"\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=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00227b0464db7d764ac7bf30a9de85b7d7ad\u0022\u003ETHURSDAY, 31 AUGUST 2023\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000003\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00226e1638ac2ee045b8ae94e189325ce436\u0022\u003ETHURSDAY, 31 AUGUST 2023\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000002\u0022\u003EThe Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000004\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022501d2a3b64c44da7b1ca1f703d4d2654\u0022\u003EKarakia/Prayers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000006\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00224210d79cd42048a9a971ec4893f78488\u0022\u003EKarakia/Prayers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022 data-id=\u002215d83d16ee9a4e1ca383aebd3ddd02f8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000005\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002215d83d16ee9a4e1ca383aebd3ddd02f8\u0022\u003EHon JACQUI DEAN (Assistant Speaker):\u003C/span\u003E Almighty God, we give thanks for the blessings which have been bestowed on us. Laying aside all personal interests, we acknowledge the King and pray for guidance in our deliberations that we may conduct the affairs of this House with wisdom, justice, mercy, and humility for the welfare and peace of New Zealand. Amen. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000007\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00225c6af10c50b34524a83e7daf67ad355a\u0022\u003EPetitions, Papers, Select Committee Reports, and Introduction of Bills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000009\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ce161c8376234504ba0a0c99c3f0cace\u0022\u003EPetitions, Papers, Select Committee Reports, and Introduction of Bills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022 data-id=\u0022325cf6cc5d3c4668b0a3a84b9cdf17ab\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000008\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022325cf6cc5d3c4668b0a3a84b9cdf17ab\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: A petition has been delivered to the Clerk for presentation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022\u0022 data-id=\u00221ab044a6784d46eb9b14a1f57e376afc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000010\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221ab044a6784d46eb9b14a1f57e376afc\u0022\u003ECLERK\u003C/span\u003E: Petition of Millicent Dickenson requesting that the House subsidise New Zealand citizens taking a degree that leads to a mental health job.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022 data-id=\u0022381d041a3170435aa728ad4c7aad6a6d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000011\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022381d041a3170435aa728ad4c7aad6a6d\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That petition stands referred to the Petitions Committee. Ministers have delivered papers.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022\u0022 data-id=\u0022aa70f3ea839348e1b48802626b8a97d1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000012\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022aa70f3ea839348e1b48802626b8a97d1\u0022\u003ECLERK\u003C/span\u003E: \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000013\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EGovernment response to the report of the Petitions Committee on the petition of Amy Blaikie\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000014\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E2023-24 statements of performance expectations for Drug Free New Zealand, Sport New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022 data-id=\u0022b594e5c57acc474ba64fb141341b4de5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000015\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b594e5c57acc474ba64fb141341b4de5\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Those papers are published under the authority of the House. A select committee report has been delivered for presentation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022\u0022 data-id=\u0022bfa6a7ad666b4b29b583412d88189c17\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000016\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022bfa6a7ad666b4b29b583412d88189c17\u0022\u003ECLERK\u003C/span\u003E: \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000017\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EReport of the Social Services and Community Committee on the petitions of Rosalina Ngakopu and Brett Rawnsley. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022 data-id=\u0022bebc7f4b4d334dd9bfb8f82ec78534f3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000018\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022bebc7f4b4d334dd9bfb8f82ec78534f3\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The Clerk has been informed of the introduction of bills. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022\u0022 data-id=\u002207f10184fadc47529cdf56866b9ede84\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000019\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002207f10184fadc47529cdf56866b9ede84\u0022\u003ECLERK\u003C/span\u003E: \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000020\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EDigital Services Tax Bill, introduction\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000021\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EPae Ora (Healthy Futures) (Improving Mental Health Outcomes) Amendment Bill, introduction\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EElectoral (Equal Protection of M\u0101ori Seats) Amendment Bill, introduction\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000023\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EEmployment Relations (Trial Periods) Amendment Bill, introduction.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022 data-id=\u0022b72e696264034320907c760fd4ea072b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000024\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b72e696264034320907c760fd4ea072b\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Those bills are set down for first reading.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000025\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022d944f3d6a3b341a8a5156fc42d10a11d\u0022\u003EOral Questions\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000026\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002241bf815702464bb88f9155731be72052\u0022\u003EQuestions to Ministers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000027\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022dc2d1cdf26c2417f8422f92c837da3d9\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 1\u2014Finance\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022 data-id=\u0022f67058034ee14ca6b6f96cfd7dc16fe9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000028\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003E1. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f67058034ee14ca6b6f96cfd7dc16fe9\u0022\u003EHELEN WHITE (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022 data-id=\u0022b746e218a3a8401b824068a98a45a737\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000029\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b746e218a3a8401b824068a98a45a737\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E Mr Speaker\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000030\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220608b4df007e41aa81ae8cf069c7d8e7\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: Big trouble!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000031\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224a331be711ec464691a36296b475960f\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: No, just joking. I have today seen the ANZ New Zealand Business Outlook report, which says that business confidence is at its highest level since June 2021. Businesses\u2019 confidence in their own activity is at the highest level since December 2021. This remains a tough time for many New Zealanders, but the economy is turning a corner, there are sunnier days ahead, and, as the ANZ business outlook is titled, \u201CGoldilocks is in the building\u201D.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000032\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ac1eb59c54ab4937b787ea3c4f629cbd\u0022\u003EHelen White\u003C/span\u003E: What else did the report say about the economy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000033\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f3c8581ac4ad47fb9bc735b7783bc064\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: Well, what the report said, and I will just quote directly from it: \u201Cthe \u2026 ANZ Business Outlook survey was \u2018the best of all worlds\u2019 in terms of the monthly moves.\u201D Economy-wide activity indicators lifted across the board, both forward- and backward-looking, from activity to export investment and employment intentions, to profitability expectations and anticipated ease of credit. This has been a difficult time for many businesses, but they are looking on the upside, as is this Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000034\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226a64308c0f6f4938a180c7e60ab005b6\u0022\u003EHelen White\u003C/span\u003E: What other reports has he seen on the economy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000035\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022424a732f58324809a0112bdbac2f4e01\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I have seen reports coming forward of international indicators of the economy, and that includes from Moody\u2019s Investors Service, who reaffirmed the stable outlook for New Zealand\u2019s Aaa rating, and Fitch Ratings, who also reconfirmed their rating and said that it was the Government\u2019s policy framework and attention to making sure that we supported New Zealanders that has got us through the last few years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000036\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022556311606d22432aa5a8edc59975acba\u0022\u003EHelen White\u003C/span\u003E: What reports has he seen on the impact of the labour market on the economy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000037\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224a30c70bf43b484ca731d455576b9b5b\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: Well, employment in New Zealand continues to grow, and we have seen the labour market supporting the economy. Unemployment is at 3.6\u00A0percent, compared with 4.6 percent when we took office. The New Zealand economy has delivered eight quarters of unemployment below 4 percent\u2014only the second time in our recent history that that has occurred. We\u2019ve added 322,000 jobs since 2017, and average hourly earnings have risen 29 percent over the same period. We know that many Kiwi families have done it tough in the face of cost of living pressures, but they\u2019ve done so while in paid work, with their wages rising.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000038\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221cd451ac74264820b46edf06dbd88487\u0022\u003EHelen White\u003C/span\u003E: What other reports has he seen on proposals to support the economy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000039\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224cd6829ffa3b4a15956b4256ce2d12e9\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: Well, the Government is taking a balanced approach to supporting New Zealanders in dealing with the cost of living, while investing in strong public services in a financially sustainable and responsible manner. Alternatively, there are proposals that I\u2019ve seen that involve dodgy costings for new taxes and billions of dollars of cuts to the public services that New Zealanders rely upon. If these proposals were adopted, the impact on future Budgets in the economy would be significant, making life much harder for New Zealanders, shutting out first-home buyers, and ending investment in climate action. But the good news is it ain\u2019t gonna happen!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000040\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002215165c23c07e40119c2636c1fff2f0e8\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 2\u2014Prime Minister\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022 data-id=\u0022af4ae7efe46f4703a7e1f0060be65b16\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000041\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E2. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022af4ae7efe46f4703a7e1f0060be65b16\u0022\u003ECHRISTOPHER LUXON (Leader of the Opposition)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government\u2019s statements and actions?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022 data-id=\u0022259fda22fd484eb788c1d040476d20b9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000042\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022259fda22fd484eb788c1d040476d20b9\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes, particularly our actions that have led to record-low unemployment and more Kiwis in work than ever before; our actions that have led to wages growing and outstripping inflation: up 29 percent\u2014wages\u2014since we became the Government; minimum wage earners earning nearly $7 an hour more since our Government took office; the creation of 281,000 more jobs since 2017; the 274,000 Kiwis who have taken up free apprenticeships and targeted trades training; the Kiwis who are saving $15 million in just the first two months since we removed prescription costs for all New Zealanders; the introduction of fair pay agreements to deliver fairer wages and conditions for our cleaners, our supermarket workers, our security guards, and our bus drivers, amongst others; the families who will be saving as much as $133 a week because of the introduction of 20 hours a week of free early childhood education for twoyear-olds. Mr Speaker, I could continue to go on, but after your warning yesterday, I won\u2019t.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022556354028e0f4ceb8caeae62e7762744\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Can he confirm that despite spending $5 billion more a year on education, there are fewer kids going to school and more leaving without NCEA than six years ago?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000044\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220a09ea0a694d438cb17df34e1204178a\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: No, I can\u2019t confirm that there are fewer kids in the school system. In fact, there are more kids in the school system than there were when we became the Government; it\u2019s called population growth.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000045\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002214afdb3e8bff401f9946c27b3cb1d59f\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Can he confirm that despite spending half a billion dollars rearranging district health boards, Kiwis are waiting longer for surgery, longer for cancer treatment, longer to see a GP, and longer in overcrowded emergency departments?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000046\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a41c470f32644a278922869d18d58f41\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: He gave up on education relatively quickly\u2014clearly it wasn\u2019t part of the script. What I can confirm is that our health system has performed remarkably well, despite having to support New Zealand through a global pandemic.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000047\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222e1b30db491b43bd8a0c910bb6ef2b4b\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Can he confirm that despite spending $2 billion more on social development than six years ago, there are 57,000 more Kiwis on the jobseeker benefit, and there are 35,000 more children growing up in benefit-dependent homes?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000048\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002285d7e99ef7574d899efe7a6644cb7492\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: I note he\u2019s given up on health now already, as well, after a single question. But I can confirm that we have more New Zealanders exiting a benefit and going into work under this Government because of the investments that we\u2019ve been making in that system to ensure that we are supporting Kiwis back into work.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000049\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ebed361fd1e54b4483460aebf8dfa479\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Can he confirm that the Government has built less than 2 percent of the 100,000 KiwiBuild houses it promised six years ago?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000050\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bb37d2268ef54b12b5d73c6bd5c9c760\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: I note that\u2019s still 2 percent more than was built under the last National Government, because on this side of the House we believe that when you\u2019re in a housing crisis, you should build more houses. We\u2019re building more State houses than any Government since the 1950s. We\u2019ve had record building consents, and I note, for example, that one of the things we\u2019re doing that\u2019s helping to build more houses faster is the fast-track consenting. I note the National Party\u2019s pledge to repeal the repeal of the Resource Management Act and cut the funding for the people who would have to design the alternative replacement.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000051\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d5c0ee342ce5496ba3e1f59fcd6f558b\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Can he confirm that despite spending $155 million on Auckland Light Rail over the last six years, the Government still hasn\u2019t delivered a single metre of track?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000052\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221ec4543478844ba8a48c80fe3ed2323f\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: Auckland Light Rail is an intergenerational project. Unlike the members opposite, we\u2019re not going to give up on that. I noticed, for example, some of the roading projects that National promised in the nine years they were in Government never started in the entire nine years they were in Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000053\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229f9d12a2ed194184b77ebded66320ac6\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: But, based on that, is KiwiBuild also an intergenerational project?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000054\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ebf59cd028614f23b3ed0ae97f0bc5e4\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: As I\u2019ve indicated, I\u2019m not going to make any apology for the fact that our Government has been focused on building our way out of a housing crisis.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000055\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228a76e8a7dc5648b383f947c4426737c2\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Does he agree with his police Minister that New Zealanders feel safer than six years ago, despite a 107 percent increase in serious assaults, 70 percent increase in gang members, and two ram raids happening every single day in New Zealand?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000056\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226bdc4fb4f27543f693b4e4ad6865e7b8\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: The most surprising thing about that question was that Nicola Willis\u2019 lips didn\u2019t move while he was asking it. I am very proud of the fact that we have 1,800 more police on the beat under our Government, and that our police are better resourced than they ever have been before. There is more work to be done in the law and order space\u2014there\u2019s no question about that\u2014but, unlike the National Party, who talk a tough game on law and order and then fail to deliver when they are in Government, we are backing our police to do the job that\u2019s ahead of them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000057\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222e526d8a158e43fe8abe210aa5609d2e\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Does he regret that despite the Government spending $60 billion more than six years ago, he\u2019s left the company with a\u2014country with a shrinking economy\u2014[Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000058\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c1bc000f508b408d956beef9e3cf9cca\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Order! Interjections\u2014I\u2019m going to point out a couple of people now, I think. We know the rules during when questions are being asked. Mr Henare and Dr Woods, you need to get your timing much, much better.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e77494a0-1be1-432f-b492-fd160f4c119d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002208933ae4c76d49c8b950085f95727963\u0022\u003EHon Peeni Henare\u003C/span\u003E: Right now, then!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000060\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e142002594f9492f9b3dd9cefbb3f406\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Perfect example. The Hon Peeni Henare will stand, withdraw, and apologise.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000061\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e77494a0-1be1-432f-b492-fd160f4c119d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022030aa782b55a4aecb3082306149ddc09\u0022\u003EHon Peeni Henare\u003C/span\u003E: Withdraw and apologise.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000062\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224eba02693f324c1a8760af5b38ce7d16\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Does he regret that despite the Government spending $60 billion more than six years ago, he\u2019s left the country with a shrinking economy, more crime, worse health, worse education, more job seekers, higher rents, higher prices, higher interest rates, and a record number of Kiwis saying this country is going in the wrong direction?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000063\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ea062ddfd4bc4d3ab844bc7f61305552\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: The member just needs to cheer up. So many of the claims in his statement\u2014much like the claims made in their alternative tax policy released yesterday\u2014simply do not add up. I would note that National\u2019s vision for the future of New Zealand is that we will sell $5\u00A0billion a year worth of houses to foreign investors and we will have four times as many New Zealanders gambling online in order to make their numbers add up. Perhaps those New Zealanders taking up online gambling will be those who get shut out of the housing market and just give up hope.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000064\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002225f471b9880241dbb2878dfe7ab8cd01\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 3\u2014Prime Minister\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022 data-id=\u00229d46776880334708b5c99f031b242309\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000065\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E3. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229d46776880334708b5c99f031b242309\u0022\u003EDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader\u2014ACT)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government\u2019s statements and policies? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022 data-id=\u0022b953c42a17bd4a039b0572e864ea7fae\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000066\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b953c42a17bd4a039b0572e864ea7fae\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes, particularly the fact that there are 77,000 fewer children living in poverty than when we became the Government; that we have taken record numbers of New Zealanders off benefits and got them into work. We have delivered a hundred million free and healthy school lunches. We have 3,800 more teachers in our classrooms, and, in fact, there are 2,250 more classrooms under this Government. We\u2019ve provided 1.4 million packs of period products in schools. We\u2019ve reduced the strain on the families of 400,000 students by not asking them for school donations. We have delivered 26 weeks of paid parental leave. Kiwis are enjoying healthier homes and cheaper power bills because of the 110,000 low-income families that have benefited from warmer Kiwi homes. We\u2019ve delivered free doctors visits for the under-14s. We\u2019ve delivered more than 13,000 additional public homes\u2014one in seven of the public homes that we have at the moment. We have 1,800 more police on the beat. We have delivered lower emissions three years in a row under our Government, where we have record levels of renewable electricity generation, and the lowest level of coal imports since 2013. I could go on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000067\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e559c4b9f32345bc80ddc30e046d8eab\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Is he proud of his Government\u2019s record on housing, when the average house price is up $220,000, or 33 percent, while average weekly rents are up $175 a week, or 44 percent, both significantly outstripping people\u2019s wage growth since 2017, and, if that\u2019s success on housing, what would his Government failing have looked like?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000068\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228a534d7e2a064dc4ac4e30aa178bb870\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: Given the shortage of houses that the Government\u2019s inherited, and the work that we have done to build record numbers of new public homes, and the record numbers of building consents that we are seeing, we are starting to turn around the situation that we inherited in housing. That was never going to be an overnight answer, but I am very proud of the work that we have been doing to ensure that we build our way out of the housing crisis.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000069\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022354f3f2a0c864e399a48fce28a973438\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Prime Minister understand that if his Government inherited a shortage and increased supply, the price would go down, but the fact that the price went up means that his Government\u2019s housing policies have failed at great cost to New Zealanders?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000070\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002217e354b41de1479d9532701ec83c466a\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: What I do understand is that all of the problems that the member asked questions about will get worse under a change of Government that proposes to cut funding for public services, that proposes to put more people out of work, and that proposes a range of economic policies that will take the country backwards.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000071\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228f12bc0db37e481c8cd71bc86168235e\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Was Jacinda Ardern right when she said, \u201CClimate change is my generation\u2019s nuclear-free moment\u201D and declared a climate emergency, or, given the Ministry for the Environment\u2019s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory reports net emissions increased 3 percent under his Government, were those gestures just a warning to New Zealanders they\u2019d be subject to six years of ineffectual gesture politics by Labour?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000072\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cdd71bc61cf04399ae8c8776c0037630\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: I note that the member neglected to mention that, in the last three years, our emissions have gone down because of the work of this Government. I note that almost every one of the initiatives that the Government has in place that have helped to achieve that reduction in emissions are on the chopping block either by the ACT Party or by the National Party.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000073\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002264addb7bd4a445919cd067d1d304b661\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Prime Minister confirm that because of the interest deductibility limitation, the foreign buyer ban, and the house build in Auckland under this Government, rents in Auckland have gone up by less than the rate of inflation?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000074\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f7584f3f17e04b2ab37d5405139806e9\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: I am very proud of the work that we have done around housing, and I am particularly proud of our decision to ban foreign buyers from buying up Kiwi homes. I note that the National Party\u2019s plan would see $5 billion every year of Kiwi homes being sold to foreign investors.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000075\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022451b0d61cf63471d828a892e0f526a6b\u0022\u003ENicola Willis\u003C/span\u003E: Does the\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000076\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221180d1b07bf7450da8bab8fda9b4c0dd\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, Christopher\u2019s given up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000077\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022674ea6d872ee40a4b4b0ca4b0223fdd0\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000078\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221d924c1fc1094b15b09628fbb02bbc0b\u0022\u003ENicola Willis\u003C/span\u003E: Will the Prime Minister accept that application from the Minister for the Environment for his old portfolio back?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000079\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002223959e5685394cfcaff0d5f54fa26d39\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019m not sure the member\u2019s particularly in much of a position to be talking about people auditioning for other ministerial roles. I find the question quite phenomenal. I\u2019m very proud of all of the work that David Parker has done in the various ministerial roles that he has had, and I am particularly proud of the work that he did to ensure that Kiwi first-home buyers get more of a look in the housing market than they were under the last National Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000080\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224265c69696d44fb69c5a1def129ad8c7\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Is he proud of the performance of his Government\u2019s education Ministers, when the education budget has increased by 38 percent in five years, but the portion of children regularly attending school has fallen from 70 percent down to 60\u00A0percent, the portion of kids who are chronically absent has doubled from 4 percent to 8 percent; is he proud to have a lower portion of kids going to school, despite spending an extra 5 billion bucks a year on education?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000081\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022883bca977fcf4f32a23452489c67f1ff\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: Well, of course it\u2019s not schools that determine which kids actually regularly attend; that, of course, is what parents determine. But in terms of the regular non-attendance, I note that the first figure the member quoted has been most significantly influenced by the mandatory seven-day isolation period for COVID-19. In terms of the doubling of the number of students who are persistently absent, that is completely unacceptable and we do need to do more to get those kids who have been disengaged from the education system for far too long back into some form of education, training, or employment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000082\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a0ac412d022e401ba060a98a62a6a265\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Is his Government really doing a good job on delivering on its promises, and, if so, then why does he think New Zealanders tell the Labour Party\u2019s own pollsters this country\u2019s going in the wrong direction, by a whopping margin of 55 to 37 and the governing Labour Party is being abandoned by 18 percent of voters since the last election; is it Kiwis that are overwhelmingly wrong or Chris Hipkins?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000083\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002216accc3a85ef480196051bb316a16d4d\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: Of course, one of the things that comes through in the polling is that he is one of the least popular politicians in this Parliament, and I do happen to believe New Zealanders when they make that remark. But I am very proud of the track record of this Government leading New Zealanders through a very tough set of circumstances. There is more work to do, but I notice in every one of the questions that the member has asked, he has failed to mention that he intends to cut funding for all of the support put in place to deal with the very issues he is questioning about.