General Debate

I move, That the House take note of miscellaneous business. This is a Government that is in total disarray, and it is time that New Zealanders got better, because they deserve better. They deserve better. Ten weeks ago it was just so easy—10 weeks ago the Government handed down a Budget that did absolutely nothing for most New Zealanders, because this Government did not care. It did not care about housing—that so many New Zealanders could not afford to buy their first home, and that so many New Zealanders were living in overcrowded housing, living in garages, and living in cars. It did not care that the Budget said nothing about health spending and did not keep pace with the changing demography of New Zealand. It did not care that the Budget froze education funding for primary and secondary schools, and froze funding for the police. It did not care about any of that. It was brazen. It was Government. It was in charge, and any Budget would do.

Well, it has been a long 10 weeks. It has been a long 10 weeks. The Government thought it could get away with handing down that Budget and caressing the nation with a soothing balm of unrealistic projections and a hopeless selling job afterwards. It has not worked. New Zealanders have not bought it, because far too many New Zealanders today are missing out and being left behind. They now see a Government that has no answers, that has no plan—Government members might have a few choice words to say, but they do not have a plan for the problems facing New Zealand.

You see, when you are John Key and Bill English you do not have to worry about couples who work and work and save and save and cannot get their first home. They do not worry about them. They do not have to worry about teachers and principals who are working harder and harder to provide the education and get the time with the children that the children need, but cannot because of the overwhelming bureaucracy that they have got to complete for their schools. They just do not care about it, and they do not worry about our police force, which is struggling to meet the demands of a rapidly growing population.

What did John Key say yesterday? Oh, they have issued them with iPads. They have issued them with iPads. That is going to help when you are faced with somebody screaming and ranting, high on P—when you hold up your iPad! I hope that it is on Pokémon GO and you can get the nearest Zubat. Is that what it is going to be? Is that what the answer is to out-of-control crime because of this Government’s failure to resource the police properly? Well, I tell you what: the rest of New Zealand cares. And, of course, the Government has now discovered, because David Farrar has told it, that the rest of New Zealand cares and expects something better.

So what has it been doing since the Budget? It has been panicking. It has been in an absolutely mad panic. In fairness, I have to give credit to Paula Bennett, because on the eve of the Budget she, at least, realised that something was wrong. That the biggest crises facing New Zealand, a housing crisis and a homelessness crisis—she realised that there was nothing in the Budget. So she quickly, without telling Bill English and without telling anybody, announced this plan to give $5,000 to people to leave Auckland. Of course, 10 weeks on, 12 people have signed up for it. That is a start, I suppose. It will help. There are 42,000 people homeless, so to start with the first 12, I suppose, is a good step, but that is as far as they have gone. That is as far as they have gone.

And then we see, a week after the Budget—because suddenly they realised they had better do something about housing and they better do something for local government. So without consulting Nick Smith and without consulting local councils, Bill English and John Key put together this $1 billion infrastructure plan—big and mighty and powerful; $1 billion dollars. They spent 3 weeks putting it together and did not tell Nick Smith until the day before they went to Cabinet. They did not tell the local councils until 2 days before they announced it so they had something to tell their conference to give the impression to their conference gathered at Wigram that they actually had something to say about housing, because up until that time they had nothing—up until that time they had nothing. This has been an absolute shambles. All along the way their answer has been that they have been working on it for years. They have not.

And what was Judith Collins’ answer yesterday when, suddenly, we got the announcement that the Government has realised there are too few police for the population we have got? She said she has been working on it for months. There is nothing in the Budget. The Government froze the funding in the Budget. There is nothing in the 4-year Police plan, but she said she has been working on it for months. Clearly, she has been working in isolation. She has not told anybody. Who is she talking to these days, apart from the backbenchers? She is talking to the backbenchers to make sure she has got the numbers, is what she has been doing. That is what she has been working on—nothing to do with her ministerial responsibilities.

New Zealanders are seeing a Government that is tired, that is out of ideas. It is giving short shrift to a shonky, shady, shilly-shallying Government, and it is coming to an end now because we have a plan for housing, we have a plan for education, and we have a plan for health, and New Zealanders will see a better choice next year.

Well, first of all, can I just say to members of the House welcome back after a 4-week adjournment. It was kind of an unexpected pleasure over the time I have been in Parliament to have a whole 4 weeks to take a little bit of time. And is it not nice to see my colleagues coming back in such a happy, positive, ambitious-for-New Zealand frame of mind. What a contrast it provides to the nasty, bickering, angry aggression and no-hope negativity we see from the Opposition.

You want to talk about being in disarray? Really? You want to talk about being in disarray? When we left before the adjournment we were celebrating—in kind of air quotes—the quickie marriage between Labour and the Greens. It was the next great coming, was it not? It was going to be this beautiful coming together of like-minded parties, and it is looking more and more like a Vegas wedding, is it not? It seemed like a great idea at the time, you rushed off to the chapel, and now it is the morning after. You are waking up, and you are wondering what the hell you have done. I have not seen a relationship fall apart so spectacularly so quickly.

