disproportionate response. That\u2019s unfortunate, to say the least. Simon O\u2019Connor mentioned in relation to the resolution on Hamas behaviour that a procedural resolution was voted against by New Zealand at the United Nations to condemn them. Ultimately, the substantive motion was voted upon by New Zealand the correct way, in my view, but that was a rather sad episode. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000467\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003ESecond, on the nature of clarity, our ideals aren\u2019t always reflected in the way that we accept at United Nations the presence of some nations on bodies that would lecture nations about human rights, some of which have a far from perfect record on human rights themselves. So that\u2019s unfortunate to the extent that we accept that as a sovereign nation with a seat at the United Nations General Assembly. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EThird, on the subject of cooperation, I note that it\u2019s important we continue to work with other nations who are like-minded in terms of ideals and interests\u2014for example, when some months ago now the behaviour of Russia and \u201Cattitudes towards the rules-based international system\u201D\u2014and I read from the annual review report\u2014was such that there were some eyebrows raised, if I can use that metaphor, internationally. It\u2019s important that New Zealand has a robust attitude towards such incidents or possible incidents and acts with our friends quickly, in a manner that is appropriate to such situations.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022872744a3-2256-4cdd-a4cc-939836dc2b11\u0022 data-id=\u00225c65a1fe865f49cc83d9fe32317ebb8f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000469\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022872744a3-2256-4cdd-a4cc-939836dc2b11\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225c65a1fe865f49cc83d9fe32317ebb8f\u0022\u003EPRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Chair. Can I begin by, actually, commending Simon O\u2019Connor, the chair of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, for the collegial nature in which members work across that select committee. I had joined the select committee only, sort of, halfway through last year, so this is the first opportunity that I get to speak to some of the work that we learnt through the annual review process. I want to also begin by noting that the select committee thanked Dr Brook Barrington, who was the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) who was appointed to the role in 2015. When he presented to the select committee, he was leaving very soon after his presentation to us. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000470\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022872744a3-2256-4cdd-a4cc-939836dc2b11\u0022\u003EI do, however, want to begin by addressing a point that was raised by the Hon Todd McClay, who talked about some of the concerns that some members\u2014namely, Opposition members\u2014on the select committee raised with regard to perceived concern, from their point of view, regarding the difference in language that was used with regards specifically to China by the different departments that were involved in it. Well, actually, what came out through the annual review process was that there was no concern on Dr Barrington\u2019s part at all, and although members opposite were trying to rather pointedly lead discussion and conversation to get to a point where perhaps they thought some concern would be expressed, none was expressed whatsoever. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000471\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022872744a3-2256-4cdd-a4cc-939836dc2b11\u0022\u003EThat was the same outcome, I guess, when members opposite tried to talk about\u2014oh, I\u2019ve just found the bit that I was looking for: the wording of the defence policy statement regarding China. I quote, \u201CThe Secretary said he did not believe there was any tension between [the] departments regarding their view[s] on China.\u201D, and he in fact went on to outline quite a robust process that happens between departments, and there was no need for concern that officials were being pushed in a certain direction, as the Hon Todd McClay alleges. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000472\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022872744a3-2256-4cdd-a4cc-939836dc2b11\u0022\u003EThat also goes into some of the ministerial visits that were brought up as areas of concern by members opposite on the select committee with regard to China, and again I quote from the select committee report: \u201CThe Secretary added that the Chinese would make it clear if they did not want a meeting. He indicated that there have been no \u2018alarming signals\u2019 about the state of the relationship with China.\u201D So I believe that was put to rest very effectively by the Secretary during the annual review process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000473\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022872744a3-2256-4cdd-a4cc-939836dc2b11\u0022\u003EI do also want to go on to some of the fine work that Dr Barrington talked about in terms of the Government\u2019s focus on the Pacific, for example, with the Pacific reset. There was a reset in terms of regional relationships that has been characterised, really, by greater engagement with countries in the South Pacific, the focus of which, of course, is to do our bit to ensure that we build prosperity, stability, and resilience amongst some of our closest neighbours, our Pacific nations that we work very closely with; also to grow and magnify our influence and impact in the region that, of course, we are also part of; and to conduct relations in a manner that is more respectful and in partnership and actually led by the Pacific nations that we work with. That came out quite strongly during the annual review process as well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000474\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022872744a3-2256-4cdd-a4cc-939836dc2b11\u0022\u003EThe Secretary, Dr Barrington, highlighted the existential threats that are posed by climate change to our closest neighbours in the Pacific as well and talked about some of the work-related schemes that MFAT has launched in terms of a land reclamation project; legal work to determine which State owns the continental shelf, for example, in international law; and research work with local NGOs in the Pacific to determine how women and disabled people will be affected by climate change. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000475\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022872744a3-2256-4cdd-a4cc-939836dc2b11\u0022\u003EAlso, just very quickly in the time that I have remaining, I want to touch on the Trade for All project as well, because, again, the Hon Todd McClay talked about the fact that we shouldn\u2019t just focus on ensuring that we talk to New Zealanders, but, actually, that\u2019s really important when we negotiate trade agreements and trade rules. So in addition to the external work that MFAT is doing, there is a focus on ensuring there\u2019s buy-in from New Zealanders as well, and that was brought up as something that was important. Thank you, Madam Chair.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022 data-id=\u0022e1b2ff591afa4ce18142f0c64fe20964\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000476\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e1b2ff591afa4ce18142f0c64fe20964\u0022\u003EHon RON MARK (Minister of Defence):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Chair. Please excuse me if you can\u2019t understand me; my voice is gone. I want to thank the select committee, and particularly the chair and deputy chair, for the work they have done and particularly for accompanying me on a couple of operational visits, which proved to be very valuable\u2014in the sense that they gave us not just the opportunity to meet with our own personnel in the field and to get a first-hand glimpse of the challenges they face in performing the work they have to do in the completion of those missions but also the opportunity to engage with our strategic partners and those of the coalition force allies we\u2019re working alongside of and the host nations in particular.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000477\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s been a very, very good year for the Defence Force and veterans portfolios. I\u2019m very proud of the progress we have made. We started out very strongly by focusing on a reset of our strategic defence policy and making sure that it\u2019s aligned with this coalition Government\u2019s views; that we\u2019re aligned with the Pacific Reset, as announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs; and that we provided from that a good basis for conducting a review of the capability plan of the former Government, in accordance with the coalition agreement. I\u2019ve got to say that the new strategic defence policy statement is something I\u2019m very proud of. I\u2019m very proud of my team for the hard work that they have put in there and for the quite visionary document that we\u2019ve finally produced, which is framed in the context of community, nation, and world. The SDPS, as it\u2019s come to be known, has put some very strong focus on some key and crucial issues, being space and cyber\u2014very much deserved and very sensitive areas for New Zealand going forward.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000478\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003EI think also the other area of focus that I steered the team into was to take a good, long, hard look at what climate change was bringing us with respect to the impact on our security and the consequences of climate change in the Pacific. That has been a very, very valuable document. It was released recently, and it has been very well received, clearly within the Pacific and in Europe as well. I was a bit disappointed that I had to turn down an opportunity to speak at a Noumea conference recently, but tomorrow I will be leading the discussion on climate change and the security implications of it\u2014I head away to Fiji tomorrow\u2014at that conference.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000479\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003EDefence capability: of course, we made the big announcement that this Government has signed off on the purchase of the replacements for the P-3 Orion fleet, with the announcement of the decision to buy four P-8 Poseidon aircraft. That is\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000480\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022859e13f9-33bb-41bb-b2f0-d848eaf25407\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022718ae59f51d94f1787262dc80f235544\u0022\u003EAndrew Bayly\u003C/span\u003E: Have you booked it in the accounts?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000481\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022028e465b21444de9a23460c531df224d\u0022\u003EHon RON MARK\u003C/span\u003E: They are in the books\u2014have a look\u2014as you know when you make an announcement. That member should realise that his Government had nine long years to make a very sensitive and very important decision that affected one of our high-end capabilities and failed at every turn. So that member who wants to chip in and make a little name from himself should remind himself\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000482\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e948251793e74ef495e0ccaf7d2227e2\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams)\u003C/span\u003E: Order! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000483\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229945f3a0018a4c36b0971f33ca7c89a1\u0022\u003EHon RON MARK\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014that his Government didn\u2019t have the ability to actually make that decision. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000484\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d84f43f3cae84602ac23d19dff07e7b1\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams)\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Minister, return to your discussion.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000485\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ddbef04cf5b04b65b363e464ead2c5ed\u0022\u003EHon RON MARK\u003C/span\u003E: The other great decision we made\u2014and it will come to fruition on 13 May\u2014is that if one looks out one\u2019s office window, one will see Manawanui moored up outside there. It arrives\u2014the new dive hydro vessel; another proud purchase. Of course, at the same time, we kicked off the frigate systems upgrade, which hadn\u2019t been kicked off, which had blown out by $148 million, but we sorted that problem, and both Te Mana and Te Kaha are now in dock in Canada having that refit done\u2014long overdue given that it was signed off in 2007 by a Labour - New Zealand First Government. But, hey, we\u2019re always cleaning up messes left behind, aren\u2019t we?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000486\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003EThe other great things very quickly: we got the four new King Air 350-Bs; we have signed off on the NH90 simulator\u2014it\u2019s being built now; and we\u2019ve completed the defence capability plan, which we\u2019re just working on for a final release. So all I\u2019d say, for the Opposition, is that it\u2019s been good news\u2014nothing but good news\u2014in the defence space, and I\u2019m very much looking forward to announcing and presenting the new defence capability plan, which I\u2019m sure everyone will be very pleased and proud of.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u00221cf5ca003b1944b0829181576c0c406f\u0022 name=\u0022division\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EA party vote was called for on the question, That the reports of committees relevant to the External Sector be noted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 63\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 57\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EReports of committees relevant to the External Sector noted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000487\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022457ea92a35654611b2f337c81fd9eb6f\u0022\u003EAnnual financial statements of the Government and Finance and Government Administration Sector\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022 data-id=\u0022b2f63ceb2544444d802397fce8b0a4f6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000488\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b2f63ceb2544444d802397fce8b0a4f6\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams)\u003C/span\u003E: There are two questions in this next debate. The first is that the report of the Finance and Expenditure Committee on the annual financial statements of the Government for the previous financial year be noted. The second is that the reports of committees relevant to the finance and Government administration sector be noted. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022 data-id=\u0022a42d0d7bc22747898cf85cc9e6e105e0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000489\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a42d0d7bc22747898cf85cc9e6e105e0\u0022\u003EBRETT HUDSON (Chairperson of the Governance and Administration Committee):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Chair. It\u2019s a pleasure to rise and speak to, principally, the second of those questions: those annual reviews related to the Governance and Administration Committee, a very hard-working committee\u2014very capable members\u2014and one which I feel absolutely privileged to chair. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000490\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229f3f3db65b2047c793b681921b2be7a4\u0022\u003EKanwaljit Singh Bakshi\u003C/span\u003E: And well chaired. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000491\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d044259f5ae548a6b056edb97eacc2ea\u0022\u003EBRETT HUDSON\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you very much, Mr Bakshi\u2014very kind of you to say that; I was going to say it myself and, in fact, did. So, in keeping with the spirit, and more importantly the Standing Orders, this will be a very non-controversial contribution from me. I do know that members from this side of the Chamber will have some comments to make on some of the reviews that we undertook, but there are some factual elements which can and will be raised in this contribution. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000492\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022\u003EI\u2019d like to begin with the State Services Commission. The State Services Commission is one of the best reviews to conduct, principally because sometimes members have commented that officials\u2014chief executives, presenters\u2014will take up quite a bit of time summarising the year before the committee. I wouldn\u2019t call them cynical, but some people feel that that is sometimes to chew up time. The State Services Commissioner has a unique approach to dealing with these annual reviews. We say, \u201CBy all means, give us a summary of last year\u2019s performance and then we\u2019ll have some questions.\u201D and he just says, \u201CThank you; I\u2019ll take your questions.\u201D So the summary is as short as it can possibly be, and we get plenty of time to quiz the commissioner about the things they\u2019ve been doing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000493\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022\u003EOne element which members on this side might choose to raise, and I\u2019d welcome Government members also raising, is that we did notice in the expenditure that, in communications\u2014and we think about the entity in State services and their core role\u2014communications expense for them rose over $400,000 in the annual year in question, and so members probed the commissioner as to why that was. The response we received, of course, was that as they are trying to take more of a leadership role in developing the State sector, they believe that it is appropriate and necessary for them to spend more money on communications and on communications specialists\u2014what, in the private sector, might be called \u201Cpublic relations\u201D. Some members questioned the true justification for that, but that was certainly the view of the commissioner and something that I think we\u2019ll likely keep a very watching brief on as we move through into the next financial year for review. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000494\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022\u003EI\u2019d like to talk briefly about the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). We acknowledged some of the longstanding challenges, from a review perspective, of this particular department. It is, effectively, from an accounting or an accounts perspective, siloed into several areas, and those areas cannot be cross-subsidised. A surplus in one area\u2014particularly in an area such as passports\u2014cannot be used to address one-off cost challenges elsewhere. That tends to make for a challenging entity to review, because the obvious performance of the entity is just not that obvious, but we were reminded again by DIA that they have a future issue in passports where, at the moment, there is a surplus in that account, but with the legislative\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ae830da06c2346f6a82ea5ef3c709079\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams)\u003C/span\u003E: I apologise to the member, but the time has come for me to leave the Chair for the dinner break. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000496\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003ESitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000497\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002233b802aa1d2c4680986114d433672d9a\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe)\u003C/span\u003E: T\u0113n\u0101 r\u0101 t\u0101tau katoa. Prior to the dinner break, the committee was debating the Appropriation (2017/18 Confirmation and Validation) Bill. We had reached the Finance and Government Administration sector. Brett Hudson has the call and has one minute 20 seconds remaining. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000498\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022860c411b8eaf4914ab185911f972a315\u0022\u003EBRETT HUDSON\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Chair. I\u2019m looking forward to this last little while. I finished, as we rose for the dinner break, talking about passports within the Department of Internal Affairs and how there\u2019s a surplus on that account but there\u2019s a forward looking expense as we transition more people from five-year passports to 10, given the legislative change in the last Parliament. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000499\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022\u003EI just want to round out my contribution talking about statistics. I do know that some members on this side are going to have quite a bit to say, I think, about this particular annual review, particularly census 2018, for which there was a large sum of money in the annual year appropriated to complete the census. The first point I would make is that despite all of the public talk about the census and the responses, the department of statistics confirmed to us that they did not spend all of the money appropriated to the census, which is a really interesting position. But, more importantly, the committee found it very difficult to get questions answered by the chief statistician. It\u2019s worth reflecting for us all at this time that when Parliament convenes in select committees, we have an absolute expectation in annual reviews that questions will be answered, and it was a stain upon this year\u2019s annual reviews that it was so hard for the committee to get an answer to its question. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022 data-id=\u002255ff6fb04e5148aba487fa075594f2d2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000500\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002255ff6fb04e5148aba487fa075594f2d2\u0022\u003EHon AMY ADAMS (National\u2014Selwyn):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Chair. During this stage of the debate, obviously we are addressing not only the annual reviews from the finance and Government administration sector but also the financial statements of the New Zealand Government. That\u2019s where I want to start, probably not surprisingly, and that of course is annexed, I guess you would say, to the annual review of Treasury, which I\u2019m going to come back to. But if we start with those financial statements of Government, I think it\u2019s actually quite a telling snapshot of where the finances of this Government have come from, where they were, obviously, at 30 June last year, and actually, pretty tellingly, where they\u2019re going. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000501\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003EWhat we see in the statements is the story of a Government that inherited actually very good healthy surpluses based on a good, well-performing economy, and in fact the statements themselves show that. So for the guffaws on the other side, this is exactly what the report of the Finance and Expenditure Committee has recorded, that the Government had very good surpluses that it was working with. But what we\u2019ve unfortunately seen is a legacy of those surpluses being frittered away on poorly targeted, poorly thought-through\u2014I won\u2019t even say investments because they\u2019re certainly not\u2014spending that has delivered almost nothing in real benefits for New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000502\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003ESo whether you want to talk about $2.8 billion on that failed first-year-free policy, whether it\u2019s the KiwiBuild monstrosity that my colleague Judith Collins will talk about, we have a legacy of those big surpluses that these financial statements record as being frittered away. What makes that even worse is that the Government hasn\u2019t put the attention into the growth machine that generates those surpluses. You only have surpluses if you have a Government that focuses on and understands the importance of the private sector and business in the economy. And when business is telling the Government, as they were all through this period and are continuing to, that they\u2019re not confident, they don\u2019t want to invest, they don\u2019t want to grow, and they\u2019re not feeling good about employing people\u2014instead of listening and thinking \u201CActually, that\u2019s something as a Government we should care about.