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220b7347551aa941be86dbaae8c3902316\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Supplementary?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000085\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227da0c0d716f447b094e1d76bb43347c2\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member\u2019s run out of supplementaries.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000086\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022197c7ccb832b402d9e1b87264495824d\u0022\u003ERawiri Waititi\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Prime Minister happy, as David Seymour is, to see me back in the House today; if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221aa7459686da4f3b9522942b49d885f6\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: As far as the Prime Minister is responsible for that\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b12a527a402e4de780166f4633458b6e\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister has no responsibility for my attitude but, for the record, I think it\u2019s a disgrace that he was suspended when he wasn\u2019t even here.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000089\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221f261e0fb4504e3f9b4c7aa662dc3e21\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I was about to give you a\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000090\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002259b9893963424540b87adc54a76f91a8\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000091\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229d1d540116ef4efb9e1afccceb2ad78f\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019ll deal with one at a time. As I said, as far as the Prime Minister is responsible, which it\u2019s hard to imagine exactly what that would be. I was contemplating giving David Seymour an extra question, but I think you\u2019ve had your say in your point of order, which was out of order. Please, Rawiri Waititi, don\u2019t do another one.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000092\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226b1abc9a16f7463aa887f2030745b098\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: Everybody knows that I\u2019m a naturally happy person and I particularly welcome the member back to the House and I\u2019m looking forward to his waiata after his contribution later on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000093\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022802b91592cd448ea9b162d6d617bf89b\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 4\u2014Housing\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022 data-id=\u00224016ac9446384bf2b5140a86c0bc90b5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000094\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003E4. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224016ac9446384bf2b5140a86c0bc90b5\u0022\u003ESHANAN HALBERT (Labour\u2014Northcote)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Housing: What reports has she seen regarding foreign buyers in the housing market? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022 data-id=\u0022d5c0480e99f648c6bdc084f8dbde4668\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000095\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d5c0480e99f648c6bdc084f8dbde4668\u0022\u003EHon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing):\u003C/span\u003E I have seen some concerning reports regarding the proposed removal of the foreign-buyer ban for houses over $2\u00A0million, enabling more speculation in the housing market. We know that increased speculation will increase house prices, and that\u2019s why we introduced legislation within our first hundred days in office to ban foreign buyers of existing houses in New Zealand. This Government believes that New Zealanders should not be outbid by wealthy foreign buyers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000096\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220e8bd2b99d17471a9696e722ecf31f19\u0022\u003EShanan Halbert\u003C/span\u003E: What proportion of foreign buyers bought houses for over $2 million prior to the 2018 ban? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000097\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a6ac6a67e69f46c5b59d6541dccf9d73\u0022\u003EHon Dr MEGAN WOODS\u003C/span\u003E: Before this Government\u2019s foreign-buyer ban in 2018, an average of 4,120 homes were sold every year to foreign buyers. Homes over $2 million were only 5 percent of the market. In contrast, reports I have seen assume that nearly half of those homes would be sold for over $2 million in order to pay for some proposed tax cuts. I can advise that on this side of the House, we are not banking on an influx of overseas-based speculators in the housing market to fund tax cuts for millionaires. Once again, the evidence shows that National\u2019s tax take does not add up. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000098\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bfa5067153fd4ad7840db0dff7f29ade\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! You went too far. You were OK up until you mentioned a party\u2019s name. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll have any more supplementaries on this question, and I will give one supplementary to the National Party, if there is one. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e77494a0-1be1-432f-b492-fd160f4c119d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002241ee24cb82714968b7a9534679cfec04\u0022\u003EHon Peeni Henare\u003C/span\u003E: Well, they need it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000100\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022652c63feda4c4988a6a17d1c58508f6c\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Oh by golly, don\u2019t make me send you out on the last day\u2014no more chances.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000101\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00226acc8b30e7b64ceca312b2ae63325cce\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 5\u2014Finance\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022 data-id=\u002210a875c3811247f4835ecb00bbf72527\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000102\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E5. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002210a875c3811247f4835ecb00bbf72527\u0022\u003ENICOLA WILLIS (Deputy Leader\u2014National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: Have the Government\u2019s actions contributed to the New Zealand economy being in recession with an ongoing cost of living crisis?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022 data-id=\u0022f431f43178c64c298b4ad662df49691a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000103\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f431f43178c64c298b4ad662df49691a\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E Most economic commentators would reject the member\u2019s assertion that the country is currently in recession, although we will not get the updated data for the second quarter of 2023 until next month. With regard to the longer-term pressure on the cost of living that the country has been facing, I think the Government\u2019s actions have contributed to softening the impact, particularly on low and middle income households. While this has been a challenging time for many households, we have also managed to maintain historically low levels of unemployment and record-high levels of labour force participation during this period. More recently, we\u2019ve also seen wages keeping track with inflation, which put more households in a stronger position to manage the current economic headwinds. Every country in the world has had to fight hard to protect their people from rising inflation. Our targeted measures\u2014such as free and half-price public transport, the removal of prescription co-payments, and making 20 hours\u2019 free early childhood education available for two-year-olds\u2014do make an important difference to household budgets, and I note they would be at risk under a change of Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000104\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022294b6ca107554486b5deb534b3bde516\u0022\u003ENicola Willis\u003C/span\u003E: Does he think he has been a good steward of taxpayers\u2019 money when Government spending is up 80 percent but hospitals are in crisis, educational achievement is in decline, and many New Zealanders feel worse off?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000105\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022efbc4db816314fcc9a6175c300152984\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: It doesn\u2019t matter what I think about it; it matters what people like Fitch Ratings and Moody\u2019s Analytics think about it\u2014and they think that the Government has been responsible.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000106\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229b830553cd3c4e79836bb789a78da444\u0022\u003ENicola Willis\u003C/span\u003E: Is it his position that it matters more what Fitch Ratings think than it does whether New Zealanders feel financially secure, or is he that blissfully unaware of how bad the cost of living crisis is?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000107\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bd81dd8205d948c5b1c862e502866cc9\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: No. The member asked me what I thought, and I told her what those two independent rating agencies think. What I also think is that a lot of New Zealand households have been doing it tough over the last little while\u2014and that\u2019s exactly why we\u2019ve stepped in to support them by lifting main benefits, by lifting the family tax credit, by lifting childcare assistance, by seeing the minimum wage go up. This has been a tough time, but as indicated in today\u2019s ANZ New Zealand Business Outlook, confidence is rising, spring is coming\u2014the member should cheer up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000108\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221728b1ca51af4a2ab3126e595c952442\u0022\u003ENicola Willis\u003C/span\u003E: Why is it that whenever a Labour Government is given long enough in office, they wreck the economy, mess up the books, and leave the country going backwards?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000109\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e586fe2ae2ff48e69247db9d2d693114\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: The history of New Zealand is, in fact, that when Labour is in Government, we come in, clean up the mess of the National Party, grow jobs, build houses, and support New Zealanders through tough times. We also, when we\u2019re in Government, make sure that what we\u2019re promising, we can pay for\u2014and that what we promise adds up. The member might like to reflect on CoreLogic head of research Nick Goodall\u2019s comments about what would happen with the foreign buyer policy that the member is promoting, which says that, actually, it would \u201Caffect the broader market\u201D and it would mean that there would be a reduction in the \u201Coverall supply of housing for locals\u201D, and this would \u201Cflow through to higher prices for all properties.\u201D It\u2019s the member\u2019s policy that will make things worse for New Zealanders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000110\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222817de66cdce439ab0a74b2b8dead2ef\u0022\u003ENicola Willis\u003C/span\u003E: Will he\u2014once the dust is cleared and the election campaign is over\u2014join me as the founding members of the \u201CJohnsonville Amateur Dramatic Society\u201D, with a successful local performance of the 1998 young adult novel Holes?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000111\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002207fbdfe54dbf40958afdf9b049c40e3c\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I would be interested in working with the member on both of us\u2014[Looks through papers] you\u2019ll just have to give me a minute\u2014honing our dramatic skills. I would like to be paid for mine; I don\u2019t want to be in an amateur dramatic society. [Holds up printout of cartoon] But I do think we could certainly re-enact this moment from Sharon Murdoch in the Dominion Post yesterday.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000112\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d6ca9bcbace04620b23ac24a29a75376\u0022\u003ENicola Willis\u003C/span\u003E: Is this really the lasting impression that this Minister of Finance wishes to give\u2014that in the end, he had to resort to putting up cartoons and calling people names because he had left the economy in such a mess?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000113\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022019c27551b0c4c3793af0f30477097e3\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: No. I look forward to being back here facing my eighth National Party finance spokesperson, delivering from here more of the professional, dramatic performances.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000114\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c57d577e88ea429f962bbe76e3fdbc48\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 6\u2014Transport\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022acf78260-1a45-46a5-bc98-1a34a13ec1d1\u0022 data-id=\u0022fd59aea936b34970918e0100d126d27f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000115\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022acf78260-1a45-46a5-bc98-1a34a13ec1d1\u0022\u003E6. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fd59aea936b34970918e0100d126d27f\u0022\u003EDAN ROSEWARNE (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Transport: How is the Community Connect package benefiting New Zealanders?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u00224f6dae0df3a6489fbadcb176f7cda52b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000116\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224f6dae0df3a6489fbadcb176f7cda52b\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Minister of Transport):\u003C/span\u003E The Community Connect package is helping ease cost of living pressures on families by providing free fares on buses, trains, and ferries for children aged five to 12 and half-price discounts for all passengers aged 13 to 24 from 1 July. This has meant cheaper public transport fares for many hundreds of thousands of Kiwis, and it\u2019s not just public transport users benefiting from this great initiative. Access to public transport means less congestion on our roads for all road users. Cancelling the programme would increase bus fares and the cost of living, add to traffic congestion, and increase road building costs.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000117\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002295945ace-51e8-4dbc-a0e3-c19f4ed99ed9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d0f0eac237c24db7ae1a60d269390cca\u0022\u003EAnahila Kanongata\u2018a\u003C/span\u003E: How many Aucklanders benefit from Community Connect?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000118\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b24674bd887e47d2b019dc79e7a56f82\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: There are 427,577 Aucklanders eligible for the Community Connect public transport discounts; 281,000 of these are young people. At a time of cost of living pressures, substantial savings on public transport make a big difference to hundreds of thousands of Auckland families, whilst reducing congestion. Increasing public transport usage in Auckland is a critical objective for this Government and for the Mayor of Auckland.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000119\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022acf78260-1a45-46a5-bc98-1a34a13ec1d1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a1640a8c5f5e4f94b7d677d1bb91e851\u0022\u003EDan Rosewarne\u003C/span\u003E: How much would a family with two primary school - aged children save under Community Connect?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000120\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002285ec61222ed5468dad35c4774d110303\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: Making public transport free for children makes it easier to get kids to school and helps with family budgets. Free fares for under-13s can save $30 per week for a family with two primary school - aged children. These are real savings and actual back-pocket boosts to New Zealand families that are at risk if that setting was ever to change.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000121\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b8550e1a-ed25-44a2-b0e2-b0a8d52a7a80\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a50fc27cb7ed4b52893127ddba69ae7d\u0022\u003ERachel Boyack\u003C/span\u003E: How would doubling public transport prices for young people, lowincome, and disabled New Zealanders while cutting funding by $1.5 billion improve access to public transport?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000122\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002297a8c9cf16d645968d8fe400ac556595\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: Well, it\u2019s pretty obvious that a mean-spirited action like that would not improve access to public transport at all; it would have the opposite effect. It would be a slap in the face for the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who benefit from the current settings and it would raise their cost of living significantly. It would also increase congestion, making congestion worse in our cities, which, of course, no one wants\u2014except, it seems, the Opposition.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000123\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c7682055056a42f5a64dd8d75fec0601\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 7\u2014Corrections\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022 data-id=\u0022d5065df3739649d2b14810c489c22544\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000124\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E7. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d5065df3739649d2b14810c489c22544\u0022\u003EHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Corrections: Does the Government still have a goal of reducing the prison population by 30 percent, irrespective of the level of crime in our communities; if so, has that goal impacted on public safety?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022 data-id=\u0022ce6bbdb6e52648f98d9ef0f786b30fb2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000125\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ce6bbdb6e52648f98d9ef0f786b30fb2\u0022\u003EHon KELVIN DAVIS (Minister of Corrections):\u003C/span\u003E When we became Government, there was a prison population crisis\u2014a moral and fiscal failure, according to Bill English\u2014which was predicted to see the population balloon to more than 13,000 people by now, far more than the network could accommodate by some 2,000 extra places needed. That\u2019s why we set a long-term 15-year target reflecting the situation at the time. When we set the target, it was not, as the member\u2019s question implies, a policy to do so instantaneously or without regards for any other factors, including public safety. The Government will continue to protect public safety and support the justice system to hold offenders to account, and I am progressing no specific policies to further reduce the total prison population. We inherited a prison system that was bursting at the seams, and we faced things like quadruple bunking and converting old boarding schools into prison facilities. The member asks about public safety, but I don\u2019t think having to put prisoners in old boarding schools would have been safe for anyone.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022736f3d1f54c549268fdc6bb2fb1f7d44\u0022\u003EHon Paul Goldsmith\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order, Mr Speaker. He did not answer the second leg of the question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000127\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002260fedfd6caa24eec8ecac1e20e638130\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I think it was. If you listen carefully to the answer given, it was addressed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c1b51dc86d934351b2fae96c6585f328\u0022\u003EHon Paul Goldsmith\u003C/span\u003E: OK. Has the 33 percent increase in violent crime since he set that target given him any pause for thought?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000129\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022449955767b8d4b4c8577ee5938226519\u0022\u003EHon KELVIN DAVIS\u003C/span\u003E: As the Minister of Justice has explained to the House on a number of occasions, we know that a big part of this increase is due to the increase in the reporting of assaults by victims of family harm. And two new offences were introduced in 2018: assault on a person in a family relationship, and impedes breathing. These two new offences make up 70 percent of all actsintended-to-cause-injury offences reported to police. Many of these offences were not reported previously. As a Government, we have strengthened a range of laws relating to sentencing since coming into office, including by introducing an aggravating factor when an offence happens in a family violence context, changes related to the new offence of strangulation or suffocation, and introduced firearms prohibition orders against offenders who are charged with a specific violent offence.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ce9d84950a3d41e38b396352127a627b\u0022\u003EHon Paul Goldsmith\u003C/span\u003E: Has the 100 percent increase in retail crime since he set that target to reduce the prison population come what may given him any cause to stop and ask whether reducing the number of people in prison is still the right priority?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000131\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002248a51f617ae14d8086a8211183378c69\u0022\u003EHon KELVIN DAVIS\u003C/span\u003E: Quite an amount of the retail crime is caused by young people who have not yet been to prison, so I don\u2019t see how the reduction is impacting on the behaviour of those young people.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000132\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226b150c550f2c40dc81aeaa6dd6ff8b8e\u0022\u003EHon Paul Goldsmith\u003C/span\u003E: Does he agree with the former justice Minister Kiri Allan that the gangs regard prison as their \u201Cuniversity of crime\u201D; and, if so, hasn\u2019t he been in charge of the prison system for six years, and what responsibility, if any, does he take for that state of affairs now?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000133\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022391eaaf503c144e99ac852fdd87ebde6\u0022\u003EHon KELVIN DAVIS\u003C/span\u003E: There was an explosion in the prison population from 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, which grew the enrolment rate of gangs in our prisons.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000134\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002274fb6431a2d84e4bb77d65765ea161c2\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 8\u2014Police\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022 data-id=\u00226e8a2e684e4e427894164266141b15fb\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000135\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003E8. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226e8a2e684e4e427894164266141b15fb\u0022\u003EARENA WILLIAMS (Labour\u2014Manurewa)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Police: Does she stand by her statement, \u201CIt is my view that New Zealanders feel safer\u201D; if so, why?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c21f4beb-20c4-4b12-bc6f-fdc931e2dc96\u0022 data-id=\u00221e16df3157d5435c976dc4e27748c363\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000136\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c21f4beb-20c4-4b12-bc6f-fdc931e2dc96\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221e16df3157d5435c976dc4e27748c363\u0022\u003EHon GINNY ANDERSEN (Minister of Police):\u003C/span\u003E I stand by my full statement at the time it was given. It is important, though, to consider all statements in full and the context in which they were given. For instance, I\u2019m advised that, in speaking with Today FM last year, the National Party spokesperson for police was reported saying, \u201CWhen I was in police, I was a police dog.\u201D [Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002243a00157adb9475a9123c7c535510e40\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: When you\u2019re ready, the supplementary extra questions meter is ticking. [Interruption] I\u2019m on my feet. That question\u2019s clearly designed for a purpose, and the answer given was out of order. You have no responsibility for what a National Party MP has said. Mr Mitchell, how would you like to move forward?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000138\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002289dbbfdfb83a40a6bbb8509ce727f2bf\u0022\u003EHon Mark Mitchell\u003C/span\u003E: If I could have a supplementary, Mr Speaker\u2014or two.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000139\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e86125037075432dac42c067240217a5\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Well, let\u2019s decide how many you get at the end of this process, eh? Ka pai. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000140\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c21f4beb-20c4-4b12-bc6f-fdc931e2dc96\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226277a28babbd44aebee0d325efd29f46\u0022\u003EHon GINNY ANDERSEN\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order, Mr Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002276a96a16df0843fb81b03d86e79acda3\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Be careful.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000142\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c21f4beb-20c4-4b12-bc6f-fdc931e2dc96\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002250b6296237084f3b8da39998d2c40266\u0022\u003EHon GINNY ANDERSEN\u003C/span\u003E: I just seek leave to table the transcript.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000143\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e88f584c8049444092128f83650b5dc5\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, no. I\u2019m telling you to be careful, because if you\u2019re taking a point of order to table something to support something that I\u2019ve just ruled out, then you\u2019re going to be in trouble.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000144\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b464a62e-d900-452a-b842-e3cf4ccc6149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dbdb08af7e99403ebe27461d67a45907\u0022\u003EArena Williams\u003C/span\u003E: What further steps has she taken to improve community safety?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000145\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c21f4beb-20c4-4b12-bc6f-fdc931e2dc96\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022021050470e9040a5a9ef6135b5e756b4\u0022\u003EHon GINNY ANDERSEN\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019ve previously spoken of the importance of police\u2019s operational independence, and I respect this important principle. However, if I did have the power to direct police, I would be tempted to ask police to immediately begin an investigation into the wilful damage caused to Nicola Willis\u2019 tax plan, which has been found absolutely full of holes. Further, I would consider asking police to lay charges against the Hon Peeni Henare for the illegal possession of firearms\u2014specifically \u201CGun No. 1\u201D\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000146\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022671f20d1487946569450d8ee99d7bb2c\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I should have taken the shovel off you when I had the opportunity. No more supplementaries from the Government, and the Hon Mark Mitchell can have two supplementaries.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000147\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fdf7df3a4908466eb45089dea9167e93\u0022\u003EHon Mark Mitchell\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Speaker. What does the Minister think Kiwis will think when they see the police Minister having a laugh while there has been a 30\u00A0percent increase in violent crime; a 40 percent increase in victimisations; a 60 percent increase in mental health crisis callouts; a 70 percent increase in gang membership; a 100\u00A0percent increase in retail crime; an over 500 percent increase in ram raids and aggravated robberies; brazen daylight smash-and-grabs across our cities; 17 days of horrific gang and gun violence resulting in five homicides; police response times blowing out; gang members taking over our roads and towns; record levels of assaults on police, with our police officers now just focusing on getting through their shifts safely; shopkeepers afraid to go to work; our city CBDs too dangerous for people to walk in at night; and the fourth police Minister in 12 months defending gang members\u2019 right to wear patches?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000148\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aa1600ffa0fa4366af8e87d18561f37f\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019ll count that as the two questions. I just want one answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c21f4beb-20c4-4b12-bc6f-fdc931e2dc96\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224bfe3366c89f402a82bc5b5b0869a77d\u0022\u003EHon GINNY ANDERSEN\u003C/span\u003E: I absolutely do not think that crime is funny, but what I do think is that that member\u2019s performance during question time in this House since May has been a joke.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000150\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022a10a00fcec794e678ab9ad766bd1cc3f\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 9\u2014Social Development and Employment\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022 data-id=\u00229ea9b85b8dd34785af9eeed605c8c3d3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000151\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E9. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229ea9b85b8dd34785af9eeed605c8c3d3\u0022\u003EHon LOUISE UPSTON (National\u2014Taup\u014D)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: How many more people, if any, are on the jobseeker benefit as recorded in the June\u00A02023 quarter compared to the September 2017 quarter, and how many more people, if any, spent more than a year on the jobseeker benefit as recorded in the June 2023 quarter compared to the September 2017 quarter? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022 data-id=\u0022243cee87237f42bc818baf80c457912f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000152\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022243cee87237f42bc818baf80c457912f\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development and Employment):\u003C/span\u003E It is hard for some to reconcile our near-record unemployment rates, our record labour force participation and employment rates, and the record number of Kiwis in work with benefit numbers because it is complex. Despite the strength of the labour market, we do have 52,404 more New Zealanders receiving jobseeker support than in September 2017, with 34,872 for more than a year. But as at July, around 37,000 of our job seekers are actually earning an income while on benefit, 16 percent more than in 2017, and in March 2011\u2014three years after the beginning of the global financial crisis\u201412.3\u00A0percent of our working-age population were receiving a main benefit. In March 2023, three years after the beginning of the global pandemic, that number is 11.1 percent. We have come through COVID strong, but we certainly know that there is more to do. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000153\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cccb313a556e47a0bbc6ebfe16bb0a88\u0022\u003EHon Louise Upston\u003C/span\u003E: Can she explain why, despite two years of businesses crying out for staff all over the country, there are now over 57,000 more people on the jobseeker benefit and there are 35,000 more people who\u2019ve spent longer than a year, so are now long-term welfare recipients under her watch? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000154\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002283e4d6d7725141af97bc4a1f4b27cbe0\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI\u003C/span\u003E: As I said, it is hard to reconcile our near-record low unemployment and more Kiwis in employment with the benefit numbers sometimes because it is complex. But I do want to just mention that more than 100,000 Kiwis moved off benefit and into employment last year. That was 25.7 percent higher than the 79,737 in 2017. I\u2019m very proud of the investment we have put into upskilling and training, and supporting New Zealanders into employment. We need to continue that work, and we certainly are the people to do that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000155\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225c780e7d9e894f438db6697958ad2ade\u0022\u003EHon Louise Upston\u003C/span\u003E: Can she explain why, after two years of businesses in every part of New Zealand being desperate for staff, there is a record 211,000 children being raised in benefit-dependent homes under her Government? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000156\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229c14c11672204e7ebcee0a4615ab0a67\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI\u003C/span\u003E: I want to say that the children that are living in homes that are receiving a benefit are better off under us because of the investment that we\u2019ve made, and I\u2019m really proud of that. We continue to support their parents, including those sole parents who are on benefit, with things like the Training Incentive Allowance, which has been reinstated under us. It was axed under the former National Government, and I would be fearful if I was a New Zealander about what could potentially be cut in the welfare system if they had the opportunity to take the reins. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000157\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e180c83a12b84029b5232b2c28242ba2\u0022\u003EHon Louise Upston\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Minister take any responsibility for consigning more New Zealanders to a life of welfare dependency\u2014and their children\u2014and wasting a golden opportunity to support New Zealanders into work? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000158\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002207028d2958574f7ea4412eb227f6ef3d\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI\u003C/span\u003E: What I take responsibility for are the over 5,000 young people that have successfully gone through Mana in Mahi; over 50,000 New Zealanders who have participated in the Apprenticeship Boost programme; nearly 30,000, I believe, with Flexi-wage; and the nearly 5,000 who have taken up the training incentive allowance. That\u2019s what we take responsibility for. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000159\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219ed20db-5d6c-4464-9327-6cdd072bb4fe\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228faa0304f9ff44bb8e691a35349319eb\u0022\u003ERicardo Men\u00E9ndez March\u003C/span\u003E: Will she commit to expanding the Working for Families package so that it reaches all families, including those on a jobseeker benefit, to honour the critical work that caregivers do? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000160\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c5d0c5b290bf4accbb2822156badfb7f\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI\u003C/span\u003E: As I have said in the House before, the review is still under way, and there will be a report back to Cabinet before the end of the year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000161\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b1cc1bb9959f416a8cadb4384a96a98e\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 10\u2014Education\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022db7fcb82-2c50-44e1-9f32-d9138c14006e\u0022 data-id=\u0022060daa7a8bdf4068ba5a74dbff2b36c1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000162\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022db7fcb82-2c50-44e1-9f32-d9138c14006e\u0022\u003E10. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022060daa7a8bdf4068ba5a74dbff2b36c1\u0022\u003ELEMAUGA LYDIA SOSENE (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Associate Minister of Education: What changes is the Government making to early childhood education? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022 data-id=\u00223f2e2dc89d054290a5c233e1d251dbea\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000163\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223f2e2dc89d054290a5c233e1d251dbea\u0022\u003EHon JO LUXTON (Associate Minister of Education):\u003C/span\u003E We are easing cost of living pressures for parents by extending 20 hours\u2019 free early childhood education (ECE) to twoyear-olds. Childcare is one of the biggest costs New Zealand families face, so this change will make a big difference. We know that people are feeling the pressure right now, and we are determined to do all we can to support New Zealand families through these tough times as we plan for the future. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000164\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022db7fcb82-2c50-44e1-9f32-d9138c14006e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225e115071ac654551841bfa7f87ac66dc\u0022\u003ELemauga Lydia Sosene\u003C/span\u003E: How many families will benefit? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000165\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c6395ad2817549b992b53413d7b7b968\u0022\u003EHon JO LUXTON\u003C/span\u003E: The changes brought about by the Government at the Budget this year mean around 40,000 two-year-olds will benefit from breaking down the cost barrier to early childhood education. It means that 79 percent of all children attending ECE will now get help with childcare, compared to 60 percent when we became Government. Extending 20 hours\u2019 free to two-year-olds follows Labour\u2019s legacy of introducing 20 hours\u2019 free childcare to three- to five-year-olds in 2007, and it will continue to significantly reduce financial pressures on families at critical early years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000166\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022db7fcb82-2c50-44e1-9f32-d9138c14006e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002221fcdde74a4b49228c43c8889f31ebe9\u0022\u003ELemauga Lydia Sosene\u003C/span\u003E: How much will families save each fortnight?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000167\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022678600ad9c0e40d7b72544eaa5a3d614\u0022\u003EHon JO LUXTON\u003C/span\u003E: Under our policy, families with two-year-olds are expected to save $130 per week, which is much more than what other parties are offering in this space. It builds on the progress that we have made over the last six years, supporting hardworking families through increases to the childcare subsidy, free healthy school lunches, and free period products in schools, and boosting Working for Families and Best Start. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000168\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022db7fcb82-2c50-44e1-9f32-d9138c14006e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002297cd28a3fc5f4d33a23134e768b6aac7\u0022\u003ELemauga Lydia Sosene\u003C/span\u003E: What other changes is the Government making to the early childhood education sector? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229d28bc0fd4d94d50831cf90fc088b326\u0022\u003EHon JO LUXTON\u003C/span\u003E: Today, I am proud that we have confirmed a raft of early learning funding changes to boost teacher pay, to address systemic issues in the ECE funding model, and to support the home-based sector. I know from personal experience that those who work in the ECE sector must be recognised for the work they do with our littlest tamariki. We have delivered on our promise to make things fairer for ECE teachers by closing the pay parity gap this term of Parliament. On this side of the House, we value teachers and the vital role they have in educating our young people to be the best that they can be. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000170\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022a62ab1c3d8ff4efb853b10eab88bc4c1\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 11\u2014Climate Change\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a5f0fe84-01e8-4eb3-a590-0025017c4243\u0022 data-id=\u0022403d9c75f16f487fb7189549a3e860f7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000171\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a5f0fe84-01e8-4eb3-a590-0025017c4243\u0022\u003E11. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022403d9c75f16f487fb7189549a3e860f7\u0022\u003EHon MARAMA DAVIDSON (Co-Leader\u2014Green)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Climate Change: What recent reports, if any, has he seen on New Zealand\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022 data-id=\u00224df6e416606e43efaf7c6001a020bafe\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000172\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224df6e416606e43efaf7c6001a020bafe\u0022\u003EHon JAMES SHAW (Minister of Climate Change):\u003C/span\u003E Stats NZ has recently confirmed that greenhouse gas emissions fell to 18.43 million tonnes in the December 2022 quarter, following a downwards trend. This compares to 20.5 million tonnes at the end of 2017, when we came into Government. This proves that this is a Government committed to delivering effective climate action.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000173\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a5f0fe84-01e8-4eb3-a590-0025017c4243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222d9b0251ccc34536b0e8e64fb1d927bf\u0022\u003EHon Marama Davidson\u003C/span\u003E: Does he agree with Green Party co-leader James Shaw, who said in 2017 that the one measure of whether a country was succeeding or failing in its fight against climate change was whether its greenhouse gas emissions were rising or falling?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000174\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c4ccf348037f4389a2a76fad48607643\u0022\u003EHon JAMES SHAW\u003C/span\u003E: I always agree with the Green Party co-leader. When I became the Minister of Climate Change in 2017, I had one goal: to bring down greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand, and, as the Prime Minister said in this House on Tuesday, climate pollution fell in 2020, 2021, 2022, with the December 2022 quarter delivering the lowest figure in at least nine years. This is important. We do have so much more work that we need to do, but we are bending the pollution curve downwards. New Zealanders need to know that amidst all the bad news on climate change, there is hope, we are winning, and our hard work is paying off, and we need to continue that momentum through the next Parliament.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000175\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a5f0fe84-01e8-4eb3-a590-0025017c4243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227e1a4be883664ac28d6d0e8e02142bee\u0022\u003EHon Marama Davidson\u003C/span\u003E: So why are emissions failing? [Disturbance in public gallery]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000176\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022920ae1fa4c7d4d65b258a1b2947c68f1\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Order! Can we have security, please? You need to leave the gallery right now. Hoki atu! In\u0101ianei! [Go back! Now!] Can we have that removed, please? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000177\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a5f0fe84-01e8-4eb3-a590-0025017c4243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d683139f1b384ed1844f386e3eeafea6\u0022\u003EHon Marama Davidson\u003C/span\u003E: So why are emissions falling?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000178\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227930d491d3aa4b84b1ca9f4536390c62\u0022\u003EHon JAMES SHAW\u003C/span\u003E: Emissions are falling because the Green Party, with our Labour Party colleagues, in Government have taken more action on climate change than the previous three decades of Governments combined. We have passed the zero carbon Act and become one of the first countries to put the 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming threshold into primary legislation. We\u2019ve released the Emissions Reduction Plan, the Government\u2019s first ever plan for reducing emissions in every part of the country. We\u2019ve established the Climate Emergency Response Fund, with money paid for by polluters. We\u2019ve established the Climate Change Commission and agreed to our first three emissions budgets. We declared a climate change emergency and committed the Public Service to be carbon-neutral from 2025. We committed $1.3 billion to support the countries that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. We launched the New Zealand Green Investment Fund. We invested billions of dollars into buses and trains, walking and cycling. We introduced the Clean Car Discount, which means that, in the month of June, one in two new cars sold in this country was an electric vehicle (EV). We\u2019ve invested in EV charging infrastructure in this country and brought in vehicle emissions standards for the first time in New Zealand history. We\u2019ve helped businesses to switch to clean energy, with the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry Fund. We\u2019ve made Green Star 6 the minimum build standard for all new State homes. We\u2019ve started the Building for Climate Change programme to cut emissions in building and construction. We\u2019ve\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000179\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022624ae4fdd04c4ba8961e2d81d7d31000\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! That\u2019s well and truly answered. I\u2019m not sure if I should allow this next question; you can ask it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000180\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a5f0fe84-01e8-4eb3-a590-0025017c4243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022021bfcdebcea431a8e77c29ee83e0ecc\u0022\u003EHon Marama Davidson\u003C/span\u003E: Has he seen any reports about the best ways to use revenue raised from polluters through the emissions trading scheme (ETS)?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000181\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f952fa093187495a9df9205d837da436\u0022\u003EHon JAMES SHAW\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, as it happens; I have. I\u2019ve seen reports that ETS revenue could be used to fund solar panels on homes and community centres and marae to reduce both emissions and power bills. There are also reports the ETS revenue could fund clean transport options, making it safer for kids to walk and bike to school instead of making their parents sit in traffic, and also for paying bus drivers decent wages. I have seen reports the ETS revenue is helping investment in major industrial polluters to switch to clean energy. I\u2019ve also seen reports the ETS revenue could be used to pay for tax cuts for property speculators, but those reports just don\u2019t make any sense.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000182\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a5f0fe84-01e8-4eb3-a590-0025017c4243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dfb0c90fba584a7fa659dc57fe8063e1\u0022\u003EHon Marama Davidson\u003C/span\u003E: Does he agree with Green Party co-leader James Shaw that \u201CWe think patsy questions are a waste of time.\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000183\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c07551eac5a249e097a46a8bc5db2ade\u0022\u003EHon JAMES SHAW\u003C/span\u003E: Well, yes, in general I do, but I think it\u2019s less of a waste of time than asking the police Minister the same question 14 times over.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000184\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002277c5189d6fbe4e2ab0b7922c42a5d422\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Yeah, I should have ruled that question out of order. I don\u2019t usually have to admonish members of the Green Party, but I find myself today having to do so. I suppose you\u2019re just catching up with the rest. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000185\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022bf79d9820d714cc1895d86eef67a2400\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 12\u2014Transport\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022 data-id=\u0022a6e6fc0c06084acf8db84de957074736\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000186\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E12. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a6e6fc0c06084acf8db84de957074736\u0022\u003ESIMEON BROWN (National\u2014Pakuranga)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Transport: How much money has been spent in the past six years on contractors and consultants for light rail in Auckland?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u0022ac3ff93f5e7149deb433fc011d80f7b2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000187\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ac3ff93f5e7149deb433fc011d80f7b2\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Minister of Transport):\u003C/span\u003E Sixty-six million dollars, less than half a percent of the likely project cost. I note for the benefit of the member that none of the revenue raised by the Auckland regional fuel tax has funded this.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000188\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022875d06bbe7ae4836bc65263bfb4d55a7\u0022\u003ESimeon Brown\u003C/span\u003E: Is it true that after $66 million has been spent on contractors and consultants for light rail in Auckland, not one metre of track has been delivered, and will Grant Robertson\u2019s supposed clampdown on consultants and contractors extend to the failed light rail ghost train in Auckland?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000189\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002273c4f02843e94cc2b55023329d804b3e\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: It is true that as with the City Rail Link, the planning and design of those projects proceeds before the building starts. The member doesn\u2019t seem to find that easy to accept. I would also say that if the member was really worried about compliance costs for projects, he would\u2019ve backed this Government\u2019s reform of the Resource Management Act, because, through the Infrastructure Commission, we proved that in New Zealand, consenting costs\u2014not the design and engineering costs, but consenting costs\u2014for mid-size infrastructure in New Zealand averaged 5.5\u00A0percent of project cost compared with an average of between 0.5 percent and 5 percent in Europe. We fixed that problem through the resource management reforms and through the fast track, which the prior Government didn\u2019t do in nine years, and they now say they\u2019re going to repeal and go back to the Resource Management Act.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000190\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226562a3f65a1e434a97b0edf01f31e43a\u0022\u003ESimeon Brown\u003C/span\u003E: How devastated is he that on the last day of this Parliament, not one single metre of light rail track has been delivered, despite Labour promising it would be built to Mount Roskill in 2021?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000191\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002256edffa2849a4e96a2455809049f9d2e\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: I refer to my original answer\u2014that the $66 million so far spent is less than half a percent of the likely project cost.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022daf4826a9df249af845045e7e8df2eb0\u0022\u003ESimeon Brown\u003C/span\u003E: Does he agree with the Prime Minister, who told question time earlier today that light rail in Auckland is an \u201Cintergenerational project\u201D, and, if so, in which generation will it start or be completed?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228e0f176c88d947db91b9f6b9b81cd513\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: I think it will be built during that member\u2019s lifetime.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000194\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002253abb77490cb4c4d819d58d464314bba\u0022\u003ESimeon Brown\u003C/span\u003E: Which will be completed first: Auckland Light Rail to Mount Roskill by 2021 or 100,000 KiwiBuild houses in 10 years?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000195\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e5c06410383a45bb8429ed9964626bcb\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: As has previously been said, the record of this Government on housing\u2014which has been enabled through, among other things, investment in roading\u2014is unparalleled for many, many decades in this country. It\u2019s a record that we\u2019re proud of, and I\u2019m surprised the member asked that question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000196\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002261eeb235cc3945d992fcaa4d337a69ae\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Kor\u014Dria, hallelujah! That concludes oral questions for the 53rd Parliament.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000197\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000198\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b297b15050c3482e9d85f0641874a017\u0022\u003EStanding Orders\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000200\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022655efb6e01404128b3563bf01b8d982a\u0022\u003EStanding Orders\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022 data-id=\u0022b3f00afb2d05421b972880594f3fb7bf\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000199\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b3f00afb2d05421b972880594f3fb7bf\u0022\u003EHon KIERAN McANULTY (Deputy Leader of the House):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. In accordance with a Business Committee determination, I move, That the amendments to the Standing Orders set out in Part 2 of the report of the Standing Orders Committee on the Review of Standing Orders be adopted, with effect from the day after the dissolution or expiration of the present Parliament.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000201\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003EMr Speaker, first of all, on behalf of Government members of the Standing Orders Committee, I want to thank you for your chairing of the committee. As you do in this House, you set a very good tone, and I think it was demonstrated in the collaborative way that all members conducted themselves in the review of the Standing Orders. I can understand why public access is not allowed into this committee, but it is shame because I think the public would come away with an example of members from each party in this House working collaboratively to make this Parliament work better. I also want to acknowledge the submitters for their thoughtful contributions. Some may see the rules of Parliament as a minor matter, but they have a massive impact on the way our democracy functions.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000202\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003EMembers will see in the report that there are changes that will come into effect in the next Parliament. They cover improving the scrutiny of the executive. They cover increasing transparency. They cover improving the procedural requirements for entrenchment; recommending an inquiry into international treaties by the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee; making it clear that the Attorney-General may present a paper concerning the consistency with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act of a bill that has been or is proposed to be amended; and a number of procedural changes. We feel that these make an improvement to the Standing Orders, and we hope that the House will support them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000203\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003ESince this is the last day of this term, Mr Speaker, I hope you will indulge me so that I can wish those who are retiring a wonderful time with their families, and for those who are seeking to return, an enjoyable campaign.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022 data-id=\u002218344791b6524d8a9b88272c500d3301\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000204\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002218344791b6524d8a9b88272c500d3301\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The question is that the motion be agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022 data-id=\u002210b7d410cb954ffba04518d472e9970c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002210b7d410cb954ffba04518d472e9970c\u0022\u003EHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. Given the vagaries of politics and the fact that the electorate that I stand in is pretty red, this could be the last contribution I make to this House, so it\u2019s rather appropriate that it be about the rules of this place, because I have, I think, over the years gained a reputation for being one of the \u201Crules guys\u201D. So it\u2019s somewhat appropriate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000206\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003EI think this is the third Standing Orders review that I have participated in, and a clear pattern, I think, has emerged over those years, not just for those but, I think, for previous Standing Orders reviews, and that is what I would describe as the \u201Cmake haste slowly\u201D approach to the review and improvement of our Standing Orders, because we start this process with so much optimism and then we end up sort of grinding down to some marginal improvements that, on reflection, could\u2019ve been so much better.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000207\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003EI have to acknowledge the clerks on this issue, because I think David Wilson and his team, David Bagnall and Gabor Hellyer particularly, have done a gargantuan job of distilling the very, very good submissions that we had, listening carefully to the arguments on both sides of any change, and then coming up with things that I think in their hearts they would agree could\u2019ve been so much better.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000208\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003EI was more optimistic than most in this process when it started nearly 18 months ago, because it was at that time, I think, the case where there was about a 50:50 chance that either main party could lead Government\u2014I\u2019m very confident that the balance has shifted in that time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000209\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223f1511bc40ef43ad8faae893c14b525b\u0022\u003EHon Dr Duncan Webb\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000210\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223ef46131c4604334a9ccd44a2891cf86\u0022\u003EHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE\u003C/span\u003E: But in the past\u2014nice try, Dr Webb!\u2014I\u2019ve been party to conversations not just with my own colleagues but with others where the conversation will go something like this: \u201CWell, that\u2019s great when you\u2019re in Opposition, but once you get into Government you wouldn\u2019t like that Standing Order.\u201D I thought, when we started this with a 50:50 chance that either side of the House could lead Government, we may have made more progress than we actually have. I\u2019m a little disappointed that we haven\u2019t, but that is not due in any way, I think, to the efforts of the Standing Orders Committee, who, I agree with Mr McAnulty, have done a very good and collaborative job; the amazing work of the clerks; and I want to also acknowledge my own researcher, Carlos Webster, who helped me distil a number of those complex issues down.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000211\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003EI just want to touch on two really important things that I think we could have done much more on. The first one is the scrutiny of the executive. We all agree\u2014and I have Mr Hipkins\u2019 words ringing in my ears, who was a member of this committee before his elevation to the Prime Minister role\u2014that the scrutiny of the executive, particularly in Estimates reviews, is very poor, and I\u2019m not sure we\u2019ve made as sufficient an improvement in this Standing Orders review and recommendations as we could have. My retort to that, though, is that Opposition members particularly become quite frustrated by the lack of meaningful inquiry and answer in a very, very short period of time. One of the hopes that I had was that we would extend the time for executive review, scrutiny of the executive, through Estimates and annual reviews, and we weren\u2019t able to do that. I remain hopeful that that can happen in the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000212\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003EThe second is in the hours of this place, where I had hoped that we would get to fewer weeks and longer weeks, because that\u2019s family friendlier, I think, for those who travel from out of Wellington to be here, and also that the carbon footprint would be reduced. We have made some changes at the edges and they will work, but I think we can, and I think future Standing Orders Committees should, continue to review that, particularly given the trend that we\u2019ve seen on the use of extended hours, where, when extended hours came in in 2014, more than half of them were used for Treaty bills and non-controversial things like statutes amendment. Now they are simply what they say on the tin\u2014a way of the Government extending the time that they have to push through legislation, however controversial. I don\u2019t think that was the intention of extended hours. We had an opportunity in this review to have fewer weeks but more hours in a year so that the Government could get through its legislative programme in a more orderly fashion, and we haven\u2019t quite got to that, but, nevertheless, there are improvements in this.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000213\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003EI think, in terms of scrutiny of the executive, if I might just jump back to that, we\u2019ve seen two very good exceptions to a general rule of select committees breaking down party lines. One was in the Finance and Expenditure Committee in its report on one of the three waters pieces of legislation, where there was a pretty strident criticism of changes being made to bills that hadn\u2019t been put through the committee. And, of course, I think it was the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee that reviewed the Immigration (Mass Arrivals) Amendment Bill and actually unanimously agreed that it shouldn\u2019t proceed. Now, that could be seen as a slight on the Government, but actually I prefer to see it as very, very good select committee work that didn\u2019t fall along party lines. It\u2019s a rare thing, and I hope it happens more often in the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000214\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003EThank you to you, Mr Speaker, for your chairmanship of this committee. I think it was very well chaired\u2014a lot more listening than talking, which is your style\u2014but I think that belies the wisdom that you brought to that process, a process that\u2019s better for your chairmanship.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000215\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003EWith that, I wish those who will be tasked with the responsibility of running this place and our democracy under the new Standing Orders the very best. It\u2019s probably not going to be me, but that\u2019s OK\u2014I won\u2019t even be watching! Cheers.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022 data-id=\u0022a08f20e6a56349d4ab9f7b56f8468559\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000216\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a08f20e6a56349d4ab9f7b56f8468559\u0022\u003EBROOKE VAN VELDEN (Deputy Leader\u2014ACT):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. It\u2019s a pleasure to be a member of the Standing Orders Committee with other members across the House. It\u2019s a committee where politics actually goes out of the window and where we examine the House\u2019s rules and practices and we look into how laws are made and how the Government is held to account.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000217\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003EBefore I go on, I\u2019d like to take the opportunity to pay my respects to the family, colleagues, and acquaintances of David McGee, the former Clerk of this House and the author of Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand, as we recently heard of his passing. I know his work, and the work of our current Clerk, David Wilson, has given many members here, including myself, great context for the Standing Orders and the Speakers\u2019 rulings.