Over the adjournment we had the Greens come out saying the best way to deal with housing is to take 50 percent off the value of everyone’s house. Genius—genius! Even the Labour Party knew that that one was a loser, and straight away you are seeing the commentators saying that if Labour and the Greens cannot get it together on an issue like this, how are they ever going to be able to govern? This has got to be one of the fastest marriage collapses I have ever seen. I can recommend to them, though, in the spirit of camaraderie and support, some very good Parenting Through Separation courses that the Family Court runs. We have got some excellent programmes. We have got family dispute resolution. I am sure there are ways we could help.

Of course on this side of the House the adjournment was not just a break. Actually, this is a Government that—if you look back over the last 4 weeks, what an immense amount of work we have got through. And does it not demonstrate the positive, aspirational sense of the vision we have for this country and where we want to take it? I mean, you look at the work that Maggie Barry did in announcing a predator-free New Zealand. We all know it is a big goal, we know it is a tough goal, but we have got a vision for where we want to take this country—and I congratulate Maggie Barry on that—and we recognise that, actually, why should we not set ourselves big goals. This is a nation of innovative people who believe in solutions, who find ways, and, actually, I have got no doubt that we will get there. It will be hard, but why not stretch ourselves? Why not have a positive vision of where we want to get to?

Over the adjournment I announced that this is a Government that has now delivered world-leading connectivity to nearly 2.5 million people already. Can I tell this House once more that is a programme that Labour voted against not once, not twice, but three times. It did not want that sort of connectivity rolled out. Now the biggest challenge for the ultra-fast broadband programme is that everybody wants it. Everybody wants it because this National-led Government under John Key and Steven Joyce, at the time, had the vision that said if we give Kiwis world-class connectivity—and connectivity about which back in 2008 people said “What a waste. No one will ever use 100-megabit speed. Who needs fibre?”.

We had the vision, we set a goal, we set out to do something ambitious, and, as a result, at the end of this programme New Zealand will be the fourth-best connected country in the world behind Singapore, Korea, and Japan. Those are highly densely populated, small land masses. For New Zealand, with its 4.7 million people over a huge area of islands and mountains, that is an incredible result. When I go round the world talking to counterparts, they cannot believe what we have done. I am incredibly proud that we are delivering that sort of connectivity.

Have a look at what Craig Foss has done with the mandatory alcohol interlocks. That is fantastic. You want to talk about making a real difference to keeping New Zealanders safe on our roads? Mandatory alcohol interlocks to ensure repeat drunk drivers are not on our roads are significant. Over the adjournment we have seen significant education investments from Hekia Parata and Nikki Kaye into school redevelopment and the digital technology fund. We have seen Nikki Kaye doing some great stuff in youth mentoring and creating more opportunities for our youth. We have seen the work that Steven Joyce is doing around the second stage of the regional research institutes. Simon Bridges has been opening new roads and kicking off new cycleways. So while Labour and the Greens have been infighting and scrapping and figuring out who is going to get the kids in the divorce, we have been getting on with it.

I want to take a moment to talk just very quickly about the work Anne Tolley and I are doing on family violence. We have just announced today the second pilot of our integrated safety response. This is a Government that is focused on what we are going to do to make the country better, on doing it, on getting on with it. I want to be a part of a party with vision and a Government with aspiration.

John Key and the National Party are completely out of touch with where most New Zealanders are at on immigration. Last night TV3 news ran a poll showing that 60 percent of New Zealanders think we need better control over our immigration system.

Most New Zealanders support immigration. We are a migrant nation. We are built on immigration. We are all either migrants ourselves or the descendants of migrants. So why are New Zealanders saying that National is getting it so very, very wrong on immigration? Let us listen to what people have been saying. We are not like the National Government; we will listen to what people have been saying.

The Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank, Grant Spencer, said: “… we cannot ignore that the 160,000 net inflow of permanent and long-term migrants over the last 3 years has generated an unprecedented increase in the population and a significant boost to housing demand.” Treasury and Immigration New Zealand themselves reported that there is a significant proportion of permanent and temporary labour migrants working in lower wage occupations, and recent trends—under National—show a relative decline in the skill level of permanent migrants.

Michael Barnett of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce said yesterday that there is a disconnect between the skills that the immigration system is delivering and the skills that New Zealand actually needs. The ANZ Chief Executive, David Hisco, said: “Let’s have an honest and sensible debate about immigration using facts rather than prejudice to see if we should push the pause button.” People all over New Zealand—respectable people whom this Parliament should listen to—are saying to this Government: “You are getting it wrong on immigration.”

Most New Zealanders question whether we have got our immigration settings right when the bulk of new migrants are going into roles like retail manager, cafe manager, and farm worker. That is not what immigration is supposed to be for; it is supposed to be for welcoming people who have the skills we need to grow our economy and contribute to our society. It is supposed to be about providing the skills that we are unable to supply from within New Zealand in the short term.