\u201D, you\u2019ve got the Hon David Parker saying \u201CWell, it\u2019s all junk. Why would we care about any of that?\u201D So the tale that the accounts tell is a very sad one of wasted opportunities, of a Government that has spent the hard work of New Zealanders over the previous decade to get into a good position, and, in fact, of an economy that is slowing down very quickly. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003EIn these statements, we have some rather sad statements, in hindsight, from the Minister where he stated, for example, that he thought New Zealand\u2019s economic growth was becoming more sustainable. Well, what a tragedy that is when we now have Treasury saying that our growth in the first part of this year is down to 2.0 percent. So while the Minister is sitting there singing his little Pollyanna tune about everything was sustainable and coming up roses, the economy was going backwards and he was too deluded to notice, to pay attention, or to do anything about it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000504\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003EWe also noted in these reviews that both Treasury and the Reserve Bank were telling the Government that the only thing that was holding up the books was population growth and spending. You cannot build a sustainable economy on the Government spending other people\u2019s money. Labour Governments have tried to do it time and time again, and it doesn\u2019t work. What we\u2019ve seen is exactly what we\u2019re seeing now, which is an economy in a sharp decline, the private sector retrenching, putting away the cheque book, and jobs growing far more slowly than population growth, and yet we have a Government that refuses to accept any of that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000505\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003EThe Minister told us back in those hearings\u2014and, again, it\u2019s almost laughable to look at it now\u2014that he was confident that the Government\u2019s programme would lead to strong per capita growth. Well, I\u2019m sorry, Mr Robertson. Per capita growth has been zero over the past six months. An economy in absolute stasis, going absolutely nowhere under this Government\u2014on a per person basis, totally stagnant. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000506\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003ENow, a similar thing is happening in the cash side of things. Again, this is a Government that is spending like a drunken sailor, as most left-wing Governments do. And yet these financial statements record that those big surpluses I talked about have now gone back $4 billion. So when you look at the residual cash deficit of this Government\u2014and that, for members on the other side who don\u2019t know their way around financial accounts that well, clearly, is the actual cash flow\u2014from the numbers here to where we are, just in what Treasury put out last week: a $4 billion decline in just the last nine months. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000507\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003EThat is the sort of negligent handling of the economy that we\u2019re seeing from this Government. They have wasted the hard work of New Zealanders. They have thrown money away on coalition fripperies for their partners-to-be in Government. They have done nothing while the economy is in free fall, and as a result the numbers are going back, and going back sharply. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000508\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003EThe other thing that these financial statements showed us was a Government that is so desperate to try and paint within the lines that it set for itself around Budget rules. They\u2019ve hidden $6 billion in off - balance sheet debt that costs taxpayers considerably more to finance than it would have done if they\u2019d borrowed it through normal channels. Now, Treasury told them not to do it, and it\u2019s costing taxpayers more to do it, but, because Grant Robertson wants to measure himself by his own stick, he\u2019s moved that debt somewhere else. Never mind that it\u2019s more taxpayers\u2019 dollars incurred. If it works for Grant, he doesn\u2019t much care about how it affects taxpayers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000509\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003ENow, I wanted to mention some of the other comments that came up in our review of Treasury, because there were some quite concerning comments out of the\u2014well, I was going to call him the recently departed secretary, but that makes him sound somewhat like he\u2019s dead, and I certainly don\u2019t want to imply that. The Secretary to the Treasury made us some reasonably concerning comments\u2014that actually this is a Treasury department that is significantly under-resourced, and they acknowledged that they were under a lot of pressure, thanks to the new Government, and would have to be discussing priorities with Ministers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000510\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003ENow, anyone who\u2019s been a Minister knows that\u2019s code for \u201CWe\u2019re spread too thin. We can\u2019t do our job well.\u201D, and I\u2019m sorry but the performance out of Treasury in recent times, when we\u2019ve seen them playing with sun and moon cards instead of focusing on the health of the economy, it just shows the sort of attention that this Government is putting on to things like managing something as unimportant to this Government as the economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000511\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003EI will just say, in passing, one thing that I was particularly disturbed by, which was to see Treasury tell us that a quarter of their own bills are not getting paid on time. When the financial managers of this Government can\u2019t pay their own bills on time and leave generally private sector suppliers out of pocket, because they can\u2019t get themselves organised, I blame that on the Government and their failure to properly oversee the pretty simple core business of Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000512\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003ENow, in the time left in this contribution, I want to also focus on the annual review of the Reserve Bank, because, again, there is a story here of significant and serious under-resourcing of one of our core financial agencies. I hate to say it, but there is a very clear theme developing of this Government being so uninterested in the economy and the private sector and the thing that actually pays the bills that they are under-resourcing Treasury, they are not getting Treasury to focus on their core work, and we\u2019re seeing the Reserve Bank telling us that they are significantly short in their prudential supervision staff, and, in fact, they told us they were at least 15 key people short of being able to do their job well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000513\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003ENow, the Reserve Bank is an agency that has paid a dividend to the Crown last year of $456 million\u2014$456 million. So the Crown is using them as a cash cow, but are they properly resourcing them to do their job of looking after our banks, looking after our insurance sector, and managing our currency risks? No, they\u2019re not. So you\u2019ve got the Reserve Bank having to go cap in hand and, apparently, being turned away by the Government, and telling the select committee\u2014which is pretty serious; in fact, I haven\u2019t seen it\u2014that they were significantly under-resourced and, therefore, not able to fulfil their full regulatory responsibilities. That is a serious issue, and I would suggest to this Government that they should at the very least have due regard to these important institutions of Government so that they do ensure that they are in a position to be able to properly do their job. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000514\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003EJust one final comment on the Reserve Bank while I\u2019m here, and that is around the stress testing of New Zealand banks, given the issues that are currently being discussed with capital adequacy. I would point out to the bank that they told us that their stress tests have found the banking system is resilient and the banks hold enough capital and liquidity buffers. So, given those comments, I think it is important\u2014and I certainly hope the Government is having these conversations\u2014that there is serious reflection going on as to whether the significant constraints on capital, the significant extra costs that will fall on borrowers from these massive jumps that the bank are now proposing in capital adequacy, if they\u2019re to proceed\u2014given that the bank told the Finance and Expenditure Committee that our banks are resilient and will withstand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022 data-id=\u0022806dcf30a88a48559d7610011654b33f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000515\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022806dcf30a88a48559d7610011654b33f\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe)\u003C/span\u003E: I call the Hon Judith Collins. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022 data-id=\u00226b4ceebcaefe420ab6208dd5f818c9f4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000516\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226b4ceebcaefe420ab6208dd5f818c9f4\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS (National\u2014Papakura):\u003C/span\u003E Oh, thank you, Mr Chair, and good choice, might I say. Look, I agree with everything\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000517\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a5215d3f8c32483b8a1e7bd1953c5cce\u0022\u003EDr Duncan Webb\u003C/span\u003E: What have you cooked up? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222b3c90b7af0c48dea53af5c755afbbc6\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014that my colleagues have said, and I would say to Dr Duncan Webb that if he wants to have some nice, home-made Louise cake tomorrow, he\u2019ll just behave himself. I\u2019m not going to turn up with some silly, scungy-looking Madeira cake. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000519\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EAnyway, so let\u2019s get back to business. Let\u2019s talk about manure of the horse variety, otherwise known as KiwiBuild. I think it\u2019s really important that we talk about a subject where the Government has promised big on KiwiBuild, and then they put the Hon Phil Twyford in charge. What they have been able to do is\u2014we asked them in our select committee, the Finance and Expenditure Committee, about the KiwiBuild Buying off the Plans initiative. We got some explanation about how \u201Cthe Government\u201D\u2014in other words, read \u201Cthe taxpayers\u201D\u2014will underwrite or purchase new homes off the plans as a way of underwriting private developers in case the houses do not sell. Note that phrase \u201Cin case the houses do not sell\u201D, and what we have found is they hardly ever do sell. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000520\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003ESo whether it\u2019s 11 apartments in \u014Ct\u0101huhu in Auckland, where you\u2019d think surely, surely, the public would think these would sell\u2014anyone would think they would sell\u2014but, six months later, they are still not sold. Ten of them are not sold. But that, apparently, enables the developer to go and build other places that people don\u2019t want to buy. So, amazingly, that is, apparently, adding to the housing stock, but, unfortunately, they\u2019ve got no one in them, and that\u2019s because they have not sold. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000521\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EThen, I give you W\u0101naka\u2014please, W\u0101naka\u2014where we\u2019ve got houses built\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000522\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002295c973dfa6404016bc14d393b8832a85\u0022\u003EHon Amy Adams\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, they must sell. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000523\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002224c296235ee647a7a2a05468545995da\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: No\u2014unfortunately not, Mrs Adams. They have not sold. No, no, no, they have not sold. But then, why would they sell? They have no storage other than outside storage things so people can put skis in. There\u2019s no cellar inside and no garaging, because, apparently, it doesn\u2019t snow in W\u0101naka, and nothing else that people might want for $650,000, for a little two-bedroom home. And that\u2019s what Phil Twyford\u2019s KiwiBuild Buying off the Plans initiative is assisting. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000524\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EUnfortunately, the problem doesn\u2019t stop there, because, of course, most of those haven\u2019t sold either. The problem doesn\u2019t stop there, because he\u2019s contracted for close to 200 new homes extra in\u2014guess what? W\u0101naka. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000525\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d267ec95a169459a83be087fc351714d\u0022\u003EHon Amy Adams\u003C/span\u003E: No. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000526\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d948f604dd1d4e318ae4d6c5a4fd950e\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, that place where first-home buyers are rushing to buy a home\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000527\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c35f2d44f093447eb3a855e670c69bec\u0022\u003EHon Amy Adams\u003C/span\u003E: But not from Phil. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000528\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f1ed1662e0244498a562e08cc88a465f\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: Possibly not, unless they want a ski chalet or something, but that\u2019s the sort of nonsense we\u2019re seeing: a waste of money. What is driving this waste of money\u2014and it wouldn\u2019t be a waste of money if there was this enormous need in W\u0101naka for first-home buyers to buy a KiwiBuild home for $650,000, a little two-bedroom place with one bathroom. There would be no problem, but there is not that need. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000529\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003ETe Kauwhata is another example, where every house that the developer seems to build sells unless it has a KiwiBuild sticker on it. The same house\u2014exactly the same house\u2014in the same street with no KiwiBuild sticker sells, but one with a KiwiBuild sticker doesn\u2019t. Now, why would that be? You\u2019d have to say that the whole scheme and project is rubbish. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000530\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dc6c0f88-e781-476d-bca1-d1bf9b69302b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022564e9539bdb5470cb2d9d98f28aaf2f3\u0022\u003EHon Amy Adams\u003C/span\u003E: The stench of Twyford. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000531\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022389952fe461f44c588bfb8e74198b1c4\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: I would not blame Mr Twyford myself, personally, as the stench, but I do think that the whole policy is a dog. It\u2019s a dog that has well lived past its use-by date, and it actually never really had any use at all. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000532\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EThen we have things like this: the Reserve Bank. I\u2019m going to finish on this issue. The Reserve Bank is a bastion of independence, or it certainly was under a John Key and Bill English - led Government. It was a bastion of independence under a Helen Clark - led Government. It is no longer a bastion of independence. It has now been subverted by having Treasury have its say over who\u2019s on that board. It just happens to be the Secretary to the Treasury at the moment. Well, fancy that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000533\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EWe have now got a Treasury that\u2019s more involved with people\u2019s feelings than they are with their finances. Tell anybody this: sort out the finances for people, you\u2019ll take a lot of stress off them and we\u2019ll take a lot of the problems away from them, but this Government seems absolutely dedicated to talking sun and moon and caring and kindness. But, unfortunately, someone else has to pay the bills, and that\u2019s the New Zealand taxpayer. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000534\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EWe deserve better for the Reserve Bank. We are lucky to have the Reserve Bank, and this Government is allowing the Reserve Bank to get watered down by Government influence. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221ebd1031-ea10-4c3d-bb56-2cd99528ae91\u0022 data-id=\u0022f87e32e9823e4b1ab7e882e265d2644b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000535\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221ebd1031-ea10-4c3d-bb56-2cd99528ae91\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f87e32e9823e4b1ab7e882e265d2644b\u0022\u003EWILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Chair. I want to just start my contribution by referring to some points made by Amy Adams, the honourable member two speakers prior, where she talked about the economy and the Government books that we inherited and said that we are somehow benefiting from that rock star economy and the healthy books that were left to us by the National Party and the previous Government. However, what she failed to mention and what we also inherited was a huge under-investment in infrastructure in our roads, in our schools, and in our hospitals. That wasn\u2019t a healthy inheritance that we inherited on this side of the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000536\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221ebd1031-ea10-4c3d-bb56-2cd99528ae91\u0022\u003ESo you will see in the financial statements that we have been rebuilding essential public services like our transport infrastructure, schools, and hospitals while also growing the economy and through providing\u2014[Interruption]\u2014wait for it\u2014record investment in our regions through the Provincial Growth Fund. We have been able to do all of that in terms of the economy as well as also demonstrating a new kind of leadership\u2014one with empathy, one with compassion, one that\u2019s focusing on the well-being of our people\u2014and I am proud to sit on the Finance and Expenditure Committee and receive the reports on how well we are managing that very challenging job. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000537\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221ebd1031-ea10-4c3d-bb56-2cd99528ae91\u0022\u003ENow, I want to go to the reviews of a couple of organisations, in particular, where I sat in on the hearings, with the first being the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation. I really enjoyed their review and their presentation, and one area I wanted to mention particularly in this committee because it is a new initiative. It is a new achievement by the guardians, and that was the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Te Puia T\u0101papa fund. It is a new way for iwi and M\u0101ori organisations to work collectively and efficiently to invest together. The significant achievement that they\u2019ve made at this stage is the signing of a memorandum of understanding. No investments had been made at the time that they presented to us, but they did note that just getting to the point of an MOU was a significant achievement. It had taken years to get there, to achieve this type of working collectively across iwi organisations, M\u0101ori organisations, and some organisations, for example, like the M\u0101ori Trustee. So far $115 million has been committed, and I look forward to future reviews to see how that is progressing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000538\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221ebd1031-ea10-4c3d-bb56-2cd99528ae91\u0022\u003EIf I can go to the second review\u2014that\u2019s for the Inland Revenue Department\u2014in particular, the area that I was quite interested in hearing about\u2014because there is a bit of nervousness when you are undertaking such a huge transformation project\u2014was the Business Transformation project. It is a huge project. It is a multi-year programme, and it\u2019s over $1.3 billion being spent to upgrade technology and improve IRD policy and processes. It was really pleasing to hear from the IRD that it is on track to meet its 2021 deadline for completion. They also said that they have been reviewing steps that they have been taking and other past experiences along the way and adjusting their decisions and making more sensible decisions and phasing in this project\u2014learning lessons from past experiences. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000539\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221ebd1031-ea10-4c3d-bb56-2cd99528ae91\u0022\u003EFinally, with the last 30 seconds that I have available to me, I just wanted to mention the review of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. I don\u2019t agree with the comments made by the honourable member on the other side of the House, in terms of its independence and impartiality. I was particularly interested in our line of questioning that we had around diversity. Female employees make up 36 percent of the Reserve Bank\u2014and I see the member over there throwing his head back: \u201CHere we go again, trying to get some gender equity in the financial sector.\u201D So 36 percent of the Reserve Bank are made up of females, which is typical of that sector, but they are making moves within the organisation to increase that as well as ethnic diversity\u2014so I mihi to them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022 data-id=\u0022e060b6da43a642e98426889df2007868\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e060b6da43a642e98426889df2007868\u0022\u003ETAMATI COFFEY (Labour\u2014Waiariki):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much, Mr Chair. Just a moment to comment on the Opposition, who will have you believe that the country\u2019s going to hell in a handcart; but actually the country\u2019s doing really, really well. For all those people that are listening right now and that are watching their televisions, that are thinking that the Opposition are crying foul with good reason, they\u2019re not. They\u2019re the Opposition\u2014that\u2019s what they do, and we\u2019ve heard it through all of the reviews that we\u2019ve been doing on the Finance and Expenditure Committee. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000541\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EWe sat through quite a few of the reviews\u2014the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, the Inland Revenue Department, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and Treasury\u2014and it was a pleasant experience, because this Government is changing the way that we do things. The way that we\u2019ve always done things isn\u2019t necessarily the way that is best for New Zealanders. So what we\u2019re doing is some groundbreaking stuff. So it was my pleasure to sit there and listen to the annual review, to listen to Treasury talk about things like the Living Standards Framework. They were talking about the well-being Budget, which is coming up. The comment that kept coming through was about how we measure things, as we have done for so many years now, in terms of GDP, but that\u2019s not necessarily the thing that matters the most. Whilst the member for Papakura can sit there and mock it wholeheartedly, actually, bringing a bit of kindness and looking after people\u2019s well-being is something that was tragically missing from the previous Governments, in fact. They sat there for nine long years\u2014we all sat there for nine long years\u2014and oversaw some of the worst homelessness that our country\u2019s ever seen. So, actually, taking a step back and doing things differently to ensure the well-being of New Zealanders, as I say, was a pleasure to listen to. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000542\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003ETalking about living standards and the Living Standards Framework\u2014again, innovative stuff for the Treasury to be dealing with\u2014they talked about some of the challenges which are involved. We\u2019ve got to understand that there will be challenges when it comes to new innovative things like this. They talked about making sure that the Living Standards Framework reflected our very important M\u0101ori cultural identity in there, and that we weren\u2019t just running a very broad brush over it, making sure that the people of this land are being looked after as we move forward as well, because we know that M\u0101ori are overrepresented in all of the terrible statistics. When we\u2019re talking about corrections and when we\u2019re talking about poor outcomes in health and education, M\u0101ori are heavily overrepresented in those areas.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000543\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003ESo to actually have a Living Standards Framework that they\u2019re developing and taking time with is a great thing. They have taken it out there and they\u2019ve listened to the people. They actually referenced it, and it says so in the report, that actually 500 responses were received between July and August of last year, and most of them were positive. So there\u2019s a sign out there that New Zealanders know that, actually, this is a really good thing that we\u2019re getting into. They know that this Government is transformative in its approach, and that\u2019s a great thing. The Opposition can laugh but, actually, I\u2019ll just say it again: they oversaw homelessness like you wouldn\u2019t believe. I represent Rotorua, and, actually, we became superstars when it came to the homelessness population of New Zealand. So they can laugh, but, actually, they shouldn\u2019t be laughing; they should be ashamed\u2014they should be ashamed that they oversaw that in their time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000544\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003ELet\u2019s talk about the well-being Budget, because that\u2019s where this all comes back to. I\u2019m proud that we\u2019re going to be overseeing something as revolutionary as a well-being Budget, looking outside of just GDP measures, and that was what we heard from Treasury. They talked about\u2014well, the Minister made sure that he pointed out some of the key focuses of the well-being Budget: talking about creating opportunities for our productive businesses and making sure that iwi are actually at the centre of that too because we have a lot of iwi that have come into quite a bit of money and they need to be given these opportunities to be able to advance. In the well-being Budget, we\u2019re also going to, he mentioned, lift opportunities for M\u0101ori and for Pasifika as well\u2014again, turning around those negative statistics that we\u2019ve become so OK with in a really terrible way. Again, the Opposition will laugh, but this Government\u2019s going to do something about it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000545\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EWe\u2019re looking after our nation in terms of the digital age, through innovation. I\u2019ve just come from a function next door, where the people of Wairoa have been connected with internet. They have fast fibre there. So they can sit there in their house in N\u016Bhaka in Wairoa, and they can make sure that they\u2019re participating as global citizens of our digital world. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000546\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003ELifting our outcomes when it comes to child poverty and mental health and well-being is also really high in the well-being Budget\u2019s focus. For that reason, the Treasury are doing a great job, the Minister is doing a great job, and this Government\u2019s doing a great job too. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022859e13f9-33bb-41bb-b2f0-d848eaf25407\u0022 data-id=\u0022cc55182364f14636a0e3a8e9fc880219\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000547\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022859e13f9-33bb-41bb-b2f0-d848eaf25407\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cc55182364f14636a0e3a8e9fc880219\u0022\u003EANDREW BAYLY (National\u2014Hunua):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Chair. Well, I think this is the year of delivery, is it not? I thought this was going to be the year of delivery. Well, I\u2019m struggling when I stand up here and we\u2019re talking about what the Government has delivered. What I do know is that this Government has overseen a decline in this economy, and that those last two speakers need to avail themselves of the facts. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000548\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022859e13f9-33bb-41bb-b2f0-d848eaf25407\u0022\u003ESo let\u2019s just go back in time. In the last three years that the National Government was in power, we averaged 3.3 percent average GDP growth\u20143.3 percent, and where are we now? Where are we now? We are at about 2 percent\u2014we are at about 2 percent. Now, that\u2019s a drop of more than a third\u2014more than a third. I\u2019ll tell you why that\u2019s so bad. Not only are the cafe shop owners that you go and get coffee from in the morning feeling the effects of it, but what it means for a $300 billion economy such as New Zealand\u2019s is that there\u2019s a loss of economic activity by about $3 billion\u2014a loss of $3 billion worth of activity. That\u2019s in the coffee shops. It\u2019s in the production of New Zealand steel doing new types of steel products through to the agriculture sector. Across the economy, that\u2019s what we\u2019ve seen a decline in. Over the last 18 months, we have seen that decline. What that means is that this Government has now missed out on over $1 billion worth of tax revenue. And so\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000549\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022983a8fd82eaa4ee4a4425fe4e87b5d3b\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: How much?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000550\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022859e13f9-33bb-41bb-b2f0-d848eaf25407\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002260b443b90c4d4878ad241b80c01616db\u0022\u003EANDREW BAYLY\u003C/span\u003E: A billion dollars\u2014a billion bucks. That\u2019s why this Budget\u2019s going to be a problem for this Government, because they\u2019re already down a billion bucks. No doubt, when they came in, as we all saw in the Treasury projections, the economy was steaming along. I heard Mr Parker today talking about some of the reasons why it\u2019s gone backwards. Well, actually, the fascinating thing is exports have actually gone up. Exports have actually gone up. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000551\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022859e13f9-33bb-41bb-b2f0-d848eaf25407\u0022\u003EInternationally, and this is the other thing that I find an absolute contradiction, is that\u2014yes, you\u2019re right\u2014the World Bank has downgraded the world economic forecasts, but with this so-called third downgrade, they currently sit at a figure of 3.3 percent for the world economy\u20143.3 percent. We\u2019re at 2 percent. We\u2019re at 2 percent, and we\u2019ve got growing exports. So how do you account for that? How do you account for that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000552\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022859e13f9-33bb-41bb-b2f0-d848eaf25407\u0022\u003EWhat this Government has done is ruin the confidence of New Zealanders who own a business, who employ people, and who get out there and make it happen. Why have they done that? Well, it\u2019s interesting. I just heard about infrastructure. I just note the speaker before last said that we have had years of neglect in infrastructure, so what\u2019s the first thing that the Minister of Transport does? What Mr Twyford does is he cancels all those roads of national significance, 6 billion bucks\u2019 worth\u20146 billion bucks\u2019 worth. All these roads that we were actually getting to the stage where we were moving past the point where we hit a deficit and we were actually starting to create new roads, such as Mill Road in Auckland, which goes north from my electorate and the Papakura electorate. All canned\u2014canned so we can take 6 billion bucks and put it into light rail. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000553\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022859e13f9-33bb-41bb-b2f0-d848eaf25407\u0022\u003ENow if you were doing the light rail on top of the $6 billion worth of roads of national significance, then that would have been fine, but you haven\u2019t. They\u2019ve nicked the money. They\u2019ve nicked the money for these significant projects and put it into the trams, they\u2019ve given Winston Peters $1 billion for his foreign affairs things, they\u2019ve given Shane Jones 3 billion bucks, and they\u2019ve given the Minister of Education $2.6 billion, but in the first few years there\u2019s only nearly $1 billion, but not quite\u2014right? It\u2019s all gone. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000554\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022859e13f9-33bb-41bb-b2f0-d848eaf25407\u0022\u003EWhat\u2019s more, you\u2019ve got a declining Budget, and you won\u2019t have the surplus that you\u2019re budgeting. That\u2019s why you\u2019re going to have trouble in this Budget coming up. You\u2019re going to have significant problems about it. It\u2019s of your own making, because you have imposed things on business owners, on those people that employ New Zealanders\u2014unreasonably so\u2014and that\u2019s why we\u2019ve arrived at this situation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000555\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022859e13f9-33bb-41bb-b2f0-d848eaf25407\u0022\u003EBut what have you delivered on? Well, it\u2019s interesting. You have delivered on a tax increase. You said you wouldn\u2019t impose taxes in this first term. You have imposed $2.3 billion of additional taxes, which you said you wouldn\u2019t do in the 2017 election. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s right. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022 data-id=\u00227ba57f9e0ad2411c862363d8b7c21a2b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000556\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227ba57f9e0ad2411c862363d8b7c21a2b\u0022\u003EKIERAN McANULTY (Junior Whip\u2014Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the committee report progress. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000557\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000558\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003EHouse resumed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000559\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003EProgress reported. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000560\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003EReport adopted. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000561\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002283f188e8b23d40779318008b91465d1e\u0022\u003EEducation Amendment Bill (No 2)\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000562\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022e40ca9946ecf4fbda85ca02f1c11c1b9\u0022\u003ESecond Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022 data-id=\u0022012257e3065b4fe5b4a930a4da792cb4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000563\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022012257e3065b4fe5b4a930a4da792cb4\u0022\u003EHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the Education Amendment Bill (No 2) be now read a second time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000564\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThis bill amends the Education Act of 1989, the Education Act of 1964, and the Education (Update) Amendment Act of 2017. It builds upon the Government\u2019s work programme for a quality education system that puts all of the learners at the centre.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000565\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003ETo recap briefly what the bill does: the bill ensures that school boards cannot adopt a cohort entry policy that enables children to begin school as part of a cohort before they turn five; it requires private schools to be safe places for students; it ensures that the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand\u2019s decisions relating to the teaching profession are made within the context of Government policy; and it removes provisions due to come into force on 31 December this year that would enable communities of online learning to be established in order to protect New Zealand\u2019s quality public education system.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000566\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EI\u2019d like to thank the chair and the members of the Education and Workforce Committee for their consideration of the bill. I would like to thank the 18 people who took the time to make a submission on it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000567\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EI want to talk through in more detail the provisions of the bill and the changes that this effects. Firstly, turning to cohort entry, the bill changes the settings for cohort entry so that only children who have turned five can attend school. It is Government policy that children under five should not attend school, and that was the view of the 2015 Advisory Group on Early Learning, that this is too young an age to start. The Government has listened to them. We already have one of the youngest school starting ages around the globe. Many other countries are starting at six or seven. Our starting age of five already puts us amongst the youngest for those who are starting school. Moving into four-year-olds starting school is a step too far for this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000568\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe bill also increases the number of entry points for schools that have adopted cohort entry from four times a year to eight times a year. So under the existing cohort entry policy the child would start school at the beginning of the term nearest to their fifth birthday, even if they were four years old. As we\u2019ve indicated, if a school is adopting cohort entry the child can only start at the next cohort entry point after their fifth birthday. If we left that until the next term a child turning five, say, on the second day of term would have had to wait an entire term before they can start. So having a mid-term entry point, and eight cohort entry points through the year, means that they will not have to wait as long. So it gives parents more flexibility around when their child will start school. Schools with high enrolment numbers will have more manageable cohort sizes, and that is important for the individual teacher-to-student attention, which we know is vitally important in those early first years. It does reduce the costs for parents around early childhood education. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000569\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe Education and Workforce Committee has recommended two technical changes to the bill in relation to cohort entry. The first is to replace reference to students attending school with a reference to students being enrolled in school. The other change removes the reference to four-year-olds attending school. The Government certainly supports those changes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe next major set of changes is around private schools\u2019 registration criteria. This provision brings the safety requirements for private schools into line with what is already required for State and State integrated schools. I welcome the support of the private schools for these changes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000571\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003ECurrently the Secretary for Education cannot consider student safety when registering a private school. The bill adds an additional registration criteria for private schools that requires them to be physically and emotionally safe places for students. This will help to ensure that all of our students, regardless of the type of school they attend, are able to learn in a safe environment. Adding a new registration criteria will allow the Secretary for Education to consider the physical and emotional safety of the students when assessing a private school\u2019s application for registration. Importantly it will also allow the secretary to intervene in a private school if he or she has concerns about the safety of students. Those interventions can include issuing the school with a notice to comply with safety requirements, requiring the school to inform parents that there is a safety concern, and in some cases cancelling the school\u2019s registration if the secretary and the school cannot agree on how to resolve those concerns. The Education Review Office will also be able to review the private school\u2019s safety policies and procedures. As I indicated, this simply brings private schools into line with the requirements on the majority of schools which are public or State integrated.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000572\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe bill ensures that the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand\u2019s decisions on matters relating to the teaching profession are made within the context of Government policy. The Government, in keeping with the promise made to New Zealanders prior to the last election, has restored the right for teachers to elect the majority of representatives to their professional body. The council\u2019s got many important functions including setting the criteria for teacher registration and the standards for qualification that lead to teacher registration. We need to make sure that the public interest in those processes is protected.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000573\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe bill requires the council to consult with the Minister of Education before making changes to the criteria for teacher registration and the standards for the qualifications that lead to teacher registration. It still leaves those decisions with the council. It gives the Minister the ability to issue a Government policy statement regarding one or more of the council\u2019s functions, which the council must have regard to when performing its functions. The Government is responsible for supporting an adequate supply of teachers for the policy that puts children\u2019s learning at the centre and for maintaining the quality of our public education system. There must be a mechanism for the Government to ensure that its direction is being followed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000574\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe committee has made five changes relating to these provisions, and I\u2019ll talk through them briefly. The first of these changes amends clause 12 of the bill, requiring the council to consult with the Minister when reviewing and then subsequently changing the criteria for teacher registration or the standards for qualifications. In the original drafting, the council\u2019s ability to maintain the criteria and standards without consulting the Minister was removed. That was a mistake, and the committee has corrected that so that if the council is keeping the standards as they are, they do not have to consult with the Minister.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000575\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe committee has also made two changes relating to the power in the bill for the Minister to issue a Government policy direction. First, they\u2019ve recommended that any Government policy direction be presented to the House of Representatives and published in the Gazette. The Government supports this change. Secondly, the committee has recommended changing the name of the Government policy direction to a \u201Cstatement of Government policy\u201D. This is an important change because it follows concerns that a direction implies the council would be required to follow it. That\u2019s never been the case and was never the Government\u2019s intention. The Government supports this recommendation so that it\u2019s clear that while the council must have regard to the statement of Government policy, it remains an independent entity.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000576\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe committee also recommended two other technical changes: changing all references to the Education Council to the Teaching Council\u2014which, of course, has been Government policy for some time\u2014and amending the commencement date for the Teaching Council provisions so that they come into force the day after the bill receives Royal assent, and I support those.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000577\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EFinally, the major section that I want to talk about is the repeal of the provisions around communities of online learning. The bill repeals the provisions in the Education (Update) Amendment Act 2017 that would have enabled communities of online learning\u2014or COOL\u2014to be established. These provisions were due to come into force at the end of this year.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000578\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EUnder the legislation enacted by the previous Government, had it been implemented\u2014which was, of course, implemented with very little consultation\u2014it would have opened the door for children with additional learning needs to be shuffled away from schools to private providers. It would have allowed private sector bodies who are not education bodies to become accredited as COOLs. Tertiary and other private sector bodies would not be required to teach to the national curriculum or employ registered teachers. Online learning could become an option for any student that chose it, even if it was not the best option for them. In this form, COOLs were not innovative or collaborative and they could potentially become a way for schools to off-ramp students with additional learning needs, and that is something that this Government is not willing to tolerate. Existing online providers such as Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu will not be affected by this change, and they\u2019ll be able to continue to offer online learning on the same basis that they do now. The committee has by majority not recommended any changes to these provisions of the bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000579\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EIn summary, this bill strengthens New Zealand\u2019s quality public education system. It gives parents confidence that when they enrol their children, they\u2019ll be starting school after the age of five, and it ensures that if they\u2019re enrolling in a private school, their parents can have confidence that their children will be learning in a safe environment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022 data-id=\u0022be1c21fbb7ac45fe87c9222dd8c0675c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000580\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022be1c21fbb7ac45fe87c9222dd8c0675c\u0022\u003EHon NIKKI KAYE (National\u2014Auckland Central):\u003C/span\u003E Look, I\u2019m actually not pleased to have to rise and oppose this legislation in the House. I\u2019m just on the back of, actually, about 70 meetings across New Zealand, and the message from New Zealanders is \u201CLet\u2019s hear a Parliament that puts children at the centre of decisions that are made.