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000218\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003EI\u2019d like to also thank the many people who submitted to the Standing Orders Committee for this review for 2023. It was very wide ranging, and it led to long and fulsome discussions over many months. It was also quite thrilling, for some of us who are interested in the Standing Orders, to see media even attend some of our submissions process. And I\u2019m sure we\u2019d invite media and other members of this House to also take an increased interest in the Standing Orders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000219\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003ESo what are a couple of the small changes that we\u2019ve made? Firstly, we are simplifying a lot of the language within the Standing Orders. I hope that the Speaker and the next Chair will allow a period of understanding, as a lot of the calls that end and start debate will be changing. For example, \u201Cthat the question be now put\u201D is ending, and we will now be saying \u201Cthat debate on this question now close\u201D, and the word \u201Cforthwith\u201D may no more be mentioned in this House, but, instead, we\u2019ll be saying the word \u201Cimmediately\u201D. So there will be, hopefully, a grace period of understanding.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000220\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003EI note that the sitting hours for many members here\u2014they\u2019ll be happy that dinner breaks are now increasing to 7.30 instead of 7 p.m. And we will be having two extra weeks of scrutiny of the Estimates of the Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000221\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003EOne area that I\u2019m happy to see changed was for members\u2019 bills: allowing a member\u2019s bill that has been stuck halfway through its first reading to continue on before the second and third readings of members\u2019 bills take precedence. Because, I remember, back in the day, when we were working on end of life choice, Darroch Ball had a member\u2019s bill that got stuck for about 18 months, I think, halfway through a reading and he never really got the opportunity to come back for quite a long time. It is a bit of a pity that that bill can\u2019t actually go to select committee, because it\u2019s still waiting for another bill to come back through the House. So I think that\u2019s a very sensible change.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000222\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003EAnother really sensible change is about entrenchment provisions\u2014that we don\u2019t allow the committee of the whole House to pass a clause with an entrenchment provision without that entrenchment provision being seen and scrutinised by a select committee and having submissions open to members of the public. That should never have happened in our recent example in this House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000223\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003EThere were a few areas where ACT would have liked to see changes, but we didn\u2019t have the consensus of the full committee. One was the removal of the title \u201CLeader of the Opposition.\u201D I think this title is outdated, and I know an increasing number of people and members of the public have believed that David Seymour, here, is the Leader of the Opposition. I don\u2019t believe it is actually right that under MMP, where we have multiple parties in Opposition, there is an official \u201CLeader of the Opposition\u201D, because people vote for different leaders of different political parties, and they see those political parties as quite separate. We\u2019d also have been in favour of reducing the number of sitting weeks and increasing the number of hours that we have per sitting week so that we can reduce our emissions\u2014as a party and as a Parliament. We\u2019d also have liked to see the select committees be led by Opposition, to increase the scrutiny function of laws as they are going through select committee, because the Standing Orders Committee did note that scrutiny is not always optimal when we have scrutiny of Government legislation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000224\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003EBut we could go on for a very long time talking about the Standing Orders review, but I certainly hope that the Clerk and the Clerk\u2019s Office staff have a wonderful rest after this enormous amount of work.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022 data-id=\u00221242d44801d740a7be7be4e9b5eea0ee\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000225\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221242d44801d740a7be7be4e9b5eea0ee\u0022\u003EJAN LOGIE (Green):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. I\u2019m stoked to get to talk about this in my last speech to this Parliament, because I\u2019ve completely geeked out on this through the entire process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000226\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226047b08c288342a187cb8c18caa7e5bb\u0022\u003EHon Grant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Such a nerd.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022920e43de4c524228a5878661fd44b085\u0022\u003EJAN LOGIE\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, thank you. I\u2019m going to take this moment. The rules of Parliament\u2014it sounds like it\u2019s something abstract and in-house that\u2019s not relevant to the general public. But, actually, how we make laws, how we hold and test the effectiveness of Government, and how we enable the community to participate in our processes are central to a thriving democracy. We got to have weeks and weeks of very long\u2014enjoyable, actually\u2014conversations about how we could make things better for the public and deliver what I think we all come into this place wanting to do and participate in. I do want to acknowledge the Speaker for chairing the Standing Orders Committee and all the colleagues around the table and the clerks for a huge amount of work, as has already been noted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000228\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EI\u2019m going to start off by also acknowledging the submitters, and talking to one of the points\u2014several of the points that were raised that were not progressed through the process. One of them was not within the ambit of the committee, and that was that we should be increasing the number of parliamentarians, which came from Sir Geoffrey Palmer and another submitter. I want to start with that point because a lot of the discussion we had about increasing scrutiny was in an acknowledgment that we\u2019re not being very effective in doing that at the moment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000229\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003ESir Geoffrey\u2019s point was that, actually, outside of the 62 Labour Party members of Parliament and the two Green Party Ministers, we\u2019re left with only 56 MPs who have a distance from that legislation to really drive scrutiny. What we see in the behaviour mostly of Government members\u2014and I\u2019ve been here and seen both sides of Government\u2014is that it\u2019s a different level of engagement from Government backbenchers in that process of scrutiny. So we\u2019re left with only 56 people and 261, I think, pieces of legislation that came through this House in this term\u2014and the interrogation of the many, many, many agencies and all of the Budget.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000230\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EPeople are stretched too thin to be able to do it effectively. That\u2019s an unpopular concept\u2014I get it\u2014but I also, as I leave, stand up here and say, actually, if we treasure our democracy and we want to make sure that we are doing the best possible job for the people of this country, we need to ensure that people have the capacity to be able to do that job effectively. I agree with Sir Geoffrey Palmer that we need to look at the numbers of members of Parliament as a core part of that discussion. We are doing what we can around the edges through these discussions if we\u2019re not looking at that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000231\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EIt also goes to the point from a rare cross-party proposal that came in from the Hon Jacqui Dean and the Hon Jenny Salesa looking for more family-friendly hours in this Parliament in recognition that there is a problem around work-life balance for many people here, and that, actually, the less we are able to be connected to our outside lives and our families, the more detached we are, and that that actually has an impact on the quality of our work in this place as well. We were not able to accommodate those because, actually, there is too much work to do; there was an absolute acknowledgment around that table that we do not have the capacity to be here less, and people need to be in their communities. That was a trade-off around people wanting to be here for longer periods of time but fewer weeks; for those who had family back at home, that was too much, so that was seen as not being family friendly. When we don\u2019t have enough people to be doing the work and we\u2019re pressuring the work, things just don\u2019t actually add up, and I believe that we do need to look at that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000232\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EOther points that were raised by people: broadcasting and hosting select committees on Parliament TV; for there to be bilingual proceedings and more New Zealand Sign Language interpretation; for there to be a contestable fund to support NGOs to be able to put in really considered submissions on bills when they don\u2019t have the resourcing at the moment to be able to do that; for there to be more use of citizens assemblies or digital engagement through the select committee process; to be able to release written submissions more quickly; and to have independent advisers to select committees as a normal part of the process, recognising that departmental advisers are often very much invested in the legislation and are not able to have the intellectual or emotional distance to provide independent advice to the committees. But all of those things are not in our report, because all of those things would require money, and, actually, this Parliament is also at a point where we are seeing, in several services around the place, that the money is so stretched. We\u2019re not at a point to even be able to consider how we improve the democracy, the functioning of the democracy, and the people\u2019s ability to engage when it costs money.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000233\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EWe are at a point where it is generally acknowledged, and a huge amount of evidence backing it up, that democracy around the world is almost on a point of crisis. We are seeing democracies undermined all over the place. We are seeing disinformation increase in our own communities at a higher rate than even in the US. In this moment in time, it is the Green Party\u2019s view that we need to be actively doing more to resource our Parliament and strengthen our democracy. It is not enough to keep working around the edges, as much as I am pleased to see these points of progress\u2014and I will touch on those now.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000234\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EThe scrutiny plans\u2014I do want to speak specifically to having two weeks a year where the House will not sit and that members of Parliament will be engaged in scrutiny, and that there will be threehour sessions for large or particularly important entities. The initial idea had been six hours, and to be able to have themes and questioning and interrogation, but three hours\u2014at least it\u2019s a start to extend that, and the idea is to have more people being able to follow through a whole series of questions rather than having to jump between one member and another member having one question and maybe one supplementary and never being able to actually properly dig in to any issues. So this is an attempt to shift that culture, but it will require every party in this House actually engaging with the new MPs on that conversation about what is the role of parliamentarians in scrutiny, and actively supporting and encouraging people to use their political time in that role.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000235\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EI genuinely believe that that is for the benefit of Parliament and our democracy, but also Government, because the truth is that people in the executive actually get the information that comes from their agencies\u2014from the questions that they ask\u2014and they are better off and more informed the more information that they get, the more the advice from the officials are tested. That requires Opposition to be able to deliver.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000236\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EThe one other point is that we will also be enabling select committees to release advice for the purpose of public feedback on summaries of submissions, before reports are written, to be able to test that advice, which I think is also a very important thing. There is much, much work that we could do, and it is important work. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000237\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000238\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ca262544b2464f81bd3d7b46f1f863bc\u0022\u003EAdjournment\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000240\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00228714398836414129909827f5def07c75\u0022\u003EAdjournment\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022 data-id=\u0022426a35727bee461aaf7706cf38899914\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000239\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022426a35727bee461aaf7706cf38899914\u0022\u003ERt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the House do now adjourn. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000241\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EIt has been an incredibly eventful three-year term. Since coming into Government in 2017, we\u2019ve become familiar with a very well-known saying \u201CExpect the unexpected\u201D. A cascade of unprecedented events has defined the last six years for this Government and this Parliament: a global pandemic, horrific terror attacks, volcanic eruptions, a global economic crisis, to name just some of the major challenges that we have had to face. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000242\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EWhen I reflect on where we started this parliamentary term, it is remarkable to think how far we have come in that period of time. As this Parliament was sworn in after the 2020 election, our border was still closed, there was no COVID-19 in New Zealand because of the successful elimination strategy that we had pursued, and we had a number of interesting hurdles ahead of us. We have navigated our way through those as a Government and as a country, and I have no doubt that it\u2019s been tough for many New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe year 2023 proved very quickly on that it wasn\u2019t going to break the mould in terms of challenges. On 25 January, I had the enormous privilege and honour of being sworn in as New Zealand\u2019s Prime Minister. On the evening of 27 January, Kieran McAnulty ruined it for me when he rang me and said \u201CThere\u2019s been a little bit of rain in Auckland.\u201D, and we then confronted the Auckland floods, followed surely thereafter by Cyclone Gabrielle and the enormous damage that it wreaked right up and down the East Coast of the North Island. It has been an incredibly tough year for New Zealanders and I want to acknowledge that that comes off the back of a tough period of time through the global pandemic as well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000244\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EOurs is a Government that has been forged through fire. Every challenge that has been thrown our way, we have risen to that. We have responded to an enormous number of challenges whilst also being very focused on making sure that in our actions we are laying the foundations for a better future for our country. First and foremost, our guiding principle has never wavered. For us, it has always been about people, about creating better opportunities that give people the freedom and the opportunity to create a better life for themselves and for their families. We may have faced unprecedented disruption, but we have still achieved a lot over the last three years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000245\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EAs we head into the campaign, my message for New Zealanders is pretty simple: we\u2019ve achieved a lot, there\u2019s a lot more to do, and there is an awful lot at stake in this year\u2019s election. As our economy turns the corner, as inflation trends down, as economic growth returns, as our health and education systems get back on their feet after the unprecedented disruption that they have experienced in the last three years, as we get real momentum behind fixing the housing crisis and upgrading our infrastructure so that it delivers what the country needs, and as we open up new opportunities for Kiwis, now is not the time to turn back. We can continue to move forward under Labour, or we can face a coalition of cuts, chaos, and fear: a National - ACT - New Zealand First Government that would be one of the most inexperienced and untested in our history\u2014a Government who want to wind the clock back on all of the progress that we are making that is so important to New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000246\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003ESo let\u2019s talk about our record over the last six years and what\u2019s at stake at this election. Let\u2019s start with the fundamentals first and let\u2019s talk about the economy and let\u2019s talk about Grant Robertson\u2019s track record as our Minister of Finance. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000247\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EDespite the enormous challenges of the last three years, our economy is 6 percent larger now than it was as we went into the global pandemic. We still have record low unemployment, wages have been growing faster under our Government than inflation, we have more Kiwis in work than ever before, we\u2019ve seen an increase in the number of apprentices, and we have been focused unrelentingly on growing wages because that is how Kiwis get ahead. I say to the members opposite, who seem to think minimum wage workers should be grateful for an extra 25c an hour, that the extra $7 an hour they are getting under this Government is significantly more meaningful to them than a paltry 25c that they are being offered by a National Government\u2014by a prospective National Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000248\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EWe have record levels of research and development in our country now because of the investments that we are making as a Government, and, after years of neglect, we are investing record amounts in our infrastructure. That\u2019s investment in roads, it\u2019s investment in rail, and it\u2019s investment in our classrooms, in our hospitals, and in the services that New Zealanders rely on. I am incredibly proud of the 1,700 projects up and down New Zealand that we have invested in through the Provincial Growth Fund that are making a difference to those communities all over New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000249\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EI\u2019m proud of the work that we have done to support our exporting businesses through seven new or upgraded free-trade agreements. I am very proud of the work that we have done to grow our exports, increasing exports in the food and fibre sector by over 50\u00A0percent in the time that we have been in Government. I am very proud of the work that we have done with our primary industries, and I want to acknowledge the leadership of Damien O\u2019Connor and the eradication of Mycoplasma bovis from our farms. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000250\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003ENow is not the time to turn back. Now is not the time to stoke the inflationary fires with unfunded tax cuts, as the members opposite promise, and it is not a time to turn our backs on talent by introducing a talent tax that will make it harder for doctors, nurses, teachers, builders, architects, and all of the other skilled workers that we are trying to attract to New Zealand to come to New Zealand. National\u2019s talent tax would be a $500\u00A0million cost on business that would slow down our economic recovery. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000251\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EI am proud of the work we have done to tackle the cost of living by lifting the minimum wage, putting in fair pay agreements because we believe that growing wages is the way that Kiwi families get ahead, providing free and healthy school lunches, making sure that we are lifting children out of poverty\u2014every measure of child poverty has improved under our Government, and we\u2019ve reversed Ruth Richardson\u2019s benefit cuts at long last. We have increased superannuation and veteran\u2019s pensions, but we have also increased the wages, unapologetically, of our essential public service workers.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000252\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003ELet\u2019s talk about that. We\u2019ve boosted the pay of our nurses. In 2017, the top of the nurses\u2019 salary scale was just $66,000, and today it is $106,000 under our Government, and that\u2019s not to mention our teachers, who have had a 36 percent pay increase under this Government in under just six years, compared to the mere 10 percent they got in the nine long years of the last National Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000253\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThere is more to do. Cheaper childcare is on the way for families with two-year-olds. We have scrapped prescription fees\u2014something the other side want to bring back in. We are making public transport free or cheaper for younger New Zealanders so that they can get around, and there is more to come in that space.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000254\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003ENational wants to turn the clock backwards; we want to keep moving forward. As for law and order, where they talk a big game, our record is pretty clear. We\u2019ve been funding the police with 1,800 more cops on the beat and a 50 percent increase in police resources under our Government, while National wants to go backwards, and let\u2019s not mention the fact that the ACT Party quietly over the weekend confirmed they want to bring back military-style semi-automatic weapons to New Zealand. I think banning those guns from New Zealand was a leap forward, and now ACT wants to take it back. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000255\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EOur health system is moving ahead with 4,800 more nurses, 1,800 more doctors, and 700 more psychologists, and an increase in funding for Pharmac of over 51 percent. I note that all of the investments that I have just mentioned are investments the National Party and the ACT Party think is a waste of money. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000256\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThat is what is at stake at this election. We can go backwards or we can continue to move forwards. On this side of the House, we\u2019ve got a positive vision for New Zealand\u2019s future and we will be campaigning vigorously. I look forward to meeting the members opposite on the campaign trail, and I wave goodbye to Michael Woodhouse too, because he\u2019s guaranteed not to be here after the election. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022 data-id=\u00221c717c39d2634b1186396075b78fa9ca\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000257\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221c717c39d2634b1186396075b78fa9ca\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The question is that the motion be agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000258\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003EDebate interrupted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000259\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022898fa300e5714e808494c0efcd37c3ff\u0022\u003EInterventions\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000260\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00225814bbd7195146e592139e06ad71db73\u0022\u003EMaking Images and Recordings of Proceedings\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022 data-id=\u00221ffaf5b1cf4148ebb5add77b3f59d757\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000261\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221ffaf5b1cf4148ebb5add77b3f59d757\u0022\u003EDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader\u2014ACT):\u003C/span\u003E Point of order, Mr Speaker. I\u2019ve just been told that Greenpeace has released a picture of the protest earlier that clearly appears to have been taken from a member\u2019s seat. Now, to take that picture and share it would assist in the protest and, therefore, impede the House in its duties by encouraging people to enter as strangers and create disorder. That would prima facie make it a contempt. I just ask that you seek reassurance from members present now that they didn\u2019t do it, and perhaps investigate who did.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022 data-id=\u00228827711cff8747c2ada0922087b67ba4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000262\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228827711cff8747c2ada0922087b67ba4\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: As I said the other day, there\u2019s a clear process for dealing with such matters, if the member is correct, and I will deal with it at the appropriate time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000263\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022406561ba6cd440fc8398cf8b61b9d451\u0022\u003EAdjournment\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000265\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022bfdbd63d4442495e88c7072162993f21\u0022\u003EAdjournment\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000264\u0022\u003EDebate resumed.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022 data-id=\u0022e494e57685f5409984155524265c6746\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000266\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e494e57685f5409984155524265c6746\u0022\u003ECHRISTOPHER LUXON (Leader of the Opposition):\u003C/span\u003E Well, that final speech from Chris Hipkins, in his final speech as Prime Minister of New Zealand. I\u2019ve got to tell you, it shouldn\u2019t have been an adjournment speech; it should have been an apology speech, right? He should have been saying an apology to the parents and the kids who actually have been let down by an education system that\u2019s gone backwards over the last six years. It should\u2019ve been an apology to all the people who have waited for endless times and hours in hospital emergency departments. It should\u2019ve been an apology to all the victims of ram raids in dairies and superettes up and down this country. It should\u2019ve been an apology to all the people that are lying awake at night worried about how they\u2019re going to make their payments and keep their house and their mortgages. So I\u2019ve got to tell you, that\u2019s Labour\u2019s legacy after six years, and New Zealanders would rather hear an apology from Chris Hipkins than that speech.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000267\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003ENow, Mr Speaker, I just want to say as this Parliament comes to a close: on behalf of the National Party, I want to thank you. I want to thank all the many people and the teams here that are in this complex place running things for our democracy. As you know, this is my first term in this place. I used to watch some of the great old debates that took place in this very important Chamber. But when I arrived here, I have to be honest and say that the life had been sucked out of the place, and I have to say that your fairness, your tolerance, your good humour, your good sense, has resuscitated it. So, personally, and on behalf of all of us, we want to say thank you for the role that you have played. I hope you get a peaceful break where no one shouts out. You certainly don\u2019t need to speak to Simeon Brown if you don\u2019t want to, and you certainly should only get to your feet when you actually choose to do so. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000268\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003EBut to you and to all the Assistant Speakers, who are so well served\u2014as we all are\u2014by the Clerk of the House and the Office of the Clerk\u2019s team with all the important functions they fulfil, I just want to say that we appreciate the jobs that you and your teams do. Also, a big thankyou to all the grounds staff, building teams, the catering staff, the security, the messengers, the Parliamentary Library folk, IT, the VIP team and their drivers, the travel office, the cleaners, and the pay office. I just want to say to all those people that each and every role that you play is important in the running of this Parliament and this democracy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000269\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003ECan I also just say a big thankyou to the press gallery. While we may disagree with what you say from time to time, we thank the gallery for the work that you do and the role you play as well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000270\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003EI just want to spread my gratitude a little wider. I do want to thank, in particular, the Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, for his services to the National Party, because he rode in very triumphantly in February and he announced that he was sweeping away everything that Jacinda Ardern stood for\u2014especially kindness. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000271\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003EBut I have to say it turned out it was all words and no action, because, as we expected, he just carried on doing more of the same: excessive, addicted Government spending. He kept making sure he\u2019s punishing Kiwis with higher taxes. He ended up borrowing more, putting future generations into debt, and he kept on being a Government that, frankly, doesn\u2019t deliver anything. But otherwise, no one inside or outside this place, I think, now understands what Chris Hipkins stands for, except his desperation to be re-elected. We fully understand why they\u2019ve gone personal and negative. But I have to say that at one of my press conferences earlier this week, I was interrupted by someone who didn\u2019t agree with our policies, and I\u2019ll just say the last time that happened to Chris Hipkins it was, in fact, the Minister of Revenue David Parker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000272\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003EBut the good news is that Chris Hipkins still has some support, because the Mongrel Mob are out there. Actually, they\u2019re holding more public meetings in public places than the Labour Party, which is quite interesting. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000273\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003ENow, Labour, I have to say, has been a lot like a bus at the Dakar Rally. It all started very shiny and full of promises, with Jacinda Ardern at the wheel. But along the way\u2014whoops!\u2014out falls Gaurav Sharma. Then the relief driver took over, and then\u2014oops!\u2014out went Stuart Nash. And then\u2014bang!\u2014there was Michael Wood. Then there was a ding and a clunk, and Meka Whaitiri leapt out the back door. We had Kiri Allan leave, and we\u2019ve had now Labour slam into so many pot-holes across the road and the bumps that it\u2019s taken and the missed turns that it\u2019s all taken and bits of the vehicle are, frankly, falling off, and now we\u2019re just left with an absolute, unrecognisable wreck. What we\u2019ve got is we\u2019ve got Chris Hipkins clinging on and gripping on to the steering wheel, rolling over cherished Labour policies. Now we have Grant Robertson in the back, and he\u2019s looking green, and it\u2019s hard to know whether it\u2019s from all the U-turns or, frankly, all the dead rats he\u2019s been having to eat. But he\u2019s got one door out, and he\u2019s ready to jump, and he\u2019s ready to wobble towards the finishing line. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000274\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003ENow, meanwhile, we\u2019ve got the Greens, who really should be called the \u201CReds\u201D because they\u2019re in this rally too. They\u2019re on their e-bikes, and they\u2019re peddling along the Wellington cycle lanes, where the car parks used to be. But I have to tell you, the Greens are the \u201CFree Money Party\u201D. They even believe that it\u2019s actually OK, if there\u2019s a warrant out for your arrest and you\u2019re on the run, that you should be entitled to your benefit. It\u2019s no wonder no one takes them seriously, and certainly Labour, who forgot to tell them that the Climate Emergency Response Fund had been raided again. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000275\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003ETe Paati M\u0101ori: they\u2019re there in their waka, but, sadly, they\u2019re not the party of collaboration that they once were with Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples\u2014and National\u2014when they delivered Wh\u0101nau Ora. I have to say that I genuinely hope that in the future the National Party will work with the M\u0101ori Party again because I think M\u0101ori need results, and they are not getting them under this Labour Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003EBut, to be fair, no one\u2019s getting results under this Labour Government. We\u2019re actually all going backwards\u2014that\u2019s the reality of the last six years. Actually, that\u2019s the only form of unity that we\u2019ve got in this country under this Labour Government\u2014that we\u2019re all going backwards together. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000277\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003EThen there are the ACT folk. They\u2019re off in their pink van, and it\u2019s been wonderful. They\u2019re travelling the countryside, and David\u2019s reading Nelson Mandela\u2019s Long Walk to Freedom, which is a good read, as you well know, Mr Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000278\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003EI want to turn to my National team now, and I just want to thank them. I want to thank our incredible chief of staff, Cam Burrows. I want to thank every member of our National leader\u2019s office, our whips and our House team, and all the MPs and all your support people that are here in Parliament and out in the electorates. I want to thank in particular our incredibly hard-working deputy, Nicola Willis\u2014can I just say thank you very much for all the great work that you do for us and for our party and for our team. I also want to acknowledge Chris Bishop, our fantastic campaign chair. To the entire National caucus, I want to say thank you to all of you, and all the very best out there for your individual campaigns, too.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000279\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003ENow, while this Government has actually forgotten why it\u2019s here, and it has taken the country backwards and it has failed spectacularly, I have to tell you that National is ready because we have the team, we have the ideas, and we have the energy. We have the leadership to actually get our country back on track and start to realise all the great potential we have in this country because it is teeming with potential, but it is not being realised under this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000280\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003EI think you saw it yesterday\u2014you saw it yesterday with an incredibly intelligent, wellthoughtthrough, costed tax policy and plan. It was quite simply saying to the people, the hard workers of New Zealand, that, actually, if you want to work hard in the best country on earth, you can get ahead, and we\u2019re going to help you do exactly that. That means that if you\u2019re an average-income household with young kids, you\u2019re going to get up to $250 a fortnight, and that will make a big difference. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000281\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003EThat package will make a big difference. It is going to make a big difference to the families out there that are actually having to cut their kids\u2019 extracurricular activities because they can\u2019t afford the mortgage rates at the moment. It\u2019s going to make a big difference to the parents out there that are skipping meals because they can\u2019t afford food. It\u2019s going to make a big difference to the 30 percent of Kiwis about to re-fix their mortgages between now and Christmas. It\u2019s going to make a big difference, I\u2019d say, to the tenants that have faced the $175 per week increase under this Government. It\u2019s going to make a big increase to minimum wage workers who actually choose to work a couple of extra hours to raise some extra cash and actually not fall into a high tax bracket. It\u2019s going to make a big difference, I\u2019d say, to superannuitants who actually are on fixed incomes doing it incredibly tough. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003ESo, I want to say to you that the National Party is ready to govern. We are sorted, we are united, we have the talent, we have the energy\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000283\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e77494a0-1be1-432f-b492-fd160f4c119d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d7d2f66d47174a7b93bb8d76e3f6ee23\u0022\u003EHon Peeni Henare\u003C/span\u003E: Not very diverse. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000284\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a35a24b56a1a42fe886d817f0ff61deb\u0022\u003ECHRISTOPHER LUXON\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014we have the ideas, we have the diversity to take this country forward. We\u2019re going to get it back on track. We are going to rebuild the economy and reduce the cost of living. We are going to restore law and order and personal responsibility. We are going to deliver better healthcare and education because that\u2019s what New Zealanders deserve. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000285\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003EI want to tell you that Kiwis want a change and they know they want a National Government, and they\u2019re going to get one that\u2019s going to get this country back on track. They just have to choose it on 14 October, and that\u2019s what they\u2019ll do. Thank you very much. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022 data-id=\u0022e86698d6199149c6a84464070b31a0f3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000286\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e86698d6199149c6a84464070b31a0f3\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI (Deputy Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E I was really hoping that the Leader of the Opposition may have been able to extend in his adjournment speech beyond the key lines that he\u2019s been rattling off on the dailies, but, unfortunately, that wasn\u2019t the case. Anyone tuning in and watching on TV, I think, probably went to mute straight after \u201CMr Speaker\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000287\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003EBack to what is important: I do want to start by expressing my warmest and heartfelt thanks to all those who work day and night to keep democracy running and this place ticking over. The various officers of Parliament, Hansard, the Clerk\u2019s Office, the Table Office and the Bills Office, select committee staff, the hard-working cleaners, the Copperfields staff, and, of course, our own ministerial, parliamentary, and electorate staff. I also want to acknowledge you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and the Assistant Speakers for the roles that you have played. Finally, to every member across all political parties that has given a valedictory speech in recent weeks, we wish you well and we thank you all for your service to the country and to this place. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000288\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003EI know that I speak on behalf of many when I say bring on 14 October, and also when I say thank God this is the last sitting day. The battlefield is set and as we embark on the campaign of our lives, I liken the National Party to something out of an Indiana Jones film: venturing into the unknown, facing a multitude of obstacles, loopholes, cuts, and unfunded and uncharted pathways and routes towards \u201Cvoodoo land\u201D. Their quest is not one for lost artefacts, but a quest and pathway to leadership for their leader in waiting, the \u201COscar award - winning actress\u201D Nicola Willis. The acting classes have been put to really good use, taking the political drama of question time in this theatre to another level. I\u2019m really hoping, though, that overacting will be addressed during the next lesson.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000289\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003EFor us on this side of the House, this election will be our Avengers moment. We may not have the capes, but we have the track record of delivery, the determination to continue fighting for hardworking New Zealanders, the conviction to do what is right, and championing the causes that matter. Not only for the now, but for our future, because seriously, what kind of country do we want our children and our grandchildren to grow up in?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000290\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003EMuch like an iconic scene from The Lord of the Rings where a diverse fellowship bands together to conquer adversity, we too come from different walks of life, each carrying a unique strength. The magic lies in our unity, our collective commitment to the ideals that bind us.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000291\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003EOur campaign is not just about winning an election, it\u2019s about forging a fellowship for progress where no one is left behind. That is exactly what we have done over the course of our time in Government. The progress we\u2019ve made in the welfare system has been at the heart of our fellowship for progress. And like any good movie, taking people along with us on that journey has been instrumental. As part of this journey, I\u2019ve been working hard to change people\u2019s perceptions about those on benefit, and those, who at some point in their lives, find themselves needing to be supported by the welfare system. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000292\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003ECOVID, weather events, workforce demands and shortages have seen so many more New Zealanders requiring the Ministry for Social Development support. Unfortunately, when it comes to the welfare system, these perceptions can often be clouded by stereotypes that oversimplify complex issues. Behind that term \u201Cbeneficiary\u201D lie diverse lives, people, and wh\u0101nau, with their own triumphs and trials. Consider the story, the pursuit of happiness, where a struggling father overcomes immense challenges to provide a better life for his son. This narrative resonates with the experiences of many beneficiaries, who, despite facing hardships, strive for a better future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003EThis Parliament finally has 50:50 gender representation. Our Government\u2019s Cabinet also now has equal gender representation. We know that Barbie Land works far better when strong, capable women are given the opportunity to step up. We\u2019ve seen the chaos in a Ken-dominated land. Let\u2019s not let that happen this election, and don\u2019t worry men, you are not at risk\u2014you too have a place. As political commentator and National Party member Janet Wilson said recently in relation to a certain National MP, \u201CYou just need to put your big boy pants on.\u201D\u2014relax into sharing power, and the world will be a better place. She also mentioned the need to grow something, but I won\u2019t go there. I just want you to know you are all \u201CKenough\u201D.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000294\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003EIt has been an honour to serve as a Minister in this Government again, both under Jacinda Ardern, and now the capable and calm leadership of my friend and colleague, the Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins. I\u2019m really proud of the work we have done to support New Zealanders and secure our future. Today, and I just had to throw this into the speech, I got a question by the National spokesperson on social development, but did anyone notice that she may have gone eight months\u2014225 days\u2014without asking me a single question on one of the biggest portfolios in Government? Either I have been channelling the all-perfect, magical Mary Poppins, or \u201Cbeneficiary bashing\u201D no longer shows up in the National Party word cloud. That is an accomplishment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000295\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s time to roll the credits on the 53rd Parliament: the biggest increase to main benefit rates in a generation; 77,000 fewer children living in poverty; 100 million free and healthy school lunches; the most public homes built per year since the 1950s; extended ACC cover to birthing parents; extended childcare subsidy to 54 percent of families with children. We\u2019ve raised abatement thresholds for beneficiaries; we have reinstated the Training Incentive Allowance; we established Whaikaha - Ministry for Disabled People; we\u2019ve invested millions into employment programmes including Apprenticeship Boost, Flexi-wage, Mana in Mahi, and M\u0101ori Trades and Training. Finally\u2014I had mentioned this one too\u2014we introduced an Artist Resale Royalty Scheme; it was well overdue. Taking care of our precious arts, culture, and heritage sector during a time that could have seen it decimated, and despite all of the correspondence I received suggesting I was going to be responsible for the demise of both Shakespeare and opera, Western arts and culture are still supported, but alongside Te Matatini and Matariki, and Pacific arts.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000296\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003EThe next 44 days is a story waiting to be written. The plot twists, the challenges, the triumphs\u2014they\u2019re all part of our narrative, but at the centre of all of that, for us, remains a clear focus on our beautiful country, and the amazing New Zealanders who have elected us to serve them. To quote the words of Shrek\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000297\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e77494a0-1be1-432f-b492-fd160f4c119d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ed673f6a1f254629804c78da11154012\u0022\u003EHon Peeni Henare\u003C/span\u003E: Up the Wahs!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000298\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225662357a405147659e1cf5bd9e118aaf\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014not \u201CUp the Wahs!\u201D, Mr Henare\u2014\u201COnions have layers, ogres have layers.\u201D I want to say the National Party has layers, too\u2014layers of cuts and loopholes, cuts to services, cuts to all things that matter to New Zealand, whether that be our education sector, whether that be our health sector\u2014and, as Donkey says, \u201CNot everyone likes onions.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000299\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003ENational\u2019s narrative, well, they can own that, and I hope New Zealanders see it for what it is\u2014a fictional movie or perhaps a political satire, one that is unfortunately more tragedy than it is comedy. Thank you very much.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022 data-id=\u002260004f9b015b4d368d16146df0ec603c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000300\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002260004f9b015b4d368d16146df0ec603c\u0022\u003EDEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: This is a five-minute split call.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022 data-id=\u0022f0768804f62f4e9abd0ccbef3f2d8a8f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000301\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f0768804f62f4e9abd0ccbef3f2d8a8f\u0022\u003EHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. Here we are at the end of a threeyear parliamentary term. We are on track to see one of the most dramatic falls in popularity in New Zealand history since 1972 and Norm Kirk. Three years ago, Jacinda Ardern stood here, bestriding the New Zealand political scene like a colossus, with a clear majority. She was most popular, giving everybody praise to the stars, and here we are, three years later, and her party is down in the 20s in the polls. A big majority of the country think the country is headed in the wrong direction and there is desperation for change on the streets of this country, and we\u2019re left with Chris Hipkins. The only thing he\u2019s got left is \u201CProject Fear\u201D, to frighten people with all sorts of claims. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000302\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EHow has it come to this? I think the key to it is what I heard Jacinda Ardern say when she left and she gave all her interviews, \u201CWell, it\u2019s not so much what you do; it\u2019s how you make people feel.\u201D Well, unfortunately, that doesn\u2019t really stack up because right now people feel angry. They feel marginalised. Many people feel they are without hope and they certainly feel ready for change, and that is what\u2019s going to happen in two months\u2019 time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000303\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EAnd it does matter what you do. When you say you\u2019re going to build light rail from central Auckland to the airport by 2021, it matters if you\u2019ve actually started, if you\u2019ve even figured out which route it\u2019s going to take. If you\u2019ve spent 150 million bucks and you still don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about, it matters. People notice. It does matter when you say you\u2019re going to build 100,000 KiwiBuild houses and you end up building only about 1,600. That matters. It makes you look like you can\u2019t actually deliver. It matters when you announce that you\u2019re going to spend $1.9 billion fixing mental health and, actually, you get to the end of six years and we find out that we\u2019ve got 19 fewer psychiatrists in the country and people are waiting longer than ever to get the help they need.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000304\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EAll these things matter. It matters when you say you\u2019re keen to reduce child poverty but you\u2019ve neglected the economy to the extent that we\u2019re in recession and we\u2019ve had rampant inflation for more than two or three years. The Government thinks the only sort of thing you can usefully do in the economy is take more money from some people and give it to other people and that somehow that makes everybody richer. It doesn\u2019t. You\u2019ve actually got to have a growth plan and we haven\u2019t seen any signs of a growth plan.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000305\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EThat\u2019s why in two months\u2019 time people will be voting for change, and it can\u2019t come soon enough. The National Party will do several things. We\u2019ll fix the economy. We\u2019ll actually focus on how you grow the economy and put more money in the hands of New Zealanders, and that means taking less out in the first place by giving them some tax relief\u2014a hundred dollars less tax for an average couple, and up to $250 a fortnight for an average couple with kids. That makes a real difference to their lives and that\u2019s what we\u2019ll be focusing on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000306\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EWe\u2019ll have a job to get inflation under control, which is to stop reckless Government spending, which we\u2019ve seen on a colossal scale. Nobody can believe that $50 million was spent on a cycleway across Auckland Harbour Bridge and it didn\u2019t lead to anywhere. Day after day we hear stories of properties being rented by K\u0101inga Ora in Wellington\u2014$250,000 a week and nothing\u2019s happening. They\u2019re sitting there empty\u2014it\u2019s been month after month. It\u2019s just emblematic of the waste under this Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000307\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EWe\u2019ll be restoring law and order. We\u2019ve heard time and time again from this Government that the only priority they\u2019ve got in the justice space, which they\u2019ve clearly articulated, is to reduce the prison population irrespective of what\u2019s going on in our communities. People see a 33 percent increase in violent crime and they wonder, \u201CWell, why are they still only focused on reducing the prison population?\u201D They see a 100\u00A0percent increase in retail crime and they wonder why this Government is focused on everything else.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000308\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EThen when we look at health and education, we see an 80 percent increase in Government spending and fewer kids at school. We\u2019ve seen a doubling of the number of kids who are chronically absent from school. That is a disgrace, and to think that a Minister of Education for five years\u2014Chris Hipkins\u2014delivered such an appalling outcome in education and got promoted by his party to be the Prime Minister shows you how short of talent this party is and how much we need a change.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000309\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EIf we look at health, we see the extra billions and billions of dollars going into health with most of it going into restructuring, and people are waiting longer to get access to the emergency department care that they need and the cancer drugs that they need. That\u2019s why under Shane Reti\u2019s leadership in the health space we\u2019ll return to actually having some targets and chasing them down. Change can\u2019t come soon enough, and so that\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen on 14 October. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022 data-id=\u0022845f740b2a0d41c2b52c57d3297a901f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000310\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022845f740b2a0d41c2b52c57d3297a901f\u0022\u003EMELISSA LEE (National):\u003C/span\u003E Mr Speaker, I begin my contribution by thanking the Government Ministers. With 10,128 parliamentary written questions asked, I have to say that some offices have actually done really well, and some would have found out that if the quality of the answer wasn\u2019t that great, they got loaded with more questions. I have also made 150 contributions, according to Hansard. With the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee (EDSI), we found out this morning that we did 94\u00A0reports to the House; 20 bills this Parliament, nine in the last 12 months; 84 annual reviews; nine briefings; and 11 petitions. Well done, EDSI team.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000311\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EI\u2019d like to reflect on some of the things that I did during the term. I have to say, when I went to Paeroa for a portfolio visit, I visited a business where they actually gave me something called seaweed gin and tonic, which was rather surprising.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000312\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a6b7f75b9dd945ce95024a87a5c0eb0f\u0022\u003EHon Paul Goldsmith\u003C/span\u003E: Seaweed?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000313\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224e8d4b45acae49488f530879650a9cf6\u0022\u003EMELISSA LEE\u003C/span\u003E: Seaweed\u2014yes\u2014and I have to reflect on the day that we went into lockdown, racing along the pitch black darkness of the Ashburton-Christchurch highway to get back to Auckland on the last flight before we went into lockdown again back in August 2021, not knowing that it was probably the last time I was going to leave the city, and with all of the cancelled flights and taxis remaining in my diary in red as a reminder of the struggles that people in Auckland went through during that lockdown period.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000314\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EAlso, when we were visiting Gore, my assistant\u2014and I won\u2019t mention his name right now\u2014made me stand in the pouring rain just for the right photograph. The things we are made to do by assistants! I have to say that that long-serving staffer, who I drive around because he never had a driver\u2019s licence\u2014finally, after eight years of being with me, he has got a driver\u2019s licence. Maybe he might get to drive me when we\u2019re back once again after the election.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000315\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EAlso, there was the virtual golf simulator in Parklands, Christchurch, where I have to say that I beat Sir Bob Charles on one hole\u2014one hole.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000316\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a5f62db5267743ebb3bc929144653a74\u0022\u003EHon Paul Goldsmith\u003C/span\u003E: Really?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000317\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223d1157eca5224a00be3fad85a017ee19\u0022\u003EMELISSA LEE\u003C/span\u003E: It was a simulator. It was only one hole. I was actually brought in to play a hole for one of the members there who said he didn\u2019t quite know how to hit it. It was a short hole, and Sir Bob had actually sunk it in the water. I managed not to, so I think that\u2019s a win. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000318\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003ETeaching classes for our community, where I had to teach them how to make Korean dumplings, was actually quite interesting, and visiting the big fruit in Cromwell\u2014and I had two grand-puppies. My son came home one day and decided that he probably will never have children, so he was going to introduce me to the grandchildren, and in came the miniature schnauzers. I now have two: one is named Olive, and the other one is named Basil. It was also an exciting thing to actually see firsthand fibre backhaul being installed down a rural Waikato highway while trying to avoid trucks and lorries. And we actually mourned the passing of the Sovereign of New Zealand, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and saw the ascension of His Majesty King Charles III.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000319\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EMany things have actually happened, but I\u2019d like to acknowledge some of the Korean War veterans who have actually passed in this last term, including Wally Wyatt and Forbes Taylor, and also Mount Albert\u2019s grand dame Alice Wylie, who at the last National Party AGM got the first ever Foundation Cup, who was also a foundation member. Considering the fact that the National Party was founded 87 years ago, she was a longtime supporter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000320\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EI\u2019d like to remember Lena Zhang and Janak Patel of Mount Albert, who were killed too soon. I remember attending Janak Patel\u2019s funeral and how heartbreaking that was\u2014that a man who was actually just working, trying to save for his family, got killed in what shouldn\u2019t have actually happened in somebody wanting to commit crime.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000321\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003EI just want to thank my staffers Matthew Stephens and Jo Cho and my Mt Albert team. I obviously don\u2019t have too much time left, but everyone in this House\u2014everyone in this House\u2014and everyone who actually works in this precinct, and I know that our leader actually thanked the gallery people as well, who actually make our lives so interesting. They do a great job. And I also like to thank you, Mr Speaker. And I also want to say thank you to my colleague Michael Woodhouse, who actually talked about the Standing Orders. I have to say that his knowledge of House operations is encyclopaedic, and I am always in awe, and I wish you all good luck in the election. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022 data-id=\u00224c7d340852e242168f0347737ed1b8b8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000322\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224c7d340852e242168f0347737ed1b8b8\u0022\u003EHon KELVIN DAVIS (Minister for M\u0101ori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. Melissa Lee had five minutes then and spoke for 3\u00BD minutes about herself, her puppies, her driver\u2019s licence, and a golf simulator. I think that\u2019s indicative of what the National Party stands for: themselves. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EE te M\u0101ngai o te Whare, t\u014Dku hiahia kia whakapuaretia t\u0113nei w\u0101hanga ki te mihi atu ki a koe. E puku pai ana te h\u0101te, ko koe te M\u0101ori tuarua kia tae ki t\u0113nei t\u016Branga, n\u0101 reira e mihi kau ana ki a koe, e te tuakana, e Adrian. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000324\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E[To the Speaker, I want to open this section by acknowledging you. I am very proud, you are the second M\u0101ori to make it to this role, so I congratulate you, my senior, Adrian.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000325\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EMr Deputy Speaker, I\u2019d like to acknowledge yourself but also the Speaker, Adrian Rurawhe\u2014and acknowledge that he is the second M\u0101ori to hold this position. As we say in Ng\u0101puhi, \u201CE puku pai ana te h\u0101te\u201D\u2014it means the heart swells with pride. I\u2019d just like to acknowledge Adrian Rurawhe and the job he has done as our Speaker. I\u2019d also like to thank the Clerks, our security staff, the hospitality staff, and all of the staffers across all the business units here at Parliament and the wonderful staff in our offices and in our electorates. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000326\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EThis term in Government has really reinforced why I wanted to get into politics and why joining the Labour Party was a no-brainer to me. We\u2019ve been tackling inequities head on, fighting for workers\u2019 rights, working hard for all of our communities\u2014especially those who are marginalised. We\u2019ve done that and will continue to do that in our next term as Government. Under the leadership of Chris Hipkins, we\u2019ve been able to build on all the mahi that was started under our former leader Jacinda Ardern.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000327\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EMr Speaker, you have heard today about the massive wins we have achieved under this Government for all New Zealanders, but I want to focus particularly on the work that we have done for M\u0101ori. As Prime Minister \u201CChippy\u201D proudly mentioned in the House this week, we have a lot to be proud of: Te Aka Whai Ora - M\u0101ori Health Authority; the 145 percent increase in funding for Wh\u0101nau Ora since 2017\u2014that\u2019s 145 percent increase in funding. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000328\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EThe doubling of the number of \u0101konga studying M\u0101ori language immersion at levels\u00A03\u00A0and 4, and more than 32 percent increase in schools offering it. I also want to add the record investment into M\u0101ori education under this Government: that\u2019s been more than $1\u00A0billion over the last five years. We have achieved pay parity for k\u014Dhanga reo teachers, and it is absolutely uplifting to the soul to hear a k\u014Dhanga reo teacher\u2014a kaiako\u2014say that her salary has doubled under this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000329\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EWe have 1,000 fewer M\u0101ori in prison. We\u2019re seeing a significant reduction in tamariki M\u0101ori entering care in the last five years; uplifts have decreased by 70 percent. We have the least number of young people in Oranga Tamariki care since 2010\u2014the numbers who are entering care have reduced to the lowest point since 2004. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000330\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EWe have had the biggest investment ever into Te Matatini, and something I\u2019m especially proud of is Matariki. We now have a public holiday that we can truly say is not just for M\u0101ori, but for all New Zealanders, because being able to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and prepare for the future are universal aspirations, and we can do that regardless of the culture or the ethnicity that we come from. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000331\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003ESince Te R\u0101 Aro ki a Matariki was launched two years ago, there\u2019s been a huge uptake in New Zealanders who want to celebrate it in their own way, and I can see that there will be other ways in the future that all New Zealanders can celebrate Matariki. We produced those little karakia booklets that are in M\u0101ori and English with an explanation about what each star does. In the future, I see those being translated into other languages\u2014into Korean, into Samoan, into Chinese, into French\u2014so that all New Zealanders from their cultures can celebrate this uniquely New Zealand way and make it even more unique through their ethnicity and their cultural groups, their people, celebrating it. We noticed that while Mr Christopher Luxon shied away from celebrating Matariki, he got on the waka that went up to Takaparawhau\u2014that\u2019s Bastion Point\u2014with Ng\u0101ti Wh\u0101tua \u014Cr\u0101kei to welcome in the M\u0101ori New Year, and I congratulate him on that small concession.