Instead, under National, immigration is being used to fill low-wage, low-skill, low-productivity jobs, and that is because some New Zealand employers say that they cannot find New Zealanders to do the job. Instead of saying to those employers: “Well, why don’t you offer better wages?” or “Why don’t you improve your working conditions?”, the National Government says: “Hey, get someone from overseas, pay them the minimum wage—or pay them less than the minimum wage if you can get away with it.” It subjects them to working conditions that should not be tolerated in New Zealand.

Over half of all new migrants settle in Auckland. That is a massive vote of no confidence in this Government for its failure to grow regional economies. Migrants who come to New Zealand know that under National there are not sufficient opportunities in the regions to move to the regions. The result is that Auckland’s housing crisis, which is driven by a number of factors, is made even worse by the fact that that city is trying to absorb more people than it is able to.

John Key, Michael Woodhouse, and the rest of the National Government have their heads in the sand, because they desperately need to keep immigration numbers high. Population growth is the one thing that is generating economic growth in New Zealand. Without the current levels of immigration growth, our GDP per capita would be growing at a pathetic 0.5 percent. That is basically nothing. That is why the National Government will not do anything to get the immigration system back to doing what it should: delivering good economic outcomes for New Zealand and delivering good settlement outcomes for new migrants.

New Zealand is a country built on immigration, and immigration will always be an important part of our story, but National knows that it is getting it wrong on immigration. New Zealand knows that National is getting it wrong on immigration. People of experience and knowledge are telling the Government that it is getting it wrong on immigration. It is out of touch with most New Zealanders on this issue. It is just too damned arrogant to do anything about it.

I would like to pick up on the positive and aspirational talk that my colleague the Hon Amy Adams previously raised. This is a Government that is confident for the future of New Zealand, is aspirational for better lives for New Zealanders, and is working hard to deliver that. No more do we see that aspiration than in trying to support New Zealanders into work. We have set ourselves a target of reducing the number of people who are dependent on welfare by 25 percent. That is a very aspirational target and we are working hard to achieve that.

Why? Because we know that being in work is good for people and their families. It is good for them economically. If you want to talk about poverty, the best way out of poverty is having a good foot on the employment rung and being able to support yourself and your family. If you want to talk about good health, we know that people benefit from being in work. If you want to talk about strong communities, it is where people are actively involved in their communities, and part of that is about being part of the workforce that is creating that community. So we are absolutely confident that we are going to achieve that 25 percent reduction in the number of people who are reliant on the welfare of their fellow New Zealanders to keep them alive.

How are we going to do that? I just want to bring a few facts to the table about regional economic development, because this Government is out working in communities around the country, working with them to increase the amount of investment that is taking place in their communities. We know that whether it is local firms investing more or outside firms coming in and investing in those communities, investment creates employment and it creates wealth within those communities, and that is what makes our regional communities strong.

This Government has been active. We have had a plan developed in Northland that is working hard. There are a number of large opportunities for economic growth up there, and we are supporting that well, alongside local government and local businesses. The Bay of Plenty—I have to say, it is my own area, which covers from Ōpōtiki and the East Coast right through to Tauranga down to Rotorua—is an area that has worked together well over the previous 10 years, and, I tell you what, that area is pumping. It has developed a plan itself. Yes, the Government is supporting it; yes, local government is supporting it, but the business sector itself is excited. They are working together and they are looking at the opportunities that are available.

Of course, the most important for me—the most important issue that we are looking at is the development of the Ōpōtiki aquaculture project. That is a project that has the capacity to change the lives of thousands of people living in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, one of the highest areas of deprivation in New Zealand. That project, which the Government is backing with finance and with resources, has the potential to change the lives of the people who live in the Eastern Bay of Plenty and bring considerable wealth to the country. This Government is right there working alongside them.

We recently launched the Hawke’s Bay plan. There is an East Coast regional development plan, and we have broken that into two: one in Tai Rāwhiti, which will be released later this year; and one in Hawke’s Bay, which was released during the adjournment. The most important part of that, for me, was Project 1000. Minister Flavell and I announced Project 1000 as part of the Government’s commitment to the economic development of Hawke’s Bay, which is to get 1,000 new jobs for unemployed Hawke’s Bay people. That, again, has the potential to change the lives of thousands of families in Hawke’s Bay, because we know that there are jobs. There are jobs there. When you look at the horticulture industry, it is working hard to increase its productivity, and what we are saying to it is that you cannot rely on bringing outside help; you have to be developing your own people. The greatest resource that this country has is its workforce, is its people. I am delighted to be part of a country that is supporting New Zealanders into jobs.

It is one of those days, is it not, when you come down to the House, you have got a whole bunch of speech notes and you are ready to deliver something that is prepared, and then someone stands up in the House and says something that rocks you in your shoes. That has just happened with Mr Iain Lees-Galloway’s speech on immigration.