\u201D Tonight, this evening, we have a bill that is incredibly ideological. The reality is, we know, that for the first year-and-a-half of this Government a large part of the agenda has been dismantling everything that National did rather than putting children at the heart of it. Let\u2019s look at each aspect of this bill and ask that fundamental question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000581\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003ELet\u2019s start with cohort entry. The reality is it is the parent that comes up to me that wants flexible work, that was looking at\u2014potentially days or weeks before their child\u2019s fifth birthday\u2014enabling their child to be able to have the benefit of forming greater relationships with other children in cohort entry, literally at a maximum of eight weeks. When you did the modelling, for many children maybe a week or two. That is the reality. And why are we here? We\u2019re here because of ideology.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000582\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003ENow we have a fundamental shift. It is a principled shift in New Zealand, a country that enabled children to start their children at the age of five. That no longer exists for those schools in the future that adopt cohort entry, because under this legislation\u2014and I do take the point in terms of mid-point, and we have more cohort entry now that is available\u2014there will be some children that will not have that right under the bill that this Minister has put through the House. That is the reality.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000583\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EThe other point that I want to make is, again, the reality is there are a lot of working parents for which what they\u2019ve argued for is a recognition that for some children\u2014not for every child; it might be a small number of children\u2014it makes sense for them to start a few days or a few weeks before their fifth birthday, and National supported them. It\u2019s sad that we\u2019re in a situation and we\u2019re literally having to pass legislation because the Minister doesn\u2019t want those parents to be able to have their fundamental rights upheld in this House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000584\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EThe other core ideological aspect of this bill is around the Education Council. I\u2019ll tell you what, doing 70 meetings across New Zealand, I heard the passionate pleas by principals, by teachers, who said \u201CNikki, please do not let us be overtaken by these hubs. We don\u2019t want our independence as professionals to be dictated by officials.\u201D So we had the Minister, who stood up and made passionate speeches in Opposition about how he was going to deliver independence for the profession, and then we had this proposal creeping along outside of this Government that is arguing to take over the profession. Then he has the gall to pass some legislation before this that goes on about how much we\u2019re going to give the profession all of this independence, and then whammy: he puts this bill in the House that says \u201CWe\u2019re going to tell you what to do.\u201D That\u2019s the reality\u2014that\u2019s the reality.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EThey can talk all they want about the composition of the profession and the council; this little clause that slipped into this bill, and I know because I\u2019ve spoken to the teachers, I\u2019ve spoken to the unions\u2014they were not expecting that and what occurred in this bill. The reality is this is a Government that talks a big talk around the autonomy of principals and teachers, but it walks a completely opposite line. We see that in this bill around the provisions in terms of the Education Council, and we see it in the Tomorrow\u2019s Schools proposals that are currently on the table with the independent task force.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000586\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EThere have been some improvements in the Education and Workforce Committee. I want to acknowledge that, and I want to thank all of the members of the select committee who contributed to that. One of the core aspects of the improvements in the bill is actually to say to the Government \u201CThere has to be transparency.\u201D It is correct that some of the members of the select committee said \u201CWe don\u2019t agree with the level of State control that this Government is trying to put on teachers, but if you\u2019re going to do it, then, actually, you need to be transparent and put it through the House of Representatives.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000587\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EAnother aspect of this bill, again, where we see the Government is not focused on not only the future of our education system but actually what\u2019s right for a group of young people that have been disadvantaged for a long period of time\u2014and I can see Minister Martin looking at me. I want to pay tribute to an extraordinary New Zealander. I want to pay tribute to Rachel Whalley. I want to pay tribute to her from the Virtual Learning Network. For years she\u2019s fought with a group of other principals and teachers, and I want to acknowledge\u2014and the Minister Tracey Martin is doing a hand signal to me which is about money. But you know what? In a scheme of $100,000 or $300,000, that is not the future of the Virtual Learning Network.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000588\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EThe reality is, if this bill, which gets rid of and scraps communities of online learning, had a replacement system in place for the thousands of kids\u2014whether I am visiting rural communities, whether I\u2019m visiting isolated islands that don\u2019t have access to certain subject areas\u2014then maybe this Government would be able to take a decent moral stand on the future of learning for kids in isolated areas. But the reality is because it is so intensely ideological it chose not to put up an alternative regime. I understand the concerns that have been raised about ensuring that we have quality providers, ensuring that we get that balance right in terms of flexibility and whether it\u2019s accredited providers in the tertiary area, whether it\u2019s other subject specialists\u2014we understand that balance. But why didn\u2019t we have a replacement system? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000589\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EI tell you what people are saying to me: they\u2019re saying \u201CThis Government doesn\u2019t have any ideas. They\u2019re a year and a half in. They can\u2019t put forward a decent policy to enable disadvantaged communities, particularly in some rural communities, to have access to the learning that they deserve\u201D. When National put in a $200 million investment to connect every school in New Zealand to ultrafast uncapped data\u2014the reality is you have to have some models that enable the spreading of that learning. This Government has ripped it up with nothing to replace it with, and I\u2019ll tell you what the sector is saying to me: \u201CThat\u2019s a mistake. They might not have agreed with this regime but that is a fundamental mistake.\u201D I want to acknowledge, as I said before, the Virtual Learning Network. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000590\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EThe final other provision in this bill does relate to private schools. Now, I do want to acknowledge\u2014could anyone in this House agree with the fact that we need to, as fundamental parliamentarians or people in society, ensure that where there is a risk to the emotional, physical, mental well-being of students we can close down the school? Of course, but what does the regulatory impact statement say? It doesn\u2019t say there\u2019s any evidence that we need to change the law in fact, there\u2019s costs as a result of that. But let\u2019s put that aside and let\u2019s actually just agree that while there might be no evidence of this actually occurring, at a principled level we are supportive of having a change that says, potentially, if there needs to be greater mechanisms to deal with a situation where you have real risk to physical, emotional, and mental well-being of students\u2014that\u2019s fine. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000591\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EBut the lack of detail\u2014and my colleague Simeon Brown will talk about that tomorrow in the committee stage of the House\u2014is important, because when you look at the backdrop of this bill, when you look at the fact that I\u2019ve got integrated schools who I\u2019ve been meeting with across New Zealand who are freaked out with what is happening in terms of Tomorrow\u2019s Schools, they think that actually there is a real threat to those schools, whether they\u2019re partnership schools\u2014which, obviously, the Government has gotten rid of\u2014whether they\u2019re integrated schools, or private schools, that this is a Government that does not believe in choice. That comes to the heart of it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000592\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2d10c1-43b7-41d9-9f5c-0c313f70e625\u0022\u003EI tell you what Minister Tracey Martin: when I sit down with the many parents, and the kids who have additional learning needs, they do want some choice actually. So the reality is, on this side of the House, we are a party that thinks about what is best for children rather than ideology. On the other side of the House, we have a range of areas that are going through this legislation, not because they are the best thing for children but because this is a Government that is more focused on dismantling the previous National Government\u2019s policies\u2014rather than ensuring that the child who was in a rural area gets access to distant distance learning, that the child whose parents want to take up a job\u2014that child who is emotionally ready for school can start a couple of weeks or a couple of days before their fifth birthday. We actually know that there is a huge value in having independence of the profession, but this is a Government that is ideological and won\u2019t do the best for children.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022 data-id=\u00223aaa0f88855a4d929fe724449bfafaf0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000593\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223aaa0f88855a4d929fe724449bfafaf0\u0022\u003EHon JENNY SALESA (Associate Minister of Education):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much, Mr Assistant Speaker. It\u2019s a pleasure for me to rise and fully support the Education Amendment Bill (No 2). I\u2019d like to begin by thanking the Minister of Education for all of his work in ensuring that this work is done. The Ministry of Education, as well, has done quite a lot of work behind the scenes, and I\u2019d like to thank the Education and Workforce Committee who have sat through and have had a considered approach to looking at our education system. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000594\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003EThe bill before us, the Education Amendment Bill (No 2), deals, in part, with the health and well-being of our students. On that note, I\u2019d like to acknowledge that today is World Asthma Day, the first Tuesday in May. Also that a lot of our schools, many of our schools play a role in supporting and ensuring that our students are safe and that those who need asthma medication, those who need Ventolin inhalers, that their inhalers are up to date. So I commend and I thank all of those schools. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000595\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003EThe Minister of Education, in his speech, covered in detail\u2014outlined the importance of the measures that the Education Amendment Bill (No 2) proposes to do and how it will strengthen our education system. Just in response to the former Minister of Education, the Hon Nikki Kaye, one of the things that she stated was that in the previous Government there was a focus on learners. We in this Government are also focused on ensuring that the learners are at the centre. She also discussed how she\u2019s been out there, talked with lots of people, had very many, many consultations across the country. The education conversation, K\u014Drero M\u0101tauranga, was also a process where the Ministry of Education and us on this side of the House connected with everyday folks. We connected with young people, as young as five some of them. I myself actually hosted 34 fono with Pacific folks, as well as ethnic communities. I went right across the country, traversing to ensure that we get their views. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000596\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003EOne of the things that we\u2019re proposing is that we ensure that the key Education Council\u2014the decisions that they are making are made in the context of Government policy. So as we finalise Government policy, we do ensure that we also hear from the public. One of the things that came through loud and clear from these consultations\u2014and I\u2019ve got to say, with the online survey that the Ministry of Education also had, this is probably one of the largest collaboration of people\u2019s input into the education system, over 50,000. I can say from the conversations that I heard directly from our people right across Aotearoa that they were saying things like, \u201CWe need to address and ensure that our students, when they go to school, that they are safe, that they are safe culturally\u201D. They were saying things to us along the lines of that they feel they are addressed in a racially biased way; that our schooling system should also address, and have a focus on, ensuring that racism at all levels is addressed. Just earlier on tonight, across the hall, there was a multicultural event for New Zealand. We had three students\u2014they all presented on their experience of racism in schools. These are our own high school students. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000597\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003EThis Education Amendment Bill (No 2) says that we need to ensure that our students are safe in school. Yes, we need to ensure that the private schools provide a safe place for our students. What is currently proposed means that private schools are indeed safe and that if our students are experiencing emotional harm, if our students are experiencing physical harm\u2014currently the legislation right now does not allow or give the power to the Secretary for Education to be able to ensure that that it is actually enforced. As the select committee heard, the presentations from folks that came through to the select committee\u2014of the seven oral submissions that were received on this bill, five were in favour of ensuring that the new registration criterion for private schools actually addressed this, moving forward. Only two were in opposition to this, so not everyone agreed on how we move forward in this area. But I think we all agree, in this House, that our students when they attend school\u2014be they private schools, or State sector schools, or State integrated schools\u2014they need to be safe. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000598\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003EThe current provisions of the Education Act 1989 do not allow the Secretary for Education to consider student safety when considering private school registration applications, so the proposals in this amendment bill will ensure that this is addressed moving forward.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000599\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003EIf I could just go back to the discussion in terms of ensuring that our students feel safe emotionally as well, we know that in Aotearoa New Zealand we have one of the highest rates of suicide, which is not something that any of us are proud of. There are many initiatives that are in schools; many of our schools have school nurses, many have counsellors, but some of our students don\u2019t even seek out that assistance. Ensuring that our students feel emotionally safe is definitely something we should address.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000600\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003ERepealing the provisions for communities of online learning: one of the things that came through in the select committee process is the fact that when this particular legislation and policy from the previous Government came through, a lot of our folks actually did not have much of a say on communities of online learning before it was brought in as a policy. The Education (Update) Amendment Act 2017\u2014it created this regime of online learning, which includes distance learning, and, yes, in the future we will need a whole lot more provision of online learning and distance learning, but this legislation will ensure that the kind of learning that our students actually have in schools is something that all learners can actually access. I\u2019ll give you an example: over in South Auckland, online learning is something that is encouraged, yes. But so many of our students in South Auckland, they don\u2019t even have access to the internet at home, let alone have a tablet that they can actually work from. So online learning, for some of our students, is but a distant dream.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000601\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003ESo as we look through and ensure that the system of education that we have is for the future, I also just want to remind us all that the education system we have right now was brought in under a Labour Government; 30 years ago, under a Labour Government, we brought in Tomorrow\u2019s Schools. The question is, is it still fit for purpose? The answer to that is yes, for some of our students, because we do have an education system that is one of the best in the world, which is fantastic, but for some of our learners, M\u0101ori and Pacific students in particular, the educational outcomes for M\u0101ori and Pacific students are ones that we\u2014especially when we look forward into who will make up the majority of our learners in schools, it will be M\u0101ori young students, it\u2019ll be Pacific, as well as ethnic communities; they will make up about 50 percent of all of our learners. So it is important that we ensure the education system is one that is fit for purpose for everyone, not just for some of our learners, and I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022 data-id=\u002260260f11083345bd90605f3d5c9ad0f4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000602\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002260260f11083345bd90605f3d5c9ad0f4\u0022\u003EDr PARMJEET PARMAR (National):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. I\u2019m taking this call to oppose this bill, the Education Amendment Bill (No 2), in its second reading. But before I go into the detail of this bill, I want to, as the chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, thank all the submitters. We received 18 submissions. There were 16 unique submissions, because two submitters submitted twice, so in total there were 18 submissions. So I want to thank them for their contribution and the time that they put into this legislation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000603\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003EAs we know, there are four main objectives in this legislation, and the name of this bill is the Education Amendment Bill (No 2), because there was another education bill before this. One of the provisions, one of the objectives in this legislation is related to that previous education amendment bill, and that has to do with the changes to the Education Council. So we were given the impression by the Government that the Government wants to change the structure of the Education Council because they want to make the Education Council independent of Government. But then, in this legislation, what we saw is that the Education Council is required to work within the context of the Government policy. There was a big discussion in the select committee process on the words \u201Cregard to Government policy\u201D, that the Education Council will be required to give regard to the Government policy. This point, actually, was picked up by one of the submitters, and I want to thank them for picking that up, and then we got to elaborate on this to understand what this actually means.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000604\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003ESo this term has already caused confusion to people, especially in the education sector. We received submissions on both sides, but a couple of submissions that were against this provision made their view very, very clear, and one of them was from the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers Association. They were really clear, and said that this will mean that the Minister will be able to intervene in the Education Council\u2019s work and operation. That was the impression that was given to everybody, and that is one of the reasons why I oppose this legislation, because we don\u2019t want Government to have the ability to intervene in the Education Council\u2019s work.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000605\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003EThe second submitter, the New Zealand Institute of Education, said that this provision will undermine the Education Council\u2019s independence\u2014exactly the point that we are making, and we don\u2019t want this Government to have the ability to undermine the Education Council\u2019s ability to perform independently, because that is the impression we were given in the first round when the structure of the Education Council will change, that it\u2019s going to be completely independent. So these points were made very, very clear in the select committee process and they should be taken into consideration.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000606\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003EThe second objective of this bill is to repeal provisions for communities of online learning. So the provisions for communities of online learning were put in place by the previous National Government, because we are futuristic, we can see what is needed, and we want to provide choice. So what we have seen is that this Government actually doesn\u2019t believe in providing choice to people. They just want everybody to turn up to classrooms and have, you know, physically, teachers teaching them. Why do they want that? Yes, of course we want to know why they want that, and one of the reasons we know is that if there are more teachers, then they can have more union members. If there is more virtual learning, they won\u2019t have that many union members, and that is the only reason they want to repeal this provision.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000607\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003EOne of the submitters very clearly said that this was about providing access to rural communities to education\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000608\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226e4eb17c3cc04e3d9b0979c0c1dc6df5\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: Delivering for the unions.