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000332\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EBut everything that we\u2019ve done is at risk with a potential ACT-National Government because they want to scrap the M\u0101ori Health Authority, despite practitioners and academics all saying that this is a step in the right direction. I want to remind them that it\u2019s not OK that myself, my wh\u0101nau, my nephews, my nieces\u2014we will probably die seven years earlier than any other New Zealander simply because we are M\u0101ori. It\u2019s not OK that M\u0101ori wait longer for operations. It\u2019s not OK for M\u0101ori to be denied access to healthcare. The facts are the facts, and for the Opposition to accuse this of being race-based policy, it sends a message that not only are they OK with the status quo\u2014OK with M\u0101ori dying seven years earlier\u2014but they are, in fact, defending the status quo and we will not stand for it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000333\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EA huge concern that we all should share is the ACT Party want to rewrite the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. David Seymour fails to recognise that under the founding document of our country, we\u2019re able to build nationhood; we\u2019re able to really come together under the promises subscribed in Te Tiriti. I always talk about how when K\u0101wanatanga, the article 1 proposition, and rangatiratanga, the article 2 proposition, come together, that\u2019s when we\u2019ll see the magic happen. And that is about New Zealanders coming together; it is not about divisive race-based policies. So, sadly their proposed rewrite of the principles eliminates rangatiratanga, which then means that the cosignatories to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840 just will be written out and their place is jeopardised. M\u0101ori, as cosignatories to Te Tiriti, are a minority and historically have a deep mistrust of the system because the guarantees were not upheld. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000334\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s not just Te Tiriti o Waitangi Mr Seymour wants to do away with; it\u2019s the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, it\u2019s the Ministry for Women, it\u2019s the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, and it\u2019s the Human Rights Commission. Although it might be hard for him to grapple with, the reality is that we all have different starting positions in the race of life. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve worked hard to bridge the gap and to ensure that all New Zealanders are not just relegated to trying to survive, but to thrive. Mr Seymour reminds everyone of his Ng\u0101puhi ancestry whenever it\u2019s convenient, so I\u2019d like to share with him a proverb from our t\u016Bpuna, and it goes \u201CHe aha k\u0113 ahau e t\u016B nei kia whakaw\u0101tea e koe, te tangata t\u0101hae, te tangata kore tikanga? Ka tika ake m\u0101ku k\u0113 koe e whakaw\u0101 ki runga i \u014Dku tikanga. Kotahi anake te tat\u016Btanga: ko te tika me te pono.\u201D\u2014that translated means why is it that I, as a M\u0101ori, am judged by P\u0101keh\u0101 people, who have taken my land and my possessions by dubious means? It would be more appropriate for me to judge you according to my customs, and there would be but one outcome and that is the truth.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000335\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003ESo I challenge the ACT Party and I challenge Mr Seymour to go and speak to his M\u0101ori people in our cultural context, on our marae where our customs prevail, where our language is heard, where our traditional world view is experienced, and justify to them kanohi ki te kanohi\u2014face to face\u2014on his and their side of the bridge that is Te Tiriti o Waitangi, why he wants to write rangatiratanga out of Te Tiriti. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000336\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EOn that note, I reserve my final comments for te Iwi M\u0101ori. Kei te kapu o \u014D koutou ringaringa kia tohu ko wai ka t\u016B hei K\u0101wanatanga \u0101 muri i ng\u0101 k\u014Dwhiringa p\u014Dti: whakamahia. Toro atu ki t\u014D wh\u0101nau, ki \u014D hoa, ki t\u014D hapori kia puta atu ki te p\u014Dti. Tairangatia. N\u014D reira e aku rangatira, ng\u0101 mema o t\u0113nei Whare, te Mana Whakaw\u0101, t\u0113n\u0101 r\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000337\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E[In the palm of your hands is the power to decide who will stand as the Government following the elections: use it. Reach out to your family, your friends, your community to get out to vote. Promote it. Therefore my noble leaders, the members of this House, Mr Speaker, my thanks to all of us.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022 data-id=\u00228a8a7a83309a458b8ca758865f70e6bf\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000338\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228a8a7a83309a458b8ca758865f70e6bf\u0022\u003EDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader\u2014ACT):\u003C/span\u003E Well thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I will briefly reply to the member Kelvin Davis, who has just returned to his seat. There\u2019s much I could dispute in what he said, but at the core of it, that member believes that there is a correct M\u0101ori way to think and that he speaks for that correct way. I\u2019m here, along with other ACT members, members whom he disgracefully said look at the world through a vanilla lens\u2014which he had to apologise for\u2014to say that he does not speak for all M\u0101ori. M\u0101ori have a wide range of views, and many of us disagree with Kelvin Davis.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EBut it\u2019s been a long three years in this Chamber and it has been characterised by one fact that lays bare what has happened, and that is the fact that the Labour Party, in Roy Morgan, polled 26 percent. That means that half the people who voted for Labour at the last election have abandoned voting for Labour in three years. The question that they must be asking themselves is why that is. Well, they may not ask, but I\u2019m always a helpful fellow and I\u2019m going to answer it for them anyway. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000340\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EBefore I do that, I just want to thank the many people who have served in this Parliament with good will to make it the place that it is. We should be proud of our democratic institutions, with one person, one vote and free speech to represent those people behind us. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000341\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EMr Speaker, I want to thank you. I don\u2019t think that it was a particularly high bar, but you have more than excelled and your style has been a welcome change and I\u2019ve been grateful for our interactions and the good will that you\u2019ve brought to the role of upholding this House. I\u2019d like to thank the Clerk and the parliamentary staff right across the precinct, from security guards to caterers to cleaners, who are often forgotten. There\u2019s a lot of people\u2014around 700 people\u2014that work on this precinct to make a difference.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000342\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EI want to thank also those people outside of Parliament who participate in politics: the tens of thousands of people who have come to ACT\u2019s public meetings; the thousands of people, at least, who have come to ACT\u2019s street corner meetings; those volunteers who have put up so many magenta hoardings up and down New Zealand\u2014they have literally painted the country pink. I want to thank those people who serve on the boards of political parties, who donate to political parties, and who volunteer to deliver leaflets because they believe in our democracy. Those people deserve our thanks because they make it all possible.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000343\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EI also should acknowledge the parliamentary press gallery\u2014most of them\u2014who I think do a tremendous job in trying to bring information to light, often under trying circumstances, with shrinking budgets and in an increasingly conflict-ridden and complex world. I thank them for their collegiality.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000344\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EBut I also want to point to ACT\u2019s team of staff members and MPs. I think the people that have worked in ACT\u2019s office have been part not just of a very successful three years of Parliament, where\u2014in stark contrast to Labour\u2014our support has increased by about 60 percent. We\u2019ve been part of an organisation which has been absolutely extraordinary by the standards of any group of people in any field\u2014and that includes our MPs.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000345\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EThere were so many naysayers; so many people who thought it couldn\u2019t work, and yet this extraordinary group of New Zealanders from outside Parliament, from all walks of life, have come together and given a tremendous acquittal of themselves in all aspects of being a member of Parliament. I\u2019m so proud of ACT\u2019s team and I look forward to what they can deliver for New Zealand over the next six weeks and again in this Parliament in an expanded format. To our two retiring MPs, James McDowall and Damien Smith, thank you for your service. The fact that on current polls, 80\u00A0percent of ACT\u2019s MPs will be back is a tremendous tribute to the team we\u2019ve grown along with the talented newcomers that join ACT\u2019s team.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000346\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EI think the reason that we have so much change and support\u2014Labour have lost half of their supporters in the last three years because, frankly, never has so much been promised to so many and yet so little actually delivered. You only have to look at housing. The average house price is up 33\u00A0percent, rents up 44 percent, inflation\u2019s been 22 percent, wages 28 percent\u2014people are going backwards, their wage growth is less than 1 percent a year above inflation and the cost of their housing and their rent has gone up faster.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000347\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EThat\u2019s why New Zealanders overwhelmingly say this country is going in the wrong direction, and they also will tell you that their number one concern is the cost of living. That is Grant Robertson\u2019s epitaph. We saw his usual smart-arse routine at question time today. That is his epitaph\u2014holding up cartoons\u2014and yet he\u2019s the guy who spent all the money. He has left New Zealand with inflation, $121 billion of debt, and a 29 percent increase in spending per person after the high inflation we\u2019ve had, and yet the people have nothing to show for it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000348\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EWe don\u2019t see more kids going to school, we don\u2019t see the streets being safer. In fact, we have had a 29\u201430, in fact\u2014percent increase in offences against people per adult in this country in the last five years. We are objectively less safe. We have more victimisation than ever before. They\u2019ve increased welfare spending by $8.2 billion, and yet there are 120,000 kids still in poverty by the measure of material hardship\u2014the only measure that really matters. All they\u2019ve discovered by spending more money on welfare is there are now more kids in a benefit-dependent household. These are the problems which the Labour Government has left with us and why they\u2019ve been abandoned in droves. Life is too expensive, the streets are too unsafe, they don\u2019t get results or deliver when they promise and spend our money, and people have had enough.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000349\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EBut it\u2019s worse than that. They\u2019ve also fostered a level of division in New Zealand that is unprecedented. This is a Government who has taken a divisive approach to almost every single issue. Take the issue of landlords and tenants. Anyone else can see that they have a relationship where they rely on each other. But taxing landlords, putting more rules and regulations, making it harder to be a landlord, has actually disadvantaged tenants. This is what happens when the Labour Party comes to help you: they actually hurt you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000350\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EIf you take the example of vaccination. Now, I\u2019m a person who says that vaccination was safe and effective, yet by using ostracism as a tool to try and increase vaccination levels, this Government has eroded social cohesion and divided New Zealanders when they didn\u2019t need to. There were better options, like vax or test. Then there\u2019s employers, then there\u2019s workers\u2014they have constantly introduced new rules and regulations that make it harder to get by and employ people.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000351\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EThis is a Government that, to paraphrase their former leader, has no gas left in the tank. They came in and they promised kindness. They promised a nuclear-free moment on climate change, but emissions went up. They promised we\u2019d be safer, but we\u2019re not. They promised more houses would be built, but the prices went through the roof. They made all of these promises and $121 billion of debt later, they have nothing left to offer but massive debt and an erosion of the social capital and\u2014dare I say it\u2014the kindness that this country is built upon.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000352\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EWhat do we see when they are in that kind of a hole? Well, what we see is a Labour Party that can\u2019t run on its record. You\u2019ve seen it in question time if you\u2019ve been watching over the last few weeks. Chris Hipkins never says, \u201CWe\u2019ve done a good job\u201D in response to questions. He always attacks, attacks, attacks the Opposition.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000353\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EWell, in actual fact, the people of New Zealand have had enough of that style of politics. They\u2019ve had enough of Chris Hipkins going negative. They\u2019ve had enough of the misinformation, such as their totally incorrect statements about ACT\u2019s firearm policy, which would actually introduce better and more stringent checks on the people that can have firearms; when, in reality, people already have them and especially those tens of thousands that are held illegally.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000354\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003ESo what is the choice and the chance for New Zealand at this point? It is real change. It is not just a change of Government where we swap Chris for Chris and red for blue, because much as I love my colleagues on the National Party, they have never demonstrated an ability to change Labour\u2019s policies\u2014in fact, this election they can\u2019t even change the name of the Prime Minister. That\u2019s why you need the ACT Party to put up real ideas, to cut Government waste, to make sure that the balance between rights for victims and consequences for criminals is restored, and to make sure that we are reunited in a modern, multi-ethnic, liberal, democratic State. That is what real change really means. It means that we all share the same Kiwi values. We\u2019ve got to bring those back.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000355\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EI\u2019ll tell you the truth, though: you won\u2019t always agree with ACT on everything, but if you give us your votes, then we will work hard for you. We\u2019ll actually deliver what we promise. We\u2019ll cut waste, we\u2019ll end racial division, and we\u2019ll get the politics out of the classroom. Those aren\u2019t just policies; those are values that we all share. So this October, party vote ACT to start putting those values at the heart of everything we do. Thank you, Mr Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022 data-id=\u00220c73adb210774b6da450ca6b06ed7f9e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000356\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220c73adb210774b6da450ca6b06ed7f9e\u0022\u003EHon JAMES SHAW (Co-Leader\u2014Green):\u003C/span\u003E It is a great pleasure to rise on behalf of the Green Party following that contribution from the leader of \u201CNew New Zealand First\u201D. Mr Seymour must be feeling quite grumpy right now, because last term he worked so hard to get rid of Winston Peters so that this term he could become Winston Peters, and now Winston Peters is calling and he wants his Horcrux back because that blackened shard of a soul can only animate the body of one populist authoritarian at once. Whilst the saying goes that the only two certainties in life are death and taxes, Mr Peters is doing his level best to try and disprove the first of those. Chris Hipkins, of course, is trying to disprove the second.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000357\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003EIt is odd that at this election, the National Party is actually proposing more new taxes than the Labour Party and the Greens are promising more income tax cuts than the National Party. It is very confusing. We here are still trying to work out why the GST exemption will apply to truffles, but not bread or roses. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000358\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022714245dff90f48bdaa009011c97f05a6\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: Oh!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000359\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bf15e4bd6ddd49569b031e244313f753\u0022\u003EHon JAMES SHAW\u003C/span\u003E: But the confusion\u2014I know, I know. I\u2019ll only mention taxes 10 or 12 more times during the course of this speech\u2014it\u2019s fine. The confusion, I have to say, is compounded by the recent rise in misinformation and disinformation, such as how do you spell \u201Ccat\u201D or \u201Ccurriculum\u201D, and that\u2019s why the Green Party is calling on the National Party not to give any more spelling lessons to children, because in the words of Christopher Luxon, \u201CWe will not accept mediocrity in the school system\u201D\u2014just don\u2019t ask them to spell \u201Cmediocrity\u201D.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000360\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003EBut, while we are on the topic of mediocrity, let\u2019s just talk about National\u2019s plan to cancel the Climate Emergency Response Fund for a moment. Tell the people of Auckland and Hawke\u2019s Bay and Tair\u0101whiti and Te Tai Tokerau who lost their homes in the floods and storms earlier this year that now is a good time to stop fighting the climate crisis. Roughly 80 percent of the people in this country are worried about climate change and actually want the Government to do more, and about 90 percent of them want the revenue that comes from polluters to be recycled back into action on cutting pollution. But Nicola Willis wants to use that money to fund tax cuts for property speculators, and then has the gall to call it a climate dividend.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000361\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003EInstead, she could have cancelled the Land Transport Fund and returned that money and called that a transport dividend\u2014good luck with your roads then. How would she pay for all of the megamotorways that Simeon Brown wants to build so that he can increase congestion and drive up pollution? She would never get away with it, would she? So instead, the National Party\u2014except for Todd Muller\u2014are going to do what the National Party has always done\u2014[Interruption] Go Todd. They\u2019re going to say that they\u2019re committed to the long-term targets for cutting climate pollution, but then they are going to kick the can down the road for another generation to actually do anything about it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000362\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003ELook at their track record. Six years ago, I stood in this House and I asked then Prime Minister Bill English if he agreed that the one measure of whether a country was succeeding or failing in its fight against climate change was whether its greenhouse gas emissions were rising or falling, and he said that he didn\u2019t think that it was that simple. But it is that simple. It might not be easy, it might mean that you need to take some hard decisions, and it might mean that you need to take the longterm good of the country into account rather than give voters an election bribe, but it is definitely that simple.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000363\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003ESix years later, I can tell this House that our greenhouse gas emissions in Aotearoa are falling, and that is because\u2014and it is only because\u2014with the Green Party in Government with Labour, we have prioritised that work every single day. Now, with the Greens in Government alongside my good friend the Minister of Finance, we have billions of dollars going to support households and communities and businesses to embrace clean energy, and all of that is paid for by polluters. With that fund, we are helping to end the use of coal to heat our schools and our hospitals; with that fund we are helping some of the biggest industrial polluters to switch to renewable energy and high-value, clean-tech jobs\u2014go Megan Woods\u2014and with that fund we are helping the people of Fiji to move dozens of villages away from rising seas and towards higher ground further inland, and National want to cancel that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000364\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003EUnder the last National Government, one in 100 new cars sold in this country was an electric vehicle. Last June, it was one in two. From one in 100 under National to one in two under us, and National want to cancel all of that so that they can have an election year bribe, because to the National Party, winning is more important than human survival. You can actually smell the desperation on them, and it smells like petroleum.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000365\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003EAt this election, New Zealanders do have a clear choice between a Labour-led Government with the Green Party at the heart of it making a real difference, or a National\u00A0-\u00A0ACT - New Zealand First Government that wants to take our country back in time. We cannot risk a National - ACT - New Zealand First Government who will use \u201CIt\u2019s not that simple.\u201D as an excuse for yet more delay, who want to double bus fares for disabled people in order to fund tax cuts for property speculators, who are itching to start drilling for more oil and gas in the M\u0101ui dolphin sanctuary, who are weirdly obsessed with mobile phones and pot-holes\u2014you know, the really big, long-term challenges that are facing us as a country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000366\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003EThe Green Party is here to tackle those big long-term challenges that we face, and I do want to take a moment to acknowledge the Hon Marama Davidson and her work alongside affected communities to deliver Te Aorerekura. It is our first national strategy to end family violence and sexual violence in this country, building on the foundations laid last term by Jan Logie\u2014kia ora. The Greens have taken action to protect our critically endangered wildlife and our wild places, and for that I also, again, want to acknowledge Eugenie Sage\u2014kia ora. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000367\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003EI also want to acknowledge the entire Green Party caucus who have worked with our Labour colleagues to progress alcohol regulation, rainbow rights, electoral reform, ACC, seabed-mining, immigration, public housing, pay equity, saving the St James Theatre, and the control of deer and wild goats, and for all of that\u2014for all of that and much more\u2014I do want to thank the Prime Minister and the Cabinet and our Labour comrades for your partnership and your friendship. We know how much you love our unique combination of humble comradeship and being right about everything all the time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000368\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003EI also want to acknowledge our colleagues in Te Paati M\u0101ori. When you called on me to resign, it took me right back home to a Green Party AGM\u2014thanks, I think. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000369\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228d8277f6d19046e39cf0dafc81c7a82f\u0022\u003ERawiri Waititi\u003C/span\u003E: We\u2019re going with the theme\u2014we\u2019re going with the theme. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000370\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229885d5a95e1e41c9879a4c0986f4bb37\u0022\u003EHon JAMES SHAW\u003C/span\u003E: Ha, ha! And, Mr Speaker, I do want to thank you for your leadership in this House, as so many others have, and your support team: the Office of the Clerk, the Chamber staff, the select committee staff, parliamentary messengers and the Parliamentary Library, security, Copperfields, travel and transport, the maintenance team, the gardeners, the cleaners, the people who make our democracy function\u2014thank you. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000371\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003ETo our Greens staff, you are truly incredible. Without your work, Marama and I would be perhaps reduced to thinking for ourselves or, even worse, making our own social media graphics. Thank you also to the thousands of volunteers knocking on doors and making calls to get more Green MPs into the next Parliament and more Green Ministers sitting around the next Cabinet table.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000372\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227c215736-b512-41de-8f0c-6c5543fcfce7\u0022\u003ENone of us can stand by when we see a way to prevent future tragedies like the floods in Auckland and around the North Island earlier this year. For decades\u2014for decades\u2014politicians have made excuses for why they cannot do things at the pace or the scale that we need to solve those connected crises of climate change, of biodiversity loss, and of intergenerational poverty, and the Green Party does not accept those excuses. The decisions that will be made in the next term of Parliament must build on the foundations that we have laid for an Aotearoa where everyone has what they need to live with dignity within the boundaries of the planet, and that is what is on the ballot paper this year. Ko t\u0113nei te w\u0101\u2014the time is now. N\u014D reira, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou, t\u0113na koutou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022 data-id=\u0022ca93a9132263446fbdda9767692c64a0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000373\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ca93a9132263446fbdda9767692c64a0\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E Sometimes, around this place, I feel like I wear more hats than Rawiri Waititi, so I\u2019m going to try and work my way through a few of them now. I am going to start with the hat that I wear as the Minister for Sport and Recreation and I will say, \u201CUp the Wahs.\u201D Given that before we come back here in October, we will have gotten to the first stages of the men\u2019s Rugby World Cup, I will also wish the All Blacks \u201Cgood luck\u201D\u2014and to do as we should all do\u2014and follow the w\u0101hine and make sure that they too perform well, and so I wish them luck too.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000374\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EI also wear the hat, as you well know, of being the Leader of the House. I do just want to spend a little bit of time talking about what\u2019s happened in this Parliament since we came back at the end of 2020. I want to start, though, with my recognition of you, as the Speaker, and your team of presiding officers. It is fair to say there has been a change of style in the presiding officer team. While I know it\u2019s in the early hours of the morning in Ireland, I\u2019d like to say, Mr Speaker, we\u2019ve appreciated your arrival on the scene and have appreciated the dignity, the mana, and the wisdom that you bring to this House and, indeed, to your fellow presiding officers, who have done a terrific job as well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000375\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EMr Speaker, there\u2019s a few statistics I\u2019d like to run through for you. The House has sat for 1,484 hours and 48 minutes in this term of Parliament\u2014or, for the benefit of the National Party, that\u2019s 57 hours a fortnight, because I know that\u2019s how you do it nowadays. We\u2019ve passed 194 bills as a Government; there\u2019s also been 16 members\u2019 bills passed. There have been 2,656 oral questions, approximately half of which were addressed\u2014but, no, I\u2019m sure they were all addressed; not many of them were answered, probably, but 2,656. There were 134,342 written questions lodged. I think anyone who\u2019s thinking about slashing the Public Service might want to have a think about all of the work that goes into answering written questions and Official Information Act requests. On that note, I want to thank the public servants who serve us when we are in Government, to the best of their abilities, whoever that Government might be.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000376\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EMr Speaker, as you, of course, well know, there is a huge team that sit behind the operations of this place. I want to particularly acknowledge the Clerk\u2019s Office for the hard work they do here and, indeed, in our select committees as well. I want to acknowledge the whole of the Parliamentary Service, but particularly want to acknowledge our security staff. During this term of Parliament, our security staff had to deal with the occupation outside of Parliament. It was a traumatic experience for many of them, but they did a terrific job on our behalf during that time. Indeed, again, today, we saw the need for our security staff, and I want to make a special acknowledgment to them for the work that they do on behalf of all parliamentarians.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000377\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EI want to thank the buildings, the IT, the travel\u2014I want to make a special acknowledgment of the cleaners. Occasionally, I find myself here late at night\u2014not for the reasons I once might have found myself late at night here\u2014and the cleaners are working through the night to make sure that our offices are clean. I\u2019m very proud of the fact that through this period of time, their wages have lifted, and their wages have lifted to the point of a living wage. And I think that is the right thing to do for people who do a tremendous job on our behalf.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000378\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EI also want to thank Hansard and the Library. I want to thank, from a Ministerial Services point of view, the VIP travel driving team\u2014they do an amazing job, as well, at looking after all of us. I also want to thank the travel office for the work that they do. I want to thank the messengers inside this Parliament, particularly for delivering the things that are needed in this House, such as Ginny Andersen received earlier today\u2014that\u2019s an in-joke for the Labour Party, that one.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000379\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EI want to acknowledge also those who work and serve for us in our offices. That means our offices here in Parliament but also our offices right around the country. The people who work in our electorate offices are the front line of democracy and they do an unbelievable job on our behalf, often in quite insecure environments, often in very difficult environments. I want to thank them and I want to thank all of our staff.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000380\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EIt is dangerous to single out any one individual, but I can tell you, on behalf of the Government, that this Parliament would not run if it wasn\u2019t for Peter Hoare, and I want to say that very clearly. Peter is the most exceptional servant of this Parliament, and the work that he does, I know, is appreciated right across the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000381\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003ESo I acknowledge everyone in this House, as we come towards the end of this term, for the work that they have done to make sure that materials got through.