Like one of the previous members said, the adjournment time gives us the chance to get out and take stock and listen to people. We have to say, in New Zealand First, we have to say we have travelled up and down the country. From Invercargill to Auckland, I have been everywhere, and the message we are getting consistently is that the public is actually tired of the type of speech that Mr Iain Lees-Galloway just gave. They are tired of one side of the House claiming that another party in this House, whose immigration policies have always been sane, sensible, and population-focused—is racist and xenophobic. Now, suddenly, on the back of a poll that Mr Iain Lees-Galloway from Labour has seen, which tells him “Oh my gosh, 60 percent of the country agrees with the Rt Hon Winston Peters in New Zealand First that immigration policy is chaotic, is out of control.”, suddenly everyone should listen to Labour.

Let me tell you what people are saying out there: “Red or blue, there’s nothing new.” National and Labour are just the same. It is like Pepsi and Coke: tell me whether one can tell the difference. One comes in a blue package; the other comes in a red package, but everyone knows 90 percent of the people cannot tell the difference between Pepsi and Coke, and that is exactly what is happening right now. We do not actually care about the argument that goes on between National and Labour on who put more police here, who has got a stronger focus on law and order, or who wants to get immigration under control—we see them both as exactly the same and so does most of New Zealand right now, who are all coming to that realisation.

We go down to Invercargill, down to Gore, and who is filling in my meeting? It is National Party farmers, who have had a gutsful.

💬 Todd Barclay: Absolutely no one—no one is there.

Todd Barclay can stand up and rant but Todd Barclay should ask the listing committee of the National Party where his committee has gone. Where has his committee gone? People are looking at this Government as being no different from the last Government.

Then we have Mr Grant Robertson on Q+A telling the whole nation the trickle-down economy does not work. Hello! Mr Robertson, if you had not realised it, it was started by the Labour Party. It was called Rogernomics, and then National picked it up and called it “Ruthanasia”. The result was the same: devastation in the provinces and farmers out there being told they should get on and keep their chins up and handle the economic changes, whilst this Government, which trumpets free-trade agreements—which the Labour Party promoted as well—has done nothing to curb the excessive use of subsidies in these countries that they proudly proclaim they have established a free-trade agreement with.

Mr Speaker, you are a farmer from the Banks Peninsula and I know that you were raised like me in rural New Zealand, in the Wairarapa, and we know something that our grandparents told us a long time ago, and farmers down in Gore and down into Invercargill were telling us this as well: nothing is free—nothing. Do not come into this House and trumpet “Ruthanasia” policies or Rogernomics policies and tell us that the poor at the low end of the chain are going to benefit from that, because all the evidence shows, after 30 years of rampant neo-liberal experimentation—started by the Labour Party—that the gap between rich and poor is greater than it has ever been. It has actually reached the level where you may never be able to turn it back—well, looking at the housing situation.

By the way, we are getting to the stage in New Zealand First where we actually think we have got a security problem, because it seems that every second day Labour is picking up one of our policies and trumpeting it as its own. The thing that disappoints us more than anything is that the media print it. We would simply ask them: “If you want the original Rolex, come to New Zealand First—do not go buying a cheap, Singaporean model from the Labour Party.”

That previous member, Ron Mark, was very, very excitable. Amy Adams was talking about the rapid divorce between Labour and the Greens, and now we are seeing New Zealand First versus Labour. I do not know what is going on over there. But the Labour purge has begun—the Labour purge has begun. Far be it from me to defend a Labour MP, but why is the Leader of the Opposition, Andrew Little, picking on a fellow Hawke’s Bay MP Stuart Nash—the vast, rabid right-winger Stuart Nash, apparently. What is going on over there in Labour? Why does he not pick on Mr Shearer? Why does he not pick on Mr O’Connor? What is wrong with Mr Nash? Is it because Mr Nash is secretly supportive of the Trans-Pacific Partnership? Is it because he has actually won a seat—even though he took it off National; we will get it back—when Mr Little has not? What is going on? The purge has begun. No longer is free speech a choice, an option, within the Labour Party or its recent members.

National has been very, very busy throughout this recent adjournment. We just continued where we left off all the way through, and we continue right now. As previous members have said, during the adjournment we launched Matariki: Hawke’s Bay Regional Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan 2016. Absolutely, for the first time ever, all of the Hawke’s Bay councils are aligned in agreement—all of the councils. The regional council, iwi, business, and central government are aligned with an action plan, and a strategy to grow jobs, to help realise potential, and to help the mighty Hawke’s Bay help itself. Funnily enough, that plan was praised and supported by Mr Nash. Perhaps that is why Mr Little is not supporting his own MP. That plan, Matariki, in Hawke’s Bay, as Minister Anne Tolley just said includes Project 1000—1,000 new jobs for people on some kind of assistance from the taxpayer to help grow the horticultural industry, and a $25 million investment in core transport infrastructure to help goods and produce get to the Port of Napier and to make our roads safer.