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000609\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225fa78c8274d74b3e8eb24778ef457cc5\u0022\u003EDr PARMJEET PARMAR\u003C/span\u003E: Delivering for unions, yes, and this is about providing opportunity to all that cannot come to a classroom to learn. Even in classrooms, teachers let students go online and do their learning depending on the kind of project that they\u2019re doing. Yep\u2014universities, they put their lectures online so that students, if they want to go back and see those lectures again, they can do that. But this Government is saying, \u201CNo, online learning is not a good thing\u201D. We just heard from the Minister the Hon Jenny Salesa. She said some students may not have iPads, but this is about providing that choice. So that doesn\u2019t mean that you take away this choice, and we haven\u2019t heard from this Government what is going to be put in place instead of this provision that was put in place by the previous National Government. So everybody wants to go online, we want to see more people being able to work online, more people able to study online, but this Government actually believes that no study should be done online and everybody should be coming to a classroom.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000610\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003EThird, a provision in this bill is about cohort entry. Yes, we know that before, children could start school as they turned five, and we changed this to say that if children are to reach their fifth birthday and there are only eight weeks left and it\u2019s the start of the school term, they should be able to start school. But this Government is so adamant, saying that children should not be able to start school before they are five, and we\u2019re just talking about eight weeks before their fifth birthday. We heard from a submitter, who said that this is going to put children behind, and children, actually, at that age are so eager to start school, but this Government doesn\u2019t want them to start school at that age. They want them to wait, and it could be up to six weeks after their fifth birthday, which could create some financial implications for some parents, as one of the submitters said, because then they will have to make these additional day-care arrangements for these children. But does the Government care? They don\u2019t.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000611\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003EThe final point that I want to make\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000612\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022859e13f9-33bb-41bb-b2f0-d848eaf25407\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a7fc55f7d9414ba8ba65b3cbb0c41191\u0022\u003EAndrew Bayly\u003C/span\u003E: Uncaring Government, eh?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000613\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224cb78ae0118a41b8a51de15308d8cda3\u0022\u003EDr PARMJEET PARMAR\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014uncaring Government, exactly\u2014is about private schools\u2019 registration criteria, and, of course, nobody wants to see any kind of harm happening to any student in any kind of school, but here we haven\u2019t seen the basis of this, and the approach that has been taken by this Government; we do not understand why this approach has been taken. So we are quite disappointed to see that this Government is not moving forward, not making the education sector move forward, but is actually bringing the education sector backwards. So we oppose this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022 data-id=\u0022844bc5bbe5964ee29a1a42bd678cba97\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000614\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022844bc5bbe5964ee29a1a42bd678cba97\u0022\u003EHon TRACEY MARTIN (Associate Minister of Education):\u003C/span\u003E I\u2019ll be honest with you, I wasn\u2019t sure what I was going to contribute until I came down to this House, and now I have so much material I\u2019m not quite sure whether I\u2019m going to get to do it in 10 minutes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000615\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003ELet\u2019s just start with the Hon Nikki Kaye and the conversation about cohort entry\u2014let\u2019s just start there. The Hon Nikki Kaye, quite rightly, identified that this Government is rolling back some of the changes that the previous Government did, but not all of them\u2014just the stupid ones. What I found really interesting was the juxtaposition between the start of the Hon Nikki Kaye\u2019s speech and the end of the Hon Nikki Kaye\u2019s speech. At the end of the Hon Nikki Kaye\u2019s speech, she said that this Government just doesn\u2019t put children first, but at the start she said that it was really unfortunate that parents who wanted to go to work couldn\u2019t put their kids into school earlier to save themselves some money. That was the start of her contribution.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000616\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003ENow, let\u2019s get this clear. This bill has had 18 submissions, 16 unique submissions\u2014two that were, apparently, submitted twice\u2014the bill that introduced this had hundreds of submissions against it, masses of submissions against it, yet only 18 when we\u2019re trying to unravel the dumb ideas. What this was about was that the reality was boards of trustees can still, and always have been since the introduction of Tomorrow\u2019s Schools, bring in cohort entry. All they had to do was consult with their communities. That\u2019s all they had to do. The previous Government did not create cohort entry\u2014no, it didn\u2019t. It dictated when you could do it, so it limited the choice for boards of trustees by when you could do cohort entry, and this Government has expanded on that choice for boards of trustees now.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000617\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EBut what the previous Government did do was it decided to save itself money, and that is what the regulatory impact statement in the previous legislation clearly identified. This was about saving the State early childhood education (ECE) dollars, because the faster they could get kids out of ECE and into school, they could save the supplementary cash that they had been paying into ECE.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000618\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bf71a65e-c9f0-4856-902f-1a15c4274e94\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002281baff6b54af4025b43a7804c44adc92\u0022\u003EMark Patterson\u003C/span\u003E: So it wasn\u2019t about the kids?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000619\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022387a28e960d045f9a3aea74f3f9539be\u0022\u003EHon TRACEY MARTIN\u003C/span\u003E: It wasn\u2019t about the kids; it\u2019s never been about the kids. So it was either about\u2014let\u2019s just take what the Hon Nikki Kaye said\u2014people going to work faster, it was about parents saving money, and it was about the State saving money, because that\u2019s what the previous regulatory impact statement said. So this Government is going to undo that capacity. Children need to be children for as long as possible.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000620\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EThe other thing that I found fascinating was the change of statement. The other reason why the Hon Nikki Kaye said that this was about students\u2014she said \u201Cstudents that were capable\u201D. Now, let\u2019s suggest that they\u2019re gifted students, shall we? Let\u2019s suggest that the Hon Nikki Kaye is saying that the previous Government put in \u201Cfour years and eight-month-old\u2019s ability to start school\u201D just in case your child was gifted. The same Government that removed \u201Cwell above\u201D from national standards? The same Government that removed all funding from gifted students? Do we really, really think that was the reason why this Government decided that four-year-olds and four years and eight-month-olds could go to school? I don\u2019t think so. We are undoing that. It was submitted on by many, many people when it was introduced; only 16 unique submissions when we\u2019re removing it\u2014we\u2019re removing it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000621\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EThen we have the Teaching Council\u2014a fascinating contribution by the last speaker, Parmjeet Parmar, around the Teaching Council and how the previous Government supposedly wanted it to be independent. It took away all democracy\u2014took away all democracy\u2014from the Teaching Council; no ability for teachers or the profession to actually elect their own members. Apparently, that\u2019s really independent, where you are beholden upon the Minister for your very job. But no, apparently that\u2019s how the National Party sees an independent body. So what has this Government done? We have put back in the ability for at least the majority of the Teaching Council to be elected by the profession.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000622\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EBut here\u2019s the trick: it is compulsory for students to go to school. Every single New Zealander is invested in the education system. So, therefore, the Teaching Council, which has the ability to create the criteria for teacher registration\u2014there is a responsibility on the Government to make sure that initial teacher training is appropriate, and it is initial teacher training that is required, the criteria that is required, to make sure that teachers meet teacher registration. It is absolutely appropriate for the State to say that the Teaching Council must work with the Government when making sure that they set that criteria. Why the Post Primary Teachers Association would be surprised by it, I have no idea. I\u2019d be interested to have a look at their actual submission and the conversation they\u2019ve had. But I find it very interesting that suddenly the party that decided to do away with all independence around the appointment of those on the Teaching Council now is very worried that there is going to be no independence.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000623\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003ELet\u2019s get to the new registration criteria for private schools. The current provisions of the Education Act 1989 do not enable the Secretary for Education to consider student safety when considering private school registration applications. Oh my goodness! The Hon Nikki Kaye, in a strange way, even almost argued against that\u2014even almost argued against that\u2014by saying that integrated schools and private schools were freaking out because they might now actually have to be safe places for kids. Right? All they have to do is meet the same criteria as every other school.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000624\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002240968b585e68470394a9935008361d0d\u0022\u003ESimeon Brown\u003C/span\u003E: They already are\u2014they already are.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000625\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022245b891570a3415a8b6406d140b51855\u0022\u003EHon TRACEY MARTIN\u003C/span\u003E: And who\u2019s checking on them, Mr Brown? Because there\u2019s no criteria right now by which to check on them. So Mr Brown, apparently, is quite happy for students to wander off, and we\u2019ll just trust some people.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003ENow, let\u2019s talk about communities of online learning (COOL) and the Virtual Learning Network, raised by the Hon Nikki Kaye. Anybody would think that the Virtual Learning Network did not exist before the National Government created a piece of legislation and put COOLs into it. The Virtual Learning Network has been around for years. NorthNet has been around for years. HarbourNet has been around for years. For goodness\u2019 sake! They didn\u2019t invent it. What the COOLs that that party put in place did was allow five-year-olds to stay at home all day, every day and learn online. That is what that piece of legislation that they put through this House did. This Government happens to want to listen to the mental health experts, happens to want to talk to the science advisers that say that belonging\u2014a sense of community, being able to interact, making sure that young children are not isolated\u2014is an important part of growing up in a community and being able to interact, for your long-term well-being. Communities of online learning already existed before the last lot decided they would open it up to privatisation, ultimately.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000627\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EThe previous contributor said, \u201CWe\u2019ve removed it but there\u2019s nothing to replace it.\u201D Actually, they hadn\u2019t even started yet. That\u2019s the first thing. Secondly, they\u2019d already existed, they\u2019re already in place, and they\u2019re already in schools. Students who have the capacity now go into and start to do, either with Te Kura or any of those other networks\u2014they still are able to do it. This does not remove the capacity that they already have to deliver online learning to students, and so therefore there is no need for the drama that is coming from the other side.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000628\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EWhat there is, however, is a need to plan the appropriate way to expand online learning for the future. We will be able to maintain a level of quality, and we will be able to deliver it across different communities in New Zealand. The conversation from the other side around rural communities who are able to access online learning makes it sound like we don\u2019t need any teachers in rural classrooms. That sounds incredibly dangerous, that the other side has this image of \u201CIf you\u2019re in a rural area, we\u2019re not going to actually even put any teachers in there; we\u2019re just going to leave you with some computers.\u201D That is not what this side of the House is prepared to accept.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000629\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003ECommunities of online learning already existed before they were placed into the legislation; we are removing the privatisation of them. We are removing the capacity of five-year-olds to be able to stay at home\u2014from five-year-olds through to 16-year-olds to be able to stay at home. Some of the most moving submissions I had on making sure that this criteria inside the legislation was removed were actually from the health schools and clients of theirs who said \u201CMy parents would have done anything to make me happy, to stop me feeling anxious. They would\u2019ve let me stay at home, because they would\u2019ve allowed anything to happen to try and keep me safe, but I needed to go to school, I needed to participate, and I needed to get better.\u201D, and that is why this was inappropriate. We need a safe way to do online learning. We are and we will expand it, but we will not privatise it. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022 data-id=\u00220f1c774e8aea4db6856079d354300fb1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220f1c774e8aea4db6856079d354300fb1\u0022\u003ESIMEON BROWN (National\u2014Pakuranga):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. OMG! That was an interesting speech, wasn\u2019t it? Well, I found that contribution by the Hon Tracey Martin to be quite interesting\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000631\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e2f5179f12164b69a1b958c755780e53\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Insufferable.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000632\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e61a9c2a931f4112bf3df6a69f2edd84\u0022\u003ESIMEON BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: Yeah, potentially a bit insufferable, but I would never say anything like that to the Hon Tracey Martin, because I do quite like her for the chocolate fish she gave me last year, and I still do remember that. But let me just rebut a couple of the points that she mentioned there. She talked about the Teaching Council\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000633\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a815bf945ee24d61ba36222e6f7932b1\u0022\u003EDr Duncan Webb\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s like giving candy to a baby.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000634\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223fd96df5e626468d894c3fc42e4c79bc\u0022\u003ESIMEON BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I\u2019ve got a baby, thank you so much, Duncan. That\u2019s very much appreciated, Duncan Webb. Thank you very much. That\u2019s very kind of you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000635\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EShe mentioned the fact that she was very interested in what the Post Primary Teachers\u2019 Association (PPTA) said, because apparently they opposed the Government\u2019s bill. Yes, they do oppose it, and I\u2019ve got a copy of the submission here. I\u2019m happy to table it. Actually, it should be available to the Minister to read. It says that in the build-up to the introduction of the Education (Teaching Council of Aotearoa) Amendment Bill the Government went to great lengths to point out that it wanted to retain the Teaching Council as an independent body. And guess what? The unions bought that message. And now the PPTA has turned up and said the PPTA believes that the changing of the Act, thus requiring the council to have regard to Government policy, actually undermines the Teaching Council\u2019s independent status.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000636\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003ESo I would encourage the member to actually go and read the PPTA\u2019s submission, because what this bill does is it does undermine the status of the Teaching Council, the status which they as a Government said they wanted to make sure was independent. And this bill undermines that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000637\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003ELook, I\u2019d like to also just quickly touch on the new criterion for private schools to include physical and emotional well-being in their criteria for registration. And we heard again Tracey Martin talk about the fact that, you know, this is about ensuring that our private schools are kept safe. Well, I\u2019d encourage the Minister to go in and visit some of the private schools and ask the question: are they actually not safe already? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000638\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022269f820b034b405ba062bc9d0a33fcf3\u0022\u003EHon Tracey Martin\u003C/span\u003E: You don\u2019t know, because there\u2019s no criteria.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000639\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002260e24557b5dc4d9c9f47d5e805294bc4\u0022\u003ESIMEON BROWN\u003C/span\u003E: I go and visit Saint Kentigern College, in my electorate, which is just right beside my electorate office\u2014so I do know. It is a very safe school, and there is no evidence\u2014there is no evidence\u2014to show that this will have any impact at all to improve the emotional and physical well-being of our students at our private schools.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000640\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EYes, of course we want our schools to be emotionally and physically safe, but including this as a registration criterion will have no impact. I challenge the member over there to actually look at the New Zealand Council for Educational Research survey, which showed that there is significant bullying in our schools up and down New Zealand and, actually, to look inside our State schools and not to say this is the only solution to improving emotional and physical well-being in our schools.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000641\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EThe National Party does oppose this piece of legislation. It\u2019s ideologically driven by this Government. We oppose it. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022 data-id=\u0022fd52f82477ca48418e1c8003aa9a57cc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000642\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fd52f82477ca48418e1c8003aa9a57cc\u0022\u003ECHL\u00D6E SWARBRICK (Green):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. E Te M\u0101ngai, t\u0113n\u0101 koe. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou e Te Whare. It is a pleasure to stand and take a call on this, the Education Amendment Bill (No 2), so aptly named. There\u2019s been a lot of quite fascinating and rather controversial and rather polarised points raised throughout this debate, but I guess it\u2019s all the more worthwhile to kind of bring attention to a few of them, given that I\u2019ve jotted down a few notes, particularly from the speaker who has just taken his seat, Simeon Brown, who I\u2019d like to congratulate on the new arrival to his family and also for his use of the terminology \u201COMG\u201D, which I think does perhaps demonstrate the importance of the work that we have been doing in the Education Conversation to bring it into the 21st century and to make sure that it is fit for purpose and indeed culturally appropriate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000643\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EBut what this piece of legislation does\u2014it\u2019s multifaceted. The first point is around ensuring that the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand\u2019s decisions on matters relating to the teaching profession are made within the context of Government policy. This, of course, numerous National Party members have spoken in opposition to, because they believe that there is the importance of maintaining the independence of the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000644\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EThey say this despite having removed, arguably, the independence of the Teaching Council by removing elected members and only placing on the Teaching Council ministerial appointments. Those appointments could come from wherever the Minister in charge of education would like them to come from. So it was indeed actually the National Party who took away democracy and autonomy and independence originally from the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000645\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EWhat we are doing\u2014and actually with the previous piece of legislation restoring that democracy and autonomy by ensuring that there will be at least a majority of elected members to it\u2014is also ensuring that those decisions that they are making comply with Government policy. It is simply a matter of ensuring that really important decisions that are being made around teacher training are appropriate and fit for purpose, because there is currently no form of public accountability to the Teaching Council beyond the election of those to the Teaching Council from the teaching profession. So it is an insight for the general public into that work programme and what they can expect.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000646\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EThe second point was around requiring private schools to be safe places for students. The speaker before me, Simeon Brown, said that these places are safe already and asked about the risk. The fact of the matter is that we simply just think that there should be a common-sense baseline that all schools, whether they are public or private or otherwise, should be held to. I think that\u2019s pretty straightforward and common sense because whilst that standard doesn\u2019t apply across the spectrum, there is that risk that a school that is private dips below it. And you\u2019d think that the National Party would be in favour of common sense.