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000382\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EI want to acknowledge the National Party\u2019s shadow Leaders of the House and whips for the work that they have done to cooperate. I actually do think it\u2019s quite sad that Michael Woodhouse has not got to do a valedictory\u2014I think he would have deserved that, given that he is the parliamentarian that he is.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000383\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EAnd I want to acknowledge all departing members across the House. I particularly want to acknowledge the Labour departing members, who we\u2019ve worked with so hard over the years: David Clark; Stuart Nash, who I think will be watching from the gym; Poto Williams; Marja Lubeck; Paul Eagle; Jamie Strange; and the now properly and fully dressed Aupito William Sio. All of those are members of Parliament who contributed huge amounts to our Labour team, and I am so proud to have served alongside you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000384\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EI also want to mention my friend of 30-odd years Todd Muller, who gave an excellent speech in Parliament last week, but also, Todd, for your bravery and your courage, over this term of Parliament, in speaking up about issues to do with mental health and wellbeing in particular, and I wish you well, my friend, into the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000385\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EMr Speaker, I also wear a hat, as you know, as the Minister of Finance, and I can\u2019t really let the opportunity go past now just to take another opportunity to have a look at National\u2019s tax plan, because I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve heard enough about it over the course of the last 24 hours or so. More holes than Swiss cheese. In the housing side in particular, I actually just need to read out what Nick Goodall from CoreLogic said. \u201CI also did a quick calculation to see where the $740 million tax \u2026 came from, and I\u2019m struggling to figure it out \u2026 If you assume 5 percent of the 2,600 properties sold above $2\u00A0million went to foreigners \u2026 that would [get you about] $50 million at 15 percent\u201D\u2014somewhat short of the $740 million that have been promised. Be it that or SkyCity\u2019s written gambling tax or the complete elimination of climate action. And let\u2019s be clear: that\u2019s what sits at the heart of that plan\u2014albeit, the removal, as James Shaw\u2019s already said, of half-priced public transport for disabled people, for our younger people, for those on low incomes, and the removal of 20 hours free for two-year-olds that is coming in. There are headlines dotted right through the media, today, that tell you that if you scratch the surface of the National Party plan, you see the holes in it and you see that you still can\u2019t trust National with numbers. As I would have said, were she here, \u201CThere\u2019s a hole in your back pocket, dear Nicola, dear Nicola.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000386\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EI want to finish, in my role here in the House, as a member of the Labour team. I was pretty excited today when the ANZ New Zealand Business Outlook came out, (a) because it was positive\u2014not always the case\u2014but (b) because of its headline, which I mentioned earlier today during question time: \u201CGoldilocks is in the building\u201D. I then thought about, in my traditionally modest way, this story that Luke Malpass wrote, which said, \u201CMeet Grant Robertson: The goldilocks of fiscal probity\u201D\u2014one is too modest to speak further on that matter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000387\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EBut it did make me think about the team that is the Labour Party, and \u201CPapa Bear\u201D \u201CChippy\u201D, who leads us. I want to acknowledge the Prime Minister Chris Hipkins for his exceptional leadership over this period of time. As other colleagues have mentioned, he took over from Jacinda\u2014somebody that we all loved and respected so much, and he has done that in a way that is authentic to the \u201CChippy\u201D that we know. New Zealanders, on the election campaign over the next six weeks, will come again to see Chris Hipkins as a reliable person, someone they can relate to, and someone who will lead New Zealand well, into the future. I also want to acknowledge \u201CMama Bear\u201D Carmel Sepuloni, our Deputy Prime Minister who has once again led us and brought us together during some pretty challenging and difficult times that have occurred over this. Megan Woods then made me identify the baby of our caucus\u2014\u201CBaby Bear\u201D Naisi Chen. And I want to acknowledge all of the class of 2020, who came in this term, who\u2019ve added so much to our caucus. This is a tremendous team. It\u2019s a team I am so proud to have worked alongside. It\u2019s a team that knows the meaning of Labour values, of looking after our people, and of making sure that we provide for the future generations.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000388\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EI agree with James Shaw: this is an election that is a straight-out contest between a progressive Government with Labour and the Greens, and perhaps another party, which might speak in a moment, or going backwards under National. I know what New Zealanders want and prefer: it\u2019s a continuation of our team.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022 data-id=\u0022a72cc580ad314d55bb67d5d62c99ec4f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000389\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a72cc580ad314d55bb67d5d62c99ec4f\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: This is a split call. I call Penny Simmonds.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022 data-id=\u00229a5faa9964c240a3820ff88266424a1a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000390\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229a5faa9964c240a3820ff88266424a1a\u0022\u003EPENNY SIMMONDS (National\u2014Invercargill):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. In the dying stages of this 53rd Parliament, I want to talk about the perfect storm that our tertiary education sector is experiencing. Whether through wilful neglect or just hapless incompetence from this Labour Government, our universities, w\u0101nanga, polytechnics, private training organisations, and industry training organisations are suffering from a combination of domestic student decreases, high inflation impacting on operating costs, international student numbers not recovering fast enough, and wasteful spending by a Government more intent on progressing fanciful ideologies than funding actual education delivery.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000391\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022\u003EDomestic student numbers have dropped as students flee New Zealand for studies overseas, and many of those who remain have to try and find work to support their families rather than study. In Wellington, where the cost of living is particularly high, students are fleeing the city and therefore its universities and polytechnics.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000392\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022\u003EInternational student numbers have not recovered in a way that they have in our competitor countries such as Australia and Canada, because this Government didn\u2019t open the borders soon enough, didn\u2019t get out and effectively coordinate a successful marketing campaign to attract students, and didn\u2019t have immigration policies which align with and supported international student recruitment. In fact, we even had the Minister of Education at that time, Chris Hipkins, and the chair of Education New Zealand, Steve Maharey\u2014also a previous Labour Minister of Education\u2014saying maybe we don\u2019t need to get back to pre-COVID days of international student numbers, that maybe we should be doing more offshore delivery. That certainly did not send the signal to international students that we want you back and it also ignored the many and broader benefits of internationalisation on our tertiary sector and the New Zealand communities where they live, work, study, and then graduate into.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000393\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022\u003EThe cost of living crisis is hurting the tertiary providers just as it hurts individuals, families, and businesses. Increased costs of resources, materials, fuel, power, and all the other resources increases tertiary providers\u2019 operating costs.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000394\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022\u003EThen we look at this Government\u2019s wasteful spending of hundreds of millions of dollars on their ideological centralisation of polytechnics and industry training organisations into Te P\u016Bkenga, which has resulted in a dismal and catastrophic failure and put our whole vocational sector at risk. What Government with even an ounce of fiscal understanding would have embarked on spending hundreds of millions of dollars to centralise 16 polytechnics and eight industry training organisations without doing the due diligence to know it would cost around another billion dollars to put the systems and programmes in place to make it operable and then not be able to fund that, leaving them high and dry?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000395\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022\u003EIt is hard to believe just how much damage this Government could do to our valuable tertiary education sector in such a short time, and that is without even starting to talk about the carnage they have inflicted on the early childhood education sector. Grand, ideology-driven ideas, public money spent unfettered, and a lack of self-reflection to \u201Cknow what they don\u2019t know\u201D have enormously damaged our tertiary and early childhood education sectors.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000396\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022\u003EIf we have the privilege of being in Government after 14 October, we will respect the independence and autonomy of our education providers. We will work with them to find a practical long-term solution, not band-aids, and we will restore the international standing of, particularly, our universities and polytechnics. The damage must be undone. Thank you, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022 data-id=\u0022f11807b9edb84503b70c64ea24732a8c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000397\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f11807b9edb84503b70c64ea24732a8c\u0022\u003ERAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader\u2014Te Paati M\u0101ori):\u003C/span\u003E It seems like this side of the House can find a grain of salt in a sugar factory. I just wanted to say, as I heard the story about Goldilocks\u2014Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Baby Bear\u2014I tell you, it\u2019s been very difficult to sit next to a polar bear and a gummy bear, and it\u2019s been quite hard to contain the grizzly bear in me.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000398\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EMr Speaker, I do want to acknowledge you. Ng\u0101 mihi nui ki koe, e te M\u0101ngai, n\u0101hau r\u0101 t\u0113nei Whare i pupuri r\u0101 i te mauri kia tarea an\u014D hoki ki te whakatutuki.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000399\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003E[Big congratulations to you, Mr Speaker, who maintains the life energy of this House so that its work can be accomplished.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000400\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EI do want to say that you are a huge improvement from the last Speaker we had, who kicked me out for the first time. But, I must say, you\u2019re top of the pops because you suspended me for the first time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000401\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EWe are on the cusp of an Aotearoa where our tamariki are truly free to thrive in their authentic selves. No more will we allow anybody to treat us like second-class citizens on our own whenua. No more will we allow the entitled and privileged to decide what is best for us. No more will we allow white supremacy and white privilege to reign supreme on our whenua. No more will we allow those who have built their wealth off the blood of our t\u012Bpuna, and off the lands they stole, to continue to enforce oppressive policies that keep us at the bottom of the heap. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000402\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EWe are the only movement that will fight for our people. We are the only movement that will stand up against the people in this country who only seek to belittle us, colonise us, and assimilate us. We are the only movement that is focused on making mokopuna decisions. We are the only movement committed to an Aotearoa hou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000403\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EWhat does an Aotearoa hou look like? It looks like how we will treat you on the marae. We will welcome you. We will feed you. We will house you. We will protect you. We will educate you. We will care for you. We will love you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000404\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003ETe Paati M\u0101ori is a movement that leaves no one behind, whether you are tangata whenua or a tangata Tiriti, tangata hau\u0101, takat\u0101pui, w\u0101hine, t\u0101ne, rangatahi, mokopuna\u2014you are wh\u0101nau. No one will be marginalised in our whare. No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, everyone is welcome to the waharoa of our Aotearoa hou. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000405\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EWe will feed you. Everyone will have the dignity to be able to put healthy kai on the table to feed our babies. No longer will the rich and the powerful feed off the backs of the 98 percent. Our goal is not to reduce poverty, but to eliminate it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000406\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EWe will house you. No one should be homeless. We\u2019ve got 94,000 empty homes in Aotearoa right now. No one should be paying half of their income in rent to feed their landlord\u2019s wh\u0101nau, when they can barely afford to feed their own wh\u0101nau. No one should live in cold, damp housing that makes their tamariki sick. M\u0101ori make up 60 percent of homeless in Aotearoa, and 50 percent of the housing waiting list. Tangata whenua should never be homeless on their own lands. No one will be homeless in an Aotearoa hou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000407\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EWe will protect you. The greatest violence you can inflict on anyone is poverty. You cannot arrest or imprison poverty out of society. Te Paati M\u0101ori will never support legislation that locks up our tamariki at 12 years old. One law for all does not apply to the privileged. No one should get name suppression to protect political agendas at the expense of the victim.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000408\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EWe will educate you. In an Aotearoa hou, everyone will know their rights. Everyone has a right to know their whakapapa. If you don\u2019t know your whakapapa, your whakapapa knows you. If you don\u2019t know your maunga, your maunga knows you. If you don\u2019t know your awa, your awa knows you. If you don\u2019t know your reo, your reo knows you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000409\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EWe wait and we anticipate more people coming to the waharoa of our Aotearoa hou as we head into this election. Hika m\u0101! It is now time for us to believe in ourselves, to be proud, to be magic, and to believe in your mana. Our Aotearoa hou gives a space to dream. You are the solutions waiting to happen.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000410\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003EI want to acknowledge our team this year, who punched well above their weight class. Ng\u0101 mihi nui ki a koutou. I am proud of you all, I am proud of our movement, and I\u2019m proud to head into this campaign, doing what we said we would do. All of the things that they\u2019ve said over there\u2014Kelvin Davis, thank you for outlining the M\u0101ori Party manifesto of 2020. We\u2019re really, really proud of that. Welcome, Meka, to the team. E te iwi, ng\u0101 mihi nui ki a koutou, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou. Kia ora t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022 data-id=\u0022811c0a65bc3745ceb182235d5cd25f6b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000411\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022811c0a65bc3745ceb182235d5cd25f6b\u0022\u003EHon WILLIE JACKSON (Minister for Broadcasting and Media):\u003C/span\u003E E mihi ana ki a koe, e te whanaunga, Rawiri, m\u014D t\u014D k\u014Drero rerek\u0113, ataahua, engari e mihi nui ki koe.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000412\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003E[I acknowledge you, my relative, Rawiri, for your different speech, beautiful, but I acknowledge you.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000413\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EYou started off so beautifully, dear brother\u2014a bit negative after that, but Rawiri talked k\u014Drero, and I mihi to you for your courage over the last year or so.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000414\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003ECan I also support the mihis to you too, Mr Speaker, in terms of your mahi in the last year or so. You haven\u2019t been particularly nice to me, but\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000415\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220e8cb9357e254510b424494f10b505e9\u0022\u003EHon Kelvin Davis\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s not all about you. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000416\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dc90c3678cd949ecb686a8ed166da8a2\u0022\u003EHon WILLIE JACKSON\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s not about me, as Kelvin says. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000417\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EEngari kei te tino whakah\u012Bh\u012B m\u0101tou, t\u014D m\u0101tou k\u0101hui M\u0101ori, ka uru koe ki t\u0113r\u0101 t\u016Branga, he mihi nui ki koe.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000418\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003E[But we are very proud, our M\u0101ori caucus, that you have entered that role. Big congratulations to you.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000419\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EMr Speaker, as you would have heard, Kelvin Davis stole my speech as the deputy leader, but I was thinking that I came into the Labour Party in 2017. It wasn\u2019t a very good welcome, actually, if I\u2019m being honest. I think there was a 400-strong petition or something, and it was Andrew Little\u2019s fault! But anyway, we\u2019re not going there. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000420\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022376f66864f4f44f3890a3e4a44b477ff\u0022\u003ERawiri Waititi\u003C/span\u003E: Come to our Aotearoa hou, Willie. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000421\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b19d059d0c6a4d74a5189d4a6b412aaf\u0022\u003EHon WILLIE JACKSON\u003C/span\u003E: Anyway, we won\u2019t go to the M\u0101ori Party, either. Let\u2019s just get back to the kaupapa. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000422\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022394cf0e1bc4d45dea6138a0b9aaa9a8f\u0022\u003EHon Kelvin Davis\u003C/span\u003E: Good idea. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000423\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002205d21c6ff0cf4539b9d1c38e1971357d\u0022\u003EHon WILLIE JACKSON\u003C/span\u003E: Yes. I mentioned 2017, not because of what I got from the Labour Party, but because I remembered while listening to Rawiri Waititi speak what the M\u0101ori Party got in terms of that targeted National Government Budget of 2017, which was $120 million. That was really good, and I\u2019m being really serious here, because they only had two members and they did their best: $120 million in targeted funding\u2014exceptional. It was actually more than from a lot of previous Governments.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000424\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EBut when you compare that, with respect, to what our M\u0101ori caucus has got over the last three years, which was $1 billion at every Budget over the last three years, you can see the investment the Labour Party has been putting into M\u0101ori. It\u2019s been huge right across Te Ao M\u0101ori. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000425\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EIf we look at Wh\u0101nau Ora, there\u2019s been a 120 percent increase in funding. I want to thank Peeni Henare for his mahi there, and I want to thank our Wh\u0101nau Ora providers who did some magnificent work during COVID\u2014just fabulous. It\u2019s a shame most of them joined the M\u0101ori Party, but I suppose it was really hard because the head of Wh\u0101nau Ora is the head of the M\u0101ori Party. But they did some terrific work during that time, and well done to our people, eh, on the ground.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000426\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002280d8bba7abf3485caf1d9c8f08989610\u0022\u003ERawiri Waititi\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, magnificent.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000427\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022943b792689cf40f387b489b8593fa4a5\u0022\u003EHon WILLIE JACKSON\u003C/span\u003E: No, seriously, during COVID, magnificent\u2014just got to get them to join the right party, Rawiri Waititi. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000428\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EWe had $90 million going to M\u0101ori broadcasting. They gave our people that iwi radio, Whakaatea M\u0101ori\u2014it gives them an opportunity. It gives them an opportunity to get our reo out, to get our stories out\u2014fantastic. And while I\u2019m talking about broadcasting, I should say that it\u2019s been an honour being the broadcasting Minister, and to get $25 million out to National Radio was giving them an opportunity to get our new national radio board, TVNZ board, and it\u2019s fantastic to get the digital bargaining bill out today. It\u2019s a shame that our friend Melissa Lee and the National Party are so confused and that they don\u2019t want to back the little guy and make the big global players pay for the news. It was very sad to hear them talking today, but kei te pai\u2014we\u2019ll support them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000429\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EIn M\u0101ori business, we have a procurement programme worth about $1 billion. We tried to get it through between 2017 and 2020, but Kelvin Davis\u2019 relations in New Zealand First have got a few hang-ups, you know? So we couldn\u2019t get our procurement programme through, because they thought M\u0101ori shouldn\u2019t be a priority.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000430\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EIf you add the extra funding that Kelvin\u2019s got in k\u014Dhanga reo for te reo M\u0101ori, and we\u2019ve had M\u0101ori trade trainees\u2014it\u2019s been fantastic. We have Poutama Rangatahi and Mana in Mahi looking after our young people, and Te Matatini funding of $32 million, which Rawiri Waititi assures me that he got. I never saw him at the negotiating table. I never saw him there, but he assures me it was all because of him.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000431\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EI want to thank Kiritapu Allan for her advocacy in that area, and also Willow-Jean Prime particularly. They\u2019ve been our main Ministers. But, as we all know, that p\u016Btea means so much for our people, so congratulations to all of us in terms of that p\u016Btea.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000432\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EWhen we look at a kaupapa like Whai K\u0101inga Whai Oranga, a M\u0101ori housing strategy that\u2019s been set up and run by people like Willie Te Aho and Annette Wehi\u2014fantastic\u2014and Jamie Tuuta, and supported by our housing Minister, Megan Woods, it\u2019s the first by M\u0101ori, for M\u0101ori housing strategy from any Government. It\u2019s just fantastic.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000433\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EI want to say thank you to Nanaia Mahuta for the local M\u0101ori seats. That was a huge win for us. It gave our people an opportunity to actually get on councils. They can\u2019t get on councils, because people won\u2019t vote for our people. I want to thank the tuahine for her mahi in that area. It\u2019s been a tough time for her, but if you talk about democracy\u2014well, that\u2019s democracy at work.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000434\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EThe other kaupapa is the M\u0101ori Health Authority. Who would have thought that from a mainstream party, we would have got a M\u0101ori Health Authority? And, of course, who would believe that this country could celebrate a M\u0101ori day\u2014Matariki. It\u2019s magnificent, and it\u2019s an example of how we can all come together for one kaupapa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000435\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EI mention all these kaupapa because, as Kelvin Davis rightly said and as we know in the House, they\u2019re all at risk. Even our Matariki holiday\u2014I fear we\u2019ll lose that. It\u2019s all at risk from the National Party, but I think they know better. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000436\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EBut David Seymour has a lot to answer for. You see, he won\u2019t support the kaupapa that we talk about. He\u2019ll kill our M\u0101ori Health Authority. He\u2019ll get rid of M\u0101ori seats on councils. He\u2019ll dismantle not just M\u0101ori things but the ministries of women\u2019s affairs, ethnic affairs, Pacific affairs. It\u2019s shocking what he\u2019s going to do, and yet he makes out he\u2019s this huge expert in terms of indigenous rights. Well, I can\u2019t remember him being a lawyer at the Supreme Court or the Privy Council, but he seems to know more about M\u0101ori indigenous rights than every High Court judge, Supreme Court judge, or Privy Council judge who has supported M\u0101ori indigenous rights since 1987. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000437\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EAs well as that, Mr Seymour thinks he knows more about indigenous rights than every National Prime Minister and Labour Prime Minister. Think about that: David Lange, Geoffrey Palmer, Jim Bolger, Jenny Shipley, Mike Moore, Helen Clark, John Key, Bill English, Jacinda Ardern, and our wonderful Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, along with judges like Dame Sian Elias, our current Chief Justice, Dame Helen Winkelmann, and Lord Cooke, who, along with his fellow judges Sir Ivor Richardson, Summers, Casey, and Bisson in 1987, talked about partnership. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000438\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EAre you listening, David Seymour? Oh, he\u2019s just cleverer than all of them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000439\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EThey made it clear that partnership is an integral part of the Treaty and that M\u0101ori have special rights. But no, not according to Mr Seymour, and, sadly, his members of the ACT Party. We hear them here in the House every week: \u201CWhy have M\u0101oris got this?\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000440\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EI\u2019m talking about this because this is important. They are always talking about M\u0101ori having special privileges\u2014\u201CM\u0101ori apartheid\u201D\u2014and asking, \u201CIs there separatism?\u201D So, for the record, for the members in ACT, M\u0101ori do have rights that have been legitimised by the courts of this country. They are a separate set of rights because they recognise M\u0101ori are the indigenous people of this country, and indigenous people have indigenous rights. This has been recognised by the United Nations. Those rights recognise the horrors that indigenous people have gone through\u2014that\u2019s what it\u2019s about. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000441\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EThat\u2019s what Mr Seymour wants to change. He wants to bring us back sad impressions of Don Brash, yet with all these special privileges. Do M\u0101ori have great health statistics, education statistics, or employment statistics? They\u2019re all bad. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EThey\u2019re all bad, but they\u2019re getting better under this Government. We\u2019re putting frameworks in place, and I want to say I\u2019m so proud that this is a Government who has been so courageous and passionate in terms of outlining and supporting the kaupapa with regard to M\u0101ori. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000443\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EIt gave me faith. In my lifetime, I never thought a mainstream party would embrace some of these kaupapa. I was with the M\u0101ori Party. I was in Mana Motuhake. I led Mana Motuhake before the M\u0101ori Party even existed. We talked about these issues, then the M\u0101ori Party talked about these issues, and now Labour is\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000444\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dc72937572ca43e3825806b7b6f12fbf\u0022\u003EHon Grant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: We\u2019ve done it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000445\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002270ae25505bd94bb3a836b74cdccb7f0e\u0022\u003EHon WILLIE JACKSON\u003C/span\u003E: We\u2019ve done it, and we want to go forward, working with the Greens, and perhaps the whanaungas in the M\u0101ori Party. I think that there\u2019s a lot of hope that New Zealanders should be looking at. Don\u2019t worry about all this division rubbish; the division is only coming from one side. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000446\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f317ee7d-f040-44ec-8f2f-ad0a9f206d75\u0022\u003EWe need to embrace the values and the principles of the Labour Party and the principles of Matariki. It was wonderful watching New Zealanders engage and embrace Matariki\u2014wonderful. P\u0101keh\u0101 people who don\u2019t know the reo are loving the language. We love the Labour Party. To all our people out there, don\u2019t forget to support to support us on 14 October. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022 data-id=\u00227c8eccffbf2f42d09ecec99a30f731d3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000447\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a434482b-7ac1-4862-9ce7-13e63289dee3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227c8eccffbf2f42d09ecec99a30f731d3\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I understand this is a split call. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002232601127-a1e9-4ba0-b6af-99865a84a209\u0022 data-id=\u002293c10bafed4248eba1ae17f80bc766b4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000448\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002232601127-a1e9-4ba0-b6af-99865a84a209\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002293c10bafed4248eba1ae17f80bc766b4\u0022\u003ETAMA POTAKA (National\u2014Hamilton West):\u003C/span\u003E E te M\u0101ngai, I wanted to acknowledge Maureen Pugh and her wh\u0101nau at this time for their recent loss, and also my esteemed kaum\u0101tua from Rangit\u012Bkei, Ian McKelvie, and wily Hamiltonian David Bennett for their support. I\u2019m thankful to speak briefly to a couple of kaupapa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000449\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002232601127-a1e9-4ba0-b6af-99865a84a209\u0022\u003EFirst, education: education needs to return to teaching the basics brilliantly and the realisation of potential across many cohorts, particularly M\u0101ori. As Parliament, we should be whakam\u0101 of the situation we\u2019re in: 98 percent of kids in decile 1 cannot pass a basic writing test. Half of our M\u0101ori kids aren\u2019t turning up regularly to go to school. Half of our children fail to hit minimum OECD standards. We can do better. But all this happened when an extra $5 billion was spent on education over the past five years. The famous hiphop song resounds: the more tax money we come across, the more problems we see. Each and every child should gain the skills and knowledge they need for further education and to realise the potential of their lives.