How will that produce come about? Schemes such as the Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme will help that. Free-trade agreements are helping the demand for that produce to get to that port. As well as that, there are 45 action points—I have been on the road over the last 4 weeks with the small business roadshow. Out of Wellington, out of the central business district, and in provincial rural New Zealand—in the heartbeat of small business, semi-commercial areas—we have had businesses coming and listening and learning about all the tools available to them that this Government has put in place to share with them to help enable them to be all they can be within their business.

We have business.govt.nz showing those who turn up, in outstanding numbers, the portal for businesses to engage with government. We have a demonstration of the New Zealand Business Number, which this Government put in place and is implementing to help businesses communicate once—have one door to communicate—with government on whatever it might be. We have the Inland Revenue Department at those meetings explaining the tax transformation and the changes in provisional tax. Would you believe that the Inland Revenue Department gets a round of applause at these various meetings from hard-working small-business owners? We have ACC doing a presentation, talking about some of the plans available to small-business owners, and single shareholder-operator businesses, which can help them and provide certainty to them. We have Statistics New Zealand showing where data, where information can be found to assist businesses learn more about not only their competitors but their potential markets.

We have the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade there, advising on free-trade agreements and tariff situations in various markets. We have WorkSafe in there, explaining to businesses they do not need to spend a whole lot of money to buy an expensive programme. Actually, they can work with WorkSafe and they will find themselves saving a whole of money. We have the Digital Journey people there. We have the labour inspectorate there, pointing out to small businesses that they can download, for free, an employment agreement written by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to help make them safe and to save them funds, time, and resources. And, of course, we have regional business partners talking about the Callaghan Institute and how to access it.

This Government is positive. It is united. We are not going after each other like the Labour Party members are now doing. We are continuing the hard work, the focus to help enable New Zealand to be all it can be, and I am proud to be part of that team.

There are 60,000 new New Zealanders every year for whom we do not do enough. These 60,000 are a diffuse group. They have no clear spokesperson or organisation backing them. Some of them are living in very inadequate housing, others are subject to all sorts of assaults and vile abuse, and yet no one speaks up for them. It is time we changed our attitude.

Before the xenophobes and the bigots start to rise to the bait, let me say that I am talking about the number of children born in New Zealand each year: 60,000 new New Zealanders. Those young New Zealanders have no choice about the circumstances of their birth or the nature of their upbringing, but we owe it to them to provide them with all of the wherewithal to enjoy a fruitful and prosperous life.

Sadly, as the core of our future, they often get overlooked in the debates that take place in this Chamber, and for that reason I welcome the initiative taken last week by Judge Caroline Henwood and Sir Mark Solomon to launch a covenant for our nation’s children. I want to share with the House a couple of statements from that covenant, because I think they go to the heart of the concern and the focus that we as a Parliament ought to have upon the future of our children: “We the people of Aotearoa New Zealand make a solemn and enduring covenant with our nation’s children, whoever they are and wherever they may be, in equal measure, those children who are born and those born in the future. We as New Zealanders undertake an unconditional duty to do all in our power to ensure that all our children are treasured, respected and enjoy a good life full of opportunity in a nation that is diverse and rich in culture and aroha.” There can be no more profound statement about the functions that we seek to perform than a commitment to the children as the future of this country.

Around 24 percent of our population is under the age of 18. Just under 70 percent of our young people are lucky enough to be brought up in a two-parent household. Just under 20 percent are raised by a single parent or in other groupings. As I said, those children do not choose the circumstances of their birth, but every child has an equal right to access to opportunity in this country, every child has an equal right to access to quality healthcare and education, every child has a right to good housing and good prospects in life, and our challenge—and that is what the covenant recognises—is to focus our efforts afresh on delivering those policies.

I am conscious of the work that my colleague to my left, the Minister for Social Development, is doing in the area to try to bring children to the centre of Government policy-making, and I applaud that. I welcome it, but it is a long-overdue initiative. But the important point about it is that by focusing on our children, we then start to focus on the nature of our families, our communities, and all of the support and other systems within those communities that enable people to function effectively. We do not have isolated debates, as we do today, about housing provision, law and order, or migration. They are all connected into a focal point of saying “Let’s serve the interests of our children because they are our future.”, and, therefore, we can put all other policies through the prism of how they affect children.

I noticed last week when the covenant was released that there was a rather large measure of silence to greet it. I would have expected in the quiet of the adjournment more passion from politicians, who profess concern about our country’s future, to get in behind this charter because it provides a way forward.

What we are seeing around the world now is a reaction to the sort of “Up you!” politics that the Trumpists and their acolytes in this country are seeking to follow. In Britain, under the former Liberal Democrats leader Paddy Ashdown, a More United movement—that is what it is called—has been developed, with the express aim of supporting moderate, progressive politicians across the political spectrum to stamp out extremism and focus on the real issues. Our children are our most basic real issue. It is time we focused afresh upon their needs.