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000647\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003ESo too, there is the removal of provision for communities of online learning. At the time that the former National Government decided to rush these changes across the line, they were noted by a number of different stakeholders as hastily developed, which is why it\u2019s crucially important that we have had the Government-led Education Conversation under way, which I\u2019d note we\u2019re trying to make as sustainable as possible, because the National Party MPs who hold education portfolios have been invited to engage in it, and I think it\u2019s really crucial that they do engage in that conversation ongoing. As was said by the Associate Minister of Education, Tracey Martin, communities of online learning and online learning itself existed well before the National Party decided to implement this rushed change to the legislation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000648\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EAnd, finally, we ensure that school boards cannot adopt a cohort entry policy that enables children to begin school as part of a cohort before five years of age. This is something which all three parties in Government are on the record for, time and again backing up as our position, as has been the call from those who are actually engaged in the teaching profession, those people who Dr Parmjeet Parmar, the chair of my Education and Workforce Committee, calls \u201CThe unions!\u201D\u2014yes, those unions that represent our teaching profession by and large. I\u2019m not sure who the National Party intends to be getting onside, especially when they\u2019re asking for a decrease in the ratio in our classrooms and they\u2019re seeking to get alongside teachers despite underpaying them for the past 10 years, when they are positioning them as an other\u2014\u201CThe unions!\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000649\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003ESo too, Dr Parmjeet Parmar said that this Government doesn\u2019t believe that people want or deserve choice. I just find that to be quite a bizarre statement, given that what we have done through the process initiated under the Education Conversation is ensure that there is a huge amount of input from the public, from every sector of society that is impacted by education, and, again, by the National Party as well to feed into that process to ensure that we have a sustainable pathway forward that is depoliticised for education in this country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000650\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EComing to the heart of it, those on this side of this House fundamentally believe that the purpose of education is about creating citizens\u2014those who are creatively thinking, those who critically analyse, and, instead of just those who are educated to compete and to solely be workers, those who are able to come together and develop a new pathway forward. The Green Party is incredibly proud to be commending this bill to the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022943fd636-21ec-4442-9a72-68c49464776f\u0022 data-id=\u0022cb04d8130a1c4a29b483bba2a89de131\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000651\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022943fd636-21ec-4442-9a72-68c49464776f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cb04d8130a1c4a29b483bba2a89de131\u0022\u003EDENISE LEE (National\u2014Maungakiekie):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for a chance to speak on what is, basically, a crude dismantling of previous National Party reforms. The Government didn\u2019t even try to mask the raw ideological grab at important educational institutions and systems. The messy hodgepodge includes, ironically, considering the previous bill\u2014I guess you could call it the No. 1 bill, this being the No. 2 bill\u2014reducing independence of the Education Council, deliberately burdening private schools, annoying and confusing parents as to when their kids can start school, and, finally, scrapping communities of online learning. On that last note, as a demonstration of how ill-disciplined, ill-advised, and ill-inducing this bill is, they\u2019re scrapping communities of online learning without a replacement. Go figure. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000652\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022943fd636-21ec-4442-9a72-68c49464776f\u0022\u003EThe Virtual Learning Network, which the Minister previously referred to\u2014that group of educators told us at the Education and Workforce Committee that online learning, if done right, is perfect for students who are not engaging or have diverse needs. Very fascinating to hear a Cabinet Minister just earlier refer to what sounded to me like implied lazy five-year-olds with lots of screen time\u2014extraordinary comments. The good folks from the Virtual Learning Network told us\u2014and this is a real kicker, here\u2014that no one had talked to them. Again, I repeat: no one had talked to them. That\u2019s what they said when they turned up for their submission, and I and many members here in the Chamber were there in person. Very reasonably, the Virtual Learning Network simply want the following: a regulatory framework to be clarified. That\u2019s not asking for much. It\u2019s not rocket science. That does sound reasonable. But, folks, don\u2019t hold your breath.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022 data-id=\u00226b419030e4e74e6c916d4ea0c1c876dd\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000653\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226b419030e4e74e6c916d4ea0c1c876dd\u0022\u003EDEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: So this is a split call. I call Jan Tinetti.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022 data-id=\u00228ddc4193b0d44fb098f7cd5f330e0f6b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000654\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228ddc4193b0d44fb098f7cd5f330e0f6b\u0022\u003EJAN TINETTI (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Madam Deputy Speaker, thank you. I\u2019m delighted to be here speaking on the Education Amendment Bill (No 2). Something that I\u2019m quite passionate about is what I\u2019m going to discuss in my time here this evening, which is cohort entry. Now, we heard from the previous speaker, Denise Lee, that this would give parents confusion about when they start school. Actually, this tidies up that confusion. If you want confusion, I suggest that the previous speaker goes and looks at the current website now that explains how the current cohort entry works. That actually takes quite a bit of time to get one\u2019s mind around. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000655\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003ENow, the reason that I\u2019m quite passionate about this is because, actually, it was under the previous Government\u2019s policies that they had the advisory group for early learning. They talked about cohort entry in that particular group. The then Minister, Hekia Parata, brought together a fantastic group of early childhood educators, academics, and schooling representatives. At the time, in December 2014, it was stated in their press release that Minister Parata \u201Chas appointed an advisory group to help children get the best possible start to their early learning and schooling.\u201D Academics were appointed to that group, such incredible, amazing, gifted, and talented people such as Dr Joce Nuttall, Dame Iritana T\u0101whiwhirangi, Dr Jeanette Clarkin-Phillips, Dr Lesley Rameka, Ali Glasgow, Carol Hartley, Brenda Soutar, Jan Taouma, and the two schooling reps, Adelle Broadmore and one Jan Tinetti. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000656\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003EIn that group there was actually a willingness to look at cohort entry. We absolutely talked about how that could be beneficial to children and to schools. But that group, who the Minister at the time said were some of the cleverest people involved in the early childhood sector, said under no circumstance should children ever start school before the age of five years old. So why was it that the then Government could listen to some of the recommendations from that advisory group but not a critical and key recommendation that said that those children shouldn\u2019t start school? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000657\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003ENow, where did that come from, that recommendation? Evidence\u2014strong evidence that I sat and had to read through as part of that group. Evidence, worldwide evidence and New Zealand evidence, that said that, actually, at that time, a few weeks could mean a lot to those particular children because, as we all know, child development changes a lot at that particular age, and it was most important that we kept our children in the early childhood settings. So those academics were absolutely adamant, and when this was changed and the cohort entry allowed for sometimes up to eight weeks before the age of the fifth birthday, this particular advisory group, led by Dr Joce Nuttall, wrote to the then Government suggesting that they\u2019d made a mistake in allowing early cohort entry to happen. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000658\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003EThis is why I\u2019m so passionate, because in this bill we are able to put this right. We are putting our children at the centre. We\u2019re not using some ideological basis to do that; we are using evidence. We\u2019re not putting other people at the centre. We are putting those children right at the centre of our policies and our legislation, and that is the most important and strongest thing that we can be doing for these children. That\u2019s why I am so proud of this bill and proud to be putting a very big wrong right.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022275c91f8-c6b8-42fd-b3ab-d8fc000dd41f\u0022 data-id=\u002225b8e649fdfc47da959375f3e716ada1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000659\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022275c91f8-c6b8-42fd-b3ab-d8fc000dd41f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002225b8e649fdfc47da959375f3e716ada1\u0022\u003EERICA STANFORD (National\u2014East Coast Bays):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am going to take a short call on this bill tonight. I\u2019d like to acknowledge my colleagues who\u2019ve made extraordinarily good contributions and have covered much of the material, and who were indeed in the select committee, as I was not. What I would like to talk about, briefly, is cohort entry, and just really take a look at what we\u2019ve heard so far from the other side of the House and deal with some rebuttal, you could say. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000660\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022275c91f8-c6b8-42fd-b3ab-d8fc000dd41f\u0022\u003EFirstly, just briefly dealing with Jan Tinetti\u2014I\u2019m not sure that we actually should be changing legislation because of something Jan Tinetti didn\u2019t understand on the internet. If that was the case, we would potentially be here a long time and be rather busy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000661\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022275c91f8-c6b8-42fd-b3ab-d8fc000dd41f\u0022\u003EBut what I want to do is actually base my contribution tonight on what Tracey Martin said, because, actually, there are a few of us mothers on this side of the House tonight who were listening to her contribution and our blood was boiling. Tracey Martin has henceforth come to this House tonight and decreed that if you send your kid to school before they\u2019re five years old, you are a terrible mother. That is classic left-wing politics: we know best. We will dictate to you what is best for your family and for your child, because we know best. You can\u2019t possibly know what\u2019s best for your child and your family. We know what\u2019s best. I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000662\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022275c91f8-c6b8-42fd-b3ab-d8fc000dd41f\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s so wrong on so many levels, because parental choice is about the ability to know what is best for the individual child. Some families hold their child back until they\u2019re six to send them to school. Others want to start them slightly earlier. It\u2019s for a variety of reasons: maybe the child is ready, maybe they\u2019ve got an older sibling at the school, and maybe\u2014yes, maybe that mother wants to go back to work, and that is not the bad, negative, terrible thing that Tracey Martin seems to think it is. Actually, mothers make choices to go back to work most often in the best interests of their family and of their child, because it takes some of the pressure off the family. Maybe it\u2019s a financial pressure; maybe it\u2019s an emotional pressure of the mother. There are many reasons\u2014maybe they want all of their children going to the same place at the same time. There are a number of reasons, but Tracey Martin is going to dictate to you that you are a terrible mother and it\u2019s bad for your child because she knows best.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000663\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022275c91f8-c6b8-42fd-b3ab-d8fc000dd41f\u0022\u003EHow would she feel, I wonder, if I told her that I sent my son to day care when he was 10 months old? She\u2019s probably reeling over there. What an awful parent I am. I know. The guilt of the mothers out there listening to her dictate what\u2019s best for their child\u2014how absolutely appalling. It is such a destructive attitude. We are standing for choice and backing parents and mothers to know what is best for their family and for their kid and not making them feel guilty for making that decision. Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022 data-id=\u00229059c1ce1a5643d2908cacbf8fb66696\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000664\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229059c1ce1a5643d2908cacbf8fb66696\u0022\u003EHon CLARE CURRAN (Labour\u2014Dunedin South):\u003C/span\u003E Thanks, Madam Deputy Speaker. It\u2019s always a pleasure to take a call and talk from the position of an evidence base, which, actually, is a place of strength. This bill, the Education Amendment Bill (No 2) probably isn\u2019t going to make the front page of the paper. You never know\u2014it might get Judith Collins baking. Judith Collins and I used to have baking competitions when we sat on the former Commerce Committee. But I tell you what it is about: it is about protecting the integrity of our education system\u2014I mean, clearly, something that the Opposition doesn\u2019t get and certainly doesn\u2019t care about.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000665\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EThere\u2019s a lot of important policy work being done on this side of the House in education, and what this bill is doing is attempting to right some wrongs. It\u2019s actually about protecting the integrity of this thing we call the \u201Ceducation system\u201D, which, I would hope, all New Zealanders really give a stuff about, because it\u2019s actually something that we can feel really proud of. But, oh no, apparently the ability for parents to send their children to school before they\u2019re five years old is more important, and dismantling our education system systematically, which is what they did over the nine years that they were in Government, is actually more important\u2014certainly not listening to evidence: the evidence of experts, as my colleague Jan Tinetti has just spelled out. I\u2019m proud, actually, to associate myself with a colleague who sat on the 2015 advisory group on early learning, which found, and had an evidence base to say, that going to school before you are five is too young.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000666\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EAt the same time they were dismantling that, they were also undermining and eroding our early childhood education sector and, again, were turning that into\u2014I note they\u2019ve all gone very quiet\u2014a glorified babysitting service while they were introducing national standards in charter schools, which was, essentially, a privatisation by stealth of our world-class education system. What this bill does is dismantle some of those things. What Nikki Kaye described as \u201Cideology\u201D and \u201CState control\u201D is actually ensuring that Government policy and Government intent is taken some note of in our education system and the way that it\u2019s being run, and that our children should not be attending school before they\u2019re five years old. I described it as \u201Cprotecting the integrity of our education system\u201D but I think it also shows some real philosophical differences between that side of the House and this side of the House when it comes to the way that education is delivered.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000667\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EI was reading the National Party\u2019s minority view, and the thing that really stood out for me\u2014because, I mean, other people have spelt out the key parts of this bill\u2014is where they talk about student safety and the new criteria for registration of private schools: that a school \u201Cis a physically and emotionally safe place for students\u201D. Well, gee, it\u2019s actually a bit hard to argue against that, don\u2019t you think? And they didn\u2019t do a very good job in their minority report of arguing against it, even though they did argue against it. They said, \u201CWhile we support any reasonable and logical legislation that improves student safety, there is a lack of detail around this aspect of the bill,\u201D\u2014so therefore it\u2019s OK not to have a requirement for registration of private schools to be physically and emotionally safe places for students, because, apparently, there\u2019s some detail that\u2019s missing around what that actually means! I found that to be extraordinary.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000668\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EThen there were the communities of online learning, which I think Nikki Kaye, in her contribution, revealed as being, essentially, an alternative means of providing schooling to children who didn\u2019t fit in and which submitters\u2014and I note that there weren\u2019t that many submitters on this bill. There seemed to be pretty strong\u2014not unanimous; I agree with that\u2014objection to the communities of online learning being set up as an alternative, essentially, without the work that should have been done. I\u2019ll just refer to NZEI Te Riu Roa\u2019s submission, which said that the Government should definitely consider any online learning as part of a broader discussion about a longer-term vision for education. Then they gave a whole lot of detail around what that should look like and that there had not been anywhere near the amount of work that needed to be done to establish what the previous Government set up as the communities of online learning\u2014and thank goodness this side of the House has made the decision to say, \u201CNo, we don\u2019t want to do that, because it\u2019s ill-thought-out, it\u2019s an alternative to the education system that we should feel proud of, and it\u2019s actually not going to deliver the outcomes that we need in our education system, which is world class and which we should feel proud of.\u201D This side of the House is standing up for that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000669\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EUltimately, unfortunately, the ideology that has been claimed by the Opposition is actually just exactly what they had proposed and they put in place, and what this bill does is undo that. I commend it to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022 data-id=\u0022b4e754bccde44ecea95ae704c7f39766\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000670\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b4e754bccde44ecea95ae704c7f39766\u0022\u003ENICOLA WILLIS (National):\u003C/span\u003E I was going to use this contribution on the Education Amendment Bill (No 2) to talk about communities of online learning and the opportunity they provided for choice. I was going to talk about the Teachers Council and a Minister who is introducing directives barely a few weeks after he said he wanted a more independent council, but instead I listened to the contribution of Tracey Martin and I felt absolutely compelled this evening to speak on behalf of the tens of thousands of parents up and down this country who struggle with making the choices about how they will balance their paid work with their children, about how they will balance their desire to give their children the very best in life\u2014to give them their care, to give them their love, to provide them with opportunities and choices for the future\u2014and about how they will balance that with the very real need they have to go to work each day and earn a crust.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000671\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EI raise this tonight because what we have had in this debate is the spectre of Nikki Kaye suggesting, very fairly, that up till this point New Zealanders have expected that every five-year-old would have the right, on their fifth birthday, to attend school, and, yes, what that meant when cohort entry was introduced was that some children would start school a few weeks before they turned five\u2014just a few weeks before they turned five\u2014in order to hit the cohort entry. What Nikki Kaye suggested was that, actually, some parents might make that choice because they believe it best suits their child and their family circumstances\u2014that it would best allow them to manage their family\u2019s life\u2014and what a very good point that is. But what did the \u201CMinister for Telling Parents what is Best for their Children\u201D\u2014Minister Tracey Martin\u2014say? She said that parents who made that choice\u2014the parents who chose to let their children start school just a few weeks before their fifth birthday\u2014weren\u2019t putting their children\u2019s needs first. Oh no, they weren\u2019t; what they were doing was putting their desire to return to work first. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000672\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EWell, Minister Tracey Martin, on behalf of New Zealand parents, I say: how dare you bring that attitude into this House? And to the parents of New Zealand who struggle with these choices, who try to do what\u2019s best for their kids, I say to you, well, actually, I understand that you are doing what is best for your children, and I reject the notion that you get from Ministers like Minister Tracey Martin that somehow you are not putting your children\u2019s needs first, because those parents are, and the last thing they need is another person laying another layer of guilt on them, telling them that the Government knows best what\u2019s best for their children and their family. This Government doesn\u2019t know what\u2019s best for individual parents and their circumstances, and it smacks of the ideology of Labour and New Zealand First that they think they can tell parents what is best for them. Well, Tracey Martin may not trust you to make the choices that are best for your children, but I do and National does. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000673\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b20287ecca4b4253b20782b1355b4405\u0022\u003EDEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I hope it was not me that the member was talking about. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000674\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228b8f860d6034443e97cdefa8ae6c2ee7\u0022\u003ENICOLA WILLIS\u003C/span\u003E: No, I apologise.