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000450\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002232601127-a1e9-4ba0-b6af-99865a84a209\u0022\u003ESecond, Hamilton West is a microcosm of New Zealand. If Hamilton West succeeds, New Zealand succeeds, and if it fails, New Zealand will likely fail. We\u2019ve got hardworking wh\u0101nau and organisations like the Wise Group, a super Super Rugby team, and exemplary iwi development like Waikato-Tainui, but as the ram-raid capital of Aotearoa, inflation, law and order, health\u2014fail blog. Housing is particularly difficult in Hamilton: 750 kids and 750 adults wake up in motels and cars every single day, and this Government is giving $25 million a quarter to the motel owners in Hamilton. National will unlock more land and build transport for the future, in dynamic cities like Hamilton. As Scribe would say, \u201CKeep our minds on the prize and our minds on the goal,\u201D and get our city of the future back on track.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000451\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002232601127-a1e9-4ba0-b6af-99865a84a209\u0022\u003EThird, in my view, kotahitanga, or unity, across the country has unravelled a little more in the short time I\u2019ve been here, and today, respectfully, opining that voting choices put everything at risk and that one party is an exclusive representative of M\u0101ori communities is unreasonable hyperbole. There are some unreasonable positions around the binary outcomes that people are positioning in our discussions in Parliament, and, to be fair, I think there\u2019s a degree of maturity we can grow into. As Todd Muller eloquently observed, we are seeing more toxicity around relationships between relations\u2014M\u0101ori, P\u0101keh\u0101, Kiwis, New Zealanders, people from Waatea Marae and Ihum\u0101tao, farmers, townies, employees, employers, P\u0101keh\u0101, M\u0101ori, journalists, and digital platforms. We are all stronger when we bring evidence-based data together with a bit of innovation\u2014for example, the ingenuity and the innovation around settling Treaty claims, like Christopher Finlayson did and Minister Little is doing tomorrow with Te P\u016Btake Rongo. E mihi ana ki a ia. [I acknowledge him.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000452\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002232601127-a1e9-4ba0-b6af-99865a84a209\u0022\u003EAccelerating the novel implementation of social investment and wellbeing programmes\u2014if we can have respectful and fun debate, Matua Minita Jackson and Matua Minita Sio, this place would be a better place and we could better create a safe, prosperous, and successful country, Ms Dean. We will maintain stability for wh\u0101nau and communities and both move and hold the centre in both a sustaining and symbiotic way.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000453\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002232601127-a1e9-4ba0-b6af-99865a84a209\u0022\u003EThe first M\u0101ori King, P\u014Dtatau Te Wherowhero, offered some great insight: through the eye of the needle must pass the red, the black, and the white thread\u2014and I would add \u201Cthe yellow, the green, the purple and the blue\u201D. It is time for all New Zealanders, particularly us in this place, to re-splice kotahitanga. We must show that we can be an outperforming economy and an outperforming society. We can help grow health and wealth without having to grow to peak K\u0101wanatanga and spending of Government. We can ensure that law and order is tied up with productivity and potential, and we must guarantee that exemplary health and education services are delivered for Kiwis.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000454\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002232601127-a1e9-4ba0-b6af-99865a84a209\u0022\u003EThe chaotic winter is coming to a close and with it comes spring and a promise of blue skies and the green growth that comes accordingly. I look over at my empty seat over there, at our friends from the Green Party, and say to them that green only comes through blue\u2014and a bit of yellow. That\u2019s the biggest challenge that the Green Party has. The biggest challenge that the Labour Party has is that they know that kotahitanga can only come forth and emerge forth when members of the National Party coalesce and drive it together. And with that, Mr Speaker, e mihi ana ki a koe i \u014D p\u016Bkenga, i t\u014D m\u0101tauranga. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000455\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002232601127-a1e9-4ba0-b6af-99865a84a209\u0022\u003E[And with that, Mr Speaker, I acknowledge you, your skills, your knowledge. Greetings to all of us.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022 data-id=\u00225359767a6e1443319b7b57a0246c02cb\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000456\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225359767a6e1443319b7b57a0246c02cb\u0022\u003ECHRIS PENK (National\u2014Kaipara ki Mahurangi):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I join my colleague and friend Tama Potaka in acknowledging our colleague Maureen Pugh and also want to add the acknowledgment of the wonderful parliamentarian and good man that is the Hon Rino Tirikatene at, also, a difficult time for him.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000457\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EI stand as National\u2019s senior whip, not only because I gave myself the honour of speaking in this debate but also just to reflect on the way that Parliament has operated these past three years, as is typical at an adjournment debate. Parliament will soon have its dissolution\u2014as though this place were not dissolute enough already\u2014and while the whip is in some ways the quintessential partisan role in terms of that person\u2019s internal and external dealings, at the same time, one has a great opportunity for operating across the institution of Parliament, and I want to acknowledge all parties in this place, particularly their representatives on their whip teams and musterers, and so forth. I\u2019ve enjoyed working with you all, including in those very arcane environments such as the Standing Orders Committee\u2014and I acknowledge the comments made by Jan Logie as well as my colleague and friend the Hon Michael Woodhouse and others in this place on the same subject earlier today.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000458\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EI will also acknowledge Marja Lubeck, who is retiring, but having been based in Kaipara ki Mahurangi and various West Auckland MPs with whom I have enjoyed good interactions, in almost all places\u2014no, I was just kidding. That was for Marja, and she\u2019ll understand what that means.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000459\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EThere are many key players in Parliament\u2014those who are seen and those who are almost entirely unseen. They all play a crucial role, as others have acknowledged. Christopher Luxon has acknowledged them on behalf of the National Party, and he had 10 minutes to speak. I\u2019ve only got five, so I\u2019ll just point in that direction.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000460\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002222f377763a8b43ebb98b312a9e60d6b1\u0022\u003EHon Grant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: He didn\u2019t use a minute of it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000461\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e9dddb89f98e4653bd223fca6deb903d\u0022\u003ECHRIS PENK\u003C/span\u003E: Yeah, that\u2019s true\u2014I should get an extra minute, Mr Speaker, as the Leader of the House points out.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000462\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003ESir, I also want to acknowledge you, particularly. As I said to you at the time that you were coming into this role, you enjoyed even at that time considerable respect, personally and professionally, and huge mana and esteem that you were held in by our people in the National Party. You\u2019ve actually grown that, if anything, and that\u2019s an unusual thing, I think, to come to the end of the parliamentary term and the Speaker\u2019s Chair and be more popular even than when you started. So I acknowledge you and thank you for that, and, actually, your predecessor as well\u2014Mr Mallard\u2014with whom, for what it\u2019s worth, I personally enjoyed a good relationship, I thought.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000463\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EWe\u2019ve had many changes in this time across the three years. It seems so long ago now that we were operating in a hybrid House environment. Select committees retained their remote option, and I think that\u2019s a good move, sir, for the reasons that we\u2019ve discussed at great length in other forums. I think the institution is better and stronger, but we must always remain vigilant that we don\u2019t go backwards in any sense in terms of access to democracy in the way that we operate within our parties and between them across the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000464\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003ESo I\u2019ll just comment briefly on the incident in the gallery today. I don\u2019t wish to speak in detail and give the notoriety that, no doubt, those people would seek, but I do wish to express that I think it would be very sad if the result of such incidents would be to make Parliament less accessible to the general public and vice versa. I think that would be a shame, albeit potentially inevitable, given the situation in which we live in New Zealand in 2023.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000465\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EI also want to thank and acknowledge the Clerk\u2019s team, as others have done, but they\u2019re very notable. You are Parliament\u2019s person and you have exemplified that phrase, but they, no less, have served all the members of this House, and, through them, I think, the people of New Zealand extremely well. I do want to add my thanks on that note. I also want to thank staff, across all parties. No doubt, the sterling work that the National Party team have done has been mirrored in terms of other parties, both here in Parliament but also in the electorate and community offices. I\u2019m glad that we do refer to them as electorate and community offices, rather than out-of-Parliament offices. I think that much better reflects the importance and particular connection of those roles.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000466\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EBut while I\u2019ve acknowledged, obviously, the changes that were made and not made through the Standing Orders review process, I\u2019d be remiss if I didn\u2019t finish on a slightly more political note this far out from a general election. So I will say that of all the changes that should be made, I believe that a change in Prime Minister is necessary, and I support Christopher Luxon in that role, and for the finance Minister, likewise, Nicola Willis. I want to thank them for the leadership of our team on this side of the House, and, hopefully, soon not to be this side of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000467\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EIn terms of portfolio matters, I\u2019ve taken particular interest in cyclone recovery and courts. I think we need a much quicker and robust system in relation to both. New Zealand is suffering a deep malaise at the moment. Change is needed, and, frankly, we need to get New Zealand, our country, back on track. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022 data-id=\u002217c73a64a5f2480f86ea1a6689395119\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002217c73a64a5f2480f86ea1a6689395119\u0022\u003ETANGI UTIKERE (Labour\u2014Palmerston North):\u003C/span\u003E Kia orana, Mr Speaker. It\u2019s a real privilege to take what I think is the final call of the 53rd Parliament. It\u2019s obviously an opportunity to reflect on what is the absolute privilege to serve as a member of this House, and I do want to start my contribution this evening in acknowledging you, sir. The mana, the dignity, that you bring to this House is something that many colleagues have commented on. I want to personally thank you for your advice, guidance, and leadership that you have shown to me and other members of this House, and I extend that to your Deputy Speaker and Assistant Speakers, permanent and temporary, from time to time as well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000469\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EAs a member who entered in 2020, I join my class of 2020 colleagues and those who have arrived since, for whom there have been many firsts over the last three years. But I also note that this place has its various quirks about it too, noting that it does, however, appear to be a place that is more family friendly, more dog-friendly. My own dog, Reichen, benefits from that from time to time, and in my recent observation it seems that it is now cat-friendly, based on the corridors as well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000470\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EBut today does have a feel about it, in the sense of it being the last day of school, in that we\u2019re about to be let loose, and we will be free from this place for the next six weeks. I want to say that having been here for a term, I\u2019ve found this place to be rather collegial, and while there have been a few smart or snide comments from time to time on both sides of the House, as my colleague Teanau Tuiono will I\u2019m sure attest to, there\u2019s nothing that a boy from Palmy can\u2019t handle from time to time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000471\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EIn the spirit of collegiality, I want to acknowledge those members who have delivered their valedictories, making the decision to leave this place by choice. I want to particularly acknowledge my K\u016Bki \u0100irani sister the Hon Poto Williams, and fellow Pacific caucus colleague the Hon Aupito William Sio for the role that they\u2019ve played in supporting our large and fit Pacific caucus as well over the course of this particular term.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000472\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022534d7f60539f4f42bf447414857dcd80\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Eight-week challenge.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000473\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226a7a043f681a4ceab918f8d48dc90ca6\u0022\u003ETANGI UTIKERE\u003C/span\u003E: The eight-week challenge is something not of a mystery, but of a certainty, indeed. But I also want to acknowledge the retirement of my parliamentary neighbour Ian McKelvie, the member for Rangit\u012Bkei. Ian and I have known each other for quite some time. Our time goes back to local government together, and I want to acknowledge him for his service to our wider community and to this House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000474\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EI joined the Standing Orders Committee and the Privileges Committee, and I was told at the time that it doesn\u2019t do much work. I have learnt rather quickly that that is not the case on either of those committees, but it has been an enjoyable opportunity. I do want to acknowledge how collegially those committees have worked. I know that the House has already debated the Standing Orders report earlier today, but I also want to particularly thank the Standing Orders Committee for taking on board some of the changes that some of our newer members of Parliament had proposed and put forward. What I think that demonstrates is that this is a House and a place that is prepared to change the way it goes about things, and it will set the next Parliament up, I think, on a particular path where there have been some tweaks and changes along the way. I think that is a positive thing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000475\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EThe adjournment debate does provide for a time to reflect on the highlights of the work of the 53rd\u00A0Parliament, and I\u2019ll talk about that in a moment. But I do want to just acknowledge those who have supported all members of all sides of the House in this Parliament. To our own families, who no doubt keep the home fires burning while we spend most of our time here or away, I think it\u2019s important that we say thank you to them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000476\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003ETo our electorate and community offices and off-precinct staff, I acknowledge the work that they do while we are often here or away from our electorates or our constituencies. To those who are here on precinct, from staff from the Office of the Clerk, the Chamber and gallery staff; to our own MPs\u2019 staff\u2014including my own David Bieleski, who has been with me from the very first day of my maiden statement\u2014to the leader\u2019s office staff, messengers, cleaners, those in Copperfields and eateries, security, travel, and the wider Parliamentary Service staff, I say thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000477\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003ECan I also thank my own whips team and also the whips, musterers, and matarau from other parties represented in the Parliament. I think one of the great things is that we are very collegial, and when the Business Committee meets, we are able to deal with things as they need to be dealt with, and that\u2019s a positive thing as well. Can I acknowledge the Leader of the House and the Deputy of the House and the wider Business Committee, as well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000478\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EI am proud of what has been delivered and the milestones that haven\u2019t actually only been met but in many cases have been exceeded by our Labour Government. I want to spend the remaining five minutes just covering off some of those, because I think it is important to place on record some of these for the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000479\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EIn health, fundamentally, we have as a Government successfully navigated our way through a global pandemic. Now, members opposite often, I think, forget about that fact. They have short memories. But it is a reality and one that we should all be very proud of, in terms of navigating that difficult journey that has meant that many, many lives have been saved, communities have been protected, and businesses have been well served as a result of this Labour Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000480\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EWe have transitioned to a new New Zealand health system in Te Whatu Ora and Te Aka Whai Ora. Why? Because, as other colleagues have said, the fact that M\u0101ori, Pacific, rural, women, and migrant members of our community have been overrepresented in all of those negative stats, and those changes are specific changes to address health equity issues in Aotearoa New Zealand. The largest ever funding for health as a sector in many, many years\u2014thank you, Labour. Free prescriptions: it\u2019s not even been two months, and already we have nearly 3 million scripts that have been filled as a result of that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000481\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EAll of that is at risk as we head into this election. Let\u2019s not have any doubt about that\u2014it is at risk. Why? National have made it very clear that they will, effectively, get rid of free access to scripts\u2014\u201CSee ya!\u201D\u2014for our community. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s because they have actually been out having conversations with pharmacists and community. I have not heard a bad thing from one single pharmacist about making free prescriptions for communities all around Aotearoa New Zealand\u2014not a single pharmacist\u2014and I don\u2019t think they have either, because they clearly have not been talking with them out and about in their communities.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000482\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EIn police, we have given police the significant tools that they need to do their job. It is about keeping our communities safe. It is about empowering police. It is about having more police resource out on the streets, out on the beat, in our communities all around Aotearoa New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000483\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EI hear all the time from National and ACT that it\u2019s actually not cops on the beat. Well, who are these extra 1,800 folk? They are forensic accountants, they are those who are working in serious criminal tactic teams, they are the very people that get things done\u2014thank you, Labour in Government\u2014and I will say that National have not announced a single extra dollar of resource in police. They are full of chatter, but no action on that side of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000484\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EIn housing, I want to acknowledge the work of the Hon Megan Woods. This is something that we are particularly proud of: building more than 13,000 houses since we came into Government. National was very keen to pull them down, to sell them off, to hock them off. Whatever you want to call it, you can\u2019t window-dress that. New houses in my community of Palmerston North\u2014I know the member for Nelson this week was at a recent opening of public houses in her own community. This is something that is happening all around the country. If National continued to invest in building houses, we would not have to play catch up, which is the situation that we are facing at the moment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000485\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EI am proud of the work that the Pacific caucus have done. Actually, the Hon Poto Williams and I make up the entire Cook Island caucus here in Labour, which is more than the National and ACT caucus in terms of Pacific representation completely. But one particular highlight was the Dawn Raids apology. I know that Mr Seymour would rather we not talk about this. I know that members opposite would rather shove this under the carpet, but the reality is that this is a Government under Labour that did the right thing for our Pacific communities and that is something that I will not apologise for doing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000486\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EI want to also acknowledge the rainbow caucus and the work that this team has done ensuring that we have been able to pass legislation that effectively has banned conversion therapy as a milestone in this particular Parliament.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000487\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EI am proud of the record of achievement that this Labour team has delivered while in Government, and no doubt all of these issues will be teased out and we are very happy to talk about that over the next six weeks. But rest assured that the New Zealand Labour Party will go into this campaign fighting fit and in very good shape and that is because, in Chris Hipkins, we have a leader who Kiwis can trust. We have a leader who people can relate to. We have a leader who cares about communities, and we have a leader who gets things done.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000488\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EKiwis aren\u2019t fooled by hollow promises and fiscal holes and misnomers\u2014they see through all of that. Kiwis embrace unity and diversity, not division and hatred, and they\u2019re too smart to be fooled by blatant scaremongering from the right and the coalition of cuts.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000489\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003EAs we head into 14 October, we are excited. We have fire in our belly because we know that we are going to fight hard for every vote for this community, and for the continuation of a Labour-led Government. Kia orana. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000490\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002211785b480243466ea58782a2664fed9a\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: \u0100 k\u0101ti r\u0101, t\u0113n\u0101 r\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. [Well then, greetings to all of us.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000491\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EThis is the rare occasion where the Speaker gets to speak. I was going to ask Roland Todd to give me five minutes on the clock, but, then again, I am the sole judge of time, so this five minutes might take a little bit longer. But the main thing that I wanted to stand to do today is to do what a lot of members have done in this debate\u2014say thank you to a lot, a lot of people that make our democracy in this Parliament work.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000492\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003ECan I start with the Deputy Speaker and Assistant Speakers, to Greg O\u2019Connor, the Hon Jenny Salesa, the Hon Jacqui Dean, also helped during this term by a number of MPs, including Ian McKelvie, Barbara Kuriger, the Hon David Bennett\u2014who knew?\u2014and, of course, my dear friend, the Hon Poto Williams as well. I thank the team, because it\u2019s not easy being a presiding officer. I have not once instructed any of my fellow presiding officers in what they should do in the House, because, actually, that\u2019s not my job. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000493\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EThe job of giving advice is the Clerk, so my next thankyou, if I can borrow a line from Ian McKelvie in his valedictory speech: \u201CThey make us look good.\u201D Never a truer word was said. Can I thank David Wilson, Deputy Clerk Suze Jones, and all of the staff in the Office of the Clerk. They have a constitutional role and they are independent of the Government, they are independent of the Speaker, and they are independent of this Parliament. They work for our democracy, and I want to thank every single one of them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000494\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EAlso in my role as chair of three select committees: first of all, the Business Committee; I want to thank members of that. It\u2019s been both a challenging role doing the work and providing unanimity to do what we do in the House that stands inside the Standing Orders, and I want to thank every member of that. But I also want to thank the clerks that have served us very well\u2014Mary Drakeford and Ian Law\u2014during this term.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EAlso the Standing Orders Committee. A huge amount of work has been done by the Clerk; by Gabor Hellyer, the clerk of that committee; and with help from David Bagnall. The amount of work that has gone into that to get to the place that we are, passing the new Standing Orders for the 54th\u00A0Parliament has been enormous. They wrote not only what you see in that report but everything else that was discussed and is not in the report, so you can imagine the amount of work that has been done that I hope in the future will see its way into future Standing Orders. There are some very good things that we did not put in there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000496\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003ECan I also acknowledge James Picker, the clerk of the Officers of Parliament Committee, who served us incredibly well, and also all of those officers that are part of that committee as well. All of the other parts of the Office of the Clerk\u2014and I want to read them out because it\u2019s important, I think, that everyone knows that we appreciate the work that they do: Parliamentary Law and Practice; Select Committee Services; the House Office; the Chamber staff, who look after us when we\u2019re sitting in here. Can I also acknowledge that the Chamber staff have been a pathway for young students at university passing degrees, who go on to other roles within our democracy, and to other things; they go into Hansard, the House Office\u2014all around this Parliament. They\u2019ve started here in this Chamber. I want to acknowledge them. The Hansard team; parliamentary broadcasting; Ng\u0101 Ratonga Ao M\u0101ori, our translation service; Education Services; the messengers; our Inter-Parliamentary Relations team\u2014I just want to have a thankyou to Amber Walters for everything that she has done for all of us who have participated in international travel with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and everything else that this Parliament is involved with. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000497\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EAlongside of the Office of the Clerk, of course, is Parliamentary Service. And I want to acknowledge Rafael Gonzalez-Montero, the CEO\u2014and his deputies Mitch Knight, Amy Brier, and Will De Vos\u2014for all of their work that makes this place logistically run\u2014which of course, though they\u2019ve been mentioned: security, catering, the buildings team, the cleaners, the library staff, the Parliamentary Engagement team, information services technology, the finance team, our relationship managers, Visitor Services\u2014all of them. I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll all join together to thank all of them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000498\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003ECan I thank members of my office: Roland Todd, Tiarne Gush, Brooke Lacey\u2014and we\u2019ve adopted Andie Lindsay; the Clerk and the CEO think that she works in their office, but I think she works in mine! I want to thank all of them for the work that they\u2019ve done\u2014had to put up with\u2014I\u2019m really thankful to them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000499\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003ETo the party whips, musterers\u2014thank you for your assistance within the Chamber. It makes life a lot easier when the presiding officer knows that you\u2019ve swapped speakers around; things like that. Sometimes we don\u2019t know, but we\u2019ll work it out eventually. To the Leader of the House and the shadow Leader of the House\u2014it\u2019s important that I acknowledge you because you have a really good role to play in making sure that this place works and you acknowledged Peter Hoare, and I think that\u2019s right to do so. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000500\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003ECan I acknowledge all of the members who have given valedictory speeches\u2014and not given valedictory speeches\u2014who have chosen not to come back to this place. I wish you and your families all the very best for the future. Thank you for the amazing speeches that we\u2019ve heard in the last two weeks. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000501\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003ETo all of our staff, both here in Parliament and outside of Parliament\u2014I join together with everyone to acknowledge them and to thank them. And I have one more thank you, and afterwards I think we\u2019ll have a waiata\u2014and my thanks is to the number one Warriors fan in Parliament, and he\u2019s up there in that sound booth. His name is Colin Pearce. So, Mr sound man: Up the Wahs!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000502\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EWaiata\u2014Purea Nei\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EN\u014D reira e te M\u0101ngai, e ng\u0101 anahera pono, e te Tokotoru Tapu, whaka\u016Bngia mai m\u0101tou ki mua i t\u014D koutou aroaro an\u014D. Paiheretia an\u014D m\u0101tou ki te rangim\u0101rie m\u014D ng\u0101 w\u0101 katoa. M\u0101 te M\u0101ngai hei tautoko mai, \u0101ianei, \u0101ke nei, \u0101e.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000504\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E[So to the Holy Mouthpiece, the true angels, and the Holy Trinity, instil us once again in your presence. Bind us to peace at all times. May the Mouthpiece confirm this now and forever, yes.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000505\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202308318d945b39b9034745a0745afed132dd60000506\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EThe House adjourned at 5.35 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n  \u003C/body\u003E\n\u003C/html\u003E"