It is a pleasure to make a contribution in this general debate in support of the Government—a Government that is sensible, a Government that is unified, and a Government that is stable and is delivering for all New Zealanders. As part of that, it has economic growth forecast at 2.4 percent, unemployment forecast to drop to 5.2 percent, and it is bringing Crown debt down to 20 percent of GDP by 2020. Is it any wonder that we are the envy of the OECD? We certainly are, through our stable management, the envy of the OECD in a world in which some of our larger, more traditionally stable democracies are facing some incredible turmoil, and New Zealand is leading the way in stability and growth.

I want to take the time to address some statistics with regard to me being a regional MP and leading the anchor state of this country—Southland. There was a Northerner—a member opposite—who addressed this House last night and claimed that Southland was in recession. My goodness, if producing 14 percent of New Zealand’s total export receipts is being in recession, then she must be a monkey’s uncle. If an employment rate of 74 percent—when the national average is 65 percent—is not doing well, then I do not know what is. Yes, we can acknowledge that dairy is volatile at this stage. In fact, it has dropped in our export statistics from 32 percent to 26 percent. But tourism is up, and we are still boxing economically above our weight for New Zealand—producing, I say again, 14 percent of New Zealand’s total export receipts.

Why is that? I am very proud to be a regional MP in this Government because this is a Government that is looking at the economy as a whole, and is providing initiatives to help grow the regions. We are looking at capitalising on our strengths, and we are diversifying our markets and diversifying our economy further. How are we doing that? We are investing $2 billion in ultra-fast broadband to connect our businesses to the rest of the world so that they can easily make connections and easily do business and get into new markets and stabilise their existing markets. That is so important in places like Southland where we are removed from larger centres. But look, you have got lower overheads in Southland and you are connected—and so you can do business, and do business well, from anywhere in New Zealand.

I also want to talk about the potential in Southland. I recently came back from a trip to Norway—a conference that celebrated the success of aquaculture and best practice. I learnt about best practice in aquaculture and what it can produce—jobs, revenue, and money for its people and for families in Norway. Southland has been signalled as a potential place to grow aquaculture, through our strategic group, our Southland Regional Development Strategy (SoRDS) Group, which is leading the charge there. But the Government has come in behind the SoRDS Group and behind Ngāi Tahu, and the Ministry for Primary Industries is leading some research to look at the viability of sites around the Southland coast to increase our share of aquaculture. At the moment we produce 20 percent of New Zealand’s aquaculture, and we believe that we have the natural climatic advantages and the environmental advantages to be able to expand that. The statistics at the moment are that for every hectare of aquaculture, for finfish, you are producing about 20 jobs and about $20 million worth of revenue. Southland wants a slice of that. Southland wants to capitalise on that. Southland wants to grow with that.

Southland is doing well. We are not in recession. We box above our weight. The northern member of the Opposition from Dunedin should realise that.

Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Huri noa ki tēnei Whare, tēnā tātou katoa. Today is my first day back in the House after the adjournment. I stayed in Auckland yesterday for my appearance on the Native Affairs live panel last night, shot at Te Puea Marae in Māngere. This is the marae that has been helping families into homes. I am sitting here, listening to all of these speeches, particularly from National benches, and I wish that this House and the members in it were not so disconnected from the realities of New Zealanders and the hardships that families are facing at this very time. I have had to sit here and listen to members, such as the honourable Minister Amy Adams saying that it is nasty, negative, and no-hope discussion when the real issues are brought to members’ attention.

I wish the Minister had come to the Native Affairs live panel last night and listened to the likes of the social service providers, such as Hurimoana Dennis, Darryl Evans, and Ian Hutson of the Salvation Army, of Māngere Budgeting Services, and of Te Puea Marae, who were absolutely the opposite of nasty, negative, and no hope. They were simply talking with calm, with reason, with insight, and with wisdom about the years of work they have done at the front line and the realities that they and many other social service providers are facing—realities that happened and are happening to our country because of mismanagement by this Government.

To listen in the House today, in question time, to our Prime Minister harp on about the record number of houses being built without mentioning the record figures of homelessness that we are now having to face is an absolute farce. Some of those people are working. Some of those families are in paid employment. I also had to listen to Minister Tolley talking about how being in employment is the solver of all the issues. Some of those people who are living in vans, cramped in homes, and squashed in garages are in paid employment. Nurses, teachers, and police are finding it hard to live in Auckland. That is OK—should we just say that Auckland is not for nurses, Auckland is not for police, and Auckland is not for teachers? Their salaries are not enough to keep up the pace of what houses—[Interruption] Yeah, look at me like that. I do not mind. I will look at you straight back.