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022 data-id=\u002207edfa9d213a4aaa9bc99f3a13ee9114\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000675\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002207edfa9d213a4aaa9bc99f3a13ee9114\u0022\u003EMARJA LUBECK (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for an opportunity to respond to some of those comments from the other side, in particular. I think it is quite rich to talk about parents and their blood boiling when, really, I\u2019m very sure that the teachers watching this debate tonight will have their blood boiling, knowing that the National Party believes that schools, basically, should be babysitting services for children and that against all advice and all scientific evidence\u2014as we have heard very eloquently explained by my colleague Jan Tinetti\u2014they should not be starting school before their fifth birthday. But disregard all that, and I\u2019m sure that all the professors and esteemed academics will equally feel rather offended that you called them rubbish. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003ENow, it\u2019s actually a pleasure to be taking a call on the second reading of the Education Amendment Bill (No 2). When this bill came through the House in its first reading, this subject matter was quite new to me, but it has been an absolute joy working with my colleagues on this committee, and especially Jan Tinetti. So it is a real privilege, after working on this bill for several months, to share a few thoughts. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000677\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003EI\u2019d like to thank all the submitters who submitted on this bill, who took time to share their views. There were 18 in total who came to talk on a few specific aspects of this bill, which mostly we have heard about tonight. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000678\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003EI\u2019d like to make a couple of mentions of the main ones. I\u2019d like to start with the cohort entry provisions. As I said, the history to all this has been eloquently explained by Jan Tinetti, but, basically, the change that this bill makes is it goes back to the situation prior to the change made by the National Government in 2017. So, really, all it does is it reinforces the idea that is underpinned by evidence that children should not be starting school until they actually have had their fifth birthday. So, under new section 5 in clause 5 of the bill, a five-year-old will have to wait to enrol, and, at most, that will be six weeks. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000679\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003ESo it is not even earth-shattering\u2014it\u2019s six weeks\u2014and, in fact, I think some of the members on our Education and Workforce Committee may have missed it, but we were given facts and data and numbers and figures that showed exactly how much it would cost the parents and how many children would be affected. If you look at the figures, or, well, if the members of our committee or if the Opposition members had bothered opening the report rather than just looking at their lines, they would have seen in the report that more than half of the children are not affected or are not starting school later by\u2014goodness me!\u2014a whole week. It might be a whole week after their fifth birthday that they\u2019re going to have to wait, and do you know how many of the kids may have to wait five weeks? Five percent of all the children may have to wait up to five weeks. I\u2019m sure their parents\u2019 blood will be boiling in that regard! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000680\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003EWe\u2019ve heard about children being at the centre of learning, and I thought that was a rather hypocritical comment, considering the fact that my colleague Jan Tinetti had an excellent bill earlier\u2014no, actually, it was late last year, I believe\u2014that put children at the centre of learning. Something that the Office of the Children\u2019s Commissioner agreed with was the National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP) bill, which required the Minister to consult widely on the statement of NELP with children, and guess what? Since the Opposition put children at the centre of the learning, as they\u2019ve just told us, you\u2019d think they would support that legislation. But, no, they voted against it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000681\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003ESo the other thing I\u2019d like to mention that has already been well traversed is that private schools should be safer places. A comment was made by the Waitakere Area Principals\u2019 Association. They said that the physical and emotional safety of all students, irrespective of the nature of the school they attend, should be paramount. The same arguments were used by New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI), Save the Children, and the New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA). So, really, private schools are having the same standards as the State schools and State integrated schools. I am at a loss to understand the objections are to it, and it has not been made very clear by the other side. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000682\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003EThe other thing that I have been confused about by comments from the other side is in regards to changes to the Teaching Council. Now, both our chair\u2014and this is quite disappointing\u2014Parmjeet Parmar and also the member Simeon Brown must have completely missed the advice that we asked for, which was to have it explained to us what \u201Chaving regard to\u201D would actually mean in law. Some submitters\u2014notably the Post Primary Teachers\u2019 Association (PPTA) and NZEI, as has been mentioned\u2014did make comments with regard to the importance of retaining the Teaching Council as an independent statutory body. We asked for some advice and the advice was\u2014and the committee considered this\u2014that the council\u2019s independence is safeguarded by the requirement that it must \u201Chave regard to\u201D, as opposed to being required to \u201Cgiving effect to\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000683\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003ESo it has been explained to us\u2014and it is even in all of our papers\u2014that there is a very important distinction between \u201Chaving regard to\u201D and \u201Cgiving effect to\u201D, because they have different meanings in law, and what that means is that it\u2019s well-established in case law that it\u2019s completely two different things. So, once again, it is disappointing to hear that members of our committee and also the chair of our committee have completely missed or are disregarding that advice. Once again, \u201Chaving regard to\u201D means genuine consideration, but it means other factors can be considered to outweigh the thing that people are making a decision on. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000684\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003ELastly, the repeal of the provisions for the community of online learning. Now, Denise Lee mentioned the comment about \u201CNobody spoke to us.\u201D Well, when it comes to a lack of consultation, we heard it when it came to the community of online learning. NZEI, NZSTA, and PPTA all submitted that the communities of online learning legislation was developed hastily, with a notable lack of consultation with the education sector. I\u2019ll read that NZEI mentioned \u201Ccorporates driving what\u2019s best for children\u201D. NZEI called the legislation brought in by the previous Government \u201Ca flawed piece of legislation, ill-thought-out, and rushed\u201D, and the PPTA elaborated on that same theme. They said the legislation was \u201Crushed, un-consulted, and poorly conceived with little awareness shown of the impact on the wider school sector or the students involved\u201D. They called it a \u201Ccorporate entry point with New Zealand learners as guinea pigs\u201D and \u201Ca lolly scramble, hoping different providers may come up with something good\u201D. Now, if you\u2019ve ever wanted to hear from experts in our education sector that the communities of online learning were not a good thing, then there it is.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000685\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f677db8b-66c5-4794-953c-bdf7aa425710\u0022\u003ELastly, I would just like to say that it\u2019s really important to add that the repeal of this doesn\u2019t take anything away from the existing providers. The status quo will remain for online learning. The status quo will remain and will continue to operate\u2014business-as-usual. The sky isn\u2019t falling in. This is making things better. It\u2019s putting children at the centre of learning. I support this bill and commend it to the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u002274264b356a2a4f858add521f65ce213f\u0022 name=\u0022division\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EA party vote was called for on the question, That the amendments recommended by the Education and Workforce Committee by majority be agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 63\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 57\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAmendments agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022bb90ce08b14a426c943accf0aca369b9\u0022 name=\u0022division\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EA party vote was called for on the question, That the Education Amendment Bill (No\u00A02) be now read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 63\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 57\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EBill read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000686\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ee0f6645d0754becb8ea4f2f3f4ff97b\u0022\u003ELocal Government (Community Well-being) Amendment Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000687\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ad910ed5b2e44495b621b46494ec51d5\u0022\u003EThird Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000688\u0022\u003EDebate resumed from 2 May.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022 data-id=\u00222ca8c44d461344cf966695ad5c5556a2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000689\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222ca8c44d461344cf966695ad5c5556a2\u0022\u003EDEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: This is a split call. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ed2de46a-9047-4bfe-92c8-5f14fd415dfb\u0022 data-id=\u00221ce724d445f94a28aaa0a37cca5bc5ff\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000690\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2de46a-9047-4bfe-92c8-5f14fd415dfb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221ce724d445f94a28aaa0a37cca5bc5ff\u0022\u003EANDREW FALLOON (National\u2014Rangitata):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity tonight to speak on the Local Government (Community Well-being) Amendment Bill in its third reading. It is a third reading, and it is my first opportunity to speak on this bill. I do understand it went to the Governance and Administration Committee, where it would have been shepherded through under my good friend Mr Brett Hudson, who\u2019s a very good and able chairman. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000691\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2de46a-9047-4bfe-92c8-5f14fd415dfb\u0022\u003EI do want to turn to a couple of the provisions of the bill, but the first one is the primary focus, I guess, which is \u201Cto promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of communities\u201D, and the concern that we have on this side of the House is what does that mean in terms of cost and in terms of increased rates. I would like to turn initially just to the very, very good submission that was put in by Federated Farmers, who are one of the few organisations who do work across New Zealand, across every territorial authority, and across every regional council, certainly in terms of the organisations who submitted. So I do think they have a very important perspective, and this is what they had to say. Their recommendation, which is in paragraph 3.8, says, \u201CFederated Farmers recommends that the Bill should not proceed and it should be reconsidered after the Productivity Commission\u2019s upcoming inquiry into local government funding has been completed and its findings and recommendations considered by the government.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000692\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2de46a-9047-4bfe-92c8-5f14fd415dfb\u0022\u003EI think that\u2019s actually a very worthy thing that the select committee and, certainly, this Parliament should consider, because, as I understand it, the Productivity Commission\u2019s submissions closed back in February\u2014so, quite recently\u2014and, in fact, they\u2019ll be reporting back in about November. So it\u2019s not very far away at all for Government and, indeed, this Parliament to wait and look at their findings and say, \u201CRight, we need to take those on board and actually incorporate those into this legislation or, indeed, scrap this legislation and come up with something quite new.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000693\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed2de46a-9047-4bfe-92c8-5f14fd415dfb\u0022\u003EI did suggest this was going to be a brief call, but before I finish, I do just want to cover off a couple of comments that were raised previously when this bill was debated last week. The first one of those is that I enjoyed the contribution by Ms Chl\u00F6e Swarbrick, as I often do, but in her contribution, she said that what National was saying was that it is untrue that there would be increases in rates as a result of this bill. Well, Ms Swarbrick, I just want to point you to the contribution of your colleague Mr Paul Eagle, who, a couple of speeches before you, actually said that when this bill passes, \u201CI know that councils will unleash a range of things\u201D. So\u2014to end\u2014my question to Ms Swarbrick is: how does she think those things will be paid for? Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022 data-id=\u00221c85a1354730437d9517b94f8aba29c4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000694\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221c85a1354730437d9517b94f8aba29c4\u0022\u003EMICHAEL WOOD (Labour\u2014Mt Roskill):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. There\u2019s a wonderful project in my community. It\u2019s a project run by an organisation called Te Wh\u0101ngai Trust. They are an organisation who, some 20 years ago, identified the problem of young people who had fallen out of education, work, and training and who had got into a cycle, potentially, of drug or alcohol offending, had entered into criminal activity, and were falling out of the system. So what the good people at Te Wh\u0101ngai Trust decided to do was to establish a native nursery to bring in these young people, to nurture them, to support them, to teach them, to mentor them, and to not stop doing that until they had helped to transition these young people into sustainable employment to get them on to their feet as young people who can be proud of themselves and make a contribution and sustain themselves and do something good for their community. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000695\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EThis trust has a native nursery that they have set up in my electorate, in the community of Wesley, in partnership with the Puket\u0101papa Local Board\u2014the local governance unit in my community\u2014and in partnership facilitated by the board with a range of other community organisations. Te Wh\u0101ngai Trust at that site now brings in young people from our community who need this support. They provide that support and they also provide, now, native trees for local environmental projects, and that cycle of work is exactly what this bill is about. It\u2019s about recognising that local government at its best, when it really understands local communities, is the best-placed layer of government to work with them and deliver the outcomes that our communities need. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000696\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EThere you have a project that delivers social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being outcomes. It is exactly the kind of thing that is good for our communities, that our communities want to be delivered, and that local government is better equipped to deliver, I would argue, than central government. This bill, in restoring the core competencies of local government to deliver those well-beings, is actually, I think, just confirming what most people in New Zealand believe the job of their local government is to deliver. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000697\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EWhat is the institution of a library in a local community if it is not about the social and the cultural well-being of our communities? What is a local business association supported by local government if it is not about the economic well-being of our communities? What is a tree-planting project or an environmental stream restoration run by local government if it is not about the environmental well-being of our communities? Yet we have members on the other side of this Chamber seriously attempting to contend that those activities should somehow be beyond the stated remit of local government. That\u2019s what they\u2019re contending when they say that those well-being outcomes shouldn\u2019t be identified as the core competencies\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000698\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224d83c8a5-2f48-4991-9c45-b1a6060daedd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223864cb82d3e54f4a87386e7150b9f9c2\u0022\u003EMaureen Pugh\u003C/span\u003E: No, we\u2019re not. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002287839f8c13ec4f6aa2ced0a06a0cd51f\u0022\u003EMICHAEL WOOD\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014of local government. Well, if those members are not imputing that, as the member says, then it\u2019s difficult to see what sustains the arguments that they are putting forward when they\u2019re saying that these well-being outcomes should not be defined in the legislation that sets out the remit of local government in this country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000700\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EThe reality is that local government in New Zealand is, in fact, more constrained even under this legislation than local government in virtually any other country that we compare ourselves to. That\u2019s the reality on any measure, and, in fact, some of the submitters whom members on the other side of the House have quoted are submitters who, in fact, in other forums argue that local government should have more powers delegated to it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000701\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003ENow, that\u2019s not what we\u2019re arguing here, but we are arguing that the core competencies that most New Zealanders expect to be delivered by local government should actually be reflected in the legislation, and let\u2019s address head-on this argument which keeps coming up about rates. This was disabused in the second reading, when, with about five seconds of a Google search, the Taxpayers\u2019 Union very helpfully informed me that under the previous legislative regime set in place in 2012 by those members currently in Opposition, rates increased at four times the rate of inflation. So the legs that the Opposition has to argue on this point are very stumpy indeed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000702\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EThe reality is that local government is always under enormous pressure in the space of rates. The pressure comes because of years of underfunding because of its significant infrastructure needs, and I think it behoves those of us in central government\u2014who should think of our local government colleagues as colleagues and not just whipping boys\u2014to address those issues instead of making spurious arguments around the well-beings that have always been a part of local government in New Zealand, and will continue to be. I commend the bill to the House. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224d83c8a5-2f48-4991-9c45-b1a6060daedd\u0022 data-id=\u00229fed3d32543047898cd03f3600acf1e1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000703\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224d83c8a5-2f48-4991-9c45-b1a6060daedd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229fed3d32543047898cd03f3600acf1e1\u0022\u003EMAUREEN PUGH (National):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. It\u2019s my pleasure, tonight, to stand up and speak against the Local Government (Community Well-being) Amendment Bill in its third reading. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000704\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224d83c8a5-2f48-4991-9c45-b1a6060daedd\u0022\u003EI think Mr Wood has just given us a perfectly good example of why we don\u2019t need this legislation. The reality is that he\u2019s talked about all of the social projects, he\u2019s talked about the trusts that were set up in his patch, and he\u2019s talked about libraries. Well, actually, libraries have been around for a terribly long time, and they didn\u2019t need four well-beings in the Local Government Act to put them there, because local government can simply do whatever its community asks it to do and is prepared to pay for. So, putting them in legislation simply adds a huge bureaucratic level\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000705\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dbc0460ed5ec454ab028130750cae76b\u0022\u003EMichael Wood\u003C/span\u003E: How?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000706\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224d83c8a5-2f48-4991-9c45-b1a6060daedd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222a1371a25dc64a7089b9339b9104692a\u0022\u003EMAUREEN PUGH\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014into the reporting and assessment of local government. I can speak from experience, Mr Wood, because I was involved when the four well-beings were actually put into the Local Government Act. The reality is that every single activity of council has to be assessed against every one of those well-beings, and in order to do that\u2014in order to have that assessment\u2014you\u2019ve got to consult with your community to see how they feel that you have performed against those assessments in the four well-beings. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000707\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224d83c8a5-2f48-4991-9c45-b1a6060daedd\u0022\u003ESo we have this huge compliance layer that is added to local government, and the reporting that needs to be done gets added into the audit process. Now, we all know what happens when you have Audit New Zealand come in to order your local government accounts and your activities\u2014what happens is that Audit New Zealand comes along and then assesses again how well you\u2019ve performed against those well-beings. There, Mr Wood, comes the cost. And where does that cost lay? Of course it lays with the ratepayers; there is no other way it can be paid for. So why would we want to layer yet another level of cost onto the ratepayers for absolutely no benefit? The things that happen in local government can happen with or without this legislation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000708\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224d83c8a5-2f48-4991-9c45-b1a6060daedd\u0022\u003EThe only reason that I can think of that this Government would want to add these well-beings in is because it is divesting responsibility for those social outcomes back to local government, when it is the domain of central government to take care of. For that reason, I oppose this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022 data-id=\u002238876d446c3749d6bd3884e6a92974c7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000709\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002238876d446c3749d6bd3884e6a92974c7\u0022\u003EHon MEKA WHAITIRI (Labour\u2014Ikaroa-R\u0101whiti):\u003C/span\u003E E Te M\u0101ngai o Te Whare, t\u0113n\u0101 koe. Ng\u0101 mema o Te Whare nei, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me. It\u2019s been a busy day for all of us. During the dinner break, I was fortunate enough to host the Wairoa District Council in the Grand Hall. So I think there\u2019s some relevance around empowering local councils, and we had one in our midst today. So I\u2019m really fortunate to take a call in support of the Local Government (Community Well-being) Amendment Bill, and to remind us all that there are three main goals of this particular bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000710\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EThe first one talks about restoring the purpose of local government \u201Cto promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of communities.\u201D The second part is \u201Cto restore the territorial authorities\u2019 power to collect development contributions for any public amenities needed as a consequence of development\u201D and from the reserves from non-residential development. Thirdly, to get the technical clarification around development contribution powers in so far as the New Zealand Transport Agency is in mind. So those are the goals.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000711\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EOne thing that I do want to talk about, and that makes us distinctly different on this side of the House to that side of the House, is our desire to return democracy\u2014return democracy back to our locally affected officials. It\u2019s to empower and give them the tools that they require, through legislation, to make local decisions where they are best made. Like I say, having Wairoa District Council here in this House to celebrate the exponential, I guess, commitment and innovation that comes out of Te Wairoa with iwi leaders and with local businesses is testimony to a piece of legislation that allows that to happen for the people of Te Wairoa. It is around empowering our locally elected officials to ensure that they have the tools to make the decision.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000712\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI want to reference the speech, just briefly, of the Minister in the third reading, where she said, quote: \u201CThis bill is a key part of an all-of-Government shift towards taking a more inclusive, holistic approach to measuring our success as a country. It is no longer enough that we define and measure the health and progress of our communities in a narrow fiscal sense.\u201D When you trip around the various local authorities, you can tell without having to sit around their board tables\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000713\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ef7078b31dd44cbb8163ba393d3b2b66\u0022\u003EDEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I don\u2019t, I don\u2019t.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000714\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221c590fb7a2bb4270a5f51cdfc0429f11\u0022\u003EHon MEKA WHAITIRI\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014that their passion for the environment, for the culture, and for the social outcomes for that community is absolutely apparent. So it\u2019s no longer the narrow fiscal sense of measurement that having these four well-beings, under the last Government, enabled or hamstrung a lot of the local authorities.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000715\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003ENow, from that side of the House, I heard the allegations around overspend and the extra compliance costs, but I didn\u2019t hear much proof. In fact, what I am led to believe is that evidence shows that council spend prior to 2012 and 2014 amendments was a lot less\u2014i.e., before we removed these four well-beings from the Local Government Act, our councils were actually fiscally well managed. So the allegation that reintroducing them is going to lead to more spending\u2014I have yet to hear from that side of the House any proof of that matter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000716\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EAs we know, the local government sector in this country is the second, to the central government, largest asset holder throughout this country. It\u2019s important to us as legislators that we enable them to make those decisions closer to home that meet those well-beings around social, economic, environmental, and culture\u2014and this bill attempts to do that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000717\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI do want to commend the Minister for bringing this bill to the House. I want to commend the submitters, and I understand that there were 129 written submitters; 28 from the local authorities, 74 from various interest groups, and 27 from individuals. It is a really important piece of legislation that, clearly, both councils and individuals and groups have submitted on. Out of those numbers of submitters I see 45 supported the bill and 10 opposed, and the balance of them were obviously keen to ensure that the legislation as we are reading it, as a third and final one, is robust and fit for purpose. I want to thank the submitters. I want to thank the Minister for bringing the bill in, and for the officials that have worked on it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000718\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EIt is about returning the democracy to local authorities. It is to make sure that they are meeting the needs of the community as and when they wish to do that, and, like I say, this is a piece of legislation that distinguishes this side of the House from that side of the House. I recall coming into Parliament six years ago, when the promise of the Government of the day was to introduce online voting. That was a way of ensuring that people participated in the democratic decision-making of local government. It didn\u2019t happen.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000719\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EShortly after that we had the amalgamation, which in Hawke\u2019s Bay went down like a dead balloon. It was actually Te Wairoa, the Wairoa people, that actually stopped amalgamation in the greater Hawke\u2019s Bay region.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000720\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EIt is important that we listen to local government. As I\u2019ve travelled they\u2019ve asked for these four well-beings to be returned. They see opportunities beyond just meeting the enabling four well-beings that we\u2019re putting back into this bill. But it\u2019s actually jumping ahead into the real business of creating relationships with iwi and with businesses to bring greater gains to their region and to their areas. I want to commend those very progressive councils that are doing that as we speak.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000721\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI\u2019ve yet to hear any dissention to the movements of this coalition Government to reintroduce those four well-beings. It\u2019s really a positive reception that this is happening, as we read this bill for a third and final time. But I\u2019m thinking beyond the passage of this particular legislation and look towards those opportunities, particularly in our rural and provincial towns, which often get left out of the mix.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000722\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003ESo as we commend the Local Government (Community Well-being) Amendment Bill, the amendments, to the House, it is with a, I guess, sense of positivity and excitement that this bill does put back the authority at the local level, with communities, with the businesses, with iwi who just want to get on with doing the right things for those communities, create those opportunities. They want to work in partnership with this coalition Government. I think that\u2019s a good thing for New Zealand, and I think it\u2019s good for all local body authorities across the country that now we have the legislative framework to enable them to do the things that they want to do in their community and bring those gains.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000723\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022 data-id=\u002276e162414ef341458cb6493307f53cc7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000724\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002276e162414ef341458cb6493307f53cc7\u0022\u003EGREG O\u2019CONNOR (Labour\u2014\u014Ch\u0101riu):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. There\u2019s obviously been some scheduling problems here that\u2019ve allowed us to actually speak on the same bill on the same side of the House to reinforce a very strong message.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000725\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a045b043a19043fe8d8d00b717f186f7\u0022\u003EDEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: People take a call or they don\u2019t.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000726\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b33058e0be104501a08d077bd598731a\u0022\u003EGREG O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: One thing I\u2019ve really enjoyed about coming here is meeting my fellow politicians on both sides of the House. There are some very able people here, very bright people, very successful. Most only come here because they\u2019ve been successful at what they did before they came to the House. They\u2019ve been successful at organising their electoral campaigns. So the people don\u2019t do that, shall I say, by counting paper clips. You do that by making sure you know what success looks like. If anyone ever goes into a business, anyone ever goes into some sort of a strategy, or even to stand for Parliament, some think if you tick every box along the way then success will just happen. Well, it just doesn\u2019t happen like that; you\u2019ve actually got to have vision.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000727\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EYou\u2019ve actually got to understand what success looks like, because otherwise you will end up in the situation where\u2014and I have to say a lot of people I know have worked for big corporates in New Zealand that\u2019ve been led out of Detroit, led out of cities in the States, who do impose on all their companies around the world a very strict reporting regime where you must do this, you must count that, and they demand this quarterly reporting back every quarter. Lo and behold those who don\u2019t do it. Those who are on the ground doing that job very quickly understand it\u2019s to the detriment, often, of the local business. It\u2019s to the detriment of the local operation. It\u2019s to the detriment of the local country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000728\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003ESo the way around that is to make sure you have some sort of understanding of what it is you\u2019re trying to achieve. I used to coach young men playing rugby, and at a coaching session, before you actually went into the drills, it was so important that you got those young men to understand why you had them running around doing the same thing time after time. It\u2019s so that they got that muscle memory so that they understood they actually had to win. The whole idea of the game was to win, and everything we were doing was to make sure that they didn\u2019t have to think about all those little things they were doing because they understood the vision was to win.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000729\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EThat brings me back to this bill\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000730\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eb956f2d9ed743149be47ecf26f0a00f\u0022\u003EDEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That would be good. That would be very good.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000731\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002265b871d4ac624185af1c0318a4c98b19\u0022\u003EGREG O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014which I could see you were probably impatiently waiting for me to do. I had to do a little bit of contextualisation, because what this bill does is ensures that local councils understand. Many of us as politicians, we sit in our offices or we\u2019re out there at markets and we\u2019re approached by our local constituents, and what they say is \u201CWhy aren\u2019t you doing this? What aren\u2019t you doing that?\u201D\u2014a plethora of things. Often these things are local body issues. So what becomes more and more apparent is the absolute necessity to understand what it is we\u2019re trying to achieve, and those four success factors\u2014social, economic, environmental, and cultural\u2014just ensure we have a context, ensure we have a marker, ensure we have a template against which to succeed how we are actually succeeding. Again, if we go down to counting the paperclips, we might know exactly where the paperclips are, we might know every machine, we might have ticked off every box necessary, but it doesn\u2019t actually mean we\u2019re doing the job that people want us to do.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000732\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EOne of the previous speakers mentioned Federated Farmers being directly opposed to that. Well, Federated Farmers. I\u2019d invite them that\u2014so often when we\u2019re talking farmers, particularly when, as I say, those shiny backsides from the city come and talk to them, the answer when we\u2019re talking about why they perhaps might need a subsidy when the weather goes, about why farming is an intricate part of New Zealand, and, coming from a farming background, I certainly understand that, but it\u2019s bigger than that. Farmers will talk about being the custodians of the land. Farmers will talk about \u201CSomeone\u2019s got to be out there. We love the land. We\u2019re third generation.\u201D\u2014these things. It\u2019s much bigger than just how much milk fat they produce, how many lambs, how many kilos of wool. It\u2019s actually much bigger than that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000733\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EThey\u2019re the very people that now are using this argument about why we shouldn\u2019t impose the same broad understanding of what success looks like on our local bodies\u2014those very local bodies they\u2019re likely to be highly critical of, because they will make them dig the latest cess ponds; they\u2019ll make them divert their waste in certain directions. Well, the reason those things are done, the reason we need to understand that\u2014and some of those things, the individual may not realise why we do those things, why it is that those particular things are done, because they may not be understandable because they\u2019re done against a bigger picture of what that success looks like.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000734\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EI go back to those four successes: social, economic, environmental, and cultural. Aren\u2019t they a good mix, those four things? Any one of those things taken in isolation will do some of the things that the Opposition are worried about. If we only look at the social side, but without looking at the economic side of it, yes, of course it will put us in danger. Of course there will be a danger that we\u2019ll become less efficient, but look at them in their entirety. That\u2019s what, again, I think the mistake that those on the opposite look like. They break it down into counting the paperclips. Success does not come from knowing how many paperclips there are, so look at those things in their entirety.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000735\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EI mean, someone talked about libraries before. OK, libraries now, as we will all know, are struggling for relevance. The smart ones have moved. They have gone to electronic books; they\u2019ve gone to all sorts of other things that attract people in there, because economically they will never be\u2014tell me any library anywhere in the world that has actually paid its way. Swimming pools: swimming pools do not actually pay their way. So if we only look at it from an economic point of view, none of those things would ever be built. They certainly wouldn\u2019t be built today.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000736\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EIn my own \u014Ch\u0101riu electorate, we\u2019re having a very nice new library built. It\u2019s going to be highly relevant. There\u2019s other things that are going to be going in there that are going to attract people there to make sure it becomes relevant. It won\u2019t be just the good old library, but it still will not pay its way. I\u2019m hoping we\u2019ll have a very nice cafe in there, being very near to my own electorate office, and those other things that will make it relevant.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000737\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003ESo, again, in those things\u2014just look at libraries, just look at those things that council do. Council grounds sit around. How often are our council grounds sitting there empty? Luckily, we\u2019ve now got those council grounds that have got artificial turfs, and the smart clubs have actually started to adapt. So they do use those things 24 hours\u2014with, actually, some chance of paying. They still will never pay their way, it still requires\u2014because they\u2019re part of our whole environment; they\u2019re part of our culture. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000738\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003ECulture, that whole thing that the country\u2014whatever you think of rugby, we\u2019ll stop while we\u2019re watching, hopefully, the All Blacks in the World Cup final in Japan. That is the thing\u2014they\u2019re bigger than any breakdown because, again, if you were sitting, designing something, breaking it down into only its economic components, only those little bits that we tick, the boxes that we can tick\u2014would we actually be supporting sport on a Saturday? No, we wouldn\u2019t. Someone\u2019s actually got to have a look at making sure that all those things balance up. This is, again, why I would invite the Opposition\u2014who, naturally enough, will oppose this; it\u2019s their job\u2014but, actually, sit back and have a look at this. Imagine if we didn\u2019t have these there. Imagine if we took them away and we didn\u2019t have\u2014the reason why it\u2019s survived, now: it\u2019s been residual. These things were in place, removed\u2014so, often it takes five to 10 years before the residual, before the effects of these things\u2014we change a law, we change a thing; it doesn\u2019t happen overnight, but it\u2019s a slow residual. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000739\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EI have my own theory about why our road accident rate is so high at the moment, back to decisions that were made five or six years ago. So it takes a long time for these things to come through. So it is that so often we\u2019re getting now, it would seem, the breakdown in some of our councils, some of our local services. There are problems there, because without an understanding, without our councillors\u2014very good people who get out there, work hard. We see them out in the weekends doing a great job. Without them sitting around the table and having a measure\u2014we\u2019re going to pass this, but what is it, how will this help us to be successful socially? Will it help us to be more successful socially? Will it help our economy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000740\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EI think the Opposition should be, actually, very satisfied, be very happy, that the economic well-being is in there, because against all these strategies, against all these decisions we\u2019ll make, there will be an economic box to be ticked as well. Does it make sense economically? But not just economically\u2014socially, environmentally, and culturally? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000741\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EAgain, the environment, and\u2014I\u2019m pleased to see; hopefully, we will see\u2014I\u2019m looking forward to the consensus we will get on the environmental changes we\u2019re obviously going to have to make, but if we break it down, no one will ever make those changes. I remember, again, being outraged, growing up on a farm, when all of a sudden we were forced to build a cesspit outside the cow sheds when we\u2019d been putting it straight into the creek. Absolutely\u2014this was a terrible thing, these \u201Ccommies\u201D from the local council making us dig a cesspit. Luckily for us, there were people that had a bigger vision, a bigger understanding that us piling\u2014continuing to do what we\u2019d done, farm the way we had done for many years, wasn\u2019t going to work. So it is that we ask of our councils this very thing, so the councils right around the country, now, will be having council meetings this week once this bill goes through, understanding that, actually, is this going to improve things socially? Is this going to improve things economically? Is this thing going to improve things environmentally and, importantly, is this going to assist things culturally? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000742\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003ESo Madam Deputy Speaker, as the last speaker on the bill, I have no hesitation commending this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u002228b3dda4943343099947d18ffe951344\u0022 name=\u0022division\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EA party vote was called for on the question, That the Local Government (Community Well-being) Amendment Bill be now read a third time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 63\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 46; New Zealand First 9; Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 8.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 57\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 55; ACT New Zealand 1; Ross.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EBill read a third time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000743\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b32c1f4000ed4c3f8b52615937e6fee0\u0022\u003ESittings of the House\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000745\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002254459ec09ed64ef3984cef6eacf63862\u0022\u003ESittings of the House\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022 data-id=\u0022b47f2cf9ad1e4344b08f2b2e6b88ec4a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000744\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b47f2cf9ad1e4344b08f2b2e6b88ec4a\u0022\u003EHon RUTH DYSON (Senior Whip\u2014Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Madam Deputy Speaker, it\u2019s always good for the House to conclude on a high note, and you couldn\u2019t get much higher than the contribution from Greg O\u2019Connor. It would be a shame to have just a few seconds on an important first reading speech, so I seek leave of the House for the House to rise now. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022 data-id=\u00226fcd4799b13945cb9922acf957c09eb3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000746\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226fcd4799b13945cb9922acf957c09eb3\u0022\u003EDEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Leave is sought. Is there any objection? There appears to be none.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id201905074b8e892db1d44711ac5a733a78f8a23e000747\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022977cccaf-581d-4f48-924e-32bf6c54a93d\u0022\u003EThe House adjourned at 9:59 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n  \u003C/body\u003E\n\u003C/html\u003E"