Auckland should be for everybody. I have had to sit in this House at question time today and listen to the Prime Minister refer to poverty as “a great range of financial situations in this country.” That is how our Prime Minister has defined poverty. The absolute minimum that we should expect, no matter the great range of financial situations, is that every tamariki, every mokopuna, every whānau, and every person should have a warm, safe, affordable, and secure home to live in. If we do not start there, then you are in denial—and that is how the Prime Minister and his Government have not answered all the questions today, and many before. Every time they are caught out, every time they are having to face and confront what their Government has failed in, they try to blame it on someone else, or they will talk about something else, or they will talk about something else from the past. They cannot answer directly and confront and face exactly what is happening.

This is why they did not want to support the inquiry into homelessness. Labour, the Greens, and the Māori Party are not afraid to confront the truth and are working together, across the country, to face the issues. We are not afraid of being accountable. I have had to sit here today, and I wish the members in this House were not so disconnected from what is happening to ordinary people who are not even as angry as I am. They are calm. They are doing the best they can. They are remaining and struggling and doing the best that they can. I wish all of us were accountable. Thank you.

Can I just say that it is wonderful to come back here, after 4 weeks of being away, and be able to pick up exactly where it was that we left off, which is being a part of a party that is governing at the moment, that is very positive, that has a lot of energy, and that is doing some great things for New Zealand. Often you get these accusations made about Governments being in their third term. People will accuse third-term Governments of lacking new ideas or lacking energy. But this Government is far from that. Right across the board, in fact—socially, environmentally, and economically—we have got hard-working Ministers and people within the party who are generating new ideas. They are facing up to the issues that New Zealand is confronted with, taking us to where we need to invest more in order to deliver better results, and making those investments, making those calls. Budget 2016 is an example of that. Right across the board, as I said—socially, environmentally, and economically—this is a balanced Government that is doing things right across the whole gamut.

Can I start in the social sphere. Budget 2016 saw $652 million extra being invested back into the social investment package, of which $348 million was to boost spending for our most vulnerable young people. We are committed to ensuring that the vulnerable young people of New Zealand will not be left behind, that they will get better treatment from the Government going forward than they have ever had before. That is why we are investing money up front. That is why we are taking our social investment strategy to new lengths—to ensure that those who are likely to have the poorest long-term outcomes in their lives have that turned around through early intervention and through early investment, to ensure that we are going to deliver a better New Zealand for those New Zealanders. Our results are starting to speak for themselves, and we are moving forward with that strategy.

On the environmental front, we are also making great inroads. For example, the recent announcement of being predator-free in New Zealand by 2050—a bold, ambitious environmental goal that we are setting for New Zealand, one that I am sure everyone will buy into and support. It is another great announcement from the Government, and one that will be backed up, I am sure, by community groups, the private sector, and the Government itself as we move forward towards that goal. We are investing in the environment, in terms of rivers, with an extra $100 million that has been put up for river clean-up funds. We have seen the benefit of previous funding that has gone in, particularly in the Manawatū, where I live, where, with the help of Government funding working alongside community groups, over the last 5 years 120,000 plants have been planted alongside the Manawatū River and its tributaries, and 208 kilometres of fencing has been put in to help improve the Manawatū River. I know that is something that the local people around there are very concerned about. This Government is concerned about those issues as well. On the environmental front we are making progress as no other Government in New Zealand has ever made before.

Finally, what is often talked about as being one of the most critical parts is the economy. We are making fantastic progress and inroads in that area as well. We are continuing to be forward-thinking and to look at new ways to boost our economy, and we are seeing a more diverse economy as a result. The extra $700 million - odd that has been invested into the Innovative New Zealand package is going to be felt right around the country—in particular, as I said, in the Manawatū, where I come from. That money is going to make a big difference in helping to boost our development and research institutes and the jobs that go along with them. On Friday the Manawatū-Whanganui regional growth plan is going to be unveiled in Whanganui. I am looking forward to the announcements that are coming through from that. I do not want to steal the Minister’s thunder, in terms of the things that are going to be announced, but I am absolutely excited by what I see as the investment by this Government into local regional economies to ensure that we will create more jobs. We will create a better future for people who are living in provincial New Zealand.

Right across the board, as I said—socially, environmentally, and economically—this Government is moving New Zealand forward and is going to take us to better places in the future.

Tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare. Firstly, can I thank you, because over the adjournment we were privileged to host Youth Parliament. I would like to extend my appreciation—I think all the young people whom I have engaged with had a thoroughly good time, and that was because of the management of the House.

Can I also acknowledge that yesterday was the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, and so I mihi to all the indigenous communities around the world, and there is a particular focus this year on education.

Today, for me, is going to be a lot of thankyous. I would also like to thank Dame Diane Robertson, who has moved on as the Auckland City Missioner, and in her place we welcome Chris Farrelly. So I say kia kaha to Chris, because one of the first pieces of research that he has contributed to the discussion around homelessness in our community was a press release dated 7 June 2016. So between 2014 and 2016 we have had a 55 percent increase in the number of homeless people in Auckland; these are those living within 3 kilometres of Skycity tower. In the last 2 years we have had an extra 81 people whom the Auckland City Mission, with a whole lot of collaborators, has identified as homeless.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Judge Andrew Becroft as our new Children’s Commissioner. I think he has started his tenure on an incredibly powerful platform. And what is that platform? That platform is actually not only being an advocate for children but being an advocate in terms of enabling us, as a society, as New Zealanders, to contribute and to participate in what is a very, very important discussion. Should the Ministry for Children be the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, which is incredibly stigmatising, or should it actually be a ministry that is going to provide for the needs and aspirations, not only of our children but of our whānau? And I leave you with this: vulnerable means to be exposed to harm, whether it be physical or emotional. And so if the Minister and that Government want to tar children who are going to use the services of this new children’s ministry with that term “vulnerable”, then let them address all the exposures to harm, both emotional and physical, to ensure that our children actually grow up in an environment where they can thrive. I agree with our Children’s Commissioner that labelling them as vulnerable is not the best way to start that journey or that process.

Can I also thank Te Puea Marae, who, over the 10 weeks of its opening, has provided accommodation to 156 people. Included in those people have been 83 children. So Te Puea Marae has acted as, I guess, a conduit between those who are living on the streets, living at the marae, to now having accommodation. So I want to mihi to all the leadership at Te Puea Marae for actually putting their hands up and saying “We care, and we care enough to assist whānau who are in crisis.”, and then actually following through and making sure they have somewhere to live. Nineteen people still live there and the marae will continue to support those people until they all find accommodation.

They have now passed the baton on to my marae, the Manurewa Marae, who will take registrations on Monday from 9.30 a.m. They have the capacity to provide for 146 people and in addition to that they have got five Portacom homes that are for women and children. I do not know whether the Government is funding them. I have got no idea but I would hope that it is, because an initiative like this, which is community driven, deserves to be supported by any reasonable, caring, compassionate Government. Our marae will be serviced by volunteers. I want to mihi to Rowandale School in my electorate. They have put their hands up because they will be there on a roster. They need people who can provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

So to our whānau and communities throughout South Auckland who care enough to not just talk about things but to actually do things, I want to acknowledge your leadership and say thank you on behalf of this Parliament for doing something to meet the needs of those who are most vulnerable, and to say thank you for continuing to ensure that no one is left behind. Kia ora tātou.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, I had the privilege on Sunday mornings of listening to the Radio New Zealand children’s programme. That is where I first heard of Flick the Little Fire Engine, Little Toot, Diana and the Golden Apples. Today I want to model my contribution on one of those stories—The Soldier’s Deck of Cards. It is a story about a soldier who in front of a court martial conveyed his beliefs with all that he had at the time—a pack of cards.

So, today, this pack of cards in my hand is my Hansard. This pack of cards is my Speakers’ Rulings and my policy notes. When I look at the ace, I see a representation of the best, the finest, the highest level—a serve that cannot be returned. And this reminds me of the Government’s front bench—the best, the first, the highest level—serving up the Opposition with a serve that cannot be returned.

When I look at the two, I am reminded of the $2 billion in the 2016 health budget—$28 million of that to the Northland District Health Board. You know, when I first worked there we had nine resident medical officers—today there are 90. The workforce has expanded and continues to expand under this Government.

The three is a tragic reminder of the number of Labour leaders who have held office while this Government has been in office. The clubs are how they were dispensed; they clubbed each other to death. The diamonds are why: their “twinkle twinkle”, pie-in-the-sky policies. Their hearts—they had no heart, no love for each other, that is for sure. And this card shows how they were buried—with spades. The deck tells the story.

When I come to the four, five, and six, it takes me to Sunday, 20 December last year, 456 days since a stunning 2014 election—a stunning election. Over those 456 days, this Government has given New Zealanders free under-13 childcare, reduced ACC levels, and benefit increases.

The seventh is the day of rest, but not for this Government—we are hard workers. We do not rest. We have completed an endless number of bills through their third readings—the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill, a building amendments bill, Te Piri mō Te Reo Māori, and many others.

The eight and the nine, well, that is the number of emails I have received lately—89—from the people in Portland who are awfully glad to be receiving a roundabout either on Loop Road North or Loop Road South, which will facilitate logging trucks off State Highway 1. They are also very grateful for the $25 million of new roading funding from Toetoe Road to Springfield.

This takes us to the face cards—the jack, the queen, and the king. This Government will face the tough issues. Te Ture Whenua is a tough issue, foreign fighters are a tough issue, Auckland housing is a tough issue, and this Government will face them all.

In conclusion, that leaves just one, the joker—and I will leave it to the House to decide who and what party that is. But let me give you the attributes of the joker. The joker is very old—the joker first appeared in a pack of cards in 1860. It is usually depicted as the jester, with diminished capabilities, and the joker is frequently also known as the wild card—unpredictable, unstable, and unsuitable to follow the usual rules. Again, I will leave it to the imagination of the House as to whom this applies. Today this pack of cards is my Hansard and my policy notes, and I look forward to filling out the rest of the cards. Thank you.

The debate having concluded, the motion lapsed.